Month: June 2021

These days, leaks will happen. Marvel Studios and Warner Bros. both know this, and as a result, actors are often hustled to-and-from set while wearing black robes over their costumes, and sometimes even over their heads if their very presence in a project would enter spoiler territory. Well, David Sandberg — director of Shazam!, #7 in our list of Best Comic Book Movies Of The 2010s — has decided to dispense with this stressor while filming the sequel, Shazam! Fury of the Gods. After revealing a slight tease of Zachary Levi’s upgraded costume as the title hero, Sandberg went and dropped the whole shebang, along with costumes for the rest of Billy Batson’s foster family.

“Don’t know how long we can keep the new suits from leaking,” Sandberg wrote on Twitter. “[S]o here’s a pic I took the other day.”

That’s one way (and certainly the most effective way) to get ahead of the leak machine, and interestingly enough, Sandberg’s doing this almost two full years before the sequel’s 2023 release date. Levi is obviously returning as Billy Batson, and the rest of his foster family are now adult versions of their still-teenage characters. Adam Brody picks up the grown-up-bod of Freddy Freeman, Grace Fulton is Mary Bromfield, Ross Butler is Eugene Choi, Meagan Good is Darla Dudley, D.J. Cotrona is Pedro Peña.

Viewers will note that Grace is now playing both versions of Mary, whereas Michelle Borth previously portrayed the adult version of the character. As Sandberg explained on Twitter, “Yes, Grace now plays both parts. But her hair and makeup is slightly different when she’s super so nobody will ever recognize her. Hey, it works for Wonder Woman!”

If one looks back at the old adult costumes that appeared in the first film, there are definite upgrades here. The chest plate shapes have changed, and a couple of the male characters now bear darker colors. Also, Darla’s costume is decidedly more revealing for the sequel, which is not surprising, but thank goodness this doesn’t veer into “Harley Quinn in David Ayer’s Suicide Squad” territory.

The gang looks ready to (eventually) start battling Black Adam, whenever that happens. The Rock, of course, is filming his long-gestating swing of that character in the Shazam! spinoff movie, Black Adam, although all signs point to zero interfacing so far in both that movie and Shazam! Fury of the Gods. “He has his own movie,” Sandberg previously clarified (via Comic Book) regarding questions of The Rock dancing between franchise installments in the near future. However, we should probably expect a larger reveal of The Rock’s full anti-hero costume soon, after some slight teasing.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods will arrive on June 2, 2023. Black Adam is due out first on July 29, 2022.

Lil Nas X’s “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” video is an undeniable hit; It currently has over 250 million views on YouTube. Of course, it didn’t arrive without controversy, as more conservative-minded folks didn’t care for some elements on the clip (like Lil Nas X giving Satan a lap dance, for example). The rapper was a guest on the Desus & Mero Showtime series over the weekend, and while on the show, he discussed the backlash to the video.

When asked about the clip, Lil Nas X responded, “I really just wanted to corrupt the youth.” He then quickly broke his faux-serious tone by laughing and insisting he was joking. He went on to note that while he expected to draw the attention of the pundits over at Fox News, he didn’t think the outrage over the video would be as extreme as it was: “Even when I was planning the video, I was like, ‘Oh, this is definitely going to hit Fox News.’ I definitely didn’t expect the outrage as much as it was at all, especially, like, governors tweeting me. Like, you’re a governor. You don’t have anything better to do?”

He also spoke about his “Satan shoes,” saying that he didn’t intend for them to be a big deal: “You know, complete 100-percent honesty: Those sneakers were just supposed to be a thing for fans. I didn’t think it was going to spread outside of my fan base. I was wrong.”

Watch Lil Nas X on Desus & Mero above.

This millennium, Radiohead have performed their early-career hit “Creep” just 40 times (according to setlist.fm), which isn’t too often for a band that has toured in support of six albums during that stretch. While the band has generally shied away from the song, however, Dave Chappelle has taken it over. Reports of the comedian singing the song somewhere pop up from time to time, as he has done so at least a handful of times since 2016.

Now, the saga continues, as Chappelle once again took the stage to bust out his apparent favorite, this time joining Foo Fighters at their massive Madison Square Garden show over the weekend. Towards the end of the band’s main set, Dave Grohl called Chappelle to the stage, and since “Creep” still hits and Chappelle is always a crowd-pleaser, the performance blew the roof off the place.

According to setlist.fm, that wasn’t the only cover of the night. In the middle of the main set, the band covered Queen’s “Somebody To Love,” with Taylor Hawkins (who also fronts a cover band named Chevy Metal, by the way) singing lead vocals and Grohl taking over on drums. During the encore, the band also busted out a rendition of the Bee Gees’ “You Should Be Dancing.”

Watch Chappelle and Foo Fighters cover “Creep” above.

Apple TV+ has released a new trailer for Ted Lasso season two, featuring the introduction of Ted’s table-flipping alter ego, Led Tasso. There’s also Jason Sudeikis wearing a Santa hat, Dani Rojas as the team’s top scorer (“football is life!”), and Ted assuming the British version of The Dukes of Hazzard is called “The Earls of Risk.”

What a good show. You can watch the trailer below.

Sudeikis compared season two to The Empire Strikes Back, which either means it will end on a downer note or Ted will make out with his as-yet-unmentioned sister. It could go either way really.

The soccer comedy, which we named one of the best shows of 2020, also won a prestigious 2021 Peabody Award for “offering the perfect counter to the enduring prevalence of toxic masculinity, both on-screen and off, in a moment when the nation truly needs inspiring models of kindness.” The Peabody jury admitted that the premise of an American football coach going overseas to coach soccer sounds like a “formulaic cornball dud” on paper, but what “this presumably Ugly American, fish-out-of-water tale offers instead is a charming dose of radical optimism.”

Ted Lasso returns to Apple Tv+ for more radical optimism on July 23.

The annual Westminster Dog Show went down a week ago, and the furor with which people responded to the “Best In Show” decision still won’t stop being funny. Now will I ever forget how Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea went into conspiracy-theory mode while declaring that he was “shocked and grossed” by the solitary judge’s decision to honor a Pekingese named Wasabi with top honors. “The judge had a crush on its handler im sure of it,” Flea tweeted, and although I wouldn’t go that far in questioning the logic behind the results, the Wasabi world dominance does feel unexpected.

With that, noted Cheerios critic John Oliver’s latest episode covered some very serious issues, including Japan persisting with this year’s Tokyo Olympics and the predatory lending practices that are increasingly involved with home renovations. Sandwiched in between those segments, however, was Last Week Tonight‘s take on the Westminster Dog Show. In particular, the show offered “Better Names” for these contestants like “Crime” as well as “Good Carl” and “Bad Carl.” I enjoyed the relabeling of one pup as “Ragnaroth, Devourer of Souls,” although I couldn’t get a screencap of the mischievous scamp (yes, he is probably the Loki of dogs while dodging everywhere). And here’s a look at the newly dubbed “Smooth Chris” and “Drama.”

Another standout name? “Cuban Exile and CIA Asset Antonio Veciana Claimed He Witnessed A High-Ranking CIA Officer Meet With Lee Harvey Oswald In September Of 1963” felt pretty spot-on, but here’s the one that got some of us a little too worked up: Wasabi, recrowned as “Jennifer Aniston.”

Yup, this dog is essentially a tottering box of hair, but all of us who have been critical of these Westminster results may have lost some perspective and overreacted. Yes, poor Smooth Chris (and several other contestants) did get the shaft, but we’re all essentially worked up by a hair trend that’s been declared superior. Wasabi’s probably a little sweetheart who puts up with a lot of sh*t and actually wants a damn haircut. In addition, Oliver’s nightly ranting concluded with a related segment called, “The Winner Of Best In Show At The Westminster Dog Show Breaks Newscaster’s brains.” From there, Wasabi was referred to as “Cousin It” before a news anchor declared, “I picture yours or my hair just walking on the ground with no legs!” Pure madness.

Talking about politics at work can be a really touchy situation. It’s good for people to be able to express themselves in the office. But it can lead to serious tension when people don’t see eye-to-eye. It can be especially difficult when a company takes a hard line on a controversial issue that employees are forced to stand behind.

So Basecamp, a project management software company based in Chicago, has just decided to ban talking about politics at work altogether. It seems the company tried to foster an open atmosphere but it backfired.

“Sensitivities are at 11, and every discussion remotely related to politics, advocacy, or society at large quickly spins away from pleasant,” co-founder Jason Fried wrote in a post on the company website.

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In a world where everything has become political, Fried believes this gives people the freedom to stay out of the fracas. “You shouldn’t have to wonder if staying out of it means you’re complicit or wading into it means you’re a target,” he wrote.

“By trying to have the debates around such incredibly sensitive societal politics inside the company, we’re setting ourselves up for strife, with little chance of actually changing anyone’s mind,” Basecamp partner David Heinemeier Hansson wrote in a follow-up blog post.

Basecamp’s decision brings up a big debate in the world of business: Should companies feel compelled to do social good? Basecamp says no.

“We make project management, team communication, and email software. We are not a social impact company,” Fried said. “We don’t have to solve deep social problems, chime in publicly whenever the world requests our opinion on the major issues of the day, or get behind one movement or another with time or treasure. These are all important topics, but…they’re not what we collectively do here.”

Basecamp’s decision mirrors one that Coinbase, the cryptocurrency marketplace, made last October. The company’s CEO, Brian Armstrong, told his employees that he won’t stand for any politics at the office and offered those who disagree a generous severance package.

“Life is too short to work at a company that you aren’t excited about. Hopefully, this package helps create a win-win outcome for those who choose to opt out,” he said.

Some worry that a ban on political speech in the office creates an environment where marginalized people aren’t allowed to speak out for fear of it being deemed political.

The big problem with banning politics from the work floor is that every topic can be avoided by branding it politic… https://t.co/SkLoyJVN2R

— Jonas Drieghe (@jonasdrieghe)
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While others agree with the move because professionalism often means putting our personal lives aside to do what’s best for the company.

Some will say that if you don’t like your company’s political culture, then find another job. But that’s a lot easier to say than do. Most of us don’t have the freedom to work anywhere we choose, so we have to put up with a company’s stances or lack thereof, whether we like it or not.

The deeper problem appears to be that the company has given up on any attempts to foster an environment where people can talk openly because as Fried writes, any political discussion “quickly spins away from pleasant.”

While banning political speech is one way to stop the tension, it seems rather limited. Why not foster a culture where people can discuss sensitive issues in a constructive way?

Asana co-founder Duston Moskovita has some good suggestions on how to make that happen.

As Americans, it is nearly impossible to escape the endless stories of racism in the news. We live in a country that was born on the backs of slaves and is still a place where real equality is still an elusive dream. Racism is an undeniable part of our society, but how does America compare to the rest of the world?

According to a 2020 study by the World Values Survey, Americans are among the most tolerant people in the world.

The World Value Survey is a global network of scientists and researchers based in Sweden who study changing values and their impact on social and political life. The group’s researchers asked participants in more than 80 countries what kind of person they’d want as a neighbor.

Those who responded that they wouldn’t want “people of a different race” were deemed racially intolerant. The map below depicts how the 80 countries responded to the question. The countries that are blue are the most tolerant. Countries marked red are the least.

To see a larger version click here.

The good news is that even though America has problems with race, it’s actually better than a lot of places. America, along with most of South America, Australia, and Europe are among the most tolerant places on the planet.

The map shows that Eastern Europe and Asia are less tolerant than America with The Middle East and North Africa ranking among the least tolerant areas of the globe. It appears as though much of Africa was not polled, so it’s unclear how those countries rank in comparison.

America takes pride in its attempt to be a diverse, inclusive melting pot and is constantly at war with itself for falling short of that goal. Even though we are one of the most tolerant places on Earth, most of us believe that we can and should do better. But, as the map shows, even as a society that struggles with tolerance, we’ve come a lot farther than most.

Golfer Amy Bockerstette made history three years ago when she became the first person with Down syndrome to earn a full college athletic scholarship.

Now, she’s making history again by being the first person with Down syndrome to compete in a national collegiate athletic championship.

Bockerstette and her teammates from Paradise Valley Community College in Phoenix, Arizona will be playing at the NJCAA national championships May 10-13 at Plantation Bay Golf & Country Club in Ormond Beach, Florida.

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So excited to compete with my @PVCC_Official @PVCCPumas teammates @NJCAA ⛳️ Nationals next week!… https://t.co/pJFCTvDwnc

— Amy Bockerstette (@AmyGolfsNDances)
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Bockerstette’s golfing career started in the eight grade when she impressed her school’s golf coach so much, he told her parents she should play for the school’s team. Boy was he right.

In high school, Bockerstette qualified for the Arizona state high school tournament twice and was named one of the AZCentral.com’s “Ten Most Intriguing High School Athletes of 2017.”

AzCentral praised her ability to hit from the tee saying that she “launched shots 200 yards down the middle of fairways.” It also praised her infectious attitude calling her a “4-foot-9 girl full of sunshine.”

Amy Golfs ‘N Dances?
⛳️ 💃🏼
Totally! https://t.co/ZdTjZnBrbi

— Amy Bockerstette (@AmyGolfsNDances)
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Bockerstette is an active Special Olympian who competes in golf, swimming, and volleyball and plays Challenger baseball. She also is very musical, she studies dance in college and plays the piano.

In January 2019, Bockerstette became a viral sensation after her performance on the par-3 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale. During the Tuesday practice round at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, she was invited to play as a Special Olympics representative and was teamed with professional golfer Gary Woodland and playing partner Matt Kuchar.

Bockersette hit her tee shot into a greenside bunker. But recovered nicely with a spectacular chip shot out of the sand, rolling the ball to within eight feet of the cup. Confidently stating “I got this,” she then made the put to the roar of the crowd.

Video of her fantastic performance went viral amassing over 43 million views.

Gary Woodland surprises Amy from Special Olympics Arizona 2019

www.youtube.com

“I’ve been blessed to do lot of cool things on the golf course but that is by far the coolest thing I’ve ever experienced,” Woodland told Golf.com. “She was phenomenal. And then to step up in front of all the people and the crowd and everything and to hit the shots that she hit and made par, I never rooted so hard for somebody on a golf course and it was an emotional, emotional, really cool experience.”

Bockersette’s confident declaration of “I got this” became a rallying cry for people with Down syndrome and their advocates. The comment spawned the I Got This Foundation, an organization created by Bockersette and her family that provides opportunities for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities to play golf.

Bockerstette is a wonderful example of what can happen with people with disabilities are given the chance to participate in sports. Her visibility as a golfer is a great way to encourage others with Down syndrome to get into the sport and is also a wake-up call to the sport’s gatekeepers to be more inclusive.

If there were a hall of fame for pettiness, a divorced father in Virginia would be a shoo-in for the lengths he went to give his ex-wife and children the final kiss-off. After his daughter, Avery Sanford, turned 18, the father pulled up in his truck with a trailer attached and dumped 80,000 pennies in front of her house.

The $800 was for his final child support payment.

Avery saw it all go down through the doorbell camera on her front door. “I just turned 18,” Avery told WTVR. “When I was in the middle of class, my dad came by. He had rented a trailer.”

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“He pulled up in front of our house, like turned the trailer on so it dumped out all the pennies in the street in front of our house,” she continued. “And my mom walked outside while it was happening. She didn’t recognize them at first.”

The mother called out to the man in the car, “What are you dumping on my lawn?” The man replied, “Your final child support payment!”

Avery’s mother reported the incident to the Henrico County Police.

Mother, daughter donate thousands of dumped pennies to domestic abuse center

www.youtube.com

First of all, as a parent, to put on such a disgusting display of pettiness in front of your children, is just plain awful. Second, there’s no good reason for anyone to be upset about taking responsibility and financially supporting their child.

Avery hasn’t spoken to her father in years and after his most recent antics, it seems like keeping a distance is a good idea.

“It is really hurtful and damaging to your kids when you do things like that. And it doesn’t matter how old your kids. It doesn’t matter if they’re a young child or an adult,” Avery said. “The actions of your parents will always have some effect on you.”

Caught on Camera: ‘Frustrated’ dad makes his final child support payment in PENNIES dumped on his ex-wife’s front l… https://t.co/osIBtNVDZL

— HLN (@HLNTV)
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To take the embarrassing situation and turn it into a positive, Avery and her mother have decided to donate all of the money to Safe Harbor, a domestic abuse shelter. Safe Harbor is a nonprofit organization that provides shelter, supportive services, and advocacy to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.

“It’s not just her that he’d be trying to embarrass. It’s also me, it’s also my sister. And it’s upsetting that he doesn’t really consider that before he did this,” Avery said. “Turning around and donating that money to moms and children in need like I feel like, that just really turns the situation into a positive one. You can learn a lesson from it.”

A reporter reached out to Avery’s father and he seems to be feeling somewhat contrite about his behavior. He said he let 18 years of frustration get the best of him and that he didn’t want to “put a further wedge between him and his daughter.”

As for Avery, she has a bright future ahead of her. The high school senior is looking forward to attending Virginia Tech in the fall.

A school in Utah has made an inexcusable mistake and has yet to provide a decent answer for why it happened. The photo the school published of its cheerleading squad excluded Morgyn Arnold, a 14-year-old with Down syndrome.

Morgyn is the team manager who learned all of the routines and cheered beside the squad at home games. But she’s nowhere to be seen in the squad photo that was published in the school’s 2020-2021 yearbook.

What’s worse is that the squad took two photographs, one with Morgyn in the front row and one without.

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The picture with Morgyn.

The photo that was published.

“The first picture you see is a cute junior high cheer team,” Morgyn’s sister, Jordyn Poll told Today. “The second, although similar, includes all members of the team. It’s the SAME cheer team–SAME girls, SAME photo shoot, SAME poses, but one included all team members and one did not.

“Additionally, Morgyn’s name wasn’t even mentioned as a part of the team,” Jordyn added. “She wasn’t included. She spent hours learning dances, showing up to games, and cheering on her school and friends but was left out.”

Morgyn realized she had been excluded from the photo immediately after receiving her yearbook.

“She came home from school and was showing us her yearbook,” Jordyn explained. “She said ‘There’s my team and there’s my friends and I’m not included.’ She was devastated.”

The family wants to know why Morgyn was left out so her sister wrote a lengthy Facebook post describing their pain.

Teen with down syndrome left out of cheerleading yearbook photo

www.youtube.com

The school posted a statement on its Facebook page but it has since been deleted.

“We are deeply saddened by the mistake that was made,” the statement read. “We are continuing to look at what has occurred and why it occurred. Apologies have been made to the family and we sincerely apologize to others impacted by this error. We will continue to address it with the parents of the student. We will continue to look at our processes to ensure this does not happen again.”

The junior high school and its cheerleading squad have suspended their social media accounts due to the incident.

Jordyn wants answers for the school’s screw-up but doesn’t want any hate directed at the girls on the cheerleading squad.

“There’s been so much hate directed to these other girls and it’s so unnecessary,” she said. “They are kind and did their very best to include Morgyn and make her feel like she belongs and they continue to do so and continue to reach out and let her know that she is loved. If it was up to them, they would have included her in the photos.”

Unfortunately, the school has yet to provide a reason for Morgyn’s omission. Jordyn says that her sister is getting over her initial feelings of rejection with her usual kindness.

“I think a lot we can learn from her example,” Jordyn said. “She’s forgiven them and moved on. She’s sad, when she looks at the pictures. Her example speaks a lot, and she’s excited to continue to find memories and continue cheering.”