Surfline has webcams live-streaming continuously all across the globe, primarily to check surf conditions. But recently their Ventura Point cam captured two glowing structures hovering above the ocean in the morning darkness. Then the two objects turned into a multitude, while another cam caught a beam of light shining down on the ocean. Surfer magazine editor Dashel Pierson wonders: What's going on? Kevin Randle then looks at some Coast-to-Coast AM Sightings for December 5, 2025. Kevin has links to the National UFO Reporting Center website for North Carolina, Connecticut, and Edmonton, Alberta Canada cases. Speaking of the C2C website, its Tim Binnall describes an instance where an Illinois Driver Spots UFO Frightening Wildlife. This recalls an element in the Connecticut sighting that Kevin had covered. Tim reminds us that the UFO problem transcends international borders while asking whether Fer Valderrama Marin photographed a Flying Saucer Found on Side of Chilean Mountain? The Valle del Limarí is an "emerging tourist destination" featuring picturesque landscape, archaeological, and wine interests. It also promotes stargazing—and just perhaps something from Out There came to visit for one or more of these mentioned attractions. If U.S. visitors go there, future YouGov polling might increase the percentages, but as of now Half of Americans Believe Aliens Have Visited Earth. Or maybe they won't go to that location, as Data Analyst Jamie Ballard says "Americans are more likely to believe alien encounters would have a negative effect on human civilization than to think it would have a positive effect." (WM)

Research has shown that approximately 5% of all Americans have experienced an NDE, which in most cases is life changing. Unfortunately, support for these experiencers has been lacking, often leaving experiencers isolated from their family and friends. But now the UVA School of Medicine in partnership with UVA's Division of Perceptual Studies is exploring counseling and support for the people going through these profound changes. On a slightly different note, we have Spontaneous Memories of Past Lives with Kelvin Chin. A "longtime meditation teacher, executive and author," Chin discusses how he spontaneously remembered a series of past lives over a span of about 10 years, utilizing meditation and deep relaxation techniques. He believes these experiences help us to understand the Afterlife and reduce the fear of death. (CM)

Answering the question of whether or not mountain lions exist in the northeastern US is a complicated endeavor. Certainly large cats have been found in this area but they appear to have been loners whose origins were unknown.  What is certain, however, is the absence of a breeding population, due to their being hunted to (near?) extinction in the past. Perhaps the question that requires answering is whether or not mountain lions should be reintroduced to the area. Next, is this the First Evidence of Wolves Using Tools in the Wild? Footage obtained by a webcam in the Haíɫzaqv Nation of British Columbia shows a wolf raiding a crab trap to get to the bait inside. Is this "tool use" or just clever canine behavior? It's impressive and anyone who has a dog at home who gets into things he shouldn't is going to notice the similarities. (CM)

Michaela Towfighi takes us down a journey to the Past Remembered with this retelling of the 1961 Barney and Betty Hill abduction and its commemoration by an official green historical New Hampshire highway marker, the University of New Hampshire, and local businesses. John Tully's visuals add to the many nice touches in Towfighi's article. UFO Talker Michael Ryan's contribution to our time machine-ride follows the question Why Was the Canadian Military So Interested in a UFO Encounter in Vidora, Saskatchewan?. It's not just the interesting story, one of many Michael has disinterred from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police files; it's also the high-ranking of the RCMP officers concerned with the case. Commentator Christine Scott reviews Ralph Blumenthal's The Believer: Alien Encounters, Hard Science, and the Passion of John Mack. December 9th is the 60th anniversary of an iconic UFO case, and Stan Gordon headlines WTAE TV (Pittsburgh) News Anchor Locates Archival Film Footage from 1965 Concerning the Kecksburg UFO Incident. Emmy Award-winning Michelle Wright and the station's archive manager made the discovery, as Stan relates. And a Trove of James E. McDonald UAP Related Material has been uploaded to a Princeton University server. Keith Basterfield thus announces while describing the contents of "the largest online collection of James E. McDonald's work of which I am aware." UFO history lives! (WM)

You've probably heard the saying "Pics or it didn't happen." But what if the "pics" raise more questions than they answer? Writer, director, and producer Paul Davids offers his family photo from 1940, which clearly illustrates what we're talking about. It's a photo of a couple that contains an inexplicable double exposure of two children not yet born, an unidentified blond woman, and an age progression of one of the subjects. Moving on to another photographic anomaly, Nensha in the 1980's looks at thoughtography, the attempt to project thoughts onto photographic media. Nensha, as it was called, captured the imagination even in the infancy of photography, although the most notable time was in 1913 in Japan when a psychology professor destroyed his career by publishing his findings (as often happens in the serious study of anything remotely controversial). However, the fascination with thoughtography lives on, reports Shanon Taggart. Makes us want to pull out our old cameras to see what we can accomplish. (CM)

Guest Host Debra Lynne Katz chats with the producer of Dark Alliance and over a dozen other films on paranormal topics, covering a variety of interesting subjects and especially commenting on the need for critical thinking. This applies in producing content for an audience, and even more for individuals evaluating the information they are being given, and its sources—especially those purveying that content. Such vetting is especially important when learning and practicing some of the procedures involved. Speaking of interesting individuals, we're informed that "Stranger at the Pentagon" Feature Film Enters Pre-Production Phase. The effort to bring Dr. Frank E. Stranges legendary story of Valiant Thor to cinema audiences is looking for contributions. Writing for OSV News, Robert Duncan reports that a Catholic Filmmaker Investigates UFO Mysteries at the Vatican. Sam Sorich intends a documentary to "lay out the claims, the facts" to UFO reality, then explore "what it would mean for believers if it turned out to be true." Sounds like Sorich isn't getting a ton of official help from high-ranking Rome authorities, and that both UFO stigma and traditional academic thought inform much of that. And Martin Willis talks with another filmmaker about his new documentary Life Beyond Earth in a Dean Alioto Interview. Dean and Martin discuss the customer end of the UFO information/consumption relationship, and Dean's earlier production career. Dean's sense of humor pervades the conversation, especially during the following Q&A portion, but is thoughtful throughout. (WM)

"One of the most important developments in recent UFO/UAP discourse just took place." Thus the New Paradigm Institute characterizes Dr. James Lacatski's discussion with Weaponized co-hosts George Knapp and Jeremy Corbell regarding Lacatski's new third book Inside the U.S. Government Covert UFO Program: New Insights. The story stresses the "most revealing" part of the "Kona Blue" document which contains "a key clue to the truth." Thus "informed," we turn to He Ran The Pentagon’s Secret UFO Program - And Says We’ve Been Played: Dr. James Lacatski (PART 1). Upfront Dr. Lacatski reads from a carefully-worded, sometimes near-inscrutable, statement indicating that the Government's representation of programs he and Colm Kelleher administered is riddled with flaws, misinformation, and even lies. Lacatski's books (including a final one or two to come) contain all he can say to correct the situation. In The Government UFO Boss - Monsters, Men in Black & UFO Crashes: Dr. James Lacatski (PART 2) Lacatski reaffirms there's more than mere "nuts and bolts" UFOs involved. He does offer some very interesting new "snippets" of information. Towards Part 2's conclusion we're routed back to that mysterious "Kona Blue" document. Billy Cox gives his impressions of the book and the Weaponized episodes in The Old Insights Were Sexier. To summarize: "Like a "Guiding Light" that ultimately failed (perhaps from lacking an editor?), the dialogues and tome have "turned Billy off" this soap opera. Might one add, "As the World Turns," during "The Days of Our Lives" since 2017, and beyond? (WM)

Tom Hale looks back to 1959 when Belgian Air Force Colonel Remy Van Lierde saw and photographed "a giant greenish snake" in the Congo. He was certain this critter was about 50 feet long with a head like "a very large horse." Tom also considers claims of another "colossal cryptid," the mokele-mbembe and whether either of these sightings were cases of mistaken identity. Meanwhile, Karl Shuker writes Hiding In Plain Sight - Two Recently-Revealed Cryptozoological Examples. The first is preserved flesh from the "St Augustine globster" found washed ashore in Florida in 1896 and the second is a c.1930 illustration of a creature closely resembling the early 1920s photo of the "Loys Ape," which was later admitted to be a hoax. Karl reckons that the latter image influenced the creation of the former. (LP)

Three excursions into topics involving UFOs, AI, Reality (both "real" and perceived), the Future, and Consciousness. Martin Willis chats with Jesse ON FIRE host Jesse Merl on the beginnings of Merl's UFO interest, favorite cases and feelings about what makes a case "solid," and Bob Lazar. Merl considers the value of Government information on UFOs as low. Jesse is fairly hopeful regarding whether the agency/cies behind UFOs constitute a Threat or not. He's less positive on how artificial intelligence is shaping ufology, what is provably "real," and humanity itself. That last is the focus of an interview with Danielle Silverman, who relates the late Nigel Kerner's thoughts on "AI's Alien Connection." This is a challenging but interesting discussion, fraught with forebodings but containing some positivity at podcast's end. And there's more on this general topic in Ryan Kralik UAP & Consciousness. With a dry but effective sense of humor, Kralik outlines a Theory of Everything challenging the Matter-First traditional construct, with information as the underpinning of reality. (WM)

Anthony Bragalia starts off a set of "UFOs Up Maybe Too Close" by "calling out for what they really are" several of the "either deluded or pranksters" who assert they can call in UFOs/UAP. He pulls no punches, even towards the most famous of current "summoners." Anthony describes a concerning parade of conscious hoaxing and perhaps some honest self-delusion cases, closing with his own speculations about some supposed "contact" phenomena. Someone on Anthony's negative list offers a World-Changing Confession: Doctor Describes Studying Live Alien". It's Ross Coulthart, chatting with the remarkable James Fox about his original Moment of Contact film and "new evidence, such as an exclusive interview with a neurosurgeon who claims to have telepathically communicated with a live alien being." Fox now has many more witnesses to update and flesh out the story considerably—and jaw-droppingly. If the foregoing hasn't wowed you enough, how about Bernie O'Connor's We’ve Met the ETs and They Are Us!” Bernie interviews William J. Birnes about Philip J. Corso, the general backstory to Corso's claimed UFO technology distribution business, the state of ufology, and why the ETs are here. "[The] bad news is, we are a dying species on a dying planet." But the good news is that ET presence, as "We’ve met them, and they’re us!" Bernie's not kidding when he says "This one's a doozy!" (WM)

Scientists conducting research into the dimension of time have uncovered evidence that suggests our intuitive hunches or "gut feelings" are the result of our brains moving forward in time and accessing information that has technically not yet happened. Research that has been replicated three dozen times has shown that our brains can react to stimuli ahead of it actually being applied, suggesting quantum entanglement. All this suggests that time is not linear, and "what we call the future may already exist in some form, allowing certain people to access fragments of it." Here's yet more naturally occurring human power: Humans Can Detect Buried Objects Without Touching Them, Study Finds. Referred to as "remote touch," it's a skill similar to what shorebirds have as they move their specialized beaks through the sand. It's the first time researchers have documented this skill in humans, and it opens the way for "designing tools and assistive technologies that extend human tactile perception." (CM)

Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio is garnering much attention from his role in The Age of Disclosure documentary. Journalist Michael Shellenberger tells Elizabeth Vargas that Rubio could press President Trump to make an important announcement on UFOs/UAP. Vargas next consults noted defense analyst Marik von Rennenkampff, who deems Rubio’s Remarks About UFO Info ‘Explosive'. Von Rennenkampff seconds Shellenberger's point that it's past time for the POTUS to make some kind of statement to the American People. But Marik's also concerned that Rubio may be unable to say much publicly. Rubio's quandary is thrown into sharper focus by Jason Colavito's Marco Rubio Distances Himself from "Age of Disclosure," Cites Lack of Evidence. Jason details Rubio's "history" regarding UFO matters. A gentleman who's himself sort of a phenomenon is Patrick Scott Armstrong's focus in Joe Rogan Drops UFO Bombshell in Wild New Interview. Patrick critiques high points from a 186-minute Jesse Michels dialogue with Rogan, and folks may wish to watch Patrick and then use the time stamps to Michels' Joe Rogan: The Truth About Aliens (He Finally Says It) to choose what most interests them in that marathon. Since Patrick was balancing competing beliefs in his podcast, let's tackle one of the long-continuing Area 51 controversies in light of this present "Disclosure" excitement. David Freeman ponders Could Bob Lazar Have Been Placed for a Managed Disclosure? Freeman makes some interesting observations! (WM)

Tony Gussin reports somewhat less than festive happenings in Appledore, North Devon. The Fifty Crates of Crafts collective, housed in a building dating from 1604, has an established Christmas tradition. As soon as the Christmas decorations go up, at least one of the carefully displayed ceramic pieces is found broken on the floor by morning. No alarms being triggered. No other signs of entry. Only pottery is ever broken. Has the creative imagination of the artists’ collective been in overdrive in ascribing the nocturnal vandalism to an alliterative "porcelain poltergeist"? The building owner remains skeptical. With the festive season upon them, anxiety is growing again with the expectation of more mysterious breakages. The shop has now issued an open invitation to paranormal investigators. Clumsy cleaner? Supernatural visitor? Marketing opportunity? Over at The Express, Tom Towers revisits the allegedly strange and certainly unfortunate occurrences surrounding Steven Spielberg’s 1982 horror classic Poltergeist: Legendary Director's 'Cursed' Cult Classic With Stars Dying and Emergency Exorcism. A cluster of untimely deaths and illnesses in the cast. The use of real skeletons as props in some scenes. Actors (generally known for their incisive skepticism and rational, un-superstitious outlook) were spooked. A cast member even carried out an exorcism on set during filming of one of the sequels. This echoes reputedly mysterious phenomena happening around other horror flicks such as The Exorcist (1973). Getting high on their own supply? (JS)

A "Randlefest" starring Kevin talking about his favorite topics. Well, maybe "grouching" about them, while correcting the historical record. Randle argues for the importance of historical context behind the 509th Bomb Group's July 8, 1947, press release that so electrifies many of us today. We turn the temporal page to The Kingman Crash and the Mystery Letter. Kevin reiterates his belief that the sole evidence for that supposed 1953 UFO event is the "wholly unreliable Arthur Stansel," while David Rudiak isn't quite ready to discard an additional potential but convoluted witness theory—though it's still, as David says in the Comments, "at best extremely weak evidence for a Kingman crash." The plot gets if anything temporarily murkier in John Greenewald, Christopher Mellon and Kingman. "The Mellon email that started this hunt" Kevin displayed in his previous piece is, per this "Different Perspective" installment, "virtually useless" as evidence for a factual wreck. And in John Stossel, Wikipedia and Project Mogul" Kevin returns to where we began, Roswell, with a spanking of the anti-UFO bias in Wikipedia's treatment of that fabled mishap. (WM)

The 2025 Sol Foundation Symposium was recently held on the shores of Italy's Lake Maggiore, and Greg Bishop pens two short pieces upon it. This one establishes the basic purpose; per Greg: "the symposium explored emerging questions in UAP studies, emphasizing a recurring theme for the field: meaningful progress requires both interdisciplinary methods and transparent public engagement." Greg emphasizes the strong contributions to the proceedings by SUAPS members as well as other presentations. Greg's Across Languages and Landscapes: Reflections on SOL 2025 is a more intimate look at the doings and entire experience. This personal touch is especially appreciated as it lends an experience of "being there" one doesn't always get from such conference reports. (WM)

Micah Hanks adds context to our previous post on the Tony Gorman endowment gift to the University at Albany, State University of New York, tying it in with recent academic publishing and the recent The Age of Disclosure documentary. Chris Lehto salutes this news in Game-Changer for UFO/UAP Science: Inside UAlbany’s New UAPx Program. Chris remarks on the remnant stigma, the new academic paper successes, and an interview he'll be doing with one of the principals in UAlbany Project X, coincidentally Martin Willis' interlocutor in a Matthew Szydagis Interview. Matthew describes the advantages the Gorman endowment has given the research, the problems inherent in locating advantageous monitoring stations, and the appropriate equipment, plus the impacts of accelerating artificial intelligence. Martin and Matthew also note Matthew Szydagis's important paper How Much Time Do We Have Before Catastrophic Disclosure Occurs? and Kevin Knuth, Robert Powell, and Peter Reali's vastly under-appreciated 2019 Entropy paper Estimating Flight Characteristics of Anomalous Unidentified Aerial Vehicles, and comment on debunkers in general. An interesting and energetic conversation! (WM)

The Wāq Wāq Tree is from Arabic lore, written about in the 11th century Book of Curiosities.It's a disturbing tale of a tree that bears fruit resembling women—very detailed, anatomically correct women—hanging by their hair. This fruit could then be used by enterprising men to—ehm —"relieve" themselves. We've said too much. Go to the post, it's fascinating and a bit unsettling. Continuing down this disturbing road, She Still Walks at Night, down the darkened streets of Clifton, New Jersey, in 1896. Charlotte Hemmenway was certifiably bonkers, prone to making violent threats against anyone incurring her ire. She also liked to roam the streets at night with her very large dog, scaring the bejeezus out of the community. How much of her reputation derived from sheer gossip and legend is anyone's guess, although she certainly provided an interesting gothic blip on the radar of 19th century life. (CM)

More reactions to that new Amazon Prime Dan Farah documentary. Billy Cox has a strongly-argued and personal outlook on the possibilities and potential results of a "Disclosure" during the current Presidential term. This reader is concerned that not enough thought has been given to the basic "revelation's" impact, whatever its content. Alexander Wendt (The Ohio State University) and Raymond Duvall (University of Minnesota) considered the question in 2008 in their paper "Sovereignty and the UFO" and a Wendt book on that matter is anticipated. For a much different "take" on the subject see former MUFON International Director James Carrion's The Age of Disclosure Circle Jerk. Carrion's strenuous argumentation has the benefit of/is colored by his own personal involvement in a major UFO organization since 2007. For a much wider perspective going much farther back to the beginnings of the topic, we recommend Dr. Michael Swords and Robert Powell et al.'s UFOs and Government: A Historical Inquiry, published by Anomalist Books. On the Age of Disclosure: A Personal Review comes from Kevin Randle. His "Different Perspective" is another valuable cautionary note. And Dan Farah himself "gets his say" in New UFO Doc Reveals Russia Discovered Alien Spacecraft, Director Says. (WM)

A puzzling and frightening 1953 event "disappears" from a witness's childhood memories, only to be resurrected ten years later, initiating a series of bizarre events. This retelling dramatization covers some of those weird happenings and the eventual drawing-out of a strange abduction story. In this general vein, Bill Chalker puts "The Haunted Abductee" in context. Bill explains why the case involved binds "both UFO and paranormal aspects." He also notes wider similarities and "what seemed paranormal, psychic or parapsychological linkages" to many of the UFO investigations he's conducted over the decades. We turn to perhaps the most influential of UFO events (at least from 1978 and Stanton Friedman's interview with Major Jesse Marcel) with A Different Perspective on how it's being explained in Kevin Randle's John Stossel, Wikipedia and Project Mogul. Kevin remarks Stossel's analysis of Wikipedia's political bias. Kevin turns from the political arena to its Roswell entry version, explaining how it departs from provable events. It's another though different example of the at least dichotomous reality/ies within which we humans exist. (WM)

While there is no clinical definition of a Near Death Experience (yet), those who have gone through an NDE know how real it is, even if it makes them doubt their sanity. And therein lies the problem of NDEs: Survivors find themselves unable to discuss their experience with friends and loved ones because it makes them sound crazy. As amazing as it is to no longer fear death, it can be very isolating having no one with whom to share these thoughts. But we may be getting closer to understanding: Physicist proposes radical new theory of consciousness - and it could finally explain what happens when you die. Maria Strømme, a professor of nanotechnology at Uppsala University, suspects that consciousness does not originate in our grey matter, but is an element that makes up the universe in general. She describes it as a "building block" and when a person dies, "their consciousness simply returns to the background field." If that's true, all our ideas about separation from one another are false. The implications to science and morality are profound. (CM)

"Well, there goes the neighborhood, but at least we don't shop at the same grocery stores." "Lucy" must have had these thoughts when viewing some of the individuals figuring in MJ Banias' article. His explanation is complemented by the associated video, both of which further support the idea of "a diverse mix of different evolutionary runs" toward present-day humans. ZME Science's Tibi Puiu brings us almost to the Present with This Milanese Friar Wrote About North America 150 Years Before Columbus, and Columbus May Have Known about it. This interesting article originally appeared before and was updated after two major studies had appeared, both strengthening the possibility that Columbus' journey "wasn't based on a guess." For a pioneering, highly-lauded study of pre-Columbian New World visitation, see Columbus Was Last: From 200,000 BC to 1492, A Heretical History of Who Was First, published by Anomalist Books and written by Anomalist Editor and Webmaster Patrick Huyghe. Traveling now much farther South than Columbus did, Graham Hancock Visits the Ancient Coastal Pyramids of Peru. Greg Taylor, The Daily Grail's editor, has the story, its role in a planned 2027 book, and a short video featuring spectacular and highly evocative, for one who's trodden similar sites, videos of four Peruvian locations. Hancock's traipsings and writing plans have caught Jason Colavito's attention as Graham Hancock Searches for His Lost Civilization in the Sahara. "Well, there goes another author, in the David Childress/Richard Kieninger/James Churchward/Helena Blavatsky tradition," Jason must have thought. (WM)

There's much more on a strange Chilean case in which something left a so-far inexplicable record on a scientific monitoring camera. María de los Ángeles Orfila chronicles efforts to understand the three late January photographs and a "bad lights" folkloric mystery to collect additional data on it. More lengthy illuminations figure in England as Mysterious Lights Trail Car for 20 Miles near Manchester. This one seems much more explicable, but the confusion and TikTok responses make for an interesting human commentary. More concerning is Gareth Bicknell's headline that a Police Chopper Was Forced To Take 'Emergency Evasive Action' After Being Targeted by UFO Over US Air Base. As with the Chilean incident, more has come out about a previous anomaly, but this Suffolk, England, case involves possibly conflicting official explanations. Michael Morgan's Liberation Times Drone Panic or Something Else? The Lakenheath Mystery, the Helicopter Crew and the F-15 is an in-depth examination of this puzzler. And Tim Binnall's got the story as a Motorist Photographs Flying Saucer Hovering Over Hill in Mexico. The individual is named, which helps support the photo's authenticity, but one would like an expert to analyze the photo. (WM)

The French town of Dozulé was the center of attention from 1972 to 1978 when alleged apparitions of Jesus instructed witnesses to construct a "Glorious Cross" that would have the power to forgive sins. The Vatican has had plenty of time since then to weigh in on those events, and the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith finally declared them to not be of supernatural origin. Evidently the issue became more about the cross itself than the divine being it was meant to represent, essentially putting it into the category of worshipping idols. However, to a certain extent miracles are in the eye of the experiencer: Lubbock Woman Sharing Stories About Miracles, After Receiving One of Her Own. Her husband had recently passed away from pancreatic cancer, having outlived all his doctors' estimates of time he had left. With this in mind, his widow began to search for a way to occupy her time and came upon a promising docuseries called Miracle. She became the executive producer and the program is now part of the Angel Network lineup. "Each episode looks at divine intervention, presenting the facts with amazing reenactments, but ultimately letting the viewer decide." Not the Vatican. (CM)

Rather than terror, Strieber’s interview with Dean Radin is likely to elicit more of a sigh. In this interview Radin recounts his recent investigations into the genetic basis for psi. His hypothesis is that there is a significant genetic component underlying these abilities. Radin has conducted a genetic screening study (yet to be published) to test this hypothesis. Preliminary results hint at a genomic signal among those claiming psi ability, enough to keep the story alive without quite settling anything. In fact, Radin’s claim is that the genomic evidence suggests that psychic traits are the norm. Only a small subset of people were found without "psychic genes." And it is this absence of these psychic traits (rather than a lack of robust proof or anything like that), that makes the skeptic. Yes, skeptics are literally mentally deficient. And why might clusters of this deficiency emerge? Let’s just say my bad attitude is apparently not my fault, but because my progenitors weren’t burnt at the stake. Despite Popular Engineering’s clickbaity headline, Your Brain Is Naturally Telepathic, Research Suggests—Meaning Our Minds Are All Connected, Emma Frederickson’s piece makes clear the bad news is that brains are still not telepathic. Neural coupling is what happens when people’s brains start literally syncing up during communication, a low-key, science-approved version of "telepathy" that is thought to help with shared understanding, learning, and social bonding. Research by Uri Hasson and colleagues shows that in successful conversation, speaker and listener brain activity patterns align so closely they almost behave like a single distributed system. This synchrony shows up in everything from chess and music-making to kissing, online gaming, and adult-infant play, and it reliably peaks in rich, in-person interaction. Classroom studies even suggest that students whose brainwaves lock in more with their teachers and classmates are the ones who actually remember what just happened, instead of staring blankly at the exam and reconsidering their life choices. (JS)