The Brooklyn Nets are continuing their busy offseason by moving veteran big man DeAndre Jordan. Acquired in the same offseason that the team managed to secure the signing of Kyrie Irving and the sign-and-trade of Kevin Durant, Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the Nets have decided to send Jordan to the Detroit Pistons in a move that will save the team a ton of money.
Jordan will be joined by a major chunk of change and a number of future second-round picks, but he may be headed for the buyout market. In exchange, Brooklyn will bring in big man Jahlil Okafor, young forward Sekou Doumbouya, and $47 million in savings between the salary cap and the luxury tax.
ESPN Sources: Brooklyn is trading C DeAndre Jordan, four future-second round picks and $5.78M to Detroit for Jahlil Okafor and Sekou Doumbouya. Pistons plan to work through a buyout on two-years, $20M owed Jordan; Nets will save $47M in salary and tax on deal.
According to Wojnarowski, the Lakers are high on the list of favorites to acquire Jordan’s services.
Again, Pistons plan is to negotiate a contract buyout with the DeAndre Jordan and allow him to become a free agent, sources tell ESPN. In that scenario, the Lakers will be a serious contender, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/WjbY2ch41h
Whether or not they keep Okafor and Doumbouya around remains to be seen, but considering how much wheeling and dealing Brooklyn has done this offseason in an attempt to position itself as the favorites to win an NBA championship this year, moving Jordan’s deal likely isn’t a surprise, especially considering he did not play in the postseason as the team decided to embrace small ball. At the very least, Okafor is a reliable offensive big man option off the bench, while Doumbouya is 20 and has shown flashes in each of his first two NBA campaigns.
Sports fans learned of a mysterious school based out of Columbus, Ohio last week when Bishop Sycamore’s football program got rinsed on national television by elite prep program IMG Academy. What happened in the coming days peeled back the curtain on an online charter school and made the situation look extremely bleak, especially when one ex-player gave a shocking interview that revealed the extent to which Bishop Sycamore is one big grift.
A whole lot of things have happened in the aftermath, including the football program’s head coach, Ron Johnson, being fired and Ohio governor Mike DeWine announcing there’s going to be an investigation into what exactly is going on here. And now, Deadline reports that the entire ordeal is going to get the docuseries treatment, thanks to Kevin Hart’s HartBeat Productions, Complex Networks, Klutch Originals, and Haven Entertainment.
Hollywood always smells a good story and there has been a stampede to corral rights to this one, even as it plays out in real time. Hart and Klutch Sports Group CEO-founder Rich Paul (also LeBron James’ agent and head of UTA Sports) are the first to stake out ground here. They have secured exclusive interviews with players and coaches both present and past who were part of what is now reportedly considered an online charter school. They are in discussions with high-level creative showrunners and editors and will secure one soon, and they soon take this to market to find a broadcaster.
“As soon as I started following this story, I was immediately drawn to it and knew it was something that myself and my team at HartBeat had to dive into. HBP thrives in the doc-series space,” Hart said. “We understand how to break down stories and capture the most interesting and honest moments in a narrative. We know this con comes with a robust backstory and cannot wait to share it with the world.”
It’s exceedingly early on in the project, so there is no word on a release date or any other bits of similar information. But considering the details we’ve learned in the last week, we can only imagine what else we’ll learn through this.
After being held captive inside our homes for over a year, it feels good to finally experience live music again. With the wave of music festivals at the top of the summer, came a new glimmer of hope, a twinkling of anticipation, and the chance to (finally!) quench our thirst for human interaction. Though the pandemic robbed us of the My Chemical Romance reunion tour we deserve and a Frank Ocean-adorned Coachella lineup, it hasn’t stopped music lovers and thrill-seekers from traversing the country for a delightful respite. With safety protocols put into place — mask mandates, proof of vaccination, and/or negative COVID test results, etc. — even larger-scale, longer-duration festivals have been able to return to the world.
This coming weekend, Elements Music & Arts Festival joins the ranks of resurrected, rescheduled multi-day fests. Its “sold out” status testifies to how eager folks are to have this beloved event punctuate their summers.
Imagine a world where idyllic natural settings, whimsical art, and boisterous bass cater to the music festival fantasy of your dreams. Where a wide variety of electronic music genres are comingled — all segmented by which natural element the music being featured aligns best with (earth, wind, fire, water, air). The very idea is less of a classic festival and more of what festival co-founder Brett Herman describes as “meaningful, magical happenings.”
Sounds like an epic Labor Day weekend, right?
To dive deeper into the history of Elements, the community it hopes to create, and the challenges of making a safe festival environment during a pandemic, I spoke with co-founders Brett Herman and Timothy Monkiewicz. Check out our convo below!
Elements
How many years has the festival been around? Tell me a bit about what the inspiration was to start this festival.
Brett: Elements was first started in 2013 as a New York waterfront festival. Then, in 2017, we reimagined Elements as a three-day camping festival. So, there’s been an evolution. I think the inspiration came from doing these large warehouse parties, which were starting to get larger and larger to the point of capacity – and that the festival format, with multiple stages of music, would give us a much greater range of expression, and room to create; and even more so once the festival became a three-day camping festival. Now you have a 72-hour canvas. And the possibilities are that much greater.
Timothy: I would also note that I think we’ve always wanted to do festivals from the start pretty much. That’s always been a dream. Neither of us came from money or brought a bunch of investors or anything. So, it’s really just about building up to it. We went from underground parties to 5,000-person warehouse parties, and we started doing outdoor events in New York that grew to 10,000. Then, we moved to the camping deck. It’s really just about saving up and building up experience that you need to know to do outdoor events, which is way more than I ever imagined, especially the camping festival. It’s been a long road, but finally, we’re here.
This feels like the first year it’s kind of more a real festival, you know, over 5,000 people, which is a really cool thing.
Brett: I think the one consistent thing has been pushing the envelope year over year. Each year has to be crazier, more interesting, more spectacular than the last. We’ve reinvested pretty much everything that comes out of Elements back into Elements. So, you see the growth from it year over year, especially this year. Now that it’s year four in this location, I think people are going to be blown away by the cumulative arts and energy it’s built up.
Going back to that whole underground and warehouse component, do you feel like that’s still kind of the vibe of the festival?
Timothy: We come from the Brooklyn underground scene – which it can be raunchy, it can be fun, it can be explicit, it can be a lot of different things. I think that’s something that we bring to the festival, in terms of, just a little bit more out there and a little bit more risqué. Where some other festivals are more middle of the road, we come from that kind of underground world where we have drag queens running around with people giving tattoos. It’s not that crazy, but just definitely a little bit more of the New York flavor than like a more middle-of-the-road festival. We have a lot of nooks and crannies you can explore and if you dig deeper, there are the main stages with big names like Diplo, but when you dig deeper, there’s some really cool flavor from Brooklyn underground. Everything’s really special.
Elements Music & Arts Festival
What’s the process like in determining who the artists will be along with the art lineup?
Timothy: I guess the lineup for sure we find to be eclectic. We’re really trying to touch upon a lot of different genres and get some really tasteful stuff in there – from Bonobo to CloZee – really a mix, not trying to please every last person in the world, but we do like to have our different genres so that people can come and find cool stuff. And to be honest, a lot of festivals outside there, just do one genre which makes more sense because you can spend all the money on one huge headliner. But for us, we’re based around our community meeting people. There are a few big headliners, but then, a lot of these artists are locals or regionals and are up-and-coming. So, we’d like to promote them and give them good set times. Some people who have only played for 50 people are playing for 3,000, which is definitely a really cool thing.
Brett: Art is one of the areas that give us the most joy as well. This is so much more than a music festival – it’s a higher, immersive experience. Everywhere you look, the area is transformed. We try to be maximal. Whatever budget is leftover, we tend to keep saying yes in the art departments. Since we’re on the same weekend as Burning Man, we had a lot of incredible proposals and honorarium artists actually coming out that weren’t able to showcase their art at Burning Man this year. So, we’re extremely grateful that, that we’re able to showcase and give a platform to so many artists that have had pent-up creative energy throughout the pandemic.
Elements Music & Arts Festival
Getting into that further, how do you find these visual artists? Do they send proposals, or do you have an open call?
Timothy: There’s a lot of it. I mean, it’s all over the place, we do open calls. Some people come to us, some people we follow on Instagram. We’ll see some dope stuff and be like, “Hey, do you want to try this?” It’s definitely a big process. It’s just a lot of work. A lot of artists are brilliant, but also might have some weird hang up. So you have to be very patient and very appreciative of what they’re doing. The end result is awesome.
Brett: If anybody out there has a crazy idea that they want to see in reality, feel free to hit us up. At the end of the day, this is about having a dream and turning it into a tangible experience. We’ve had some great journeys with unexpected folks along the way.
ALIVE Coverage
What do you both admire and love about Elements and what you bring to the festival circuit?
Timothy: I think one of my favorite things about the fest is the fact that we’re bringing communities together that don’t normally party or hang out together. A lot of times, there are different scenes in electronic music. There’s bass music and they all go to these venues, then the house music people who go to Tulum or Burning Man. Then, there are the tech-house people who go to different spots. With us, I think the coolest thing we’ve done is we have different areas; each stage has its own vibe. We make these beautiful pathways to each stage and the beautiful things that draw people to those. So many people are like, “Wow, I met these awesome people I never would have met! I ran across the Earth stage and I actually love this artist and I didn’t realize I liked this music because I was so boxed in with my one genre.”
So many people at festivals meet new friends for life. And I think we’re one of the best at that. We’re very open-minded. We do love all kinds of music and stuff. We just give people a really cool place to meet other people surrounded by art and cool stuff.
Brett: Where to begin? My favorite things at the festival were often the small experiences that you find along the way. It’s not always about the destination. It’s the journey. It’s the strange performance that you saw between two cabins or a solo art piece in the woods. I find that sometimes the smaller, simple things can really speak to you more. I hope as we grow, we can continue to create more of these meaningful, magical happenings throughout. The thing that brings me the greatest joy at this festival and other festivals is discovery. So, I hope that people will be discovering new musicians, new artists, and then really coming away with an expanded palate.
Burning Man and so many “transformational festivals” that are modeled after it have been accused of being stratified based on wealth or celebrity. How do you guys create community at a festival and make guests feel a sense of togetherness?
We think that every way we can invite people to become part of the process of creation is the way to do this. We want guests to feel that they are part of the experience, and we invite them to create art, create themed camps, do more than just attend, invent a costume, and be your best self. We’ve been inspired by New York, where we founded the company; and one thing that makes New York incredibly special is the diversity of people that you find interacting in nightlife – from Wall Street folks to drag queens to artists to you name it. It’s diverse across cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds and artistic tastes, in general, that really makes an excellent mix. You have to have all the elements, so to speak.
“All the elements” – I love it. What were the COVID challenges with rebooting the festival?
With our smaller events in 2020, we feel like we had a head start on preparing for the challenges of ’21 – dealing with constantly changing regulations, new scientific data, and new recommendations from scientific and medical professionals. In some ways, being in the pandemic longer made it easier, because several best practices had evolved since then. But we still are glued to the news, glued to the latest updates from the health and scientific communities as the safety of our guests is always paramount.
Excellent. What do you encourage newcomers to the festival to do to prepare? What attitudes and energy do you hope they have coming in?
We want newcomers to feel the same crazy zeal and electric energy that we felt going to underground and offbeat parties when we first arrived in New York. We want every aspect of the festival experience to feel like that; like you could strike sparks anywhere, in any direction, and that every person you talk to is going to an incredible new world to explore.
There seems to be a fairly broad consensus that the world is a bit of a dumpster fire at the moment, but that perspective doesn’t account for the countless examples of beauty, goodness, and hope we see all around us when we look for them.
If you’re looking for reasons to smile, here are ten from this week that’ll give you a dose of joy and boost your faith in humanity.
1. A phlebotomist taking a moment to create breathtaking beauty on his work break.
Healthcare workers have had it rough over the past year and a half as the world battles the COVID-19 pandemic. And yet, through it all, we’ve seen extraordinary resilience and fortitude to carry on through the challenges. Teva Martinson, a phlebotomist at University of Utah Hospital, creates a moment of artistic beauty during a work break with the help of the lobby pianist, and it’s everything.
— University of Utah Health (@UofUHealth) 1630434741.0
2. Singer Shawn Louisiana nailing a Sam Cooke song at the barbershop.
Sometimes a voice shoots like an arrow straight into your soul, and Shawn Louisiana singing “A Change is Gonna Come” for the clientele at a barbershop is one of those times. So gorgeous. Smooth like butter. Definitely worth a listen.
3. A grandpa giving a young woman notes of their time together when she was little.
Aw dang, this is too sweet. This grandpa gave a woman three notebooks filled with stories of each time he hung out with her from ages two to five for her birthday. What a precious, forward-thinking gift.
4. Can we please have all meteorologists get a doggo sidekick?
The pandemic has turned live broadcasts into a family affair and if we keep anything from this era, pet interruptions should be it. A weather report without a dog looking for treats just isn’t a weather report anymore. (The dog’s name is Storm because of course it is.)
5. This baby loves her mama. And her mama’s cheeks, and lips, and eyes, and cheeks, and forehead, and chin, and cheeks….
Hold onto your ovaries if you have them, folks, because this baby gushing with love for her mama and all her mama’s body parts is just too precious. “I wuv all of ’em, Mommy.”
6. These before and after photos of kids on their first day of school are hilariously real.
These photos say it all, don’t they? We totally feel you, kiddos. Sometimes we look like this at the end of a long day, too. Read the full story and see more photos here.
7. Watch this guy surprise drive-up window food workers with big tips.
Food service workers have had a rough go of it during the pandemic, too, so seeing them get a larger-than-expected tip is super sweet. They’re all so grateful and humble about it, too. People can be so good.
Watch this video and try not to smile — it’s impossible 😁
Everyone needs to be more like these people. If you can… https://t.co/pPN2YHPaOk
— Brad Beauregard Jr 🇺🇸 (@BradBeauregardJ) 1630674992.0
8. This woman collects food that stores were going to throw away and gives it to people who need it.
It seems like such a simple concept, but someone has to actually make it happen. Fourteen years ago, Claudia Wheeler started to rescue food that was going to go to waste and now runs a foundation that helps that rescued food to get to people experiencing food insecurity. Wonderful, dedicated, inspiring woman.
9. This adorable dalmatian and kitten video because these kinds of videos never, ever get old.
Seriously, even when everything seems like it sucks, a sweet dog-and-cat video can always bring a smile to your face. It’s the law or something. How could anyone not smile at this?
William Shatner only hosted SNL once (with musical guest Lone Justice), but it was a memorable episode for what long-time writer Robert Smigel called “maybe the most resonant sketch I ever wrote there.”
In the 1986 sketch, referred to as “16th Annual Star Trek Convention” on the invaluable website SNL Archive, Shatner tells die-hard Star Trek fans at a convention to “get a life” and that “it’s just a TV show. I mean, look at you. Look at the way you’re dressed. You’ve turned an enjoyable little job I did as a lark for a few years into a colossal waste of time.” Shatner turned “get a life” into a book and a documentary and the sketch is a classic (Alan Siegel’s article for The Ringer is a great read), but even 35 years later, the son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry does not find it funny.
“I never really appreciated that skit because I think it was demeaning to the fans,” Rod Roddenberry told the Hollywood Reporter. “I think it was disrespectful, especially for a character who was an open-minded, intelligent leader.”
Although now in vogue with enormous mainstream popularity, comic and sci-fi cons were once an easy target to bash nerds (a term now worn as a badge of honor). So Shatner using SNL to poke fun and perhaps further ostracize the group was disheartening, Roddenberry says, adding, “But I don’t condemn it in any way. It’s Saturday Night Live, and it’s all fun.”
Maybe the Futurama parody is more his speed. #JusticeForWelshy
Skepta shows off his life of luxury in the lavish video for “Eyes On Me,” the latest single from his recently released EP, All In. As in his video for “Nirvana” with J Balvin, Skepta dresses up to the nines in “Eyes On Me,” although the narrative plays out more favorably for him.
First, he wakes up in an opulent mansion and gets picked up with a caravan of Rolls-Royces while still wearing his durag (causing some consternation for a nosy neighbor). Then, it’s off to a photoshoot where he chooses eye-popping looks from an array of colorful Bottega Venetta pieces. Afterward, he and his crew visit a cigar shop, where they unwind with glasses of cognac and a smoke. The group handles some business deals, sealing their agreements with more drinks, and finally, they relax after the long day in a casino, shooting billiards and playing cards as they toast to the good life.
All In sees Skepta dipping his toes back into the limelight after taking much of 2020 off in the wake of his collaborative project Insomnia, which he released alongside Chip and Young Adz just before the coronavirus spread into an all-out pandemic. He worked with Gorillaz on “How Far” from Song Machine and Kid Cudi on “Show Out” from Man On The Moon III, but otherwise remained off the radar — aside from popping up dating rumors with British singer Adele. As he slowly emerges from hibernation, he seems to have a new outlook, expanding his musical range with his J Balvin collaboration, and seems inspired by his quarantine hobby of playing poker.
Lil Nas X is gearing up for the release of his debut album Montero, which he unveiled the most Lil Nas X way possible. Rather than simply post about the LP on social media, Lil Nas X instead shared an entire faux pregnancy shoot, calling his album his “little bundle of joy.” Taking the joke one step further, Lil Nas X wanted to spread the love to some of his pregnant social media followers, prompting some hilarious replies.
The “Industry Baby” musician took to Twitter to repay his listeners for showing him some love. Lil Nas X asked his pregnant Twitter followers to reply with their Cash App name so he can send them some funds.
Oakland rapper Guapdad 4000 also tried to put his name out there, joking that he was a new father in order to get some fast cash. “Wow thanks @LilNasX i actually just had my baby !!! His name is lil Guap,” he wrote. “I’m a struggling brother trying to make ends meet . I have to walk 6 miles to get him his Cartier :((((”
Wow thanks @LilNasX i actually just had my baby !!! His name is lil Guap . I’m a struggling brother trying to make ends meet . I have to walk 6 miles to get him his Cartier :(((( Help a nigga out $guapdad4000 ! https://t.co/AR9t6Hq9lfpic.twitter.com/DEwHwsutGp
Despite initially planning to allow Mike Richards to stay on as an executive producer after he mired the Jeopardy! host selection process in weeks of controversy by kind of choosing — or at least not not choosing — himself as Alex Trebek’s successor, Sony Pictures Television fired the embattled TV exec earlier this week. Not only was Richards ousted as an EP for Jeopardy! but also Wheel of Fortune, and now, it appears he’s gearing up for a courtroom battle that will undoubtedly last longer than his hosting gig. Via Fox News:
Mike Richards hired an attorney in what appears to be an upcoming legal battle against Sony following his ousting as executive producer of “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune,” Fox News can confirm.
Los Angeles-based attorney Bryan J. Freedman of Freedman + Taitelman, LLP confirmed to Fox News on Friday he’s now representing Richards.
As for what kind of fight Richards is preparing for, well, that remains to be seen, but his public reputation couldn’t be in worse shape thanks to the Jeopardy! debacle. By inserting himself into the hosting mix, Richards went from a little-known producer to a headline-making villain who allegedly was terrible to work for during his time on The Price Is Right. His extremely questionable remarks on women’s bodies and bigoted statements about Jews were also unearthed by The Ringer, which ultimately led to Richards losing the Jeopardy! hosting job after taping just one episode.
In short, Mike Richards flew too close to the sun, and now, he’s got nothing left to do but probably get paid a ton of money to go away. Tough… break?
There’s a distinct accent that American actors and broadcasters used in the early days of radio and in pre-World War II movies. It’s most obvious in old newsreel footage where the announcer speaks in a high-pitched tone, omits his “Rs” at the end of words, and sounds like a New Yorker who just returned from a summer holiday with the British royal family.
This speaking style is also heard in the speeches of Franklin D. Roosevelt and just about any performance by Orson Welles. But today, this accent is all but nonexistent, prompting the question: Did Americans speak differently before the advent of television?
The video below, “Why Do People in Old Movies Talk Weird?,” reveals the secret of this distinct inflection known as the Mid-Atlantic accent and why it was so prominent in early 20th-century American media.
It’s super easy for most people to get hung up on the number on their scales and not how they actually look or, most importantly, feel. People often go on diets in hopes of reaching an ideal weight they had when they graduated high school or got married, but they’re often disappointed when they can’t attain it. But a set of photos by fitness blogger Kelsey Wells is a great reminder for everyone to put their scales back in storage.
Welles is best known as the voice and body behind My Sweat Life, a blog she started after gaining weight during pregnancy. To lose the weight, she started the Bikini Body Guide (BBG) training program and after 84 weeks she shared three photos on her Instagram account that prove the scale doesn’t matter. The photos showed her at her start weight (144 pounds), the weight she hit two months after giving birth (122 pounds), and current weight (140 pounds). Now she weighs exactly what she did when she started the program but her body is entirely different.
Here’s an excerpt from Wells’ Instagram post:
SCREW THE SCALE || I figured it was time for a friendly, yet firm reminder. YOU GUYS. PLEASEEEEEE STOP GETTING HUNG UP ON THE NUMBER ON THE STUPID SCALE! PLEASE STOP THINKING YOUR WEIGHT EQUALS YOUR PROGRESS AND FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING PLEASE STOP LETTING YOR WEIGHT HAVE ANY AFFECT WHATSOEVER ON YOUR SELF ESTEEM, like I used to. To any of you who are where I once was, please listen to me. I am 5′ 7″ and weigh 140 lbs. When I first started #bbg I was 8 weeks post partum and 145 lbs. I weighed 130 before getting pregnant, so based on nothing besides my own warped perception, I decided my “goal weight” should be 122 and to fit into my skinniest jeans. Well after a few months of BBG and breastfeeding, I HIT IT and I fit into those size 0 jeans. Well guess what? I HAVE GAINED 18 POUNDS SINCE THEN. EIGHT FREAKING TEEN. Also, I have gone up two pant sizes and as a matter of fact I ripped those skinny jeans wide open just the other week trying to pull them up over my knees.?? My point?? According to my old self and flawed standards, I would be failing miserably.
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