Month: December 2023

The entire Real Housewives multiverse is filled with exaggerated feuds between castmates. Usually the beefs remain within the Bravo network family. However, thanks to “Lace It” rapper Eminem’s trademark dispute filing in February againstPotomac branch members Giselle Bryant and Robyn Dixon, he’s been reluctantly introduced to the stars’ feisty nature.

Eminem is fighting to block the duo’s protection over their podcast name, Reasonably Shady. Now the legal battle has escalated from a simple intellectual property mix-up to a full-on protective order request. Bryant and Dixon’s lawyer, Andrea Evans, has responded to Eminem’s legal maneuver via a statement in People.

“It seems obvious to us that if you file a lawsuit, you should be made available to be deposed,” wrote Evans. “[We’d] like to question Mathers at least about his use of the expressions Slim Shady and Shady. It’s unclear to us that Mathers can be the owner of the trademarks and file this suit against our clients, but he will not make himself available to be deposed.”

As a response to the blockage in October, the pair’s legal team requested that Eminem make himself available for questioning to explain why he felt the Reasonably Shady podcast could be seen as an extension of his Shady enterprise. Eminem reportedly declined, stating it would become “unduly burdensome,” suggesting others, including his manager, Paul Rosenberg, speak on his behalf.

Bryant and Dixon’s representatives weren’t okay with this alternative. The case is moving forward, and thus the saga continues.

The way we come across long-lasting friendships is often unexpected. But when you’re part of a military family. You learn to grab hold of the good people you meet and carry those friendships across states and oceans. You mark your friendships based off of what base you were stationed at when you met them and know those friendships can withstand just about anything because they’ve been tried.

So for an American family stationed in Japan, there was no doubt at least one lifelong friendship would be made. It just may have been surprising that the friend wasn’t affiliated with the military. Instead, the friend was an older Japanese man who didn’t speak English and lived next door to the young family in Yokosuka, Japan.

But this isn’t the first time this unique story went viral. In 2013, Reddit user Theresa52 posted a picture of a note that she received from her neighbor-turned-friend. People loved the letter and sweet story attached. Theresa explained that after moving to their new neighborhood in Japan, she and her husband passed out beer and chocolate to their neighbors. A few hours later, they met, Hiroshi Yamashita, their new neighbor and one of the recipients of their gift.

When Yamashita knocked on the family’s door, he presented them with gifts of his own—toilet paper, stuffed animals and a note. In the thread Theresa noted, “Things that are consumable and household necessities are popular gifts. We have heard lots of stories about people getting laundry soap,” after someone asked if toilet paper was a common housewarming gift in Japan. The stuffed animals were for their infant daughter at the time.

But the note is what keeps going viral. It starts out, “I can’t speak English. Thank you for the present. My name is Hiroshi Yamashita. I’m 52 years old. [I’m divorced] and I live alone.” Since Yamashita didn’t speak English, the note had some spots that were difficult to understand but the intent was clearly pure.

Theresa wrote in the comments of the post that it appeared that he was asking if her husband was in the Navy. While the sentences are out of order a bit, if you reorganize them a little, it seems Yamashita is attempting to say, “I have stuffed animals and toilet paper. You can use it if you’d like.”

The man concludes the letter with “Thank you for your friend operation.” It seemed that he was thanking the family for their hospitality, but Reddit users surmised that he was referring to Operation Friendship in 2011 when the United States aided Japan after an earthquake. Either way, it was still friendship operation because what says friendship like taking time out of your day to write in a language you don’t speak just to make sure your neighbors feel welcomed?

“It was adorable! We had brought him a six pack and some chocolate and tried to introduce ourselves to him. A couple hours later he brought over this letter with a pack of toilet paper and some stuffed animals for our daughter,” Theresa wrote in the comments while joking that their initial introduction probably amused Yamashita.

Further explaining within comment threads, Theresa said that they used pointing and Google Translate when they initially met Yamashita, and in turn, he used a translator app to write the note.

Theresa shared an update in the comments about six years after the story originally went viral saying, “We all exchanged gifts and food regularly for the four years I lived there. We would go to neighborhood festivals and have dinners together as well. I miss them all and think about them often.”

You never know when being kind will turn into a life long friendship. We certainly hope Yamashita and Theresa are doing just as well today and are continuing to spread their kindness around.

This article originally appeared on 2.23.23

Tom Wilkinson, the beloved and acclaimed British actor who was an always welcome fixture of movies and TV, has died, according to the BBC. He was 75. No cause of death has yet been released.

For decades, Wilkinson gave dozens of performances that were forceful yet soulful, characters who steamrolled their way into stories but were held back by neuroses and pain. He played all manner of types:

• The disgruntled, prideful former foreman who’s been lying to his wife about being unemployed in The Full Monty.
• The grieving father who goes too far in In the Bedroom, for which he received his first Oscar nomination.
• The self-doubting creator of a questionable memory-erasing procedure that part of him suspects does more harm than good in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
• The snarling, terrifying mob boss Carmine Falcone who doesn’t see a more sinister force taking over Gotham in Batman Begins.
• The crooked litigator so wracked with guilt over what he’s done that he loses his mind in Michael Clayton, for which he received his second Oscar nom.
• A self-hating Lyndon B. Johnson who has to fight both fellow politicians and himself to do something good in Selma.

There are many roles besides, all of them richly portrayed by one of England’s finest character actors. Wilkinson mostly subsisted on supporting characters, though he never kept to the background. He always forced his way to the forefront with the power of his presence, creating magnetically complicated characters who visibly wrestled with demons.

His work seemed to slow down a bit in the last few years, though he was always still around. One of his last turns was reprising one of his breakthrough roles in Disney+’s Full Monty revamp. There’s plenty more besides, memorable turns in Sense and Sensibility, Rush Hour, Shakespeare in Love, Guy Ritchie’s RocknRolla, Valkyrie, Duplicity, Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, The Ghost Writer, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Snowden, and many more. The cinema, and the world, is poorer for no longer having him in it.

(Via BBC)

The first big in-season trade of this basketball year went down on Saturday when the New York Knicks and Toronto Raptors agreed to a swap that sends OG Anunoby to New York (along with Malachi Flynn and Precious Achiuwa) and Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, and a second round pick to Toronto.

The trade finally brings an end to Anunoby trade rumors in Toronto, which have persisted for a couple years now, with the Raptors not getting the draft capital they once could’ve commanded for him since he is a free agent this summer. The lack of a first round pick going back to Toronto in the deal was a bit of a surprise given what they had been asking for him previously, but they do land a young guard in Quickley that many believe has not been able to tap into his full potential in New York.

Knicks fans have been frustrated with Tom Thibodeau’s usage of Quickley this season, as the team has been better when he’s on the floor, and now he figures to get a chance to take on a much larger role in Toronto, where there is not much in the way of guard depth. Still, the news of the trade seemed to catch Quickley by as much surprise as everyone else, as he reacted to Woj and Shams breaking the news of his trade along with everyone else.

His now former teammate Josh Hart likewise found himself waking up to the news, seemingly taken aback by the sudden trade.

This is life in the NBA, and while Quickley undoubtedly wanted to be in New York, it’s possible from an individual perspective on the court, this will be a positive move for him. Still, it’s a young player getting introduced to the harsh reality of the basketball business and now he has to make the move north to Toronto and get acclimated to his new team as quickly as possible.

The New York Knicks have been looking for a potential big swing on the trade market for quite some time. The Toronto Raptors have needed to figure out what the future holds for standout forward OG Anunoby, who can become an unrestricted free agent this summer. And according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the two teams have decided to come together to execute a trade revolving around perhaps the best three-and-D wing in all of basketball.

Wojnarowski brings word that New York has, indeed, won the Anunoby sweepstakes, although it will cost them a pretty penny. The Knicks will acquire Anunoby and big man Precious Achiuwa in exchange for a package that includes R.J. Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, and a collection of draft picks.

News of the deal was confirmed by Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Both Wojnarowski and Charania report that New York will not have to dig deep into its collection of draft picks, as the team is going to send a single second-round selection to Toronto.

It’s a big move for the Raptors, which sit at 12-19 on the year and have long held the reputation of being a team that would rather lose a player in unrestricted free agency than get something back for them on the trade market. Now, all eyes are on what the future will hold for Pascal Siakam, who is also slated to become a free agent at the end of the year.

As for the Knicks, while parting ways with Barrett and Quickley will sting — particularly the latter, who is a restricted free agent after the season — Anunoby gives them some major reinforcements on the wing, and should be a snug fit alongside guys like Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle. And as an added bonus, while the team could potentially lose Anunoby in free agency, the Knicks managed to do this deal without diving into their collection of first-round picks, which could let them continue to be active in the trade market going forward.

On the year, Anunoby is averaging 15.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists, a steal, and 0.5 blocks in 33.3 minutes per game while connecting on 37.4 percent of his threes.

Just days before Christmas, The Chicks announced the untimely death of founding member Laura Lynch. The news rocked the country music world. According to People, on December 22, Lynch was involved in a fatal head-on collision in Hudspeth County, Texas. On Saturday, December 30, more details about the accident have surfaced.

A report from TMZ alleges that a driver connected to the accident could potentially face criminal charges. In an exclusive statement shared with the publication, the Texas Department of Public Safety PIO Sgt. Eliot Torres revealed that an investigation had been launched due to the collision’s severity.

The department is doing its due diligence to research if the driver, who has not been named at this time, was under the influence at the time of the accident. After the driver was treated for their injuries in a local hospital, their blood was drawn to test for traces of drug and alcohol. Local authorities might seek charges against the driver if either test returns positive.

After the accident, The Chicks’ current members, Emily Strayer, Martie Maguire, and Natalie Maines, shared a joint statement on the group’s official Instagram page. “Laura had a gift for design, a love of all things Texas and was instrumental in the early success of the band,” the note read. “Her undeniable talents helped propel us beyond busking on street corners to stages all across Texas and the Midwest.”

Most states in the U.S. have oddly shaped boundaries, largely formed by meandering waterways and coastal irregularities. But two states stand out for their seemingly defiant rectangularness—Wyoming and Colorado.

These almost-twin states share a border, are almost exactly the same size (Colorado is just 1.06 times larger than Wyoming), boast basically the same shape and have the Rocky Mountains eating into a sizeable chunk of them. (Wyoming’s share of mountains is a bit larger than Colorado’s, but its topography isn’t nearly different enough than Colorado’s to account for how many fewer people it has.)

Wyoming’s population as of 2022 was estimated to be just over 580,000, while Colorado’s was estimated to be just over 5.8 million. Almost exactly a 10-fold difference between the two very similar states.

So…why?

Water resources? A logical guess, but nope. Both states contain the headwaters of multiple major rivers, and according to RealLifeLore, Wyoming actually has a slight edge over Colorado due to the way its freshwater is legally allocated.

What makes Wyoming the least populous U.S. state despite being the country’s 10th largest state by area has to do with the Gold Rush, agriculture, World War II, federal lands, the rise of the telecom industry, educational institutions, airplanes and more. It’s a historical Tale of Two States that illustrates how twins with different upbringings can share many similarities but also end up with two very different life stories.

Watch the folks at RealLifeLore explain the population discrepancy between Wyoming and Colorado:

The one correction some people in the comments of the video offered up was that referring to the “mild” climate in Wyoming seems a bit misleading. Several people mentioned that the winter weather in Wyoming is harsher than in Colorado, which may account for fewer people wanting to live there. (However, considering the fact that there are more densely populated places in the world with exceptionally punishing winters, weather doesn’t fully explain it, either.)

It’ll be interesting to see in another hundred years or so if these states’ population trends change, but for now, Wyoming remains the least populous and most naturally undisturbed state. So if you’re big on the outdoors and not so big on people, the Equality State (Side fun fact: Wyoming was the first state to give women the right to vote.) might just be the place for you. If you love the mountains but also people, Colorado may be more your speed.

This article originally appeared on 5.10.23

Paul Schrader and Martin Scorsese go way back. Taxi Driver was based on Schrader’s first solo screenplay. He’s written or co-written some of his finest films, including Raging Bull, The Last Temptation of Christ, and Bringing Out the Dead. They’re close buds, which is good because Schrader, as people well know, isn’t afraid to speak his mind. Naturally Schrader has some thoughts about Scorsese’s latest, the much-loved Killers of the Flower Moon, and surely Scorsese is cool with him mouthing off.

Per Variety, Schrader — who made a very fine picture himself this year, namely Master Gardener — sat down with the French publication Le Monde, during which he discussed the differences between he and his longtime collaborator. For one thing, Schrader likes smaller, more intimate films while Scorsese digs sprawling, ambitious epics.

“Marty compares me to a Flemish miniaturist. He would be more the type who paints Renaissance frescoes,” Schrader explained. “Give him $200 million, a good film will inevitably come out of it.”

But Schrader has a few bones to pick with Flower Moon.

“That said, I would have preferred Leonardo DiCaprio to play the role of the cop in ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ rather than the role of the idiot,” Schrader said. “Spending three-and-a-half hours in the company of an idiot is a long time.”

As it happened, that was the original plan for Flower Moon. Its initial draft hewed close to David Grann’s book, which largely focuses on the federal investigation into the spate of mysterious murderers befalling the noveau riche Osage people of Oklahoma. Instead Scorsese and team wound up inverting it, deciding to make the lead character Ernest, the nincompoop who marries a wealthy Osage woman (played by Lily Gladstone), one of a number of Osage people whom his uncle (Robert De Niro) wants murdered for their money. The character DiCaprio was originally supposed to play, former Texas Marshal Tom White, went to awesomely mumbly Jesse Plemons.

But Schrader, who’s made untold films about antiheroic protagonists, thinks the original way would have worked best. He’s an opinionated guy, as witness his prolifically updated Facebook page. And honestly, considering his incredible CV — Blue Collar! American Gigolo! his deranged Cat People redo! Light Sleeper! his recent run of First Reformed, The Card Counter, and the aforementioned Master Gardener, plus many greats in between! — he can say whatever he wants. Besides, he’s not wrong about another of the year’s super-long pictures.

(Via Le Monde and Variety)

Like most British actors, Gary Oldman scored a plum role in the Harry Potter-verse. He played Sirius Black, the notorious wizard who turns out to actually be one of the goodies. When he started, with the 2004 threequel Prisoner of Azkaban, Oldman was one of Hollywood’s go-to villainous hams, and playing Sirius gave him a chance to show both his darker and warmer sides. Someone who wasn’t impressed with his Harry Potter work? Gary Oldman.

“I think my work is mediocre in it,” the Oscar-winning thespian said during an appearance on the podcast Happy Sad Confused, per Entertainment Weekly. He even confessed one of his actorly failings. “Maybe if I had read the books like Alan [Rickman], if I had got ahead of the curve, if I had known what’s coming, I honestly think I would have played it differently.”

Perhaps Oldman didn’t mean to single out his work as Sirius Black. After all, he’s always hard on himself, never content , which is what keeps him going.

“I’ll tell you what it is,” Oldman explained. “It’s like anything, if I sat and watched myself in something and said, ‘My god, I’m amazing,’ that would be a very sad day, because you want to make the next thing better.”

In other words, you don’t have to be too hard on Oldman’s three Harry Potter turns (four if you count the cameo in Deathly Hallows Part II), because you’re not Gary Oldman. Indeed, one could argue his work there helped him transition into nicer roles, like the earnest do-gooder Commissioner Gordon in the Christopher Nolan Batmans. Today he can mix it up, playing nice guys, troubled guys like in Mank, or hissable scoundrels like Oppenheimer’s Harry Truman.

You can watch Oldman’s entire Happy Sad Confused appearance in the video below.

(Via EW)

Like most British actors, Gary Oldman scored a plum role in the Harry Potter-verse. He played Sirius Black, the notorious wizard who turns out to actually be one of the goodies. When he started, with the 2004 threequel Prisoner of Azkaban, Oldman was one of Hollywood’s go-to villainous hams, and playing Sirius gave him a chance to show both his darker and warmer sides. Someone who wasn’t impressed with his Harry Potter work? Gary Oldman.

“I think my work is mediocre in it,” the Oscar-winning thespian said during an appearance on the podcast Happy Sad Confused, per Entertainment Weekly. He even confessed one of his actorly failings. “Maybe if I had read the books like Alan [Rickman], if I had got ahead of the curve, if I had known what’s coming, I honestly think I would have played it differently.”

Perhaps Oldman didn’t mean to single out his work as Sirius Black. After all, he’s always hard on himself, never content , which is what keeps him going.

“I’ll tell you what it is,” Oldman explained. “It’s like anything, if I sat and watched myself in something and said, ‘My god, I’m amazing,’ that would be a very sad day, because you want to make the next thing better.”

In other words, you don’t have to be too hard on Oldman’s three Harry Potter turns (four if you count the cameo in Deathly Hallows Part II), because you’re not Gary Oldman. Indeed, one could argue his work there helped him transition into nicer roles, like the earnest do-gooder Commissioner Gordon in the Christopher Nolan Batmans. Today he can mix it up, playing nice guys, troubled guys like in Mank, or hissable scoundrels like Oppenheimer’s Harry Truman.

You can watch Oldman’s entire Happy Sad Confused appearance in the video below.

(Via EW)