Month: October 2022

Dolphins are one of the most intelligent creatures on Earth, capable of more complex communication and comprehension than nearly every other species. Their intelligence is one reason humans have captured dolphins and trained them for entertainment, but it’s also one reason why keeping them in captivity is seen as cruel.

According to The Korea Times, Bibong, a 23-year-old Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, has just been successfully released into the wild after 17 years of captivity in an aquarium in South Korea. He is the last of his species to be freed by the Korean government after being declared endangered in 2012.

The plans for Bibong’s release were announced in August and Bibong has spent more than two months training to adapt to life in the wide open ocean. Bibong is one of eight dolphins that had been kept in an aquarium on Jeju Island, but the other seven were released in 2013, 2015 and 2017. According to Korea Now, Bibong was seen refusing to obey his trainer’s orders during a performance last year, “possibly due to chronic stress and pressure.”

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This summer, Bibong was moved to a transitional facility where he could learn to communicate with other dolphins and prepare for life in the wild. An estimated 120 Indo-Pacific dolphins live off of Jeju Island, where Bibong was originally captured in 2005.

Now that he’s been released, he will be monitored by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries daily for 30 days via a tracking device attached to his fin, followed by at least five consecutive days of monitoring per month for another six months. Updates on his progress will be provided to animal rights groups, marine mammal experts and government officials, according to the Times.

Both The Korea Times and Korea Now note that a popular Netflix show, “Extraordinary Attorney Woo,” helped bring the plight of the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin into the spotlight when the show’s lead character said, “I want to see an Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin near the coast of Jeju someday.”

In August, Korea Now shared footage of Bibong as he was moved from the aquarium to the training facility where he has spent 70 days preparing for life in the wild:

Oceans Minister Cho Seung-hwan told The Korea Times that the most important thing for the dolphin is to live a healthy and happy life after it returns to the ocean.

“We will fortify marine animal protection policies to improve their well-being,” Seung-hwan said. “The government will continue discussions with the aquarium industry to help a greater number of animals return to where they came from and belong.”

The ministry is also hoping to release a beluga whale named Ruby from an aquarium in South Jeolla Province sometime late next year.

Efforts to save marine mammals from extinction have shown great potential for success. Humpback whales, for example, have made a comeback and have been taken off of endangered species lists after industrial whaling nearly wiped them out in the 20th century.

But even whales and dolphins that aren’t in danger of extinction deserve to live freely in the wild whenever possible.

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The “American Idol” singer expectedly shines in the song—displaying effortless vocal power while retaining Lynn’s signature lilt. But much to everyone’s surprise, her voice paired well—like, superbly well—with The Rock’s, who held his own during the performance as well.

“His voice really actually fits that song,” one listener wrote. “Who would have guessed Dwayne is a countryboy??”

Seriously. Take a listen.

By and large, listeners considered Johnson and Clarkson’s duet to be a sweet and wholesome tribute to the late country music icon.

“Smiling through the whole thing. So unexpected but so wholesome. This makes my heart so happy. RIP Loretta,” commented one person.

“Paying tribute to the WONDERFUL Loretta Lynn with vocals sung by Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and Queen Kelly is nothing more than AWESOME and I liked how both of them duetted together for this song!” added another.

Perhaps the biggest secret revealed by this performance, however, is that Johnson has been a country boy this entire time, and even once had his own country music ambitions.

During a virtual interview with Clarkson in 2021, the “Jumanji” star shared that “I grew up loving real, traditional country. When I got to Nashville … I used to hang out down there and listen to all the acts, and I did have it in my mind that I was gonna become a country music singer.”

See on Instagram

It was that confession that inspired Clarkson to invite Johnson to sing a duet—so yeah, basically this musical treat was a year in the making. And after this performance, it looks like he might get another chance at that dream, after all. I know I’d buy the collab album. Yeehaw.

Selma Blair might have left the competition early, but in many ways, she’s already won.

The actress had been one of the main celebrities to watch on “Dancing With the Stars” since this season’s first episode, when she and pro dance partner Sasha Farber delighted audiences with a moving waltz number. This feat was, of course, made all the more impressive considering Blair has multiple sclerosis (MS), which affects her motor abilities and coordination.

What has been really inspiring, however, is Blair’s unwavering sense of purpose to, as she shared with ET Canada, “show people with disabilities the joy that can be found in ways you never expected.” Each week she succeeded with that mission. And even though her health condition might have forced an early exit, her resilience has helped others imagine new possibilities for themselves—that’s a much bigger victory than any competition title.

Through tears, Blair broke the news to Farber. “You know I’ve been monitored and in touch with my doctors this whole process. The results came back and it all just adds up to that I can’t go on with the competition. I pushed as far as I could.” Pushing further would risk extensive damage to her body, she explained.

However, Blair was determined to share “one last beautiful dance” on the stage, and she did just that. As they yet again waltzed—this time to “What the World Needs Now”—there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

One person with MS shared in the YouTube comments, “There are times where I feel like my life has ended because I no longer have control of my body. Selma’s journey has empowered me. I cried each time she danced because it gives me hope that maybe I will still be capable in my 40s.”

“This is a dance for everyone that has tried and hoped they could do more, but also the power in realizing when it’s time to walk away,” Blair told the audience after judges gave the duo honorary perfect 10s for their emotional performance.

To her 11-year-old son (and biggest supporter) Arthur, Blair left a special message. “I love you the most and I just want to say, I loved this,” she told him. “Sometimes there’s going to be uncomfortable things to do in life and you just do it with a smile.”

People might watch “Dancing With the Stars” to be entertained by spectacle and technique, but thanks to Blair, viewers became witness to true courage and grace. She will be missed, but has forever made a positive lasting impression, and we will undoubtedly continue rooting for her.

If you follow our food coverage, it’s no secret that I’m no fan of Burger King. In almost every ranking we conduct, from breakfast foods to french fries to cheeseburgers to chicken sandwiches, Burger King tends to hover near the bottom. And trust me, while it might seem like I have some weird vendetta against BK — I don’t! Each time we hit a ranking, I’m rooting for them, hard. I don’t want to be a Burger King hater, but I legitimately can’t understand how this chain restaurant continues to operate, especially with all the sub-par food they serve.

Having said that, Burger King has just dropped a new Whopper and… I’m pretty hyped for it! Will this finally be the sandwich that wins me over (to be fair, the Ch’King sandwich is legitimately good, far from the best chicken sandwich in fast food, but good) or will it be yet another menu item that astounds me in its tastelessness?

We ordered the Ghost Pepper Whopper to find out. The Ghost Pepper Whopper will be available at Burger King restaurants nationwide for a limited time and seems to be themed around Halloween — so we don’t expect this one to last until the end of the year. Here is what to expect!

The Ghost Pepper Whopper

Price: $8.99

Tasting Notes:

While I approached the Ghost Pepper Whopper with genuine excitement, that excitement was tinged with a bit of skepticism. The OG Whopper, as iconic to the Burger King brand as it is, is not a great burger. It’s overcooked, charred to the point of tasting burnt, and dry as gravel. Biting into a Whopper just isn’t an enjoyable experience so my hope going into the Ghost Pepper was that it remedied some of those issues.

Well, I’m happy to say it has!

The build of the Ghost Pepper Whopper consists of a single 1/4 pound hamburger patty topped with Ghost Pepper cheese, bacon, crispy fried jalapeños, and queso sauce on a toasted orange and black sesame bun. The bun is a bit too dense and dry, this burger deserves brioche, but everything else is pretty much on point. The combination of beef and bacon provides a lot of smokey meaty savoriness while the spicy trio of fried jalapeños, ghost pepper cheese, and queso sauce deliver a bouquet of spicy sensations that tickle the tongue and water the mouth.

I’m not sure what they’re putting in this queso sauce, but it tastes hot with a savory and salty flavor that helps to offset some of the heat from the jalapeños and ghost pepper cheese. The burger is so hot that the grease is enough to inject the bun with its own sense of heat. I took a few pinches off the bun to see what it tasted like on its own — it has a strong cheddar-like sharpness — and was surprised when it started to burn my lips from the transferred burger grease. The Ghost Pepper cheese is good, it has a strong spice to it but doesn’t melt adequately, which makes me question the quality. Still, I can’t commend BK enough on those spicy fried jalapeños. They’re spicy, crunchy, and pack so much flavor that they deserve to be a side-order option alongside the fries and onion rings. Put these on everything, Burger King, and you might just save your menu!

The only weak points of this burger are the bun and unfortunately, the beef, but there are enough sensations going on in each bite to make up for the dryness. If Burger King stepped up their beef game, it’d have a real contender for best spicy burger in fast food. As it stands, this is pretty good, borderline great.

The Bottom Line:

Pleasantly surprised that Burger King has finally dropped a sandwich that justifies the existence of the Whopper. This is by far BK’s best burger on the menu, it’s a shame that it’s only available for a limited time.

Find your nearest Burger King here.

At the MTV VMAs in August, Taylor Swift, after accepting the evening’s last award (for Video Of The Year), announced her new album Midnights, arriving October 21. Since then, she’s shared a lot of information about the LP without releasing any singles.

She detailed it at midnight, writing, “Midnights, the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life, will be out October 21. Meet me at midnight.” She slowly began unveiling the tracklist through charming TikToks, until five songs were left and she just shared the entire list, which has her first-ever song title with a swear. It also features Lana Del Rey as well as song credits going to Jack Antonoff (who produced it), Zoë Kravitz, her boyfriend Joe Alwyn, and more. She also revealed that there will be Target-only deluxe versions of Midnights with exclusive bonus tracks.

About the opener “Lavender Haze,” the pop star shared, “I happened upon the phrase ‘Lavender Haze’ when I was watching Mad Men and I looked it up because I thought it sounded cool, and it turns out that it was a common phrase that was used in the ’50s where they would just describe being in love,” Swift said. “Like, If you were in the ‘Lavender Haze,’ that meant you were in that all-encompassing love glow, and I thought that was really beautiful.”

Midnights is out 10/21 via Republic. Pre-order it here.

Welcome to the Fresh Pair post-show huddle! After episodes of Fresh Pair, we’ll link up with Katty Customs to talk about the latest episode and dig deep behind the scenes to uncover hidden gems from the design process that didn’t make the main show. On the latest episode, Katty and Just Blaze were joined by the King of the South himself, the Rubberband Man, T.I. and presented him with a fire Air Jordan 3.

Like the sneaker designed for Jadakiss, T.I.’s custom Jordan 3 pays vivid homage to the Atlanta rap icon with details that celebrate the King and Paper Trail albums, two classics that have helped to shape the sound and vibe of trap music. We linked up with Katty herself to talk the concept for her design and which elements ended up on the cutting room floor. Here is hoping somewhere down the line Katty gets to make a T.I. 2!

Let’s pull back the curtain and get the behind-the-scenes details of Katty’s latest fresh design.

What were you thinking with this particular sneaker, what was the initial concept? What did Just bring to the table?

This one was a fun one! We definitely wanted to incorporate the King album. A silhouette of his name, Just came up with that idea, having “King:” written on the back tabs. So he created the back tabs and we also wanted to incorporate the Paper Trail album, because that’s one of his best albums. What’s so cool about Paper Trail is the cover art. We were like, “Yo, it would be dope if we could incorporate that album cover, the actual cover on the shoe, and use some of the colors that are in the album cover.”

And I thought that would make a pretty cool shoe, something that he would also want to wear and put up in a display case.

Why did you guys go with the Jordan 3?

Those are one of his favorites, his go-to shoes.

Did you and Just run into any arguments or butt heads about any creative choices? What was the most challenging part of putting this shoe together?

Of course, it’s not any bumping heads, but of course, we’ll go back and forth over what we thought would be better. But overall, we came up with a great shoe. His ideas were good; my ideas were good. And some of them clashed, so the shoe wouldn’t look right with everything that we wanted to put on the shoe, so we had to decide on which parts look good on the shoe to make it a great shoe… if that makes sense.

What ideas ended up on the cutting room floor?

For the back tabs, we wanted to do a silhouette of the T.I. album cover, where it’s the black silhouette with his hat tilted. But Just was thinking, he’s a grown man, he may not want his face on his shoe. You know what I mean? But in my head, I’m thinking, “Yo, that’d really represent the T.I. King album.” “I think it’ll look good, it’s just a silhouette, it’s not necessarily really a drawing of his face.”

But ultimately, we decided just to use the name King.

What kind of leatherwork or external help went into this design, was there any elements that needed to be outsourced?

Yeah, we had outsourced the Rubber Band Man tags, where it says “the struggle.’” And then we also outsourced the tongue, where it was representing his family. We had those made by Laura Boos out of Boos Leather. She did her thing on those custom tabs. We were so happy to receive them and really that’s what made the shoe pop. That’s what really elevated the shoe, her creativity. It was nice.

The Jadakiss shoe had a lot of little details that kind of linked back to him as a personality, as a rapper. What pieces of T.I.’s career, aside from the King association, did you incorporate into the shoe?

Definitely, the Rubber Band Man tag that was on there. Because he mentioned in the interview that he still uses A rubber band around his money, but the interesting thing is It represents something different today than it did back then, but it’s still relevant. He still uses it, so I thought that was pretty cool.

What was your relationship with T.I.’s music going into the sneaker? Were you a big fan?

Definitely a big fan. His music is timeless. From when he first came out till now, it’s like his sound is always so different. I was excited to work on his shoe and also nervous too — because you never know, you create something for someone, telling their story on a single pair of sneakers. You want to make them happy, you want them to feel like we did a great job, so I’m always nervous about getting their feedback from that.

How’d you feel about his reaction?

I loved his reaction! He seemed happy.

What design element kept you up the latest, hardest element to execute?

The hardest element to execute was definitely using the Paper Trail album cover on the shoes. I’ve never done anything like that before. So, I had to use different methods and different things that I’ve never done to put that on the shoe. So that was a challenge, and it was exciting and fun to actually execute it.

How are we pricing this pair?

In my opinion, realistically, I would go for $3,500.

Nice. So 1k more than Jadakiss then?

Yep!

What would the T.I. 2 be? What shoe are you using? Is it another Jordan 3?

I definitely want to do another Jordan 3. Using the back tabs with the silhouette of the T.I. King, because we still have those back tabs, so I figure we’ll do something with that, just so he could have the chance to wear those or put them up.

Little Simz has won the 2022 Mercury Prize for her album Sometimes I Might Be Introvert. Crowning the top album released in the UK, the Mercury Prize is arguably the most distinguished music award in the UK and this is a triumphant win for Simz’s impactful fourth album.

While Simz won Best New Artist at the 2022 BRIT Awards earlier this year, the Mercury Prize brings a whole new level of accomplishment for the London rapper and multidisciplinary artist born Simbiatu Abisola Abiola Ajikawo. This would seem to be an especially momentous award for Simz, considering she had to cancel her US tour this year citing the “mental stress” caused by tour finances.

“Wow. I’m very very overwhelmed, I’m very grateful,” an emotional Simz told the exuberant crowd. “Glory to God – God thank you so much. To my family over here, my loved ones right here in the center. I wanna say a huge thank you to the Mercury for this incredible, incredible prize.”

Sometimes I Might Be Introvert beat out a decorated field which included Harry Styles’ Harry’s House, Wet Leg’s self-titled debut, and Kojey Radical’s Reason To Smile, among others. “We all changed people’s lives with our music and that’s the most important thing. This is for us really,” Simz said to her fellow nominees.

Primarily produced by Inflo (Adele, Michael Kiwanuka, Jungle), this marked the second album that Inflo produced to win the MercuryPrize along with Michael Kiwanuka’s Kiwanuka, in 2020. Simz praised her collaborator later in her speech. “I wanna say a thank you to my brother and close collaborator [producer] Inflo – Flo is someone who’s known me since I was so young, he’s stuck by me, we created this album together,” she said.” There was times in the studio I didn’t know if I was gonna finish this record, I was feeling through all the emotions and really going through it and he stuck by me and pushed me to deliver this album for you guys.”

An independent release via Age 101 Music and AWAL, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert follows last year’s likewise independent winner, Collapsed In Sunbeams by Arlo Parks.

Watch Little Simz’s acceptance speech at the 2022 Mercury Prize Awards ceremony above.

The Inside the NBA Crew has returned for another season of rowdy studio entertainment for the NBA’s season opening matchup between the Celtics and Sixers. It’s a delight to see the iconic Inside crew on our tv sets once again creating TV magic that other networks have been chasing for years. Charles Barkley wasted no time firing off his hottest takes on the Eastern Conference contenders with the biggest question marks this season. Of course, the seasoned studio analyst required no time to ramp up for the season. Barkley started with his former team, the Philadelphia 76ers, and questioned whether James Harden had enough in the tank to propel the Sixers to a title. In Barkley’s own words, Harden “looked cooked.”

Harden’s hamstring is one of the single biggest questions in the NBA this season. If Harden can regain even a sliver of the explosiveness he possessed before suffering the injury in 2021, that would supercharge the Sixers offense to a very dangerous level. But injuries, especially soft tissue injuries, can be rather fickle and Barkley is correct in his assessment that you can’t really know if you’re fully recovered until the real games are played. He also noted that it may not just be the hamstring, but father time catching up, as you can be in great shape as you get older but still not have it, as he recalls going through personally his last two years in the league.

Barkley also expressed concerns about the Nets when he said, “They could win the championship or burn that thing down by Christmas.” Sir Charles isn’t a writer, but that should be the body paragraph for every Nets season preview on the Internet. Inside the NBA is already off to a fantastic start.

Summer might be over, but that’s no reason to end the festivity! Just ask UK DJ and Brighton EDM pioneer Fatboy Slim, who was down in San Diego last month to headline the iconic CRSSD Festival.

While more trendy and less rave-y than EDC Las Vegas, CRSSD is still an amazing bacchanal of pulsing House and Techno musisc. If you can’t pound your shoes to dust by the end of the day, fear not, there’s a wide variety of irresistible “after dark” sets available to get a complete fix.

On the waterfront of downtown San Diego, the combination of light-show extravaganza and salty mist in the air makes this quite a rare venue. Stocked with gallons of infamous San Diego Craft Beer, great food, and music, there’s no surprise it’s nearly impossible to find a parking spot within a few miles of the stage. While the vibe caters a more polished and mature festival experience, make no mistake, this is a party to groove to some of the most talented artists in the industry.

This year’s lineup shuffled a medley of electronic legends, rising talents, and genre leaders such as Dom Dolla, Joesph Capriati, Richie Hawtin, ARTBAT, Jamie xx, Sonny Fodera, and more. One of our favorites, the legendary master of ceremony Fatboy Slim, graciously hooked us up with an exclusive look into the festival through his photo diary. Check it out below (captions by the artist himself)!

Welcome to San Diego’s CRSSD Fall 2022. Pre-show hangs with Ali my PR at INFAMOUS

Impressive studio on-site at CRSSD, they had some crazy gear in there…I was lucky enough to be interviewed about my musical inspirations by the lovely folks at Synth History.

I’ve made a new mate on this summer’s travels…damn fine DJ @mochakk

My long-time tour manager Al got sick this week so thank you @ Alex_jones26 for stepping in. We made it!

“Ain’t No Love in the Jungle” Fred again remix smashed it at CRSSD, and seemed appropriate for their Palms stage

Future Art Rave….thank you to all who came out and sold out the festival. Some stunning views at CRSSD 2022

Hands up to you all in San Diego

Getting ready to Praise You when the towel whip rolls

A high five with some fans post-gig

Golf-cart laughs

She asked for the Fatboy smiley and said she’d get it tattooed later…

Managed to catch a bit of Fred. Again…

MORE PICS FROM CRSSD:

Donald Trump has a lot of problems right now, so many that it can be easy to remember all of them. In between Letitia James’ New York State lawsuit, the Justice Department investigation over classified documents, and the newly relaunched Jan. 6 hearings, he’s somehow finding time to address another headache: The defamation lawsuit brought upon him by journalist E. Jean Carroll. Trump is set to finally be deposed this week, but he may have already screwed himself by being an oversharing idiot on social media.

In 2019, Carroll publicly accused the then-president of sexually assaulting her in Manhattan’s Bergdorf Goodman department store in the mid-’90s. Trump didn’t just deny the accusations; he did it in his usual reckless, insult comic fashion. He claimed she was “totally lying,” that he knew “nothing about her,” and added that she was “not my type.” That led Carroll to sue him for defamation, but Trump’s lawyers have long argued that he can’t be sued because he was president, and therefore protected by law.

Jump three years, and soon before Trump’s deposition in the case, which he has repeatedly tried to delay, he may have shot himself in the foot. Last week, after word that the deposition could no longer be delayed, he took to his failing Twitter clone and, in a series of unhinged posts, basically spouted the same claims that got him sued in the first place.

After calling the suit a “complete con job,” he kept going. “It is a Hoax and a lie, just like all the other Hoaxes that have been played on me for the past seven years.” He then added the one line that may have really gotten him in trouble: “And, while I am not supposed to say it, I will. This woman is not my type!”

Problem is, he’s no longer president and therefore can no longer claim presidential privilege. Barbara McQuade, formerly Detroit’s top federal prosecutor, told Vice that she thinks Carroll shouldn’t let this pass.

“ [Carroll] should amend her complaint to include an additional count based on the new statement,” McQuade said. “Because Trump is no longer president, this statement was most certainly not made in the scope of his federal employment.”

And to think Trump may have gotten away with it had he not returned to social media after getting booted from several services for allegedly inciting violence that almost overturned democracy.

(Via Vice)