Month: November 2022

Every year one of the most anticipated games of the holiday season is Call of Duty, and while there is doubt about its future, this year was no different. The release of Modern Warfare 2 has been an unsurprising success with millions of players jumping online over the last week to dig into the new multiplayer and campaign modes.

With so much happening, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that players everywhere are rushing to consoles. What may be a surprise is where this launch stands compared to the average launch of a new game. Not only is it an overwhelming success, but early signs are pointing to this being the most successful launch of any Call of Duty game ever. According to an official press release, Modern Warfare 2 reached an astronomical $1 billion in sales through its opening week. That’s the fastest any game in the franchise has hit that mark.

Only setting up Call of Duty for an even bigger month ahead, on November 16 Warzone 2 will go live as a sequel to one of the most popular games in the Battle Royale genre.

This already historic launch for Call of Duty has the potential to get even larger for one of the biggest franchises in gaming.

Fans of DaBaby in Birmingham, AL have the opportunity to see him at a discounted price. The “Suge” rapper is set to perform at Iron City, a venue that holds 1,300 people. Those who buy tickets at the price of $22 will be able to get a second ticket free.

While it’s not unusual for an artist to sell tickets at discounted rates, whether it be by way of Groupon or BOGO specials, many are saying that the discount on these tickets is indicative of the once-promising superstar falling off.

“DaBaby selling his tickets BOGO has got to be the saddest sh*t ever for a rapper,” said one Twitter user. “And it’s crazy cause nobody else hurt his career more than he did. Talk about self-sabotage, a lack of situational awareness, and ego.”

It’s hard to pinpoint where the downfall of DaBaby began, but many believe that it has to do with him making homophobic remarks during Rolling Loud last year, as well as bringing Tory Lanez, who allegedly shot Megan Thee Stallion in the foot back in 2020, onto the stage.

“Yall said canceling don’t work but DaBaby one step closer to performing at Autozone,” said another Twitter user.

The discounted concert is set to take place on November 15.

Elon Musk has been king of Twitter for about a week-and-a-half, but he’s already left his mark. By that we mean it’s already crumbling. Racial and anti-Semitic slurs skyrocketed soon as he took over. Misinformation did, too, thanks in part to Musk himself. There have been mass layoffs and weird mishegoss involving blue checkmarks. He’s even threatened advertisers who ditched him. And now they’ve lost Whoopi.

On Monday’s episode of The View, Whoopi Goldberg announced she was joining Shonda Rhimes, Sara Bareilles, Toni Braxton, Téa Leoni, Alex Winter and others in peacing out from the world’s most popular social media service.

“It’s been a little over a week since Elon Musk took over Twitter and this place is a mess,” Goldberg said. “I’m getting off today because I just feel like it’s so messy, and I’m tired of now having certain kinds of attitudes blocked now getting back on. So I’m gonna get out, and if it settles down enough and I feel more comfortable maybe I’ll come back. But as of tonight, I’m done with Twitter.”

Among her beefs was Musk’s crusade to be a free speech advocate (while suspended anyone who jokingly impersonates him).

“People keep saying it’s free speech, but all speech is not free speech,” Goldberg added. “Some speech is not OK free speech. So everybody has to agree on that, but if people keep saying ‘You hurt my free speech,’ it’s going to be a problem. You know what? This is our problem. But it ain’t my problem today because I’m out.”

As of Monday night, Goldberg’s Twitter account had already disappeared.

What will she be missing by ditching Twitter? For one thing, she’ll no longer have to see tweets from Musk himself, who on Monday shared a Nazi meme then told people to vote Republican in the midterms. In other words, not much.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

Takeoff‘s funeral is set to take place in his hometown of Atlanta, GA. The late rapper will be laid to rest this Friday at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

According to a report from TMZ, the funeral will begin at 1 p.m. and will be officiated by Reverend Jesse Curney III of New Mercies Church, where Takeoff, whose real name was Kirshnik Ball, was an active member.

“I was really sad to hear the news,” said Rev. Curney in a statement. “Kirshnik has been a faithful member since he was ten years old. He and his family were active and avid supporters of the church and the community as a whole.”

Last week, fellow rapper and longtime Migos collaborator Drake honored Takeoff on his ‘Table For One’ SiriusXM show.

“I’m sure people know how we started,” said Drake, “of course, with ‘Versace,’” an early Migos track to which Drake recorded a remix, “and from there, you know, we formed a brotherhood. I always talk about the fact that this was one family. My friends in the music industry are not friends, they’re family. So, our deepest condolences

At the time of writing, Takeoff’s bandmates Quavo and Offset have not directly commented on Takeoff’s death, however, Offset did change his Instagram avatar to a picture of Takeoff, who was also his cousin.

The midterms are on Tuesday, and everyone’s a little on edge. There are scores of wacko MAGA candidates who very well might win. One of them is Herschel Walker, the footballer-turned-bizarre aspiring lawmaker. He’s improbably neck-and-neck with Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock for the latter’s Senate seat. Indeed, it’s so weird that a guy who isn’t even sure how many states are in America might win that it almost left Howard Stern, man of endless words, almost speechless.

“F*cking Herschel Walker. Holy f*ck. They’re saying he’s gonna win in Georgia. Are you fucking dummies!?” Stern railed on his XMSirius show Monday while ranting about nutty GOP candidates.

“There’s gonna be … they always talk about another Civil War,” Stern predicted. “I think there is gonna be one. I mean, how the f*ck could you elect that guy? You gotta be outta your f*cking skull.”

It was clear Walker’s unlikely ascent had left Stern flabbergasted. “I gotta say, I mean, are you f*cking kidding me?” he told listeners. “I don’t care what party, what you believe, what you think would be good for America. Would you really vote for this f*cking — I don’t know what the f*ck he is. I was gonna say mental case. But I don’t even know if that’s fair to mental cases. I just don’t know.”

Stern also had it out for controversial candidates who think they’re defending free speech when what they really want is to face zero repercussions for their actions. “Everyone’s just feeling really empowered to say whatever dumb f*cking thing is on their brain. And then they go, ‘Oh, come on — Come on man,’” he said. “‘Heil Hitler. Now let’s move on. Hitler threw the Jews in the ovens. Leave me alone. I just wanna say things like that. Just want — I just wanna — I wanna say what I have to say.’”

Anyway, please vote Tuesday if you haven’t already.

(Via Mediaite)

This article originally appeared on 10.28.15

Anna and Maybelle are living in a pig’s paradise.

GIF via The Daily Squeal/Facebook.

They feast on green grass. They sunbathe on 12 acres of pristine pasture. And they get belly rubs…

GIF via CBS This Morning/YouTube.

…from Jon Stewart and his wife, Tracey. Every. Single. Day.

GIF via CBS This Morning/YouTube.

Anna and Maybelle are just two of about a dozen other animals living in the lap of luxury on the Stewarts’ farm 50 miles outside of New York City, “CBS This Morning” reported.

The former “Daily Show” host and his wife, who is an author and animal advocate, have run Bufflehead Farm in New Jersey since 2013, according to The New York Times. Along with Anna and Maybelle, they care for four dogs, three rabbits, two guinea pigs, two fish, and a bird.

And while that might seem like a full house (er, yard), the Stewarts are just getting started.

Jon and Tracey’s large, furry family is about to get even bigger.

On Oct. 24, 2015, the couple announced that their property will officially become a Farm Sanctuary.

Farm Sanctuary, an advocacy group that fights the factory farm industry and cares for abused animals, has three other animal safe havens in the U.S.; the Stewarts’ New Jersey property will be its fourth.

Soon cows, sheep, chicken, goats, turkeys, and (of course) more pigs will be arriving at Bufflehead Farm.

Tracey, who has a newly released animal welfare book called “Do Unto Animals,” announced the big news at the nonprofit’s gala in New York City this past weekend.

“We’re getting married!” she told the crowd, according to a press release. “Farm Sanctuary and us, we’re getting married.”

“We bought a farm in New Jersey with the intention of starting a farm sanctuary of our own with an educational center, but what I’m announcing tonight is that our farm is actually going to be the New Jersey branch of Farm Sanctuary. We’re going to build new advocates, new curious learners, and new leaders for this very important movement.” — Tracey Stewart

Caring for rescued animals is quite the 180 from Jon’s previous day job as host of “The Daily Show.”

Photo by Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images.

But for Jon — who called himself his wife’s “wingman” during this next chapter and who has quietly eased into eating a vegetarian diet — farm life doesn’t seem so bad … although he joked about missing the perks of TV stardom during his recent Emmy speech.

“To everybody on television, I just want to tell you — cling to it!” he joked on stage last month after “The Daily Show” won Best Variety Talk Series at the award show.

“I have been off of television for six weeks, seven weeks, whatever it is. This is the first applause I’ve heard. It is a barren wasteland out there.” He told the Emmy’s audience. “You get used to craft services. Out in the world, there are tables with food — but you can’t take it. It costs money, and very little of it is gluten free or vegan.”

The comedian, however, seems perfectly at peace — in hog heaven, if you will — right where he is.

GIF via CBS This Morning/YouTube.

Although pig masseur and late night host may seem dramatically different, it appears that Jon is still doing what he does best in retirement: helping give a voice to the people — and animals — that deserve to be heard.

Check out the story from “CBS This Morning” on Jon and Tracey’s big news below:

This article originally appeared on 01.26.18

Kara Coley, a bartender at Sipps in Gulfport, Mississippi, got an unusual phone call on the job last week.

Photo courtesy of Kara Coley.

“Good evening,” Coley answered. “Thank you for calling Sipps!”

A woman on the other end of the line asked, “Is this a gay bar?”

Sipps welcomes everyone, Coley explained to her, but indeed attracts a mostly LGBTQ crowd.

“Can I ask you a question?” the caller followed up. “Are you gay?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Coley said.

Then things got interesting.

“What was the one thing you wanted from your parents when you came out?” the woman continued.

Coley, who’s tended bar for about 17 years, was a little caught off guard. In all her years of experience fielding requests and helping others working in the service industry, she’d never received a question like that.

Photo courtesy of Kara Coley.

“My son just came out to me,” the woman continued on the other end of the line. “And I don’t want to say anything that may mess him up in the head.”

Coley thought for a moment. Then she asked the woman if she accepted her son for who he is.

The woman answered “yes.”

“You should definitely let him know that you love and accept him!” Coley said. “I think everything will be OK from there!”

The woman thanked Coley for her input and they parted ways.

Later that night, in the early hours of Jan. 19, Coley decided to post the entire interaction to her Facebook page, noting how “random” it all had been.

In the days following, her post went viral, amassing over 1,500 likes and hundreds of shares.

The post’s comment section soon filled with love and gratitude for Coley’s simple but endearing answer.

“My heart is truly touched by this,” one Facebook user wrote. “A parent wanting to support correctly, and a beautiful response. This is progress. This is love and acceptance in the rawest form.”

“Kara, this old granny lesbian is so grateful for you, and for a parent that thought outside the box to get advice!” another user chimed in. “Keep being you!”

“[The response] has been amazing,” Coley writes. She believes her post struck a chord with friends and strangers alike because people are looking for encouraging news: “Every day people wake up and there’s so much negativity in the world — people just need a breath of fresh air!”

For parents to an LGBTQ child, it’s still vital to understand the facts too, Coley noted: “Educate yourself [on LGBTQ issues] and do a little research.”

Ideally, parents should have access to better resources than their local gay bar when it comes to getting help with LGBTQ parenting. At the end of the day, though, the best thing you can do as a parent is make sure your kid understands you’re there through thick and thin.

“Just knowing you have someone in your corner takes a little weight off your shoulders,” Coley wrote.

Learn more about being a good ally as a parent of an LGBTQ child at PFLAG (Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays). If you’re a young LGBTQ person who needs help, resources are available at The Trevor Project.

This article originally appeared on 4.17.19

This one’s for the girls who know you don’t have to chose between sparkles and sports.

For too long, girls have been sent the message that they have to be either/or. You’re either a girly-girl or a tomboy. You’re either into sparkly princesses or sports practices. From the early days of childhood, we’re told in bold and subtle ways to squeeze ourselves into separate boxes.

But those boxes are bullspit, and most of us know it. Girls don’t have to choose between feeling beautiful and being badass. We can be both at the same time.

Perhaps that’s why a portrait shoot shared by HMP Couture Imagery showing girls dressed up in fancy dresses and sports equipment has gone insanely viral. The shoot is called “Because you can do it all,” and in just a few days it has already been shared 175,000+ times.

The woman who photographed the shoot says a comment from a fellow mom sparked the idea.

Heather Mitchell, the photographer from Alabama who runs HMP Couture Imagery, told Upworthy how the portrait shoot came about.

“My youngest daughter is 8 and she is trying softball this year for the first time,” said Mitchell. “We were at practice a few weeks ago and I was talking with the other moms. I was saying that I hoped Paislee learned to love the game because she was athletic. One of the moms told me that she was not athletic, that she was a girly-girl.”

“I couldn’t sleep that night,” Mitchell continued. “All I could think was, ‘Why does she have to choose?’ I played every sport my school offered and wore lipstick to every game. So the next day we went to the studio and created her shot.”

Mitchell says she only spent about three minutes shooting because she knew exactly what she wanted to create. After she posted the photos of Paislee to her personal Facebook page, she got a ton of requests from other parents for the same kind of shoot. After adding two days to the schedule, they sold out in an hour—and the requests just keep on coming.

Mitchell hopes that girls see these photos and realize that they don’t have to choose one identity.

The idea that crinoline and cleats can’t exist in the same mental space is silly, but common. Girls (and boys for that matter) can love pretty things and kick butt at sports. They don’t have to be one thing or the other.

“My parent taught me that I could be anything I wanted growing up,” Mitchell told Upworthy. “I didn’t realize till I was much older that everyone is not that blessed.”

These photos are an excellent reminder to questions our assumptions and not place unnecessary limits on anyone—and an empowering example for girls who don’t fit neatly into a socially constructed box.

“I hope that every little girl that sees this series can see that there is no box,” says Mitchell. “Whatever their dreams are they can achieve.”

This article originally appeared on 03.04.20

There are few more fulfilling hobbies than having a love of books.

Reading isn’t just a great way to have a good time. Reading increases brain connectivity, makes people more empathetic, reduces depression symptoms, improves vocabulary, and may even cause you to live longer.

It’s a huge benefit for a child’s development as well. According to Parent.com, reading “stimulates the side of the brain that helps with mental imagery, understanding, and language processing, and that brain activity.”

Sure beats wasting time playing video games.

Thirteen-year-old Callum Manning wanted to share his love of reading with the world, so on February 23, he created an Instagram account where he posted photos of the books he’s read. It started with a post about Stephen King’s “The Shining.”

“So I guess I’m going to start this account off with one of my favourite books, Callum wrote. “This book was the first book I read in 1 day. And I was like 10. So yeah it scared me.”

See on Instagram

He would go on to fill his pages with books such as “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley, “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen, “1984” by George Orwell, and current classics such as “A Game of Thrones” by George R.R. Martin and “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” by J.K. Rowling

Kids Callum’s age can be exceptionally cruel. A group of them created a group chat where they bullied him for his love of books and then invited him to join. After subjecting him to emotional abuse, they kicked him out of the chat.

“I don’t tend to cry that often but I think that was the first time in a while I’ve actually cried,” Callum told PA Media.

His older sister, Ellis Landreth, was understandably upset about the cruelty, so she tweeted about the group chat, hoping about “20 or 30 of my friends [would] like a few of his posts or follow him or give him some words of encouragement.”

Her tweet would go viral, receiving over 180,000 likes.

Canu2019t believe how awful kids are. My little brothers made an Instagram reviewing and talking about books and kids in his new school have seen it and have created a group chat calling him a creep slagging him off about it and added him to it so he could see pic.twitter.com/wuuj2XlO34

— Ellis (@Ellis)
1582972178

She was bombarded by responses from people who wanted to support her brother.

I think the love from all around the world has probably let him know he isn’t alone. But all the interesting people I know were once considered weird kids with books. Including me.

— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) March 2, 2020

I’ve followed him and dropped him a little message but I’d love to buy him a book or send him over an amazon gift card – I’m sure he has a lot of books on the way but please DM me if there’s any book he doesn’t have 😊

— beffy (@beffybadbelly) March 1, 2020

Just a few hours after the tweet, Callum received thousands of followers on his page. In just three days, he’s up to nearly 400,000 followers. He’s also received countless messages of support through the page.

English novelist Matt Haig sent Callum a collection of books, adding: “Hey let’s all follow Cals Book Account on Instagram and show him some support.” A book store near Manning’s home in northeast England promised him a book on the house.

Callum’s story was shared on Instagram by authors Caroline Kepnes and Malorie Blackman.

The teenager has received over 15,000 messages in his DMs. “He’s absolutely overwhelmed,” Landreth told CNN. “He can’t even get through all his DMs.”

Callum’s mother is over the moon about the response. “She’s so happy people are spreading positive messages about these issues,” Landreth said. “No matter how small some things seem, they can stick with kids forever.”

TikTok has done plenty of things for the mental health community outside of annoying therapists with incessant pathologizing of benign human behaviors. One of the positive things the platform has done is to help push mental health awareness and normalization of mental illnesses.

Kris, who’s goes by KallmeKris on TikTok, recently posted a new skit on her page about intrusive thoughts that explores what it would be like if people said their intrusive thoughts out loud. The video was hilarious and people in the comments were happy to share their own intrusive thoughts.

If you’re unfamiliar with intrusive thoughts, they’re these brief pop-up thoughts that oftentimes seem out of character and unrelated to whatever activity you’re doing. In some cases they’re related to the activity but the thought is something you’d never actually do, like tripping random children at a soccer game, just because.

If the thought of someone thinking about tripping children made you wince a bit, understand that it makes the person having the intrusive thought wince too. In the skit, which has racked up more than 4 million likes, Kris says her random intrusive thoughts out loud while hanging out with her “friend” and the friend’s reaction is hilarious. The comments were full of people exclaiming they were happy to know they were normal and others answering Kris’ call to comment with their weirdest intrusive thought.

Kris admitted in the comments that she feels less alone since reading the thousands of comments of people sharing their own thoughts. Check out the video below.

@kallmekris

What are yours?🫢