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A high school senior asked Obama to give a commencement speech for the entire Class of 2020

High school seniors set to graduate in 2020 have got to feel massively let down. After years of work, their last year in high school will end with a whimper instead of a bang.

California has already announced that all the traditional end of the year ceremonies will not take place. No prom. No sports banquets. No senior ditch day. No baccalaureate. No graduation ceremony.

Sure the diploma will come in the mail but that’s no match for being able to confidently walk on stage in front of one’s family and peers to prove you did it.


That means there also won’t be any inspiring commencement speaker to share some inspiring advice on how to take the next steps in life.

Twitter user Lincoln, the son of Emmy nominated comedy writer Cassie St. Onge, suggested that Barack Obama give a speech to the nation’s 2020 graduating class to make up for the lost ceremony.

“I’m saddened by the loss of milestone events, prom & graduation,” Lincoln wrote. “In an unprecedented time, it would give us great comfort to hear your voice. We ask you to consider giving a national commencement speech to the class of 2020.”

Then he started the hashtag #ObamaCommencement2020 .

Some people tried to make the movement political, but Lincoln says it’s not about politics. It’s about being able to hear from the voice that inspired his generation.

The hashtag took off and people are rallying around the cause.

Trumpers tried to get #TrumpCommencement2020 trending, but it only has a handful of supporters. Let’s be honest, Trump couldn’t give a speech to the Boy Scouts of America without being completely inappropriate.

Barack Obama is a great choice to do the nationwide commencement speech because he has been voted Gallup’s most admired man in the world the past twelve years in a row. Usually, the president of the U.S. wins the honor, however, Obama beat out Trump in 2017 and 18 and tied him in 2019.

Michelle Obama was voted the Most Admired Women in the World for the past two years, so she’d be a great choice to make the commencement speech as well.

If Obama doesn’t give speech, students can always tune into some of his previous commencement speeches online. Here’s one from Rutgers in 2016 where he gave some advice that’s just as good in 2020. Plus, while watching it you can pretend the last four years never happened.

That’s it, Class of 2016, a few suggestions on how you can change the world. Except maybe I’ve got one last suggestion. (Applause.) Just one. And that is, gear yourself for the long haul. Whatever path you choose — business, nonprofits, government, education, health care, the arts — whatever it is, you’re going to have some setbacks. You will deal occasionally with foolish people.

You will be frustrated. You’ll have a boss that’s not great. You won’t always get everything you want — at least not as fast as you want it. So you have to stick with it. You have to be persistent. And success, however small, however incomplete, success is still success. I always tell my daughters, you know, better is good. It may not be perfect, it may not be great, but it’s good. That’s how progress happens — in societies and in our own lives.

So don’t lose hope if sometimes you hit a roadblock. Don’t lose hope in the face of naysayers. And certainly don’t let resistance make you cynical. Cynicism is so easy, and cynics don’t accomplish much. As a friend of mine who happens to be from New Jersey, a guy named Bruce Springsteen, once sang — (applause) — “they spend their lives waiting for a moment that just don’t come.” Don’t let that be you. Don’t waste your time waiting.

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Jason Momoa’s Kids Are Throwing Axes And Climbing Walls For “Gym Class,” Putting My P.E. Teacher To Shame


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Jason Momoa Can’t Believe The Massive Scale Of ‘Dune’ While Speaking From The Safety Of His Momoa-Cave

While talking to Ellen DeGeneres from some sort of weird, basement cave with an assortment of odd trinkets, Jason Momoa had a lot to say about his upcoming role in Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Dune.

The sci-fi epic features an all-star cast that includes Timothée Chalamet, Oscar Isaac, Zendaya, Josh Brolin, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, and Dave Bautista, all of whom Momoa was blown away to work with. You’d think his star turn in Aquaman would’ve prepared him for filming this latest blockbuster, but Momoa says he’s “never been a part of something so big.” Here’s more of his ravings:

“I get to play this character Duncan Idaho, who’s kind of a master swordsman who’s made the right-hand man to Duke Leto who is Oscar Isaac,” the actor explained. “He’s the first person to be sent out to land on Dune and that’s when I meet the character that Javier Bardem plays. I can’t believe I had a scene with Javier Bardem! It’s a pretty massive film and I get to be this little — he’s kind of the Han Solo-esque of the group. He’s this rogue warrior who protects Timothée Chalamet (Paul Atreides) and serves Oscar Isaac.”

You can watch the full interview from the Momoa-Cave below or jump straight to the Dune stuff at the 8:13 mark:

According to a recent Vanity Fair feature that featured a smoldering look at Oscar Isaac that triggered all kinds of thirst traps on Twitter, filming for Dune took place in the United Arab Emirates to capture the dust planet of Arrakis. But while Momoa apparently had a blast, Chalamet wasn’t entirely thrilled with the over 100 degrees temperature. “They put a cap on it out there, if it gets too hot. I forget what the exact number is, but you can’t keep working,” the young actor told Vanity Fair. “In a really grounded way, it was helpful to be in the stillsuits and to be at that level of exhaustion.”

Dune arrives in theaters on December 18.

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What’s On Tonight: ‘What We Do In The Shadows’ Is Back And Weirder Than Ever

What We Do in the Shadows (FX, 10:00 p.m.) — Season two returns with Laszlo and Nadja testing out a new familiar — hello Haley Joel Osment — and Guillermo struggling with the truth about his family’s legacy. The vampires employ the help of a necromancer before holding a seance to get rid of their pesky ghost infestation.

Chicago Med (NBC, 8:00 p.m.) — Dr. Choi risks his life to save a child while Dr. Crockett’s past comes back to haunt him.

Riverdale (CW, 8:00 p.m.) — Kevin revives a school tradition by hosting a variety show but his planned performance of Hedwig and the Angry Inch pits him against Riverdale High’s faculty.

Survivor (CBS, 8:00 p.m.) — The castaways are treated to heartfelt messages from their loved ones before a wild tribal council sends another survivor to the Edge of Extinction.

The Goldbergs (ABC, 8:00 p.m.) — Adam and Erica offer up an original production when William Penn cannot secure the rights to a well-known spring musical to stage.

The Masked Singer (Fox, 8:00 p.m.) — The show delivers its sing-along episode with songs picked from memorable season three performances.

Schooled (ABC, 8:30 p.m.) — CB takes on the role of substitute principal as Glascott recovers from surgery bu he needs Lainey’s help dealing with a group of mean girls at school.

American Housewife (ABC, 9:00 p.m.) — Katie gives Anna-Kat some advice in standing up to Taylor while Oliver feels left out after Greg fails to invite him to the Historical Guild’s latest reenactment.

Chicago Fire (NBC, 9:00 p.m.) — Severide goes overboard to help when one of the units own gets injured on a call.

Motherland: Fort Salem (Freeform, 9:00 p.m.) — Tally uncovers a shocking truth that will change the future of the unit while Abigail struggles under her family’s expectations.

Nancy Drew (CW, 9:00 p.m.) — A mysterious death leads the Drew Crew to new leads on the Aglaeca curse.

LEGO Masters (Fox, 9:00 p.m.) — In the final challenge of the season, the two remaining duos go head-to-head as they create their most epic master builds yet.

Single Parents (ABC, 9:30 p.m.) — Poppy and the rest help Sharon as she goes into labor without Ron.

Chicago P.D. (NBC, 10:00 p.m.) — Atwater runs into an officer from his past while infiltrating a gun-trafficking ring.

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ESPN Will Broadcast Two Versions Of ‘The Last Dance,’ One With And One Without Cursing

Sunday, ESPN will give the people what they’ve been clamoring for when they debut The Last Dance, their highly anticipated 10-hour long documentary of the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls.

The initial June release date was pushed up after fans effectively begged ESPN to move it up with no live sports programming happening right now. Once the documentary was completed, ESPN obliged and fans will be able to immerse themselves in the footage and interviews conducted for the marathon documentary soon. The Last Dance is expected to do huge ratings for ESPN, and they want to ensure that everyone is able to take it in, which is why they will have two broadcasts of the documentary.

The first will be on ESPN proper and will feature all of the cursing and foul language as it happened, unedited. The other, as Variety first reported on Wednesday morning, will be a family friendly version that bleeps cursing on ESPN2.

“We take a lot of pride in sports as a communal viewing experience. All members of the family get to watch this,” says Connor Schell, executive vice president of content at ESPN, in an interview. “We felt this was the right thing to do.” Hearing the unedited interviews, he adds, “makes it feel more honest and more authentic and raw.”

On ESPN, viewers will hear every ‘F,’ ‘MF’ and ‘S.’ On ESPN2, those letters (when attached to words that are deemed scurrilous) will be bleeped out or masked by dropped audio.

For most of us, we’ll be dialed in to that ESPN broadcast, enjoying the raw, unedited audio of those legendary Bulls practices — and the colorful interviews that will be coupled with them. However, those quarantined with small kids will be appreciative of the family friendly offering with those words edited out, as ESPN looks to draw eyeballs from viewers of all ages.

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Cloud Nothings Joins Geoff Rickly To Craft A ‘Moody’ Playlist On The First Episode Of ‘Making A Mixtape’

We’re all looking for things to listen to while we’re stuck in quarantine. With digital streaming platforms, we have all of the music in the world at our fingertips, but still can’t seem to figure out exactly what we want to hear. Lucky for all of us, Geoff Rickly is here to help with Making A Mixtape, the new video offering from Uproxx’s Indie Mixtape. As the singer for the post-hardcore band Thursday, Rickly has a unique and experienced perspective on what it takes to craft an epic mixtape.

With Making A Mixtape, Rickly offers viewers a short playlist to fit a specific moment or experience during the day, whether that be “moody,” “energy,” or “details.” To help him brainstorm, Rickly has enlisted help from a few special guests. This week, Rickly is joined by Cloud Nothings’s Dylan Baldi to collaborate on a “Moody” mixtape for those moments where you just need to be left alone, instances that Rickly intimately understands through his music career.

Check out the first episode of Making A Mixtape above and follow the “Moody” playlist here.

Clairo — “Bags”
Joanne Robertson — “Am I Grief”
Big Thief — “Not”
The National — “Rylan”
Cloud Nothings — “So Right So Clean”
The Gordons — “Spik And Span”
Spiritualized — “So Long You Pretty Thing”

Follow us or subscribe to the Indie Mixtape newsletter to hear about future episodes.

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These 25 Pictures Will Remind You That The World Is Still Beautiful


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Leonardo DiCaprio And Robert De Niro’s Charitable Tie-In For A Scorsese Walk-On Role Is Getting A Big Boost

After just a few short hours, Leonardo DiCaprio‘s charity challenge is already roping in big stars to help troubled communities in a big way during this difficult time. Thanks to a video assist from Robert De Niro, the Titanic star launched the #ALLinCHALLENGE on Instagram, which offers fans a chance to have a walk-on role in the upcoming Martin Scorsese film Killers of the Flower Moon if they make a charitable donation:

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be able to work with the great @martinscorsese_, Robert De Niro and myself, this is your chance. Robert and I are going to be starring in a new movie called Killers of the Flower Moon, directed by Martin Scorsese. We want to offer you a walk-on role, the opportunity to spend the day on the set with the three of us, and attend the premiere.
To take part, please go to allinchallenge.com and donate whatever you can.

As DiCaprio notes in his caption, all proceeds will to America’s Food Fund, World Central Kitchen, No Kid Hungry, and Meals on Wheels, which help feed vulnerable communities who need even more assistance during the current health crisis.

You can see DiCaprio and De Niro’s full announcement below:

Because this is Leo we’re talking about, it didn’t take long for other celebrities to join in. Ellen DeGeneres was the first to jump in with a Twitter video offering anyone who donates as little as $25 the chance to be her co-host for the day. She also challenged Laura Dern and Justin Timberlake to join in.

Matthew McConaughey also hopped in closely behind Ellen. The Texas actor offered fans a chance to attend a University of Austin football with him, and who wouldn’t want to hang out at a ball game with Rust Cohle himself? He also tagged in Jimmy Kimmel and Jonah Hill who probably won’t resist Leo’s call.

(Via Leonardo DiCaprio on Instagram)

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Rapsody’s ‘Eve’ Album Will Be The Subject Of An Upcoming College Course

Music is primarily a form of entertainment, but there’s a lot that can be learned from it, even in an academic setting. That is apparently extra true of Rapsody’s 2019 album Eve, which is set to be the subject of an upcoming college course.

Rapsody shared the news and wrote, “One of the highest honors is to create art for the culture and have it taught in our educational institutions!”

Tyler Bunzey, a doctoral student at UNC’s English department, made the announcement of his UNC-Chapel Hill course on Facebook, writing, “I’m incredibly pleased to announce that I will be teaching at course at UNC this fall on Rapsody’s magnificent album ‘EVE.’ We will be examining the album track by track with readings and media to accompany each record.” He also describes the class, “In this course, we will explore the critical womanist stance of Rapsody’s 2019 release EVE, which features 16 songs titled with names of famous Black women throughout history. This course reads Rhapsody’s album as emerging from a greater tradition of womanist discourse dating back to the 19th century, and the purpose of this course is to explore that history. Additionally students will look at hip-hop historical development to engage with albums from femme-identified hip-hoppers throughout the genre’s history.”

On a similar note, Dr. Simone Drake, a associate professor of African American and African studies at Ohio State University, also wrote an academic paper about Eve and Toni Morrison’s work. The paper is summarized, “Dr. Simone Drake’s paper, ‘Toni Morrison’s Houses of Woman and Rapsody’s Eve,’ will mine Morrison’s literary oeuvre to theorize ‘houses of women’ as physical spaces in which Black women disrupt, interrupt, and erupt into societies who conceive of Black women in ways that are both limited and limiting. Drake will trace this trope into work of Hip Hop artist Rapsody and her album Eve (2019). Read together, Drake sees Black women’s cultural production as nothing short of a way to image spaces that, by centering Black women, offers lessons on what society can gain by locating Black women at the center of cultural discourse.”

Revisit our review of Eve here.

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Bad Bunny Loves A Fan’s Painting Of Him So Much He Actually Offered Thousands Of Dollars For It

As the global pandemic causes millions to become suddenly unemployed, many musicians have offered financial assistance to fans. Taylor Swift recently covered rent for a fan who lost their job due to the virus. Lil Nas X and Megan Thee Stallion offered to pay some of their fans’ bills. Now, Puerto Rican pop star Bad Bunny is the latest musician to offer financial assistance to one of his supporters, albeit in a different way.

Cynthia Coronado, a devoted fan of Bad Bunny, recreated one of the singer’s Instagram photos on a giant canvas. The detailed painting shows Bad Bunny sporting heart-shaped glasses while sunbathing. Coronado shared the painting on Twitter and tagged Bad Bunny in hopes he would see it: “hope y’all like and hopefully he gets to see it!” she wrote.

Not only did the painting catch Bad Bunny’s attention, but he loved the portrait so much that he offered to purchase it for an impressive sum of money. “yo lo quiero,” he wrote. The singer then said he would pay $5,000 to keep the painting.

While most people would have accepted the hefty sum of money, Coronado was satisfied enough that he enjoyed her work. The painter turned down the money and instead said his love of the artwork was “worth more than money.”

After her tweet blew up, Coronado thanked Bad Bunny’s fans for their attention and said she’s working on creating prints of the artwork.

Check out Bad Bunny’s Twitter exchange with the fan above.