Month: April 2022

Olivia Rodrigo is currently on tour behind her celebrated debut album, Sour, but one of the best parts of her rather small live shows has been the covers and guests that have featured along the way. For the dates that Gracie Abrams was on the road with them, Olivia and Gracie would often do early 2000s pop songs together, and recently Liv teamed up with fellow pop star friend, Conan Gray, for a great rendition of Katy Perry’s “The One That Got Away.” And, of course, Olivia has been covering her very obvious predecessor and influence, Avril Lavigne, mainly doing the hit “Complicated” during her set. (And no, she hasn’t been covering Paramore, that’s just how similar “Good 4 U” sounds to Hayley Williams’ biggest song, “Misery Business.”)

But during tonight’s tour stop in Toronto, fans got a real treat when Avril herself took a break from her engagement to Mod Sun and and her new Love Sux era, and decided to join Olivia on stage to help her pull off “Complicated.” Needless to say, having the OG performer of the track involved made this the best rendition of the song Olivia has ever done. Check out the clip up above.

Often, when you hear of an artist working on new music, there are stories of them retreating to some off-the-grid destination, experiencing the environment as they pour all their creativity into their craft, and then bringing the results of that process back to society. For his new performance, though, Pink Sweat$ took the opposite approach, bringing his songs off the beaten path for some wooded live renditions.

The performance, which is part of Uproxx and T-Mobile’s “Way Way Out Live” series, sees Sweat$ retreating to Staten Island’s Walker Pond (40.58°N 74.112°W, in case you wanted the exact coordinates). Once there, Sweat$, flanked only by a keyboardist and audio equipment, starts with “Nothing Feels Better,” stripping the track down to its core elements, which has the benefit of creating a simplistic, more organic arrangement, as well as letting Sweat$’ exemplary vocals dominate even more than they typically do.

From there, he busted out “Spiritual” before wrapping with the platinum-certified “Honesty,” both with the same impactful aesthetic as the first performance.

Also included in the video is a bit of Sweat$’ journey to make it out to his earthy venue. During that segment, he dives into what creativity means to him, saying, “Innovating as an artist means to me that you’re being conscious about your creativity, to the point where you leave a mark on someone’s heart, someone’s soul, someone’s journey in their own life. For me, it’s super important to feel life, you know, things moving and happening around you. It’s a part of the journey to the song.”

Check out Pink Sweat$’ performances in the video above.

Pink Sweat$ is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Yet another double-figure fourth quarter lead evaporated for the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night, and as a result, the Memphis Grizzlies are moving on to the Western Conference Semifinals. Memphis picked up a 114-106 road win in Game 6, and as a result, the 2-seed won the franchise’s first playoff series since 2015, 4-2.

Anthony Edwards came out firing for Minnesota. In the biggest game of his NBA career to this point, Edwards went for 16 first quarter points and made six of his seven attempts from the field.

That sentiment also applied to the 1-2 punch of Desmond Bane and Dillon Brooks. While the Timberwolves led after one, 29-28, the Grizzlies’ pair of wings combined to score 23 points and pummeled the Minnesota defense from deep early on.

As he’s started to do throughout the series, Brandon Clarke came off the bench and made his presence felt in the second quarter. A handful for the Timberwolves frontcourt all series, Clarke had 12 points and five rebounds in the first half.

Still, Minnesota held a 52-49 halftime lead as Edwards would end up hitting the 20-point mark by halftime, while Karl-Anthony Towns started getting into a groove before the half, taking nine points and five boards into the locker room.

The third quarter ended up being defined by runs. The Timberwolves came out of the halftime break and immediately went on one, opening up a double-digit lead thanks to a 14-4 run. But eventually, the Grizzlies made a run of their own — the team scored 13 consecutive points to cut the deficit to one.

Then, after the two teams traded baskets, Minnesota got its lead back up to double-digits by going on yet another run. This one saw McDaniels score seven straight and the team score 10 in a row before Clarke got to the free throw line and stopped the bleeding for the Grizzlies. But the damage was done, and as a result, the Timberwolves held an 84-74 lead heading into the game’s final frame.

As they’ve shown throughout this season, though, Memphis is a very difficult team to bury. They chipped away at the Minnesota lead throughout the fourth quarter, and tied things up thanks to a three by Bane just before the halfway point of the period. While Edwards came right back and canned a triple of his own, Brooks was able to hit yet another three to bring the teams level.

Memphis took their first lead of the half with less than three minutes remaining, when Clarke hit Bane in the corner off of an offensive rebound for a triple. On the team’s ensuing possession, Clarke and Morant grabbed offensive boards and, eventually, Morant was able to glide to the rim for a layup and a 4-point Grizzlies lead.

McDaniels got the Timberwolves back within one with a triple, but Memphis came right back down and Tyus Jones hit a three as the shot clock expired to give them a little breathing room.

Jordan McLaughlin, who provided a steady hand all game off the bench, got Minnesota a bucket out of a timeout, but Jaren Jackson Jr. provided the exclamation point on a win. Morant drove to the rim and dumped it off the Clarke, who saw Jackson standing under the rim. Clarke made the pass and Jackson dunked through contact.

Bane and Brooks both had 23 points to lead the Grizzlies, while Bane pitched in seven rebounds. Jackson had a double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds, Clarke and Morant each had 17 — the former supplemented that with 11 rebounds, five assists, and three blocks, while the latter had 11 assists and eight rebounds. Edwards led the way for Minnesota with 30 points, five assists, five rebounds, two blocks, and two steals, while McDaniels scored 24 and Towns had 18 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists.

As for what is waiting for them on the horizon, Memphis holds home-court advantage in the conference semifinals and won the regular season series with Golden State, 3-1. Game 1 of their series will tip off on Sunday, May 1 at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

Parents teach their kids lots of things: how to share with others, how to ride a bike, and if you’re lucky they might even share their secret family recipe with you. But how to be a good partner? That’s a topic that’s not usually at the forefront of the parental guidelines. Yet, Doug Weaver’s mom did exactly that, with her multi-year “Husbands in Training” Program.

Doug, now grown and married, recounts the details of his mom’s curriculum in his viral TikTok video, where he shares exactly what he learnt in this course… and just how well it worked.

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The training covered everything from chivalry, to etiquette, to consent, and even porn – specifically, ethics in the porn industry. The latter, something that most teens might find hard to discuss with anyone, let alone their mom. But it’s an important conversation nonetheless, and one that, in the Weaver household, came with quizzes. Yes, he did say quizzes, and Doug has already not-so-jokingly threatened to resurface one of them from the depths of his laptop.

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@dougweaverart

Husbands in training! #parenting #storytime #story

Husbands in training! #parenting #storytime #story

While respecting and honoring women was at the forefront of the lessons, Doug’s mom also covered other topics like: listening, how to handle a situation where your partner’s wrong and how to approach them in public with a grievance vs. in private. In his video, Doug sums up the lessons as being: “all of the things that really just make you a decent human being”.

Which apparently aren’t as obvious as some might think! Because once Doug made it to high school, Doug’s father, “realized that a lot of the things [his sons] were learning from [their] mom, were things that he was never taught growing up. So he decided that he also wanted to take ‘Husbands in Training’,” and as Doug says, they all learned, “to be better men from [their] mom.”

If you’re wondering if there was ever an end to the training, or if it just continued indefinitely, you’ll be glad to know that there was a high matriculation rate. On each of her son’s wedding days, Doug’s mom delivered a signed certificate to the groom informing them that they had officially completed the program. They were no longer in training, they were now husbands – and ready for the job.

But looking back on it, what did Doug really think of this multi-year program? Well, it got some mixed reviews. While Doug feels that there are parts of Husbands in Training that “should never see the light of day” (like the oh-so-detailed porn quiz) he revealed that other parts will be revived for his own Husbands in Training course that he hopes to complete with his son.

As for the rest of us, we’ll have to keep waiting for one of the Weaver boys to share their notes

They say when you drift off to sleep you’re supposed to escape from the weight of the world, but really you’re meant to snuggle up under it. Not all of us have some one there to tuck us in at night (or during our Sunday afternoon nap-time), but Bearaby weighted blankets are giving us all the independence needed to cocoon ourselves back in to the sleep of our dreams. And with ethically sourced sustainable materials that are good for our bodies and our planet, heavy sleep has never felt this light.

But does a weighted blanket really make a difference?

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Yes, yes it does. You know the feeling of receiving a really amazing hug? It’s a powerful one that’s scientifically shown to release dopamine and serotonin, two neurotransmitters that are responsible for helping boost your mood and even create heathy sleeping patterns. The “hug effect” is celebrated in physical therapies and is usually referred to as deep touch pressure or DTP.

Bearaby blankets harness the power of DTP and deliver these huggable sensations straight to your couch or bed – think deep tissue massage of sleep. The thoughtful design reduces anxiety, relieves stress and delivers lasting natural sleep that’s comfortable and sustainable.

And we don’t just mean sustainable as in lasting through the night. Bearaby blankets are all “planet kind” and are sourced ethically. Their extra cool and “ex-tree-mely” snuggly tree napper is woven with fabric harvested from renewable, closed-loop Eucalyptus wood pulp and their cotton napper is made with internationally certified fair trade 100% organic cotton that doesn’t release damaging microplastics into oceans. And speaking of removing plastics from oceans, their ecovelvet fabric is made from recycled marine plastic! True story, each of their ecovelvet nappers takes 900 plastic bottles out of the ocean! And that alone should be enough to help you sleep easy.

Bearaby believes that sleep is the simplest form of self care, and we agree that we all deserve a good night’s rest (and the occasional Sunday afternoon sunshine snooze). But in the United States, it’s increasingly difficult for people to achieve. According to Forbes, 68% of all Americans have trouble sleeping at night. While Bearaby blankets can’t solve everything for us, their planet pledge and ability to “hug” us to sleep certainly helps.

Give them a try, get free shipping and see why heavy sleep has never felt this light.

How our food is made matters. That’s why it’s important to buy products that use the right ingredients, keep everyone safe from major food allergens and give back to our communities. Safe and Fair is doing just that by creating delicious snacks from clean ingredients without any of the top nine major food allergens. It also donates 3% of its profits to the Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy & Asthma Research at Stanford University. But most importantly, the food tastes good—like, really good.

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Image via safeandfair.com

For many, living with a major allergy can limit food options. Allergen-free food is usually bland, because producers limit ingredients instead of finding tasty replacements. That’s not the case with Safe and Fair—all of its recipes are designed to taste good. They’re all made by their head chef, Jess, who tests them in her home kitchen. So everything tastes homemade—just like Mom would make it … if Mom was very knowledgeable about food allergies.

Image via safeandfair.com

These days, food allergies are a serious problem that can have devastating consequences. Many parents know that sending their child to school with the wrong snack can potentially hurt a classmate with food allergies. Luckily, Safe and Fair makes all of its products in a facility free from peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, wheat, soy, shellfish, fish and sesame. Now you can have peace of mind knowing that the products are all right for you and others to enjoy.

Here are some of the delicious products we love:

Granola You’ll Want to Grab

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Safe and Fair’s granola tastes like it was made fresh in the oven. There’s a variety of classic granola flavors like Honeycrisp Apple Pie Granola or Blueberry Cinnamon Granola, which are both vegan and gluten-free. If you’re feeling more adventurous, you could try some fun flavors like the Full Stack Granola, which tastes just like a pancake breakfast. Or, add Banana Bread Granola on top of your banana bread. There are so many options!

Popcorn That Rocks

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Kick your popcorn up a notch with Safe and Fair’s delicious seasoned and drizzled popcorn options. Searching for a popcorn snack that fixes your sweet tooth? Look no further than the Dark Chocolaty Drizzled Popcorn. This gently salted popcorn snack is covered in dairy-free dark chocolate—the perfect fix for an afternoon lull. Or, try the Chesapeake Bay Seasoned Popcorn, which will transport you to a summer day on the seashore.

Don’t Miss These Mixes

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Looking for an allergen-safe way to bake treats at home? Safe and Fair offers two great baking mixes. The Birthday Cake Blondie Mix and the Double Chocolate Brownie Mix are both plant based, vegan, gluten-free, peanut free, tree nut free, egg, shellfish and fish free. They’re the perfect eleventh-hour dessert and a great kitchen project for little ones.

Chips That Crunch

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Upgrade your snack game with Safe and Fair’s award-winning line of chips. We’re not kidding. Recently, Safe and Fair’s Sweet Jalapeño Pea Protein Chips won the best plant-based chip in Prevention Magazine’s 2022 Healthy Food Awards. These chips are the perfect balance of sweet heat with a gratifying crispy crunch. If heat isn’t your bag, pun intended, try the Hickory BBQ Pea Protein Chips or the classic Sea Salt Pea Protein Chips.

With Safe and Fair, now you can have your birthday cake blondies and eat them too.

There is no better feeling than a nice clean house. Whether you’re cleaning for yourself or others, you always want to use the safest products that get rid of harmful bacteria, mold and mildew without hurting the environment. Force of Nature is a new multi-use cleaning solution comprised of safe natural ingredients that cleans as effectively as bleach. And the best part is, using Force of Nature is like a fun at home science project.

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Image via Forceofnatureclean.com

No Harmful Ingredients

Force of Nature only uses water, salt and vinegar to create a powerful cleaning agent. That means it’s free from surfactants, dyes, bleach, fragrances, alcohol, preservatives, quats, hydrogen peroxide or any other harmful chemicals. It also received the best rank from SkinSafe, the Mayo Clinic’s testing system for whether or not a product is safe for skin allergies. It’s also Green Seal certified for meeting the highest sustainability standards.

Effective as The Leading Products

Force of Nature was third party tested against all of the leading cleaning products. It was found to be as effective as bleach, Formula 409 on grease, Windex on glass, scrubbing bubbles on soap scum, Resolve on rugs, and Febreeze on odors. It’s that good.

Image via Forceofnatureclean.com

How does it work?

Force of Nature uses electricity to change the molecules of water, salt and vinegar into hypochlorous acid and sodium hydroxide. Hypochlorous acid is just as effective as bleach and kills 99.9% of germs. It’s also naturally occurring in our bodies and commonly used in vet, wound and eye care due to its gentle properties. Sodium hydroxide is a grease cutter and detergent. It cuts through all the sludge, goo and gunk. The vinegar lowers the PH of the solution, so that only the correct amount of hypochlorous acid and sodium hydroxide are created.

To use, simply fill up the electrolyzer appliance with water. Then add the solution in the activating capsule– salt and vinegar- into the water. Next, turn on the appliance and watch while the electricity creates two new compounds. After a couple of minutes, the solution will be ready to transfer into a reusable spray bottle. That’s it!

Super Effective Against Super Germs

Force of Nature is on the federal EPA’s List N, which means that it’s approved to use against SARS-CoV-2, the source of COVID-19. It’s an effective cleaner that will keep you and your loved ones safe.

Cost Effective Cleaner

Image via Forceofnatureclean.com

Right now you can purchase the starter kit directly from Force of Nature online. It comes with five activator capsules (that each make one twelve ounce bottle of cleaning solution), the electrolyzer appliance, a twelve ounce reusable planet friendly spray bottle that’s BPA and BPS free, a power cord and a quick start and user guide. All told, Force of Nature cleaning solution only costs $.09 cents an ounce, which is up to 80% cheaper than the other leading brands

If you’d like to plan for the future, Force of Nature offers bundles with more applicator capsules. You can even plan for the entire year. Or, simply purchase more applicator capsules when you run out.

With Force of Nature, you won’t need to purchase any new cleaning supplies. You can simply use all of your old cleaning cloths, sponges and other tools.

By creating a cleaning product that’s safe for humans and the environment, Force of Nature is really living up to its name.

Every year, we take another trip around the sun, should we be so lucky. People celebrate their birthdays in all sorts of ways. Some buy a fancy dress complete with a professional photoshoot and a party with a thousand of their closest friends, while others are content with an episode of their favorite TV show and a bag of popcorn. A retired Tuskegee Airman who is coming up on a huge milestone birthday has decided to celebrate by getting birthday cards from people across America. Retired Sgt. Victor Butler is turning 100 on May 21, 2022 and is believed to be the last surviving Tuskegee Airman in the state of Rhode Island.

The Tuskegee Airmen were part of what was known as the Tuskegee Experience. The name comes from the Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama where the first Black Army Air Corps fighter pilots to fight in World War II were trained. The tails of their planes were painted red, earning them the nickname “Red Tails.” At the Tuskegee Army Air Field, 932 pilots were trained but there were thousands of others trained as mechanics, cooks and assistants who were all part of the experience. Eventually the U.S. military was desegregated in part due to the encouragement received after the phenomenal efforts of the Red Tails during the war.

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Butler was trained as a mechanic when he took part in the Tuskegee Experience and recounted some of his experiences when speaking to WJAR saying, “Being in Tuskegee, Alabama, it wasn’t very acceptable to white people for Black soldiers to be walking around.” People were able to get a glimpse into the training, treatment and heroism of the historical group of airmen in the movie Red Tails that was released in 2012.

Though his home is full of medals and other memorabilia from his time in the service, he says he passes the time putting together puzzles and he wants very little for his birthday. Butler says his birthday is “just another day,” but he would like for people to send him birthday cards. Victor says “Oh, I’ll read every one.” While talking to the news station, he also took a moment to share his observation and gratitude saying, “There are so many people that have lost their home and I am very fortunate to have a nice home and wife and my family who come to visit me often.”

Butler made sure to include some life advice while taking a break from his puzzles: “Just enjoy life as it is. Be thankful,” he said. “I’m thankful that I have a nice wife and a nice home to live in.” What a great way to show appreciation to someone who not only helped fight in a World War but is turning a whole century old, by granting his birthday wish. It’s not every day we get to interact with folks whose lives made it into history books.

If you would like to send a card to Mr. Butler, you can send them to:

Victor W. Butler

C/O Gary Butler

P.O. Box 3523

Cranston, RI 02910

The Philadelphia 76ers will not have Joel Embiid for some portion of time during their Eastern Conference Semifinal matchup with the Miami Heat. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Embiid suffered an orbital fracture and a concussion during the Sixers’ Game 6 win over the Toronto Raptors that clinched their spot in the second round.

The news of the injury and the lack of a timetable was eventually confirmed by the Sixers.

Siakam caught Embiid with an elbow to the face late in the game when Philadelphia was up by 29 points, which led to Embiid being visibly shaken up. Embiid promptly left the game and did not return, ending his night with 33 points and 10 rebounds.

“I feel awful I hit his face. I was trying to make a move,” Siakam said after the game, per Sportsnet. “Obviously, I apologized to him after that. It was definitely not my intention.”

The Sixers’ series against Miami will begin on Monday, May 2, and the earliest day it could end is Sunday, May 8. It would be an extremely short timetable for Embiid — who is already dealing with a ligament injury in his thumb that will require surgery — to return to the floor. He has played with a mask on in response to a fractured orbital bone in the past, as he needed to wear one during the 2018 postseason.

Travis Scott has been trying to rebuild his reputation after the tragic events at his Astroworld festival in Houston left ten dead and countless others injured. After recently attempting to launch Project HEAL, which was dismissed as a stunt, Scott has been mostly quiet as of late, except to let Coachella know his feelings about being rescinded from the lineup, via some billboards promoting his upcoming Utopia project.

But news broke this week of a documentary by a filmmaker who thought naming the clip Concert Crush: The Travis Scott Festival Tragedy was a good idea. That filmmaker, named Charlie Minn, did an interview with Page Six claiming Scott is a “criminal” and because of the presence of an ambulance and Travis stopping when he saw people passed out, the rapper should’ve known people had died.

Minn has said his piece, and now Scott’s team has fired back, giving comment to TMZ about Minn’s “propaganda piece.” Here’s further quote given to TMZ, that the film is a “farce financed by and containing content from members of the plaintiff’s legal teams, who, weeks after a tragedy, sought to exploit and benefit financially from it, with the clear goals of making money and swaying future juries and public opinion.”

Further quotes: “It’s a profit play and a publicity stunt, with no support from the film industry, no distribution, and from a director with no respect from his field who has been termed a “trauma pornographer.”

An attorney who is representing several of the plaintiffs from Astroworld in their lawsuits is a producer of the film, which does seem a little strange, and a few plaintiffs decided to be featured in the clip. The film started airing in Texas today. Check out a trailer below.