We’ve all been there. Standing in line to be seated at a fairly busy restaurant while your stomach growls in protest. But when two women left a concert August 22 in search of food, they had no idea they’d find themselves taking orders and cooking food. Sylvia Arrendondo and her mother Idalia Merkel went to a local Denny’s in Texas and were seated by another customer before realizing the restaurant was extremely short-staffed. Instead of taking their business elsewhere, they decided to roll up their sleeves and get to work.

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Arrendondo wrote about the unique experience on her Facebook page where she explained that only two people were working. One was serving tables and the other was the cook. As for the man that was acting as host, seating new guests, he had no idea what he was doing because he didn’t work there. He told Arrendondo and Merkel that his wife used to work at Denny’s so she started helping to serve tables and he decided to help get people seated.

The service industry has been hit hard by the pandemic and the subsequent “great resignation.” Complaints about low wages, poor management and rude customers that abuse staff members are just a few of the reasons cited by people who have left the industry. It may be surprising for some to learn that the federal minimum wage for tipped employees like servers and bussers is just $2.13 an hour. The rest of the wage is supposed to be made up of tips, which, depending on where you work, may be split at the end of the night between other workers. This act of splitting tips is called “tip pooling” and is calculated by number of hours worked.

Splitting tips after a long day of work dealing with customers who may not have been so kind would understandably make some people upset. But it didn’t take a deep dive on the treatment of restaurant employees for Arrendondo and the other customers who helped out. They saw two seemingly college-aged kids doing their best to keep the place running and they didn’t hesitate to jump in to help, completely unpaid.

When asked why she didn’t just leave, Arrendondo said, “We just looked at each other and it wasn’t even a question. We both knew what we had to do.”

“This was probably the most beautiful act of American unity that I have personally encountered,” Arrendondo told Upworthy. She added that the sole paid server would occasionally start to cry before being comforted by the cook, only to return the favor when he would get overwhelmed.

Talk about community.

These two kids had exhausted all of their resources, including calling their manager multiple times. And instead of customers getting angry, demanding better service or walking away, Arredondo and Merkel stepped up. The kindness of this group of strangers will surely stick with these employees and the people who were involved.

“The strength, courage and integrity by these two workers was beyond admirable. My mom and I have never been so proud and happy to help,” Arrendondo told Upworthy. “After all, we have all been there.”

Eventually after some convincing, the two employees shut the restaurant down and Arrendondo and Merkel went home much more tired than anticipated. Still hungry, but full of gratitude and pride.

This article originally appeared on 08.26.22

What gives dogs the right to have such big and hilarious personalities? It seems like these dogs have found a way to make their humans laugh while also annoying them until they’re ready to come apart. It’s truly a skill that only dogs and toddlers seem to possess in great quantities.

Zoe is a pit bull with a bombastic side-eye that makes it clear that she only tolerates her mother, Raven, but adores her grandmother, Yonika. There is no confusion about who her favorite person is, and Zoe’s grandmother only seems to encourage the behavior. The two of them are the best of friends, and Mom…well, she’s the third wheel.

Sure, Zoe likes her mom a little—she does feed her, after all—but the verdict is still being determined if love can be claimed. Raven can’t even convince the sassy pittie to go on a walk with her.

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Zoe lays on the ground like a chubby little pancake any time her mom tries to take her for a walk. Raven has even pulled on her leash, slowly dragging the dog down the hallway, but Zoe insists that her legs do not remember how to work. But as soon as Grandma takes the leash, a miracle occurs. Suddenly Zoe is a spry whippersnapper with four working legs and a happy tail.

“She refuses to walk whenever I take her outside,” Raven explains. But that’s just not the case for Grandma, and there really doesn’t seem to be an explanation for it other than preference.

“When I’m around, she is an absolute angel. She listens,” Yonika says.

In fact, Raven says when Grandma is around, Zoe completely ignores her so she can continue getting Grandma cuddles. This dog has mastered the side-eye, and Grandma is only assisting in her snubbing her mom in the cutest way. It’s something you have to witness for yourself to fully appreciate, so check out the video below.

This article originally appeared on 7.19.23

Paramore are back today with Re: This Is Why, a remixed version of their latest album. It has artists like The Linda Lindas, Wet Leg, Bartees Strange, Julien Baker, and more. To celebrate, Hayley Williams went on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and discussed influences.

She mentioned some classic bands like Deftones, Failure, and The Cure. However, she also mentioned an unlikely one: Fallon himself.

The singer explained she met the rest of the original lineup, Zac and Josh Farro, at a homeschooling supplemental program in Tennessee, where Fallon’s comedy song from 2003 titled “Idiot Boyfriend” was a big deal to the students. “[It was a] huge hit with the Paramore crew!” she exclaimed.

When asked if “Idiot Boyfriend” was an influence, Williams confirmed, “Yes! 100 percent!”

About the release of Re: This Is Why, the band originally shared a statement on social media about how they recruited musicians who have inspired them to do the remixes. “We’ve long wanted to recognize the connection we have with some of the artists who’ve influenced us as a band and/or who have cited our band as an influence,” they wrote. “It’s incredible to hear all our worlds colliding.”

Watch the interview above.

Re: This Is Why is out 10/6 via Atlantic. Find more information here.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

As rapped in his cult-classic song “Know Yourself,” Drake enjoyed riding around his hometown, Toronto, Canada (or the 6), with his woes. According to TMZ, fellow rapper and collaborator 21 Savage might be riding shotgun with him soon. The outlet has reported that 21 Savage will appear at both Toronto dates (October 6 and 7) of the It’s All A Blur Tour.

The joint tour initially kicked off in July. However, due to 21 Savage’s immigration case, he hasn’t been allowed to perform during the international dates. When the tour made a two-night stop (August 29 and 30) in Vancouver, Travis Scott filled in as a special guest. Before that, J. Cole did the honors for the Montreal shows on July 14 and 15.

On Drake’s new single, “8AM In Charlotte,” he hinted that 21 Savage’s immigration issues were nearly behind him, rapping, “Savage got a green card straight out of the consulate / Where I go, you go, brother, we Yugoslavian.” The legal battle began in 2019 when 21 Savage (real name Sha Yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph) was arrested by Immigration And Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents for overstaying his visa in addition to possession of a schedule II controlled substance and possession of a gun.

Many entertainers, including Jay-Z, Meek Mill, and more, have thrown their support behind 21 Savage as he continues to fight to gain US citizenship.

With the arrival of Loki Season 2 came a new set of problems for the titular Trickster God: Time-slipping. Thanks to being shoved back into the Time Variance Authority from He Who Remain‘s Citadel, Loki can’t stop horrifyingly moving through time at random intervals. While Mobius assures his disappearing pal that it doesn’t look that bad, he eventually admits that, okay, it’s terrifying because Loki looks like he’s being born and dying all at the same time.

According to Loki producer Kevin Wright, the effect was significantly aided by Tom Hiddleston, who gave it his all with every transformation, of which there were many.

“There is a ton of raw material of him. If he’s being pulled in five different directions, he’s giving you those bespoke performances for each one of those,” Wright told TVLine. “If you were on set, what you would see is Tom Hiddleston performing his heart out and acting those things. And so much of the pain that comes through is because it is baked into his performance.”

Obviously, there’s some CGI thrown into the mix, or else Hiddleston would seriously need to see a doctor, but Wright couldn’t emphasize enough that it was mainly the actor working without a motion capture suit or even a harness.

“It’s his physicality,” Wright said, “He was pulling from many years of dance lessons.”

Loki streams new episodes Thursday on Disney+.

(Via TVLine)

Taking two of the most campy movie tropes (slasher and time-traveling) and combining them might seem a little too out there, but if you bring it to the 80s, then you’re in for a wild ride. The latest movie to tackle this trend is Amazon Prime‘s Totally Killer, a comedy/horror which stars The Chilling Adventures of Sabirna’s Kiernan Shipka as a teen who unintentionally goes back in time and must stop an infamous killing from taking place…while also befriending her mom as a high schooler. Like Back to the Future with more blood and weirder outfits.

In order to make the killers spooky (it’s a Blumhouse film, mind you) the team created a mask that looks like a cross between Beavis and Tom Cruise. With an earring. It’s chilling for sure.

Director Nahnatchka Khan explained that they needed the killer to resemble the era. “We landed on the idea of a handsome man being terrifying. Tony Gardner [and] our design team started pulling ’80s heartthrob references, like Kiefer Sutherland and Rob Lowe and Dolph Lundgren, and even Johnny Bravo, and then exaggerated it and made the teeth oversized. The idea [was] that the last thing you see is this beautiful smile as you’re being killed.” This could also be applied to a killer that targets dentists, but their idea seems a little more fun.

It seems pretty messed up to turn beloved icons like Rob Lowe and Johnny Bravo into terrifying figures, but then again, Jason made a normal hockey mask look terrifying, so context really matters here.

It’s fair to say that the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard defamation trial — in which a jury awarded Depp $15 million, later settled down to $1 million — led to a lot of heated and subjective takes. Some of those takes were even reportedly from pro-Depp bots, and as Amber described the experience, she never stood a chance in “a courtroom full of Jack Sparrow fans.”

Amber had originally been sued by Depp for $50 million over a Washington Post online op-ed, in which she never mentioned Depp’s name but identified herself as follows: “[T]wo years ago, I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our culture’s wrath for women who speak out.” Depp’s U.S.-based lawsuit over this op-ed proceeded after his loss in a U.K. libel suit against The Sun; the U.K. court had ruled that the tabloid’s use of the term “wife beater” to describe Depp was “substantially true.”

The subsequent defamation trial devolved into a media circus with accusations involving bodily functions and tons of mudslinging following from supporters of both actors. Even now, to publicly take a side in this saga often invites a pile-on from the other camp. However, The Boys spinoff Gen V isn’t afraid of upsetting anyone.

In this week’s episode, Tek Knight descends upon Godolkin University as part of his true-crime show. He’s hunting for a public-facing answer for why Golden Boy killed himself, and Dean Shetty wonders aloud, “You’re going to blame an innocent student for Luke’s hysteria?”

Tek Knight’s answer: “I’m gonna Johnny Depp someone so hard they’re gonna want to crawl into a hole and die.”

Gen V quickly moved on from that discussion, but it was more than mere shade. The series used “Johnny Depp” as a verb, and people noticed. You can see the clip below.

Amazon’s Gen V streams new episodes on Fridays.

Drake’s new album, For All The Dogs, has arrived at last — and with it comes a whole new batch of caption-ready quotes from one of rap’s preeminent quote writers. However, in the past few years, his propensity for dropping groan-worthy clunkers in addition to relatable gems has grown as well — call it a side-effect of being a proud dad, that Drake’s resistance to dropping dad jokes has eroded away completely.

Most rap punchlines have always been a hairsbreadth away from being the worst kind of stand-up comedian-style puns, with the only difference being how willing they are to “commit to the bit” with their delivery, cadence, intonation, and sheer audacity. Mostly, though, it’s a matter of taste; some listeners love it rappers go for a twisted homonym, while others will wish they had a stack of tomatoes handy for convenient tossing.

Drake’s willingness to make himself the butt of the joke comes with similar risks and rewards — and because he’s Drake, easy target extraordinaire, it often backfires as much as it benefits him. And, the increased casual homophobia on this album aside (we need to talk about this, Drake), For All The Dogs is no exception. With the addition of his son Adonis on one of the tracks, the “dad joke” quality of his worst lines is highlighted even more. Here are some of the best — and worst — examples from the album.

The Best

5. The song: “Daylight”

The line: “She broke up with him and deleted a post / She said she was vegan, she eatin’ a goat”

I’ll admit it’s not GREAT (we’ve heard so many similar lines from so many other rappers at this point). But it’s still pretty funny, despite the lack of originality. Also, for what it’s worth, Drake’s probably the first rapper we’ve heard say something similar that actually has a reasonable claim on the “greatest of all time” title.

4. The song: “Virginia Beach”

The line: “We ain’t even gotta mention that, any n**** try and trouble you / He gon’ find out that it’s on sight like W-W-W”

I like the homophone of “on sight”/”on site,” along with the reminder that once upon a time, we really used to say the “Ws” in web addresses. It’s also nice to see Drake sticking up for a woman instead of nitpicking her for a change.

3. The song: “Slime You Out” Feat. SZA

The line: “This ain’t the littest I could get on you b*tches / Send wires on wires on wires like Idris”

The Wire is one of the top five greatest shows in the history of television. Any and all references to it are automatically bulletproof and unquestionable. I don’t make the rules. Plus, having recently attempted to send a wire transfer recently, I’m in awe of the man’s patience to put up with all the hoops most financial institutions make you jump through just to send one, let alone “wires on wires on wires.”

2. The song: “Amen”

The line: “You my baby, so I gotta put you in the crib / Same neighborhood where Ashton Kutcher live / I’m just doin’ what that punk should have did”

First of all, the set up on this shows more forethought than a lot of the runner-up one-liners that showed impressive wordplay but less than creative construction. But also, I’m just a fan of reminding more people that Punk’d was a thing that happened — and it was glorious. Celebrities take themselves too seriously these days; bring back television that takes the piss out of them every once in a while!

1. The song: “First Person Shooter” Feat. J. Cole

The line: “N****s talkin’ ’bout when this gon’ be repeated / What the f*ck bro? I’m one away from Michael / N****, beat it, n****, beat it”

Look, if you’re going to drive a pop culture reference this far into the dirt, there better at least be a monumental boast behind it. Anticipating surpassing the King of Pop for the most Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hits in the chart’s 100-year history is one helluva flex.

The Worst

5. The song: “7969 Santa”

The line: “Got you out here movin’ waste like a belt”

Booooo. This is one of the worst not because it’s stretched past its breaking point or awkwardly constructed. It’s just lazy. Drake has done both better and worse than this, and listeners would rather he tried for one or the other than just settling for this middle-of-the-road stinker.

4. The song: “Slime You Out” Feat. SZA

The line: “You got my mind in a terrible place / Whipped and chained you like American slaves”

Come on, man. This one not only makes the same mistake as the one above, it throws in being in absolutely terrible taste. Then, to make matters worse, Drake’s falsetto is sure to set “all the dogs” in your neighborhood howling. It’s almost as bad as his Blackface incident a few years ago, which at least had the benefit of being satirical (poorly executed satire but satire nonetheless).

3. The song: “Members Only”

The line: “Feel like I’m bi ’cause you’re one of the guys, girl”

WOOF. Drake heard the commotion about his “Girls Want Girls” hook from Certified Lover Boy and decided to double down. This one has the added drawback of being crooned in that unique way that Drake draws out his most inane come-ons, making it extra torturous to sit through.

2. The song: “8AM In Charlotte”

The line: “Savage got a green card straight out of the consulate / Where I go, you go, brother, we Yugoslavian”

Give this one credit for being memorable, but in terms of over-the-top puns, this one has more reach than Victor Wembanyama. The only reason it’s not the absolute worst one on the album is because the worst one immediately follows it.

1. The song: “8AM In Charlotte”

The line: “Formal is the dress code, dawg, so many checks owed / I feel Czechoslovakian”

The fact that Drake ends this line by interjecting “what the f*ck” is utterly, head-spinningly appropriate. Drake… what the f*ck, man? He sounds impressed and appalled at the same time, almost like he’s impressed by how appalling the line was when he said it. Meanwhile, listeners are appalled and impressed that he left it in.

It’s a bittersweet day for Sufjan Stevens. The singer’s acclaimed new album, Javelin, is out now, but as he shared on Instagram, it was inspired by his “beloved partner and best friend” Evan Richardson, who died in April.

“JAVELIN is out today. Thank you for listening. I love you,” Stevens wrote. “This album is dedicated to the light of my life, my beloved partner and best friend Evans Richardson, who passed away in April. He was an absolute gem of a person, full of life, love, laughter, curiosity, integrity, and joy. He was one of those rare and beautiful ones you find only once in a lifetime — precious, impeccable, and absolutely exceptional in every way.”

Stevens, who is learning to walk again after being diagnosed with a rare autoimmune condition known as Guillian-Barre Syndrome, ended the post with a message about relationships.

“I know relationships can be very difficult sometimes, but it’s always worth it to put in the hard work and care for the ones you love, especially the beautiful ones, who are few and far between. If you happen to find that kind of love, hold it close, hold it tight, savor it, tend to it, and give it everything you’ve got, especially in times of trouble. Be kind, be strong, be patient, be forgiving, be vigorous, be wise, and be yourself. Live every day as if it is your last, with fullness and grace, with reverence and love, with gratitude and joy. This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

Javelin is out today via Asthmatic Kitty.

(Via Instagram)

(WARNING: Spoilers for the most recent Power Book IV: Force episode will be found below.)

The aftermath of Walter Flynn’s death in season two, episode five of Power Book IV: Force is going to affect everyone in the show and episode six, “Here Be The Monsters,” made that explicitly clear. For starters, Vic reaches out to Tommy Egan to make a deal with him and work for CBI under a 60/40 split. This is all while Vic is still working with the feds to take down Tommy and Claudia. Vic seems a bit back and forth on what he wants to do, whether it be work for Tommy and CBI or give up Tommy to the cops, but by the end of the episode he makes his decision clear as he reflects on Gloria’s season one death at the end of the episode.

There are also some big changes in store for CBI. Following the death of their father, Jenard and Diamond are back on good terms with Diamond opening the door for Jenard to return to CBI. Jenard’s return is under the condition that he clean himself up and stay off drugs in order to not hold the group back. So far, Jenard has obliged to that condition, and we see Tommy welcome him back into the group with open arms and a warning that he’ll be kicked out (and worse) if he messes up. That mistake could happen sooner than later as his love interest Shanti wants to use this as an opportunity to take down Tommy. With Jenard’s return, Diamond was able to clear his debt with Miguel but not with the Serbs’ leader Markovich. Tommy tried to convince Markovich, but the Serb leader not only refused but waged war on CBI by attacking the Crimson projects, an area they’ve been trying to take control of for quite some time.

Elsewhere, we also have updates on the new relationships that are forming this season. Diamond continues to train Leon as a boxer and his feelings for Gianna are growing by the second. However, Leon’s father, who is verbally and maybe even physically abusive, takes issue with Diamond’s presence in their family. Tommy and Mireya hit an obstacle in their growing relationship with Mireya growing fearful of Tommy’s safety after her brother Miguel attacks her ex. Luckily for Tommy, he’s able to assure her that he can handle himself and that her worries are not a reason for her to break off their relationship.

Now that this recap is out of the way, let’s dive into the top five Power Players based on what went down in the “Here Be The Monsters” episode.

5. Shanti

Prior to this week’s episode, Shanti seemed only to have some relationship with Jenard as we’d yet to see her interact with Diamond, Tommy, and others from the main cast. It’s clear that she’s rooting for Jenard as both a friend and a romantic partner, and now thanks to this week’s episode, we know that she sees Tommy and Diamond as enemies in the Chicago drug game.

In “Here Be The Monsters,” Shanti makes a deal with Diamond to give up territory and work with CBI in exchange for Jenard getting back in CBI. Diamond agrees to it and so does Tommy after some convincing. What the two don’t know is that Shanti’s offer is all a part of a ploy to get Jenard in a position to take over CBI and take out Tommy once and for all. We’ll have to see if her plan will actually work, but the fact that she was able to convince Diamond to accept and get Jenard to clean up his act so he’d be in a position to accept his CBI role is enough to prove that her power is not small.

4. Mireya

Mireya continues to take a few steps forward in her newfound romance with Tommy, and while that’s a win for her, it’s things outside of it that also prove to be big moments for her this week. In episode five, we see Miguel and an associate attack Kendall, Mireya’s coworker and former love interest, at his home after Miguel saw him grab Mireya’s arm at work. When Mireya learns about the attack this week, she’s able to conclude that Miguel is the person behind and she later confronts him. During this moment, Miguel, a diabetic, is in dire need of insulin, and Mireya refuses to give him his shot in retaliation for what he did to Kendall. He lashes out by saying her career as a nurse is inferior to the family’s drug business which worsens his chances of getting the insulin shot he needs.

In a later scene, we find out that Mireya tried to distance herself from Tommy after Kendall’s attack in fear that the same thing could happen to Tommy if Miguel found out they were dating. Tommy, who is appreciative of her concern, also reminds her that he’s a grown man and can handle her battles. She seems to accept this as she returns to his apartment where they have another night together, a more intimate one, towards the end of the episode. Mireya is fighting for the things she wants and the things she stands for. She’s going to make sure she can keep her nursing career and she’ll continue her romance with Tommy as both make her happy, and for someone outside of the drug world, that’s all that matters.

3. Jenard

The first five episodes in season two of Power Book IV: Force were absolutely tough for Jenard. He endured a harsh split in CBI that left him out on his own to lead a crew, something he wasn’t ready for. Debts to connects caused him to get attacked and have his things stolen. Eventually, he found himself using heroin and heading full steam towards being addicted to it. Miraculously, Jenard was able to bounce back from all of that and find himself back in CBI in this episode. It comes after Diamond extended an olive branch after their dad passed away in last week’s episode. Diamond and Tommy offered him a clean slate in CBI and Jenard jumped at the opportunity to seemingly be in the good graces of past enemies. Though, we’ll have to see how it plays out especially with Shanti in his ear pushing him to take over CBI and eliminate Tommy. Though that would be a very risky and dangerous move, we can celebrate Jenard’s recovery and elevation from down times in the meantime.

2. Tommy

This week’s episode didn’t spend too much time on Tommy in his CBI world, but we do see him make some decent moves in and out of it. He agrees to work with Vic in a new collaboration that’s seemingly beneficial to both sides… for now. Vic’s partnership with Tommy only came after he agreed to help the feds take down Tommy, but even Vic doesn’t seem too willing to do that. So there’s a good chance this turns out to be a successful partnership, but we’ll have to wait and see like everything else here.

Tommy is also able to convince Mireya to put her fears for his safety aside as he’s able to take care of himself. He later admits to possibly loving Mireya during a trippy moment in the episode as Holly from the original Power makes her return as a ghost to remind Tommy about the women in his past who died simply as a result of being around him. Though the correlation may be true, it’s not enough to steer Tommy away from Mireya. Outside of that, Tommy escapes trouble, a shootout from the Serbs, and puts his differences aside with Jenard to accept an apology from him and welcome him back to CBI.

1. Diamond

Diamond reclaims the top spot for having one of this season’s most admirable moments. At this point in the season, Diamond has been teaching Leon, a young kid from the neighborhood, how to defend himself through boxing lessons. However, in episode six, we see that one of Leon’s biggest bullies is his own father. After a boxing lesson, Diamond stops by Leon’s house for a glass of lemonade with Leon and his mother Gianna when Leon’s father comes home furious to see Diamond in his house. Diamond leaves and later learns that Leon’s father is fairly abusive with his son and decides to take matters into his own hands. He meets Leon’s father at the mechanic shop he works at, puts him in a chokehold, and threatens to kill him if he doesn’t leave Leon and Gianna alone.

Elsewhere, Diamond discovers that Jenard has been using heroin, and instead of lashing out at him, Diamond gets him to clean himself up so that he’s ready to rejoin CBI. Diamond then convinces Tommy to let him back into the group thanks to a deal he had with Shanti. From start to finish, Diamond showcases a high level of selflessness and a willingness to help others even when they’ve wronged him, something that is commendable in the drug game especially as others would probably not do the same.

New episodes of ‘Power Book IV: Force’ are available on the STARZ app on Fridays at 12:00 am ET/PT and on the STARZ TV channel at 8:00 pm ET/PT.