Month: March 2024

For all of the individual stars that have dominated headlines in women’s college basketball this season, led by Caitlin Clark in Iowa and Juju Watkins at USC, it’s once again been the South Carolina Gamecocks that have been the dominant team in the sport.

South Carolina entered Saturday’s SEC Tournament semifinal against Tennessee at a perfect 30-0 on the season, with only a handful of close calls on the year, but the Lady Vols were up for the challenge and pushed the Gamecocks to the brink in Greenville. South Carolina jumped out to an early 19-6 lead after the first quarter and led by 13 at the half, but Tennessee steadily reeled them in the fourth quarter, pulling ahead by two in the final seconds.

The Gamecocks needed a miracle to get a win with 1.1 seconds on the clock, inbounding the ball from just beyond halfcourt, and got it in the form of the first career three-pointer from center Kamilla Cardoso, who was unguarded at the top of the key. Cardoso caught the inbounds pass, stepped behind the line, turned, and fired up a shot that banked in as the buzzer sounded, keeping the Gamecocks record perfect.

It’s an unbelievable shot made more incredible by the fact Cardoso had never made a three in her four seasons prior to this. Tennessee has gotten lit up by many for not guarding Cardoso at all, but it’s somewhat understandable as she’s not supposed to be a shooting threat and the focus was denying anything at the rim and keeping shooters from getting open off screens. Unfortunately, playing the numbers leaves yourself vulnerable to some March madness, and the result was despair from the Lady Vols on the floor and on the bench.

Two of the most prominent alums of these schools play together in the WNBA, and Candace Parker tried calling up A’ja Wilson to gloat about Tennessee’s win a bit prematurely, only for that to backfire spectacularly as Wilson captured on social media.

As they say, it ain’t over til it’s over, even if the person shooting the ball has never made that shot in her career before. There’s no time like the present, and now South Carolina’s quest for a perfect season can continue.

After weeks of teasing, Ariana Grande’s new album, Eternal Sunshine, is here. Following the controversy surrounding her rumored relationship with Ethan Slater, fans began to speculate that the 13-track project would address her personal life. Despite saying it wasn’t inspired by actual events during her interview with Apple Music‘s Zane Lowe, the public isn’t buying it.

So, today (March 9), the “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love)” singer uploaded a note to her Instagram Stories to address the “misguided backlash.” “I just wanted to say, anyone that is sending a hateful message to the people in my life based on your interpretation of this album,” she wrote. “It is not supporting me and is absolutely doing the polar opposite of what I would ever encourage.”

Grande went on to expand on her thoughts. “[This] is also entirely misinterpreting the intention behind the music,” she wrote. “I ask that you please do not. It is not how to support me. It is the opposite.”

As for the album’s true meaning, Grande clarified that before closing the note. “Although this album captures a lot of painful moments, it also is woven together with a though line of deep, sincere love,” she wrote. “If you cannot hear that, please listen more closely.”

Eternal Sunshine is out now via Republic. Find more information here.

JT is ready to step out on her own.

The “Sideways” rapper quickly rose to popularity in hip-hop as part of the duo City Girls. Alongside her longtime friend Yung Miami, the ladies’ raunchy South Florida sound made them a household name. Now that the group has made good on their promise to drop a new album, RAW (Real Ass Wh*res), JT has moved full steam ahead on her solo career. Past collaborations with artists like Nicki Minaj and Kali Uchis were just a start.

Today (March 9), JT took to her official social media pages to announce her very first solo US tour. The 13-date run will begin on March 23 in Houston, Texas. Although JT has not confirmed when ticket sales will start, she did confirm that more dates will be revealed, including a stop in Detroit, Michigan (which appears on the promotional graphic without a date). View the full tour schedule and official poster below.

JT 2024 Tour Dates

03/23 — Houston, TX @ The Sekai
03/24 — Dallas, TX @ The Garden
03/29 — Jacksonville, FL @ Club Elevation
03/30 — Miami, FL @ Nomi
03/31 — Tampa, FL @ Tally Ho
04/05 — Milwaukee, WI @ Mr. G
04/06 — Cleveland, OH @ Medusa
04/13 — Miami, FL @ Carol City Park
04/19 — West Palm, FL @ Club Ivy
04/20 — Charlotte, NC @ Compound
04/21 — Baltimore, MD @ Icons
04/26 — New York, NY @ The Harbor
04/27 — Kansas City, MO @ Club Municipal

JT 2024 Tour Poster

On Sunday there’s a chance that The Holdovers could nab itself a couple Oscars. Will fake lazy eye guy Paul Giamatti finally get one then go chow down at In-N-Out Burger? Maybe. Da’Vine Joy Robinson, meanwhile, is the frontrunner for the Supporting Actress prize. Another of its five nominations is for Original Screenplay, credited to David Hemingson. But the night before the big show that aspect of the film hit some unexpected controversy, with claims that said script was plagiarized.

In a new report by Variety, Simon Stephenson, whose writing credits include Luca and Paddington 2, is alleging that the “meaningful entirety” of The Holdovers script has been copied from his script for Frisco, a script that lives on the Black List, the annual compilation of beloved unproduced screenplays.

In an email to the Writers Guild of America, Stephenson writes that “the evidence the holdovers screenplay has been plagiarised line-by-line from frisco is genuinely overwhelming — anybody who looks at even the briefest sample pretty much invariably uses the word ‘brazen.’”

On the Black List site, Frisco is described as concerning a “forty-something pediatric allergist, who specializes in hazelnut and is facing a divorce, learns lessons in living from a wise-beyond-her-years terminally ill 15-year-old patient when she crashes his weekend trip to a conference in San Francisco.”

The Holdovers, meanwhile, is about a cantankerous private school teacher forced to hang with a non-terminally ill 15-year-old student. Those might sound only superficially similar, but Stephenson writes that the resemblances run deeper:

“The meaningful entirety of the screenplay for THE HOLDOVERS has been copied from the FRISCO screenplay by transposition. This includes the FRISCO screenplay’s entire story, structure, sequencing, scenes, sequential sub-beats within scenes, line-by-iine substance of action and dialogue, characters, arcs, relationships, theme and tone. A majority of this has been done line- for-line, and a large number of unique and highly specific elements created in FRISCO are readily and unequivocally identifiable in THE HOLDOVERS.”

Stephenson adds, “The copying is so comprehensive that it seems likely THE HOLDOVERS was created by importing FRISCO into screenwriting software and directly overtyping the transposition on a line-by-line basis.”

Neither Hemingson nor Holdovers director Alexander Payne has yet to comment publicly on the accusation.

Variety published a breakdown of the similarities between the two scripts.

The Oscars are set to unfold on Sunday, March 10, at 7pm. The Holdovers is still in (some) theaters and streams on Peacock.

(Via Variety)

With spring underway, it feels like every artist is rushing to announce their performance plans to fans. Even, Marilyn Manson is eager to return to the stage. The “Tattooed In Reverse” musician, real name Brian Warner took to his official social media pages to unveil his forthcoming tour.

Beginning in August, he is set to launch his tour with Five Finger Death Punch and special guest Slaughter To Prevail. The string of shows will mark his first official tour run since the mountain of sexual assault allegations including his ex-partner, Evan Rachel Wood.

After getting wind of the performance news, a representative for one of Manson’s accusers reach out to Rolling Stone to issue a statement. James Vagnini, the lawyer for accuser Ashley Walters believes the shows are the result of his dwindling funds. “Given all the litigation and investigations he has been the subject of, he probably needs the money,” he said.

Manson denies Wood’s claims. Read his full response via his attorney Howard King below.

Of all the false claims that Evan Rachel Wood has made about Brian Warner, her imaginative retelling of the making of the ‘Heart-Shaped Glasses’ music video 15 years ago is the most brazen and easiest to disprove, because there were multiple witnesses.

Evan was not only fully coherent and engaged during the three-day shoot but also heavily involved in weeks of pre-production planning and days of post-production editing of the final cut. The simulated sex scene took several hours to shoot with multiple takes using different angles and several long breaks in between camera setups.

Brian did not have sex with Evan on that set, and she knows that is the truth.

A lot of people in Hollywood these days dislike Donald Trump. Few are as seething in their anger about him than Robert De Niro. Before he won election in 2016, the legendary actor went on an epic takedown which ended with him saying he’d like to “punch him in the face.” On Friday’s Real Time with Bill Maher, De Niro was back at it, calling him, among other invectives, a “total monster.” Trump, of course, took the bait.

Per Mediaite, after De Niro’s comments went live, Trump took to his rinky-dink Twitter clone to offer a brief — and frankly uninspired — retort. “Robert De Niro has a terminal case of Trump Derangement Syndrom,e” he wrote. “Such a stupid sounding guy, a low IQ individual!”

Say what you will about De Niro, but he at least probably understands how magnets work.

On Real Time, De Niro, who’s played his share of monsters over the decades — including in Killers of the Flower Moon, for which he’s currently Oscar-nominated — announced Trump was too evil even for him.

“I’d never play him as an actor because he’s…I can’t see any good in him,” he said. “Nothing. Nothing at all. Nothing redeemable in him.”

De Niro also painted a grim portrait of what a second Trump term would be like. He told Maher Trump would shut down his show, which is frequently critical of him, and he’d “come looking for me.”

He added, “There’ll be things that happen that none of us can imagine. That’s what happens in that kind of a dictatorship, which is what he says. Let’s believe and take him at his word.”

Speaking of dictatorship, Trump is currently playing host to Hungarian prime minister Victor Orbán, who’s infamous for his autocratic rule. The former president has frequently praised such leaders, and even vowed that, at least for the first day of his second term, he’d be a straight-up “dictator.”

(Via Mediaite)

Marcos Alberti’s “3 Glasses” project began with a joke and a few drinks with his friends.

The photo project originally depicted Alberti’s friends drinking, first immediately after work and then after one, two, and three glasses of wine.

But after Imgur user minabear circulated the story, “3 Glasses” became more than just a joke. In fact, it went viral, garnering more than 1 million views and nearly 1,800 comments in its first week. So Alberti started taking more pictures and not just of his friends.

“The first picture was taken right away when our guests (had) just arrived at the studio in order to capture the stress and the fatigue after a full day after working all day long and from also facing rush hour traffic to get here,” Alberti explained on his website. “Only then fun time and my project could begin. At the end of every glass of wine, a snapshot, nothing fancy, a face and a wall, 3 times.”

Why was the series so popular? Anyone who has ever had a long day at work and needed to “wine” down will quickly see why.

Take a look:

This article originally appeared on 11.19.16

Before 54-year-old Mario passed away, he had one special goodbye he needed to say … to his favorite giraffe.

Mario had worked as a maintenance man at the Rotterdam zoo in the Netherlands for over 25 years. After his shifts, he loved to visit and help care for the animals, including the giraffes.

As Mario’s fight against terminal brain cancer came to an end, all he wanted to do was visit the zoo one last time. He wanted to say goodbye to his colleagues — and maybe share a final moment with some of his furry friends.

Thanks to one incredible organization, Mario got his wish.

“To say goodbye to the animals.”

The Ambulance Wish Foundation, a Dutch nonprofit, helps people like Mario experience one final request.

It’s a lot like Make-A-Wish, only it’s not just for kids.

In 2006, Kees Veldboer, who was an ambulance driver at the time, was moving a patient from one hospital to another. The patient was a terminally ill man who had spent three straight months confined to a hospital bed. During the trip from one hospital to the other, the patient told Veldboer that he wanted to see the Vlaardingen canal one last time. He wanted to sit in the sun and wind and smell the water again before going back inside.

“To see the ocean again.”

Veldboer made the patient’s last wish happen, and as tears of joy streamed down the man’s face, Veldboer knew he had tapped into a powerful way to bring peace to people in their final days.

Soon after, the Ambulance Wish Foundation was born.

Based in the Netherlands, Veldboer’s organization scoffs at the logistical hurdles of transporting terminally ill patients who need high levels of care and, often, lots of medical equipment. The Ambulance Wish Foundation employs a fleet of custom-built ambulances and always has highly trained medical staff on hand for emergencies.

“To visit my best friend’s grave.”

Their message? Positive end-of-life experiences are far too important to pass up.

Today, the AWF has over 230 volunteers and has fulfilled nearly 7,000 wishes.

Even more beautiful than the work this organization does, though, are the things its patients are asking for.

“To enjoy a delicious ice cream cone.”

The Make-A-Wish Foundation specializes in granting wishes for children with life-threatening illnesses, many of whom have barely begun to live. The children’s wishes run the gamut, from starring in a music video to a day as a hero soldier in the Army.

But what does Veldboer do for older folks who have already experienced so much? What do their wishes look like?

Mostly, it’s the little things they cherish, like seeing their home one last time or spending a few hours just looking at something beautiful.

Veldboer, in an interview with the BBC, describes one woman who had not been home for six months. When they brought her into her living room on a stretcher, she hoisted herself up and stayed there for hours, doing nothing but looking around — likely replaying an entire lifetime worth of memories — before quietly asking them to take her away.

Another patient simply wanted to see her favorite Rembrandt painting again.

“To see my favorite painting one last time.”

And another just wanted to spend an afternoon watching dolphins play.

“To watch the dolphins play.”

On and on the wishes go — about four of them fulfilled every day. People who just want to see their grandchild for the first time, or stand on the beach again before they can’t anymore.

Turns out that life’s simplest pleasures just might be its most meaningful.

Sometimes it feels like there’s never enough time. Not in a day. Not in a year. Not in a life.

“To attend my granddaughter’s wedding.”

But maybe it’s better to cherish what we have rather than spend so much time thinking about all the things we haven’t done yet.

Maybe the things we remember at the end aren’t the time we went skydiving or the time we hiked across Europe. When our time is up, maybe what we’ll remember most is more mundane — the tacky wallpaper in the house we grew up in, a sunny day spent on the water, or those little everyday moments spent with the people we love the most.

Whatever it is, it’s comforting to know there are people out there who want our last memories of this place to be good ones.

I can’t think of a more wonderful job.

This article originally appeared on 09.30.15

Back in the late ’80s, NASA was looking for ways to detoxify the air in its space stations. So it conducted a study to determine the most effective plants for filtering the air of toxic agents and converting carbon dioxide to oxygen.

In 1989, their results were published in a clean air study that provided a definitive list of the plants that are most effective at cleaning indoor air. The report also suggested having at least one plant per every hundred square feet of home or office space.

1. Dwarf Date Palm

2. Boston Fern

3. Kimberly Queen Fern

4. Spider Plant

5. Chinese Evergreen

6. Bamboo Palm

7. Weeping Fig

8. Devil’s Ivy

9. Flamingo Lily

10. Lilyturf

11. Broadleaf Lady Palm

12. Barberton Daisy

13. Cornstalk Dracena

14. English Ivy

15. Varigated Snake Plant

16. Red-Edged Dracaena

17. Peace Lily

18. Florist’s Chrysanthemum

What’s in our air?

Trichloroethylene – Found in printing inks, paints, lacquers, varnishes, adhesives, and paint removers. Symptoms associated with short-term exposure include: excitement, dizziness, headache, nausea, and vomiting followed by drowsiness and coma.

Formaldehyde – Found in paper bags, waxed papers, facial tissues, paper towels, plywood paneling, and synthetic fabrics. Symptoms associated with short-term exposure include: irritation to nose, mouth and throat, and in severe cases, swelling of the larynx and lungs.

Benzene – Used to make plastics, resins, lubricants, detergents, and drugs. Also found in tobacco smoke, glue, and furniture wax. Symptoms associated with short-term exposure include: irritation to eyes, drowsiness, dizziness, headache, increase in heart rate, headaches, confusion and in some cases can result in unconsciousness.

Xylene – Found in rubber, leather, tobacco smoke, and vehicle exhaust. Symptoms associated with short-term exposure include: irritation to mouth and throat, dizziness, headache, confusion, heart problems, liver and kidney damage and coma.

Ammonia – Found in window cleaners, floor waxes, smelling salts, and fertilizers. Symptoms associated with short-term exposure include: eye irritation, coughing, sore throat.

Please note: Some of these plants may be toxic for your pets, so please do your research to ensure your furry friends stay safe.

This article originally appeared on 08.13.21

Esther Wojcicki has earned the right to tell people how to raise their kids. She’s an educator, journalist and bestselling author of “How to Raise Successful People” who has raised three daughters—two are CEOs and the other a doctor.

Susan Wojcicki is the CEO of YouTube, Anne Wojcicki is the co-founder and CEO of 23andMe and Dr. Janet Wojcicki is an anthropologist and epidemiologist who works on HIV progression and obesity risk in children.

In “How to Raise Successful People” Esther Wojcicki says the secret to success is the result of “TRICK”: trust, respect, independence, collaboration and kindness. In a new article she wrote for NBC Chicago, she boiled that down to one rule, “Don’t do anything for your kids that they can do for themselves.”

“Parents need to stop coddling their kids,” she continues. “The more you trust your children to do things on their own, the more empowered they’ll be. The key is to begin with guided practice: It’s the ‘I do, we do, you do’ method.”

The “I do, we do, you do” method is used by teachers to gradually give students new responsibilities. The teacher first demonstrates the task, then they do it with the student and finally, the student does it alone.

u201cSisters Anne Wojcicki, CEO of 23andMe, and Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube, are ranked among Americau2019s top women entrepreneurs nhttps://t.co/En8Vin9Zl7 #SelfMadeWomenu201d

— Forbes (@Forbes)
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Wojcicki says that parents can start with their children by asking them to make their beds, pick their own outfits and to help with dishes and making dinner. It’s funny that every child is raised by a parent who cooks them meals, but an astonishing number of them grow up having no idea how to boil water. Why? Because nobody bothered to get them involved.

As the old saying goes, “Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. Teach him to fish and he’ll eat forever.”

u201cFor all you parents out there. nYou may want to do something “unpopular” while raising your kids, “How to Raise Successful People” author Esther Wojcicki says. https://t.co/GEkHHnN5q5u201d

— NBC10 Philadelphia (@NBC10 Philadelphia)
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“The idea is to teach them how to cope with what life throws at them,” she writes. “One of the most important lessons I taught my daughters is that the only thing you can control is how you react to things.”

Wojcicki’s rules are a reaction to the modern trend of helicopter parenting, which is “overly focused on their children” where parents “take too much responsibility for their children’s experiences and, specifically, their successes or failures.” This can result in children who grow into adults with lower self-confidence and self-esteem, poor coping skills, increased anxiety and a sense of entitlement.

Simply put, when children are too dependent on their parents, they become ill-equipped to deal with real-world challenges. So when parents think they’re helping their children, they are actually setting them up for failure. Is it any wonder why we live in an age where more and more people suffer from crippling anxiety and depression? The world is a lot scarier when you’re not properly equipped to deal with everyday problems.

“When you trust kids to make their own decisions, they start to feel more engaged, confident and empowered,” Wojcicki writes. “And once that happens, there’s no limit to what they can achieve.”

While, at first, this dramatic change in parenting may seem difficult for parents who have a hard time letting go, it’s an opportunity for them to grow. “What I realized, through a lot of conscious effort, is that parenting gives us perhaps the most profound opportunity to grow as human beings,” she writes in “How to Raise Successful People.”

This article originally appeared on 11.02.22