Month: September 2022

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Nike continues to pave the way toward a cleaner, better world for athletes and sport with Forward

As one of the world’s largest sports brands, Nike is in a unique position to play a significant role in creating a more sustainable world. Nike has taken on this monumental responsibility by relentlessly pursuing its waste-reducing Move to Zero policy. The company’s ultimate goal is zero carbon and zero waste, all in an effort to help protect the future of sport.

“Athletes around the world are telling us that climate change is impacting them and their ability to perform at their best,” Seana Hannah, VP Sustainable Innovation, NIKE, Inc., said in a statement shared with Upworthy. “As part of our commitment to serve the athletes by offering more sustainable options and meeting our bold, science-based impact targets, we’re introducing a material innovation that can be adapted to different lifestyle and performance purposes.”

Over five years of research went into the development of Nike Forward and the company believes the positive environmental effects will be well worth the wait.

The all-new Nike Forward platform is the brand’s latest advancement in over 30 years of sustainability-minded innovations, and the most significant Nike apparel innovation since Dri-Fit.The proprietary technology is based on engineering innovations that deliver big results.

In short, Nike hacked existing needle punching machinery to connect multiple thin layers by entangling them together to make a new, uncompromising performance-ready textile.


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The total of Forward’s innovations reduces carbon output by an average of 75% compared to traditional Nike fleece. This is achieved using 70% recycled content by weight, solution-dyed fibers rather than traditional dye methods and the lower material basis weight of Forward. In plain language, the process is much simpler than traditional knit or woven processes, drastically reducing the number of resources needed to create the material.

But Forward isn’t just about reducing environmental impact during the manufacturing process. For the launch pieces, the brand also considered the end of its garments’ lives by removing metal zippers and aglets so they’re easier to recycle.

“Sustainability sits at the foundation of Nike’s business, and we believe circularity is the future of sustainability, “John Donahoe, CEO, NIKE, Inc. said in a statement.

The sustainability of the Forward platform has the potential to significantly reduce the company’s carbon footprint for years to come. In keeping with Nike’s goals, Forward looks to “make the world better for athletes” while also being a superior product that “makes athletes better.”

Forward’s multiple thin-layer construction makes for warm and lightweight garments, and the flexibility of the platform will allow Nike to create a custom experience for athletes where materials can be adjusted to meet their unique needs.

via Nike

The first Forward garment that athletes across the world will be able to experience is an iconic grey hoodie, as Nike calls it, “the uniform of sport and style around the globe.” The Forward hoodie is manufactured using zero water in the dyeing and finishing processes. The company believes it’s a rare product where sustainability doesn’t come with sacrifices in comfort, style, or performance.

The hoodie is just the start of the Forward movement for Nike. “Today, it’s a hoodie. Tomorrow, it could be anything,” Aaron Heiser, VP of global apparel product merchandising, said in a video produced by Nike.

The hoodie will help introduce the world to Nike’s latest revolution that it hopes will make an impact that will be felt for years to come.

For Nike, it’s just the latest advancement in the brand’s culture of innovation that underscores its commitment to taking action in creating a better world.

“We believe this platform has the potential to reset the way we think about material and apparel,” Aaron Heiser, Nike’s VP of global apparel product merchandising, said in a statement. “This is the biggest Nike apparel innovation since Dri-Fit 30 years ago and has huge potential to transform the industry in the way that Air and Flyknit did for Nike footwear.”

Nike Forward releases globally on September 22, 2022. Shop the collection at nike.com/nikeforward.

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A viral post argues East Coast folks are better people even if they aren’t as ‘nice’ as those out West

This article originally appeared on 01.22.21

Having lived in small towns and large cities in the Pacific Northwest, Southwest, and Midwest, and after spending a year traveling around the U.S. with my family, I’ve seen first-hand that Americans have much more in common than not. I’ve also gotten to experience some of the cultural differences, subtle and not-so-subtle, real and not-so-real, that exist in various parts of the country.

Some of those differences are being discussed in a viral thread on Twitter. Self-described “West coaster” Jordan Green kicked it off with an observation about East coasters being kind and West coasters being nice, which then prompted people to share their own social experiences in various regions around the country.

Green wrote:

“When I describe East Coast vs West Coast culture to my friends I often say ‘The East Coast is kind but not nice, the West Coast is nice but not kind,’ and East Coasters immediately get it. West Coasters get mad.

Niceness is saying ‘I’m so sorry you’re cold,’ while kindness may be ‘Ugh, you’ve said that five times, here’s a sweater!’ Kindness is addressing the need, regardless of tone.

I’m a West Coaster through and through—born and raised in San Francisco, moved to Portland for college, and now live in Seattle. We’re nice, but we’re not kind. We’ll listen to your rant politely, smile, and then never speak to you again. We hit mute in real life. ALOT.

So often, we West Coasters think that showing *sympathy* or feeling *empathy* is an act of kindness. Sadly, it’s really just a nice act. Kindness is making sure the baby has a hat. (s/o to breenewsome and BlackAmazon)

When you translate this to institutions or policy, you’ll see alot of nice words being used, & West Coast liberals/radicals are really good at *sounding* nice. But I’ve seen organizers & activists from other places get frustrated because nothing happens after ALOT of talk.

Nothing happens after the pronoun check-ins and the icebreakers. It’s rare we make sure that people’s immediate needs are addressed. There’s no kindness. You have people show up to meetings hungry, or needing rides home, and watching those with means freeze when asked to help.

As we begin to ‘get back a sense of normalcy’ or ‘re-calibrate’ to what people in Blue States™ think is Right™ and Just™, I want us to keep in mind the difference between Niceness and Kindness. If something sounds nice, doesn’t mean that it’s kind.”

Of course, there are genuinely kind and surface nice people everywhere you go, so no one should take these observations as a personal affront to them individually. Generalizations that lead to stereotypes are inherently problematic, and broad strokes like “East coast” and “West coast” are also somewhat meaningless, so they should taken with a grain of salt as well.

In reality, a small town in South Carolina is probably more culturally similar to a small town in Eastern Oregon than it is to New York City, and there are some strong differences between various subregions as well. A more specific cultural comparison, such as “big cities on the West coast vs. big cities in the Northeast” might be more accurate as far as generalizations go, but regardless, many people related to Green’s observations based on their own experiences.

To kick things off, a slew of responses poured in from people describing how New Yorkers can be cold on the surface while simultaneously reaching out their hand to help you.

Several people explained that the hustle required to afford the expense of living in New York explains why people skip the niceties. It’s about valuing people’s time; wasting it with nice words is ruder than just quickly helping out and then moving on.

Many people chimed in with agreement with the original post (even some Canadians confirming that their East/West differences aligned with ours).

“No sense of urgency” is definitely a West coast vibe, but is generally viewed a positive out here. And “inconveniencing everyone around them” might be a subjective observation. Maybe.

Plenty of people with bicoastal experience weighed in with their stories of how their experiences lined up with the basic premise of the thread, though.

Though certainly not universally true, the tendency for West coasters to be more hands-off might extend back to the frontier days. The pioneer and gold rush mindset was necessarily individualistic and self-sufficient. In my experience, West coasters assume you don’t need help unless you directly ask for it. But people don’t ask because of the individualistic and self-sufficient thing, so automatic helpfulness just hasn’t become part of the dominant culture.

Things got even more interesting once the South and Midwest entered the chat.

But the takes on warm/nice/kind thing varied quite a bit.

One thing that seems quite clear if you read through the various responses to the thread is that specific states and cities seem to have their own cultures that don’t break down as simply as East/West/Midwest/South. There’s an entire book about how the U.S. can actually be subdivided into 11 different regions that are almost like nations unto themselves. Even this map from 1940 included 34 different cultural regions in the U.S.

And don’t even get a Californian started on the differences between Northern CA, Southern CA, and the Central Valley. “Culture” can even be narrowed down even to specific neighborhoods, and people’s experiences and perceptions vary for all kinds of reasons, so once again, generalizations only go so far before they fall flat.

If you’re curious about what the data says about all of this, a cursory search of surveys about which states are the kindest brings up a fairly mixed bag, but people seem to find Minnesota quite friendly. A Wallethub ranking of charitability by state based on 19 factors including volunteerism also placed Minnesota at number one, followed by Utah, Maryland, Oregon, and Ohio. Pretty hard to make a regional generalization with those states.

Then again, there’s the whole “Minnesota nice” thing, which brings us full circle back to the original thread.

So many elements go into the culture of a place, from population density to the history of settlement to the individual personalities of the people who make someplace their home. And nothing is set in stone—the atmosphere of a place can change over time, as anyone who’s visited a city a decade or two apart can attest.

One thing that’s true, no matter where we live, is that we play a role in molding the culture of our immediate surroundings. If we want where we live to be friendlier, we can be friendlier ourselves. If we want to see people help one another, we can serve as that example. We might stand out, but we also might inspire others who yearn for the same thing.

“Be the change” might seem a bit cliche, but it truly is the key to shifting or world in the way we want it to go, no matter what part of the country—or the world—we live in.

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Jimmy Fallon asked people to share their worst first dates, and some were just laughably bad

Dating has certainly evolved over the years—we’ve gone from courtship being purely a financial arrangement (not that this trend has ever truly died) to knights jousting for a lady’s favor, to casual hookups … and now, romance is primarily found through an app more than anything else.

Technology used for meeting that special someone has become so advanced that you can base your search entirely upon specific interests. Like … oddly specific interests. Think a fellow cat person would be the purrfect match? There’s an app for that. Wish to “love long and prosper” with a fellow Trekkie? There’s an app for that too.

No matter the changes, one thing remains the same—dating is awkward. It’s got all the unspoken formalities of a job interview, disguised as innocent fun. The balance between playing it too cool and too eager is hard to find even for the smoothest among us, and usually results in total embarrassment. Even if we aren’t the ones committing those embarrassing acts ourselves, we are often the reluctant witness to them.

Terrible dates might not always be fun in the moment, but they can be just as important as the good ones. They can teach us a lot about ourselves and what qualities we want in a partner. And at the very least, they can teach us to embrace social clumsiness with a sense of humor.

Jimmy Fallon recently asked his “Tonight Show” audience on Twitter to share a “funny or embarrassing first date story” for his ever popular #Hashtags segment. The best part—some of these awful first dates ended in marriage. There’s hope for us all.

Below, find 15 stories that are truly the the best of the worst. How do some of your first dates compare?

1. “After a nice dinner, she invited me to her house. On the way up, inside the elevator, I decided to push the button to stop between floors and give her a kiss… She had a phobia of closed spaces and she smacked my face as a reflex, two punches after we were kissing and laughing.” – @PanqueAlgarvio

2. “His jeans were so tight he couldn’t sit down. Stood at a bar stool the whole time.” – @onlyintheozarks

3. “Waiting 4 my date when an older couple asked me for a ride. my date came up and said sure! We drove them home & they asked us to come in. Date said “sure”. I pulled him back & asked why he wanted to hang w/strangers. He said ‘sh@t! YOU DON’T KNOW THEM!?’ We bolted!” – @natashaham75

facebook dating

4. “Before the date, we had been chatting about books we liked and I talked about a great book I just read. We went on the date. I loaned her the book. She ghosted me.” – @thenextbarstool

5. “The worst first date I ever had was when my date locked his keys in the car and I had a curfew so he had to break his car window out to get me home on time. Didn’t think I’d ever see him again but we wound up married.” – @csleblan

6. “First date movie ‘Basic Instinct’ not realizing how suggestive it was. We just thought it was a mystery thriller! We left the movie discussing how each character could have actually murdered someone. We’re married now.” – @Southrnbell_Amy

black people meet

7. “First date with my ex husband was a double date with his parents. The preview for ‘Speed Racer’ came on, and she leaned over me to say to her son, ‘You know what your dad’s nickname in the bedroom is?’” – @theostoria

8. “A friend asked me on a double date as a blind date with his date’s friend. I went to the bathroom and came back just in time to hear my date say to her friend, ‘why do I get the ugly one?’ I said good night to all three and headed home, leaving her w/the bill.” – @StevenTrustum

9. “He loved cheese. I was subjected to a 2 hour conversation/lecture about cheese, and why cottage cheese is not cheese!” – @Optimist_Eeyore

bumble

10. “He took me to an Asian fish market. We walked around looking at live & dead fish for a while. I don’t like seeing dead animals & I don’t eat seafood. Then we sat on a curb & he pulled out a ziplock bag of pineapple for us to share. I don’t like pineapple.” – @markayhali

11. “My cousin set up a first date for me with a family friend. During a break from dinner, Mr. Man follows me into the ladies’ room, comes up close and says in a low voice, ‘I shave my butt.’ Can’t remember what I said in response but the evening ended abruptly.” – @carli_zarzana

12. “I once took out my high school crush to a sports bar and ordered the spiciest wings there in an attempt to impress her. Not only was she not impressed. The next morning I woke up with heartburn.” –@Dmonster38

tindr conversation starters

13. “My date showed up with his bestie and girlfriend, and they talked through dinner about people I don’t know. Walking to the car, he gave me a wedgie because he thought he hadn’t been paying enough attention to me.” – @surrealDazey

14. “I was taking my date home and was pulled over by the police for speeding. When the cop came to my car, she jumped out and told him she had to get home. She walked home and I never heard from her again. I’m not sure who’s #WorstFirstDate it was mine or hers!” – @eastriverbear

15. “After an evening of dancing with a first date, leaving the dance hall, I had to take a quick pee break. Rushing out to the parking lot, I see a lady, I grab her and swoop her around, and plant a big wet kiss on the lips. She was another guy’s wife. Oops!” – @seadogskamore

date you

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Guy with a metal detector astonished to find a ring that belonged to the Sheriff of Nottingham

This article originally appeared on 04.06.22

A retired merchant navy engineer in England has found a treasure that would have made his country’s most popular folk hero proud. Graham Harrison, a 64-year-old metal detector enthusiast, discovered a gold signet ring that once belonged to the Sheriff of Nottingham.

The discovery was made on a farm in Rushcliffe, Nottinghamshire, 26.9 miles from Sherwood Forest. The forest is known worldwide for being the mythological home of Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men. A central road that traversed the forest was notorious in Medieval times for being an easy place for bandits to rob travelers going to and from London.

Today, the forest is a designated National Nature Reserve. It contains ancient oaks that date back thousands of years, making it an important conservation area.

“It was the first big dig after lockdown on a glorious day. We were searching two fields. Other detectorists kept finding hammered coins but I’d found nothing,” Harrison said according to the Daily Mail. “Then I suddenly got a signal. I dug up a clod of earth but couldn’t see anything. I kept breaking up the clod and, on the last break, a gold ring was shining at me. I broke out into a gold dance.”

Harrison sent the ring to the British Museum’s Portable Antiquities Scheme to have it authenticated. After doing some research they found that it was once owned by Sir Matthew Jenison, who was the Sheriff of Nottingham between 1683 and 1684.

The first accounts of Robin Hood, then known as Robyn Hode, first appear in the 12th century, a few hundred years before Sir Matthew served as sheriff.

But there’s no doubt that the archer and leader of Merry Men would have been delighted to know that an everyday guy came into possession of the Sheriff of Nottingham’s ring.

Sir Matthew was knighted in 1683 and acted as a commissioner to examine decaying trees in Sherwood Forest. He was later elected to Parliament in 1701. However, a series of lawsuits over shady land dealings would eventually be his ruin and he’d die in prison in 1734.

The gold signet ring bears the coat of arms of the Jenison family, who were known for getting rich off a treasure trove of valuables left for safekeeping during the English Civil War. The valuables were never claimed, so the Jenisons took them for themselves.

Harrison decided that he would sell the ring to someone who appreciates its importance.

“There can’t be many people who’ve found anything like that. I’m only selling it because it’s been stuck in a drawer,” Harrison said. “I hope it will go to someone who will appreciate its historical value.” It was sold at auction by Hansons Auctions for £8,500 ($11,115).

Let’s hope that the man who sold the ring does what Robin Hood would have done with a piece of jewelry that adorned the hand of a nobleman whose family came into money by taking other people’s loot. Surely, he’d take the proceeds from the auction and give them to the poor.

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PnB Rock Was Laid To Rest In Philadelphia After A Dispute Over His Body

pnb rock funeral
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PnB Rock was laid to rest this week in a Muslim funeral after some reported difficulty recovering his body. According to TMZ, the family had expressed concerns about following Janazah, the religious custom whereby a prayer must be performed over the body of the deceased, when Los Angeles police refused to release the body due to the ongoing investigation into PnB Rock’s murder. There was also some dispute over the medical examiner performing an autopsy due to a religious conflict — while California law requires an autopsy in the case of violent death, the family argued that it goes against their religion.

According to HipHopDX, the service was held on Wednesday (September 21) at the Khadijah Alderman Funeral Home in Philadelphia, and was attended by the mother of fellow late rapper XXXTentacion, with whom Rock had collaborated on “Bad Vibes Forever,” “Changes,” and “Middle Child.”

PnB Rock was shot and killed on September 12 while dining at Roscoe’s House Of Chicken ’N Waffles in South Los Angeles. Although police initially believed that he was targeted in a robbery, a new report suggested that investigators are now looking into the possibility that the shooting was perpetrated by Rock’s “known enemies” from Atlanta and Philadelphia.

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It Took Until 2022 But Hallmark Finally Has Its First LGBTQ Christmas Movie

Jonathan Bennett LGBTQ Hallmark Christmas Movie
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Halloween is still over a month away, but that’s not about to stop the Hallmark Channel from announcing its upcoming parade of holiday films that will take fans of seasonal appropriate romances all the way into the New Year. However, this year, Hallmark is branching out by diversifying its Christmas movies and dabbling in a few other holidays.

Starting October 21, the Hallmark Channel will roll out 40 new movies as the station becomes a 24/7 holiday marathon. A few of those titles will be major firsts for Hallmark as it expands beyond the traditional yuletide offerings by debuting its first LGBTQ movie, The Holiday Sitters. There’s also a Hanukah movie in the mix, which feels like it should have happened a lot already. Via Variety:

Hallmark Media will celebrate the culture of Chinese Americans in two films, “A Big Fat Family Christmas” and “Christmas at the Golden Dragon.” Meanwhile, the Festival of Lights will be celebrated in “Hanukkah on Rye,” while “Holiday Heritage” is the network’s first-ever movie celebrating Kwanzaa.

For the first time, a Hallmark holiday movie features an LGBTQ couple as the focus in “The Holiday Sitter,” featuring Jonathan Bennett and George Krissa.

Is it coincidental that Hallmark’s move to diversify its content happened right after Candace Cameron Bure left the network? Not at all. Bure followed former Hallmark CEO Bill Abbott out the door to help him launch the more conservative Great American Family network. Abbott notably left the company shortly after the network caved and restored an ad featuring a same-sex couple that was initially pulled. He and Bure plan to air more “traditional” Christmas films on Great American Family while the Hallmark Channel is clearly embracing that everyone celebrates the upcoming season differently.

(Via Variety)

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‘Abbott Elementary’ Brought The Philadelphia Flyers’ Gritty Mascot To School For The Season Two Premiere

Gritty
ABC

There are very few celeb cameos that are actually meaningful. Sure, you might see a Jonas Brother stopping by The Righteous Gemstones, or Captain America briefly making an appearance in Free Guy, but it’s rare that a celebrity cameo really makes a viewer stop in their tracks. Enter: America’s favorite orange fluffy monster.

After scoring multiple wins at this year’s Emmys, Abbott Elementary returned for its sophomore season with a bang. “I managed to get the only celebrity that matters to come and surprise our kids on the first day of school,” Quinta Brunson’s character Janine says at the start of the episode. “America’s favorite orange furry sweetheart: Flyers mascot Gritty!” And the crowd went wild! Except for Gregory.

Gritty
ABC

Philadelphia Flyers mascot Gritty (who celebrates a birthday on September 24th, just a heads up) enrolled in Abbott for the premiere episode, and it honestly seems like royalty graced the set. “Gritty, to me, is such a beautiful representation of Philadelphia,” creator Brunson said of the big orange guy. “The way he looks, the way he is joyful, the way he feels, the way he is.”

In the premiere, Gritty agrees to come to greet the students on their first day. Which doesn’t work out quite as planned. Classic sitcom hijinks. “There are a lot of people who might be iconic in Philadelphia, there are a lot of people that might be loved in Philadelphia,” Emmy winner Sheryl Lee Ralph said in a behind-the-scenes clip. “None of them come close to the love and admiration that is given to Gritty.”

Obviously, he was a huge hit both on the show and off. It’s amazing he never breaks his character! Perhaps he’s into method acting.

Gritty
ABC
Gritty
ABC
Gritty
ABC

You can catch Abbott Elementary on Hulu and Wednesdays on ABC.

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Ben Simmons Went In-Depth On His Infamous Pass In Game 7 Of Sixers-Hawks

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One moment sticks out about everything else in the eventual parting of ways between Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers. It came in Simmons’ last game with the team, a home Game 7 loss in the 2021 Eastern Conference Semifinals to the Atlanta Hawks, and with less than four minutes to go in a tense matchup, Simmons passed up a layup to give the ball to Matisse Thybulle, who split of pair of free throws as the Hawks would go on to knock off the 1-seed.

Simmons received a ton of criticism for the moment from fans and Joel Embiid, and he has not played in a basketball game since, whether that’s for the Sixers or his new team, the Brooklyn Nets. Ahead of his expected return to the floor this season, Simmons made a cameo on former Philly teammate J.J. Redick’s podcast, The Old Man and the Three, to discuss that moment.

“In the moment, I just spun, and I’m just assuming Trae is gonna come over quicker,” Simmons said. “So I’m thinking he’s gonna come full blown, and I see Matisse going — you know, Matisse is athletic, can get up, so I’m thinking, ok, quick pass, he’s gonna flush it, not knowing how much space there was.”

Simmons went on to say that he didn’t think much of it at the time, with his mindset being that he and the Sixers had to “go make another play.” He also said he did not realize how big of a deal it was, and that when he sees it now, he says to himself, “man, I should’ve just punched that sh*t.”

“But it didn’t happen, and I was ok with that, I can live with that, I can live with — everyone’s trying to kill me over one play, like, does everyone wanna watch film with me?” Simmons said. “Like, the whole arena? I can dissect everything, if you guy want, but that’s not realistic.”

Simmons did not play in another game for the Sixers after this moment, and was traded to Brooklyn for James Harden at the trade deadline.

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‘House Of The Dragon’ Time Jump: A Guide To The New Cast In Episode 6

House of the Dragon
HBO/Ralph Ordaz

Halfway through its first season, House of the Dragon is poised to do something almost unheard of in the world of television. The show hasn’t shied away from accelerating its timeline when certain storylines called for it, but the next time jump scheduled to happen in episode six’s “The Princess and the Queen” is 10 years in length.

Skipping ahead a decade means the show is swapping out two of its fan-favorite leads, aging up a handful of notable supporting characters, and introducing the younger generation of Targaryens who will one day have a dragon in the fight (or should we say dance?) between Alicent Hightower and Rhaenyra Targaryen.

To help fans keep track of who’s who before House of the Dragon’s latest episode drops, we’ve created a character guide to the faces you need to get familiar with (and fast).

Emma D'Arcy House Of The Dragon
HBO

Rhaenyra Targaryen

Milly Alcock’s performance as the future Queen-to-be has been one of the highlights of House of the Dragon so far, and naturally, we’re devastated to see her go. She’s played young Rhaenyra as confident, brash, a bit entitled, and wholly capable of ruling the Seven Kingdoms – plus she speaks High Valyrian like a pro. But book readers know that Rhaenyra’s character goes through some trials during the 10-year time jump and aging up the actress who plays her makes sense when it comes to covering those plot points. Enter Emma D’Arcy. The actor (whose pronouns are they/them) has the tough job of marrying our previously understood version of who Rhaenyra was as a teenager with the woman she’s become after years of frustrating politics and court rivalries — not to mention motherhood — have changed her. D’Arcy will also go toe-to-toe with the grown-up version of Rhaenyra’s childhood frenemy, Alicent Hightower, which should be dramatically delicious to witness.

Olivia Cooke House of the Dragon
HBO

Alicent Hightower

Speaking of, Emily Carey’s young Alicent was decidedly less-liked by fans than her bestie-turned-stepdaughter, but no matter what your feelings are toward the young Queen, we can all agree that the actress playing her did a bang-up job of trying to make her more empathetic. With Carey gone and Olivia Cooke taking the reigns, that last shred of likability seems to have vanished and Alicent, now fully embracing her villain era, has rivaled her House against that of her husband. Not only is this older version of Alicent more manipulative and ambitious, but she also seems to have nurtured a decades-long grudge against her childhood friend for a one-night stand that had absolutely nothing to do with her. So we guess we can add petty to her list of terrible character traits, too.

John Macmillian House of the Dragon
HBO

Laenor Velaryon

Sweet Laenor Velaryon deserved more than a dead lover and an arranged marriage but that’s exactly what he got by the end of House of the Dragon’s fifth episode. The character has already been aged up once, but when we meet him in episode six, he’s a grown man and the husband of the future Queen. John Macmillian will play this version of Laenor and, based on clips released ahead of this week’s episode, we can surmise that while his preference still seems to be “goose” (sorry to daddy Corlys who thought it might just be a phase), he’s developed a close bond with his wife and their children. Or should we say, her children? Their parentage is a big point of contention between Rhaenyra and Alicent in the books, and it looks like the show is wading into the paternity debate this season.

Laena Velaryon House of the Dragon
HBO

Laena Velaryon

Another member of House Velaryon that’s enjoyed a couple of glow-ups since episode one is Laena. Initially, she was intended to be King Viserys’ child bride before he fell in lust with someone who was *checks notes* just a few years older than her. We saw Laena again, this time as a teenager, when House Targaryen paid a visit to Driftmark to arrange a union between Rhaenyra and Laena’s brother, Laenor. She attended the couple’s doomed wedding feast, making quite the entrance and even flirting with a sour-faced Prince Daemon before Ser Criston Cole beat a man’s face to a pulp. When we meet her again, she’s being played by actress Nanna Blondell as an older, wiser version of the character, who is now married to Daemon and has twin daughters with him.

Aegon Targaryen House of the Dragon
HBO

Aegon II Targaryen

It sounds like the next generation of Targaryens are going to be playing pivotal roles in the last half of season one, which might be why the show has already aged up Aegon II. Last we saw him, Aegon was a cherubic-faced potential usurper who had the backing of his grandfather and a handful of sexist lords when it came to inheriting the Iron Throne. For now, he’s being played by Ty Tennant, but Aegon might be aged up again since actor Tom Glynn-Carney is also set to play the character sometime this season. So, more time jumps?

Helaena Targaryen House of the Dragon
HBO

Helaena Targaryen

Aegon’s sister and Alicent Hightower’s only daughter, Helaena, has a big role to play later in the series. For now, she’s simply another pawn at her mother’s disposal. Evie Allen will play young Helaena though there will likely be a jump at the end of the season that sees a different actress taking her place.

Aemond Targaryen House of the Dragon
HBO

Aemond Targaryen

We’ll say this now: Aemond Targaryen is the absolute worst. Described as a crueler, less charming version of Prince Daemon in George R.R. Martin’s book, the young prince is being played here by Leo Ashton. We know that Aemond suffers a terrible injury as a child, something we’ll likely see in the coming episodes, and that turns him into a bit of a murderous psychopath going forward. The Last Kingdom star Ewan Mitchell will play an older version of the character, so he’s likely to be the actor that bears the brunt of the audience’s disgust.

House of the Dragon
HBO

Jacaerys & Lucerys Velaryon

Despite her misgivings as a young girl, Rhaenyra does eventually become a mother to three boys while she is wed to Laenor Velaryon. Following an agreement between King Viserys and Corlys Verlaryon, the boys adopt the last name of their father’s House. Jacaerys is the eldest and he shares the same dark features that his brothers will inherit, most likely from Ser Harwin “Breakbones” Strong, who becomes Rhaenyra’s lover later in her life. Lucerys and Joffrey Velaryon are the final two children that Rhaenyra has with Ser Harwin Strong, but as Joffrey is still a baby when we meet him in episode six, the only one you need to watch out for is Lucerys. Child actor Harvey Sadler will play the youngest version of the character, but it’s a good bet he’ll be aged up again by the end of the season.

House of the Dragon
HBO

Baela & Rhaena Targaryen

Baela and Rhaena Targaryen are the twin daughters of Laena Valeryon and Daemon Targaryen and we’re set to meet them in episode six. Baela has been described as the Targaryen version of Arya Stark, so we’re already putting money on her becoming a fan favorite by the end of the season. Her sister, Rhaena, is quieter and more reserved. Shani Smethurst and Eva Ossei-Gerning will play the younger versions of the twins.

HBO’s ‘House of the Dragon’ airs on Sunday nights at 9:00pm EST.

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News Trending Viral Worldwide

‘Wheel Of Fortune’ Viewers Are Pretty Grossed Out By The ‘Wet’ And ‘Wild’ Answer To A Puzzle

wet wild wheel
sony

A recent poll found that the “worst” words in the English language include pus, phlegm, and seepage. Also, splooge. Can’t forget [shudders] splooge. “Warm,” “wet,” and “wild” did not make the worst-words cut, because apart, they’re not that bad. Who doesn’t love a warm day at the beach, or a Buffalo wing? But collectively, the trio of w-words are prone to gross people out, as evidenced by Wednesday’s episode of Wheel of Fortune.

The category was “Same Letter.” After a few spins of the wheel, contestant Tanino elected to solve the puzzle. “Warm Wet & Wild,” he answered, correctly. He won $3,800 and a California trip worth $7,650 (and later, the Bonus Puzzle), but he also lost, through no fault of his own, because he grossed everyone watching at home out.

It’s been an eventful week for all things Wheel: a photo of host Pat Sajak posing with white nationalist event-attender Marjorie Taylor Greene went viral over the weekend. “The undated photo appears to have been taken earlier this month,” the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. “[He’s] flanked by the Republican Greene and Right Side Broadcasting Network reporter Bryan Glenn. RSBN is known for promoting right-wing views, and Greene, among other things, makes a hobby of harassing mass-shooting victims and thinks that Sandy Hook massacre denier Alex Jones got a raw deal in court.”

Now that’s the real “ew.”

(Via iHeart)