Month: July 2022

Last month, Chicago’s Whitney announced their new album Spark, their follow-up to their 2020 LP Candid. After the release of the upbeat “Real Love,” they’ve brought the song to what became their Jimmy Kimmel Live! debut.

The performance is trance-like and dreamy. Upon releasing the track, the band originally said they wrote it “in June 2021 right after a cross-country move back to Chicago. I was experiencing heightened levels of anxiety and panic, while the entire city was re-emerging from isolation. Iʼve been running away from and self medicating my anxiety for as long as I can remember, but for whatever reason, it felt like it was time to dive straight into it. During late night sessions over a two week period, we captured the embrace of anxiety and fear in a way that resonated with us immediately. We spent the next few summer nights driving on Ashland with the windows down and the song turned up. It felt like an emotional and musical burst of light and weʼre so grateful to finally be sharing that with people.”

The anxiety doesn’t feel present in this performance, though. The song flows with a sense of tranquility and acceptance.

Watch Whitney play “Real Love” above.

Spark is out 9/16 via Secretly Canadian. Pre-order it here.

We’re normally taught to leave nature alone, especially concerning animals big enough to maul or trample us or generally make surviving an encounter an odds game. But sometimes those wild animals need us, and this intense video of veterinarians in Thailand rescuing an elephant and her calf prove just that. On a rainy day in Thailand, a mama elephant and her baby got stuck in a drain before rescuers could get them out.

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Elephants are the world’s largest land animal, have memories that are uncanny and mourn loss in a very human way. In fact, African elephants have been observed standing vigil as they mourn a herd member that has died. This human-like mourning may be what draws people to the large majestic animal, and that’s a good thing because about 90% of African elephants have been killed in the last century due to the ivory trade. Asian elephants’ numbers are also declining as they lose their habitat to human infrastructure.

Seeing people work together to get the mama elephant breathing and rescue her baby from the drain brings about a whole different level of heartwarming. The veterinarians don’t hesitate to climb up on top of the massive animal and use their team’s whole weight to give it CPR. It’s magnificent to see. Until this video, I didn’t even know elephants could receive CPR.

After a few attempts to get the mama’s heart beating, it finally worked. We see the mama and baby snuggling together as the team of humans backs away and watches with joy and exhaustion.

Look, Joe Biden has always been a gaffe machine. When he was running alongside Barack Obama about 15 years ago, when he was a youthful 60-something, he blurted out all manner of accidental drivel. The frequency of his brain farts isn’t much higher or lower now, even as he’s pushing 80. Some of them are even funny. On top of that, Republicans don’t need any more ammunition against him. And yet, this is really something else, even for Biden.

The president was in Somerset, Massachusetts doing a good thing (talking about new climate change initiatives) when he accidentally did a dumb thing. What dumb thing did he do? He accidentally said he “has” cancer:

I lived just up the road in an apartment complex when we moved to Delaware, and just up the road a little school I went to, Holy Rosary Grade School. And because it was a four-lane highway that was accessible, my mother drove us, and rather than us be able to walk.

And guess what? The first frost, you know what was happening? You had to put on your windshield wipers to get, literally the oil slick off the window. That’s why I and so many damn other people I grew up [with] have cancer, and why for the longest time Delaware had the highest cancer rate in the nation.

A couple things. One, Biden does not have cancer. Two, Biden did have cancer, having had non-melanoma skin cancers removed before he took office, as Washington Post fact checker Glenn Kessler reminded people who were suddenly deeply and understandably confused.

Still, it’s not great that the oldest person to ever be elected to the presidency is out there, accidentally using the wrong tense when speaking about the cancer he no longer has. Still, it could be worse. His slightly younger predecessor can’t walk down ramps, is still bragging about passing very basic dementia tests, and there’s no way on earth he’s ever been on a bicycle.

(Via Mediaite)

Will Levis had a tremendous 2021 season for Kentucky, completing 66 percent of his passes for 2,826 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions, while rushing for another 391 yards and nine TDs.

Heading into his senior season, there’s real 2023 NFL Draft buzz around the Wildcats signal-caller (formerly of Penn State) amid a quarterback class that lacks much definition beyond Bryce Young and CJ Stroud. With another strong year, Levis could very well find himself in the first round conversation, but character concerns arise when you start to dig into Levis’ habits off the field, namely the way he takes his coffee.

A year ago, Levis made it known that he puts mayonnaise in his coffee, and at SEC media days on Wednesday, reminded everyone of that by putting himself on video squeezing mayo into a hot cup of mud and then gleefully drinking it.

I get that mayo isn’t all that far off from heavy cream in terms of adding some fat and richness to your coffee, but this is truly upsetting. Even if we ignore that mayo brings a distinct flavor that doesn’t seem to belong near a cup of coffee, look at how the mayo just kinda floats at the top in gobs despite his best efforts to stir it. We can’t be having that. It’s just hard to watch this and not question the decision-making abilities of Levis.

Noted Peppa Pig enthusiast Quentin Tarantino has, for some reason, entered the decade-old debate about whether The Hunger Games is an homage, a rip-off, or one of those neat independent ideas that happens to match up with another piece of art. Without surprise, he comes down firmly in the “rip off” camp.

“I’m a big fan of the Japanese movie Battle Royale, which is what Hunger Games was based on. Well, Hunger Games just ripped it off. That would have been awesome to have directed Battle Royale,” Tarantino told Dana Carvey on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

It’s a snipe that author Suzanne Collins dealt with a lot when her book first became a smash hit and later went on to launch a massive series of blockbusters. In response to the torrent of criticism, Collins said that she hadn’t heard of Koushun Takami’s book or the movie that was based on it, which is a totally understandable position to be in. For one, it’s only the high concept of children fighting to the death under oppressive government rule that Hunger Games and Battle Royale share. For two, one of the reasons Tarantino and others are so protective of Battle Royale is that it’s underseen — a sequel-spawning hit in Japan but a cult classic for Americans. In recognizing how niche it is for Americans, it makes it more likely that Collins really had never heard of it.

Yet here we are again. Hopefully, the debate won’t burn too brightly this time, even as casting for Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes heats up.

Of all The Big Lies Donald Trump and his supporters have put out into the world, one of the most laugh-out-loud funny is the idea that Trump is some sort of virile specimen of a man. Unless, of course, a permanent moose-knuckle is indicative of optimal weight and health—in which case, we stand corrected. But Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg wasn’t about to take any anti-Joe Biden bullsh*t when, during a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing on Tuesday, the topic of Biden’s mental acuity was broached.

As Mediaite reported, when it was Troy Nehls’ turn to speak, the Texas congressman laid into Buttigieg for questioning the mental health of Trump when he was in office, then spit out a laundry list of public gaffes made by Biden—peppered with some over-exaggerations:

We now see the mainstream media questioning President Biden’s mental state, and for good reason. Sadly, he shakes hands with ghosts and imaginary people. He falls off bicycles. Even at the White House Easter celebration, the Easter Bunny had to get him back into his safe place. Cue cards that say, ‘Sit here’ or ‘End of speech,’ which he actually states. That is, if he stays awake. So my question for you, sir, is whether you have spoken with any other cabinet members about implementing the 25th Amendment on President Biden.

Clearly, Nehls forgot who he was speaking with—or didn’t know that he was overmatched before he had even uttered a single word. Because Buttigieg’s response quickly and quietly annihilated Nehls’ pathetic grasping with photos of Biden and the Easter Bunny, and also took a few knocks at the Mickey D’s loving former president.

“First of all, I’m glad to have a president who can ride a bicycle,” Buttigieg began.

OUCH!!

“I will look beyond the insulting nature of that question and make clear to you that the president of the United States,” Buttigieg continued, before being maniacally interrupted by Nehls who wanted a simple yes or no about the 25 Amendment, despite others telling the congressman he needed to let Buttigieg answer the question. But Mayor Pete’s answer was simple: “Of course not.”

Ultimately the two just began speaking over each other, with Buttigieg answering the query with his trademark cool while Nehls’ yelled and gestured like a Looney Tunes villain. But Buttigieg’s answer was clear: “The president of the United States is as vigorous a colleague or boss as I have ever had the pleasure of working with.”

(Via Mediaite)

On Thursday, December 15 at 8 pm ET, Disney fans can celebrate one of the company’s most beloved classics with ABC’s Beauty And The Beast: A 30th Celebration special. And according to Billboard, the special has already cast its Belle: Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter/musician and burgeoning actress HER. The special will be directed by veteran TV special director Hamish Hamilton, who’s led award shows like the Emmys, the Grammys, Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards, and a few Super Bowl Halftime Shows, and produced by John M. Chu, who’s best known for the film versions of Crazy Rich Asians and In The Heights.

In a statement, HER expressed her excitement, saying, “I can’t believe I get to be part of the Beauty and the Beast legacy. The world will see a Black and Filipino Belle! I have always wanted to be a Disney princess, and I get to work with two wonderful directors — Hamish Hamilton, and my favorite, Jon M. Chu. It is very surreal and I couldn’t be more grateful.”

To be honest, it’s kind of cool that Disney has been tapping into the world of R&B for actresses to play classic roles — like Beyonce as Nala in The Lion King and Halley Bailey as Ariel in The Little Mermaid. It feels a little like a nod to Brandy’s Cinderella from the ’90s, and it’s nice to think of so many little girls getting the same feeling of seeing themselves in the character that they did back then.

The show will be a blend of animation and live action, with musical performances paying homage to the original 1991 animated film. It’ll be taped live with a studio audience and streamed the next day on Disney+.

What a wild few years that we’ve seen from Rudy Giuliani. In 2020, he became an October surprise of sorts when he (unwittingly) popped up in Borat 2 in a compromising position. Following that embarrassment, he further devolved with the hair dye incident and a press conference at Four Seasons Landscaping, but Rudy’s about to embark upon another starring role: that of a grand jury witness.

The order has everything to do with Trump’s attempt to overturn democracy and Rudy’s role as a frontrunning henchman for the cause. Rudy received the subpoena from Georgia and pushed back hard (because of course he wants to do nothing that will prove what people know, since he was so obvious about his status on Trump’s so-called Legal Strike Team). From there, however, Rudy has received an order from a New York judge, who told the former America’s Mayor to get his butt down to Georgia. Via CNN:

Tuesday, it was revealed that Willis has also informed all 16 of the individuals who signed an “unofficial electoral certificate” that was ultimately sent to the National Archives in late 2020 that they may be indicted in the probe.

Prosecutors may be moving closer to possible criminal charges against those involved in the effort. It also suggests the probe may be drawing closer to Trump himself, as it comes on the heels of subpoenas that were issued to several members of the former President’s legal team who took part in overseeing the effort to overturn the election results in Georgia and other key battleground states.

One can also expect fireworks from the list of other people subpoenaed for the party in Georgia. That list includes Sen. Lindsey Graham and Jenna Ellis, who may or may not have caught Covid from one of Rudy’s aforementioned farts. And the ridiculousness of the Trump train simply keeps on rolling.

(Via CNN)

These days, when someone does a good deed it’s common for people to react by saying, “It’s great to see there are still some good people in this world.” The implicit message is that Americans used to be more helpful to one another but at some point in history things changed and we stopped looking out for our neighbors.

It’s easy to think that way given the media’s negativity bias and all the talk about living in a “divided country” where we are pitted against one another because of race, sexual orientation, political views, economic status, region and religion.

However, a new study published in American Psychological Association’s Psychological Bulletin has found that Americans are more likely to help a stranger now than they were in the 1950s.

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“Many people believe U.S. society is becoming less socially connected, less trusting and less committed to the common good,” Yu Kou, the lead author of the study and a professor of social psychology at Beijing Normal University, said in a press release.

The researchers analyzed 511 studies conducted between 1956 and 2017 that featured more than 63,000 participants. The meta-analysis found a gradual increase in cooperation among strangers of 19.81% across the 61 years.

“One intriguing implication of these findings is that while Americans’ cooperation has increased over time, their beliefs about others’ willingness to cooperate has actually declined,” the journal article states.

The notion that Americans are more cooperative with one another in 2022 than they were in the 1950s may come as a shock to those who relish the idea that America was at its greatest when the country was more homogeneous and rural.

The reason we’ve become more cooperative with one another will also bother those who feel the country has become more callous because of an increase in individualism. The study points out that an increase in individualism and urbanization may be the biggest reason that we’ve become nicer.

The study notes that “individualists are more likely to interact with strangers” and have a “greater generalized trust in others.” It also cites prior research that “has already found that individualists, compared to collectivists, are more likely to cooperate when interacting with strangers.”

States with a greater number of individualists also “tend to have higher levels of general trust, more donations to charity, and more time spent on volunteering for the community.”

The study provides a much-needed counternarrative to the popular notion that America is on an irreversible moral decline and that we lack the cohesiveness to solve the country’s most important issues.

“If this optimism has some realism, then we are in a much better position to tackle national and global challenges that take the form of public goods, such as the management of refugees, responses to a pandemic, reducing climate change, and the conservation of resources,” according to the journal article.

The findings are a great example of why we should all be more skeptical about the narratives that those in power use to try and shape our collective reality. But more importantly, it gives us another reason to celebrate and promote America’s original promise that the more diverse the country becomes and the freer we feel to pursue our own individuality, the greater things can be for everyone.

I bet that if we started telling Americans the real story about our country we’d do a much better job at setting differences aside and fixing our most pressing problems.

As loving pet owners, we do our best to become highly skilled animal translators. We know that not all meows are created equal. We can sense the difference between a happy tail wag and an anxious one. But still, what if we could just have a conversation with our beloved beasties? What would they say? And what would we ask them?

“Why are they looking at us like that? I know we’re cute and all, but…”

Photo by Louis-Philippe Poitras on Unsplash

In a since-deleted Reddit post, someone posed this very question. The Reddit user asked:

“You’re gifted 24 straight hours where you and your pet are suddenly able to understand each other…What would you want to tell them?”

There were hundreds of responses. Some were lighthearted, like kindly asking to not throw up on the carpet or requesting explanation for [insert odd behavior here]. Others seemed eager to reassure their pets that yes, the vet really is a safe place to be, and no, leaving the house doesn’t mean they’ll be gone forever.

Despite the myriad answers, one theme prevailed: love. For the most part, pet owners have immense fondness for their fur babies, and really do want to provide the best life possible for them. We might not be able to use actual words (doesn’t stop us from using the baby voice though) but we humans will never stop finding different ways to thank our animals for filling our hearts with so much joy.

Enjoy 14 of the funniest, most heartwarming and all around smile-inducing answers:

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“I would tell our cat how much we love him and how lovable he is. I would tell him that I value every second with him. I would tell him that we don’t let him outside because he has a medical condition not because we choose not to let him outside. I would tell him that we disappear all day, most days, because we have to to earn our keep not because we want to…I would ask him if he is okay and happy, whether he feels well, whether he’s in pain at all, what we could do to make him happier. I would stroke and cuddle him the whole time.” -@fishfingerchipbean

“I would reassure my dog that the people walking in the street aren’t going to hurt us. Delivery drivers are not evil. The people at the vet are very nice and will never hurt you. They help keep you healthy.” -@FluffySharkBird

“I would profusely apologize for ever stomping on their tails and swear on my mother’s life it was always an accident.” -@gudbote

“Talk about dog life and how it’s like…what do they do when left unsupervised, and maybe go on a walk and talk about anything and everything.” -@SecurityCrisis141

“I would love to know what they dream about.” -@Dry-Explanation-9464

“I think my cat would absolutely ROAST me first for 24 hours.” -@StraberryBob69

“Please let me know how to be a better friend to you because you deserve everything.” -@boywithtwoarms

“I’d ask him about what his life was like before he was picked up by the shelter (he was a stray when they found him). I’d also tell him how proud I am of him learning new things. I’d reassure him that he doesn’t need to feel anxious or afraid when he sees other dogs on our walk (he’s leash reactive, we’re working on it).” -@makuniverse

“I’d ask them for their preferences on literally everything. What do they want to eat? What litter do they like? What toys, if any, do they actually enjoy playing with, and how can I make playtime with them more enjoyable? Which nap space is the best? Is the water fountain ever going to get used again, or should I just stick to cups of water laid out on the kitchen floor for them to pick from? Do they enjoy cuddle time at all (or, maybe for my own selfish sake, can i at least get SOME on occasion)?” -@in_the_low_life

“Why do you beg for treats, then sometimes don’t even eat them but line them up on your bed in a certain order? And did you really eat that whole chicken, bones and all?” -@Lucinnda

“What’s up with the food thing? Today you love chicken pate and tomorrow it’s poison? WTF?” -Expensive_Ferret-339

“If you need to throw up please get off the bed. Better yet, get on the tile. Love you. Thanks for never scratching the kids when they’re being crazy.” -@Likeomgitscrystal

“I love you so much and I would literally die for you, Oh and why do you get zoomies everyday and bite me everytime!!!!!” -@curator_557

“Tbh I would just love to hear her tell stories of her favorite memories from her point of view. Maybe I’d tell her mine too. I really would just like to catch up like old friends lol. Also I would want to tell her that even though we go away on vacation sometimes I hope she knows that we’ll always come back because we love her and we miss her lots while we’re away.” -@Vanilla_Chinchilla96