Category: Trending

This article originally appeared on 04.24.18

Around 1 a.m. on April 24, semi-truck drivers in the Oak Park area of Michigan received a distress call from area police: An unidentified man was standing on the edge of a local bridge, apparently ready to jump onto the freeway below.

Those drivers then did something amazing. They raced to the scene to help — and lined up their trucks under the bridge, providing a relatively safe landing space should the man jump.

Fortunately, he didn’t.

The impressive line-up wasn’t a coincidence — the drivers were prepared for exactly this sort of situation.

Sgt. Jason Brockdorff of the Huntington Woods Police Department told The Detroit News that the response was something local police and truck drivers had actually trained for. But what was unusual was the sheer number of drivers who responded to the call.

“That’s a practice we use if we have a jumper,” Brockdorff said. “We try to do it every time, to lessen the distance someone would travel if they were to jump. Fortunately, that didn’t happen.”

The incident lasted nearly four hours, into the early morning. However, once the trucks were in place, the police were able to more comfortably negotiate with the unidentified man.

Eventually, the man walked off the bridge on his own and is currently receiving medical help.

In a pair of tweets, the local police department called attention to the incident to remind people in similar situations of the importance of seeking mental health services (emphasis mine):

This photo does show the work troopers and local officers do to serve the public. But also in that photo is a man struggling with the decision to take his own life. Please remember help is available through the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

You can also call a loved one, member of the clergy or 911. There are so many people that can help you make the choice to get help and live! It is our hope to never see another photo like this again.

You can also call a loved one, member of the clergy or 911. There are so many people that can help you make the cho… https://t.co/9a7oaIAPGC

— MSP Metro Detroit (@mspmetrodet)
1524580850.0

Working together, the police and everyday strangers saved a life.

Ordinary people heeded the call of service to help a fellow person who was struggling. It’s a powerful image that’s impossible to ignore, and a reminder of humanity at its best.

This article originally appeared on 09.22.16

Imagine you’re working at a school and one of the kids is starting to act up. What do you do?

Traditionally, the answer would be to give the unruly kid detention or suspension.

But in my memory, detention tended to involve staring at walls, bored out of my mind, trying to either surreptitiously talk to the kids around me without getting caught or trying to read a book. If it was designed to make me think about my actions, it didn’t really work. It just made everything feel stupid and unfair.

But Robert W. Coleman Elementary School has been doing something different when students act out: offering meditation.

Photo from Holistic Life Foundation, used with permission.

Instead of punishing disruptive kids or sending them to the principal’s office, the Baltimore school has something called the Mindful Moment Room instead.

The room looks nothing like your standard windowless detention room. Instead, it’s filled with lamps, decorations, and plush purple pillows. Misbehaving kids are encouraged to sit in the room and go through practices like breathing or meditation, helping them calm down and re-center. They are also asked to talk through what happened.

Meditation and mindfulness are pretty interesting, scientifically.

Photo from Holistic Life Foundation, used with permission.

Mindful meditation has been around in some form or another for thousands of years. Recently, though, science has started looking at its effects on our minds and bodies, and it’s finding some interesting effects.

One study, for example, suggested that mindful meditation could give practicing soldiers a kind of mental armor against disruptive emotions, and it can improve memory too. Another suggested mindful meditation could improve a person’s attention span and focus.

Individual studies should be taken with a grain of salt (results don’t always carry in every single situation), but overall, science is starting to build up a really interesting picture of how awesome meditation can be. Mindfulness in particular has even become part of certain fairly successful psychotherapies.

Back at the school, the Mindful Moment Room isn’t the only way Robert W. Coleman Elementary has been encouraging its kids.

After-school yoga. Photo from Holistic Life Foundation, used with permission.

The meditation room was created as a partnership with the Holistic Life Foundation, a local nonprofit that runs other programs as well. For more than 10 years the foundation has been offering the after-school program Holistic Me, where kids from pre-K through the fifth grade practice mindfulness exercises and yoga.

“It’s amazing,” said Kirk Philips, the Holistic Me coordinator at Robert W. Coleman. “You wouldn’t think that little kids would meditate in silence. And they do.”

I want to be as cool as this kid one day. Photo from Holistic Life Foundation, used with permission.

There was a Christmas party, for example, where the kids knew they were going to get presents but were still expected to do meditation first.

“As a little kid, that’s got to be hard to sit down and meditate when you know you’re about to get a bag of gifts, and they did it! It was beautiful, we were all smiling at each other watching them,” said Philips.

The kids may even be bringing that mindfulness back home with them. In the August 2016 issue of Oprah Magazine, Holistic Life Foundation co-founder Andres Gonzalez said: “We’ve had parents tell us, ‘I came home the other day stressed out, and my daughter said, “Hey, Mom, you need to sit down. I need to teach you how to breathe.”‘”

The program also helps mentor and tutor the kids, as well as teach them about the environment.

Building a vegetable garden. Photo from Holistic Life Foundation, used with permission.

They help clean up local parks, build gardens, and visit nearby farms. Philips said they even teach kids to be co-teachers, letting them run the yoga sessions.

This isn’t just happening at one school, either. Lots of schools are trying this kind of holistic thinking, and it’s producing incredible results.

In the U.K., for example, the Mindfulness in Schools Project is teaching adults how to set up programs. Mindful Schools, another nonprofit, is helping to set up similar programs in the United States.

Oh, and by the way, the schools are seeing a tangible benefit from this program, too.

Philips said that at Robert W. Coleman Elementary, there have been exactly zero suspensions last year and so far this year. Meanwhile, nearby Patterson Park High School, which also uses the mindfulness programs, said suspension rates dropped and attendance increased as well.

Is that wholly from the mindfulness practices? It’s impossible to say, but those are pretty remarkable numbers, all the same.

The 2021 WNBA All-Star Game ruled. The new format had Team USA play its first exhibition game against 12 WNBA All-Stars in a perfect blend of competition, entertainment, and pure beef. The league set the stage for Olympic snubs to get their revenge on a national platform with everyone watching, and of course, Arike Ogunbowale made this night hers.

The Dallas Wings guard was unbelievable on Wednesday night, pouring in 26 points on 10-for-18 shooting against the team that cut her just three weeks prior. The WNBA All-Stars beat the American team hunting for a seventh consecutive gold medal, 93-85, and Ogunbowale was the game’s MVP.

As much as she — and other Team WNBA participants — tried to downplay the significance of this event, her revenge was apparent. The WNBA’s reigning leading scorer wanted this game and she took it. Ogunbowale tore Team USA apart the only way she knows how: cold-blooded buckets. She connected on five three-point shots, including this four-point play.

She just… kept… draining them.

Here’s a whole montage!

To add to the fun, the WNBA realized that letting players tweet during timeouts and while they were sitting on the bench would make for incredible entertainment. It was hilarious, and Ogunbowale gave us live commentary after she botched a layup.

https://twitter.com/Arike_O/status/1415452100159434754

Two months from now, this game won’t mean anything. The Americans are highly favored to win another gold medal with a stacked lineup featuring six of the last 11 WNBA MVPs. Brittney Griner, Breanna Stewart, A’ja Wilson, Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Sylvia Fowles, and more are going to get the job done in Tokyo.

But for right now, USA Basketball’s decision-makers have to be thinking about their decision to cut one of the world’s most prolific scorers, and that should sit well with Ogunbowale. This was also the best three-years-in-advance audition anyone’s ever put on. With Bird and Taurasi likely playing in their final Olympics, backcourt spots will be there for the taking in 2024. Ogunbowale should bring the tweet receipts from this one to tryouts.

The big takeaway is that Ogunbowale might be the most clutch basketball player on the planet. She’s hit buzzer-beaters to win the Final Four and national championship in the same NCAA tournament, countless fadeaways with the clock expiring in the WNBA, and now stepped up to put on one of the best revenge games ever.

If you give Ogunbowale a big stage, expect to get your feelings hurt.

Chvrches are just over a month away from releasing their anticipated album Screen Violence, which tackles modern-day social issues with nuance and a healthy dose of lush synths. The band just shared their “Good Girls” single, which speaks to how women have to “constantly justify their right to exist and negotiate for their own space.” Now treating the track with a visual element, Chvrches share the glitchy “Good Girls” video.

In the visual, vocalist Lauren Mayberry is prominently featured in front of a kaleidoscope of moving images. A handful of the pictures behind Mayberry show classic magazine advertisements, reflecting to the song’s theme of gender stereotypes as Mayberry sings of dismantling double standards.

In a statement about the video, director Scott Kiernan laid out his vision:

“The video for ‘He Said She Said’ dealt with doubt in making of one’s own image while under the manipulation of another; while ‘How Not to Drown’ sought an exit from a low, from feeling penned in by larger power structures, and refusing to succumb to them again. But ‘Good Girls’ portrays a certain learned confidence in knowing who and what you are, despite what others might conform to themselves. It’s having a clear vision, or something like a compound eye that can see at all angles.”

Watch Chvrches’ “Good Girls” video above and see their North American tour dates below.

11/09 — Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall
11/10 — Austin, TX @ ACL Live
11/12 — Austin, TX @ ACL Live
11/14 — Dallas, TX @ South Side Ballroom
11/15 — Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom
11/17 — Minneapolis, MN @ Armory
11/18 — Milwaukee, WI @ The Riverside Theater
11/19 — Chicago, IL @ Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom
11/20 — Columbus, OH @ Express Live!
11/22 — Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE
11/23 — Detroit, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre
11/24 — Toronto, ON @ History
11/26 — New York, NY @ Terminal 5
11/27 — New York, NY @ Terminal 5
11/30 — Washington, DC @ Anthem
12/01 — Boston, MA @ House of Blues
12/02 — New Haven, CT @ College Street Music Hall
12/03 — Philadelphia, PA @ Franklin Music Hall
12/05 — Cincinnati, OH @ Ovation
12/06 — St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
12/08 — Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom
12/09 — Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater
12/10 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Union
12/11 — Las Vegas, NV @ Brooklyn Bowl
12/13 — San Diego, CA @ Observatory North Park
12/14 — San Diego, CA @ Observatory North Park
12/16 — San Francisco, CA @ Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
12/17 — Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium
12/18 — Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium

Screen Violence is out 8/27 via Glassnote Records. Pre-order it here.

When Bill Murray requests that you dribble three basketballs while somehow balancing atop a foam roller and also spelling “portmanteau,” then you don’t say, “Nope.” The results of that request turned out well for Zalia Avant-garde.

After 14-year-old basketball champ (who’s from Louisiana) won the National Spelling Bee, she did the interview rounds as is customary. While speaking with NPR, she explained how she knew the spelling of “murraya,” which is a tropical-tree genus. In doing so, Zaila declared, “I’d like to send a thank you to Bill Murray because the reason I knew that word, murraya, was because of the movie Lost In Translation…. that’s how that word stuck in my head because it’s spelled like Bill Murray’s name.”

Well, Zaila got a (virtual) visit and congratulations from The Man himself during a non-virtual visit to Jimmy Kimmel Live! Murray’s currently doing the Cannes thing (and spectacularly so while wearing two watches in a meme-d photo), but he made the aforementioned request, and Zalia handled it like the champ that she is. “That a girl!” Murray declared in response.

Balancing on a foam roller while doing anything else is difficult, let alone while getting intellectual and sporty at the same time. Well, Murray made sure to toss in his on self-deprecating remark, too: “Coincidentally, I spelled your name right the other day.” Most of us will never be able to claim that same honor, so Zaila is truly achieving it all.

So, to begin, I don’t particularly love writing pieces like this for a couple of reasons. First, anything that kind of “gets personal,” they don’t age particularity well. It’s more a snapshot of the mood I was in that day than any kind of actual substance. (To the point I almost look at everything I wrote during the Trump administration as suspect.) Second, this involves an action that a famous person did, which, I get it, leads to a whole lot of (as Ted Lasso says himself in the first episode of the upcoming season) “Midwestern suspicion.” Was the motive “good press”? Look, I’d be asking the same thing. But this story is about something that happened over three years ago, before the Ted Lasso television series even began, so if Jason Sudeikis did what he did for “good press,” man, he’s really playing the long game here.

But here’s why I am sharing this: I see the positive effects that a positive character like Ted Lasso is having on people. His folksy niceness is infectious and, well, it sure as heck felt refreshing during its first season and it sure as heck feels refreshing during this second season. And, as it turns out, Jason Sudeikis, someone I’ve been fortunate to get to know a bit professionally, but certainly not well, did a truly nice thing for me when I really needed it and, frankly, I want people to know he did this. Also, the very few people I’ve actually told this story to always have a very positive reaction to it and now I just want to share it with others.

So back in late 2017 my dad died suddenly from a heart attack. It was a pretty, let’s say, lousy time in my life. (And if you’ve ever lost a parent, well, I probably don’t have to tell you that.) It’s a strange time where you kind of learn who cares about you and who doesn’t. I had close friends I never heard from, I had people I never thought I’d hear from reach out. (To be fair, what complicated this for me was being an only child. I didn’t really have a family support system to lean on, so most of the support I got, or needed, was from people I am not related to.) But, eventually, as time moves on, you’re just kind of left alone with your own depression about the whole thing.

A few months later Suedikis was doing press for his indie film, Kodachrome – a film in which, in a nutshell, Sudeikis is trying to make amends with his dying father, played by Ed Harris. And the four rolls of Kodachrome that his father leaves him and what that means. (Not a lot of people saw this movie, but it’s a very good movie.) When I interviewed Sudeikis for that film (who, again, I knew a little bit, professionally, from a piece I did on his and Will Forte’s infamous “Potato Chip” SNL sketch and the fact that we both went to high school in the Kansas City area) I had mentioned that a lot of the themes in his movie had, obviously, hit pretty close to home.

Like I said, I was in a pretty lousy place. There’s no way Jason Sudeikis could have known that, at that moment, I needed a pep talk. Or, well, maybe it was pretty obvious from vibe I gave off in the interview and I just didn’t realize it. So later that day I got an email from Jason Sudeikis and it was … pretty inspirational. And the few people I’ve showed it to over the years have always told me I should share it. That it’s something that, maybe, other people would benefit from reading. So I reached to Sudeikis to ask if he’d be okay with me publishing this email. He wrote back that it’s my story, and if I’m comfortable sharing it, then he is, too. (Followed by a fist and heart emoji.)

So here it is. I honestly hope this is the right decision putting this out there. Again, it just came at a time I really needed to hear something like this and, from all people, it was Jason Sudeikis. And I know it’s probably been a, let’s say, unusual year for him for a lot of reasons, so I just want people to know he did this.

Just wanted to shoot ya a quick note and let ya know that I’m so sorry for your loss. And I thank you for feeling comfortable enough with me to share. Please please please feel ZERO regret in doing so.

It’s important and fucking necessary for us human beings to do that. To connect. To share. And to not concern ourselves too much with the outcome of such bravery. Especially the men of the world. Our generation is the first to “understand” that notion, but darn it, I’d love to try and be the first generation of fellas to “live” the notion as well. So let’s both continue to attempt to be on that “side of history,” shall we?

I wish you all the luck and openness in the universe on finding the “four rolls of Kodachrome” your own father left you. Because he did. It’s out there. I know it is.

The one thing I want you to consider though is that it might not be physically “out there”, because it might actually be living inside of you. And through you. And merely accepting that possibility might be where and when the “finding” happens.

You see deeply into things for a living. Allow yourself the experience of doing that to yourself, for yourself.

Okay man. Be well. Always good to see and speak with you.

yours,
Jason

So, yeah, there actually is a lot of Ted Lasso in the real Jason Sudeikis.

You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.

The next installment of the 2021 XXL Freshman Cypher is here. For this round, viral favorites 42 Dugg, Flo Milli, Pooh Shiesty, and Rubi Rose take on another hypnotic Nick Mira production to display their varying takes of the annual tradition.

Rubi Rose sets things off with a fittingly raunchy verse in her signature husky verse, followed by a braggadocious, bouncy approach from Pooh Shiesty. Flo Milli drops in and steals the show, turning up the energy with both her bright looks and quirky punchlines, leaving 42 Dugg to bring the baton home with a laid-back verse.

While Blxst and Toosii’s Cypher was competent and the first group of MCs was uneven but attention-grabbing, this year’s batch of Freshmen has certainly added to growing sense that hip-hop’s women are doing more to stand out than the men. So far, the consensus MVP of this year’s Freshmen has been Lakeyah, who’s sharp wit and precise flow impressed fans, while Flo Milli brought something a little different with her perky output. Even Coi Leray, maligned as her performance has been, brought something different to the table and looked like she was having fun instead of just trying to look cool.
Watch XXL’s Freshman Cypher with 42 Dugg, Flo Milli, Pooh Shiesty, and Rubi Rose above.

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

More involved visits from musical guests have become more and more popular in recent years. Cardi B co-hosted The Tonight Show in 2018. Dave Grohl did the same thing just a couple months ago. Ed Sheeran recently wrapped up a week-long stay on The Late Late Show. The latest artist to enjoy a multi-night late-night stay is BTS, who guested on The Tonight Show twice this week. Their first episode featured an interview with the group and a performance of “Permission To Dance.” For the second night, they brought their current No. 1 hit, “Butter,” to the show.

Like their rendition of “Permission To Dance” before it, the “Butter” performance was pre-taped for The Tonight Show. Instead of taking to a stage, the group got set up in a gigantic bridge at night, taking advantage of the water under them, the cityscape behind them, and lighting to create quite the visual scene.

On their first Tonight Show episode of the week, the group revealed that they haven’t actually met Sheeran yet despite the fact that they have now made multiple songs with him.

Watch BTS perform “Butter” above.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

One of the best trends in video games today is the rise of creation tools. From Super Mario Maker to Dreams, gamers are gaining access to more tools that let them make their own fun, the result of which are some really creative ideas from players.

This creativity and ability to make anything we want in games is starting to get noticed outside the gaming industry. deadmau5, one of the most well-known electronic music producers out there, sees the potential in giving players the ability to create and is offering players of the game Core an opportunity to put their creativity to the test. Players using Core can try to use the tools inside the game to create a deadmau5 music video for his new single, “Lights.”

“I’ve been blown away by the creativity I’ve seen on Core,” deadmau5 said. “Some of my passions are game, experience, and world design, and Core’s capabilities as a platform and its creators who are capable of doing all kinds of cool stuff are the next level in user generated art and experiences. I’m looking forward to checking out what fans and artists will create for my new single with ‘Lights.’”

This is a big win for Manticore Games, the developer of Core. Not only is this an opportunity to advertise their game, but it gives them the chance to really show what the community around Core is capable of as the kind of game that’s all about showing what players can do when they’re handed the reins.

“We’re thrilled that deadmau5 shares our passion for putting the power of artistic expression in as many creators’ hands as possible,” said Jordan Maynard, the chief creative officer and co-founder Manticore Games. “Core is more than just a place to play and make games; it has endless potential for new forms of social interactivity and artistry. We can’t wait to see the worlds our creators bring alive for the new video, and we look forward to working together with deadmau5 on future projects.”

During a Thursday morning segment on Olivia Rodrigo visiting the White House in an effort to urge young people to get the COVID vaccine, The View co-host Meghan McCain did what she does best: Made the conversation all about her. After simultaneously promoting the vaccine and questioning its efficacy (which is becoming a habit for her), McCain engaged in even more intellectual whiplash by arguing that, actually, Republicans aren’t behind widespread instances of vaccine hesitancy, but in a way, they kind-of are because Joe Biden’s administration should’ve taken McCain’s help when she offered it. Say what?

You can see McCain’s back-and-forth rant at the 5:55 mark below:

Via The Daily Beast:

“There’s lots of different demographics that are vaccine hesitant for a lot of reasons, and we need to be reaching out to people in lots of different ways,” Meghan McCain said Thursday on The View. “I’m going to say it again, I don’t think the White House is doing a good job reaching out to Republicans. I don’t. I’ve offered my help. They haven’t accepted it. They don’t care.”

Surprisingly, McCain isn’t embellishing here and appears to have inadvertently confirmed a previous report. According to Politico Playbook, McCain and her brother Jimmy offered to take the vaccine live on The View, but the White House never got back to her. Instead, the administration briefed Whoopi Goldberg and chose not to vaccinate McCain because she wasn’t eligible at the time.

Since then, McCain has repeatedly attacked Dr. Fauci and spread COVID conspiracy theories live on The View, which doesn’t really bolster her case for being the ideal candidate to convince vaccine hesitant Republicans.

(Via The View and The Daily Beast)