David_Blazier

Former US Army 31N/29J/29K and 31B. Reformed media elite.

[Matt Van Swol @mattvanswol]

In 1952, an English teacher named Cecil Dormand secretly paid for a dirt-poor 11-year-old to take a drama course.

He never told him and the boy didn’t find out until decades later.

By then, he was a knight, that little boy’s name was Patrick Stewart.

He was born into a poor family in Mirfield, a small mill town in Yorkshire and his father came home from World War II a violent man, and he was violent toward Patrick’s mother.

Young Patrick learned exactly when to step between his father’s fist and his mother.

An English teacher put a copy of Shakespeare in his hand and told him to get up and perform.

He never stopped and left school at 15.

By 19 he was completely bald... most agencies told him he'd never make it because of that.

In 1987, the LA Times called him an “unknown British Shakespearean actor” when he was cast as Captain Picard.

Then he became one of the most famous faces on Earth.

You’ve probably heard that part.

Here’s the part you haven’t:

He spent decades as a patron of Refuge, sheltering women and children from domestic violence.

But he never stopped trying to understand his father.

He dug up a 1940 newspaper clipping that said his dad had come home with severe shell shock.

He went to France and walked the ground where his father’s unit was pinned down under bombing for hours.

He learned his father had PTSD, and nobody ever helped him.

So Patrick became an ambassador for Combat Stress, a charity that helps veterans.

In 2013, a young woman at a Texas convention told him she was a survivor of domestic violence.

He asked, “My dear, are you okay?”

Then he hopped off the stage, held her, and told her: “You never have to go through that again, you’re safe now.”

At Dragon Con, a Make-A-Wish girl dressed as Spock came to meet him.

2,000 people were waiting for him to speak... he sat down and talked with her for 15 minutes, making all of them wait.

He told her that since they were friends now, whenever she saw him on screen she could wave and say, “Hello Patrick.”

After 9/11, he felt helpless, so he brought his one-man A Christmas Carol back to Broadway for a full week of charity shows.

He played every character himself and donated every cent.

In 2019 he did it again, and every dollar went to feeding hungry New Yorkers.

In 2017, he fostered a pit bull named Ginger, who had been rescued from a dogfighting ring.

She was his first dog in more than 50 years.

He couldn’t bring her home to England, so he found her a family.

Then he kept fostering more.

When he said he was done with Star Trek so many people told him the show had gotten them through the hardest times of their lives.

So he wanted to see if Picard could do it one more time.

Rest in Peace, Sir Patrick 🖖

[The Ways of A Gentleman @Gentleman_Ways]

You know a man is something special when Charles Barkley gets choked up talking about him.

In 1991 an orphanage worker in Romania told Ernie Johnson's wife, "Don't take this boy, he's no good." Ernie said, "Then bring him home."

Their son Michael had muscular dystrophy and lived on a ventilator. For years Ernie bathed him, shaved him, and told him he loved him every single day. Michael passed away in 2021 at 33.

That is what kind of man Ernie Johnson is. That is what true love looks like.

Ladies and gentlemen, that is a gentleman.

[ABC News @ABC]

The PHP development team is urging users to update immediately after fixing two critical vulnerabilities, rated 9.2 out of 10 in terms of danger, that if exploited could allow attackers to take over internet servers.

Read more: https://t.co/oxHRduD3Cm

[WBRZ News @WBRZ]

More than three times as many fans attended the Baton Rouge Kingfish's home opener as the Baton Rouge Zydeco's last home opener, a spokesperson for the River Center told WBRZ.
https://t.co/ddjtp3ZWHz

[Paul Bronks @SlenderSherbet]

"How's your diet going?"

"Fuck off"

[David Gura @davidgura]

Today, Robert E. Hall was awarded the 2026 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.

This is from a statement he released after the announcement:

[David_Blazier @batonrougezone]

@TepidButterASMR Aw, damn. Now I understand why no one wants to meet with me anymore.

[Rob Levine @roblevine82]

Gonna be a tough judging contest for Pictures of the Year. Look at these goofballs

[Akilah Hughes @AkilahObviously]

A guy lighting up a cig on stage while receiving the video vanguard award is the closest this program will get to art tonight I fear. #VMAs

[WBRZ News @WBRZ]

This week on Sunday Journal, WBRZ's John Pastorek takes a walk through country music history in Denham Springs. https://t.co/8y6U3FA5Xy

[Kenny Webster @KennethRWebster]

In case y’all were wondering, our silly little standup comedy show brought in about $70,000 this weekend for disabled military veterans.

Special thanks to Todd Archer from Archer Kia, Field Trash Apparel, The Howells, Ann & Peter Perez, Steve & Christine Johnson, Kenny Duncan jr at US Coins, and everyone who attended. 100% of your donation will go towards providing a custom wheelchair to an American hero.

Extra special thanks to all the comics! Christian Alexander, May Gayton, Nathaniel Amador, Srsly Melissa, Harrison Loftin, Jordan Cavarubbio, and Darius G!

As always, you can support this great cause at https://t.co/0GD8bqbac3

[Nature Unedited @NatureUnedited]

These cats were put in separate cages because they kept fighting

[WBRZ News @WBRZ]

10 years after the flood that killed more than a dozen people, John Pastorek takes a look back.

Watch the full story: https://t.co/5BblZgJqFv

[Merriam-Webster @MerriamWebster]

PIN Number
ATM Machine
UPC Code
LCD Display

We regret to inform you that this phenomenon has a name: RAS Syndrome.

Redundant Acronym Syndrome…Syndrome.

[Katie Rogers @katierogers]

Claire Fletcher, fianceé of 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, killed in Jordan, sent a statement about him.
A Ted Lasso fan, he believed every person desrved dignity. "It never mattered to him what someone's past was, their financial situation, their race, their gender or their rank."

[They Might Be Giants @tmbg]

Boom goes the dynamite. #knicksinfive

[NO CONTEXT HUMANS @HumansNoContext]

In a world where you can be anything, be a number 50

[The Husky @Mr_Husky1]

A 24-year-old Polish tennis player arrived in Paris last week ranked 114th in the world, with no sponsors, no guaranteed income, and no certainty she could even pay for her hotel room.

She had to win three qualifying matches just to enter the French Open main draw. Prize money is only paid at the end of the tournament, so a Polish sports drink brand quietly stepped in and covered her hotel bill.

Her name is Maja Chwalinska. And today, she plays in the French Open final.

Before this tournament, she had won exactly one Grand Slam main draw match in her entire career. She had battled depression so severe that in 2021 she couldn't get out of bed. She underwent knee surgery in 2022. She spent years grinding through small tournaments across Europe just to stay afloat.

Then she arrived in Paris, won three qualifiers, and kept winning. Zheng Qinwen. Elise Mertens. Maria Sakkari. Diana Shnaider. Nine straight matches. One set dropped.

She is now the first qualifier in French Open history to reach the final. The last time a qualifier reached a Grand Slam final, it was Emma Raducanu at the 2021 US Open. Raducanu won.

By simply making the final, Chwalinska has earned more prize money than her entire career combined. The runner-up cheque alone is $1.6 million. If she wins today, she takes home $3.25 million.
One week ago she couldn't pay for her hotel room.

[Noam Blum @neontaster]

Have one of the squares contain only a few pixels of the bicycle and make him fail the test whether he clicks on it or not.