Category: News

Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “There is nothing so American as our National Parks….the fundamental idea behind the parks is that the country belongs to the people.”

It’s a beautiful sentiment, this idea that our most breathtaking landscapes are there for all of us to experience, equally. But unfortunately, if there’s anything as American as the National Parks, it might be the sad reality that equality has not historically meant everyone. According to the National Park Service, nearly 77% of its visitors are white and only 7% are Black Americans. So while the founding principles of the parks may have been as a refuge for all, they’ve become yet another space without enough Black, Indigenous, and Person of Color (BIPOC) representation.

“Generally, being in the outdoors can be a very privileged, elitist, expensive sort of existence,” says Tyrhee Moore, the founder of Soul Trak, a D.C. based organization devoted to connecting marginalized people with the outdoors. “I’ve been very lucky to develop enough resources to gain access to these spaces that so many folks in my community haven’t been able to.”

Since launching Soul Trak in 2016, Moore has devoted his life to democratizing adventure — by providing the resources, experiences, and education to make public lands more accessible. And he’s gone on that journey, in part, because access to the outdoors changed his own life. Growing up in Washington D.C., the very community Soul Trak primarily serves, he took part in The City Kids Wilderness Project. Through the organization, he had the chance to visit Jackson Hole, Wyoming during the summer. It was a tradition he kept up through high school.

“That environment was drastically different than where I’d grown up in a very urban environment,” Moore says. “Being at home, playing, and being involved in very traditional team activities and sports, was the norm. But when I was in Jackson Hole, I was introduced to things like paddling or hiking or camping, and they pushed me individually — especially with developmental aspects around leadership, teamwork, perseverance, and risk-taking.”

Those summers sparked a passion in Moore for the outdoors. Being a climber and adventurer soon became not just a hobby but a vital part of his life. In 2013, at just 19 years old, Moore was invited to be a member of the first team of African American climbers to reach the summit of Denali, the highest point in the United States. This not only resulted in national attention and a visit to the White House, but solidified Moore’s path as an outdoor leader.

But even as an adventure expert, Moore found himself feeling isolated when he moved out west to be a nature guide.

“It can be pretty lonely if your community isn’t present on a regular basis,” he says. “As a guide, I was frequently leading clients and participants from specific backgrounds who may have never seen black authority or leadership. And so, in a lot of cases, there were moments of resistance or even questioning my credibility.”

Frustrated with the lack of representation of Black leaders in the outdoor sphere, Moore began to think about how he could change things.

“It became a question of how I could be most powerful in my position,” Moore says. “I knew that I wanted to dedicate myself to the things that I was really passionate about…create more space for others and not just myself.”

After working with other organizations that provided outdoor access to BIPOC in the mid-2010s, Moore founded Soul Trak as an intersectional environmental organization — aimed at bridging the gap between his community and outdoor spaces.

The first hurdle for Moore was figuring out why members of his community weren’t spending as much time in nature. He quickly discovered that the popular representations of “experiencing the great outdoors” — families skiing in the mountains or influencers living the #vanlife — wasn’t something his neighbors felt was possible for them.

“What we traditionally see on magazines or TV of nature, like mountains in Colorado and Montana, for a lot of our participants is completely unrealistic,” he says. “We can get locked into this one mold of what being in nature looks like, but they may never see snowcapped mountains. They may never get to visit Colorado. So we had to redefine what that looks like and how we connect to nature.”

Soul Trak started small, by organizing trips to hike, raft, and climb near D.C.. Moore’s stated goal was to meet people where they were at in their respective outdoor journeys. From synching up for painting events in public parks to picking up trash on trailheads — it wasn’t about the activity, it was about coming together as a community to enjoy the outdoors recreationally.

Along the way, Moore emphasized that there’s not just one way to commune with nature. Even when trips are adventure-based, there’s doesn’t need to be a high degree of pressure. He encourages participants to set their own goals and have their own experiences — whether or not they fit the conventional idea of how a space “should” be used. Recently, on a small climbing trip, he says of the eight participants, only four did any climbing.

The others spent the time discussing the books they had read during the pandemic.

“It’s been really important to try and knock down any pre-existing norms because I think that those are innately intimidating for folks who may not see themselves in the space currently,” he says. “For us at Soul Trak, it’s really important to let people come as they are and exist in a space in which they feel comfortable. We’re redefining how we exist in nature, because that is naturally going to look different for any one individual or community in regards to race, sex, gender, or geographics.”

As he builds a community of new outdoor adventurers, it’s also extremely important to Moore that he sets up a new generation of Black outdoor role models, something he wishes he had more of growing up. He remembers how thrilling and affirming it was when he climbed Denali, as the youngest team member, to see other African American outdoor adventurers. With this aim, Soul Trak has partnered with Howard University to empower young people to become environmental stewards and organizers.

With more community and representation, Moore hopes to inspire others to join him in creating more bridges for BIPOC to access outdoor spaces and take ownership of them. As George B. Hartzog, Jr., the NPS Director from 1964-1972, once said, “The national park idea has been nurtured by each succeeding generation of Americans. Today, across our land, the National Park System represents America at its best. Each park contributes to a deeper understanding of the history of the United States and our way of life; of the natural processes which have given form to our land, and to the enrichment of the environment in which we live.”

For too long, National Parks haven’t truly represented America at its best — because BIPOC have been left out of the conversation. But Moore hopes to change that for the next generation.

“We all play different roles in this whole intersectional movement of environmental stewardship,” he says. “It takes all of us to come together and understand that it’s going to take each individual to be stewards of our environment and stewards of our planet. When we’re looking at climate issues, when we’re looking at sustainability issues, who are we going to look to? It’s not one specific demographic, it’s not the current inhabitants of these spaces, we’re going to need everyone in our communities — both urban and rural.”

Over the weekend, the great Timothée Chalamet was hosting SNL — and he even brought his mom. Now, there’s always a million brilliant moments on a show like Saturday Night Live, and last Saturday’s show was no different. But there’s one event that keeps getting brought up even days later, and that’s Timmy’s spot on impression of Harry Styles.

Now, both of these vaguely European and fearlessly feminine men became sex symbols, style icons, and breakout stars at around the same time, so the already have a lot in common. In fact, Chalamet interviewed Styles a couple years ago and the two had a fascinating conversation. One is currently king of cinema, while the other is the king of pop. Maybe that’s why it was so easy for Tim to give us the kind of Harry Styles take that is actually funny without an ounce of mockery.

In the clip, “Harry” is appearing on a talk show with Dionne Warwick. Side note, based on her recent Twitter performance, she’d be a killer host. Anyway, Warwick asks “Harry” how she’d know his work and the subject of “Watermelon Sugar” comes up. Of course, after the recent Vogue dust up, fashion comes up, too. Watch the pitch perfect sketch below.

The Killer have already released their sixth album, Imploding The Mirage, this year, but now they’re back, this time with a foodstuff. The band released four different flavors of hot sauce, each one named after previous songs. One flavor, called “Hot Fuss,” dates back to their 2004 debut album of the same name, while “Fire In Bone” is named after a single off of Imploding The Mirage. The remaining flavors are named after the songs “Caution” and “Blowback,” both off their latest record.

The Killer left a message on the hot sauce’s website that asked fans to “pair with your favorite food and Killers records.”

First of all, thank you for getting involved with our hot sauce! We’ve been involved, with the idea at least, for years. You might say starting the band was just a means to make hot sauce. Yeah, it’s that good. Hotter than Vegas, and with four tasty flavors, it’s more than we thought we’d pull off, to be honest.

Made by hand, in small batches using only the finest ingredients like aged chilis, habanero peppers, cayenne peppers, hickory-smoked sea salt, and a dash of real sin from Las Vegas to make this most fabulous hot sauce on the market. So get ready, folks. Oblige your senses and pair with your favorite food and Killers records. DO IT! Your pals in music and sauce.

The hot sauces are ready to be purchased now on their website with just 2,500 limited-edition cases available.

For more information on The Killers’ hot sauce and to place an order, click here.

As all 50 states fulfilled their duty in the Electoral College to officially elect Joe Biden as the next President of the United States on December 14, a sadly beautiful scene unfolded in the Senate chambers of the Washington State Capitol.

Jack Arends is one of Washington’s 12 electors whose job it was to cast their vote for Biden, as the former vice president won the state with 58% of the vote. But for Arends, executing that duty held a special significance. The 64-year-old elector arrived at the capital in a wheelchair, wearing a mask and a hat that read “PLAY NICE.” And when it came time for him to say a few words about casting his vote, his brief speech cast a solemn, patriotic atmosphere throughout the room.

He began by thanking Washington’s Democratic Governor Jay Inslee and Republican Secretary of State Kim Wyman, his fellow electors, and Democratic leaders for the kindness and support they’d shown him in the process of getting there.

“I have noted through this time that the electoral college is not great, but it is the system we have in place,” he said. “Knowing that, I was set on being faithful elector, so I cast my ballot today for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. I did so enthusiastically, of my own choice. I did not need a law to tell me I had to do it. Today is a chance to begin the end of the Trump administration. I was glad to do my duty, to rid our nation of a petty dictator. Had he won a second term, there is no limit to the damage he could have done to the world.”

Arends then went on to make a sobering announcement.

“It will be up to others to do the hard work of rebuilding our nation, as my health is failing. In November I was told there is no more medical treatment that can help me, so it was important for me to do this one thing that I could do, while I still can. Again, thank you. And God bless our great country.”

Arends then lay his head down on the table and openly wept.

Elector Jack Arends casts his vote for Joe Biden

www.youtube.com

The room burst into applause for Arends. The Everett Herald newspaper reported that Arends had actually received the news of his terminal heart condition just days after he was selected to serve as an elector. “I don’t know how much time I am going to have on this earth, but I am going to make it count while I am here and that includes being an elector,” Arends told the paper prior to the proceedings. “It’s that one last box I want to check — I am determined to check it.”

Another detail from Arends casting his vote is that he did so with a Sharpie pen instead of the traditional quill—a symbolic jab at Trump signing legislation with a black Sharpie.

“The ceremony and tradition of this meeting marked an end to one of the most contentious elections of our time,” said Secretary of State Wyman, one of the many Republican state election officials who have defended the integrity of this election. “While some people continue to call into question this election, average citizens from all walks of life will step up today to exercise their responsibility to perform their constitutional duty.”

“It’s a great weight lifted from my shoulders being able to do this,” Arends told The Herald after the vote. “I feel gratified to do what we were elected to do.”

This is what true patriotism looks like. Thank you for your service, Mr. Arends.

They were one of the ’90s wildest couples — he a founding member of heavy metal gods Mötley Crüe, she a Baywatch standout who was later faux-abducted by Borat. And according to TVLine, now the three-year marriage of Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson is getting the limited series treatment, with a Hulu show, called simply Pam & Tommy, to star Lily James and Sebastian Stan.

The two were married from 1995 through 1998 — a tumultuous time that kept tabloid reporters perpetually busy. It started when they tied the knot mere days after meeting. There was a leaked sex tape, and the lawsuit that ensued. There was also an incident of spousal assault that landed Lee in jail for six months. During his marriage, Lee was also involved in a riot that began with fellow Crüe bassist Nikki Six making a racist comment to a black guard, as well as another one involving a backwards swastika tattoo.

The show will be produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, with I,Tonya director Craig Gillespie directing. Stan co-starred in that film, playing another notorious ’90s husband, Tonya Harding spouse Jeff Gilloly. James, meanwhile, has never had a role as out-there as Pamela Anderson, having largely played prim English women and girlfriends to Edgar Wright heroes and a guy who claimed he wrote Beatles songs. Neither Anderson nor Lee are involved in the show, but, as per TVLine, they are “aware of its production.”

(Via TVLine)

Christopher Walken isn’t quite the weirdo he often plays onscreen. But there is one thing that’s strange, if perhaps not surprising: He’s never, ever, ever owned a cellphone. Ditto a computer. It’s the first thing he talked about with Stephen Colbert when he appeared on Monday night’s The Late Show. Of course, in another timeline, Walken would have done the interview in person. But nowadays talk shows are done virtually. And that means he had to sit in front of a webcam in his Connecticut home, possibly for the first time in his life.

“Someone had to come and set this up because I don’t have a cellphone or a computer,” Walken told Colbert. Is he luddite? Is he morally and/or ethically opposed to technology? Nope. “I just got to it too late. I think I’m right at a certain age where it just passed me by. And I never got involved in it because it would be strange to have a 10-year-old be better at it than I am.”

It’s hard for many of us to imagine life without gizmos, but Walken maintains it’s not that hard. “The other thing is cellphones are a bit like a watch: If you need one somebody else has got it,” he said.

Walken did admit he’s been around technology. “Sometimes on a movie they’ll give me a cellphone, but it’s more so they can find me,” he said. But there’s a catch: “If I want to use it, somebody has to dial it for me.”

The legendary Oscar-winner, who was there to promote the new Jon Hamm-Emily Blunt romance Wild Mountian Thyme — the latest from Moonstruck and Doubt (and Joe Versus the Volcano) scribe John Patrick Shanley — also showed the audience Muhammad Ali’s boxing trunks, which were framed. You can watch the video above to find out why.

(Via THR)

It’s amazing how many people have the inability to mind their own business and need to criticize their neighbors for the pettiest things. You see them every day on Nextdoor, complaining about overgrown lawns or paint colors that aren’t “befitting the neighborhood.”

Well one of these uptight neighbors, referred to in this story as a “Karen,” messed with the wrong woman this holiday season (we’ll call her “Our Hero” for the story’s sake). She had no idea that criticizing her neighbor for having a gargoyle on her porch during the Christmas season would lead to a battle of epic proportions.

It all started with Our Hero’s neighbor sending a note that gargoyles are not “in keeping with the Christmas spirit.” So she responded by making Frank the Gargoyle festive with a Santa hat and beard.

Our Hero then took things up a notch on the festive meter by giving Frank some company, a Christmas tree.

Then, the angry neighbor sent over another note asking if Our Hero thinks they are funny. So she decided to add one new item a day, like an Advent calendar. Then, Elf on a Shelf joins the party.

The next day, Frosty the Snowman showed up on Our Hero’s porch.

Taking things a step further, she added a photo of Bruce Willis from “Die Hard,” because, for some, the film is a Christmas classic. These people deserve to be represented in such an inclusive holiday display.

Things started to get a little more “A Nightmare Before Christmas” looking after the cat skeleton was added to the motley Christmas scene.

Then, the neighbor struck back with a note that called Our Hero “childish” and “ridiculous.”

Next, Our Hero added a dog skeleton to the scene to keep the cat skeleton company.

via Frank the Christmas Gargoyle / Facebook

The neighbor is really getting angry!

via Frank the Christmas Gargoyle / Facebook

The neighbor returned with another note that read: “HIPPOS HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!” haven’t they heard the famous song “I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas”?

via Frank the Christmas Gargoyle / Facebook

“With all these notes I’ve been getting, it made me think about someone else who liked to write demanding notes—namely the Phantom of the Opera,” Our Hero wrote. “I guess that makes me Monsieur Firmin now.”

via Frank the Christmas Gargoyle / Facebook

The neighbor’s next announcement was that they had reported Our Hero to the homeowners association. But much like Kevin McCallister in “Home Alone,” she wouldn’t back down. “You guys give up? Or are you thirsty for more?”

Nothing says Christmas 2020 quite like a plague doctor and rats.

Then, the neighbor got seriously angry and knocked over some of the Christmas scene.

“WHOA!! I go away for three hours and there was a melee!” Our Hero wrote. “Looks like we struck a nerve today. Karen’s note today indicated that she is most unappreciative ‘that I would choose to put VERMIN on my porch.’ My display is ‘horrid,’ and my parents ‘must be so proud to have raised such a completely disrespectful and spiteful daughter.’ Well Karen, my parents are no longer with us, but I’m absolutely positive they would be proud and loving this whole thing. Where do you think I got my sense of humor and charm from? Plus, my mom taught to never back down from a bully.”

Next, in a completely tasteful move, Our Hero added some Pink Flamingos to the scene. John Waters would be proud.

We’ve got ten more days until Christmas and this story is far from over. Who knows what will happen next? Will the neighbors get into fisticuffs on Christmas Eve after too much eggnog? Will the city step in and take down the festive Christmas scene? Or will the neighbors bury that hatchet in a display of Christmas spirit?

Follow Frank the Christmas Gargoyle on Facebook to see how it ends.

P.S. Our Hero took a moment to write a serious note to thank everyone for following her story.

“The holiday season can be a tough time for a lot of us, myself included, and this year has been particularly COVID craptastic, so knowing that my silly shenanigans with my nosey neighbor has brought even a small chuckle to so many people really warms my heart. I mean, I crack myself up daily, but knowing people all over the dang world are cracking up with me is pretty freaking cool.

She then thank those who are working to keep us all healthy during these tough times,” she wrote.

“I wanted to give a special shout out to all the nurses, docs, EMTs, PAs, RTs, and all you other frontline badasses for all of your comments. It’s so cool to know this silly page can provide even a moment of relief from all the stress you guys are under right now. You guys are the true heroes of 2020! Frank and friends salute you!” she continued. “Everyone stay safe and remember—Hippos are Christmas AF!!”

It’s been 10 years since Jackass 3-D, the daredevil stunt team’s third cinematic masterpiece, and at the time the gang was already getting up in years. In fact, the threequel was something like a farewell to them utterly destroying their bodies in inventively foolhardy ways. Yet here they are, two days into filming their long threatened Jackass 4. And according to CinemaBlend, Johnny Knoxville, age 49, and Steve-O, age 46, have already been hospitalized.

The news was broken by Bam Margera, who’s “only” 41, on his website. In a video recorded in a hospital waiting room, Margera said Knoxville and Steve-O got hurt by “jumping on a full-speed treadmill with band equipment.” And by band equipment, he meant “a f*cking tuba.” But the injuries didn’t seem to get Margera down. He flashed a devil’s sign gesture and said, “Rock n’ roll,” then showed off some scars he’d received in what is presumably another, non-tuba-related stunt.

This is far from the first time any of the Jackass team, whose original show debuted on MTV 20 years ago this past October, have really hurt themselves. It would almost be a letdown if someone didn’t get hospitalized. Of course, injuring yourself in a tuba-treadmill incident is a bit different when you’re in your twenties than it is when you’re pushing half a century, as Knoxville is. Still, Tom Cruise almost kills himself to entertain us, and he’s nearing 60. Maybe they should team up — although surely even Johnny Knoxville knows enough not to put his life in the hands of Elon Musk.

(Via CinemaBlend)

I hesitate to say it, both because I’m dubious that progress will continue apace and because I don’t want to jinx anything, but there were more than a few silver linings for Indigenous people in America in 2020. A fair number of hope-inducing bright spots. That’s despite a pandemic that often disproportionately affected our communities, revealed the relative weakness of our healthcare infrastructure, and left Native artists and entrepreneurs out in the cold when seeking small business loans.

What were those silver linings? I take great joy in rattling off just a few.

• This was the year we started seeing statues of genocidal “explorers” moved to the dustbin of history.
• The year that the first all-Native TV shows on major networks were greenlit.
• The year Indigenous food finally got its due on mainstream food TV.
• The year in which Indigenous politicians stand poised and ready to reach the highest offices in the land.
• And of course, the year that Dan Snyder finally shelved both the racist logo and name of the Washington Football Team. (With the Cleveland MLB franchise following suit just this month.)

While that final point is easy for outsiders to trivialize, remember that the fight against racist mascots and the use of Indigenous iconography in sports has been a generations-long battle, reaching all the way back to the 1950s.

“I’m excited.” Jacqueline Keeler, the co-founder of #NotYourMascot, told UPROXX in July. “Now the other teams — the Atlanta Braves, the Kansas City Chiefs, Florida State Seminoles, the 49ers — need to change.”

Statues falling and mascots getting retired is only a step, but it does matter. For centuries, Indigenous people have been marginalized, vilified, and tokenized in American media. The increased positive visibility and removal of harmful tropes will, hopefully, lead to broader, more systemic change. To put it more bluntly, the hope is that increased representation draws eyes to issues facing Indigenous communities — from lack of education to food scarcity to hunting and fishing rights to health care to systemic poverty.

“I’m really excited about Rutherford Falls, the upcoming sitcom on NBC’s Peacock service,” comedian Jackie Keliiaa told us in an interview this year. “If you don’t know about it, get ready. Native showrunner. Native writers’ room. Native actors. Period. The show is still in production, but with that much Native talent steering the ship, you know it’s going to be amazing!”

Other Native-led shows are being greenlit, too — with representation rapidly expanding in writers’ rooms. Netflix’s Spirit Warriors features an all-Native writers’ room, including friend of UPROXX, Joey Clift. Meanwhile, shows that are reckless with Indigenous identity are getting called out, like ABC’s Big Sky. As a fan and an Indigenous person, seeing our stories told by our people is exhilarating.

Indigenous issues finally started making appearances in other forms of mainstream media this year, as well. One of this year’s best food shows, Padma Lakshmi’s Taste The Nation, took a step towards a wider inclusion by devoting an entire episode to Indigenous American foods in the Southwest. Lakshmi explained her reasoning in an interview with us last summer:

“While I’m an immigrant, I’ve done most of my schooling in America. And I was appalled at how little instruction I was given on this part of our land’s history. So it was important for me to set the groundwork and say, ‘Well, this is what actual American food is and has been.’”

One of Lakshmi’s guests on that episode was Chef Brian Yazzie of the Navajo Nation, who cooked Three Sisters (a combination of corn, squash, and beans) along with grilled antelope. It was a meal that hit close to home for so many Native people. Speaking personally, I’m not afraid to say that I cried watching it.

Yazzie used his increased visibility to highlight the struggles facing Indigenous communities in Minneapolis. Throughout the pandemic, the chef has been working tirelessly at Gatherings Cafe in the Twin Cities to get local elders fed. It’s both admirable and significant that someone with newfound media clout put his career on hold to feed his community.

“Being a servant to the community myself,” Yazzie told us when the pandemic started, “I felt like I should use my platform and do something.”

This brings us to the inevitable caveat of all this progress: There’s still a long way to go. Yes, there have been some real wins this year. But those wins were fought for by generations of Indigenous folks from all over the nation. Now’s not the time to rest on laurels and wait for the government to “do the right thing.” Now’s the time to push harder, speak louder, and educate more deeply. (It’s also the time for allies to keep Indigenous struggles front of mind.)

Hopefully, with conversations around why racists mascots are damaging to Indigenous youth, statues of Columbus were always a bad idea, having Indigenous shows on TV created and made by Indigenous folks is important, and the return or real American foods is crucial to the American foodway, we will see continued change. Hopefully, the light shone on Indigenous culture via the various inroads made in 2020 will illuminate ignored issues, like the plight of the most brutalized group of people in America: Indigenous women, girls, and 2-spirits. Hopefully, with Rep. Deb Haaland (NM) in the running to become the first Native Secretary of the Interior (and first Indigenous American ever to serve in a White House Cabinet position), and more Indigenous people in Congress than ever before, the silver linings of 2020 will become the policy decisions of 2021 — helping protect a collective of Indigenous American Nations that has been decimated and ignored since the founding of this country.

In a move that’s sure to pump up DC Comics fans, Warner Bros. has shared the opening scene for Wonder Woman 1984 ahead of its Christmas Day release in theaters and on HBO Max. The never-before-seen video includes the first three minutes of the film, which features a young Princess Diana getting ready to compete in the Amazon Olympics on her home island of Themyscira. Fans of the first movie will also be happy to see the return of Robin Wright‘s Antiope, who gives Diana some loving advice to the over-confident little warrior. While the clip breezes by quickly, it does foreshadow that Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman has some hard lessons coming down the pipe.

Over the summer, Patty Jenkins revealed that including the Amazon Olympics in the film was not just important because of the planned spinoff based on the tribe of warrior women, but because it really showcased how Wonder Woman honed her strength and fierce skills as a warrior. Via Empire:

“Here are these people who are incredibly powerful and capable, but different in how they approach things. If you’ve ben training for hundreds of years because of an impending invasion, you’re going to be constantly working on all these skill sets. So, to me, every year, they would have these Olympics to see who’s doing the best on horses or swimming the fastest, and seeing new tricks people have figured out.”

With Wonder Woman 1984‘s streaming and theatrical release just around the corner, advance reviews are already rolling in with most critics agreeing that the film is a much needed escape from the world’s pandemic woes thanks to Jenkins’ skill at evoking the blockbuster hits of the ’80s as Gadot’s Diana faces off against dual villains Cheetah (Kristen Wiig) and Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal).