Elle has an online video series they do called “Song Association,” where they get a musician, give them some single-word prompts, and have them quickly sing/rap whatever song comes to mind. The latest participant is Maggie Rogers and her guest spot yielded some impromptu, truncated, a capella covers of Britney Spears, Joni Mitchell, and others.
Prompted by “river,” she sang some of Mitchell’s song of that title and shared a great story: “Last time I heard somebody sing ‘River’ by Joni Mitchell, it was Harry Styles covering it in Joni Mitchell’s living room before the pandemic, and that is what I’m going to think about every time I ever hear that song again.”
When it came to “Wonderland,” Rogers quickly responded, “Obviously ‘Your Body Is A Wonderland,’ but I actually can’t think of how that melody goes [laughs].” After a few seconds of pondering, she got there and offered apologies to John Mayer. She actually had a similar brain-fart experience later in the video with “Gravity.”
The video wrapped with “Baby,” which proved to be especially fertile ground. Rogers started with Ariel Pink’s “Baby” before getting into a bit of Justin Bieber’s “Baby” and Spears’ “…Baby One More Time”
Elsewhere, she offered bits of songs by Lady Gaga, Whitney Houston, Destiny’s Child, Fiona Apple, Billie Eilish, Michael Jackson, and more,
The 20-year feud between semi-retired Harlem World rapper Mase and his former mentor Diddy took an unexpected twist last week when it was revealed that the two men might have more in common than previously imagined by fans. Mase was dubbed “Diddy 2.0” after burgeoning Brooklyn artist Fivio Foreign appeared on the Million Dollaz Worth Of Game podcast and claimed that he’d only received a paltry pittance of $5,000 to sign to Mase’s RichFish imprint early in his career.
Mase, who claimed that Diddy only gave him a $20,000 dollar advance in the ’90s in exchange for signing away his publishing, must have thought that he looked bad in light of passing on the misfortune to another artist. So this week, he went on Million Dollaz Worth Of Game himself to clear the air and explain that the situation wasn’t as bad as Fivio made it out to be. According to Mase, the real amount he offered was actually much larger — about $745,000 larger, in fact.
“I had to put a file together of all the history that was left out,” Mase says in the video above. “At one time I gave him $5,000, but I gave him $750,000.” He elaborates that he structured Fivio’s RichFish deal so that he could remain involved as Fivio negotiated contracts with major labels such as Def Jam and Columbia. Mase then proceeds to show hosts Gillie Da Kid and Wallo267 documents on his phone — even going as far as calling execs at Columbia on the air — that show that he tried to be fair to Fivio and give him 50/50 on all their splits.
Of course, what with Fivio admitting he didn’t know the business well at the time, it’s entirely possible that he misunderstood how things worked (it’s happened before and will likely happen again). It’s also possible that Mase is flimflamming in order to make himself out to be the hero of the narrative. As with any of these situations, the facts are likely somewhere in the middle and the details are being muddled in the retelling. In the end, I think the big takeaway is that the music business needs some serious overhauls to ensure transparency and fairness for artists and the business people who help make them stars.
Travis Scott has been slowly ramping up his performance schedule following last year’s Astroworld tragedy, but now it seems as though the “Sicko Mode” rapper is pushing forward full steam ahead. Scott just announced a residency in Las Vegas called “Road To Utopia” that begins on September 17th at the Zouk Nightclub at Resorts World Las Vegas.
If Zouk sounds familiar, this is where Scott made a surprise appearance following the 2022 Billboard American Music Awards show at the MGM Grand in May.
“Travis had a surprise performance at the club and the energy in the room was amazing,” Ronn Nicolli, the CMO of Resorts Las Vegas said in a statement captured by Billboard. “The crowd was shocked to see Travis suddenly appear on stage. We had such a great experience working with him and the team, and we knew he would be a perfect fit within the Zouk family.”
The club touts Scott’s residency as a “mind-bending, first-of-its-kind nightclub residency experience.” It utilizes high-tech audiovisuals, including the “Mothership” lighting system with a roving ceiling turns the room into a kaleidoscope of sorts. Scott will join other artists who also have residencies at Zouk, like Zedd, Tiesto, G-Eazy, DJ Snake, and others. It’s a fairly decorated list for the club that hasn’t even been open for a year yet.
Scott is slated to make seven appearances at Zouk, with tickets for the first show on September 17th already on sale. Curiously, general admission tickets are $50 for “ladies” and $75 for “gentlemen.” Scott’s residency is slated to continue beyond 2022 as well.
In June, Justin Bieber revealed he was dealing with something pretty scary: Ramsay Hunt syndrome, which ultimately left half of his face paralyzed. Bieber said at the time, “Obviously, my body’s telling me I gotta slow down. It will go back to normal. Just time and we don’t know how much time that’s gonna be, but it’s gonna be okay. And I have hope, and I trust God, and I trust that this is all for a reason. I’m not sure what that is right now. But in the meantime, I’m gonna rest.”
Bieber ultimately ended up postponing the rest of his scheduled North American tour dates and confirming his performance schedule would pick back up at Italy’s Lucca Summer Festival, which took place this weekend. Sure enough, Bieber was there for his July 31 performance and based on fan-shot videos of the set, he appeared to be doing great. The festival appearance was his first performance in about two months, since playing Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena on June 5.
It’s not clear if Bieber is still experiencing any Ramsay Hunt symptoms, but it appears Bieber’s recovery has been pretty typical: Mount Sinai notes of the prognosis for the syndrome, “If there is not much damage to the nerve, you should get better completely within a few weeks. If damage is more severe, you may not fully recover, even after several months.”
Bieber also shared some Instagram posts about his return, so check those out below.
Just weeks after the explosive season three finale of Amazon’s hit superhero satire show The Boys dropped, it seems like the supes are already getting some new players, and upgrading a previous guest star. Cameron Crovetti will now be a series regular and will have a more prominent role as Homelander’s son, Ryan. Also entering the mix will be Valori Curry as Firecracker, and Susan Heyward as Sister Sage.
Ryan, the son of Homelander and Becca Butcher, has had an increased presence in the series as Homelander desires to get closer to his offspring and show him his psychopathic supe ways. Showrunner Eric Kirpke told Variety that this relationship will be explored further in the series.
“Ryan is a really important piece of the story because he’s half Becca, half Homelander,” Kirpke expalined. “If Butcher can figure out how to get his sh*t together and get the kid back, that could be the single best weapon they have against Homelander. But vice versa. If Homelander wins the kid over, that’s apocalyptic because then there’s two Homelanders. It’s like a child drama with apocalyptic stakes. It’s like Kramer vs. Kramer meets Avengers: Endgame. So that will be a really rich story moving forward.”
Season three of The Boys has no release date as of yet but is expected to premiere sometime next year.
Do you want to know the secret to Top Gun: Maverick‘s box office success? It isn’t Tom Cruise’s movie star charisma; or the dope-ass aerial sequences; or a bunch of ripped fellas throwing around the pigskin on the beach — it’s Jon Hamm as a stern, yet lovable authority figure. He’s one of the best to do it (after Kyle Chandler, of course).
Writer and director Christopher McQuarrie revealed that Nick Offerman has joined the cast of the eighth Mission: Impossible movie. No details about his character have been revealed, other than his name is Sydney and he appears to be wearing a military uniform in the photo below — not unlike Hamm’s Beau “Cyclone” Simpson in Top Gun 2.
“It’s really fun and fascinating. There’s a handful of very high caliber actors that I’m getting to work with as well as the lead guy, and getting to toss the ball around is incredible,” the Parks and Recreation star told the “Light the Fuse” podcast about joining the Mission: Impossible franchise. “Getting to watch them deal with the fire hose technique is fascinating, because everybody brings a great deal of elan and panache and years of experience. And watching McQ and Tom do their thing, you can’t really describe it to people. You have to be there. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s like they’re painting an incredible mural and we’re all the paints.”
If Offerman doesn’t say something along the lines of “Ethan Hunt plays by his own rules, but dammit, he gets the job done,” I’m requesting a refund.
Noted Batman Michael Keaton hadn’t donned the rubber suit since the 1990s until very recently, and it sounds like the Bruce Wayne of old has a lot of catching up to do in the ever-sprawling cinematic universes of recent superhero fame.
Keaton is currently busy with Dopesick, but he’s also slated to return to his role as Batman in at least one major project in the future. Most notably, a Flash movie that seems slated to dig into some alternate Batman-filled dimensions if it ever actually hits theaters. The reveal that several Batmans may be involved certainly got fans excited, as comic fans seem to have a nearly limitless craving for content.
But in an interview with Variety, the former Batman did not exactly claim he’s keeping up with the various goings-on in the various superhero cinematic universes.
“I know people don’t believe this, that I’ve never seen an entire version of any of those movies — any Marvel movie, any other. And I don’t say that I don’t watch that because I’m highbrow — trust me! It’s not that,” he says. “It’s just that there’s very little things I watch. I start watching something, and think it is great and I watch three episodes, but I have other shit to do!”
Keaton, of course, couched his dismissal in a very positive way and stressed that he isn’t trying to be “highbrow” about anything. But it’s even funnier that he’s actually acting in these movies/universes without really keeping track of what’s going on in them. Which, perhaps, makes his appearance in Morbius all that much better when you think about it. What’s also delightful about Keaton’s comments is that he had a pretty simple reason for wanting to come back in the first place: “it seemed like fun.”
“I was curious what it would be like after this many years. Not so much me doing it — obviously, some of that — but I was just curious about it, weirdly, socially. This whole thing is gigantic. They have their entirely own world,” he says of the DC and Marvel character universes. “So, I like to look at it as an outsider, thinking ‘Holy moly!’”
He was also very complimentary of the writing that brought him back to the Batman role, so he’s certainly not trying to make any enemies here. But in a modern climate where there seems to be a new Marvel product further connecting each and every superhero together in ever-increasing frequency, I’m sure quite a few people can relate to Keaton’s excuse for checking out a bit here.
For the past several years we have watched a good portion of the West Coast’s forests catch fire, displacing families and decimating the trees. Climate change has contributed to many of these devastating fires and its impact has been devastating. Trees are home to forest animals and provide much-needed protection for the Earth by their ability to remove carbon dioxide from the air and turn it into oxygen. The importance of trees in the battle against climate change is not lost on everyone, which is why the Biden administration announced its plan to plant more than 1 billion trees over the next decade.
Yes, that’s billion with a “B.” The trees will be planted across the acres of scorched and dead forests in the west where thousands of acres of trees are lost to wildfires every year. Normally, the forest would begin to regrow without human intervention but climate change is affecting the ability for it to regrow naturally due to the increased heat of the recent fires. Trees being unable to regrow naturally has caused a backlog of 4 million acres that need replanting, according to the USDA.
Most of us learned at some point during our school years that trees are important for people. We learned they produce oxygen, provide shade and are habitats for animals such as squirrels, chipmunks and birds. But we didn’t fully appreciate how much trees help combat climate change until the situation reached near crisis levels.
According to the Arbor Day Foundation, forests help to improve water quality in streams, lakes and rivers and filter pollutants out of the air. National forests absorb more than 50 million metric tons of carbon each year in the United States alone. The Arbor Day Foundation also explains that “forests increase rainfall, prevent drought, and cool the overall temperature of the planet.” Fruit and nut bearing trees also help with food security. The more you think about the purpose that trees serve, the more you grow to love them, even if they drop a never-ending supply of leaves on your lawn every fall.
Last year, the U.S. Forest Service replanted 60,000 acres but plan to now replant about 400,000 acres a year—more than quadrupling the amount of acreage. In 2015, 10.1 million acres burned after a record-setting fire season but 2022 is on track to meet or exceed that massive number. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement announcing the reforestation plan, “Our forests, rural communities, agriculture and economy are connected across a shared landscape and their existence is at stake. Only through bold, climate-smart actions … can we ensure their future.”
The Forest Service plans to continually increase its spending on reforestation over the years, with plans to spend up to $260 million annually under the Repairing Existing Public Land by Adding Necessary Trees (REPLANT) infrastructure bill passed by Congress last year. Currently the Forest Service has invested more than $100 million this year for reforestation.
While this plan to replant a billion trees is a good one, it’s important for people not to become complacent with hoping someone has a quick-fix plan. Trees take time to grow and we still have to do our part to reduce how much humans as a whole are adding to climate change. In the meantime, we should still celebrate this victory.
As an actor, Nichols originated the iconic role of Starfleet communications officer Lieutenant Nyota Uhura on “Star Trek,” becoming an inspiring image of what’s possible for underrepresented racial and ethnic groups.
As an activist, she went on to work with NASA—helping to recruit minorities for the space program. In both entertainment media and real life, Nichols helped the world create a more inclusive vision of the future.
After building such a positive legacy it’s no wonder that, when the news of Nichols passing on July 30 at the age of 89 was shared, she received a flood of loving tributes online.
This included words from fellow “Trek” legends like George Takei, J.J. Abrams and William Shatner.
Takei, who played Hikaru Sulu alongside Nichols’ Uhura, wrote on Twitter, “I shall have more to say about the trailblazing, incomparable Nichelle Nichols, who shared the bridge with us as Lt. Uhura of the USS Enterprise. For today, my heart is heavy, my eyes shining like the stars you now rest among, my dearest friend.”
I shall have more to say about the trailblazing, incomparable Nichelle Nichols, who shared the bridge with us as Lt. Uhura of the USS Enterprise, and who passed today at age 89. For today, my heart is heavy, my eyes shining like the stars you now rest among, my dearest friend.
“A remarkable woman in a remarkable role. Nichelle, you will be deeply missed. Sending much love and respect,” wrote Abrams.
Abrams would later cast Zoe Saldana and John Cho in the roles of Uhura and Sulu for his subsequent “Star Trek” films. Cho credited Nichols for being “ a huge part of why Star Trek mattered so much to me.”
A remarkable woman in a remarkable role. Nichelle, you will be deeply missed. Sending much love and respect. pic.twitter.com/ZRnMblXx0Z
The original Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner, also honored his former co-star, writing, “She was a beautiful woman & played an admirable character that did so much for redefining social issues both here in the US & throughout the world.”
Of course, it wasn’t just “Star Trek” alumni who had wonderful things to say. Former Georgia State Representative Stacey Abrams (technically also an actor on the show after her cameo on “Star Trek: Discovery”) shared what she described as one of her “most treasured photos”—an image of Abrams next to Nichols, smiling and holding up the well-known Vulcan hand sign.
One of my most treasured photos – Godspeed to Nichelle Nichols, champion, warrior and tremendous actor. Her kindness and bravery lit the path for many. May she forever dwell among the stars. #RIPNichelle#Uhurapic.twitter.com/nFXHif8HEC
“Godspeed to Nichelle Nichols, champion, warrior and tremendous actor. Her kindness and bravery lit the path for many. May she forever dwell among the stars.”
Even the official NASA Twitter account paid its respects, saying, “We celebrate the life of Nichelle Nichols, Star Trek actor, trailblazer, and role model, who symbolized to so many what was possible. She partnered with us to recruit some of the first women and minority astronauts, and inspired generations to reach for the stars.”
We celebrate the life of Nichelle Nichols, Star Trek actor, trailblazer, and role model, who symbolized to so many what was possible. She partnered with us to recruit some of the first women and minority astronauts, and inspired generations to reach for the stars. pic.twitter.com/pmQaKDb5zw
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. famously once told Nichols, “Don’t you realize how important your presence, your character is? … Don’t you see? This is not a Black role, and this is not a female role. You have the first non stereotypical role on television, male or female. You have broken ground. For the first time, the world sees us as we should be seen, as equals, as intelligent people — as we should be.”
Dr. King would not see just how much ground Nichols would break, but she did live long and prosper. Not only that, she fought for the right to prosper for everyone, and she will be remembered fondly as the hero she is.
Ah, trees. One of Mother Nature’s most majestic creations. Always glorious sights to behold, with their bountiful blooms, luscious leaves and poisonous fruit bombs…
Wait, what?
You read that correctly. The sandbox tree, also known as the monkey no-climb or dynamite tree, lives up to all of its nicknames. It might not hold the official record for being the “most deadly tree in the world,” but it certainly comes close.
A video posted to YouTube by Animalogic gives a fun deep dive on the sandbox tree and all the ways in which it “chooses violence.” Reader beware: This might cause trust issues with other trees. Suddenly you might find yourself wondering what that birch in your front yard’s real intentions are.
First off, let’s talk about those fruit bombs.
The sandbox tree’s official name references the small pumpkin-like fruit it bears. Up until the mid-1800s, when sand was the primary tool for blotting ink, these small gourds made a perfect container for sand and therefore were a standard desk item until they were replaced with blotting paper, Animalogic explained.
But when not being harvested as desk ornaments, these fruits can act as seed explosives. Though this is more of a reproductive strategy than a defensive attack (aiming to get the seeds as far away from the parent plant as possible), humans and animals caught in the crossfire can still be badly hurt by a relentless seed onslaught.
Luckily these seed grenades are fairly predictable and therefore avoidable. They don’t explode at night or when the air is damp, as they need heat and dryness to be ignited. When temperatures are high, however, the fruit will lose more than half of its moisture—becoming so dry each of the 15 sections will violently split away from each other … sort of like distant cousins at an outdoor family reunion. If that happens, look out!
Next, we have stabbing bark.
Yep, from top to bottom, the sandbox tree is densely covered in needle sharp, knife-like points. Hence, monkey no-climb (and hopefully nothing else tries to climb it either). No wonder Animalogic likened it to a “medieval torture device.”
When all else fails, the sandbox tree relies on a weapon that’s withstood the test of time—poison.
Remember those fruit bombs? Well, even if they don’t explode and kill you, just one bite could result in violent cramps, vomiting and diarrhea. OK, so maybe it’s not death … but it ain’t great.
The sandbox tree’s thick, red sap it secretes is also toxic, creating a skin rash on contact, not to mention temporary blindness if it gets into your eye. Indigenous peoples would dip their darts into this sap for hunting and warfare. On the plus side, certain parts of the plant can allegedly be used to treat stomach issues, eczema, rheumatoid arthritis and intestinal worms. Please, please don’t try this at home.
Much like Audrey II in “Little Shop of Horrors,” this tree seems hellbent on world domination. Because of its explosive and efficient seed dispersing system, the species is now considered invasive in East Africa. Ironically, the trees were consciously planted there for shade.
One person joked in the video’s comments, “okay, who thought the poisonous, explosive, thorn-covered tree would be the best option to import for shade?” A fair question!
The sandbox tree might be a tad toxic, deadly, intrusive and insidious, but it’s still pretty cool to learn about. The planet never ceases to provide things that leave us in awe … and in this case, terrified.
And special kudos to Animalogic for providing entertaining and educational videos. You might have given us some nightmare fuel, but we love it.
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