Month: January 2023

Flo Rida kicked off 2023 with a lawsuit. Suing the energy drink brand Celsius, the rapper accused the company of breach of contract, unpaid royalties, exclusion from stock options, and more during their partnership. “Even Celsius’ top management publicly recognized that the partnership between Flo Rida and Celsius accelerated the introduction of the Celsius brand to millions around the world and allowed Celsius to finally succeed at new levels,” the lawsuit read.

It was reported today, January 18, that the “Low” rapper has come out of the lawsuit victorious, winning a whopping $82 million. And he had the perfect reaction: “I just want to say God is good, in Jesus name,” he said in court, before sipping a can of Celsius.

“This was a long journey, but we prevailed. From the start I only wanted what I worked for, nothing more, nothing less,” Flo Rida said to reporters outside the courtroom, per NBC 6. “I gained a new respect for the judicial system, most importantly, and I just want to say God bless America.”

There have been quite a few headlines about this case, including the time several of his songs were played in the courtroom and prompted the rapper to bob his head while jurors reportedly were mouthing the words.

If you were stuck in a room with a bunch of soldiers and had to figure out a way to move around without being seen what would you do? Anyone that’s played Metal Gear Solid before knows one method would be to hide under a cardboard box and only move when nobody is looking at the box. After all, who would suspect a box?

For a long time, this stealth move was considered one of those things that can only be done in video games. That was until a series of marines were tasked with getting by an AI detection system without setting it off. In the book, Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, a story is told about how the marines got past the system by using creative methods that the AI wasn’t programmed for. One of these? Hiding under a cardboard box just like Solid Snake once did.

“‘Eight Marines –not a single one got detected,’ Phil said. They defeated the AI system not with traditional camouflage, but with clever tricks that were outside of the AI system’s testing regime. ‘Two somersaulted for 300 meters; never got detected. Two hid under a cardboard box. You could hear them giggling the whole time.’”

So while we have yet to knowingly see someone attempt to defeat actual soldiers by hiding under a box, we can at least be comfortable knowing that if AI soldiers ever take over that tactics from games like Metal Gear Solid are totally fair game. Now we just need someone to try the Konami Code.

It’s been 15 years since Cloverfield descended upon movie theaters. The found footage alien invasion pic had an incredible ad campaign, shrouded in mystery, that helped make it the biggest-ever January opening weekend (at least until Ride Along six years later). In a way it’s always been shrouded in mystery. For one thing, what was, like, that giant E.T.’s deal? Why did it want to destroy New York City so much? Well, now we know why.

In a new interview with SyFy (in a bit caught by The AV Club), director Matt Reeves — who went on to helm two Planet of the Apes sequels and last year’s grim epic The Batman — was asked if he and his team had gone so far as to devise a “backstory” for the rampaging space monster. It doesn’t necessarily have to have one. It’s a space monster! Film history is lousy with stories of aliens invading Earth simply to vanquish it and no one bats an eye. Thing is, Reeves and team did give their beastie a backstory.

Saying they had to “figure how to direct the monster, so to speak,” Reeves said it was important to “understand what’s going on with them emotionally.” So here’s what he came up with:

“And for me, the big secret was that the monster was a baby and was experiencing separation anxiety. The reason the monster was freaking out is because they were having fits based on looking for their mother. And so, [the monster] was just as afraid as the main characters, because it seems like there would be nothing more terrifying than the human element fighting this giant monster element and, actually, both of them are just terrified. That’s a mess. That’s not good. So that part of it was absolutely something that we talked about in the development of the creature and in terms of how I shot it.”

Reeves was then asked, if it was a baby, was it even an alien or if it was “of this planet”:

“It’s alien. In fact, at the end of the movie, you can see the moment when it comes to [Earth]. It’s another one of those little Easter egg moments, but when we revisit that footage where they’re on the Ferris wheel at the end, you can see the meteor flying down and hitting the ocean. That’s actually the beginning of the baby being on Earth.”

So there you go. A big alien baby destroyed America’s greatest city, including Central Park, at least onscreen. It even killed Lizzy Caplan, before she got super famous. What a horrible baby. What’s more, it set an annoying precedent: Only four years later, the Avengers were fighting even more invading, non-baby aliens, who also laid waste to much of the Big Apple. But at least there they left a solid shawarma joint.

(Via SyFy and The AV Club)

Foo Fighters indicated a return for 2023, and they’re already hitting a lot of festivals this year. They’re on the lineup for Boston Calling as well as Bonaroo. Now, they’re about to headline the Harley-Davidson Homecoming Festival alongside Green Day.

The festival takes place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from July 13-16 in honor of Harley’s 120th anniversary. Other artists include Cody Jinks, Social Distortion, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Phantogram, White Reaper, and KennyHoopla — a great range of rock and roll. Find ticket information here.

The return of Foo Fighters follows the tragic death of drummer Taylor Hawkins last year. His tribute concerts were emotional, cathartic affairs, which some musicians were particularly nervous for, especially Rufus Taylor. “I was sh*tting myself a little bit going into the rehearsals,” he said, “because I knew that it was gonna be a room full of the best drummers in the world, like Omar Hakim, Dave [Grohl], and Stewart f*cking Copeland, all these monster players. Obviously, I know Dave, but Stewart and Omar, all those guys — me and Taylor used to talk about them all the time. So now I suddenly have to go in and play a nine-minute solo in front of them! I still hadn’t mapped it out in my head. I didn’t know what was gonna happen. But it all kind of went really smooth in the end.”

People are expecting a big year from Dua Lipa. When will we finally get her next album? “Well, when I was speaking to Elton [John], I really felt like I was halfway done,” she recently told Variety. “But it’s taken a complete turn as I’ve carried on working, and I really feel now that it’s starting to sound cohesive. So, I’m going to keep writing in the early months of the new year and see where that takes me.”

She won’t be writing on May 1.

Lipa (and Vogue) announced today, January 18, that she will work with Anna Wintour as one of four co-chairs for the 2023 Met Gala. The other three are acclaimed actress and writer Michaela Coel, Oscar winner Penélope Cruz, and the (recently retired) all-time tennis great Roger Federer.

“The 2023 Met Gala the opening of ‘Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty’ and provides The Costume Institute with its primary source of annual funding for exhibitions, publications, acquisitions, operations, and capital improvements,” Lipa wrote on Instagram, noting that “A Line Of Beauty” will open to the public at New York City’s famed Metropolitan Museum Of Art on May 5.

Last month, Page Six reported that Lipa was dating Jack Harlow. That could very well be old news (or never true to begin with), but for now, we can still fantasize about their Met Gala red carpet debut.

Jack Harlow and Dua Lipa are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

In William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 59,” he makes the point that there is “nothing new but that which hath been before.” Here, he admits that even the Bard himself struggled to come up with new ideas that hadn’t been written about previously.

This problem stems from the fact that people tend to think the struggles we have today are entirely new when they’ve been part of the human drama for centuries. A great example is how society grapples with gender nonconformity. In 2023, there is a vigorous debate, which tends to fall along political party lines, over the use of personal pronouns.

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Lavern Spicer, a Republican from Florida who has lost two congressional elections, has made a point of fighting back against the use of pronouns. She’s gone viral for incorrectly claiming that pronouns weren’t used in either the Bible or the Constitution.

Spicer was back at it again on January 1 when she tweeted, “Shakespeare didn’t walk around putting pronouns in his plays. That’s why they’re classics. Imagine if this dude wrote ‘My name is Macbeth and my pronouns are they/them.’ SMH.”

Shakespeare didn’t walk around putting pronouns in his plays.

That’s why they’re classics.

Imagine if this dude wrote “My name is Macbeth and my pronouns are they/them”.

SMH.

— Lavern Spicer 🇺🇸 (@lavern_spicer) January 1, 2023

The former congressional candidate received countless responses from people explaining that Shakespeare used pronouns in his writing and gender-neutral ones at that. Further, many of Shakespeare’s plays featured themes of gender nonconformity.

Spicer’s tweet showed that she probably hadn’t read much Shakespeare.

So you’ve never read Shakespeare, then.

— Darrin Bell (@DarrinBellArt) January 2, 2023

Sweetie, crossdressing and gender confusion are MAJOR PLOT POINTS in *several* of Shakespeare’s plays. Just say you’ve never read any of his work next time, it’ll be more honest.

— Suzy (endless screaming) (@mis_cue) January 16, 2023

Shakespeare’s plays regularly commented on sex, gender identity/fluidity and expression. One of the best parts of Shakespeare is how often productions choose to explore these concepts. This is a very silly tweet.

— Sam (@SamHunt999) January 17, 2023

Twitter user Jason Tondro explained that Shakespeare used the singular “they” “before it became the target of a cultural war.”

Shakespeare took great delight in confusing the audience about gender, and I’m gonna give you just two examples because I’m waiting for take-out. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/NaWaWPSQaD

— Jason Tondro (@doctorcomics) January 17, 2023

The famous best example is Twelfth Night, in which a male actor dresses up as Viola, a young woman who dresses up as a young man who falls in love with another man and who is loved by another woman (who is played by a man). 2/3

— Jason Tondro (@doctorcomics) January 17, 2023

But my personal favorite is Othello, when Desdemona’s maid explains women behave badly because they learned all that shit from men, and then you remember both women are being played by men, so the whole scene is really men holding up a mirror and saying “take a long ass look”.3/3

— Jason Tondro (@doctorcomics) January 17, 2023

Shakespeare used the singular “they” centuries before it became the target of a cultural war, and it’s funny the OP should cite Macbeth because that’s where Shakespeare wrote “Unsex me here” ffs (take out is late). /4

— Jason Tondro (@doctorcomics) January 17, 2023

Cross-dressing was also a regular part of all of Shakespeare’s plays because, during his time, women weren’t allowed to be actresses so female roles were played by young men or boys.

pic.twitter.com/m0AibJfbSN

— Cheryl (@cheeryohs) January 14, 2023

Ma'am...Twelfth Night's ENTIRE PLOT involves a woman (who would have been played by a male actor) dressing as a man. A performance of that play is where this very famous picture comes from, with Anne Hathaway playing the role of the play's protagonist, Viola. pic.twitter.com/fVhpbc3wsB

— Rowan The Fox (@SexyBurlapSack) January 17, 2023

Twelfth Night, in which a male actor dresses up as Viola, a young woman who dresses up as a young man who falls in love with another man and who is loved by another woman (who is played by a man).

— David Williamson #FBPE #FBPPR #AutismParent (@Ourtosh) January 17, 2023

It was also funny that of all of Shakespeare’s plays she chose to make an example out of “Macbeth.”

Macbeth literally opens with Macbeth asking the witches their pronouns pic.twitter.com/Hc9cutlWKb

— Doug Dodson (@DougDodsonENews) January 18, 2023

Oh Lavern, you never fail to amuse me. Do you know what "DRAG" stands for? Shakespeare's stage direction: DRessed As Girl. All productions had male actors, including those playing the female parts. Yes, Lady Macbeth was a dude. I doubt if you've ever read a word by the Bard.

— StarryKnight (@tpkirb) January 17, 2023

Looking back at Shakespeare’s work proves that pronoun use has evolved and will continue to do so.

Ironically, Shakespeare is a perfect example of how pronoun usage changes with the times. We don’t use thou, thine, or thy anymore but he did. The culture changed and thrived. It can do so again.

— Kate Lonsdale (@KateWritesStuff) January 17, 2023

Spicer fired back at her critics using the most inclusive of all nongendered pronouns, “Y’all.”

Y'all triggered.

— Lavern Spicer 🇺🇸 (@lavern_spicer) January 17, 2023

To be charitable to Spicer, it seems she tried to make the point that things were better in the past because we had defined gender roles. But she used an awful example to make her point. Further, her point is wildly incorrect because gender nonconformity has been part of humanity since the beginning of time.

Shakespeare’s work isn’t timeless because of his pronoun use, but because his work touched on universal human themes that have remained relevant for hundreds of years. Shakespeare wrote about love, family, power, death, ambition, fate and yes, gender.

Some people create art as a way of immortalizing a piece of themselves, to leave behind some creative evidence of their existence and communicate through their art long after they are gone. But what of those who create art that isn’t meant to last?

Hannah Bullen-Ryner, a full-time mother to twins, walks to the woodlands and fields about 10 minutes from her flat in Hertfordshire, England, each day as a ritual. She sits immersed in nature, in all kinds of weather, and creates whatever creature decides to “visit” her out of whatever natural items she can forage.

She uses no tools—no scissors, clippers or glue. All she has are her hands and her camera to capture her creations before they are scattered by the wind or washed away by rain.

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Sometimes her land art “visitors” blow away within seconds of her creating them, but Bullen-Ryner isn’t bothered.

“Right now it is the ephemeral nature of my work that makes it special to me,” she shares on her website. “I lay my emotions down on the ground and they blow away. That is a very cathartic experience.”

The only materials she uses are things she finds in nature—twigs, leaves, petals, rocks, shells—some of which she saves and reuses and some of which get carried off by the wind to “visit” someone else.

See on Instagram

Bullen-Ryner used to be a painter and a photographer, and her painter’s eye comes through clearly in her land art. However, it’s an entirely different beast to create a brush stroke just as you want it to be and to use individual pieces of whatever you find to “paint” with.

“I flow every single day unless the weather is too crazy,” Bullen-Ryner shares. “It has become a spiritual ritual and something that really improves my mental health. I decide after I have sat down, placed my gathered elements down and cleared a space…sometimes I don’t know until after I have already begun and other times I use reference photos to work from. It very much depends on my mood too. Sometimes I want to make something cute and uplifting, other times it’s more dark or energetic.”

Some of her creations involve minimal materials for a more impressionistic animal, such as this lion.

Others look almost like an actual painting, like this wee badger.

“I create to share my love of nature and to soothe my soul,” she writes.

And believe it or not, most of these creations could fit in the palm of your hand.

“My work is very, very small,” Bullen-Ryner shared with Street Art Utopia. “I need very tiny ingredients and I am never not looking. I’m a magpie and have tiny pebbles and things constantly, in every single pocket. I also recycle elements over and over and over again. I store them in half coconut shells that I leave on site and cover with an old fence post. If petals have dried I dunk them in some water until they are workable again.”

Oh, by the way, here there be dragons as well.

Bullen-Ryner sells prints of her favorite photos on her Etsy shop just once a month and only for a few days or until they sell out. (Her mother runs her Etsy shop and Bullen-Ryner writes that she “can’t risk breaking her.”)

You can follow Hannah Bullen-Ryner and see more of her ephemeral animal friends on Facebook and Instagram.

See on Instagram

Let’s face it. Disneyland might have once been dubbed “the happiest place on Earth,” but over the years that title has lost its merit. Complaints about cheapened experiences are common—from huge crowds, to broken-down rides and even foul smells. This, combined with insanely high ticket prices, has made guests feel like the Disney magic has dimmed.

However, it seems that Disney might be helping the wish for a better park come true, as it just announced several positive updates happening to its resorts in 2023.

One of the biggest changes will be more days available to purchase low-tier tickets at $104. Folks should be seeing nearly two months worth of these low-cost ticket days.

In addition, guests will receive more flexibility with Park Hopper tickets—allowing them to cross over to different parks starting at 11 a.m.—as well as complimentary Disney PhotoPass digital photo downloads.

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Lastly, passes to Disney’s Magic Key program, which provides reservation-based admission to one or both Disneyland Resort theme parks, will be available for purchase more times throughout the year.

JUST ANNOUNCED! 🎆 Beginning April 3, fan-favorite “Happily Ever After” returns to Magic Kingdom AND “EPCOT Forever” will fill the skies above World Showcase Lagoon at EPCOT for a limited time! 🌐 Learn more: https://t.co/TFGe9j0kki pic.twitter.com/OZPh0xfBpi

— Disney Parks (@DisneyParks) January 10, 2023

The Walt Disney World Resort will also be undergoing some changes, including Annual Passholders being able to visit after 2 p.m. without a reservation (except on Saturdays and Sundays at Magic Kingdom Park and during normal blockout dates) and complimentary self-parking for guests staying at Disney Resort hotels. That last one is already in effect, as of Jan. 10.

Both parks will have a few new offerings and attractions as well. As Walt Disney World says goodbye to Splash Mountain, it will say hello to a highly anticipated Tron Lightcycle/Run roller coaster in April.

Meanwhile, Disneyland’s Splash Mountain won’t be torn down, but instead reimagined as a “Princess and the Frog” themed ride called “Tiana’s Bayou Adventure,” which will accompany the soon-to-be debuted restaurant Tiana’s Palace, replacing the French Market Restaurant.

French Market Restaurant at @Disneyland will be reimagined into Tiana’s Palace, the newest restaurant on Orleans Street, later this year! Tiana’s Palace will offer authentic New Orleans flavors inspired by Tiana’s friends and adventures. Learn more: https://t.co/vJ8fAt4IEw pic.twitter.com/o0q4nosaXn

— Disney Parks (@DisneyParks) January 12, 2023

These updates are almost certainly due to a leadership shakeup at Disney headquarters. Or perhaps we should say … a leadership reversal? Bob Iger, who retired as CEO of Disney in 2021, was replaced by Bob Chapek. However, after Chapek lost a significant amount of fan loyalty (due in part to price gouging), Iger returned to his post as CEO less than a year after retiring.

Iger’s comeback and the upcoming changes to the Disney resorts indicate a renewed sense of what was once a major part of Disney’s culture—which is to honor the fans. Disney Parks, Experiences and Products Chairman Josh D’Amaro, who wrote about the updates on Disney’s website, shared:

“I’m excited about all of these changes and offers and want you to know that we are committed to listening, adapting, and staying relentlessly focused on making the guest experience at our Disney parks even better.”

He continued, “I believe there’s no other place like Disney and of course, nothing helps our guests connect with Disney like you do. And while it’s easy to celebrate the products we make, the moments we create, and the experiences we provide … I think it’s important that we recognize all of YOU who make it happen.”

Read the full Disney update for 2023 here.

Britney Spears made headlines for having an alleged manic episode in a Los Angeles restaurant last week. She spoke out against those reports with an Instagram post. Her husband, Sam Asghari, also appeared to downplay the rumors.

About her alleged manic episode, Spears wrote: “I’m sure I brought a billion SMILES to me LOOKING LIKE SHREK at a restaurant,” she wrote. “Even my best friend couldn’t WAIT TO SEND IT TO ME, THEY DON’T THINK TWICE because we are all natural born killers … I know the news is all hyped about me being a little drunk at a restaurant … it’s like they’ll be WATCHING MY EVERY MOVE [eyes emoji] !!! I’m so flattered they talk about me like a maniac THEN have the balls to talk about all the negative things that happened in my past !!! Honestly it would be safer for me to compliment this world and f*ck up because if I become a prophet and don’t create history, we might have something y’all… I’m just KIDDING, but it’s a good thought.”

Now, a different Instagram post has fans worried about Spears. The singer is excited to be tattooed, repeating, “Tattoo time,” with a smile before holding out her wrist and being tattooed. Despite her enthusiasm, the caption reads, “Tattoo in Maui 3 days ago !!! Can’t show it because it sucks !!! Like really really sucks !!! Sh*t !!! Psss … I have to fix it !!!” True to her word, Spears has not posted a photo of the tattoo, but hopefully it’s an easy fix.

Watch the Instagram reel below.

It doesn’t take much for Beyoncé to dominate headlines, but her powerful influence truly outdid itself today, January 18. First, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith dragged Beyoncé’s name into his take on Rihanna’s Super Bowl LVII halftime show scheduled for February 12. The First Take host told Sherri Shepherd that Rihanna “ain’t Beyoncé” and then apologized hours later.

Beyoncé does have something in common with Rihanna right now, though: They’re each preparing for a massive show.

According to TMZ, Beyoncé is preparing to perform an invite-only concert at the Atlantis The Royal resort in Dubai this weekend for a reported $24 million. Fan accounts are circulating clips of her sound check:

Per TMZ, Beyoncé’s Dubai set “is said to be the launching pad for her upcoming Renaissance Tour.”

Renaissance, her first original solo album since 2016’s Lemonade, arrived last July. As a result, Beyoncé leads all nominees at next month’s 2023 Grammys. Anticipation for a possible Renaissance Tour was sparked at WACO Theater’s Wearable Art Gala in October:

Though a tour hasn’t been officially announced, The Sun reported last month that Beyoncé is planning to ban alcohol and drug use for the duration of the tour.

“Bey knows the new performances will require intense choreography and precision, so everyone has to be clean and sober,” an unnamed source told the UK tabloid. “There won’t be any crazy partying on the road either.”

The source added, “She is also carrying out #MeToo checks with the dancers, band and crew with hopes doing so will make the tour a safe and friendly work environment. As touring can be mentally grueling, her new team will also have access to mental health support while on the road.”

Take that all for what you will.