Category: Viral

The Miami Heat may have come up short against the Lakers in the NBA Finals, but they have plenty of positives to take away from that experience, not the least of which is the knowledge that it would’ve been a much more competitive series had they not been railroaded by injuries at the worst possible time.

We learned a lot about the team from their time in the Bubble, for example, that Meyers Leonard is quite adept at shotgunning beers and that Jimmy Butler had embarked on a new business venture. Leonard has been able to parlay that latent talent into a sponsorship with Coors, while it’s unclear exactly where Butler is in terms of getting his fledgling coffee business off the ground.

The steep asking price might have been one hurdle. Butler’s signature brew was going for $20 bucks a cup inside the Bubble, although that particular markup likely was adjusted for his highly-affluent clientele. Leonard was adamant that Big Face Coffee makes a tasty cup, but more importantly, he wanted to use his appearance on Yahoo Sports‘ “The Rush“ to push back against the perception that Butler is a bad teammate.

“The thing about Jimmy is, first of all, he obviously completely destroyed any and all narratives about him being an a**hole and a bad teammate,” Leonard said. “I’ve been in the league eight years. That’s a good dude right there, and a good teammate, by the way, like, really cares about people. J.B.’s coffee is good, man. Anything that he’s going to put his name behind, he’s gonna take and do with immense pride.”

Leonard is right about one thing. The Heat’s Finals run was vindication for Butler, who’s earned a reputation for rubbing teammates and other people behind the scenes the wrong way. Whether the coffee is any good remains to be seen. Butler filed for a trademark for his brand back in September, so be on the lookout for the next big coffee craze in the coming months.

(Yahoo Sports)

Tommy Tuberville, the former college football coach, is headed to the United States Senate. Tuberville entered the political realm recently when he decided to challenge incumbent Doug Jones for his Senate seat, and on Election Day this year, Tuberville, a Republican, was able to knock off Jones, a Democrat who assumed the office following a special election in 2017.

Depending on how things shake out with the pair of run-off elections in Georgia, Tuberville could end up being part of a narrow Republican majority in the Senate. Before he gets to D.C., though, it might be in his best interest to call up his local grade school teacher and get a quick run through on a few things. Tuberville gave an interview to Todd Stacy of the Alabama Daily News following his win. Let us go through some stuff he said in it, starting with a fundamental misunderstanding of how our government functions.

“You know, our government wasn’t set up for one group to have all three of branches of government,” Tuberville said when asked about the two parties working together. “It wasn’t set up that way, our three branches, the House, the Senate and executive.”

So, no. Tuberville got a few things right here, mentioning that we have three branches of government and one of them is the executive branch. Where he erred was by saying that the House and the Senate are two separate branches — they are, in fact, one: the legislative branch. The third branch is the judiciary, which Tuberville will surely get familiar with if the Republicans hold the Senate, as majority leader Mitch McConnell’s made it a point to stack the judiciary with conservative justices during his time at the helm of the world’s greatest deliberative body.

Admittedly, not a great start for Tuberville, a statement that can also apply to his 5-6 debut season at Auburn. Let’s now move on to an incorrect statement he made about the 2000 election. For context, Tuberville refused to admit that former vice president Joe Biden is the President-Elect of the United States, doing a bizarre song and dance in which he blamed the media and talked about lawsuits and a bunch of other stuff that is incorrect. Anyway, it’s Al Gore time.

“I remember in 2000 Al Gore was president, United States, president-elect, for 30 days – 30 days – and after 30 days, it got to the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court says, no, George Bush is going to be the president,” Tuberville said. “That’s the problem we’ll get into when we do a lot of guessing, and that’s all it is right now.”

No! Al Gore did not spend 30 days as president-elect in 2000. At no point during the lengthy process to determine whether Gore or George Bush won Florida did either hit the requisite 270 votes in the Electoral College to receive that title. We wont relitigate Bush v. Gore, because who cares right now, because come on man. Total swing and a miss here. But we’re not done! I’m gonna put this next one in here in full.

“Well, it’s a little concerning to me that, just as a citizen this time last week, I look at it and I see what country I grew up in and what it’s meant and the direction that we were going, and it’s concerning to me that a guy can run for president of the United States and have an opportunity to win when he leans more to a Socialist type of government, you know, one-payer system in health care, raise taxes 20%, when the other half the country is basically voting for freedom, let us control our own lives, stay out of our life,” Tuberville said. “And that’s concerning to me that we’re to the point now where we’ve got almost half the country voting for something that this country wasn’t built on. Very concerning and, you know, as I tell people, my dad fought 76 years ago in Europe to free Europe of Socialism. Today, you look at this election, we have half this country that made some kind of movement, now they might not believe in it 100 percent, but they made some kind of movement toward socialism. So we’re fighting it right here on our own soil. We’ve got to decide, you know, over the years which direction we’re going, and that part’s concerning to me.”

This is losing 36-0 to Alabama levels of bad. Lot to unpack here: For one, Biden is a socialist in the same way that I am a cantaloupe. I am, decidedly, not a cantaloupe. Far more baffling is the belief that the United States fought in World War II against socialism, and not against fascism, which is not socialism, and is what the United States fought against in World War II. There’s also the inherent suggestion in the last two sentences that a World War II-esque fight against socialists (which appears to be Joe Biden, who again, is not a socialist, and anyone to the left of him) is necessary to dictate the direction of our country. There’s more stuff but I am not going 900 words here, so let’s wrap things up.

Tuberville was the head football coach at Ole Miss, Auburn, Texas Tech, and Cincinnati in his career, accruing a 159-99 record. Hopefully he fares better in his new role in Washington.

Deftones may have just released their anticipated album Ohms back in September, but the band is already focusing their efforts on another project. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of their iconic album White Pony, Deftones tapped a handful of respected artists to remix each track on the album.

On Friday, we got a look at the results when Deftones shared a remix of “Passenger” by Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda. The new version of the track is much more zen compared to the raucous original, boasting fluttering melodies and a cascading beat drop. The new song is the second single release off the remix record White Pony / Black Stallion, and arrives after “Knife Prty” was reimagined by Purity Ring.

In other Deftones news, the band recently found themselves facing controversy when Stephen Carpenter recently revealed that he doesn’t believe in vaccines, COVID-19, or that the earth is round. Speaking about his conspiracy theories as a guest on the podcast Tin Foil Hat With Sam Tripoli, Carpenter called the virus “bullsh*t” while refusing to acknowledge that wearing a mask slows the spread of COVID-19 (which it does!).

Listen to the “Passenger (Mike Shinoda Remix)” above and check out Deftones’ White Pony / Black Stallion cover art and tracklist below.

1. “Feiticeira (Clams Casino remix)”
2. “Digital Bath (DJ Shadow remix)”
3. “Elite (Blanck Mass remix)”
4. “Rx Queen (Salva remix)”
5. “Street Carp (Phantogram remix)”
6. “Teenager (Robert Smith remix)”
7. “Knife Prty (Purity Ring remix)”
8. “Korea (Trevor Jackson remix)”
9. “Passenger (Mike Shinoda remix)”
10. “Change (In the House of Flies) (Tourist remix)”
11. “Pink Maggit (Squarepusher remix)”

White Pony / Black Stallion is out 12/11 via Warner Music. Pre-order it here.

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

Space Force is apparently returning to Netflix for a second season, which means the show will last longer on the streaming service than the presidency that inspired it. And while that may further hurt the US Military’s chances of copyright over the phrase, the Netflix original will apparently return with some budget-friendly changes.

The Hollywood Reporter shared on Friday that the show will see a second season, with some changes to make that possible in a COVID-19 reality that has seen Netflix trim a number of shows off its production schedule and even reverse some renewals along the way.

Production on the pricey comedy will move from Los Angeles to Vancouver in a bid to reduce the show’s budget. Filming will begin next year. A return date has not yet been determined.

As part of a larger creative revamp, Norm Hiscock has also joined the series and will serve as co-showrunner alongside Greg Daniels. Hiscock, a frequent collaborator with Daniels, counts Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Parks and Recreation, People of Earth and King of the Hill among his credits. The hope, per sources, is that a second season will allow Space Force the runway to grow creatively and better connect with viewers and critics alike much in the same way The Office broke out in its subsequent seasons. In addition to Hiscock, co-star Jimmy O. Yang has also joined the Space Force writing staff.

THR noted several times that the price for keeping Space Force up and running will likely be steep, even with changing locations to a more economical (and less COVID-overran) Vancouver. There’s also the $1 million per episode that Carrell reportedly took in for the show’s original 10-episode run. Apparently it was Carrell’s interest in returning that made a second season of the show possible, and though nothing is certain most of the original crew will be returning. Lisa Kudrow, who played Carrell’s incarcerated wife in the first season, was notably missing from the list of returnees though that may help narrow the focus of what was an uneven first season.

With a shakeup in the writing room and some new focus, Space Force could become the show that many hoped it would be when so many The Office alums were first announced to be involved. But it will apparently happen, like most things in these ever-worrying times, with some significant restrictions and challenges to endure this time around.

The White Stripes may have disbanded in 2011, but their decade-long career still lives on through an extensive catalog — and for the first time, fans can hear all of the band’s most popular songs in one place. The group officially announced their The White Stripes Greatest Hits album last week and are now unveiling a tracklist alongside an animated video for their 2000 song “Apple Blossom.”

The band’s newly-minted “Apple Blossom” video is directed by Wartella, produced by Dream Factory Animation, and stands as a call-back to their De Stijl days. The animation pulls visual inspiration from the De Stijl art movement while also following the story of a girl who embarks on a long journey.

Watch the “Apple Blossom” video above and see The White Stripes Greatest Hits album cover and tracklist below.

1. “Let’s Shake Hands”
2. “The Big Three Killed My Baby”
3. “Fell In Love With A Girl”
4. “Hello Operator”
5. “I’m Slowly Turning Into You”
6. “The Hardest Button To Button”
7. “The Nurse”
8. “Screwdriver
9. “Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground”
10. “Death Letter”
11. “We’re Going To Be Friends”
12. “The Denial Twist”
13. “I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself”
14. “Astro”
15. “Conquest”
16. “Jolene”
17. “Hotel Yorba”
18. “Apple Blossom”
19. “Blue Orchid”
20. “Ball And Biscuit”
21. “I Fought Piranhas”
22. “I Think I Smell A Rat”
23. “Icky Thump”
24. “My Doorbell”
25. “You’re Pretty Good Looking (For A Girl)”
26. “Seven Nation Army”

The White Stripes Greatest Hits is out 12/4 via Third Man/Columbia. Pre-order it here.

It’s 2020 and our presidential race was between an old white dude and another old white dude. That glass ceiling is still hovering over our heads. It might be cracked, but it hasn’t been shattered yet. A blast from the past photo went viral for showing us some of the attitudes that are impeded in the foundation of that glass ceiling – and one skinny little crack from an unlikely source.

Twitter user @natepentz posted a photo of a 1763 Minneapolis Star Tribune article in which readers were asked, “Would a woman be a good president?”

Of the five respondents, four (including two women) gave a firm “no,” backed up by whatever weird logic they used to justify their sexism. “No. Today their mind is one way and the next day, it changes,” said Frank Kampa. “No. A man is more responsible. Women have enough problems without being president,” said Maureen Mellum.

But the lone “why not” has been getting a lot of attention now, 57 years later. Vern Hause’s answer was simple, “”She couldn’t do any worse than some we’ve had.”

The response went viral, and Hause got praise for being a low-key feminist at a time when “The Future is Female” t-shirts didn’t exist.

Other Twitter users thought Hause’s response was kind of lame – that he had no faith in the government, but no faith in women either.

Hause’s response wasn’t the only response to grab attention. Some people commented on how weird Mr. and Mrs. Romanowski’s responses were. Mr. Romanowski answered, “No. I don’t have much faith in women to let them run the country.”

Mrs. Romanowski’s answer was worse, and also kinda hinted that there might be something going on in her marriage. “No. A woman is too likely to give in. They might not stand their ground when they should,” Mrs. Romanowski, who apparently doesn’t have a first name of her own, said. Maybe she was speaking out of her own experience? Although, 1963 might have been before women were allowed to have opinions.

But as far as we’ve come since 1963, some Twitter users pointed out that not much has changed. In some ways, these responses from 1963 could be given now, although the sexism might be less overt.

While newspapers don’t really go around asking weird questions like this anymore, in some ways, society is still asking itself that question. At least now we have plenty of people who will boldly answer, “Why is this even a question???”

“It is a moral failing and a national shame when a father and his baby daughter drown seeking our shores. When children are locked away in overcrowded detention centers and the government seeks to keep them there indefinitely. When our government argues in court against giving those children toothbrushes and soap. When President Trump uses family separation as a weapon against desperate mothers, fathers, and children seeking safety and a better life. When he threatens massive raids that would break up families who have been in this country for years and targets people at sensitive locations like hospitals and schools. When children die while in custody due to lack of adequate care.

Trump has waged an unrelenting assault on our values and our history as a nation of immigrants.

It’s wrong, and it stops when Joe Biden is elected president.”

These are the opening lines of the Biden campaign’s immigration platform, and for fans of compassionate—or even just basically decent—immigration policies, they are a soothing balm for the soul.

Of the many things to take issue with over the past four years, the Trump administration’s cruel immigration policies surely rank toward the top. There was no excuse for the zero tolerance family separation policy that tore children—babies, even—from their parents arms without even putting into place a plan to reunite them. There was no good reason to slash our refugee ceiling to historically low levels when the world is facing a historically large refugee crisis and when study after study shows that refugee resettlement is actually good for the country economically. There was no reason for Dreamers to fear being sent back to countries many of them don’t even remember, when they have lived their lives as Americans and had no say in their parents’ actions.

Immigration is not a simple issue, but some aspects of it should be a no brainer. You don’t traumatize children on purpose, no matter who they are or where they come from. You help as many people as you reasonably can when the need is great. You don’t punish people for choices their parents made when they were kids. You treat human beings like human beings, balancing wisdom and security with kindness and compassion.

Biden says he is committed to a “fair and humane” immigration system. That doesn’t mean unsafe or insecure, but rather smart and strategic in addressing threats while also maintaining our identity as a nation that welcomes immigrants with open arms.

Take the “big, beautiful” wall, for example. Super expensive and not very effective. As the Biden website states, “Most contraband comes in through our legal ports of entry. It’s estimated that nearly half of the undocumented people living in the U.S. today have overstayed a visa, not crossed a border illegally. Families fleeing the violence in Central America are voluntarily presenting themselves to border patrol officials. And the real threats to our security–drug cartels and human traffickers–can more easily evade enforcement efforts because Trump has misallocated resources into bullying legitimate asylum seekers. Trump fundamentally misunderstands how to keep America safe because he cares more about governing through fear and division than common sense solutions.”

One specific change Biden has committed to is raising our refugee ceiling back up to 125,000, which is around the number we had been resettling prior to Trump’s election. In the past four years, Trump has dropped that number more than 80%—completely unprecedented—and there were rumors that a second term would drop the number to zero.

Biden’s site also explains briefly how the humanitarian crisis we’ve seen at our border during the Trump administration could be tied to his administration freezing the funds that a bipartisan aid package for Central America secured during the Obama administration was designed to curb:

“Critically, the Obama-Biden administration recognized that irregular migration from the Northern Triangle countries of Central America cannot be effectively addressed if solutions only focus on our southern border. The better answer lies in addressing the root causes that push desperate people to flee their homes in the first place: violence and insecurity, lack of economic opportunity, and corrupt governance. As Vice President, Biden spearheaded the administration’s efforts in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras–bringing high-level attention to these issues and securing bipartisan support for a $750 million aid package to help the Northern Triangle countries implement critical, concrete reforms. These efforts were beginning to deliver results and reduce migration rates until Trump froze the majority of the funding, began his campaign to terrorize immigrants and assault the dignity of the Latino community, and created the current humanitarian crisis at our border with his irresponsible and inhumane policies.”

The site includes a summary of policies that Biden will “forcefully pursue” which will “safeguard our security, provide a fair and just system that helps to grow and enhance our economy, and secure our cherished values.”

He will:

– Take urgent action to undo Trump’s damage and reclaim America’s values

– Modernize America’s immigration system

– Welcome immigrants in our communities

– Reassert America’s commitment to asylum-seekers and refugees

– Tackle the root causes of irregular migration

– Implement effective border screening

It’s refreshing to not only to see a reasonable, humane approach to immigration, but also to see paragraphs of detail about Biden’s approach. The Trump campaign’s one-page bullet list of a second-term agenda briefly addressed immigration, and only in terms that were entirely negative and fear-based. The contrast could not be more stark.

It will be wonderful to again see America as welcoming home for people from around the world, who help make our society so richly diverse. With immigration policies based in fairness and decency over fear and distrust, we will renew that aspect of our national identity with pride.

While coronavirus cases are soaring across the United States and exponential, uncontrollable spread of the virus is feared for a third major wave in 2020, having a dinner party under any circumstances seems like a pretty questionable idea. Which is why the idea of the US Congress throwing one for new members in an enclosed dining space drew outrage on social media.

NBC News reporter Leigh Ann Caldwell shared a photo of the gathering on Friday, which was quickly quote tweeted into oblivion by people who were furious not at her, but at the nation’s leaders who apparently feel hosting a large indoor dinner while a pandemic rages out of control is a good idea.

Though Pelosi was quoted as saying the event was “very spaced” and ventilation was improved for the event, any large gathering indoors is a bad idea with uncontrollable spread of COVID-19 infiltrating basically every aspect of American society. College football is on the verge of collapse, college basketball is struggling as well and Americans are being asked to pare down Thanksgiving gatherings and avoiding travel in several states as new restrictions on public life are coming back across the country.

Couple that with the advanced age of many people in congress — putting them squarely in the population particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 — and it was safe to say that the image did not go over very well on social media. MSNBC’s Chris Hayes was particularly unhappy.

Dan Rather wasn’t happy about it, either.

Billy Eichner called it “terrible” and “embarrassing” for everyone involved.

Chelsea Clinton pled with government officials to cancel the event.

There were a lot of good points made about the message it sends about the elite in America and what normal human beings living through the worst health crisis in decades may take from the symbolism here.

There are, quite literally, thousands and thousands more reactions to this image. Many are disbelief, shock, anger, or a combination of those emotions. Hopefully the event goes off safely and no one gets the wrong idea from hosting a gathering like this, but in a year where Americans have longed for proper guidance and aid from their government in a time of crisis without recent compare, this wasn’t a move that helped or made anyone feel better about anything at all.

Grammy-nominated musician Tayla Parx is an expert at juggling projects. The singer is an accredited writer on Ariana Grande’s recently-released Positions and even appeared in the title track’s video. On top of that, Parx is just a week away from releasing her sophomore album Coping Mechanisms. Offering fans one last taste of the record’s honest-yet-euphoric sound, Parx debuts a new song alongside a 70s-inspired visual.

Parx sings of being truthful about her emotional baggage amid a sparse studio backdrop in her “Fixerupper” video directed by Joe DeSantis. Speaking about the song’s meaning, Parx notes: “’Fixerupper’ marks a moment of growth. It came after I ended up meeting my next love. I recognized the need to get over some situations, be patient, and understand there are some bandages necessary to fix me up.”

About her musical inspirations on Coping Mechanisms, Parx said she hopes to inspire listeners to be kind to themselves: “I’m ever-changing. I’m unwilling to let my creative side die — ever. I’m a businesswoman, I’m a brand, and I’m a human. I’m working on being a better one all the time too. I’m going to allow myself to continue to evolve. My message is, ‘It’s okay to not be okay sometimes.’ It’s also okay to be better than okay other times. Be nice to yourself. Go through those growing pains, because they enable you to become who you’re meant to be.”

Watch Parx’s “Fixerupper” video above. Coping Mechanisms is out 11/20 via Tayla Made/Atlantic. Pre-order it here.

Tayla Parx is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Given the unique time frame in which NBC’s hit family drama “This Is Us” takes place, actor Mandy Moore has been able to explore the various stages of life as a mother.

Moore is now in her fifth season of playing Rebecca Pearson, the mother of the “Big Three,” Kevin, Kate, and Randall Pearson on the show. With the use of clever makeup, viewers have witnessed most of Rebecca’s life from being a teenager to her final moments on her death bed.

We’ve also seen her journey as a mother from being pregnant with twins to raising three teenagers. The show also touches upon the final stages of the character’s life when her children are forced to care for her as she battles dementia.

Now that Moore is pregnant for the first time at 36, she believes her experience playing Rebecca has taught her more than a few things about being a mother.

Mandy Moore Talks About ‘This Is Us’ And How She’s Getting Ready For Her Baby Boy | TODAY

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“It’s funny, I mean having played a sort of matriarch of a family for the last five years and getting to sort of see children at various different chapters and stages, I feel like I’m as pseudo-prepared as I can be,” she told Hoda Kotb on Today.

“I’ve had babies and toddlers and I have adult children, so I’ve kind of gotten a pretty good taste and lay of the land.”

Even though she’s learned a lot by playing Rebecca, she’s totally open to parenting advice. Although, she’s going to get plenty of it whether she wants it or not. “Everyone wants to give you unsolicited advice,” she said. “I’m all for it. I will welcome anything because I know nothing.”

Moore is excited to raise a child with her husband, Taylor Goldsmith, so they can share their passion for music with the next generation.

“My husband is a musician, and so the idea of being able to have music be this throughline in his life is really exciting — to be able to bring him on the road with us is an exciting prospect,” she said.

Goldsmith is a singer-songwriter who’s the guitarist, and chief songwriter of American folk-rock band Dawes.

“This Is Us” is still filming its fifth season and Moore says she’s not exactly sure how they’re going to hide her pregnancy from the cameras but is glad it’s not her responsibility.

“Very conspicuous costumes, I guess, to hide stuff,” she said. “I’m sure you’ll see Rebecca carrying a lot of laundry baskets and oversized purses, god knows what, for the next couple of months.”

“I’ve also heard that they can sort of go in and digitally change things, if need be, but I’m guessing it’ll be a lot more shots of sort of less full body, probably just like what we’re seeing today,” she said. “Chest up.”

If Moore follows the lead of her character, she should so well as a mother. Rebecca once explained the job of a parent mother to her daughter, Kate, and it’s something any parent will understand.

“It’s my job to keep standing there with my arms wide open, waiting for you to maybe someday fall inside if you needed it,” she told Kate. “And if you do, I’ll love you. And if you don’t, I’ll love you, too — because that’s what it means to be a parent. You’ll see one day.”