Category: Worldwide

One of the more under-the-radar elements of the James Harden-Ben Simmons trade is that the Philadelphia 76ers had to give up backup big man Andre Drummond. While backup centers don’t normally get a ton of love, Philly has struggled for years to figure out what to do when Joel Embiid is on the bench, and Drummond has easily been the best backup 5 that they’ve had.

As such, the minutes behind Embiid have to go somewhere, and beloved Sixers reserve Paul Reed got a chance to fill in for the MVP candidate on Friday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Reed is known for being a tenacious defender, which he put on display in the second quarter when he took an inbound pass away from Darius Bazley. Reed had a clear path to the rim after that, and appeared to think it was time to do something flashy.

The catch: Reed misjudged his path to the rim, so instead of doing what I think was supposed to be a LeBron-esque dunk where he rocks his arms to the side and then back around and dunks with both hands and his back facing the rim, this happened.

“You just gotta come up with the two points here” is some excellent analysis. Anyway, the Sixers led at halftime, 46-41, while Reed had two points, three rebounds, two blocks, and two steals in seven minutes of work in the first half.

Street artists are a special breed. While “the art world” can sometimes be a snooty, elite place for those with means, street art is made for everyone. Sometimes that means large public murals, but street art can be small, too. In fact, some of the best street art is so small you might miss it if you’re not paying attention. But those who are can discover some delightful surprises.

Just imagine walking down a sidewalk and seeing this little fella at your feet:

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Or this young lady:

Or this creature:

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That would make your day, wouldn’t it? Or at least bring a smile to your face for a while?

Public art is an act of love to strangers, a way of connecting to people without saying a word. It says, “Hey there, fellow human. Here’s a little something to make you smile, just because.”

That’s the beauty of David Zinn’s street art. It’s meant for the public—just average passers-by—to enjoy, individually and collectively.

Zinn has created an entire world of characters who pop up in unexpected places. For instance, meet Gerald the otter, who is waiting for a blind date in this tree stump.

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Zinn uses chalk and charcoal to make his cast of characters come to life in cracks and crevasses, sidewalks and tree trunks. His creations aren’t meant to last forever; in fact, as Zinn points out, the temporary nature of them adds value to them.

“Famous works of art hanging in museums get seen by thousands of people every day. But this? You could be among the dozens of people who get to see this while it exists,” he told CBS Mornings. “That’s pretty special.”

Watch how he takes something he finds in the sidewalk and transforms it into a sweet little duo.

Sometimes he uses natural things he finds as inspiration for a piece.

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Other times, he uses something human-made, like this upside down terra cotta pot:

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Or this manhole cover:

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Sometimes the shape of a rock lends itself to a character, like Keith and his emotional support chick here:

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Or the space itself serves as inspiration.

Nadine the mouse features in many of Zinn’s pieces, probably due to her small size making it easy for her to fit into small spaces.

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Usually his pieces use what’s already there—like a crack in the sidewalk—to tell a story.

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The 3D nature of his drawings make it feel as if his characters are truly there.

“Looks like another long day of things stubbornly refusing to be impossible,” he writes in a caption of one of his “pigasuses.”

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(Speaking of having wings, Nadine found a pair for herself.)

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Watch Zinn turn a simple pot into a character with personality in a matter of minutes:

His entire Instagram page, Facebook page and TikTok channel are filled with endless delight. It was nearly impossible to decide what to include in this article because I wanted to include everything.

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This is all well and good, you might say to yourself, but how does Zinn make a living if he’s not selling this art?

He sells books and prints of photos of his artwork on his online store. He also gets invited to schools and events. He has created a career for himself by rejecting blank canvases, putting his imagination out on the street for everyone to see for a while, then selling versions that will actually last. Pretty brilliant, really.

Zinn gave a fascinating TEDx Talk explaining how he found his own artistic niche. You’ll never look at a parking meter or sidewalk the same way again.

Despite the fact that his future seemed up in the air in the days leading up to the NBA trade deadline, Russell Westbrook made it past Thursday afternoon at 3 p.m. EST without getting moved. As a result, the Los Angeles Lakers are hoping that this group can figure it out after a less-than-convincing first 56 games.

Westbrook did not play in the Lakers’ final game before the deadline, as he sat out for the first time all season. The official reason that the team game was Westbrook was dealing with back tightness, and on Friday, Westbrook met with the media and discussed the ailment. He even gave his theory for why he thinks he’s dealing with back issues: extended time on the bench.

Westbrook is third on the Lakers, behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis, in minutes per game and first in total minutes played this season, but there have been games this season where Frank Vogel has elected to keep him on the bench for long stretches — there have been two instances lately, following games against the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks, where Vogel has made clear he benched Westbrook because his performance was not up to par.

Next up for the Lakers is a showdown with the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night in San Francisco. It is unclear if Westbrook will play or if his back tightness will continue to keep him sidelined.

Before we begin this post: If you have not done the Wordle puzzle for Friday, Feb. 11 yet and are the kind of person who gets upset when things are spoiled for you, we highly recommend going and doing that before you continue reading, because in order to understand why people think Karl-Anthony Towns might be — as Jack Baer of Yahoo Sports so eloquently put it — a Wordle fraud, you have to understand that Friday’s word is rather unique.

Why is that the case? Well, because the word is…

[stop reading here if you don’t want it spoiled]

…ulcer. Ulcer! That’s a weird one. I tend to struggle with letters that appear twice in the same word and words that begin with vowels, and this one falls into that latter category. If you’ve never played Wordle before, here’s an explainer, but the quick description is you get six guesses at a five-letter word and you’re made aware of whether or not a letter is in the right spot, is in the word but in the wrong spot, or just flat-out wrong with each guess. It’s fun, I play it every day and get mad at myself that I don’t get it in one fewer word every time.

If you have Twitter, you have assuredly seen people post their Wordle scores, because it happens all the time. Towns got into the game recently, and he appears to be very, very good at it. Here is every Wordle tweet he has sent up until Friday:

He is consistently putting forth good efforts, which is very impressive! But now, we get to Friday. Look at this:

Again, the word is ULCER. This means, based on the blocks, Towns went:

GUESS 1: U _ _ E R
GUESS 2: U C _ E R
GUESS 3: U L C E R

Ignore the fact that this implies he just knew to guess a word with the letter U on his first attempt. We know that the above has to be what guess 2 is because the little yellow brick indicates the letter appears elsewhere in the word, and the only empty spot is the third letter. Therefore, he had to guess U C _ E R. Twitter caught onto this and thinks that something funny might be going on.

There are five explanations here: 1. KAT is somehow getting different words than anyone else, which seems … extremely unlikely. 2. KAT is on a different day, which can’t be true, because Friday was Wordle 237. 3. KAT is playing a different Wordle than the official Wordle. 4. KAT is lying. 5. KAT has never actually played Wordle and is just posting stuff. Minnesota has four more games before the All-Star break, and it is our sincere hope that Towns clarifies what is going on here.

Julia Garner’s portrayal of con artist Anna Delvey has created quite a buzz, as Inventing Anna premieres on Netflix today. To prepare for the role, Garner went to great lengths to create the look and distinct accent of the Soho scammer and even visited her in jail.

But Delvey recently wrote about how she was unsure if she would even watch the show. In an essay for Insider, Delvey, who’s real name is Anna Sorokin, wrote about her hesitation to be involved with the show. Written from her jail cell, Sorokin said, “For a long while, I was hoping that by the time Inventing Anna came out, I would’ve moved on with my life. I imagined for the show to be a conclusion of sorts summing up and closing of a long chapter that had come to an end…Even if I were to pull some strings and make it happen, nothing about seeing a fictionalized version of myself in this criminal-insane-asylum setting sounds appealing to me,” she said. Okay, but she’s probably at least a little bit curious about the accent, right?

In response to Sorokin, Garner says acknowledges Anna’s perspective, and doesn’t blame her for not wanting to watch. “Here’s the thing, I respect whatever Anna does in terms of whether she wants to watch the show or doesn’t want to watch the show,” the Ozark actress says. “That’s her choice and that’s totally fine. She doesn’t have to watch the show.”

Garner added, “I never made the show in anticipation, thinking that she’s going to watch it. If she did watch it, great. If not, that’s fine, too. I respect whatever she wants to do.”

All episodes of Inventing Anna are now streaming on Netflix, while Sorokin is still in ICE custody.

(Via Insider)

It’s been nearly 20 years since the last time we saw Dr. Evil and his band of sidekicks—Number 2, Frau Farbissina and Scott Evil—hatch a treacherous plan for world domination. The last film they appeared in together was 2002’s “Austin Powers in Goldmember.”

But now they’re back in a new General Motors ad set to run during Super Bowl 56.

The ad opens with Dr. Evil, played by the devilish Mike Myers, announcing he plans to take over General Motors. However, his evil cohorts convince him that he must first tackle global warming or else he won’t have much of a planet to take over.

“You must help save the world first,” Farbissina warns Dr. Evil. “Then you can take over the world.” So, Dr. Evil decides that it’s best for him and his merry band of super-villains to reduce their carbon footprint.

The ad was created to promote General Motors’ new Ultium electric vehicle platform featuring several new EVs and autonomous concept vehicles.

Seth Green, who plays Dr. Evil’s son Scott, says that Myers had a big role in developing the spot. “The only thing I know is that Mike took a very first-hand, personal interest in shaping the script, so that it not only accurately represented the characters in the narrative but also sold the product in a way that the company was happy with,” Green said, according to Variety.

It’s great seeing the cast of bad guys from the Austin Powers films back on the small screen, but will they ever return to the big one? According to Screen Rant, there have been numerous discussions about a sequel between Myers and director Jay Roach, but for now, it’s just talk.

So, our family watched “Encanto” for the first time on Christmas day. We’ve watched it several more times since then, and like half the world, we’ve been singing “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” every day for nearly two months. No exaggeration. Every. Single. Day.

Not that I’m complaining, because the song is legitimately fantastic. I didn’t want to get sick of it, though, so I was thrilled when my kids pulled up a version Disney put together in 21 different languages. A whole new way to enjoy the song and celebrate some of the diversity of our human family at the same time. Win-win!

But that’s just one of many smile-worthy finds this week.

From the pure joy of a momma dancing her heart out to a sweet mother-son reunion to an aggressively adorable baby emu, here are 10 things that will hopefully bring joy to your heart. Enjoy!

The emotional expression in this wee one’s dancing is so moving.

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Absolutely beautiful to see this young human showing his heart through his body, and even better to see how his peers encourage him.

When her sons put on her favorite song, this momma pulled out all the stops.

@guggin94

Instagram – Guggin94 👀

Her entire being lit up and she literally got younger and younger as she danced. So. Much. Joy. Read the full story of this delightful family here.

Street artist leaves little 3D chalk characters in public spaces.

David Zinn has a whole cast of characters he draws on sidewalks, in tree stumps, on bricks, on rocks—and each one is absolutely precious. I could spend hours pouring through his Instagram, Facebook and TikTok pages.

Parents mic’d up our their 4-year old-while snowboarding and adorableness ensued.

@chasing.sage

We mic’d up our 4 year old while snowboarding.🥰 #fatherdaughter #dadlife #snowboarding #micdup #cuteness #wholesome #familytime #raddad #fatherhood

“I’m a stuck-asaurus.” I can’t. The cute is too much.

Speaking of too much cuteness, enjoy this babe emu’s chaotic play.

Baby emu.. pic.twitter.com/ZIEQuFpKdW

— Buitengebieden (@Buitengebieden)
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Baby emu is just so darn excited to have legs! (Sound up, too.)

Cat gets its own private, close-up view inside the aquarium.

@jasperthecatfish

So clever. It’s like cat heaven. Read the full story here.

He hadn’t seen his mom in three years and his fiancee surprised him with her at the airport.

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The love in this video is palpable.

The healthy self-love of this 3-year-old is an inspiration to us all.

My 3 yo said goodnight to all of us tonight and then in the dark I heard her little voice say, u201cGoodnight myself. I love you. [pause] I love you too.u201d nnDonu2019t let anyone take that from you, little one.

— Jenny Nordbak (@Jenny Nordbak)
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Gah. Sometimes those little ones are so dang profound.

The “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” version you’ll want to talk about.

I mean, even if it weren’t a good song, the seamlessness with which Disney put together 21 different languages in this video is impressive. (But it is a good song, so again, win-win!)

And finally, a sugar glider flying in slow motion just because.

Twitter needs this.. pic.twitter.com/ZTynihLYhe

— Buitengebieden (@Buitengebieden)
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Let’s all sail into the weekend like this little guy!

Hope that brought a smile to your face and put a pep in your step, friends! Come back next week for another roundup of joy and delight from around the internet.

A father-daughter snowboarding session takes the cuteness up a notch, thanks to dad’s brilliant idea to attach a mic to his 4-year-old. Sweetness ensued.

Sporting an adorable dinosaur onesie, the “powder-saurus” glides through their “secret path,” warning dad of intruders. Cause clearly, it’s THEIR secret path.

As she does, she sings her song of resilience and courage.

“I won’t fall … maybe I will … that’s okay … cause we all fall.”

Truly powerful wisdom in such a tiny package.

One person astutely wrote in the comments, “this is the mantra we all need in 2022.” I mean … it’s accurate.

Another added, “this child gave a TED Talk about the power of positive self-talk.”

Indeed, “Shredder Dad” shares footage of our loveable snowboarding dinosaur making a few face plants, but she quickly bounces back. Nothing can stop her from her “weewhoos.” Nothing.

That is, until she becomes a “stuck-asaurus.” A truly relatable moment for all ages. Aren’t “indiscernible verbal struggles” part of the soundtrack of life? Still, she takes it all in hilarious stride, laughing all the way, and the positivity is heartwarming.

This video quickly put a smile on more than 6 million faces, and even got a comment from Walmart, which agreed that “we all fall sometimes.”

Turns out that there’s even more wholesome adventure content on the family’s TikTok. They even have a very thorough guide for teaching a toddler to snowboard here.

And by the way, yes, that dinosaur outfit does come in an adult size.

Next time you’re feeling down, just think of the powder-saurus song, and you’ll be back to “weewhoo” in no time.

This article originally appeared on 11.09.15

Hedy Lamarr was a movie star, and a total hot commodity in Hollywood. If you look around the Internet, you’ll find lots of images of her makin’ out with famous dudes from the ’40s.

happy birthday film GIF

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But Lamarr was also an incredible inventor.

She had a room in her house that was dedicated to tinkering, inventing, and just figuring out whatever she wanted!

She once said, “All creative people want to do the unexpected.”

Let’s be real: It was the 1940s, and no one was expecting a famous movie starlet to up and invent a torpedo radio system with the goal of fighting the Germans during World War II. But she did!

When she heard that a a German sub had torpedoed two boats carrying British children to Canada to avoid the Blitz, she was horrified.

Before Hedy became a famous movie star, she was married to an Austrian military arms merchant. And while her arms-dealing husband was chatting about weapons … Hedy was listening. So when she got fed up with hearing about all the crappy news of the war, she called upon her own talents to make a difference.

First stop: torpedoes!

Torpedoes back then were controlled by radio signals, which meant they were easily jammed easily by evil German submarines. And Hedy was not there for that.

So she teamed up with George Antheil, a pianist and composer, and they came up with a solution. Using a player-piano mechanism, they created a radio system that could jump frequencies, making it essentially jam-proof.

Lamarr and Antheil got a patent for their idea in 1942, in the middle of Hedy’s career as a Hollywood star! And even though the U.S. military didn’t use the technology until the ’60s, the work they did laid the foundation for the complex radio communications that are behind cellphones, Wi-Fi, satellite tech, and more.

Not only did Hedy make space in her life to play and invent, but she took herself seriously.

She saw something she wanted to change, so she did it. She got her patent. She made a difference.

On what would have been Hedy’s 101st birthday, artist Jennifer Hom celebrated her legacy creating this Google Doodle (below). Hedy’s life is a masterclass in following your passion, no matter what.

Deion Sanders, the NFL Hall of Fame inductee and current head coach at Jackson State University, has a height minimum for cornerbacks: “5’11 or bigger,” Sanders says. “Have to be.”

When looking at Sunday’s Super Bowl matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams, however, Sanders is paying attention to far more than just cornerback play. As a head coach, Sanders tells Uproxx, he has to look at the whole game and evaluate how all of the pieces fit together. It’s also how he looks at his daily grooming routine, something he’s come to take more seriously after his playing days came to an end.

Uproxx caught up with Sanders via his partnership with Gillette Labs. Coach Prime gave insight into how’d he prepare to go against both high-powered offenses in Super Bowl LVI, his grooming routine, why he’s a daily shaver, and his Super Bowl pick.

Tell me a little bit about what you’re doing here with Gillette Labs.

Gillette is doing a phenomenal thing — I love that they provide options for every man with this new Gillette Labs Razor with this great exfoliating bar. Gives a shave as quick and easy as washing your face, man. And the nationwide launch is happening at the Super Bowl.

One of the reasons I partnered with them is that they provided me with so many options and I loved it. My kids loved it, too, and they are always well-groomed. That’s mandatory in the Sanders family. I’m happy about the Super Bowl activation.

What makes shaving with this product different?

I like the smoothness, I like the way it hugs my face, I like the way it grabs the hair. The moisturizer is great, too. The razors are just unbelievable. I like everything about it, man, and it’s quick and easy. It’s really quick and easy and I need to shave expeditiously, and I am able to do that with this. I’m a daily shaver. I’m not a weekly shaver. I’d be fully gray after two days, man, so I shave daily. And I like it.

So what is the Deion Sanders grooming routine?

I shower in the morning, of course. And I’m a shower shaver, so I have these little mirrors in my showers that has a razor holder and all of that. I can easily put my Gillette products in there. And I shave at the conclusion of the shower.

Were you a daily shaver and this meticulous when you were playing, or is this more of a recent development?

It’s something that kind of evolved. When I played, I was groomed on gameday or when I had to be on camera. But now, I’m on camera every day because of what we are doing at Jackson and the documentaries that we are doing on a daily basis. I’m shaving daily. But when I played, I definitely didn’t shave daily. But I shaved when it was time to look the part and be the part.

Do you find there’s a mental benefit to this doing this level of daily grooming?

It’s the old quote, man: You look good, you feel good. The way you look has a lot to do with how you feel and how you see yourself. I’m a guy that always looks up and looks for improvement, and looks at my glass half full instead of half empty.

To move to some football questions: How would you approach defending Cooper Kupp considering the season he’s had for the Rams?

Cooper Kupp is phenomenal. He presents a problem for everyone. He’s had one of the best seasons in NFL history in leading in three different categories as a receiver. The kid is phenomenal and he deserves all the credit.

With that extra week that’s not normal in an NFL season, do you think that’s helpful for players and preparation as much as we think it might be from the outside?

Nah, man, you want to play. You want to get it over with. You don’t want that extra week. You want to go play.

What stands out about Joe Burrow to you? And what about Matt Stafford?

[Burrow’s] very confident. And knows the game, understands the game and understands defenses. He’s very effective. [Stafford] has proven he can perform in a big game. He’s proved that he is the guy. He’s just got to prove that he can win it all. That’s the only thing left for him to prove.

Do you have a pick for the Super Bowl?

The Rams.

Why the Rams over the Bengals?

Well, they are the home team. They have true home field advantage. Secondly, I think they have more of a veteran sense and feel to them and more playmakers on the defensive side of the ball. I always look at the defense first. Usually, the team with the best defense in the end wins. I know everyone is trying to make it into an offensive game, but normally, the team with the best defense wins.