A Single Moment In High School Tore My Life Apart. 1 Regret Has Followed Me Ever Since.

Posted on 10/08/2025 by Boris Clair

My truest taste of regret happened when I was just 16. I was a junior in high school and feeling fully overwhelmed by things I had no control over. That feeling came directly from living in a family unraveling at the seams, but I was too young to understand what was happening. My emotions were packaged up tightly, so I grabbed hold of things I did understand, and what I understood more than anything else was swimming.

I had been a competitive swimmer for almost all of my childhood. I had pushed my way near the top of my high school team, yet I was afraid to be there. I will never quite know if I was afraid of failing, afraid of being good or both. It didn’t matter. I wasn’t willing to live up to my full potential, and the worst part was that I knew it.

By the time I reached my third high school swim season, I was tired. I was tired of treading in one place, but mostly, I was tired of the lack of effort I was putting into the thing I loved. I couldn’t trust myself enough to try to be my best self, because there was no comfort in that. I carried a great burden because of my lack of self-worth, but I wouldn’t actually know that until much, much later — when I could no longer do anything about it.

I spent the entirety of my freshman and sophomore years of high school working tirelessly to dis-earn my spot in the lane with the fastest swimmers. I had goggle issues. I had shoulder problems. There were even moments when I quietly prayed I’d break my leg so I didn’t have to go to practice anymore.

But it wasn’t the swimming, the practices or even the racing or the other girls that was the problem. It was me.

However, as most things go, once I finally realised that, it was too late.

In the middle of my junior season, I went to a high school dance with a few other swimmer friends (the ones who actually longed to lead the lane) and my then-boyfriend. I wore a satin periwinkle above-the-knee dress with a velvet bodice and a matching cropped coat. I shoved tissues into the toes of my T.J. Maxx clearance rack patent-leather shoes because I had bought them a size too big. The night was supposed to be perfect.

But in the time that it takes to sneeze, everything changed.

A varsity photo of the author during her junior year of high school in 1997. "This was just a few months before my accident," she writes. — A varsity photo of the author during her junior year of high school in 1997. “This was just a few months before my accident,” she writes.

The car I was riding in on the way home from the dance jerked and shuddered, and then it flew. It rolled across the grass median of the highway and struck another vehicle head-on. My blood-starved body wept on the asphalt until paramedics arrived. Two people lost their lives, and though I had instantly been paralysed from the chest down, because I survived, I was considered one of the lucky ones.

Months and even years later, I had no recollection of that night. It became a story that I told to people with little emotion or remorse. The pain of what I experienced rarely crept in because my brain never allowed me to see what really happened. What was lost. What was taken away.

Many years later, I’ve learned to live my new life from the seat of a wheelchair. I have done so with great purpose and gusto because, even though I don’t remember that night, I will always feel its rubble. The accident and my wheelchair brought about a new perspective on living, and I vowed to always live each day to its greatest potential — without new regrets.

Still, when my 16-year-old self’s physical wounds had healed, and I was lowered into my high school pool by my coaches and teammates, all that invigoration and determination melted away. My legs could no longer support me in my swim. They had grown skinny and frail. They were scarred and scathed. My lower half was pale and cold, and those legs would never bring me back to the lane with the fastest swimmers whom I loved to loathe.

I lost that moment. All the control. Forever.

My regret of holding myself back because I was afraid to try has followed me since. My swimming career was taken away before I was ready to give up fully. My life as I knew it — as a naïve teenage-sort-of-swimmer — was too.

The author at the hospital doing pool therapy after her car accident in 1997. "They used a lift to get me into the pool," she writes. — The author at the hospital doing pool therapy after her car accident in 1997. “They used a lift to get me into the pool,” she writes.

I will never know what I could have done with the determination I have now. I will never know what I could have been. I used to dream about a different path, a different life for myself — but I have learned that doesn’t serve me. The energy and force it takes to dream something different for yourself should be used to make those changes in your everyday.

Because of a single moment of regret — that raw sense of pain and oozing remorse — I decided I would never allow myself to live another minute like that ever again. There isn’t enough time in this precious world to navigate the elusive “what ifs.” Take advantage of what you can control to push forward.

Feeling an unresolved sense of competition, I found my way back to the pool years later. Twice. First I began coaching swimming, which ultimately led me to coaching at the high school where I was once too shy to truly try. I kept a keen eye out for the girls who, like me, were afraid to succeed. Coaching became a way for me to teach those lessons I had learned to wide-eyed teens before it was too late for them too.

It led me to create new swimming goals for myself.

For two years straight, I trained to try to make the Paralympic swim team. At the time, I was a high school teacher, so I woke up each day at 3:30 a.m. just to get my practice in. I thrashed through the water each morning, day in and day out, because I had the passion to prove to myself and prove to the world how powerful it is to try.

The author (in the water) at the Parapan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2011. "I was one of the only athletes in my classification who had to start in the water," she writes. — The author (in the water) at the Parapan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2011. “I was one of the only athletes in my classification who had to start in the water,” she writes.

I spent countless sums of money traveling to meets to help achieve my goal. And I performed. I broke several American records during this time and even landed a spot on the Parapan American swim team, which gave me the privilege of competing for my country and donning the highly coveted navy-blue American flag swim cap.

All of my effort led me to the Paralympic trials. I raced my heart out. I left it all in the pool. I strolled away feeling like I had done everything in my power to make the team. I had zero regrets.

I did not make the team.

I left the meet with a warm sense of pride. Yes, I was disappointed to not have attained the goal I had zoned in on for two years, but I knew I had done everything I could and left no room for that sneaky antagonist to settle in. I had no regrets about my performance, and I had the regret I felt after my accident to thank for that.

My 16-year-old mind had been in a constant spin of wondering what might have been if I made a different choice. How my life would be better if I would have only tried and trusted myself in the water, before I was broken. Paralysed. Back then, the world pushed me to be better, and I hid from it. However, I didn’t realise at the time that my regret would lead me to live the most championed life I could have ever imagined — and from the seat of a wheelchair.

As an adult, I have chosen paths that won’t leave me wondering. Some of those trails have been winding and treacherous, some have been painful, and some of them have been the result of wrong choices. But even a wrong choice has value if you can push forward from it, and that is always my goal.

Living with a ribbon of regret from decades ago tied around my finger, I have been able to accomplish many more things even bigger than I imagined. I’ve traveled abroad completely alone. I spent a summer in New Delhi. I met a man and fell in love and married him three months later. I gave birth to two healthy children when medical professionals weren’t sure it was possible.

The author and her husband on their wedding day in 2012.

Now, I wouldn’t change a thing.

The choices we make are often so rooted in active situations — what would happen if we do something? Yet, centering myself around steering clear of new regrets, I am more often asking myself what would happen if I don’t do something. What if I hadn’t trained so hard? Then I would have always wondered what I could have truly accomplished. What if I didn’t trust my gut? Then I wouldn’t have two beautiful sons and a loving family to go home to each night.

And still, I cannot fully escape regret. It’s like a long shadow at the end of a sunlit day. It moves and flows with me, attached directly to the base of my feet. No matter how fast I can go, I will never out-swim it.

But I’m no longer afraid of it. I now see my teenage regret as the very thing that has helped me live the best life I can. It lingers so close simply to remind me to make the best choices, live the best way and be the happiest I know how to be. It’s my guiding antagonist.

The author and her family on vacation at Disneyland in 2024 in California.

Ryan Rae Harbuck is the author of her memoir, “When I Grow Up I Want to Be a Chair.” She has been a teacher and a swim coach but enjoys being Mom the most. She resides in her hometown of Denver with her husband and two mudslinging boys. To learn more, visit her website at RyanRaeHarbuck.com.

My Lab Conducted A Study On Preschool Girls. What We Discovered Should Disturb You.

Posted on 10/08/2025 by Boris Clair

Over the past year, a friend’s daughter – let’s call her Lily – has repeatedly called herself ugly.

When Lily is supposed to be brushing her teeth, she looks in the mirror with a frown on her face, eyes scanning her features with disappointment.

Lily has wavy dark-brown hair; she wants straight blonde hair.

One morning Lily put pink marker all over her mouth. The day before, a child at school had called her ugly, and she thought the “lipstick” would make her look prettier.

Lily is 4. And she is beautiful.

How has the world warped this child’s view of herself? Why does Lily even need to care about looking beautiful at 4? Is she worried about getting a date for the class field trip?

More attention is finally being paid toward the harmful effects of social media on teens’ body image and mental health. However, a study my lab conducted suggests that we are missing an important piece of the puzzle. Specifically, we discovered that among girls, a preoccupation with appearance starts as young as age 3.

In our study, we interviewed 170 children ages 3 to 5 to examine when kids start to value being beautiful. Across all of the measures that we assessed, girls on average greatly valued their appearances. Girls said that to be a girl they needed to be pretty, and looking pretty was important.

When asked to select from an array of outfits and occupations, the girls in our study tended to select many fancy outfits and appearance-related occupations, like being a model or makeup artist. They showed good memory for pictures of fashionable clothing when these pictures were later hidden from view.

When explaining why they liked a pop culture character, girls often said things like, “I like all the princesses because they are pretty.” In a previous study, young girls also tended to purchase many toys that focused on appearance (e.g., a vanity set) with play money.

Across both studies, not only did girls tend to care highly about appearances, but they also did so more than boys.

Girls were about five times more likely than boys to say they liked a character due to what I refer to as “appearance reasons”.

Boys more often cited “action reasons,” such as liking Spider-Man “because he jumps high, climbs and shoots webs”.

Our study concluded that gender differences related to how much emphasis we place on beauty likely start in preschool.

While girls around the world have long been taught that beauty is of utmost importance, conversations with other gender development experts point to the early 2000s as a pivotal period when a new “girlie-girl” culture emerged.

One driver of this culture was the launch of the Disney Princess franchise in 2000, which continues to enamour young girls. My two young daughters have probably drawn upwards of a thousand pictures of Moana over the past two years.

Although Disney movies have evolved and now try to include more agentic heroines, the take-home message received by children still centred on beauty.

By adolescence, children are already primed to be preoccupied with how they look – a vulnerability that social media, often a very visual platform, taps into and exploits.

Decades of research have shown that tying self-worth to looks and having a distorted body image are linked to a whole host of negative outcomes, which can include poorer physical health (e.g., eating disorders, substance abuse) and mental health (e.g., depression). An unhealthy focus on appearance can also detract from a focus on school, interfere with academic performance and limit the career aspirations of young women.

If we know that emphasising physical appearance sets girls up for unhappiness – or worse – we must rethink our words and actions that instil this value, and we must begin before adolescence and social media use.

The preschool and kindergarten years are especially critical, as it’s during this time that children typically begin to strongly identify with a gender – whether the one they were assigned at birth or the one they know themselves to be – and they are hungry to learn what that gender means.

Children form gender stereotypes based on the information that is available to them and often doggedly follow these stereotypes. Because children are learning that girls are defined by how they look and boys by what they do, we must change the information they receive.

We can do this in a variety of ways. One is to (re)examine the images and toys our children encounter on a daily basis. Those beloved princesses and mermaid dolls with absurd body proportions can create internal standards that are impossible to attain.

Although adults understand the metaphor in making a superhero larger than life, children, who are extremely visual and swayed by how objects and people look, take these images at face value. We need to buy and create toys that feature diverse body shapes and sizes, varied and accurate facial features, different hair textures and a spectrum of skin colours.

There are some bright spots already out there. Our family loves the three Madrigal sisters from the movie Encanto. Mirabel, the main protagonist, has glasses and curly hair. Her oldest sister Luisa is renowned not for her beauty, but for her physical strength. Isabella, the middle sister, has darker skin and realistic body proportions that my children not only see but also feel when handling their dolls. The village values all three of them for their helpfulness, and their primary goals do not centre around attracting a prince. Barbie is also making more diverse dolls, but those more representative toys are still the minority.

There are also toys and games that encourage girls to solve problems, build structures and robots and use their creativity, but because our culture is still so influenced by gender stereotypes, young girls are often not exposed to them. We need to not only add positive and diverse images and toys, but move away from featuring and selling the harmful ones that currently dominate the market.

Until corporations do better, it’s up to us to do what we can. If you find yourself reaching for an “appearance toy” for a girl in your life, look for toys that encourage a wider variety of activities. Believe me, harmful images and toys will seep into your household, often through gifts from friends and family members, so parents and teachers need to take an active stance. Don’t feel guilty saying no to a toy that promotes an unhealthy approach to appearance.

We can also change how we talk to the children in our lives. Instead of constantly commenting on a child’s appearance – “You look so pretty!” or “That’s a beautiful dress!” – try focusing on other admirable attributes, especially when you’re speaking to girls.

On a broader level, let’s expand the idea of what a girl or a boy can be. By having more examples of the different ways that kids can be their gender (whether by being more or less traditionally feminine, masculine or something in between), everybody wins.

Of course, it’s important to instill a sense of pride in one’s appearance. But this is possible without focusing on traditionally esteemed – and frequently policed – characteristics. It can be even more complicated for children of colour or children from low-income backgrounds, where looking “good” can be unfairly and dangerously tied to respectability.

In these contexts, parents are often actively fighting to keep their kids from internalising insidious white beauty standards, in addition to challenging gender stereotypes.

And although appearance is typically emphasised more among girls, boys also face unrealistic standards regarding muscles and strength. One study found that 49% of boys ages 8-12 were unhappy with their appearance and another found that boys as young as 6 showed preferences for thinner and more muscular bodies.

Many of us relate to feeling dissatisfied with the way we look and have experienced negative outcomes due to our fixation on it. As a 12-year-old, I was obsessed with the weight I gained during puberty. Though doing varsity volleyball and track and field made me fit and strong when I was 15, I was unhappy with my body, and experienced depression and suicidal ideation.

I was not alone. I knew many other girls who were dealing with similar feelings. When I later attended Stanford, I was surrounded by incredible, high-achieving women, some who were world-class athletes, but who also struggled with their body image and disordered eating.

Seeing so many others who also suffered made me realise that these appearance- and health-related matters were bigger than just me.

Ultimately, I was motivated to study gender development as a career, which I’ve been doing for 17 years, in the hopes of addressing this complex and alarming societal issue.

I am anxious about what will happen when my two young daughters become teens, in a society where sexism and patriarchy still run rampant.

My husband and I have even contemplated leaving Los Angeles, arguably one of the most image-obsessed cities in the world.

Whenever we drive down Santa Monica Boulevard, billboards and advertisements expose my daughters to the supposed wonders of plastic surgery, implants and freezing off fat.

When we traipse down Montana Avenue, a swanky shopping area, we pass dozens of eyelash salons, hair salons, nail salons, waxing salons, sugaring salons and skincare shops squeezed in tightly next to each other along the street.

I know that these messages would still reach them no matter where we moved. This is the world we live in. This is the culture we’ve been told to want. These are the messages our children pick up – not just from where they live, but from the shows they watch, the movies they see, the songs they hear, the friends they make and even in their schools. And thanks to social media, AI technology, filters and photoshopping, it’s only getting worse.

So, we need to do whatever we can to combat all of this.

My research shows we have a huge problem on our hands. If a child is already steeped in these gender stereotypes and dysmorphic body ideals by age 5, just imagine what she’ll be thinking by 15.

It’s our responsibility to do whatever we can to foster healthier values and provide more diverse images and ideas of what it means to be a girl, a boy and a human being. I want my daughters – and everyone else’s kids – to always be able to recognise their own unique beauty, and I want them to know their value does not depend on that beauty.

This piece was originally published in May 2024 and is being rerun now as part of HuffPost Personal’s “Best Of” series.

May Ling Halim, Ph.D., is a developmental psychologist and is a mother of two girls. She is a Professor of Psychology at California State University, Long Beach, and the Director of the Culture and Social Identity Development Lab. Her research focuses on gender identity development among diverse young children. Her work has been published in leading academic journals on child development.

Do you have a compelling personal story you’d like to see published on HuffPost? Find out what we’re looking for here and send us a pitch at pitch@huffpost.com.

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Can a diet really ease lipoedema? Sunniva’s journey to pain relief and weight loss

Posted on 10/08/2025 by Boris Clair

Lipoedema is thought to be a common, but little-known disease that mainly affects women.
The disease is painful. Lipoedema is characterized by disproportionate and excess fatty tissue on the thighs and calves, and sometimes on the arms, while the hands and feet are unaffected.
A new doctoral thesis at NTNU investigated the relationship between two different diets and the effect on pain, quality of life, body weight and body composition, appetite and inflammation.

It all started when she was in lower secondary school.

Her thighs, calves and upper arms suddenly began to grow, and she could not understand why it was so painful. It was not until she was over 40 years old that Sunniva Kwapeng was diagnosed with lipoedema.

However, before a correct diagnosis was made, she tried all sorts of diets — with little success.

A recent NTNU study shows that her experience is quite typical. It is unlikely that the body fat associated with lipoedema can be lost through dieting.

Limited knowledge

“Despite this being a disease that affects many women, little is known about it, which is rather thought-provoking,” said Julianne Lundanes, a former PhD candidate at NTNU.

Lipoedema is a poorly understood disease that primarily affects women.

The disease is characterized by disproportionate and excess fatty tissue on the thighs and calves, and sometimes on the arms, while the hands and feet remain unaffected.

Lundanes recently submitted her doctoral thesis at NTNU on the relationship between two different diets and their effects on pain, quality of life, body weight and composition, appetite and inflammation.

Some people also become obese

Lipoedema is painful. It can be painful to move, and it is easy for people with the disease to get caught up in a vicious cycle of inactivity and reduced quality of life. Lipoedema is often mistaken for obesity, but they are two distinct conditions.

If a person with lipoedema loses weight, it is common to see normal fat disappear, such as on the stomach, while the calves and thighs remain the same size. When a person is obese, fat can be stored all over the body, both under the skin and around the internal organs.

In lipoedema, the accumulation of fatty tissue occurs mainly under the skin on the hips, thighs, calves and arms.

The pain associated with the disease can have a significant impact on quality of life, making movement difficult.

“We don’t know why the disease is so painful. We believe it involves an inflammatory condition in the fat, and that this is what causes the pain,” said Lundanes.

Lipoedema is often hereditary

There are currently no Norwegian national guidelines for the treatment or follow-up of women with lipoedema.

“We also don’t know much about why some women develop lipoedema, except that it appears to be hereditary. It is often the case that several people in the same family are affected by it. The disease often manifests during hormonal changes such as puberty, pregnancy and menopause,” Lundanes said.

The aim of Lundanes’s study was to determine whether a low-carbohydrate diet could serve as an alternative form of treatment for patients with the disease.

She had a sample of 70 women with lipoedema aged 19-73 years old, which was divided into two groups.

One group followed a low-carb diet, while the other followed a low-fat diet. Both groups ate the same number of calories each day, but the amount of carbohydrates and fat varied.

The participants received weekly follow-up for eight weeks and were tested at the beginning and end of the study. Pain and quality of life were measured through a questionnaire.

The results showed clear differences between the two groups.

Similar degrees of inflammation

“The women in the low-carb group had less pain. The participants in the other group did not experience any change in pain, but both groups reported better quality of life,” said Lundanes.

Tests were also carried out to see if the reduction in pain was due to the low-carb diet leading to less inflammation in the body. This turned out not to be the case.

“There was no difference in changes in inflammation between the two groups. We also measured inflammation through blood tests, so inflammation in the fatty tissue itself still needs to be investigated in order to draw any conclusions,” Lundanes said.

Greater weight loss on the low-carb diet

The women who followed the low-carb diet lost more weight than those who followed the low-fat diet.

“At the end of the study, we found that the women who ate fewer carbohydrates were less hungry than the other group. The feeling of being less hungry is a well-known benefit of low-carb diets once ketosis is achieved. This may have helped these women lose more weight than the other group,” Lundanes said.

There is no treatment that can eliminate the causes of or cure lipoedema. There’s only treatment that can alleviate some of the symptoms.

Liposuction is one option, but it is currently only offered as part of a research study at Haraldsplass Hospital in Bergen. The only other alternative is to pay for private surgery, and that can cost hundreds of thousands of Norwegian kroner.

“The long-term effects of lipoedema liposuction have still not been fully investigated. There is a lack of research in this area too,” Lundanes said.

Compression reduces pain

Most people currently receive help in the form of physical therapy and compression garments that squeeze and support the fatty tissue.

“Compression garments give many people relief,” says Lundanes.

For Kwapeng, compression garments have been a great help in managing the pain.

“I’ve also lost many centimeters on my legs because of the compression garments. My expenses for compression are covered, but in other parts of the country, they’re not. It’s completely random what kind of help you get,” says Kwapeng.

At home, she has a machine that’s also used by patients with other conditions. The machine is called a pulsator and is a vacuum treatment for the lymphatic vessels designed to activate the lymphatic system. Lymphatic drainage initiates several cleansing processes in the body and can help improve blood circulation.

The machine is like a giant pair of pants used while lying down.

“It works really well for me. It takes away the pain. I also get more energy. If I have low energy and lie down in it, it’s like my body wakes up,” says Kwapeng.

Over time, she has learned to live with the disease.

“It’s frustrating to have a condition that is so poorly understood. A doctor once told me that at least I won’t die from having lipoedema — but I die a little every time I can’t sit on the floor with my daughter. I die a little every time I can’t go on a hike I want to take because of the pain. And I die a little every time people think I’m just fat and lazy,” Kwapeng said.

As Freakier Friday Hits Cinemas, 11 Sequels That Were Better Than The Original Film

Posted on 10/08/2025 by Boris Clair

A version of this article was previously published in 2020.

The old saying goes that a sequel is never as good as the original, and over the years, plenty of films have proved this to be the case.

Fortunately for the team behind Freakier Friday, the long-awaited sequel to 2003′s iconic body-swap comedy, critics seem pretty impressed with the follow-up, with many hailing it as a worthy successor to Freaky Friday.

But what about those rare sequels that somehow manage to better the movie that came before it?

Here are 11 of the most celebrated follow-ups in modern movie history…

Addams Family Values

We don’t use terms like “perfection” lightly, but if there were ever a perfect family comedy then Addams Family Values might well be it. The fact it’s actually a sequel to a less-revered live-action version of the classic cartoon is even more impressive.

Obviously all of the cast members playing the creepy, kooky, mysterious, spooky and, indeed, altogether ooky family shine as brightly as their dark surroundings will allow (special shout-out to Anjelica Huston serving true macabre glamour as Morticia). But Addams Family Values really belongs to new addition Joan Cusack, who stars as Uncle Fester’s love interest Debbie.

Toy Story 3

Who’d have guessed that an animated buddy comedy about a toy cowboy and a plastic astronaut would have sparked one of the most lucrative film sagas of recent times?

And while Toy Story 2 – released four years after the original – kicked things up several notches, it was the third instalment in the series that people really went wild for. Toy Story 3 served up adorable new characters, scooped an impressive Best Picture nomination at the Oscars and, crucially, delivered not one but two ugly-cry moments.

Paddington 2

Even though the original Paddington film was well-received when it first hit cinemas in 2014 – featuring a CGI version of the classic character interacting with live-action actors – few could predict just how beloved its sequel would go on to become.

Not only was it nominated for Outstanding British Film at the Baftas, it’s also one of the few movies with a perfect score on review site Rotten Tomatoes. With 238 positive reviews, it’s also the highest-rated film on the entire website. Take that, Citizen Kane.

The Dark Knight

Like many, we were sold on The Dark Knight from the moment we saw its infamous viral marketing campaign (back in the day when viral marketing campaigns were actually still new and exciting).

We could probably talk all day about how this film is a level up on Batman Begins, from Christopher Nolan’s direction, to the incredible costumes and special effects. But let’s be honest, this film is all about Heath Ledger, who earned a posthumous Academy Award for his unforgettable portrayal of the Joker.

Aliens

Although the original Alien divided critics upon its original release in 1979, the film quickly garnered a loyal following, and by the mid-1980s, was revered among fans of sci-fi.

Putting out a sequel was therefore always going to be a bit of a risk, but fortunately 1986′s Aliens more than lived up to its predecessor. It earned Sigourney Weaver a game-changing Oscar nomination as the star of a sci-fi film. It has also been named the Best Sequel Of All Time by Empire magazine.

Mad Max: Fury Road

Listen, we get it, Fury Road was billed as a “revisiting” of the original Mad Max trilogy, rather than a straight-up sequel or a traditional reboot.

Still, the film was so well-received – check that 97% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes if you don’t believe us, not to mention its six Oscar wins – we felt we couldn’t leave it off this list. Plus, who would pass up the opportunity to see Charlize Theron in all her buzzed glory again?

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

Star Wars has so many different instalments, and a fan community that stretches far and wide, that it would be literally impossible to decide which of the numerous sequels is the superior one.

So while we’d struggle to pinpoint which of film is the best, we’ve gone with The Empire Strikes Back for the simple reason it contains arguably the most iconic moment in Star Wars history, when Darth Vader’s true identity is revealed.

Terminator 2: Judgement Day

He said “I’ll be back”, and apparently he meant it, although it did take seven years.

Terminator 2: Judgement Day was hailed as even better than the original film by many critics, who were wowed by the advanced special effects (which went on to win one of the film’s four Academy Awards).

The success of Terminator 2 led to a number of additional spin-offs and sequels, although none of these have quite been able to match the original two films.

Avengers: Endgame

Essentially the sequel to around 100 other films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Avengers: Endgame was much-awaited when it hit cinemas in 2019, wrapping up stories that began in the Iron Man, Thor and Captain America film series.

Fortunately, the majority of cinema-goers felt the ambitious project was worth the wait, with Avengers: Endgame landing rave reviews and becoming the highest-grossing film of all time (that’s second-highest, when adjusted for inflation).

The Godfather Part II

The first sequel to ever win Best Picture at the Academy Awards (the only other being Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King), Godfather II is so revered it was added to the U.S. National Film Registry of the Library of Congress due to its cultural significance, alongside the original Godfather film.

The same can not be said for the follow-up, Godfather III.

Skyfall

Although Casino Royale and Quantum Of Solace proved popular, many 007 fans still breathed a sigh of relief when Skyfall was released, as they felt it was more in keeping with the James Bond franchise than Daniel Craig’s first two outings.

Skyfall won largely positive reviews from critics, many of whom praised the decision to give more material for Dame Judi Dench to work with, and became the highest-grossing film in the UK ever at that time. Follow-up Spectre was similarly well-received, with the Daniel’s fifth and final Bond film, No Time To Die, set to hit cinemas… soon. Let’s just say soon.

Drinks that make you chill – do they really do what it says on the tin?

Posted on 10/08/2025 by Boris Clair

The wellness drinks industry is booming – but the big benefits they promise might be too good to be true.

Wednesday Season 2 Cast: Here’s Where You’ve Seen The New Stars Before

Posted on 09/08/2025 by Boris Clair

The Wednesday universe just got a whole lot bigger after a new cohort of stars joined the Netflix hit for its long-awaited second season.

After a three-year wait, the new episodes see Jenna Ortega’s character finally heading back to Nevermore to tackle new mysteries while she navigates family, friends and old foes.

Joining returning stars like Catherine Zeta-Jones, Luis Guzmán, Isaac Ordonez and the rest of the kooky family, this season brings a host of new stars and A-list performers into the mix.

With the first four episodes of the season available to watch now (ahead of part two dropping on 3 September), you might have spotted more than a few familiar faces.

Here’s where you’ve seen them before…

Joanna Lumley

Joining season two as the Addams family matriarch, Grandmama Hester Frump, British acting icon Dame Joanna Lumley is best known for starring in the British sitcom Absolutely Fabulous alongside Jennifer Saunders.

Dame Joanna’s career spans decades, including TV shows like The New Avengers, Sapphire & Steel, Sensitive Skin, Finding Alice and Fool Me Once, while The Wolf Of Wall Street, Ella Enchanted, Paddington 2 are among her many film credits.

She’s also known for her numerous travel series where she’s journeyed all over the world to countries like Russia, Japan and India (where she was born).

Wednesday actually marks a Tim Burton reunion for Dame Joanna, who voiced Maudeline Everglot in his 2005 stop-motion classic Corpse Bride and played Aunt Spiker in James And The Giant Peach, which he produced.

Steve Buscemi

Another screen legend joining this season is Steve Buscemi in the role of Principal Dort. You’ll know him for playing Nucky in Boardwalk Empire, along with Mr “I Don’t Tip” Pink in Reservoir Dogs.

His other big movie credits include Fargo, The Death Of Stalin and Ghost World. With more than a few hardman roles added to his resume over the years, he’s also no stranger to comedy, having appeared in Hubie Halloween, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and The Week Of.

If nothing else, you’ve most definitely seen his famous “how do you do, fellow kids” line memed to high heaven from 30 Rock, or heard his voice as Randall in Pixar’s Monsters, Inc.

Billie Piper

Doctor Who fans will always know and love Billie Piper as the iconic companion Rose in the first two revived seasons of the beloved sci-fi show.

She joins Wednesday as Isadora Capri, the Academy’s new head of music, and has previously starred in shows like Secret Diary Of A Call Girl, I Hate Suzie and Penny Dreadful, and portrayed Fanny Price in the Jane Austen TV movie adaptation of Mansfield Park.

More recently, you might have watched her in Lena Dunham’s movie Catherine Called Birdy or Netflix’s Scoop about the Prince Andrew Newsnight interview about the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

Before all of that, though, she was a chart-topping popstar, racking up hits like Because We Want To, Day And Night and Girlfriend.

Thandiwe Newton

The A-list Brits just keep on coming, with Thandiwe Newton joining Wednesday in the role of psychiatrist Dr. Rachael Fairburn.

She won an Emmy for her stunning portrayal of brothel madam Maeve in Westworld, while her other memorable roles across film include Beloved, Mission Impossible II and Crash. Her TV credits, meanwhile, range from Line Of Duty, Rogue and ER.

Thandiwe has also had some huge voice parts, including Mona in Big Mouth and Eshe in Disney’s Lion King prequel Mufasa, which came out last year.

Christopher Lloyd

The Back To The Future legend is officially returning to the Addams Family universe, after portraying Uncle Fester in Barry Sonnenfeld’s 1990s films.

However, this time around, he’s playing Professor Orloff, Nevermore’s longest-serving teacher. Along with his unforgettable role as Doc Brown in the iconic sci-fi trilogy, he’s also known for playing Jim Ignatowski in the Emmy-winning comedy series Taxi.

Christopher’s other notable movie credits include Who Framed Roger Rabbit, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.

Lady Gaga

Does this legend really need an introduction?

The pop superstar, Oscar-recognised actor and all-round entertainment icon is set to guest star in the second part of this season when it arrives on 3 September.

She won an Academy Award for her contribution to the A Star Is Born soundtrack (and snagged an additional nomination for her performance as Ally in the film itself), and has gone on to land starring roles in Joker: Folie à Deux and the 2021 series House Of Gucci.

Gaga previously led the fifth season of American Horror Story back in 2015, winning a Golden Globe in the process, before returning to play the witch Scáthach in the the following year’s series.

Haley Joel Osment

Former child actor Haley Joel Osment guest stars in the first episode of season two as a serial killer known as the Kansas City Scalper.

You may well still be a little traumatised from his performance in The Sixth Sense (for which he received an Oscar nomination) with Bruce Willis. He also delivered a hugely moving performance in A.I. Artificial Intelligence.

As an adult, you might have watched him in Blink Twice, Sex Ed, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil And Vile and, much more recently, Happy Gilmore 2.

Heather Matarazzo

All millennials likely did a double take when they spotted Heather Matarazzo in the new season as Dr. Fairburn’s righthand woman Judi – who is best known to many of us for playing Mia’s best friend Lily Moskowitz in The Princess Diaries.

Her other credits include Welcome to the Dollhouse, Saved!, The Devil’s Advocate and Hostel: Part II.

Frances O’Connor

Another season two guest star is Frances O’Connor, who is, funnily enough, another A.I. Artificial Intelligence alum, previously playing Haley Joel Osment’s mum in the Spielberg movie.

Frances has also been seen in the 1999 adaptation of Mansfield Park, The Conjuring 2, Mr. Selfridge and The End.

Owen Painter

You might not recognise him in his Slurp zombie get-up in Wednesday, but Owen’s resume includes a small role as a border control guard in The Handmaid’s Tale and a young Lucas in Tiny Beautiful Things.

Evie Templeton

Nevermore student Agnes DeMille, a superfan of Wednesday’s, is set to make Evie Templeton one of the breakout stars of season two.

Wednesday is Evie’s biggest acting gig to date, but she’s also had small roles in Criminal Record, Life After Life and Robert Zemeckis’ reimagining of Disney’s Pinocchio.

Freaky Friday: 14 Things You Probably Never Knew About The Disney Classic

Posted on 09/08/2025 by Boris Clair

A version of this article was previously published in 2021.

After teasing us for literally decades, a sequel to Freaky Friday finally arrived in cinemas this week, reuniting the 2003 classic’s original leads Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis, alongside a number of other familiar faces.

The original film (which itself was a remake of a successful Disney live-action film from the 1970s) centres around a quarrelling mother-daughter duo who switch bodies once a spell takes effect, with unexpected consequences.

So far, the remake has been well-received by critics, many of whom have hailed it as a worthy successor to the first instalment that so many of us already knew and loved.

In honour of the sequel’s release, we’ve rounded up 14 facts you probably never knew about the hit movie…

Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis in Freaky Friday

1. Lindsay’s character was originally supposed to be a goth

When the Parent Trap star read the original script, she thought Anna’s character was a bit too scruffy. “There was nothing there, no one can relate to the character when she’s really goth,” she told Vanity Fair in 2006.

To recreate her own envision, LiLo turned up to the audition dressed extremely preppy, which worked to her benefit as the character was rewritten.

2. The shots in the opening credits are actual photos of Jamie Lee Curtis and her daughter Annie Guest

We all love a fake snapshot or two at the beginning of a film, but who knew the photos at the start of Freaky Friday captured true moments from Jamie Lee’s real life?

One sees her daughter as a toddler laying on her mother’s back, with her arms tightly placed around her neck.

3. Lindsay had to give Jamie Lee precise lessons on how to say ‘shut up’

During a promotional interview on YouTube, the Everything, Everywhere All At Once actor admitted to needing help from her then-teenage co-star with the specific way she said “shut up!”.

“There’s a way she says ‘shut up’ that I couldn’t get. She had to give me a ‘shut up’ tutorial because it’s a very specific way,” Jamie Lee said.

Meanwhile, Jamie Lee, who was raising 16-year-old daughter Annie Guest at the time, claimed that starring in this film with a young person helped her see things from her child’s point of view.

“I think I probably have a judgmental bitch badge that I put on because I can be harsh, and I think that walking a mile in some very uncomfortable teenage shoes gave me the opportunity to see what it’s like on the other side,” she said.

4. Gwen Stefani was offered a role as a member of the band

According to IMDB, the US singer was offered a role as a member of Anna’s band, but sadly we didn’t get to see that happen – although we think she would have been a perfect addition to that cast.

5. Michelle Trachtenberg was supposed to be Anna

The Ice Princess star was first to be cast as the mouthy teenager, but had to back out of the project due to her her contract with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where she played Dawn Summers.

This was actually the second film Michelle turned down in which LiLo later landed the lead gig – the first being The Parent Trap in 1998, in which Lindsay made her name.

6. Kelly Osbourne also auditioned for the role

The star, known for her family reality show The Osbournes, was also offered the part of Anna after auditioning, but had to pull out after her mother Sharon was diagnosed with cancer.

Kelly later described how people told her it was the biggest mistake of her career, due to the success of the film.

7. Meanwhile, Madonna reportedly had her eye on the role of Tess

Madonna in 2003, the year Freaky Friday was released

Jodie Foster was the first pick, having played the teenage daughter in Disney’s first Freaky Friday movie, and when she declined the role, it went to Annette Bening.

However, Annette departed the project due to scheduling issues, while the American Beauty star reportedly also had “anxious” feelings about the script.

8. Because of this, Jamie Lee Curtis was actually cast just days before shooting began

Still, it was obviously a case of the stars aligning, as Jamie Lee and Lindsay’s chemistry was undeniable, and they’ve spoken highly about one another repeatedly over the decades.

9. Lindsay Lohan’s real mum also made an appearance in the movie

LiLo’s mum Dina can be seen in the final scene where Anna is dancing with Jake. Dina is in the background dancing with an older man, but there is an awkward moment where she is seen looking directly at the camera.

10. The famous Anna and Tess collision scene is similar to a scene in Bewitched

Anna and Tess’ idea to collide at full force in an attempt to reverse the spell is similar to a scene in 1966′s Bewitched: Divided He Falls, where Darrin is split into two people and Endora suggests he do the same to break the spell.

However, in this scene, the trick had the desired effect.

11. Lindsay had her first on-screen kiss in Freaky Friday

In a behind the scene YouTube clip, Lindsay admitted that the kiss she shared with co-star Chad Michael Murray was the first she had done on screen.

12. The film paid homage to Jamie Lee Curtis’ mother

A character named Mr Bates appears in the film as a tribute to the actor’s mother, Janet Leigh who is best known for her performance in the 1960 film Psycho.

Mr Bates is a reference to Norman Bates’ character in the classic movie.

13. A member of the band Orgy instructed Jamie on how to play the guitar for the last scene

Orgy, an American rock band formed in 1994, offered up one of their members to teach Jamie Lee how to play the guitar, and although the actor practiced making the concert scene look as authentic as possible, a studio musician dubbed over the guitar solo in the finished film.

14. Freaky Friday is actually based on Mary Rodgers’ 1972 novel of the same name

Rodgers’ story was adapted many times, including the original Disney version in 1976, which starred future Oscar winner Jodie Foster in her child actor years.

In 2020, it was the source for the movie Freaky, which focuses on a teenage girl who unintentionally swaps bodies with a middle-aged male serial killer.

Missing And Just Like That Already? This Forgotten Sex And The City Spin-Off Is Also Streaming

Posted on 09/08/2025 by Boris Clair

After three seasons of bed-wetting, street vomit, vertigo-induced falls, botched phone sex, “Miraaaaanda”, penis pumps, characters being brought back from the dead only to be killed off again, puppetry-inspired masturbation, “the woman wondered what she had gotten herself into”, “I’ve done a ton of weed” and more than double the amount of Bitsy Von Muffling than we ever got in Sex And The City, it’s almost time to say goodbye to TV’s most chaotic spin-off, And Just Like That.

Next week, the polarising reboot will come to an end with its last ever episode, which will see Sarah Jessica Parker hanging up her Manolos for good and making her last on-screen appearance as Carrie Bradshaw.

It’s no secret that And Just Like That was never exactly a hit with critics, but we still can’t help feeling a little sad at the prospect of never seeing the characters we’ve loved since Sex And The City – and Nicole Ari Parker as LTW, for that matter! – again.

However, what you might not realise is that And Just Like That isn’t the only show set in the Sex And The City universe that’s available to stream now.

If you’re looking for something to stream once And Just Like That is over, you might want to check out this other Sex And The City spin-off

AnnaSophia Robb on the set of The Carrie Diaries in 2012

While it received little fanfare at the time, in 2013, The Carrie Diaries reintroduced the future columnist and TV icon as a high school student.

Set in the mid-80s and based on Candace Bushnell’s book of the same name, the criminally-underrated series saw AnnaSophia Robb playing the character in her younger years, as she navigated first love and finding her place in the world.

The first season also introduced viewers to Carrie’s first group of girlfriends, as well as her first crush, played by a young Austin Butler a decade before he’d have his breakthrough in movies like Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Elvis and Dune: Part Two.

Admittedly, The Carrie Diaries is a teen drama, meaning the action is a little more youth-oriented than anything showcased in Sex And The City or And Just Like That.

Still, for Sex And The City fans, we’d still consider giving it a whirl. For one thing, AnnaSophia clearly did her homework when it came to playing Carrie – her mannerisms are endearingly SJP-esque, and if you’re a fan of the character’s fashion, you’ll love seeing the young character experimenting with her personal style set against the backdrop of the 80s.

The cast of The Carrie Diaries, including AnnaSophia Robb, Austin Butler and Freema Agyeman

It’s also heartwarming seeing Carrie’s love for her future home in New York blossom over time, especially in season two, when the character makes her very first foray into journalism as an intern for Interview magazine.

The second season also introduces a fabulous new addition in the form of Lindsey Gort’s lovingly-crafted interpretation of Samantha Jones.

If you’re intrigued, the whole show is streaming for free on ITVX in the UK.

Lindsey Gort and AnnaSophia Robb as Samantha Jones and Carrie Bradshaw on the set of The Carrie Diaries in 2013

When will the final episode of And Just Like That be available to stream?

The And Just Like That will premiere in the US on Thursday 14 August at 9pm ET on the streaming platform HBO Max.

After that, it will be available to stream on Now and Sky in the UK from around 2am on Friday 15 August (just in case you want to set your alarm and see it before it’s spoiled for you!).

Where can I stream Sex And The City and its spin-off films?

Like And Just Like That, Sex And The City is also available to watch on Now and Sky in the UK, as is Divorce, another SJP project featuring brief appearances from several And Just Like That cast members.

Meanwhile, the Sex And The City movie and its much-derided sequels are both currently on Netflix.

Scientists reveal Alaska could get up to two minutes’ warning before the next big quake

Posted on 09/08/2025 by Boris Clair

For a wide variety of earthquake scenarios in Alaska, an earthquake early warning (EEW) system could provide at least 10 seconds of warning time for hazardous shaking, according to a new report.

Increasing the density and improving the spacing of seismic stations around the state could add 5 to 15 seconds to these estimated warning times, write Alexander Fozkos and Michael West at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Alaska experiences tens of thousands of earthquakes each year, and has been the site some of the world’s largest and most destructive seismic events.

The study’s findings published in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America could help lay the groundwork for the expansion of the U.S. ShakeAlert earthquake early warning system, which now covers California, Oregon and Washington State.

“There were a lot of studies before EEW was widely available on the West Coast, where people were looking at different scenarios,” said Fozkos. “So we wanted a similar kind of science up here with numbers that are Alaska specific.”

For earthquakes along well-known faults in southcentral and southeast coastal Alaska, Fozkos and West estimated potential warning times of 10 to 120 seconds for magnitude 8.3 scenarios.

For magnitude 7.3 earthquake scenarios in crustal faults in interior and southcentral Alaska, the researchers estimated potential warning times ranging from 0 to 44 seconds.

And for a set of magnitude 7.8 earthquake scenarios along the dip of the subducting slab beneath Alaska, estimated warning times ranged from 0 to 73 seconds.

“I was expecting decent warning times along the coast and for most of the subduction zone events,” said Fozkos, because there is dense seismic station coverage in these areas. “I was not expecting decent warning times for the shallow crustal events, so that was the biggest surprise to me.”

The scenarios used in the study vary in earthquake magnitude, depth, location and fault style — all of which impacted warning times. The researchers’ models estimated how many seconds after an earthquake’s origin the quake could be detected, how many seconds after origin time an alert could be available, and minimum and maximum warning times at a location.

Warning times were defined as the time difference between the time of the alert and the time that peak ground motion from an earthquake arrived at a location. This definition differs from a more common definition used in EEW systems, which ties warning time to the arrival of the initial S-wave or shear wave of an earthquake.

The researchers wanted to use peak ground motion instead, to create a warning time measurement that might be more relevant to people as they respond to an earthquake. The initial S-wave may not always cause significant ground motion, and strong shaking can arrive tens of seconds after the initial S-wave in large earthquakes, they explain.

The study doesn’t analyze “the time it takes to disseminate the alert — the time it actually takes to send the alert from a radio tower or from a satellite to somebody’s phone and then for them to take out their phone and react to it,” Fozkos noted.

The potential lag time in transmitting data and sharing an alert with the public “could be a big challenge for Alaska, but I don’t think it’s going to be insurmountable,” he added.

The harsh Alaskan winters and wilderness locations of some seismic stations could also be challenging for an early warning system, if stations go down and can’t be repaired quickly. “I think there is definitely a need for adding stations to cover redundancy for remote stations,” Fozkos said.

Ocean-bottom seismometers (OBS) and more earthquake detection via distributed acoustic sensing or DAS would also be welcome additions to a warning system, he added. “Coupled with the fact that some of our biggest earthquakes are going to be offshore, tsunamigenic threats, I think OBS and DAS are probably big targets for the future.”

Why sunshine makes us feel good

Posted on 08/08/2025 by Boris Clair

BBC Weather presenter Alexandra Humphreys explains the benefits of getting some rays.