Month: October 2020

Paul George was one of the players to see their NBA 2K rating fall off from the start of the season to the end of it, in large part because of his underwhelming playoff performance in the Bubble.

Speaking with Ronnie 2K ahead of the release of the updated NBA 2K21 player ratings, George not only correctly guessed that he had fallen from a 93 to an 88 in the game, but pledged to improve for next season, not only so that his rating would tick back up but for the Clippers to avenge their second-round loss.

“This is going to be an amazing training going into this next season,” George said. “I’m going to predict I’m around a 95. (For) 2K22, I’ll be like a 96.”

George’s comments here are the first we’ve heard from him since the Clippers fell to Denver in seven games in the second round and George’s “Playoff P” nickname was memed endlessly online. It sounds like George, a top-3 MVP finisher during the 2018-19 campaign, is dedicated to a return to form in 2021.

As an avid gamer himself and someone who is typically pretty involved with NBA 2K, it probably does sting for George to see himself fall off from an MVP candidate in 2019 with a deserved low-90s rating all the way to an 88, which puts him in line with younger players like Devin Booker or Donovan Mitchell.

Thanks to his infamous habit for using social media platforms to make official presidential statements (and almost daily rants), you’d assume that the password to Donald Trump‘s Twitter account would be extremely secure and impossible to crack. Not so much, apparently.

Last week, Dutch security expert Victor Gevers reportedly gained access to the president’s Twitter account by simply guessing Trump’s password, which was not difficult to do. After only four failed attempts, Gevers hit the jackpot by typing “maga2020!” and soon found himself able to view Trump’s direct messages, post tweets, and change his profile. In fact, the whole thing was so terrifyingly easy to do that Gevers actually panicked and began alerting government officials. Via The Guardian:

So, he tries to warn others. Trump’s campaign team, his family. He sends messages via Twitter asking if someone will call Trump’s attention to the fact that his Twitter account is not safe. He tags the CIA, the White House, the FBI, Twitter themselves. No response.

According to Gever, Trump’s Twitter account eventually activated two-step verification the next day, and it is, of course, mind-boggling that the feature wasn’t already being used to protect the President of the United States’ preferred method of communication. Even more concerning is the fact that this wasn’t the first time that Gever accessed Trump’s account. Along with two other accomplices, Gever correctly deduced Trump’s password back in 2016, and once again, it was jarringly easy to guess: “yourefired.” We’re not security experts, but maybe the president should hire one to pick his passwords from now on. Preferably before someone figures out his new one is “hotivanka19.”

(Via The Guardian)

Last weekend, Run The Jewels teamed up with Adult Swim to perform the entirety of their recently-released RTJ4 record for their Holy Calamavote concert special. Once again working with Adult Swim, Run The Jewels return with a cleverly animated visual accompanying their RTJ4 album opener “Yankee And The Brave (Ep. 4).”

The visual is directed by Sean Soloman and animated by Titmouse, who has created shows such as Big Mouth and The Midnight Gospel. It opens with El-P and Killer Mike on a high-speed car chase with some evil robot cops. The duo manage to keep their distance, swerving away from an old lady crossing the street who the robot cops end up fatally hitting. Eventually, Killer Mike is held up in a convenience store but manages to perform a quick get-away thanks to El-P’s help.

In a statement about the video’s creation, Titmouse founder and president Chris Prynoski said, “Killer Mike and El-P would f*ck up some robot cops in real life, so I consider this animated music video for ‘Yankee And The Brave’ a documentary — that documents the future. The prophecy of Run The Jewels has flowed through the Titmouse animators’ hearts and into their pencils. You can watch it before it happens as magical, moving drawings.”

Watch the “Yankee And The Brave (Ep. 4)” video above.

RTJ4 is out now via BMG. Get it here.

It may be only in video game form, but for the first time since 2014, Brock Lesnar is making his long-awaited return to the Octagon as a DLC character in UFC 4.

Joining the former UFC heavyweight champion are fellow fighters Jennifer Maia and Askar Askarov, in addition to all-new vanity items available just in time for Halloween.

Lesnar will be available for download until Friday, October 30. Players who haven’t purchased UFC 4 just yet can jump into the Octagon as well with Free Play Days until October 22 until Sunday, October 25.

The new Halloween vanity items will drop on October 22 and October 29, including more than 40 new cosmetic items, including a skeleton set and skulls and roses shorts.

Lesnar, a former UFC heavyweight champion, hasn’t fought since 2016 but is currently a free agent after his WWE contract expired earlier this year and the two sides were unable to agree on terms of a new deal. Lesnar’s last bout was ruled a no-contest after failing a pair of drug tests in the lead up to UFC 200. He had verbally sparred with former two-division champion Daniel Cormier on a potential return bout, even jumping into the Octagon to confront him after his win over Stipe Miocic, but nothing ever materialized.

It’s been a while since Beyonce last released a new collection from her Ivy Park athleisure line with Adidas, but it looks like the Beyhive will soon have new gear to work out in — even if we’re all really just working from home. Beyonce first teased the upcoming drop a few days ago on Instagram with a cryptic photo of a poppy field captioned “Drip 2 October 30.” Of course, that was all it took to send her fans hunting for their credit cards but it still took a few days to see what she had in store — pun intended.

Today, Beyonce and Adidas Originals finally shared the first glimpses of the new collection via a tongue-in-cheek, infomercial-style video combining VHS workout tape references with some interview audio and fashion-commercial-esque quick cuts for an ad that is equal parts informative, funny, and enticing. Who wouldn’t love to see Beyonce doing her own Abs Of Steel-style workout tapes (my ’90s kids feel me on this one)?

The teaser arrives just a day after Beyonce interrupted her own promo campaign on social media to share a statement on the current police brutality protests in Nigeria. She was also recently celebrated by DC Comics as a “Wonder Woman Of History” in a graphic novel anthology for Wonder Woman Day.

With Pennsylvania continuing to be a tense battleground state in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election, Michael Keaton felt compelled to film a special endorsement directed at his home state, and he brought out the big guns to do it.

In the ad endorsing Democratic candidate Joe Biden, Keaton introduces himself by his full name of Michael Keaton Douglas and reveals that he grew up in a small Western PA mill town just outside of Pittsburgh. However, the actor is keenly aware that average folks aren’t exactly itching to listen to Hollywood celebrities, and he certainly doesn’t blame them for that, but he makes a very compelling argument: “Let’s be honest, I’m frickin’ Batman.” From there, Keaton highlights Donald Trump’s mishandling of the coronavirus response as he goes on to prop up Biden, who’s also a PA native, as a decent, honest man who can “right the ship.”

As for his decision to make a rare political endorsement, Keaton told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 that, “All bets are off. This is too important, this election.” In an interview with the the local station, he again stressed a need to listen to the experts, which has been sorely missing during the pandemic. “Really listen to scientists, really listen to teachers. Really listen to people who know more than I know,” Keaton said. “But if I can do anything, I feel it’s my responsibility to do a little something.”

The Biden endorsement also popped up on Tuesday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live where Keaton was asked who is the best Batman ever, and the Mr. Mom actor didn’t even hesitate when it came time to answer. “Me,” he said without a shred of doubt.

(Via Pittsburgh’s Action News 4)

Gus Dapperton has shown that videos are more than an afterthought for him with visuals like “Post Humorous.” Now he’s back with another clip, a cerebral “First Aid” visual.

The clip starts with Dapperton getting into a disagreement with somebody before the clip zooms into the inner reaches of Dapperton’s brain. There, he is chained and beaten up before reconciling IRL. Dapperton says of the video, “This video was definitely a passion project. From the inception of this idea it’s taken us about a year to finally finish it. I’m so thankful for the team that worked with us on this and so thankful we were able to accomplish this idea during covid.”

In a recent interview with Uproxx, Dapperton also said of “First Aid,” “It’s about these deeper and darker thoughts I’d neglected to be a strong person — but in reality, being a strong person is about confronting those feelings. When I’m feeling depressed and lost in the world, there’s not many things that help me. Therapy doesn’t help me very much. But putting it into the music is very therapeutic for me.”

Dapperton also hosted a livestream leading up to the video’s premiere, during which he chatted with fans and played a couple songs.

Watch the “First Aid” video above and read our interview with Dapperton here.

Orca is out now via AWAL. Get it here.

Ever since Miley Cyrus revealed her upcoming album She Is Miley Cyrus sounds “super rock and roll,” the singer has been purposefully pivoting more toward the genre. Just before the singer announced she was making an entire album of Metallica covers, Cyrus transformed her backyard into a stage to share a cover of Pearl Jam’s “Just Breathe” for her MTV Unplugged session.

Taking the backyard stage in a shimmering dress, Cyrus delivered an animated rendition of the song backed by two acoustic guitars. The singer managed to stay true to her own style as she leaned on her textured voice to infuse some soaring melodies to her lyrical delivery.

Along with the “Just Breathe” cover, Cyrus transformed a handful of her favorite songs from across genres. Throughout her Unplugged session, the singer gave renditions of Cardigans’ “Communication,” Britney Spears’ “Gimme More,” Nico’s “These Days,” and the Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Jane.”

Ahead of her MTV performance, Cyrus said Metallica has been her inspiration behind her upcoming album. “In my sets, I cover Britney Spears to Metallica, so my record will be reflective of who I am, which is just kind of all different pieces of inspiration and influence,” she said.

Watch Cyrus cover “Just Breathe” above.

Rudy Giuliani was “America’s Mayor,” the (fabled) savior of post-9/11 New York City. He was named Time‘s Person of the Year, knighted by the freaking queen (not to be confused with Queens; the Yankees fan isn’t welcome there), and appeared in an Adam Sandler movie, the greatest honor of all. But now and forever, Trump’s personal attorney, who once revealed confidential information after butt-dialing a reporter, will forever be known as the guy who got into a feud with Borat. Not Sacha Baron Cohen, but Borat.

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, out this Friday, features a scene where Giuliani gets duped by Borat’s daughter, played by actress Maria Bakalova. As described by the Guardian, “The pair retreat at her suggestion for a drink to the bedroom of a hotel suite… After she removes his microphone, Giuliani, 76, can be seen lying back on the bed, fiddling with his untucked shirt and reaching into his trousers.” That’s when Baron Cohen, as Borat, barges in and says, “She’s 15. She’s too old for you.” Giuliani, who called the encounter a “hit job” on WABC radio, tweeted about the incident on Thursday. It’s… something!

“Today show features Borat’s false description of me. Anything Trump. But they censor Biden’s partner saying Joe Biden is THE BIG GUY getting money, 10% of millions, from Chinese Communists. I got the cops on Borat. And I finally got the FBI on the #BidenCrimeFamiily,” Giuliani tweeted. It has since been deleted. I have no idea what the hell he’s talking, because a) it’s gibberish, and b) “I got the cops on Borat” broke my brain. Does Rudy think Borat is a real person? It’s a question many people are saying.

Rudy Giuliani, Borat, Trump — it’s somehow 2001, 2006, and 2020 all at once.

Usually, when Black Thought appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, it’s as a member of house band The Roots, a position that lets him riff with the host and show off his impressive rhyme skills in funny sketches. Last night, though, he received the opportunity to appear on the show as a musical guest, performing a medley of songs from his upcoming Streams Of Thought, Vol. 3 EP. The Roots frontman was joined by guests The Last Artful, Dodgr and Portugal. The Man to perform “Quiet Trip” and “Nature Of The Beast.”

Naturally, Thought employed a framing device that was fitting for the current social climate, presenting the performance as a Zoom call between himself and his featured artists, overlaid on a cleverly-designed desktop. Black Thought, Dodgr, and the members of Portugal pop up in windows, then as a multi-paneled chat with Streams Of Thought producer Sean C. making a cameo appearance with his MPC as Thought ruminates on the “Nature Of The Beast.”

The road to the third volume of Streams Of Thought has hit its fair share of bumps and curves. After sharing “Thought Vs. Everybody” in July, he was forced to delay the release in the wake of the death of former Roots crew member Malik B. However, he’s been pretty visible all year, joining Public Enemy for a remix of their seminal hit “Fight The Power,” giving a Tiny Desk Concert from his home office, and sharing the single “Good Morning” featuring Killer Mike and Pusha T.

Watch Black Thought’s Tonight Show performance above.