Month: July 2023

I recently sat down with Rainn Wilson to talk about his book, “Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution,” for the Upworthy Book Club, and one of the things we talked about was cynicism. We live in a world where it’s so easy to be cynical, to toss up our hands and say, “People suck, so why bother?”

However, when we become cynical, we allow the negative forces in the world win. So what do we do instead?

Wilson posits that the opposite of cynicism isn’t optimism, but joy. Optimism too easily becomes “toxic positivity,” which is insensitive to the real difficulties people face. But as Wilson writes, joy “doesn’t disregard the hard stuff. Joy knows that negativity is a part of life as well. Joy says that life is hard but there is a place you can go, a tool you can use. Joy is a force. A choice. Something that can be harnessed. A decision to be made.”

There are lots of ways to foster joy in our lives, from being of service to others to spending time with loved ones to appreciating nature to finding wholesome reasons to smile and laugh.

Joy is powerful, and however small a measure of it this week’s roundup provides, I hope it helps you battle away cynicism and offers some hope and peace to your soul.

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1. Doggo makes it crystal clear that she wants allll the kisses.

— (@)

Her communication couldn’t be clearer even if she could talk.

2. You never know what a random act of kindness means to the person on the receiving end

See on Instagram

“If it’s on your heart to do something nice for someone, just do it.” Words to live by.

3. Older skater holds younger skater’s hand to help with a trick and his reaction when he lands it is priceless.

Skateboarding has really created such an awesome, supportive community. Read the full story here.

4. Two strangers met on Duolingo when he kept congratulating her on her progress. Now they’re married.

See on Instagram

What an adorable real-life meet cute!

5. Couple raises over $37,000 for a kid who came by their house looking for someone to befriend

@brennanray

Its takes 2 seconds to make someones day, you never know what people are going through until you get a chance to talk to them. This young man is well mannered, kind, and brave. So tiktok can we help shayden make some friends???#fyp #bekind #nobullying #love #kindness #letschangetheworld

It takes a lot of courage to ask for help and to put yourself out there, especially when you’ve been bullied. This kiddo may not have found any kids his age at the Ray home, but he did find some kind neighbors who wanted to help him out and raised over $37,000 for him and his family in a GoFundMe. Read the full story here.

6. Dad and baby singing their ABCs together doesn’t really get any cuter

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That little finger. So precious.

7. Cat insists on human doing its makeup…kind of

— (@)

Let’s get this cat together with the chihuahua in the first video and see what happens.

8. Accidental speech-to-text is the absolute best, but especially when you’re talking to a dog

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“Got to poop, little poopster?”

9. A raucous piano solo turned into a rockin’ dance party at the mall

Staged? Eh, perhaps. Fun and joyful to witness? Most definitely.

10. If you’re baking in the July heat, take some cool inspiration from this happy polar bear

See on Instagram

Are you feeling the joy? Would you like more of it? Get these smiley-worthy posts delivered to your inbox each week by signing up for our free email newsletter, The Upworthiest, here.

For three seasons, Hannah Waddingham played the owner of a struggling football club on Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso. As Rebecca Welton, Waddingham evolved from the show’s assumed villain to its surprising hero, going on a journey of self-discovery that ended (for now) with her staying behind in England to champion her found family on and off the pitch. By the show’s series finale, Rebecca had bought into the Lasso way, encouraging her best friend and business partner to pursue the idea of a women’s team for the club that she once despised.

It feels like a natural transition then that Waddingham would take up the torch for more visibility in women’s sports once her Ted Lasso tenure ended (or went on hiatus).

Earlier this month, Waddingham lit the ceremonial torch before a match between Gotham FC and Angel City FC at Red Bull Arena as part of Johnnie Walker’s Watch Women’s Sports campaign. Waddingham is hoping to bring attention to the FIFA Women’s World Cup with “Match Day Memos” that fans can sign up to receive so they can keep track of all the on-field action in Australia and New Zealand this summer. But she’s also making the case for why women’s sports deserve more coverage year-round.

As it stands, 10 percent or less of sports coverage (on TV and in the media) is dedicated to women’s sports despite women making up 40 percent of the professional athlete pool. That disparity directly contributes to inequality when it comes to pay and working conditions — on the field, the court, and beyond. While more and more teams like the USWNT are taking a stand to demand fair wages and better facilities, the bigger goal is to prove to marketing execs and sponsors that fans have and will show up for women’s sports.

And who better to spearhead that initiative than TV’s favorite soccer boss?

Below, UPROXX chatted with Waddingham earlier this week about the final season of Ted Lasso, surprise Emmy nominations, and the parallels between female athletes’ fight for recognition and her own career.

You’re using (your work on) Ted Lasso to draw attention to women’s sports. How did this partnership come about?

I am very transparent about these things. I want to make sure that I don’t align myself with any company or any ethos that I don’t believe in. In this instance, Johnnie Walker had seen that I was taking my daughter to women’s football matches. I’m very much a proud supporter of the Lionesses here in England. My father, who’s quite an old-fashioned, 82-year-old traditionalist, brilliantly and surprisingly informed me that he prefers the women’s game because they actually play as a team. And I just thought, ‘More people of all generations need to actually observe that that is the case.’ We talk about pure football in Ted Lasso, and that is what the women play because they have fought for it.

You’re just now getting recognition in your own career. Can you empathize with that fight?

Absolutely. I would say it’s like myself in theater. I feel a real affinity with female athletes, not just footballers, but female athletes because when you go into theater, you’re not doing it for money or for fame because there’s not really either of those in theater. It’s the same with women in sports. You have to work that much harder to get where you want to be. So I wanted to join that fight because I understand that tribe’s way of thinking — of it being a vocation in life. And if I can help put bums in stadiums, then I’ll literally lead the charge from the front.

If I can elevate it in any way, get more people just thinking about it… The women’s teams in England and America are both more successful than the men’s teams and yet the stadiums are half empty and there’s only 10 percent total sports coverage. I mean, I don’t know how anyone anywhere can think that that’s all right. It makes no sense. Because we are historically, and socially conditioned to think that men are in charge of sport. Aren’t we? That the women’s game is somehow the B game. It’s not taken as seriously, but my God, have you seen how they go at each other? They are on for it.

Female athletes are fighting for better working conditions and pay. The WGA and possibly SAG-AFTRA are doing the same. Is there an overlap there?

Undoubtable parallels. I looked around at NY Gotham’s stadium the other day and I thought, ‘Here’s all this sponsorship.’ And at the moment I would imagine they’re getting very little return, but they believe in it so much that they’re not going anywhere.

Is there a lesson for both groups?

Stick it out. Raise [each other] up. Hold hands and move forward.

How would Rebecca Welton solve the issue of visibility in women’s sports?

She would take the tray of food that Edwin Akufo [Sam Richardson] throws at everyone and throw it right back in his face. That woman’s had enough.

Congratulations on your Emmy nomination, by the way. You know I have to ask, who was your first call?

Phil Dunster.

Really?

I was actually very proud of myself because a few minutes before, I gave myself a talking-to and just said, ‘Come on, girl, there are so many brilliant performances in this category. You’ve already had two nominations. Let’s just chill our beans here.’

So I’d already prepared myself. So that was an amazing moment. And then after my manager told me I said to him, ‘Come on, tell me, has Phil been nominated?’ And he started to go through the list of people, and I was going, ‘Yes. Okay.’ And then he said, ‘… and Phil,’ and there was a feeling in my body that I have never felt before. It makes me realize that all is right with the world.

With Jamie’s arc, it definitely felt like this was his season.

He is a special man. He doesn’t have an arrogant bone in his body. Even with his nomination now, he was full of humility and joy and surprise. There is nobody that deserves it more than him. And all our lot, all of us, the Greyhounds, are beside ourselves. It’s all about Philip.

Does all that attention make him uncomfortable then?

[Laughs] No, he likes it.

Has there been any movement on potential spinoffs for the show?

No, no talk whatsoever. It was a natural three-season triumvirate of a story. And that’s that. As much as we honored and respected each season, you have to honor and respect a decision. Who knows whether there’ll be anything down the line? But at the moment, no.

Does it feel good to at least be able to say goodbye on your terms?

No. [Laughs] I mean, I never want to say goodbye to Rebecca, ever.

Rivers Cuomo‘s TikTok account has raised concerns in the past. Why does the Weezer leader — who is currently on the Indie Rock Road Trip Tour — look like he’s being held at gunpoint to do dance trends? This hasn’t been answered, but now he’s in another eyebrow-raising video on that cursed app.

Cuomo can be found in an ad for Ash & Erie, a clothing brand specifically for short men. “As you can see from the cover of any album that has the four of us standing in a line, I’m the shortest one,” he says in the clip. “Shopping for clothes has always been frustrating for me.” He even says that when trying things on, he looks “like a kid wearing a grown-up’s clothes.”

Cuomo is known for being quite the eccentric. In our recent interview with him about SZNZ, he discussed his interest in AI for music. “Well, I love ChatGPT, and it actually, I’ve been using it ever since that post,” he said. “If you look at my Twitter replies, so you can see I’m replying to about 30 people a day. And that’s all fueled by ChatGPT. Now, as a songwriter, I was excited to try it out, and it’s definitely on my list of tools I can use. So far, I haven’t actually used anything it’s generated. I guess it has inspired a few things, but I don’t love the results. It may just be the kind of writer I am, because I’ve never even really gotten into a rhyming dictionary.”

There is one question that looms above all others as Major League Baseball approaches its trade deadline on August 1: What is going to happen to Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani? The best baseball player on the planet has been dominant on the mound and is having his best year yet at the plate, all while staring down free agency this summer where he’s expected to get the most lucrative contract from someone in the sport’s history.

In the midst of all of this, the Angels are 45-46, which puts them in fourth place and seven games back of the Texas Rangers in the AL West. Their prospects of a Wild Card berth aren’t much better, as they’re five games out after going 1-9 in the 10 games prior to the All-Star Break. Keeping him, making a playoff push, and hoping to convince him to re-sign this offseason would make sense, but according to Jon Morosi of MLB Network, the Angels aren’t going to dismiss the possibility of a trade without listening to what’s out there.

“As I reported on @mlb Network this morning, sources tell me the Angels front office will consider incoming trade inquiries for Shohei Ohtani,” Morosi wrote on his Threads account. “The club is not ruling out the possibility of a deadline deal, even though the standard to move Ohtani is extraordinarily high.”

Morosi did make it a point to note that a trade is “viewed as unlikely,” and that things could change based on how the Angels start the second half of the MLB calendar — Los Angeles has a 9-game homestand that runs from July 14-23 with three matchups against each of the Houston Astros, New York Yankees, and Pittsburgh Pirates. Earlier this week, Buster Olney of ESPN said that teams like the Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays would be interested in acquiring Ohtani in a trade, but called the Yankees “potentially” the “most motivated.”

As The Boys fans patiently wait for Season 4 to arrive, the highly-anticipated spinoff Gen V is rapidly approaching with its college-based take on the dark and raunchy superhero world. Set at Godolkin University, the series will follow a group of burgeoning young Supes as their corporate sponsors at Vought International mold them into becoming powerful patriotic heroes like Homelander, for better or worse.

Here’s everything we know about Gen V so far:

Plot

Amazon has kept plot details for Gen V under wraps, but the show’s promotional materials have offered glimpses of what to expect of what to expect from The Boys spinoff.

First off, here’s the official synopsis, which offers a broad setup for the series:

Gen V is an irreverent, R-rated series that explores the lives of hormonal, competitive Supes as they put their physical, sexual and moral boundaries to the test, competing for the best contracts in the best cities. It’s part college show, part Hunger Games — with all the heart, satire, and raunch of The Boys.

Judging by the teaser footage and interviews with executive producer Seth Rogen, obviously, things do not go well at the superhero university. Just imagine what would happen if real college students got a hold of superpowers, and you’ve got a pretty rough idea of what can and will go wrong. Throw in the notoriously image-conscious Vought International, who’s not above covering up the crimes of The Seven (or throwing members under the bus when they don’t fall in line), and you’ve got a recipe for mayhem.

Cast

Gen V stars Jaz Sinclair, Chance Perdomo, Lizze Broadway, Shelley Conn, Maddie Phillips, London Thor, Derek Luh, Asa Germann, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Sean Patrick Thomas, Marco Pigossi, Clancy Brown, Alexander Calvert and Jason Ritter. Also look for guest appearances from The Boys stars Jessie T. Usher, Colby Minifie and P.J. Byrne.

Release Date

While Amazon hasn’t announced a specific release date yet, the streamer did confirm that Gen V will arrive in September 2023 with a sizzle reel that you can see below:

Trailer

You can watch a teaser trailer for Gen V below, which also offers the best (and bloodiest) look at what to expect from The Boys spinoff when it matriculates later this year:

Gen V enrolls on Amazon Prime Video in September.

Future and Quavo reignited their creative chemistry on Quavo’s new single “Turn Yo Clic Up,” but that isn’t the only thing being revived. It seems Future’s been carrying a torch for Russell Wilson all this time, and he drops a couple of lines on the song that has fans believing he’s stoking the flames of his one-sided rivalry with his ex-flame Ciara‘s current husband.

In his verse, Future throws out the line, “Big dawg status, bill hopper / I ball in his mall for my brothers / Goyard bag, tote the cutter / I got it out the field, fuck Russell.” The punchline plays on rappers referencing “the field” — i.e. “the streets,” “the mud,” “the trap” — with Wilson’s occupation as quarterback for the NFL’s Denver Broncos. Here’s the track:

Future has seemingly long resented Wilson; after splitting up with Future, with whom she shares one child, in 2014, Ciara moved on with Russell Wilson in 2016. They were married in July of that year, and ever since, it seems Future can’t seem to help throwing petty shots at Wilson, despite co-parenting with Ciara. In 2019, he accused Wilson of “not being a man in that position,” after Ciara responded to him naming her in his song “My Collection. (Seems like she’d stop talking about him if he’d stop talking about her, though. Also, he was the one who allegedly blew it, so he’s kind of throwing stones from a glass house.)

Russell has, thus far, shrugged off Future’s antics — which could all just be pantomime for fans of his “toxic” persona, anyway.

Jung Kook is a man of very few words. Instead, it seems, the “Dreamers” singer would rather pour it into his music. But during his recent appearance on Good Morning America, the BTS star spoke about his new single, “Seven,” featuring Latto. After inclement weather shut down his live performances as part of the network’s Summer Concert series, he entered the studio to chat with anchor Juju Chang.

When asked about working with Grammy-nominated rapper, the musician told Chang, “It was amazing. She was the perfect fit for the song,” adding, “[Overall,] I love how the song turned out.”

Fans aren’t the only ones that support “Seven,” according to Jung. The recording artist confessed that his fellow BTS members have heard the track giving it their stamp of approval. “They loved it,” Jung said.

“Seven” is a follow-up to his 2022 single “Dreamers” off the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 soundtrack and his appearance on Charlie Puth’s song “Left And Right.”

Before the interview concluded, the entertainer was sure to passionately thank his devoted fans for, in some cases, camping out in the New York City streets for the week for the chance to see him live in Central Park.

Watch Jung Kook’s performances of “Seven” and “Euphoria” below.

Claud’s new album Supermodels is finally out today after alluring singles like “Every F*cking Time,” “Crumbs,” and “Wet.” They’re not taking this release day lightly; the new record comes with a music video for the song “A Good Thing,” and it features Paul Rudd, who they met at a Taylor Swift concert.

Before the song, the video starts with a 90-second skit, in which Rudd is a confused mailman trying to deliver a package to Claud. Claud takes over from there, but Rudd pops up again towards the end. (Supermodels, by the way, features a song called “Paul Rudd.”)

Claud said in a statement:

“Over the last couple months, I’ve revealed the more intimate parts of Supermodels, but now I’m really excited for everyone to hear the windows down radio up moments of my album. Songs like ‘A Good Thing’ and ‘Paul Rudd’ capture an anthemic, everything works out in the end type feeling. That’s why I had to have Paul Rudd in the music video for ‘A Good Thing.’ I met him briefly in passing at a Taylor Swift concert and explained that there was a song on my upcoming album named after him, and he so generously gave me his email asking to hear it. In the email I explained that ‘Paul Rudd’ and many other songs on the record are about me trying to imagine myself as a cool and confident person similar to the types of characters he plays, in contrast to the real-life shy and nervous person I often am. Filming this music video really pushed me out of my shell in a lot of ways, as did making this album. I hope you like Supermodels as much as Paul Rudd and I do!”

Watch the video for “A Good Thing” above.

Supermodels is out now via Saddest Factory Records. Find more information here.

You know how people complain that trailers these days reveal too much of the movie? That will not be an issue with The Boy and the Heron.

The latest (and final) film from director Hayao Miyazaki, the mastermind behind My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and Spirited Away, has been shrouded in mystery since it was announced. This is by design: Studio Ghibli made the “unprecedented decision” to release no trailers or promotional material, outside of one image, from the animated film; there isn’t even an official plot synopsis. It’s the anti-Barbie, in other words. But The Boy and the Heron (which was formerly referred to by its tentative title, How Do You Live) is now out in Japan, so plot details have been revealed.

Skip this paragraph if you want to know nothing about The Boy and the Heron, but the film is about “a boy who moves to the countryside with his father after his mother dies in a fire in wartime Japan. There, he meets a heron who transports him to an alternate universe, where the mystery of his mother’s death is slowly revealed,” according to the Guardian.

The first reviews have also been published.

Anime News Network raved, “It’s truly astounding. Every frame of this film feels like a separate work of art — one that only becomes grander when put together as part of the greater whole. It’s a film you could watch a hundred times and still discover new things in the background of any given scene.”

SoraNews24’s review was equally effusive: “it’s Hayao Miyazaki’s magnum opus… The movie is a culmination of years of dedication to the craft of writing, creating and directing anime, displaying glimmers of past Ghibli works in its adventure scenes, but with a gravitas befitting the heavy subject material that marks Miyazaki’s skill as a director.” Here’s more:

The Boy and The Heron doesn’t have an American release date yet, but GKIDS, which has the North American distribution rights, announced it will be sometime this year. Just give it Best Animated Feature now.

Police are investigating an incident of an unknown caller contacting Drake’s father, Dennis Graham, and making disturbing comments, according to TMZ. On Wednesday night (July 12), police say someone called and texted Graham repeatedly over the course of 15 minutes, and when Dennis answered, went on a rant about the Freemasons and Drake. The police took a report, but haven’t announced any leads for who might have called Graham or what they wanted.

It isn’t the first time Drake’s had to deal with stalkers. Last spring, a woman named Mesha Collins, who had previously broken into Drake’s house in LA and helped herself to sodas from his fridge, tried to sue Drake for invasion of privacy (to the tune of a whopping $4 billion — which he does not have, by the way) and filed a restraining order against him. If that seems backwards, well, Drake righted the ship a month later, seeking his own restraining order against her for constantly visiting his home and sending threatening emails. In one, she encourage him to shoot himself in the head.

Drake and his dad seem like they are friendly, if not close, with Drake joking with his pops about an ancestry test Dennis took. With his dad’s 30% Nigerian heritage, Drake cheekily wondered if “I’m a Naija man.”