Month: October 2021

What if the handle you came up with years ago suddenly shares the same title with the world’s most popular new TV show? That’s what happened to a Twitch streamer who just happens to be named “squidgame” — and who found herself locked out of her Instagram account just as the Netflix show of the same name has taken over the planet’s eyeballs.

As per Insider, back in 2012, one Lydia Ellery chose what happened to be two random words that don’t seem to go together for her Instagram account. After all, what even was a squid game back in the innocent days of the Obama era? Since then, she’s become a big deal on Twitch, amassing over 42,000 subscribers on the self-streaming service. She even became part of the streaming collective known as Yogscast, which boasts over 7 million subscribes on YouTube.

But on Friday, Ellery found herself locked out of her Instagram account, which bears the same name as Squid Game, the postapocalyptic South Korean show, about cash-strapped people who enter deadly games to get big money. She had some theories why she was booted. “Ermm I think so many people have been trying to log into my account or reporting it (squidgame) that instagram have banned me,” she wrote on Twitter. “Very not cool.”

Ellery later wrote that she was being “inundated” with messages from fans of the show soon after her ordeal became big news on Reddit.

She later told Insider that she’d gotten back into her IG account, only to discover that her account violated its policies, claiming it was “impersonating someone else.” As of Monday night, Ellery had no yet publicly revealed whether or not she’d corresponded with them further. On Sunday, she thanked people for drawing attention to her issue and that she was not “sure what to do about my SquidGame name.”

The lesson? If you come up with a clever handle fusing two unrelated words, many years later Netflix may create a hit show of the same name. Or just keep living your life in case something that random and freaky never happens.

(Via Insider)

You may never have heard of President and CEO of the Black Women’s Health Imperative (BWHI) Linda Goler Blount, but for over 25 years, she’s been doing the arduous and yet vital work of assuring that Black women achieve health equity and reproductive justice.

Sometimes working behind the scenes securing funding, and other times in front of the cameras or on Capitol Hill fighting what can feel like a Sisyphean feat to move her organization forward in its mission. Blount is resolute in her battle against two of the greatest risk factors to the health of Black women are racism and gender discrimination.

UP: What are some of the biggest challenges facing Black women today — vaccine hesitancy, preventative health, maternal mortality, diet, stress… etc?

LB: Stress is the number one health issue for Black women. Obesity-related syndromes such as hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease have their roots in stress — and microaggressions trigger stress. We know there’s a causal relationship between stress and weight. Black women have about 15% more cortisol in their bloodstream than white women. It changes their metabolism. If you give Black women and white women the same low-fat diet, Black women will lose weight more slowly and if both groups eat a high-fat diet, Black women will gain weight more quickly. We can see this in the DNA level. So, we focus our programs on asking women how they feel about being a Black woman in this environment at this moment. Because if we don’t understand that and more importantly, if providers, policymakers, and corporate leaders don’t understand that, then we’re not going to make the kind of progress we need to improve health outcomes for Black women. And equity is a long way off.

UP: Talk about the connection between racism and the health of Black women.

LB: In 1992, Arline Geronimus published an article on “weathering” where she discussed that Black women are literally aging faster than white women. Between two women, one Black and one White, both age 65, although they may look the same, Black women can be five to seven years older biologically because of the effect of racism and gender oppression. Fleda Mask Jackson found a causal relationship between experiences of racial and gender discrimination and low birth weight and premature deliveries and maternal deaths. We understand the biological response and what that does to the body, but not the psychological impacts. And I’m really interested in the everyday experiences of Black women and what that does [to the body]. When you have to have that talk with your 16-year-old son about driving and when the police stop him. When you see people not getting promoted or things said at work that are just out and out racist. When you go to a store and you’re followed around because you’re Black and they assume you’re going to steal something. We don’t have a full understanding of what that does to us.

UP: What are some of the changes in the health of Black women from when the organization started versus today?

LB: Our roots are in self-care. BWHI started 38 years ago with groups and sister-circles talking about health. Then over time with reproductive health, in particular, the organization needed to deal with policy and structural barriers that prevented us from practice to self-care. The changes have been on evidence-based strategies and calling it out when Black women are not included when drugs, therapeutics, and devices developed without the involvement of Black women as both as participants and as researchers.

More recently, we began working to change the narrative around how we talk about data, gender, and race, and how we tell the story. If we don’t start changing the way we use language, then we’re never going to understand Black women’s health. People will say, ‘Black women die 42% more from breast cancer than white women.’ But, that doesn’t tell the whole story and what a reader is left believing is that this data is the way it is because these women are Black or Latina. It’s not biological or genetic, it’s the lived experience.

UP: What can Black women do today to change their health outcomes?

LB: We talk a lot about meditation or prayer, and breathing. Breathing is critical. The 5-7-9, where you breathe in for 5 seconds, hold for 7 seconds and breathe out for 9 seconds. This can literally reduce cortisol in your bloodstream. We’ve got to take time for ourselves. Be intentional about separating yourself from stuff that isn’t good for you. For me and my team, we try to make it a point to take breaks. This work can be overwhelming. When you’re talking about dealing with hundreds of years of oppression and people who want to keep things exactly as they’ve always been, but who say things that are very different. I try to keep perspective. But it’s hard because there’s exactly one organization to do this work and if we weren’t here to do it, I don’t know what would happen.

UP: Can you give a couple of anecdotes where the health outcome of a Black woman was impacted by one of the BWHI programs?

LB: I would say around screening and mammography. In 2015, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) had this brilliant idea to raise the age of mammography for women from 40 to 50 years old. So, in 2016 we worked with several members of Congress on the PALS Act aka Protecting Access to Lifesaving Screening to get a moratorium on recommendations for women to begin screenings at 40 years old. Because if this became policy then insurers would stop paying for mammograms under 50. I attended at least 30 meetings, testified in front of Congress, I met with HHS, and other than the one Black person who’s on the USPSTF, I was the only Black person in the room. It was disheartening, but not surprising. But, these recommendations are based on science. So, here I am face-to-face with my former colleagues at the American Cancer Society who want to raise the age. So, I told them, ‘I know the data.’ These studies were done in Sweden and Canada and there’s not a Black woman in them. Black women get breast cancer 5 to 10 years younger than white women. This highlighted a Black woman’s organization and science and that we know the data just as well as you. While you may interpret it one way, let’s look at the complete story. You’re talking about applying a body of evidence to a group of people who had nothing to do with its creation in the first place.

UP: Do you feel a sense of pressure because, at this moment, the door of interest is open concerning the health and wellness of Black Americans?

LB: It’s an exponentially greater level of stress. We talk all the time about having this open window and being afraid it’s going to slam shut. Like, white people are going to be over this. ‘Okay, you’ve had your moment. We invested millions of dollars and you all need to be happy. So, let’s get back to the way things were. Just shut up and dribble.’ But, while feeling that pressure, there’s not a whole lot that can be done in the six months, nine months or even in a year, so we have to keep the conversation going. Right now, we’re creating a corporate index so that people can look at corporations and say, ‘Well, here’s your statement from last year. Now, what are you really doing?’ If we don’t keep pressure on these folks they get to ignore and pretend they never said what they said.

UP: Are there celebrities or well-known figures you would love to partner with BWHI? Any specific initiatives?

LB: Having Serena [Williams] talk about maternal health would be amazing. We need women across the lifespan. We need Oprah and Alfre Woodard. All these women for whom health is critical and understand the significance of the health of Black women. If we are successful, I think we also need to get Black men involved in this work.

UP: What can people who’re reading this do to move the needle forward on the health of Black women in their lives and/or communities?

LB: They can learn about BWHI and the issues as they really are not what they read, but understand the context in which Black women live and what that means for their health. So, they don’t fall into the trap of blaming the obese Black woman or blaming the woman with hypertension and being mindful of the language they use when they’re talking about race, gender, and health. It takes understanding to get to a level of compassion. And for those who have resources, they can contribute.

UP: Who are some of the women you look to for inspiration?

LB: I’d say Civil Rights activist Gloria Richardson. She’s always been the symbol of what can be done by a Black woman. I want to be the Gloria Richardson of epidemiology and I can say to these scientists, ‘Talk to the hand,’ in the same way she did holding off a national guardsman with a bayonet in his hand and [a fierce side eye].

Four-time NBA champion John Salley is a true renaissance man. He’s who you’d be if you were bright, thoughtful, charming, intellectually curious, and had millions of dollars at your disposal and the experience with which to make savvy business investments. He’s also a vegan chef, restaurateur, philanthropist, health coach, a girl-dad of three daughters, actor, TV host, technology freak (we’ll talk more about that), owns a cannabis company with his 25-year-old daughter Tyla Salley, and he’s met the Dalai Lama. Did I mention he was charming?

We Zoom’d with Salley about his busy life and plethora of pursuits while he sat patiently waiting for his wife of 28 years, Natasha Duffy, to finish an appointment with her ophthalmologist. Most people of his stature would likely have canceled the interview, but Salley’s not your average celebrity.

Upworthy: What was your interest initially in becoming vegan?

John Salley: My mother was a kosher caterer in Brooklyn growing up. She got together with a bunch of other folks from South Carolina and created a farm in the backyard of an old house. They grew cabbage, cucumbers, okra, collard greens, peppers, and I was always that kid growing up around this. I was a vegetable kid. My treat was a cucumber and ice tea. Then in 1992, my cholesterol was 271. There were guys on the team [Miami Heat] who were 12 years older with lower cholesterol than mine. They wanted to put me on a pill and it had a side effect of erectile dysfunction. So, I said there has to be a better way. I went to see a doctor, had my first colonic, I lost like 30 pounds, I was so impacted. Then I started off macrobiotic. I was jumping higher. I was happier. My libido was through the roof and my cholesterol was nowhere to be found. To this day I don’t eat any oil. I only eat algae oil and I saute vegetables using water, onions, or garlic.

UP: What are your other keys to staying healthy?

JS: Walking 45 minutes a day. Stretching. I add trace minerals and one teaspoon of baking soda to my water and drink about 12-16 ounces first thing in the morning. When I get up I try not to moan.

UP: Why did you get into the cannabis business?

JS: For starters, it was the wild wild west. And the fact that so many people were in jail because of a weed that was set up for them to have. They’re not growing weed in the hood. They don’t make machine guns in the hood. They don’t make heroin or cocaine in the hood. But now there were going to be people making billions in the weed business and it was open. I’m the first NBA ballplayer to be in the cannabis business. Obviously, the NBA didn’t hire me to do any more appearances and I was fine with that. I got in [to cannabis] because I could be an entrepreneur. I wasn’t grandfathered in. But, it’s still not equal. They give you a license, but when you find a building, the landlord won’t rent to you if you’re growing. They’re still redlining as many Black folks as they can. I didn’t want another industry where my people were kept out. I realized the future was female. So, when we started Deuces 22 my daughter became the CEO at 19-years-old. We wanted to get in and make a difference. We’re focused on destigmatizing the cannabis industry, and want to emphasize the science that is within it. This benefits the entire sector. We’re also doing a reality TV show. And I film everything we do to destigmatize the industry and show the world what Tyla is doing.

UP: Tell me about your interest in IKIN, the San Diego-based hologram technology company.

JS: As soon as I saw what they were doing and after I heard the CEO and founder Joe Ward, I texted my partner and said move everything to the side. We’re in! I’m a tech kid. I graduated from Georgia Tech because I love that kind of engineering. I drive a Tesla, not because it’s cool, but because it’s the future. When I saw the hologram, the first person I told about was my friend [actor] Will Smith. I said these guys have figured out how to bend light. If you can bend light, you can bend time. If you can bend time, you can see the future. All these things we’re seeing in movies, the team at IKIN are making into a reality.

* According to IKIN,the technology turns all smart phone content into 3D experiences, including games, video, photos, driving directions, social media, etc. It becomes a much more immersive experience.Business use cases include teleconferencing, remote healthcare, warehousing, hospitality and online shopping.

UP: Talk about your upcoming Disney flick “Sneakerella.”

JS: I’m a huge movie buff. One of my favorite movies is “West Side Story.” I know every song. So, when I got to be in a musical, a Disney musical, I was excited. I love that the director [Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum] is an editor and allowed me to try a lot of different takes. Seriously, I was with the next Denzel Washington [Chosen Jacobs] and Angela Bassett.[Lexi Underwood] and I told them that. And I get to play this great role, who’s a lot like me. He has daughters and I have daughters. When people ask me about not having sons, I say, ‘I don’t have time for dummies.’But, seriously, this movie is one of the best things I’ve ever done.

UP: Who was the best coach you’ve ever worked with and why?

JS: In my life, I would say Ted Gustis. He started working with me at 12. And now I’m his health coach. He became a vegan five years ago. Chuck Daly was my favorite and first NBA coach. He never talked down to me. I’d also say Barney Davis who literally taught me fundamentals, Joe Reynolds who made me tough, and Phil Jackson gave me two shots. Although he didn’t allow me to continue with the Lakers, he allowed me to jump two feet into entertainment. Because when I didn’t have a chance to go back to the Lakers, he told me in June he ‘didn’t have any real estate for me,’ in September I had my own late-night talk show on BET. As the Dalai Lama says, “Sometimes not getting what you want is an unbelievable stroke of good luck.”

UP: Talk about meeting the Dalai Lama?

JS: I’ve always been enamored with India. So when a friend offered to do a documentary with me in India, I said, ‘when do we leave?’ I had the most terrifying ride for five hours up to Dharamsala. I’m understanding that this is big, but I’ve had championships, so I understand the pressure. You get to the palace. You get to the first floor and people are looking at you and bowing and whispering. Then you go to the second floor. And again, they’re looking at you and whispering. They’re checking your energy. When you get to the third level, there’s one dude. He tells you don’t touch him [Dalai Lama] , don’t bum-rush him, and be very respectful. Then he walks in and everyone’s bowing. I look at him and he says ‘you’ve got a very nice smile.’ And I say, ‘I was thinking the same thing.’ He tells me to come up and sit with him. He says you’ve got two questions. So, the first thing I ask him is to sign my shirt. Which he does in Tibetan. Then I asked him, ‘How did you know you were the one?’ And he says, ‘How did you know you were the one?’ And I said ‘when I was 12-years-old I knew I’d be a pro and it all came spurting out.’ And he said he had the same feeling when he was 6-year-old. Look, I’ve jumped out of a plane, and meeting him was the same feeling. He was ultra-human.

UP: Who do you think are the top 5 greatest NBA players? Why?

JS: They should be judged by decades. Michael Jordan was the best in the 90s. Kobe Bryant was the best in the 2000s. LeBron is the best after 2010. Now you have Kevin Durant who is the best of 2017. The best big man ever is Wilt Chamberlain and then you have Magic and Bird who changed the way we look at sports.

In early July, James Blake confirmed that his next album was done, and a few weeks later let fans know that Friends That Break Your Heart would be here by the fall. His fifth full-length album came out via Republic Records just a few days ago, and includes guests like SZA, along with more of the yearning, eerie production that has long made him an influence on the rest of the music world.

Today, Blake has shared a rework of one of the songs on the album, “Funeral,” and this new version features the UK rapper Slowthai. The pair also appear in a black-and-white video accompanying the track together, which you can watch above. Finally, they will both appear on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon tonight to perform the collaboration. Perhaps Blake’s girlfriend and collaborator Jameela Jamila will also join the pair at the performance, as she has plenty off experience on stage as a working actress and TV show host, and was also credited with helping produce nine (!) out of the twelve songs on the album. Of course, sexist skeptics questioned the validity of her contributions, but she slammed them back on Twitter in true Jameela fashion. Keep an eye out for that performance tonight and check out the video above.

The Golden Globes have long been a staple of awards season. It’s the less respected, far drunker answer to both the Oscars and the Emmys. But last year they ran into a major pickle. Long-simmering frustrations about the Hollywood Foreign press Association’s lack of diversity, even outright racism finally came to a head. Talent boycotted it. NBC dropped it from its 2022 slate. But next year’s awards are still happening — even though there’s currently no network to air them.

As per Variety, the organization, whose voting body comprises the Golden Globes, is still planning a show of some sort. “The HFPA plans to recognize the performances of 2021 to celebrate the great work of the industry this past year at the 79th Annual Golden Globes,” a source told the publication. In other words, it’s business as usual, minus, currently, the part where drunk celebrities gather in a large auditorium while a host like Ricky Gervais makes fun of them in front of a national audience.

That could still happen, potentially, in some form. A reporter at Puck speculated that the 2022 iteration of the Globes could take the form of a press conference. That doesn’t have the same appeal as yet another glitzy awards show, though those have suffered over the last handful of years, hitting a nadir during the height of the pandemic, when such shows struggled for ratings.

Since NBC dropped the Globes in May, the HFPA has been quick to make reforms, hoping to patch up the relationship. (The network has said they’d be open to picking things back up in 2023.) Among the changes was adding 21 new members, including 29% Black journalists, forbidding its members from collecting gifts and trips, and adding new directors to oversee ethics and diversity changes. That may be too little, too late for 2022, but maybe 2023 will be the year they hit big.

(Via Variety)

On Friday, as part of the investigation into the Washington Football Team’s toxic culture, an email from Jon Gruden to former Washington executive Bruce Allen that used racist tropes to describe then NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith was uncovered that became one of the biggest talking points in the NFL.

Gruden continued to coach on Sunday, but the Raiders and the NFL were expected to look into the matter further this week. On Monday night, more emails from Gruden to Allen emerged that showed a pattern of offensive language, as he used homophobic slurs, misogynistic language, and more on a number of occasions. It is some horrific, inexcusable language and the conversation shifted from “will the Raiders fire him” to “when will the Raiders fire him” very quickly.

The answer came quickly, as Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported Gruden told his staff that he would be resigning immediately following the leak of the latest emails — with more potentially to follow. Adam Schefter of ESPN confirmed the news shortly after.

It brings Gruden’s tenure with the Raiders to an end and should also be the end of Gruden being part of any NFL team or anyone’s NFL coverage ever again. Gruden went 22-31 in his three-plus seasons back in charge of the Raiders, who will now have to find a new head coach as they look to move forward after a 3-2 start to this season.

UPDATE: Gruden issued a very brief statement regarding his resignation and the emails that came to light.

After a report from the Wall Street Journal uncovered Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden using racist language toward NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith in 2011, Gruden issued an apology, stating he is “really sorry” and “used a horrible way of explaining” a comment about Smith’s lips. Just days later, additional emails have been uncovered by Ken Belson and Katherine Rosman of The New York Times and they are of a troubling nature, as well.

The report indicates Gruden “casually and frequently unleashed misogynistic and homophobic language over several years to denigrate people around the game and to mock some of the league’s momentous changes.” An example of that highly inappropriate and indefensible language was shared in reference to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and former Missouri Tigers star Michael Sam.

In the emails, Gruden called the league’s commissioner, Roger Goodell, a “f*****” and a “clueless anti football p*ssy” and said that Goodell should not have pressured Jeff Fisher, then the coach of the Rams, to draft “queers,” a reference to Michael Sam, a gay player chosen by the team in 2014.

The emails point to Gruden’s apparent regular use of homophobic slurs, which is particularly notable given he is currently coaching the NFL’s first active player to come out as gay in Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib. Gruden also reportedly indicated that Eric Reid should be fired following his demonstrations during the national anthem. His comments were also not limited to the NFL, as he reportedly shared inappropriate sentiment about former President Barack Obama and current President and then-vice president Joe Biden.

Gruden also criticized President Obama during his re-election campaign in 2012, as well as then-vice president Joe Biden, whom Gruden called a “nervous clueless p*ssy.” He used similar words to describe Goodell and DeMaurice Smith, the executive director of the N.F.L. Players Association.

At the very least, Gruden’s comments put his job in significant jeopardy, even with a massive contract to lead the Raiders organization on the field. While his words in these emails were uttered when he was an ESPN analyst and not a representative of the Raiders, the mounting evidence is impossible to ignore or excuse. Gruden’s previous apology certainly won’t cover the additional revelations here and, in addition, it is possible there is even more to parse as his emails continue to be investigated by the league and team.

Two days ago on Instagram, the brand new @calivibesfest account posted a cryptic video with a caption that said “Something is on the horizon.” It didn’t take long for us to find out what that “something” is, as the lineup and dates for Goldenvoice’s brand new California Vibrations Festival (Cali Vibes) has now been announced. Wu-Tang Clan and a very special Bob Marley Birthday Celebration with Ziggy, Damian, Julian, Stephen and Ky-Mani Marley are highlighting a loaded lineup of reggae, rock, roots and hip-hop. The Bob birthday celebration is especially intriguing with The Marley Brothers playing songs from their father’s timeless discography.

The festival takes place from February 2 — 4, 2022 at Marina Green Park in Long Beach and the lineup also includes Rebelution, Sean Paul, Stick Figure, Slightly Stoopid, Sublime With Rome, Dirty Heads, Atmosphere, Barrington Levy, Sean Paul, The Grouch & Eligh, Pepper, Long Beach Dub All-Stars, Koffee and more. Tickets go on-sale this Friday, October 15 and 3-day passes begin at $285 for GA, $420 for VIP and $999 for Beach Club Passes. Single day tickets are also available.

You can view all of the ticket options here. Which also includes single day tickets and payment plans. Visit the festival’s site for more info on everything and check out the full lineup poster for the 3-day festival below.

The GOP is for the most part ride or die against masks and vaccines, despite the best efforts of leaders like Mitch McConnell. (And every great now and then Trump, who is partly responsible for the latter.) Things are so bad even those who’ve actually caught COVID, and suffered, aren’t convinced. Such is the case with Allen West, the former congressman and possible future Texas governor, who tweeted out a deranged anti-vaxx screed…while in the hospital for the disease against which he’s not vaccinated.

West — who isn’t one of the most famous members of the Trump-era GOP but who has nonetheless been an unhinged firebrand since the Tea Party era — used his preventable stint in a Texas emergency room to encourage others to be like him and render hospitals even more clogged than they are. He wasn’t against treatment for the virus. He actually quite enjoyed the alternative, namely monoclonal antibody treatments, which is more time-consuming, costlier, and not as effective.

“I can attest that, after this experience, I am even more dedicated to fighting against vaccine mandates,” West tweeted. “Instead of enriching the pockets of Big Pharma and corrupt bureaucrats and politicians, we should be advocating the monoclonal antibody infusion therapy.” (Spoiler: Monoclonal antibody treatments are also supplied by “Big Pharma.”)

West also made sure to slip in a tenuous jab at non-Americans. “Instead of jabbing Americans, and not illegal immigrants, with a dangerous shot which injects them with these spike proteins . . . guess what? I now have natural immunity and double the antibodies, and that’s science,” he wrote. Although, is it?

He promised, if he replaces the also questionable Greg Abbott, he will “vehemently crush anyone forcing vaccine mandates in the Lone Star State.” He added, “Our bodies are our last sanctuary of liberty and freedom, I will defend that for everyone, even the progressive socialist jackasses who must be saved from themselves.”

West — who in the past has praised such unproven COVID remedies as invermectin, hydroxychloroquine, and anti-malarial medication — also thanked the hospital staff for making him grits.

When West’s thread went viral, some didn’t agree 100% with his police work.

As social media dog-piled on West, he did the smart thing: He turned off the replies to his tweets.

(Via The Daily Beast)

The New Orleans Pelicans enter the 2021-22 NBA season with a sense of urgency. There were some positive signs from New Orleans a season ago but, after the season, the Pelicans moved on from Stan Van Gundy, flipped Lonzo Ball and Steven Adams, and remade the roster around Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram. However, Pelicans president of basketball operations David Griffin shared a curveball at the team’s Media Day in September, revealing that Williamson suffered a fracture in his right foot that required surgery in the offseason.

At the time, Griffin indicated that Williamson was on track to be ready for the regular season, but with the Pelicans beginning their 82-game journey in fewer than 10 days, it seems as if the team’s franchise player isn’t quite game-ready.

In addition to indicating that Williamson has been relegated to only some light shooting and dribbling, head coach Willie Green shared that his status won’t change, at least when it comes to running, until his scan results are in. “We’re holding him back on running until we know further from his tests coming up,” Green said, via Andrew Lopez of ESPN.

It isn’t impossible that Williamson could function in a regular season setting in the near term, but New Orleans plays their opener on Oct. 20. That leaves a very short timetable for Williamson if he isn’t running at this stage, and that is before taking into account any extra caution the Pelicans might exercise with their centerpiece. New Orleans does have other weapons, headlined by Ingram, but the Pelicans are clearly built around Williamson, and this is a situation that is worth closely monitoring as the season looms.