Month: April 2024

Beyoncé released Cowboy Carter last Friday, March 29, and the BeyHive couldn’t have asked for more. The 27-track album — billed as “act ii” of Renassaince — hits every note, including covers of The Beatles’ “Blackbird” (stylized as “Blackbiird“) and Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” and features from Miley Cyrus, Post Malone, Willie Nelson, Shaboozey, Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy, Reyna Roberts, and more.

Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter rollout has been flawlessly methodical. Even still, people found something to be upset about. According to Rolling Stone, people were less than enthused about the Cowboy Carter vinyl because it reportedly excludes “Ya Ya,” “Spaghettii,” “The Linda Martell Show,” “Oh Louisiana,” and “Flamenco.”

“The preordered CD is also missing those first four songs but includes ‘Flamenco,’ which has spawned another complaint: The ‘limited edition’ compact disc version promised the inclusion of an ‘additional song,’ with many fans assuming it was an unreleased, exclusive bonus track,” Rolling Stone relayed. “Instead, the ‘additional song’ appears to just be ‘Flamenco,’ a track already on the digital version of the album.”

Nobody definitively knows why those five songs (allegedly, seemingly, reportedly) were left off from physical versions of the album, but the BBC suggested that perhaps Beyoncé “added these songs late into the album’s creation.” Also worth noting is that the album is 79:03 long, and the Cowboy Carter vinyl edition is a 2LP release. Each side of a standard record can hold up to 25 minutes of audio, so the full album would fit into the 100 minutes of space across the 2LPs. Additionally, the tracklist of the songs included on the vinyl release isn’t listed on Beyoncé’s online shop or even on the physical release itself.

It’s only a guess, but the outlet posited, “Vinyl pressing plants are booked months in advance, with lead times of 10 weeks to six months — meaning albums have to be submitted long in advance of their release.” However, Variety smartly pointed out that the explanation wouldn’t necessarily make sense if “II Most Wanted” was under construction as recently as February, as contributing musicians suggested.

It should also be noted that Beyoncé’s store offers Cowboy Carter in four different vinyl variations — black, blue, red, and white — so specific complaints might only apply to certain vinyl variants.

See some of the reactions emerging from the BeyHive below.

https://twitter.com/gumbo_skriimp/status/1774840479101726720?s=20

It was 5:45 a.m. and I was waiting in my car for a fast food restaurant to open.

Let me explain.

In late 2023, McDonald’s launched CosMc’s, a spinoff restaurant named for an alien character in the extended McDonaldLand Universe. CosMc first appeared in the 1980s, when he “got all six hands on McDonald’s menu items… and never returned,” as the official lore goes. Somewhere out there in the cosmos, CosMc started experimenting with the recipes, and after serving millions of his fellow aliens, he “decided it was time to bring this menu down to Earth.”

The first CosMc’s opened in Bolingbrook, Illinois, outside of Chicago. It recently expanded to a second location in Dallas, Texas, within driving distance of my current residence in Austin. I read about the long lines (three hours!) in Illinois, so rather than risk the wait during the dinner rush, I arrived at CosMc’s on a recent Sunday morning, 15 minutes before doors opened. This proved to be a wise decision: I was the only one there, other than the half-dozen employees who were prepared to direct the forthcoming traffic in the drive-thru line, with another dozen or so inside.

Here’s what it looked like:

I don’t drink coffee and I didn’t want to set myself up for a late-morning sugar crash, so I didn’t add any beverages to my order (I’m sure my fast food expert colleague Dane will have a full menu review when CosMc’s moves out west). I also excluded any items that are available at any ol’ McDonald’s, like the Egg McMuffin or Oreo McFlurry.

Here’s what I got — beginning with some quick hitters before getting to the signature sandwich.

Creamy Avocado Tomatillo Sandwich

The avocado tomatillo sauce was a little too sweet for my taste, but I liked the crunch that the bacon provided. A solid breakfast sandwich.

Savory Hash Brown Bites

A smaller version of the iconic McDonald’s hash brown. The bites come four to an order and there’s just enough of a difference from its larger counterpart (the mini features parsley, onion, and garlic, unlike the original) to make it worth impulsively adding as a side.

Snack Box

It’s a box… with snacks. I’m not sure why I even bothered trying the packaged gouda cheese, sliced pepperoni, flax seed crackers, and a squirrel-size amount of almonds and dried cranberries. Don’t make my mistake.

Mixed Bag McPops

I will try anything with the Mc- prefix at Mcdonald’s. McDouble? Of course. McNuggets? I must’ve eaten hundreds in high school. McGeneral Tso’s Chicken? If it existed, you know it. The McPops — essentially mini donuts filled with your choice of cookie butter, apple cinnamon, and hazelnut, or all three in the mixed bag — is the latest member of the McFamily.

Unfortunately, they didn’t live up to the McHype. Of the three, I would go with the apple cinnamon.

Now, on to the main feature…

Spicy Queso Sandwich

We do things a little different down here in Texas. We slap the state flag on literally every surface imaginable, we still call the Dallas Cowboys “America’s Team” even though they haven’t won a Super Bowl in decades, and we have strong queso takes. Before moving here, I never thought twice about queso; now, after living in Texas for over a decade, I would die for the melted cheese (assuming it doesn’t kill me from a heart attack first).

Is the Spicy Queso Sandwich at CosMc’s the best queso I’ve ever had? No, of course not — but it’s still pretty good.

The sandwich is served in a brioche bun and consists of an omelet-style egg, spicy queso sauce, melted white cheddar cheese, jalapeño chips, and sausage, which I removed in favor of smoked bacon. The bun was whatever, but I was pleasantly surprised that the sauce and chips added a slight hit of spice. Not a lot, especially for the heatseekers of the world, but more than I expected from a fast food breakfast sandwich.

In short, I was impressed.

The Spicy Queso Sandwich isn’t worth a multi-hour wait, but if you’re driving past a CosMc’s and see a short line, give it a try.

April Fools is the worst day of the year, aside from that one day when everyone stops wearing pants, and yet every year we are forced to understand what is real vs fake. It’s gotten a lot harder over the years, thanks to AI and your aunt’s Facebook posts, but misinformation is everywhere! Be vigilant!

Over the weekend, entertainment reporter Jeff Sneider claimed that Sydney Sweeney was in talks to star in Johnny Depp‘s upcoming Day Drinker. The film is based on the novel of the same name and would be part of Depp’s return to the big screen after his defamation trial.

However, Sweeney took to X/Twitter to address the “rumors” but promoting Immaculate, her blood-soaked thriller. It seems like April Fools is playing everyone this year, though a day early. Sneider didn’t take this admission well:

Sweeney’s camp confirmed to EW that she is not involved in the new film. Sweeney has been on a hot streak over the last few months with Anyone But You and Immaculate pulling in major box office numbers. She also handled the Madame Web debacle like a champ.

Meanwhile, when he’s not mistaken posting photoshops of himself alongside Robert Downey Jr., Depp has recently been the voice of Johnny Puff in the animated series Puffins. So…that’s where he’s at.

(Via EW)

We’d all like to believe that we know our pets. Every pet has their own distinctive look and even if they look like a sibling, they have different personalities making it much easier to identify your pet. But every once in awhile there’s a bit of a mixup where you see a cat outside that looks like yours so you find yourself frantically darting out the door while your cat is asleep under your bed.

One couple’s cat mixup went in a different direction. They brought their cat inside and piddled around the house for a few hours before settling in for a snuggle session on the couch. It was then that the cat’s mom noticed a cat outside that looked exactly like their cuddly little guy.

Instantly you see the confusion and concern register when they look closely at the imposter enjoying all the extra attention while the other stares from outside. Surely the real cat was offended that his own parents didn’t know they were snuggling up to a generic version of him.

---

“Babe, look at the cat outside. That looks like you Rado, is that your brother,” the cat mom asks before appearing unsure if the cat in her husband’s arms is actually their cat. Turned out the cat was not theirs and they quickly let the strange cat outside and scooped up their own cat. Commenters found the now viral situation hilarious.

One person writes, “slight error in the cat distribution system.”

Another commenter says, “the way its body language is screaming ‘kidnapped.'”

Someone laughs, “the fact that the cat was going to play it off and continue his days as Rado.”

“Plot twist,” a commenter writes. “Cats been switching places for months and they just noticed.”

In a follow up video, Brandon Robert, Rado’s dad, shows the photo a their actual cat and the imposter. They’re strikingly similar so it’s easy to see how Robert picked up the wrong cat while not wearing his glasses. Thankfully all is well now and their cat is back inside where he belongs but you can watch the hilarious moment of realization below.

@thebrandonrobert

I didnt have my glasses on😭😭 #cat #catsoftiktok

This article originally appeared on 1.16.24

While there are different types of IPAs with different flavor profiles, the classic flavors include floral notes, citrus, tropical fruits, and dank, resinous pine. West Coast IPAs are known for their memorable, bitter (sometimes aggressively bitter) finish. While that’s all well and good, these classic flavors can be heightened by complementary flavors.

Plenty of fruits pair well with IPA darkness. But the best among them is grapefruit.

Since many IPAs already have a citrus element thanks to hops like Citra, Centennial, Cascade, and Amarillo, the addition of grapefruit cranks the flavor up to eleven. You can’t go wrong when your pine-bomb is front-loaded with tart, sour-meets-sweet grapefruit notes.

We picked eight of the best grapefruit IPAs on the market and ranked them for you based on overall flavor and how complementary the grapefruit is to the overall flavor. Keep scrolling to see if your favorite grapefruit IPA made the list.

8.) Ghostfish Grapefruit IPA

ABV: 5.5%

Average Price: $9 for a four-pack

The Beer:

This award-winning IPA is brewed with water, sorghum, brown rice, Candi syrup, tapioca maltodextrin, Cascade and Horizon hops (and dry-hopped with Altus hops), grapefruit puree, and yeast. The result is a juicy, sweet IPA with a ton of tart, refreshing grapefruit, and gently bitter hops.

Tasting Notes:

Up front, there’s a nice hint of malt sweetness on the nose. This is followed by bright grapefruit, lemon peel, and floral, gently spicy hops. There’s more of the same on the palate beginning with a caramel malt backbone that’s heightened by the addition of grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, grass, and floral, gently bitter pine at the finish.

Bottom Line:

This is a well-balanced beer that leans just as much into the malts as it does the expected grapefruit element.

7.) Founders All Day Grapefruit IPA

ABV: 4.7%

Average Price: $12 for a six-pack

The Beer:

If you’re a fan of light, sessionable IPAs you’re likely well aware of Founder All Day IPA. But did you know there’s a hazy grapefruit version? This citrusy, hoppy, crushable beer is brewed with 2-row, Crystal light malts as well as rolled oats and red wheat. It gets its hop aroma and flavor from the use of Citra, Amarillo, and Simcoe hops.

Tasting Notes:

The nose is loaded with notes of freshly baked bread, caramel malts, grapefruit zest, orange peels, and dank, resinous pine. Sipping it reveals notes of yeasty bread, caramel malts, tangerine, grapefruit, grass, hay, and resinous, sticky pine needles. The finish is perfectly bitter and hoppy.

Bottom Line:

For a light, sessionable IPA, this grapefruit-centered beer has a ton of aroma and flavor. It’s a great beer for a hot, sunny day.

6.) Modern Times Hello, Grapefruit

ABV: 5%

Average Price: $11 for a six-pack

The Beer:

With a name like Hello, Grapefruit you should have a pretty good idea about what you’re in for when you sip this beer. Brewed with two-row and Caravienne malts as well as white wheat and Citra and Amarillo hops, it’s known for its malty, tropical fruit, citrus, piney, crisp flavor profile.

Tasting Notes:

This light, sessionable beer begins with a nose of bready malts, honey, mango, grapefruit, and dank pine. On the palate, you’ll find notes of yeasty bread, caramel, honey, grass, mango, guava, lemon, a ton of grapefruit, and floral, resinous piney hops. The finish is lightly bitter in the best way.

Bottom Line:

While this beer has a ton of grapefruit aroma and flavor, it also has a good deal of malt as well as other tropical fruit flavors to make it stand out from the crowd.

5.) Fremont Grapefruit IPA

ABV: 6.5%

Average Price: $12 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Available from December through March, this 6.5% ABV IPA is brewed with 2-row pale malt and honey malt. It gets its hop presence from the liberal use of Simcoe. Simcoe Cryo, and Strata hops. It gets its citrus element from the addition of real grapefruit extract.

Tasting Notes:

A lot is going on with this beer’s nose. There are aromas of cereal grains, lemon peels, tangerines, grapefruit zest, and dank pine. On the palate, you’ll find notes of biscuit-like malts, caramel, grass, pink grapefruit juice, lemon peels, and resinous pine. The finish is a nice mix of citrus and hop bitterness.

Bottom Line:

While there’s a nice kick of grapefruit, this is a good choice for fans of citrus in general. There’s much more to this IPA than just grapefruit.

4.) Cisco Gripah Grapefruit IPA

ABV: 5.5%

Average Price: $8 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans

The Beer:

This Nantucket-based brewery makes a handful of popular beers. Our favorite is the Gripah Grapefruit IPA. Loaded with grapefruit, other citrus, tropical fruit flavors, and dank piney hops, it’s brewed with Citra, Amarillo, Galaxy, and El Dorado hops.

Tasting Notes:

Complex aromas of caramel malts, tangerine, pink grapefruit, mango, guava, pineapple, grass, and herbal, floral hops start everything off on the right foot. Sipping it brings forth notes of biscuity malts, orange peels, lemongrass, pink grapefruit juice, mango, caramelized pineapple, and resinous pine. The finish is pleasantly hoppy and bitter.

Bottom Line:

Sweet malts, tropical fruits, random citrus fruits, grapefruit, and bitter pine. What’s not to love?

3.) Claremont Grapefruit IPA

ABV: 8.8%

Average Price: $16 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans

The Beer:

This isn’t your average citrus IPA. It’s a potent, fruity, citrus-filled 8.8% ABV West Coast double IPA with grapefruit. It gets its flavor from the addition of real grapefruit and Mosaic and Centennial hops. The result is a hoppy, bitter, dry IPA you won’t soon forget.

Tasting Notes:

The nose is a nice mix of ripe grapefruit, lemongrass, candied orange peels, sweet malts, hay, and dank, resinous pine needles. Drinking it reveals notes of caramel malts, honey, grass, lemon peels, lime zest, tangerine, grapefruit, and dank, sticky, spicy hops. The finish is dry and bitter and leaves you craving more.

Bottom Line:

Claremont Grapefruit IPA is a classic West Coast IPA with a tart, citrus twist. Oh yeah, and it’s 8.8% ABV.

2.) Urban South Grapefruit Holy Roller

ABV: 6.3%

Average Price: $13 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Holy Roller is Urban South’s flagship hazy IPA. It only made sense to make a grapefruit-centric version. This year-round favorite is brewed with Citra and Mosaic hops as well as real grapefruit. The result is a hazy, juicy, citrus-filled New England-style IPA that can’t be missed.

Tasting Notes:

Aromas of yeasty bread, grapefruit, tangerines, caramel malts, fresh-cut grass, pineapple, and fur tips make for a welcoming start. The palate continues this trend with freshly baked bread, caramel malts, honey, fresh flowers, wet grass, hay, tangerine, lemon peels, pink grapefruit, and dank pine. The finish is a mix of sweetness and bitter hops.

Bottom Line:

If you’re a fan of New England-style IPAs and you also enjoy fruited IPAs, this is a beer for you.

1.) Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpin

ABV: 7%

Average Price: $14 for a six-pack

The Beer:

When it comes to grapefruit IPAs, there are none more famous than Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpin. Like the brand’s classic Sculpin IPA, it’s brewed with Simcoe and Amarillo hops. The addition of grapefruit flavor kicks this beer into overdrive.

Tasting Notes:

A nose of caramel malts, honey, fresh-cut grass, hay, lemon, grapefruit zest, and dank pine starts everything off on a pleasant note. The palate is classic IPA with a ton of caramel malt, wet grass, honey, hay, pineapple, tangerine, lemon peel, pink grapefruit, and resinous, sticky pine. The finish is very bitter and ties everything together nicely.

Bottom Line:

If you only drink one beer on this list, make it Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpin. It ticks all the grapefruit IPA boxes.

The Neptunes hold the credits to some of the biggest hits of the 2000s. The production duo, which consisted of Virginia Beach natives Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, contributed beats to everyone from Britney Spears to Snoop Dogg, with significant impact on the careers of Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake, Kelis, Nelly, Robin Thicke, T.I., and more.

Unfortunately, it looks like the future of the odd couple’s production brand is in dispute as Hugo’s attorneys have filed legal documents claiming Williams attempted to register trademarks for the Neptunes name in violation of a previous agreement to split everything 50/50.

Hugo’s attorney Kenneth D. Freundlich wrote in the filing, “By ignoring and excluding [Hugo] from the any and all applications filed by applicant for the mark ‘The Neptunes,’ applicant has committed fraud in securing the trademarks and acted in bad faith.”

However, according to a statement to Billboard from Pharrell’s reps, Williams did try to get Chad onboard with no success. ““Pharrell is surprised by this,” it reads. “We have reached out on multiple occasions to share in the ownership and administration of the trademark and will continue to make that offer. The goal here was to make sure a third party doesn’t get a hold of the trademark and to guarantee Chad and Pharrell share in ownership and administration.”

Billboard explains in its report that Williams submitted three applications in 2022 to register The Neptunes: one for streaming, one for music videos and similar media, and one for live performances. Hugo’s attorneys argue that his name was not listed as a co-owner of the The Neptunes entity and that they reached out to Williams to get the issue corrected multiples times since. While Williams’ reps have apparently offered to include Hugo, it would be under what Chad’s lawyers call “onerous business terms.”

Michael Keaton received solid advice from Jack Nicholson while the two were in the midst of filming the first Batman movie. Unbeknownst to the actors, the film would go on to become a box office sensation and cement the Dark Knight as a box office staple for decades to come. One could even go so far as to argue that there wouldn’t be a Marvel Cinematic Universe if Tim Burton‘s weirdly gothic film hadn’t been a smash hit. It was that huge.

Like any actor who’s tackled a superhero role, Keaton was concerned with getting in shape. Fortunately, a wise and snarky Nicholson schooled Keaton on the virtues of working smarter not harder, which the Beetlejuice actor recently shared in a new video interview with GQ.

Via IndieWire:

“One day Jack Nicholson walked by me and goes, ‘What are you doing?’ I said, ‘I’m working out.’ And he said, ‘What are you doing that for?’ I didn’t have an answer for him, he just walked off,” he said. “I approached it totally wrong. It’s better to be really small and little and thin inside the thing. You can move, you can breathe inside. I don’t know what I was thinking, I just thought ‘I’m an actor, I’m gonna do all this stuff!’”

While Keaton threw himself into the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne, he did admit to having doubts about the movie. He also had no idea why the heck everyone even cared about his casting.

“When they said, ‘We’re thinking of doing Batman,’ I said, ‘Wait, you’re thinking of making a movie about Batman?” Keaton revealed. “The fact that Tim said ‘That guy, I want that guy’… the fact that people cared one way or another so much is still baffling. But that was a ballsy move on his part.”

You can watch the full GQ interview with Keaton below or just watch the Batman stuff, which starts right out of the gate:

(Via IndieWire)

It’s become common to hire on-set intimacy coordinators, and even though not everyone loves it, it seems to be going pretty well over the last few years (mostly). But even if there are people there to help map out an “intimate” scene, that doesn’t mean it’s not weird for everyone involved.

In the new HBO drama The Regime, Chancellor Elena Vernham (Kate Winslet) has a pretty complicated love life which plays out in episode five. Winslet’s character has been in cahoots with Herbert (Matthias Schoenaerts) who is NOT her husband, but they did have some pretty weird sex.

During the ordeal, Elena warns Herbet “No biting,” which inevitably sends some of the crew into hysterics. “We did have a couple of moments when things would happen that were so funny that people had to be sent out,” Winslet recently explained. “When we were shooting Episode 5, Elena and Zubak having sex, and she’s screaming at him, ‘No biting! No biting,’ two people had to be sent out for laughing,” she added.

Unfortunately for them, the two people sent away were the most important in that moment: a cinematographer and makeup artist. “Matthias had all these [fake] tattoos. He was getting sweatier and sweatier, and they just kept sort of rubbing off on parts of my body,” Winslet said of the moment. “I was like, ‘This is really like I’ve got the newspaper printed on me.’” The person who was supposed to fix it was probably off cackling in the bathroom.

It seems this wasn’t the only time the crew was sent away, as Winslet said it would “happen a lot.” Listen, if you saw this in person, you’d probably lose it, too:

(Via Decider)

After spending a decade in Bellator, Michael “Venom” Page’s jump to the UFC came with plenty of question marks. His win wasn’t spectacular, but his debut at UFC 299 against Kevin Holland served its purpose in moving him up the rankings.

For others, a win in their UFC debut may mean a great deal. For MVP, it was the first step in his journey toward UFC glory.

“This is something that I’ve envisioned. I saw how it would go. Not getting the knockout is the only thing that I think didn’t go the way I wanted it to go. But everything else was according to plan,” MVP tells Uproxx Sports. “So I think it just means more for everybody else, ’cause there’s always been that question mark on my standard and can I hang in the UFC at the top level? So yeah, I’m just living my normal MVP life.”

Despite the fight going a full three rounds to decision, MVP is ready to get back out there as quickly as possibly. He doesn’t have a target opponent, but says he wants to keep moving up the rankings. Ideally, that starts with an appearance on the England show coming up in July. And if everything goes to plan, he’d also like to be on the September card in Vegas.

“The goal is a couple of big wins and then go for that shiny gold belt at the top,” MVP continues. “A step up is a step up. So whoever’s ranked higher than me, I go for those people, those names, tick them off and then do the same thing again until the UFC are like, no, it’s time for this guy to get up.”

While MVP’s performance may not have wowed in terms of getting a finish, his entrance stole headlines when he took a page out of WWE legend The Undertaker’s book. He hasn’t been as much into WWE in its current state, but admits he was a big fan of the Attitude Era, with many of the legends of the pro wrestling world inspiring him to this day.

“As much as I was known, I’m a bit unknown with regards to the question mark of, can he do this at the UFC level? Kevin Holland stepped up to approach somebody that is that unknown. So I wanted to come in with that kind of scary approach,” MVP says. “And that’s why I wanted to pick Undertaker. It worked out. I think people enjoyed it. They would definitely have enjoyed it even more so if I was able to execute the full walkout.”

The full walkout he pitched included the lights going dark, his brother functioning as a body double of MVP in the Octagon, the lights going dark, and him appearing in the tunnel. Usually as he gets closer to fight night, he’ll get inspiration, often working with his family about what he can do next. While much of his pitched entrance was shot down, he was still able to achieve his goal of wowing the audience and putting on an entertaining evening.

“Obviously (the UFC is) not used to doing things like that, a little bit of a pushback. But I think now that they’ve seen me, seen what it’s done, they may allow me to be a little bit more expressive,” MVP says.

“They understand that I’ve got a really creative mind and I really envision the whole picture versus just the fight. I think when the UFC wanted to acquire me, they would have known that it would have come with me wanting to do those type of things and me wanting to be a bit grateful in those moments as well. So I think eventually they’ll give me a little bit more freedom.”

Victor Wembanyama had a monster night on Friday to lead the Spurs to a rather stunning overtime win over the New York Knicks, with the rookie star scoring 40 points, pulling down 20 rebounds, and dishing out seven assists.

It was Wembanyama’s first 40/20 game, and at the end he showed how much the win meant to him when he intercepted the Knicks final pass downcourt, hugged the ball (much like Tim Duncan), and then launched the ball into the crowd in celebration. That last part drew the attention of the league, as the NBA frowns on throwing things into the crowd, and Wembanyama got slapped with the first fine of his career, sending the league office a $25,000 donation on Sunday.

After the Spurs faced the Warriors on Sunday and came close to upsetting another playoff hopeful — with Wemby scoring 32 points to go along with nine rebounds, five assists, four steals, and three blocks — he was asked about whether he was surprised by the fine. The young Frenchman noted that he knew it was a possibility, but he was hopeful the league would see that his intent was to “make some guy’s day” by throwing the ball into the crowd and let it be.

Unfortunately, the league doesn’t particularly care about intent in this instance, but I do like the thought from Wemby. There are certainly levels to throwing things into the crowd, and this was a celebratory one where he was just trying to give someone a great souvenir rather than angrily chucking the ball into the stands.