After decades of anticipation, it’s revealed how Boba Fett escaped from the Sarlacc pit in the opening minutes of The Book of Boba Fett. There’s not much to it, honestly: he “borrows” some oxygen from a dead Storm Trooper, punches a hole in the Sarlacc’s throat, and ignites his wrist-mounted flamethrower. (Telepathy is not involved.) It’s unclear how much time he spent in the Sarlacc since he unceremoniously fell in there in Return of the Jedi, but he definitely wasn’t “slowly digested over a thousand years.” After freeing himself from inside the carnivorous creature, Boba slowly crawls out of the sandy pit — just as Patton Oswalt predicted years earlier on Parks and Recreation.
The comedian gave an eight-minute Star Wars-themed filibuster in the season five episode “Article Two” of the NBC sitcom. You can watch the entire thing above, but for the purpose of The Book of Boba Fett, the key moment comes in the opening minute:
“Pan down from the twin suns of Tatooine. We are now close on the mouth of the Sarlacc Pit. After a beat, the gloved Mandalorian armor gauntlet of Boba Fett grabs onto the sand outside the Sarlacc pit, and the feared bounty hunter pulls himself from the maw of the sandbeast. And we realize that he survived his fall during the battle at Jabba’s palace ship.”
The only thing that Oswalt (who tweeted, “To say I’m touched is putting it lightly. And yeah, #BookofBobaFett ROCKS. YOU’RE WELCOME”) got wrong was that this happened on The Book of Boba Fett, not Star Wars: Episode VII. Also, he didn’t warn us about The Rise of Skywalker. That would have been nice.
In an oddly-filtered appearance on Newsmax (seriously, what’s going with her side of the screen?), Sarah Palin told anchor Eric Bolling that she’s eyeing up another run for office. Palin rocketed to national prominence in 2008 when John McCain chose her to be his vice-presidential candidate in a shocking Hail Mary maneuver that did not seal the deal in his race against Barack Obama. After getting a taste of the public limelight, Palin stepped down as the Governor of Alaska with a year still left on her first term. She then pursued a life of reality television fame and appearing at rallies as needed. But, now, she’s open to doing this whole politics thing again!
While talking to Bolling on Wednesday, Palin expressed her interest in getting back into public service because of her “service heart.”
.@SarahPalinUSA on running for office again: “I’m not so obsessively partisan that I’d let that get in the way of just doing what’s right for the people so I would love to.” @ericbollingpic.twitter.com/zF4iFrtTxQ
“I would love to,” Palin replied. “I would never say never… I feel like there are still some offerings that I have in terms of a service heart. I want to serve. I want to help the people. And I think I have a heck of a lot of common sense, and that’s what we need today. And I’m not so obsessively partisan that I let that get in the way of doing what’s right for the people.”
As for what the heck a “service heart” means, in true Palin form, she might be playing off a popular evangelical saying of having a “servant’s heart” like Jesus in the scriptures. However, at this stage in the Republican Party, being a Looney Tune is actually a plus. Palin paved the way for characters like Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene, so who can blame the former Alaskan governor for wanting to get back in on the action. She practically invented the genre.
Trans Jeopardy! champ Amy Schneider is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down after the show (finally) returned to regular-play (sorry, professors) after a two-week detour. Schneider emerged this week (and it ain’t over yet) with another record after already achieving the top-earning woman status (and she’s gone on to amass even more with over $806,000 in total winnings, even before any tournament play, which will happen because Amy’s eligible for the next Tournament of Champions).
The new record? Well, Amy did not manage to answer a Machine Gun Kelly question (although to be fair, no one did), but she did win her 21st game. And that’s a milestone among women, eclipsing Julia Collins, who claimed the 20-game record in 2014. Before this record happened, though, something else cool went down. That’d be this Monday exchange, in which a defeated contestant (Chas Abdel-Nabi, a learning developer from Georgia) declared, “Truly an honor to lose to you, Amy.”
In response, Amy was as humble (remember, she once opened up about what “sucks” about winning) as ever after metaphorically chopping off a few more heads. “Oh, thanks,” Amy declared. “You were both really strong. I feel like it was kind of a disadvantage that you were both drawn together. Cause like, I feel like you were, stealing each other sometimes, yeah.”
Current (and hopefully, permanent) co-host Ken Jennings seconded that sentiment. “That’s true… You’d rather have two strong challengers than one because they’re going to divide it up, yeah.” And Amy will continue to defend her champion status on Thursday night when she’ll aim for her 22nd Jeopardy! win.
Eminem is one of the most commercially successful rappers ever and that prosperity has carried over into the streaming era. Every album the rapper released this millennium has topped the charts and the LPs do quite well on Spotify. In fact, Chart Data reports that 1999’s The Slim Shady LP recently topped 1 billion total streams on Spotify. They also note that gives Eminem the record for most albums to reach a billion streams, with 11.
.@Eminem’s ‘The Slim Shady LP’ has now surpassed 1 billion streams on Spotify.
Now, the Eminem albums that have a billion Spotify streams are (as NME notes)The Slim Shady LP, 2000’s The Marshall Mathers LP, 2002’s The Eminem Show, 2004’s Encore, 2009’s Relapse, 2010’s Recovery, 2013’s The Marshall Mathers LP 2, 2017’s Revival, 2018’s Kamikaze, and 2020’s Music To Be Murdered By, as well as the 2005 compilation Curtain Call: The Hits. The only full-length album to not reach a billion plays is Em’s 1996 debut Infinite, which was released before Eminem signed with Aftermath and isn’t available on streaming platforms.
This streaming achievement is thanks in part to Eminem’s daughter Hailie Mathers: When Spotify Wrapped lists were going around earlier this month, Mathers revealed that her father was her most-played artist of the year.
In the days leading up to Thanksgiving, we shared the pop culture events we were thankful for in 2021, including the ongoing petty feud between Vin Diesel and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Well, it’s nearly 2022, and we continue to be thankful for their “candy ass” squabbling, which took another turn on Wednesday: Johnson has declined Diesel’s invitation to re-join the Fast and Furious franchise.
Back in November, Diesel wrote on Instagram, “My little brother Dwayne… the time has come. The world awaits the finale of Fast 10. As you know, my children refer to you as Uncle Dwayne in my house. There is not a holiday that goes by that they and you don’t send well wishes… but the time has come.” He also invoked the spirit of late Fast and Furious star Paul “Pablo” Walker, adding, “I say this out of love… but you must show up, do not leave the franchise idle you have a very important role to play.”
The post has over 2 million likes — but Johnson is not one of them.
“I was very surprised by Vin’s recent post,” he recently told CNN. “This past June, when Vin and I actually connected not over social media, I told him directly – and privately – that I would not be returning to the franchise. I was firm yet cordial with my words and said that I would always be supportive of the cast and always root for the franchise to be successful, but that there was no chance I would return.” Johnson continued:
“Vin’s recent public post was an example of his manipulation. I didn’t like that he brought up his children in the post, as well as Paul Walker’s death. Leave them out of it. We had spoken months ago about this and came to a clear understanding. My goal all along was to end my amazing journey with this incredible Fast & Furious franchise with gratitude and grace. It’s unfortunate that this public dialogue has muddied the waters”
In a recent interview, Tyler The Creator spoke about the Myspace origins of his stage name and noted, “It’s really dumb, but it stuck with me, so it just works. But my full name, Tyler Okonma, in all caps just looks really cool. So you might see more of that. I don’t know, I’m getting older and I think when people get older they start to realize sh*t, you just start changing.”
That quote made the rounds recently, with some interpreting it to mean that Tyler is thinking about changing his stage name. Now, Tyler has caught wind of that angle and has taken to Twitter to refute it.
Last night, he tweeted, “I NEVER SAID I WAS CHANGING MY NAME, ARE YOU STUPID? YES.” He quickly added, “WILL EMBRACE MY LAST NAME MORE, LESS WOLF HALEY, NEVER SAID I WAS GONNA CHANGE MY STAGE NAME, WHAT YO EARS ON BRO?”
I NEVER SAID I WAS CHANGING MY NAME, ARE YOU STUPID? YES
Somebody asked what Tyler was talking about and he responded, “INTERVIEWER ASKED ABOUT MY STAGE NAME, I EXPLAINED HOW I GOT IT, I JOKED ABOUT IT BEING DUMB BUT KEPT IT. TALKED ABOUT MY AFRICAN LAST NAME HOW I WANT TO EMBRACE IT NOW THAT IM OLDER AND HAVE A NEW VIEW ON IT. SITES SAYS IM CHANGING IT. FALSE. FROM THE SOURCE IN CASE U BELIEVED.”
INTERVIEWER ASKED ABOUT MY STAGE NAME, I EXPLAINED HOW I GOT IT, I JOKED ABOUT IT BEING DUMB BUT KEPT IT. TALKED ABOUT MY AFRICAN LAST NAME HOW I WANT TO EMBRACE IT NOW THAT IM OLDER AND HAVE A NEW VIEW ON IT. SITES SAYS IM CHANGING IT. FALSE. FROM THE SOURCE IN CASE U BELIEVED https://t.co/5AUTXZhg5P
In a couple other tweets, he concluded, “ALL CAPS MAKES YOU THINK THE PERSON IS MAD OR SOMETHING HA, WILD IT GIVES OFF THAT EMOTION JUST BEING UPPERCASE. BUT YEAH NAH.”
ALL CAPS MAKES YOU THINK THE PERSON IS MAD OR SOMETHING HA, WILD IT GIVES OFF THAT EMOTION JUST BEING UPPERCASE
When Grace Berbig was 7 years old, her mom was diagnosed with leukemia, a cancer of the body’s blood-forming tissues. Being so young, Grace didn’t know what cancer was or why her mother was suddenly living in the hospital. But she did know this: that while her mom was in the hospital, she would always be assured that her family was thinking of her, supporting her and loving her every step of her journey.
Nearly every day, Grace and her two younger sisters would hand-make cards and fill them with drawings and messages of love, which their mother would hang all over the walls of her hospital room. These cherished letters brought immeasurable peace and joy to their mom during her sickness. Sadly, when Grace was just 10 years old, her mother lost her battle with cancer.“
Image courtesy of Letters of Love
Losing my mom put the world in a completely different perspective for me,” Grace says. “I realized that you never know when someone could leave you, so you have to love the people you love with your whole heart, every day.”
Grace’s father was instrumental in helping in the healing process of his daughters. “I distinctly remember my dad constantly reminding my two little sisters, Bella and Sophie, and I that happiness is a choice, and it was now our job to turn this heartbreaking event in our life into something positive.”
When she got to high school, Grace became involved in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and a handful of other organizations. But she never felt like she was doing enough.
“I wanted to create an opportunity for people to help beyond donating money, and one that anyone could be a part of, no matter their financial status.”
In October 2018, Grace started Letters of Love, a club at her high school in Long Lake, Minnesota, to emotionally support children battling cancer and other serious illnesses through letter-writing and craft-making.
Image courtesy of Letters of Love
Much to her surprise, more than 100 students showed up for the first club meeting. From then on, Letters of Love grew so fast that during her senior year in high school, Grace had to start a GoFundMe to help cover the cost of card-making materials.
Speaking about her nonprofit today, Grace says, “I can’t find enough words to explain how blessed I feel to have this organization. Beyond the amount of kids and families we are able to support, it allows me to feel so much closer and more connected to my mom.”
Since its inception, Letters of Love has grown to more than 25 clubs with more than 1,000 members providing emotional support to more than 60,000 patients in children’s hospitals around the world. And in the process it has become a full-time job for Grace.
“I do everything from training volunteers and club ambassadors, paying bills, designing merchandise, preparing financial predictions and overviews, applying for grants, to going through each and every card ensuring they are appropriate to send out to hospitals.”
Image courtesy of Letters of Love
In addition to running Letters of Love, Grace and her small team must also contend with the emotions inherent in their line of work.
“There have been many, many tears cried,” she says. “Working to support children who are battling cancer and other serious and sometimes chronic illnesses can absolutely be extremely difficult mentally. I feel so blessed to be an organization that focuses solely on bringing joy to these children, though. We do everything we can to simply put a smile on their face, and ensure they know that they are so loved, so strong, and so supported by people all around the world.”
Image courtesy of Letters of Love
Letters of Love has been particularly instrumental in offering emotional support to children who have been unable to see friends and family due to COVID-19. A video campaign in the summer of 2021 even saw members of the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings and the NHL’s Minnesota Wild offer short videos of hope and encouragement to affected children.
Grace is currently taking a gap year before she starts college so she can focus on growing Letters of Love as well as to work on various related projects, including the publication of a children’s book.
“The goal of the book is to teach children the immense impact that small acts of kindness can have, how to treat their peers who may be diagnosed with disabilities or illness, and how they are never too young to change the world,” she says.
Since she was 10, Grace has kept memories of her mother close to her, as a source of love and inspiration in her life and in the work she does with Letters of Love.
Image courtesy of Grace Berbig
“When I lost my mom, I felt like a section of my heart went with her, so ever since, I have been filling that piece with love and compassion towards others. Her smile and joy were infectious, and I try to mirror that in myself and touch people’s hearts as she did.”
Please donate to Grace’s GoFundMe and help Letters of Love to expand, publish a children’s book and continue to reach more children in hospitals around the world.
Champagne runs New Year’s Eve — no question about it. As the clock closes in on midnight, it almost feels like bad luck not to have a flute of the fizzy stuff in hand. Just as the first verse of “Auld Lang Syne” begins (the only verse most of us know), we make out with the friendliest stranger nearby and take a gulp or two of that effervescent, bubbly drink.
But as many a craft beer lover has asked across the decades: “Can’t we just drink beer instead?”
No, we’re not talking about hoisting a light beer as the ball drops. We’re talking highly nuanced, flavorful beers on par with that bottle of sparkling wine you overpaid for. Saisons, golden ales, Kolsch beers, and even strong ales fit the bill nicely. To find the best options, we needed a little professional help. We asked a few notable brewers, beer professionals, and craft beer experts to tell us the beers they’ll be drinking this New Year’s Eve to take the place of champers. Keep reading to see all of their picks.
Sante Adairius Saison Bernice
Sante Adairius
John “Magic” Montes De Oca, co-head brewer at TALEA Beer Co. In New York City
Even if I wasn’t drinking Champagne, I’d still want something dry, refreshing, lightly tart, and flavorful. Sante Adairius Saison Bernice hits all those marks and more. It tastes like a blend of Sweet Tarts and ripe stone fruit. It’s also very approachable and drinkable — meaning everyone at your party will like it. I bet most people will like it even more than Champagne.
I’ll be drinking a bottle of Damnation, from Russian River Brewing, when the bell strikes midnight. A strong golden ale brewed to 7.5% ABV, this beer drinks with a fruity, clove, floral bouquet of aroma and flavors. The real Champagne of beer.
Half the fun of Champagne is bubbles, so my mind immediately goes to Duvel. The most popular Belgian strong golden ale, and likely the best, Duvel is bright and clear but full of flavor. It smells like fruit and spicy cloves, and the flavor profile is very unique with things like grapefruit, banana, and even a little black pepper. It’s also highly carbonated, giving off a lot of bubbles and head retention and making it perhaps the most effervescent beer you can get.
For me, it’s always been a Missouri farm-cultured saison called Oude Fermier from Side Project Brewing. It has the perfect amount of funk and complexity to save for any special occasion. It’s also sweet and dry like champagne. To top it off, it is finished in wine barrels to round it out with exceptional oak character.
Oude Fermier is undoubtedly one of my favorite beers, so why not pop one on New Year’s Eve?
Give me a classic kolsch like Reissdorf for this evening. The reason? It’s immensely drinkable, with a lovely cake-like, yeasty character that mingles well with the odd glass of bubbly wine.
I have a tradition where I pop open a 750 ml bottle of Chimay Grande Reserve (Blue) on New Year’s Eve. The cork and caged bottle make it feel like champagne and the beer itself is perfect for ringing in the New Year. The deep, dark, fruit flavors of plum, the sweet toffee-like malt character, and the extra bubbles from natural carbonation make it better than any champagne I’ve ever had.
Extra Extra (Stillwater Artisanal). Brut IPA is a love/hate style for most beer drinkers, but it truly is the Champagne of beer styles. This one from Stillwater is a great example of the style: Crazy hoppy, yet dry and drinkable. If you like champagne and hops, this is the beer to have in your hand when midnight strikes.
Stella Artois
Stella Artois
Connor Klopcic, director of brewing operations at Perrin Brewing Company in Comstock Park, Michigan
A New Year’s Ever go-to would be Stella Artois. It’s a lighter beer option with a nice, yeasty, Belgian flavor. Refreshing, crisp, everything you’d want in a beer replacement for Champagne.
When I think of a beer to drink on New Year’s Eve instead of (or before) sparkling wine, my mind always heads towards Saison Dupont. The one saison you have to try if you’re new to the style, it’s funky, yeasty, fruity, and filled with citrus and spices. It’s a surprisingly complex beer that will make you forget all about that fancy bottle of Champagne chilling in the center of your New Year’s celebration table.
The Memphis Grizzlies moved to 22-14 on the season, 3.5 games up on Denver for the fourth spot in the Western Conference, on Wednesday night with an impressive comeback win at home over the Lakers.
Ja Morant led the way with his best performance since coming back from a knee sprain, scoring 41 points and pulling down 10 rebounds, including some massive buckets down the stretch as Memphis won the fourth quarter 26-16.
38 FOR JA ON NBA TV…and a career-high 6 threes on 6 attempts! @memgrizz 99@Lakers 92
On the other side, LeBron James was once again forced to carry a massive load on offense with 37 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists in the loss, including eight three-pointers, but as has been a constant issue this season, the rest of the Lakers simply couldn’t provide enough scoring, particularly down the stretch. James’ eighth three made it a three-point game, and after some empty possessions for both sides, the Lakers final full possession was a microcosm of their season-long offensive issues. Memphis forced the ball out of James’ hands immediately and then ran Malik Monk off the three-point line, leading to a scramble drill (after Monk failed to swing the ball to a wide open Russell Westbrook in the corner) that ended in a turnover from James on miscommunication with Westbrook.
The Lakers offense in the halfcourt can at crucial times grind to a halt, as they can’t seem to create good looks consistently with structured sets and offensive flow, instead hoping that their individual talent can create something out of nothing. Sometimes that works, but when the ball gets moved out of James’ hands and not directly into an assist opportunity, it can devolve quickly. That’s a problem nearly halfway into the season, even factoring the absence of Anthony Davis, and after blowing a 13-point lead in Memphis, the Lakers will once again have to answer questions about what went wrong.
Nicki Minaj took to Instagram to mourn the loss of her former business manager Angela Kukawski who was found death after a suspected homicide. According to Billboard, Kukawski, who was based in Los Angeles and previously had Kanye West, Offset, the Tupac estate, and the Kardashian family as clients, was reported missing exactly a week ago on December 22. A day later, Los Angeles and Simi Valley police officers found her body inside of her car.
Nicki Minaj sympathizes with the family of her business manager Angela Kukawski who passed away . pic.twitter.com/I4zCTGNcjR
Her death was confirmed by the Los Angeles Police Department through a press release that was issued on Wednesday. Kukawski’s death was also ruled a homicide by the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office. She was 55 years old at the time of her death. In her message to Kukawski, who worked for Boulevard Management in Woodlands Hills, Minaj called her former business manager the “hardest working, most reliable, sweetest person you could ever know.” She added, “You didn’t deserve this, Angela. My heart is breaking for your children. Rest In Peace.”
Kukawski’s boyfriend Jason Baker, 49, was arrested on the suspicion of murder according to Los Angeles police. Investigators believe that Baker killed Kukawski inside her Sherman Oaks home and moved her body into her car, which he later drove to Simi Valley before exiting the vehicle and fleeing. LAPD says Baker was booked into Van Nuys Jail and murder charges were later filed against him by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
You can view Nicki Minaj’s message in the post above.
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38 FOR JA ON NBA TV…and a career-high 6 threes on 6 attempts! 
. 