Though Mary J. Blige‘s last album, Strength Of A Woman, only came out four years ago, in 2017, she’s already ready to blow fans minds with a whole new record. That album might’ve had a Kanye verse, and Blige went on to get nominated and perform at The Oscars the following year, she’s still convinced that her new material is going throw fans for a loop. During a recent appearance on Tamron Hall, the legendary R&B star opened up about some of what she went through, a very public divorce included, that inspired this next project.
“Wait till you hear it, it’s gonna blow everybody’s mind,” Blige said. “And it’s because it’s something I had to do, and something I had to say when I was in my darkest, darkest moments in that life, to build myself up to this person that I can see and accept my nose, accept my eyes, accept my cheeks, accept all the things that I used to hate. When I wake up with no hair and makeup, I’m accepting that chick that goes to the bathroom and I like her. I hang out with myself a lot. I’m my own best friend.”
There is no gift more valuable than the gift of health, especially in this day and age. Giving those we love the tools to lead healthier lives, while bringing a little fun to the process, is what we call a win-win. Not only that, but the endorphins released can make them genuinely happier and not just on one day of the year.
Below you’ll find a list of gift picks — from dynamic training tech to state-of-the-art recovery modalities — that are perfect for the wellness and health-focused man in your life. They span all price ranges, because when you’re talking about a change of lifestyle, no amount is too small or big. Sure, companies can sometimes overpromise, but here they deliver and we’ll explain why. Each and every item has been properly road-tested by the crew here at Uproxx.
Check out the game-changing gear below. You might just decide to treat yourself to an item or two as you shop.
Men’s UA Tac Blackout 2.0 Gloves
Courtesy
Price: $23
The Company Line:
Built to keep you focused on the job, not your hands. They’re light, tough, and give you both the right protection and the right freedom of movement. Tech Touch print on thumbs and fingers allows you to use touch screen devices without taking your gloves off.
Why They’re Great Gifts:
For those looking to elevate their bodyweight training outdoors, these are a must-have. Not only do they provide warmth for the chillier days ahead, but they are also a great way to improve your grip for pull-ups and chin-ups. The gloves are durable enough to be used for grabbing onto anything for weight — like rocks or bars — and breathable enough to keep your hands cool.
The special fabric on the fingerprints allows you to find your next jam on Spotify without having to remove your handwear.
PowerBlocks are adjustable dumbbells that are simple to use. To change weights, remove the pin, select the rail with the corresponding weight chart, then insert the pin completely into the desired slot. That’s it, you’re ready to lift.
Why They’re Great Gifts:
Dumbbells have been in short supply over the past years, and for those living in apartments so is space. No matter what kind of room you are working with, a pair of these can go a long way in filling out any strength training at home. They have 16 different settings and come with up to 825 pounds of weight — ample for any person trying to up their game.
Onnit Brand Kettlebells are made with a high-quality, chip-resistant coating that’s strong enough to endure your most punishing workouts. Kettlebell training combines explosive strength with muscular endurance to provide an efficient and athletically optimized full-body workout.
Why They’re Great Gifts:
Based in Austin, Onnit first became known for its impressive social media presence, but for those in the know, they are also on the cutting-edge of physical performance. That is why some of the most impressive athletes in the world go to work out there, and their trainers are often called-on experts in their fields. Their gear is well-regarded in the industry, especially their kettlebells. The primate editions are the most recognized, but they have also had some huge collaborations with Marvel and Disney that are always quick to sell out.
Get a total body, low impact workout in, wherever you are. Complete with varying levels of short and long Looped Resistance Bands, a Door Anchor, and 2 Carabiners. the TB12 Full Body Band Kit combines everything you need to gear up for total body training.
Why They’re Great Gifts:
Resistance bands are an effective addition to any at-home gym roster. This set is top-notch, perfect for a full-body session or even as an added element to any free-weight routine. Not to mention that it is produced by the company of one of the most impressive athletes in the world. NFL quarterback Tom Brady.
The group also comes with a great bag that you can use to take it on the road when the hotel gym is lacking.
Oura translates your body signals and daily habits into actionable insights you can use to stay active and improve your overall health, and monitors your heart rate around the clock. Oura also helps you optimize your bedtime and provides insights to gradually improve your sleep.
Why They’re Great Gifts:
There are a lot of great fitness trackers on the market, but for those looking to keep their wrists free, Oura is the way to go. Not only does it provide you with all of the wellness insights that you could require but it is easy to forget that you are even wearing it. What you won’t want to forget is the information that will be at your beck and call on your phone, aiding your ability to live a healthy life.
The Hypervolt Go was designed to move with you. It gives you portable percussion massage in a perfectly light and powerfully small package so you can take it to the gym, on the road, and everywhere in between. Get the muscle relief you need so you can keep going. And then go again.
Why They’re Great Gifts:
The massage gun has become a fixture in modern-day recovery, but most of the units can be a little bulky or heavy to bring on the road. The beauty of these smaller pieces is that they can bring their deep muscle massaging relief wherever your active life takes you. They also come with Hyperice’s patented QuietGlide technology that keeps the process as relaxing as possible.
Recoup set out to create the most durable, longest-lasting cold massage roller solving the problems of ice cups, lacrosse balls and foam rollers. The ball is a little larger than a baseball, made from stainless steel and filled with nontoxic cooling gel. Recoup’s Cryosphere handle allows for the ball to free-roll for controlled recovery. On top of the handle is a rubber layer for optimal grip.
Why They’re Great Gifts:
The benefits of cryotherapy and cooling are well known, yet finding at-home ways to unlock them without using a bunch of melting ice and ice bags. In addition to the cold therapy, the sphere also makes for a useful massager. The ball is ready for use after just two hours spent in the freezer, which is more than can be said for most ice packs.
The piece is not only practical in that sense but also a pleasant respite after a hard session.
Lumen is the world’s first hand-held, portable device to accurately measure metabolism. Once available only to top athletes, in hospitals and clinics, metabolic testing is now available to everyone. Lumen is scientifically proven to meet the gold standard of metabolism measurement (RER) in multiple validation studies.
Why They’re Great Gifts:
This little item is a useful piece of technology that the majority of people in your life probably haven’t heard about yet. Getting metabolic data used to be a big undertaking, but the Lumen crew have endeavored to make it easily accessible to anyone. This piece helps you learn how you are burning fat and carbs based on a little breathe into their device. This information is delivered through your phone, so that you can use it to improve your eating habits and sleep patterns.
The Hydrow rowing machine combines design-forward beauty with innovative technology. Its electromagnetic, computer-controlled drag system creates the ultra-smooth feel of being on the water. Its patented, one-of-a-kind components separate Hydrow from the rest, putting it at the pinnacle of in-home fitness.
Why They’re Great Gifts:
Rowing is one of the most effective full-body workouts in the world and a great way to challenge your cardio with little impact on the body. For those who have been in a canoe on the river before, it is also quite fun and easy to develop a rhythm for those wishing to make a longer effort. This particular brand also has a variety of video content to partner with its machine’s 22-inch HD screen, so those at home can enjoy visual motivation.
Forget plates, barbells, and bands. Tonal uses a revolutionary dynamic weight system that adjusts to your every move, delivering personalized workouts to help you be your strongest self. Get detailed performance analytics that tracks your strength by body part to help you reach your goals faster.
Why They’re Great Gifts:
The cutting-edge electromagnetic technology has the ability to simulate up to 200 pounds of weight, 100 pounds for each arm. The unassuming and sleek design is perfect for those looking for an at-home solution that takes little space mounted on the wall, while also giving one hell of a workout.
As usual, there’s no one better at putting the most important things into words than Frank, so I’ll let his words speak on their own.
“In 2018 I believe it was I called V and asked him how it was possible to play hundreds of shows a year and do numerous fashion collections a year and be a father and a husband and return EVERYONE’s texts with enthusiasm and emojis and encouragement and seemingly with ease. I cannot remember how he responded verbatim but I’m sure it was quotable what ever he said… he was always quotable. But the gist of his response was that he was interested in living and living to the maximum extent of his level … which proved to be impossible today because he was BEYOND.
I’ll miss you. When Ryan went to his prom you got him some pieces from your new collection at LV and he was GEEKED. Couldn’t get him to take it off. When I went to Miami and you played a set on the beach in 2016 you played “White Ferrari” — a song with no drums or bass anywhere to be found lol — and started a sing a long. When I played you demos of shit I was working on or showed you Homer way before it was ready you put the battery in my back. When my brother passed I never said anything because it was way too much but he loved you and really looked up to you. He was going to fashion school and everything. He wanted to be a designer. My family was proud of you like you were our family. I know grief is love that you don’t get to express so this is an attempt at expressing it. Love you V. You’re a hero.”
Check out the post from the @blonded Instagram story below:
Kurt Sutter has created three hit shows over his career, and they all involve guns: The Shield, Sons of Anarchy, and the latter’s spin-off, Mayans M.C. He says they’ve all “had guns in almost every scene, but we never had an incident.” So while speaking to Deadline about inking a deal with Netflix to create The Abandons, a Western, he was inevitably asked about the tragic accidental shooting on the set of Rust, where star Alec Baldwin unwittingly fired a live round, wounding director Joel Souza and killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. And Sutter had some thoughts.
Asked about the presence of live rounds, Sutter went off. “That’s idiocy,” he said. “That is people that who don’t give a f*ck and yeah, are using the weapons to shoot tin cans or shoot rats, and that behavior.” (He was alluding to reports that crew members had used the prop guns that later killed Hutchins for target practice during downtime.)
Sutter was even surprised to learn about how the incident happened. “The fact that it was live ammo never even entered my mind until it came out in the press,” he told Deadline. “I couldn’t even wrap my brain around the fact that there was live ammo, in the vicinity of a set, right? That’s just negligence, people not paying attention or not having people who know what the protocol is and aren’t checking. That creates the perfect storm.”
Sutter doesn’t know exactly what happened on set that day, and an investigation is still underway. But he has some theories:
“My sense, from listening to the information that’s coming in, the letting go of union crew, and bringing on non-union crew, that those safety protocols were not met. You didn’t have people that either knew about them or thought they were important, right? Because, experientially, they didn’t know. Now, whose fault is that? Is it the producer’s fault? Is it the director’s fault? I don’t know where the blame lands, but to me, that’s the hole, right?”
Elsewhere in the interview, Sutter says he’s fine with the industry switching entirely to rubber guns, saying “you can do so much with CG now” to make them look real on-screen. As for how his sets have avoided similar incidents, the short version is: by following protocol and not cutting corners:
“Whatever the potential danger is, you have to have those protocols around, and it always has to be about how do we keep everybody safe? Look, we’ve seen the tragedy that comes with, f*ck it, just get the shot. We see the tragedy of that attitude, time and time and time and time again. It’s great to get the shot, but it’s not about the shot. It’s about the filmmaking experience and about the production. Maybe I’m oversensitive to it because of the world I live in, and it is a violent world, but you have to be hyper-vigilant about putting that safety first, and that can never be the f*cking corner you cut.”
Due to lockdowns last year, lots of musicians got creative with ways to entertain at-home fans (and themselves) since they couldn’t go perform or tour. One such way was Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin combining forces for the “Hanukkah Session,” where they covered other songs from Jewish artists to celebrate the eight days of the Jewish holiday. Well, though 2021 is a little more open than 2020, looks like the pair are back it again.
Yesterday, they released a hilarious cover of Lisa Loeb’s iconic “Stay,” which alternated between shots of Grohl in a dress doing a full Loeb impression and a metal/hardcore take on the song. Surprisingly, the hardcore version of “Stay” really worked! Today, however, they’ve switched gears and are covering another iconic band, The Ramones. Doing one of the band’s best-known songs, the short but sweet “Blitzkrieg Bop,” Grohl and Kurstin offered up a faithful rendition with Grohl on drums and vocals, and Kurstin holding it down on both guitar and keyboard.
“Once upon a time, two nice Jewish boys from Queens named Jeffery Hyman and Thomas Erdelyi changed the world forever with their music….. as Joey and Tommy Ramone!” they captioned the straightforward cover on their Youtube page. Check it out above, and keep in mind six more covers will be heading your way before the end of Hanukkah.
If morbid (like, actually morbid) curiosity has you itching to watch a real-life version of Netflix’s hit series Squid Game, rest assured you’re not alone. In fact, at least 115 million others feel the same way as you — and better yet, they already have.
Uploaded on November 25, MrBeast’s Squid Game currently rests well over 115 million views and close to 10 million likes on YouTube. The 25-minute long video boasts itself as perfect “real life” version of Netflix’s hit series, with nearly every last game from the series’ immaculately recreated, the same number of contestants (456), and a massive cash prize of $456,000 up for grabs. While that last bit might be a bit less the show’s 45.6 billion, one of the other key differences between the show and MrBeast’s Squid Game is you don’t die if you lose, so it kind of evens out.
In the video, 456 contestants compete for the half-million-dollar prize, participating in five of the six games made famous by the hyper-violent South Korean drama and a new one created by MrBeast himself. Similar to the show, when a contestant loses the game, they are “eliminated,” though rather than death they face the wrath of a small device is under their shirt that pops and releases fake blood on their signature green tracksuit. However, don’t feel too bad for the losers — the famous YouTuber also shook things up by offering plenty of consolation prizes and even incentives for folks to quit the game early, doling out thousands at the end of nearly each mini-game.
While on the surface the whole project is quite the feat of production and undeniably pretty amazing, perhaps what’s even more impressive is that MrBeast and his team managed to create the entire video — sets and all — in around seven weeks. However, the video has also caused some discontent on the internet after various YouTube creators pointed the video’s quick turnaround, and praised MrBeast’s Squid Game as a glowing example of “the promise of the creator economy” with little regard as to how creating a television show and emulating it for a YouTube video are drastically different from one another.
.@MrBeast Squid Games video: 103M views in 4 days. It took 7 weeks to make.@netflix’s Squid Games series: 111M views in 30 days. It took 10 years (!!) to make.
More views, less time, fewer gatekeepers. That’s the promise of the creator economy. pic.twitter.com/SwDjjNgAqH
In point of fact, @MrBeast‘s video took ten years and seven days to make, at a cost of the budget for the Netflix show plus his own, requiring the combined labor of the entire cast and crew of the show plus everybody who worked on his video.
— Alexandra Erin, PhD, MD, EdD, JD (from UATX) (@AlexandraErin) November 29, 2021
So the promise of the creator economy is that you can spend 10 years of your life making something so that someone else can quickly parody it and get more views so that then someone else can claim the parody was more successful and took less work? Cool cool
Folks have also been quick to note how MrBeast’s recreation of Squid Game for entertainment value is pretty perverse considering the anti-capitalist message of the Netflix series and how it explicitly condemns people who idly watch folks struggle and mercilessly compete for money. However, this is merely the latest in a long string of MrBeast going above and beyond (and spending a hell of a lot of money) all for the sake of content, so it feels safe to say he might not feel quite the same about cash as Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk does. For those craving more Squid Game without the questionable morality, you’ll be pleased to know Hwang has confirmed a second season is on the way.
When you have a plum gig at a major news network and your brother, a big time politician, is involved in sexual misconduct scandals, there may be some conflicts of interest. Such is the case with Chris Cuomo, CNN anchor and brother of disgraced former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, who resigned in August. Throughout his sibling’s scandal, Chris tried to keep schtum, eventually maintaining that he’d kept his personal and professional lives relatively separate. He claimed he’d been a mere sounding board, there “to listen and to offer my take.” But that’s not exactly true, according to a new report.
A new New York Times piece sifts through some newly released records, and they concluded that Chris Cuomo was very much a part of his brother’s defense team. Starting with the first accusation, from former aide Lindsey Boylan, they sought, as per NYT, to “manipulate the press, discredit his accusers and retain a grip on power that became less and less tenable.”
Chris, who argued “strenuously” against Andrew’s resignation, at least before the investigation concluded, even demanding taking on a bigger role. He reportedly saw himself as a “satellite” of his brother’s “more formal advisers.” He even phoned into strategy meetings, even as he was going on CNN and claiming he was keeping a relative distance from the scandal.
“At one point,” NYT reports, “he even ran down a secondhand tip that another woman accusing the governor of unwanted advances at a wedding was lying. (She was not.)”
He reportedly went further than that:
For example, when Ms. DeRosa was trying to keep tabs in early March on journalists working to uncover stories of harassment, she turned to Chris Cuomo for intelligence.
“On it,” Mr. Cuomo wrote back after one such request. A few days later, Ms. DeRosa wrote to the governor’s brother that she had heard Ronan Farrow of The New Yorker was “getting ready to move” a story. “Can u check your sources?”
He even reportedly used his investigative skills to dig up dirt:
And he used his contacts to try to aid the defense in other ways. After The New York Times reported in early March that the governor had made an unwanted advance on a young woman at a wedding, Chris Cuomo had texted Ms. DeRosa to say, “I have a lead on the wedding girl,” who he believed had been acting maliciously to damage the governor.
The lead turned out to be bunk, he told investigators.
CNN has so far not responded to NYT for comment on their employee’s alleged actions. But it’s worth noting that there’s one person who thought Chris Cuomo aiding his brother was sound journalistic practice: Tucker Carlson.
For the past 16 years, Carson Daly has presided over NBC’s New Year’s Eve coverage. But his reign as the spirit of years past has come to an end as Miley Cyrus and Pete Davidson have signed on to host the 2021/2022 New Year’s Eve-a-palooza on NBC. And even though Cyrus’s Plastic Hearts was snubbed for a Grammy nomination last week, she’s now at the helm of a massive production.
Dubbed Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party Hosted by Miley Cyrus and Pete Davidson, the special is produced by Lorne Michaels, but Cyrus is part of the executive production team. Cyrus recently signed a development deal with NBCUniversal and the Hopetown Entertainment production company that she operates with her mom Tish is also co-producing the special. The special will be recorded in Miami and NBC says the broadcast will feature a “star-studded lineup of special guests and musical performances.”
Cyrus is on top of the pop world, doing everything recently from launching her Miley’s World fan platform to being announced as a headliner at multiple Lollapalooza festivals in South America. Her co-host Davidson has a unique understanding of modern pop culture, namely on how to make fun of it, like he’s done recently on SNL with Aaron Rodgers‘s anti-vaxx stance and absolutely roasting the Jonas Brothers.
Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party airs from 10:30 p.m. ET to 12:30 a.m. ET on New Year’s Eve, on NBC, and live-streamed on Peacock.
It’s almost always fun when high-profile recording artists clear their social media because it usually means a new project is on the way. However, in the case of the artist formerly known as Kanye West, it’s more bemusing than anything else. For one thing, he just dropped a new album, Donda, which received a mixed response from critics and fans, and for another, this is something he does with some degree of regularity for reasons that make sense to him alone (and maybe not even him, if we’re being honest).
As of this writing, Ye’s profile picture on Instagram is simply an empty black field and there are no photos on the grid at all. Meanwhile, on his Twitter, every tweet for the last 12 months has been deleted. His most recent tweets are all from his controversial failed presidential campaign last November, with a sizable number of his tweets from before that cleared out as well. Ominously, most of the remaining posts pertain to his campaign, and it’s probably telling that the first one that appears is his “concession” tweet from the last election that reads “Kanye 2024.”
While we were spared from such a thing mainly due to Ye’s haphazard, slapdash approach to the campaign, his latest social media reset could imply that he’s taking the next effort much more seriously this time around — which could both be good and bad, for any number of reasons. However, it could also be a response to the recent death of his friend and collaborator Virgil Abloh, who passed away on Sunday after a two-year battle with cancer. Either way, we hope Ye uses the reset wisely an makes more responsible use of his social media platforms in the future.
One thing we can always anticipate with the release of a new Halo is the live action trailers. Back when Halo 3 was getting ready for release in 2007, there was a massive marketing campaign push to get as much attention on the game as possible. One of the ways they did that was a live action trailer with actual actors. This trailer was such a hit that it’s pretty much been a staple of the series ever since.
While the multiplayer for Halo Infinite has pretty much been released, with many of us already diving into it, we still have the campaign to look forward to on December 8. In anticipation of the release, which is approaching very quickly, a new live action trailer was released. In it was a pretty simple message for anyone watching: there’s a Spartan in all of us.
The trailer itself features a montage of characters all being put in growingly stressful situations. Of course, at the penultimate moments, it always cuts to a new set of characters. Finally, the trailer cuts to Master Chief standing before a battlefield ready to charge into action. That shot is then followed by everyone else doing similar in their own situations. It’s all very heroic and with a very clear message. There’s a spartan in everyone.
It will be interesting to see how much, if any of this, translates over into the actual game. While we likely won’t see Master Chief in these situations we may see similar theming from trailer to official campaign release. We won’t have to wait too much longer with the game’s release so close.
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