The two subjects that dominated cultural conversation most during 2020 are, obviously, COVID-19, followed closely by the song “WAP” from Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion. So as creatives with too much time on their hands are wont to do, some concerned citizens at John Hopkins University decided to pair the two together in a little PSA about wearing a mask — and yes, it’s as well-meaning and cringe-worthy as it sounds.
Orchestrated by the Bloomberg School Of Public Health, the parody of “WAP” is dubbed “WAmP” (Wear A Mask, Please) and seeks to help people understand how important it is to actually wear a face covering — “not just hold it as a prop.” The parody song includes other lyrics that point to social distancing and other seemingly hard-to-follow instructions, like not wearing the mask on your chin, and making sure it covers both mouth and nose.
“There’s a mask on his mouth,” goes the sampled refrain in this version, replacing the original’s declaration “there’s some ho’s in this house,” and in general the new version hews pretty close to the rhythms and melody of the original, it’s mostly the lyrics and visuals that have been swapped. Credited artists for the song are “Birdi Jay” and “Thee Mental Notes,” with the former alluding to John Hopkins’ mascot, the Blue Jay, who stars in the video. Watch the clip below. All corniness aside, they get full marks for creativity.
After a period of relative tranquility after James Harden reported to training camp and appeared in a preseason game for the Houston Rockets, the rumor mill began churning again in earnest on Thursday evening. First, ESPN reported that the Rockets are “expanding trade discussions” for the star guard, even beyond the destinations (Brooklyn and Philadelphia) that Harden is thought to prefer.
ESPN reporting with @ramonashelburne: The Houston Rockets are increasingly expanding trade discussions on James Harden beyond his preferred destinations of Brooklyn and Philadelphia. Full story: https://t.co/pt6AByyywa
From there, multiple reporters weighed in with insight that the Philadelphia 76ers could be at least willing to include superstar Ben Simmons in the discussions.
The Philadelphia 76ers have made Ben Simmons available in some packages with the Houston Rockets for James Harden, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA@Stadium. Conversations aren’t fluid as of now.
Also in story: While the Sixers have signaled a willingness to include All-Star guard Ben Simmons in trade packages for Harden, those talks have come nowhere close to a deal, sources said. https://t.co/bbP3k3uNci
However, Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey responded swiftly to those rumblings, telling Shams Charania of The Athletic that the team is “not trading Ben Simmons.”
In response, 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey tells @TheAthleticNBA@Stadium: “We are not trading Ben Simmons — he is an important part of our future.” https://t.co/W6T7HQjjoP
Though next week’s start of the 2020-21 regular season could act as a soft deadline for negotiations, the Rockets do not have to move quickly, with Harden under contract for multiple seasons. To add to that, Harden did show up for camp and all indications are that he will take the court and (very likely) perform at a high level as he awaits the deal that he is reportedly seeking.
As for Philadelphia, the 76ers would potentially love to lure Harden away from Houston without giving up Simmons and, at least from a contractual perspective, the organization does have other ways to get that deal done. However, the Rockets should absolutely be asking for Simmons in return and, if Philadelphia is unwilling to include Simmons or Joel Embiid, it is entirely possible that Houston might hang up the phone before talks can escalate.
In some ways, it feels as if a deal could be on the way, if only because the chatter has been happening for a long time. Still, this on-record denial from Morey is the latest road block, and the partnership between Harden and the Rockets may need to continue for a while.
Dreaming about lo mein on the season finale of Pod Yourself A Gun.
On the latest episode of Pod Yourself A Gun: A Sopranos Podcast, Rolling Stone chief television critic and co-author of The Sopranos Sessions, Alan Sepinwall, returns to talk to Matt and Vince about the final episode of The Sopranos season 3, “Army of One.”
In the last pre-9/11 Sopranos episode, everyone’s favorite fail-stunad’ is at it again. The principal has a DNA match on AJ’s peepee, and Tony thinks military school will straighten the little piss bandit out. He’ll never get to be Donald Trump’s helicopter pilot if he doesn’t learn some discipline. During their talk, the guys decide when it’s okay to hit your kids, and try to find out if David Chase has heard the show. Let’s hope not!
If you’ve been hiding out in the projects in Boonton, you might not know that there’s now a PYAG Patreon tier. Give us money and you too can hear your name on a podcast!
Subscribe to Pod Yourself A Gun on Apple Podcasts. Email us at [email protected]; leave us a voicemail at 415-275-0030. Support the Pod: become a patron at patreon.com/Frotcast and get more bonus content than you could ever want.
Kawhi Leonard is entering his second season in Los Angeles after choosing the Clippers in free agency a year ago, provided they paired him with another star in Paul George. The Clippers’ pursuit of Leonard had been no secret, as Lawrence Frank was a regular at Raptors games to watch Leonard and make clear L.A.’s desire to bring him back home.
However, there are recent allegations that implicate Clippers executive Jerry West of improprieties in his pursuit of Leonard, lobbied by Johnny Wilkes, who claims to be Leonard’s friend, in a lawsuit that was first reported by TMZ. West denied wrongdoing, but Wilkes claims he was promised $2.5 million by West to assist in steering the star to Los Angeles. The lawsuit also alleges West agreed to give Leonard’s uncle, Dennis Robertson, a house and a travel expense account as part of the agreement for Leonard to join the Clippers.
Marc Stein of the New York Times and Sam Amick of The Athletic both reported on Thursday that the league was now launching an investigation into the claims in Wilkes’ lawsuit, although it remains unclear how much merit there is to the claims — and most importantly, if anything can be proven.
The NBA has opened an investigation of the Clippers in the wake of a @TMZ_Sports report earlier this week regarding allegations against Jerry West in the 2019 free agent recruitment of Kawhi Leonard, sources say
The TMZ report published on Monday detailed a lawsuit filed by Johnny Wilkes alleging that Jerry West owed him $2.5 million for his role in helping the Clippers land Kawhi Leonard. The NBA, as reported, has deemed it concerning enough to investigate.
We’ll learn in due time how real these allegations are and if they are at all something that can be proven, either in court or in an NBA investigation. Given that the parties involved aside from Wilkes all have reason to avoid such improprieties becoming public knowledge, even if such agreements did happen, barring hard evidence it figures to be very difficult to find someone among the chief individuals involved who would be willing to admit to these things having taken place.
The pandemic has robbed us of the better part of a year. Not being able to have holiday celebrations has made it feel as if the holidays didn’t even happen. Those little rituals of cutting turkey with your family on Thanksgiving or going to a BBQ on Labor Day are what makes the holiday feel more like a holiday than just getting the day off. Technically, the only reason why we had a Fourth of July this year is because July 4th is a date on the calendar.
COVID hasn’t entirely cancelled Christmas. Festive Holiday light shows mean you can experience that Christmas-y feel from the safety of your own car. Or better yet, you can skip getting in your car and watch them on You Tube. These people have been working hard, despite the pandemic, to make sure that some of that Holiday magic enters our lives.
Magical Light Show
Titanium (David Guetta/Sia) 2020 Christmas Light Show
The Magical Light Show happens every year in Tracy, California and 2020 isn’t an exception. The light show also doubles as a fundraiser for the McHenry House, a family shelter in Tracy. You don’t have to be anywhere near the California city to view the show or to donate. The organization is taking donations on their website.
COVID is basically the Grinch who stole Christmas, or at least the Grinch who reduced Christmas to only essential functions. This light show is the Dr. Seuss classic, but projected on to somebody’s house – which is really the best way to see it, anyways.
Polar Christmas Light Show At Toronto Pearson Airport
Polar Christmas light Show 2020 Massive (4K) #Christmas Medley Disco Remix 2020 no copyright #Glow
In any other year, going to the airport around the Holidays is a special kind of hell you’d only wish on your worst enemy (because it’s not fatal, just uncomfortable). The upshot of 2020 is that Holiday travel is less painful, thanks in part to this fun light show on the way to the airport in Toronto. It’s like a Christmas-y theme park ride at a time when theme parks are closed. And it’s a lot cheaper than Disneyland, too.
There’s something so soothing and satisfying about watching perfectly synchronized lights and music. This Campton Hills, Illinois-based light show does not disappoint. The show is lovingly put on by Brian Larsen. This year is actually the last year for the show in its current location. Traffic issues are making the light show move to a different, larger, and hopefully less congested location.
Is it still October? It could be. Who really knows. Time has been irrelevant since March. It’s hard to tell what day or month it is anymore. We didn’t have Halloween, so this Monster Mash/face mask parody is still relevant, even though we’re halfway through December. This cheeky light show pokes fun at the frustrations of having to wear a face mask. But seriously, you should wear a face mask. It’s a pain in the butt, but it could save someone else’s life.
Much of the discourse around a trade for James Harden includes the belief that the best player that Houston can realistically get back in the deal is Ben Simmons. There have been plenty of reports about whether or not Philadelphia was willing to part with their young All-Star, and on Thursday evening, a pair of new reports indicate that the answer is yes. Despite this, nothing seems to be imminent in a trade between the two teams.
According to reports by both ESPN and The Athletic, Houston and Philadelphia have held conversations about a trade that would see Philly part ways with Simmons. Having said that, the two sides are apparently not close to any sort of deal, as Houston’s asking price beyond just him is quite high.
Also in story: While the Sixers have signaled a willingness to include All-Star guard Ben Simmons in trade packages for Harden, those talks have come nowhere close to a deal, sources said. https://t.co/bbP3k3uNci
ESPN reporting with @ramonashelburne: The Houston Rockets are increasingly expanding trade discussions on James Harden beyond his preferred destinations of Brooklyn and Philadelphia. Full story: https://t.co/pt6AByyywa
The Philadelphia 76ers have made Ben Simmons available in some packages with the Houston Rockets for James Harden, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA@Stadium. Conversations aren’t fluid as of now.
Houston is coming at this from a position of strength. Harden is under contract for another two years, so they have the ability to let this play out and let the market dictate what they eventually do. This is also reflected in ESPN ‘s reporting, which indicates that the Rockets or having conversations with teams beyond two — Philly and Brooklyn – that appear on Harden‘s wishlist for a deal.
As for which teams this includes, that is unclear. But ESPN does report that there are a handful of contenders from both conferences that are inquiring, and Houston is keeping Harden abreast of what is happening.
Several playoff-caliber teams in the Eastern and Western conferences tell ESPN that they’re finding increased comfort in committing high-level trade assets in talks to acquire Harden. The Rockets have ongoing discussions on several fronts and have been communicating with Harden about those scenarios, sources said.
Several teams tell ESPN that they’re feeling less inhibited about trading for Harden without an assurance that he’d re-sign once he can become a free agent in two years.
Harden’s contract means that this would not be exactly the same as a Kawhi Leonard situation, where he would go as a potential mercenary for one year to a team that has championship aspirations. There is no guarantee that Harden would resign with which ever team put all their cards on the table to acquire him, but it does appear that there is a potentially robust market for the former MVP services that is not scared off by any potential uncertainty regarding what his future holds.
George Clooney’s currently promoting his post-apocalyptic Netflix movie, The Midnight Sky, which has led to many interviews of note, including the Howard Stern visit where the former E.R. heartthrob called out COVID deniers following Tom Cruise’s rant on the same subject. During that same discussion, the topic turned to the collective distaste for 1997’s Batman & Robin, which — to no one’s surprise — Clooney does not enjoy either, yet the Oscar winner goes in even harder on himself than expected.
While speaking with Stern, Clooney admitted that “physically” feels pain while witnessing the movie. He can’t even stand his own performance, which he called “terrible.” And he divulged that he was paid $1 million as opposed to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s $25 payday to portray Mr. Freeze. Clooney and the former Governator didn’t even cross paths on the set, apparently, but the core of this part of the discussion inevitably landed upon Clooney’s disappointment in the movie. And yup, he also spoke on behalf of the late Joel Schumacher. Via Hollywood Reporter:
“The truth of the matter is, I was bad in it. Akiva Goldsman — who’s won the Oscar for writing since then — he wrote the screenplay. And it’s a terrible screenplay, he’ll tell you. I’m terrible in it, I’ll tell you. Joel Schumacher, who just passed away, directed it, and he’d say, ‘Yeah, it didn’t work.’ We all whiffed on that one.”
Clooney continued, saying that he didn’t have any creative input into the project. Presumably, that includes any discussion of those notorious Batnipples that he’s joked about on previous occasions, and I’m sorry to see that it doesn’t appear that Stern mentioned those Batnipples at all. I guess he really has put that “Shock Jock” label behind him, right? It happens.
Cupcakke’s fiery repurposing of 50 Cent’s breakout hit “How To Rob” has elicited its first on-record response. Sukihana, the Atlanta rapper who was co-signed by Cardi B in the “WAP” video and who just put out her debut project, Wolf Pussy, clapped back with the five-minute freestyle, “Rob Who?” The track has Sukihana’s name trending on Twitter, with the newcomer defiantly accepting the challenge and declaring, “Bring back the real rappers,” although she also makes clear that despite the vicious bars, “It’s all love tho.”
The track comes after Suki received her second major co-sign from an established predecessor in the form of Rico Nasty, who put her on the remix to the breakout hit “Smack A Bitch” from Rico’s debut album, Nightmare Vacation. Suki’s own breakout came a few years ago when she provided a filthy guest verse on Cuban Doll’s “Drug Dealer.” Prior to that, she was a cast member on Love & Hip Hop — the show that also launched Cardi B’s career — beginning with season three. On “Rob Who,” she unleashes a flurry of punchlines that cut down Cupcakke, including one that compares her to Vivian from the ’90s animated classic Bebe’s Kids (that’s who’s in the cover art).
Cupcakke, who is known for shaking up social media with wild pronouncements and surprise releases of her fiery freestyles, once again sparked raised eyebrows and captured fans’ attention with her “How To Rob (Remix)” yesterday. Over the course of the song, she imitates the song’s original artist 50 Cent in reaching out with rude one-liners directed at her contemporaries. Aside from Sukihana, she also named Cardi, City Girls, Chief Keef, DaBaby, Doja Cat, DreamDoll, Flo Milli, G Herbo, Lil Baby, Lil Durk, Megan Thee Stallion, Migos, Mulatto, and more.
Listen, if there is one thing we know about new video game releases, it’s that bugs are going to happen and they are going to be written about on sites like this one. Now that that is out of the way, please bask in the glory of this absolutely ridiculous Madden NFL 21 glitch, because it rocks.
The game, which was previously on current generation consoles, hit next gen consoles at the beginning of this month. Apparently, one thing that will have to be included in future patches is the ability to return kicks without some total nonsense happening, as we saw in this video that made the rounds on Twitter.
There are two things here that everyone can agree with. One is that this is extremely funny and also would be the most maddening thing on earth if it happened to you in a game of Madden. The other is that an NFL player should try this immediately, because that would be even funnier than this glitch, especially if the largely empty stadiums include commentary like “GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH, BABY” that we can hear from our living rooms.
One frustration that people can have with Madden, in my experience, is that the game makes returning kickoffs and punts extremely difficult, if only because if they did not, some hardcore gamer would find a way to return every single kick for a touchdown. Still, this video makes it seem like the pendulum has gone a bit too far in the other direction in Madden on PS5.
I’ll tell you what I love: I love a show that moves fast. A show that has twists and turns and reveals coming at a breakneck pace. A show that is willing to sacrifice a little bit of reality in the name of a good time. A show that does so much so often that it makes you sound like a babbling maniac when you try to explain the plot to other people. This is probably why I enjoyed The Flight Attendant so much. The Flight Attendant was all of those things and more over its just-completed eight-episode run. It was such a freaking blast.
Start at the top of the list. The show just moved so fast. It stomped on the gas in the premiere with a one-night stand and a dead body in Bangkok and it never let up. There were assassins and conspiracies and secrets revealed at important moments. Kaley Cuoco spent over half the show playing very drunk as she wobbled her way through her own investigation. Zosia Mamet’s character, Annie, was one of the most reasonable people on the show even though she had an open shower in the middle of her living room and a secret hacker boyfriend who got hit by a car at one point. Rosie Perez accidentally provided secrets to the North Korean government and was last seen preparing to go on the lam in Europe wearing a stylish floppy hat. At one point, when cornered by one of the two assassins chasing her (the one who was not also seducing her), Cuoco’s character, Cassie, flicked her shoe at her attacker’s head and ran off in the other direction with one bare foot. It was awesome.
HBO MAX
This is what I’m talking about. Just a ball of messy fun from beginning to end. Yes, there were dark moments, and this is where we mention Cassie’s alcoholism and troubled childhood and the memory-warping her brain did as a form of denial and self-defense. That was in there too, rabbits and deer and car horns and all of it. But even those flashbacks were in service of launching the plot forward at all times, brief pauses that explain why she did the thing she did or is about to do the thing she is about to do. She’s a troubled lady, deeply, beyond the thing where an international financial conspiracy has plopped into her lap and dead bodies keep turning up in the places she’s been. That’s not great either.
But again, fun. The show spent about six and a half of its eight episodes digging her hole deeper as everything got more complicated. It sent her to Bangkok, and New York, and Rome, and into her own head with a vision of the dead guy she woke up next to, and to an aquarium with her nieces, and had her hook up with some handsome zero with a stupid name, but nothing was ever as it first appeared and nothing was ever simple. Buckley the Zero was actually Felix the Psychopath Assassin, and his big plan to kill her and cover his tracks almost worked until one of her coworkers kicked open the door spraying bullets and revealed himself to be an undercover CIA agent who was investigating Rosie Perez’s character’s completely unrelated accidental treason whoopsie, and after everything else that happened in the season I was fully happy to just accept it. “Oh, yes, Shane is a CIA agent, that makes sense,” I said to myself about the completely nutso last-minute twist. Terrific television program.
(This brings up another fun point. The flight crew on the show had four main people. By the end of the finale, one of them had unraveled a globe-spanning conspiracy, one was wanted for selling military secrets to North Korea, one turned out to be an intelligence operative, and the other was… still just a snarky flight attendant. Part of me wants another season just to hear her explain all of this to, like, her sister. Another part of me wants another season so the show can reveal she’s secretly a billionaire drug smuggler or something. Both parts of me want another season. We’ll come back to this.)
I think a lot of the credit for keeping things so fizzy and bouncy despite all the trauma and murder can go to two things: One, Cuoco’s performance, which was so good and threaded a tiny needle when it came to tone; two, the music, which I described in my earlier piece on the series as “dinky bonk piano” music, a phrase I stand by today. The opening theme was catchy in a tinkly and jaunty Archer-style way, animated action and all of it. The music inside the show was perfect too, and yes, this is where I point out, again, that whoever did the subtitles for this show deserves a raise. Like, today.
HBO MAXHBO MAXHBO MAX
The result of all of these things was that The Flight Attendant didn’t ever feel like a slog, a trap a number of other limited series have fallen into. You’ve seen a few, I’m sure. They’re the ones that have an interesting premise but start to revel in being bleak and dark for the sake of being bleak and dark, like everyone just got done watching the first season of True Detective and decided that a limited series has to be Very Serious At All Times. The ones that somehow drag despite only having six to eight hours to fill. The ones that seem eager to grab you by the shoulders and shout “GET READY TO GET BUMMED THE HELL OUT, BUSTER.” Is there a place for a show like that? Sure. I guess. Why not? But it’s nice to see someone out there taking the format and doing something a little peppier.
Which brings us back to the big question: Should there be a second season of The Flight Attendant? Prior to the finale, I would have shrugged my shoulders. A show with a high degree of difficulty — like five intertwining mysteries about murder and espionage counts as “a high degree of difficulty” — can have trouble with the landing. Even if the finale had whiffed, I still would have enjoyed the ride. But whiff it did not. It wrapped up most of its business pretty nicely and left a few avenues open for further inquiry. Would I watch a second season about Rosie Perez and her floppy hat crisscrossing the globe to try to clear her and her husband of high treason? Yes. Would I watch Cassie and Annie and maybe CIA Shane — WHOSE NAME PROBABLY ISN’T EVEN SHANE — attempt to help her do it? Of course. Would I watch an entire season about Miranda the newly wealthy assassin just doing various Miranda things? Hmm. I think I would, but it would help if someone wore a floppy hat or turned out to be a spy or kicked a shoe at someone.
I’m sorry. I’m conditioned to expect these things now. You can’t take them away from me.
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I don’t cook, I don’t clean, but let me tell you that I’ll get a vaccine.
