Category: News

This syndicated game show has been using recycled clues and contestants due to the Writers Guild of America strike.

If your answer in the form of a question is “what is Jeopardy!?”, congratulations you won [frantically looks around the room for a prize] a half-eaten bag of Oreo Minis. But wait, there’s even more good news.

TVLine reports that Jeopardy! writers have returned to work following an agreement being reached between the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). The show will return to “normal,” with new clues and new contestants, before the end of the year.

Beginning Tuesday, Dec. 19 (or the week of Jan. 1, if the show chooses to fill 2023’s remaining days with reruns), the season 39 “postseason” — which, pre-strike, was intended to kick off season 40 — will begin. At that point, viewers will see new WGA-written clues, essentially returning the show to normal. (Reminder: The postseason is comprised of season 39 Second Chance, season 39 Champions Wildcard, and the Tournament of Champions.)

In other Jeopardy! news, super-champ Amy Schneider weighed in on the Ken Jennings vs. Mayim Bialik debate. “I only had Ken as a host, so to some extent, I can’t judge exactly, but I loved Ken as a host,” she told TV Insider. “I think that it’s so comforting as a contestant to know that he has been where you are, and I think he has a real feel for the flow of the game.” I’m sorry, but the correct answer is: Will Ferrell’s Alex Trebek.

(Via TVLine)

Russell Wilson has had a pretty tremendous NFL career, winning a Super Bowl in Seattle and helping the Seahawks be a perennial playoff contender for the first decade of his career.

However, despite the on-field success of the Seahawks, he is not exactly a beloved figure with his former teammates, with plenty of them willing to call him out on isolating from the team and having less than flattering recollections of playing with Wilson. On the most recent episode of Shannon Sharpe’s “Club Shay Shay” podcast, Marshawn Lynch spent a good bit of time talking about his former QB and how there wasn’t any relationship between the two stars off the field — to the point that Lynch does not even have Russ’ phone number.

The best part was Shannon trying to understand how he and Wilson never spent time together off the field, explaining that even “7” (John Elway) would come to the original Club Shay Shay at Broncos camp to have beers, play cards, and hang out with the guys. However when asked if he ever went to a party with Russ, Lynch, without saying a word, gave a priceless reaction.

I do love the visual of Lynch and Wilson going to a function together, as you’d be hard-pressed to find two guys in the NFL with more opposite vibes. That said, given Marshawn seems capable of getting along with just about anyone, as evidenced by pretty much everything he’s done in the media space, it does feel notable that he didn’t have any kind of off-field conversations with Wilson. Marshawn also knows that the way things ended in Seattle and the notable Super Bowl loss where he didn’t get the ball on the 1 yard line will make anything he says about Russ come off as sour grapes. He was quick to note he thought Russ was a great QB and he’d happily play next to him, but even by saying very little, Lynch was able to tell an awful lot about Russell Wilson off the field.

Grimes and Elon Musk have three kids together, with their oldest being named X AE A-XII. That’s not exactly a common name for a person, but there’s one criticism about it that Grimes just doesn’t get and she recently addressed it on X (formerly Twitter),

It started when Grimes saw a tweet introducing a product that functions as an always-on microphone that allows users to play back what they say at all times, as well as ask an AI model questions about whatever audio the device captured. Grimes doesn’t seem to be a fan of the product, as she tweeted, “I feel like a lot of the people making this stuff have either never been in an abusive relationship or don’t have kids and aren’t thinking of the impact constant surveillance has on child development.”

An X user replied, “That’s funny coming from you Claire did you name your kid something that humans can’t even pronounce? How’s that gonna go down for him when he’s in school? Why did you feel like you need to make a comment on this? Bored?” To that, Grimes responded, “This is the most bizarre criticism. He loves his name and mostly ppl think it’s cool. X men etc. x is popular at school lol. Also, I don’t wanna say his friends names cuz they’re civilians but most millenials named their kids weird names – not just me.”

Yesterday (October 3), Spotify announced that premium subscribers in certain countries will receive 15 hours of free audiobook streaming per month. According to a report from NME, the feature has launched in Australia and the UK, and is set to launch in the US by the end of the year.

Spotify is primarily a music streaming platform, however, with the launch of the new feature, many Spotify users have questions about Spotify’s audiobook collection and how to listen to these books.

Do you have to pay for audiobooks on Spotify?

Spotify began carrying audiobooks last September, but at the time of their arrival to the streaming platform, they weren’t free. All users, including premium users, had to pay by the book to listen to each title.

According to a press release, Spotify currently carries “upwards of 70% of bestselling books, with titles from major publishers including Hachette, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan, Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, and RB Media, as well as independent authors and publishers globally, including Bolinda, Dreamscape, and Pushkin.” Spotify users can begin streaming audiobooks by selecting books marked with “Included With Premium.”

Other titles, as well as the premium titles, will be included in the Spotify library for purchase as à la carte titles.

You can see a trailer for the new feature above.

Despite reportedly solid ratings and positive reactions to its two-part premiere, Ahsoka arrived with minimal fanfare on social media as cautious Star Wars fans were afraid to get burned again after The Mandalorian Season 3 failed to deliver.

However, Ahsoka quietly picked up steam before fans started going absolutely wild thanks to Episode 5 bringing The Clone Wars to life thanks to knockout performances by Hayden Christensen and Arianna Greenblatt. That fan fervor only increased as Grand Admiral Thrawn arrived in Episode 6 along with the live-action debut of Eman Esfandi as Ezra Bridger. Add in Ray Stevenson bringing dramatic gravitas week-after-week as Baylan Skoll, and Star Wars fans were fully hooked going into the Ahsoka finale.

As you can see by the reactions below, fans couldn’t get enough of the climactic ending, which hopefully, set the stage for Ahsoka Season 2. The feedback was off the charts as some fans as Ahsoka seems to have leap-frogged The Mandalorian as the best Star Wars TV series.

On top of the badass lightsaber fights and Clone Wars lore, there was also lots of love for Christensen making a last-minute appearance as Anakin’s Force ghost proved he’s never stopped watching over his apprentice:

Speaking of master and apprentice, Star Wars: Rebels fans could barely contain their emotions after watching Ezra pay tribute to Kanan Jarrus by crafting a lightsaber just like his fallen master’s:

And, of course, there was a Kevin James meme as is the style of the time:

Ahsoka Season 1 is now streaming on Disney+.

Modeling isn’t always as glamorous as it looks.

Sure you get to wear fun clothes, have crazy stuff done to your hair and get paid for having people take pictures of you. But on the flip side, you have multiple people critiquing your body and how clothes fit you to your face. Gaining or losing a few pounds can be a contract breaker leaving you looking for work.

Some models have an extra layer to worry about when it comes to landing the right jobs – makeup. Megan Milan recently shared her experience during New York Fashion Week, a high profile week of fashion shows where celebrities flock to get first looks at designer collections. The model was getting ready for a photoshoot before a show later that night when the makeup artist didn’t have the correct shade of makeup.

Milan is a dark skinned Black woman and the shade of makeup used appears to be for someone about 15 shades lighter. When she saw the results, the runway model left the chair to find the closest Sephora.

@megan.milan

I normally bring my own foundation just incase but i let my guard down. Plus i didnt want to carry a makeup bag all day, this was my first job of the day 😭. I had to go ti Sephora, do my own makeup then come back 😀. #nyfw #modelproblems #blackmodels #blackmodelsmatter

Milan shared the video of her makeup disaster on TikTok where it amassed over 13.7 million views and over 1 million likes. In the caption of the video she wrote, “I normally bring my own foundation just incase but i let my guard down. Plus i didnt want to carry a makeup bag all day, this was my first job of the day 😭. I had to go ti[sic] Sephora, do my own makeup then come back.”

By the time she started talking to the Sephora employee, Milan starts to cry saying, “if you don’t know how to do Black girls makeup why would you even…you guys knew what I looked like before I came.”

Lack of representation in hairstylists and makeup artists has been a problem for decades. Celebrities from Cicely Tyson to Gabrielle Union have expressed frustration around industry hair and makeup artists not having the right shades or not knowing how to work with kinky hair. Sadly this trend has continued and Milan is the latest Black person on the receiving end of the lack of diversity amongst makeup artists.

Thankfully for Milan, the employees at Sephora corrected the mess. The head of makeup in the store personally made sure the model was camera ready and the shoot turned out beautiful.

You can watch the full video below:

@megan.milan

For those sho wanted to see the full video 🥹💗. Thank you for all of your support as always!! Not trying to blast anyone, just want to bring awareness for my sisters who may be too shy to speak up or dont have the platform, i got us. #nyfw #blackmodel #donnidavy #euphoriamakeup #models #mua #sephora #halfmagicbeauty

Garret Wing is the founder of Florida-based American Standard Dog Training. For 20-plus years, he’s trained countless dogs, beginning as a K9 trainer for law enforcement and eventually opening his business to civilians.

Wing has developed a massive following on TikTok, where his tips and training success stories have earned him over 3 million followers. Recently, he released a video revealing the 3 dog breeds he would never own, and it’s been seen over 25 million times.

Unfortunately, these three breeds had to get called out, but everyone has different needs in a pet, and these dogs aren’t a great fit for Wing.

@americanstandardk9

Top 3 Breeds I WOULDN’T Own as a Dog Trainer #dog #centralasainshepeard #alabai #bloodhound #chihuahua #puppy #doglover #dogs #fyp

1. Central Asian Shepherd

“Starting with number 1, the Central Asian Shepherd, also known as the Alabai,” Wing says. “The males can get over 170-plus pounds, and they’re great livestock guardians, but the problem is, I don’t have any livestock,” he continued.

2. Bloodhound

“The males can get up to 110 pounds. But it’s not the size that concerns me, it’s their oily skin,” he explained. “That oily skin makes them stink like no other dog. I don’t care how many baths you give them; they just have a smell about them that’s hard to get rid of.”

3. Chihuahua

“If I needed a 3-pound demon from the underworld that served no other purpose than to sit on my lap and bite anything that comes within 3 feet range of me, then I would get a Chihuahua, but it’ll be a hard pass for me on that one,” Wing admitted.

You can bet your bottom dollar that Barbie will be one of the most sought after Halloween costumes this year, thanks to the film being the pop culture moment of 2023. But Barbie-fied haunted houses? That’s a whole other level of hot pink.

And yet, this was the vision for a group of close-knit neighbors living in the residential community of Daybreak in South Jordan, Utah.

In lieu of cobwebs and skeletons, the crew went all out to transform their block into Barbieland, giving each house a slightly different Barbie theme.

In a now-viral clip shared to TikTok by Liz T.G. (@paseo_forever), we see houses decked out with pink flowers and furniture, a disco ball, a slide…all while the movie’s signature song, “Pink,” plays in the background.

Of course, it almost wouldn’t be right to make Barbieland without some kind of nod to Ken’s Mojo Dojo Casa House. Never fear—one family took up the mantle, bro-ing out their home with a saloon-style cowboy bar, an inflatable motorcycle and a giant horse.

@paseo_forever When the whole neighborhood likes halloween (and barbie) a lot #barbie #barbiehalloween #barbiemovie #mattel #fyp #halloween2023 #pink #foryoupage #surprise ♬ Pink – Lizzo

And the neighborhood did still pay homage to some traditional Halloween fixtures. Like with their Barbie graveyard, where they placed tombstones for Ruth Handler, the creator of Barbie, Sugar Daddy Ken and the patriarchy.

There’s even a neon sign that quotes the forever quotable line, “You guys ever think about dying?” They seriously thought of everything!

You might assume that this DIY Barbieland is best suited for daytime. Guess again. At night each house gives off a party pink glow.

@paseo_forever Replying to @Lauren still workin on it — more to come! #barbie #barbiehalloween #barbiemovie #mattel #fyp #halloween2023 #pink #foryoupage ♬ Dance The Night (From Barbie The Album) – Dua Lipa

You also might wonder, as one viewer did, where Weird Barbie’s house was. After all, that house is iconic all on its own.

So far, Liz has only teased its existence in a three-second follow-up video. But exciting nonetheless.

Lastly, there’s a clip where audio from the famous “Hi Barbie” scenes plays while the camera cuts to different cardboard cutout characters, like Ken and Mermaid Barbie.

@paseo_forever Replying to @magaroni.pastaoli #barbie #barbiehalloween #barbiemovie #mattel #fyp #halloween2023 #foryoupage ♬ Hi, Barbie! Hi, Ken! – Trend Max

Basically, these neighbors are geniuses, and everybody loves how committed they were to the bit. What a perfect way to breathe fresh new life into spooky season, and prove yet again that Barbie can be anything. 💫

Freddie Mercury was known for many things—his dramatic showmanship, his larger-than-life personality, and his untimely death during the peak of the AIDS epidemic—but he is most remembered for his clear, powerful voice, ranging from rich bass notes to impressive soprano coloratura.

It’s hard to do Freddie’s voice justice, but Marc Martel has managed to wow millions with his impersonations of the Queen lead singer. If you close your eyes and listen, there are seconds when you might swear you were hearing Freddie himself singing again.

Martel’s cover of “Bohemian Rhapsody” has been viewed 56 million times on YouTube. And another of his videos showcases Martel’s ability to captivate an audience with his—or Freddie’s—voice.

At a concert in Santiago, Chile, in 2022, Martel began playing the piano intro to “Love of My Life,” one of Queen’s simplest and most sentimental ballads. As soon as he opened his mouth to sing, the audience did the same—10,000 people all singing along in unison—and it’s just beautiful.

Watch:

Love Of My Life – Live from Santiago, Chile (Marc Martel)

Queen fans not only loved the sing-a-long but they were also blown away by how close Martel came to channeling Freddie Mercury with his vocals:

“I’m 63. Heard Queen from the start. This man is unbelievable. Why Queen didn’t grab him is unbelievable, beyond belief.”

“For those of us who love the Mercury timbre, Martel is a blessing.”

“The part “you’ve hurt me” sounds exactly like Freddie. I also love the fact that people are singing too, it gives me Queen concerts vibes :)”

“When the crowd started singing, it genuinely gave me goosebumps. It was like he was singing with a choir. Some great voices in the audience! Well mixed too. Incredible as always!”

“Never mind the vocal inflections, he plays piano outstandingly. Freddie’s voice was so unique and original, it’s unbelievable how close Marc is.”

And if you want to see Martel’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” video with 56 million views, here it is. Enjoy:

Find more of Marc Martel’s Freddie Mercury magic on YouTube.

Although Twitter isn’t the meeting spot that it used to be, people still gathered there after hearing Wednesday’s Emergency Alert Test in action. The “why” of this test makes sense, but still, hearing it was a whole other matter. That godforsaken sound will never fail to make people jump out of their skin.

To make matters more discombobulating, FEMA had publicized that the test should be expected at 2:20pm EST. Granted, the FEMA website did specify that this would happen “approximately” at that time, but nonetheless, the tone arriving two minutes early was not embraced as a pleasant surprise. In fact, people are feeling a lot like Walter White in a certain Breaking Bad scene. All I’m adding on that note is this: be careful if you see people throwing pizzas onto roofs as a protest later.

As we now know en masse, the Emergency Alert Test worked. If you have the jitters now, you are definitely not alone, but at least you didn’t react like Aaron Rodgers might have done.

For many other people, though, the most rattling aspect of this test came from its early arrival.

Hopefully, we can all recover soon and sleep easy tonight, knowing that the government could wake us up for the heck of it at any given moment. That’s better than having bed bugs, though!