The NBA announced the starters for the 2024 All-Star Game on Thursday night. In a few weeks, the best players from both conferences will go head-to-head in Indianapolis, with the Eastern Conference rolling out a starting five of Tyrese Haliburton, Damian Lillard, Jayson Tatum, Joel Embiid, and its captain, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Western Conference, meanwhile, will be captained by LeBron James, who is setting a new record with his 20th All-Star selection. James will be joined in the frontcourt by Kevin Durant and Nikola Jokic, with Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander lining up in the backcourt.
The starters get selected via a 50/25/25 split, with fan voting counting for 50 percent, media voting counting for 25 percent, and player voting making up the final 25 percent. In the aftermath of the starters being announced, the NBA revealed how the full vote broke down.
There are plenty of interesting notes in here, like the fact that Antetokounmpo and Haliburton were the top vote getters in their respective spots in the Eastern Conference across all three spots, something no one else was able to do. In the West, James got first place in the fan vote for frontcourt players, with Jokic coming out on top among the media and player vote. A similar split happened among the guards, with Doncic coming in first among players and Gilgeous-Alexander coming in first among the other two groups.
There was a tie that needed to be broken, too, with Lillard and Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks averaging out into the same weighted score for the second Eastern Conference guard spot. Lillard won the tie based on the fan vote being the tiebreaker, as he came in third place among the fans and Brunson came in fifth.
If you’d like to look at the full voting results, click here.
If there’s one thing British culture is universally known for, it’s tea. And if there’s one thing Americans are known for in Britain, it’s mucking up tea.
Admittedly, Americans’ relationship with the U.K. and its tea is a bit…complicated. After all, it was Britain’s taxation of imported tea that served as both a symbol and catalyst for the Revolutionary War, made famous by the so-called Boston Tea Party in 1773. (For those not steeped in American history, colonists famously dumped tea from British ship in Boston Harbor overnight in protest over being taxed without representation. They also tried to pin it on Native Americans, dressing as Mohawk Indians to disguise their identities, but that’s another story for another time.)
Our complicated tea relationship just took an unexpected turn, as an American scientist dared to suggest that the secret to a perfect cup of tea is to add a bit of salt to it, which naturally caused the entire United Kingdom to lose its everlovin’ mind.
Michelle Francl, a chemistry professor at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, argues in her book, “Steeped: The Chemistry of Tea,” that sodium in salt can counteract the chemical process that causes tea to taste bitter, to which the British say, “Rubbish! Poppycock!”
“A scientist from the country where you can find tea being made with lukewarm water from the tap claims to have found the recipe for a perfect cuppa,” British newspaper The Guardian quipped.
The Brits take their tea-making seriously, using a kettle to heat the water to just the right temperature and steeping their tea for a set amount of time, while Americans dare to pop a mug of water in the microwave and haphazardly leave their tea bag for however long they feel like. (It’s kind of a perfect example of ingrained American rebellion against monarchical tradition, really.)
Folks at the U.S. Embassy in the U.K. recognized that salt-in-tea controversy had landed the nation in some hot water, so they issued an official response. And naturally, it includes some lighthearted trolling of our friends across the pond.
“An important statement on the latest tea controversy,” the Embassy wrote on X, with an image of an official United States Embassy Press Release.
An important statement on the latest tea controversy. ud83cuddfaud83cuddf8ud83cuddecud83cudde7
— (@)
It begins by explaining that media reports of an American professor’s “perfect” cup of tea recipe “has landed our special bond with the United Kingdom in hot water.”
“Tea is the elixir of camaraderie,” it continues, “a sacred bond that unites our nations. We cannot stand idly by as such an outrageous proposal threatens the very foundation of our Special Relationship.”
Ohhh, somebody at the Embassy had their cookies today.
“Therefore we want to ensure the good people of the UK that the unthinkable notion of adding salt to Britain’s national drink is not official United States policy. And never will be,” reassured the Embassy. “Let us unite in our steeped solidarity and show the world that when it comes to tea, we stand as one.”
A perfectly diplomatic response, followed by the ultimate American tea troll:
“The U.S. Embassy will continue to make tea in the proper way—by microwaving it.”
Oh yes, they did.
Now, some may lament that an official government agency would have the time to troll an entire country over a cup of tea, but it’s not like the U.S. Embassy in the U.K. is on a complex diplomatic mission. Our countries have been close friends and allies for a long time, despite our fight for independence in the 18th century, so a little friendly banter is just what we should expect.
For their part, the U.K. government officially responded with a quintessentially understated retort.
“We appreciate our Special Relationship, however, we must disagree wholeheartedly… Tea can only be made using a kettle.”
In response, to the statement put out by the US Embassy in the UK: nnWe appreciate our Special Relationship, however, we must disagree wholeheartedly…nnTea can only be made using a kettle.
— (@)
The U.K. Defence Journal offered a bit stronger of a reaction, writing, “The United Kingdom will be declaring war on the United States.”
The United Kingdom will be declaring war on the United States.
— (@)
Perhaps we can all sit down and discuss this civilly…over a cup of microwaved tea.
We’re three weeks away from the NBA making its way to Indianapolis for its annual All-Star Weekend. While some of the names that will be involved on Saturday night have started to come out, on Thursday night, we learned the most important piece of information for the multi-day event: Which players will start during the All-Star Game on Sunday evening?
Fan voting came to an end, while coaches and media members submitted their ballots. Now that all of that has been tallied up, here are the 10 players who will represent the Eastern and Western Conferences during the game, which was revealed prior to TNT’s slate of games on Thursday.
Eastern Conference
Guard: Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers
Guard: Damian Lillard, Milwaukee Bucks
Frontcourt: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks (captain)
Frontcourt: Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
Frontcourt: Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
Western Conference
Guard: Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
Guard: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
Frontcourt: LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers (captain)
Frontcourt: Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns
Frontcourt: Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
The final round of fan vote for the game can be viewed right here — the fans made up 50 percent of the All-Star vote, while the coaches and media each made up 25 percent. The reserves, meanwhile, are selected by coaches, and those will be announced next week.
Previously, the NBA decided that it would go back to a more traditional format for its All-Star Game. After having captains select teams and using the Elam Ending for several years, the 2024 edition of the game will feature an Eastern Conference vs. Western Conference game with four 12-minute quarters as the league looks to increase competitiveness in the game.
On December 10, Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas set sail on the Ultimate World Cruise—a 274-day global trek that visits 11 world wonders and over 60 countries. This incredible trip covers the Americas, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Mediterranean and Europe with a ticket price that ranges from $53,999 to $117,599 per passenger.
Aboard the Serenade to the Seas is popular TikToker Marc Sebastian, who has been sharing his experience on the platform.
In a recent video with over 4.3 million views, he revealed what he’s learned over his first few weeks aboard the ship; the biggest was the one word you’re not allowed to say: Titanic.
“Who knew that? I didn’t,” Sebastian said. “I brought it up to an entire room of people having lunch that our ship is only 100 feet longer than the Titanic — when I tell you that utensils dropped. Waiters gasped. It’s dead silent.”
someone get whoopi on the line girl i have some goss for her #ultimateworldcruise #worldcruise #serenadeoftheseas #cruisetok #cruise #9monthcruise #titanic
After the unexpected reaction, his cruise friend told him, “You’re not allowed to talk about the Titanic.” It makes sense. Who wants to be reminded of the tragedy that killed around 1,500 people while sinking one of the most impressive engineering feats of the era? “When I went on a cruise, my mom told me saying Titanic was equivalent to screaming ‘bomb’ at an airport,” Mikayla wrote in the comments.
Later in the video, Sebastian admits he was surprised to learn that cruise ships have godmothers and that the pools are filled with seawater.
Each week our staff of film and TV experts surveys the entertainment landscape to select the ten best new/newish shows available for you to stream at home. We put a lot of thought into our selections, and our debates on what to include and what not to include can sometimes get a little heated and feelings may get hurt, but so be it, this is an important service for you, our readers. With that said, here are our selections for this week.
Want to know what happens if you take Little Giants, Mighty Ducks, and Snoop Dogg and whir them up into a cute little paste? Well, you get The Underdoggs, which stars Snoop as a former football star who gets roped into coaching a group of little football misfits to avoid a stretch in prison. You know what you’re getting here. There won’t be any big surprises. But it has a chance to be a sweet little movie, which would all really be a heck of a thing to explain to anyone who was frozen back in the mid-90s and was just thawed out this year. Maybe not the first thing we should explain to them, but still. It’s on the list.
Irish national treasures Paul Mescal and Saoirse Ronan partner for this thought-provoking sci-fi experiment that’s filled with big themes, unanswered questions, and a strangely large amount of bug shots. Mescal and Ronan play Junior and Hen, a couple stranded in their mundane life, living in a future ravaged by climate change. When one of them is offered a chance to escape with the caveat that their robotic replica will stay behind to keep the other company, hard questions about their marriage, their identities, and their purpose threaten to tear them apart. It’s a lo-fi love story with a twist ending you won’t see coming.
There’s been a debate online on whether May December qualifies as “camp.” We have no idea, but we do know it’s a very good movie, one of the year’s best. The Todd Haynes film stars Natalie Portman as an actress who shadows a one-time tabloid sensation played by Julianne Moore for a role. It’s best to go in without knowing more than that, although fair warning: while May December is very funny, it’s also quietly devastating.
What do you get if you cross Knives Out with Only Murders in the Building and add Mandy Patinkin and set it all on a boat? Well, this show, apparently, which is described thusly by Hulu: “Imogene Scott finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time and becomes the prime suspect in a locked-room murder mystery; to prove her innocence, she must partner with a man she despises, Rufus Cotesworth, the world’s greatest detective.”
It still feels like maybe we should just do a Knives Out/Only Murders crossover event series on a boat, but this works too.
Bradley Cooper has been nominated for nine Oscars (including four times for Best Picture as a producer) with zero wins. He’s really going for the gold with Maestro. Cooper not only stars alongside Carey Mulligan in the biopic of American composer Leonard Bernstein, he also co-wrote the script, directed the thing, and produced it. Did he also provide the catering? Maybe! Give the man an Oscar for all his hard work, jeez.
Hey. Hey. Are you guys missing Slow Horses a little bit? Are you getting that itch for another extremely British spy show, maybe one starring Peter Capaldi? One that you can stumble across without even closing the Apple TV app that’s been open on your devices sapping battery power for a week because you just straight up forgot to close it? Well, good news. Look at this.
An anonymous phone call draws two brilliant detectives into a confrontation over an old murder case; one is a young woman in the early stages of her career, and the other is a well-connected man determined to protect his legacy.
— A new Prime Video series described as folllows: “A young married couple’s life turns upside down after secrets are revealed about each other’s past.”
— Stars Kaley Cuoco, who rules, and David Oyelowo, who also rules and has seen his star rise big time in the last year
— Maybe don’t watch this with the spouse you just married?
— The official description of the Netflix Kevin Hart movie — “A master thief is wooed by his ex-girlfriend and the FBI to pull off an impossible heist with his international crew on a 777 passenger flight from London to Zurich” — sounds awesome
— It’s directed by F. Gary Gray, whose résumé includes Friday and Set It Off and The Italian Job, which is a fascinating collection of films for one man to direct
— Also stars Billy Magnussen and Jean Reno, which is cool
From the mind of New Girl and Minx (RIP) star Jake Johnson comes a wild movie about a guy trying to win a million bucks by constantly being near other people whilst being hunted. Apologies for the old-assed references, but Self Reliance is what would happen if you took the Richard Pryor classic Brewster’s Millions and crossed it with Schwarzenegger’s Running Man and then turned it into a rom-com. Plus it’s got Anna Kendrick, Andy Samberg, and Biff Wiff. You in?
Netflix continues its run of ultra-high profile specials from super polarizing comedy giants with this check-in on Pete Davidson’s standup comedy stylings. From the soiled underthings of his alleged stalker to ruminations on the lengths he’d go to get his mom laid and the hidden benefit of Make-A-Wish kids, Davidson is as shocking and on point comedically as ever. He’s also in black and white. We do not know why.
You want a psychological thriller? Cool. Check out this premise: “A family’s getaway to a luxurious rental home takes an ominous turn when a cyberattack knocks out their devices, and two strangers appear at their door.”
You want a solid creative pedigree? Cool. This movie comes from the brain of Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail (who knows a little something about psychological thrillers ), who writes and directs based on a book of the same name.
You want star power? Cool. This sucker stars Mahershala Ali and Ethan Hawke and Julia Freaking Roberts, and features rising star Myha’la Herrold in a major role and Kevin Bacon in a smaller one.
Okay, Apple is getting into the adult animation game, making cartoons for grown-ups. And if you’re going to do that, you can sure do a lot worse than Beavis & Butthead creator Mike Judge, who teams up for a show with his Silicon Valley breakout Zach Woods that the service describes thusly:
The stop-motion comedy follows the staff of the public radio show, In the Know, hosted by Lauren Caspian (Zach Woods), a well-meaning but hypocritical nimrod. Each episode follows the making of an episode of the radio show, in which Lauren conducts in-depth interviews with real human guests and collaborates with a diverse crew of public radio staff (who are puppets).
Yes. Sure. This can work. All the pieces are right there.
No one plays a grieving mother on the fringes of a mental breakdown quite like Nicole Kidman and this latest prestige drama from Amazon Prime Video she more than stakes her claim on the character archetype. As a wealthy American housewife living in Hong Kong and desperately searching for her missing child, Kidman anchors this Lulu Wang-created series about womanhood, identity, and loss. The subject matter is a bit heavy – best consumed in small portions instead of a full binge – but the visuals are stunning, as is the immersion into a culture we rarely see on screen. Will Nicole Kidman ever be happy on a TV show? We hope not.
Everything Everywhere All At Once star Michelle Yeoh is seemingly, you know, everywhere… all at once, and there are no complaints there, except possibly from this piano player from the awards circuit. Creators Brad Falchuk (Glee, American Horror Story) and Byron Wu (The Getaway) bring us the story of Bruce (Sam Song Li), who begins to realize that his mom, Eileen (Yeoh), hasn’t exactly been forthcoming about her past. Soon enough, it becomes obvious that a family business exists and has already been joined by older brother Charles (Justin Chien), a powerful assassin. Expect both comedy and action as roundhouse kicks collide.
Paul Giamatti is picking up awards left and right for his performance in Alexander Payne’s latest film, which is great. For Paul Giamatti. But also for us. Like, as a society. Look at this: “A curmudgeonly instructor at a New England prep school remains on campus during Christmas break to babysit a handful of students with nowhere to go. He soon forms an unlikely bond with a brainy but damaged troublemaker, and with the school’s head cook, a woman who just lost a son in the Vietnam War.”
Our official position here is twofold: one, we support anything where Paul Giamatti gets to be curmudgeonly; two, we love to see Paul Giamatti thrive. This checks both boxes.
Greta Gerwig’s massive summer blockbuster hits streaming. There’s not much to say that hasn’t been said. It’s wickedly smart and funny and sly. It’s much weirder than people expected, in the best ways possible. Margot Robbie is incredible as Barbie, providing layers of depth to a character who has rarely before had more than one. Ryan Gosling is a delight as the deeply confused Ken who is watching his simple little world crumble around him. There are cameos galore and touching moments and belly laughs. If you haven’t seen it yet, now’s the time. If you have, well, now’s the time to watch it again. This one is worth a rewatch. Or two. Or five. How you spend your time is your business.
Can Season 4 recapture the magic of Season 1? At the very least, this new story seems to be hitting some of the same atmospheric and tonal notes as the original story starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, who shall not be seen but are executive producing. There will be plenty of literal and figurative chills while Jodie Foster’s detective teams up with an old colleague portrayed by Evangeline Navarro. Together, they will attempt to unearth frozen truths involving horrors that took place during a Polar Night when an entire research died under mysterious circumstances. Are your teeth chattering already? Same.
Disney+’s first street-level entry into the MCU is as kickass as its Netflix predecessors with a magnetic anti-hero in Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) and the kind of gritty, neck-breaking fights that more than earn its TV-MA rating. Picking up after the events of Hawkeye, Maya has cut ties with the Tracksuit Mafia and her adoptive dad, Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio), fleeing to Oklahoma to connect with her roots. The show plays up its connection to Netflix’s Daredevil – Fisk is in every episode and Charlie Cox returns as Hell’s Kitchen’s most pious vigilante for a vicious fight sequence that sets the tone for the rest of the season. But the draw here is Cox, and the character-driven storytelling Marvel is committing itself to with these more grounded entries into its universe.
Here’s a stellar Band Of Brothers followup from Steven Spielberg (Amblin Television) in conjunction with Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman (Playtone). This new series is based upon Donald L. Miller’s book of the same name about the “Bloody Hundredth,” i.e. the 100th Bomb Group, who risked everything they had to conduct bombing raids upon Nazi Germany. Austin Butler dropped his Elvis voice to portray a U.S. major alongside Callum Turner. There’s a “Buck” and a “Bucky” in the character list, and there’s also the ever-present Barry Keoghan joining in the camaraderie while the U.S. carries out perilous missions to take down Hitler’s Third Reich. It’s an adventure-filled yet harrowing viewing experience but fully worth the ride.
Here comes “the Godmother” of cocaine. Original Narcos co-creator Doug Miro and Narcos: Mexico executive producer Eric Newman team up to tell the story of Colombian drug cartel leader Griselda Blanco, a prolific cocaine trafficker as portrayed by Sofia Vergara. We haven’t seen the Modern Family star get dramatic on TV yet, so this series should attract eyeballs for more reasons than one. Griselda reigned in Miami in the 1970-’80s, and her tour of terror included operating under 20 aliases, moving hundreds of kilos per month, and ordering dozens of murders.
21 Savage‘s signature tattoo may have resulted in an all-time great meme, but right now, he’s getting a lot of attention for another tattoo signifying something a lot more wholesome than the knife between his brows. After he got his hair braided, some fans noticed a red ink tattoo adorning the scalp behind his right ear, and some of them think it reads “Alyssa,” which is notable because of another Atlanta rapper, Latto, has a similar tattoo reading Sheyaa — and Alyssa is Latto’s real name. Shéyaa is, of course, Savage’s real name.
Fans in the comments of a Shade Room post reporting the coincidence are torn; while some struggle to see the “Alyssa” in Savage’s tattoo, others are adamant that this confirms the two rappers have been dating for a while, despite both denying the rumors separately within the past couple of years. The rumors have persisted, though, since they first collaborated on “Wheelie” in early 2022.
In December 2022, Savage said in a Clubhouse chat, “I don’t do all the antics and sh*t. don’t got a celebrity girlfriend. I’m not fittna be out everywhere. I’m not dropping music every other week. I’m not going on [Instagram] Live talking about n****s every other week.”
Meanwhile, two months later, in February 2023, Latto denied the supposed relationship in the comments on a TikTok, writing, “I’ve said I’m not plenty times.”
However, she’s never addressed why she has a tattoo of the other rapper’s name directly, although some fans cite a lyric in her hit “Put It On Da Floor” is about 21. “If he put you in that Lambo, you would get the tattoo,” she raps on the song. Meanwhile, in an interview with Cosmopolitan, Latto explained why she plays her love life so close to her chest. “If something is special to me, I’m going to keep it close to me because everything else has to be front and center about my life,” she said. “I can’t have people putting two and two together. This is the longest relationship I’ve ever been in.”
The Detroit Lions are one win away from making the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history. It’s quite the achievement for a group that has long been synonymous with finding spectacular ways to lose football games, but this season, the Lions are among the best teams in the NFC, as the team went 12-5, earned the 3-seed in the conference, and won their division for the first time in 30 years.
It’s been quite the turnaround under head coach Dan Campbell, and as a result, they’re on their way to San Francisco this week to take on the Niners with a spot in the Super Bowl on the line. This run has made Campbell something of a rockstar among sports fans, as his ultra-aggressive approach to football mixed with the fact that every single one of his players seem like they’d go to war for him has endeared him to millions. This, apparently, includes Charles Barkley, who told noted Lions fan Keegan-Michael Key that he is all-in on Campbell and his team.
“I’m a tremendous fan of yours, for all your success, number one, continued success,” Barkley said. “I can’t believe I’m talking to you about the damn Detroit Lions, out of all the questions I wanna ask … I have fell in love with the Detroit Lions, I have a man crush on Dan Campbell. I know nothing about Dan Campbell, but I’m like, I played football one day, I wanna play for Dan Campbell.”
Key, unsurprisingly, agrees with him. Whether or not the Lions run continues all the way to Las Vegas in a few weeks, however, remains to be seen.
Though we’re all part of the same species living on the same planet, our experience as humans walking through this world can differ widely. Children see things through a different lens than adults. Women and men have different perspectives on certain issues. And because racism has long been an active element in our society, people with varying amounts of melanin in their skin face specific challenges that others don’t.
As a white American, I don’t instinctively know what it’s like to walk in a black person’s shoes. I can tell you about the legacy of white supremacy laced throughout our country’s history. I can explain the far-reaching effects of slavery, lynch mobs, Jim Crow laws, redlining, mass incarceration, and more. I can intellectually break down the psychological and sociological impact of centuries of race-based oppression.
But I can’t tell you what it feels like to walk through this world, right now, as a black person—which is why it’s so important to listen to the voices of people who can.
David Summers shared a story on Facebook that reflects the experience of many black Americans—one that can help us non-black folks see through a lens we simply do not and cannot have. Perhaps that’s why it’s been shared more than 20,000 times. From the fear that any object he carries might be mistaken as a gun to figuring out how to smile at a stranger just right so he won’t be considered a threat, the “black thoughts” Summers describes during his walk through a beautiful, white neighborhood—presumably a neighborhood most of us would consider “safe”—are heartbreaking.
He wrote:
“I took a black walk this morning. I took a black walk through a white neighborhood. When I take black walks, I think black thoughts. I am conscious of where I’ve placed my gun, my gun, and my gun. I mean, my phone, my wallet, and my keys. Because Peace Officers have a hard time telling the difference. I rehearse what I’ll say if a concerned resident, or a law enforcement employee has questions about why my black body is walking through their white space. And I remind myself to make sure the law enforcement employee has his body camera recording. Sometimes it helps if there is video evidence to accompany the hashtag.
There is no way to be stealthy when you take a black walk. White neighborhoods are blanketed by a sophisticated security system comprised of nosy neighbors, Ring doorbell cameras, and white women walking their dogs. So, I’ve learned to notice the white world through my periphery. To be aware of the dangers without acknowledging them. There is an art to making white people feel safe. To say ‘Good Morning’ and flash a smile that shows confidence and deference at the same time. To being polite because your life depends on it.
I felt the squad car behind me before I saw it.
It moved deliberately. Not like the other cars mindlessly whizzing past. Its tires inched. Crept. Stalked their way toward me.
I kept walking.
“Don’t take your hands out of your pockets,” I thought. Or wait, maybe I should? Maybe it’s better if my hands are clearly empty. But it’s cold outside…maybe it’s nothing. Keep walking.
The car rolled past me and made a slow right turn. I glanced quickly but didn’t stare. The air is still. My ears tuned out everything but the slight scuff of my sneakers on the sidewalk and the fading sound of those stalking tires.
Almost there.
Suddenly the squad car re-emerged. It was a block ahead of me. It made a quick right turn, continued to the end of the street, and then waited. No more stalking. This was a show of force. This was a roar. This was a reminder that I was trespassing.
I kept walking.
“Don’t take your hands out of your pockets,” I thought. Or wait, maybe I should? Maybe it’s better if my hands are clearly empty. But it’s cold outside…maybe it’s nothing. Keep walking.
The car rolled past me and made a slow right turn. I glanced quickly but didn’t stare. The air is still. My ears tuned out everything but the slight scuff of my sneakers on the sidewalk and the fading sound of those stalking tires.
Almost there.
Suddenly the squad car re-emerged. It was a block ahead of me. It made a quick right turn, continued to the end of the street, and then waited. No more stalking. This was a show of force. This was a roar. This was a reminder that I was trespassing.
I kept walking.
As I approached the corner, the front window began to roll down. The occupant didn’t speak. Didn’t smile. Just stared. I was being warned.
I crossed the street and the lion trotted off. He had effectively marked his territory. The brave protector had done his job.
I however, couldn’t help but wonder what I’d missed during my black walk. It’s hard to hear the birds chirping, or to smile at the squirrels playfully darting along the branches when you’re on a black walk. It’s easy to miss the promise of a light blue sky, or appreciate the audacity of the red, yellow, and purple daisies declaring their independence from the green grass when your mind is preoccupied with black thoughts.
I took a walk through a beautiful neighborhood this morning. But I missed the whole thing.”
Thank you, Mr. Summers, for sharing your “black walk” experience. Hopefully, it will prompt us all to ask ourselves whether our words and actions serve to reinforce or remedy what you’ve described.
Back in my day, the most lavish that a kid’s party got was a trip to Chuck E. Cheese. Things have certainly…evolved since then. Nowadays some parents spend exorbitant amounts of time and money trying to make the event rival a pop-up amusement park.
And while there’s nothing inherently wrong with wanting to go all out (some people really do get creative fulfillment from event planning, after all), there is something to be said about an underlying competitiveness behind the trend. If parents are only throwing big blowout parties out of some kind of societal pressure, or to project some kind of prestige…then they might be losing focus on what really matters. Which, presumably, is making sure the kids have a good time.
And if the kid’s enjoyment really is the priority here, then maybe there’s something to be said about keeping things simple.
That’s the discovery Amber Cimiottibiz recently had after throwing her 3-year-old a birthday party strictly consisting of “cake, pizza, family, and close friends.”
“I didn’t rent anything, I didn’t rent a bounce house, performers, face paint, I didn’t have a big balloon wall, I did all of my own decorations. I ordered one balloon bouquet from Party City,” she said in a video posted to her TikTok.
Cimiottibiz kept to this “simple” and “traditional” model for a number of reasons. Number one being that both she and her husband shared “fond memories” of bare bones celebrations during their childhood.
“My husband and I both grew up where our parents didn’t have a lot of money, but we always had great birthdays…They didn’t have all of this extra fluff, they just had family and running around with your friends, and presents and cake and the traditional stuff,” she said.
Cimiottibiz also opted out a big bash due to burnout from lavish parties she’s thrown in the past, saying “I’ve done a lot of stuff for my kids in the past for the birthday, and the birthdays have always been so exhausting to me and a little bit stressful, if I’m going to be honest. I just wanted to bring the birthdays down to earth a little bit.”
That’s not to say she won’t ever choose big birthdays again, by the way. She just might reserve those for milestone birthdays, like when her daughter turns 16.
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, Cimiottibiz learned that her kids appreciated the simplicity just as much…if not more.
“For us, it’s just been little surprises,” her video concluded. “We blew up a bunch of balloon for him to wake up to this morning. We surprised him with decorating the house while he was sleeping. We got super-fun donuts. Things that don’t cost a lot of money but make him so happy. And I have felt like five percent of the stress that I’ve felt on previous birthdays and my kid is just as happy.”
Judging by the amount of positive comments to her video, Cimiottibiz doesn’t seem alone in her stance. Many were in favor of this “cake and pizza” approach to parties.
“This!! We now have 2 February babies and this year we were like nope we don’t need to put a ton into the themed food, the matching decorations, paying to rent a space,” one person wrote.
Others shared how they wished they had opted for this less expensive approach. One mom wrote “we did our first bit party for our daughter’s 7th bday last week. We had an Elsa come and had a party room in a kids museum. I don’t think we will do that again So Much stress and money.”
Even an event planner chimed in to say, “my kids birthdays were over the top, live monkeys in one party — 12k on another. They remember none of it — now I tell moms…just do simple 💕 and plan trips instead.”
One person wrote, “ I grew up kind of poor, with not enough money to do anything on birthdays. I do it up BIG, every year for my kid’s bday. Heals my inner child.”
Another added, “I didn’t have birthday parties growing up, so I always did the jumper, cake piñata, goodie bags, party games for my kids. I don’t regret it.”
Moral of the story: it’s your kid’s party, and you can spend if you want to. But you honestly never have to. That is part of the magic of children—they can find big joy in small things. Maybe leaving shame and pressure out of the equation can help parents take in some of the joy as well.
We’ve seen some moving America’s Got Talent stories before, but a recent viral audition absolutely requires a tissue warning. I tried to steel myself in preparation when I saw the “Admit it, we were *all* in tears after this” caption on the Facebook share of it, but I failed.
In a video that’s been shared more than 95,000 times, the “Britain’s Got Talent” audition shows two tiny little girls onstage with their grandmother. They introduce themselves as “Cally” (age 4) and “Savannah” (age 3) and “Nanny” (their “daddy’s mummy”) then the girls share that they are there to surprise their dad.
Dad—also known as Nick Edwards—is sitting in the audience. He thought the family was there to watch the audition on a fun outing; he had no idea that they had arranged a surprise audition for him, so when his girls and mom showed up on stage, he wondered what was going on.
A “Britain’s Got Talent” spokesperson explained to the Daily Mail how they got Edwards mic’d up without giving away the surprise.
“When Nick entered the Palladium auditorium during ‘BGT’ auditions, he was approached to be part of our ‘gogglebox’ audience and told he would be mic’d up so we could capture his reactions throughout the day as he sat in the audience,” they said. “He was totally unsuspecting. We did this so we could mic him up without him suspecting a thing.”
As Edwards tried to figure out what his mom and daughters were doing on stage, Edwards’ mother explained to the judges and the audience that he sings a special song to his girls. She said they wanted him to come up and sing it. Naturally, not being prepared for an audition, Edwards was stunned. But the judges sent him backstage to “grab a glass of water” so he could compose himself and get ready.
“They gave me some time to warm up—about 45 minutes in total,” Edwards told This Morning. “They gave me my guitar my family brought down on the day, they [producers] said this is the song we want you to sing because we’d seen it on your Instagram.”
The song is an emotional doozy, especially if you’re a parent. “It’s a song I’ve felt quite attached to so I sing it a lot around the house,” Edwards told the judges before he started to sing. Once you hear it, you’ll see why he joked about trying to keep from crying while he sang it.
Lovely voice. Beautiful song. Adorable little girls. Not a dry eye in the house.
Tissue, seriously. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
The fact that Edwards was able to pull off that audition with less than an hour of preparation was quite impressive. He told This Morning what he was thinking during that prep time.
“If I go out I’ve got two options here, I either go out and try to own it or I come out and it all crumbles…” he said. “The whole thing just went so quickly. I do remember playing and in a way my fingers started to get a bit jelly, I remember thinking ‘this is going to be a big moment for you.’ I don’t want to stuff it up.”
Stuff it up he did not. What a lovely performance, and what lucky little girls to have a daddy who shares his love for them in such a beautiful and creative way.
This article originally appeared on 04.22.22
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