Month: January 2024

Novelist Jason K. Pargin has inspired an online food fight after his video about lobster received over 500,000 views on Tiktok and nearly 6 million on Twitter. Pargin believes that we’ve all been tricked into liking lobster and that people only like it because it’s considered high class.

Pargin is the author of the “John Dies at the End” and “Zoey Ashe” series and the former editor of Cracked.com.

“I don’t think anyone actually enjoys eating lobster. I think they’ve just been convinced that it’s a high-class food for a really specific reason,” Pargin says in his controversial video. He then describes how just a few centuries ago lobster was once used as prisoners’ food and ground into fertilizer.

---

But after the food developed a reputation for being hard to transport from the coastal areas inland and that it spoils quickly after being cooked, it began to be seen as a delicacy.

None

— (@)

“So because it was difficult to mess with and because it had to be shipped live inside the country, away from the coast, it became known that lobster was difficult to obtain,” Pargin says in his video. “And because it’s difficult to obtain, it had to be expensive, and because it was expensive, we decided it was good.”

“You were eating lobster not because you enjoyed it but because you wanted it to be known to all who were watching you that you could afford lobster,” Pargin continues.

His final point was a real blow to those who only eat lobster if it’s drowned in butter. “You know what also tastes good when you dump it into a bucket of butter? Anything,” Pargin says.

The viral video sparked a hot debate on Twitter, where it appears that most people disagreed with Pargin—especially those who live in the northeast and enjoy lobster no matter how it’s prepared. Many had a problem with Pargin framing the argument from the limited American perspective.

Lobster is eaten worldwide and has been enjoyed by countless cultures since the prehistoric era. People enjoy lobster in places where it’s affordable and where it’s considered a delicacy. So that kills his argument that we’ve been duped into enjoying lobster simply because it’s expensive.

But Pargin is entirely correct when he claims that we value things more when they are scarce. In psychology, the concept is known as the scarcity effect.

“Scarcity is a pervasive condition of human existence,” Shahram Heshmat, Ph.D., writes in Psychology Today. “Everyday circumstances of limited resources (money and time) can make individuals experience a sense of scarcity. Scarcity functions like an obstacle to goal pursuit, which intensify the value of goal.”

Here’s what people are saying about Pargin’s videos on Twitter.

Sorry, Jason, history goes way past the 1800s.

You should go back and tell the Roman Empire your theory of why they were tricked into thinking it was a luxury dish due to America in the 1800’s .

— Neil Rankin (@frontlinechef) March 19, 2023

I love when americans talk like history started in the 1800s. Lobster is good and always has been. pic.twitter.com/nlAUFXQMgG

— Rafael Graça Martins (@rafaelgcmartins) March 17, 2023

Interesting take, which really only works in an isolated US context and not considering how Europe historically saw lobster (and we don’t dunk everything in butter)

— Per Ploug (@pploug) March 17, 2023

Some swear they do not need to drown a lobster in butter to enjoy its flavor.

I’m a northwesterner and believe doing anything to shellfish is sacrilege. Steam it and just give it to me. pic.twitter.com/VtKZg7i8lX

— Ellie L (@RedPencilScript) March 17, 2023

This is absolutely nonsense. I have literally eaten lobster meat plain by the fistful, dunking in all that butter is gross. Lobster is just like a super shrimp. I also regularly buy a pound of bay shrimp and eat them with a spoon out of a bowl.

— RJ Palmer (@arvalis) March 17, 2023

Many disagreed and shared why they love the cockroach of the seas.

I actively, consciously enjoy eating lobster. Its succulent and I am enthralled by flavour and texture when I am eating it.

So

— Crispin (@SirMustard) March 18, 2023

Okay but have you ever had *really* good surf and turf? A lobster roll?

I know nothing of the historical evolution of peoples’ views on lobster but do know that I personally find it delicious. pic.twitter.com/kyOCpvHzhH

— Oliver Chinyere (@Oliverdirtyb) March 18, 2023

pic.twitter.com/PxKFQxxVK3

— Ryan Leonard (@RyanLeonard) March 16, 2023

Is lobster really just a butter-delivery system?

pic.twitter.com/cUnoAGu0mw

— Xavi 🇲🇽🇮🇪 (@PresidentXavi) March 17, 2023

Unpopular opinion: Fresh lobster is delicious with butter and seasoned corn on the side. 🤤 pic.twitter.com/HRhLjiVV3p

— Aimee (@aimeelramirez) March 18, 2023

Some agree with Pargin that people only like lobster because it’s expensive.

After seeing lobster in movies and Tv shows my whole life – I thought it must be delicious

First time I tasted lobster I was disappointed

It’s mid at best

Overrated

Lobsters are like diamonds

Bad product, great marketing

— Jay D. Cartere (@JayCartere) March 17, 2023

I love this subject. When I made Million Dollar Buffet it came up again and again. Put lobster on a buffet and people will pay $150 dollars.

— Grace Dent (@gracedent) March 18, 2023

Kinda like how I read a while back that Pabst Blue Ribbon beer is considered high class and is expensive in China. pic.twitter.com/8ZFahIX2zF

— Lance Minshall (@LanceMinshall) March 17, 2023

Pargin’s argument makes sense. We value things harder to get, and anything dunked in butter tastes fantastic. But that doesn’t cover the fact that people enjoy lobster around the globe, regardless of its perceived scarcity. In the end, the real winners of this debate are those who don’t like lobster. Right now, a pound of Maine lobster goes for up to $80 a pound. That’s an expensive night out at the local fish joint.

This article originally appeared on 3.18.23

A mom who admitted she packs her 2-year-old a meal when they go out to dinner has started an interesting debate on TikTok about restaurant etiquette and how it applies to young children.

The video posted by Ohio mom, Karlie Smith (unbreakablemomma on TikTok), has received nearly 600,000 views and has over 1,850 comments.

“Call me cheap, call me whatever, but if we’re going out to a restaurant, I’m packing my kid a meal,” Smith, 21, said in her post. “I do this for many reasons. On Friday nights, my family and I get together, and tonight, we’re getting food out. My son is not getting food out.”

---

“For one, you want me to pay $6.99 for chicken tenders and fries that my son is going to throw half of it on the floor? You’re crazy,” she continued. “Also, whatever I pack is probably going to be healthier than what the restaurant has anyways.”

Smith’s example of a $6.99 kids’ meal is generous. In some parts of the country, a kids’ meal will set you back a lot more than that.

@unbreakablemomma

Visit TikTok to discover videos!

In the video, Smith demonstrated what she prepared for her son’s meal that day: a sandwich filled with peanut butter and jelly, banana slices, cubed cheddar cheese and a chocolate-flavored Lara bar, all neatly organized in a plastic container.

Smith added that when they get to the restaurant, her child can begin to eat immediately without having to wait for a server to take their order and the kitchen to prepare the food.

“I can just hand him this and let him go to town,” she said. “Also, my child is not opinionated. He does not care what he eats; he just wants to eat.”

The mother of two created quite a stir on TikTok after posting the video, with some people shaming her for bringing outside food into a restaurant. Many felt she wasn’t being fair by taking a seat without buying a meal, while others thought the restaurant was a good place for a child to learn patience. Others felt she wasn’t being fair by eating a restaurant-cooked meal while her child ate food from home.

“$6.99 is not a outrageous price. Eating out is definitely a experience a child deserves while everyone eats out,” Suki commented.

“It is sooo important that they learn patience at that age. The same two-year-old who doesn’t learn that becomes a screaming five-year-old,” Heth added.

“Someone once told me if u can’t afford to let your kid get whatever meal they want at a restaurant, u shouldn’t be eating out,” Kiana stated.

“You are paying for the seat at the table, not just the food. The price of the food to the restaurant is a tiny part of it,” LiverpoolLilac wrote.

However, many people felt for Smith and thought she was doing the right thing for her child and finances.

“This is a great idea and I will be using it! Why would I buy a 2-year-old a meal they won’t eat? People need to stop harassing you,” Katy Brown wrote.

“This is great cause restaurant food is rarely healthy for kids. Always chicken tenders and grilled cheese or corn dogs etc, and fries fries fries,” Luna added.

“This is so smart, my kids always waste out food & always eat what I make so thanks for this tip!” Ceryna said.

After the video was bombarded with comments, Smith told Today.com that, as a former server, she always leaves a tip that compensates for the food brought from home and cleans up the table.

Smith put out a follow-up video where she had some fun with the negative comments she received on the video.

@unbreakablemomma

Visit TikTok to discover videos!

This article originally appeared on 5.26.23

Kendrick Lamar usually waits a few years between releasing new work. But thanks to the “Rich Spirit” rapper’s creative service company, PgLang, which he runs with Dave Free, he’s making an exception. On January 20, in a joint upload to Instagram, the company unveiled their latest creative endeavor with high-fashion house Chanel.

Chanel shared the official trailer for their forthcoming short film, The Button, starring Margaret Qualley, Anna Mouglalis, and Naomi Campbell, which is written and directed by Free. The ad features what seems to be an unreleased track from Lamar.

As Qualley searches for her missing fastener, Lamar’s record hypes up the viewer as they prepare to join the actress in her quest. On pgLang’s official Instagram, the company provided a synopsis of the collaboration:

At the invitation of Virginie Viard, Kendrick Lamar, and Dave Free meet the world of Chanel Haute Couture for the first time, bringing to life a story about time and transmission. Actress and House ambassador Margaret Qualley plunges us into the tale ‘The Button’ alongside actress and House ambassador Anna Mouglalis, as well as friend of the House, Naomi Campbell.

According to a note posted online, the film will be revealed in its entirety during Chanel’s spring/summer 2024 haute couture show on Tuesday, January 23, at 2 p.m. Paris time. View the full trailer below.

According to Yasiin Bey, Drake’s music is ideal for a shopping trip to your local Target. Although the “Needle” rapper vehemently disagrees with Bey’s take, that didn’t stop him from leaning into the ambient qualities of his latest album, For All The Dogs.

On January 20, Drake called a temporary cease-fire on his beef with Metro Boomin to join in on the viral tripod bro trend overtaking social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok. The online movement allows male content creators to take their followers along as they prepare for the day, run errands, and knock out self-care routines. In Drake’s video, he pulled inspiration from influencer Drew Walls (who so happens to feature Target runs on his platforms).

The clip was captioned: “Drew Walls, you tweaking my boi…got me on my bullsh*t.” It shows Drake flexing his top-shelf bartending skills, aqua fitness routine, and wind-down process.

Using his song “Virginia Beach” as the vlog’s background track, Drake’s humor was not lost on his followers. Not only are they here for “Sassy Drizzy,” but they are now demanding that he create another vlog, this time at Target.

For All The Dogs is out now via OVO Sound/Republic Records. Find out more information here.

For nine seasons, Josh Radnor was not only one of the stars of How I Met Your Mother; he was the “I” of the title. Should Radnor’s future potential children ever ask how he met their mother, he’ll have a pretty good answer: Shortly after meeting her they fell for each other while both were high on drugs.

Per The New York Times, Radnor and his now-wife Dr. Jordana Jacobs, a clinical psychologist, met two years back at a sound meditation retreat in upstate New York. The day before they both took mushrooms as part of a group practice, they had met and even chatted for a half-hour. What’s more, they were both recovering from a break-up.

While each lying on the floor, tripping on recreational pharmaceuticals, masks over their eyes, listening to singing bowls and chimes, they both hallucinated that voiced were telling them to date:

“That’s her,” Mr. Radnor, now 49, said a voice told him. “That’s your woman.”

Across the room and the psilocybin-infused metaverse, Dr. Jacobs, 36, was having a conversation with her heart.

“What do you have to tell me?” she asked it.

“You know that man over there across the room, Josh?” it replied. “You’re drawn to him.”

Later Jacobs made the first move, telling Radnor she liked him.

“I had this experience in ceremony of listening to my heart,” she told him, “and my heart is drawn to you.”

At first Randor was hesitant, telling her, “You came up for me in ceremony as well, but I’m not ready to talk about it.”

But soon after leaving the retreat, Randor texted her. Nearly two years later, on Jan. 6, 2024, they wed.

Is this a better “how I met your mother” story than the one in How I Met Your Mother? Even if it isn’t, it’s at least further proof that life can be stranger than fiction.

(Via NYT)

Recently original scripted programming has taken a hit. Several series have either been canceled or put on ice. One of TV’s most anticipated series, Euphoria, won’t hit airwaves until 2025.

So far, we know Barbie Ferreira won’t be returning for Season 3, and following a sit-down with Variety, it appears “Think Fast” singer Dominic Fike isn’t quite sure he will either. On January 19, Fike caught up with the outlet during the Sundance Film Festival. When asked about his time on the show, Fike spoke about his struggles with sobriety and feeling that the sober coach provided by the series failed him.

“I’ve done that before, like acted like a drug addict,” he said. “I actually am a pretty big drug addict myself, believe it or not. When I was on ‘Euphoria,’ they kind of just gave me a coach who would just talk to me. It was just some random lady… A random lady that I’d never relate to. We had nothing in common. We didn’t come from the same places or the same problems. It was hard to take advice from someone like that or give a sh*t.”

The show’s co-creator Sam Levinson spoke about working to help the late Angus Cloud in his sobriety journey while filming. Sadly, Cloud’s July 2023 death was reportedly a result of his addiction.

When asked if he would be open to returning to the show Fike reportedly seemed unsure but said it “would be dope.”

What if Ed O’Neill never got into acting? Would Married…with Children have been the same with a different Al Bundy? What if Craig T. Nelson had actually played Jay Pritchett on Modern Family, as he almost did? As it happens, there’s an alternate timeline in which the actor never became an actor. In this one, he instead gets involved in…organized crime.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, O’Neill recently appeared on fellow Modern Family alum Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s podcast Dinner on Me, where he reflected on his younger days. Back in 1969, when he was in his 20s, O’Neill was struggling to find work in his hometown of Youngstown, Ohio. One day a friend offered him a job, of sorts.

“We’re driving and he said, ‘How you doing? You know, you, you got cut, you got no money,” O’Neill recalled. “I said, ‘No, I’m broke. You know, I don’t know what I’m going to do.’”

This friend, named Jim, then took O’Neill to a bar, where O’Neill watched him do some shady business:

“He started talking to the bartender,” O’Neill said of Jim. “He says, ‘I’m looking for this kid, his name is whatever, Demko, his name is Jimmy Demko, do you know him?’ And the guy says, ‘No, it doesn’t ring a bell.’ So he gives him $20, and he says, ‘Look, he’s an old friend of mine, I haven’t seen him in years, you know, I’m looking to reconnect, but I’d like to surprise him. So if he comes in again, you can call this number, you can reach me.”

The exchange eventually turned into a job offer once O’Neill and his friend left the bar. “We left and he said, ‘You can do this kind of stuff for me, you know, I’ll protect you. I’ll give you easy stuff. Just you collect here. You do that. You run, you drop something off here and there. You know you may have to lean on a guy. You’re good at that. You can make some good money.’”

Thing is, O’Neill actually considered it. He told Jim he’d “think about it.” He even talked about with his father. His father was blunt, asking him, “Can you do time?” O’Neill realized he couldn’t.

So instead of getting into organized crime, O’Neill kept pursuing the acting thing. Eventually it paid off, and then some. But try to imagine a timeline in which instead of, say, playing an undercover cop on one of the first episodes of Miami Vice — to say nothing of starring in the early aughts revival of Dragnet — O’Neill spent time in the slammer.

(Via THR)

In 2023, millennials everywhere into a spiral when “Cry Me A River” singer Justin Timberlake reunited with his NSYNC bandmates. As of today (Jannuary 20), it appears that the former chart-topping boy band’s return only amounted to a one-off single, “Better Place,” for the Trolls Band Together soundtrack. Contrarily, Timberlake has fully realized plans for his solo ventures.

Following his homecoming concert on January 19, Timberlake took to his official social media platforms to announce, Everything I Thought I Was, his first album in nearly 6 years. With the help of Sicario actor Benicio Del Toro‘s award-winning skillset, the video trailer for the forthcoming project provided viewers a peek into Timberlake’s new era in music.

In the clip, by hand, Timberlake guides a replica luxury car along a road as it arrives at a rural gas station. The setup intended to mirror Timberlake’s Southern roots is a metaphor for his return to his life before the glitz and glam. Based on his song “Selfish,” which was previewed during his Memphis concert, the trailer’s reflective theme will show up in the project’s lyrical content not sound.

Timberlake’s 2018 explorative departure from his signature pop and R&B sound (Man Of The Woods) was not received well by fans. So many are hoping Everything I Thought I Was isn’t a repeat of that. Timberlake has not confirmed when the project will be released but a pre-save link for the single “Selfish” is now live on his official website.

Watch Justin Timberlake’s full album announcement above.

Justin Timberlake’s single “Selfish” is due out soon. Find more information here.

Breath is considered by many cultures to be the key to life, and there’s no argument that it is one of the requirements. The human body takes somewhere around 20,000 breaths per day, so we’re pretty lucky that this particular mechanism comes to us instinctually. But one of the detriments of having our lungs working on autopilot is that we are often unaware of how effectively, or ineffectively, we are taking in oxygen.

Because this function is usually taken for granted, many people go days, weeks, months, maybe years, without taking a single conscious breath. Perhaps that sounds like you. Perhaps you have had other areas of self-improvement that you have prioritized. But instead of judging yourself, or counting it as a negative, take this as an opportunity to see significant improvements in your everyday health with a minimal effort.

One of the quickest ways to find appreciation for your breath is to go without it, for any amount of time. We’re talking about “breath holds.” The difficulty here is breathing is so instinctual that it can take a lot of effort to really deprive your body of oxygen. So the trick is finding a reoccurring opportunity for you to regularly test your lung capacity. Once you get in a regular habit you will be shocked at the extra level of performance that it unlocks.

Uproxx sat with Don Tran, a former Marine Raider and cofounder of Deepend Fitness, to discuss the power of breathwork, how to start the practice, and how incorporating underwater holds can help you develop a stronger practice.

READING AND BREATHING

Breathing has been around for as long as the human experiment has. So naturally there has been plenty of great insight into it, and many great books written on the subject. For those hoping to begin the journey in the right way, with all the information at hand, here are a few great books that Tran stands by. For additional progress, try to follow your breath as you read, maybe take a conscious breath before every page turn.

• Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor
• The Art of Breath by Brian Mackenzie
• Breathing for Warriors by Dr. Belisa Vranich

FIND YOUR INTENTION

Don’t confuse intention with over-complication. This is about taking the natural organic behavior and bringing consciousness into the equation. First, before you begin your training, ask yourself why you are starting this practice. Do you want to be less stressed? Do you want to perform better at work presentations? Do you want to develop a deeper connection with your body? Finding an intention or goal will make the practice stick stronger.

For Tran, breathwork was a way to calm himself and better process the high-stress situations he was put in overseas during combat. “My family was asking me what it was like overseas and I realized that I couldn’t really remember anything,” says Tran. “I spent so much of that time afraid. But when I started working on my breath during our underwater exercises, I found that it was an incredible tool for finding calm. I could find peace in moments that I used to spend filled with fear.”

MIND-BODY CONNECTION

Getting a better breath isn’t just about having more time to breathe. There are several physical elements that should be considered and perfected to get a great breath. “One of the first things that I look for is what the rib cage is doing,” says Tran. Specifically, what the rib cage and the intercostal muscles are doing. “I want to see a stretch in those muscles, and I want to see that the lungs are filling up.”

One great way to improve on these biomechanics is to look in a mirror in the beginning. Do this to make sure that your posture is good and that you are allowing your lungs to fill. This is also a way to observe how you are breathing, and that you are inhaling through the nose or mouth, depending on what you are practicing. Be sure that you are taking deep breaths versus shallow and short ones.

BREAK THE MENTAL BARRIERS

Since breath is so essential to life, there are mental triggers activated when we aren’t able to breathe and they alarm way before we are ever actually in danger. “For most people, they are starting to get contractions to their diaphragm at their 50 percent mark,” says Tran. “So it can be a very eye-opening experience when people are able to push through that first impulse.”

Deepend Fitness helps people build up their breathing musculature by having people do quick bodyweight workouts poolside before doing short, focused swims. The goal is to force your body to be depleted of oxygen, taken to a limit, and then introduce the water, where you really test your capacity. The more you practice the more aware you will become of your actual limits and the more confident you will become within that space.

BASIC BREATH EXERCISES:

There are a lot of breath patterns to explore in different situations, and it’s important to find the right one for your purpose. Here are just a few different patterns and regulations that you can use to start your journey.

For Meditation: Box Breathing

Breathe in for four seconds, hold your breath for four seconds, exhale for four seconds, hold again for four seconds, and then repeat. The name box breathing comes from the idea that you can visualize a box while you are doing this pattern, with each side being represented by four seconds.

For Stress: Exponential Breathing

Breathe in for three seconds, hold for two seconds, exhale out for three seconds, breathe in for three seconds, hold for two seconds, and exhale for five seconds. Continue like that, increasing your exhale time by two seconds until you reach a calmer state, with the goal being within 24 seconds.

For Mind-body: Pranayama

Sit crossed-legged on the ground with your arms forward on your legs. Exhale completely. Bring your right hand up to your nose and close your right nostril, breathe in through your left nostril for five seconds, close both nostrils and hold for five seconds, open your right nostril and exhale for five seconds, close both nostrils and hold for five seconds. Repeat doing the opposite order for the nose.

GO DEEPER WITH THE PRACTICE

Bringing underwater work into the situation keeps you from compromising in your practice. Because breath is so imperative finding a way to push the limit is difficult. Not everyone has a pool, but you can accomplish similar results using a plunge or bath. It is important to start on dry land though, and Tran makes sure that his students work on their breath sufficiently before going into the water.

These kind of exercises are also a great way to learn about what breaths are useful in a recreational scenario like free-diving on vacation. “There’s a lot of research that suggests that diving from a cold start is better than taking a big gasp before going underwater,” says Tran. Little adjustments and tools can help you get the most out of your underwater experiences.

Plunges are a great way to add another level to your breathwork practice, in addition to the other health benefits cold water immersion can have on the body. Because entering freezing water is a stressor, your breathing will naturally quicken on introduction. Being able to bring your breath back down after that initial experience is a great way to practice calming yourself in stressful scenarios.

Stay with this practice, and you’ll be shocked at the performance levels you’ll unlock.

Nothing really ends in TV and movies anymore. Revivals are all the rage, even when they prove inferior to the original. (That’s why Ray Romano won’t be returning to Everybody Loves Raymond.) Succession ended last year, with an inevitable bang. At first creator Jesse Armstrong flirted with the idea of not doing a sequel but rather one of them spinoffs. Could we get more Cousin Greg? A prequel about Logan? Maybe that’ll happen one day, but for now Armstrong is no longer into any of that.

Per Deadline, the TV maven went on BBC Radio’s Today, where he poured cold water on any future dalliances with the Roy family. Contrary to what he said last year, Armstrong said that more Succession business “doesn’t feel like the most interesting thing to me.” What’s more, he said he and his team had “written [the characters] enough now.”

Succession recently scooped up yet another batch of Emmys, including Best Drama Series and trophies for Kieran Culkin, Sarah Snook, and Matthew Macfadyen. Armstrong himself nabbed a writing trophy for “Connor’s Wedding,” one of the highlights of the show’s swan song season.

The good news is that Succession is highly rewatchable and there are 39 top shelf episodes ready for anyone with an (HBO) Max subscription. May we all recommend some other Armstrong work? Peep Show, which he created with Sam Bain, is always a blast, ditto his work on the even swearier British government show The Thick of It. A fine TV guy, that Jesse Armstrong.

(Via Deadline)