Month: July 2023

The WNBA All-Star Game will take place on Saturday night in Las Vegas. But before that happens, the league took over Michelob Ultra Arena on Friday to hold its Skills Challenge and 3-Point Contest.

Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty competed in both events, and while the first one did not go the way she wanted, she was able to bounce back in a big way in the second. Ionescu teamed up with Liberty teammate Courtney Vandersloot in the Skills Challenge, with the pair advancing to the finals to take on the duo of Kelsey Plum and Chelsea Gray of the Las Vegas Aces — the teams from the Dallas Wings and the Atlanta Dream were eliminated. Unfortunately for fans in the Big Apple, the 46-second run by Plum and Gray in the finals meant the hometown fans were happy.

And then, the 3-Point Contest rolled around, which let Ionescu put on a show. She posted the second-best score in the first round, with her 26 points coming up a little short behind Sami Whitcomb of the Seattle Storm’s 28. Arike Ogunbowale of the Dallas Wings rounded things out with 21 points to move on to the finals.

As the lowest score in the first round, Ogunbowale went first in the finals, where she struggled and only scored 11 points. Then, Ionescu stepped up and put forth a historic final round, registering a ridiculous 37 points.

In all, Ionescu made all but two shots in the final round, and while Whitcomb put up a very respectable 24 points in her final outing, it was nowhere near enough.

Ben Platt is a nepo baby, but for the love of Barbara Streisand, please don’t say that to his face.

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, the Dear Evan Hansen star shared the inspiration behind his new mockumentary comedy Theater Camp. The indie he stars in with friend and co-writer Molly Gordon (The Bear) follows a group of children’s theater directors trying to salvage their final show of the summer. It looks hilarious, mostly because it doesn’t mind poking fun at the grown-ups who take this whole show business thing a bit too seriously. But it sounds like Platt doesn’t have skin quite as thick as his character in the film.

During the Rolling Stone chat, Platt was asked for his thoughts on the nepo baby conversation. Platt’s father is famed producer Marc Platt, the man partly responsible for Legally Blonde, Wicked, and a host of other beloved movies and Broadway shows. Naturally, having an industry heavyweight as a parent would’ve opened up doors for Platt, something he could have gracefully acknowledged and then moved on from when questioned about the connection. Instead, this happened:

After side-stepping the question from Rolling Stone writer EJ Dickson, Platt went on to answer a few more questions about his own Jewish summer camp experiences before his publicist intervened once more, ending his interview 20 minutes sooner than planned. The actor’s sensitivity over the whole nepo baby label has, naturally, prompted Twitter users to drag him for having, among other things, an “inflated sense of ego.”

(Via Rolling Stone)

Drake, can you do something for me? Get rid of your uncomfortable Drake-isms for me. The “Search & Rescue” rapper’s forthcoming appearance on TikTok influencer Bobbi Althoff’s The Really Good podcast will be awkward and cringey, as the teaser clip suggests, but it’s certainly worth a watch.

Following the satirical interview format made popular by creators such as Funny Marco, the pair engage in one of the most uncomfortable conversations we’ll see this week.

The clip opens with Althoff confessing, “I don’t know any other questions.” After a short exchange, the duo seemingly begins to flirt, and they get more comfortable under the sheets of the bed they share.

However, the funniest part of the clip, the influencer asks the musician, “Do you think it’s funny when your reference your own song? People could use that word, and it doesn’t mean your song.”

Drake replied in-between laughter, “I just thought that you were ending the interview on a note where you were like, ‘Haha, I do know your songs.’ You were just asking for a flight.”

“No, I don’t know your songs,” Althoff admits, much to Drake’s dismay.

Althoff hasn’t revealed when the full interview will be uploaded, but her followers have promised to tune in.

Tom Cruise loves to run, especially in the Mission: Impossible movies. Here he is running from a sandstorm. Here is running before shattering his ankle. Here he is running for 10 minutes. Cruise loves running so much, supposedly no one else is allowed to run on-screen with him.

The running form for the #1 fan of movies and popcorn has been called “exceptional,” but he does have room for improvement.

“He tends to really tense up when he’s running,” Ned Trim, the head coach of New York’s Mile High Run Club, told the Wall Street Journal. “You look at top-level sprinters, and it’s all about staying relaxed. The more relaxed your body is, the more you’re not getting in the way of the function of your muscles.”

Another coach, Ben Rosario, the executive director of the Hoka Northern Arizona Elite team, think Cruise’s hands are too rigid when he’s trying to run out of his skin. “One of the things we teach young runners is to act like they’re carrying a potato chip between their thumb and their forefinger and they can’t let it break. You’re just barely touching your thumb to your forefinger,” he said.

Cruise will now spend the next five months training 10 hours a day to become the world’s fastest runner. Honestly, I wouldn’t put it past him.

(Via the Wall Street Journal)

For the first time since 1960, when Eisenhower was President of the United States and Ronald Reagan was president of the Screen Actors Guild, Hollywood’s writers and actors are both on strike.

The Writers Guild of America, which represents 11,500 screenwriters, has been on strike since the beginning of May. And on July 13, 2023, SAG-AFTRA—the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists representing approximately 160,000 film and television performers and media professionals—joined them, effectively shutting down Hollywood.

Actress and SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher, best known for her lead role in “The Nanny,” announced the strike with a powerful speech calling out studio executives. The major Hollywood writer and performer unions have been in talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) over the way streaming services and Artificial Intelligence are impacting compensation for the creators on the ground, and clearly, it’s not been going well.

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After explaining the gravity of the decision to strike, knowing “the eyes of the world and particularly the eyes of labor are upon us,” Drescher explained the reasoning behind the move.

“We are being victimized by a very greedy entity,” she said. “I am shocked by the way the people that we have been in business with are treating us. I cannot believe it, quite frankly, how far apart we are on so many things. How they plead poverty, that they’re losing money left and right, when giving hundreds of millions of dollars to their CEOs. It is disgusting. Shame on them. They stand on the wrong side of history at this very moment.”

— (@)

“You cannot keep being dwindled and marginalized and disrespected and dishonored,” she continued. “The entire business model has been changed by streaming, digital, AI. This is a moment of history that is a moment of truth. If we don’t stand tall right now, we are all going to be in trouble. We are all going to be in jeopardy of being replaced by machines and big business, who cares more about Wall Street than you and your family.”

Drescher made it clear that this strike was not just about actors, but about all workers, and that moneyed interests must acknowledge and adjust to a swiftly changing labor landscape to ensure that the people who do the work are compensated fairly.

“We are fortunate enough to be in a country right now that happens to be labor-friendly. And yet, we were facing opposition that was so labor-unfriendly, so tone-deaf to what we are saying. You cannot change the business model as much as it has changed and not expect the contract to change, too. We’re not going to keep doing incremental changes on a contract that no longer honors what is happening right now with this business model that was foisted upon us. What are we doing—moving around furniture on the Titanic? It’s crazy.”

People may think of SAG-AFTRA members and picture the high-profile actors making millions off of movies, but those well-paid performers are only a small fraction of the working actors in Hollywood. The average SAG-AFTRA member earns well below the national average salary and most working actors have to work multiple jobs to make ends meet. Some of that is simply the unpredictable nature of the business, but when studio income largely stays at the top and doesn’t trickle down to the people who create the shows and films that bring in the money, there’s room for negotiation. And in the whole new world of streaming services and AI technology, it appears those negotations will have to shift as dramatically as the entertainment industry landscape itself if they hope to get it moving again.

We’ve all done it. If there is one common human experience, it’s getting the lyrics wrong in a song. I refuse to believe that this isn’t a universal thing that transpires in all countries, cultures and languages, and if you tell me otherwise I’ll have no other choice than to believe you’re lying. But there’s something innocently hilarious about people learning that they’ve been singing the wrong words to popular songs. Someone in a Reddit community decided to ask the question that clearly a lot of people have been waiting to be asked: “What’s a song lyric that you completely misheard for a while?”

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The results were gold, obviously, because lots of lyrics are misheard and sung incorrectly until it’s emblazoned into the part of your brain that’s responsible for holding song lyrics. I remember hanging out with a friend and we were blasting “Can’t Hold Us” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis but when the part came when they sing “so we put our hands up like the ceiling can’t hold us,” my friend belted “so we put our hands up like the silly can holders.” When I told her those weren’t the words she insisted I was mishearing them, so I asked, “what the heck is a silly can holder?!”

Turns out my friend had no idea what a silly can holder was and we had a good laugh. The person on Reddit that asked people to share their misheard lyrics was likely just as entertained. Like when one user’s misheard lyrics gave Maroon 5’s “She Will Be Loved” a very dark turn, because they heard and sang “ask her if she wants to stay alive” instead of “ask her if she wants to stay a while.” Ma’am-sir, we’re going to need to see what’s in your trunk.

One person thought Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space” said “Starbucks lovers” instead of “long list of ex-lovers” and honestly, it’s pumpkin spice season, so Starbucks lovers kind of works. A couple of cozy sweaters, laptops and white cups with a weird mermaid that seems to be holding two tails in her hands could make a great rom-com opening.

Some unfortunate person thought Shania Twain’s “That Don’t Impress Me Much” lyrics were “I can’t believe you kiss your cock goodnight.” Now that’s either NSFW or someone has a really close relationship with their rooster. Either way, those lyrics are unequivocally wrong because the actual words are, “I can’t believe you kiss your car goodnight.” Car! Sweet mother of pearl, I hope they weren’t singing that in public.

Who remembers Dido? “White Flag” was definitely a bop in the early 2000s but this person thought the singer said “I will poke my eyes out and surrender.” Let’s hope they do in fact still have their eyes because the actual lyrics are, “And I won’t put my hands up and surrender,” which obviously makes much sense—bonus points for getting to keep your eyeballs.

Some of these misheard lyrics are just hilarious and also confusing because I can’t quite figure out how this person heard “I got shoes, they’re made of plywood.” The words are, and as far as I know have always been “I’ve got chills, they’re multiplying” in the Grease song “You’re the One That I Want.”

But this last one has me wondering who is Jason and why does he get his own waterfall? This user thought TLC sang “don’t go Jason waterfalls” in their hit song “Waterfalls.” I mean, we probably shouldn’t be chasing waterfalls like the lyrics actually say, but Jason waterfalls might be a pretty cool dude. We’ll never know though.

If you’ve never known the hilarity and embarrassment of mishearing lyrics, consider yourself lucky. But I’m highly suspicious that you’re making that up. No one’s that perfect, people aren’t tacos. Now go forth and belt out “pour some shook-up ramen” while the rest of the crowd demands they be doused with sugar.

This article originally appeared on 09.24.22

Grandparents can be a wealth of history and knowledge. But one TikTok user, Reagan Jones, was blown away by her grandmother’s ability to write in shorthand, so she did what a lot of people do in this century—uploaded it to TikTok. Not surprisingly, most people who viewed the video had no idea what shorthand was and some thought the whole thing was made up. The reaction to it certainly makes you question if it’s more than a lost art, but a forgotten part of history.

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Shorthand is a method of quickly writing that has been around for a centuries. The first recorded history of a form of shorthand being used was in the 4th century B.C.. In the 1800s, two different types of shorthand became popular, Pitman in 1837 and Gregg in 1888. Looking at the shorthand alphabet may make you furrow your eyebrows because a lot of the symbols look ridiculously similar. It’s full of lines that are straight, slightly curled or partially looped and some that just look like a squiggle. It’s something to behold and resembles a super secret language.

Judging by the comments on the video, other people feel the same way. One commenter, Jamie wrote, “I’ve heard the term shorthand but I think my brain always took it as abbreviations not this 😳😅”

Another commenter, Samantha said, “Nah this has to be a glitch in the timeline I’ve never heard of this from any of my family member.”

@reaganjones176

This is called “short hand” and its a real form of old-style note-taking. She uses this to write herself notes daily. 😂#coolgrandma #funwithgrandma #grandparents #handwriting #shorthand

In a reply to a commenter, Jones revealed, “My grandma was a legal secretary for the railroad 🙂 She won a lot of awards for her work and shorthand in school.”

Now, that’s just cool. Sure there are still professions like court reporters and such that use shorthand, but it’s not as common as it was back when most people’s grandparents and great-grandparents were young adults. This was such a neat blast from the past. It’s clear that Jones’ grandma could probably still take home some awards for her unique skill.

This article originally appeared on 09.13.22

If you’ve ever stayed in a hotel, you know there’s an additional lock you can latch as an added layer of protection. But sometimes weird things happen that make us rethink the comfort and security many of us take for granted. TikTok user TayBeepBoop had a disturbing experience when a hotel front desk person attempted to enter her room while she was inside. Some readers may find the story to be unsettling but it’s a powerful reminder of exactly why situational awareness and caution are so important in today’s world.

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Tay, obviously frightened, uploaded clips from the event on her TikTok page, which has since garnered 6 million views. In the video, which is mostly the floor, door and bed, you can hear the man outside of her room knocking loudly asking to be let inside.

Tay asks the man repeatedly why he attempted to walk into her room using the hotel key to which the man explains there’s a problem with the woman’s car. There’s only one problem. Tay doesn’t own a car and is only in town on business where she did not rent a car to get around town, relying only on other modes of transportation. So, what the heck was the man doing at her door?

@taybeepboop

Replying to @dani klarić this was a really long and hard video to make, it was sort of traumatizing and I’m kind of freaked out about staying anywhere now and I dont leave my house much anymore tbh because I already was dealing with PTSD about my safety. I’m OKAY which is why im able to go through this footage now. I genuinely don’t want anything to do with this hotel, this is a PSA to stay safe and cautious. I don’t want people to go after this worker because I still don’t know what his intentions were and he could have just been trying to do his job

Tay was staying at the hotel alone and made sure to latch the additional lock on her hotel room door, which is the only thing that prevented this hotel staff member from getting into her room. Since the situation was so scary and went on for quite some time according to her video, she called friends on FaceTime to be a witness and help comfort her. Eventually the man leaves after repeated attempts to get the scared woman to open the door and Tay was able to get a male business partner to escort her safely to another hotel.

But the comments were filled with stories from women who have had similar experiences. Many people explained the danger of admitting you’re alone upon check-in, while other commenters sympathized with the woman not thinking to call the police right away. With people traveling more as COVID-19 restrictions subside, there could be a greater chance for things like this happening so it’s best to be prepared and err on the side of caution when traveling alone.

Women on the Road has several tips for hotel safety including making sure your door lock works, putting a chair under the handle of the door or buying a rubber door stop. The site also highlights the importance of locking your windows if they open and not opening the door for people you don’t know.

Another site geared towards safety is Solo Female Traveler and it recommends getting a floor higher in the hotel to make it more of a hassle for someone from outside to break in. It, too, reiterates the importance of locking the additional lock in the hotel room while you’re inside.

While it’s statistically unlikely you’ll be a victim of a hotel robbery or whatever was happening with Tay, her experience is a reminder to research hotels and practice caution when traveling. Always, always, lock the deadbolt or chain.

This article originally appeared on 09.13.22

It should go without saying that it’s not cool to steal from your Airbnb. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t still happen.

However, when one Airbnb host recently discovered a guest had—for some strange reason—stolen one of her paintings, then replaced it with a completely different painting, she decided to make the best out of a very uncool situation by sharing the story on TikTok.

As a result, viewers got to witness an continuously unraveling, truly bizarre modern-day art heist.

Okay, let’s get into it.

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“OK the weirdest thing just happened,” host Amy Corbett says at the beginning of her video.

She then shows what the living room in the listing normally looks like—with a painting of a map hanging on a wall over a couch.

But when Corbett shows up to the unit, we see that it is definitely not a painting of a map hanging on a wall over a couch. Instead, there’s a painting of an orange airplane.

“I have never seen the picture before in my life!” Corbett exclaims in the video.

@allbelongco The weirdest thing a guest has ever done. #airbnb #airbnbstory #airbnbguest #airbnbthief #crazystory #story #fyp ♬ original sound – allbelong.co

Creeped out, she looks around the apartment to see if the oil painting is anywhere to be found. Nada. Zilch.

Needless to say, commenters had their theories. Several mentioned hearing similar stories involving the same painting, leading them to believe this was all part of some long and involved paint-swapping prank. Others went the more traditional route of assuming this guest was trying to cover up some damage inflicted to avoid fees. Others still thought this person was an artist trying to do some sort of clandestine self-promotion.

In a follow-up video, Corbett debunked those theories, saying that not only could that airplane image be found “all over the web,” but the wall it was hanging on was “pristine,” not to mention the fact that the original artwork was next to impossible to accidentally damage.

@allbelongco Replying to @exploration_of_love Let’s debunk some theories while we wait to hear from Airbnb… #airbnb #airbnbguest #fyp ♬ original sound – allbelong.co

As for whether or not this person had swapped out other paintings, Corbett has reached out to one of the guest’s previous hosts, who confirmed that it had not taken place there.

Corbett kept audiences in the loop with several follow-ups, including actual security footage of the guest caught in the act.

The video shows a man (now dubbed the Airbnb Bandit) walking from his car carrying the airplane painting. Next, he’s seen in a different-colored hoodie carrying out the map painting, which is bundled up in a blanket.

@allbelongco Camera footage doesn’t lie…🤷🏻‍♀️ #airbnbstory #airbnbguest #fyp #airbnb #airbnbthief #allbelongco #story ♬ original sound – allbelong.co

As if things couldn’t get any stranger, when Corbett sent an official claim through Airbnb about the artwork, the Airbnb Bandit did pay, but only a portion of what was asked. Then when she asked when he could pay the rest of it…he asked for a 5-star review.

Wow. Just…wow.

While the actual identity of this unusual art thief remains a mystery, Corbett is being reimbursed by Airbnb. Plus, she has decidedly made her “negative story into a positive one” by hiring a local artist to create a new painting to hang above her couch, one that features a waterfall view and the Jamestown River visible just outside the listing. Plus, she’s raffling off the airplane painting to raise funds for affordable housing in her area.

This might be one of the weirder Airbnb stories out there, but at least it has a pretty happy ending.

This article originally appeared on 4.30.23

Ron DeSantis is reportedly getting a wake-up call from his donors. Despite once being touted as a potential threat to Donald Trump, the Florida governor has stumbled on the national stage as he attempts to make the case to Republican voters for why she should be on the top of the ticket. Instead, DeSantis has doubled down on culture war issues, like his ill-fated video that essentially argued he’s more anti-LGBTQ than Trump, and it’s not going over great. It’s never a good sign when your donors are telling major media outlets that they’d like it if you could be a little stupid.

“People want to support Ron but don’t like this kind of stupid stuff,” a DeSantis fundraiser told CNN. “There are people on his team who are trying to win petty wars that make Ron look stupid. If they get that taken care of and just let Ron and Casey be Ron and Casey, then they’ll be much better off.”

Conservative media has also not been impressed with DeSantis:

“Put bluntly, people in Ohio or Iowa do not want to be Florida, they don’t care about Florida, and they are tired of hearing about Florida,” [Erick] Erickson wrote to his subscribers.

Jeff Angelo, an influential conservative radio host in Iowa, said DeSantis risks coming off as “too technocratic.”

“DeSantis’ weakness is that he doesn’t tell a good emotional story about why he believes what he believes,” Angelo said. “You gotta give people all the feels.”

Interestingly, the news of DeSantis donors wanting him to get his act together arrives on the heels of a report that his campaign sent out a “confidential memo” that assured backers that the governor has a plan to secure the nomination. Namely, by building momentum in early states like New Hampshire instead of worrying about Super Tuesday.

However, sources close to the campaign told NBC News that if they don’t see a “bump in the polls,” they’re going to “shut down the idea of a national operation” a.k.a. pack it in.

(Via CNN)