Month: June 2023

(Spoilers for The Bear will be found below.)

The Bear‘s second season keeps the fire burning, both in and out of the kitchen, and a lot of that fire comes from guest stars who either stick around for awhile or pop in for cameos. In Jon Bernthal‘s case, he surprised everyone by showing up as Carmy’s brother, Michael, in first-season flashback mode, and anyone who wants to see him return can rest assured that it happens. And as it turns out, we might have Jon’s former The Punisher co-star, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, to thank for Bernthal’s materialization onscreen.

Moss-Bachrach, of course, portrays Carmy and Michael’s loose-cannon of a cousin, who’s such an a-hole (although a redeemable one) that no one felt too bad when he got stabbed in the butt. And he hails from a vast array of popular series, including NOS4A2, The Dropout, and (of course) Girls, in which he is known for a very salacious scene. Getting back to the subject, though, Moss-Bachrach told CinemaBlend that the production struggled to find the right fit for Michael, and he suggested that if they went ahead and showed Michael, then Jon would be the man for the job:

“They were trying to cast that role Michael for a while. And they asked us, ‘Does anyone have any ideas?; And they asked me and I was like, ‘I don’t think we should ever see him.’ Because when you talk about somebody, and hype them up so much, it’s always a letdown. And then it did occur to me one day, and I was like, ‘Well, I do think Jon is such a, I don’t know, like, charismatic and hilarious, dude that, I was like, ‘he actually would be really great.’”

He does make a fine point here. On, say, Frasier, the looming presence of Maris Crane was one of the funnier parts of the show because she remained unseen. When Michael is spoken of in The Bear, he seems almost fabled in a tragic (due to his suicide) although magnetic way. Pulling off that combination (and without being underwhelming) was surely rough, and very few actors could live up to those expectations. Naturally, though, Jon Bernthal rose mightily to the occasion. And he does so again in The Bear Season 2, which is streaming right now on Hulu.

(Via CinemaBlend)

Two New Orleans legends link up to bring the rain with “El Niño,” a new track that sees Louisianans Lil Wayne and Big Freedia collaborating with Memphis multidisciplinarian Boyfriend for a triumphant celebration of survival. This is pretty much right up Big Freedia’s alley as a self-described gender-nonconforming, fluid, nonbinary drag queen from the home of Hurricane Katrina in the midst of the American Right’s collective campaign of attempted genocide of the queer community.

It also marks the first official collaboration between Freedia and Wayne, despite their shared roots. Wayne sampled Freedia on a 2003 mixtape and booked her for his Weezyana Festival in 2015, but this is the first time they’ve actually teamed up on a record. And while it would have been cool if it was a bounce track (both rappers have used the regional sound as a basis for some of their biggest hits), the throwback trap style actually makes it a cool departure for Freedia and a return to form for Wayne that underscores the import of the collaboration.

Meanwhile, Boyfriend is a frequent collaborator of Freedia’s who adds another perspective. In a press release, Freedia said, “El Niño’ is about going hard in any storms that come in your life and conquering them! It’s one of my favorite songs on this record, it features my longtime collaborator Boyfriend, and it’s also my first collab with Lil Wayne, who I’ve wanted to work with for a long time. We put it down for our city, and this song is gonna have everyone blowin down!”

The track will appear on Freedia’s new album Central City, which is due this Friday, June 23. Listen to “El Niño” above.

The Price Is Right has been taped at Television City’s Bob Barker Studio 33 in Hollywood, California, since it was relaunched and premiered in 1972. (It was obviously not called Bob Barker Studio in the 1970s; that honor would come after he beat up Happy Gilmore.) But beginning in season 52, Drew Carey & Co. are heading to Haven Studios in nearby Glendale.

The final episode of season 51, which airs on June 26th, will feature contestants playing The Price Is Right classics, including “The Grand Game” and “The Money Game.” One contestant will also have the chance to play “Any Game,” the first game ever played on The Price Is Right in 1972.

“In light of Hackman Capital Partners’ plans to undergo a major renovation at Television City, the time has come to move television’s longest running game show, The Price Is Right, into a new home,” said Suzanne Lopez, COO of Fremantle (which produces The Price Is Right), in a statement from March. “While we bid a fond farewell to this cultural landmark, we are excited to say that we will be moving into a brand-new, state-of-the-art facility at Haven Studios. We can’t wait to have our fans ‘Come On Down’ to this new facility when we begin production on the next season this summer.”

Carey discussed the move in a video below.

It’s pretty safe to say that everyone loves a good love story.

There’s a whole genre of music and movies dedicated to the idea of someone being swept off of their feet after circumstances tried to keep them from their true love. Romance novels could single handedly keep public libraries and bookstores afloat. Everyone loves “love” and the story of Betsy and Irv just takes the cake. Betsy Sailor attended Penn State University as a business major, which was almost unheard of in 1978 and Irv Pankey attended the university while playing football. The pair’s paths never crossed, until an unfortunate incident bonded the two forever.

That year, Betsy was at home singing and dancing with her refrigerator door as one does when looking for food, when she was sexually assaulted at knife point by none other than star Penn State football player, Todd Hodne. When Irv heard the evidence against Hodne during the trial, he knew he had to do something about it. In fact, he was the only one on the team who did.

After the assault Betsy moved back on campus, and that’s when she met Irv, a burly football player who understood what it was like to be outcast. He knocked on her door, introduced himself and offered to essentially be her protection as she traversed through campus. The pair were glued at the hip until graduation. Irv went on to play for the LA Rams and Betsy went on to work in human resources. They hadn’t spoken since, until 44 years later when ESPN decided to cover their unique bond that helped Betsy get through college.

Hear directly from Betsy Sailor and Irv Pankey as they discuss their relationship in my recent interview with them (created by director @nicole_noren ): 12/12pic.twitter.com/GmWVIYp38O

— Paula Lavigne (@Paula Lavigne)
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And that’s when this already compelling tale became a love story.

Irv and Betsy stayed in touch after the documentary was filmed, and when ESPN did an update, Betsy became emotional while talking about Irv. The two smiled and said they spend as much time together as possible. Irv said “We’re riding off into the sunset. Calling it a day. Peace out! I hope we can enjoy each other’s company for the rest of our lives and just move on,” He continued “We’re 65 years old. We ain’t got time to be messing around.”

If that isn’t a love story to write home about, then I don’t know what is. Best wishes Betsy and Irv. You both deserve a lifetime of happiness.

This article originally appeared on 04.29.22

People who decide not to have children are often unfairly judged by those who chose a different life path. People with children can be especially judgmental to women who’ve decided to opt out of motherhood.

“You will regret it!” is one of the most common phrases lobbed at those who choose to remain childless. Why do people think they’ll have such awful regrets? Because they often say they’ll wind up “lonely and sad” when they’re older.

They also say that life without children is without purpose and that when the childless get older they’ll have no one to take care of them. One of the most patronizing critiques thrown at childless women is that they will never “feel complete” unless they have a child.

However, a lot of these critiques say more about the person doling them out than the person who decides to remain childless. Maybe, just maybe, their life is fulfilling enough without having to reproduce. Maybe, just maybe, they can have a life full of purpose without caring for any offspring.

Maybe the question should be: What’s lacking in your life that you need a child to feel complete?

Studies show that some people regret being childless when they get older, but they’re in the minority. An Australian researcher found that a quarter of child-free women came to regret the decision once they were past child-bearing age and began contemplating old age alone.

People revealed the reasons they’ve decided to be childless in an article by The Upshot. The top answers were the desire for more leisure time, the need to find a partner and the inability to afford child care. A big reason that many women decide not to have children is that motherhood feels like more of a choice these days, instead of a foregone conclusion as it was in previous decades.

Reddit user u/ADreamyNightOwl asked a “serious” question about being childless to the AskReddit subforum and received a lot of honest answers. They asked “People over 50 that chose to be childfree, do you regret your decision? Why or why not?”

The people who responded are overwhelmingly happy with their decision not to have children. A surprising number said they felt positive about their decision because they thought they’d be a lousy parent. Others said they were happy to have been able to enjoy more free time than their friends and family members who had kids.

Here are some of the best responses to the Askreddit question.

1. Never had any desire.

“I explain it to people like this – you know that feeling you get where you just can’t wait to teach your kid how to play baseball? or whatever it is you want to share with them? I don’t have that. Its basically a lack of parental instinct. Having children was never something I aspired to. My SO is the same way.

“Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against children. And I get really angry at people who harm them or mistreat them. I just never wanted my own.” — IBeTrippin

2. No desire. No regrets.

“Nope. It was never something I wanted. No regrets.” — BornaCrone

3. Mixed feelings.

“I have mixed feelings. I don’t care much for children and I think it would have been disastrous for us to have them. I was also able to retire at 52. Pretty sure that wouldn’t have happened with kids. So yeah, absolutely the right decision.
But I love my family and I do wonder what it would be like to have my own, to teach my child the things I know and not to be without someone who cares about me at the time of my death.

“But again, absolutely the right decision and at 55 I’m very happy NOT to have them. This is reinforced every time I’m exposed to other people’s kids.” — ProfessorOzone

4. They never visit.

“My wife worked at a nursing home for years. Imagine seeing for years that over 95% of old people never have family visit. Till they die and people want a piece of the pie. This when I learned that the whole ‘well who is gonna visit you or take care of you when you’re older’ line is complete bullshit. We decided to not have kids ever after that. Made great friends and saw the world. No regrets.” — joevilla1369

5. It wasn’t an option.

“I don’t necessarily regret not having them, but I regret the fact that I wasn’t in a healthy enough relationship where I felt I COULD have children. I regret not being stronger to leave the abuse earlier, if I had been stronger, I think maybe I could have had the choice at least. So yeah… I have regrets.” — MaerakiStudioMe

6. Grandkids are cooler.

“No. I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to marry my husband. He had two sons from his first marriage and a vasectomy. He was worried because I was so young (comparatively, he’s 10 years older). I did think it over seriously and concluded that a life with him compared to a life without him but (perhaps!) with a baby I didn’t even have yet was what I wanted. It worked out for us, we’ve been together for 26 years. As a bonus I have 9 grandchildren. All the fun without the work of the raising!” — Zublor

7. I’d be a bad parent.

“Not one bit. I have never believed that I would be a good parent. I have a short temper, and while I don’t think I would have been physically abusive, my words and tone of voice would be harsh in a very similar way to my own father. I wasn’t happy growing up with that kind parent and I wouldn’t want to subject any child to that kind of parenting.” — Videoman7189

8. I’d rather be the cool aunt and uncle.

“No and I found a partner who feels the same. We are the cool aunt and uncle.” — laudinum

9. Loneliness is underrated.

“54 yrs.old. I’ve lived the past 30 years alone. Presently my dog and I are chillin’ in a nice hotel on a spur of the moment vacation. I’d maybe be a grandfather by now?! I can’t imagine what it would be like to have family. I picture a life lived more “normally” sometimes. All sunshine and roses, white picket fence, etc. but I realize real life isn’t like that. No I don’t regret being childfree or wifefree for that matter. My life can be boring at times but then I look back at all the drama that comes with relationships and think I’ve dodged a bullet. I spent 20 years trying to find a wife to start a family. Then I realized the clock had run out, so fuck it, all the money I’d saved for my future family would be spent on myself. Hmmmmm…what do I want to buy myself for Christmas?” — Hermits_Truth

10. No diaper changes and no regrets.

“Nope. I never had the urge to change diapers or lose sleep, free time and most of my earnings. Other people’s kids are great. Mostly because they are other people’s. When people ask ‘Who will take care of you when you’re old’ I tell them that when I’m 75 I will adopt a 40-year-old.” — fwubglubbel

11. Zero desire.

“I’m 55 (F) and never wanted children. I just don’t much like them, and 20+ years of motherhood sounded (and still sounds) like a prison sentence. Maternal af when it comes to cats and dogs, but small humans? No chance.

“And I’m very happy to be childless. Cannot imagine my life any other way.” — GrowlKitty

12. D.I.N.K.

“Dual income no kids = great lifestyle!” — EggOntheRun

13. Some regrets

“Over 50 and child free. My only regret is that my wife would have been a great mother, and sometimes I feel like I deprived her of that, even though we both agreed we didn’t want kids. Sometimes I wonder if I pushed her into that decision. She works with the elderly every day and sees a lot of lonely folks so it gets to her sometimes. I was always afraid I’d screw up the parenting thing, so I was never really interested in the idea. I’m a loner by nature though.” — Johnny-Virgil

This article originally appeared on 02.08.22

On March 8, 2023, a keeper at World Bird Sanctuary in St. Louis County, Missouri, noticed something odd. A male bald eagle named Murphy was guarding what appeared to be a large depression in the ground.

“The spot was sparsely but carefully decorated with leaves and branches, and featured a simple rock right in the center,” the nature preserve shared on its Facebook page.

Murphy began sitting on the rock, nudging it and becoming fiercely protective of it, as it if were an egg. People visiting the sanctuary would inquire about the bald eagle just sitting there, wondering if he was okay. The keepers finally put up a sign that read:

“If you see an eagle lying down in the back left corner under a perch, that’s Murphy! Murphy is not hurt, sick, or otherwise in distress. He has built a nest on the ground, and is very carefully incubating a rock! We wish him the best of luck!”

In case you’re wondering if this is unusual behavior for a 31-year-old male bald eagle, the answer is “not really, but….” Male bald eagles do share equally in nesting and baby-raising, so the paternal instinct part is normal. Murphy’s channeling of that instinct onto a rock…maybe not so much. And at 31, he’s more like a great-granddad than dad, as bald eagles usually live 20 to 30 years in the wild (though they do live longer in captivity).

Murphy takes fatherhood seriously, though. Soon he began screaming and charging at the four other eagles in the aviary if they came anywhere near RockBaby. (That’s the official name the keepers gave Murphy’s…well, rock baby.) Naturally, the screaming and charging caused a fair amount of stress for all involved, so Murphy and RockBaby were moved to their own enclosure for everyone’s protection.

People who saw this unfold started suggesting sanctuary staff replace Murphy’s rock with a real egg or get him a mate, but 1) Eagle eggs aren’t just lying around waiting to be given to wanna-be dads, 2) hatching a different kind of bird’s egg would be potentially dangerous for it, and 3) Murphy had two females right there in the aviary, and none of them were interested in each other. Alas, the heart cannot be forced.

However, a different opportunity presented itself in late March when an aerie with two chicks in it was blown down by high winds. One chick didn’t survive the fall, but the other was brought to World Bird Sanctuary’s Wildlife Hospital.

A bit bruised, but otherwise healthy, the chick was given a good prognosis. Staff began feeding it while wearing a camouflage suit and holding an eagle stuffy to prevent the eaglet from imprinting on humans. What the baby really needed was a foster parent—an adult eagle who would feed and care for it.

“Murphy’s dad instincts were already in high gear,” the sanctuary wrote on April 11, “but at 31 years old, he had never raised a chick before. It’s definitely a gamble, but also the chick’s best chance.”

Introducing an eaglet to an adult eagle isn’t as simple as dropping it in the enclosure. First, the eaglet is put into what the sanctuary refers to as a “baby jail,” which is a heated, comfy cage made of wood and wire that protects the eaglet but still allows some interaction between the birds so they can get used to one another. Once the desired bonding behavior is observed, then they try out some direct one-on-one interaction without the cage.

On April 12, World Bird Sanctuary announced, “IT’S HAPPENING!!!!”

The eaglet (referred to as Bald Eaglet 23-126—they don’t name foster babies at the sanctuary for superstitious reasons) was released from baby jail, and after an hour or so Murphy approached it with curiosity. Was he wondering if his RockBaby had hatched? Maybe. Would he be the nurturing dad everyone hoped he would be? It appears so.

As the sanctuary shared:

“This morning, Murphy got his chance to be a full parent as 23-126 left the nest to go be closer to Murphy. The food is being dropped through a blind drop tube into the nest and baby appears unable to be able to get over the lip to get back into the nest to get the chopped food. When we checked back, we found that baby was still out of the nest and all the chopped food was still in the nest. However, Murphy’s whole fish had been removed from the nest and baby had a full crop. 23-126 is not yet old enough to tear food which means MURPHY FED THE BABY!!!!”

The comments on the update, of course, are pure gold as people have become fully invested in this story:

“I can’t believe I’m crying over eagles!”

“Murphy’s going to be giving a TedTalk: Manifest The Eaglet You Need In Your Life.”

“So happy for Murphy & eaglet Dwayne (the rock Johnson).”

“‘Rock, I am your Father.'”

“Omg I’m crying! Murphy never gave up on his rock and now has a baby of his very own The wonders of nature never cease. Ty, WBS, for making this possible. These two are saving each other .”

Many people have lamented that there is not a live cam so we can all watch this pair as their relationship develops, but staff reminded everyone that the sanctuary is out in the middle of the woods and they don’t have a strong enough signal for a live stream.

But WBS staff has been posting updates on social media and will share the story as it continues to unfold. Follow World Bird Sanctuary on Facebook here. And if you feel compelled to donate to help feed little Dwayne or 23-126 or whatever you’d like to call Murphy’s new baby—who apparently eats a ridiculous amount—you can donate here or check out their Amazon baby registry (yes, seriously!) here.

Congratulations, Papa Murphy!

This article originally appeared on 4.14.23

As Jay-Z once said, “Believe half of what you hear, even if it’s spat by me.” That principle has once again been proven true thanks to Killer Mike. During a recent interview to promote his new album, Michael, Killer Mike appeared to confirm that his longtime collaborator André 3000 is working on a new album. However, according to HipHop-N-More, he has since backtracked, telling his hometown radio station V-103 it was just a joke that fans took too seriously.

“I was stoned out of my mind playing, teasing with y’all,” he’s reported saying. “Y’all done took the joke too seriously. But you know, [André 3000’s] always making music. He’s never not making music. So I got a chance to hear a lot of cool stuff… If you want to hear Dre though, I know where you can. It’s this album called Michael that’s out right now.” He is referring, of course, to the song “Scientists & Engineers,” on which André appears alongside Future.

Mike said the Outkast member had nearly nixed the collaboration until hearing the completed version with guest vocalist Eryn Allen Kane. He gave the go-ahead on its release, but while promoting the album, Mike revealed the existence of another collaboration — and fans’ eagerness to hear it is likely what prompted the furor over Mike’s album comments.

What started out as a seeming joke between tech billionaires might become the fight of the year. UFC President Dana White is now claiming that both Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are interested in getting in the ring together after their “cage match” exchange across their respective social media platforms. According to White, he’s been texting both men, and they’re game for what could be a massive pay-per-view event.

“Talked with Mark and Elon last night, both guys are absolutely dead serious about this,” White told TMZ Sports before boasting about the money-making opportunities and Musk’s history of getting into childhood fights? Things may have gone off the rails a bit:

As for how big the event could be — Dana believes it would easily be the most-watched fight ever, saying “The biggest fight of all time was Floyd and Conor, I just think it triples that — it triples what that did, there’s no limit on what that thing can make.”

Dana’s confident both men are capable of handling themselves. Zuck has been in jiu-jitsu competitions recently, and Elon has done martial arts and told Dana he was involved in “plenty of fights growing up in South Africa.”

The situation started on Wednesday night when Musk seemingly mocked Zuckerberg’s latest obsession with jiu-jitsu.

“I’m up for a cage match if he is lol,” Musk tweeted to a user who brought up Zuckerberg’s new skills. After catching wind of the jab, Zuckerberg screenshot Musk’s tweet and posted it on Instagram with the caption, “Send Me Location.”

As for who would win in a fight, the answer is obvious: Anyone who wants to see two billionaires publicly humiliate themselves. Bring it on.

(Via TMZ Sports)

Once upon a time there was an investor who liked a stock. It was a special stock for a company that looked, by all accounts, like it would be headed for the dumpster behind the third abandoned mall in your hometown. In fact, it seemed like some hedge fund types were trying to ensure that it failed so they could make bank off of it.

As you probably know, that’s not what happened.

Craig Gillespie’s Dumb Money is the Big Short-ified version of the GameStop stock squeeze wherein Keith Gill (Paul Dano) made millions of dollars assuming that GameStop wouldn’t collapse entirely, and several hedge fund leads with billions under management lost a gobsmacking amount of money betting that a brick and mortar retail antique would shutter.

Based on the book The Antisocial Network by Ben Mezrich, the movie gives us both sides of the chaos — the slobs dropping their jaw when the numbers in their accounts start multiplying, and the snobs who need to get their lawyers on the phone PDQ. The trailer almost exclusively trades in that rushed insanity, and the subject matter is perfect for a filmmaker like Gillespie who thrives on presenting high-pressure absurdity driven by pompous idiots. The only slightly funky thing is how subdued Dano seems in the role in these brief moments given the happy-go-lucky vibe Keith Gill exuded.

Dumb Money, also starring Shailene Woodley, Pete Davidson, Vincent D’Onofrio, America Ferrera, Nick Offerman, Anthony Ramos, Sebastian Stan, and Seth Rogen, hits theaters September 22nd.

Whatever you do, don’t turn off the buy button on this one.

Beyond learning that Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan would rather retire from television than collaborate with other writers, his Hollywood Reporter feature story has revealed that the hit western soap opera about the Dutton family was almost an HBO series. Pitched originally as “The Godfather in Montana,” Sheridan wrote it as a feature before converting it into a pilot script and developing it with HBO under the guidance of then-programming head Michael Lombardo.

Sheridan wanted Kevin Costner (of 2003’s Open Range fame) for the role, but HBO was giving him the runaround until one executive proclaimed that they needed more star power, and offered that if Robert Redford would star, Sheridan would get his greenlight. Naturally, Sheridan visited Redford, wooed him into taking the role, and HBO promptly backpedaled.

“And he says — and you can’t make this shit up — ‘We meant a Robert Redford type,’” Sheridan recalled. Another executive allegedly laid out their reluctance more plainly, saying that the show was too “Middle America” for the cutting edge network in a conversation where it became clear that the development was dead. Normally, it would have stayed dead, but Lombardo got Sheridan the rights back before leaving HBO, which is why he was able to sell it to Paramount and craft a hit show.

This kind of origin myth should be taken with a grain of salt (along with Sheridan’s claim that he writes an episode in 8 hours and gets no notes back from Paramount), but it’s definitely plausible. At any rate, the show that Sheridan ended up making feels more like it should be on Paramount than on HBO, and now we’ve got the vision of Robert Redford playing Vito Corleone with the Big Horn Mountains as a backdrop to fuel our desire for alternate TV history.

(via The Hollywood Reporter)