Category: News

Let’s state the obvious: Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine is not going well for him. This still-unfolding disaster has led the Russian president to see half of his first deployment killed. He followed up with a massive draft and has reportedly been “very afraid” that he’ll be assassinated if he loses this war, which sparked a “civil war” amid his dwindling supply of allies. Even some of his closest inner circle members have apparently lost hope for a victory, so he’s obviously hoping to turn the tide of public opinion.

On that note, Putin met with a group of women, many of whom were claimed to be “soldiers’ mothers,” to discuss their supposed support of the military conflict. At best, as the New York Times described the pre-Mother’s Day event, this was a “highly choreographed” meeting, in which Putin “said that he shared their pain in an apparent attempt to contain a growing outcry over the Kremlin’s handling of the war.”

Reportedly (and according to the NYT), “[s]ome of the 17 women who attended said they had lost their sons on the battlefield.” However, The Guardian cast a critical eye on the “handpicked cadre” as well while noting that “[o]ne of the women sitting next to Putin was Olesya Shigina, an ultra-conservative Russian poet, film-maker and activist who recently travelled to the Donbas region to direct a pro-war film featuring Russian troops.”

In addition, The Guardian cites “dozens of ordinary mothers” who say they attempted to meet with Putin, and he declined. Instead, Putin apparently met with “the mother of a senior military and police official from Chechnya, and other women active in pro-war NGOs financed by the state.” It’s not terribly surprising, of course, given that the Kremlin does love its propaganda. On social media, the Getty photos have been greeted with hefty criticism and accusations of Putin beefing up his sympathy game with actresses and Kremlin staffers.

Meanwhile, Putin’s war has been ongoing for nine months with no signs of ending.

(Via New York Times & The Guardian)

Nearly every review of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery compared Miles Bron, an eccentric billionaire played by Edward Norton, to a real-life rich “asshole”: “Miles Bron, the fabulously fatuous, self-described ‘disruptor’ whose not-so-subtle resemblance to Elon Musk gives the Knives Out sequel Glass Onion a hissable and timely villain” (The Ringer). “He owes more than a bit to Elon Musk” (Vulture). “… billionaire tech entrepreneur Miles Bron (Edward Norton, doing his best Elon Musk).” (Bloomberg)

But is the character specifically inspired by the Twitter CEO?

“When I was writing, I found that any time I started thinking too specifically about any one person, it got very uninteresting, very quickly,” writer and director Rian Johnson told Yahoo! Entertainment. “Just taking the piss out of a specific person. Not that interesting.” So, Miles isn’t based on one person — he’s based on three, according to Norton.

When asked at the London Film Festival if he “riffed” on anything in culture, Norton offered a knowing “yes” – delivering the answer like a punchline to a joke. The actor goes on to call himself a “blender.” The “smoothie of Miles” comprises three ingredients: “Shmaelon Husk, and Shmelizabeth Schmomes, and ScmadamSchneumann.” For those not fluent in Schmedward Schmorton speak, that’s Elon Musk, Elizabeth Holmes, and Adam Neumann.

Is there an SNL in the Knives Out universe? If so, was Miles asked to host? And did he dress up like Wario? These are questions that need to be answered by Rian Johnson… on Twitter (he can’t escape Miles/Elon, no matter how hard he tries).

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is in theaters (where it made bank) for a few more days before coming to Netflix on December 23).

(Via Yahoo! Entertainment and the Independent)

So far, the shows on The 1975’s At Their Very Best tour have been a spectacle. Matty Healy first prompted raised eyebrows by touching himself on stage, and he was also seen eating raw meat for his audience. Now, he’s just straight-up making out with fans.

As Consequence notes, at the band’s November 25 show in Las Vegas, during a performance of “Robbers” from the band’s 2013 self-titled debut album, Healy and a female fan he had invited on stage swayed in each other’s arms before kissing.

The fan later identified themself on Twitter, explaining that after Healy denied somebody else’s song request by saying, “I can only make out with you,” she held up a sign on her phone that read, “So we making out?” She tweeted, “On a real note I do want to state some facts before we get any farther, i had this on my phone because he mentioned at some point ‘I can only make out with you’. So I did this, he saw it and brought me up, HE ASKED before he kissed me! Also I’m a grown age of 24.”

It didn’t stop there: The next day, when the band performed in San Diego, at the same point in the show, Healy again kissed a fan, a male this time. This isn’t an entirely new practice for Healy, as there’s video of him kissing fans during “Robbers” from as far back as 2014.

So far, Cardi B has just one album to her name: 2018’s Invasion Of Privacy, her debut. As for why she’s yet to come out with a second LP, some believe Cardi is scared a new album will under-perform. Cardi caught wind of that and had some thoughts of her own.

Over the weekend, somebody on Twitter re-shared a TikTok video from @duprii3 in which they say, “This girl has not released an album since 2018. That’s going on six years. Invasion Of Privacy came out in 2018. She’s scared to release, but y’all ain’t said nothin’. At least these other girls out here releasin’ somethin’ whether it sell or not.” They also referenced the rumored low sales projection Saweetie’s new EP, The Simple Life, is facing.

In a now-deleted tweet from November 26, Cardi responded, writing (as XXL notes), “I’m never afraid of numbers honey ….and I don’t gotta put a another album if I want too I EATS GOOD OF MY diamond records alone…. Don’t drag other b*tches to make your point drag the man that’s running their mouth…Grown man !”

However, another fan tweeted, “You can’t get mad that ppl think you’re scared cause if so, what’s the hold up? You been stringing your fans along for years. And is that why you won’t release? You’re content eating off of old records that most don’t care about anymore?” In another since-deleted tweet, Cardi responded, “I am a human baby .when I drop my album I’m touring the world .I gotta mentally & physically prepare myself for all of that .I didn’t have management for 2 years and now I’m feelin ready ..I DO THINGS ON MY TIME MY WAY.”

Cardi later concluded, “You know what ? Let me hush ….Less talking, more action for haters to have a reaction [smiling emojis].”

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Multiple times per week, our TV and film experts will list the most important ten streaming selections for you to pop into your queues. We’re not strictly operating upon reviews or accrued streaming clicks (although yes, we’ve scoured the streaming site charts) but, instead, upon those selections that are really worth noticing amid the churning sea of content. There’s a lot out there, after all, and your time is valuable.

TIE: 10. Welcome To Chippendales (Hulu series)

Kumail Nanjiani plays against both his nerdy and jacked screen types as Somen “Steve” Banerjee, founder of the notorious 1980s stripper empire. The show co-stars Juliette Lewis and Annaleigh Ashford, along with The White Lotus breakout Murray Bartlett, but hopefully, there shall be no paybacks like this in this series (that ain’t sexy no matter how one paints it). Expect drugs, murder, and drama, along with a showcase of the sheer exhilaration from the male dance troupe’s early days.

TIE: 10. Tulsa King (Paramount Plus series)

Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan wrote this role with Sylvester Stallone in mind, and it shows. Sly plays a mafia boss who kept his head down for decades in prison and expected a real party upon his release. However, he instead got shipped off to the heartland, where he has an unexpected blast while shaking down dispensaries and exploring honky-tonk bars and the Center of the Universe. To further add to the pedigree of this production, Terence Winter of Boardwalk Empire fame directs.

9. Warrior Nun (Netflix series)

This show turned out to be about much more than warrior-ing and nunn-ing. Don’t get me wrong, though. There’s a lot of both (invented) verbs happening, given the frequent action scenes and general air of badassery. This season, Alba Baptista returns as Ava, who must rally her Sister-Warriors to defeat Adriel and end his unholy exploits. Man, all Ava wanted was to come of age like a normal young woman, but demons must be duly vanquished, and someone’s gotta do it.

8. Slumberland (Netflix film)

If you’re looking for kid-appropriate fare that will still be entertaining to you as well, this flick’s better than Disenchanted by far. No one ever has more fun than Jason Momoa in life, and here, he’s playing a fun-loving, weird-ass outlaw who goes on a rip-roaring ride through the dreamworld with a young girl who’s dodging nightmares in an attempt to reunite with her late dad. It’s trippy and colorful and a breezy watch.

7. 1899 (Netflix series)

Are you ready for another Lost knockoff? People still can’t quit them, and this show keeps that spirit alive while presenting far more questions than it could possibly answer (at least right away). If you can still stand that kind of frustration in the streaming age, then hop aboard this story about a migrant steamship that stumbles upon a companion ship full of possible supernatural happenings. This show hails from the Dark creators, who know how to deliver a payoff, but don’t expect immediate gratification.

6. The English (Amazon limited series)

This limited series is still going strong because it’s unlike anything else on TV right now. Emily Blunt and Chaske Spencer star in this huge swing of a Western to cross 1890s middle America as a badass aristocratic lady and a Pawnee scout, respectively speaking. You won’t have to squint to see the action and the quieter moments, and the show commits to joining the influx of authentic Indigenous perspectives that are long overdue onscreen.

5. The White Lotus (HBO series streaming on HBO Max)

We still don’t know who the hell gets murdered this season or who does the killing, but I hope that Aubrey Plaza’s seething character does the damage. Yet as long as Jennifer Coolidge’s character survives (and doesn’t end up in prison) to join the already announced Season 3, all will be good. I feel like Portia really needs to tell Alfie that she’s not into him, but he hopefully knows this by now. Mike White has perfected the formula for this satiric franchise, in which the wealthiest among us simply cannot manage to be nice enough to not earn poop in one’s suitcase.

4. Dead To Me (Netflix series)

This darkly comedic pleasure returns for one last round, and the relationship between Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini’s character comes full circle with both celebrations and tears. Yes, we have more therapeutic rage metal on display and chaotic James Marsden(s) as well. This show will be profoundly missed, much more than anyone would have ever expected from a show that sparked from a hit-and-run accident, which launched three seasons of homicidal chaos and coverups.

3. The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special (Disney+ movie)

Fortunately, this season’s not only bringing us the more traditional, Santa-focused fare but also the return of the James Gunn-directed Marvel superheroes. Remember when that franchise arrived like a breath of dance-party fresh air? That was before Star-Lord was the worst, but fortunately, this one-off special brings us a seasonally-decorated Groot, so Vin Diesel is here, along with Chris Pratt and Pom Klementieff. Somehow, Kevin Bacon and Maria Bakalova are here, too, so let’s just roll with it.

2. Wednesday (Netflix series)

Both Rob Zombie and Tim Burton decided to wage an Addams Family resurrection this fall with passion-project approaches. In Burton’s case, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzmán slide into the Morticia and Gomez roles, and Jenna Ortega gives us a Wednesday Addams who’s well worth the reboot. The story revolves around her time at Nevermore Academy, where she’s hoping to hone her psychic talent to solve a 25-year-old supernatural mystery and save her community from a monstrous murderer, all while (you know) coming of age. That’s rough stuff but a treat to watch.

1. Fleishman Is In Trouble (FX series on Hulu)

I know what you’re thinking: can a show starring Jesse Eisenberg as yet another awkward character possibly be sexy? Yes, it very much can. This sleeper series also does a lot more while women throw themselves at this dad-in-the-midst-of-divorce, who couldn’t understand why he’s wealthy by all standards other than those of his estranged wife, portrayed by Claire Danes. His supportive pals are played by Lizzy Caplan and Adam Brody, and it’s not only an enjoyable sleeper series but one that might surprise you by how relatable this story feels. Also, this show helped me give up my itch to try pilates because it now reminds me of insufferable people like Danes’ character. So, Fleishman is somehow a show could save you money in addition to being a smart and enjoyable story. What a win-win situation.

This article originally appeared on 05.19.15

More than 70 years after the war, a 92-year-old World War II veteran took to the sky once again.

It’s been decades since her last flight, but Joy Lofthouse, a 92-year-old Air Transport Auxiliary veteran, was given the chance to board a Spitfire airplane for one more trip.

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Lofthouse was one of just a few female pilots to fly for the British during World War II, part of an all-female division nicknamed the “Attagirls.”

Her job as a service pilot was to shuttle planes from the front lines back to factories for repairs. During her time in the service, she flew 18 different aircraft, but one always held a special place in her heart.

To mark the 70th anniversary of the war’s end, she was called on to once again fly in a Spitfire, her favorite model.

In the video, she shows such genuine excitement and nervousness. She tells the interviewer that she’s not as confident as she was when she was younger, and that she is “aware of [her] age.” Still, she couldn’t pass up the chance to fly again.

After landing, Lofthouse just beamed, proving that it’s possible to be amazing at any age.

“It’s very hard to describe the feeling,” she told BBC News. “It almost makes one feel young again.”

It’s true that life never gets easier, and we only get continuously better at our lives. Childhood’s lessons are simple—this is how you color in the lines, 2 + 2 = 4, brush your teeth twice a day, etc. As we get older, lessons keep coming, and though they might still remain simple in their message, truly understanding them can be difficult. Often we learn the hard way.

The good news is, the “hard way” is indeed a great teacher. Learning the hard way often involves struggle, mistakes and failure. While these feelings are undeniably uncomfortable, being patient and persistent enough to move through them often leaves us not only wiser in having gained the lesson, but more confident, assured and emotionally resilient. If that’s not growth, I don’t know what is.

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Reddit user u/G_man252 asked people to share their own life lessons “learned the hard way,” and the answers, though varied, all touched on something useful that everyone can probably relate to. Especially those of us who have had the blessing of living long enough to gain a lot of hard-won knowledge.

Below are 17 of the best lessons that all of us either have learned, are trying to learn or will learn soon enough. Reading them isn’t necessarily the same as experiencing them, but there is still some comfort in knowing they are all part of what it means to be human.

Read. Be enlightened. Or at the very least, be soothed and entertained.

1.

“Not everyone who loves you is good for you.” – @Gulbahar-00

2.

“Back up your data.” – @SomeoneHad2FuknSayit

3.

“You can’t fix other people. Only yourself.” – @Bob_N_Frapples

4.

“It’s okay to put yourself first. Don’t expend all your energy on others and leave nothing for yourself. Understand how to give and take in moderation and that it’s a two way street.” – @Neffili

5.

“Your fear of failure is worse than the failure itself. Take the chance. Now.” – @aerofish_

6.

“Nothing ever stays the same no matter how hard you want it to be … don’t take it for granted.” – @CodyGhostBlood

7.

“Not everyone will like you for doing the right thing.” – @Kaitriarch

8.

“Never take your health for granted. Appreciate every little thing you have that makes you happy.” – @galestrikesback

9.

“Being vulnerable is the hardest thing you can do, but not being vulnerable will make your life much, much harder.” – @thiccdiccboi

10.

“Budget and be financially responsible.” – @QuailandDoves

11.

“If your gut is screaming at you that something is wrong, listen to it.” – @REDDITprime1212

12.

“Time does not heal all wounds. Most days get better but you’ll always have days where you feel it all over again as if it just happened and you can’t do anything about it except for ride it out.” – @Smokey_S

13.

“It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life.” – @Karnezar

14.

“Mental illness is very real and will get in the way of your life.” – @NoUsername817226

15.

“It’s okay to be wrong sometimes. Humility really goes a long way in maintaining relationships and being happy.” – @Freezeucriminalscum

16.

“You will inevitably, directly or indirectly hurt people in life.” – @Sinusoidal0360

17.

“Don’t wait until the right time. For most things there is no right time. Perfectionism stalls you.” – @lovelyfallday

We all know that seahorses are some of the most unique and fascinating creatures that Mother Nature has to offer.

For one thing, they’re gorgeous. Who has ever looked at a seahorse, with all its vivid colors and delicate, otherworldly shapes and gone, meh? No one, I tell you.

Plus they’re basically the mascot for cool, supportive dads everywhere. Not every creature in the animal kingdom can say that.

Yet, for as much as we know about the seahorse, there are even more thrilling stories swimming around—particularly when it comes to how it got here in the first place.

A video published by PBS Eons explains that today, seahorses are found in all of the world’s oceans. And yet, they are pretty terrible swimmers. So how on Earth could they have traveled such far distances to spread across the globe?

As it turns out, the answer is possibly hiding even further below the surface.

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Throughout at least the last 55 million years, the ocean floor around southeast Asia has been whirling with tectonic plate activity, with the most important shift happening at the end of the Cenozoic era.

As deep channels between continents became more shallow and surfaces were thrust upward toward the sun, more aquatic plant life was able to grow and expand. Experts think that meadows of seagrass in particular helped ancient seahorses travel away from the waters of the Indonesian region (where they likely originated) and across the world. Yep, just like land horses, seahorses wildly gallop into unknown terrain. Actually, they prefer to simply hold onto traveling seaweed and raft into unknown terrain. Still majestic though.

You can watch the full video here:

How Plate Tectonics Gave Us Seahorses

The surge in seagrass might have even caused seahorses to trade in the long, horizontal shape of most traditional fish for their signature upright posture. As the video explains, the grass beds might have supported their ambush hunting technique, allowing them to obtain a longer reach and blend in with the grass blades before striking. Ambush hunting seems OK for a seahorse, but kind of terrifying if you think of land horses doing the same thing. Thank goodness the latter are herbivores.

PBS Eons is a virtual treasure trove of lesser known evolutionary stories. Its YouTube channel covers everything from the domestication history of cats to why we have 10 toes. If you’re looking to go down the coolest educational rabbit hole ever, you can check out its videos here.

The Raiders and Seahawks went back-and-forth on Sunday, trading leads and big plays, with both defenses struggling to get stops in a game that went to overtime tied at 34-34.

Seattle held a seven-point lead late, but Derek Carr found Foster Moreau in the back corner of the end zone on 3rd-and-goal to tie things up with just under two minutes to play.

The Seahawks would be go three and out and be forced to punt on the ensuing possession, which nearly won them the game when the Raiders muffed the return but managed to jump on the loose ball inside their own 15. After running out the clock despite having two timeouts, Vegas won the toss in overtime and marched across midfield before stalling, missing a 56-yard field goal on 4th and 2. The defense would again show up in a big way when they needed it the most, forcing yet another three-and-out and a punt that pinned them on their own 14.

On the first play of their second drive in OT, they would lean on Josh Jacobs for his 33rd carry of the afternoon, which he’d break off for an 86-yard walkoff touchdown to give Vegas a 40-34 win, as he went untouched up the middle for six.

It’s a beautifully blocked play up front and once Jacobs is able to outrun an overly aggressive angle from the safety, there was no one between him and the goal line. Jacobs finished the day with 229 yards rushing and two touchdowns (as well as 74 receiving yards on six catches) as he was just about everything for the Raiders offense in Seattle, and capped off a career-best game in style with this exclamation point in overtime.

Thanksgiving weekend has traditionally been a big one for Hollywood, with families looking to find some way to spend time together. This year was a bit of a mixed bag. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, in its third weekend, added another small fortune to its already sizable box office haul. Newcomers weren’t so lucky. The Koeran War aerial pic Devotion underperformed while Disney had a big bomb with the under-advertised Strange World. But there was one big success story, and it just happens to be a film that wasn’t playing that many theaters and will be yanked after only a week.

That film was Glass Onion, the first sequel to 2019’s murder mystery sensation. Last year, Netflix forked over a money bin for two more romps with Daniel Craig’s amateur sleuth Benoit Blanc and writer-director Rian Johnson. It was originally supposed to be a streaming-only affair, but Netflix agreed to let it play actual movie theaters — for one week only, before it drops online for the holidays. And though it only played about 700 theaters (for contrast, Strange World opened in over 4,000), a lot of those screenings must have sold out because it had the best per-screen average in the box office top 10, by far.

As per Deadline, by end-of-day Sunday, Glass Onion is expected to have amassed $13.3 million since opening last Wednesday, giving it a $13,505 per screen average. By the end of its one-week run, it will likely get to at least $15 million. It even opened in third place, not far behind Strange World (which opened to $18 million, with a measly $2,850 per screen average.

What does that suggest? That people really, really wanted to see a Knives Out sequel. The sequel is getting some of the best reviews of the year, and it’s not hard to find buzz on social media about how fun it is to watch with an audience. It also suggests Netflix, which has fallen on hard financial times of late, is probably leaving money on the table — a lot of money. (Now’s the time to point out the first Knives Out stayed in domestic theaters for 17 weeks, at which point it had made $165 million. Also worth noting is that Netflix has at least one more sequel, giving them the chance for a Mulligan.)

Glass Onion still has a couple days in theaters, leaving after Tuesday’s showings. It will be on Netflix on December 23, at which point those who couldn’t see it during its brief theatrical run can finally see what people are talking about. After all, it appears people legitimately want to see it.

(Via Deadline)