Month: October 2021

Almost a full year since he brought unparalleled levels of handsome to the Season 2 premiere of The Mandalorian, Timothy Olyphant’s Cobb Vanth is finally getting his own action figure. Announced by Hasbro on Friday, Olyphant will be immortalized in the Star Wars Black Series line of 6-inch, fully articulated figures. And as you can tell by the photos below, Cobb Vanth looks devilishly accurate, right down to perfectly capturing Olyphant’s silver fox look.

Appearing in the aforementioned episode of The Mandalorian, “The Marshal,” Cobb Vanth protected a small Tatooine town from Sandpeople raids thanks to the use of Boba Fett’s armor, which Vanth found after the notorious bounty hunter somehow escaped the bowels of the Sarlacc Pit where he was last seen during Return of the Jedi. After Vanth and Pedro Pascal’s Mando defeated a Krayt dragon by forming an alliance with the Sandpeople, Vanth turned over the armor, which would later find its way to its rightful owner later in the season.

Like its Marvel counterpart, the world of Star Wars is notoriously secret, so there’s been no word on whether Olyphant will return as Vanth. However, The Book of Boba Fett premieres at the end of December, and that series starts with Boba Fett taking ownership of Jabba’s Palace on Tatooine where Vanth is still enforcing the law. Will the bounty hunter want to settle the score with the guy who’s been running around with his armor? Maybe. But just like his character in Justified, Olyphant’s Vanth is not a dude to be trifled with lightly. Or at all really. The guy is a badass. Even in tiny plastic form.
(Via Hasbro Pulse on Twitter)

Kacey Musgraves’ Star-Crossed standout “Camera Roll” was part of a huge moment earlier this month when Musgraves performed the song naked (save for a pair of boots and a guitar) on Saturday Night Live. Now we have another moment in the spotlight for “Camera Roll,” as Musgraves just dropped a surreal new video for it. The clip starts with an approaching ambulance, and we quickly learn its heading towards Musgraves, who got in a car crash that left her body shattered into dozens of pieces.

Musgraves previously said of the song, “I thought I was fine. I was on an upswing of confidence. I’m feeling good about these life changes, where I’m at; I made the right decision and we’re moving forward. And then, in a moment of, I don’t know, I guess boredom and weakness, I found myself just way back in the camera roll, just one night alone in my bedroom. Now I’m back in 2018, now I’m in 2017. And what’s crazy is that we never take pictures of the bad times. There’s no documentation of the fight that you had where, I don’t know, you just pushed it a little too far.”

Watch the “Camera Roll” video above.

Star-Crossed is out now via Interscope Records/MCA Nashville. Get it here.

Chicago rapper Mick Jenkins is back with another new single to promote his upcoming album, Elephant In The Room. After kicking off his latest buzz cycle with the video for “Contacts,” Mick addresses the disappointment of going through a relationship feeling like a second-place priority with “Scottie Pippen.” Named for the NBA Hall of Famer who has famously been committed to the annals of history as just being Michael Jordan’s sidekick despite being one of the greatest players of all time, the song is aptly named.

For the rollout to Elephant In The Room, Mick has created a nifty website mirroring his phone’s calendar, contacts, notes, and photos apps, using it to offer insights into the album and the tracks that have been released so far. Of “Scottie Pippen,” Mick writes, “Scottie Pippen never got the recognition he deserved when playing next to Micahel Jordan. He is often relegated to just a sidekick, but he was just as important in those championship games as Mike. Sometimes no matter how hard we try we’ll just be number two to some. And no matter how great the work is, it goes underappreciated.”

Relatable content. Speaking of, there’s also a reminders list on his site with a link to pre-save the album, as well as reminders to “CALL YOUR MOTHER” and “Drink More Water,” which, y’know? We could all stand to do a little more.

Listen to “Scottie Pippen” above.

Donald Trump has finally (?) weighed in on the Meghan McCain drama.

To recap: the conservative voice of The View left the talk show in August; she released a memoir this week in which she claimed that she left due to a “toxic” work environment while dealing with postpartum depression; ABC reportedly claims that McCain was the problem and that, as TMZ put it, she was “essentially forced out of her role after an internal investigation.” Now, the former-president has shared a statement attacking McCain and praising himself for giving her senator father the “world’s longest funeral.”

“Isn’t it funny that Meghan McCain, who has always been a bully and basically a lowlife, is now complaining that it was she who was bullied by the Slobs and Radical Left maniacs of The View. At the request of many of her representatives, I made it possible for her father to have the world’s longest funeral, designed and orchestrated by him, even though I was never, to put it mildly, a fan,” he wrote. Trump previously called her dad John McCain, the late Republican senator for Arizona who ran for president in 2008, a “dummy” and said he wasn’t a war hero “because he was captured.”

The statement continues:

“In any event, Meghan should fight the Communists instead of explaining how they beat her, hurt her, and made her ‘physically ill.’ She should fight back against the Losers of The View the way she fights against very good and well-meaning Republicans, and she would do herself a world of good!”

Very normal stuff. You can read the entire statement below.

If there’s one thing that solidifies just what a hot commodity a piece of pop culture is, it has to be it getting its own line of Funko Pops. Luckily for all you collectors out there, that’s just what’s happening to Netflix’s sleeper-hit Squid Game.

After quickly becoming Netflix’s most-watched series of all time, the hyper-violent Korean drama centered around playing deadly children’s games is now getting its own line of child-like figurines. Most likely fast-tracked due to the show’s shocking success, the figures are already designed and ready for pre-order on both Amazon and Walmart’s websites though they won’t be officially released May 25, 2022.

All five of the available contestants (Abdul Ali, Kang Sae-byeok, Oh Il-nam, Cho Sang-woo, and Seong Gi-Hun), as well as the “circle” masked Red Soldier Funko Pop, are available to purchase at both stores. However, for those of you looking to pick up the Red Soldiers sporting the “triangle” and “square” masks, your only option is to order through Walmart, as Netflix has recently entered into an exclusive merchandising deal with the big box store.

As of right now, the “square” masked soldier is being sold as a part of a set of four Pops that features the red-hooded assailant, a “circle” masked soldier, Ali, and Cho Sang-woo, while the “triangle” masked soldier is still unavailable to purchase. Each Funko Pop is being sold individually on Amazon for $10.99 each, or in bundles over on Walmart for anywhere from $26-35. There’s no telling how long the pre-orders will be live or just how many pre-orders Funko will be accepting, meaning the time to order is now if you’re seriously about collecting them all. It’s also worth mentioning that with a potential second season on the way, these figures could very well be hard to find in the coming years.

One of the most obscure pieces of Schitt’s Creek accoutrement is officially for sale, but it’s a long way from that Lego Rosebud Motel when it comes to price.

That’s right: A mansion that appeared in the pilot episode of Schitt’s Creek is for sale. Though it only appeared briefly in the pilot — the show’s opening shot, in fact — it’s the established home of the Rose family before things go haywire and they’re sent off to rural Ontario.

And according to The Wrap, in real life, it’s pretty swanky as well.

The “La Belle Maison” chateau, as the property is known, is located in St. Andrew-Windfields, one of Toronto’s wealthiest neighborhoods. Boasting 12 beds and 16 bathrooms, the three-story mansion is surrounded by landscaped gardens, a saltwater swimming pool and a heated driveway with space for up to 14 cars. Inside, the luxurious amenities include a wine cellar, aquarium, full-service elevator, indoor pool, billiards room and home theater.

Despite the architecture, the mega-mansion was actually built in Toronto in 2012 and reportedly inspired by the Palace of Versailles. And fittingly, the mansion was first listed at $11.8 million before getting relisted for nearly $16 million later in the year. Now, it’s apparently worth $17.7 million, or $21.88 million in Canadian funny money.

The home that was made famous in A Nightmare On Elm Street, meanwhile, will cost you considerably less and is a bit more practical for a normal person. But you’ll still have to be a millionaire if you want in on the real estate memorabilia train.

[via The Wrap]

Months after releasing their 1994 breakthrough album Dookie, Green Day popped into the BBC’s Maia Vale Studios — less than a mile away from the equally famed Abbey Rd studio — for a wild four-song set. They played “She,” “When I Come Around,” “Basket Case,” and “2000 Light Years” (the latter off of their earlier album Kerplunk). Little did the Bay Area punk trio of Billy Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tré Cool know that they were on the brink of global stardom. And they probably also never imagined that this would be the first of four sessions over the next eight years that they’d lay down for the BBC at Maida Vale.

Now these four sessions are being released as the 16-track The BBC Sessions live album, out December 10th via Reprise. Along with that 1994 recording, is a 1996 session from the Insomniac run, a 1998 session from the Nimrod era, and finally a 2001 stop following the release of Warning. It’s the first time these recordings have been mastered, and a preview in the form of the “2000 Light Years” performance from that first session is out now, and it sounds well…flawless. All in all, this is a window into the lightning in a bottle that the band found early on and the magic they kept pulling out of the well as the years went on.

Listen to “2000 Light Years Away (BBC Live Session)” above, check out the album artwork and track list below, and see Green Day’s 2022 Europe tour dates here.

1. “She” (Live at the BBC June 8 1994)
2. “When I Come Around” (Live at the BBC June 8 1994)
3. “Basket Case” (Live at the BBC June 8 1994)
4. “2000 Light Years Away” (Live at the BBC June 8 1994)
5. “Geek Stink Breath” (Live at the BBC November 3 1996)
6. “Brain Stew/Jaded” (Live at the BBC November 3 1996)
7. “Walking Contradiction” (Live at the BBC November 3 1996)
8. “Stuck With Me” (Live at the BBC November 3 1996)
9. “Hitchin’ A Ride” (Live at the BBC February 12 1998)
10. “Nice Guys Finish Last” (Live at the BBC February 12 1998)
11. “Prosthetic Head” (Live at the BBC February 12 1998)
12. “Redundant” (Live at the BBC February 12 1998)
13. “Castaway” (Live at the BBC August 28 2001)
14. “Church On Sunday” (Live at the BBC August 28 2001)
15. “Minority” (Live at the BBC August 28 2001)
16. “Waiting” (Live at the BBC August 28 2001)

The BBC Sessions is out 12/10/2021 via Reprise Records. Pre-order/save it here.

Green Day is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

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What exactly is a “warming whiskey?” That’s a tricky question. Ultimately, the answer depends on your particular taste. To me, a warming whiskey is a higher proof spirit with the ability to “warm my bones” on a cool fall (or frigid winter) night. But for my palate, high proof alone doesn’t totally cut it. I wouldn’t really enjoy a 120 proof bottom-shelf bottle of swill that tastes more like it belongs in a lawnmower than in my glass.

There needs to be a nice ratio between high proof, warming ability (that famous “Kentucky hug“), and quality juice. A little bit hot, but… with nuance.

Today, I dug into my tasting notebook and selected eight bourbons known for their proof, warming nature, and overall quality. This doesn’t necessarily mean they’re expensive (although some are). Also — and this should be very obvious — drinking high proof won’t actually warm you up. In fact, it’s the exact opposite. A nice tipple of corn-based whiskey might make you feel warmer inside and out, but it’s not a replacement for a knitted sweater, cozy jacket, or winter hat.

Okay, let’s dive in. As always, you can click on the prices to try these yourself!

Wild Turkey Rare Breed

ABV: 56.4%

Average Price: $50

The Whiskey:

Ask 10 bartenders for their favorite warming, high-proof bourbon and at least a few will say Wild Turkey Rare Breed. This cask strength, 112.8 proof bourbon touts itself as the “original small batch” barrel proof bourbon. It’s a blend of six, eight, and 12-year-old bourbons.

Tasting Notes:

For a high-proof whiskey, this bourbon’s nose is surprisingly sweet with hints of clover honey, vanilla beans, and rich toffee. The palate is loaded with caramel corn, cereal grains, sweet cream, and gentle, peppery spice. It all ends with a nice mix of heat and sweetness with a final note of cracked black pepper.

Bottom Line:

You’d be hard-pressed to find a better price-to-quality ratio on this list. For around $50 you can enjoy this gently spicy, vanilla sweet sipper.

Remus Repeal Reserve Series V

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $82

The Whiskey:

MGP of Indiana is a massive distillery known for making whiskey for a ton of other brands, but Remus Repeal is one of its own expressions. The 2021 version is a blend of high-rye bourbons barreled between 2005 and 2008.

Tasting Notes:

A complex nose of caramel apples, sweet, corn, dried cherries, charred oak, and vanilla beans greets you. Then it’s time to dive into the flavors of oaky wood, butterscotch, clover honey, dried fruits, and just a hint of peppery rye. It all ends in a great deal of warmth and nutty, caramel sweetness.

Bottom Line:

There’s a good chance you’ve enjoyed MGP’s whiskeys before under different labels. The time is right to try one of its own brands. I promise, it’s totally worth it.

Wyoming Whiskey Double Cask

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $65

The Whiskey:

Over the past few years, a small-batch distillery in rural Wyoming has caught the attention of the whiskey world. While you can’t go wrong with Wyoming Whiskey’s small batch bourbon, if you really want to feel the warmth of a great whiskey, you’ll pick up a bottle of its Double Cask Bourbon.

First released in 2017, Wyoming Whiskey took its flagship five-year-old bourbon and finished it in Pedro Ximénez sherry butts.

Tasting Notes:

On the nose, you’ll find aromas of ripe berries, wood char, and butterscotch. The palate is highlighted by notes of fudge, toasted vanilla beans, dried cherries, more oaky wood, and gentle, peppery spices. The warming finish ends with notes of dried fruits, oak, and vanilla.

Bottom Line:

This limited-edition bottle isn’t always easy to find. But if you can get your hands on a bottle you’ll be pretty happy you did. It’s warming, sweet, and complex.

Larceny Barrel Proof

ABV: 60-65%

Average Price: $80

The Whiskey:

Drinkers love Larceny Barrel Proof because they know each bottle will be a new-ish flavor adventure. This is because, depending on the batch, the proof and flavor will be subtly different, based on the selected barrels. This a small-batch, wheated, blend of six to eight-year-old high-proof bourbons — released three times throughout the year.

Tasting Notes:

Aromas of maple syrup, cooking spices, caramel corn, and buttercream frosting are prevalent on the nose. Taking a sip reveals notes of dried fruits, butterscotch, vanilla beans, and candied pecans. It’s warming, mellow, and complex.

Bottom Line:

The high amount of wheat makes this high-proof bourbon surprisingly soft, mellow, and easy to drink. It’s helped by myriad sweet, complementary flavors.

TX Straight Bourbon Barrel Proof

ABV: 63.7%

Average Price: $75

The Whiskey:

Texas is becoming a go-to state for whiskey drinkers with the likes of Balcones and Garrison Brothers leading the charge. But definitely don’t sleep on Firestone & Robertsons’s TX, specifically its Straight Bourbon Barrel Proof. It’s uncut, unfiltered, and even has a “harvest date” to show when each barrel was selected.

Tasting Notes:

This bourbon gets a great start with a nose of cinnamon, caramel corn, maple candy, dried cherries, and rich, charred oak. Its palate is littered with flavors like vanilla beans, ripe berries, butterscotch, candy apples, and just a hint of peppery spice at the very finish to hold everything together.

Bottom Line:

After you’ve tried expressions from Balcones and Garrison Brothers, why not give this high-proof whiskey a try? It’s bold, sweet, well-balanced, and highly memorable.

Rabbit Hole Dareringer

ABV: 46.5%

Average Price: $82

The Whiskey:

Rabbit Hole is a fairly new name in the whiskey world, having opened in 2012. Since then, the distillery has garnered acclaim and awards for its whiskeys. One of its best is its Rabbit Hole Dareringer. This award-winning straight bourbon was aged in charred, American oak barrels before being transferred to Pedro Ximénez sherry butts for finishing.

Tasting Notes:

The nose is laden with scents of dried cherries, rich oak, butterscotch, and gentle, sweet sherry. The palate is filled with notes of ripe berries, vanilla beans, oaky wood, caramelized sugar, dried cherries, and gentle spices. The finish is dry, warming, and ends with a nice final hint of caramel and fruity sweetness.

Bottom Line:

Fans of scotch already know that finishing (or aging) in a former sherry cask only adds to the depth of flavor. This is especially true when it comes to high-proof whiskeys. This bourbon is complex and bold and gets added stewed fruit notes from ex-sherry butts.

FEW Straight Bourbon

ABV: 46.5%

Average Price: $55

The Whiskey:

FEW has made a name for itself in the spirits world in the last decade. Its Straight Bourbon just might be its best expression. While not as high in alcohol as some of the other expressions on this list, it’s made with corn, rye, and malted barley before being matured in charred, oak barrels.

Tasting Notes:

The nose is classic bourbon with aromas of oaky wood, butterscotch, dried cherries, maple syrup, and slight spice. The palate is swirling with caramel corn, vanilla beans, toffee, dried fruits, and baking spices. It all ends with a nice, dry, warming, slightly spicy finish.

Bottom Line:

While this bourbon might not have the name recognition of some of the “big boys,” it belongs on your whiskey shelf just like Wild Turkey, Jim Beam, and others.

Weller Full Proof

ABV: 57%

Average Price: $450 (MSRP: $50)

The Whiskey:

If you can get past the fact that Weller bourbons are hard-to-find and often have inflated prices, you can acknowledge that this is a really good, warming whiskey. It’s a 114-proof, uncut, unfiltered, and bold bourbon that retains its smooth, soft quality due to its high wheat content.

Tasting Notes:

This nose is a bourbon lover’s dream with hints of dried fruits, butterscotch, toasted vanilla beans, and baking spices. The palate is rich, with hints of sticky toffee, fudge, wood char, ripe cherries, and caramelized sugar. It all ends with a nice, mellow, sweet finish of maple candy and cinnamon sugar.

Bottom Line:

If you can get your hands on a bottle of this high-proof, uncut whiskey at close to MSRP, you should buy it. It’s 114 proof, but you wouldn’t know it due to the soft, sweet, mellow, highly sippable flavor.

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As a Drizly affiliate, Uproxx may receive a commission pursuant to certain items on this list.

The year 2018 was a pivotal one in the produce industry, the Red Delicious was supplanted as the most popular apple in America by the sweeter, crisper Gala.

It was only a matter of time. The Red Delicious looked the part of the king of the apples with its deep red, flawless skin. But its interior was soft, mealy, and pretty bland. The Red Delicious was popular for growers because its skin hid any bruises and it was desired by consumers because of its appearance.

But these days it’s having a hard time competing with the delectable crunch provided by the Gala, honeycrisp, and Fuji.

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“It’s the beginning of the end,” Tom Burford, an apple historian, told The New York Times. “How are you going to market a tasteless apple when the consumer has tasted so many good apples?”

Science communicator James Dingley has documented the demise of the Red Delicious in a new video “Who Killed the Red Delicious?” that has over 135,000 views on YouTube. In the video he traces the development of the Red Delicious from farms in Kazakhstan 10,000 years ago and explains why it’s disappearing from supermarket shelves.

“Red Delicious. They used to be delicious, but not so much anymore. How did they go from spending 70 years as America’s favorite apple to today, where they’re not even stocked at my local supermarket?” Dingley asks in the video.

Give it a look and you’ll be the smartest person in the produce section of your favorite grocery store.

Who Killed The Red Delicious?

www.youtube.com

In Washington state, the vaccine mandate deadline—after which state employees who declined to get vaccinated for COVID-19 would be let go—arrived on October 18. There have been some high-profile holdouts in the state with the mandate, including the Washington State University (WSU) football head coach who was ousted this week from his $3.1 million-a-year position over his refusal to get the vaccine. And though many have gone ahead and gotten the shots, a handful of state employees have stood their ground on principle, choosing to give up their careers rather than comply with a government mandate in a public health emergency.

One of those employees is this Washington State Patrol officer who shared a video of his final sign-off on the mandate deadline. What I find interesting about this particular video is that he’s so calm and reasonable sounding. He’s not spouting conspiracy theories. He’s not cussing out the governor. He’s not ranting about tyranny. He’s simply stating that he’s taking “a moral stand for medical freedom and personal choice” and sharing words of thanks and encouragement to his fellow officers. His seemingly sane sincerity is almost enough to make me sympathetic.

And yet, ironically, everything he says makes it clear that his refusal of the vaccine makes zero sense.

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The fatal flaw in this video is how the officer repeatedly talks about staying safe and coming home at the end of the day. He talks about how relieved his wife and kids are at the end of each shift. He makes it clear that an officer’s job is dangerous and he tells his fellow officers to “stay safe” and “take care of one another.”

Here’s the thing. The single greatest danger to police officers’ safety is COVID-19. That’s not a guess or assumption, it’s math.

According to the Officer Down Memorial Page, COVID-19 was the No. 1 cause of death for police officers in the United States in 2020, and so far in 2021 as well. And it’s not just No. 1 by a little bit. In fact, five times more officers have been killed by COVID-19 than by gunfire in the past two years. In Washington state specifically, half of the law enforcement officers who have died this year were killed by COVID-19. In 2020, it was more than half.

COVID-19 vaccines reduce the chance of getting and transmitting COVID-19 and greatly reduce the chance of death from the virus. So if this officer is truly as concerned about safety as he sounds, he’d get the vaccine. If he’s as concerned about his fellow officers as he sounds, he’d get the vaccine. If he wants officers to take care of one another, as he says, he’d get the vaccine—and he’d encourage others to do the same. If he cares about protecting and serving the people of Washington, he’d get the vaccine.

He talks about the number of officers and sergeants who will no longer be serving as of this week, due to their refusal to get vaccinated. But what about the officers no longer serving because they were taken by COVID-19? Many of those officers didn’t have a choice to get vaccinated because they died before vaccines were available. How would they feel about their fellow officers refusing to do the one simple thing that could have saved them from dying in the line of duty?

Police officers are required to do risky things in their job. Driving around in a patrol car carries a risk. Being armed with a gun carries a risk. Obviously, chasing down criminals carries a risk. Does getting vaccinated for COVID-19 carry a risk? Yes. But it’s a tiny one, and remaining unvaccinated is a far, far riskier choice for you and your colleagues and the people you swore to protect and serve.

The officer said he was taking a stand for medical choice, but he’s doing so without acknowledging 1) the public health emergency/global pandemic that prompted the need for the vaccine he’s refusing, and 2) the fact that caring about safety makes getting vaccinated the only logical choice.

But a choice it is. Losing your job over vaccine refusal during a public health crisis that has killed 700,000 Americans is a choice. And it’s one that doesn’t make any sense when the purpose of your job is to protect and serve the public.

Sir, I get the “medical freedom” argument, but you are refusing to take one small risk to minimize a known danger that has killed more of your fellow officers than every other line-of-duty cause of death combined in the past two years. Just seems like an odd hill to choose to die on.