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Who Is Opening Little Dragon’s 2023 North American Tour?

Over the summer Little Dragon shared this new album Slugs Of Love, and bewitchingly described their music to Uproxx with four words: “Rhythmical, colorful, organic glitter.” The Swedish band is known for a lot of collaborations, such as with JID on “Stay,” Nilüfer Yanya for “Same Damn Luck,” and more.

So, who Little Dragon is bringing along as an opener on their tour is important. The answer is April + Vista, a duo from Washington, DC. Little Dragon and April + Vista just recently unveiled an EP together called Slipping Into Color.

“On a recent trip to the US we got to hang with April + Vista and we couldn’t resist their sound,” Little Dragon said in a statement. “This EP represents an intense week of diving deep into the musical universe together with them.”

Check out the tour dates below.

9/27 — San Diego, CA @ House Of Blues
9/29 — Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium
10/1 — San Francisco, CA @ Portola Festival
10/3 — Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
10/4 — Seattle, WA @ The Neptune
10/5 — Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
10/7 — Chicago, IL @ The Vic Theatre
10/8 — Detroit, MI @ Saint Andrew’s Hall
10/9 — Toronto, ON @ The Danforth Music Hall
10/11 — Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
10/12 — Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts
10/13 — Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
10/15 — Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
10/16 — Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel

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Canada’s House Speaker Resigned After Accidentally Saluting A Nazi Veteran He Called A ‘Hero’

In America public officials have made it a habit of not resigning after doing shady things. That’s not how they roll in Canada. In the land up north if politicians do things they shouldn’t have, there’s a good chance they’ll a) apologize and b) resign. That’s what happened when a Canadian official accidentally sang the praises of an old former Nazi.

Last week, Canadian House Speaker Anthony Rota came under fire for inviting one Yaroslav Hunka, a 92-year-old Ukrainian veteran, to attend a session of Parliament devoted to visiting Ukrainian president Volodymy Zelensky during his North American tour. Rota saluted Hunka, who he called a “hero,” and he got the entire assembly, Zelensky and president Justin Trudeau included, to bathe him in applause.

One problem, though: Hunka isn’t just any veteran. He’s a veteran of fighting for the Nazis in World War II.

Upon learning of Hunka’s past, Trudeau called the situation “deeply embarrassing.” Rota apologized amidst outrage from the Jewish community. By Monday he’d gone a big step forward: He announced he was resigning from his post.

He continued:

It has been my greatest honor as a parliamentarian to have been elected by you, my peers, to serve as the Speaker of the House of Commons for the 43rd and 44th parliament. I’ve acted as your humble servant of this House, carrying out the important responsibilities of this position to the very best of my abilities.

The work of this House is above any of us. Therefore, I must step down as your speaker.

I reiterate my profound regret for my error in recognizing an individual in the House during the joint address to Parliament of President Zelensky. That public recognition has caused pain to individuals and communities, including the Jewish community in Canada and around the world, in addition to survivors of Nazi atrocities in Poland, among other nations.

I accept full responsibility for my actions. My resignation is effective at the end of the sitting day tomorrow, Wednesday, September 27th, to allow preparations for the election of a new speaker. Until that time, the deputy speakers will chair the House proceedings. Thank you. Merci.

Meanwhile in the good ol’ U.S. of A., the frontrunner for the GOP presidential ticket in 2024 was found guilty of fraud, on top of the 91 criminal charges he faces. The chances of him pulling out of the race are approximately zero.

(Via Mediaite)

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Wilco’s New Album ‘Cousin’: Everything To Know Including The Release Date, Tracklist & More

Wilco‘s classic album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was memorialized last year with a special box set that reminded listeners how much they loved the Chicago band. Lucky for them, Wilco is back with new material, courtesy their forthcoming album Cousin.

“I’m cousin to the world,” Jeff Tweedy explained about the record in a statement. “I don’t feel like I’m a blood relation, but maybe I’m a cousin by marriage. It’s this feeling of being in it and out of it at the same time.”

With the release just a few days away, here is everything we know about Cousin.

Release Date

Cousin is out 9/29 via dBpm Records. Find more information here.

Tracklist

1. “Infinite”
2. “Ten Dead”
3. “Levee”
4. “Evicted”
5. “Sunlight Ends”
6. “A Bowl And A Pudding”
7. “Cousin”
8. “Pittsburgh”
9. “Solider Child”
10. “Meant To Be”

Singles

First, Wilco shared “Evicted” as the lead single, a buoyant ballad with melancholy lyrics: “Maybe I’m a whistle on a lonely old train / I’m crying all the time / Listen to the sound getting further away / Fading deep into the night.” That was followed by the upbeat title track, which depicts a fight between family.

Artwork

The artwork is a beautiful portrait of melting plant life. Check it out below.

wilco cousin
dBpm Records

Tour

Wilco have been on currently on a lengthy run all over the United States since August. Find the remaining tour dates below.

09/26 — Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom *
09/28 — Dallas, TX @ South Side Ballroom *
09/29 — Austin, TX @ Moody Amphitheater @ Waterloo Park *
10/01 — Albuquerque, NM @ Kiva Auditorium *
10/03 — Scottsdale, AZ @ Scottsdale Civic Center East Bowl Stage *
10/04 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Theatre at Ace Hotel *
10/05 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Theatre at Ace Hotel *
10/06 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Theatre at Ace Hotel *
10/08 — Monterey, CA @ Rebels & Renegades Festival
10/11 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Bellwether *
10/13 — Santa Barbara, CA @ Arlington Theatre *
10/14 — Berkeley, CA @ Greek Theatre*
10/16 — Portland, OR @ Keller Auditorium *
10/17 — Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre ^
10/18 — Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre ^
10/20 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Eccles Theater ^
10/22 — Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom ^
10/23 — Omaha, NE @ The Astro Theater ^
10/25 — Kansas City, MO @ Midland Theatre ^
10/26 — St. Louis, MO @ Stifel Theatre ^
10/27 — Bentonville, AR @ The Momentary ^
12/02 — Wed. Dec. 6 – Riviera Maya, MX @ Sky Blue Sky (Hard Rock Hotel)

* w/ My Brightest Diamond
^ w/ Nina Nastasia

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Mark Meadows Reportedly Scrambled To Find Something, Anything To Make Trump Happy After His 2020 Loss

On Tuesday Donald Trump got some more bad news: A New York judge has ruled that members of the Trump Organization, including the big guy himself and his two eldest sons, were guilty of fraud. Does that mean the end of Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue? Possibly! Of course, the former president should be used to bad news. Back in 2020, he lost re-election. He didn’t take it well, to put it mildly. In fact, he was so upset that his chief of staff struggled to find something, anything to cheer the big guy up.

As per Raw Story, Enough, the new tell-all by Mark Meadows aide Cassidy Hutchinson, has yet more dirt about her old boss, back when all seemed lost when it came to overturning the will of the American voters. As Hutchinson writes:

“Mark stuck his head out of his office that same day and said, ‘The president’s real mad at me.’ By then many of us knew that Trump had accused Mark of ‘giving up’ — failing to continue contesting the election results. ‘Can you have the staff secretary print the one-year security memorandum for POTUS to sign?’ he asked. ‘I think that’ll make him happy.’”

What Meadows meant was he wanted Trump’s adult kids to get a full year of Secret Service detail, including limo travel, all on the taxpayers’ dime. Hutchinson warned Meadows that might prove unpopular, especially since it was unprecedented.

But Meadows was desperate. “He’s so angry at me all the time,” he allegedly told Hutchinson. “I can’t talk to him about anything post–White House without him getting mad that we didn’t win. I’m trying to figure out something to make him happy.”

“I asked the acting staff secretary to draft two versions of the memo, one that gave Trump’s adult children six months of protection and one that gave them a year,” recalled Hutchinson. “The president signed both copies, and told Mark, ‘You pick which one to deliver.’”

Hutchinson went with the six-month plan. Bad press inevitably ensued, especially once the price tag came out: $140,000 a month, or nearly a million over half a year. But perhaps that stopped Trump from throwing ketchup, if just for a bit.

(Via Raw Story)

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It Sure Sounds Like A NY Judge Has Dissolved The Trump Organization For Committing ‘Repeated’ Fraud, And People Have Thoughts

Earlier this summer, it really wasn’t too surprising to hear that Donald Trump had inflated his let worth by billions. He has always been obsessed with size and making everything look bigly. He could not even stop bragging about the “crowd size” at his insurrection. However, some genuinely shocking news — for those who don’t truly believe that Trump-fueled consequences would come for the Trump family — has arrived.

The Daily Beast has published exhaustive details on the 35-page order from New York Judge Arthur Engoron, who granted partial summary judgment to the case from NY AG Letitia James. The rest of the trial shall continue to determine damages to plaintiffs, but there are some big takeaways from today’s ruling. The defendants, including Donald and his eldest sons, Don Jr and Eric, along with multiple Trump Org. executives, have been found guilty of fraud, and the judge has ordered the cancellation of their New York business certificates. A key component: James had found that Trump had purposefully overstated the value of several of his real estate properties, which resulted in fraud committed against banks and insurers. CNBC sums up Ergoron’s response to those size-obsessed missteps:

The 35-page details how Trump fraudulently valued his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump Park Avenue and 40 Wall Street in New York City, his Seven Springs property in Westchester County, New York, and his golf course in Aberdeen, Scotland.

After noting that Trump submitted statements falsely claiming that the Trump Tower apartment in which he resided for decades was nearly three times its actual size, Engoron wrote, “a discrepancy of this order of magnitude, by a real estate developer sizing up his own living space of decades, can only be considered fraud.”

Ergoron also called out the “repeated” violation of New York laws against fraud by the Trump Org, and as CBS News notes, this amounted to a total of $3.6 billion in overstated value. All Trump attorneys on this case are ordered to each pay $7,500 in sanctions “or making frivolous arguments in court filings,” and boy, it’s only going to get harder for Trump to find representation for future cases. A whole lot of wheels need to be moving fast, too, because the judge has given a 10-day deadline for key happenings.

Here’s a look at the order’s conclusion:

Let’s just say that there’s a lot of processing going on through social media:

Are ALL CAPS RANTS incoming from the big guy? No doubt.

(Via Daily Beast, CNBC & CBS News)

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How Did Jay-Z Get His Name?

Jay-Z has been a force in hip-hop for nearly thirty years, beginning with the release of his debut album Reasonable Doubt and accumulating in a massive music and business empire that spans thirteen albums, the influential Roc Nation brand, and a lucrative partnership with the NFL.

It hasn’t been a bad run at all for the rapper-turned-mogul born Shawn Carter in Brooklyn’s Marcy Projects in the December of 1969. But even if you know all of Jay-Z’s records, from the biggest hits to the most obscure mixtape tracks, you still might find yourself wondering: How do you get “Jay-Z” from “Shawn Carter?” So…

How Did Jay-Z Get His Name?

Before he was Jay-Z, the Grammy Award-winning, platinum-selling co-founder of Roc-A-Fella Records, President of Def Jam, or founder/owner of Roc Nation, Carter had a less prestigious gig as the hype man and sidekick of a more established rapper named Jaz-O. Because of his association with Jaz and his early rhyme delivery which resembled the scatting of jazz singers, he was nicknamed Jazzy — a name he revamped to Jay-Z when looking for a suitable stage name.

As Jay-Z, he made many of his first appearances on Jaz-O records such as “Hawaiian Sophie” and “The Originators” in the late ’80s, as well as with Big Daddy Kane on Kane’s 1994 record “Show And Prove.” He would perform with Kane around this time as he searched for a record deal. When one never came, he and Dame Dash joined Biggs Burke in launching Roc-A-Fella Records to release music on their own. The rest, as they say, is history. Now, Jay-Z is a name nearly everyone knows and almost no one would deny an opportunity to partner up with.

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Doting husband serves as stylist for his wife of 25 years and it’s the sweetest thing

If there’s one thing pretty much all humans love, it’s love—love that works, love that lasts, love that inspires. Literature is full of love stories filled with heartache and heartbreak, but we always hold out hope that a relationship will not only endure but blossom.

Such a love feels rare enough that we marvel when we see it, which is why the Motivat family has gained a loyal following on Instagram. The elder Motivats (Dr. Jones and Dr. Beatrice) have been married for 25 years, and their daughter shares their sweet interactions on the Instagram account @queenmotivat.

One of the hallmarks of the couple’s long-time love story is that Dr. Jones loves to pick out clothes for his wife. And not just any clothes—beautiful dresses and gowns, along with jewelry to go with them—and his enthusiasm for seeing “Flower” (his nickname for her) dressed up is incredibly sweet.


But equally endearing is how much Dr. Beatrice looks forward to dressing up for her husband—her “Honey”—as well. (It also helps that Dr. Jones sounds like he should be narrating every audiobook and nature show with his deep, soothing voice.)

Watch this:

And here is Dr. Beatrice showing off the fuschia dress from the beginning of that video:

(Seriously, guys—buy a woman a dress with pockets and she will never let you go.)

People just love seeing Dr. Jones express his love for his wife, not only in words but in deeds.

“He has set the bar so high, I can’t even see it anymore 🥲,” wrote one commenter.

“I’m enamored by their marriage,” wrote another. “I really want to love someone THIS way. Just like this. Be completely engulfed in their humanity. Wow. It’s so beautiful to see 🥹.”

“Mass produce this gentleman asap and protect the original at all cost,” wrote another.

“He seriously needs to cloned. The time he takes to make things perfect for his Queen 👸🏾 is astounding. He is truly amazing!” shared another.

The mutual adoration shows in every video:

Here’s to long-time love that blossoms with time. See more of their lovely, loving relationship on Instagram and TikTok.

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A simple ‘test’ can help identify potentially abusive partners early in a relationship.

Most abusers don’t start their relationships by hitting their partners. That’s why early warning signs are vital to recognize.

I know two women who recently left abusive partners. Both men seemed sweet and likable—even gentle—each time I saw them. Both had some lovely qualities as people and even as partners. And both turned out to be controlling, increasingly abusive partners behind closed doors.


The thing about domestic violence is that most people don’t enter into relationships with someone who abuses them from the get go. It’s often like the analogy of the frog in boiling water. If you place a frog into a pot of boiling water, it’ll jump right out. But if you put it in a cool pot and gradually increase the temperature, the frog won’t recognize that it’s being slowly cooked until it’s too late.

Abuse usually comes on gradually, with plenty of opportunity to manipulate and forgive and justify the water getting warmer. That’s why many stay in abusive relationships far longer than they should.

A domestic violence counselor suggests a simple test to help identify potential abusers early in a relationship.

Rob Andrews is a domestic violence counselor in Australia. He told ABC News that he advises people to use what he calls the “No Test” to identify potential red flags early on in a relationship.

“The No Test is basically to watch out for the way your partner responds the first time you change your mind or say no,” Andrews said.

“While expressing disappointment is OK, it’s not the same as annoyed. Annoyed is ‘how dare you,’ a sign of ownership or entitlement.”

Ownership, entitlement, control—these are red flags that often lead to increasingly abusive behavior. And though women can definitely be abusers, the reality is that women are much more likely to be the victims of domestic violence and male abusers tend to be more dangerous to their partners.

“A lot of the women who will present to services will see themselves as part of the problem,” Andrews said. “They’ll ask themselves why they’re always attracted to abusive men, blame themselves for not being assertive enough, blame themselves for pushing their partner’s buttons, causing their anger.”

“With the No Test, we’re not trying to give women knowledge that they didn’t already know,” he said, “but when they see it in black and white in front of them like that, they realize they of course have the right to say no, that they aren’t to blame.”

Andrews describes our patriarchal history as “the nut of the problem.”

Andrews said that some people erroneously tell women that they should just be more assertive with their partners, letting them know they won’t stand for controlling or abusive behavior, but that’s not always the best tack to take.

“Being assertive with a man who’s threatening to bash you is not a very good idea,” he said. “It almost comes from what I’d call ‘deficit thinking,’ that somehow these women need to be trained up so that the people won’t abuse them. The only person who can stop the abuse is the person who is doing the abusing.”

Andrews works with men who are struggling with their own behavior and want to change. He has them think about what kind of man they really want to be and work with them to align their behavior with that vision.

“I hear a lot of people saying how it’s so hard for men now, it’s all so confusing,” he said. “It’s very easy to be a man. Just be polite and respectful to people, it’s not that difficult really.”

“But in saying that,” he added, “we are to some extent dealing with 2,000 years of history of women being a second-class citizen. That’s the nut of the problem and we’ve got to keep chipping away at it.”

This article originally appeared on 02.11.19

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Speech pathologist teaches her dog to use a soundboard and now it communicates in sentences

Christina Hunger, 26, is a speech-language pathologist in San Diego, California who believes that “everyone deserves a voice.”

Hunger works with one- and two-year-old children, many of which use adaptive devices to communicate. So she wondered what would happen if she taught her two-month-old puppy, a Catahoula/Blue Heeler named Stella, to do the same.

“If dogs can understand words we say to them, shouldn’t they be able to say words to us? Can dogs use AAC to communicate with humans?”
she wondered.


Hunger and her fiancé Jake started simply by creating a button that said “outside” and then pressed it every time they said the word or opened the door. After a few weeks, every time Hunger said “outside,” Stella looked at the button.

Soon, Stella began to step on the button every time she wanted to go outside.

They soon added more buttons that say “eat,” “water,” “play,” “walk,” “no,” “come,” “help,” “bye,” and “love you.”

“Every day I spent time using Stella’s buttons to talk with her and teach her words just as I would in speech therapy sessions with children,” she wrote on her blog.

“Instead of rewarding Stella with a treat for using a button, we responded to her communication by acknowledging her message and responding accordingly. Stella’s voice and opinions matter just as our own do,” she continued.

If Stella’s water bowl is empty, she says “water.” If she wants to play tug of war, she says, “play.” She even began to tell friends “bye” if they put on their jackets by the door.

Stella soon learned to combine different words to make phrases.

One afternoon, shortly after daylight savings, she began saying “eat” at 3:00 pm. When Hunger didn’t respond with food, she said, “love you no” and walked out of the room.

Today, Stella has learned over 29 words and can combine up to five at a time to make a phrase or sentence.

“The way she uses words to communicate and the words she’s combining is really similar to a 2-year-old child,” Hunger says of her blog.

She believes her work has the potential to transform the bond between humans and dogs.

“I think how important dogs are to their humans,” Hunger says. “I just imagine how much deeper the bond will be.”

Stella asks to play ball outside.

Stella clearly wants some more breakfast.

After a fun day at the beach, Stella wants to go back.

Stella telling Hunger that she doesn’t want her to leave to work.

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Soon, Stella began to step on the button every time she wanted to go outside.

They soon added more buttons that say “eat,” “water,” “play,” “walk,” “no,” “come,” “help,” “bye,” and “love you.”

“Every day I spent time using Stella’s buttons to talk with her and teach her words just as I would in speech therapy sessions with children,” she wrote on her blog.

“Instead of rewarding Stella with a treat for using a button, we responded to her communication by acknowledging her message and responding accordingly. Stella’s voice and opinions matter just as our own do,” she continued.

If Stella’s water bowl is empty, she says “water.” If she wants to play tug of war, she says, “play.” She even began to tell friends “bye” if they put on their jackets by the door.

This article originally appeared on 11.08.19

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Belgian Olympic marathoner breaks down in tears of disbelief upon hearing she finished 28th

Imagine deciding to take up a hobby that usually requires many years to perfect at age 35, and three years later ending up in the top 30 in the world at the highest international competition for it.

That’s what happened to a 38-year-old math and physics teacher from Diepenbeek, Belgium. According to Netherlands News Live, Mieke Gorissen has jogged 10km (a little over six miles) a few times a week for exercise for many years. But in 2018, she decided to hire a running trainer to improve her technique. As it turned out, she was a bit of a natural at distance running.

Three years later, Gorissen found herself running her third marathon. But not just any old marathon (as if there were such a thing)—the marathon at the Tokyo Olympics. And not only did she compete with the world’s most elite group of runners, she came in 28th out of the 88 competing in the race.


With the heat and humidity in Tokyo, even completing the race was a major accomplishment. (Fifteen women competing did not finish the marathon.) But to come in in the top 30 when you just started focusing on distance running three years ago? Unbelievable.

In fact, Gorissen could hardly believe it herself. A video of her reaction upon hearing her results has gone viral for its purity and genuine humility. “No,” she said when a reporter told her she came in 28th in the race. “That’s not possible.”

Then she burst into tears.

Her emotional disbelief is so moving. “I was already happy to finish the race,” she said through sobs. “I do think I have reached my goal and that I can be happy.”

“I also think I lost a toenail,” she added, laughing.

Even after the English translation ends in the video, it’s clear how much this finish meant to her. A remarkable accomplishment for a 38-year-old who knits and reads for fun and who has only run two marathons prior to competing in the Olympics.

According to her Olympic profile, she’s glad she got started with distance running later in life. “If I started running in my teens, it wouldn’t have been good for me,” she said. “I wasn’t really happy then, I would have been too hard on myself and I would have lost myself in it in a way that wasn’t healthy. It came at exactly the right time.”

Congratulations, Mieke. You’ve given us all the inspiration to set new goals and dream bigger than we ever thought possible.

This article originally appeared on 08.12.21