Month: January 2024

This weekend the Jan. 6 Capitol riot turns three. How are you celebrating the day an outgoing president helped inspire his violent supporters to attempt to overturn democracy (and then still become the GOP’s prospective nominee)? If you’re Donald Trump, you’re holding a trolly rally. Others may opt to play a forthcoming board game take on that fateful (and, let’s not forget, deadly) day.

Per Newsweek, the political podcast TrueAnon are set to release Storm the Capitol — TrueAnon Edition, which, for the low, low price of $64.99, allows players to relive, as they put it, “one of the funniest days in American history.” The game goes on sale on Jan. 6. Here’s how the website describes it:

Take control of one of 6 Patriots as you battle through the Capitol, collecting ballots, taking hostages, and fighting the police. Or play as the Capitol Police and use every means at your disposal to prevent the Patriots from getting to the roof with enough ballots to Stop the Steal.

Newsweek went into further detail:

They explained that if you play as one of the six patriot characters, you go from room to room, where you’re dealt either an “event” card, ballots—the game’s equivalent of points—or nothing.

The goal is to get 100 ballots and make it to the final room, where former President Donald Trump waits for players so that he can take them on his helicopter and change the results of the 2020 election to his favor “or ratify the real results of the 2020 election,” which amounts to winning the game.

One player will take the role of the Capitol police, whose goal is to prevent any of the patriot characters from getting 100 ballots before the 10th turn of the game, at which point the police character would win and certify Joe Biden’s victory.

On the most recent episode of TrueAnon, entitled “MAGA-log,” hosts Brace Belden and Liz Franczak talked up the game and discussed the failed coup. Belden called it “the best day of watching things on TV,” while Franczak described it as “a slice of life.”

They also claimed it wasn’t just for progressive yuksters, deeming it a game “for every single person in America, on every single side of every single political issue.” Well, maybe not for the many who went to prison for their involvement in it, or, you know, those who died.

(Via Newsweek)

BTS member Jin has shared a special message for the Army. On New Year’s Day, the K-Pop artist uploaded a video, offering benedictions and well wishes to fans.

“It’s January, everyone. The new year has come. I will become a year older in January,” he said in Korean. “I’ll be in my mid-30s by now. Did you all make a snowman? I’m still in the past so I don’t know if it’s snowing or not but if it snowed you have to make a snowman and go back to being kids and do snowball fights.”

At the time of writing, Jin is still completing his mandatory service in the Korean military. However, he is expected to complete his service fairly soon.

“I’m leaving this video so you can watch my pretty, handsome face and spend January and February warmly. I miss you all. I miss you a lot,” he added. “Wait just a bit more and you’ll be able to see me with short hair. I’ll grow my hair quickly this year and I’ll be able to start working hard soon.”

Jin continued, teasing he’d be back in “February and March.” He was the first member of BTS to begin his mandatory military service back in 2022. As of now, RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook are the only members who haven’t begun their mandatory military service, however, the aforementioned four began the enlisting process last year.

The members are expected to complete their service by 2025, with plans to reconvene shortly after.

You can see Jin’s video above.

Tuesday night marked the first time that Ja Morant took the floor against Victor Wembanyama. They’re two of the most exciting talents in the NBA, and during the fourth quarter of the game between Morant’s Memphis Grizzlies and Wembanyama’s San Antonio Spurs, the All-NBA guard went at the most recent No. 1 overall pick.

Both times, Morant managed to get the better of Wembanyama, which is something that he tends to do when he challenges big guys in the paint. The first was impressive enough, as Morant had Wembanyama on him at the free throw line, dribbled into the paint, and got him in the air. The two stayed up there for a second, but Morant was able to successfully create enough space to get up a shot that went in.

After the two teams traded possession, Morant put Wembanyama on a poster. He brought the ball up the floor, used a screen to get into the paint, and had Wembanyama waiting. Morant again created just enough space, and while Wembanyama was able to contest him here, the Grizzlies guard was able to go straight up and dunk with two hands.

Memphis would go on to pick up a 106-98 win behind 26 points, 10 assists, and five rebounds from Morant. Wembanyama, meanwhile, had 20 points, seven rebounds, four blocks, and this highlight.

Victor Wembanyama‘s rookie season in the NBA has featured some pretty unique highs and lows. Unfortunately for him and the San Antonio Spurs, there hasn’t been a ton of team success, as the team entered Tuesday night’s slate with a 5-27 record. And for Wembanyama, there have been the sorts of growing pains that any first-year player in the league is going to experience.

But the high points have been as unique as we all expected when Wembanyama came over to the NBA from France. He’s been capable of some of the most ridiculous things we’ve seen someone do on a basketball court, as he’s 7’4 but remarkably coordinated and nimble for a player of his size. There are also times when he’s willing to try some absolutely bonkers stuff, which we saw during Tuesday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies. During the game’s third quarter, Wembanyama chucked up a one-legged three from 30 feet away and got it after one of the more forgiving shooter’s rolls you will ever see.

That is a runner from way downtown that went off the backboard twice. Perhaps it will make a little more sense if we look at it from another angle, so let’s do that now…

Nope! Still wild! Here he is doing this back in France from a bit closer. It still does not make sense that he can do it.

Over the holidays, a lot of people watched a very naughty movie, sometimes with their families. Saltburn, the latest from Promising Young Woman director Emerald Fennell, hit Amazon in time for Christmas, which means a lot of parents and maybe even young kids saw Barry Keoghan dance around his in his birthday suit. That’s not the most risqué thing his social climbing antihero does. So lusty is he for a strapping fellow Oxfordian (played by Jacob Elordi) that he tongues what’s left in a tub after he takes a bath. If that “Jacob Elordi bath water” sounds like something you’d at least like to smell, then you’re in luck.

Per Pop Crave, an Etsy retailer is hawking a candle called “Jacob Elordi’s Bath Water.” It comes in five different scents: Apple Harvest, Cinnamon Vanilla, Clean Cotton, Sea Salt + Orchid, and White Sage + Lavender. That means not every candle smells the same, even though they all aspire to smell like the taller recent cinematic portrayer of Elvis Presley.

Jokily scented candles are all the rage. In the last couple years Gwyneth Paltrow has been selling one called “This Smells Like My Vagina,” which was so potent that it once blew up inside a woman’s home. Surely one named after the next SNL host won’t be so combustible.

You can buy the Jacob Elordi Bath Water on Etsy. Saltburn now streams on Amazon Prime.

Taylor Swift and Emma Stone are a pair of the buzziest besties. Over the years, the two have built a strong friendship, supporting each other in their endeavors. In an interview with The Graham Norton Show, Stone shared that she had gone to Swift’s Eras Tour three times “so far.”

One of these was the first Eras Tour show in Phoenix, Arizona, and she explained how this was a result of her worlds colliding.

“Mandy Moore, who was the choreographer of La La Land, was [Taylor’s] choreographer for the tour,” Stone said. “So it was a bunch of lovely things all come together, and it was incredible to see.”

Stone also shared how she and Swift first became friends, back when both of them were young and getting their respective starts in their careers.

The two met “at the Young Hollywood Awards when [she] was 18 in L.A.” Stone said, “We just kept in touch ever since and became great friends.”

As they’ve been friends for more than 15 years, many Swifties have theorized that Stone may be the titular Emma from the Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) vault track “When Emma Falls In Love.” The original version of Speak Now came out in 2010, which was also around the time Stone starred in Easy A. Stone, however, has remained tight-lipped about the song and it’s subject matter.

“You have to ask her!,” she said of Swift and the song.

You can see the clip from The Graham Norton Show above.

Things could have gone considerably better for the Chicago Bulls in the first half of their matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday evening. At the half, Joel Embiid led Philly to an emphatic, 73-42 lead that meant Chicago was going to need a miracle if it was going to win its second game in a row.

Once things rolled into the second half, we got a pair of pretty funny moments involving Andre Drummond. Early on in the third quarter, Drummond went to work against Embiid in the post, and was actually able to get a decent look at the rim. The issue was that he didn’t get the cleanest attempt off, so he threw the ball completely over the rim, caught it, and got hit with a travel.

Fast forward a few minutes later and Drummond, after setting a screen and rolling to the rim, got a clear lane for a dunk. The problem he ran into was Drummond either didn’t realize how far away from the rim he was or didn’t get quite as much lift as he anticipated, so he got blocked by the very front of the rim.

Drummond has had some good games in recent days, particularly as a rebounder. Still, he’ll probably want to have both of these back … and the fine folks at Shaqtin’ a Fool are probably really happy that Drummond is giving them some material.

Beyond Wonderland SoCal is returning to NOS Event Center in San Bernardino this March. The festival boasts an incredible line-up of electronic dance music musicians, including Alesso, Benny Benassi, Paul Oakenfold, and several others.

Taking place over the course of two days (March 22 & 23), EDM fans can look forward to a trippy Alice In Wonderland-themed extravaganza, with several stages designed to captivate each fan’s vision. “[G]uests are welcome to explore immersive art installations, interactive experiences, costumed performers, and many other whimsical festival moments,” reads a press release.

With such an exciting line-up and a magical concept behind it, fans can’t wait to get their hands on tickets to Beyond Wonderland SoCal 2024. And, they’ll be able to get tickets pretty soon.

Tickets for Beyond Wonderland SoCal 2024 officially go on sale this Friday, January 5 at 1 noon PT. Fans will be able to purchase tickets here. On Friday, fans can buy Two-day GA, GA+, and VIP tickets. They will be able to pay full price outright, or put the tickets on layaway for a downpayment of $9.99.

You can see the full Beyond Wonderland SoCal 2024 line-up above.

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

A federal judge is poised to unseal hundreds of court documents involving Jeffrey Epstein, the financier and convicted sex offender who died in his jail cell in 2019. Whose names will be contained within? There’s been much, sometimes reckless speculation, but real money is on Prince Andrew and Bill Clinton. (There might be some cameos from Robert F. Kennedy Jr., too.) Aaron Rodgers, no stranger to what could be called outside-the-box thinking, seemed to predict one absolutely unexpected name could be in there, too.

Per The Daily Mail, Rodgers made his weekly appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, when he brought up the Epstein client list, a favorite topic of his. At one point he said, maybe jokingly, maybe not, “There’s a lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel, who are hoping that list doesn’t come out.”

McAfee, recognizing Rodgers’ obsession with the list, joked that he’d be “waiting in his wine cellar” for the names to come out. Rodgers replied, “I’ll tell you what, if that list comes out, I will definitely be popping some sort of bottle.”

Where on earth did Kimmel’s name come in here? Could it have something to do with Kimmel dragging Rodgers last year? On his late night show, the host called him a “tin foil hatter” and a “Green Bay Wack-packer” before showing a clip of him talking about the Epstein documents being unsealed.

Whatever the case, Kimmel was not amused.

“Dear Aasshole,” Kimmel tweeted/Xed, “for the record, I’ve not met, flown with, visited, or had any contact whatsoever with Epstein, nor will you find my name on any “list” other than the clearly-phony nonsense that soft-brained wackos like yourself can’t seem to distinguish from reality. Your reckless words put my family in danger. Keep it up and we will debate the facts further in court.”

The world will have to wait some more to see who’s mentioned in the unsealed Epstein documents. And they’ll have to hold their breath about whether or not the former Jeopardy! guest host has gotten himself sued by a late night talk show king.

(Via The Daily Mail)

This spring, Beyond Wonderland SoCal will return to the NOS Events Center in San Bernardino, California. The line-up boasts some of the biggest names in electronic dance music, including Alesso, Paul Oakenfold, Benny Benassi, and several others.

Beyond Wonderland SoCal 2024 will take place on Friday, March 22 and Saturday, March 23, as headliners “go down the rabbit hole to discover multiple storybook-themed areas inspired by the iconic Alice In Wonderland,” according to a press release. These stages include The Queen’s Domain, Bassrush-hosted Mad Hatter’s Castle, Lost In Dreams and Insomniac Records’ Caterpillar’s Garden, Basscon and Dreamstate’s Cheshire Woods, Factory 93’s The Looking Glass, and Night Trip and RNBW’s Sea of Wonder.

With an exciting and diverse line-up in place, EDM lovers are dying to get tickets.

When do tickets for Beyond Wonderland SoCal 2024 come out?

Fans will be able to purchase tickets beginning Friday, January 5, at noon PST. Fans can purchase Two-day GA, GA+, and VIP tickets here. Fans who wish to purchase their tickets on layaway may do so for a $9.99 down payment.

You can see the full Beyond Wonderland SoCal 2024 line-up above.

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