Year: 2022

We’ve all daydreamed about quitting our 9-to-5 corporate jobs to travel the world — why sit at a desk when you can lay on the beach on the other side of the planet? Realistically, few people take that leap. But Kesi Irvin, an Ivy League graduate and former financial analyst, decided to risk everything for a chance to see the world.

Irvin left her job on Wall Street to backpack around the world for one year, which eventually became more than five years. Along the way, she created a blog to document her travels and eventually decided to transform this hobby into a business called Kesi To and Fro. The website teaches other adventurous souls how to sustain long-term travel, inspires people to visit destinations that are less frequented by Western travelers, and shows people how to connect with local experiences and communities abroad.

Sounds cool, right? It is. Check it out. After you read this.

Irvin also runs group trips to less touristed destinations like Uganda, where she’s learned the ins and the country’s tourist hot spot and off-the-beaten-track locales. According to Irvin (and our travel editor, who once lived there), Uganda boasts a mix of outdoor excursions, unforgettable views, delicious and unique foods, and welcoming people sure to create the trip of a lifetime. And she’s sharing them all with us today!

Read on for Irvin’s guide to what to eat, where to play, and where to stay in Uganda!

WHY UGANDA?

I first visited Uganda in 2018, and I didn’t know much about the country. I knew there were gorillas there, but that was it. I was surprised by how green the country was! While driving, my favorite thing was to observe how the orange roads contrasted perfectly with the lush, green surroundings. Uganda is sometimes referred to as the “Switzerland” of Africa, and I understand why.

Another reason I love Uganda is because of the people. I instantly felt welcomed in the country, and it’s easier to immersive myself with others since English is one of the main languages in the country.

Although gorilla trekking and other animal safaris might be the initial draw to the country, there is a lot this country has to offer. (Maybe that’s why I’ve been three times already). It’s a must-visit destination because you can find it all: culture, extreme adventures, the Big 5, and lots of beautiful places that are off the beaten path. I also like that many of the safari companies are Ugandan-owned so that tourism dollars can help directly support local communities.

What’s one thing that every first-time visitor should see or do in Uganda?

Everyone needs to try a rolex! It’s a simple, quick snack of an egg wrapped in a chapati. You can easily purchase a rolex from a street vendor or a proper restaurant. In terms of activities — I would say gorilla trekking, but that’s not within everyone’s budgets — so I recommend each visitor to go to Jinja since there’s a lot to do there. It’s only three hours from the international airport and less busy than Kampala.

Ugandan town or area that’s best for outdoor adventure activities?

Jinja is the adventure capital of Uganda and one of the best adventure capitals in the world. Jinja is home to the source of the Nile, which has many activities surrounding it. For less adventurous souls, you can take a pleasant sunset cruise down the Nile. If you like things to get a little crazy, you have to go white water rafting. When I went rafting, I swear I saw death for three seconds. It was scary, exhilarating, and awesome. Another great activity is riding an ATV on the outskirts of Jinja. The roads provide some natural bumps, making it very fun.

If you are looking for even more activities, contact Buutu Safaris, a tour agency I always use and trust, and they can ensure you have a great time not only in Jinja but in all of Uganda.

Ugandan city or town with the best food scene?

Kampala, the capital, has the most food options. You can find delicious Indian cuisine in Uganda since a sizable Indian population resides in Uganda. Matoke is a typical side dish in Uganda. It’s not my favorite, and it’s always served in impossible to finish portions. (But rumors say if you eat a lot of Matoke you will get a nice, juicy butt). My favorite local cuisine is ground-nut sauce, which has lots of yummy flavors, and meat cooked choma style.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Chipati is a simple flatbread (similar to roti, marginally thicker than a flour tortilla) served across East Africa. Having spent a lot of time in the region, I find Uganda’s chipati to be best — who knows why… Anyway, it’s a wonderful snack to have on the road, especially served piping hot.

Best way to see the incredible wildlife of Uganda?

This is an easy answer. You have to go gorilla trekking. It’s hands-down the best safari experience you can have. It’s remarkable to get close to mountain gorillas in their natural environment. I’ve gone three times, and I’m even more impressed each time. It’s interesting to observe creates that share 99.8% DNA with humans. Gorilla trekking is expensive, but it’s worth it. The trekking permit directly impacts the local communities and helps support the conservation efforts for the parks and gorillas.

EDITOR’S NOTE: As Kesi mentioned, you can also see the “Big 5” while on safari in Uganda!

What’s the most efficient form of transportation for getting around Uganda?

I recommend hiring a private driver. I would not trust myself on Ugandan roads because some can be very bumpy or have potholes. Also, buses can be cramped and take a long time. Hiring a private driver is the easiest and quickest way to get across the country. Uganda is not the most accessible place to travel solo. It’s cheaper to split costs by traveling in a group. Infrastructure is not the best in Uganda, so it can be hard for some travelers.

Coolest hotel or place to stay in Uganda?

I will name two spots. The first is Arcadia Lodge, which has the most epic view of Lake Bunyonyi. It’s beautiful to wake up there and overlook the different islands on the lake. The second place is Mweya Safari Lodge in Queen Elizabeth National Park. I love staying here because you will see animals up close if you are lucky. The last time I was there, I found a hippo grazing on the property, and it was so cool! Warthogs and meercats are also expected to find on-site.

Best time of year to visit?

I recommend during the dry season in January or February. It’s also dry season during July and August, but there are more tourists.

Anything else you’d like to add about Uganda:

Go and spend your money in Uganda. When I first backpacked in East Africa, most of the other travelers I met were volunteers or missionaries. I want to encourage more people to view countries like Uganda as a place to be a tourist and not as a place to go and volunteer.

In case you thought Netflix has been lacking in true crime and bizarre stories, just wait until you hear this one! Bad Vegan: Fame. Fraud. Fugitives is the latest docuseries to hit the streaming site, featuring a story that just gets weirder and weirder.

Sarma Melngailis was the co-founder of the vegan go-to hotspot Pure Food and Wine in New York City. The restaurant was a mecca for vegan celebs, who frequented the spot to dine on their raw vegan specials. Melngailis eventually began dating a mysterious man from Twitter (first red flag) who promised to help her business. Suddenly, things got…weird.

The story goes in-depth on how Melngailis was seemingly manipulated by this man, who called himself Shane Fox, as he promised wealth and even immortality for her beloved pet pitbull (second red flag) all while draining her funds and stealing money from the world-famous restaurant. The two were eventually caught on the run after authorities found a charge on Fox’s credit card for none other than non-vegan Domino’s Pizza. Possibly another red flag?

The producer behind the infamous Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened doc and director of Tiger King took Sarma’s story and made it into a four-part docuseries that premieres on March 16th on Netflix. Check out the trailer above.

Tom Brady is a seven-time Super Bowl champion and three-time NFL MVP who’s married to a supermodel. He seemingly has it all, including hundreds of millions of dollars in his bank account, but you know, deep down, it bugs him that the acting role he’s most “known for” is the Entourage movie. That will not do for a perfectionist like Tom Brady. He’s not even the most distinguished Tom Brady on IMDb (shout out to the Tom Brady who wrote the Rob Schneider vehicles, The Hot Chick and The Animal). But now that he’s retired, he has plenty of time to focus on his Hollywood career, beginning with a road trip comedy starring Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, and Sally Field (!).

Brady will produce and act in 80 for Brady, which “tells of four best-friends and New England Patriots fans who take a life-changing trip to the 2017 Super Bowl LI to see their quarterback hero, Tom Brady, play, and the chaos that ensues as they navigate the wilds of the biggest sporting event in the country,” according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The movie was inspired by a real-life story — and speaking of being inspired, I’m inspired by the casting of Tomlin, Fonda, Moreno, and Field as the four friends. They’re, collectively, the Tom Brady of actresses in their 70s, 80s, and 90s. 80 for Brady, which does not have a release date, better make more money than American Underdog. And if (when) it does, that would be the second time that Brady triumphed over Kurt Warner.

(Via the Hollywood Reporter)

In recent years, Disney has gotten into making live-action remakes of some of their classic animated movies. One such film is the upcoming The Little Mermaid, which has a cast that includes Daveed Diggs and Halle Bailey. The film could have had even more musical firepower than that: While Melissa McCarthy ultimately landed the role of Ursula, Lizzo auditioned for the part but did not get it. Lizzo discussed that in a new Variety interview, sharing her vision for the character.

She said, “Everyone knows I auditioned for Ursula in The Little Mermaid and I didn’t get it. But you know, I’m fine as hell. That has nothing to do with Ursula, but I was down to make Ursula a THOT, shaking ass.”

Lizzo also noted that she actually spoke with McCarthy about the movie, saying:

“You know what’s crazy? At the Adele show, I ran into Melissa McCarthy, because she [got cast as] Ursula. She was like, ‘Hi, I’m Melissa.’ And I was like, ‘Hi, I’m Melissa. And I also auditioned for Ursula.’ And she was like, ‘Well, why the hell did I get the part,’ which is a classic Melissa McCarthy thing to say. And then I was like, ‘Girl, because my audition was terrible.’ And I say that as Tyler Perry walks by. And I was like — ruined my chances there. And then she goes, ‘This is my daughter Vivian.’ And I’m like, ‘Get out of here, because my name is Melissa Viviane.’ We were looking at each other like, ‘What the hell is going on?’”

She then clarified her audition actually wasn’t bad at all, saying, “My audition wasn’t terrible. Sometimes I like to make jokes. My audition was good. You can ask Disney. I don’t want to talk too much about it. The singing was great. I’ll just say that.”

Check out the full interview here.

Lizzo is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

T.I. has long been one of Atlanta’s greatest advocates in rap music, declaring himself one of the founders of trap music and generally waving the flag for his hometown whenever it enters the wider discussion in hip-hop these days. This week, Atlanta certainly has been the subject of some debate, mostly among Atlantans themselves, thanks to claims made by rising rapper Omeretta The Great in her song, “Sorry Not Sorry,” which T.I. subtly refuted on Instagram.

In the song, Omeretta makes some assertions about what she thinks counts as Atlanta, taunting out-of-towners who claim the city in the pursuit of credibility and notability. “College Park is not Atlanta / Lithonia is not Atlanta / Clayco is not Atlanta / Decatur is not Atlanta / Gwinnett is not Atlanta / Roswell is not Atlanta / Forest Park is not Atlanta / Lilburn is not Atlanta,” she says. However, a number of citizens took issue with her claims, debating the fragmented city’s bonafides all over social media. Naturally, T.I. stepped in with his own brand of wisdom to helpfully simplify the discussion with the help of visual aids.

“Respectfully…. Only fools dispute facts,” he wrote on Instagram in a post sharing a map of the Atlanta metro area.

Adding some insult to injury, fans noted that the video for “Sorry Not Sorry” was filmed 10 miles outside of Atlanta at Cobb County’s Truist Park. While Omeretta’s single may have backfired on her, it also helped her increase her notoriety at home. If she can weather the storm and harness the attention she’s received as a result of her stunt, she could turn the situation around and be well on her way to joining T.I. as one of the city’s most notable stars.

In a new video interview looking back on his career, Pam & Tommy star Sebastian Stan had nothing but praise for Marvel Studio head Kevin Feige after being a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe from almost the very beginning. Stan made his MCU debut in Captain America: The First Avenger where he played Bucky, Captain America’s famous sidekick from the comics. Heck, Bucky is up there with Robin in sidekick name recognition.

Obviously, the film put a more modern spin on the character by laying the groundwork for Bucky to become the deadly assassin, the Winter Soldier. Of course, all of this hinged on the early films connecting with audiences and the success of The Avengers. Had the team-up film floundered, the whole MCU would’ve collapsed. Clearly, that didn’t happen, and the MCU became a behemoth blockbuster franchise, and according to Stan, Feige deserves more recognition for the impressive feat. Via Vanity Fair:

I just think Kevin Feige doesn’t get as much credit as he deserves for being the genius mastermind for putting this entire thing together. Every single movie to me feels intricately kind of tied to something else and to another storyline, and there’s a lot to those movies. I think that sometimes they don’t get the credit that they deserve.

To prove Stan’s point, and much to his consternation, he also admitted in the interview that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier would not have happened without Tom Holland’s Spider-Man showing up in Captain America: Civil War. As much as Stan “hates” to credit Holland — the two have been locked in a tongue-in-cheek “feud” for years — the Disney+ series spinning out of Civil War is just another example of Feige’s skill at building an ever-expanding cinematic universe.

(Via Vanity Fair)

Welcome to Euphoria Style Watch, your one-stop-shop for light commentary on Sunday night’s best fits from Euphoria and where to buy them. Sunday brought us the penultimate episode of the season, “The Theater and It’s Double,” which presented us with the premiere of Lexi’s long-planned play. To say “Our Life” or whatever the hell Lexi’s play was actually titled didn’t disappoint is an understatement — Sunday night’s episode is definitely in the running for the best episode the show has ever had, and we have Lexi to thank for that.

Seeing Lexi’s play mirror the lives of the Euphoria crew while at the same time acting as a meta-analysis of the ridiculousness of the show itself was legitimately the most interesting and engaging this show has ever been. It also gave us the greatest scene in Euphoria history.

Let’s give it up for Ethan who gave us that great show-closing dance sequence and also single-handedly played about 50% of Lexi’s cast. Tell me Euphoria wouldn’t be objectively better with at least one dance sequence per episode — I dare you!

Anyway, onto the outfits, there were a lot of good ones this past Sunday but sadly there is no one here to represent the boys. Elliot has been absent since Rue’s intervention, Fez spent the whole night in a tux, Ashtray is a child, McKay has even less screen time than Kat, and Nate… I mean does the guy wear anything but a t-shirt and blue jeans? Does he even wear jeans? The guy might as well be a ghost.

So unless you want to know where to buy those gold football pants Ethan was rocking, you’re out of luck. Here was this week’s best.

Rue — Peels NYC Z Jacket With Custom Embroidery

Rue is almost always wearing some hard-to-find vintage piece, so we were surprised to see her wearing this custom embroidery jacket from Peels NYC from the label’s Fall-Winter 2021 season.

The jacket is available in a slash pocket or front pocket style and is made of repurposed vintage American deadstock workwear, featuring twill cotton blend construction.

In place of the Peels logo you can opt to add your own custom text so long as it fits the 10 character limit and the back patch is entirely optional. The jacket runs in a size run of small to double XL.

Pick up the Peels NYC Z Jacket from the Peels online store.

Faye — HNX -6 Omiko Baby Tee

Faye has had a lot of e-girl inspired anime referencing fits this season. While her role has been small, she’s kind of won the internet over so we’re happy to include her on our roundup in our second-to-last edition of this series.

Welcome to the fold, Faye!

Her pastel pink shirt baby tee is hand-dyed in Los Angeles by Unif Clothing and features a graphic by the artist RURUKI.

Pick up the HNX-6 Omit Baby Tee from Unif Clothing.

Maddy — Jacquemus Le Body Yerù Ribbed Knit Bodysuit

Maddy had several outfit changes throughout Sunday night’s episode, which is to be expected, she’s Euphoria’s queen of fashion, but our favorite outfit was this zig-zag ribbed knit Bodysuit by Jacquemus.

The Le Body Yerù bodysuit features a form-fitting design with stitch fibers and a viscose-dominant build.

Pick up the bodysuit in brown at Mytheresa.

Cassie — Outfit By Danielle Guizo

Sydney Sweeney, the actress that plays Cassie Howard, has put on one hell of a performance this season. That final scene with her hot breath on the glass was one of Euphoria’s most frightening moments, and although she’s making it really easy to not like Cassie, as a character she is one of the show’s most compelling. To her sister’s big play Cassie wore a full outfit by Danielle Guizio.

The baby blue and lime-trimmed fit features a knit scoop neck top with a matching plaited knit mini skirt, running in an extra small to large size run.

Pick up the Knit Dual-Color top and skirt at Guizio.

Dud of the Week — This Guy

Granted, most of the guys on Euphoria have no style, but we have to hand it to this guy, Metallica jersey and a backward cap?

This guy is straight out of Woodstock ’99 and we don’t trust him. In the event you cross paths with him at a music festival this spring, run the other way.

(Spoilers from Netflix’s Ozark will be found below.)

About a month after Ozark Season 4 Part I debuted on Netflix, the streaming service decided that we should wait no longer to learn when the finale will arrive. In other words, we now know that the Byrde family’s money laundering ways will come to an end, even if we don’t know who will live and who will survive. Who’s one person who must survive, or the fans will rage? That’d be Ruth Langmore, who’s the centerpiece of this teaser, as we hear Julia Garner’s voiceover about being a “cursed Langmore” while replaying Ruth’s angry confrontation of Marty in the Part I finale episode.

Also, we get another look at that terrifying goat cookie jar. Don’t mess with that thing, man (it’s all ashy). And don’t mess with Ruth. This teaser takes us back to Wyatt’s fateful decision to stay with Darlene, which put him in Javi’s crosshairs. Surely, Ruth will ignore Marty’s warnings and seek retribution for Wyatt’s death, and this trailer suggests that she’s not afraid of dying while doing so.

As for that release date, we hoped to see Ozark wind down before summer 2022, and Netflix has decided to get this thing done even earlier: on April 29. That means that people should be able to start binging at 12:00am PST day, and we’ll find out soon what happens in that car crash, too. As with the last batch of episodes, the resolution of this series could be very bloody, not to mention tragic. (Keep Ruth alive!)

Netflix’s ‘Ozark’ will come to an end on April 29.

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy was easily one of the best games of 2021. While it had shortcomings — the combat was not the most engaging, you can only play as Starlord/Peter Quill, and the other Guardians talk non-stop — it still had one of the best narratives of the year. The writing was the reason to play Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, because despite all of those shortcomings, it helped the player move past it. It’s a must-play game and one that was critically acclaimed.

With so many great things to say about the game, it’s hard to see it as anything but a huge success, right? Well, unfortunately in the eyes of publisher Square Enix, it didn’t meet the mark everywhere. Despite this, the game still somehow didn’t meet sales figure goals. According to a recent financial report from Square Enix, Guardians of the Galaxy didn’t meet sales expectations in 2021. What those expectations were was not stated in the report.

Despite strong reviews, the game’s sales on launch undershot our initial expectations. However, sales initiatives that we kicked off in November 2021 and continued into the new year have resulted in sales growth, and we intend to work to continue to expand sales to make up for the title’s slow start.

It’s really unfortunate to see a game that was as highly praised as Guardians of the Galaxy get listed as essentially a disappointment because it didn’t meet sales numbers. While everyone knows that a video game needs to sell well to continue being made, or to be turned into a franchise, we’re seeing many publishers value story driven single-player games more because they don’t have the same long lasting impact or income level of gigantic multiplayer titles such as Destiny or Call of Duty.

Hopefully, despite the lower than expected sales numbers, this doesn’t kill off any chances for more stories involving those characters and that universe. Another narrative-driven game involving those characters would allow it the chance to improve on any shortcomings and maybe be an even greater game.

Since making her acting debut more than 20 years ago, Priyanka Chopra (a.k.a. Priyanka Chopra Jonas) has starred in the hit ABC series Quantico, appeared in big-budget Hollywood blockbusters including Baywatch and The Matrix Resurrections, been named as one of TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People In The World, made Forbes’s list of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women, written a best-selling memoir, and married a Jonas Brother (Nick). Yet Rosie O’Donnell clearly has no idea who she is.

Still, as People reports, that didn’t stop the comedienne/former talk show host from embarrassing herself, as well as the people she was dining with, when O’Donnell told Chopra that she knew her dad—who she for some reason assumed was New Age author Deepak Chopra. (Priyanka’s father, Dr. Ashok Chopra, was a military doctor who passed away in 2013.)

O’Donnell later posted a TikTok about the humiliating incident, but only made things worse she explained:

“So when I said, ‘Hi, Nick Jonas. You were great in Kingdom’ and ‘Hi, [Priyanka]. I know your dad.’ She goes, ‘You do? Who’s my dad?’ And I’m like, ‘Deepak.’ She’s like, ‘No, and Chopra is a common name.’ … I felt so embarrassed.”

Rather than just cop to her mistake, O’Donnell asked her followers if she was the only one who thought that two people who just happen to share a very common last name and be famous were related. (Sadly, some of her followers also appeared to think that was the case.) But the “apology” turned grave when O’Donnell said: “Nick Jonas, I apologize and to the Chopra wife, I apologize too.”

The Chopra wife?!

It didn’t take long for another wave of negative backlash to form, this time for bizarrely referring to Priyanka as “the Chopra wife.” So O’Donnell set about issuing yet another apology, but stopped just short of acknowledging the very awkward way in which she referred to her, then proceeded to speak as if it were her first day using her new mouth:

“So I’m reading the comments about my [interaction with] Nick Jonas and his wife, Priyanka Chopra, who I mistakenly thought was Deepak’s daughter. People thought that she was rude. She wasn’t rude, it was just awkward. I’m sure she gets sick of that. I’m sure I’m not the only one. According to the comments, a lot of people thought that too but she’s apparently a very well-known actress and more famous than him, people were saying. So I’m sure it felt weird to her, to begin with.

Anyway, Priyanka is her name. Priyanka—I hope I’m pronouncing that right. I just want to apologize to her and to everyone who thought that it was really inappropriate of me. Sorry, sometimes I f*** up. I did at Nobu.”

In other shocking news: Rosie O’Donnell is not related to Lawrence O’Donnell or Chris O’Donnell.

(Via People)