Month: February 2023

Marjorie Taylor Greene is lamenting the loss of days when people were nice to each other, and her selective memory is too much. That last detail isn’t too surprising, considering that Greene was also unaware of how Chris Stapleton’s mutual “wokeness” was key to his participation in the Super Bowl’s Black National Anthem showcase. Greene has also yet to acknowledge a recent statistical error that felt like more than a typo to many people, but at least she’s consistent with her hyperbolic, reality-ignoring ways.

Yep, you can always count on Greene to forget what she’s done in the relatively recent past. The congresswoman from Georgia posted a late-night tweet, in which she claimed to have been “attacked in a restaurant tonight by an insane women and screamed at by her adult son.” Greene declared that these people “turned into demons” and were “completely out of control.” Further, Greene is very sad that “[p]eople used to respect others even if they had different views,” yet she’s found that this isn’t the case “anymore.” This means, according to Greene, that the U.S. has gone down the tubes.

As TMZ notes, no police involvement appears to have occurred as a result of this alleged altercation, and no one seems to be speaking up about what they saw or heard in this restaurant. Until that happens, people are remaining skeptical, but more than that, they’re remembering how Greene used to harass and scream at school shooting survivors, including David Hogg. She also made a fast habit of heckling Biden during the SOTU and called for a “national divorce” only a week ago.

And inside of that whole mess, Greene appears to have forgotten that political civility hasn’t existed in many years, and I think most people noticed the uptick in combativeness around, oh, 2015 or so.

The much anticipated Blink-182 reunion tour is set to kick off next month. Ahead of the tour, it appears drummer Travis Barker is set to undergo surgery to repair his broken finger, which he had broken twice this month.

Yesterday (February 27), Barker took to Instagram and shared a photo dump of himself holding up his broken finger. “Surgery tomorrow,” read the post’s caption, which was accompanied by a crossed fingers emoji.

In a video included in the photo carousel, a medical professional is seen trying to snap Barker’s finger back into place. In the other photos, he is seen showing off his swollen knuckle.

In addition to being one of the members of Blink-182’s classic line-up, Barker has been one of the most in-demand drummers in the music industry. But despite his prolific nature, he admitted in an interview for GQ that he feels relatively neutral about appearing on camera, particularly on Hulu’s The Kardashians, where he sometimes appears with his wife, Kourtney Kardashian.

“The only time I really film with Kourt is when she asks me to, and I’m only around for some of it,” he said. “She’ll be like, ‘Hey, by the way, we’re filming today,’ and I’m like, ‘Okay, cool’ — it doesn’t change how I act or what I dress like, you know what I mean?”

Blink-182 is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

As you probably know, The Mandalorian returns for its third season this Wednesday. It may not seem like it, but the end of the second season was way back in 2020 when Luke Skywalker showed up and took off with Grogu to train him as a Jedi. Well, if you didn’t watch The Book of Boba Fett … surprise! That whole “training with Luke” thing didn’t work out as planned and Grogu has signed up for more adventures with Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal).

Rick Famuyiwa (Talk to Me, Dope) serves as an executive producer and has directed three episodes of The Mandalorian over the first two seasons – “The Child,” “The Prisoner,” and “The Believer” – and is the director of three episodes this upcoming season, including the opening episode this week and the last two episodes of the season. Little is known about what adventures The Mandalorian and Grogu will face this season, but we tried to find out as much as we could.

Are you at all worried about the people who only watch The Mandalorian and missed some key character developments on The Book of Boba Fett?

[Laughs] Oh my goodness. I mean, look, I’m excited for it to be out there and there are always so many expectations. Man, speculations. Those who’ve seen everything. Those who haven’t. So you’ll get caught up soon enough, I guess. You’ll figure it out!

Wrapping up Luke and Grogu on a different show, but was that done to clear the way for what the arc of this third season is?

I think so much of what our show’s been about is that central relationship between Grogu and Mando, Din Djarin. And how it began as this bounty. And, obviously, Din Djarin, the things that he had to do in terms of taking off his helmet and revealing his face and in the course of having this child under his care. And then Grogu making a choice, too, to come back and choose to be back with Mando. I think puts us in a very good place. It’s a place that’s familiar. It’s one that the show has centrally been about. And so, yeah, I won’t necessarily speak for Jon [Favreau] in that regard, but I always saw it as how we begin this season as getting us back to where we were, but now there’s a permanence about it that makes it more relevant.

So all I’ve seen is the trailer for this season. What would you say are the overarching themes of the season? Because it does seem there’s some sort of civil war coming between some Mandalorian factions.

I think that the Mandalorian and the definition of that has expanded from our initial main character being a Mandalorian. And that was all we knew about him. And now how that’s expanded as he’s expanded, both as a character and the journey he’s been on. We’ve seen that definition change as he met other Mandalorians who had a different point of view and a different set of beliefs and values around what being Mandalorian is. So I think season three really is the culmination of that definition. And I think what’s hinted in the trailer, in terms of that we’re going to see more Mandalorians and that Mandalore is going to be a central part of that story. But I think the overarching narrative and themes around this season is around the definition of the Mandalorian, the identity of it, the culture of it. What that means, what it means to have different viewpoints within that. And then, ultimately, how those viewpoints come together and clash as the season moves on.

I always enjoy the episodes you direct. What is your approach to Star Wars? When you come in, what are you thinking? In terms of, all right, here’s what I want to bring to this.

It’s funny because yeah, the first film I saw in a theater was Star Wars.

Yeah, mine was The Empire Strikes Back.

Yeah, so we grew up with this. But there are a lot of people who’ve checked in with Star Wars at different points along the way. And whether that was the Prequel era, whether it’s through the animated series, whether it’s through gaming or the books, I think people have found the world in their own ways. And obviously the show The Mandalorian was an entry point for a lot of folks. So I’ve always felt like telling stories in Star Wars was limitless. And what was exciting about what we did with this show was tell stories about new characters that were within a timeline in the world that people who, like us, have been watching and following for 40-plus years. And those who had never seen anything or really experienced Star Wars can get into it. So there was a way, both multi-generationally, and also just in terms of the diversity of storytelling within Star Wars that this show has been able to bring together.

So I don’t necessarily have… Even though we’re making Star Wars and telling these stories, there’s not a Star Wars way that I’m thinking about it. I think, ultimately, I’m thinking about the central characters and how we can grow and relate them. But then every decision you make, everything you do big and small, also has ripples to that history. That sense of world and community that we all know from Star Wars. So that adds a different layer of complexity to it. But I think at the heart of it, for me, the storytelling is the same. And I think the storytelling of this relationship with Mando and Grogu would hold up, whether it was in this world or somewhere else.

This might be an example of something small, but in the first episode that you directed, “The Child,” when the Trandoshans show up to fight Mando… In The Empire Strikes Back, we see Bossk and he’s just kind of standing there and growls. But everyone had the action figure and had limitless adventures. I feel like this show does that really well, these characters we all knew from the toys that didn’t do much in the movies finally seeing some action.

Yeah, exactly! And that’s what I loved about the show. One, it was new characters, but then there were also ways to honor some of these old characters that have been around for a while. They’re in the background, be it Jawas or be it the Trandoshans, and the Ice Cream Maker.

Oh yeah, from Cloud City.

It’s fun to have those elements become expanded. And even the relationship between Din Djarin and Kuiil, the Ugnaught. And now the Ugnaught was another character and in Empire, they were just in the background. But that you can add complexity and dimensionality to some of these characters was exciting, too, about what we do.

Is there another background character from the Original Trilogy you’d like to see put into the show?

Oh my goodness … man. I feel like they just somehow pop up and end up in them without even thinking. But no, I don’t know if there’s any one that I’ve really been like, “Oh my God, let’s figure out a way.”

Remember Prune Face? The action figure? We need to get that guy in something.

[Laughs] Yeah, let’s talk to Jon and Dave Filoni, see what they’re cooking up.

You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.

During Sunday’s “Take on Me”-soundtracked episode of The Last of Us, Ellie went on one of the best first dates ever — until it became one of the worst. But not everyone got to see one of the most memorable moments from “Left Behind.”

Kotaku reports that OSN+, the streaming service that airs The Last of Us in the Middle East and North Africa, “quietly and smoothly cut out the kiss between Ellie and Riley. One viewer shared a video of the cut kiss compared directly to the way the episode plays out on HBO Max.”

Viewers also voiced frustration that this isn’t the first time OSN has removed LGBTQ content from movies or TV shows. In 2016, the network and streamer were heavily criticized by many online for cutting a gay kiss from an episode of How to Get Away With Murder. Some on social media also pointed out that the streamer had allegedly and recently cut a kiss from an episode of Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon.

You can see the edited kiss below.

Flawless!

When asked about the homophobic critics of The Last of Us, actress Storm Reid, who plays Riley, said, “I think Bella [Ramsey] put it perfectly a couple of weeks ago: ‘If you don’t like it, don’t watch.’ There’s so many other things to worry about in the world. I think being concerned about who people love is just absurd to me. I just don’t — I will never understand it. I don’t get it.”

Focus on more important issues, like getting the high score on Mortal Kombat II.

(Via Kotaku)

Last week, Sabrina Carpenter stopped by BBC Radio 1 to perform two songs: a cover of Harry Styles’ “Late Night Talking” and her own “Nonsense.” On the latter song, she switched up the lyrics a bit to fit the environment, ending the song with, “I’m American, I am not British / So BBC, it stands for something different.”

BBC, in terms of the media company, stands for British Broadcasting Corporation. Of course, BBC also has a different, more NSFW definition (as Urban Dictionary will tell you) and that’s the one Carpenter referenced. It appears that BBC Radio 1 didn’t love Carpenter’s lyrics, so much so that they’ve taken them offline.

As Exclaim notes, BBC Radio 1 initially uploaded a video of the performance, BBC lyric included, onto YouTube on February 24, but removed it shortly after. Yesterday (February 27), the video returned to YouTube, this time with the BBC lyric edited out.

Even before the BBC performance, “Nonsense” was meant to have a sense of humor, as Carpenter previously said of the track, “Genuinely, [I] just could not stop writing fake versions of the chorus. […] Basically, we were, like, we know the song is nonsense, we know the chorus, so we took a few of those lyrics that we love, that we were dying over, and we put them in the outro of the song. It’s cool that that kinda song was able to make it in the record, because I really think that also it shows my stupid sense of humor.”

Watch Carpenter’s (edited) BBC Radio 1 performance of “Nonsense” above.

In case you missed it, the Los Angeles area has been dealing with some uncommonly intense weather recently; Last week, there was a blizzard warning in LA, which is believed to be only the second one on record ever. While that was going on, Foo Fighters leader Dave Grohl decided to make use of his barbecue skills and help out.

As TMZ reports, Grohl rolled up to LA’s Hope Of The Valley Rescue Mission on February 22 with a big meat smoker, and after 16 hours of preparation, he had enough food to feed around 500 people “ribs, pork butt, brisket, cabbage, coleslaw, and beans.”

Hope Of The Valley also shared an Instagram Story yesterday from CEO Rowan Vansleve, who posted a photo of Grohl preparing food in the rain and wrote, “In the middle of the storms this week. This is Dave Grohl cooking over 500 servings of the best barbecue for those living in our shelters. That’s class.”

In a 2018 interview with Uproxx, Grohl compared the barbecuing process to music, saying, “You know, you work all day long and then you present it to someone and it’s almost like making a song. You have your specific recipe or your specific rub. And, you know, the best feeling is when you have those big barbecues and I’m doling out food for everyone and then they start coming back for seconds, it’s almost like performance in a way.”

A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie is living his best life ever since the release of his latest album, Me Vs. Myself. Not only did the Bronx native double back with a deluxe version of the project, but before hitting the road for the supporting tour, the musician celebrated his return to music with a special one-night-only show at the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York.

Now, the recording artist is looking to finish off his tour strong with supporting act Lola Brooke. But what is A Boogie’s setlist for the tour? well, that’s what fans are wondering. According to Setlist.fm, the rapper’s reported playlist is quite hefty. The over two-hour set features a broad range of his biggest hits to date as well as a few covers of some of his hometown friends.

To view the setlist and remaining tour dates, continue below.

1. “Look Back At It”
2. “Voices in My Head”
3. “Take Shots”
4. “Money Conversations”
5. “Me and My Guitar”
6. “Ransom”
7. “Timeless”
8. “Flood My Wrist”
9. “Lovin’” (PnB Rock cover)
10. “Swervin”
11. “Just Like Me”
12. “Pills & Automobiles” (Chris Brown cover)
13. “Demons and Angels”
14. “Love Drugs and Sex”
15. “Still Think About You”
16. “D.T.B Interlude”
17. “24 Hours”
18. “February”
19. “Last Time”
20. “Friend Zone”
21. “R&B Shit” (J.I. the Prince of N.Y cover)
22. “Secrets”
23. “My Shit”
24. “Mood Swings”
25. “Man in the Mirror”
26. “Jungle”
27. “Hello” (Pop Smoke cover)
28. “Drowning”

03/3 — Philadelphia, PA @ Liacoras Center *
03/4 — Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center *
03/22 — Manchester, UK @ O2 Victoria Warehouse *
03/23 — Birmingham, UK @ O2 Academy Birmingham *
03/24 — London, UK @ Alexandra Palace *

*- with Lola Brooke

A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The human mind is incredibly powerful in fascinating and sometimes terrifying ways. Conmen and cult leaders know how to manipulate people by taking advantage of psychological vulnerabilities and using tricks of the mind. But there are also physical examples of how our brains can be fooled into thinking something is real that isn’t, even when we know it’s happening.

The “rubber hand illusion” is a prime demonstration of how we can manipulate our brains into experiencing physical sensations—even pain—purely through the power of visual cues and parallel touch.

The way it works is a person sits with their hands palms-down on a table, but with one arm obscured from sight by a board. A rubber hand is placed on the table within sight, visually taking the place of the hidden hand. Someone strokes the hidden real hand and the rubber hand in the exactly same way at the same time while the person watches the rubber hand, and within a minute or so, the person’s brain starts to sense the rubber hand as their real hand.

This multisensory trick is powerful. After a short time, even when the real hand is no longer being touched, watching the rubber hand being touched triggers a real physical sensation in the brain. This phenomenon is also called a body transfer illusion, and it’s quite entertaining to witness.

Watch it in action:

u201cBody transfer illusion nnThe illusion of owning a part/or entire body other than one’s own nnsight, touch and proprioception (a sense of body position) all combine to convince this person that a rubber hand is their body part 1/ud83euddf5nnud83dudd08This video has soundnhttps://t.co/p8O1GATuYvu201d

— Science girl (@Science girl)
1676575258

Super trippy, right?

A group of Italian scientists measured some of the effects of the rubber hand illusion by triggering the electrical impulses in the brain that control hand movement while the person was engaged in the illusion. They found that the strength of the impulses that got through to the hidden hand dropped dramatically, indicating that the brain had reduced its readiness to use the hidden hand.

“This was very surprising for us. The effect is so strong,” said Francesca Garbarini, one of the scientists leading the study, according to The Guardian. “Because the brain no longer considers the hand as part of the body, we become less able to use it.”

The rubber hand illusion has been used to explore how people who have lost limbs might gain psychological ownership over a prosthetic limb. However, not everyone is able to experience the sensations shown in the video. One study of the rubber hand illusion found that only two-thirds of participants were actually susceptible to the rubber hand illusion; the other third were immune.

Still, it’s an incredible testament to the power of our minds to change what we think of as reality with just a few simple adjustments to our perception.

Fashion is fun. History is fascinating. Technology is cool. Combine them all together and you get something pretty damn captivating.

Russell Klimas, light painter and synthographer (basically meaning he uses computer software and machine learning to create digital art), recently created a short video taking folks on a visual journey of women’s fashion through the 21st century.

In only 30 seconds, we time travel from 1910 to 2010. Even if on some level we know there have been a lot of changes in how women dress and generally navigate the world, there is something profound about watching such a massive evolution happen in the blink of an eye.

The sheer volume of different looks is staggering, from long, layered Edwardian skirts and beaded flapper dresses, through form-fitting WW2 attire and bell bottoms, all the way to more contemporary casual sportswear styles that clearly show just how much more active many women have become.

There’s even a stark contrast in how each of these fictional women carry themselves at the beginning of the video versus the end, going from an upright, demure posture to something much more wide-legged and bold. It’s a great example of how as a society we have (on multiple levels) seen a huge shift in gender expression.

We also don’t see any women of color until midway through the video. While this could be the inherent bias that AI technology has towards portraying white skin, it also shines a light on how different cultures have been overlooked historically and how there has been a lot of progress in terms of how they are represented by fashion, media, etc.

Watch:

See on Instagram

If nothing else, this video reminds us that no matter what, it is humanity’s destiny to evolve and change. In what direction that change goes is dependent upon the choices we make today.

It’s obvious to most people that being financially unstable or living below the poverty level is a struggle. Figuring out meals that you can afford outside of ramen can be hard, especially if you have to make it last for days. In fact, cheap foods are generally really processed and unhealthy, but when that’s all you can afford, you make do with what you have.

But one creator on TikTok has made it her mission to provide content that will help people who are struggling to make healthier food on a tight budget. Rebecca Chobat runs the TikTok account Dollar Tree Dinners and creates meals using only the ingredients she can find at Dollar Tree, including meats. She shows recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner with an emphasis on stretching a tight budget.

“There are plenty of people in the world who don’t have access to regular grocery stores or even fresh food. They may only have a Dollar Tree near them,” Chobat explains in a video before continuing. “My videos are here to show people that they can make the best use out of ingredients that are available to them.”

Living in a food desert or having to rely fully on food pantries for your meals is the reality for a lot of Americans. Chobat is hoping her videos help people in these sorts of situations make the best out of what they have access to. While some wouldn’t consider her meals the gold standard of healthy, when you look at the alternative, the meals she cooks are a much better option.

@dollartreedinners

$35 Budget Dollar Tree Grocery Shopping #dollartreedinners #shopwithme #shopwithmeatdollartree #dollartreegroceryhaul #dollartreefood #groceryshopping #grocerybudget #eatingonabudget #savemoney

Chobat uses a lot of frozen vegetables in her recipes to not only add color but to add nutritional value. Even while being sure to incorporate vegetables, she’s also aware that not everyone has access to a refrigerator, so she makes some meals that don’t require frozen or refrigerated foods.

@dollartreedinners

Making a $5 One Pot Taco Chili #dollartreedinners #5dollardinner #eatingonabudget #feedinglargefamilies #norefrigeration #pantrymeals #easyrecipe #weeknightdinner #cheapmeals #fivedollarmeal #onepotmeals #20minmeals

The budget-friendly TikTok user also shows you how to meal prep and make grab-and-go lunches for work as well as no-reheat lunches for kids. Every option is low cost and can help people who may only have $10 to buy enough food to hold them over until their next payday.

In one video, she made creamy spinach pasta with meatballs that not only look delicious but makes enough to feed more than one person or to have leftovers for the next day. With the way grocery prices have gone up over the past year, her recipes may help families who are having trouble making ends meet.

@dollartreedinners

$5 Dinner Idea: Creamy Spinach Pasta with Meatballs #dollartreedinners #dollartree #dollartreefood #5dollardinner #eatingonabudget #howtoeatcheap #foodbudget #dollartreegroceries #makeitcheaper

Budget-friendly recipes don’t often come with videos that show you how to cook the meals and much of the time the ingredients come from bigger grocery stores. But with Chobat, no matter where you live or how little money you have, there’s a recipe on her page for you. She even did a series on how to cook while staying in a hotel.

Chobat’s TikTok page isn’t for everyone and she knows that. In fact, she is very deliberate in her word choice and items purchased because she wants to ensure that the people who need her videos the most don’t feel shamed. It may seem like a small thing to some, but what Chobat is doing is likely changing lives.