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Akon Will Manage The Presidential Campaign Of ‘Mighty Ducks’ Actor And Bitcoin Entrepreneur Brock Pierce

It looks like Kanye West isn’t the only hip-hop artist looking to siphon some votes from Donald Trump and Joe Biden come November. Live streaming financial news network Cheddar reports that Akon has joined the political campaign for independent candidate Brock Pierce, best known for his acting roles in The Mighty Ducks and First Kid, as well as his work in cryptocurrency.

Pierce serves as chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation and was named one of the “top 20 wealthiest people in crypto” by Forbes magazine in 2018. Akon, meanwhile, funded a $6 billion “futuristic cryptocurrency themed city” Senegal built on his “Akoin” cryptocurrency, according to Bloomberg and Bitcoin. Akon will serve as the chief strategist for the campaign, calling Pierce a “standup guy” in the statement making the announcement.

“I’ve always known Brock Pierce to be a standup guy,” Akon said in a statement. “He’s a real people’s person and he doesn’t operate between party lines.”

Of course, Akon is better known for his musical hits “Locked Up” and “Lonely” and helping to launch the careers of pop superstars Lady Gaga and T-Pain. His musical work has gotten him nominated for five Grammy Awards and sold millions of copies of his hit songs. In 2018, he made headlines for “seriously considering” a presidential bid of his own, but has apparently decided that backing Pierce is the safer bet. Pierce said that Akon’s aspirations and accomplishments “will be valuable for our platform on a regional, national, and worldwide level.”

Watch Cheddar’s announcement below.

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Miracle twins have different fathers and the dads couldn’t be happier about it

Twins born with separate fathers are rare in the human population. Although there isn’t much known about heteropaternal superfecundation — as it’s known in the scientific community — a study published in The Guardian, says about one in every 400 sets of fraternal twins has different fathers.

Simon and Graeme Berney-Edwards, a gay married couple, from London, England both wanted to be the biological father of their first child.

“We couldn’t decide on who would be the biological father,” Simon told The Daily Mail. “Graeme said it should be me, but I said that he had just as much right as I did.”


The only way to make it happen would be to have twins through in vitro fertilization. But they would have to find a doctor that would implant embryos from separate fathers in the same surrogate.

They knew it wouldn’t happen in England, so they looked for a doctor and surrogate mother in a different countries.

“I saw Simon and Graeme’s profile on a surrogacy website and I thought they had lovely smiles,” Meg Stone, the Canadian soon-to-be surrogate, said. “I had recently split with my partner and I wasn’t ready for another baby, so I wanted to help someone.”

via Meg Seroki-Stone / Facebook

Meg was already a mother of two children, Jeffrey, 12, and Max, five.

The couple flew out to Los Angeles, where they both fertilized eggs from an anonymous donor. Then, they journeyed to Canada where they met with Meg to be sure she was the perfect fit.

“We were nervous at the beginning — in case that we didn’t click with her. But we needn’t have worried,” Simon said.

Six months later, one fertilized embryo of Simon’s, and one embryo of Graeme’s, were inserted into Meg’s womb.

The couple spent a stressful week hoping both embryos would take. They were afraid that one of the fathers’ embryos would work, the other wouldn’t, and they’d have to eventually go through the same process again.

“She FaceTimed us from the scanning room. First of all, we saw one heartbeat, and our stomach clenched with nerves,” Simon said.

“Then we saw the other heartbeat. Graeme and I just hugged each other,” he continued. “We were just over the moon. We were both going to be dads — she was pregnant with both of our babies.”

The couple kept in close touch with Meg over the coming weeks and flew back to Canada for her 19-week scan. The two proud fathers-to-be were delighted to touch her belly and feel their babies kicking inside the womb.

At 31 weeks, Meg was in pain and thought she was about to go into labor. So the two men quickly packed their bags and flew to Canada.

“We dashed to the hospital when we arrived, to find out it was a false alarm,” Simon said. “We were just so relieved that she and the babies were fine.”

The couple remained in Canada and five weeks later, Meg gave birth to Calder and Alexandra Berney Edwards.

“It was the most amazing experience of our lives,” Simon said. “Alexandra was born first and then Calder arrived minutes later.

“When we both held them for the first time, we couldn’t believe that we were both daddies,” he added. “It was a long way to go and do this, but it was worth it to both be able to have fathered one of the twins each.”

“Calder was the double of Graeme, and Alexandra was the image of me,” Simon said.

The couple remained in Canada for seven more weeks before they could take their newborns home. Then, they hopped on a plane and returned to England.

But sadly, they had to leave a new member of their family behind.

“It was sad to say goodbye to Meg, When we brought them home for the first time, it was just incredible,” Simon said. “Since then they have gone from strength to strength. They are doing so well and hitting all their milestones.”

The twins recently celebrated their first birthday and the fathers flew Meg out to celebrate with them.

“Simon and Graeme are like brothers to me now,” Meg said. “They call me the twins ‘Tummy Mummy’ which I love.”

via LGBT News World

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Iraq War veteran shares how military service to his country prompted him to give up on Fox News

Let me preface this post by saying that I am not a regular Fox News watcher. The handful of times I’ve tried to watch it, I haven’t been able to stomach it for long. I don’t watch televised news much anyway, but the blatant biases and sensationalist tone of Fox News is a huge turnoff for me.

It’s not for a sizable percentage of Americans, though. There are more than a few people who believe Fox News when it says it’s “fair and balanced.” There are folks who believe Fox News when they tell them that “mainstream media” is hopelessly biased toward “the liberal left” and therefore can’t be trusted like they can.

I wrote a whole article once about venturing over to Fox News’s Facebook page to expose myself to different perspectives and coming away endlessly frustrated by the amount of verifiable falsehoods Fox News followers were perpetuating—a sad reality that only confirmed my belief that Fox News erodes people’s ability to discern what is actually true.

But don’t take my word for it. Take one of their analysts who quit the network and called it a “propaganda machine.” Or take this veteran on Reddit who shared how they used to be an avid Fox News watcher until their tour in Iraq gave them a wake-up call.

In a Reddit thread about a Fox News segment discussing Fox News’ coverage of Michelle Obama’s DNC convention speech, user BabyMFBear wrote:


“My personal thoughts on Fox News:

Following 9/11, I found myself glued to Fox News. It was, after all, ‘America’s news network,’ and included a ‘no-spin zone’ to ensure we were getting the real story. The reporting was ‘fair and balanced,’ and it was up to the viewer to come to conclusions based on ‘we report; you decide.’

The hosts proudly wore their American flags on their lapels, and they taunted the French for not supporting our call to arms, and I cheered as we established the ‘Coalition of the Willing’ as we trounced Iraq, and started kicking Taliban ass in Afghanistan.

Then I got to Iraq, and my attitude changed. The Iraqis I worked with were normal, every day people. They were friendly and inviting. Aside from the language and cultural differences, they were no different than myself.

And then I met Colin Powell when he addressed everyone in the compound and, in not so many words, told us he appreciated our service but this mission was in error.

His exact words were ‘You may hear a lot of things about the mission here in Iraq, but just know I am grateful for all of you who answered the call on behalf of your nation.’

That was quite a profound moment, not only for my time in service, but for my entire outlook on information, politics, and life in general.

Were Iraqi’s better off without Saddam? Most likely. Looking back, that wasn’t our problem to solve.

We have more weapons of mass destruction than nearly every other country combined, with the most advanced delivery systems available.

Could you imagine another country bombing us because our President isn’t a good person with nuke release authority? Could you imagine being blown back into the Stone Age over it?

We are just living our lives, in total disagreement, in an intense atmosphere, but could you sit by peacefully while getting obliterated by a foreign country over it?

I’d be making homemade bombs to protect my family. I would want those invaders out of my country, even if it was because they and I both agree in our views of the U.S. President. That goes out the window when foreign troops are at my door.

Fox News helped sell a lie. Fox News put on theatrics, and pumped me up for war.

Two years later, I was covering a high-level NATO Security Conference. A 4-star Dutch general made the opening remarks about ‘a war of necessity (Afghanistan)’ and a ‘war of choice (Iraq).’

I served in an unnecessary war. I am proud of my service to the Iraqi government. I was there to help. I am happy my next two deployments were in support of combat operations in Afghanistan.

Fox News sells theatrics. They sell hyperbole. That network’s agenda is to serve the defense industry and military industrial complex.

Fox News has convinced people that someone like me hates America.

Fox News has convinced people that someone like me doesn’t belong here.

Fox News has convinced people my views are unAmerican.

I’d be the first person to lead a charge against a foreign invasion.

Fox News has people convinced I’m the enemy.

Turn off Fox News. I’m pleading with you.”

Comments have poured in, thanking the poster not only for their service, but for sharing their experience of breaking up with Fox News. Many of us have friends and relatives who are hopelessly glued to that station, constantly being fed the propaganda they’re peddling, distrustful of award-winning journalism yet somehow trusting of Tucker Carlson.

Others shared similar stories of having once been Fox News fans but then recognizing it for what it was:

“I remember being a young man, watching Fox News after 9/11. It was shiny, entertaining, engrossing.

But I knew something was off about it. I didn’t really know what Jingoism was, but I was sensing that this was most definitely some kind of propaganda.

I really do see the appeal and why it captures so many.”Antnee83

“Brother, U.S. Army Signal Corp. Vet here, and I have to say a big Thanks, to you for being able to share your experience. I have also tried to share my experience from the perspective of a Signal Solder that is saturated with intel. as part of the job, and to witness the active misinformation campaigns that are used by the FOX propaganda outlets and how they were coordinated from the inside out, not to mention outside interference from hostile nations using 3rd wave warfare tactics against the U.S.” – UrzasPunchline

“Iraq Vet here as well and the same for my wife (2004-2005) coming home I was a different person than when I went and not just for the obvious “going to war” reasons, but for the reasons you laid out above. If someone bombed my county to the Stone Age I’d be out there fighting them too, they’re just supposed to lay down and let us run over them?!

I think there are a lot of Vets just like us but there are plenty of trump supporters too. I just hope this year is a wake up and the crazy things he’s doing now will wake ppl up. I do know many trump supporters that say they can’t vote for Biden and won’t… but they also can’t vote for trump so they’ll stay home. That’s good enough for me.”Lathus01

I’d be making homemade bombs to protect my family

“Yep. Formerly in intelligence, and spent 2 years in Baghdad doing it. Lots of other intelligence people would refer to insurgents as “terrorists”, and it always felt so wrong. They aren’t terrorists, they are doing exactly what I would be doing if someone invaded my country and my city, and if you wouldn’t you can’t call yourself a patriot. Those people were basically fighting an army from the future and they STILL fought. Now THAT is bravery and patriotism.”TalentKeyh0le

“Great post brother. I too was in the same boat as you. Born and raised in conservative catholic household and watched much of the same hyperbolic “America is great at kicking ass” propaganda generated by Fox News.

I too served in Iraq and in a very much “enemy” facing role where I spoke to these men we were holding indefinitely as enemy combatants and there were some long conversations I had with them where things sometimes didn’t sit right, honestly.

I’ve had many years to realize what I was a part of, not necessarily regret, but certainly had to come to terms with things I did against men who were probably acting exactly as I would have in opposite roles.

I love this country and I love its people and still appreciate the time getting to serve it, but Jesus if I don’t worry every day about what may be needed to save it’s soul and that of all its citizens.”TheRealAJ58

The original poster thanked people for the responses, saying “I hope what I’ve said here empowers other vets to speak out, and know they are not alone.”

They also wrote of veteran suicides and the role false information plays:

“The number of veteran suicides is not hyperbole. Reconciliation is sometimes not possible without self-destructive behaviors. Some just cannot bring themselves to face their actions, and I cannot place blame on them. I place the blame on those who manipulate our youth into believing false realities.”

I’m not saying we don’t need a military. I fully believe in having national defense as a priority- right now more than at any other time since WWII.

We just need a military that is willing to defend our citizens, and not an away-team “bringing the fight to an enemy” under false pretenses.

Again, thank you. I’m now drained and emotional – in a good way.

I wish nothing but the best for all of us.”

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A useful response to the bigoted copy-and-paste post your  acquaintances keep sharing

The U.S. has long engaged in discussions and debates over civil rights and social justice—issues that certainly don’t seem like they should be controversial, but somehow turn out to be. In an ideal world, no one would ever have to fight for their rights or beg for equal justice, but we’ve never lived in an ideal world. And while much of the work that needs to be done to get there lies at the level of systems and institutions, those systems and institutions are run and upheld by people. So by extension, people’s individual beliefs and attitudes matter.

A post shared on Reddit shows a viral copy-and-paste post that has been circulating on social media that reads:


“YOU KNOW FOLKS, I never cared that you were gay, until you started shoving it down my throat, and I never cared what color you were, till you started blaming me for your problems, and I never cared about your political affiliation, until you started condemning me for mine. I really never even cared where you were born, until you wanted to erase my history, and blame my ancestors for your problems…you know I never even cared if your beliefs were different than mine, until you said my beliefs were wrong, but now I care, my patience and tolerence [sic] are gone, and I am not alone in feeling this, there are millions of us who feel like this…”

u/beerbellybegone/Reddit

The screenshot was shared along with a response that the poster called “as devastating a response as they come.” It reads:

“‘I never cared that you were gay, I just supported laws making it a felony for you to have sex with the partner of your choices, preventing you from marrying who you love, stopping you from adopting children, and saying it was okay to fire you for being gay. ESPECIALLY if you’re in the military, where I wanted firing you to be a requirement.’

‘I never cared what color you were, I just made excuses for discrimination against you in hiring and law enforcement and fetishized a movement that fought and lost a war to keep you from being treated as human beings with actual rights.’

‘I never cared about your political affiliation as long as you shut up about it and let mine have total control of the government.’

‘I never cared about your beliefs as long as you let me use the government to impose mine.’

‘And when I say all my patience and tolerance are gone, I mean I never had any in the first place.’

Fixed it for you.”

u/beerbellybegone/Reddit

The most interesting thing about the initial post is the sense of victimization coming from the original poster. It seems to say that having to pay attention to issues of justice and civil rights and being asked to acknowledge the ongoing impact of historical oppression and what role each of us might play in keeping others down somehow takes something away from them.

Being asked to see and care about victims of injustice doesn’t make you a victim yourself. The logic there is so strange. And what does it mean to shove being gay down someone’s throat? Because of course it would be reasonable to push back against someone actually cramming something down your throat, but the in this context “shove it down my throat” usually means “did something publicly in my line of vision.” Not the same thing.

As a few commenters explained:

“The trouble is that the top phrases are all dog whistles. For example, ‘shoving (being gay) down one’s throat’ is simply another term for being gay in a public space. This can range from being openly gay, mentioning your boyfriend to a coworker, etc to calling yourself a sparkle fairy or whatever. It’s not just the literal definition of what they say, but how these terms are used in real life.

“I spend so much time surrounded by straight guys who talk about nothing except women’s bodies and sex, but my pride flag bumper sticker is apparently throwing my sexuality in people’s throats.”

“Ok, so I am a lesbian, in the relationship with the woman who is now my wife and the mother of my children for the last almost 2 decades (for reference that I really do have a ton of experience), and from personal experience when people say ‘don’t cram it down my throat’ they mean ‘stay in the closet’. When I talk about my relationship at work, it is ‘cramming things down their throat’. When I hold her hand in public, same deal. When the laws about marriage were discussed, it was ‘cramming down their throats’, when health insurance was being discussed – the same, same again when adoption was discussed. As soon as being a lesbian was equal to being not lesbian, all of a sudden I appear to have stopped ‘cramming’ anything anywhere.”

Another commenter summed up the gist of the initial post in one sentence.

“I never cared about other people being different because society used to make it easy to pretend they didn’t exist.”

The thing is, the complaints in the original post are not actual complaints. People being gay in public isn’t cramming it down people’s throats. People pointing out all of the insidious ways ingrained white supremacy works is not blaming an individual for their problems. Pointing out that someone’s political views or affiliation are doing real harm to real people could be seen as condemnation, but shouldn’t things that harm people be condemned? And as for erasing history, that’s a hard no. No one is erasing history, because 1) that’s literally not possible and 2) a good portion of our history has been “erased” through omission or dishonesty, such as school textbooks referring to enslaved people as “workers.” All that’s being asked if for history to be taught accurately and for the heinous parts of our history not to be celebrated with monuments to it. And as for patience and tolerance, the irony of a person who clearly doesn’t fit into the marginalized categories of people they are addressing saying they’ve lost both simply because they’re being asked to actually care about the ways people have been and still are experiencing injustice is quite rich.

No one is asking people to care about their sexual orientation or race or religion political affiliation or beliefs. They’re asking people to care about those things being used as excuses or tools discrimination. Until we have actually achieved equal justice and society no longer tacitly accepts or perpetuates people being marginalized due to race, sexual orientation, gender, or non-harmful beliefs, we have to care about those things.

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Video of school kids in China bouncing balls in unison is like a cultural Rorschach test

It’s been nearly 100 years since Hermann Rorschach introduced the well-known inkblot test used by psychologists to analyze personality characteristics and emotional processing. Where one person sees a bat, another may see a butterfly. One person might find an inkblot shape soothing while another finds it unnerving.

Whether the test truly tells psychologists anything definitive, there’s no doubt that our perceptions are colored by our thoughts, emotions, and experiences. And that’s quite clear in people’s reactions to this video from a school in China.

The video, shared by ShanghaiPanda on Twitter, shows a large circle of children bouncing dozens of balls in unison and moving around the circle in a rhythmic pattern. “China’s kindergarten game: Cooperation,” the post reads.


Responses to the post reveal a wide range of perceptions of the purpose and value of the activity. As a former teacher, I see kids learning and practicing excellent hand-eye coordination and spatial awareness. I also see them working together, cooperating to keep the balls moving in unison. To me, it’s a really cool example of using the whole body to perform a task and focusing one’s attention on what’s in front of them while preparing for what’s to come. It also builds trust, as you have to trust that your neighbor is going to perform their task of bouncing the ball at the right time, and your other neighbor has to trust that you will do the same. (A far better lesson than, say, the cut-through terror and individual dominance most of us remember from playing dodgeball in school.)

From my perspective, this is a valuable group activity for young kids that teaches multiple skills at the same time.

But for others, it’s a creepy example of group-think indoctrination, molding kids to accept uniformity and train them into obedience.

Huh.

If the first thing you think of when you think of Chinese culture is communist indoctrination, then I can see why this video would elicit that response. But that doesn’t make it correct or okay.

Thankfully, most of those responses were met with rebuttals that showed the hypocrisy and xenophobia inherent in them.

Considering how we have kids recite the pledge of allegiance to the U.S. flag every morning in unison, the “indoctrination” argument falls a bit flat.

It’s not hard to imagine very different responses if this were a group of American kids coordinating to do the same thing. They would be hailed as impressive kids who worked toward a goal, not communists.

Not to mention, nearly anything can be twisted into something dark or sinister simply by describing it that way, as evidenced by this description of “musical chairs.”

The video also ignited some interesting conversations about competition vs. coordination.

Ultimately, the idea that working together in unison to build skills and create a cool effect is somehow “communist indoctrination” is purely a product of people’s perceptions about China and its people. After all, our marching bands and cheer squads do the same thing.

If our first impression or reaction to a video of kids doing something educational in another country is “that’s creepy” or “ew, communism” we may want to check ourselves. Replace those kids faces with ones who look American to you and be honest about what your reaction would be to see it. Our prejudices can color our perceptions, and it’s important for all of us to acknowledge and challenge our own thoughts.

Especially when we’re looking at children bouncing balls, for goodness sake.

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It Looks Like Kanye West And Lil Baby Are Making Music Together Following Their Misunderstanding

Recently, Kanye West and Lil Baby found themselves in the middle of a misunderstanding. In part of a recent Twitter spree, Kanye noted that Baby, who he called his “favorite rapper,” wasn’t interested in working with him, writing, “Lil baby my favorite rapper but won’t do a song wit me.” Meanwhile, Baby was confused by that and pleaded ignorance, responding on Twitter, “Nobody told me ye was trying to get me on a song. that’s fucced up.” He added in a tweet to Kanye, “no disrespect nobody told me.”

Since that confusion, it appears the two have figured things out and met up.

Days after that Twitter exchange, Baby shared a video of himself getting off a plane, and many believed his flight landed him in Wyoming to meet up with Kanye. Now, a photo of the two has surfaced, in which they are surrounded by audio and production equipment. In the picture, Baby wears a huge smile and Kanye also sports an expression that indicates he hearing something and liking it.

While this is far from confirmation that the two are creating or will release new collaborative material, seeing them in the same room is at least a positive sign for fans hoping to hear the two link up on a track (as long as Kanye coughs up $100k, that is).

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The NFL Announced No Positive Player Tests Out Of 23,000 Taken This Week

The NFL is currently holding training camp at 32 sites around the country as they attempt to pull off a non-bubble season without a major hiccup, something we’ve yet to see amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

While baseball continues to press forward, they have seen multiple franchises have to stop playing for weeks at a time due to outbreaks that have left them scrambling to finish their seasons with doubleheaders. That’s not an option for football, so they have to find a way to get through the season without team outbreaks that could sideline entire clubs for weeks on end. So far, though, so good.

The league, which is in the process of re-evaluating some of its testing protocols amid a rash of false positives, announced on Monday that, despite those popping up for some teams, testing has gone extremely well. The NFL released its testing data for the week of August 12-20 on Monday, noting that of nearly 54,000 tests, only six came back positive and none of those were player tests, as the more than 8,000 players took over 23,000 tests that all came back negative.

It is truly impressive and shows that so far team protocols in their facilities and hotels for camp are working as intended. It’s also a testament to the players for following protocols and fighting the temptation to go do things that could put their team at risk. Once camp ends and traveling between cities begins, that will be the true test of the NFL’s plan, but for now things are going as well as the league could have hoped.

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‘WAP’ Keeps Cardi B And Megan Thee Stallion At No. 1 On The Hot 100 For A Second Week

It wasn’t a surprise this time last week when Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s huge hit “WAP” debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the No. 1 spot. It also may not come as a shock that this week, on the chart dated August 29, the song is once again in the top spot for a second time.

“WAP” becomes the first song to spend its first two weeks on top of the Hot 100 since Ariana Grande’s “7 Rings” did it when the song spent its first five weeks on top, beginning on February 2, 2019. Between then and now, eight songs have debuted at No. 1, each of them spending only its first week on top consecutively. “WAP” is also the first song by a woman or multiple women to lead the Hot 100 for multiple weeks since Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” did for three weeks in December and January.

The hit single wasn’t unchallenged for chart supremacy this week, though, as Drake and Lil Durk’s new collab “Laugh Now Cry Later” made its debut at No. 2 on the new chart while knocking “WAP” from the top of the Streaming Songs chart. The song also gives Drake a career total of 41 songs in the top 10 of the Hot 100, which extends a record he set in July. “Laugh Now Cry Later” also serves as Lil Durk’s first top-10 song.

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

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Big Sean Has Revealed The Release Date For His Anticipated ‘Detroit 2’ Album

In March, Big Sean celebrated his birthday by announcing his upcoming album, Detroit 2. Now, months later, he has revealed just when that project will be released: Detroit 2 is coming on September 4 via GOOD Music and Def Jam.

This comes hours after Sean shared some photos of himself in the studio to tease the near-completion of the record, writing alongside his gallery, “I feel nothing but happy! Finally done recording #D2. Time for mixing.” He then noticed that sellers online quickly started selling unauthorized versions of the Detroit 2 shirt he was wearing in the photos and called them out, writing, “Aye people bootlegged these shirts in 30 mins lol. 4real. I’m a work on getting the real ones to y’all tomorrow, don’t buy sh*t that ain’t come from me or my site #D2.”

Last night, he also took to his Instagram Story to share how he has been on an emotional level, saying in a video, “I talk about being aggressively happy. That’s one of the things that I’ve been working on every day, is to feel good. Whatever it takes, you know, because the best things happen to you when you feel good and when you attract it, and it’s because what you’re putting out there is what you’re going to get back from this ever-giving universe. It’s law, really. If you’re attracting bitterness, or in my case, I had a lot of anxiety and depression and all those type of things that put the craziest ideas in my head and made me feel like I wasn’t worth it. But not only am I worth it, I’m in control of my feelings. Unless I give somebody else or something else that power, I’m in control of my feelings. Nobody else. When you are at your lowest, the quickest relief you can give yourself is to count your blessings, show gratitude. Because guess what? If you’re here, you got blessings.”

Detroit 2 is out 9/4 via GOOD Music/Def Jam.

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Keanu Reeves And Alex Winter Weigh In With Their Hopes For The Modified ‘Bill And Ted Face The Music’ Rollout Plan

In Bill and Ted Face the Music, the grown-up rockers have to hop back in their phone booth and write the perfect song, or else the entire universe is destroyed. However, it wouldn’t be hard to argue that the Wyld Stallions real-life counterparts, Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves, have an even more difficult task: promoting a movie in the middle of a pandemic.

Fortunately, Winter and Reeves’ work has been made easier thanks to Orion Pictures’ decision to do a simultaneous theatrical and VOD release for Face the Music. But the actors still have to thread the needle on promoting the theatrical release without seeming like they’re encouraging moviegoers to put themselves at risk. Here’s the very diplomatic answer Winter gave NPR when asked about what it’s like being one of the first films released in the “pandemic era”:

“I think that the industry is rightly very concerned about the cinema experience, but also they’re very concerned about the the economics for exhibitors who, you know — keep the movie business alive and we want the exhibitors to stay afloat at the same time. We want people to be safe in a pandemic. And people need to be to be given an option to watch this movie safely at home. So we feel really good about the fact that the studio is willing to throw in behind that rollout plan.”

Reeves echoed Winter’s statement by highlighting the fact that theaters will be working diligent on keeping audiences safe if they choose to go, but it’s also great that they have the VOD option. “I think everyone’s going to put all the protocols in place to make it as safe as possible for people who do feel comfortable,” Reeves told NPR. “That opportunity presents itself if they want to go to the cinema. And it’s also on pay per view or streaming. So there’s that option as well.”

Here’s the official synopsis:

The stakes are higher than ever for the time-traveling exploits of William “Bill” S. Preston Esq. and Theodore “Ted” Logan. Yet to fulfill their rock and roll destiny, the now middle aged best friends set out on a new adventure when a visitor from the future warns them that only their song can save life as we know it. Along the way, they will be helped by their daughters, a new batch of historical figures, and a few music legends – to seek the song that will set their world right and bring harmony in the universe.

Bill and Ted Face the Music hits theaters and VOD on August 28.

(Via NPR)