Jennifer Garner calls her senator about gun safety all while making brownie oats

[Jennifer Garner calls her senator about gun safety all while making brownie oats]( Jennifer Garner often serves up sweetness with her beloved Pretend Cooking Show on Instagram. But this time, she’s added her own special dash of simple activism into the mix. The episode begins with all the playful, adorkable charm we’ve come to expect from Garner. "You know when you need to be living life, but your heart isn't ready? Sometimes you just need a little comfort-something," the actress-slash-baker says in the opening as she prepares a brownie baked oatmeal recipe from Danielle Brown (@healthygirlkitchen). "Like, I have on a dress and thought I was being fancy, but then I put sweatpants under it. So, pardon me," she quips while lifting up her skirt. This happens right before she realizes that “oh, shipoopi,” she needs more peanut butter. Yes, she used “shipoopi.” She’s delightful. Once the ingredients are mixed and the 6 x 9 inch tray goes into the oven, there’s nothing left to do but wait for 40 minutes. Or as Garner puts it, “the perfect amount of time to make a call in support of gun safety bills.” Talk about multitasking. [Why Will's sexuality matters in the new season of 'Stranger Things']( Warning: This post contains spoilers for Season 4 of "Stranger Things." Season 4 of the hit Netflix series “Stranger Things” premiered at the end of May and has already caused quite a stir. It’s been several years since the last season, and with Season 4 being broken up into two volumes, there’s quite a lot to be excited about. Of course, there are a lot of things to talk about regarding the plot of the show, but one surprising topic is Will (played by Noah Schnapp) and his potential sexuality. In an interview with Variety, Schnapp and his co-star Millie Bobby Brown offered their thoughts on the subject, and while they’re entitled to their opinions, those opinions can actually be quite damaging. The Variety article mentions (and many fans on social media will agree) that the show has kind of been dropping hints about Will’s sexuality for a long time, and the current season really makes that theory more obvious. I admit, I have not watched the show much, but as someone who identifies as queer, LGBTQIA+ representation on television is something that’s important to me. In Season 4 volume 1 of “Stranger Things,” Will’s budding queerness is bubbling just under the surface. For example, when he has to write about a hero he looks up to, he chooses Alan Turing, the gay mathematician forced to undergo chemical castration in the 1950s. (The show takes place in the 1980s, well before the movie starring Benedict Cumberbatch was released.) Will also appears to have a crush on his friend Mike, as evidenced by some jealousy of Eleven and Mike’s relationship. When Mike confides in Will about his relationship with El, this is what he says in response. “Sometimes, I think it’s just scary, to open up like that — to say how you really feel, especially to people you care about the most,” he starts. “Because what if — what if they don’t like the truth?” [New documentary celebrates the beautiful kinship between the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu]( When Archbishop Desmond Tutu passed away, I wrote a bit about the unique friendship he shared with the Dalai Lama. Though they came from very different worlds—different nationalities, different faiths, different backgrounds—they shared a kinship based on compassion and joy. And when I saw them together in "Mission: JOY"—a documentary on five days the two leaders spent together—I saw how beautiful that kinship truly was. "Mission: JOY" is as much a reminder of what connects us as human beings as it is a celebration of these two iconic spiritual leaders. I laughed at how they teased one another like schoolboys. (It's also just impossible not to laugh along with Desmond Tutu's infectious laughter.) I teared up as they described how they responded to their own sufferings and showed so much care for one another. I smiled each time one of them lovingly reached out to take the other's hand as they shared stories, wisdom and jokes together. But mostly, I walked away with a sense of calm hope for what is possible. If a Christian theologian from South Africa and a Buddhist monk from Tibet can form a strong bond of friendship like this with one another, then anyone can. This is a film the whole world needs to see. I think it's safe to say that every person would take something valuable away from it. [The Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard trial started a much-needed conversation about male domestic violence victims]( The world takes a collective breath as the dumpster fire that was the Depp v. Heard trial has come to an end. While some people had no interest in watching the trial, others set up tents in the camps of the actor they found most believable. One conversation emerging from the trial, no matter which side you’re on or how indifferent you feel about the verdict, is that men can be victims of domestic violence too. If you’re a fan of "Law & Order SVU," you’ve heard of the perfect victim idea. It’s that if the victim isn’t absolutely and unequivocally perfect, they won’t be believed in court or in the public eye. There is some truth to that. Victims come in all shapes and sizes and from many different backgrounds, and the same is true regarding domestic violence victims. Women report being victims of domestic violence at a higher rate and are more likely to die at the hands of their perpetrator than anyone else, especially when they are leaving the relationship or pregnant. Knowing that women are the most likely victims of domestic abuse doesn’t negate that men can also be abuse victims. For so many people, the perfect victim thought happens automatically—if the man claiming abuse isn’t small framed and timid, they have a hard time being believed. But abuse doesn’t usually start out as physical violence—abuse starts psychologically. The abuser typically starts by saying small things to slowly break a person’s spirit only to gaslight them into believing they’re overreacting. Before long, abusers tend to isolate you from your family and friends as they continue to slowly chip away at your self-confidence. Once they’re sure you aren’t leaving, that’s when the physical abuse starts and the cycle of abuse intensifies. [Retired pilot now uses his military aircraft to fly rescue dogs to their new families]( David Tan of Middleton, Wisconsin, spent 40 years in the cockpit as a military, professional and private pilot and he’s still in the air, but now his co-pilots are mostly rescue dogs. Since 2012, he’s flown more than 360 dogs to safety as well as 23 cats, a potbelly pig and even a bat that he helped deliver to a rescue preserve. Tan transports the animals in his Aermacchi SF-260, a two-person Italian plane used for aerobatics and by countries with smaller air forces. It all started back in 2012 when he heard about Pilots N Paws, a 501(c)(3) organization that brings together pilots and shelters to transport pets to safety or new forever homes. “The intent of Pilots N Paws is to provide an environment in which volunteers can come together and arrange or schedule rescue flights, overnight foster care or shelter, and all other related activities,” the organization's website reads. 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