Month: September 2023

On Friday, September 1, news that “Margaritaville” singer Jimmy Buffett had died shook the world, including musicians like Paul McCartney, Elton John, Blake Shelton, and more. Even President Joe Biden issued a statement expressing his condolences to Buffett’s family.

In a note posted to Buffett’s official website, a representative wrote, “Jimmy passed away peacefully on the night of September 1st surrounded by his family, friends, music, and dogs. He lived his life like a song till the very last breath and will be missed beyond measure by so many.”

No further information, including cause of death, was shared. However, on Saturday, September 2, TMZ revealed how Buffett allegedly died. An anonymous source, who alleges they were friends with Buffett, told the outlet that Buffett’s cause of death was the result of a prolonged battle with skin cancer and lymphoma. The individual suggested Buffett had been diagnosed with cancer nearly four years ago.

The source was quoted saying, “He lived his life in the sun, literally and figuratively,” referring to his love of the boats, having been seen vacationing many times on massive yachts.

The Boston Globe reported that in Buffett’s obituary, the official cancer type was listed as Merkel cell skin cancer.

For 13 seasons, The Great British Bake-Off has been the most pleasant show about stressed-out bakers improvising impossible dishes. But last year that placid veneer was broken by, among other things, a “Mexican Week,” in which contestants from the U.K. butchered one dish after another while the hosts made cringey puns. The episode earned the show some rare controversy (though it wasn’t the first time). But when it returns, viewers can rest easy that they won’t to endure British bakers messing up pico de gallo.

The Guardian recently profiled the upcoming season, and, in a bit teased out by Entertainment Weekly, producer Kieran Smith responded to the backlash the show faced last time.

“We’re not doing any national themes this year,” Smith said. “We didn’t want to offend anyone, but the world has changed and the joke fell flat.”

Episode 4 of last season’s GBBO was the main offender, not only due to the bakers’ ignorance of Mexican culture, but its use of stereotypes and bad puns, such as this one.

But there were other dodgy moments throughout the season, including the time co-host Prue Leith made the bizarre remark that not “many people make spring rolls.”

What’s more, previous seasons have contained disastrous themed episodes. Season 11 contained a “Japanese Week,” in which bakers used Indian and Chinese spices for Japanese dishes, and co-host Matt Lucas referred to katsu curry as “cat poo curry.”

Though GBBO producers may vow not to indulge in cultural cringiness, there may be bigger problems afoot here. As Uproxx‘s Carrie Whitmer put it in a piece about last season:

Alas, this all seems to be a result of the series deal with Netflix. Since 2018, the series has had a deal with Netflix. New seasons air in the U.K., and the episodes are available to stream on Netflix stateside days later. A few years into the deal, and Netflix’s signature and exhausting gimmicky meme-thirsty influence is all over The Great British Bake-Off. An attempt to make the show younger and goofier has worked against it. What was once a relaxing, reliable, and already goofy time, is now a vaguely depressing and exhausting one for all involved from hosts to judges, contestants to the audience.

(Via The Guardian and EW)

Since The Jonas Brothers broke into the music business as teens, each of the sibling stars have been seen as heartthrobs. Fast-forward to the present, and each of the three singers — Kevin, Nick, and Joe — have traded in their bachelor days for loving families. Unfortunately, according to TMZ, Joe Jonas‘ time as a married man could be coming to an end. The outlet alleges that Joe and his wife, actress Sophie Turner, are preparing to divorce.

Sources who spoke directly with the platform said that despite having been seen in public on several occasions, the pair have, for the last six months, been quietly dealing with problems behind closed doors. The insider did not provide specifics about the marital spats, but they shared that regardless of their rocky relationship, Joe has not let it interfere with the time he spends with their two small children. (However, he is still currently on the road touring with his brothers, so it’s not clear how much time he’s spent with them.)

Joe and Sophie’s romance first began back in 2016. By the following year, they were engaged, and their wedding took place in May 2019. The couple welcomed their first child in 2020. Last year, they had their second.

For months, Kevin Costner has kept quiet about all that Yellowstone drama that’s being going down. Is he really leaving the show that gave his career a steroid shot? When on earth will they even finish filming Season 5? Much has been kept from the public, but on Friday, while giving testimony involving his high-profile divorce case, Costner was forced to open up about what exactly is happening with the biggest drama on linear cable.

As per Deadline, during the testimony, the attorney for Costner’s estranged wife Christine Baumgartner asked if he had been offered a sixth season of Yellowstone. Costner said it was “complicated,” saying they did “negotiate” and that he was offered $24 million to do Seasons 5, 6, and 7.

Alas, he said there were “issues about creative,” which likely means he and Taylor Sheridan, who writes every episode, were no longer seeing eye-to-eye. “I tried to break the logjam. They walked away.”

Costner has already been paid, though, for the fifth season, which likely doesn’t mean the full $24 million he would have been paid for three seasons. However, they’ve only filmed the first half of Season 5. The second half, or Season 5B, is still up-in-the-air, which has been even further delayed by the two-pronged strikes that have crippled Hollywood.

Scheduling seems to be the main factor contributing to this mess. Since Yellowstone re-raised his profile, he was able to get his Western epic Horizon off the ground. He was hoping to be able to do less Yellowstone so he could juggle both. But it was not to be.

“Somewhere along the line, they wanted to change things,” Costner said. “They wanted to do 5A and 5B; [it] affected Horizon. I was going to do my movie Horizon and leave that show, do my movie, then do B. A show I was only doing once a year I was now doing twice.”

Costner concluded that he will “probably go to court” over the Yellowstone fracas.

So, sorry, fans of Yellowstone, but not only will you have to wait even longer to see how the show concludes, but when Costner finally steps back on set, you might get a grumpier John Dutton III than you’re used to.

(Via Deadline)

After cruising through the group stage, USA Basketball came into Sunday’s matchup with Lithuania feeling very good about themselves but also facing a very dangerous matchup against a talented and very big Lithuania squad.

While the Americans were expected to have their hands full in the paint and on the glass, it was a three-point barrage early that saw Lithuania jump out to a 21-point advantage as they stunned the USA squad with their energy, ball movement, and knockdown shooting (particularly from their bigs). Lithuania knocked down its first eight threes of the game, unleashing a barrage from deep against a USA defense that seemed a step slow to getting out to shooters.

It wasn’t just a hot shooting start that had Lithuania rolling early, as their length stymied the American offense in the first quarter, they dominated the offensive glass, and their cutting caught the USA napping for some easy baskets inside.

At the half, Team USA trailed by 17, but as expected they came out with much better energy to start the third quarter, making a 13-2 run to trim the deficit to six with haste. Anthony Edwards was the catalyst on defense, as his ball pressure bothered Lithuania’s guards and kept them out of their actions, forcing turnovers and bad shots to allow the Americans to get out and run some, and it became Team USA’s time to knock down shots.

However, Lithuania had the answer for the big USA run out of the halftime break, continuing to apply pressure inside and once again knocking down timely shots to keep the U.S. squad from ever getting the game all the way back to level, ultimately pulling away for a 110-104 win. Lithuania punished switches in the post, particularly targeting Austin Reaves on the block, and continued its hot shooting, knocking down 14-of-25 from deep on the game — including a rather hilarious one to beat the shot clock buzzer that was an indicator this just wasn’t going to be Team USA’s night.

Edwards did his best to drag Team USA back into the game, scoring 35 on 14-of-26 shooting (5-of-13 from three), but he didn’t get enough help as only Mikal Bridges and Jalen Brunson (14 points each) and Brandon Ingram (10) could join him in double figures. The bench unit, which has been dominant all tournament, went cold in this one and foul trouble plagued the Americans as they struggled mightily to handle the size and physicality of Lithuania. Seven players scored in double figures from Lithuania (with two more scoring nine) as they got a balanced scoring night that was enough to take down Edwards’ sensational individual effort.

Moving forward, the Americans are still headed to the quarterfinals, but certainly showed there’s work to do if they’re going to make a run all the way to the gold. While you can certainly point to a wildly hot shooting night from Lithuania as a big reason for the loss, so many of those shots early were wide open and Team USA needs to shore up its defensive communication, particularly against pick-and-pop, and general intensity level on that end from the start of games. They’ll get their first chance to do so against Italy in the quarterfinals.

Trump Steaks. Trump Airlines. Trump Vodka. Trump: The Game. Tour de Trump. A second Donald Trump presidential term. These are but a handful of the former Apprentice star’s many failures. But what of Truth Social, his rinky-dink attempt at a Twitter clone? It’s lasted over a year-and-a-half, which ain’t bad. But there’s a chance it won’t be around for much longer.

As per The Washington Post, the far-right social media service faces a key vote this coming week. When Truth Social was announced in October of 2021, its future hinged on the merger of Trump Media & Technology Group and the Miami-based Digital World Acquisition. The latter managed to raise some $300 million off investors and the two companies vowed to merge within 12 to 18 months.

It’s now almost two years. And on Tuesday, shareholders who invested in the venture will meet to vote on whether they can extend the merger by another year. If they vote no, Digital World will have to return the $300 million. It will also “cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up.” Trump Media & Technology, meanwhile, will be left with nothing.

What on earth is taking the two companies so long to fuse? Well, it’s complicated:

Digital World’s efforts to merge with Trump Media have been troubled almost from the start, beset by allegations that it began its conversations with the former president’s company before they were permitted under SPAC rules.

Then, in the past year, its issues became more pronounced: Its chief executive was terminated by the board, a former board member was arrested on charges of insider trading, and the company agreed to pay an $18 million settlement to resolve charges that it had misled investors and given false information to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The merger has “been pretty much unprecedented in terms of all of the glitches,” said Jay Ritter, a University of Florida finance professor who studies stock markets. “The deal does seem to be running out of time. You can’t just keep getting extensions forever.”

Should funding for Truth Social suddenly dry up, will it cease to be? Or will Trump once again beg his supporters for enough scratch to ensure he has a place to drop dozens of weird videos a day or further incriminate himself? Nevermind that he already has two big money sucks right now: his third presidential campaign and all those court cases he’s racked up because he potentially did crimes.

(Via The Washington Post)

On May 28, 2014, 13-year-old Athena Orchard of Leicester, England, died of bone cancer. The disease began as a tumor in her head and eventually spread to her spine and left shoulder. After her passing, Athena’s parents and six siblings were completely devastated. In the days following her death, her father, Dean, had the difficult task of going through her belongings. But the spirits of the entire Orchard family got a huge boost when he uncovered a secret message written by Athena on the backside of a full-length mirror.

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After removing the mirror from the wall, Dean discovered a 3,000-word letter written all the way down its backside in black pen. “She never mentioned it, but it’s the kind of thing she’d do,” her father told People magazine. “She was a very spiritual person, she’d go on about stuff that I could never understand – she was so clever.” The moving letter revealed her deepest feelings about her fight with the dreaded disease. “Every day is special, so make the most of it, you could get a life-ending illness tomorrow so make the most of every day,” she wrote. “Life is only bad if you make it bad.”

Although Athena is gone, the mirror now serves as a powerful memory of her undying spirit. “We’re keeping the mirror forever, it is a part of her we can keep in the house, it will always be in her room,” her mother, Caroline, said. “Just reading her words felt like she was still here with us, she had such an incredible spirit.”

Athena’s full message:

“Happiness depends upon ourselves. Maybe it’s not about the happy ending, maybe it’s about the story. The purpose of life is a life of purpose. The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra. Happiness is a direction not a destination. Thank you for existing. Be happy, be free, believe, forever young. You know my name, not my story.

You have heard what I’ve done, but not what I’ve been through. Love is like glass, looks so lovely but it’s easy to shatter.

Love is rare, life is strange, nothing lasts and people change. Every day is special, so make the most of it, you could get a life ending illness tomorrow so make the most of every day. Life is only bad if you make it bad. If someone loves you, then they wouldn’t let you slip away no matter how hard the situation is. Remember that life is full of ups and downs.

Never give up on something you can’t go a day without thinking about. I want to be that girl who makes the bad days better and the one that makes you say my life has changed since I met her!

Love is not about how much you say I love you – it’s about how much you can prove it’s true. Love is like the wind, you can feel it but you can’t see it. I’m waiting to fall in love with someone I can open my heart to. Love is not about who you can see spending your future with, it’s about who you can’t see spending your life without… Life is a game for everyone but love is the prize. Only I can judge me.

Sometimes love hurts. Now I’m fighting myself. Baby I can feel your pain. Dreams are my reality. It hurts but it’s okay, I’m used to it. Don’t be quick to judge me, you only see what I choose to show you… you don’t know the truth. I just want to have fun and be happy without being judged.

This is my life, not yours, don’t worry about what I do. People gonna hate you, rate you, break you, but how strong you stand, that’s what makes you… you!

There’s no need to cry because I know you’ll be by my side.”

This article originally appeared on 04.15.19

There are creative, romantic proposals, and then there’s this one.

Lee Loechler recently proposed to his girlfriend, Sthuthi David, by taking her to a packed theater to see her favorite Disney movie, Sleeping Beauty. Little did she know that Loechler had spent six months altering the animation of the film’s most iconic scene, changing the characters to look like the couple themselves and altering the storyline to set up his Big Question. And that’s only the beginning.

Watching David’s face during the scene change is sheer delight, as her confused look proves that she has no clue what is about to happen.

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The set-up is great, but the magical moment when Loechler’s illustrated self tosses the engagement ring to his real-life self? That’s when we all toss up our hands and say, “OKAY, man. You win at proposing. Everyone else must bow before you now.”

The whole proposal—the re-illustrations, the heart jokes (David is a cardiologist), and the bride-to-be’s surprise when she finds herself surrounded by friends and family—it’s all perfection. Just watch:

Amazing, right? Lee Loechler set the bar ridiculously high, but even the most cynical among us have to give him props for his creativity.

Reddit users’ responses to the video were hilarious, and reflect what we all feel watching this masterpiece.

“Welp this guy went and did it, theres no point in any of us proposing now he’s out done us all.” – XXLpeanuts

“I was just gonna propose to my girlfriend in the Starbucks parking lot where I first told her I loved her. Welp, that ain’t gonna do anymore…” – mattrva

“I proposed to my wife in front of Disney Castle in Orlando and I’ve never felt less proud about it than after watching this video lol. For real though this is one of the best proposals I’ve ever seen, bravo.” – thenaniwatiger

“I thought I was smooth with my bridge and lilyponds on a blacksand beach in Hawaii….. this guy just went and rewrote theatrical history, broke the forth wall, made a 4th dimensional joke and timed it perfectly, made a highbrow doctors joke, conspired with the internet, and filled a theater with family and friends.” – ooooopium

“Goddamn I am cold, cynical bastard and you just warmed my heart with how hard you just crushed it, my dude. I’ll say it. I am flat out envious.” – Dr_Frasier_Bane

Congratulations and best wishes to the lovely couple. May you truly live happily ever after.

This article originally appeared on 01.09.20

When Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim and Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi both landed their high jumps at 2.37 meters, they were in the battle for Olympic gold. But when both jumpers missed the next mark—the Olympic record of 2.39 meters—three times each, they were officially tied for first place.

In such a tie, the athletes would usually do a “jump-off” to determine who wins gold and who wins silver. But as the official began to explain the options to Barshim and Tamberi, Barshim asked, “Can we have two golds?”

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“It’s possible,” the official responded. “It depends, if you both decide…” And before he’d even told them how sharing the gold would work, the two jumpers looked at each other, nodded, and then launched into a wholesome and joyful celebration guaranteed to bring a smile to your face.

Just watch:

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(If you are unable to view the video above, check it out on NBC’s YouTube channel here.)

The two jumpers have been competing against one another for more than a decade and are friends on and off the field, so getting to share the gold is a win-win—literally—for both of them. It’s also a historic choice. According to the BBC, the last time competing track and field Olympians shared the gold medal podium was in 1912.

The friendship and camaraderie between the two athletes are palpable and their immediate decision to share the gold truly embodies the Olympic spirit.

“I look at him, he looks at me, and we know it,” Barshim said, according to the CBC. “We just look at each other and we know, that is it, it is done. There is no need.”

“He is one of my best friends,” he added, “not only on the track, but outside the track. We work together. This is a dream come true. It is the true spirit, the sportsman spirit, and we are here delivering this message.”

Barshim was the silver medalist in the event in the Rio 2016 Olympics, and Tamberi suffered a career-threatening injury prior to those games, which took him out of medal contention.

“After my injuries, I just wanted to come back,” Tamberi told CNN. “But now I have this gold, it’s incredible. I dreamed of this so many times. I was told in 2016 just before Rio, there was a risk I wouldn’t be able to compete anymore. It’s been a long journey.”

What a beautiful display of sportsmanship, excellence, and genuine human connection. This is what the Olympics are all about. Love to see it.

This article originally appeared on 08.02.21

When a couple has their first child, they start out with the greatest of intentions and expectations. The child will only eat organic food. They will never watch TV or have screen time and will always stay clean.

But soon, reality sets in and if they have more kids, they’ll probably be raised with a lot less attention. As a result, first-born kids turn out a bit differently than their younger siblings.

“Rules are a bit more rigid, attention and validation is directed and somewhat excessive,” Niro Feliciano, LCSW, a psychotherapist and anxiety specialist, told Parents. “As a result, firstborns tend to be leaders, high achievers, people-pleasing, rule-following and conscientious, several of the qualities that tend to predict success.”

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However, it’s not just laziness that makes parents change their M.O. As parents gain experience, they learn not to sweat the small stuff and to have a bit more faith in their children.

Tova Leigh is a writer and performer who creates funny sketches on TikTok about parenting and feminism. To point out the differences between new and veteran moms she made a series of funny sketches with fellow mom Riona O Connor.

In the first video, the two mothers deal with fighting children. The new mommy uses a sweet voice and quietly suggests, “Oh honey, no, no fighting, sweetie. Gentle hands” to the brawling kids. When that doesn’t work, the veteran mother screams, “We said stop fighting!”

@tova_leigh

We’re all doing a great job, some of us just do it a little louder (or with a hose) 😂 which one are you?! with @rionaoconnor_ #fyp #funny #parenting #momsoftiktok

The video must have hit a nerve with parents everywhere because it went viral, racking up more than 3 million views. “As a mum of 5… this is 100% accurate,” Lora Bora wrote in the comments. Kira agreed saying, “I got 4…. And I felt this in my soul.”

While the video was funny, it should also provide some comfort to young mothers who feel overwhelmed by the pressure to be perfect. As blogger Constance Hall points out, the need to be perfect can rob us of precious time with our kids.

“We are only half present for them all of the time due to the constant pressure to have everything perfect,” Hall wrote in a viral Facebook post. “To go to the gym, answer that email, pay that bill, cook that organic kale, blend it, get it into a patty so no one knows it’s kale, get to the doctors…. Make the kids lunches cos if you order them again you will be JUDGED!”

In the second video, the two mothers have very different approaches to making a puree.

@tova_leigh

We’re all doing a great job, some of us just do it with a happy meal 🤪 which one are you? With @rionaoconnor_ #funny #fyp #momlife

In a third video, the two parents express their Christmas spirit in very different ways.

@tova_leigh

#ad AD We are all doing a great job, some of us just do it with less Christmas spirit 😉 Which one are you?! Did you recognise any of the lines? They are all from our favorite movies available on @SkyTV this Christmas. What’s your favorite? With the amazing @rionaoconnor_ TAG A FRIEND #ChristmasOnSky #fyp #funny #momlife #momsontiktok #newmomvsveteranmom #ad

Kids grow up fast and if you blink an eye, you just may miss it. So regardless if you’re a new mom or a veteran mom, take a page out of these mothers’ books, relax a bit and have fun being a parent. Your kids will probably forget your vegan kale puree, but they’ll always remember the time you spent just being present.

This article originally appeared on 05.18.22