Category: News

Last month Marjorie Taylor Greene tried to play nice, sort of. She rallied behind Kevin McCarthy, the establishment Republican pick for Speaker of the House. She broke up with her besties, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz. Was she mellowing out? Of course not. She was a annoying brat during Joe Biden’s State of the Union. Now she’s talking secession again, and on Presidents’ Day.

“We need a national divorce,” Greene tweeted from her once-banned account. “We need to separate by red states and blue states and shrink the federal government. Everyone I talk to says this. From the sick and disgusting woke culture issues shoved down our throats to the Democrat’s traitorous America Last policies, we are done.”

Worth noting: Greene represents Georgia, one of them blue states that voted for Biden in 2020. That election’s loser, Donald Trump, may even be in big trouble over his attempts to overturn the will of their people, and ditto Lindsey Graham. Perhaps Greene should have checked in on that before publicly suggesting shredding the Constitution.

It’s not the first time Greene has floated the idea of breaking up the nation along party lines. She talked about it last year when she railed against Democrats moving to red states, suggesting they should not be allowed to vote “in a National Divorce scenario.” And in 2021 she conducted a wishy-washy poll to see who’d want to divvy up the country, discovering that 48 percent weren’t into it while 43 percent were (with 9 percent undecided).

Anyway, happy President’s Day to you and yours!

(Via Raw Story)

SZA continues to surprise herself with the overwhelming success of SOS, her long-awaited sophomore album from December. It became her first-ever No. 1 on the Billboard 200 that month and has steadily broken records in the ensuing weeks.

Last month, SOS became the first album since Adele’s 30 (December 2021 to January 2022) to spend each of its first five weeks at No. 1. SZA began February by celebrating a seventh total week, citing that she, Adele and Taylor Swift are “the only female artists to have an album spend at least seven weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 this century.”

By February 12, SOS logged its eighth nonconsecutive week and became the first album to tally that mark since Swift’s Folklore, and now, SZA is on Adele’s heels for yet another historic feat.

Per Billboard on Sunday, February 19, SOS sits at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart dated February 25, for a ninth total week.

“The last set by a female artist to spend at least nine weeks at No. 1 was Adele’s 25, which ruled for 10 nonconsecutive weeks between Dec. 12, 2015, and March 12, 2016,” Billboard‘s Keith Caulfield noted.

He later added:

“In the last 10 years, only three albums by women have spent at least nine weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200: SOS, Adele’s 25 (10 in 2015-16) and Taylor Swift’s 1989 (11, 2014-15). The last R&B/hip-hop album with at least eight weeks atop the list was Drake’s Views, which [spent] 13 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 (May 21-Oct. 8, 2016). SOS has the most weeks at No. 1 for an R&B/hip-hop album by a woman, or an R&B album by a woman, since Mariah Carey’s self-titled debut spent 11 weeks, all consecutively, at No. 1 in 1991.”

SZA appeared as a presenter at the 2023 Grammys on February 5, and she’s likely to be there as a nominee next year.

“Last night was the first time I had a great time at an award show! (Prolly cause I ain’t have to do sh*t but cheer my friends on + announce ppl I Stan lmao),” SZA wrote on Instagram afterward. “My team also surprised me w a GANG OF PLATINUM and gold plaques for SOS [crying emoji] can’t believe the album is already eligible for double platinum. LOVE TO EVERYBODY THAT GOT ME HERE AND CONTINUES TO LIVE ME UP. I love you.”

After initial concerns that people wouldn’t like SOS, SZA has apparently settled into the rhythm of repetitive record-breaking. “Honestly I’m bored and could go for some aliens,” she tweeted last week. “Speaking for me only.”

In actuality, she’s preparing to take her blockbuster album on the road. Her SOS Tour is scheduled to begin tomorrow, February 21 in Columbus, Ohio. Omar Apollo will serve as her opener.

Omar Apollo is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Yesterday’s NBA All-Star Game was an all-star affair when it came to the musical lineup, too. Burna Boy, Rema, and Tems performed at halftime, Post Malone and 21 Savage kicked everything off yesterday, and between those two performances, Jewel played the national anthem at Salt Lake City, Utah’s Vivint Arena.

Jewel, who grew up in Alaska but was born in Utah, accompanied herself on acoustic guitar as she delivered a subdued rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” allowing herself powerful vocal moments when the song called for it.

Singing aside, there were plenty of reactions to Jewel’s outfit, a suit made out of a patchwork of NBA jerseys from different teams. Some thought it was a throwback-style look: Comments on that front include, “jewel got one of them nba suits we used to rock in 2003,” and, “Jewel got the 2004 NBA patchwork fit on lol I see the vision.”

Beyond that, some people liked it, while others thought it was questionable at best.

Then there’s this, the best tweet of them all: “Bc the Kelce brothers’ mom wore this to honor her children playing in the SB, it makes me think Jewel has a sh*t ton of kids in the NBA lol.”

Watch Jewel’s performance above.

It was a Malone-heavy weekend at the 2023 NBA All-Star Game in Salt Lake City, Utah. Denver Nuggets coach Mike Malone coached Team LeBron, Utah Jazz legend Karl Malone was in the building to take in the sights, and the NBA tapped Post Malone to deliver a pre-game performance yesterday (February 19).

After being introduced by Slam Dunk Contest champion Mac McClung, Malone started his brief set with “Wow,” performing the track through smiles and high-fives with fans in the front rows. Then, backed by fiery pyrotechnics, he brought out 21 Savage to join him on their former No. 1 hit, “Rockstar.”

There was a lot of music at All-Star Weekend beyond Malone and Savage. Also pre-game, Jully Black sang “O Canada” and made a change to the country’s national anthem. Utah native Jewel also came through with “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Savage also played in the celebrity game earlier in the weekend, which also featured Janelle Monáe, Cordae, Kane Brown, Ozuna, and Nicky Jam.

Rapper Dame D.O.L.L.A. (who some might know better as Damian Lillard) showed out during the game and ended up being one of its leading scorers with 26 points. Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum won the game’s MVP award.

Check out Malone performing “Wow” and bringing out Savage for “Rockstar” above.

By the time you’ve read this, John Oliver will have returned for his Season 10 premiere episode. The disappointed Sexiest Man Alive candidate and The White Lotus followup guy led up to his big evening with some vigor. That is to say, the Last Week Tonight Twitter account posted a “hosting announcement” in the style of SNL, but of course, the announced host is who we’re used to seeing: “John (Oliver).” Would he perhaps have a musical guest in tow? Maybe, but that would be “a horse.”

A quick followup happened on Sunday night for anyone who counted on the promise of a horse, which was “cut from the show after dress rehearsal.”

As Deadline points out, the swing towards SNL arrives about six weeks before the two shows go head to head at the Primetime Emmys. However, Oliver can rest assured that he’ll probably win this thing. No judgment call there, it’s simply how it works: Last Week Tonight has won the Variety Talk Series category since 2015, and the streak probably won’t be ending. Heck, Oliver even wore a fancy hoodie to deliver his 2020 acceptance speech.

However, one wonders if the “horse” joke would have been better as a “centaur” mention. Then Adam Driver (he of that infamous shirtless ad campaign) could have caused Oliver to lose his mind all over again. Imagine Oliver’s reaction if he would have seen this arriving onstage beside him:

Not too long ago, the showrunner of The Walking Dead‘s Negan and Maggie spinoff, Dead City, boldly promised to give fans the most “awesome, disgusting, terrifying walkers” they’ve ever seen in this franchise. Well, if you thought that the Walkers in the Daryl Dixon spinoff would somehow not be disgusting because everything is more glamorous in Paris, then you were sorely mistaken. Fashionable Walkers are gross, too.

I kid, kind-of. I mean, it’s all rotting flesh and reactivated brain chunks if you really think about these former humans, but let’s quickly refresh on this Norman Reedus-starring spinoff before we get to the new images released by AMC. Reedus already may have revealed a series title, but he definitely revealed that he wanted the show to be called Boom Boom. As well, we know that Daryl apparently washes ashore in France, and he has no idea how he got there. That’s a long-ass nap, but I hope we get more concrete details about this mysterious voyage.

As well, Reedus has gone on record to confirm that the show does at least spend some time in Paris because, as revealed by Comic Book, he promised, “We’re destroying the Louvre and stuff.” Deadline has reported that Reedus will be joined by co-stars Clémence Poésy (The Essex Serpent, In Bruges) and Adam Nagaitis (Chernobyl, The Terror), and Melissa McBride’s Carol is thought to be absent here, although Reedus previously cryptically questioned, “How do you know she’s not gonna come back?”

Now, let’s get to those images. Daryl rides on a horse? Not sure how I feel about that, given a few matters: (1) They couldn’t find him a Vespa, at least? (2) Look at what happened to Rick Grimes’ unfortunate horse in the early days.

Also, these Walkers do appear to be slightly better dressed than those found stateside, but again, still disgusting.

Daryl’s not looking happy! Get the dude a crossbow.

[This post contains major spoilers for The Last of Us]

“Was that Dina?” That question has been trending on Twitter ever since Sunday’s episode of The Last of Us, “Kin.” It’s another Leo pointing moment for people who have played the video game, and total confusion for everyone who hasn’t.

Without getting into too many spoilers (but, fair warning, some are unavoidable), many people are convinced that Dina — who will play a major role in the show in season two — was the girl who Ellie snaps at while she’s eating. There’s a few reasons why. For one, actress Paolina van Kleef, who’s credited as “Staring Girl,” looks a lot like Dina. Also, in The Last of Us Part II, Dina and Ellie recount their first impressions of Jackson, the commune that was introduced in “Kin.” Dina was “so overwhelmed by all the people,” while Ellie was “overwhelmed by all the food. I remember my first week just gorging myself. Stuffing food in all my pockets like it was gonna run out.” Dina admits she saw her and remembers thinking, “Who’s this string bean girl stealing all the jerky?”

That’s not the only thing she noticed about Ellie: she also thought she was cute.

Ellie and Dina are in love, and much of The Last of Us Part II is about their relationship.

Bella Ramsey, who plays Ellie, confirmed that season two of the show will stay true to the video game in a recent interview with GQ UK. “There are a few bits with Ellie on her own, probably, but I like the fact that she also has [Dina] now,” she said.

For what it’s worth, on The Last of Us companion podcast, co-showrunner Craig Mazin wouldn’t confirm that the staring girl was Dina (“It’s ambiguous. Someone’s staring at Ellie… I wonder who that could be), but he did tease that we’ll find out who she is “one day.” His fellow showrunner, Neil Druckmann, tweeted about the speculation.

I’m 98 percent sure it was. The fan cams are 100 percent certain.

There were a lot of musical moments this past NBA All-Star weekend, whether it was Janelle Monáe putting in work during the celebrity game or Burna Boy, Rema, and Tems highlighting the halftime show. One that stood out most to some people, though, was the pre-game performance of “O Canada” by Canadian R&B icon Jully Black. Her vocal performance went without issue, but it was what she sang that got a reaction.

The opening line of the song usually goes, “O Canada! Our home and native land!” However, Black instead sang, “O Canada! Our home on native land,” seemingly a nod to the Indigenous people who lived in the country before European settlers came over.

People enjoyed the change. One Twitter user wrote, “Today in #popculturehistory @JullyBlack sings the Canadian anthem at the #NBAAllStar and seamlessly made the lyrics more inclusive while reminding us all, we are indeed on native land.” Another tweeted, “Jully Black just changed the words to the Canadian national anthem by singing ‘Oh Canada, our home ON native land’ and I thought it was beautiful [Canadian flag emoji].”

Chuck D dug the performance, too, as he tweeted, “My girl @JullyBlack just kicked the most soulful O Canada i ever heard at 2023 #NBAAllStar game.”

Before the performance, Black spoke some about how she was going to approach her rendition:

Belinda Hankins Facebook This article originally appeared on 09.14.16

Belinda Hankins and her 13-year-old daughter, Bella, seem to have a great relationship, one that is often played out over text message.

Sure they play around like most teens and parents do, but in between the joking and stealing of desserts, they’re incredibly open and honest with each other. This is key, especially since Melinda is a single parent and thus is the designated teacher of “the ways of the world.”

But, wow, she is a champ at doing just that in the chillest way possible. Of course, it helps having an incredibly self-aware daughter who has grown up knowing she can be super real with her mom.

Case in point, this truly epic text exchange took place over the weekend while Bella was hunting for tampons at the store.

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Here’s how Belinda introduced it on Facebook:

“THIS was the highlight of my parenting week. Sending my 13-year-old daughter into the store for (whispers) ‘feminine hygiene products,’ and having the following text exchange.”

Let’s give this the fanfare it deserves.

Act 1: The “right” aisle.

Every woman, whether she’s 13 or 30 has said or thought “THEY’RE NOT HERRREEEEEE” while standing in an aisle, desperately searching for period products. It’s like they’re trying to make it a scavenger hunt for which we did not sign up.

Act 2: Everything is a lie.

Act 3: Success! Well, sort of.

That’s right, Bella. Vagina, like Voldemort, is a word some people refuse to invoke because they’re terrified what great, untamed powers doing so might unleash.

Act 4: The truth.

Only a truly great mom could put this in such a way that inspires laughter and fist-pumping agreement at the same time.

Act 5: Smash the patriarchy!

A brilliant conclusion, mom/daughter solidarity AND an accurate map that illustrates what women encounter on a daily basis? If this exchange were a stage play, it would receive five stars.

And many others have agreed; the Facebook post has already been shared over 57,000 times in just two days.

So hip-hip-hooray for moms like Belinda who are candid with their kids on issues big and small and teach them how to be strong using humor and real talk.

The more hilarious conversations like Belinda’s and Bella’s about vaginas and the patriarchy that there are in the world, the better.

This article originally appeared on 08.26.15

When Phil was in art school, he developed a shake in the worst possible place: his hand.

He thought it meant the destruction of his dream to become an artist, so he left art school and quit art altogether.

When visiting a neurologist years later, Phil learned that the shake was the result of permanent nerve damage and could not be corrected. He was right to have given up. Or so he thought. But the doctor had a different outlook on what that prognosis meant for Phil’s art. He said the seven words that Phil will never forget: “Why don’t you just embrace the shake?”

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And from that day on, that’s exactly what he did. Letting his shake run free, he discovered new ways of drawing, used new materials, and completely changed his perspective on the type of art he wanted to create. When he embraced the shake, he realized he could still make art — he just had to get creative. And that’s when he learned an important lesson:

Embracing a limitation can drive creativity. A limitation just might be your liberation.

Boom. Mind blown.

In the talk, Phil goes on to give examples of how he applied that principle to his work and life, with some pretty amazing results.

No, really. They’re incredible.

But this isn’t all about Phil.

It’s about you too.

What would happen if you “embraced your shake”?

Watch the Ted Talk video by Phil Hansen below: