Category: Trending

This millennium, Radiohead have performed their early-career hit “Creep” just 40 times (according to setlist.fm), which isn’t too often for a band that has toured in support of six albums during that stretch. While the band has generally shied away from the song, however, Dave Chappelle has taken it over. Reports of the comedian singing the song somewhere pop up from time to time, as he has done so at least a handful of times since 2016.

Now, the saga continues, as Chappelle once again took the stage to bust out his apparent favorite, this time joining Foo Fighters at their massive Madison Square Garden show over the weekend. Towards the end of the band’s main set, Dave Grohl called Chappelle to the stage, and since “Creep” still hits and Chappelle is always a crowd-pleaser, the performance blew the roof off the place.

According to setlist.fm, that wasn’t the only cover of the night. In the middle of the main set, the band covered Queen’s “Somebody To Love,” with Taylor Hawkins (who also fronts a cover band named Chevy Metal, by the way) singing lead vocals and Grohl taking over on drums. During the encore, the band also busted out a rendition of the Bee Gees’ “You Should Be Dancing.”

Watch Chappelle and Foo Fighters cover “Creep” above.

Apple TV+ has released a new trailer for Ted Lasso season two, featuring the introduction of Ted’s table-flipping alter ego, Led Tasso. There’s also Jason Sudeikis wearing a Santa hat, Dani Rojas as the team’s top scorer (“football is life!”), and Ted assuming the British version of The Dukes of Hazzard is called “The Earls of Risk.”

What a good show. You can watch the trailer below.

Sudeikis compared season two to The Empire Strikes Back, which either means it will end on a downer note or Ted will make out with his as-yet-unmentioned sister. It could go either way really.

The soccer comedy, which we named one of the best shows of 2020, also won a prestigious 2021 Peabody Award for “offering the perfect counter to the enduring prevalence of toxic masculinity, both on-screen and off, in a moment when the nation truly needs inspiring models of kindness.” The Peabody jury admitted that the premise of an American football coach going overseas to coach soccer sounds like a “formulaic cornball dud” on paper, but what “this presumably Ugly American, fish-out-of-water tale offers instead is a charming dose of radical optimism.”

Ted Lasso returns to Apple Tv+ for more radical optimism on July 23.

The annual Westminster Dog Show went down a week ago, and the furor with which people responded to the “Best In Show” decision still won’t stop being funny. Now will I ever forget how Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea went into conspiracy-theory mode while declaring that he was “shocked and grossed” by the solitary judge’s decision to honor a Pekingese named Wasabi with top honors. “The judge had a crush on its handler im sure of it,” Flea tweeted, and although I wouldn’t go that far in questioning the logic behind the results, the Wasabi world dominance does feel unexpected.

With that, noted Cheerios critic John Oliver’s latest episode covered some very serious issues, including Japan persisting with this year’s Tokyo Olympics and the predatory lending practices that are increasingly involved with home renovations. Sandwiched in between those segments, however, was Last Week Tonight‘s take on the Westminster Dog Show. In particular, the show offered “Better Names” for these contestants like “Crime” as well as “Good Carl” and “Bad Carl.” I enjoyed the relabeling of one pup as “Ragnaroth, Devourer of Souls,” although I couldn’t get a screencap of the mischievous scamp (yes, he is probably the Loki of dogs while dodging everywhere). And here’s a look at the newly dubbed “Smooth Chris” and “Drama.”

Another standout name? “Cuban Exile and CIA Asset Antonio Veciana Claimed He Witnessed A High-Ranking CIA Officer Meet With Lee Harvey Oswald In September Of 1963” felt pretty spot-on, but here’s the one that got some of us a little too worked up: Wasabi, recrowned as “Jennifer Aniston.”

Yup, this dog is essentially a tottering box of hair, but all of us who have been critical of these Westminster results may have lost some perspective and overreacted. Yes, poor Smooth Chris (and several other contestants) did get the shaft, but we’re all essentially worked up by a hair trend that’s been declared superior. Wasabi’s probably a little sweetheart who puts up with a lot of sh*t and actually wants a damn haircut. In addition, Oliver’s nightly ranting concluded with a related segment called, “The Winner Of Best In Show At The Westminster Dog Show Breaks Newscaster’s brains.” From there, Wasabi was referred to as “Cousin It” before a news anchor declared, “I picture yours or my hair just walking on the ground with no legs!” Pure madness.

Talking about politics at work can be a really touchy situation. It’s good for people to be able to express themselves in the office. But it can lead to serious tension when people don’t see eye-to-eye. It can be especially difficult when a company takes a hard line on a controversial issue that employees are forced to stand behind.

So Basecamp, a project management software company based in Chicago, has just decided to ban talking about politics at work altogether. It seems the company tried to foster an open atmosphere but it backfired.

“Sensitivities are at 11, and every discussion remotely related to politics, advocacy, or society at large quickly spins away from pleasant,” co-founder Jason Fried wrote in a post on the company website.

---

In a world where everything has become political, Fried believes this gives people the freedom to stay out of the fracas. “You shouldn’t have to wonder if staying out of it means you’re complicit or wading into it means you’re a target,” he wrote.

“By trying to have the debates around such incredibly sensitive societal politics inside the company, we’re setting ourselves up for strife, with little chance of actually changing anyone’s mind,” Basecamp partner David Heinemeier Hansson wrote in a follow-up blog post.

Basecamp’s decision brings up a big debate in the world of business: Should companies feel compelled to do social good? Basecamp says no.

“We make project management, team communication, and email software. We are not a social impact company,” Fried said. “We don’t have to solve deep social problems, chime in publicly whenever the world requests our opinion on the major issues of the day, or get behind one movement or another with time or treasure. These are all important topics, but…they’re not what we collectively do here.”

Basecamp’s decision mirrors one that Coinbase, the cryptocurrency marketplace, made last October. The company’s CEO, Brian Armstrong, told his employees that he won’t stand for any politics at the office and offered those who disagree a generous severance package.

“Life is too short to work at a company that you aren’t excited about. Hopefully, this package helps create a win-win outcome for those who choose to opt out,” he said.

Some worry that a ban on political speech in the office creates an environment where marginalized people aren’t allowed to speak out for fear of it being deemed political.

The big problem with banning politics from the work floor is that every topic can be avoided by branding it politic… https://t.co/SkLoyJVN2R

— Jonas Drieghe (@jonasdrieghe)
1619469639.0

While others agree with the move because professionalism often means putting our personal lives aside to do what’s best for the company.

Some will say that if you don’t like your company’s political culture, then find another job. But that’s a lot easier to say than do. Most of us don’t have the freedom to work anywhere we choose, so we have to put up with a company’s stances or lack thereof, whether we like it or not.

The deeper problem appears to be that the company has given up on any attempts to foster an environment where people can talk openly because as Fried writes, any political discussion “quickly spins away from pleasant.”

While banning political speech is one way to stop the tension, it seems rather limited. Why not foster a culture where people can discuss sensitive issues in a constructive way?

Asana co-founder Duston Moskovita has some good suggestions on how to make that happen.

As Americans, it is nearly impossible to escape the endless stories of racism in the news. We live in a country that was born on the backs of slaves and is still a place where real equality is still an elusive dream. Racism is an undeniable part of our society, but how does America compare to the rest of the world?

According to a 2020 study by the World Values Survey, Americans are among the most tolerant people in the world.

The World Value Survey is a global network of scientists and researchers based in Sweden who study changing values and their impact on social and political life. The group’s researchers asked participants in more than 80 countries what kind of person they’d want as a neighbor.

Those who responded that they wouldn’t want “people of a different race” were deemed racially intolerant. The map below depicts how the 80 countries responded to the question. The countries that are blue are the most tolerant. Countries marked red are the least.

To see a larger version click here.

The good news is that even though America has problems with race, it’s actually better than a lot of places. America, along with most of South America, Australia, and Europe are among the most tolerant places on the planet.

The map shows that Eastern Europe and Asia are less tolerant than America with The Middle East and North Africa ranking among the least tolerant areas of the globe. It appears as though much of Africa was not polled, so it’s unclear how those countries rank in comparison.

America takes pride in its attempt to be a diverse, inclusive melting pot and is constantly at war with itself for falling short of that goal. Even though we are one of the most tolerant places on Earth, most of us believe that we can and should do better. But, as the map shows, even as a society that struggles with tolerance, we’ve come a lot farther than most.

Golfer Amy Bockerstette made history three years ago when she became the first person with Down syndrome to earn a full college athletic scholarship.

Now, she’s making history again by being the first person with Down syndrome to compete in a national collegiate athletic championship.

Bockerstette and her teammates from Paradise Valley Community College in Phoenix, Arizona will be playing at the NJCAA national championships May 10-13 at Plantation Bay Golf & Country Club in Ormond Beach, Florida.

---

So excited to compete with my @PVCC_Official @PVCCPumas teammates @NJCAA ⛳️ Nationals next week!… https://t.co/pJFCTvDwnc

— Amy Bockerstette (@AmyGolfsNDances)
1620080341.0

Bockerstette’s golfing career started in the eight grade when she impressed her school’s golf coach so much, he told her parents she should play for the school’s team. Boy was he right.

In high school, Bockerstette qualified for the Arizona state high school tournament twice and was named one of the AZCentral.com’s “Ten Most Intriguing High School Athletes of 2017.”

AzCentral praised her ability to hit from the tee saying that she “launched shots 200 yards down the middle of fairways.” It also praised her infectious attitude calling her a “4-foot-9 girl full of sunshine.”

Amy Golfs ‘N Dances?
⛳️ 💃🏼
Totally! https://t.co/ZdTjZnBrbi

— Amy Bockerstette (@AmyGolfsNDances)
1599922599.0

Bockerstette is an active Special Olympian who competes in golf, swimming, and volleyball and plays Challenger baseball. She also is very musical, she studies dance in college and plays the piano.

In January 2019, Bockerstette became a viral sensation after her performance on the par-3 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale. During the Tuesday practice round at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, she was invited to play as a Special Olympics representative and was teamed with professional golfer Gary Woodland and playing partner Matt Kuchar.

Bockersette hit her tee shot into a greenside bunker. But recovered nicely with a spectacular chip shot out of the sand, rolling the ball to within eight feet of the cup. Confidently stating “I got this,” she then made the put to the roar of the crowd.

Video of her fantastic performance went viral amassing over 43 million views.

Gary Woodland surprises Amy from Special Olympics Arizona 2019

www.youtube.com

“I’ve been blessed to do lot of cool things on the golf course but that is by far the coolest thing I’ve ever experienced,” Woodland told Golf.com. “She was phenomenal. And then to step up in front of all the people and the crowd and everything and to hit the shots that she hit and made par, I never rooted so hard for somebody on a golf course and it was an emotional, emotional, really cool experience.”

Bockersette’s confident declaration of “I got this” became a rallying cry for people with Down syndrome and their advocates. The comment spawned the I Got This Foundation, an organization created by Bockersette and her family that provides opportunities for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities to play golf.

Bockerstette is a wonderful example of what can happen with people with disabilities are given the chance to participate in sports. Her visibility as a golfer is a great way to encourage others with Down syndrome to get into the sport and is also a wake-up call to the sport’s gatekeepers to be more inclusive.

If there were a hall of fame for pettiness, a divorced father in Virginia would be a shoo-in for the lengths he went to give his ex-wife and children the final kiss-off. After his daughter, Avery Sanford, turned 18, the father pulled up in his truck with a trailer attached and dumped 80,000 pennies in front of her house.

The $800 was for his final child support payment.

Avery saw it all go down through the doorbell camera on her front door. “I just turned 18,” Avery told WTVR. “When I was in the middle of class, my dad came by. He had rented a trailer.”

---

“He pulled up in front of our house, like turned the trailer on so it dumped out all the pennies in the street in front of our house,” she continued. “And my mom walked outside while it was happening. She didn’t recognize them at first.”

The mother called out to the man in the car, “What are you dumping on my lawn?” The man replied, “Your final child support payment!”

Avery’s mother reported the incident to the Henrico County Police.

Mother, daughter donate thousands of dumped pennies to domestic abuse center

www.youtube.com

First of all, as a parent, to put on such a disgusting display of pettiness in front of your children, is just plain awful. Second, there’s no good reason for anyone to be upset about taking responsibility and financially supporting their child.

Avery hasn’t spoken to her father in years and after his most recent antics, it seems like keeping a distance is a good idea.

“It is really hurtful and damaging to your kids when you do things like that. And it doesn’t matter how old your kids. It doesn’t matter if they’re a young child or an adult,” Avery said. “The actions of your parents will always have some effect on you.”

Caught on Camera: ‘Frustrated’ dad makes his final child support payment in PENNIES dumped on his ex-wife’s front l… https://t.co/osIBtNVDZL

— HLN (@HLNTV)
1623344411.0

To take the embarrassing situation and turn it into a positive, Avery and her mother have decided to donate all of the money to Safe Harbor, a domestic abuse shelter. Safe Harbor is a nonprofit organization that provides shelter, supportive services, and advocacy to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.

“It’s not just her that he’d be trying to embarrass. It’s also me, it’s also my sister. And it’s upsetting that he doesn’t really consider that before he did this,” Avery said. “Turning around and donating that money to moms and children in need like I feel like, that just really turns the situation into a positive one. You can learn a lesson from it.”

A reporter reached out to Avery’s father and he seems to be feeling somewhat contrite about his behavior. He said he let 18 years of frustration get the best of him and that he didn’t want to “put a further wedge between him and his daughter.”

As for Avery, she has a bright future ahead of her. The high school senior is looking forward to attending Virginia Tech in the fall.

A school in Utah has made an inexcusable mistake and has yet to provide a decent answer for why it happened. The photo the school published of its cheerleading squad excluded Morgyn Arnold, a 14-year-old with Down syndrome.

Morgyn is the team manager who learned all of the routines and cheered beside the squad at home games. But she’s nowhere to be seen in the squad photo that was published in the school’s 2020-2021 yearbook.

What’s worse is that the squad took two photographs, one with Morgyn in the front row and one without.

---

The picture with Morgyn.

The photo that was published.

“The first picture you see is a cute junior high cheer team,” Morgyn’s sister, Jordyn Poll told Today. “The second, although similar, includes all members of the team. It’s the SAME cheer team–SAME girls, SAME photo shoot, SAME poses, but one included all team members and one did not.

“Additionally, Morgyn’s name wasn’t even mentioned as a part of the team,” Jordyn added. “She wasn’t included. She spent hours learning dances, showing up to games, and cheering on her school and friends but was left out.”

Morgyn realized she had been excluded from the photo immediately after receiving her yearbook.

“She came home from school and was showing us her yearbook,” Jordyn explained. “She said ‘There’s my team and there’s my friends and I’m not included.’ She was devastated.”

The family wants to know why Morgyn was left out so her sister wrote a lengthy Facebook post describing their pain.

Teen with down syndrome left out of cheerleading yearbook photo

www.youtube.com

The school posted a statement on its Facebook page but it has since been deleted.

“We are deeply saddened by the mistake that was made,” the statement read. “We are continuing to look at what has occurred and why it occurred. Apologies have been made to the family and we sincerely apologize to others impacted by this error. We will continue to address it with the parents of the student. We will continue to look at our processes to ensure this does not happen again.”

The junior high school and its cheerleading squad have suspended their social media accounts due to the incident.

Jordyn wants answers for the school’s screw-up but doesn’t want any hate directed at the girls on the cheerleading squad.

“There’s been so much hate directed to these other girls and it’s so unnecessary,” she said. “They are kind and did their very best to include Morgyn and make her feel like she belongs and they continue to do so and continue to reach out and let her know that she is loved. If it was up to them, they would have included her in the photos.”

Unfortunately, the school has yet to provide a reason for Morgyn’s omission. Jordyn says that her sister is getting over her initial feelings of rejection with her usual kindness.

“I think a lot we can learn from her example,” Jordyn said. “She’s forgiven them and moved on. She’s sad, when she looks at the pictures. Her example speaks a lot, and she’s excited to continue to find memories and continue cheering.”

This article originally appeared on 11.05.15

Which country best represents the “free world”? That was one question at the heart of a report by a London-based think tank.

Each year, the Legatum Institute ranks countries on their Prosperity Index by measuring performance on eight subindices.

---

Image by the Legatum Institute.

Among their most notable findings for 2015 is a new global leader for personal freedom.

They rate countries’ personal freedom according to surveys covering tolerance for immigrant and minority communities, civil liberty and free choice, and citizens’ satisfaction with their freedom of choice.

So which country is our new beacon of freedom?

GIF from “How I Met Your Mother.”

That would be Canada.

The Canucks ascended five places since the previous year to take the #1 seat for personal freedom.

They took the top spot because over 92% of survey respondents said they believe Canada is both welcoming to immigrants and “tolerant” of ethnic minorities, and 94% feel they have the freedom to shape their own futures.

Canada ranks sixth overall for prosperity and holds the second highest rank for education. Their lowest score was in the subindex for entrepreneurship and opportunity, which could change under the leadership of Canada’s newly-elected prime minister, Justin Trudeau.

Others in the freedom top 10 include New Zealand, Norway, Luxembourg, Iceland, Ireland, Sweden, Denmark, Australia, and Uruguay.

What about the United States?

It is the self-proclaimed “land of the free.”

You’re not fooling anyone, Cumberbatch.

The U.S. climbed seven spots from its 2014 rank, just barely squeezing into the 90th percentile for personal freedom at #15. And though it remains the world’s richest country, it ranks 11th overall for prosperity.

The U.S. was the subject of another one of Legatum’s top-line findings for becoming less safe, sliding down three places to #33 for the safety and security subindex.

The world’s highest-ranked country for overall prosperity is Norway. But that’s old news. The quasi-socialist Scandinavian state has held the post for the last six years.

Today, the maple leaf is a global symbol of freedom.

Let’s let it ring to a tune by one of Canada’s iconic sons, Neil Young:

Here are the full 2015 Legatum Institute Prosperity Index rankings:

This article originally appeared on 05.31.15

Photographer David Jay specializes in fashion and beauty, stuff that’s “beautiful and sexy — and completely untrue,” as he puts it. But that’s not all he photographs.

Three years ago, Jay began to take pictures of young, severely wounded soldiers returning home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Trigger warning: These portraits don’t shy away from wounded bodies.

---

Be prepared. I found them shocking at first. But keep looking. The more I looked, the more beauty and humanity I found reflected here. (The photo captions are from the Jay’s Unknown Soldier Project Facebook page.)

This is 1st Lt. Nicholas John Vogt, U.S. Army. On Nov. 12, 2011, he was severely injured by an IED while on a foot-patrol in Panjwaii, Afghanistan. We took these pictures this past weekend in the swimming pool at Walter Reed Medical Center. I asked Nicholas for his permission to post these images and this was his response: “The only thing that I want to pass on is this: Losing limbs is like losing a good friend. We wish we could still be with them, but it wasn’t ‘in the cards.’ Then we get up, remember the good times, and thank God for whatever we have left.” Image by David Jay/ David Jay Photography. All images used with permission.

In a National Public Radio interview about his project, Jay said, “You can imagine how many times each of these men and women have heard a parent tell their child, ‘Don’t look. Don’t stare at him. That’s rude.'”

“I take these pictures so that we can look; we can see what we’re not supposed to see. And we need to see them because we created them.” — David Jay

Image by David Jay/ David Jay Photography.

Jay wants us to see, to become even a little familiar with the tragic loss of limbs and burned skin of wounded vets — his portraits are 4 feet wide — but he also wants us to see them as people and to think about their experiences and those of people in their lives.

This past week, I went to San Antonio, Texas. There I had the privilege of photographing both Daniel Burgess and Bobby Bernier. They are friends. Daniel stepped on a IED, losing one leg and destroying the other. Bobby was hit by incoming artillery, sustaining burns over 60% of his body. He is pictured here with his daughter Layla. Image by David Jay/ David Jay Photography.

This is Maj. Matt Smith. This past week, Matt allowed me to photograph him in his room at the Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Less than three months ago, on June 8, 2013, in Paktika province, Afghanistan, Matt was shot along with five others by a member of the Afghan National Army. The bullet severed his femoral artery, resulting in the amputation of his leg. A private and soulful man, it was an honor to photograph him. Thank you, Maj. Smith. Image by David Jay/ David Jay Photography.

Image by David Jay/David Jay Photography.

This is Jerral Hancock. He was driving a tank in Iraq. A roadside bomb pierced the armor, breaching the interior. We shot these pics two weeks ago at his home in Lancaster, California, where Jarral lives with his two beautiful children. We ended up hanging out into the night, smokin’ ciggys … so I kept taking pictures. Image by David Jay/ David Jay Photography.

“To the men and women of The Unknown Soldier, I can’t thank you enough for your courage and sacrifice … both on and off the battlefield. It is an honor to photograph you.” — David Jay

On July 25, 2012, SFC Cedric King, an Airborne Ranger, was severely injured by an IED while serving his country in Afghanistan. Due to the explosion, Cedric sustained a multitude of internal and external injuries, losing both his legs. Cedric was doing his laps while I was photographing 1st Lt. Nicholas Vogt in the pool at Walter Reed Medical Center last week. Cedric kept watching, so I had to ask. Cedric said, “That man (Nicholas) doesn’t know it, but he changed my life. There was a point when I was so down that I thought I couldn’t go on. And then one day I saw him swimming … and I just thought, wow … if he can go on like that, then I can go on too.” Cedric will also change people’s lives. Already has. Image by David Jay/David Jay Photography.

This is Michael Fox, a 27-year-old Marine and an amazing man. On Nov. 15, 2011, Michael was on foot-patrol in the Helmand province of Afghanistan. His is the first picture of “The Unknown Soldier.” Image by David Jay/David Jay Photography.

This past weekend, I photographed Staff Sgt. Shilo Harris in Houston, Texas. He came up from San Antonio to see one of my other exhibitions, The SCAR Project (www.thescarproject.org). Shilo was severely burned on Feb. 19, 2007, by a roadside bomb estimated at 700 pounds. He lost three men out of a crew of five. Only Shilo and his driver survived the blast. Shilo has a book coming out soon. He is truly an amazing man, and I am honored to call him a friend. Image by David Jay/David Jay Photography.

“The Unknown Soldier is about neither war or politics … but rather something infinitely simpler and more powerful.” — David Jay

Image by David Jay/ David Jay Photography.

The Library of Congress has acquired images from Jay’s The Unknown Soldier project as part of its documentation of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This speaks to the power of these images in capturing war’s aftermath. But they are so much more than documentation.

Pictures like these help those of us who remain at home to begin to comprehend the true human cost of war.