Let’s face it: Being a Muslim at Christmas time is tough.
E! / Giphy
“Did you even have a childhood?”
Via blogger.com
For decades, the U.S. embargo against Cuba has torn apart families like mine.
My mother embracing her Cuban cousin for the first time in nearly 50 years.
Miguel Piedra
I'm 39 years old, a Miami native whose Cuban parents came to America as teenagers fleeing the harsh realities of Cuba's totalitarian socialist system. Arriving in the U.S. with little more than the clothes on their backs, my parents and grandparents have lived nearly 50 years in limbo, leading a life in mourning. What was supposed to be a temporary diaspora in el exilio has dragged on for nearly five decades. That is the unspoken truth of life as a Cuban exile.
And while I observe the debate surrounding President Obama's decision to relax the embargo against Cuba, I am reminded that the only embargo that truly exists is a human embargo — the one that has torn apart thousands of families like mine. The professional pundits from Washington to Havana and the amateur ones from El Malecon to Calle Ocho can continue to dissect and contradict each other on the embargo's perceived successes or failures. I, however, know this embargo has failed my family.
Each day, tens of thousands of U.S. dollars and goods are couriered to Havana by mulos, or human mules who earn their living transporting much-needed clothing, shoes, electronics, and assorted sundries across the Florida straits. Yet, for my 95-year-old grandfather, Luis "Pipo" Moreno, the ideological divide between him and his family, who he believes "chose" to stay, calcified into his own personal iron curtain. In his eyes, they were no longer family. They grew to represent the very system that he despised. When he left Havana on that gloomy October day in 1966 he pledged he would never return — a promise I fear he will keep.
Last weekend, my heart was shaken to its core as I witnessed my grandparents come face-to-face with the legacy of this embargo and the pain of their own divided family. As I was leaving my grandparents' house in Miami during one of our regular weekend visits, an unfamiliar car pulled up to the curb and asked me if Luis Moreno lived there. I was confused as to why someone would ask if this was his house — they don't usually have visitors, and those who do stop by to check in on them know they have lived there for the past 47 years.
My grandfather's mind has been slowly eroded by the effects of dementia, and I watched as he struggled to reconcile what was happening. His beloved niece Nancy, who he partly raised until the age of 15, got out of the car. He hadn't seen or spoken to her since 1966, and if she hadn't been fortunate enough to receive approval for a temporary two-month travel visa to the U.S., she would have continued to be nothing more than a distant memory to him.
Nancy is no longer his fresh-faced niña linda. She is now a 63-year-old woman showing wear from a life spent trying to survive in Cuba. As he stood there staring into her eyes, unsure of who she was, I felt that deep down he somehow knew she once held a very special place in his heart.
While the scene unfolded, my grandmother, who was standing just feet away, could not connect the dots in her stroke-addled brain. In frustration or maybe in fear, she broke down in tears because she simply couldn't remember the connection.
This was all too much for Nancy to take in; she later told me that she had little hope of finding his house and even less hope that he would still be alive. At 92, her dad, my grandfather's younger brother, saw her off just a day earlier with only one wish, which she recounted:
"Nancy, mi amor, espero que puedas abrazar a mi querido hermano, Luis, y a mi bella hermana Bellita — algo que yo sé que nunca voy a poder hacer otravez." His only wish was for his daughter to embrace his beloved brother, my grandfather, and his beautiful sister-in-law Bellita, my grandmother, as he knows he never will.
This reunion was gut-wrenching and heartwarming at the same time, but I wasn't prepared for my mom's reaction when she saw Nancy for the first time. My mom, an only child, was raised with Nancy and saw her as more of a sister than a cousin. Their reunion needed no words. The long embrace was raw and long overdue.
So, while I may have been born in the U.S., and feel a deep allegiance to this country, my heart still bleeds Cuban. And as a son of exiles, I am not afraid to say I don't care where you stand on the Cuban embargo, because I choose to stand with families like mine, being reunited, no longer divided.
Don’t let us KRAMP your style. lol. Sorry.
Handsome, right? Notice the child in his nifty backpack.
Adult Swim / Via minus.com
THE BOSS OF EATING KIDDOS.
pandemicpicnic.tumblr.com / Via tumblr.com
YouTube sensation and advocate for LGBTQ youth, Tyler Oakley has been a common name among the internet for years. But 2014 was the year he topped his game.
Being gay himself, Tyler has always frequently voiced his opinion over the issues the LGBTQ community has faced. Most popular is his heated Twitter exchange with One Direction's Liam Payne. Although this came with backlash from fans, Tyler's passion for the cause goes without hindering.
Tyler has helped many teens and youth through his videos, and he is actively seen as a resource for many who struggle to be themselves. You go, Glen Coco. You go.
Via http://tumblr.com
Tyler started 2014 with a little over 3.5 million people subscribed to his YouTube channel. He hit 6 million subscribers December of 2014.
Please send me your secrets.
YouTube / Via http://google.com
Tyler was invited, along with YouTube hero Hannah Hart, to the White House in early March 2014. The dynamic duo sat down across from President Obama himself and talked real issues, including same-sex marriage and suicide - both of which are extremely important to both Ty and Hannah.
Seriously, though. Imagine just living your life on YouTube and the President of the USA calls you up like, "Hey, wanna hang out?" Too much. It's too much.
Via http://google.com
Tyler won his first Teen Choice Award as Teen Choice Web Star: Male. He was nominated alongside besties Troye Sivan and Connor Franta. Why couldn't everybody get a prize? BRB, I'm crying.
YouTube / Via http://tumblr.com
“I thought I was tall until today.”
youtube.com / Via BuzzFeedVideo
Aaron Davidson / Via gettyimages.com
Via youtube.com
Via youtube.com
Let’s just take that nice moment…and ruin it.
Unless you get amnesia.
Studio Ghibli / Via frikinburrito.tumblr.com
So I don't have to do my laundry anymore.
Touchstone Pictures / Via thestarksfell.tumblr.com
Too bad you let him freeze to death.
Paramount Pictures / Via http://sierrafader.tumblr.com
...unless it's kinky. Then, no.
New Line Cinema / Via http://kcgraphics.tumblr.com
But first, let me take an elfie.
Jarry Lee / BuzzFeed
Jarry Lee / BuzzFeed
Jarry Lee / BuzzFeed
Jarry Lee / BuzzFeed
Tis the season to be judgy!
Disney/ infinitespacepr.com
Disney/ http://Disney/disney.wikia.com
Disney/ http://Disney/disney.wikia.com
That superhero bass.
Lyrics from "Want Some More."
DC Comics / Via coverbrowser.com
Lyrics from "HOV Lane."
DC Comics / Via coverbrowser.com
Lyrics from "Dance (A$$)" (Remix).
DC Comics / Via coverbrowser.com
Lyrics from "Pound the Alarm."
DC Comics / Via coverbrowser.com
“I can’t be proud of everything I’ve written on Facebook.”
Deck the halls with terrible puns.
Getty Images Ryan McVay
Getty Images Ryan McVay
Getty Images/Ron Chapple Studios RF Ron Chapple Stock
Getty Images/iStockphoto AlexRaths
This year I asked Santa to bring me a cake full of bourbon.
Do not, under any circumstances, skip the peppermint Kahlua. Get the recipe.
Stupid easy, because you use cake mix, but still classy as heck. Get the recipe.
Booze in the pastry, chocolate in the middle. Get the recipe.
Teaching assistants do more than just enhance comprehension of the material.
The year that had it all.
Don’t let the door hit you where the network split you. Presented in alphabetical order.
Number of Episodes: 13
Final Episode Aired: March 3
Was gonna be the next Fringe... or so Fox kept telling us.
Fox
Number of Episodes: 100
Final Episode Aired: Dec. 22
100 episodes too many.
FX
Number of Episodes: 62
Final Episode Aired: March 21
BuzzFeed's Deputy Entertainment Editor, Jaimie Etkin, is the only adult upset that this show was canceled. (Editor's note: Only because little Disney Channel star China Anne McClain has such a good voice!)
Disney Channel
Number of Episodes: 158
Final Episode Aired: May 21
Second time isn't always the charm.
Paramount
Looking for a little help figuring this parenting thing out? Then the BuzzFeed Parents newsletter is for you!
LINK: Get A Helping Hand From The BuzzFeed Parents Newsletter!
Is that a present under the tree or are you happy to see me?
Ben Affleck assumes the identity of someone he met in prison and beds Charlize Theron.
What's Sexy?: Ben Affleck in bed with Charlize Theron. Duh.
Can You Watch With Your Parents?: Probably. Sure.
Miramax
Bruce Willis saves his wife and Christmas partygoers from a terrorist.
What's Sexy?: Bruce Willis' ARMS for one. And he's glistening with sweat the entire movie. In that tank top.
Can You Watch With Your Parents?: They're probably already watching it.
20th Century Fox
Batman fends off Catwoman and the Penguin as they try to take over Gotham City.
What's Sexy?: Michelle Pfieffer and Michael Keaton gave you a sexy leather fetish two decades before American Horror Story did.
Can You Watch With Your Parents?: They probably took you to see when you were a kid, they'll appreciate the nostalgia.
Warner Bros.
A bunch of people fall in love because it's Christmas or something.
What's Sexy?: Rodrigo Santoro. Mmmmm.
Can You Watch With Your Parents?: You shouldn't watch it at all because it's a lame movie, but if you're into this sort of thing, whatever.
Universal Pictures
If you missed The Wire the first go-round, HBO Signature will marathon all five seasons starting Dec. 26. Cast members talk to BuzzFeed News about why the show was ahead of its time.
Michael K. Williams as Omar Little on The Wire
HBO
In the summer of 2003, Andre Royo, known to fans of HBO's The Wire as recovering heroin addict and Baltimore police informant Bubbles, was standing in a buffet line fixing himself a plate at a party for the premium cabler in New York, when he saw Mark Wahlberg making his way toward him.
At the time, the middle of the second season of The Wire was airing, and the actor was at the event to toast the launch of another HBO series, Entourage, which Wahlberg produced.
"I was like, oh shit! Mark Wahlberg's coming up to me!" Royo told BuzzFeed News via phone, recalling the glint of familiarity in Wahlberg's eyes. "And he came up to me, and he was like, 'Hey, you've got a good job now. I hope you appreciate your position right now. You better stay clean and take advantage of this moment.'"
Royo was momentarily confused. "I'm like, 'What are you talking about? I'm an actor. I've been doing theater for a little while.' And he was like, 'Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you was a real junkie. I thought they found somebody on the street and they gave him a part. My bad,'" Royo remembered. "He definitely took a step back."
Wahlberg's mistake was genuine — and common. By that time, fans of The Wire knew that creator David Simon often mixed real-life people into each episode, including some addicts — some were extras, others had a couple of lines. And that ultimately made Royo and his Wire colleagues feel accountable. "I felt like, I have to tell this story the right way, because this motherfucker is standing right next to me. And I'm not trying to make fun of this motherfucker. I'm trying to tell his story," Royo said. "So, you know, I think Wahlberg just thought I was one of those guys they found in Baltimore and gave me a job."
Ultimately, Royo took Wahlberg's confusion as a sign that, clearly, he was doing something right: He knew then that he was turning out the authentic performances he strived to bring to the screen.
Leo Fitzpatrick as Johnny Weeks and Andre Royo as Bubbles on The Wire.
HBO
But that also was the problem with the series, which ran on HBO for five seasons, from 2002 to 2008. It was gripping, but it gut-punched viewers in a way that perhaps no other TV show had done at the time. It was too real. It played out like a reality TV show you desperately wanted cancelled. It was ahead of its time. Unlike other cop dramas, The Wire wasn't a procedural, nor was there the promise of a happy ending, tied up in a nice pretty red bow. The Wire was the kind of show that was scarier to watch than the nightly news.
Though it was that type of authenticity that made The Wire one of the greatest shows on TV, it also hindered the series's success. At its peak, The Wire was able to grab 4 million viewers, but by Season 5, it dipped below 1 million.
Now, however, audiences have another chance to see the series that was perhaps born and gone too soon. HBO is bringing back The Wire this week with a marathon of a remastered HD cut that will air on HBO Signature. Starting Friday, Dec. 26, one season will air per day, and the complete series will be available to purchase on Digital HD on Jan. 5 and on Blu-ray sometime next summer.
But Royo understands why people didn't tune in during The Wire's original run. "When I come home, I don't want to see my misery, you know what I mean? When I turn the TV on, I want to escape my problems. I want to be entertained. TV is called the idiot box for a reason. I don't want to see the bleak and the problems that I go through every day," he said. "I think people were too engulfed by seeing such honesty, you know? They want to laugh — they want to have a sitcom. They want to see somebody else's story."
Though The Wire was set in Baltimore, it felt familiar to many viewers nationally: The struggles reflected in the series easily could have happened (and quite frankly, are still happening) in many other major cities in urban decay. To others who couldn't relate, The Wire was a glimpse into a saltier side of life, leaving no angle untouched. In a crime show, audiences are used to seeing that, ultimately, the bad guys get their due. But that rarely happened on The Wire.
"People want good news," actor Jamie Hector, who portrayed The Wire's most menacing drug dealer, Marlo Stanfield, told BuzzFeed News in a phone interview. "People watched and were like, can a dude like Marlo really exist? Yeah. He can. He's a sociopath. And that was scary."
