It’s hard to have not heard of Wordle by now. Anyone who uses Twitter has likely seen the assortments of yellow and green blocks filling up their timeline as people rush to post their scores and let their friends know how quickly they figured out the latest puzzle. It’s a simple and fun enough game, one that has led to rip-offs popping up by folks looking to make some money.
Right now, Wordle is free. Any PC, phone, or tablet can access the game at no cost. Many steps of how it came to be, and how it got so popular, have been documented across the internet. It was a passion project and creator Josh Wardle made it with no real intentions of making money, so he didn’t trademark it.
Unfortunately, this led to many copycats of the game appearing on app stores to try and cash in on its popularity. Not only did these apps outright steal the Wordle name, but they promised that for a cost, players could gain extra perks such as unlimited plays. One touted its “excellent customer support.”
At first, it felt like this was going to be an example of how people can ruin a good thing. Then, Apple removed the more blatant clones from its App Store. There are still a couple of games that use the same name, but these games at least play differently, unlike the clones that were removed.
While stealing ideas is in the very nature of video games itself — it’s possible the first Pong from Atari was a rip-off of the Magnavox Odyssey, for example — seeing techies try to cash in on someone else’s surprise success of a free game was extremely discouraging. Word association games like Wordle are not new, Wordle just happened to be what everyone jumped on. Thankfully, Apple removed these clones and word of mouth about them got around quickly, so hopefully there weren’t too many people who got caught up in one of these rip-offs.
Andrew Garfield has it pretty good right now. He just won a Golden Globe — for the awards body’s first-ever tweeted-out ceremony — for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tick, Tick… Boom! And right now he’s in what is already one of the highest-grossing movies ever, Spider-Man: No Way Home, dusting off the superhero he himself played less than a decade ago. But in a recent interview, he recalled missing out on another (albeit now long dead) franchise when he was younger, all because the producers somehow didn’t think he was good-looking enough.
That film, as he told Entertainment Tonight (as caught by Variety), was 2006’s’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first in the quickly aborted Narnia series. After a successful kick-off, the series limped with its first sequel Prince Caspian and further nose-dived with The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. But at the time, hopping on the C.S. Lewis train seemed like a good idea.
“I remember I was so desperate. I auditioned for Prince Caspian in The Chronicles of Narnia and I thought, ‘This could be it, this could be it,’” Garfield recalled. “And that handsome, brilliant actor Ben Barnes ended up getting the role. I think it was down to me and him, and I remember I was obsessed.”
After he lost the role, he bugged his agent for a reason why. “She eventually just broke under my incessant nagging,” he said, “and she was like, ‘It’s because they don’t think you’re handsome enough, Andrew.’”
He pointed out that Barnes is “a very handsome, talented man,” adding that “in retrospect, I’m not unhappy with the decision and I think he did a beautiful job.”
While the Narnia series slowly collapsed, Garfield earned acclaim for smaller fare like Boy A, The Other Boelyn Girl, and Never Let Me Go, which led to The Social Network, two Spider-Man films, even working for no less than Martin Scorsese in 2016’s Silence. So it all worked out in the end, albeit not for the Narnia films.
The NBA trade deadline is less than a month away, and as of now, Ben Simmons is still on the Philadelphia 76ers. Trade rumors about the disgruntled All-Star who had yet to play in a game this season are heating back up, though, with a recent report indicating that Philly’s desire is to find a Simmons deal that would let them offload Tobias Harris and the remainder of his contract.
According to a new report by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, having Harris on the books has caused the Sixers to not be interested in some of the players that are ostensibly available in a Simmons trade. Specifically, Woj pointed out a trio of power forwards who don’t make much sense if they join a team with Harris, and reiterated that Philly is happy to play the long-game on a Simmons deal here.
“Right now, you look at Philadelphia and the kind of players available to them in a Ben Simmons trade: Harrison Barnes in Sacramento, Domantas Sabonis in Indiana, John Collins in Atlanta,” Wojnarowski said. “That’s not gonna move the needle at this point for Ben Simmons — especially positionally with those players, power forwards. For Philly, it doesn’t make any sense, hypothetically, if they took any of those guys on in big deals, and to still have Tobias Harris on your roster, at the same position, making closer to $40 million a year over the following two seasons.
“So unless they can expand the deal, make it bigger, listen, Atlanta is not taking Tobias Harris back in a deal for Ben Simmons,” he continued. “Could they route Tobias Harris somewhere else? Listen, it is a lot of money on his contract. Right now, Philadelphia continues to be content to wait, and their philosophy all along has been if we get a trade package back that doesn’t make us a championship contender, doesn’t get us back to that level that we felt we were with with Ben Simmons, we’re not doing it. I think even with a month to the deadline, there’s a real chance this goes on beyond the deadline.”
It was reported earlier in the week that Collins, who is disgruntled in Atlanta, could be available in a move for Simmons, while Sabonis was among the players on the Pacers who were mentioned as potentially available if the team wants to blow it up.
A suspect in the November murder of Young Dolph has been arrested in Indiana, according to TMZ. The publication reports that Justin Johnson, who was identified over the weekend as a suspect in the case, was taken into custody on Tuesday, nearly two months after the shooting. He faces charges for first-degree murder, criminal attempt first-degree murder, and theft of property between $10,000-$60,000. According to Stereogum, a second suspect in the case, 32-year-old Cornelius Smith, was previously indicted on several charges, including first-degree murder. Smith was already in jail after he was arrested for an incident that involved the white car that was believed to be the gateway vehicle in Dolph’s murder.
After U.S. Marshals, Memphis Police Department, and the Tennessee Bureau Of Investigation (TBI) identified Johnson as a suspect in Dolph’s shooting and issued a warrant for his arrest, Johnson claimed he was not involved in the crime. Nevertheless, in a post to his Instagram account @straightdroppp, he said he would surrender to police while vouching for his innocence. “Turning myself in Monday @201, I’m innocent,” he wrote. “I’ll be back sooner than you can blink.” Despite this, Monday came and went without him surrendering to the police, as Memphis’ FOX 13 confirmed he was still on the run.
When images of Johnson were shared by U.S. Marshals, Memphis Police Department, and TBI, people quickly noticed that he appeared near Dolph in multiple pictures. In some instances, Johnson was seen wearing a chain that read “PRE,” which is the acronym for Dolph’s Paper Route Empire label.
There’s a certain etiquette that audience members generally adhere to while watching a live performance, and that goes doubly for the opera world. But you don’t have to be an opera-goer to know that it’s generally frowned upon—to put it lightly—for a member of the audience to stand up and start singing right in the middle of an opera singer’s performance.
It ain’t Lollapalooza, for crying out loud.
But an audience member adding his voice to an opera performance was exactly what happened at the Verdi Festival in Parma, Italy this past fall. According to Classic FM, renowned soprano Lisette Oropesa was performing an encore at the end of her recital, singing the female part from “Sempre Libera” (Always Free) from Verdi’s “La traviata.” Thesong is a duet, usually sung between a female soprano and a male tenor, but she was performing it solo. So when the tenor part arrived and no one sang opposite her, 24-year-old Liu Jianwei, a fan of Oropesa and a student of opera at the Conservatorio Giuseppe Nicolini di Piacenza, stood up and filled in the gap.
No one expected it. Not Oropesa. Not even Liu himself, apparently. But the pianist kept playing and Oropesa appeared to be delighted as the young man beautifully filled in the tenor part. Oropesa’s initial “Oh,” is written into the piece (though you can see her searching the audience for where the man’s voice was coming from), but the “Oh, grazie,” she added herself to say thank you.
Reply to @campmeldinal Reply to @campmeldinal This is the best one I could find #wholesome #opera
According to Classic FM, Liu took to the Chinese microblogging platform Weibo to explain himself—and to warn others not to do what he did.
“I stood up to sing because Lisette Oropesa is a musician I love very much and I happened to have learned this opera before,” he said. “It is definitely not something worthy of pride, nor something worthy of being advocated. Please don’t interrupt singers when they are singing on stage. It’s impolite behavior. Don’t imitate me and I will never do this again in the future.”
Many disagree with him on the “worthy of pride” part at least, and most people commenting on the video were thrilled with both the unexpected singing and the reaction from the opera star.
“She was so gracious and kind!! The shock and delight on her face was so wonderful!! This is beautiful,” wrote one commenter.
“I love how her face just lights up, it’s so sweet!!!” wrote another.
“That is the reaction of when a musician does it for the love of music,” added another “They are both amazing!”
And regarding the “impolite” bit:
“Look I know it would technically be considered rude but he shot his shot and was successful 😂. Can’t blame him one bit.”.
This is definitely wholesome
— Florence Jay Munar ud83dude04 (@Florence Jay Munar ud83dude04) 1640515517
Liu approached Oropesa after the concert to apologize. She took photos with him and gave him her autograph.
Brava and bravo to them both.
中國男高音外國音樂會“救場”？視頻走紅當事人回應：千萬別學我
當地時間10月8日，一名女歌唱家在意大利演出時，臨時返場演唱。當演唱進行到男高音部分時，一位來看演唱會的中國男高音加入了演唱，視頻走紅網絡被網友稱為“救場”。近日，當事人回應：請大家別學我！On October 8 local time, a female singer temporarily returned …
Gal Gadot has always had classic Hollywood energy, but now she’ll take that next level. According to Variety, the Wonder Woman actress is attached to star in a remake of To Catch a Thief, the Alfred Hitchcock classic from 1955 pairing Cary Grant with Grace Kelly, two icons of the Golden Age at their arguable movie star height.
The redo, set to be written by Eileen Jones (Prodigal Son), is said to be a “substantially updated” take on the original, which has long been described as one of Hitchcock’s fizzier films, including by the legendary director himself. It came in the midst of some of his most challenging and innovative works, such as Rear Window, Vertigo, and The Wrong Man, as well as The Trouble with Harry, an ahead-of-its-time pitch black comedy that revolves around a mysterious corpse.
To Catch a Thief, meanwhile, is light on plot and heavy on French Riviera scenery (though most of it was shot, of course, on Paramount’s Hollywood lot). Grant plays a retired jewel thief wrongly accused of a string of burglaries. To clear his name, he does some snooping of his own, all while hob-nobbing with Kelly’s noveau riche widow, with whom he shares some canoodling intercut with nudge-nudgey shots of fireworks exploding.
In which ways the update will be substantial has not yet been made public. Perhaps Gadot will take the Grant role. Perhaps she’ll take the Kelly role and be even more assertive (though Kelly wasn’t exactly meek). Either way it will join the recent revamp of Rebecca in the Hitch remake canon. Perhaps it will even atone for her “Imagine” video debacle.
There are a lot of bottles of Jack Daniel’s out there. It’s the best-selling American whiskey in the world, after all. But it’s more than that. Jack Daniel’s and their team, led by Master Distiller Chris Fletcher and Assistant Distiller Lexie Phillips, is constantly innovating, building, and pushing the boundaries of both whiskey in general and everyone’s preconceived notions of what their brand is.
Case in point, they recently released a set of whiskeys that highlight higher ABV versions of their beloved Tennessee whiskey and Tennessee rye.
The only downside? Those releases were for the traveler’s exclusive market — a world Jack Daniel’s knows well. Still, that means these bottles are only available at duty-free shops run by the Heineman group. That makes them pretty damn fleeting for the average consumer. But hey, that could be said for a lot of whiskeys these days.
Team Uproxx was able to get out hands on both bottles, so we’re reviewing them below in case you find yourself in a duty-free shop sometime soon. Let’s dive in!
This limited edition, traveler’s exclusive is classic Jack Daniel’s at a much higher ABV. The mash is 80 percent corn, 12 percent malted barley, and eight percent rye. That whiskey is then aged in Jack Daniel’s vast warehouses after going through the iconic Lincoln County Process of sugar maple charcoal filtration. The barrels are then hand-picked by Master Distiller Chris Fletcher for their uniqueness and flavors that lean into what’s advertised on the label.
Tasting Notes:
The nose draws you in with a creamy mix of vanilla pudding drizzled with soft caramel, a dose of rain dampened oak, and a hint of sour cherry that slowly becomes Cherry Coke spritzed with tart lemon as you go back to the nose over and over again. The palate opens with a woodiness that’s almost almond shells that turn into Brazil nuts with a hint more of that cherry but now it’s tied to wood. The mid-palate really leans away from the heavier wood and nutty notes towards thin but dry wicker that’s dramatically smoothed out by a rush of vanilla creaminess on the finish. The very back end has this lingering sense of Brazil nut and almond shells and a slight Cherry Coke vibe that’s more like a soaked oak stave than drinking it from the actual can.
The Bottle:
The bottle is a smaller version of the classic Jack bottle. The off-white label stands out and gives you exactly all the information you need about what’s in the bottle. Still, the bottle feels very much like it was made for a non-English speaking market, making sure the simplest terms are front and center.
Bottom Line:
This is like Jack Daniel’s turned up to ten but pulsed through the clearest of speakers. It’s so distinctly what it says while layering in familiarity, nuance, and something new. Pour this over a rock and you’ll really be in for a treat.
Ranking:
95/100 — This is just a really freakin’ good pour of Tennessee whiskey. Maybe all Jack Daniel’s should be 53.5 percent? I’m just putting that out there.
This version is Jack’s essential Tennessee Rye Whiskey, also at a higher ABV. That whiskey has a mash bill of 70 percent rye, 18 percent corn, and 12 percent malted barley. The spirit is then rested in those warehouses until it hits just the right mark to be bottled as the limited-edition “Bold & Spicy” rye.
Tasting Notes:
The nose on this is super subtle and you really have to dig in there to find notes of sassafras that turn into black Necco Wafers next to a light leather and the plastic wrap from a box of caramel candies. There’s a nice vanilla layer on the top of the glass when you nose it that adds a nice creamy element that’s almost like a pitcher of fresh, full-fat cream with the slightest hint of fresh butter. The palate starts off subtly as well then explodes with flavors with dried dill leading towards dried mint that supports a savory note of what could be bison jerky with a slight dusting of white pepper.
What’s wild, when you go back to the nose after that first sip, you’re greeted with a dried chili powder and a hint of cumin right at the bottom of the Glencairn. Then back on the mid-palate that vanilla leads towards a soft stewed peach with mild dark spices, an echo of nuttiness, a hint of whiskey-soaked applewood, and a very small whisper of black truffle on the very, very back end of the finish.
The Bottle:
The bottle is a smaller version of the classic Jack bottle. The off-white label stands out and gives you exactly all the information you need about what’s in the bottle. Still, the bottle feels very much like it was made for a non-English speaking market, making sure the simplest terms are front and center.
Bottom Line:
This was a wild ride. At first glance, I didn’t think much would be there, and then it really opened up, kind of like the clouds parting to reveal sunbeams and rainbows but everything was still dripping wet and fresh … replenished.
Ranking:
96/100 — This is a killer rye whiskey. Again, this higher proof really works to help this rye shine. That black truffle savory note on the finish (if you really give it time to linger and settle) is still kind of blowing my mind.
This past Sunday, a fire erupted at an apartment building in Bronx, New York, leaving 17 people dead, nine of them children, and more than 60 people injured. It was later determined that the fire was caused by an electric space heater that malfunctioned in a bedroom within the apartment. Mayor Eric Adams called it one of the “worst fires in city history,” and added, “This is a horrific, horrific, painful moment for the city of New York, and the impact of this fire is going to really bring a level of just pain and despair in our city.”
Now Bronx native Fat Joe is stepping up to lend a helping hand. He teamed up with the New York City Mayor’s Fund to launch a fundraiser for the victims of the apartment fire. So far, he’s received contributions from Jay-Z and DJ Khaled, and he’s working on reaching out to other names in the music, sports, entertainment, and business for additional help. A statement about the fundraiser says “100 percent of all donations will help families and enable the distribution of emergency supplies for those in need.”
“I need all my people world wide to come together for the families devastated by the fire in the Bronx,” Fat Joe wrote in an Instagram post about the fundraiser. “I’m donating and I’m asking everyone that has a Heart to donate. these people are mostly immigrants that have no where to go they lost everything. it’s 10 degrees in the Bronx today!”
You can view Fat Joe’s post about the cause above and access the fundraiser itself here.
Registered nurse Jennifer Smith, 41, struck up a close friendship with John Burley, 60, at the adult daycare program at the Grand Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Rome, New York, before he was moved from the facility.
While he was under Smith’s care for pneumonia and a lung condition, he would often show her photos of his dog, Boomer, which he adopted 12 years ago.
Burley was later transferred to the rehabilitation wing of the hospital, leaving no one to care for Boomer, so he had the dog taken to the pound. Burley had moved to New York from Arkansas, where his family lived, and he had no one to look after Boomer.
Smith heard the news from Burley in an early morning call.
“I came into work the Monday after Thanksgiving to the phone ringing at 7 a.m.,” Smith told CNN. “John was calling from his hospital room saying, ‘Boomer is in the pound! Boomer is in the pound!’ Boomer is John’s world.”
The problem was that Smith had no idea where Boomer had been taken. She looked up local facilities, made some calls and learned he was taken to the Rome Humane Society.
“I was a little panicked because I didn’t know how long he had been in the shelter or if he had already been adopted to another family. It’s Christmas time and people get animals,” she said.
Smith wasted no time in going to retrieve the dog.
The nurse located Boomer in a large cage at the back of the shelter and asked if she could adopt him right there on the spot. He wasn’t ready to leave the shelter just yet but she got the guarantee she’d be able to adopt him and then called Burley, one of her favorite patients, to tell him the good news.
“She went right to the Rome Humane Society that day and paid the adoption fee, took him to the vet, and went on a shopping spree for food, crate, toys, and doggy clothes. He is very spoiled,” Kimberleigh Hare from The Grand Rehabilitation and Nursing at Rome told Newsweek.
Soon after she got Boomer home she began bringing the dog to the facility to see Burley, who now gets to hang out with his beloved pooch a few times a day. “It helps John with the healing process and gives him peace of mind,” Smith said.
The other residents at the hospital love to spend time with Boomer, too.
“I can see why John loves his dog so much,” Smith told Spectrum News. “Boomer is fantastic. I walk through the halls with him on the wings and all the residents that are in the hallway, they instantly smile. I let each of them pet Boomer.”
Although no one is certain when Burley will make it home, Smith has promised to take care of the dog as long as need be. “I made a promise to John to take care of Boomer. I will take care of him as long as he needs me to. John knows that. Right now the focus is on John getting better and taking it one day at a time,” she told CNN.
Even though Burley has difficulty speaking, he only needs three words to describe how he feels about Smith: “I love Jennifer.”
A mother, Kaheisha Brand, uploaded a photo of her 2-year-old son Kenzo to Instagram last month and it was the perfect example of the joy a child experiences when being able to see themselves as part of the story.
Kenzo was watching Disney’s new animated film, “Encanto,” and seemed to notice that he looked a lot like Antonio, one of the characters in the film. “Encanto” is a musical adventure that tells the story of a family that lives in the mountains of Columbia.
Kaheisha took the photo because she found it was powerful to see people of color represented in ways she hadn’t experienced as a child. “It means the world to me, again, I didn’t have the same experience growing up,” she told Good Morning America. “I do believe there is power in representation and it does empower young black and brown children.”
“It made me feel emotional to know that my son was able to see this and have that experience,” his father, Keith Brooks, added.
Let’s hope that Kenzo dresses up like Antonio for Halloween this year and his mother posts it to her Instagram account. That would be a wonderful sight to see.
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