Month: January 2022

Online platforms have been finally cracking down on COVID misinformation. As it just so happens, everyone who’s been suspended or booted has been on the far right. Marjorie Taylor Greene kicked off the new year by being permanently banned from Twitter (and later briefly suspended by Facebook). Then there’s Trump, the big dog, who hasn’t been on most of social media in over a year. Now one service has flagged another big Trumpist.

As per The Hill, YouTube has temporarily suspended Dan Bongino, the conservative commentator whose vibe is “what if a bulging forehead vein became a human?” The frequent Geraldo Rivera squabbler isn’t allowed to post new videos for a week and he’s been demonetized for at least 30 days.

The reason? He can’t stop spreading COVID misinformation, of course. The video that did it involved him calling masks “useless,” which violates one of YouTube’s specific rules, namely that you can’t deny the efficacy of masks in slowing the spread of a highly transmissible virus.

It’s the first “strike” Bongino has received. Should he receive a second, he’ll receive a two-week suspension. The third is permanent banishment from the internet’s largest video sharing service.

It’s ambiguous whether Bongino will return. In a post on Instagram, the pundit wrotem, “If I said I was surprised here I’d be lying,” calling them a “tyrannical, free-speech-hating, bulls*it, big tech shit hole.” He even said he “anxiously awaited” being suspended.

Till his suspension ends, he can always go hang out at the MAGA social media joint GETTR, which even Joe Rogan finds unpleasant.

(Via The Hill)

After attempting towards the end of 2021 to reconcile his marriage with Kim Kardashian, Kanye West seems to have finally moved on. The rapper’s been spotted on multiple dates with actress Julia Fox. That being said, Kanye and Kim still have four children together, and developing a successful co-parenting system will be their next task to complete. Kanye’s first step in doing that was purchasing a home near his ex-wife, a move many assumed was a way for him to hound Kim about their divorce.

However, during an interview with Jason Lee on Hollywood Unlocked, Kanye explained why he bought the house. “My solace comes from seeing my kids and getting a solid schedule,” he said. “That’s why I even got the house. The media flipped into there was something wrong with me getting a house next to my kids.”

It also seemed to be related to an experience he had with his own father as a child. “You see when my mom took me from Atlanta to Chicago, my dad didn’t come to the coldest and most dangerous city in the world to be next to [me],” he recalled. “He said, ‘I’m going to stay down in Atlanta.’”

Kanye made sure to reiterate his feelings about his kids, saying that “nothing with my career, with this rap, with this media, with none of that, that’s gonna keep me from my children. And that’s what I want everybody to know.” He added, “Don’t play with me, don’t play with my children. Ain’t no security gonna get in between me and my children and you ain’t gonna gaslight me.”

You can watch the interview with Hollywood Unlocked in the video above.

For decades Fox News ruled the roost of conservative media. Then along came some Eve Harringtons: Newsmax and One America News Network (OANN or OAN), virulently pro-Trump networks that would go where Rupert Murdoch’s baby wouldn’t, even though its employees don’t believe the nonsense they fling. But now it appears the latter is in more trouble, on top of their billion dollar Smartmatic and Dominion lawsuits.

As per Bloomberg, OAN (or OANN) is getting the boot from DirecTV, the cable provider and its largest distributor. DirecTV’s contact with Herring Networks, which also owns AWE (“A Wealth of Entertainment”), is up in April, and they have decided not to re-up.

“We informed Herring Networks that, following a routine internal review, we do not plan to enter into a new contract when our current agreement expires,” a DirecTV spokesperson revealed in a statement.

For the next three-and-a-half months, DirecTV subscribers will still be able to enjoy the network that Trump loves to call into to rant about this and that. After that, OAN (and AWE) will no longer be among the wealth of channels offered by one of the nation’s largest cable providers.

DirecTV, which is owned by AT&T, played a pivotal role in making OAN a name among conservative media, though it may not have been DirecTV’s fault. OAN forced its way onto their coffers by way of a lawsuit in 2017, which obligated them to carry their station.

But the company that made them can also break them. Such contracts tend to last five years, and those five years are up in April. The loss of their largest distributor may put the kibosh on the network’s plans for expansion, which include a Spanish-language version of the network.

Founded in 2013, OAN didn’t take off until the Trump presidency, especially when the former president got mad at Fox News for being insufficiently dutiful to him, directing his base to OAN instead. The network has had its share of controversies, not the least being when one of its hosts called for the execution of thousands of people he alleged were involved in fictitious voter fraud.

(Via Bloomberg)

Khazali is the next name you need to know in UK electro soul and R&B. The North West London singer and producer grew up inspired by acts like Little Dragon and Sbtrkt, and his evocative delivery bears a similarity to Sampha’s velveteen vibe.

On the newly released “Passion Controller,” the second single from his upcoming EP The Rush (out March 11th on Kitsuné), Khazali drives home an aesthetic he’s been sharpening over the past two years. Touched with house strings and an electro thump, the track proves a fluid canvas for Khazali to wash over with his glistening vocals. The tune is a free-flowing groove that’s easy to latch on to — a good fit for both the dance floor and the afterparty. Speaking about his upcoming debut in a statement, Khazali shared some insight into his process:

“My sophomore EP, The Rush, is what happened when I took four dream journal entries and turned them into a fully fledged pop universe – complete with colour, character and story. It follows a Californian couple, Tony and Lennie, and their rise and fall through love and life.

Whilst what you’ll hear is fresh AF, I’m proud to say that my EP took cues from the people I admire to help shape its overall sound. Expect to hear hints of the bands I grew up listening to; Metronomy, Little Dragon and The xx, as well as the pop I discovered relatively recently, like Dua Lipa , Arlo Parks, and Alfie Templeman.”

Listen to “Passion Controller” above.

The Rush EP is out 03/11 via Kitsuné Musique.

Last week, the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol storming came and went. President Joe Biden made a speech directly blaming the riot on his predecessor. Donald Trump, meanwhile, backed out of some vague press conference commemorating the day that ended his presidency in disgrace, then reportedly whined about it to anyone who would listen. We’re still learning things about what happened that day, thanks to the House select committee investigating its lead-up. For instance, did you know some of the perpetrators gave themselves away to the feds after they called Nancy Pelosi’s office looking for a “lost and found”?

This comes from Insider, who spoke to Rep. Jamie Raskin, who’s on aforementioned committee. He said that on Jan. 7, the day after the failed insurrection, some rioters called the office they had ransacked one day prior, looking for items they may have left there, including purses.

“The officers quickly got on the phone and said, yeah, just give us your name, your address, your social, you know, and we’ll tie up those loose ends,” Raskin told Insider.

It’s the kind of satire a satirist couldn’t make up, but to Raskin it also spoke to the mentality of Trump die-hards. “But what’s so fascinating to me about that there really were people who felt as if they had been summoned to Washington by the president,” Raskin said. He added:

“And when they were told that they were trespassing and invading the Capitol, they said the president invited them to be there … They didn’t have any kind of subtle understanding of the separation of powers. They just thought that the number one person in the US government had invited them to be there, and therefore they had a right.”

“It underscores the central role that Donald Trump played in it,” Raskin said. “But it does create a problem for assigning guilt at different levels of conduct.”

(Via Insider)

Lately, Kanye West has been in the news for a lot of things that aren’t related to music. He had quite an interesting date with Julia Fox and the two seemed to be going steady. His brand Yeezy Gap teamed up with Balenciaga for a new collection that will arrive at some point in the future. His Netflix documentary Jeen-Yuhs is set to drop on February 16. Long story short, Kanye is quite busy, and now comes his new single, “Eazy” featuring The Game.

It marks the pair’s first song together since 2016’s “Mula,” which appeared on The Game’s album Documentary 2. “Eazy,” which is driven by a sample of Eazy-E’s “Eazy Duz It,” is also produced by Hit-Boy and it marks his and Kanye’s first song together in years after they fell out nearly a decade ago.

But the most attention-grabbing aspect of the song comes when Kanye sends a shot at Pete Davidson. “God saved me from that crash,” he raps. “Just so I can beat Pete Davidson’s ass.” Kanye also addresses his and Kim Kardashian’s divorce. “N****, we havin’ the best divorce ever,” he says. “If we go to court, we’ll go to court together / Matter of fact, pick up your sis’, we’ll go to Kourt’s together.”

Kanye also criticizes the Kardashians’ parenting style. “I got love for the nannies / But real family is better,” he raps. “The cameras watch the kids / Y’all stop takin’ the credit.” He also takes a moment to praise Julia Fox saying, “And my new b*tch bad / I know Illuminati mad.”

The new song comes after Kanye confirmed Donda 2 was in the works. It’s unknown when the project will arrive and if “Eazy” will appear on it.

You can listen to “Eazy” on Spotify here.

The Chicago Bulls have been one of the best stories of the 2021-22 NBA season, as the team has raced out to the top of the Eastern Conference. While the team’s handful of offseason have gotten plenty of attention, Zach LaVine has continued to be exceptional for the team, putting forth a campaign that has led to him being in a very good spot in the All-Star Game’s fan vote.

Unfortunately for the Bulls, LaVine was barely able to play in Friday night’s nationally televised game against the Golden State Warriors. Just three minutes into the game, LaVine landed after reeling in a rebound and started dribbling. While nothing appeared to be wrong, he checked out of the game shortly after.

LaVine immediately made his way into the locker room, and a little while later, the team ruled him out with a knee injury.

LaVine had previously torn the ACL in his left knee, so there will always be some extra level of concern when that causes him an issue. But according to multiple reports, the team isn’t worried about another ACL injury, and there is early optimism that this won’t be the kind of serious injury that derails the entire season.

Unfortunately for the Bulls, the loss of LaVine meant that they did not have the firepower to keep up with the Warriors offense, and as a result, Golden State took a 78-47 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Devin Booker went to war this week with The Raptor, the official mascot of the Toronto Raptors. After shooting a free throw in the otherwise empty ScotiaBank Arena, Booker complained about the mascot’s attempt to distract him, which led to The Raptor moving elsewhere out of Booker’s line of sight. Apparently, all is well between the two, as evidence by the fact that both of them changed their Twitter pictures recently.

It was all very, very silly, especially because a human in a big dinosaur mascot had to go off into a corner because they were yelled at by an NBA player. Anyway, Friday night is the Phoenix Suns’ first game since that incident, as they made their way to Indiana to play the Pacers.

Thankfully, some folks in Indianapolis have a good sense of humor, because someone decided to have a person dress up in a dinosaur costume and bust Booker’s chops. Before the game even started, Booker’s pregame warm-up was interrupted — well, kind of — by the person in the costume, with Booker seeing things and addressing whomever was in that thing.

During the Suns’ lineup introduction, the Pacers decided to play the theme song from noted thing about dinosaurs Jurassic Park.

And then, during the game, the person in the costume decided to press their luck a la The Raptor by trying to distract Booker during free throws. They even had a sign!

To every other NBA team: Please pay for a dinosaur costume for when Booker comes to town.

The scarf, a simple accessory that some find an essential fashion piece. Both fashionable and function with the warmth they provide, scarves can be a valuable gift for any occasion or person. Here, we’ve selected our best selling scarves from our store. At Upworthy Market, when you purchase a product, you directly support the artisans who craft their own products, so with every purchase, you’re doing good. These scarves are not only unique, but they are hand-made by local artisans and all under $30.

1. Fair Trade Woven Dark Gray Alpaca Blend Scarf

Celinda Jaco selects a cozy blend of Andean alpaca for this handsome men’s scarf. Classic in style, it features fine stripes of white and black woven through the dark grey textile. Hand-tied fringe completes a distinguished design.

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2. Handwoven Grey Herringbone 100% Alpaca Scarf

Woven by hand on a traditional loom, alpaca in shades of grey form a classic herringbone pattern. Raquel and Gregor weave this distinguished scarf by hand. The ends are not hemmed but are neatly trimmed for a smooth silhouette.

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3. Hand Woven 100% Cotton Infinity Scarf

Vinita of Thailand presents this lovely striped scarf in burgundy and white. Thai artisans masterfully weave this cotton infinity scarf by hand, creating the perfect accessory for a chilly day.

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4. Textured 100% Baby Alpaca Wrap Scarf

Peruvian artisan Alfredo Falcon uses baby alpaca wool, which refers to the fine fleece from the season’s first shearing, to knit this sophisticated scarf.

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5. Tied-Dyed Cotton Wrap Scarf

Decorated with fantastic hues of pink, purple, and blue, this impressive wrap scarf from Thailand features an original design by Vinita. The skilled artisan hand-weaves the scarf of cotton, applying the colors with the traditional tie-dye technique. Dainty fringes complete the scarf at each end.

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6. Blue Cotton Hand Woven Scarf

A palette of cotton strands in blue and beige evokes ocean freshness from the Guatemala coasts. Woven by hand on a backstrap loom, they are transformed into a stylish scarf by women from the Yama Aj Chixot Artisan Group.

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7. Men’s Artisan Crafted Woven Brown Alpaca Blend Scarf

Celinda Jaco selects a cozy blend of Andean alpaca for this handsome men’s scarf. Classic in style, it features fine stripes of ivory and camel woven through the chestnut brown textile. Hand-tied fringe completes a distinguished design.

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8. Artisan Crafted Woven Black Alpaca Blend Scarf

Celinda Jaco selects a cozy blend of Andean alpaca for this handsome men’s scarf. Classic in style, it features fine stripes of white and gunmetal grey woven through the midnight-black textile. Hand-tied fringe completes a distinguished design.

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Is there anything better than someone going out of their way to make a kid’s dream come true? Yes, there is. It’s an anonymous person going out of their way to make a kid’s dream come true.

Fallon is a kid who loves music. Metal music in particular. He’s also a kid who has Williams syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that comes with a host of developmental and physiological challenges. It also comes with the gift of extreme friendliness and abundant love for people, often leading them to interact with people over toys as children.

For years, however, Fallon has enjoyed interacting with one specific guitar at J.B. Hart Music Co., Inc. in Grand Junction, Colorado. Fallon would ask to play it every time he came into the shop, and another patron took notice.

The music store posted the delightful story on Facebook, sharing photos of Fallon with the guitar and writing:

“This is Fallon. Over the last couple of years, he would visit the store from Montrose. His request each time was to play the ‘Pantera’ guitar, meaning the Dean Dimebag Darrell ML Guitar. We were shocked he knew some Dimebag riffs. Fallon is impacted by Williams Syndrome and has an excellent knowledge and a love for music. His dream was to own this guitar.

Eight months ago, when he was in the store playing it, another customer took notice of Fallon. It moved this customer so much he returned to the store later, purchased the guitar, and asked us to give the guitar to Fallon anonymously the next time we saw him. However, we didn’t see Fallon until today. We tried finding him to no avail. Today, his family came in the store, and we learned they had moved to Texas and returned this week for a visit. It was a wonderful experience to gift Fallon his dream guitar as a gift from a kind stranger. His mom burst into tears, and Fallon beamed with excitement. It was a special moment. There are still good people in this world.”

Pantera themselves reshared the story:

So darn sweet.

It’s particularly sweet considering Pantera’s history with special guitars.

Dimebag Darrell, the “Pantera” guitar’s namesake, was the lead guitarist for Pantera before the band broke up. He was tragically shot and killed in 2004 by a deranged fan while performing on stage with a different band, sending shock waves through the heavy metal world.

As reported by Loudwire, Darrell had been a huge fan of Eddie Van Halen and had been delighted to meet him just weeks before his death. After he was murdered, Eddie Van Halen called Darrell’s family to ask if there was anything he could do for them. They wanted to bury him with a guitar, so they asked Van Halen to stripe one for Darrell like his iconic yellow striped guitar from the Van Halen II album cover.

Instead, Eddie Van Halen brought his original 1979 yellow striped guitar that Darrell loved so much to the viewing and memorial service so he could be buried with it, saying, “Dime was an original and only an original deserves an original.”

When Dimebag Darrell was killed in 2004, Eddie Van Halen insisted that he be buried with the original guitar from the cover of Van Halen II.nnHis partner Rita Haney explained what Eddie told her.pic.twitter.com/kIkFWXWQhU

— Mike Beauvais (@Mike Beauvais)
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How wonderful to see such care for one another carrying on, and the love of music being shared by people who don’t even know each other. Rock on, humanity.