Month: June 2024

How many apocalypses does The Umbrella Academy have in it, you might wonder? Well, there’s (at least) one more before the show calls it quits with the fourth season. Notably also as well, this series will officially move past the ending of the Dark Horse comic-book source material from Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, who previously introduced the world to the initial, Victor-aided catastrophe followed by a time-warping apocalypse (with Klaus as a cult leader during the most fun part of the second season). Then supposedly, the mother of apocalypses happened with the Kugelblitz.

The series could have ended there, since the third-season finale actually provided some (vague) closure for the Hargreaves’ fates, but the show’s popularity led Netflix to renew for a last hurrah, which I suppose means that there’s a dad of apocalypses, which makes sense, given what a bad dad that Reginald happens to be. There had better be another dance-off before this show ends, but here’s what has been revealed thus far.

Plot

Expect things to be different. After the “reset” happened in the third-season finale, the siblings walked off without their powers. This continues into the fourth season, where they’re now learning what it’s like to be “normal.” As you can imagine, this won’t be the dream scenario that these siblings might have dreamed about while growing up under Reginald Hargreeves’ thumb. And we also hope that this show goes off book in a more graceful way than the final (controversial) season of HBO’s Game of Thrones.

Tom Hopper, who probably didn’t mind not wearing that part-gorilla padding anymore, suggested to Comic Book that even without these powers, the magic of this show will still be found in the siblings’ bonds:

“I think there’s going to definitely be some things that you already love. These siblings, I feel like one big thing that the reason that the show’s become a hit is because people have fell in love with the siblings, and their relationship to each other and how fun that is. And there’s bucket loads of that, so that you won’t be disappointed at.”

Of course, it remains to be seen how involved Allison will be with the fam after hitting the button in the third season finale, but Hopper stressed, “There is an ending, which I believe is a complete ending. I don’t think fans will be disappointed with how it ends. Whether they’ll be a little bit sad and broken, I don’t know, because it was certainly emotional for us as actors doing it.”

Meanwhile, series creator and showrunner Steve Blackman addressed how out of sorts the family will be without powers (Klaus does not look like he’s having a good time, even after being freed from communing with the dead), but Victor is having a wonderful time:

“Victor is probably the one sibling who is most comfortable in his skin in season 4,” Blackman says. “He’s doing better than any of the other siblings in terms of adjusting to his new life. He’s the most accepting of their new reality.”

That, of course, is what Victor deserves after taking charge of their identity in the third season. The rest of the siblings, however, might see their attitudes reflected in the first episode title: “The Unbearable Tragedy of Getting What You Want.” Also, halting an apocalypse will surely be more complicated, now that they are ordinary-ish humans. From the Netflix season description:

Last season ended with a major twist: There’s a new timeline dictated by the family patriarch, Reginald (Colm Feore), and the siblings no longer have their powers. That’s not the only oddity in this timeline, where the stakes are higher than ever before — there are new enemies who want to see them wiped from existence, but how do they face them without their powers? And will the siblings ever get them back?

Cast

This season will bid farewell to this show’s titular Hargreaves family, including Victor (Elliot Page), Luther (Tom Hopper), Klaus (Robert Sheehan), Number Five (Aidan Gallagher), Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman), Diego (David Castañeda), and Ben (Justin H. Min). Lila Pitts (Rita Arya) is still shaking things up, and the series wouldn’t be complete without more madness from Bad Dad Reginald (Colm Feore).

Additionally, David Cross is onboard (as a friendly face or an antagonist? nobody has said yet) as “as a man desperate to reconnect with his estranged daughter,” and real-life married couple Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally will pop in as a pair of college professors.

Release Date

The final season of The Umbrella Academy will stream in full on August 8.

Trailer

My goodness, this trailer is so awkward. The Hargreaves siblings without their powers will take some getting used to this season.

You know that Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air meme of Will Smith standing in an empty room? That’s what Paramount’s web presence looks like right now.

A few days ago, people noticed that Paramount-owned MTVNews.com is no more, meaning over 20 years of original news stories, interviews, and features were essentially wiped from the internet. The purge continued yesterday afternoon (June 26), when the websites for Comedy Central, CMT, TV Land, and Paramount Network started redirecting to the Paramount+ streaming platform. Those sites hosted years worth of TV episodes, many of which are now no longer officially accessible.

This loss of news and entertainment history is a bummer, but it’s not surprising. There’s actually already a name for what’s going on here: We’re in the Digital Dark Age.

To be clear, Paramount isn’t the only offender, and this is far from a new problem: The term “digital dark age” was used as far back as 1999, and it refers to the loss of information and resources due to outdated digital file formats, lack of preservation, and other reasons.

Pew Research Center shared some startling data last month. Their analysis found that 38 percent of webpages that existed in 2013 are gone today. Furthermore, 23 percent of online news articles contain at least one broken link.

The MTV News archives were full of original journalistic work that’s an important part of its era. This 2005 interview with Gerard Way as My Chemical Romance was achieving mainstream success? Gone! (“But you put a link!” Yes, more on that in a second.) This 2014 Jay-Z interview about tensions with Nas and Cam’ron? Zapped! This 2003 feature written shortly after the death of Elliott Smith, providing fascinating historical context about how the world reacted to the loss? Bye-bye!

As Michael Irvin might put it, “We’re losing recipes!”

Then there’s the TV side of things. As Consequence notes, the Comedy Central website hosted the entire Colbert Report series and clips from every Daily Show episode since 1999. Welp, not anymore. That content isn’t otherwise available to stream, either: The Colbert Report isn’t streaming anywhere, and only Seasons 28 and 29 of The Daily Show are on Paramount+.

Not directly related to the issue that sparked this conversation, but preservation is a major issue in the video game space, too. If, for example, you want to play Pokémon Platinum today, a used copy of the game will cost over $100 (per PriceCharting data), and then there’s the matter of getting a working Nintendo DS. So, many have turned to piracy for playing retro games. Valve president Gabe Newell has a relevant, oft-cited quote: “Piracy is not a pricing issue. It’s a service issue. The easiest way to stop piracy is not by putting anti-piracy technology to work. It’s by giving those people a service that’s better than what they’re receiving from the pirates.”

I don’t want to bring potentially unwanted attention to certain preservation efforts, but there are active online communities dedicated to the preservation of large amounts of data. Again, I’m not going to point you in the right direction, but (illegal copies of) retro video games can be easily found online. If you look hard enough, you can find a ton of Colbert Report episodes for free. Less secretively, The Internet Archive has long championed preservation of online resources, and that’s how I was able to link to (archived versions of) those MTV News stories above.

These solutions, though, are imperfect and relatively niche. Most people aren’t going past the second page of Google results in a deep-dive search, or check the Internet Archive when they find a dead link. To the average consumer, this information is just gone. It’s ultimately on those with resources to do their part for cultural preservation, even if it costs them a redirect to PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie.

I won’t pretend to know what it takes to maintain a website network as sizeable as Paramount’s, but surely, it can’t be significantly resource heavy for a company of its scale. (I don’t know if it can, but don’t call me Shirley.) It’s OK, they have an excuse: In a statement, Paramount explained (as The Hollywood Reporter notes), “As part of broader website changes across Paramount, we have introduced more streamlined versions of our sites, driving fans to Paramount+ to watch their favorite shows.”

What they’ve also introduced (or, in acknowledgement of the fact that they’re far from the sole perpetrator here, helped propagate) is a more streamlined version of cultural history, one in which important details have been sanded away, and less glorified but still-valuable information is lost to time.

Complaining is fun, but often pointless. Is there anything we can actually do? On a small scale, yes. The main thing you can start doing today is to use the Internet Archive to back up news stories or any other valuable webpages you can think to preserve. It’s a quick process and an easy way to help yourself and others maintain access to the world’s knowledge.

This is also an opportunity to consider your own personal data. If your phone or laptop died today, how screwed would you be? Would you lose irreplaceable childhood photos, old creative projects, or vital personal information? I personally subscribe to the “3-2-1 Rule“: Maintain three copies of your data (the original and two backups), use at least two different media types for storage (like a hard drive and cloud storage), and keep one copy of the data offsite (again, cloud storage).

Given the variety of forces and interests involved, the Digital Dark Age is probably not a problem that can be fixed. But, there are things we can do to shine a light during these dark times and stop losing recipes.

The explosion of podcasts being hosted by current and former NBA players has provided an incredible platform for guys to tell stories from their time in the league, but there is no podcast that produces funnier stories than Jeff Teague’s “Club 520 Podcast.”

That is largely because Teague, unlike many former players, isn’t using his podcast to push his legacy and is more comfortable than most to laugh at himself and things that happened to him — and to tell funny stories about teammates. That extends to the guests he has on, as they’re willing to look back on some of their most embarrassing moments in the league and laugh, because Teague will go story for story with you about times he got cooked too.

Teague’s former teammate in Minnesota, Taj Gibson, had one such story about playing against the Atlanta Hawks and Trae Young while a member of the New York Knicks. Gibson recalls insisting to Tom Thibodeau and his teammates that he didn’t need help with a double team when he got switched onto Trae Young, and immediately got dropped by the All-Star guard.

The best part is Taj saying after he looked at Thibs like “where’s my double team?!” and explaining the Madison Square Garden crowd will have you feeling younger than you actually are.

Can I be honest with you real quick? I sort of hate how much I’ve been loving Common and Pete Rock’s rollout for their album The Auditorium, Vol. 1. As a rap journalist, I’ve tried my best to excise the term “real hip-hop” from my personal lexicon, for reasons both professional and personal that basically boil down to the same goal: Not getting stuck in my ways and succumbing to the salty old head stereotype, yelling at the kids to get off my lawn.

But with the release of the video for the third single, “All Kind Of Ideas,” I realize I may never beat the old-man allegations. This is, for lack of any and every other better term, what elder millennials and gen-Xers call “real hip-hop.” Beginning with a verse from Pete Rock in which he decries top five lists and calls himself “God’s favorite producer” and featuring a neck-twisting bassline over a crackling kick-snare combination, the song hearkens back to the Golden Era in a way that makes those vinyls feel vital rather than dusty and antediluvian.

Of note is that Common, who had become a bit of a punchline over the course of the past decade, sounds as rejuvenated and focused here as he did on previously released singles “Wise Up” and “Move Your Spirit.” Contrary to Questlove’s dire proclamations, it looks like hip-hop is far from dead yet.

Watch Common and Pete Rock’s “All Kind Of Ideas” video above.

The Auditorium, Vol. 1 is due on July 12 via Loma Vista Recordings. You can find more info here.

Each week our staff of film and television experts surveys the entertainment landscape to select the ten best new/newish shows available for you to stream at home. We put a lot of thought into our selections, and our debates on what to include and what not to include can sometimes get a little heated and feelings may get hurt, but so be it, this is an important service for you, our readers. With that said, here are our selections for this week.

15. Doctor Who (Disney Plus)

Doctor Who is separated into two eras: the original run from 1963 to 1989 and the current relaunch, which began in 2005. The new season is the 14th since it was revived, but it’s officially referred to as “Doctor Who Season One.” Got all that? If you’re a Doctor Who fan, of course you do. But to everyone else who is probably very confused, it’s never been easier to watch the iconic British series now that it’s on Disney Plus with Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor and Millie Gibson as his companion, the wonderfully-named Ruby Sunday. Is it too soon to dream of a TARDIS at Disney World? (It’s not!)

Watch it on Disney Plus

14. Am I OK? (Max)

Comedian Tig Notaro’s directorial debut Am I OK? premiered to strong reviews at the Sundance Film Festival back in 2022. The film stars Dakota Johnson and Sonoya Mizuno (who’s having a big month with House of the Dragon dropping next week) as Lucy and Jane, two best friends who think they know everything there is to know about each other until Lucy drops a secret: she’s a lesbian. “As Jane tries to help Lucy, their friendship is thrown into chaos,” the synopsis reads. Am I OK? I will be after watching Am I OK?

Watch it on Max

13. We Are Lady Parts (Peacock)

We Are Lady Parts is the kind of show that makes a streaming service worth the cost of subscription. If you don’t have Peacock, you should sign up for creator Nida Manzoor’s rowdy, Peabody Award-winning comedy about an all-female Muslim punk band in the UK. The cast — led by Lady Parts members Anjana Vasan (guitarist Amina), Sarah Kameela Impey (singer Saira), Juliette Motamed (drummer Ayesha), and Faith Omole (bassist Bisma) — is great, and the soundtrack rips. Have a taste with “Bashir With the Good Beard.”

Watch it on Peacock

12. Perfect Days (Hulu)

To paraphrase Lou Reed: Oh, it’s such a perfect day / I’m glad I spent it with Perfect Days. The latest film from Paris, Texas director Wim Wenders follows Hirayama (played by Koji Yakusho), a man living by himself who cleans public bathrooms in Tokyo for a living. When he’s not working, he’s listening to music, reading, and taking photos of trees. Perfect Days doesn’t have the most exciting plot, but it’s an incredible, Oscar-nominated film about what it means to be human. After all, what is life if not finding pride in your work and the minor distractions that keep you going?

Watch it on Hulu

11. The Acolyte (Disney Plus)

Yes, it’s another Star Wars show. But The Acolyte has a lot going for it. For one thing, there’s a Wookiee Jedi. All my 10-year-old Star Wars dreams are coming true. Also, the series is created by Russian Doll’s Leslye Headland and the cast, including Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Manny Jacinto (Jason from The Good Place!), is solid. The Acolyte takes place long before the prequels, so there will be no stops on Tatooine or mentions of the name “Skywalker.” That alone makes it worth a watch.

Watch it on Disney Plus

10. Monkey Man (Peacock)

Dev Patel poured his blood, sweat, and broken bones into his directorial debut. Monkey Man follows a man know only as Kid (played by Patel) as he seeks retribution to settle the score with the men who took everything from him. It’s more than a John Wick knock-off — it’s a deeply earnest movie that also happens to feature some bone-crunching action scenes.

Watch it on Peacock

9. Presumed Innocent (Apple TV Plus)

Presumed Innocent is guilty… of having an all-star collection of talent! Created by David E. Kelley and produced by Gracie Abrams‘ somewhat famous father, the legal thriller stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a chief deputy prosecutor who is suspected of murder. Per Apple TV Plus: “The series explores obsession, sex, politics, and the power and limits of love, as the accused fights to hold his family and marriage together.” Fun fact: Gyllenhaal’s character was played by Harrison Ford in the 1990 movie of the same name.

Watch it on Apple TV Plus

8. Hit Man (Netflix)

Hit Man is funny, sexy, and charming. So why did the crowd pleaser barely get a theatrical release? I have no idea, and neither does director Richard Linklater. “I don’t know,” he told Decider about the lack of major studio interest in his film. “Everybody’s scared. [The movie] was not one thing. It’s not a hit man movie.” Maybe if Hit Man — which stars the impossibly hot duo of Glen Powell and Adria Arjona — becomes a big enough, well, hit on Netflix, we’ll get a sequel that actually plays in theaters. Or better yet, sequels.

Watch it on Netflix

7. Aftersun (Netflix)

If you do a Google search for Aftersun, one of the top results is a Reddit thread with the headline, “Aftersun (2022) did something to me that no other movie has before.” The first sentence? “I just finished the movie about 40 minutes ago. I spent 35 of those minutes crying and just trying to wrap my mind around it all.” It’s that kind of movie. Aftersun is the stunning feature film debut from director Charlotte Wells about a father named Calum (a never better Paul Mescal) who goes on vacation with his 11-year-old daughter, Sophie (Frankie Corio). It’s unforgettable, especially the R.E.M. scene. IYKYK.

Watch it on Netflix

6. House of the Dragon (Max)

Before House of the Dragon premiered, I was concerned that it would be nothing more than a shameless extension of the Game of Thrones brand. A DLC to check out but not engage with. Those fears have been unfounded. House of the Dragon quickly proved itself a worthy successor to Thrones (which, disappointing finale aside, is still one of the best shows of the 2010s). It exists on its own terms; it’s possible to enjoy the high-budget soap opera without prior knowledge of Westeros. House of the Dragon won’t be the monoculture behemoth that Game of Thrones was. No show will anymore. But it doesn’t need to be. House of the Dragon is doing just fine out of Game of Thrones’ dragon-shaped shadow (you can read our review here).

Watch it on Max

5. The Boys (Prime Video)

We will stay short and not-so-sweet with random thoughts that I had while absorbing the entire season a few days ago. First, here’s a book-end approach:

– The first thought I had when the premiere-episode credits rolled: “Well, I’ve never seen that body part on a TV show before now.”

– And when the season-finale credits rolled: “I feel utterly destroyed. And invigorated. And destroyed. God, I love TV” (you can read our full review here).

Watch it on Prime Video

4. Problemista (Max)

If you write “Papyrus,” you can get Tilda Swinton to be in your first movie, too. Problemista stars writer and director Julio Torres as Alejandro, “an aspiring toy designer from El Salvador struggling to bring his unusual ideas to life in New York City. As time on his work visa runs out, a job assisting an erratic art-world outcast becomes his only hope to stay in the country and realize his dream,” according to the A24 plot synopsis. Would you believe Tilda plays the erratic outcast? You would? Actually, yeah, that makes sense.

Watch it on Max

3. Fancy Dance (Apple TV Plus)

Fancy Dance is the first released film since Killers of the Flower Moon to star Lily Gladstone. That alone makes it a must watch. It helps that the premise is intriguing, too. The drama, co-written and directed by Erica Tremblay, is about an aunt (Gladstone) that takes care of her young niece Roki (Isabel Deroy-Olson) after the girl’s mom goes missing. Before she loses custody to Roki’s grandfather (the always-welcome Shea Whigham), the pair hit the road to track down the mother ahead of an upcoming powwow.

Watch it on Apple TV Plus

2. My Lady Jane (Prime Video)

Meet your summer TV obsession. My Lady Jane is a “radical retelling” of the life of Lady Jane Grey, who was the queen of England for nine days in 1553. She was executed soon after. But what if none of that happened? My Lady Jane, which stars Emily Bader in the title role, is “an epic tale of true love and high adventure, where the damsel in distress saves herself, her true love, and then the Kingdom.” Also, shape shifters (with some Buffy thrown in there, too).

Watch it on Prime Video

1. The Bear (Hulu)

The most stressful show on television is back. The Bear season 3 begins soon after the events of the season 2 finale, with Carmy, Syd, Richie, Natalie, various Faks, and the rest of the gang getting ready to open a new fine-dining restaurant. There will be yelling, food porn, and yes, Taylor Swift songs. Gorge on the 10-episode season all at once, or savior it over the course of a few weeks. There’s no wrong way to enjoy The Bear.

Watch it on Hulu

Cillian Murphy had already been kicking around in movies for a handful of years when Danny Boyle cast him in 28 Days Later, but indisputably, that movie put him on the map. Since that 2002 film, the Oppenheimer Oscar winner has appeared in dozens of movies, starred in Peaky Blinders (which will also be coming back soon in movie form), and made another post-apocalyptic turn in A Quiet Place 2. Yet it’s now time for Cillian to head back into the realm of the Rage Virus for more with Danny Boyle and Alex Garland.

If this feels like a classier form of the current Daryl Dixon craze, that’s just fine. There’s an appetite for these horror stories, and Cillian can do whatever he wants in his post-Oscar glow. He’s choosing to go back to basics, and we shall soon see what his character, Jim, has been doing and perhaps why he missed out on 28 Weeks Later. Let’s discuss what we know about the threequel so far.

Plot

Yep, this franchise missed the 28 Months Later time frame, but the good news is that Cillian’s character, Jim, managed to survive the entire first film — where Cillian became Killian — and must still be kicking since he will appear in 28 Years Later. Also notably, this “threequel” will be the first of three planned new movies, which will take place decades after Jim awoke from a coma and wandered out into an abandoned London after the Rage Virus took hold. “Decades” is a long time to survive in a world where these infected zombies are not low energy, but recently, Cillian revealed that he did not consider the first film to be a zombie movie when he signed on the dotted line.

As noted above, Alex Garland is back in the writers’ chair after apparently growing tired of directing (Civil War was not the most stress-free movie to film or release), and Danny Boyle will direct the first new film with Nia DaCosta taking over for the second installment. Rumor has it that DaCosta’s sequel will have Bone Temple in the title, which is a weird flex that is not confirmed.

At present and according to BBC, Danny Boyle, Cillian, and crew have set up production in an English forest and a tidal island (Holy Island):

Film crews have been seen in Newcastle, Kielder Forest and, most prominently, on Holy Island for the past three weeks. Hundreds of people from the local area responded to a call for extras to play a hoard of rage-filled ‘zombies’ in crowd scenes on the island.

“I always think it’s good when they use local areas for stuff, also it brings more tourists to the island,” said Debra Gibbons, who was surprised to discover the filming when out for a walk on Holy Island.

Imagine stumbling upon rage zombies while out for a morning stroll.

Jodie Comer has also hinted that Boyle is getting experimental with “camera work” during an interview with Comic Book:

“I think there’ll be a lot of — just seeing what they’re doing with the camera work, I think there’ll be a lot of new. It’s him, it’s Danny, and I think he’s constantly trying to find new ways and I think, just seeing where they’ve gone with it and all the new additions and explorations, I think people are going to be very excited.”

Well, Cillian has been very excited about the story “idea” that Alex Garland dreamed up for this revival, but more specifics are under lock and key.

Cast

Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Jodie Comer co-star and are already accustomed to kicking ass, so now, they can do that to the undead. The cast also includes Ralph Fiennes and Jack O’Connell, although the latter will reportedly only play a small role in Boyle’s movie but “more of a lead role” for DaCosta.

Release Date

28 Years Later is currently scheduled for a June 20, 2025 release.

Trailer

While we await this movie, it’s worth revisiting Cillian’s haunted-survivor performance in A Quiet Place 2. It’s a mode that he does well.

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

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

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

So…why?

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

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

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

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

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

This article originally appeared on 5.10.23

Hollywood isn’t a place where people typically talk about their faith. In a world run by free-thinking creatives and people with secular, progressive values, those who hew to more traditional, conservative Christian beliefs tend to be less visible.

But Mark Wahlberg has no problem being vocal about his Catholic faith, which must be refreshing to the approximately 61 million Catholics in America.

Wahlberg spoke about the balance he has to strike between his private and professional life on the Today show on February 22, also known as Ash Wednesday to Christians. The “Boogie Nights” actor wore an ash cross on his forehead to commemorate the holy day.

“It’s a balance,” the 51-year-old actor said. “I don’t want to jam it down anybody’s throat, but I do not deny my faith. That’s an even bigger sin. You know, it’s not popular in my industry, but I cannot deny my faith. It’s important for me to share that with people. But, I have friends from all walks of life and all different types of faiths and religions, so it’s important to respect and honor them as well.”

u201cMark Wahlberg is joining us to talk about the Catholic prayer app u2018Hallow,u2019 discusses fasting, opens up about why itu2019s important for him to not deny his faith, shares why he doesnu2019t force Catholicism onto his children, and more.u201d

— TODAY (@TODAY)
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He also believes in leading through his example instead of pressuring his four children to follow his faith.

“I don’t force it on them,” he said. “But they know that Dad can’t start the day without being in prayer, can’t start the day without reading my Scripture or going to Mass. And hopefully, instead of forcing that on them, they’ll say, ‘Well, if it works for Dad, maybe it’ll work for us,’ and they’ll kind of gravitate towards it on their own.”

Wahlberg can keep his faith strong while dealing with the pressures of Hollywood thanks to his relationship with Father Flavin, a parish priest who helped him make drastic changes in his life. As a young man, Wahlberg was a high school dropout who had multiple run-ins with the law. But Flavin has helped him turn his life around.

“He’s been in my life since I was 13,” Wahlberg said of Flavin. “He married me and my wife and baptized all my children.” It’s also believed that Flavin helps Whalberg choose his movie roles that “honor his religious roots.”

The “Father Stu” star says that his faith has helped him develop the discipline to be a successful actor.

“Discipline has always been important for me in life,” he told Today. “Once I started getting into movies and transitioned from music, I realized I needed a lot of discipline in my life, and that discipline has afforded me so many other things. I’ve been rewarded for it so much, and I want to share that with people, whether that’s with fasting, working out more, detaching from other things and just spending more time with God, in prayer or in thoughtful reflection. Those things are important.”

Wahlberg’s ability to live a life in alignment with his faith is noble in an industry that can easily challenge one’s moral compass. It’s also noteworthy that has chosen to live by example instead of being preachy and is accepting of those who may believe differently.

This article originally appeared on 2.24.23

Playing a sport can be tough no matter what age you are. You learn what it feels like to work hard and lose anyway, but you also get to experience seeing all your hard work pay off when you win. But no matter what sport is played, enjoying the process can make the experience worthwhile even when the outcome doesn’t go in your favor.

Dominic Barry is teaching his daughter how to appreciate all aspects of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), recently uploading a video of the young girl learning to refocus after losing several grappling matches. Barry explains that his daughter, who appears to be around 5-years-old was placed with all boys, in a weight class and experience level higher for a recent competition.

The tougher competition against more experienced fighters gave her confidence a bit of a bruising, causing the little girl to leave the mat in tears. Enter Queen Tay-Tay, also known as Taylor Swift.

Barry was trying all he could to get the girl to calm down, refocus and finish the rest of the competition. But it seems even the best pep talk wasn’t doing anything to get her back into the competitive spirit. That’s when Barry whips out his phone, puts the earbuds in his daughter’s ears and hits play on Swift’s “Cruel Summer.” Maybe there’s some sort of underlying Rocky track hidden beneath the catchy summer beat. Whatever it is, It’s exactly what the tiny MMA fighter needed.

“Now I don’t know what’s in Taylor Swift’s ‘Cruel Summer’ but it activated my baby girl, cause her very next match she went to work,” Barry explains before sharing he thought the little boy was getting the best of her. But the little girl quickly turned the fight around causing her dad to burst out in song singing a pitchy version of his daughter’s fight anthem.

Watch the inspiring video below:

Commenters appreciated the encouragement he gave the little girl and praised her fighting skills.

“I love her determination. She’s going to be a super star. No more crying!!! She’s that girl! Girl power,” one person says.

“Bro you speaking to her like this is astounding, breaking it down so she understands fully. You’re an amazing dad keep it up. She’s gonna be a problem when she gets older,” another writes.

“Love you and your daughter’s relationship.Teaching her so many life lessons thru mma at such a young age is awesome she’s gonna be a great,” a commenter shares.

it may not be a sport for everyone but from the looks of Barry’s page, she thoroughly enjoys it. There’s no doubt that she will keep getting better with the help of her dad and of course, Ms. Taylor Swift.

The “sandwich technique,” also known as a “compliment sandwich” or “feedback sandwich,” has been a tool for delivering criticism since the 1940s. But it really became something of a workplace staple after 1984, thanks to Mary Kay Ash’s book “People Management.”

The idea seems sound enough. The deliverer of the criticism would first offer a compliment to the recipient, followed by the actual feedback, then another bit of praise. This should theoretically allow the criticism to be received without bruising any ego or hurting any feelings. Everybody wins.

But according to organizational psychologist and bestselling author Adam Grant, the compliment sandwich “doesn’t taste as good as it looks.”

In various interviews, podcasts, social media posts and even a Substack article, Grant has chalked up the compliment sandwich ineffectiveness to two major shortcomings.

One being that people are simply too familiar with it. So whatever compliment is given, no matter how genuine it may be, people know what’s coming next and they begin “waiting for the other shoe drop.” Knowing the compliments are obligatory can actually make someone take the criticism ever more personally.

Two: the opposite can happen. Because people tend to remember the first and last parts of a conversation, the criticism might be downplayed or outright buried underneath the positive feedback. This goes especially for narcissists, Grant notes.

Luckily there is a kind, yet efficient way to give some tough love. And it all boils down to one simple sentence:

“I’m giving you these comments because I have very high expectations and I know that you can reach them.”

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The phrase comes from a 2013 study conducted by researchers at Stanford,who were able to increase a student’s openness to criticism by at least 40% just by using those 19 words.

As Grant explains, this strategy works because it conveys an intention to help a person become the best version of themselves. “It’s surprisingly easy to hear a hard truth when it comes from someone who believes in your potential and cares about your success.”

Of course, using the exact words isn’t mandatory. The point is focusing on helping someone improve, rather than attacking or patronizing them.

To that point, Grant also has a few other helpful pointers, like not assuming a position of superiority, asking if the person is open to feedback first (Grant attests they usually welcome it) and lastly, keeping the language transparent, not manipulative.

At the end of the day, most people want to grow, become better people, and live up to their potential. Remembering that one little truism can go a long way.

This article originally appeared on 4.11.24