Kit Harington made some Tonight Show Jimmy Fallon writers very happy last week when he took on one of the odder sketches in the show’s 1,500 or so episodes. The Game of Thrones actor appeared as a guest and decided to make the most of his time on stage by belting out a two-decade old Train song that the show had tried to get guests to do for the last six years.
“Years ago we had an idea for a bit called Straight Up Goes For it,” Fallon explained, setting up the bizarre sequence. “It was a simple idea. We wanted someone to come out, and straight up sing “Drops of Jupiter” by the the band Train. That’s it.”
As Fallon detailed, though, they really struggled to get anyone to agree to do it.
“The sketch has been our white whale. We’ve been pitching it for years,” Fallon said with a laugh explaining that “dozens of people” have turned them down. “We finally have someone who has the guts to do it. He doesn’t play the piano, by the way.”
What follows is a very earnest attempt to sing the song, which didn’t go nearly as badly as the setup may have projected. Harington almost got most of the lyrics right to the abridged song, and his miming of piano playing was mostly accurate. We’re not gonna lie: it’s kind of a weird sketch, but not in a Tim Robbins way where the weird is that uncomfortable kind of hilarious.
But, hey, at least he made some writers very happy in the process.
Who do we really have to thank for Rock n’ Roll? Nope, not Elvis. Not Buddy Holly. Not even Alan Freed. That long overdue honor belongs to a queer black woman who shredded the guitar and bared her soul to break the color line and create a brand new sound. Meet Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
Born to religious singers, Rosetta was surrounded by music growing up. She picked up a guitar at only 4 years old, and by 6 she was travelling alongside her mother for evangelical performances around the South. As she got older, she began merging Delta blues with New Orleans jazz and gospel music that would become her signature sound. A sound we’ve come to love and thrust our hips to. The sound of Rock n’ Roll.
Though a gospel singer at heart, Rosetta broke new ground and gained fame by creating a unique mix of spiritual lyrics and electric guitar, using heavy distortion that would later become electric blues (that’s two genres of music she helped create). By 1930 she was the world’s first great gospel star, and by 1950 she was performing in sold out stadiums.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe – Up Above My Head on Gospel Time TV show
Rosetta broke the norm in every way. Her lyrics openly flirted with images of love and sexuality, leaving her gospel listeners speechless, yet loyal. In 1940, she began to collaborate, tour, and perform with her partner Marie Knight, a truly radical act. But with a voice rang with conviction, confidence, and charisma, she was able to transcend the times in unabashed authenticity.
In a white male dominated industry, Rosetta had to maintain her grit and remain fearless. She succeeded at both. In fact, to hear her tell the story, “can’t no man play like me.” This self assurance led to her influencing the likes of Little Richard, Johnny Cash, Eric Clapton, and Elvis Presley, and many, many more. To quote Chuck Berry, another one of her creative descendants, “my whole career is one long Sister Rosetta Tharpe impersonation.” All it takes is one listen to “The Lord Followed Me” to recognize Chuck’s musical debt to her.
Although she helped forge a new path for music, Tharpe has been almost criminally overlooked. Her belated induction into the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame didn’t come until 2018, with a masterful celebratory performance by Brittany Howard of the Alabama Shakes.
On July 7th, Shohei Ohtani hit his 32nd home run of the year, a solo shot off of Boston Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodríguez, breaking Hideki Matsui’s 17-year-old record for the most home runs hit in a season by a Japanese-born player. What is incredible about this hitting stat is that Ohtani broke the record in only 81 games — literally half an MLB season. Then add in the massive subplot that he is also the Angels’ best pitcher and currently possesses an ERA+ of 132 (making him 32% better than the league average). When baseball has become exceptionally specialized, with players, coaches, and management becoming obsessed with the launch rate of swings and the spin rate of a pitch, Ohtani is breaking rational thinking by simply being the Modern Day Babe Ruth. His home runs get hit with such power and force; they are not only landing over the fence of ballparks but making an impact across the entire country and through continents.
Ohtani hits his 32nd homer of the season! (Sets new single-season record for Japanese-born player!)
Baseball is known as the National Pastime. Yet, over the last decade, the game has become increasingly regional regarding general fan interest and rating viewership. While fans still care deeply about their home teams, the baseball megastar whom people tune into SportsCenter in the morning to see how they did the previous day, has seemingly gone away. Enter Ohtani, a man who can throw a baseball 100 Miles Per Hour and can hit home runs 450+ feet. Maybe the sneakiest detail about Ohtani is he is also one of the fastest baserunners in the MLB.
Ohtani is a must-watch player. His swing is like watching the Grim Reaper use his scythe to send a baseball to the nether realm. He sprints out of the box with every non-home run hit as if his life depends on it. Meanwhile, the ones that are going out of the park are known instantly by the sound of the bat. If you plan on taking the kids to the ballgame, make sure it is when the Angels are in town because they will get to see something special. Modern-day baseball loves to put players in boxes and label them as a known commodity, putting a somewhat limit on up-and-coming prospects. Ohtani’s success will lead to many more players following in the trail of being two-way players over the next couple of decades. Undoubtedly, there is a ten-year-old out there watching what Ohtani is doing and they will try to be the next two-way success.
Shohei Ohtani Doing It All (Two Way Player) 2021 Highlights
After Ohtani broke Japanese Legend and former MLB All-Star Hideki Matsui’s home-run record, Matsui came forth to heap praise on Ohtani as a once-in-a-generation talent. Even though Ohtani is a prodigal talent, he represents something bigger than himself for his country and culture. Japanese and Asian pitchers have integrated into Major League Baseball with more ease and less skepticism than hitters, specifically those whose specialty is power-hitting. Ohtani has crushed those notions. As time has gone on, he has adapted to the style of American pitchers and is obliterating anything in sight. More hitters from Japan, Korea, and other Asian countries may get signed to MLB teams due to Ohtani. Not to mention all the Asian-American youth in this country who have someone they can look up to. Jeremy Lin and Linsanity was a special moment in time that lasted a few weeks and had a monumental impact on so many Asian-American sports fans’ lives. Ohtani is not Asian-American; however, he chose the Angels because he wanted to live in an area with people around him that felt like home. Imagine if Jeremy Lin had LeBron James or Kevin Durant’s career? That is the potential for Shohei Ohtani.
Baseball is a game and watching Shohei Ohtani play is a unique experience. The biggest complaint about the game from outside viewers is that the game is slow and tedious. Ohtani is the opposite of that. Now more than ever, tune in to watch an Angels game because you might see something from Ohtani that you might never get to see in a baseball game again.
There’s no denying that positivity can be powerful. I know when I’m struggling with anxiety and negative thoughts, if I can hold onto an ounce of hope — that I’ll make it through, that I’m not defined by my thoughts, that I’m not as bad as my brain is making me out to be — I can cope a little better. The positivity we hold within ourselves, when we can manage it, makes it a little easier to get by.
That being said, perhaps counterintuitively, positivity isn’t always the best way to help others. You can’t make someone be positive. You can’t sprinkle positivity dust on them and make their problems go away. And honestly, when people are seeking help and support, they’re usually not looking for straight-up, inspirational poster positivity. More often, they’re looking for validation that their negative feelings are OK.
I’ve always kind of known this but didn’t think about it in a tangible way until I saw a graphic made by Whitney Hawkins Goodman, LMFT, owner of The Collaborative Counseling Center. She runs the Instagram account @sitwithwhit, and after she posted an image explaining “Toxic Positivity,” I started seeing it all over social media.
The graphic shows the difference between supporting someone with validation and hope, and trying to support them with “toxic positivity.” According to Whitney, it’s the difference between, “This is hard… I believe in you,” and, “Just be happy!” If you could never pinpoint why simple “inspiring” quotes didn’t sit well with you, this could be the explanation.
It reminds me of a popular animated video about empathy, which uses the words of Brené Brown. If sympathy is shouting down at someone while they’re stuck in a hole, empathy is getting into the hole with them. If “toxic positivity” is telling someone to just “look at the bright side,” support is putting yourself in someone’s shoes, and accepting their feelings for what they are.
Of course, when we throw around phrases like, “Think positive,” or, “Stop being so negative,” we’re probably coming from a good place. You’re spreading these messages because you want people to be happier, damn it! So what’s wrong with reminding people to be positive?
The hard-to-face truth is, supporting people isn’t about being “positive.” In fact, when you force positivity down someone’s throat, it can actually have the opposite effect. “Toxic positivity” can make people feel unsafe expressing their negativity, and negativity thrives in isolation. It can make people think there’s something wrong with them for not simply “choosing” happiness, and shame is negativity’s enabling best friend.
When we’re supporting someone who’s hurting, we need to leave room for positivity to grow. And you don’t yell at a flower to “just” grow — you water it. In this case, you water it with listening, with validation, and with unconditional support. It’s OK to experience negative emotions, and with support, we can help people who are stuck in negativity find their own way out. Simply telling them to “be positive” doesn’t cut it.
This article originally appeared on April 17, 2019
Technology is the single greatest contributor to climate change but it may also soon be used to offset the damage we’ve done to our planet since the Industrial Age began.
In September 2018, a project in Myanmar used drones to fire “seed missiles” into remote areas of the country where trees were not growing. Less than a year later, thousands of those seed missiles have sprouted into 20-inch mangrove saplings that could literally be a case study in how technology can be used to innovate our way out of the climate change crisis.
“We now have a case confirmed of what species we can plant and in what conditions,” Irina Fedorenko, co-founder of Biocarbon Engineering, told Fast Company. “We are now ready to scale up our planting and replicate this success.”
According to Fedoranko, just two operators could send out a mini-fleet of seed missile planting drones that could plant 400,000 trees a day — a number that quite possibly could make massive headway in combating the effects of manmade climate change.
The drones were designed by an ex-NASA engineer. And with a pressing need to reseed an area in Myanmar equal to the size of Rhode Island, the challenge is massive but suddenly within reach. Bremley Lyngdoh, founder and CEO of World Impact, says reseeding that area could theoretically house as many as 1 billion new trees.
“Obviously, planting a billion trees will take a long time without the help of drones,” Lyngdoh told Fast Company.
But they’ve now got a powerful new ally in their corner. For context, it took the Worldview Foundation 7 years to plant 6 million trees in Myanmar. Now, with the help of the drones, they hope to plant another 4 million before the end of 2019.
Myanmar is a great case study for the project. In addition to the available land for the drone project, the nation has been particularly hit by the early effects of climate change in recent years. Rising sea levels are having a measurable impact on the population. In addition to their ability to clear CO2 from the atmosphere, healthy trees can also help solidify the soil, which can reduce the kind of soil erosion that has been affecting local populations in Myanmar.
Going forward, technologies like seed-planting drones could help stem the tide of catastrophic climate change while our governments and societies work to change the habits of consumers and corporations that are driving the problem. Our endless hunger for new technology may be the driving force behind climate change and deforestation but it could also end up being the solution to a problem.
For years, you have been squinting, licking your fingers, or doing whatever you can do get a really tiny end of a thread into an even tinier hole, and thinking, [infomercial host voice] “THERE’S GOT TO BE A BETTER WAY!” Well, kids, there is, and you’re about to feel both relieved and dumb.
Twitter user John Bick shared a video from a crafting site that went viral for being extremely helpful.
This article originally appeared on February 14, 2017
There is nothing worse than being caught in the act when you’re up to no good. You can’t lie about it, you can’t take it back, all you can do is pray for forgiveness.
“Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon asked his viewers if they had ever been caught red-handed and their responses on Twitter were hilarious.
Here are 15 of the funniest and/or most embarrassing Tweets.
Called in sick to work one day. Saw one of my students at the beach. We nodded as we both realized we were skipping my class. #IGotCaught
I went to a sex shop with my wife for the first time, the store assistant greeted me with: “nice to see you again!” #IGotCaught — Leonardo Grossi (@leonardo_grossi) February 15, 2017
I snuck out at age 15 to go to a drinking party. The door bell rang, I answered the door, there stood my mom #IGOTCAUGHT — Complex Simply (@ComplexSimply4u) February 15, 2017
@jimmyfallon #igotcaught when my boss caught me dozing off at my desk,I raised my head slowly&said “Amen”.
on a first date and sent a text to what I thought was my buddy saying “this date is awful SOS”…sent it to her #igotcaught — Luke Taylor (@statboyslim) February 15, 2017
Next month will mark thirteen years since Travis Barker was involved in a tragic plane crash that killed his personal assistant Chris Baker and security guard Che Still as well as the aircraft’s two pilots. The late DJ AM was also on the flight, and while he survived the crash, which was caused by a tire that burst on the runway, he would pass away from a drug overdose less than a year later. The incident left Baker with third-degree burns on 65 percent of his body and the Blink-182 drummer was left to spend 11 weeks in the hospital. Afterward, Baker vowed to never board a plane again, as he already feared flying before the crash. However, according to TMZ, he recently had a change of heart.
Images provided by the publication show Baker boarding a plane with Kris Jenner, Cory Gamble, and his girlfriend Kourtney Kardashian as they ventured off to Cabo, Mexico for vacation. This marks the first time that Baker has been on a plane since the 2008 crash. The group boarded Kylie Jenner’s plane from Los Angeles for the flight, but TMZ reports that Barker was an hour late for takeoff for reasons unknown to the publication. They was also confirmed that the group safely landed in Cabo.
The achievement for Barker comes after he helped announced Machine Gun Kelly’s next album, Born With Horns, thanks to matching tattoos the pair got.
Mad Men alum Vincent Kartheiser’s latest gig on the DC show Titans has apparently sparked several investigations into his behavior behind the scenes. The show, currently airing on HBO Max, filmed its third season in Toronto with Kartheiser as a recent addition to the cast. But his time as Scarecrow has apparently made for a rocky foray into the DC canon for himself and others behind the scenes.
According to Deadline, his behavior on set while filming Titans apparently sparked several investigations into his conduct following “outbursts” that eventually required someone monitor him while on set, among other complaints.
According to sources, the first investigation into a complaint, said to be about verbal comments and outbursts, concluded that Kartheiser’s behavior didn’t rise to level of termination but did warrant corrective action. The actor was verbally reprimanded by the studio, I hear.
Weeks later, near the end of Season 3 production, WBTV received a second complaint that also was investigated. This time, it resulted in the studio assigning a representative to monitor Kartheiser while he was on set, sources said.
I hear there were other claims about alleged misconduct by Kertheiser raised in the complaints that were also investigated but were not corroborated, sources said.
A spokesperson for Kartheiser denied any wrongdoing associated with the investigations, though admitting that Warners did look into the claims and explained their “expectations for behavior on the set, and he agreed to comply with their directives.” But Deadline noted that despite Kartheiser’s major role in the season, he isn’t currently promoting the show and doesn’t appear on posters for the new season. It’s also thought that Kartheiser will not return if there’s a fourth season of the show, so whatever happened was more than enough to make his time in the DC Universe over for now.
Last winter, The Killersposted a tracklist on Twitter that featured 11 songs as well as the phrase “A-List” scribbled out in a colorful handwritten font. That tweet came six months after the band released their sixth album and it turns out that list would be the very songs present on their seventh album, Pressure Machine.
Throughout the project’s 11 songs, a lone guest appearance from Phoebe Bridgers was made on a track titled “Runaway Horse.” Just a couple of days after The Killers released their seventh album, the group brought their talents to Jimmy Kimmel Live! to perform that same song. Brandon Flowers and Erica Canales lead the way for the performance as they and the rest of the band sit under dim lighting to complete their set on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Prior to the release of Pressure Machine, Flowers explained the band’s decision to include Bridgers on the album. “We definitely needed a female voice on ‘Runaway Horses,’” he said. “She has a history, I think, with not only that type of music but even in her lineage — her grandpa has rodeo ties. It just felt right.” Flowers added, “It was nice to know that she was also a fan of ours. It just kind of came together naturally. It was fast.”
While Pressure Machine is only two days old, The Killers have already begun the creative process toward their eighth album as they revealed during an interview with NME. “It’s a little bit more canyon rock, maybe a little bit more traditional Killers, I guess,” guitarist Dave Keuning said with drummer Ronnie Vanucci Jr. adding that the music is “a bit heavier and more clench-fisted” than Pressure Machine.
Pressure Machine is out now via Island Records. Get it here.
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