Category: Worldwide

A sense of humor is a characteristic that many of us assume is only found among humans. However, according to Live Science, our primate relatives — chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans — all produce laughter-like sounds when tickled.

Koko, the gorilla that knew sign language, would tie her trainer’s shoes together, sign, “chase,” and then laugh.

So, who knows? Ants and spiders may share their own jokes that we have no idea about. And it’d be hard for a giraffe or puffer fish not to laugh from time to time given their looks.

Don’t get me started on hyenas.

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The photographers and wildlife conservationists from the Comedy and Wildlife Awards do a great job that humans aren’t the only animals that enjoy having a laugh.

Every year, they hand out an award to the funniest wildlife photo and they’ve just released their top 44 finalists for the 2020 awards. So, we’re sharing our top 21 favorites.

The winners will be announced on October 22 with the top photographer winning an incredible one-week safari with Alex Walker’s Serian in the Masai Mara, Kenya as well as a unique handmade trophy from the Art Garage in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

What’s your favorite photo? You can vote on the People’s Choice winner on their website.

Here are 21 of our favorite finalists.

Wait up mommy, look what I got for you© Kunal Gupta / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

Just chillin’© Jill Neff / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

Untitled© Mark Fitzpatrick / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

It’s the last day of school holidays© Max Teo / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

Hide and seek© Tim Hearn / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

Socially uninhibited© Martin Grace / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

Boredom© Marcus Westberg / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

Macaque striking a pose© Louis Marti / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

The inside joke© Femke van Willigen / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

Hi y’all© Erik Fisher / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

Crashing into the picture© Brigette Alclay Marcon / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

Smiley© Arthur Telle Thiermann / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

Social distance, please© Petr Sochmanmn / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

The race© Yevhen Samuchenko / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

So hot© Wei Ping Pen / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

Monkey business© Megan Lawrenz / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

I think this tires gonna be flat© Kay Kotzian / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

Peekaboo© Jagdeep Rajput / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

Almost time to get up© Charlie Davidson / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

I could puke© Christina Holfelder / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

Spreading the wildlife gosspi© Bernhard Esterer / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.

Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving shocked the basketball world last summer. While the pair joining forces to go to New York was reported for some time prior to the announcement at the start of free agency, the assumption was that they’d head to Manhattan and suit up for the Knicks. Instead, they opted to head to Brooklyn and become members of the Nets.

While the pair have yet to suit up with one another — Durant missed all year rehabbing the ACL tear he suffered in his final game as a member of the Golden State Warriors — there’s a whole lot of anticipation for when they eventually take the floor. Before we get to that point, there’s a question Durant wanted to answer during a cameo on J.J. Redick’s podcast: Why Brooklyn?

As Durant explained, the decision stemmed from the fact that while he wanted to go to New York City, he thought there was something special about Brooklyn that matched up with what he valued. And besides, the way he tells it, he never planned on going to the Knicks, anyway.

No, I never planned on it — going to the Knicks. That was just the media putting that out there, especially when I decided to take that — I didn’t sign that three-year deal that previous summer. So once I signed that 1+1, the noise got louder about me going to the Knicks for some reason. The Knicks needed a savior and you know how that goes, every time there’s a big free agent, ‘the Knicks are going to get him.’ So it just took off, and then once the media infiltrated our locker room with that Draymond situation, they ran with the rumors even more. It just got so loud every single day, and I mean, players hear it and they go on HoopsHype every day and see rumors, they start to believe it. I think the media just hyped it up and wanted to create drama around our team so much and around me that they made up this Knicks thing.

So around February, as I was thinking, I didn’t want to be the savior of the Knicks or New York. I didn’t care about being the King of New York, that never really moved me. I didn’t care about being on Broadway or that sh*t, I just wanted to go ball, go to the crib, and chill. So I felt like that’s what Brooklyn embodied, and I wanted to live in New York. So I felt like Brooklyn was what I’m all about: chill, on the low, all black everything. We quiet, just focused on basketball. There’s no show when you come to our games. No Madison Square Mecca, all of that sh*t. We just gonna hoop and build something new in Brooklyn. I felt that way in February, leading up to March and then once free agency hit it was time.

It is interesting to hear Durant say that he never wanted to go to the Knicks, because there was a ton of smoke connecting him to them for months. Still, it’s evident there was something about going to Brooklyn that really appeared to Durant, and as a result, he’ll ply his trade at Barclays Center for the next few years.

Fast & Furious 9 may or may not head into space. According to Ludacris a few months ago, it sure sounded like it was happening, as he told SiriusXM’s Jess Cagle and Julia Cunningham when asked: “I will say that you are very intuitive, because you said something right, but I’m not going to give it away.” And when Michelle Rodriguez appeared on the same program this week, that same question (of course) popped up.

Rodriguez either played along or confirmed, and it’s a tough call to make. Do we really want Vin Diesel to beat Tom Cruise into space? I mean, sure. It would also be great if Vin catapulted into the cosmos (why? who cares), and Cruise just flew by, waving with a massive grin. Cruise runs alone, but does he fly alone? So many questions. Yet here’s what Rodriguez said, via Collider:

“Oh, no way! How did you guys find that out? See what happens? People start talking behind the scenes, man. When a movie doesn’t come out and forget about it, things get out. Nobody was supposed to know that… Oh, well, no, I’m not, I’m not, I’m not lucky enough to hit space, but we did get a female writer and showed a lot of love, I think, on this one.”

Rodriguez also threw out appreciation for Justin Lin on the female-writer note. Heck, let’s combine these two pieces of excitement and knock Vin and Ludacris out of the space business and put Michelle and Helen Mirren out there. I doubt anyone would be opposed to seeing MRod and a dame beating the Cruise to something. We should find out the truth when F9 arrives on April 2, 2021.

(Via SiriusXM & Collider)

Even though you may have never traveled to Munich for Oktoberfest, you were probably pretty bummed to learn that it was canceled this fall. This year, the beer-filled celebration was supposed to take place from September 19th to October 4th. And even if you hadn’t booked a flight, you can feel the pain a year without this beloved bacchanal.

But don’t lose hope. You can enjoy this lager and sausage filled celebration on your own with a few brats and the right German beers. Maybe even throw on your lederhosen and crank up that oom-pah music. To help pick the Oktoberfest beers, we enlisted some of our favorite bartenders. From Spaten to Augustiner to Paulener, they didn’t leave any of the classic brands out.

Weihenstephaner Festbier

Hayden Miller, head bartender at Bodega Taqueria y Tequila in Miami

Weihenstephaner Festbier is a fall back for me. Typically not too hard to find, spot-on for Oktoberfest, and very drinkable. This brewery never disappoints. It shouldn’t be a surprise though because it’s the oldest continuously operating brewery in the world having been founded in 1040.

Löwenbräu Oktoberfestbier

Kurt Bellon, general manager and beverage director at Chao Baan in St. Louis

Löwenbräu Oktoberfestbier (or even the Original) from Munich is a perfect beer to set off some lederhosen vibes without having to go all out and crack out the lederhosen.

Spaten Oktoberfestbier

Andrew DeShane, bartender at Del Pez Mexican Gastropub in Wilmington, Delaware

Spaten Oktoberfestbier. It’s my go-to at the Delaware Saengerbund Oktoberfest every year. Rich, sweet, and perfect for the season.

Ayinger Oktober Fest-Marzen

Veronica Flores, bartender in Austin, Texas

I had to do some research for this one. I’ve been on a dad beer kick for a while. However, I’m lucky enough that one of my bosses came in to save the day seeing as he’s from Germany. I did get my hands on Ayinger Oktober Fest-Marzen and found that one to be tasty. It should have nation-wide distribution from what I looked up.

Hofbrau Oktoberfestbier

Jon Joseph, director of food and beverages at JL Bar Ranch, Resort & Spa in Sonora, Texas

Hofbrau Oktoberfestbier is true to Germany. This beer also has a higher alcohol content for those in need of a little more punch.

Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen

Gloria Otley, bartender at The Brewer’s Art in Baltimore

Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen. Not technically a Oktoberfest beer but it is a märzen. Rauchbier is a smoked beer and this is a robustly smoky beer. Deep brown with little smoke on the nose, this beer opens up to flavors of cured meat and barbeque char. Extremely savory and almost salty. The ABV is a surprisingly low 5%, so this would pair excellently with food without weighing down your appetite.

Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest Marzen

Zachary Shore, bartender at The Nest in Seattle

There will always be a long debate about which German-made beers are the best, and when it comes to Oktoberfest styles there is plenty of loyalty. That being said, Hacker-Pschorr is one of the best in my opinion. It made its appearance at the first Oktoberfest in Munich in 1810. With an exclusive house yeast strain, Hallertau hops, Bavarian summer barley, and fresh Alpine spring water, the cleanliness, crispness, and easy drinkability makes this my favorite.

Paulaner Oktoberfest-Marzen

Sean Stroehlein, bartender at Paul’s Landing at the Vinoy Renaissance in St. Petersburg, Florida

I believe Paulaner Oktoberfest-Marzen is the best Oktoberfest German beer. With the notes of toffee, bread, and some bitterness as its finish, this is not only a German classic, but also a fall season favorite.

Warsteiner Oktoberfest

Christopher Carlsson, founder of SpiritsReview.com in Rochester, New York

My pick for German-made Oktoberfest beer is Warsteiner. This dark amber-colored marzen is full of caramel sweetness with a great malt backbone.

Writer’s Pick:

Augustiner Bräu Oktoberfestbier

Made by the oldest independent brewery in Munich, Augustiner’s take on the Oktoberfest-style beer is a 6 percent, highly crushable lager. It’s crisp, subtly hoppy, and pairs perfectly with spätzle, sauerkraut, bratwurst, and accordion music.

One great thing about living in New York City and Los Angeles is the unprecedented access to movies. Or at least that used to be the case, in the before-time. Movie theaters have been closed since March, and even with restrictions loosening, they aren’t among the places coming back any time soon. That means things have reversed: right now, NYC and LA are among the only places in the nation where you can’t see Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, which opened in the U.S. on August 31 but with one restriction. It can’t play at drive-ins, at least in locations where it isn’t also playing in theaters.

But now there’s some flip-flopping going on, at least in Los Angeles. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. (and presumably Nolan, who’s been adamant about it being seen in a giant movie theater) have given the green-light for LA drive-ins to play his latest super-sized brainteaser, even though theaters remain, wisely, closed.

Tenet’s box-office haul last weekend was Nolan’s lowest opening tally since 2002’s Insomnia. But of course: Movie theaters are operating at severely reduced capacity, and a great number of people are still wary of sitting in enclosed spaces with strangers. But since drive-ins are incredibly pandemic-friendly, at least Los Angelinos — who, unlike New Yorkers, live in a car-friendly metropolis — can finally see the movie the rest of the country already can.

(Via THR)

One of the stories of the NBA Bubble seeding round was the absence of some of the Clippers key bench players, with Patrick Beverley, Montrezl Harrell, and Lou Williams all missing time due to personal reasons that kept them outside the Disney Bubble.

Williams famously had to quarantine for a full 10 days after his return to Orlando because of a trip he took to the noted fine Atlanta establishment, Magic City, where rapper Jack Harlow took a photo with him, setting off plenty of jokes and takes. Williams explained his trip to Magic as a simple takeout run to get some lemon pepper wings, and as someone that covered Lou in his time with the Hawks I can confirm he has long been a fan of the wings from Magic City Kitchen.

However, that didn’t stop the jokes nor was it believable enough for some, but Williams made it through quarantine without a positive test and has steadily worked his way back into form as the Clippers are now just a game away from the Western Conference Finals. On Thursday, Williams posted on his Instagram Story that he had filed a trademark for “Lemon Pepper Lou,” noting it’s the first time he’s “owned a joke.”

It’s a savvy business move from Lou, as he notes if folks want to make shirts about Lemon Pepper Lou they’ll now have to pay him to do so. Also, this wasn’t something that was ever going to fully go away, so steering into it and embracing the jokes is by far the best way to handle this, rather than trying to ignore it or push back against it.

Lemon Pepper Lou will be on the court again on Friday when the Clippers look to close out the Nuggets in Game 5 of their series.

It’s always interesting to learn about how an American president handles their day-to-day. Barack Obama’s old daily schedules have become fodder for some of Twitter’s better feeds, revealing a productive though often quite dull routine, hailing from far less interesting times than these. But based on reports from inside the White House — and from our current president’s own Twitter feed — it appears the majority of Trump’s day is devoted to this: watching a ton of Fox News. Maybe that explains why he’s not been doing much to stop the pandemic, despite knowing its severity.

He also occasionally does press conferences and lets slip things he probably shouldn’t say out loud. That happened Thursday, when he blurted out that, at least the other night, he watched many hours of Fox News, where he’s still, even now (although not always), held in the highest of esteem.

Trump was asked about the investigation under way by U.S. attorney John Durham, who is looking into the origins of the Mueller Report and what it had to say about Russian influence upon the 2016 election. Trump said he couldn’t say what it was going to say, but he suggested it would be flattering. He then listed other places that have said kind words about him, even after Wednesday’s bombshell reveal that Trump admitted to underplaying the severity of the coronavirus in its early stages. And of course, all of those places were on Fox News.

“I watched Liz McDonald. She’s fantastic,” Trump said. “I watched Fox Business. I watched Lou Dobbs last night, Sean Hannity last night, Tucker last night, Laura. I watched Fox & Friends in the morning. You watch these shows. You don’t have to go too far into the details, they cover things that are.”

As per The Daily Beast, this contradicts things Trump said last month, when he claimed he doesn’t “watch very much TV” because he works “very long hours.” Maybe it was a special occasion. And for whatever it’s worth, perhaps he didn’t watch all of Hannity the night before. After all, he was on it.

Still, this is, even for a Fox News devotee, a lot of Fox News. His admission was quickly picked up by social media, many of whom were horrified and the opposite of jealous.

Some made solid Billy Joel jokes.

The other notable part of Thursday’s press conference was when he snapped at a Washington Post reporter for asking him about his aforementioned remarks on the severity of COVID-19, in audio obtained by former Post alum Bob Woodward. That didn’t go well.

Anyway, Trump likes to watch. But we already strongly suspected that, didn’t we?

Alicia Keys has created a $1 billion endowment for Black businesses in partnership with the NFL, according to Billboard. The singer, who will be performing at tonight’s NFL Kickoff event for the 2020 season explained her reasoning for teaming up with the league, even after its problematic approach to protests for Black lives.

“We are already seeing the blatant injustices that are going on around us,” Keys told Billboard. “As an artist, I’m always thinking about how can I use my platform to further racial equity. This fund is one of the answers and our goal is to empower Black America through investing in Black businesses, Black investors, institutions, entrepreneurs, schools and banks in a way to create sustainable solutions.”

She also elaborated on the future goals of the fund, saying, “The initial goal of $1 billion is to ensure a substantial commitment. Even with that, it does not come close to closing the economic gap. The next steps are to reach out to different industries to invite them to invest in racial justice and create a multi-billion dollar endowment across business sectors.”

The NFL had previously teamed with Jay-Z, appointing the rapper and music mogul its “Live Music Entertainment Strategist” in a move that drew split reactions from the hip-hop community after the NFL’s treatment of Colin Kaepernick and Jay’s outspoken support for the blackballed quarterback.

During a press briefing on Thursday, Donald Trump faced intense questioning after journalist Bob Woodward’s new book revealed that the president had full knowledge of COVID-19’s deadliness, but chose to downplay its dangers in the early months of the pandemic. After being asked by Jonathan Karl, “Why did you lie to the American people? And why should we trust what you have to say now?” Trump’s response didn’t change tactics.

“That’s a terrible question and the phraseology,” Trump said. “I didn’t lie. What I said is we have to be calm. We can’t be panicked.”

While it is true that the president told Woodward that he “likes” to downplay the pandemic to avoid a panic, it’s hard to reconcile that reasoning with the fact that, several times, Trump privately expressed the full severity of the coronavirus, including that children are not immune, yet continued to give public statements that contradicted that information. The president’s cavalier stance created a diminished sense of urgency (as his supporters began to push back against health initiatives like wearing masks or not reopening schools) that could’ve slowed the virus’ spread if more widely adopted.

However, Trump’s answer to Karl only worsened as he continued. At one point, the president even joined the growing criticism against Woodward for not releasing the Trump’s recording sooner. Via Mediaite:

“But I thought it would be interesting to talk to him for a period of calls. So we did that. I don’t know if it’s good or bad. I don’t know if the book is good or bad. Certainly if he thought that was a bad statement, he would have reported it because he thinks that, you know, you don’t want to have anybody that is going to suffer medically because of some fact. He didn’t report it because he didn’t think it was bad. Nobody thought it was bad. Wait a minute. And your question, the way you phrased that is such a disgrace. It’s a disgrace to ABC television network, it’s a disgrace to your employer. And that’s your answer.”

Karl was quick to respond that Trump told the American people that COVID-19 is just like the flu — even though the president is on tape specifically telling Woodward that it is deadlier than the flu. In other words, he lied.

You can watch Trump’s full response below:

(Via ABC News on Twitter & The Independent)

Gabriel Garzón-Montano changes tack on his latest single, trading in his usual upbeat, Reggaeton-influenced sound for an acoustic guitar-driven ballad called “Bloom.” Produced by Gabriel himself, the song opens with the Colombian-French singer softly strumming his guitar, with backing strings coming in and providing a pretty counterpoint along with some light harp, complementing the bittersweet lyrics. It’s a musical departure that promises his next album, Agüita, will be an even more diverse affair than we’re used to hearing from him.

Of the track, Gabriel explains, “‘Bloom’ is a song about birth, life, decay and death. I looked up the word ‘bloom’ and was delighted at the many definitions it boasts. Using the ones that lent themselves to my story, I decided to start the first and last phrase in each stanza with the word. Each line uses the definition to describe a different state of human development of a stage of life.”

Agüita, which drops October 2 on Jagjaguwar in association with Stones Throw, is the follow-up to 2017’s Jardín, which found Gabriel blending an eclectic array of styles — both global and personal to his unique upbringing — to craft a sound that even drew the attention of Drake, who sampled his song “6 8” on the 2015 standout “Jungle.”

Agüita is out 10/2 via Jagjaguwar/Stones Throw. Pre-save it here.