Month: February 2022

This story brings a whole new meaning to the word friendship.

In October 2020, the middle schoolers of Rye Junior High, in Rye, New Hampshire, bid a bon voyage to their handmade mini-boat, which set sail off the coast of New Hampshire to who-knows-where.

Measuring only 5.5 feet, the “Rye Riptides” was indeed a small ship. It ran crewless, but carried a bountiful cargo of colorful artwork made by students, along with a GPS tracking device that reported the boat’s location … sometimes.

Cut to 462 days and 8,300 miles later, and what started out as a simple science project became a surprise discovery for some Norwegian sixth graders, and a fun new connection across the Atlantic.

Rye Junior High had partnered with Educational Passages, a nonprofit organization that aims to connect students around the world to the ocean and each other. Once the kit arrived, the kids started building while learning about ocean currents, science and math. However, science teacher Sheila Adams shares that the more artistic, right-brained activities equally found their way into the curriculum. “The students needed to use their writing skills to inform others about their mini-boat project, describe our school and town to people of other languages, just in case, and write requests to get the boat deployed,” she said in a release.

…not me feeling jealous of some middle schoolers right now…

COVID-19 nearly threatened to knock the Rye Riptides off its course. The boat had been constructed, but not yet decorated, when students were moved to taking class online. Then, there was the matter of launching the boat. Which Cassie Stymiest, director of Educational Passages, noted was “challenging with all the restrictions in place.” Luckily, creativity, resourcefulness and a little technology saved the day. Working remotely, each piece of art was done at home, then scanned, printed and made into a collage. Then, Ms. Stymiest connected with the Sea Education Association (SEA), which set the Rye Riptides on its journey.

Seriously, my inner child is geeking out with this stuff.

Would the boat make it to Europe? Rye student Solstice Reed wasn’t so sure. “Honestly, I thought it would sink,” she admitted to the Portsmouth Herald. Considering the boat was cruising the ocean waters during hurricane season, the skepticism was well-founded. During the more tumultuous periods, the GPS signal only came in intermittently. And for a long while, there was nothing but radio silence.

But then, at long last, on the small Norwegian island of Smøla, the Rye Riptides successfully made it to dry land. Sure, it was a bit dismantled and covered in barnacles, but inside, all the adorable trinkets remained intact. The Smøla students peered with wonder into their bounty of photos, signed facemasks, fall leaves, acorns and state quarters, gifts sent out almost two years ago.

The voyage of the small boat has gone viral in a big way, sailing across social media, and making headlines. And now, Educational Passages plans on facilitating video meet-ups between Rye Junior High and the school in Norway, “to continue building this new relationship to learn from each other and about the shared Atlantic Ocean between them.” Plus, NPR reports, the students of Smøla would be writing a letter to their new American friends.

Human connection found its way across the sea in the most wholesome and magical way. It’s really cool to see that educational programs like this exist, impacting both the hearts and minds of young students. Mission, successful.

A TikTok creator who goes by the name enbiggen has created a wickedly clever and oh-so-satisfying tribute to Indiana Jones that plays out like a musical Rube Goldberg machine.

The video traces the journey of a metal ball as it bounces from tone plate to tone plate, playing the legendary theme to the Indiana Jones films by John Williams. In the background, a Lego Indy gets chased by a large boulder and there is a recreation of the mine car scene from “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.”

What’s amazing is that the ball bounces from tone plate to tone plate without missing a note and the video is set up perfectly so the song loops without missing a beat.

However, its perfection may be a dead giveaway that it wasn’t created out of real materials but by computer-generated animation. If so, the video is still pretty amazing because it seems like it has fooled just about everyone.

So is it real or animation? Take a look for yourself.

@enbiggen

Indiana Jones

For those of you who are dying to see an Indiana Jones that isn’t made of Legos, good news. Harrison Ford will be back with his hat and bullwhip in the untitled fifth installment of the film franchise next summer. Although the film’s story is being kept under wraps, it’s rumored to center around the 1960s space race and stars Mads Mikkelsen as the bad guy. The film is directed by James Mangold who made “Ford vs. Ferrari” and will feature a musical score by Williams.

Kaley Cuoco’s the queen of uninhibited reactions (like when she expressed genuine surprise at her Golden Globes nod). She appears to be genuinely grateful and surprised that her career has gone on to soar higher after The Big Bang Theory ended. And for real, we underestimated her, and she got in a quick one-two punch of success with both Harley Quinn and The Flight Attendant. Speaking of the latter, the HBO Max show plugged away dutifully through multiple Covid waves for Season 2, and it appears that the production took its toll, stress-wise.

Over the weekend, things wrapped up, finally, and Cuoco (who’s not only the star but an executive producer) celebrated on Instagram. You gotta respect that she posted this video of herself with her hair all over the place and in total-work/not-glamour mode. She literally fell to the ground in relief while celebrating how the production tore through “3 countries , 7 months , mega highs and lows, Covid etc!” She passed all due credit to her cast and crew and acknowledged that everyone played a role in conquering the beast.

Also above, Kaley delivered a speech, and the new season should go some unexpected places since they’re probably moving past the novel’s subject matter. “This has been the strangest life imitating art for me that I’ve ever had in my career,” Kaley declared. “[A]nd I would never have been able to get through this without each of you. One of you saved me each day for the last seven months, and I owe you all the biggest thank you.”

There’s no word yet on a firm release date for Season 2 (which will include Sharon Stone), but HBO Max recently shared some footage in a 2022 sizzle reel, so hopefully, it won’t be too long.

It’s been tradition since the late 1980s for the outgoing president to leave a letter for the incoming president. “You have just begun a fantastic chapter in your life. Very few have had the honor of knowing the responsibility you now feel. Very few know the excitement of the moment and the challenges you will face,” George W. Bush wrote in his letter to Barack Obama, who in turn congratulated Donald Trump on a “remarkable run.”

Joe Biden, who won the 2020 presidential election, has never publicly revealed what scribbled message Trump left him. Heck, he hasn’t even told his press secretary.

“He kind of looked around for the letter and read the letter while I was sitting there, which was just kind of a remarkable moment. No, he didn’t read aloud. He read it to himself,” Jen Psaki said on the Literally! With Rob Lowe podcast (via Mediaite). “And he is such a classy guy, whether people agree with his politics or not, that he didn’t even convey it to us in that moment of what the letter said, he kind of read the letter consumed it himself.”

Psaki added that the letter was “long” and “very lovely,” which is also how Trump describes his… never mind. Until we’re told otherwise, I still believe that Trump wrote his message on the back of a McDonald’s receipt. That someone else paid for.

(Via Mediaite)

Despite his hunky physique that’s allowed him to transform into the Man of Steel and Geralt of Rivia on Netflix’s The Witcher — he also wouldn’t mind a crack at James Bond — Henry Cavill is all-nerd. During the pandemic, he revealed his geeky side by posting a video of himself building a computer, and over the weekend, he set social media ablaze by stopping by Warhammer World as dazzled employees were mesmerized by his looks and his deep knowledge of the tabletop RPG.

On Monday, Cavill posted a video on Instagram of his nerdy pilgrimage where he made it a point to thank the Warhammer World employees who warmly welcomed him into the heart of their miniature world:

I don’t often get giddy with excitement, but getting to meet the likes of Andy Smillie, Mark Chambers, Wade Pryce, and Aiden Daly and being able to pick their brains about minute and elusive parts of the lore, while wandering the halls of the exhibition centre was a dream come true.

Some of you may not know what Warhammer is, and i urge you to take a look. If you live in the UK definitely go to Warhammer World. The artistry involved and the synergy between miniature designs that are so enormously diverse, is extraordinary. The brilliance of the artistry is rather wonderfully matched, by the sense of community and also the passion that is shown by both the people who work there and the people who visit. I don’t often feel at home, but I did that day.

Prior to Cavill’s video, Warhammer World employees tweeted out photos of The Witcher star who was more than happy to pose for pictures. The pics blew up on Twitter where Cavill started trending for, once again, not being afraid to show off his hardcore geek side.

(Via Henry Cavill on Instagram)

Days ahead of the release of her sophomore album, Squeeze, Sasami has released a new single and video for her rock-influenced tune “Make It Right.” Inspired by rock icons of the past, “Make It Right” is filled with guitar riffs and raw vocals.

In a statement, Sasami described “Make It Right” as “an ode to Fleetwood Mac’s more tantrum-y vibes with a hair of Crass-y marching snare. [‘Make It Right’ is] a desperation bop about not being communicated with.”

The video, directed by Euphoria costume designer Heidi Bivens, “Make It Right” sees Sasami walk through Los Angeles, following a clone of herself, before the two ultimately embrace. Styled by Euphoria assistant costume designer Angelina Vitto, with make-up by Euphoria and Pen15 make-up artist Alexandra French, Sasami’s aesthetic is reminicent of that of David Bowie — a leather harness adding an edgy touch.

Sasami’s headlining tour supporting Squeeze kicks off next month, with Haim and Mitski. The album takes inspiration from the Japanese yōkai folk spirit called Nure-onna, a vampiric deity that has the head of a woman and the body of a snake. Sasami was inspired by the Nure-onna after stumbing upon stories of her and feeling drawn to her fluid nature.

Watch “Make It Right” above.

Squeeze is out 2/25 via Domino. Pre-order it here.

On the business side of things, there are a few different parts of being a musician. There’s the music itself, touring, and maintaining a social media presence to promote those and other endeavors. Merch can also be a good income stream, and it looks like Charli XCX is adding an atypical sort of item to her offerings: a douche.

For those who have only heard the word used as an insult, a douche is actually a device used to squirt water into the body for medical or hygienic purposes and is most commonly associated with the female anatomy.

A couple days ago, Charli noted on Twitter, “new xcx merch is so hot ur all gonna die.” In response to a fan asking if Charli planned to sell thongs, Charli wrote, “no but:” and shared a photo of a black douche embossed with her signature.

As Exclaim notes, the apparent new merch is perhaps a reference to the time in 2019 when at a meet-and-greet, Charli encountered a fan named Marcus, who had her sign a blue douche. Marcus himself responded to Charli’s tweet with a photo of his famous autographed douche and wrote, “they will never be her.”

Charli XCX is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

In honor of Olivia Rodrigo’s birthday over the weekend, W Magazine did what they usually do: gathered a throng of random celebrities to join forces for a discordant YouTube serenade. Of course, the tune this time was last year’s colossal, chart-dominating “Drivers License.”

Members of this impromptu choir include Kristen Stewart, Leslie Odom Jr., Jared Leto, Jennifer Hudson, Jodie Comer, Zazie Beetz, Kirsten Dunst, Simon Rex, and even more. As always, the result is a mess of a few stars singing seriously, most reading the lines dramatically, and others just laughing.

Meanwhile, Rodrigo celebrated her 19th birthday with a cute, Kacey Musgrave-esque outfit and a hot pink cake with Lorde lyrics written on it in icing. The line was from “Perfect Places” off the beloved Melodrama album: “I’m 19 and I’m on fire.” She has a lot of reasons to party; her quick, staggering rise to global pop stardom was unprecedented, and no one had a bigger 2021 than her (who else has gotten nominated for seven Grammys immediately after the release of their debut album?!). Her status will surely only continue to get higher as she prepares to embark on her first tour.

Watch the entertaining cover of “Drivers License” above.

Tucker Carlson is sick and tired of people claiming that he is soft on Russia. So the Fox News host—whose clips are regularly featured on Russia’s state-owned media, whose editor-in-chief has been known to gush over how “wonderful” he is—took time out of his show on Monday night to dispel those criticisms… by trashing Ukraine and China, and confirming that hell yeah he’d like to host a sit-down interview with Vladimir Putin.

After noting that he and his colleagues have been criticizing Joe Biden’s “lunatic push for war with Russia,” Carlson went on to downplay our country’s century-long rivalry with Russia, claiming that it’s China—not Russia—who is our true rival. And that “we have no legal or moral obligation to defend Ukraine’s territorial integrity,” as they are not a vital ally to the U.S.

“Ukraine is not even a democracy,” Carlson yelped (no really, his voice went up an octave), “despite what Joe Biden endlessly claims. Ukraine is a corrupt eastern European autocracy that has spent millions of dollars lobbying politicians in Washington and, by the way, made Joe Biden’s family rich. Those are not Russian talking points; they are entirely true. And because they are true, no one in the administration is willing to debate or rebut them, not for a second. Instead, they just call you a ‘traitor.’”

https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1495932356632494096

It took a minute, but that’s the point Carlson—the same man who made a documentary about how the Capitol riots were a false flag operation—was really attempting to make: That his deep desire to have a public tête-à-tête with Putin, despite the fact that he is a “tyrant” threatening what some people could be “the biggest war in Europe since 1945.” Carlson is clearly pretty annoyed that he’s being described as “un-American” for wanting to speak with Putin, even though—as he noted—NBC News interviewed him recently and “that was completely fine. But our efforts to do the same are not allowed.”

Carlson, like something out of a paranoid 1970s political thriller, says that it’s evident that Fox News is trying to be silenced. After reintroducing the old chestnut that the NSA had spied on the network’s emails and texts, Carlson made it clear that he will never shut up:

“[W]e won’t be quiet, and not just because [Fox News] is a new organization. We’re Americans, and we can talk to anyone we want. We can have any opinion we feel like having. That is not treason. It is not un-American. It’s the whole point of America. It’s our Bill of Rights distilled.”

Carlson then shared that his team had recently sent out yet another request to Putin asking for an interview, which would surely be as stimulating as watching Donald Trump chase after the Russian leader like a lovesick teen.

But just to prove that this is all about journalistic integrity, and absolutely, definitely, most certainly, no way, Jose about being outrageous or courting controversy, Carlson shared that they also put out a request to the president of Ukraine (though he failed to even mention his name, which—if you’re reading this, Tucker—is Volodymyr Zelenskyy). “We would like that interview, too,” Carlson said, being careful to note that “an interview is hardly an endorsement.”

The kicker, of course, was when Carlson announced that he had also invited David Cicilline—Rhode Island’s Democratic congressman, who called Carlson’s attempts to get Putin to sit down with him while the country is on the verge of starting a war with Ukraine “sickening” to sit down for an interview, too. He also turned on that famous Tucker charm when he described Cicilline as “a former mafia lawyer who represents one of our most corrupt states. He is a repulsive man.”

Flattery will get you everywhere.

Here’s what we know about Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It has the longest title of all the Marvel movies; it’s directed by Sam Raimi; and it stars Benedict Cumberbatch. Here’s what we don’t know about Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which I will henceforth call Doctor Strange 2 because, again, long title: whether it also stars Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ryan Reynolds, and Patrick Stewart.

About 80 seconds into the Doctor Strange 2 trailer, a mysterious voice says, “We should tell him the truth.” It sounds a heck of a lot like Patrick Stewart’s Professor Xavier, which would signal the arrival of the X-Men into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But in an interview with Comic Book, the Star Trek: The Next Generation actor denied any involvement with the movie. “You know, people have been imitating my voice ever since I came on the stage 60 years ago,” he said. “So, I can’t be held responsible for that.”

It’s either someone doing a credible impression of Stewart, or Andrew Garfield denying that he’s in Spider-Man: No Way Home (or, more appropriately, Benedict Cumberbatch saying he’s definitely not playing Khan in Star Trek Into Darkness) all over again.

We’ll find out on May 6, when Doctor Strange 2 hits theaters.

(Via Comic Book)