Category: News

In a statement that perfectly encapsulates the stark contrast between the current administration and its predecessor, Dr. Jill Biden tweeted that “hugs are coming” as she celebrated “100 million shots in arms” on Friday. During his presidential campaign, Joe Biden promised 100 million Americans would be vaccinated within his first 100 days in office, but that goal has already been achieved after just 58 days. Instead of resting on their laurels, the administration is already making plans to shoot for an even more aggressive target. Via the Associated Press:

With the nation now administering about 2.5 million shots per day, Biden, who promised to set a new goal for vaccinations next week, teased the possibility of setting a 200 million dose goal by his 100th day in office.

“We may be able to double it,” he told reporters before leaving the White House for Atlanta.

Clearly, the First Lady is pleased with the progress, and people are loving the vibes from her “hugs are coming” tweet as Americans finally can see a light at the end of the pandemic tunnel.

One person who’s probably not enjoying Dr. Biden’s tweet is Melania Trump. The former First Lady was reportedly salty over how quickly the country embraced the new First Lady and the positive publicity she’s received right out of the gate. According to CNN, Melania has been “bitter” about her public perception, which used to be the highest of her husband’s administration, but suffered following the January 6 insurrection on the Capitol because that’s definitely the main concern following an attack on the nation’s capital. Super weird why people like Dr. Biden more.

(Via Jill Biden on Twitter)

Ever since digital artist Beeple raked in $69 million from selling an original artwork as an NFT, people everywhere are joining the craze. Already, musicians like Grimes and Diplo have made a sizeable sum off of NFTs and now, viral stars are looking to capitalize off the movement. Nathan Apodaca, the man behind last summer’s viral skateboarding TikTok that includes Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams,” is looking to sell the original video as an NFT, but it won’t be exactly the same as the original.

As previously reported, Apodaca’s NFT won’t include “Dreams,” and the Ocean Spray cranberry juice bottle that he’s holding will be blurred out. It was originally reported that the changes were made because Apodaca did not hold the rights to either. TMZ now reports that Apodaca was pushing for “Dreams” to be included in the sale, but Stevie Nicks was the one who shot down the possibility.

According to the report, Apodaca offered Nicks a 50 percent cut of the NFT’s final sale in exchange for giving him the rights to the song. But Nicks said no. Apodaca’s team says he was a little hurt, since Nicks was one of the only Fleetwood Mac members to not reach out to him after his TikTok put “Dreams” back on people’s radar.

Even still, Apodaca plans to go ahead with the sale of the NFT, which has a starting bid of $500,000. Apodaca doesn’t plan on keeping all the money for himself, however. Instead, he aims to use the funds to buy his parents a house and open an event center in his hometown of Idaho Falls.

There is no shortage of memes to be had when a team named Colgate participates in the NCAA Tournament, but Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Eric Musselman took the wordplay to a new level today when he rallied his team for their game against the Raiders by proudly squeezing a full tube of toothpaste all over the carpet of the locker room.

“We gotta squeeze Colgate,” Musselman told his players, according to a video put out by the program’s social media team.

While Musselman’s motivation tactics are questionable here, it is admittedly a nice dunk on Colgate. The school brought up old memories by tweeting at Bucknell, which eliminated Arkansas in 2019. What’s one person’s trash is another’s treasure, as they say, and Musselman’s bizarre pregame speech became a viral clip.

Fortunately, it’s all good for a laugh now that Arkansas beat Colgate, but it also would have been fascinating to see how players responded to that toothpaste stain on the floor of their locker room postgame if they had indeed lost. Picture walking in after being upset big time, and you see the remains of your coach’s performance art in the middle of the room while the pain of the loss is still settling in. Could have gone either way.

Practically every mom I know occasionally daydreams about quitting-doing-all-the-things. Sometimes the impulse is born of exhaustion. Sometimes it’s the relentless daily tedium of cleaning, cooking, reminding, over and over and over without end. And sometimes it’s the desire for someone else to notice that these things actually need to be done and someone has to actually do it.

Even moms who share chores with spouses and kids often find themselves carrying the mental load of figuring out what needs to be done, monitoring whether it’s getting done, and organizing who’s doing what, and reminding/nagging/harassing her family members until it gets done. Sometimes moms just want to let all of that go and see what happens.

That’s what a mom who goes by Miss Potkin on Twitter did this week. Channeling the fed-upness of mothers everywhere, she just up and stopped doing household chores to see what would happen. Two days later, she began sharing the saga in a Twitter thread that’s as entertaining as it is satsifying.

Letting go and letting your family sit in their own filth until they can’t take it anymore takes patience and discipline. There’s a reason moms generally do-all-the-things regardless of how cooperative the family is. We don’t want to live in a mess. But she stuck to her guns.

For a minute, things were looking promising with the garbage being taken out.

However, the dishes still remained mysteriously undone. As did the laundry.

“There is a pan on the cooker with a single sausage in it,” she wrote. “It’s been there for two days. I can’t look at it because it’s turned the colour of the man that washes up in Cast Away.”

Oh, and the downstairs bathroom is out of toilet paper.

Those who might feel judgy at this point likely live with people who are naturally neat, or just can’t fathom themselves how someone could let a sausage sit for two days. But take it from a mom who let go of policing her kids’ bedrooms to see how long it would take them to decide to clean on their own—some human beings are willing to overlook all manner of mess and filth before it becomes too much.

And sometimes they have to learn firsthand the amount of extra work such obliviousness leads to.

Hilariously, even though the dishwasher finally did get loaded, that’s basically all that happened. Miss Potkin shared a video tour of the kitchen with the extraneous things that didn’t get done or got half-done.

Of course, the negative Nancies showed up to voice their judgmental opinions about her experiment, her home, her family, her choice of husband, and everything else because moms literally can’t catch a break. It’s a silly, fun exercise to make a point that millions of moms can relate to. If it doesn’t apply to you, move along, Nance.

“We do not ‘live like this,'” she wrote. “This is a lesson in wanting to be heard and respected and not having to repeat yourself when things slip. We’re navigating the day-to-day in extraordinary times and for me, the past two days have been funnier than anything else. I think we’re all entitled to run our own experiments, be amused, push a situation to its limit if we so choose. No one needs to be lectured by those that have failed to see the silly joy in what’s happening here.”

And the experiment slowly started paying off as someone replaced the toilet paper.

But the dishwasher…

“We keep our homes tidy because love,” Miss Potkin wrote. “We cook food and set tables and fill the air with scents of roses and fresh laundry because love. Love is patient but love is also fucking tired because she works 14 hour days.”

“I know we are ALL tired,” she added, “but I am most tired. Me. I AM ALL THE TIRED.”

All the moms are all the tired.

Miraculously, it only took three days of being completely hands-off for her family to take note and clean the house.

Lesson learned. Mission accomplished. Let’s hope it sticks.

Moms are not always the ones who pick up most of the slack in a household, but they usually are. And when that work is taken for granted, it sucks. When everyone in the house pays more attention and takes the initiative to tidy, neaten, clean, replace, launder, put away, etc., moms are less stressed and tired and everyone benefits. If it take up and quitting for a while to help the family see it, so be it.

Genius: Aretha (Sunday, National Geographic 9:00 p.m.) — The Emmy-winning anthology series (which starred Geoffrey Rush as Albert Einstein and Antonio Banderas as Pablo Picasso during previous seasons) presents the Oscar-nominated (and Tony-, Emmy- and Grammy Award-winning) Cynthia Erivo to showcase the legendary and innovative Aretha Franklin’s incomparable career and legacy. Her lasting influence also gains the spotlight with a supporting turn by the Emmy-winning Courtney B. Vance as Aretha’s dad. It’s an eight-part series (spread over four nights, two episodes apiece), and Hulu will stream episodes the next day with the final double-dose arriving (and streaming) by Aretha’s birthday, March 25.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Disney+ series) — After WandaVision proved that Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige could still bring their A+ game, even on the small screen, we’re getting the (begrudging) buddy comedy for Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes that was forecast when they grumbled over a back seat in Captain America: Civil War. Baron Helmut Zemo (portrayed by Daniel Brühl) is the big bad, but what Marvel viewers will truly love to see is the return of Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp), who’s kicking ass and making her aunt’s Peggy’s spirit proud. Also, yes, “Who will be the next Cap?” will be the question on everyone’s mind, so get ready.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League (HBO Max) — Fans hoped this day would come, and finally, “we live in a society” where the fabled “Snyder Cut” is fabled no more. This four-hour installment is a vast improvement on Joss Whedon’s much maligned theatrical cut, and there’s a smidge of Jared Leto’s Joker to add some “WTF” flavor. Finally, there’s loads of character development, which the hard-core nerds will appreciate, so even though Joss’ version remains canon, the Snyder Cut is here to satisfy the hearts and minds of DC Comics fans.

Q: Into the Storm (HBO Max limited series) — You’ve heard all of those wild QAnon conspiracy theories, and this weekend, thia six-part documentary series begins to chronicle the movement’s evolution. Filmmaker Cullen Hoback drives into the rabbit hole to reveal how the mysterious “Q” wields conspiracies as information warfare to manipulate thinking and influence American culture. In the end, this series will touch upon the Internet’s darkest corners and explore how “unfettered free speech” (according to the synopsis) can go to dangerous places.

Waffles + Mochi (Netflix series) — Michelle Freaking Obama stars in this show about two curious puppets, (obviously) Waffles and Mochi, who explore the world through food and culture. This also doubles as an educational series about fresh-ingredient cooking, so learn how to become a chef, along with the puppets and a former first lady. Don’t resist this one! It’s ridiculously charming, and the series travels the globe (by way of the kitchen) to help kids and grown-ups connect with far-flung traditions. From the Miso soup in Japan to spices in Italy and potatoes from the Andes of Peru, the food here might actually be more interesting than the celebrity guests.

The Craft: Legacy (Friday, Starz 9:00 p.m.) — The reboot of the teen drama-fantasy film finally comes to cable with a bullied newcomer working to establish a coven of witches that’s culturally diverse. Fairuza Balk’s doing the cameo thing, so check it out.

Supermarket Sweep (Sunday, ABC 8:00 p.m.) — Leslie Jones and every bit of her enthusiasm will host contestants in this revival of the grocery-shopping game show.

Batwoman (Sunday, CW 8:00 p.m.) — Alice keeps searching for Kate while Batman finds her abilities challenged like none other.

American Gods (Sunday, Starz 8:00 p.m.) — The gods are mourning a loss while teetering on the brink of war and peace while Shadow’s seizing his destiny, and Bilquis takes a divine journey.

Charmed (Sunday, CW 9:00 p.m.) — The Tomb of Chaos is the name of the venue here while the Charmed Ones are also wrestling with hefty professional challenges.

The Walking Dead (Sunday, AMC 9:00 p.m.) — The bonus episodes of Season 10 continue with a claustrophobic Princess after she’s captured and separated by mysterious troopers from Eugene, Ezekiel, and Yumiko.

The Gloaming (Sunday, Starz 9:00 p.m.) — This miniseries launches while taking on a brutal 20-year-old crime while two detectives and old flames reunite for this common cause.

Shameless (Sunday, Showtime 9:00 p.m.) — Frank ones to pull off one last heist (famous last words) while Debbie’s incensed with Lip over the sledgehammer thing, and the Born Free guys are apparently mob guys, too.

Last Week Tonight (Sunday, HBO 10:00 p.m.) — Everyone’s favorite sarcastic and satiric late-night host returned last month, and not a moment too soon. Can’t wait to see who he skewers this week.

In case you missed these recent streaming picks:

Kid 90 (Hulu movie) — Punky Brewster star Soleil Moon Frye has been playing the long game with this film. Ever since the 1990s, she carried a video camera throughout her adventures — while hanging out with fellow teen stars David Arquette, Stephen Dorff, Balthazar Getty, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Brian Austin Green, and more — as they navigated Hollywood and New York City fame. Then she stuffed this footage away for over two decades, which means that this documentary is a time capsule of what it was like to come of age in the public eye before the whole internet thing. Frye presents her very own spin on the coming of age story, and yes, expect some Punky Power.

Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal (Netflix film) — Matthew Modine stars as Rick Singer, the man standing at the center of the enormous storm cloud that rocked the Ivy League world. Once all was said and done, Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman received prison sentences for their participation in an elaborate scheme to get children of wealthy parents into elite colleges, and yes, there’s still plenty of scandal left in this saga to entertain.

Halle Berry is an Oscar-winning actress and activist who also happens to be one of the most beautiful people alive. This was true in her 20s, when she finished sixth in the Miss World 1986 pageant, and it’s still true to this day as she approaches her mid-50s.

On Friday, the John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum star posted a photo on Twitter where she’s in her bed drinking a Coke Zero, wearing nothing but her underwear, boots, and a very good hat. “He don’t need to do the math to know ima problem,” she wrote, living that TGIF lifestyle. The only issue any reasonable person could see with this tweet is that Berry should be drinking a Diet Coke, a superior soda. But otherwise, all good — except for one ageist troll, who wrote, “You’re 53.” Berry replied, “And what about it? Lol.”

Berry’s followers had her back:

We should all be so lucky as to look like Halle Freaking Berry when we’re in our 50s (or 40s… or 30s… or 20s), but that also doesn’t matter: no one should be shamed for taking a provocative photo. If you think you look good, you look good. At any age.

Maybe ditch the Coke Zero next time, though. Like so:

(Via Twitter/Halle Berry)

The conversation around the conditions in San Antonio at the NCAA Women’s Tournament isn’t going away, and legendary UConn coach Geno Auriemma, who is away from the tournament Bubble as he recovers from COVID-19, weighed in on Friday by explaining this struggle has been part of women’s college basketball as long as he’s been part of it.

“It’s never been fair, it’s never been equitable,” Auriemma said. “Not that you expect things to magically be rectified … the world doesn’t move that way.”

Auriemma went on to add that the disparities in how the NCAA is treating female player is a microcosm of the fight across American society for the equal treatment of women.

The story caught fire after a Stanford athletic trainer shared photos of the single rack of weights available to players at the tournament, then was accelerated when Oregon’s Sedona Prince put up a video of the entire space, showing how much room there was to put together a full workout center. Prince and others have also highlighted the poor quality of food compared with the buffets available to men, too.

In a separate session, UConn assistant coach Chris Dailey, who is standing in for Auriemma during his recovery, added that she didn’t believe the disparities were intentional, but is happy there is extra attention on it as a result of the photos and videos going viral.

It remains to be seen what the NCAA is planning to give players additional resources and facilities in their San Antonio bubble, but the problems have everyone talking, so the pressure on the NCAA is heavy.

The Knick, set in New York City in 1900, opens inside an opium den, where a prostitute wakes a bleary-eyed Dr. John Thackery, played by Clive Owen, who stumbles into daylight just in time to catch a carriage into work. On his way to The Knickerbocker hospital, aka The Knick, “Thack” shoots liquid cocaine between his toes to sober himself up enough to perform a graphically-depicted experimental surgery inside an ivory white operating theater surrounded by ornately mustachioed men in top hats. Never has a show hooked me so fast. So begins one of the greatest first seasons of television in history.

The Knick, created by Jack Amiel and Michael Begler and directed by Steven Soderbergh, premiered in 2014 on Cinemax, where its audience was naturally limited to Cinemax subscribers. I think I caught episode one during a free preview and immediately shelled out for a subscription until the end of its run. As a rich, textural history of the Gilded Age set in Gangs Of New York‘s neighborhood featuring drugs, sex, and unsparing surgical gore, The Knick feels like it was designed specifically for me — a person obsessed with Edwardian-era history who watches pimple-popping and pus-draining videos for fun.

Paul Thomas Anderson has said he likes depicting eras in transition, like the porn industry at the dawn of video in Boogie Nights. The Knick has a similar appeal. Depicting three deaths in the first 10 minutes, Thack delivers the eulogy for one. I’m going to quote the whole damn thing, simply because it’s so amazing:

JM Christensen fearlessly took up arms in the battle to oppose the inevitable, throwing himself at an enemy that has never known defeat and as sure as I’m standing here never will. One could not be blamed for wondering whether JM came to see his life’s work as a fool’s errand, a rube finally realizing that the game he’s been playing will be forever rigged against him. But my dear friend JM was a fine man and certainly he was no fool or rube. He and I spent our lives tilting at the very same windmills. So why have I not lost hope like he did? Because those windmills at which we tilted were created by men to turn grindstones that transformed the world’s bounty into flour. From such humble beginnings grew the astonishing modern world in which we now live. We cannot conquer the mountains, but our railroads now run through them with ease. We cannot defeat the river but we can bend it to our will and dam it for our own purposes. We now live in a time of endless possibility. More has been learned about the treatment of the human body in the last five years than was learned in the previous 500. 20 years ago, 39 was the number of years a man could expect from his life. Today it is more than 47. Eventually, the train tunnels will crumble. The dams will be overrun. Our patients’ hearts will all stop their beating. But we humans can still get a few good licks in battle before we surrender.

I’m not sure a single soliloquy has ever so perfectly summed up a show’s id and mission statement. It’s one of the most succinct expressions of humankind’s hope and hubris at the dawn of the modern era, delivered by its thematically perfect mouthpiece, a self-aggrandizing cocaine addict surgeon bragging about his ongoing fistfight with God. Performed perfectly, by the way, by Clive Owen, a brilliant actor who has never quite gotten his due, and who I like to think of as the Jude Law for whiskey drinkers. This flawless scene simultaneously brings tears to my eyes and makes me want to charge shoulder-first through a brick wall like the Kool-Aid man. I love this show.

Of course, Thack, said to be partly based on Dr. William Halstead, isn’t The Knick‘s only great character. He’s just the first one you notice, who draws you into an entire solar system of perfect characters, like McNulty from The Wire (another rascally American anti-hero with an odd accent played by an Englishman). André Holland plays the Paris-trained Algernon Edwards, The Knick‘s first black surgeon, hired by his childhood playmate, the hospital’s idealistic heiress benefactor, Cornelia Robertson (Juliet Rylance). In an early episode, aristocratic Cornelia teams up with the abrasive, pig-like health inspector, Jacob Speight (David Fierro) to find the original “Typhoid Mary.”

The show’s most enduring friendship eventually develops between The Knick’s thuggish, atheistic Irish ambulance driver (who occasionally has to fight with sticks and knives to secure bodies), Tom Cleary (Chris Sullivan) and the dour nurse/nun, Sister Harriet (Cara Seymour), aka “Harry” — two foul-tempered Irish sons of bitches with hearts of gold. Of course, every show needs a Ralphie Cifaretto, the slimy weasel (see also the Little Finger), and more than filling that role is the hospital’s crooked administrator, Barrow (Jeremy Bobb), who seizes every opportunity for skimming and graft in order to pay off his copious debts to gangsters and whorehouses.

Between rat-baiting, tertiary syphilis, and casual cocaine use, it would’ve been tempting to make The Knick simply a send-up of a backwards, violent time, flattering contemporary viewers’ sense of superiority, secure in our knowledge of safe blood transfusions and accessible antibiotics. The anachronisms consistently make it fun, but pedantry isn’t The Knick‘s purpose. The characters are all types (Barrow especially) that have their echoes in “modern” times, and especially in the 20 teens, our new Gilded Age. Mostly it’s about the drastic contrasts, of a time when one could have their life saved by complex hernia surgery or bet on how many meningitis-riddled rats a booze-addled oaf could smash in a bar basement. They’re all cavemen in fine suits, to varying degrees; so are we.

Which is to say, it’s about the place where humanity’s potential runs headlong into all the old biases, superstitions, and mortal failings. It’s about a fascinating time period, but in that way could be about any time period. It’s about grit, grime, and gore, but also possibility; one of my favorite shows of all time.

‘The Knick’ is currently available on HBO Max. Barry Jenkins and Andre Holland are reportedly working on new episodes. Vince Mancini is on Twitter. You can access his archive of reviews here.

It’s official; Saweetie and Quavo are no longer relationship goals. The “Best Friend” rapper confirmed that she and her Migos beau have broken up after a day of wildly circulating rumors. The rumors began when the two unfollowed each other on Instagram and Twitter, prompting speculation from fans that their seemingly perfect relationship had taken a setback.

Saweetie explained the reasons for the split in a tweet, accusing Quavo of infidelity. It’s unknown if the incident in question is related to prior rumors about Quavo cheating on her. “I’m single,” she verified. “I’ve endured too much betrayal and hurt behind the scenes for a false narrative to be circulating that degrades my character. Presents don’t band-aid scars and the love isn’t real when the intimacy is given to other women.”

A second tweet provided more context, establishing that the breakup had been coming for some time. Saweetie wrote, “I emotionally checked out a long time ago and have walked away with a deep sense of peace and freedom. Excited for this new chapter of elevation.”

Quavo hasn’t tweeted since March 7, when he promoted a Foot Locker partnership, and his last Instagram post is a shot from Migos’ appearance on Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards from four days ago. All hope may not be lost, though; his partner-in-rhyme Offset was also accused of cheating in the past, nearly losing his wife Cardi B a few times over the last three years, but Cardi and Offset still seem to be going strong.

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

If you want to watch the best passer in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, we’re going to highly recommend you watch Cade Cunningham whenever Oklahoma State takes the floor. If you want to see the best pass in March Madness this year, well, we’re going to bet that nothing will top this football-inspired dime from Arkansas guard Davonte Davis.

During the fourth-seeded Razorbacks’ opening round game against No. 13 Colgate, Davis drove to the lane and got himself into a little bit of trouble. The 6’3 guard found himself among the trees, as four members of the Red Raiders swarmed him. The good news was that this meant someone was wide open, the bad news was that the someone in question — J.D. Notae — was standing directly behind him.

Instead of continuing to pivot and showing where he was going with this, Davis just bent over and hiked the ball between his legs. The gamble paid off, as Notae got a great look and canned a triple.

But of course, while this was a good looking jumper, it was only possible because of the pass. Despite the fact that they got a test in the first round, Arkansas would go on to win, 85-68. Davis had 12 points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals, and one March Madness highlight to remember.