Rebel Moon, Zack Snyder‘s Star Wars-esque space saga hasn’t even landed on Netflix yet, and it’s already causing some problems. This man sure knows how to build up the suspense.
Evil Genius Games, a company that develops tabletop EPGs based on popular movies, is suing Netflix for allegedly claiming a confidentiality breach and terminating an agreement. In March, the company reached a licensing deal with Netflix to create a game off of Rebel Moon, Snyder’s sci-fi epic. With that agreement, the streamer would share the profits of the game on top of a $25,000 payment.
But Netflix failed to deliver crucial info for the game maker (like names of characters, which is pretty important for a game based on a movie), so they subsequently supplied “all the missing pieces and created a cohesive backstory.” After they presented it to Netflix, the streamer became “enamored” with the backstory and indicated they would use it in the film, which is aiming for a December release. The game was finished in May of this year. This is when things get tricky!
Netflix then accused the company of releasing unapproved movie content at a tradeshow and terminated their business agreement. A lawyer for the game maker explained: “Netflix then used this as a pretext to terminate the Agreement, assert ownership over Plaintiff’s intellectual property, halt the project, and prevent the game from being released (or potentially release it themselves to avoid sharing the profits with Plaintiff) Netflix’s accusations are baseless.” Netflix then allegedly sent a letter offering the company $50,000 to “basically go away,” which seems like their strategy for many other parts of the business as well. Here is the lawsuit:
Netflix cannot credibly claim that Plaintiff materially breached the Agreement’s confidentiality provisions since, among other things: (a) Mr. Snyder had already publicized the existence of the Rebel Moon TTRPG in his March 19, 2023 podcast appearance; (b) the very same artwork at issue had already been distributed by Netflix employees at GAMA on April 24-27, 2023 to over 100 retailers; (c) the artwork was little more than a pitch material recycled for GAMA, and (d) various Rebel Moon word marks and logos were already widely available on the internet (Netflix even instructed Evil Genius to use these materials rather than delivering official Licensed Property to Evil Genius per Schedule A of the Agreement).
So it seems like Evil Genius might be full of some real geniuses who are just trying to sell their fun game to teens. Let the people have fun!
Riot Games, creator of the popular game League Of Legends, has had incredible success partnering with music acts over the past few years. In 2019, Riot was early to the K-pop train with the inclusion of (G)I-dle member Soyeon in the game’s virtual rap group, True Damage, and in 2021, Riot paired Imagine Dragons with JID for the Arcane theme song “Enemy,” which turned out to be a top-ten Billboard hit.
With the League Of Legends World Championship coming to Seoul this year, League once again appears to be returning to the K-pop well with one of the genre’s hottest new girl groups for the 2023 World Championship anthem. NewJeans, which has come out of the gate swinging with a No. 1-selling EP, will contribute “Gods,” debuting October 3rd.
Will NewJeans Perform For The League Of Legends World Championship 2023?
Although the press release for the new single doesn’t specifically say that NewJeans will perform the song at Worlds, it’s probably safe to say that they will based on the recent history of anthem artists.
Last year, the brand recruited Lil Nas for the anthem for the League Of Legends World Championship in Mexico City. He performed “Star Walkin” to kick things off at the opening ceremony in San Francisco via a huge hologram of mech that lifted him up. With that history in mind, there’s little doubt that NewJeans will also be performing their anthem for the hometown crowd — and that it’ll be even more visually mind-blowing than ever.
So what do I mean by “double-blind” here? Well, I have a big box that I throw peated single malt Scotch samples into. There are around about 30 in there. I had my very patient wife grab 10 samples at random, pour them, catalog them, and take the samples away with me out of the room. I had no idea what was poured when I sat down. And ho-boy, it was a roller coaster of flavors and emotions. Some of these peated malts were … let’s just say “wildly bold.”
Since I didn’t know what I was tasting, you’ll have to scroll down to find out which whiskeys made the cut and how they fared. I’ll give you a hint, some major bottles that people clamour for did not do well. Intrigued? Let’s dive in!
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Scotch Whisky Posts of The Last Six Months
Part 1 — The Peated Scotch Whisky Double-Blind Tasting
Zach Johnston
Taste 1
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a clear sense of deeply plummy yet lightly tart sherry on the nose with buttery toffee, old leather boots, and malted treacle biscuits next to blackberries soaked in brandy and floating in vanilla-laced cream with a hint of marzipan and pear.
Palate: Molasses-cut toffee opens the luxurious palate with a sense of stewed blackberry, cherry, and plum with a thick crumble laced with cinnamon and plenty of buttery brown sugar before roasted and candied nuts arrive with a sticky toffee pudding married to mince meat pie vibe.
Finish: Those candied nuts take on a salted dark chocolate aura as the spiced sherry sticky toffee pudding adds a hint of dry orange zest, plenty of nutmeg, and a dash of sweet smoldering oak tobacco on the silken finish.
Initial Thoughts:
Holy, f*ck! This is amazing.
Now, that said, I had to triple-check with my wife that this was peated (as I mentioned above, she’s very patient). I got a tiny hint of smoke on the sweet oak at the end but nothing else. I was assured this was peated and carried on.
Taste 2
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Fresh ginger coins and green apple pulp dance on the nose with caramelized pear cut with orange zest and ground cinnamon that’s all countered by a sense of old campfire coal that’s still just smoldering and spitting tiny drops of rain.
Palate: Honey malt cakes dipped in orange syrup draw the palate toward heavy oak dipped in Nutella and caramel before the peat kicks in with massive amounts of bandages, seawater, and smoldering orchard barks.
Finish: The smoldering bark gets ashy on the finish with a real sense of the inside of a cold smoker that’s smoked everything from pears to salmon to brisket before a lightly sea-salted dried pear comes in with a hint of brandy.
Initial Thoughts:
This is pretty damn good too. There’s some real depth here and a lot of fatty smoky vibes that all work. It’s a lot though.
Taste 3
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a very Highland sense of floral honey next to soft minerality — kind of like walking on slate after the rain — before dark plums and figs mingle with caramel malts and a fleeting sense of smoked pears dipped in clove and anise syrup.
Palate: The palate follows that smoked pear toward old honey jars with plenty of crystallization and a faint hint of a rainy forest next to winter spice cakes full of fatty nuts and dried fruits with a note of bourbon vanilla and burnt orange lurking far in the background.
Finish: That burnt orange leads to more holiday spices with a creamy maltiness on the end that’s pure silk as a whisper of that floral honey returns with a spiced maltiness.
Initial Thoughts:
I didn’t get any smoke or peat on this one. Maybe it was there, but after the last pour, it was invisible. Still a great pour though. It’s so light yet distinct.
Taste 4
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a bold sense of fresh rubber bicycle tires that’s hard to get past. Eventually, the sip reveals coconut cake, rich vanilla, soft buttery toffee, roasted almonds, and salted caramel all smoked next to a seaweed-fed fire as whispers of slow-smoked pork butt.
Palate: Smoked lemons preserved in salt open the palate toward vanilla buttercream cut with toffee and stewed pear, cinnamon bark, and clove before soft smoldering charcoal and burnt honeycombs veer the palate toward dark chocolate-covered espresso beans, floral honey, and eggnog spice.
Finish: That creamy eggnog spiciness mounts on the finish with saltwater-soaked applewood charcoal, nasturtiums, and a deep sense of old earthy peat that’s part black soil, part dry smoldering seaweed, and part smoked fatty pork meat with a light sense of red berries lurking underneath.
Initial Thoughts:
Wow. This was almost a disaster. That rubbery nose was a lot to get past. Giving it time, it opened up into a very deep and sweet/fatty smoked whisky. But it took a lot of patience to find all of that.
Taste 5
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is all fresh yoga mats, more rubber, and more the tire section at an auto store before kind of hinting at green apples stewed with pepper and burnt winter spice barks, burnt oatmeal cookies, and a touch of ashy tobacco next to maybe some red fruit.
Palate: Charred oak and smoldering orchard barks drive the palate toward hard rubber and asphalt with a sense of burnt coffee beans, burnt pepper, and almost burnt rubber before soft notes of pear brandy and dry fruit cake arrive to calm things down.
Finish: Burning fall leaves and the crusty inside of a meat smoker drive the finish with a sense of fall fireplaces stoking up again after a long summer with a hint of tart red berry.
Initial Thoughts:
I had my wife pour this again. It was a lot and I really had a hard time finding anything redeeming about it. I often am able to see the value beyond my personal palate, but that’s really hard here with all that burnt rubber and burnt everything.
It felt like this Simpsons moment but replace “doughnuts” with “peat”…
Taste 6
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Grilled and smoked tropical fruit — smoked mango, grilled pineapple, stewed papaya — open the nose toward saddle soap, fresh green chili pepper, and vibrant spearmint next to floral honey with a whisper of sea breeze.
Palate: The taste is luscious with a sense of fatty roasting herbs next to winter spice barks, fatty smoked bacon, powdery white pepper, and clove-studded oranges next to a sweet sense of oyster shells.
Finish: Floral honey and smoky buttercream meld on the finish with a sense of those smoked and grilled tropical fruits returing with a savory note of guava and lychee.
Initial Thoughts:
This is wildly different and tasty. All the smoke and peatiness is attached to sea salt and tropical fruit, which is enticing.
Taste 7
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is so rubbery but eventually gives way to buttermilk biscuits covered in smoke apricot and pear with a smoked honey vibe next to candied orange and hints of butterscoth laced with vanilla.
Palate: Tannic oak drives the palate toward smoldering peat next to floral honey, malted vanilla cookies, and oatmeal raisin cookies next to creamy vanilla-laced toffee dipped in burnt dark chocolate.
Finish: Burnt and smoldering barley arrives on the finish with more rubberiness next to grain sugars, caramel, and bourbon vanilla.
Initial Thoughts:
This took forever to open up beyond the rubbery nose. Once opened up (with a lot of air and time), it was… fine.
Taste 8
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Old pear and apple orchards mingle with singed vanilla pods, salted toffee, rum-raisin, and grapefruit pith next to smoked peach and melon over cinnamon bark dipped in seawater.
Palate: That grapefruit leads to burnt orange with a deep smoked plum, cherry, and apple vibe next to grilled peaches, toasted coconut, and burning wild sage with a slight sense of moist marzipan and apricot tobacco.
Finish: Apricot jamminess and chewy malty spice drive the finish toward smoldering coals in a barbecue and a bit more of that smudging sage.
Initial Thoughts:
This is delightfully subtle and full of great peated fruit character.
Taste 9
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: You’re drawn in with hints of honeyed smokiness on a cold fall day, salted caramel apples, mild hints of rich and real vanilla, and smoldering coffee grounds with touches of chocolate nuttiness before a whisper of dry cranberry arrives.
Palate: The taste ties the honey to a soft oakiness next to vanilla chocolate coffee, seaside salted taffy, and a touch of fish oil that leads back to smoldering sage, old oak staves, and whisper of salted dried plums.
Finish: The end is very long and pure velvet on the tongue as the sweet oak fades towards a sweet smokiness, with a hint of salty roasted almonds and burnt vanilla husks.
Initial Thoughts:
This is just freaking delicious. It’s so well-balanced while providing a deep and fun profile.
Taste 10
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose runs deep on this whisky with mild hints of beachside campfire smoke whispering in the background as hints of red fruit, wet driftwood, and green peppercorns draw you in.
Palate: The palate embraces the red berries with a slight tartness next to the sweetness as the peat remains dry and distant and tied to the brine of the sea with an almost oyster liquor softness.
Finish: The finish lingers for just the right amount of time as sweet berries and dry peat lead towards soft dark cacao powder with a tiny note of vanilla and one last spray from the sea.
Initial Thoughts:
This is a dream to sip (especially on this exhausting panel of whiskeys).
Part 2 — The Peated Scotch Whisky Ranking
Zach Johnston
10. Octomore Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky Super Heavily Peated 14.2 Edition Aged 5 Years — Taste 5
This 100% Scottish barley Octomore is malted to an extremely high phenol level (128.9 ppm). The whisky is aged in a combination of Oloroso sherry and Amarone wine casks from Spain and Italy. After batching, the whisky is then re-barrelled in French oak for another rest before cask-strength bottling.
Bottom Line:
The rubberiness of this one was just too much to get past. I find it really hard to believe that anyone would honestly prefer sipping on a whisky that presents like licking out a Traeger Grill with a side of rubber tire over, say, sipping on something that tastes like pear and honey.
9. Octomore Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky Super Heavily Peated 14.3 Edition Aged 5 Years — Taste 7
This new whisky from Bruichladdich is made with barley grown and malted on Islay. The whisky is then rested in first-fill ex-bourbon casks and second-fill wine casks for at least five years before vatting and bottling as-is.
Bottom Line:
There was nothing subtle about this pour (and that has its place). But wow, you really had to squint to see the value here. If you’re a diehard peat monster fan, then I guess knock yourself out.
The Dalwhinnie is a tiny distillery that whisky nerds love, and for good reason — they make amazing whisky. This yearly edition of the iconic peated malt is double cask matured with Port wine cask before batching, proofing, and bottling.
Bottom Line:
This was on the other end of the spectrum. This is a very nice and subtle whisky with a great overall profile. I wouldn’t in a million years thought it was peated though. So if you’re looking for a really nice classic malt (with no smoke), get this.
7. Octomore Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky Super Heavily Peated 14.1 Edition Aged 5 Years — Taste 4
The 14.1 Edition of Ocotmore is made with 100% Scottish-grown Concerto barley that was heavily peated during the malting process. The barley was fermented and distilled in 2017 and left in the barrel to age — in ex-bourbon casks — next to the sea on Islay until 2023 when it was batched and bottled 100% as-is.
Bottom Line:
It’s amazing how much difference the cask makes in these Octomore editions. The bourbon cask in this edition adds the much-needed sugars to help calm that rubbery peat down (barely). This is still a very advanced peated Scotch but it does deliver a varied profile beyond the burnt rubbery peat — if you take your time with it. Consider yourself warned.
6. Laphroaig Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky Càirdeas 2023 White Port & Madeira Casks — Taste 2
The new Càirdeas from Lahroaig has arrived. This whisky was aged right by the sea in Islay in White Port and Madeira casks until just right. Then the whisky was vatted and bottled at cask strength.
Bottom Line:
This had a lot going on and it could be confusing if you’re in a rush. If you take your time, you’ll be rewarded with real depth and varied tastes that all create a larger whole than the individual parts. This is a tasty one.
5. Ardbeg Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky Traigh Bhan Batch 5 19 Years Old — Taste 6
This year’s Ardbeg Traigh Bhan was bottled during the most humid time on Islay. The barrels were picked specifically to highlight tropical notes from 19-year-old barrels from the seaside distillery. A little water was added after vatting for this bottling.
Bottom Line:
This was pretty nice. The tropical fruits really worked with the smoked vibes. I kind of want to try this in a tropical cocktail with a touch of spice and some citrus.
4. Bruichladdich Port Charlotte Heavily Peated Islay Barley 2014 Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky — Taste 8
This brand-new release from Bruichladdich is all about Islay and local malt. The mash bill (recipe) is hewn from 100% Islay Concerto and Propino barley malts (grown in 2013) that are heavily peated. In 2014, the whisky was made and filled into a first-fill bourbon cask (84% of the final blend), second-fill new oak (8% of the final blend), and second-fill Bordeaux wine casks (8% of the final blend). After seven years, those barrels were vatted and just proofed with local water for bottling.
Bottom Line:
This is damn good heavily peated whisky. The burnt earhty peatiness is there but it’s always attached to other notes that help it shine. Overall, I’d try this over a big rock at a bar before committing.
2023’s Distillers Edition is a prime example of the heights Lagavulin can reach. The whisky was aged for 15 years in the core Lagavulin barrels (ex-bourbon and ex-sherry) and then finished for around six months in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks that were specifically made and held specific sherry before the whisky was loaded into the barrels. The result is a 15-year-old Lagavulin that’ll help you fall in love with the brand and style.
Bottom Line:
This is a nuanced and delicous pour of whisky. Try it neat first and then take your time with touches of water or ice to really let it open up in the glass.
2. Talisker Island Single Malt Scotch Whisky Distillers Edition 2023 — Taste 10
The 2023 Distillers Edition is a classic Talisker that’s aged by the sea and finished for six months in Amoroso sherry casks. The whisky was distilled in 2012 and bottled at 10 years old. It was then finished in another Amoroso sherry cask, making it “double cask” matured.
Bottom Line:
This was spectacular. The depth and softness of this pour really helped this shine so brightly on this panel. The soft smoked orchard fruits next to the smoky seaside campfires just hit right from top to bottom. Buy a case of this stuff.
1. The Duncan Taylor Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky 1983 Aged 40 Years Distilled At Port Ellen Distillery — Taste 1
This special one-off bottling from The Duncan Taylor is from a 40-year-old barrel of whisky from one of the last batches produced at the Port Ellen Distillery on Islay (which has reopened yet again). The whisky was produced and barreled back in March of 1983 and was left alone for all those 40 years. Finally, in 2023, The Duncan Taylor team bottled the barrel 100% as-is at cask strength, yielding 209 bottles.
Bottom Line:
This is Christmas in a glass. It’s delectable, nuanced, deep, and delightful. Yes, the peat was barely there — that’s to be expected after four decades of aging — but what was there melded so well with the overall profile that it just worked.
This is memorable and second to none.
Part 3 — Final Thoughts on the Peated Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Zach Johnston
I know, I know. The winner was a nearly impossible to get bottle of Scotch whisky. I don’t care. It is beyond reproach.
That aside, the Talisker, Lagavulin and Port Charlotte are all winners too. I’d focus on the latter if you’re a deep peat head and want the boldness. The other two are silky and nuanced with a subtle peatiness. Both offer greatness in the glass in their own ways. Re-read my tastings notes and find your path.
After winning Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2022, New York Jets receiver Garrett Wilson entered the 2023 season with sky-high expectations, due in part to the fact that he’d be playing with a future Hall of Famer under center after the team traded for Aaron Rodgers.
Given Wilson put up more than 1,000 yards in his rookie year with a rotation of quarterbacks, he figured to benefit as much as anyone from Rodgers being the Jets new quarterback. That excitement unfortunately lasted just four plays until Rodgers suffered a season-ending Achilles injury, thrusting the Jets season into chaos and Zach Wilson back into the starting role. For Wilson, that’s required quite the adjustment, as he spent this summer in OTAs and training camp figuring out how to play receiver the way Rodgers wants a receiver to play and now has to regain chemistry with his old quarterback.
Through three games this season, Wilson has 12 catches for 165 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a 68 yarder in Week 2 and a spectacular grab on a fade in their Week 1 win over Buffalo. Still, there’s some understandable frustration in New York, both in the locker room and from fans, about an offense that’s not firing on all cylinders and plenty of talk about the quarterback position.
On Tuesday, Wilson sat down with Uproxx Sports from the Ultimate Jets Fan Room as part of his partnership with Courtyard by Marriott, promoting their new suite Jets fans can book at the Courtyard Secaucus Meadowlands. We talked about the pressure he feels to deliver something for Jets fans to root for, his eye-opening camp with Aaron Rodgers and how he learned to see the game differently, the art of finding space against different coverages as a receiver, adjusting back to playing with Zach Wilson and more.
I can see you’re in the Jets Fan Room by everything around you right now. How did this partnership with Courtyard come about and what do y’all have for Jets fans?
Basically I’m giving the first look at the ultimate New York Jets fan room, and it’s built exactly for that. It’s perfect for anyone that even takes this Jet football fandom really serious, man. It’s a perfect segue into what you do the next day as far as going to a game or you’re going to a bar to watch the game, maybe going to tailgate. It’s super cool, man. I got to see my jersey on the wall. I mean, everything that a Jets fan would want is in here as far as their attire, you get to drink out of a Jets mug, you know, everything. So it’s super cool to be here.
You’re in your second year now, what has the experience been going into a franchise like the Jets and with a fan base that is so passionate about the team, and what has the experience been like for you coming into the NFL to such a unique atmosphere in New York?
Yeah, man, it is unique. The passion that comes along with the city for their sports teams and with the expectation that comes along, with that passion, is something that I can get behind and I embrace. I truly love that and them holding us to that standard, and the reality of it is, they haven’t had a lot to root for over the past however long it may have been. And every day that we get to go in and put in work, I’m trying to carry that chip on my shoulder just to remind myself that there hasn’t been much to root for here and they deserve it. And yeah, man, there’s no better place to win than in this city.
You come from a place at Ohio State that has put out so many great NFL receivers in recent years. What is it from Brian Hartline and that staff that you think has allowed so many Ohio State receivers to come through there and have success in the NFL? Because it seems like they teach you foundational skills that aren’t just specific to that system, but allow you to kind of succeed wherever you go.
Coach Hartline does a great job and once we get there — I mean, he’s been at this level before, he’s played at this level and he’s done it at a high level. He was a really good player in the league. So you know, there’s that aspect to it that makes it easy for him to talk about ball and give us the verbiage or just the way they word it at this level, you’re hearing it 2-3 years early from when you’re a freshman in college.
But also, I think it all starts with the people that they recruit. The guys that Coach Hartline will go after as far as the receiver room and the guys he likes to bring in. You know, they’re great players, but also, when it comes down to it, they’re not scared of competition. They’re going to a receiver room that they know is loaded, that they know they can find themselves being a really good player, but not getting the playing time that usually comes along with it like you would if you were anywhere else in the country. And I think when you have that aspect to it, you get a certain type of recruit that is hungry to get better and is going to embrace the competition level being high in the room, and it’s going to be a sponge for the older guys to learn all those things. And I think it’s just, that’s kind of how it all works together to seeing these good people come out and be ready to play at that NFL level.
You mentioned that competition and something I talked to Sauce Gardner about right before the season is what you two have been able to do for each other. He said this year something he picked up from Aaron was to help your teammates get better. Don’t just see it as a straight competition, but what you can also kind of tell each other. What’s that like, having an elite corner across from you in practice and the things that he’s able to say to you? He said you’re able to say like, “Hey, your pad level’s tipping that you’re doing this” or something like that, and he’s able to clean things up. What does it do for you as a receiver having somebody who can kind of give you those pointers from that perspective?
Yeah, I get to hear stuff like that that Sauce has given back to me and apply it right there on the field instead of waiting until film to see that or just the next day, whatever it may be. But when you’re getting that info live right there on the field, you’re able to apply it to the next rep and that’s what us players hope to do. Where we hope we’re able to put the things we hear and put them right into that next rep and apply it and maybe not perfect it that first rep, but get a rep at it to where you’re eventually working towards perfection. And it just accelerates that learning process that you usually have to wait until three hours after practice or whatever it may be, but if you can get it right on the field, that’s really valuable especially from a great player that sees the game the way he does. Like Sauce, he definitely sees it in a way that not everyone does. So for me, anytime I can get a route against him or get a rep and then hear some feedback on the back end, I know that it’s really vital and really important for me to take that knowledge and apply it to the game.
And then also going through a camp with Aaron, obviously he’s seen so much and he knows so much about offense. What are the things that you were able to kind of pick up from him in this offseason to come into the season understanding a little bit better about how offense works, and the way that you can maximize your skills, and take that next step into seeing things on the field the way that he does?
He sees the game in such a unique way. And on the offensive side of the ball, for me, like it really seemed like the natural way to see the game. You know, I feel like a lot of times in football you get people that over complicate it and maybe make it more cerebral when it’s, you know, this thing is just common sense. It’s just like yeah, he’s over there so I’m gonna go over here. And he sees it that way too, man. And for me, I know that’s always been like a struggle with me is, okay, I see it this way but this is what coach wants, and I got to do it this way.
But when Aaron was in there man, it was really like you were just — you’re just playing ball, you know? If they send a blitz and you saw the blitzer, just look back at the quarterback because they just voided the zone. Just things like that that seem so simple and so easy, but you haven’t done them since you’ve been playing in the backyard growing up. And being around that, for me was really, really valuable. Because I got to realize that people do still see it that way.
And then there’s so many things that he brought to the table that I had never even thought of. He’s truly, like, a historian for the game. He knew plays from the 80s, like could say what play was about to happen when coach would put it up on the film. I mean, it was ridiculous, man. He really wanted to know the West Coast offense and the history of it when he first got into it, so we’d watch a lot of Chiefs from the 80s, 90s with Joe Montana towards the end of his career and, yeah, just the fact that he could recite what play was about to happen, who was about to get the ball, what concept it was. Just things like that, man, and really just being a true junkie for the game is something that I got to be around and be like okay, yeah, there’s value in going back 30 years and seeing why this was installed in the first place and how it got open back then, because you never know what look you might see that next week or whatever it may be. But Aaron knows, he’s just always hungry to learn something and I feel like that’s the main thing I picked up was just how hungry he was to always learn and to really give that knowledge back. He was really always being around us young guys giving us a lot of knowledge.
I thought that was interesting what you talked about, kind of seeing the game and that simplistic way because I think, especially for a lot of folks, you think about how routes work and would think, like, a 10 yard dig is always gonna look the same. But on the field as a receiver, a lot of it’s about just finding the space, right? And what the coverage is giving to you and a route against one coverage, that same route might look different against something else. Can you explain how you get to understand that and how important it is to understand spacing and coverage and where the holes are in what you’re seeing to being able to be a successful receiver?
Yeah. I mean, understanding coverage and seeing it the same way your quarterback does is the best way to be his favorite target. If you see it to the point where y’all are on the same page all the time, I mean, even to the point where you stop reacting and you start anticipating what look you’re gonna get because that safety rolled a little bit early, or because he lined up here and you saw that on film when he lined up here he ended up actually ended up [going over there], or whatever it may be. But if your quarterback’s seen it the same way and you’re seeing it that way, man, it’s only gonna help yourself.
But yeah, it’s hard though. It’s not easy, man. These defensive coordinators do a great job of mixing up looks, these players disguise their looks. I mean, they do a great job and they get paid, too, is how we put it. But yeah, man, any upper hand you can get, and just being able to find the soft spots in zones, like you said, every route has an adjustment, but just being able to see that earlier so that you’re on the same page with your quarterback is super valuable man. As football has progressed over the last 30-40 years, I would say every single route has an adjustment now based on the coverage, which, it definitely has not always been that way. And yeah man, it’s really cool at this level to see. You know we did a little bit that in college, but it’s even another level of it at this level and it’s because of all those different looks you get and it’s really cool.
And with that, I feel like that has to be one of the tricky parts of a process like you’re going through right now, where you spend camp going through, getting used to one quarterback, and now you’re trying to get back in tune with another with Zach. What are the adjustments for you in terms of trying to trying to get back on on the same page and seeing the field in the same way? Because like you said, Aaron does see the see the game in such a unique way and you spent months practicing that, and now you’re you’re trying to adjust back to getting on the same page and knowing where Zach wants you in certain looks.
Yeah, it’s something that we got delayed because we didn’t have that camp time, we didn’t have that OTAs and stuff like that, like we did the previous season to build some chemistry. But yeah, man, I feel like we’re in a good spot and and Zach sees the game very well. And for me, it’s just changing how I see it a little bit to match that. There’s no right or wrong way, it’s kind of just how they see it and how I can get on the same page with that being a receiver. For me, it’s my job to make the quarterback’s job easy and you know, that’s what I’m on the chase of right now all the time. And yeah, man, that’s definitely an adjustment that us as an offense we’ve all had to deal with, but personally, I can speak on it as well just being a receiver.
The Rolling Stones announced their 26th studio album Hackney Diamonds earlier this month, and shared the single “Angry” along with a music video featuring Sydney Sweeney. Now, they shared the penultimate track “Sweet Sounds Of Heaven,” which has Lady Gaga and Stevie Wonder.
The grandiose anthem is over seven minutes, building with each second. Lady Gaga’s vocals are attention-grabbing and intense. On Zane Lowe’s Apple Music podcast, Mick Jagger discussed the experience of working with the pop star. “She’s a really great singer and I’d never heard her sing quite that style before,” the frontman explained. “Not exactly. We did it live in the room and that was a great experience, her just coming in the room and her just opening up and seeing her bits and feeling her way and then getting more confident. And then we came back and then did some extra parts that we hadn’t done on the day and then we did some tidying up and we were just in the overdub room, really face-to-face, getting them really tight, the parts really tight, and then being slightly competitive and screaming.”
Listen to “Sweet Sounds Of Heaven” above.
Hackney Diamonds is out 10/20 via Geffen. Find more information here.
For the past 15 or so years, Bandcamp has been one of the most artist-friendly streaming platforms, offering a place for independent and underground acts to share and sell their music while getting the lion’s share of the profits. It differs from other DSPs in that artists get more control, while the company only takes a 10-15% commission on sales made from their website. Bandcamp is also notable for its charity efforts, including “Bandcamp Fridays,” during which it waived its commissions to aid artists affected by COVID-19 and the resulting lockdowns.
The buyer, Songtradr, is a music licensing platform and marketplace founded in 2014 that facilitates brands, content creators, and digital platforms in their use of music for licensing purposes. Its products help agencies, artists, and labels find, license, and manage music for purposing like music “syncing” in commercials, films, television shows, video games, and other areas. The company also recently acquired AI metadata and music search platform MusicCube, as well as music credits database Jaxsta.
Songtradr told Billboard the purchase will “enable it to expand its capabilities to support the artist community.” However, as noted by Pitchfork, Songtradr did not comment on whether Bandcamp’s artist-friendly revenue policy will continue, or whether the acquisition will affect Bandcamp’s frankly impressive editorial mandate and user experience on-site.
We aren’t sure what this could mean for your favorite Bandcamp artists. This will likely make it easier for Bandcamp artists to get their music licensed, increasing their income and Bandcamp’s via commissions. But these services could come at increased cost in the form of smaller shares of the revenue split (call me cynical, but don’t be surprised if Bandcamp announces that it’ll charge 50% for use of its licensing services instead). Meanwhile, Epic will continue to work with Bandcamp on Fortnite Radio and look into allowing Bandcamp artists to opt into licensing music for Epic games.
Michael Gambon has passed away at the age of 82 this week. The prolific actor had starred in numerous films, including Paddington, The King’s Speech, and perhaps most famously, he portrayed Albus Dumbledore in six of the Harry Potter films.
Because Gambon starred as Dumbledore for so long, he obviously grew close with his fellow cast and crew, and many of them have begun to share their anecdotes and stories about the actor, including Daniel Radcliffe, who released a statement via Variety:
With the loss of Michael Gambon the world just became considerably less fun. Michael Gambon was one of the most brilliant, effortless actors I’ve ever had the privilege of working with, but despite his immense talent, the thing I will remember most about him is how much fun he had doing his job. He was silly, irreverent and hilarious. He loved his job, but never seemed defined by it. He was an incredible story and joke teller and his habit of blurring the lines of fact and fiction when talking to journalists meant that he was also one of the most entertaining people with whom you could ever wish to do a press junket.
The sixth film was where I got to spend the most time working with Michael and he made the hours spent in front of a green screen together more memorable and joyous than they had any right to be. I’m so sad to hear he has passed, but I am so grateful for the fact that I am one of the lucky people who got to work with him.
Co-star Rupert Grint, who portrayed Ron Weasley in the Potter films, also shared his thoughts on Instagram, ” So sad to hear about Michael. He brought so much warmth and mischief to every day on set. He captivated me as a kid and became a personal role model of mine for finding the fun and eccentricities in life. Sending all my love to his family.”
James Phelps, who portrayed Fred Weasley, recalled a memory from the Half-Blood Prince set:
Very sorry to hear about the passing of Michael Gambon. He was, on and off the camera, a legend. Just a little memory of Michael pic.twitter.com/4M6E6inWMy
Magnificent Michael Gambon has died. I learned what acting could be from Michael in The Singing Detective – complex, vulnerable and utterly human. The greatest thrill of being in the Potter films was that he knew my name and shared his fearless, filthy sense of fun with me.
Bonny Wright, who played Ginny Weasley, wrote on Instagram:
Gambon took a break from acting after falling ill in 2015, though he was always down to voice Paddingotn’s Uncle Pastuzo, and for that we will never forget him.
Fall has arrived in all its glory. Leaves are turning, the mornings are getting crisp, and pumpkins are everywhere. To celebrate fall’s arrival, we’re calling out our official fall 2023 cocktail — The Great Pumpkin!
While last year, I went with the iconic Rob Roy with its smoky Manhattan vibes. This year, I’m going even harder on the big fall energy. The Great Pumpkin is a modern classic that reaches back to the earliest days of mixing drinks. The drink is a fall-inspired “flip”. What’s a “flip” you ask? It’s a cocktail that dates all the way back to the 1600s at least (it’s been around for a very long time is the key point) — a mix of ale, egg, rum, and molasses. Over the centuries, the flip was revived and renewed with every generation, including our own.
Back in the early aughts, cocktail legend Jim Meehan devised The Great Pumpkin Flip at PDT in New York, and here we are. The drink mixes pumpkin ale, egg, and maple syrup with a good dose of apple brandy and rye whiskey (both bottled-in-bond proof) to make a boozy and ultra-silky concoction that’s perfect for fall sipping and mixing. The best part is that you’ll have a great pumpkin-spiced cocktail in your arsenal all season while also learning one of the oldest techniques in the history of cocktail culture.
Also Read: The Top Five Cocktail Recipes of the Last Six Months
Lastly, there’s the pumpkin ale. I’m going with a true classic from the craft beer game out in Seattle — Elysian Night Owl Pumpkin Ale. There are few better pumpkin ales out there.
Zach Johnston
What You’ll Need:
Coupe or Nick and Nora glass (pre-chilled)
Cocktail shaker
Cocktail strainer
Jigger
Zach Johnston
Method:
Add the ale, apple brandy, rye, maple syrup, and whole egg to a cocktail shaker. Affix the lid without ice and shake vigorously for about 20 seconds, making sure to hold the lid (no ice means no vacuum and is libel to pop off).
Remove the lid and add a handful of ice to the shaker. Re-affix the lid and shake vigorously for about 30 seconds to get extra frothy.
Strain the cocktail in the prechilled glass and garnish with freshly grated nutmeg. Serve.
Bottom Line on The Great Pumpkin Cocktail:
Zach Johnston
This is a lush fall dream in a glass. The mouthfeel/texture of this is so creamy and silky that it draws you in instantly.
The lovingly spiced rye whiskey and apple brandy add a great depth of boozy fall spice to the savory pumpkin ale, creating a light pumpkin pie vibe in the glass. The egg creates a heft that makes this feel literally like a piece of pie in a glass (without trying to be clever in a dumb way with crushed crushed on the rim or something). The nutmeg brightens everything and truly elevates the overall experience to pro vibes.
This is one that I’m going to make a lot of this fall. You should too. It’s delicious, luxurious, and filling.
Reservation Dogs has always been a tough show to describe. I know this because I have tried, many times, once as recently as yesterday when I was explaining how excited and sad I was to be watching the season three finale this week, which also served as the show’s series finale. Someone said “Oh, what’s it about?” and I bumbled through an answer that went something like this…
“Okay, it’s this show about indigenous teenagers growing up on a reservation in Oklahoma. And it’s… it’s like a coming-of-age thing, but also they steal stuff a lot and cope with death and sometimes spirits show up to cuss at them. It’s weird. But, like… good weird. Sometimes it’s extremely funny in the stupidest way you can think of. Sometimes it’ll be so real and heartfelt that it’ll open you up and yank your heart out. Sometimes a school bus explodes or Ethan Hawke shows up. It’s so good. It’s… it’s just so good. You gotta watch it. It’s good. Trust me.”
Which, I mean, sure. All of that is true. It was all of those things, especially in the third and final season, which I will gladly put up against the final run of episodes of any other show made in the entire history of television. Everything I mentioned in that rambling description happened in there at some point. We had spirits showing up to talk to characters, some dressed as ancient warriors who cuss and talk like your average aging millennial, some named Deer Lady who have hooves for feet and murder people who — as we had just learned through a series of deeply upsetting flashbacks — were responsible for a lot of very real historical abuse the indigenous community faced over the years. A school bus did explode. Ethan Hawke did show up as a stoner house painter and deadbeat father. One guy did acid and saw aliens and it ended up tying the whole season together in a way I never saw coming. It was a wild run, man.
But even while that is true, it doesn’t capture what made the show so great. Even with the aliens and explosions and conversations with spirits, the show was also just extremely real. Very few entire shows can run you through the series of emotions Reservation Dogs ran you through in a single 27-minute episode. There was one this season where this happened…
FXFXFXFX
… and then, maybe 10 minutes later, the same group of guys was sitting around a campfire crying about a close friend they had lost touch with. And I was crying, too. The episode ended and it took all I had not to send texts to all of my friends that just said, “Dude I love you” out of nowhere at like 11 p.m. Maybe I should have. Maybe I should do it now. Maybe you should, too.
I guess my point here is that Reservation Dogs was a really special show, both on the micro level — crying, emotions, etc. — and the macro level. It was a show that dropped a majority of viewers into a world they might not have been familiar with — life on a reservation, indigenous culture in general — and then went on to prove that there are things that everyone can relate to despite our different backgrounds. A big theme of the show was death. The main teenage characters lost a friend right from the jump and had to learn how to deal with it. The adults had to deal with getting older and saying goodbye. The elders had to deal with staring their own mortality in the face. And again, there were a slew of very silly jokes sprinkled throughout. Please remember this was a comedy first, even if things did get pretty real at times.
The show’s creator, Sterlin Harjo, explained this all very well in a postmortem with Rolling Stone’s Alan Sepinwall that dropped after the finale.
Season One, the kids lost their friend, and they are mourning that death and trying to get better. And then, by the time we get to Season Three, it’s like they get to take their lessons that they learned in Season One and Two, and they get to apply them in a real way to their community. And also reach out, and help their elders with what they’ve learned. There’s no way in my culture to represent that than how people come together [when someone dies].
This is true. Death is one of those things that is both universal and deeply personal. I will be thinking about this line for a long, long time, from a scene in the final season where the adults give one last sendoff to a friend they lost years ago. It represents everything I could ever want anyone to say about me when it’s my time to go.
FXFX
See what I mean? It’s not easy to deal with this kind of heavy stuff while also staying committed to being extremely silly whenever possible. I can’t stress this last part strongly enough. One of the characters spent half an episode scrubbing a wall to clean off a graffiti drawing — that she made — of an ejaculating penis that had both a face and large breasts. This show contained multitudes.
I feel like I’m not doing it justice here. I feel like I’m not hitting the nail on the head squarely. I think I’m doing better than I did in the explanation I tried giving my friend yesterday, but still. It’s hard. It’s hard to put into words what this show did on an episode-to-episode basis, the way it made the world smaller and larger at the same time, the way it showed how “coming-of-age” doesn’t stop when you turn 18, how adults don’t always have the answers, how it’s important to keep looking for them, and how sometimes you need to learn to be okay with — to paraphrase another special show that blended the silliest possible jokes with profound stories about death and loss — letting the mystery be.
I’m going to miss it a lot. But I’m also glad it ended the way it did. It was about as close to a perfect three-season run of television as I’ve ever seen. Part of me hopes I forget enough of it over time that I can dive back in from the beginning and revisit it with relatively fresh eyes. Part of me hopes that some of the show stays with me forever. Most of me hopes that what I’ve written here did justice to just how great this show really was, both for people who watched it and felt the same and for people who were on the fence about checking it out and needed a little shove.
I’ll give the final word here to the show itself, via another set of screencaps.
HULUHULUHULU
Reservation Dogs was just a really, really special television show.
Tyler Herro is still a member of the Miami Heat. After being the hypothetical player around whom the team would build its offer to the Portland Trail Blazers in a Damian Lillard trade, Herro will go into this season with the team that drafted him after Portland opted to trade Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks.
It’s a bit of a weird spot for Herro, who was very publicly put in trade rumors for months by the team for which he’s going to play this year. And on Thursday, he decided to have some fun with the whole thing, saying that he’s basically prepared to find himself in the same spot next year.
After cracking this joke, Herro decided to be a little more serious while discussing the Lillard trade. Herro is originally from Milwaukee County, and he couldn’t help but express that he’s excited to get his hands on a Bucks uniform with their newest player on the back.
in all seriousness… as a kid from Milwaukee , I’m grabbing me a Dame jersey.
In a bit of good news for Herro (and anyone else who would like to get their hands on one of these), the Bucks apparently already have Lillard jerseys in stock at their team store, according to Marc J. Spears of ESPN.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
