Month: February 2021

Conservative radio personality Rush Limbaugh passed away last week after a year-long battle with lung cancer but he’s still stirring controversy, especially among the residents in his hometown of Palm Beach, Florida.

Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis took a break from mismanaging the pandemic ravaging his state to declare his intention to have flags lowered to half-mast at a handful of government facilities including the state capitol in Tallahassee, the Palm Beach County Courthouse, and the town’s city hall. DeSantis was close friends with Limbaugh and no doubt meant the gesture as a way to honor the political pundit but the decision to order local governments to lower the national flag was met with anger on the part of democratic officials like Palm Beach County Commissioner Melissa McKinlay and state Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried because, well … it’s Rush Limbaugh.

Traditionally, the honor of lowering flags to half-mast has been reserved for the passing of state officials, government leaders, fallen veterans, and victims of mass tragedies like the Parkland High shooting. Limbaugh, who was a noted figure in the Republican party, never served in the armed forces and though he did influence politics, he was never elected to public office. Most of his legacy rests in his divisive opinions on everything from racism to feminism and homosexuality — opinions he aired often on his radio talk show over decades.

“Although Rush Limbaugh was a significant public figure, he was also an incredibly divisive one who hurt many people with his words and actions,” McKinlay said in a statement posted on Twitter. “The lowering of flags should be a unifying gesture during solemn occasions.”

St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman had an even sharper comeback to DeSantis’ bizarre tribute, tweeting “In St. Pete we don’t honor hatred, racism, bigotry, homophobia, or anything else he has spewed over the years.” Fried echoed those sentiments.

“Lowering to half-staff the flag of the United States of America is a sacred honor that pays respect to fallen heroes and patriots. It is not a partisan political tool,” she said. “Therefore, I will notify all state offices under my direction to disregard the governor’s forthcoming order to lower flags for Mr. Limbaugh — because we will not celebrate hate speech, bigotry, and division.”

Dinesh D’Souza used the “boys will be boys” defense to explain away the actions of the domestic terrorists who stormed the Capitol building on January 6.

While appearing on the Fox News show The Ingraham Angle on Tuesday, the far-right convicted felon, “documentarian” (he’s a disgrace to actual documentarians), and conspiracy theorist shared his take on the failed coup that left five people dead. “There was no insurrection, there was no coup,” D’Souza said before ranting about the New York Times constructing a “false narrative” about what happened that day. Speaking of false narratives, D’Souza mocked the thousands of House members who have sought out counseling following the attack and called the gun- and pipe bomb-wielding rioters at the Capitol, many of whom chanted “hang Mike Pence!” as they roamed the building, “a bunch of rowdy people walking through hallways.” As he told host Laura Ingraham:

“I had to kind of chuckle a little bit because hundreds of Congressional members and staff are apparently in therapy over the events of January 6. They’re literally in counseling, even though not a single one of them apparently was harmed, so what you have here is the attempt to gin up, to create a wartime scenario, with media propaganda, that sort of wartime propaganda to go along with it… In reality, this was a bunch of rowdy people walking through hallways.”

Ingraham did not challenge D’Souza’s incorrect claim, but others were happy to.

Outside of telling lies on Fox News, D’Souza is also trying to “un-cancel” the pillow guy.

Those two are going to make a nine-hour documentary together, aren’t they?

Trader Joe’s is like a holy place for people on the go. A safe haven of food options for folks who don’t have the time to figure out dinner plans or those who simply don’t have the desire to. Plus it’s got a price-to-quality ratio that people adore — mostly thanks to negligible marketing budgets and a reliance on in-house brands.

The pre-packaged meal options at TJ’s are limitless, but they go particularly hard on one of the most hotly debated frozen foods in the game — frozen pizzas. It’s worth noting that we’re using that phrase a little loosely here to include a flatbread without tomato sauce and a French “tart” that doesn’t claim to be pizza at all, but sure looks the part. Sometimes you have to bend the rules a little in order to be comprehensive.

Obviously, this ranking is subjective since my tastebuds aren’t your tastebuds. I took the following qualities into consideration: crust texture, cheesiness, and overall flavor, with or without the sauce. I shared my tasting notes below, along with a grade ranging from A+ for excellent to F for major fail (note: no pizza scored an A+ because, yeah, frozen). Check out the ranking below and sound off on your favorite Trader Joe’s pizzas in the comments!

8. Organic 3 Cheese Pizza

Price: $5

The Pizza:

Remember when we were in the seventh grade and the cafeteria lady would serve those weird square pizza slices with the film-like cheese and dry-as-cardboard crust?

Okay, so this isn’t quite that, but it’s not too much better either. This pizza taste like the middle school stuff they serve when your palate is underdeveloped and all that matters is getting enough fuel in your body for you to burn during P.E. dodgeball games.

The crust is thin and crunchy with a texture that deteriorates like chalk after a few chews. The pizza box boasts fontana, mozzarella, and parmesan cheeses atop the pie, but none of them give any distinctive taste. Instead the cheeses—which are not necessarily thick, gooey, or stringy but kind of just… blotchy — taste perfectly nondescript. The sauce, however, is the winning component. It’s got a bit of a tangy yet sweet kick and is about the only reliable source of flavor on this pie.

Bottom Line:

This pizza gets a D+ and that’s only because it’s organic and the sauce is fresh and flavorful. But you need more than just sauce to make a pizza.

7. Organic Pesto Pizza with tomato and broccoli

Price: $5

The Pizza:

The first thing that comes to mind when devouring a slice of this pizza is: interesting. The flavoring is, well, green. The pesto and the broccoli combine in a way that is slightly reminiscent of blended baby food. But mixed with olive oil and bright and briny tomatoes — it’s not all that bad.

The pizza crust is perfectly crisp on the outside but features a soft and pillowy center that appropriately soaks up the runny pesto and broccoli mixture which gels with the rich cheese. The only thing this pizza is missing is perhaps a pinch more of salt to lift up all that green.

Bottom Line:

This pizza gets a C. Although I firmly believe we should leave the pesto for the pasta, this is a unique option for those looking for something different. In short, it isn’t entirely horrible.

6. Pizza Margherita

Price: $4

The Pizza:

Trader Joe’s organic cheese pizza gets the high school upgrade with its margherita pie. It’s considerably more flavorful with a rich and zesty tomato sauce and gooey mozzarella that coats the entire pie. As for the crust, it’s pillowy perfection with a crispy, wood-oven-baked plush center that melts in the mouth.

Bottom Line:

Could this pizza be better? Sure—a little seasoning of pepper and basil could have taken this one far. But overall it’s edible and not completely unsatisfying.

This gets a C+.

5. Arugula Pizza with Cherry Tomatoes

Price: $4

The Pizza:

Arugula, tomatoes, and a blend of cheese? Trader Joe’s hit the flavorful nail on the head with this one.

Yet another pizza with an unforgettable crust (for a frozen pizza, especially!), this pie brings the salt, fat acid, and heat that makes for one memorable meal. You won’t miss the pepperoni with the meaty flavors of arugula combining with ripe tomatoes and a melody of rich mozzarella, manchego, provolone, and pecorino cheese that smother a soft, doughy pizza.

Now I won’t say that a little meat wouldn’t have taken this pie to the next level. A couple pieces of ripped prosciutto could have launched this “pretty good” pizza to “pretty great” status. But overall, it delivers on all aspects of general frozen-pizza satisfaction.

Bottom Line:

A B- grade for a vegetarian pizza that is both fulfilling and flavorful.

4. Tart au Brie et aux Tomates

Price: $4

The Pizza:

The box this pizza-looking non-pizza comes in proclaims that it is “a very French thin crust with brie cheese and tomatoes.” It’s an advantageous statement to make, considering how well the French do all things bread and cheese. And I’m happy to report that the packaging promise is met.

The crispy flatbread-style pizza is decadent and savory, with delicious brie that delivers the tastebuds creamy, buttery, earthy mushroom flavors. Meanwhile, cherry tomatoes add a layer of bright, snappy sweetness to counter all the richness of the cheese.

It’s a divine little treat that one can easily imagine eating while people-watching outside at a Parisian cafe with a bottle of wine. Okay… that might be a little far, but it’s very nice.

Bottom Line:

This pizza gets a B+ only because after one bite it’s almost too decadent. Luckily it’s small, but one slice too many could result in some dire digestive consequences.

3. Wood Fired Naples Style Uncured Pepperoni Pizza

Price: $5

The Pizza:

Now here’s a frozen-pizza that gets the job done. It has just the right kind of crust that isn’t too tough on the outer shell nor too soft in the center. It’s a sturdy but easily chewable crust that has texture and density to hold up the weight of the flavorful, zingy tomato sauce, quality melted cheese, and meaty, greasy pepperonis.

Bottom Line:

There’s not much negative to say about this pizza. It looks like a pepperoni pizza, smells like a pepperoni pizza, and tastes like one too. The only qualm anyone could have about this is the number of actual pepperonis on the pie.

There could be more, so… B+

2. BBQ Chicken Pizza

Price:$5

The Pizza:

This is one of those types of frozen-pizzas that will leave you salivating with anticipation while it’s baking in the oven. Your whole kitchen will be flooded with the scents of barbecue sauce and chicken! The smell is a great indicator of the taste, too.

Put this pizza in the Trader Joe’s hall of fame because it’s actually that good. The barbecue sauce is sweet and tangy while the chunks of white chicken are plump, juicy, and perfectly seasoned with black pepper a little bit of salt, and a hint of garlic that only seems to elevate the flavor of the red onions topping the pizza. The cheese—mozz and gouda are used here—serves as a blanket for the whole thing. Although, honestly, the cheese could be missing-in-action and this pie would still be just as tasty.

A few more pieces of chicken couldn’t hurt, but overall this is a pizza that is completely satisfying and full of flavor.

Bottom Line:

This pizza gets an A- because it legitimately tastes like something you could pick up by the slice at your local pizzeria. That’s saying a LOT.

1. Mushroom & Black Truffle Truffle Flatbread with Mozzarella Cheese

Price: $5

The Pizza:

Is there any better combination than mushrooms, truffle oil, and cheese? There are none, and Trader Joe (is he real?) knows this. That’s why he came up with this absolute fire of a flatbread pizza that tastes nothing short of a gourmet meal.

There isn’t a shortage of mushroom chunks on this flatbread, and even those taste high quality. The truffle sauce is rich and creamy and blends seamlessly with the mushrooms and cheese to create one explosive flavor shock for your tastebuds. As for the crust, it’s the perfect crispy consistency with a little softness in the center soak up all that gloriousness up top.

Bottom Line:

This pizza is quite literally the bomb. The only reason it doesn’t have a higher grade is because there simply isn’t enough of it in the box. Seriously legit. A.

A remake of the cult classic 2004 Mean Girls may be on its way, but Megan Thee Stallion has offered her own spin on the iconic film. Appearing in a promotion video for Coach’s Fall 2021 collection, Megan takes on the role of Regina George, who was originally played by Rachel McAdams.

The commercial is a spoof on the scene where Regina George’s character is introduced to the protagonist, Cady Heron (played by Lindsay Lohan). In the segment, a few members of her high school’s student body shares a ridiculous rumor they heard about George, like that her “hair is insured for $10,000.”

Megan’s commercial is a playful take on the original scene, recreating the script with several contemporary comedians. The script reads:

“Megan Thee Stallion is flawless. One time, she locked eyes with Medusa and all the snakes unionized. Each of her dogs has its own bedroom and country home in France. Shakespeare wrote five sonnets about her. Yeah, she wasn’t alive yet but… he knew. I heard her favorite movie is an anime based on her own life and it won best picture. Her nails are so long that she accidentally gouged my eye out and it was awesome. I heard that she was walking down the street and a guy saw her and crashed his car. It was so fetch. Or, not fetch… it was awesome. She’s perfect.”

Watch Coach’s promotional video with Megan Thee Stallion and see the original Mean Girls clip above.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Whether you hate him, love him, hate to love him, or love to hate him, Drake has been the center of the pop culture universe for a long time, and with his sixth studio album coming soon – titled Certified Lover Boy – it appears that’s exactly what he’ll remain for the foreseeable future.

Ted Cruz is currently in the “people that elected me are destroying my likeness in piñata form” phase of his political career, and Daisy Ridley has little sympathy for him after he went after Rey for no reason. Back before Cruz fled a freezing Texas during an environmental disaster, he was posting in defense of Gina Carano. And a backhanded mention of Ridley’s Rey had apparently escaped her notice until it was brought up by a reporter interviewing her while promoting new work.

In an interview with Yahoo’s Kevin Polowy, Ridley was asked about Cruz’s attempt to defend Gina Carano after the now-former The Mandalorian star posted her way out of a job because of social media messages that were described by Lucasfilm as “abhorrent.” Cruz implied at the time that Disney didn’t want strong female characters like Carano’s Cara Dune, and was critical of Ridley’s Rey in the process.

That didn’t sit well with Ridley, nor did Cruz’s failed leadership in Texas in recent weeks. Apparently she didn’t know that Cruz described Rey as an “emotionally tortured Jedi.” But once she was caught up on the tweet, she had no problem firing back at Cruz.

“I am very happy to be an emotionally tortured Jedi,” Ridley said. “Who doesn’t leave their state when it’s having a terrible time.”

Though Ridley apparently missed the snipe at her, she certainly seemed to have seen the news about Cruz, who abandoned Texas for a Cancun vacation and then sheepishly returned to the state much earlier than planned once word got out that he had left in a time of crisis, rather than do his job. And though Ridley was there to promote Chaos Walking, she was more than willing to defend her work in Star Wars. Especially against someone like Cruz.

Anthem‘s potential rebirth is apparently not happening after all. Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier reported on Wednesday that EA has decided to cancel its Anthem Next project, which was a months-long effort to see whether the original title released in early 2019 could be reworked into essentially a new game based in the same world.

For more than a year, Bioware had been working on a roadmap for Anthem with a small team hoping to revive the online title that had some very intriguing ideas at its core. Many fans hoped that the major retooling could give the game second life after its debut was plagued with bad reviews and frustrated players. Other titles have made that pivot successfully, but after consideration from EA it seems the company has decided to shutter any plans to revamp Anthem moving forward.

As Schreier detailed earlier in the month, a team of about 30 people were working on a new version of Anthem, one that would need considerably more resources in order to make that game a reality for players, many of whom have held out hopes that the title that arrived with huge hype could turn into something closer to the online, mission-based shooter that was originally promised.

Wednesday’s news, however, made it clear a rebirth is not on the way. According to Schreier, those who were working on Anthem Next will be moved to work on Dragon Age 4. In a blog post on Wednesday, Bioware blamed the pandemic in part for Anthem‘s cancelation.

I know this will be disappointing to the community of Anthem players who have been excited to see the improvements we’ve been working on. It’s also disappointing for the team who were doing brilliant work. And for me personally, Anthem is what brought me to BioWare, and the last two years have been some of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my career.

Game development is hard. Decisions like these are not easy. Moving forward, we need to laser focus our efforts as a studio and strengthen the next Dragon Age, and Mass Effect titles while continuing to provide quality updates to Star Wars: The Old Republic.

It’s unclear right now what the team had planned for Anthem, but now we know whatever it is will never reach players.

Real Estate are about a year removed from the release of their latest album, The Main Thing. Between then and now, the pandemic started to really impact the US, but the band still had some music they wanted to finish up, so they did so remotely. That has led to an EP of new material, Half A Human, which is set for release on March 26. Real Estate has previewed the six-track effort with the title track, a six-minute tune that slots nicely into the band’s distinct brand of dreamy indie rock.

Martin Courtney says of the project:

“Life keeps changing and additional responsibilities and stresses keep being added, but this band is still here. When I was writing a lot of these songs, I was feeling a little weird about being in a band. Like, ‘How is this still a thing?’ I was feeling silly about it and then coming around to it at the same time. This is what we’re good at and it’s what we love to do and want to keep doing. I don’t want to do anything else.”

Courtney touched on a similar point in an interview with Uproxx from around this time last year, saying, “I’ve got three kids now. My wife was pregnant through a lot of the process of writing [The Main Thing]. So, just on the level of, is this a responsible thing to do, to be a guy in an indie-rock band? I was really struggling with that, and also feeling like, the world is kind of in a bad state. […] Is there something more useful I could be doing with my life? I feel a little bit useless writing these songs. So, that was kind of what went into writing this record, those types of doubts. […] I think for me it was just like, ‘Obviously I’m going to do this because this is where I’m at in my life. I can’t just not do it. And I want to make a record. I love making music.’ It was never a question of whether or not I wanted to do it. So yeah, I think it just came down to, we need to work that much harder and just make it feel worthwhile, basically.”

Listen to “Half A Human” above and check out the Half A Human art and tracklist below.

1. “Desire Path”
2. “Half A Human”
3. “Soon”
4. “D+”
5. “In The Garden”
6. “Ribbon”

Half A Human is out 3/26 via Domino. Pre-order it here.

It’s amazing to consider just how quickly the world has changed over the past 11 months. If you were to have told someone in February 2020 that the entire country would be on some form of lockdown, nearly everyone would be wearing a mask, and half a million people were going to die due to a virus, no one would have believed you.

Yet, here we are.

PPE masks were the last thing on Leah Holland of Georgetown, Kentucky’s mind on March 4, 2020, when she got a tattoo inspired by the words of a close friend.

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“We were just talking about things we admire about each other and he said, ‘You courageously and radically refuse to wear a mask,’ like meaning that I’m undeniably myself. I thought that was a really poetic way of saying that,” Holland told Fox 13.

So, she had “courageously & radically refuse to wear a mask” tattooed on her left forearm. It’s a beautiful sentiment about Leah’s dedication to being her true self. It’s also a reminder for Leah to remain true to herself throughout her life.

However, the tattoo would come to have a very different meaning just two days later when the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Kentucky.

“It basically looked like I’m totally, you know, anti-mask or whatever, which is not the case,” said Holland.

Now, she was embarrassed to be seen with the tattoo for fear she’d be associated with the anti-maskers who either deny the existence of the virus or refuse to wear a mask to protect others. Either way, it’s a bad look.

So Leah started wearing long-sleeve shirts and cardigan sweaters whenever in public to cover up the tattoo.

On Monday, TikTok users asked each other to share their “dumbest tattoo” and she was pretty sure she had the winner.

In her video, she talks about how her tattoo was about “not pretending to be something you’re not,” but then revealed it to show how — after a historical twist — it made her out to be someone she isn’t.

“I just kind of wanted people to laugh with me because I think it’s funny now, too,” said Holland.

Plenty of people on TikTok laughed along with her with one user suggesting she update the tattoo with the phrase: “Hindsight is 2020.”

“I was dying laughing. I’m like, I’m glad there are people that find this as funny as I think it is,” said Holland.

“It will be a funny story to tell years from now,” she said. “I don’t think it will ever not be a funny story.”

Unfortunately, even when the pandemic is over, Leah will still probably have to explain her tattoo. Because most won’t soon forget the COVID-19 era in America and there’s no doubt many will still feel passionate about those who refused to wear a mask.

Most around the NBA were taken aback when the Timberwolves this week hired a new head coach from an opposing team to a multi-year contract in the immediate aftermath of firing incumbent Ryan Saunders, but it was more than just surprising, according to the National Basketball Coaches Association.

“We would be remiss not to acknowledge a deeper concern and level of disappointment with the Minnesota head coaching process,” union president Rick Carlisle and executive director David Fogel said in a joint statement. “We must establish a level playing field and equal access to opportunity for all coaching candidates.”

Not only did Finch, a white assistant for the Raptors who worked with Minnesota general manager Gersson Rosas in Houston many years ago, get hired after a behind-the-scenes search, but he seemingly jumped ahead of David Vanterpool, the Wolves’ Black associate head coach who joined the franchise in 2019, to get the job.

And while Finch did interview with Minnesota back in 2019 and can point to his relationship with Rosas as the starting point for his hire, the fact that Rosas and the Timberwolves’ braintrust conducted this “search” stealthily while the season was ongoing means they were not subject to the same type of scrutiny and deliberation that typically occur in the offseason.