Month: March 2023

High schools are a perfect breeding ground for weirdness. First of all, you have a bunch of teenagers who are starting to deal with adult problems but they don’t have the experience or the brain development to figure out how to navigate complex feelings and relationships.

Then you add sex, drugs, learner’s permits, the stress of trying to get into college and really bad facial hair to the situation and you have all the ingredients for people and situations to go completely sideways.

Then there are the teachers. High school teachers tend to be a bit more eccentric than those in the younger grades because they are hired as specialists in a given field, such as history, math or science. Whereas teachers in younger grades have to be nurturing and have a more holistic approach to child development.

Also, hindsight makes a lot of things that seemed normal at the time begin to seem a bit strange. As we get older and have a firm grasp on the realities of being an adult, there are some things that we can’t believe we lived through as teenagers in high school.

When I was in high school we had a drama teacher that sat in the gym and chain-smoked while we rehearsed the play and we didn’t think anything of it. I’m pretty sure my home economics teacher hit the cooking sherry during lunchtime, and we got a day off from school due to the L.A. riots in 1992.

Everyone dealt with some amount of weirdness while they were in high school, so Jimmy Fallon asked his “Tonight Show” audience to share their stories with #MyHighSchoolWasWeird and he read some of his favorites on his show.

We took a look at the hashtag and picked some of the responses we liked the most. Here are 19 of them. Why was your high school weird? Tell us in the comments on Facebook.

Itu2019su00a0Hashtagsu00a0time! Tell us something weird or funny about your high school, and tag it with #MyHighSchoolWasWeird. Could be on the show!

— jimmy fallon (@jimmy fallon)
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1.

My chemistry teacher would give us an example a day of how to kill your mother in law with chemical compositions #MyHighSchoolWasWeird

— Liisa Spink (@Liisa Spink)
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2.

We had a kid nicknamed Johnny Appleseed ( JohnA for short) who placed marijuana seeds in any available place they could grow. Our school had pot plants popping up so often they had to get rid of all the potted plants in classrooms and offices . #MyHighSchoolWasWeird

— OldHippie (@OldHippie)
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3.

#MyHighSchoolWasWeirdnOne teacheru2019s bathroom pass was an actual toilet seat that you had to carry with you to the restroom. pic.twitter.com/tesVLEpKe9

— Robin Smith (@Robin Smith)
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4.

My high school was across the street from a another high school #MyHighSchoolWasWeirdpic.twitter.com/iPXC7SQx7b

— Timmy Stotlar (@Timmy Stotlar)
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5.

This is the mascot at the high school i went to. nPart anthropomorphic sugar beet part food processing machinery. nn#MyHighSchoolWasWeirdpic.twitter.com/2R42p5zCYu

— omicrust prime (@omicrust prime)
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6.

#MyHighSchoolWasWeird because we had free periods during the day where we would sleep or hang out in the halls.pic.twitter.com/UCYxZPz4Dv

— nikkiu2728 (@nikkiu2728)
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7.

#MyHighSchoolWasWeird because Grimace won every student vote by a landslide. If you werenu2019t writing in Grimace on your ballots you were a narc. Youu2019d think Mayor McCheese would make more sense, being an actual politician, but I guess enough kids couldnu2019t spell it or something.pic.twitter.com/N6CrLw4v7r

— Mike-o Neill (@Mike-o Neill)
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8.

The mascot was a literal mop #MyHighSchoolWasWeirdpic.twitter.com/ypvheLGnZ2

— Courtney (@Courtney)
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9.

One time a swim meet was canceled at my friend’s high school because the pool “caught on fire.” Still have no idea how that’s possible. #MyHighSchoolWasWeird

— jimmy fallon (@jimmyfallon) January 24, 2022

10.

My high school had the mayonnaise bandit who would put mayo on the under side of the stair railings from the cafeteria making them useless or risk getting a handful of slimy mayonnaise on your way to class #MyHighSchoolWasWeird

— Rachel Lambert (@rlambert1201) January 24, 2022

11.

My high School was called Start. The student motto for it was Start High Stay High#MyHighSchoolWasWeird

— Kelly Reads (@ReaderofBook) January 24, 2022

12.

I graduated from North Pole High School in Alaska. We had to answer letters to Santa for an English grade. #MyHighSchoolWasWeird

— Nancy J. (@LifeboatSinger) January 24, 2022

13.

My Junior year of high school there was a competition for one of the teachers to kiss a cow. Of course the most disliked teacher ended up kissing the cow. #MyHighSchoolWasWeird

— Edward Schmidt II (@edwardschmidtii) January 24, 2022

14.

There was this kid that would run around during highschool and hiss at people. He was really smart but he would just randomly hiss lol #MyHighSchoolWasWeird

— The Zelda Corner (@ZeldaCorner) January 24, 2022

15.

Got a new principal in my senior year who decided to enforce the dress code with bright orange “Dress Code Violator” t-shirts. They became badges of honor instead of the intended punishment… 🤦‍♀️ #MyHighSchoolWasWeird

— Kelsey K 켈시 (@krklemm) January 24, 2022

16.

Our cafeteria’s chicken fries were such a rare and glorious experience, once people GRADUATED, they would still come back to buy them. #myhighschoolwasweird

— EmmyAnn (@EmmyAnn412) January 24, 2022

17.

#MyHighSchoolWasWeird because we had a bring your tractor to school day, those who brought one in got to skip all classes and just talk with others about their tractors. It always causes traffic delays because there was one main road into the school.

— Mary Olmsted (@MaryOlmsted13) January 25, 2022

18.

My science teacher was convicted of a double murder during summer break. I wish I was kidding!

— Mike Bennett (@MikeBennett11) January 24, 2022

19.

Weird Al graduated from my high school. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Suge Knight also graduated from my high school. #MyHighSchoolWasWeird

— Cindy Price (@Cinderella1976) January 24, 2022

If you look back at how you acted, dressed and behaved in high school and have a little bit of shame, that’s probably a good thing. If you cringe a little when you think about your former self, that shows that you’ve grown as a person.

But wouldn’t it be great if you could go back to high school knowing what you know now? How much easier would it be to approach that special person you wanted to ask to the dance but couldn’t muster up the courage? How much more would you appreciate those carefree days when all you had to worry about was a bio test or who had a crush on whom in homeroom?

Personally, if I went back to high school I’d have a lot more appreciation for my teachers knowing just how hard of a job they have. Now that I’m an adult I have a lot more sympathy for what we put them through and I can totally understand why teaching at a high school can turn someone a little weird.

Here’s Jimmy Fallon reading off some of his responses to #MyHighSchoolWasWeird.

This article originally appeared on 02.09.22

A father-daughter snowboarding session takes the cuteness up a notch, thanks to dad’s brilliant idea to attach a mic to his 4-year-old. Sweetness ensued.

Sporting an adorable dinosaur onesie, the “powder-saurus” glides through their “secret path,” warning dad of intruders. Cause clearly, it’s THEIR secret path.

As she does, she sings her song of resilience and courage.

“I won’t fall … maybe I will … that’s okay … cause we all fall.”

Truly powerful wisdom in such a tiny package.

@chasing.sage We mic’d up our 4 year old while snowboarding.🥰 #fatherdaughter #dadlife #snowboarding #micdup #cuteness #wholesome #familytime #raddad #fatherhood ♬ original sound – Chasing.Sage

One person astutely wrote in the comments, “this is the mantra we all need in 2022.” I mean … it’s accurate.

Another added, “this child gave a TED Talk about the power of positive self-talk.”

Indeed, “Shredder Dad” shares footage of our loveable snowboarding dinosaur making a few face plants, but she quickly bounces back. Nothing can stop her from her “weewhoos.” Nothing.

That is, until she becomes a “stuck-asaurus.” A truly relatable moment for all ages. Aren’t “indiscernible verbal struggles” part of the soundtrack of life? Still, she takes it all in hilarious stride, laughing all the way, and the positivity is heartwarming.

This video quickly put a smile on more than 6 million faces, and even got a comment from Walmart, which agreed that “we all fall sometimes.”

Turns out that there’s even more wholesome adventure content on the family’s TikTok. They even have a very thorough guide for teaching a toddler to snowboard here.

And by the way, yes, that dinosaur outfit does come in an adult size.

Next time you’re feeling down, just think of the powder-saurus song, and you’ll be back to “weewhoo” in no time.

This article originally appeared on 02.11.22

Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks kicked off their highly-anticipated co-headlining tour at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium on Friday, March 10. They had a few surprises in store for fans, as Joel and Nicks both popped in for each other’s sets.

During Nicks’ run, Joel joined her to cover Tom Petty’s “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around.” When they swapped turns for sets, Nicks helped perform Joel’s “And So It Goes.”

According to Rolling Stone, Nicks had some other prominent inclusions during her set. First, she played her 2001 song, “Fall From Grace,” the first time in over a decade. She tackled Fleetwood Mac’s “Sara” in the first solo performance of it since 2008. During her concert, Nicks also paid tribute to the late Christine McVie during the encore of “Landslide.”

“I have to imagine she’s still here. It’s all I can do,” she said.

For fans hoping to catch one of Joel and Nicks’ joint shows, they will be bringing their Two Icons One Night Tour to Arlington, Nashville, Philly, Columbus, Kansas City, Foxborough, Baltimore, and Minneapolis. The concert dates are spread out from April through November.

Additionally, Joel will be continuing his monthly residency at NYC’s Madison Square Garden. More information on both the co-headlining tour and the residency is available here.

Watch some fan-shot videos of their performances above.

Selena Gomez appeared in a new episode of Apple TV+’s Dear… that dropped today (March 10). During it, she discussed her lupus battle — one that led to her friend Francia Raisa donating her kidney to Gomez in 2017. She expresses her sincere thankfulness for the help that very well could have saved her life.

“Within three days, she went and she was a match. And it was one of those moments where I felt watched over. I know I was so so so lucky,” Gomez said in the episode. “I understand that that doesn’t happen for a lot of people, and I know the outcome of some of those situations and how serious they are, so I do not take it lightly that it’s happened to me that way.”

“I will never, ever, ever be more in debt to a person than Francia,” she added. “The idea of someone not even second-guessing to be a donor was unbelievably overwhelming.”

Gomez also touched on the two of them getting matching tattoos of her transplant date according to Rolling Stone.

“I think that it had to happen the way that it did in order for me to get to where I am,” she said. “I was meant to go through it to do something for others.”

However, things might have changed between the pair of friends since as it’s unclear when the episode was filmed. Last November, after Gomez’s comments about Taylor Swift being her only friend in the music industry circulated, Raisa shared her thoughts. “Interesting,” she replied to the news.

“Sorry I didn’t mention every person I know,” Gomez replied.

A third quarter incident during Friday night’s game between the Denver Nuggets and the San Antonio Spurs led to a pair of players having their nights come to an early end. With seven minutes left in the frame, Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. drove to the rim and threw down on Spurs big man Zach Collins.

It looked like Porter had something to say to Collins after the dunk, which did not sit well with the former Gonzaga standout. Before the ball was inbounded, a referee blew his whistle to apparently call a technical foul on Porter for whatever he said. But things escalated when Collins approached him, bumped into him, and eventually, the two went face-to-face. While a full-blown fight did not break out, there was plenty of jawing and some pushing and shoving, which eventually led to a number of teammates, coaches, and referees breaking things up.

Porter did put his hand around Collins’ neck, but otherwise, nothing particularly nasty happened in the altercation. Eventually, both players were assessed double technical fouls, which sent them to their respective locker rooms. Collins had 10 points and nine rebounds at the time he was ejected, while Porter put up seven points on the evening.

The Carolina Panthers took a big swing on Friday evening as they moved up to No. 1 in the 2023 NFL Draft. Carolina pulled off a trade with the Chicago Bears which saw them send the No. 9 pick this year, three more picks (including a first-round selection in 2024), and productive wide receiver D.J. Moore to the Windy City in exchange for the ability to take any player they want.

As for who that player is going to be, the safe bet is that the Panthers will go with one of the four big name quarterback prospects in this draft. You can make a case for any of them, but according to Joseph Person of The Athletic, the belief is that Carolina has its sights set on Ohio State signal caller C.J. Stroud.

Via The Athletic:

The party line from the team will be that Reich and general manager Scott Fitterer will use the next seven weeks to evaluate which of the big four quarterbacks they want: C.J. Stroud, Bryce Young, Will Levis or Anthony Richardson. But league insiders believe it will be Stroud, who’s bigger than Young, more accurate than Richardson and more of a playmaker than Levis. Stroud put on a show of precision passing at the combine last week, and proved against Georgia in the College Football Playoff semifinals that he’s not afraid to leave the pocket when necessary.

While Stroud isn’t considered as mobile as the other three players and doesn’t have the sorts of jaw dropping physical tools that have shot Levis and Richardson up draft boards, his mix of size (6’3, 214 pounds) and polish as a passer may make him the safest option of the bunch. In two years as the starter in Columbus, Stroud completed 69.3 percent of his passes for 8,123 yards with 85 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

In a fun pairing today (March 10), Hit-Boy and The Alchemist released an insanely creative video of their new collab “Slipping Into Darkness,” where they took turns performing over each other’s instrumentals.

“F*ck all the talk / Just cut the check and split / Floor sinks while I’m sipping / My piña colada was dripping,” Alchemist raps. “But I never get to slipping in the darkness / Never catch me slipping in the darkness.”

Then, the beat seamlessly shifts from a thumping loop to Alchemist’s turn as he gives Hit-Boy a piano instrumental. The duo are filmed performing from a clothing store, where they have their gear hooked up too.

“I’m not for everybody, but I am who I am / I am what I am / No back and forth,” Hit-Boy starts on his verse. “That’s how you smother out the nonsense / I’m hungry as a hostage / They hit me with the blockage, but I made it out the gauntlet.”

After Alchemist posted the video of their performance to social media, fans instantly buzzed about how much they loved it. “Alchemist over a Hit-Boy beat Hit-Boy over a Alchemist beat. let’s do it,” Hit-Boy captioned the post.

“This is everything, PLEASE drop an album of tracks like this. This is what collaboration is at its finest. The creativity here is WILD,” one person wrote.

“I’d listen to a whole project back and forth like this,” another agreed.

Check out the full “Slipping Into Darkness” collaboration video between Alchemist and Hit-Boy above.

The Cure just announced their first North American tour since 2016 with The Twilight Sad opening. It was noted on Ticketmaster that tickets would be non-transferable, and now the “Boys Don’t Cry” band have offered an explanation as to why.

Considering the recent disasters involving Bad Bunny fans experiencing ticket scams and Taylor Swift fans being unable to snag tickets to her tour, The Cure want to make sure fans can don’t have trouble accessing the gigs. So they’re attempting to prevent scalpers by making the tickets non-transferable. Read about what they’re doing below.

“WE WANT THE TOUR TO BE AFFORDABLE FOR ALL FANS, AND WE HAVE A VERY WIDE (AND WE THINK VERY FAIR) RANGE OF PRICING AT EVERY SHOW. OUR TICKETING PARTNERS HAVE AGREED TO HELP US STOP SCALPERS FROM GETTING IN THE WAY; TO HELP MINIMISE RESALE AND KEEP PRICES AT FACE VALUE, TICKETS FOR THIS TOUR WILL NOT BE TRANSFERABLE. IF SOMETHING COMES UP THAT PREVENTS A FAN FROM BEING ABLE TO USE A TICKET THEY HAVE PURCHASED, THEY WILL BE ABLE TO RESELL IT ON A FACE VALUE TICKET EXCHANGE.

UNFORTUNATELY, DESPITE OUR DESIRE TO PROTECT OUR LOW TICKET PRICES FOR FANS, THE STATES OF NY, IL AND CO MAKE THIS VERY DIFFICULT — THEY ACTUALLY HAVE LAWS IN PLACE THAT PROTECT SCALPERS! FOR SHOWS IN THESE STATES WE URGE FANS TO BUY OR SELL TICKETS TO ONE ANOTHER ON FACE VALUE TICKET EXCHANGES LIKE TWICKETS.LIVE AND CASHORTRADE.ORG. FANS SHOULD AVOID BUYING TICKETS THAT ARE BEING RESOLD AT INFLATED PRICES BY SCALPERS, AND THE SITES THAT HOST THESE SCALPERS SHOULD REFRAIN FROM RESELLING TICKETS FOR OUR SHOWS.”

Gayle, on the heels of dropping her new song, “Everybody Hates Me,” appeared on Apple Music 1 for an interview with Zane Lowe. She touched on everything from her new song to her upcoming run as an opener for Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour — which is just days away from kicking off.

“Taylor has been such an icon, period, but especially in Nashville,” she said during their talk, according to Billboard. “She’s done so much for women in pop music for Nashville and for songwriters. And the fact that she can look at me in Nashville and just be like, ‘You, come with me.’”

“It just means the world to me and it just was really validating for me, and especially at a very overwhelming time,” she continued. “I had no clue what I was going to do this year. I was like, ‘Oh my God, I had the best year of my life. What am I going to do next year?’ And she was like, ‘Here’s something to add to your calendar.’”

As for the specific cities that fans can expect to catch Gayle as an opening act, she will play on the Eras dates for Glendale, Las Vegas, Nashville, Philadelphia, Foxborough, and the second closing night at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium.

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

Actor, comedian, and self-proclaimed “voicetramentalist,” Michael Winslow was just about everywhere in the ’80s. His incredible ability to make sound effects with his voice and uncanny beatboxing skills landed him the role of officer Larvell Jones in all seven “Police Academy” movies.

He also did voiceover work in “Gremlins” and appeared in Mel Brooks’ “Spaceballs.”

But Winslow was forced to scale back his career in 1993 after the death of his first wife Belinda Church. As a single father, he had to stop appearing in films so he could spend more time with his children.

He continued to star in the occasional commercial, perform stand-up comedy, and make guest appearances, but he didn’t have the profile he once had.

On Tuesday, Winslow stepped back in the spotlight with a performance on “America’s Got Talent.” After some prodding from his son, he decided it would be the perfect venue to relaunch his career on television.

In the ’80s, he was known as “The Man of 10,000 Sound Effects,” but things have changed since then, he now claims to have “hundreds of thousands.”

“Now, after raising my two kids, I’m in a different phase. I think this is my time,” Winslow, 62, said on Tuesday’s episode. “And America’s Got Talent is the place for me to show the world I still have something to offer, I still have some sounds to make. There’s still room for a little more.”

Judge Simon Cowell was excited to see Winslow when he took the stage. “We know you!” Cowell exclaimed. “I cannot tell you how thrilled I am that you are here!”

Winslow then gave a stunning performance where he impersonated the chimes on an airplane, beatboxed to Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust,” and performed Jimi Hendrix’s version of “The Star Spangled Banner.” His performance was proof that after five decades in show business Winslow hasn’t lost a step and, in fact, he may be at his peak.

After his performance, Winslow won a standing ovation from the audience and four “gigantic yeses” from the panel.

“My life has changed again for the better, and I’ve gotten another blessing,” Winslow told Terry Crews after leaving the stage. America’s Got Talent is the place for me to show I still have something to offer. I’ve still got some sounds to make, and there’s still room for a little more.”

Winslow is a great reminder that sometimes when celebrities seem to fade away, it isn’t necessarily because they’re washed up or past their prime. They are humans with real challenges just like the rest of us and real-world events can affect their career trajectories. It’s great to see such a wonderful performer get another shot at the big time.

This article originally appeared on 07.14.21