Category: News

Every year, Uproxx puts out a big old series of gift guides; and every year, the Travel & Adventure Gift Guide grabs a lot of eyeballs. Maybe it’s got good SEO or social media mojo or whatever, but my personal theory is that people like these sorts of gifts because we all like to imagine ourselves (and our loved ones) as the sorts of people who need these products. Whether we travel often or rarely, across the globe or in the same state, we all love to consider ourselves vagabonds, brigands, and wanderers.

That’s all to the good in my book. I think that a bunch of people who fancy themselves “citizens of the world,” is a net win — even if their only 2022 travels were to a package resort in Key West. If travel is indeed “fatal to prejudice,” as Mark Twain famously wrote, then even just longing to travel is a step in the right direction.

Whew. That got deep pretty quickly. Point being: We love travel, you love travel, and the people you’re buying gifts for love travel too. So we rounded up some gifts that capture that spirit across a variety of price ranges. For apparel, I went with unisex-feeling men’s fits but I gave some options for women, too. And remember to check out our “experiential travel gift guide” for less tangible but equally enticing items!

Roaming — Roark’s Adventure Atlas

Price: $31.26

Roark is so cool.

I mean, it’s a clothing brand, ultimately, competing with other clothing brands. Fine but not revolutionary. And yet somehow they’ve built a definable “Roark lifestyle ” and this book puts it on full display — with pro surfers and fun-looking miscreants venturing across the globe surfing and skating and just soaking in the warm tones of late afternoon or cold tones of the arctic. In-house photographer and longtime FOU (friend of Uproxx) Dylan Gordon does a sterling job of conjuring mood with his photos and the Roark team brings together a fantastic collection of writers to add context and story to what would otherwise be just a lovely coffee table book.

BOTTOM LINE:

I’ve owned this volume for three months now and have picked it up at random only to get lost in it multiple times. Best of all — it motivates me to travel in a more raw, close-to-the-bone, rough and rugged way — with a little less tech and a little more intrepid spirit.

Buy It Here

The Vagabond’s Way — 366 Meditations On Wanderlust, Discovery, and the Art of Travel

Price: $26.49

If you were traveling in the late ’90s, you definitely heard the name “Rolf Potts” spoken with sincere reverence in hostels from Ko Sahn road to… well, Ko Phi Phi (80% of the US-UK-AUS backpacking scene seemed centered in Thailand at that time). Potts was the vagabond king and a true digital nomad at a time when the infrastructure for working online was still shaky. Over the years, I’ve had multiple people ask me to send him photos of their tattered copies of his seminal guidebook Vagabonding. His essay “Storming ‘The Beach’” ushered in a new era of young, web-first, propulsive-almost-gonzo travel writing that influenced a generation.

As a world traveler, Potts has slowed down a tad — he bought a farmhouse and got married (in a wonderfully fortuitous story of pandemic love). As a travel writer, whew! My boy hasn’t lost a bit of speed on his fastball (as this Uproxx essay illustrates) and his new book, The Vagabond’s Way, underscores that fact. The book is set up as a series of meditations — travel quotes that Potts reflects on and reacts to. In its sharpest moments, he shares stories from the road, each illustrating the spirit of travel as he sees it.

The result of this formula is a book that’s snackable, weighty, and fun all at once.

BOTTOM LINE:

The premier travel writer of a generation offering travel inspiration in short bursts and fun anecdotes? Sign. Us. Up.

Buy It Here

Roark Shorey Boardshorts 16”

Price: $66

I already waxed philosophic about Roark as a brand, so all I really have to say here is that these shorts fit really nice and come to the exact right spot on the thigh — not so long that I feel like Jalen Rose when he was running with C Webb and not so short that people will be shocked to find out you’re not an Australian rugby player. They’re in the goldilocks zone — perfect for the surf, the sand, and the pool.

Plus they look cool.*

*If you’re looking for swimsuits for women, I can’t recommend OneOne Swimwear highly enough. The fit and fabric is impeccable — I bought some for my lady and she gets lots of compliments!

BOTTOM LINE:

I spent my hard-earned cash on three pairs of this cut — that’s saying something.

Buy It Here

Decked x Pathfinder Campire Cooking Kit

Price: $475

The problem with not having a campfire cooking kit is that you’re left completely and utterly to your own devices. Did you remember the spatula? The kettle? The tongs?

The last time I camped without this set, I burned a hole in a much-beloved sweater while using my sleeve as a potholder. Had I had this, it wouldn’t have happened. But more than just preventing your own idiocy, this is a product that can help you cook better over an open flame. The pots have a smaller footprint but they’re deep — allowing you to crowd multiple items onto a grill or set them directly in the coals.

Best of all, by being “all of a piece,” this kit cuts down on your packing time and the stress of double-checking yourself while also making unpacking less of a drag. All wins in my book.

BOTTOM LINE:

Making camping easy is a noble quest and the key to more people savoring our wild spaces.

Buy It Here

Destination Hitch 2 Bike Rack

Price: $199

Traveling with a bike used to be the absolute worst. Roof racks? A nightmare. Things have gotten steadily better and this rack is the next stage of the evolution — convenience meets affordability. For $200, I’m not seeing a better rack on the market — it’s sturdy and easy to use. Those are the bike rack requirements. Not much more needs to be said. Oh, this rack fits e-bikes! Definitely a nice perk. And it generally feels low maintenance. It also stores easily when you’re not using it.

Truth be told, the deterrent of adventure in this world is hassle. People want to do cool shit but we’re also generally lazy and ridiculously overworked. No one wants to wrestle with a bike on what is, in theory, labeled a vacation. That’s where this super convenient rack nails it.

BOTTOM LINE:

The best value in bike racks to get your giftee biking on their next road trip!

Buy It Here

Ta Planet Haelo Hoodie / Ta Planet Haelo Jacket

Price: $238 / $211

This jacket and its companion piece, a more female-focused hoodie is a rich, warm olive, incredibly lightweight, and highly functional. It’s good for an adventure, a night out, and even a nice dinner. It’s pure streetwear with an action sports vibe. Or maybe vice versa. All I know is that the lines and energy of this piece are a lot cooler and more stylish than North Face or Patagonia. It’s also incredibly warming and packs down into a stow bag.

People have been trying to make ultra-versatile puffers for a long time but it’s a tough prospect. This is the one. I feel comfortable wearing it across social situations. Last week I took it camping and wore it over a suit in a single day — it got compliments in both contexts!

BOTTOM LINE:

The most fly puffer in the game right now in a color that is both enduring and very much “of the moment” in streetwear.

Buy It Here

National Park Annual Pass

Price: $80

Get the Parks Pass. Go to more parks. Go to lots of parks. Be like Uproxx’s Emily Hart (aka @EmilyVentures) and try to see them all!

A Parks Pass is the best gift because it encourages a spirit of adventure and motivates planning in a major way. No one is going to be bummed about that. In fact, if your friends are anything like mine, you’ll hear about how great the gift is over and over throughout the year.

BOTTOM LINE:

National Parks are “America’s best idea” and maybe its best gift, too!

Buy It Here

Randolph — Concorde 23K White Gold Sunglasses

Price: $369

If you love to travel, you need aviators. That’s just a fact. And those aviators should make you feel cool. Like “Miles Teller and his pilot pals playing football on the beach in Top Gun: Maverick” cool; “Don Draper cool”; Brad Pitt or Wiz Khalifa cool. And I just don’t know about any shades cooler than these Randolphs.

They’re icy and blue and made in white-freaking-gold. They hold to your face beautifully and make you feel stylish in workwear or streetwear.

I am not in the “I buy cheap sunglasses because I lose them” camp. I spend on sunglasses because they are… something of a shield. A separation layer between my internal and external worlds. I like to approach social situations with glasses on. It makes me feel comfortable in my skin. Sure, white gold sunnies are an investment, but they’re in the category of a nice haircut or a great pair of shoes — an investment in your own self-confidence.

BOTTOM LINE:

No sunglasses will make your giftee feel cooler. Period.

Buy It Here

Nikon Z 30 Camera

Price: $659.95

This is a camera made for creators. It shoots in 4K, it’s super mobile, and it is sold in tandem with a “Creator’s Accessory Kit” that includes a remote, mic, and tripod. The controls can all face forward so that you don’t need a dedicated filmer and Nikon’s SnapBridge app makes it insanely easy to transfer footage.

We’ve written before about how mirror-less cameras are the ultimate “plug and play” cams but this camera, by fully leaning into creator culture, really owns that — they’re easy and accommodate streaming, selfies, and on-the-fly content that’s a significant jump from what you can do with your phone.

BOTTOM LINE:

If you have a serious traveler in your life, the chances are that they’re creating content. And if they are — and they’re trying to make that content look influencer-level — they’re going to need a serious camera that is equally adept and photos and video. This is that camera. Better still, it’s rugged enough for life on the road.

Buy It Here

HydroPOD CARRY Portable Shower Kit

Price: $349

This is for your dirtbike friend, your surf friend, and your trail-running friend. It’s a camp shower with nice water pressure that will allow you to feel clean as you transfer from a serious adventure to a night out (or even just a dinner where you don’t want to feel grimy). Oh, the festival-hopping friend will also love this one!

As a surfer, I’ve seen a lot of these at San Onofre State Beach — perfect for transitioning from the waves to a sunset barbecue. The water pressure can be hand-pumped and the 4.8-gallon tank gives you plenty of time to get clean.

BOTTOM LINE:

If you care about an adventurous type who longs to stay clean between activities or keep sand out of their cars, this is the product for them.

Buy It Here

EDITOR’S PICK: Mark Levinson No 5909

Price: $999

Testing these headphones was a revelation.

The sound quality, the construction, the feel, the noise canceling — this is a product made for the road. Every element is form-meets-function, right down to the various adapters to make battery charging a breeze (the 15-minute rapid charge function is so vital for a non-planner like me). But beyond the look and feel and functionality, what is so special about these headphones is the sound. This is the first time I’ve truly felt lost in a soundscape while sitting in coach on a plane. The quality is just so… immersive. You’re able to fully disengage (if that’s how you like to fly) and get lost in the music, a good book, or a podcast.

The first time I put these on, I scrolled straight to my favorite song and heard elements I’d literally never noticed before. We’re talking about my number one track on Spotify for 2022 and these joints made it sound brand new to me! That’s special. It’s the sort of sound that producers and musicians talk about — textured and rich. I fell in love with these very quickly.

BOTTOM LINE:

$1K is a whole heck of a lot for travel headphones. That’s undeniable. But these aren’t just hype — they’re built right, the battery is a 6-hour beast, and the case keeps the whole package together beautifully. They are, to be frank, the travel and work headphones I have on the very top of my personal list. Now… who wants to grab me a pair?

Buy It Here

Lizzo accepted the People’s Champion Award from her mother, Shari Johnson-Jefferson, at the 2022 People’s Choice Awards last night (December 6). “When I first heard about this award, I was on the fence about whether I should accept because if I’m the people’s champ, I don’t need a trophy for championing people,” the Special songwriter said to begin her acceptance speech. “To be an icon isn’t about how long you’ve had your platform; being an icon is what you do with that platform.” It’s universally agreed upon that Lizzo used her six-minute People’s Choice platform beautifully.

The Emmy and Grammy winner brought several activists to the stage, naming them all and explaining each woman’s cause — including Jayla Rose, one of her Big Grrrls backup dancers, and Breonna Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer. Lizzo held back tears when introducing Maggie Mireles, whose sister, Eva Mireles, died while protecting her students during May’s Uvalde, Texas school shooting.

Lizzo’s speech concluded by urging the audience to “give them their flowers.” Stevie Nicks took to Instagram today (December 7) to give Lizzo flowers with an open letter.

“In my opinion~ your presentation last night on the People’s Choice Awards was not only so beautiful and so needed~ that you get the award for being a great woman of our time,” Nicks’s post reads. “I was so impressed and so touched that you put that together and pulled it off. It was stunning~ and everyone heard you. You have given all women soundbites forever~ flute player, singer, songwriter, future politician…? Your name is in the stars now.”

Lizzo also won Song Of 2022 for “About Damn Time” at the ceremony.

Watch her People’s Champion acceptance speech above.

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

Editor’s Note: If you are having thoughts about taking your own life, or know of anyone who is in need of help, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is a United States-based suicide prevention network of over 200+ crisis centers that provides 24/7 service via a toll-free hotline with the number 9-8-8. It is available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress.

It’s an unspoken rule that children of politicians should be off limits when it comes to public figure status. Kids deserve the ability to simply be kids without the media picking them apart. We saw this during Obama’s presidency when people from both ends of the political spectrum come out to defend Malia and Sasha Obama’s privacy and again when a reporter made a remark about Barron Trump.

This is even more important when we are talking about a child’s mental health, so seeing detailed reports about Ted Cruz’s 14-year-old child’s private mental health crisis was offputting, to say it kindly. It feels icky for me to even put the senator’s name in this article because it feels like adding to this child’s exposure.

When a child is struggling with mental health concerns, the instinct should be to cocoon them in safety, not to highlight the details or speculate on the cause. Ever since the news broke about this child’s mental health, social media has been abuzz, mostly attacking the parents and speculating if the child is a member of the LGBTQ community.

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Cruz’s child should not have to have her most vulnerable moment broadcasted around the globe. Adolescent children are notoriously private and may easily feel embarrassment or shame, except they generally have far less tools to know how to cope. The media listing so much information about the child’s attempt at self-harm will likely do more harm than anything else thanks to a teen’s proclivity to feel shame.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among people aged 15-24 and nearly 20% of high school students have seriously contemplated suicide, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). Kids that are LGBTQ are more than four times more likely to attempt suicide than their peers that are not a part of the LGBTQ community, according to The Trevor Project. It’s clear that mental health issues that lead to either attempted or completed suicide are not relegated to a certain political party’s children. It’s a widespread issue plaguing parents and mental health professionals across the country.

If you couple the shame aspect with the stigma surrounding mental health, you’re creating a recipe for disaster. We’re talking about a teenager who has to go to school with peers who know who her father is. This isn’t some unnamed child that no one would put the pieces together on. Once you name the politician and state the age and gender of the child, there’s no mistaking who you’re talking about.

Reporters aren’t bound by HIPAA laws and there’s not always a regard for protecting someone’s privacy if the story is salacious enough. That’s not to say that people who report the news are intent on hurting children, it’s that sometimes we don’t always think about the person on the other side of the story, especially the parents of a hurting child who will have to deal with the consequences of the report.

Media and consumers should use this moment to take a step back and look at how we view children of politicians and celebrities. Should they really be a commodity because their parents chose a public career? Should we disregard the very real pressure these kids are under to report intimate details of a tragic event? Or should we simply remember they’re children and didn’t ask for their moments of weakness to be laid out on display for the world?

I personally believe we should allow them to be children and we should remember what it was like at their age so we can fully appreciate how they might feel seeing their private suffering out in the world. I’m not saying not to report, I’m saying use discretion. A simple blurb that said, “One of Senator Cruz’s children has been injured and taken to the hospital, but they are expected to make a full recovery,” would have been plenty of information.

The world didn’t need the details, and hopefully if something like this happens in the future to a family in the spotlight, the media will do a better job at protecting the child’s privacy. Here’s wishing Cruz’s child a speedy recovery and future mental wellness.

The famous hip-hop festival Rolling Loud keeps expanding. It started off in Miami, Florida in 2015, then added cities in California in 2017. Two years later, they added Sydney, Australia and New York City. They didn’t stop there — then came Toronto, The Netherlands, and Portugal.

The latest location is now Rolling Loud Rotterdam, which will take place at Rotterdam Ahoy in Amsterdam from June 30 to July 1, 2023. The lineup is nothing short of exciting. Only the headliners have been announced so far, which are Travis Scott and Kendrick Lamar. Pre-sale tickets are available now on the festival’s website.

Last month, Rolling Loud revealed its lineup for Los Angeles. Headliners include Future, Playboi Carti, and Travis Scott. There’s still lingering controversy about Scott playing many festivals after the Astroworld tragedy. A victim’s family settled its wrongful death lawsuit with Live Nation and Travis Scott in October.

“The Buzbee Law Firm announced today that the claims brought by the family of Axel Acosta against Travis Scott, Live Nation, and others involved in the Astroworld tragedy have settled,” a press release read. “Victim Axel Acosta was a beloved son, brother, and student. He was kind and loving. He is greatly missed. Please keep his family in your prayers.”

Long ago, in the era before Netflix, it was a big deal when a blockbuster aired on broadcast television. The major networks would pay a fortune for the rights. There would be an ad blitz. It was an event. That doesn’t happen so much anymore, what with streaming and whatnot. Indeed, few noticed that Avatar — the highest grossing movie of all time (not adjusted for inflation) — never took the broadcast TV route. Until now.

As per Deadline, this coming Sunday night, Dec. 11 — a handful of days before its belated sequel The Way of Water hits multiplexes — the original Avatar will air on ABC. It’s a long movie, albeit not as long as its follow-up, which is super duper long. That’s why it’s starting early, at 7pm, to fit in all three-thousand hours of blue people mayhem, with commercials. (The broadcast is set to end at 10:30pm.)

ABC isn’t the only place one can watch Avatar the old fashioned TV way. It will also play on FX twice, on both Thursday, Dec. 15, on Sunday, Dec. 18, both starting at 8pm. On Monday, Dec. 26, it will play Freeform, starting at 7:30pm. (For Roku/Amazon Stick folks, it’s probably surreal thinking about planning your schedule around a movie set to air at a fixed time. That’s to say nothing of all those commercials, which add some 48 minutes to the running time.)

How will a movie designed to be played on the biggest screen imaginable, seen through giant 3-D glasses, play on a small screen, in the wrong aspect ratio, with ad breaks? You could find out — or you could stream it on Disney+, where it exclusively lives.

The full schedule for Avatar airings can be below:

ABC
Sunday, Dec. 11, 7:00-10:30 p.m. EST/PST

FX
Thursday, Dec. 15, 8:00-11:30 p.m. EST/PST
Sunday, Dec. 18, 8:00-11:30 p.m. EST/PST

Freeform
Monday, Dec. 26, 7:30-11:00 p.m. EST/PST

(Via Deadline)

A year removed from being the 1-seed in the East and falling one game short of the NBA Finals, the Miami Heat have not been able to replicate that success. After an offseason that saw them make no major additions and lose PJ Tucker, they have scuffled to an 11-14 start, which currently has them 11th in the East.

It is a team that does not have a great deal of depth and with Jimmy Butler missing 10 games and Tyler Herro missing eight, the issues of roster construction have been particularly noticeable. After getting smoked by the Pistons on Tuesday night in a 116-96 loss (again, without Butler), the TNT crew discussed Miami’s future and Charles Barkley very bluntly suggested it’s time to blow it up and start over.

“It might be time to break the team up and start over,” Barkley said. “They got some contracts that’s gonna be, like, they’re no good. So they need to start over. That’s my personal opinion. It’s like, hey, trade some of these guys to contenders or teams that get us some young guys and start over.”

Shaq agreed with the assessment of some of the contracts on the roster, noting they’ll be “hard to get rid of.” The contract that stands out, of course, is Duncan Robinson’s, as he is in the second year of a 5-year, $90 million extension that has looked like one of the worst deals in the league. Beyond Robinson, Kyle Lowry has another year left on his 3-year, $90 million deal signed in 2021 and he has seen a dropoff from his All-Star caliber play in Toronto, averaging 14.4 points and 6.0 assists per game this season after some playoff struggles a year ago.

Miami has never been a team willing to tank and has always rewarded its own guys with big extensions, for better or worse (see: Tyler Johnson), so I doubt Pat Riley is going to take Chuck’s words to heart. That said, it does seem fairly clear this is not a contender as currently constructed, even if they can get Bam Adebayo, Butler, and Herro all on the floor together. The question is, what can they do to amplify that core group without much in the way of intriguing talent to move off of, but it’d be fairly surprising if they aren’t at least active in exploring what the trade market has to offer when trade season starts in earnest on December 15.

Odds are you’ve probably seen those Lensa AI avatars floating around social media. You know, the app that turns even the most basic of selfies into fantasy art masterpieces? I wouldn’t be surprised if you have your own series of images filling up your photo bank right now. Who wouldn’t want to see themselves looking like a badass video game character or magical fairy alien?

While getting these images might seem like a bit of innocent, inexpensive fun, many are unaware that it comes at a heavy price to real digital artists whose work has been copied to make it happen. A now-viral Facebook and Instagram post, made by a couple of digital illustrators, explains how.

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In a very thorough series of slides, Gen Ishihara and her fiance Jon Lam reveal that Lensa is easily able to render those professional looking images by using a Stable Diffusion model, which is more or less an open source (meaning free) program where users can type in a series of words and artificial intelligence will conjure up images based on those typed words. Type out a group of seemingly unrelated words like “ethereal,” “cat,” “comic style” and “rainbow,” and out will pop at least one cohesive, intricate piece of art. All in less than a minute. This foundation is what most mainstream AI art software operates on, by the way—not just Lensa.

The problem here is that Stable Diffusion has been trained on yet another open source collection of data from a nonprofit called LAION. LAION has more than 5 billion publicly accessible images. If you can find it online, LAION has a picture of it, categorized as “research.”

Not only does this include copyrighted work, but also personal medical records, as well as disturbing images of violence and sexual abuse. But for the sake of not delving too far into darkness, we’ll focus on the copyright issue.

While LAION might be a nonprofit, Stable Diffusion is valued at $1 billion. And Lensa (which uses Stable Diffusion) has so far earned $29 million in consumer spending. Meanwhile, artists whose work can be found in that database have made zero.

“The Lensa app is a great way to get the general public comfortable with using the software and turn a blind eye to how the data was collected. The technology is so new that laws have not caught up with AI tech yet. But that doesn’t make it okay,” the post read.

Ishihara and Lam listed real artists who have been affected by Lensa’s use of data laundering, including Greg Rutkowski, whose “name has been used as a prompt around 93,000 times.” He even had his name attached to a piece of AI art that he did not create. Again, simply type in “Greg Rutkowski” along with whatever thing you want illustrated, and the program will create something drawn in his style.

You can see why someone who dedicated a good portion of their life to developing a skill that now can be replicated at a fraction of the effort—and without earning compensation—might not be a huge fan of these trends.

The post then followed up by debunking several pro-AI statements, first pointing out that AI programs are being updated and improved so fast that distinguishing it from the work of human art is becoming impossible—meaning that it does in fact threaten the livelihood of a real artist who simply cannot compete with a machine.

Also shown was a poster created in Midjourney to promote the San Francisco Ballet’s upcoming “Nutcracker” performance, showing that AI media has indeed already begun to replace human jobs.

See on Instagram

One of the most common arguments in the AI debate is that all art is derivative, since artists similarly draw inspiration from other sources. While this is true, Ishihara and Lam would contend that the organic process of blending “reference material, personal taste and life experiences to inform artistic decisions” is vastly different than a computer program depending on data that is existing artistic property and then used for commercial purposes without consent.

Adding further credibility to this viewpoint, there’s another post floating around the internet showing Lensa portraits where a warped version of the artist’s signature is still visible (seen below).

I’m cropping these for privacy reasons/because I’m not trying to call out any one individual. These are all Lensa portraits where the mangled remains of an artist’s signature is still visible. That’s the remains of the signature of one of the multiple artists it stole from.

A 🧵 https://t.co/0lS4WHmQfW pic.twitter.com/7GfDXZ22s1

— Lauryn Ipsum (@LaurynIpsum) December 6, 2022

Rather than doing away with AI art altogether, what Ishihara, Lam and others are pushing for are better regulations for companies that allow for this technology to coexist with human artists.

This might be easier said than done, but some progress has already been made in that arena. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), for example, has begun demanding that corporations destroy any algorithm or AI models built using personal information or data collected “in bad faith or illegally.”

Second, they want people to educate themselves. Several other artists agreed that people who have used apps like Lensa aren’t wrong for doing so, but that moving forward there needs to be awareness of how it affects real people. Really, this is pretty much the case for all seemingly miraculous advancements in technology.

And for the creators feeling hopeless by all this, Ishihara and Lam say “whatever you do, don’t stop creating,” adding that it’s more important than ever to not “give up on what you love.”

The conversation around the ethical implications of AI is complex. While posts like these might come across as a form of fear-mongering or finger-wagging, it’s important to gather multiple points of view in order to engage in nuanced conversations and move forward in a way that includes everyone’s well-being.

One of Home Depot’s core values is “doing the right thing.” The company explains it as exercising “good judgment by ‘doing the right thing’ instead of just ‘doing things right.’ We strive to understand the impact of our decisions, and we accept responsibility for our actions.”

The value is so important that it is written on all of its employees’ work vests.

There’s no better example of employees following the company’s values than an incident that happened late last month at a Home Depot store in Bellevue, Tennessee. This story was originally reported by WSMV in Nashville, Tennessee, and we thought it was such a good deed that we wanted to share it far and wide through our Upworthy audience.

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Home Depot employee Adam Adkisson was walking down aisle 22, where you can find insulation and ladders, when he noticed a small envelope. “I didn’t think anything of it at first. I thought it was empty, but I thought I’d go back to make sure and when I picked it up, I could feel that It had stuff in it. It had money,” Adkisson told WSMV.

When he opened the envelope, he realized it was stuffed with $700 cash.

Adkisson did the right thing and turned the envelope in to a manager. At the end of the day, the closing manager, Alissa Rocchi, noticed that no one had come by to claim the missing money. So she took to Facebook and posted about the missing envelope, leaving out key details that would have to be filled in by the owner to prove it was theirs.

She could have just left it in the safe at work and gone on with her life, but she went out of her way to find the person who lost the money. That’s definitely “doing the right thing.”

Luckily, the Facebook post caught the attention of the owner’s partner, who reached out to her via messenger.

“I got a message from a gentleman by the name of Mark who said that’s my partner’s. It’s his money. He lost it. He is panicking,” Rocchi said. He was able to identify the envelope by describing some important details that were scrawled on the back.

“I was stressing over it pretty bad. So, I am glad that he is a social media guy and was able to see that because I would have never seen it,” Johnathon Clayton, the owner of the lost envelope, said. It’s important that he got it back because he was planning on using the money to buy Christmas gifts for his kids.

After getting his money back, Clayton went to the store and personally thanked Adkisson for his good deed and gave him a small reward. Adkisson should sleep well knowing that his good deed meant that Clayton’s children will have a merrier Christmas.

Rocchi says that it’s all part of the company’s core values to “do the right thing.”

“Our core value is on our chest and one of our core values says to do the right thing. That is just us living our core values,” Rocchi said.

Every now and then, Fox News parts way with one of their contributors. Sometimes it’s because they’re too extreme even for them, as was the case with Lara Logan. Sometimes it’s because their father-in-law is running for president, again, for a third time. (That is, if he even can.) The news network has yet to cut ties with one of its other regular guests, former Barstool Sports guy Francis Ellis, but after he was caught on a hot mic trashing them, their audience, and their hosts, he might not be invited back.

Elis recently appeared on Barstool Rundown, and when the episode ended, he and host Adam Ferrone started chit-chatting about the former’s recent stint on The Jesse Watters Show. Ellis had some thoughts. Unfortunately the mic was still on — and en editing error found it posted online.

Mediaite obtained a copy of the recording, and it finds Ellis claiming Fox News offered him a job to do man-on-the-street interviews, which was how Watters got his start with the network. Alas, he turned it down.

“They wanted me to take like this subway bingo card down into the subway and be like — ask random strangers, ‘Have you seen a rat, fill out your bingo card thing?’ And it was like so stupid,” he recalled. When asked if he would accept a similar gig from them, he didn’t seem particularly enthused. “I’d have to have a conversation with Dave [Portnoy] for sure. Like, ‘Hey, I have a full time job being offered to me at Fox News.’”

Ellis then said after his last Fox News appearance he was “disappointed” in himself. “Look, I got home. I talked my wife about it cause I was disappointed in myself and she was like, ‘Let’s be honest, like, do you want to be working with these f*cking people?’ She was like, ‘I watched the rest of [Watters’] show — he’s a f*cking joke.’”

Then Ellis laid into the network’s biggest and most controversial star. “And then like, Tucker comes on and just screams,” Eliisa said. “It’s so weird.” He added, “They’re just trafficking in hate.”

Ellis, perhaps rightly, worried that Fox News viewers wouldn’t get that his political jokes weren’t sincere. “I think last night I went into a place that I shouldn’t have gone to,” Ellis admitted. “No, because last night I was like, yes, the Democrats are like eating children beneath pizza shops. There are people watching that, who don’t know that I’m f*cking with them.”

Ellis concluded, “I’m not here to fix people, but I’m certainly not here to, like, further divide the country.”

Of course, Ellis probably should have known what he was getting into by appearing on Fox News, even if they are finally throwing Donald Trump to the curb — as if that wasn’t clearing one of the lowest bars possible.

(Via Mediaite)

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Welcome to SNX DLX, your weekly roundup of the best sneakers to hit the internet and where to buy ’em! We sincerely hope you haven’t blown all your funds on holiday shopping this week because the sneaker world is going HAM on the dope releases.

This is far from normal behavior from the big sneaker brands. Generally, November and December are dead months with a lack of activity that extends well into January. What does it mean that the big brands are shedding sneakers that look this good this late into the year, are we getting geared up for 2023 to be a huge year for sneakers? We have no idea, but either way, we’ll be here to chronicle all the hits and misses of 2023.

The big draw this week are new releases from Bad Bunny and Adidas, as well as Salehe Bembury’s latest New Balance collaboration, but as always Nike is also in the mix dropping a whole grip of dope sneakers like the new Jacquemus Air Humara. Let’s dive into the nine best releases of the week!

Nike Air Max 97 Hangul Day

Made in celebration of Hangful day, or Korean Alphabet Day, this Air Max 97 of the same name features a synthetic suede and leather upper with reflective detailing across the 97’s iconic wavy layered design. The sneaker sits atop a murky icy outsole with stitched squares on the tongue, plastic overlays, and the characters “나이키” printed on the side, which translates to ‘Nike.’

The Nike Air Max 97 Hangul Day is out now for a retail price of $190. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Nike Air Zoom Flight 95 Black and Valerian Blue

The Nike Air Zoom Flight 95 utilizes a design that is nearly 30 years old and yet somehow still looks futuristic and for that, we love it! The legendary sneaker (it was the first to popularize Zoom Air) got a brand new colorway this week which combines black with Valerian Blue and Ale Brown accents across its ultra-sleek design.

The sneaker is composed of synthetic suede with embroidered detailing on the toe and a Zoom Air midsole. We don’t imagine this sneaker is going to experience a resurgence in popularity like the Air Penny, so if you’re liking this colorway, don’t wait, I doubt Nike will start delivering more of these anytime soon.

The Nike Air Zoom Flight 95 Black and Valerian Blue is out now for a retail price of $165. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Nike Air Max Scorpion Black

Are you a futuristic footwear fan who isn’t down with the bug-eye design of the Zoom Flight 95? Then the new Air Max Scorpion is for you. Rather than just looking the part, this is actually a futuristic piece of footwear out of Nike featuring an ultra-lightweight Flyknit upper with chenille detailing and a stealthy black monochromatic colorway.

According to Nike the sneaker was built with the concept of point loading in mind, which promises great responsiveness, a better feel, and improved cushioning. It certainly looks like one of the most comfortable sneakers to drop in recent memory!

The Nike Air Max Scorpion Black is set to drop on December 8th at 7:00 AM PST in both men and women’s sizes for a retail price of $250. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Nike Women’s Air Max 1 ’87 Burgundy Crush

One of the most elegant-looking sneakers Nike has dropped all year, the Women’s Air Max 1 ’87 in Burgundy Crush features a plush premium leather upper with metallic gold accents and a super soft liner for a design that perfectly combines luxury and sportswear. The colorway is completely monochromatic with the only hints of contrast coming from the eyelets and translucent air window at the midsole.

The Nike Women’s Air Max 1 ’87 Burgundy Crush is set to drop on December 8th at 7:00 AM PST for a retail price of $150. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Salehe Bembury x New Balance 990v2 ‘Sand Be The Time’

As much as I love Salehe Bembury’s Pollex Clog Crocs collaboration, I have to admit, I miss when the designer was giving us New Balance collaborations. Thankfully, he’s back at it with this week’s 990v2 ‘San Be The Time.’ Featuring a peach and coral pink colorway over a mesh and suede upper, the latest NB collar from Salehe Bembury sports chenille N logos, embroidered tongue branding, and reflective accents on the toe box.

Bembury hit it out of the park with this one, here is to hoping he delivers more sneaker collaborations in 2023.

The Salehe Bembury x New Balance 990v2 ‘Sand Be The Time’ is set to drop on December 9th at 6:00 AM PST for an unannounced retail price. Pick up a pair exclusively at beaspunge.com

Nike Air Humara x Jacquemus Pink Flash

Nike is linking up with the Paris-based fashion label Jacquemus once again for a luxe new take on the Air Humara. Featuring a textile-wrapped midsole in Pink Flash with Air cushioning and a metal swoosh, the new Air Humara sports a mixed upper of mesh, leather, and suede with dual branding at the tongue and insoles.

For a bit of contrast against the hot pink colorway, this sneaker sports a dark gum outsole. Like most Nike Jacquemus team-ups, it looks more like art than a straight-up sneaker.

The Nike Air Humara x Jacquemus Pink Flash is set to drop on December 9th at 7:00 AM PST for a retail price of. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Nike Air Jordan 11 Varsity Red

It’s a rare thing when a beloved Jordan silhouette drops in a classic colorway and it’s not the biggest news of the week, but here we are! This is a strong week for Nike and as icing on the cake, they’re dropping this Varsity Red take on the Air Jordan 11 over the weekend. Featuring a patent leather mudguard in shiny red and a frosted outsole, this Jordan 11 drapes a sneaker that MJ won 72 games wearing in a classic colorway that screams ‘Chicago.’

It feels like a true tribute and is an essential colorway that all hardcore Jordan 11-heads should have in their wardrobe.

The Nike Air Jordan 11 Varsity Red is set to drop on December 10th at 7:00 AM PST for a retail price of $225. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

New Balance 580 Olive Leaf with Raw Cashew And Egg Yolk

The 550 and 990 may be all the rage in New Balance circles but let’s not forget the 580, a sneaker that originally put the brand on the map amongst the Japanese streetwear scene of the ‘90s and early ‘00s. Featuring a mesh upper with nubuck leather overlays, this revamped 580 features a slimmer toe and shorter collar height for a modern fit with ROLLBAR stability, C-Cap midsole cushioning, and an ABZORB midsole for compression resistance.

The colorway is beautiful, even if its name, Raw Cashew and Egg Yolk, sounds absolutely ridiculous. Ridiculous but spot on!

The New Balance 580 Olive Leaf with Raw Cashew and Egg Yolk is set to drop on December 10th at 7:00 AM PST for a retail price of $129.99. Pick up a pair via the New Balance webstore.

Adidas x Bad Bunny Last Forum

To close out a year of strong collaborations, Adidas is delivering another new Bad Bunny-branded Forum. Featuring a leather and suede upper with a signature double tongue and heel padding, the latest Bad Bunny collab sports a Cloud White, Clear Onix, and Chalk White colorway with textile lining.

Earlier in the year Benito and Adidas gave us a sneaker that was all about celebrating the summertime and tranquil waters of Puerto Rico and this latest monochromatic pair feels like it’s for the winter. Peep our favorite detail, the reflective piping that runs across the entire silhouette.

The Bad Bunny Last Forum is set to drop on December 10th at 7:30 AM PST for a retail price of $160. Pick up a pair via the Adidas CONFIRMED app.