Month: November 2021

The tragic shooting that took place while filming the movie “Rust” shocked the world. Even if it wasn’t Alec Baldwin himself who pulled the trigger that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, the fact that a gun used in a movie was able to kill anyone during filming is beyond comprehension.

Much has been made of the people involved, the protocols ignored, and the safeguards that could have and should have prevented such a terrible accident. Part of those discussions is the question of why film productions use real guns in the first place. Obviously, authenticity is desirable in a movie—we viewers expect films to look as realistic as possible. But in the day of digital enhancement, computer-generated special effects, and post-production editing tools that can do almost anything, are real guns necessary to achieve realism?

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson says no. In an interview with Variety, The Rock said that his film production company, Seven Bucks Productions, will not use real guns in any of its films or television shows moving forward.

“We’re going to switch over to rubber guns,” he said. “We’re going to take care of it in post. We’re not going to worry about the dollars.”

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.@TheRock pledges to end the use of real guns on all Seven Bucks Productions sets, following the death of Halyna Hutchins: “We’re going to switch over to rubber guns. We’re going to take care of it in post. We’re not going to worry about the dollars.” https://bit.ly/3ELUZmiu00a0pic.twitter.com/owKGyg18m0

— Variety (@Variety)
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“It just sucks that it had to happen like this for us, on our end—and I can’t speak for anybody else—but for us to wake up,” he said.

He said that within two hours of learning about Hutchins’ death, he was on the phone with his team to discuss how they could make productions safer.

Several people in the industry shared the dangers of guns on set—even prop guns that fire blanks.

But because this prop gun had a plugged barrel, that means all the blast u2014 1/2 the gunpowder required to propel a bullet beyond the speed of sound u2014 comes out the SIDE of the gun.nnIt blew a hole in the paper and lit it on fire.nnProp guns are guns. Full stop.

— David Slack (@slack2thefuture)
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Television David Slack wrote on Twitter:

“When I was in college, we were lucky to have a teacher who was REALLY good about prop gun safety. He did a demo where he hung a piece of paper from a c-stand and then fired a prop gun BESIDE it, not even pointed at the paper.

But because this prop gun had a plugged barrel, that means all the blast — 1/2 the gunpowder required to propel a bullet beyond the speed of sound — comes out the SIDE of the gun. It blew a hole in the paper and lit it on fire. Prop guns are guns. Full stop.“

Movie armorer SL Huang also chimed in on Twitter with a thread about how many safety protocols were obviously missed or ignored.

(and horrified that I am stumped because it means this was likely so bad, and the failures here likely so unfathomably huge and many)

— SL Huang u9ec4u58ebu82ac (@sl_huang)
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Huang also shared that “prop guns” are not guns that fire blanks. A prop gun is fake, a replica often made out of rubber. A blank fire gun is a real gun. “Sometimes real guns are used ‘cold’ (unloaded) if either there’s no matching prop gun or if they want a closeup (the props are usually not as nice looking in detail),” she wrote.

However, she reiterated, there are so many measures and checks and protocols that should have prevented this incident many times over.

Sometimes real guns are used “cold” (unloaded) if either there’s no matching prop gun or if they want a closeup (the props are usually not as nice looking in detail), but for wide shots props are fine

— SL Huang u9ec4u58ebu82ac (@sl_huang)
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Some may feel that The Rock’s pledge to not use any real guns on set is overkill, considering the fact that strict safety protocols, when followed properly, can prevent incidents like the one that killed Halyna Hutchins. But if the same effect can be achieved without the use of real guns, why not go the safer route?

Perhaps it’s worth considering how often guns are used in our entertainment industry. According to research from Ohio State University, gun violence in PG-13 movies nearly tripled between 1985 and 2015. Is Hollywood fueling an obsession with guns, or is America’s obsession with guns fueling Hollywood’s choices? Who knows. But considering the fact that 2020 saw 20,000 Americans die from gun violence (more than double that if we include suicide), which is the highest number in at least two decades, perhaps it’s worth examining.

Move over caviar, there’s a new luxury dish in town. And it goes by the name of dishwasher steak.

CBS News correspondent Michael George revealed hidden–and innovative–culinary talents on Twitter after showing a video of his ingenious hack for cooking the perfect medium rare sirloin.

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Omg it actually worked! I cooked a steak in the dishwasher and it came out AMAZING! @MGEatsTheWorld pic.twitter.com/A3ZuiFM0dL

— Michael George (@MikeGeorgeCBS) November 1, 2021

The video shows Michael placing the meat in a vacuum sealed bag (after seasoning, of course), and then placing it into his dishwasher for 96 minutes. It was the top rack, for anyone wanting to try this at home. Not sure if that’s important, but Michael seems to know what he’s doing. Might as well copy him to the T.

Fast forward to Michael lifting his creation out from the steam and voila! Out came a delectably juicy, undeniably medium rare, restaurant worthy–and yes, definitely cooked–steak.

So how does it work? Michael tells all.

“A dishwasher immerses dishes in 130 degree hot water…that’s basically a giant sous vide machine,” he posted on Twitter.

I COOKED A STEAK IN THE DISHWASHER!?!

A dishwasher immerses dishes in 130 degree hot water…that’s basically a giant sous vide machine, right?! The steak came out a perfect medium rare! It just needed 2 minutes in the pan to brown the outside! #steak #MikeGeorgeEatsTheWorld pic.twitter.com/AR0hc7t80U

— MikeGeorgeEatsTheWorld (@MGEatsTheWorld) November 1, 2021

I had no idea what a sous vide machine was, so I looked it up. If you’re not up-to-date with fancy kitchen appliances, here’s the low down: “sous vide,” French for “under vacuum” is basically the high falutin way of saying that you cooked your food by bathing it in a bag. There, now you’re in the leagues of Gordon Ramsey.

This is not the first successful endeavor of the meat-in-dishwasher cooking method. Check out Tom Scott’s perfectly poached dishwasher Salmon:

For those who have watched the video and wonder why Michael then tossed the steak into the frying pan, he says that’s mostly for aesthetics, explaining that, “with most ways of cooking steak, you put it in the pan for 2 min just to brown the outside.”

He then assured us that “all the internal cooking was done in the dishwasher!”

Some of you might be wondering what would motivate Michale to try such a thing. The question certainly came up on Twitter. And for this, Michael has a simple reply: “for science.”

The quirky cooking discovery led to some fun responses. Most were totally onboard.

Greg Pollowitz of Twitchy admitted, “it…does look good.”

it…..does look good. https://t.co/KihcJoxAyr

— Greg Pollowitz (@GPollowitz) November 1, 2021

Another person posted the meme “I don’t know how, but you used the wrong formula but got the correct answer.”

https://t.co/RYUqSFpDOP pic.twitter.com/xB0Rvb6mq2

— LouLou 🐾🐾 (@Flaaaaalala) November 1, 2021

“Interesting. Kinda like *steam-cooking* it in a microwave,” wrote one person. I mean, yeah sure but where’s the fun in that? Nothing from a microwave is worth posting online. Except for maybe that coffee cup you didn’t know would create sparks.

Not all were behind the idea though. As with most feats of genius, the dishwasher steak did create some controversy.

In addition to many posting “but why” (which we’ve already answered:science!), one person also commented, “just throw it on the grill and stop looking for attention.” Yikes. Can’t a guy just throw a piece of raw meat into his dishwasher then post about it without accusations?

One person asked Michael “have you started a food TikTok yet????” To which he sadly replied “Yes! It has like no followers lol.”

But if you’d like to change that, his TikTok handle is @mikegeorgeeatstheworld. So far he’s posted videos of the squid ink pasta, cubed french toast, and apple swan garnishes, just to name a few.

This article originally appeared on 05.27.16

Pregnant.

There it was, clear as day, two blue lines staring back at me from the small pregnancy test I had just purchased.

I double-checked…

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One line = not pregnant.

Two lines = pregnant.

Photo via iStock.

Yup, I was definitely pregnant.

My heart was pounding.

My head was spinning.

My stomach was churning.

I was nervous, excited, scared, and ecstatic all at the same time.

This was actually happening! After years of dreaming, preparing for, and anticipating this day, it was finally here. I was going to be a mother.

Photo via iStock.

Little did I know that in nine short months, I would begin the most exhausting, life-changing, heart-wrenching, but indescribably rewarding journey of my life.

In nine months, I would learn the price of motherhood firsthand. I would know exactly what it takes to be a mother. I would gain a whole new understanding of and gratitude for the beautiful woman I call Mom.

I would learn about things mothers experience that their children often know very little about.

Here are 10 things your mom never told you.

1. You made her cry … a lot.

She cried when she found out she was pregnant. She cried as she gave birth to you. She cried when she first held you. She cried with happiness. She cried with fear. She cried with worry. She cried because she feels so deeply for you. She felt your pain and your happiness and she shared it with you, whether you realized it or not.

2. She wanted that last piece of pie.

But when she saw you look at it with those big eyes and lick your mouth with that tiny tongue, she couldn’t eat it. She knew it would make her much happier to see your little tummy be filled than hers.

3. It hurt.

When you pulled her hair, it hurt; when you grabbed her with those sharp fingernails that were impossible to cut, it hurt; when you bit her while drinking milk, that hurt, too. You bruised her ribs when you kicked her from her belly; you stretched her stomach out for nine months; you made her body contract in agonizing pain as you entered this world.

4. She was always afraid.

From the moment you were conceived, she did all in her power to protect you. She became your mama bear. She was that lady who wanted to say no when the little girl next door asked to hold you and who cringed when she did because in her mind no one could keep you as safe as she herself could. Her heart skipped two beats with your first steps. She stayed up late to make sure you got home safe and woke up early to see you off to school. With every stubbed toe and little stumble, she was close by; she was ready to snatch you up with every bad dream or late-night fever. She was there to make sure you were OK.

She stayed up late to make sure you got home safe and woke up early to see you off to school.

5. She knows she’s not perfect.

She is her own worst critic. She knows all her flaws and sometimes hates herself for them. She is hardest on herself when it comes to you, though. She wanted to be the perfect mom, to do nothing wrong — but because she is human, she made mistakes. She is probably still trying to forgive herself for them. She wishes with her whole heart that she could go back in time and do things differently, but she can’t, so be kind to her and know she did the best she knew how to do.

6. She watched you as you slept.

There were nights when she was up ’til 3 a.m. praying that you would finally fall asleep. She could hardly keep her eyes open as she sang to you, and she would beg you to “please, please fall asleep.” Then, when you finally fell asleep, she would lay you down, and all her tiredness would disappear for a short second as she sat by your bedside looking down at your perfect cherub face, experiencing more love than she knew was possible, despite her worn-out arms and aching eyes.

7. She carried you a lot longer than nine months.

You needed her to. So she did. She would learn to hold you while she cleaned; she would learn to hold you while she ate; she would even hold you while she slept because it was the only way she could sometimes. Her arms would get tired, her back would hurt, but she held you still because you wanted to be close to her. She snuggled you, loved you, kissed you, and played with you. You felt safe in her arms; you were happy in her arms; you knew you were loved in her arms, so she held you, as often and as long as you needed.

Her arms would get tired, her back would hurt, but she held you still because you wanted to be close to her.

8. It broke her heart every time you cried.

There was no sound as sad as your cries or sight as horrible as the tears streaming down your perfect face. She did all in her power to stop you from crying, and when she couldn’t stop your tears, her heart would shatter into a million little pieces.

9. She put you first.

She went without food, without showers, and without sleep. She always put your needs before her own. She would spend all day meeting your needs, and by the end of the day, she would have no energy left for herself. But the next day, she would wake up and do it all over again because you meant that much to her.

10. She would do it all again.

Being a mom is one of the hardest jobs anyone can do, and it will take you to your very limits sometimes. You cry, you hurt, you try, you fail, you work, and you learn. But, you also experience more joy than you thought was possible and feel more love than your heart can contain. Despite all the pain, grief, late nights, and early mornings you put your mom through, she would do it all again for you because you are worth it to her.

So, next time you see her, tell your mom thank you; let her know that you love her. She can never hear it too many times.

This article originally appeared on 04.15.16

What are women up to when no one is watching?

Artwork courtesy of Sally Nixon, used with permission.

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Well, take a look at Sally Nixon’s illustrations and you’ll see.

The subjects in her artwork aren’t aware we’re looking at them.

And that’s the point. They’re living in a world free from the pressures that exist in the real one.

“I like drawing girls doing their everyday routine — just hanging out, not worried about what others are thinking,” Nixon told Upworthy. “They’re usually alone or with other girls. Their guard is down.”

Editor’s note: An image below contains partial nudity.

Capturing her subjects in this liberated light wasn’t intentional at first, she explained.

But when she started a 365-day challenge last April to create one art piece a day, the work started reflecting the nuances of her own life away from prying eyes — “I was kind of like, ‘Oh, I’m brushing my teeth, so I’ll draw that.'” — and a theme began to form.

Her illustrations show how women look, away from the exhausting world where they’re often judged more harshly than men.

You also might notice none of the girls in her illustrations are smiling.

According to Nixon, that’s a deliberate choice.

“I don’t sit around smiling to myself,” Nixon said, noting the double standard that exists in thinking women should always appear cheerful.

“I’ve been told, ‘You need to smile more.’ It’s so infuriating. I wanted to show the way girls actually look, comfortably.”

The theme of friendship is also an important one in Nixon’s drawings.

“I have four older sisters, so female friendship has always been a big part of my life,” Nixon told The Huffington Post. “You gotta have someone to talk about periods with, and dudes just don’t get it.”

Creating relatable scenes was key to Nixon, too — from the details of women’s lives to the physical shapes of their bodies.

“It’s important that the women I draw aren’t rail thin with huge boobs,” Nixon said. “I think there are enough images of bodies like that out in the world. The ladies I draw typically have small-ish, droopy breasts and thick thighs. They’re kind of lumpy but in an attractive way. Just like real people.”

The women in Nixon’s work aren’t real, but she hopes their stories are.

“One of my absolute favorite comments [on my work] is, ‘Oh my God, it’s me!'” she explained of the depictions.

“There’s a little bit of beauty in [everyday life] and I wanted to bring that out.”

You can view more of Nixon’s artwork on her website and check out her prints for purchase on Etsy.

Chicago rapper Saba didn’t take long after announcing his third album to follow up with the dates for his upcoming world tour in support of the album, the Back Home Tour. The tour will launch in March 2022 in Europe and the UK before coming to the US in April.

Saba’s tour dates in Europe will be supported by a pair of local artists: English rapper/signer Enny, and Dutch-Sudanese R&B singer Gaidaa. When he returns to North America, Saba’s openers will be Dreamville rapper Lute (Saba appears on Lute’s new album Gold Mouf) and the Los Angeles singer Amindi. Tickets will go on sale at 10 am local time on November 12 at sabapivot.com. You can catch Saba onstage before the tour at Day N Vegas this Saturday, November 13.

See below for the full tour dates.

3/1 — Dublin @ Academy
3/3 — Manchester @ Manchester Club Academy*
3/5 — London @ Forum*
3/7 — Birmingham @ Institute 2*
3/9 — Brussels @ Botanique / Orangerie
3/10 — Cologne Luxor
3/11 — Paris @ FVTVR
3/13 — Zurich @ Dynamo
3/14 — Vienna @ Grelle Forelle
3/16 — Milan @ Circolo Magnolia
3/18 — Amsterdam @ Melkweg Main Hall
3/19 — Hamburg @ Gruenspan
3/20 — Berlin @ Yaam
3/22 — Copenhagen @ Amager Bio
3/23 — Oslo @ Parkteateret
3/24 — Stockholm @ Debaser

North America Dates with Lute and Amindi
4/11 — Phoenix @ Van Buren
4/14 — Dallas @ House of Blues
4/15 — Houston @ House of Blues
4/16 — Austin @ Emo’s
4/19 — Orlando @ Celine
4/20 — Atlanta @ Centerstage
4/21 — Charlotte @ Underground
4/22 — Pittsburgh @ Roxian Theatre
4/25 — Brooklyn @ Brooklyn Steel
4/27 — Washington D.C. @ Fillmore
4/28 — Philadelphia @ TLA
4/29 — Boston @ Paradise
5/1 — Toronto @ Phoenix
5/3 — Detroit @ El Club
5/6 — Minneapolis @ First Avenue
5/7 — Lawrence @ Granada
5/9 — Denver @ Cervantes
5/12 — Seattle @ Showbox
5/13 — Portland @ Crystal
5/15 — Vancouver @ Vogue
5/19 — San Francisco @ Regency
5/20 — Santa Cruz @ Catalyst
5/21 — Los Angeles @ Novo

On the morning of January 20, just hours before Joe Biden was set to take the oath of office, Donald Trump reportedly threw a wild tantrum and, along with his son Donald Trump Jr., threatened to quit the Republican Party. Not only that, but the father and son brain trust were vowing to start their own political party, which would have immediate and dire consequences for the GOP whose voters were deeply loyal to Trump.

This latest revelation about the meltdowns occurring in Trump’s final days in office come from a new excerpt from Jonathan Karl’s new book, Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show, which shows a tense (and pouty) exchange between Trump and RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel. According to Karl’s book, McDaniel had called the former president to wish him a cordial farewell, but the situation quickly went south as Trump declared “I’m done” and announced he was quitting the GOP, which would “lose forever without me.” Via ABC News:

Trump’s attitude was that if he had lost, he wanted everybody around him to lose as well, Karl writes. According to a source who witnessed the conversation, Trump was talking as if he viewed the destruction of the Republican Party as a punishment to those party leaders who had betrayed him — including those few who voted to impeach him and the much larger group he believed didn’t fight hard enough to overturn the election in his favor.

“This is what Republicans deserve for not sticking up for me,” Trump told McDaniel, according to the book.

While the tense standoff seemingly favored Trump, Karl writes that the RNC did not take the threat lightly and fired back with threats of its own that got Trump back in line. Namely the RNC threatened to stop paying the legal bills for his numerous election challenges and take control of a very lucrative asset: Trump’s campaign mailing list, which party officials value at over $100 million.

For the record, when reached for comment, both Trump and McDaniel denied the story. McDaniel said she’s never threatened Trump with anything, and you’ll never guess what phrase he used in his response: “fake news.”

(Via ABC News)

Is it sad to get a Cameo for yourself? Probably. But I would absolutely buy one if Matt Berry was on there, if only to hear him say the word “lasagna.”

“Lasagna” is already a funny word, but the What We Do in the Shadows star saying “lasagna”? That’s worth the price of a Cameo right there. It’s also, unfortunately, the only way we’ll get to hear him say it: Chris Pratt was announced as the voice of America’s favorite Mondays-hating, teddy bear-loving, Nermal-mailing cat in the Garfield movie.

This did not sit well with much of the internet (it didn’t help that Pratt was also picked to play Mario in Nintendo’s movie set in the Mushroom Kingdom). But rather than complain, Twitter user @IanDouglasTerry was proactive and came up with an alternate choice. “Hear me out… Matt Berry should be the voice of Garfield and I’m going to do everything in my power to make it happen,” he tweeted. The tweet went viral and inspired a TikTok from @obeanone (@BenKearns6 on Twitter) of what Berry-as-Garfield would sound like.

So good. The campaign to get Berry as Garfield and say “lasagna” has begun.

Pratt already has a Marvel franchise — let Berry play Garfield (and be in The White Lotus season two and host a celebrity cruise and do whatever else he wants).

The Boston Celtics look like a team that could use a shake up after a slow start to the 2021-22 season, while the Philadelphia 76ers continue to be a team in search of a way to satiate Ben Simmons’ public request for a trade. According to a new report, the two franchises might turn to one another for a solution.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Celtics and Sixers have reportedly been in talks with one another over a potential move that would send Simmons to Beantown, although nothing has gotten too far down the road yet. The catch: If it were to happen, Boston would have to part with one of its young All-Star players.

The Boston Celtics have engaged in conversations with the 76ers revolving around Simmons and expressed interest in the 6-foot-11 guard, sources tell The Athletic. Talks have been fluid with no traction as of yet, those sources say. Any potential Simmons deal with the Celtics would have to include All-Star forward Jaylen Brown, an ascending talent who is in the midst of another career season, averaging 25.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists.

Boston finds itself sitting at 4-6 to start the season, the only team in their division with a losing record at the moment. Like Simmons, Brown was a first-round pick in the 2016 NBA Draft who has spent the entirety of his career with the same team. He’s found ways to improve his game throughout his career — he made his first All-Star team last season and kicked off this year with a career-best 46 points in the team’s double overtime loss to the New York Knicks — but was recently called out by Marcus Smart after a loss.

Celtics coach Ime Udoka has a history with Simmons, as he was an assistant coach for the Sixers during the 2019-20 campaign.

With its pandemic-delayed premiere now just a month away, Sony kicked the marketing train for Spider-Man: No Way Home into high gear on Sunday night by dropping a brand new poster that’s filled with some particularly interesting details. As the first trailer revealed back in August, No Way Home is going to put Tom Holland’s Spider-Man through the paces after he asks Doctor Strange for a favor that seemingly cracks open the multiverse. While that trailer didn’t hold back on revealing Alfred Molina’s Dr. Octopus (lot of doctors in this one), which officially confirmed that Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man universe is in the mix. And, now, we’ve got confirmation of another Tobey villain thanks to the new poster, which Holland shared below:

Yes, that’s a tiny Green Goblin flying in the background, looking exactly like Willem Dafoe’s classic take on the character from the original Spider-Man film. But, apparently, that’s not the only secret tucked into the new poster. Over on Twitter, the official No Way Home account told Spidey fans to “go ahead, zoom in on those details,” and here’s what they found:

Naturally, it didn’t take long for things to devolve into hilarious chaos:

But, clearly, this is the biggest reveal from the new No Way Home poster. Big SPOILER ALERT for this one:

Spider-Man: No Way Home swings exclusively into theaters on December 17.

(Via Tom Holland on Instagram)

This past weekend was supposed to be a highlight of the year for Travis Scott, but instead, it became one of the biggest tragedies of his life. At his Astroworld festival, eight people died and many more were injured due to a crowd surge during Scott’s set. The rapper was supposed to be a headliner at this upcoming weekend’s Day N Vegas festival, but understandably, it looks like he will not be performing as planned.

Variety reports that Scott has backed out of the performance because he is “too distraught to play,” according to the publication’s source. As of this post, Day N Vegas organizers have yet to announce any lineup changes related to Scott.

Indeed, Scott seemed deeply bothered by what happened in the statements he shared. His first public response was a written statement in which he said, “I’m absolutely devastated by what took place last night. My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival.” He reiterated that in a video he later shared, saying, “My fans really mean the world to me. I always just really want to leave them with a positive experience. […] I’m honestly just devastated. I could never imagine anything like this happening.”

Furthermore, Variety also reports that Scott intends to provide full refunds to all Astroworld ticketholders.