Category: Viral

Who is the Tom Cruise of Westeros? This is not a rhetorical question to spend hours arguing about with your friends at Buffalo Wild Wings before you angrily walk home after eating one too many cheese curds. There’s an actual answer: on a dragon, it’s Baela; on land, it’s Rhaenyra. Let me explain.

House of the Dragon director Geeta Vasant Patel talked to The Washington Post about the influence a pair of Tom Cruise action movie franchises had on season 2 of the HBO series. In episode 3, “The Burning Mill,” Baela is riding on Moondancer when she spots Criston Cole and his un-merry men and chases after them. Unfortunately, they duck into the woods before the dragon can set them on fire and enjoy some cripsy Criston jerky, but at least the scene helped showrunner Ryan Condal understand Baela as a character.

“We were trying to explore what Baela’s personality was. Ryan was experimenting with different angles. And one day he came in and he said, ‘She’s Maverick,’” Patel said, referring to Cruise’s character in Top Gun and Top Gun: Maverick, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell. The risk-taking actor (who is closing out the 2024 Summer Olympics by jumping out of a plane, because of course he is) inspired another scene from that episode, when Rhaenyra sneaks into King’s Landing to talk with Alicent.

A later scene in the episode, in which the show’s heroine Rhaenyra sneaks through King’s Landing, was modeled after Mission: Impossible. Instead of Rhaenyra finding her way through the capital city with ease, Patel directed the scene into something Ethan Hunt-ish in which Rhaenyra has to evade guards, slip behind walls, and even wear a disguise. “And then we ran with it and expanded what was like three lines of a page into a day of shooting, because we just expanded into something very suspenseful,” Patel says.

Which Tom Cruise movie will the season 2 finale be influenced by? If Daemon starts singing a Bon Jovi song, we’ll know the answer.

(Via The Washington Post)

Outside Lands Music Festival 2024 is mere days away. Between August 9 and 11, San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park will host performances by The Killers, Sabrina Carpenter, Post Malone, Sturgill Simpson, and more.

Although music is the event’s main focus, there are plenty of side quest for festivalgoers to indulge in. One of the most talked about things to check out on the event grounds is STIIIZY and Outside Lands Festival’s cannabis collaboration. Continue below to learn more about it.

How To Buy STIIIZY & Outside Lands Festival’s Cannabis Collab

The Los Angeles-based, award-winning cannabis company STIIIZY is set to roll out their limited-edition line with the event, at Outside Lands Festival 2024. As part of their collaboration, attendees can purchase three tailored cultivations. The items include a 40’s pre-roll multipack of Purple Punch (an Indica strain), All in One THC Pen of Magic Melon (a Sativa strain), and a five-pack of Stiiizy Edibles, Blue Raspberry Blast (an Indica strain).

To lean into the experience, the company’s Grass Lands booth is an immersive weed cultivation experience at Grass Lands of a 30-foot cannabis grow cultivation replica, 60 life-like cannabis plants, 8 LED grow lamps, and real equipment from STIIIZY’s indoor cultivation.

In a statement, Brian Kim, Director of Marketing at STIIIZY, discussed the first of its kind link up. “We’re proud to announce our partnership with Outside Lands,” he said. “Dropping limited time only products to the public for the first time in our company’s history. Customers and fans can find it at Northern California STIIIZY retailers, or festival goers can visit us at our grow activation onsite during the festival.”

To secure one of the limited-edition releases, you must head over to STIIIZY’s activation at the festival, as it is not available for purchase at their storefronts or online at this time. Find more information here.

One of the coolest stories at the Paris Olympics revolves around the United States’ women’s water polo team and their No. 1 fan, Flavor Flav. The long and the short of it is that Flavor Flav offered to be the team’s sponsor after learning about how the players have to work to support themselves as they chase their dream via a tweet from the team’s captain, Maggie Steffens. As a result, he’s gone to all of their games in Paris and enthusiastically cheers them on.

The team is quite good, too, as they came in second in their group and earned a spot in the knockout stage. And as it turns out, Flavor Flav isn’t the only celebrity who made it a point to show the team some love, as he was joined by none other than Guy Fieri on Friday.

This is, quite possibly, the most wholesome thing that I have seen in my entire life, although as Rodger Sherman pointed out, it is shocking that Guy didn’t make a Flavortown pun anywhere in here. And fortunately, the pair got to sit there and watch as the Americans picked up a win. The team blew out France, 17-5, in their final game in Group B.

It’s been a decade since Bleachers released Strange Desire. However, you never forget your first time, or at least the “Me Before You” musicians aren’t.

To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the project, Bleachers are re-imagining the body of work via A Stranger Desire. Yesterday (August 1), the band dropped the first taste of the forthcoming album. In 2014, fans feel in love with “Wild Heart,” thanks to its pure vulnerability. The latest edition of the track amplified that unwavering emotion trifold.

In a letter, leader Jack Antonoff outlined the importance of this commemorative release. “On this anniversary that feels so sacred, I have realized something,” he wrote. “It wasn’t only a strange desire to write these songs, there was something unknown to me happening. I was looking for you: my people. I hadn’t been honest enough in my life, and as a result I let the wrong ones in. the only path was to tell the story comically unfiltered. My great loss, transcendent anxiety, and an unearned hope that would remain the thread in my writing to this day. It was more than a strange desire to make this album, it was a stranger desired.”

Listen to Bleachers’ reimagination of “Wild Heart” above.

A Stranger Desired is out 9/6 via Dirty Hit. Find more information here.

Who’s doing the best at the 2024 Olympics? Don’t look at the medal count, because that’s not a factor: The answer is Snoop Dogg. He got to carry the torch, he had a laugh with Simone Biles’ mom, and now, he’s had a delightful private tour of Paris’ iconic Louvre museum.

Snoop shared a video of his visit on Instagram, and it’s good, clean fun. He starts, “You ever seen Night At The Museum? Well tonight, you get to go in the museum with Snoop Dogg, and we’re gonig to be snooping around.”

Of course, “snooping around” was more a play on words than it was an accurate description of his conduct, as Snoop behaved himself, didn’t touch anything he wasn’t supposed to, and so on. That doesn’t mean he didn’t enjoy himself, though.

While looking at the “Mona Lisa,” Snoop jokes, “Just found out I was Mona Lisa’s twin brother: Tony Lisa.” He then opted to see if the “Mona Lisa” is one of those paintings where the eyes seem to follow you around the room. That didn’t seem to be the case, but Snoop did observe, “She smile real hard when I stand on this side.”

He checks out some other art from there, so give the video a watch above.

Gary Oldman has racked up countless iconic films and roles under his belt. The Dark Knight, The Fifth Element, True Romance, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and (of course) Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy come to mind. There is no role, however, that Oldman was born to portray more than cantankerous spymaster Jackson Lamb on Slow Horses. What’s even more telling is that Oldman is having the time of his life. He enjoys this darkly comedic series so damn much, and the audience has responded to such a level that a fourth season is forthcoming.

Apple TV+ knew that they had a thriller-hit on their hands, too. A built-in, book-reading audience who have already devoured Mick Herron’s Slough Horses book series praised this show through word of mouth, bringing to the fold additional viewers looking for both not-as-serious takes on spy thrillers and simmering tension. The thought of these purgatorial spies handling matters of grave national importance is part of this show’s appeal, and the tech giant departed their usual process by fast-tracking seasons that have landed in relatively rapid succession. Sure, the seasons are short in number of episodes, but viewers trust that they will keep coming, so let’s get down to what will roll out of these inept MI5 agents next.

Plot

This show delivers a respite from straight-up spy-thriller vibes with these f*cked up MI5 agents led by grumpy, farting Oldman. By the way, he adores that part of his character and has spoken about why James Bond won’t fart, which is a key (and bluntly illustrative) way in which Slow Horses stands apart from the Bond imitators and shoot offs. Credit for recognizing that value for TV goes to Will Smith (Veep) in adapting this series with a cadre of executive producers that include Graham Yost (Justified, Silo)

Jackson Lamb, shown above ^^^ in the fifth season, will continue presiding over his team of espionage specialists who are really sh*tty at their jobs. The subject matter will follow Herron’s fourth book, Spook Street, and “open with a bombing that detonates personal secrets, rocking the already unstable foundations of Slough House.” That is to say, the Slough House agents will find themselves embroiled within a terror attack in a shopping district, and additionally, River Cartwright’s acquisition of the “Footprint” file includes the lingering fact that copies do exist, and Smith has promised that there will be more to come from the River-Louisa dynamic while staying “true to the character dynamics of the books.”

Jack Lowden (who portrays River) spoke with Collider about Apple TV+ putting emphasis on keeping the setting true to the books as well, so we can expect that to stay consistent:

“I think what makes it fantastic is the fact that it’s a huge show, it’s Apple, it’s massive. They could go mad with this; they could take us to the moon, they could do stuff like that. That’s the age that we’re living in with things like this, but most of it is set within a very wonderfully built and designed shithole essentially. Everything is yellowing and falling apart, and absolutely not glamorous at all.”

What also isn’t glamorous? Jackson Lamb’s living space. Oldman told Indiewire to be prepared for “the first time we can see inside Lamb’s flat.” He suggested to Will Smith that not only would it be a place where “books are everywhere” but also, according to Oldman’s input, there’s probably “a leg broken on the coffee table, but he’s put the books to level it up.”

Additionally, Smith relayed to Collider that he is hopeful that this show will keep cranking out hit seasons for a long time, and Mick Herron is working on more source material:

“All I can say is Mick is working on the ninth book, and Gary has openly said he’d happily keep doing this for the rest of his career. So, we just have to cross our fingers that everything else lines up in the equation. The material’s there and the lead actor wants to do it.”

Fingers crossed, indeed, but for now, we’re lucky that these seasons are arriving rapidly even with Hollywood recently in disarray.

Cast

Gary Oldman will be joined by his usual cadre of inept colleagues with returning cast members including Olivia Cooke, Jack Lowden, Kristin Scott Thomas, Jonathan Price, Rosalind Eleazar, Steven Waddington, Saskia Reeves, and Paul Higgins.

Additions to the cast will be plentiful with Hugo Weaving, Joanna Scanlan, James Callis, Tom Brooke, and Ruth Bradley climbing onboard.

Release Date

Slow Horses will release two fourth-season episodes on September 15, followed by four more weekly episodes through October 2.

Trailer

Apple TV+ should release a teaser trailer soon, but for now, please enjoy Jack Bowden revealing how Gary Oldman falls prey to his jokes on set.

“America’s Got Talent” auditions have given us all manner of dance performances, from expressive individuals to impressive group numbers that got the judges praising and the audience roaring.

But in19 audition seasons, judges and viewers have never seen anything quite like AIRFOOTWORKS’ gravity-defying, core-busting dance routine.

As the music began, no one knew what the apparatus made of poles and bars surrounding the dancers was for. But it soon became apparent that they would use it to lift themselves off the ground. What started with a simple pull-up, however, turned into an incredible synchronized dance to Justin Bieber’s “Where Are U Now” in which the dancers synchronized their movements without their feet even touching the ground.

Watch:

AIRFOOTWORKS Delivers MIND-BLOWING Dance To Justin Bieber’s “Where Are U Now” | Auditions | AGT 2024

www.youtube.com

The dancers, who hail from Japan, were mentored by Kenichi Eniba, who won AGT Season 8 in 2013. Their performance earned them a standing ovation from all four judges and the audience.

“Everything about the performance was perfect,” said judge Sofia Vergara.

“It was so creative and so different—and so difficult, by the way,” said judge Simon Cowell. “So you have a great mentor. However, even if you’ve got a great mentor, you’ve still got to be able to do what your mentor helps you to do. And you did it immaculately.”

People in the comments were equally blown away.

“How do people find out they have talents like this??? 😭✋🏼🔥”

“My toxic trait is thinking I can do this without any difficulty 😅.”

“Insane core strength.”

“OBSESSED with this audition.”

“What kind of core strength is this… flawless,🔥💯🔥”

Many people were disappointed that none of the judges hit the Golden Buzzer.

“Why no Golden Buzzer?!?!?! If I’ve seen any act more deserving of it, I can’t recall. These guys were AWESOME!!!!!!!”

“Did they run out of golden buzzers? This is worthy.”

“THEY DESERVED THE GOLDEN BUZZER!”

“This performance absolutely deserved a golden buzzer. It was just spectacular.”

“Can only assume all the judges were so enthralled and mesmerised by this performance they forgot there was a golden buzzer.”

For more talent auditions, you can follow America’s Got Talent on YouTube and TikTok.

@agt

everything about @AIRFOOTWORKS performance was perfect! watch #AGT tuesdays on @NBC and streaming on @Peacock.

In many ways, it’s our relationship to the bad days, not the good ones, that have the biggest influence on our success.

Sure, those magical moments when our physical abilities, motivation, energy levels and creativity all just seem to click into place are glorious. But these are never the days when people are at risk of giving up on their dreams. It’s when things get hard, that our vision becomes blurry.

Few folks can attest to this quite like elite athletes. Sure, their physical prowess is next level, but their mindset is every bit as disciplined, and part of the mental fortitude comes from managing expectations.

Recently Olympian runner Alexi Pappas shared a bit of reframing that completely changed the way she viewed her own bad days. And rest assured—this is solid advice, whether you’re going for a gold medal, or simply trying to get out of bed each day.

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While appearing on the Rich Roll Podcast in 2021, Pappas shared the “Rule of Thirds” advice, which she writes about in her book Bravey, and was given to her by her coach after a particularly hard day on the track.

This was how he defined the “Rule of Thirds”:

“When you’re chasing a dream, you’re meant to feel good a third of the time, okay a third of the time, and crappy a third of the time.”

The Rule of Thirds is a great way to truly assess whether things are in balance. If you’re having too many crappy days, allow for some recovery. If you’re having too many easy breezy or okay days, maybe it’s time to work a little harder. As long as you’re within the ratio, you are still moving towards your goal. No second guessing necessary.

It also reminds us that poor days are an integral part of the growth process, allowing us to accept, perhaps even embrace them. But either way, we are better able to show up for ourselves.

And trust, showing up, even on the bad days, is key. Pappas has experienced this both in her athletic and creative endeavors as a filmmaker.

“On those days, where the creativity doesn’t come or it doesn’t feel great…you still show up. Because maybe that’s your crappy day. But it doesn’t mean that you quit the goal. It doesn’t mean you freak out. It means that you show up and live through that dip…because you’re chasing a dream.”

See on Instagram

We’ve heard a thousand times that progress is not linear. And yet, that bit of wisdom is often the first thing we forget once things aren’t working out and the negative mental chatter starts setting in. So it’s great to know a) that even high achieving Olympians struggle with bad days too and b) we can incorporate the same coping strategies they use into our own goals.

Bottom line: bad days part of the process. Let them be the helpful guides they are along the path to realizing your vision.

If you’d like to catch the full podcast episode, which has a ton of other mindset gems, watch below.

Achieving Audacious Dreams: Alexi Pappas Is Bravey | Rich Roll Podcast

www.youtube.com

The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards, known for being one of the most entertaining photography contests, has just wrapped up, and this year’s top prize goes to Jason Moore for his hilarious and brilliantly captured photo of a kangaroo, cheekily named “Air Guitar Roo.” Not only did this fantastic shot win the overall competition, but it also rocked the Creatures of the Land category, too.

Jason’s photo stood out among a whopping 5,300 entries submitted by 1,842 photographers from 85 countries. Moore’s photo of the female western grey kangaroo was taken in the outer suburbs of Perth, Australia when Jason visited a field of wildflowers to snap some pics of the many adult kangaroos and joeys playing there.

“The shoot turned out to be a great session, and I am quite fond of several images that I captured,” Moore said in a statement. “Not many people know that kangaroos are normally fairly docile and even a bit boring most of the time if I’m honest. However, when I saw this roo striking the air guitar pose, it immediately brought a smile to my face, and I knew that I had captured something really special.”

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The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards was started in 2015 by Paul Joynson-Hicks MBE and Tom Sullam to create a competition focused on the lighter, humorous side of wildlife photography while assuming an essential role in promoting wildlife conservation.

Here are 14 of the big winners.

1. Overall Winner: “Air-Guitar Roo” (grey kangaroo) by Jason Moore, Australia

“On this day, I had been out with my camera photographing some waterfowl at a nearby lake. I had been up at sunrise to take advantage of the ‘golden hour’ light, but it turned out to be a disappointing morning on the water. After leaving the lake, somewhat dejected, I decided to swing past an area of open bushland, because there are often a ‘mob’ of Kangaroos feeding and sunning themselves in a field close to the road. … The morning light was still favorable so I grabbed my camera and headed off to a spot where I could get down to eye level with my subjects. I ended up shooting about 40 or 50 frames of the kangaroos with various content including mum’s, joeys and also some action shots of them bouncing along through the yellow field. The shoot turned out to be a great session, and I am quite fond of several images that I captured. However, when I saw this animal strike this pose it immediately brought a smile to my face and I knew that I had captured something special.” — Jason Moore

2. Creatures of the Air Award: “Unexpected Plunge” (heron) Vittorio Ricci, South Africa

“An unusual end of a perfect moment.” — Vittorio Ricci

3. Creatures Under the Water Award: “Otter Ballerina” (smooth-coated otter), Otter Kwek, Singapore

“The otter was leaping while attempting to grasp the overhanging leaves, and during an unusual landing, it ended up in the Arabesque pose. I showed this photo to a ballet teacher, and she commented that the otter is a natural but just needs to tuck in its tummy a bit — precisely what a ballet teacher would advise.” — Otter Kwek

4. People’s Choice Award: “Dispute” (greenfinch), Jacek Stankiewicz, Poland

“I caught this scene while watching birds in the Bialowieza Forest. My friends interpret this scene in two ways. One, a young naughty kid is arguing with a parent. Two, a kid is reporting to the parent that their brother did something wrong: ‘Look he broke a window!'” — Jacek Stankiewicz

Highly Commended Winners

5. “The Happy Turtle” (swamp turtle), Tzahi Finkelstein, Antarctica

“The swamp turtle is surprised and smiles at the dragonfly resting on its nose.” — Tzahi Finkelstein

6. “The Monday Blahs” (great grey owl) John Blumenkamp, USA

“While photographing the great gray owl shown in my image, I had been busy working to capture that majestic-looking pose. As the owl preened and then sat still for a short while, it stretched once more and for a quick moment gave the pose shown. As it did, I grinned and thought… now that’s funny!” — John Blumenkamp

7. “One for the Family Album” (gannets) Zoe Ashdown, UK

“At RSPB Bempton Cliffs, each year between March and October, around half a million seabirds use the chalk cliffs towering above the North Sea to nest and raise a family. Gannets mate for life and they return to the same nest year after year to raise their young. Lying safely at the top of the cliff face, I was able to observe the affection shown between the gannets each time one returned to the nest. They have a greeting ritual, they rub beaks and entwine their necks; it’s how they strengthen their bond. But it’s also a brilliant opportunity to catch them in various poses. I didn’t realize I’d taken this image until I got home, but as soon as I saw it I laughed out loud! They look like proud parents, posing with their baby.” — Zoe Ashdown

8. “Don’t Look Down” (Atlantic puffin), Brian Matthews, UK

“A puffin does an inverted snoopy impression while watching jelly fish.” — Brian Matthews.

9. “Boing” (grey kangaroo) Lara Mathews, Australia

“Taken at Westerfolds Park, a beautiful and surprisingly wild pocket of land in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, famous for its kangaroo population. The mob was enjoying some morning sunshine when this joey decided to get silly and try his hand at boxing.” — Lara Mathews

10. “The Rainforest Dandy” (monkey) Delphine Casimir, Bali

“This picture was taken in the monkey forest in Ubud, Bali, a crazy place where monkeys are king! This forest is special even magical and sacred to the Balinese people. Maybe our dandy is the reincarnation of a divinity?” — Delphine Casimir

11. “Look Right, Bro” (macaque, deer) Pratick Mondal, India

12. “That Wasn’t Here Yesterday” (white-winged dove) Wendy Kaveney, USA

“A white-winged dove appearing to fly head-on into a cholla cactus skeleton.” — Whitney Kaveney

13. “Snowball” (white grouse) Jaques Poulard, Norway

“The white grouse is coming towards me and looks like a snowball with eyes.” — Jaques Poulard

14. “Excuse Me Sir But I Think You’re a Bit Too Young to Be Smoking” (grey fox) Dakota Vaccaro, USA

“While I was working deep in the Virginian woods, a family of grey foxes took up residence under the deck of the abandoned cottage next to my work housing. One day, while practicing their hunting skills on bits of moss and branches, one of the kits lunged at a small chunk of wood and started rolling around with his prize. Tired after his hunt, the kit lounged on his belly still holding the wood in his mouth which gave the strong resemblance of a cigar.” — Dakota Vaccaro

This article originally appeared on 11.27.23

There’s no denying that a wedding day is a special memory most people want to hold onto for the rest of their lives. It’s the reason people spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on wedding pictures and hand out disposable cameras to guests—to capture memories from all angles, including behind-the-scenes moments that you may forget due to the nerves beforehand.

One mother of the bride decided to take her daughter’s beautiful wedding photos and create a special personalized photo album. But upon further inspection of the gift, the bride noticed that something was amiss. Niki Hunt, told Good Morning America that when her mom, Sherry Noblett, gave her the wedding album at brunch, she admitted she may have messed up.

“She’s very crafty, so usually when she says something like that, it’s something really small. I’m thinking some of the pictures are askew, or whatever,” Hunt explained to GMA.

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The book was a beautiful, sweet gesture for the newlyweds created with Shutterfly, a photo site that allows you to make keepsakes out of your pictures. It appears to be a well-crafted, good-quality album as long as you only look at the photos. When Hunt’s eyes drifted to the captions next to the pictures, she noticed the mistake.

Shutterfly generates automatic generic captions next to the photos, which can be edited to fit what is happening in the pictures. But Noblett either didn’t notice the captions or assumed they wouldn’t show up in the final product if she didn’t edit them. This mishap meant there were wedding pictures next to captions detailing a beach day, time at a park and even the four seasons.

Hunt and her sister could not contain their laughter in the restaurant and decided to record their reaction. The TikTok video has been viewed over 4.2 million times and the comments are full of people joining in on the laughs.

“Not the groomsmen being labeled summer, winter, spring and fall like it’s a spicy calendar,” one person wrote.

“Imagine your great-great-great-great-grandchildren discovering this in a box and reading it with no context lmaooo,” another said.

“When ChatGPT makes a photo album,” someone commented.

You can see all the wacky captions in the video below:

@niki_nibs

Our mother is single handedly the most hilarious person we know, and its usually completely on accident. Favorite wedding gift EVER!!! @shutterfly #shutterfly

This article originally appeared on 8.20.23