Imagine deciding to take up a hobby that usually requires many years to perfect at age 35, and three years later ending up in the top 30 in the world at the highest international competition for it.
That’s what happened to a 38-year-old math and physics teacher from Diepenbeek, Belgium. According to Netherlands News Live, Mieke Gorissen has jogged 10km (a little over six miles) a few times a week for exercise for many years. But in 2018, she decided to hire a running trainer to improve her technique. As it turned out, she was a bit of a natural at distance running.
Three years later, Gorissen found herself running her third marathon. But not just any old marathon (as if there were such a thing)—the marathon at the Tokyo Olympics. And not only did she compete with the world’s most elite group of runners, she came in 28th out of the 88 competing in the race.
With the heat and humidity in Tokyo, even completing the race was a major accomplishment. (Fifteen women competing did not finish the marathon.) But to come in in the top 30 when you just started focusing on distance running three years ago? Unbelievable.
In fact, Gorissen could hardly believe it herself. A video of her reaction upon hearing her results has gone viral for its purity and genuine humility. “No,” she said when a reporter told her she came in 28th in the race. “That’s not possible.”
Then she burst into tears.
Her emotional disbelief is so moving. “I was already happy to finish the race,” she said through sobs. “I do think I have reached my goal and that I can be happy.”
“I also think I lost a toenail,” she added, laughing.
Even after the English translation ends in the video, it’s clear how much this finish meant to her. A remarkable accomplishment for a 38-year-old who knits and reads for fun and who has only run two marathons prior to competing in the Olympics.
According to her Olympic profile, she’s glad she got started with distance running later in life. “If I started running in my teens, it wouldn’t have been good for me,” she said. “I wasn’t really happy then, I would have been too hard on myself and I would have lost myself in it in a way that wasn’t healthy. It came at exactly the right time.”
Congratulations, Mieke. You’ve given us all the inspiration to set new goals and dream bigger than we ever thought possible.
Everyone who’s anyone is going to Casa Bonita (assuming you can get a reservation). The “Disneyland of Mexican restaurants,” which was prominently featured in a classic 2003 episode of South Park, is the topic of a new documentary, ¡CASA BONITA MI AMOR!. Following the film’s premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this month, co-owners and South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone discussed all things Casa Bonita, including one of the renovated establishment’s famous attendees: The Cure.
Denver-based publication Westword reports that “Parker invited the band to Casa Bonita when The Cure was in Denver on tour last June.” Singer and former South Park guest star Robert Smith told Parker “wow, this is mental” when he first saw the restaurant. He thought they were “just having tacos,” so the cliff divers were a surprise. Another surprise: one of Casa Bonita’s attractions (legally) uses The Cure song, “The Blood” from 1985’s The Head on the Door, which Smith called, “That’s the greatest thing I’ve ever seen.”
This is the first time Robert Smith and Eric Cartman have been equally excited about the same thing (burritos and mariachi bands).
¡CASA BONITA MI AMOR! is expected to stream later this year. Meanwhile, South Park season 27 does not currently have a premiere date.
Chloe Bailey, Uproxx’s August 2022 cover star, said she had a confession to make, and it could have gone in various directions. The artist known mononymously as Chlöe announced Trouble In Paradise, her sophomore solo album, while performing at Coachella 2024, so that couldn’t be it. But what about a new single? Nope. Bailey had some personal news to get off of her chest.
“I’m about to spill some tea,” Bailey said in a recent Live session captured by The Shade Room. “You wanna know my confession? My confession is that, recently, I have begun consuming chicken.”
She added, “The first time I ate it, my stomach cramped maybe a little bit. After that, I was fine. I just can’t eat fried chicken with egg wash because I’m allergic to eggs, but what I have noticed is that my body has been getting more tone.”
This is notable because Bailey had been vegan for years. Last August, TMZ dedicated an entire video segment to Bailey accidentally eating a beef burger after ordering a Beyond Burger while sharing a hotel room with her sister, Halle Bailey, which was an issue because, as Bailey said in her video at the time, “I’m crying. Halle’s just laughing so hard at me because I’m freaking out. I have been vegan for ten years. I have not consumed any red meat for ten years.”
Chloe Bailey accidentally bites into a real burger after 10 years of being a vegan pic.twitter.com/CsWHuw7Ap2
Netflix’s embrace of the sports world and, particularly, sports docuseries continues this summer as their followup to the popular Quarterback series, Receiver will release on July 10.
After following Patrick Mahomes, Kirk Cousins, and Marcus Mariota in last year’s edition, the streaming giant will track a season with five star pass-catchers in the NFL. Justin Jefferson of the Vikings, Davante Adams of the Raiders, Amon-Ra St. Brown of the Lions, and the 49ers duo of Deebo Samuel and George Kittle will be featured in the series, as we will get to go behind the scenes on and off the field.
For the Niners pairing of Kittle and Samuel, their chase of an elusive Super Bowl championship takes center stage, while St. Brown’s arc will follow his effort to help the Lions to their first divisional title and playoff win in decades. The other two are two of the best receivers in the league who had to navigate tough years, with Jefferson dealing with the first real injury of his career, while Adams had to go through quarterback and coaching changes in Las Vegas.
Receivers are, famously, among the most unique personalities on a football team, as it takes a special kind of confidence to play wide receiver — or in Kittle’s case, tight end — and getting to know five of those personalities better on and off the field should be pretty fascinating to watch.
The concept of being an introvert versus an extrovert is a fairly new one. Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung first came up with both terms in the early 1900s, and from the get-go, it was understood that people’s personalities generally fell somewhere between the two extremes.
Nowadays introverts are often mislabeled as being antisocial, which isn’t necessarily true. Going off of the Jung definition, introverted people simply orient toward their “internal private world of inner thoughts and feelings”—unlike extroverts, who “engage more with the outside world of objects, sensory perception, and action.”
Most introverts will tell you, it’s not that we hate people. We just find them … draining. What we tend to detest are things like trivial small talk and the cacophony of large groups. But even that, many introverts can turn on for, enjoy even … so long as we can promptly go home afterwards and veg out.
Being introverted is certainly not unique—up to half of the entire population is estimated to be introverted. Heck, it’s even a trait for animals. And it’s certainly not a weakness. Many notable leaders were known for being reserved. However, the world is often made to favor extroversion, making it hard for introverts to be understood, let alone valued.
Reddit user Sarayka81 asked for introverts to share their “nightmare situations.” The answers are an eye-opening (and pretty hilarious) glimpse into how one person’s idea of normal, or even fun, can be another person’s torture.
Enjoy 15 of the best responses. Introverts, beware.
1. Public marriage proposals
“I’ve told every partner so far, if you propose in public I will turn it down.” – @AngelaTheRipper
“All those youtube videos of these big proposals, like a whole dance routine pop up…everyone is like ‘omg what a great gesture!’ No. no. no.” – fearme101
2. Afterparties
“You mean there’s more stuff to do after the stuff we planned on doing? I only have so much energy to deal with people and it was already used up.” – @Nyctomancer
3. Being picked out of the crowd to speak
“People who just raise their hand to be chosen are true heroes.” – @Chogolatine
4. Unexpected visitors
“As a child my worst nightmare was when my parents got visitors and I’m stuck upstairs hungry and thirsty because I can’t access the kitchen.” – @mikasott
“Ask them nicely, ‘would you kindly REMOVE yourself from my personal space.‘” – @GDog507
“But that requires talking to them.” – @StinkyKittyBreath
5. Introducing yourself
“I get locked jaw when this happens. Along with sweaty palms and cold sweat.” – @ellisonjune
6. Multiple conversations at once
“I was at a conference where everyone is doing the circle thing and I was chatting with some people about some interesting, but pretty dry, industry topics. All of the sudden I hear someone in another conversation circle say something along the lines of: ‘Yeah man, gorillas will rip your head off.’
All of the sudden, I can’t concentrate on my current conversation and my brain tunes into the gorilla conversation instead. I could not for the life of me tune back into my main conversation.” – @reAchilles
7. Running into someone you know in a public place
“All you want to do is read your book, but there’s no way out and you decide to put up a brave front. Already you can hear the office gossip in your head: ‘Oh my God, guess who I was stuck on the train with…’Nightmare fuel. Work from home was a blessing in this regard.” – @jew_bisquits
8. Singing “Happy Birthday” at a restaurant
“This shouldn’t be legal” – @Chogolatine
9. Surprise parties
“I’m essentially the 49th wheel at my own party. Kill me now.” – @Anneboleyn33
10. Being talked over
“Especially when the only thing the person interjects with is filler or exclamatory flurry that adds nothing to the conversation while stifling any other contribution. Things like ‘yes girl yes!’ or ‘I can’t believe that!’ or …even loud forced laughter – really any noise interjected in that space to make it seem like they’re contributing or listening instead of actually participating.” – @torn_anteater
11. Networking events
“Don’t forget to come up with a fun fact!” – @sub_surfer
12. Extroverts who just don’t get it
“‘Wanna hang out this Saturday?’
‘Sure!’
… Saturday arrives, 10 minutes before hangout time …
‘Oh also I invited my friend you have never met before to join us.'” – @drflanigan
13. Phone calls
“Receiving and twice as bad having to make one.” – @Isand0
14. Impromptu work presentations
“I need like a couple days to prepare myself for any speaking engagement lol.” – @koriroo
15. Party games that involve small talk
“‘Who’s up for two truths and a lie?’
Thinks … Can they all be lies? No … What are the most boring truths I can think of so no one comes up to talk to me after this?‘” – @littlewittlediddle
Walton Goggins is normally down to do just about any silly type of role, whether it be as an overly-tanned Uncle Baby Billy or an eclectic vice principal. So when he was meeting with the team behind the Fallout adaptation, he was prepared to play something he had never played before: normal!
Goggins told Deadline that he was initially unfamiliar with the game and just assumed they wanted him to play a Vault Dweller. “I went online and began reading about the game,” he said. “Whatever article came up first in my search was about a guy leaving a vault, so I’m thinking, ‘Wow, that’s really interesting. That’s obviously who they want me for, the Vault Dweller that’s coming out into the world, of course.’” This, of course, was not what they wanted him for.
The actor was chosen for a dual role of Cooper Howard and his 200+ year old alter ego, The Ghoul, who survived the nuclear war. As it turns out, all of that radiation will get to you, as The Ghoul does not have a nose. But Goggins was already on board before he knew that. “Right out of the gate, maybe two minutes into the conversation, I did say that I was in, no matter what,” he explained. “And it was only after saying I was in that they said, ‘Well, don’t you want to know who you’re playing?’ And I said, ‘It doesn’t really matter. I’m in.’ And they said, ‘Well, you’re going to be playing a noseless, irradiated ghoul,’ and I said, ‘You know what? Maybe I should read those scripts. Yeah, maybe that’s a good idea, and let’s talk afterwards.’”
They did talk, and Goggins prepared for his Ghoulish role with a very specific vision. “All of us universally agreed that we didn’t want the audience to be repulsed by his appearance. We wanted them to lean into this experience with him and want to study his face and to understand what’s hiding in his face, what’s hiding in plain sight, and for that to be almost another piece of the story in and of itself,” he explained.
After Goggins first saw himself as The Ghoul, he needed a little space, presumably so he could avoid some sort of identity crisis.
“My dear friend Jake Garber, who’s one of the best special effects makeup people in the business, put it on, and then I just asked to be left alone really for about an hour and a half, and just walked outside and took a lot of video and looked at it in different lighting to understand what was possible with it. What are people seeing and what aren’t they seeing? How am I going to have to modify what is normally my instrument? Can I do that? So, there were a lot of those questions. And I don’t want to alter my imagination. I’m not going to over-emote. I don’t really even know how to do that.”
Even though he tried not to over-emote, the human side of The Ghoul did shine through throughout the first season, and we will likely see that continue in the second season. “When you read about The Ghoul for the first time, on paper, one can think, ‘My god, he is sadistic, what he’s putting this poor Vault Dweller through.’ And as the story goes along, hopefully, at least that was my intention, because I think that’s the story, [you understand] that it isn’t personal. It only becomes personal as he gets to know her,” he says of his dynamic with Lucy, who helped bring out his humanity. “It’s only after he’s confronted with, yet again, his own mortality, that he has to think and recalibrate his plan, or his day is f*cked, as they say, and he has to change course.”
He still tortures Lucy, but he has feelings about it after! That’s progress for a Ghoul.
Victoria Monét won Best New Artist at the 2024 Grammys because Jaguar II was so overwhelmingly dominant that the Recording Academy had no choice but to reward her. It’s not all rainbows for Monét, considering “ongoing health issues” forced her to drop out of a few festivals this summer, but any setback has been overshadowed by piling up consistent wins. While she won’t be able to perform a few festivals in June, she just dropped the Dave Meyers-directed “Alright” video, which honored Janet Jackson and earned over 1.4 million YouTube views in 48 hours. So, Monét’s hot steak forges on.
And on Thursday, June 13, Monét more or less joined the Star Wars universe. Because why not? According to a press release, Monét will sing “an original end-credit song, ‘Power Of Two,’ for the Star Wars series The Acolyte from Lucasfilm.”
“Having my song be a part of the classic Star Wars franchise via The Acolyte is such an honor, and I’m thrilled for everyone to hear it when they see how it ties into the overall storyline!” Monét said in a statement. “D’Mile and I had a great time making the song and hope the world loves it as much as we do.”
The press release additionally relays that “Power Of Two” will be available to stream on all DSPs on Friday, June 14.
The Acolyte premiered on Disney+ on June 4. The fourth episode is due on the streaming service on Tuesday, June 18.
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.
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!)
Evil does not exist – or at least the show Evil won’t after this season. This is the final season of the Robert and Michelle King-created series, which made the successful leap from CBS to Paramount Plus. Evil is frequently called the “best show you’re not watching,” and it’s got a The X-Files-ish premise to back that up: “A skeptical female psychologist joins a priest-in-training and a contractor as they investigate the Church’s backlog of unexplained mysteries, including supposed miracles, demonic possessions and hauntings. Is there a logical explanation, or is something truly supernatural at work?”
No less an authority than Stephen King praised Netflix’s shark movie. “I thought UNDER PARIS would be a jokey movie, like SHARKNADO, but Twitter convinced me to give it a watch, and it’s really quite good. The last 25 minutes were amazing,” he tweeted. 41 million minutes worth of people agree.
“Oh great, another unnecessary horror prequel,” right? Wrong! Directed by Arkasha Stevenson, The First Omen is one of the most visually striking horror movies in recent memory. Nell Tiger Free (Myrcella Baratheon from Game of Thrones) gives a stellar lead performance as an American who gets sent to Rome to work with the church. But once she arrives, “she encounters a darkness that causes her to question her own faith and uncovers a terrifying conspiracy that hopes to bring about the birth of evil incarnate.” Hate it when that happens. But you won’t hate watching The First Omen.
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?
The American Godzilla movies like Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire are fun, but the recent Japanese Godzilla movies are masterpieces. 2016’s Shin Godzilla was the best entry in the franchise since the 1954 original, while Godzilla Minus One was a sensation. The Takashi Yamazaki-directed film grossed over $100 million at the worldwide box office and won an Oscar, both firsts for a Godzilla movie released by Toho Studios. If you missed out, Godzilla Minus One is now streaming on Netflix.
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.”
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?
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.
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.
Presumed Innocent is guilty… of having an all-star collection of talent! Created by David E. Kelley and produced by J.J. Abrams, 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.
Hit Man is funny, sexy, and charming. So why did the crowd pleaser barely get a theatrical release? “I don’t know,” director Richard Linklater told Decider about the lack of 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 plays in 4,000 screens. Or better yet, sequels.
One of the great comedic talents of his (or any) generation, Gene Wilder gets a well-earned tribute in Remembering Gene Wilder. The documentary celebrates the life of the Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, and Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory star through “touching and hilarious clips and outtakes, never-before-seen home movies, [and] narration from Wilder’s audiobook memoir,” as well as interviews from Mel Brooks, Alan Alda, and Carol Kane.
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).
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).
Vampire Weekend has been performing impromptu covers during the band’s Only God Was Above Us tour. So far, they’ve done everything from “Wonderwall” by Oasis to “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes to “Just Like Heaven” by The Cute. Those all came by request from the audience, but on Tuesday, Vampire Weekend had something special in store for the Hollywood Bowl crowd: a performance of “Dangerous Knife (The Night Is A Knife)” from Netflix’s I Think You Should Leave, with help from the brilliant sketch show’s star and co-creator Tim Robinson.
Tim Robinson makes a surprise appearance as Vampire Weekend plays their song “Dangerous Nights” from ‘I Think You Should Leave’ at the Hollywood Bowl pic.twitter.com/e14caIox9W
“We got on the phone with them and they basically wanted not a bad pop song, but kind of a… They played me references and stuff for what they were looking for, and they already had some lyrics,” Koening previously told Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus on the After School Radio show about the origin of “Dangerous Knife (The Night Is A Knife).” He added, “It’s not like they were wanting a song that sounds like me or Vampire Weekend, they just wanted to know if we’d have fun with it.”
The Only God Was Above Us tour continues until October.
You can watch Vampire Weekend featuring Robinson above.
First it was U2, then it was Phish, and then Dead & Company. Next, it’ll be The Eagles taking over Las Vegas’ now-iconic Sphere venue for a concert residency. The run of shows was just announced today (June 13) and it’ll take place across four weekends, two shows per weekend, from September 20 to October 19.
How To Get Tickets For The Eagles’ Residency At Sphere In Las Vegas
As for tickets, there’s an artist pre-sale starting June 14 at 10 a.m. PT, and those interested can pre-register right now, here. There’s also a Live Nation pre-sale beginning June 20 via Ticketmaster (with the code CHORD). Finally, the public on-sale will kick off on June 21.
Meanwhile, the band is in the midst of The Long Goodbye, which is being billed as their “final tour.” Currently, no future dates for the tour are listed on the band’s website, but the trek is expected to run through to 2025.
Check out the full list of the band’s Sphere residency dates below.
The Eagles’ Residency Dates At Sphere In Las Vegas
09/20 — Las Vegas, NV @ Sphere
09/21 — Las Vegas, NV @ Sphere
09/27 — Las Vegas, NV @ Sphere
09/28 — Las Vegas, NV @ Sphere
10/11 — Las Vegas, NV @ Sphere
10/12 — Las Vegas, NV @ Sphere
10/18 — Las Vegas, NV @ Sphere
10/19 — Las Vegas, NV @ Sphere
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