Almost every show on the planet has had to shuffle things amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but some shows have experienced non-coronavirus controversies since Hollywood largely shut down. One of those involved The Flash actor Hartley Sawyer, who saw some racist, misogynistic and homophobic tweets resurface and draw wide outrage.
The incident led to his firing, and as things started to return to (somewhat) normal in Hollywood, we now know what the show will do with the role Sawyer played. According to Entertainment Weekly, showrunner Eric Wallace said they won’t replace Sawyer’s role as Ralph Dibny, AKA the Elongated Man. Instead they’ll put the character to “rest” for a while:
“The beauty of comic book stories and superhero stories are the conventions that heroes come and go, but they never fade away and they never disappear entirely. So we’re going to treat it like we would if we were writing a comic book graphic novel. We’re giving the Elongated Man a bit of a rest for while. But we will leave the door open,” said Wallace. “Who knows what the future could bring. It is unknown. But I’m not saying by any means that it’s the end of the character, in fact, quite the opposite. We just don’t know when he will return, or in what form he will return. And that’s the beauty of comic book stories. It keeps it fresh.”
Wallace did say that the abbreviated Season 6 will still have Dibny play an important role in the show’s storylines. After that they won’t so much replace him as concentrate on other characters. EW has a more spoiler-filled explanation of what could go down, but Wallace made it clear the show hasn’t done away with the Elongated Man just yet.
“In order to wrap that up, which we’re going to do at the top of season 7, Ralph has to be part of that. Now thank goodness, Ralph is a guy who can change faces and his appearance in many ways. Without giving any spoilers away, there are a couple of ways that we can have Elongated Man still appear in at least one episode this season to wrap that storyline up, that gets us what we need and still allows fans to say goodbye to the character, at least for the indefinite future,” said Wallace.
What is clear is that Sawyer won’t return in the role. And that his departure has made some pretty considerable changes necessary to the show’s story moving forward.
As if the 2020 election season weren’t quite wonky enough, infamous white supremacist troll Richard Spencer has decided to trade in his alt-rightness to go all-in on Joe Biden and the Democratic party. Unexpected—and yet not, considering the fact that Neo-Nazi attention whores aren’t exactly known for making good sense.
“I plan to vote for Biden and a straight democratic ticket. It’s not based on ‘accelerationism’ or anything like that; the liberals are clearly more competent people,” he wrote on Twitter. I had to look up what “accelerationism” meant, so I started to read an article about it, but then I realized I was putting too much time into something Richard Spencer said and stopped. It doesn’t matter. What matters is how the Biden campaign reacted to this “endorsement.”
When white supremacist and former KKK grand dragon David Duke endorsed Donald Trump in 2016, Trump acted like he didn’t really know who he was. How a candidate for the U.S. presidency would know nothing about one of the country’s most famous white supremacists was a bit baffling, as was his wishy washy disavowal of his endorsement (which he blamed on a bad earpiece during an interview).
The Biden campaign probably wishes it could just ignore Spencer’s clear cry for attention, but when a neo-Nazi says, “Hey, I’m on your team now!” it’s necessary to say, “NOPE.”
Director of Rapid Response for the Joe Biden campaign, Andrew Bates, tweeted a response to Spencer’s announcement:
“When Joe Biden says we are in a battle for the soul of our nation against vile forces of hate who have come crawling out from under rocks, you are the epitome of what he means. What you stand for is absolutely repugnant. Your support is 10,000% percent unwelcome here.”
When Joe Biden says we are in a battle for the soul of our nation against vile forces of hate who have come crawlin… https://t.co/RPbezwRGB2
Spencer had made headlines during the 2016 election for opening his alt-right conference speech with the phrase “Hail Trump,” which was repeated by audience member who raised their hands in a Nazi salute.
It’s also a bit hard to take Spencer seriously as supporting Democrats, considering he retweeted this message from Rose McGowan just four days ago:
“What have the Democrats done to solve ANYTHING? Help the poor? No. Help black & brown people? No. Stop police brutality? No. Help single mothers? No. Help children? No. You have achieved nothing. NOTHING. Why did people vote Trump? Because of you motherfuckers.”
He may have simply jumped the Trump ship because he can see it sinking. “The MAGA/Alt-Right moment is over. I made mistakes; Trump is an obvious disaster; but mainly the paradigm contained flaws that we now are able to perceive. And it needs to end,” he tweeted, according to Newsweek. “Walking into certain defeat, even death, is not heroic. It’s foolhardy. I have no sympathy for martyrs. I admire winners.”
He may admire winners, but he’s getting no admiration from anyone at this point. The Biden campaign made it crystal clear that whatever game he’s playing isn’t going to fly. Denouncing neo-Nazis swiftly and definitively is what leaders should do, no matter what side of the political spectrum they’re on.
Chris Scarlette is an amateur filmmaker who, according to his YouTube page, blows up his “neighborhood with special effects.” But he may find real work in movies soon, because he has a viral hit with an action film he made during the pandemic starring his dog, Winnie.
“Winnie!” a five-minute “Rambo”-style shoot ’em up is about three guys who find themselves in a fight for their lives after one of them steals the wrong dog’s carrots.
Warning: This video contains cartoonish violence and tons of fake blood.
He also shared that he didn’t make the movie to generate ad revenue, but for the pure joy of the craft.
“Making movies is fun, and it allows quality time with friends, especially when you get to blow shit up,” he wrote. “And also Winnie is a girl! She is my princess. And she deserves all the carrots.”
Now, the question remains: Will Scarlette and Winnie make multiple sequels in true “Rambo” style? Or will they quit while they’re ahead? If they do move forward, all we ask is that they name the sequel: “The Carrot and the Stick.”
Whiskey purists scoff at the idea of flavoring whiskey. But, we’re not in the business of telling people what they are and aren’t allowed to enjoy. This is a no-judgment zone. So, when summer turns to fall, we have no qualms about sipping a fall-flavored whiskey.
And no, we’re not talking about Fireball and its over-the-top cinnamon flavor. We’re talking about whiskeys with (mostly) subtle fall flavors that are perfectly suited for sipping on a chilly autumn evening or mixed into a seasonal cocktail.
Since we’re pretty new to the flavored whiskey game, we decided to go to the professionals for help. That’s why we asked some of our favorite bartenders to tell us their go-to flavored whiskeys for fall mixing and sipping.
Benchmark Brown Sugar goes great in your iced tea or lemonade. This flavored whiskey is so versatile that I’ve even poured it on pancakes.
Jameson Cold Brew
Rachel Malm, bartender at Camper in Menlo Park, California
When the days grow longer, I usually need to sneak in an additional iced coffee before the main event of the evening. The Cold Brew expression from Jameson is the perfect companion for enjoying the last light of summer.
I wanted to hate Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey like that song you hear an entire season at every club, party, and backyard hang. But damn it, it’s actually quite tasty. This should be your dessert shot.
I usually like to be in charge of flavoring my own whiskey through cocktails (and job protection) but if I have to choose, it would be Old Forester Mint Julep flavored whiskey. It’s an outdoor whiskey that is perfect for sipping on while doing yard work.
It’s not a “flavored” whiskey but it’s basically an old fashioned in a bottle. Hochstadter’s Slow and Low is packed with Angostura bitters, orange, and a very (but not cloying) sweet rock candy. Pour over some rocks and try to drink it slowly.
Sapling Maple Rye
Christina Mercado, founder of ShakeStirPour in Newport, Rhode Island
Sapling Maple Rye has been my favorite ever since I stopped by their distillery during a road trip. It keeps the spice and the bite of a great rye whiskey and balances it with the sweetness of fresh maple syrup without being cloyingly sweet or artificial.
Knob Creek Smoked Maple
Nicholas Wyatt, bartender-at-large in Prattville, Alabama
Knob Creek Smoked Maple: At 90 proof, it doesn’t quite let the maple sweetness overpower the damn fine bourbon underneath.
Jack Daniels Honey is perfect for making a wonderfully smooth whiskey sour. Add cinnamon bitters and you have the perfect fall cocktail.
Old Elk PB & W
Samantha Seltzer, beverage manager at Village Whiskey in Philadelphia
Old Elk PB & W (Fort Collins, Colorado). As an alcohol purist, I was incredulous when offered a sip of Old Elk’s P B & W. This whiskey is jovial, reminiscent of eating peanut butter and banana sandwich sitting on the front stoop of your parent’s house. The flavors are really derived from three different peanut flavors.
Hudson Maple Cask Rye
Drew Reid, bartender at W Aspen in Aspen, Colorado
I am not a huge fan of flavored whiskeys. I am a purist in that regard. But a cool product I have had and thoroughly enjoyed is Hudson Whiskey’s Maple Cask Rye. There is a Vermont maple syrup company that ages their syrup in Hudson’s used barrels, then Hudson ages Rye in them afterward. This adds a really cool sweetness and smoothness to the whiskey.
Two James Johnny’s Smoking Gun from Detroit, Michigan, is a story of East-Meets-West. This is a whiskey crafted specifically to compliment the “umami” of the rich pork and fish broths of Japanese cuisine. I always think late summer, bonfires, or cool nights warmed up with soup from my heritage.
Ballotin Caramel Turtle Whiskey
Eva Al-Gharaballi, bartender at Datz in St. Petersburg, Florida
When summer begins to fade into fall, I am always eager to start sipping on traditional fall treats. My choice whiskey to kick off the fall season would be Ballotin Caramel Turtle Whiskey. This amber whiskey has flavors of caramel and pecan, with a dark chocolate finish. I would serve this indulgent treat on the rocks alongside a torched cinnamon stick — a dessert made easy.
I like to troll on Jack Daniel’s a little bit, but I will say the apple whiskey is a good secret ingredient to spin classics for the “make me something” crowd, and it’s always fun to mess with them with the reveal when they say “That’s awesome, what’s in that?”
Chris Paul and the Oklahoma City Thunder picked up a badly needed victory in Game 4 against the Houston Rockets on Monday, knotting the best-of-seven series at 2-2. While Oklahoma City’s ability to claw back into the series with back-to-back wins rightly drew the national headlines, an unsightly gambling outcome arrived in the final minute, at least for those who wagered on the second half Under.
In the first half, the Thunder and Rockets combined to score 120 points and, during the halftime break, oddsmakers installed a second half total of 110.5 points. With less than a minute remaining in regulation, only 97 points had been scored and, well, handicappers were seemingly in the clear if they could avoid overtime.
Then, disaster struck for those rooting against offense, with 14 (!) points in the final 36 seconds, including a memorable (and excruciating) 50-foot heave by Danuel House at the buzzer.
The 2H total of 110.5 goes OVER in Rockets-Thunder after five points scored in the final second, including this heave:pic.twitter.com/GfibhkdnSg
House’s shot was meaningless with regard to the win-loss outcome but, for anyone sweating the second half total, it was a highly notable moment. Prior to House’s heave, the Rockets were called for a foul on Paul with only 1.3 seconds left in a game that Houston was trailing by four points. On cue, Paul knocked down both attempts at the charity stripe, setting the stage for House’s final blow to Under bettors.
In addition to the second half weirdness, it is at least plausible that some handicappers were impacted on the full game total. Though the closing total was around 231.5 at most shops, a number between 230.5 and 231 was hanging around at some outlets during the day and, in short, House’s last-second launch made quite an impact on more traditional over/under bettors in that case.
With four games a day for two weeks, the NBA is providing all kinds of interesting content for sports handicappers. In this moment, some bettors emerged victorious in (very) lucky fashion, with others lamenting the actions of the Rockets and, in particular, Danuel House.
The Houston Rockets dominated the first two games of their series with the Oklahoma City Thunder and for those of us that had talked up how OKC would be a tough out for anyone in the postseason, there was a bit of concern that they might be a bit over their head.
However, the Thunder have bounced back to win the last two games, and while it hasn’t been easy, it’s been very on-brand basketball for an OKC team that grinds teams down opponents. The Thunder weathered the Rockets storm in the third quarter and pulled their way back into the game behind strong backcourt play from Chris Paul and Dennis Schröder, who combined for 56 points in a 117-114 win.
As the series now moves on to a pivotal Game 5 with the teams deadlocked at 2-2, here are our takeaways for what will make the difference moving forward.
1. Keep the focus on justice
Monday’s game was thrilling, with Paul and Schröder out-dueling Harden and company late, hitting big shots and free throws to even things at 2-2, but after the game, Paul wanted to open his walk-off interview by keeping the focus on what’s important — and what the players stated mission was as they were restarting the season at an inflection point in history — after police shot Jacob Blake in the back in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
“I’ma challenge all my NBA guys … let’s try to get our entire teams registered to vote.”
Players from around the league have spoken out about the continued anger and frustration felt seeing yet another unarmed Black man shot by police. It’s the continued reminder of the systemic issues facing Black Americans and as Paul noted, a reminder of why players wanted to use their platforms in Orlando. They’re doing that and it’s up to all of us to speak up as well, shining light on injustice and racism and doing what we can in our communities and at the polls to try and see a change occur in this country.
2. The Thunder’s three-guard monster is waking up
As for the basketball, it took a couple games for the Thunder’s trio of guards to figure out how to probe and attack the Rockets ultra-switching defense, but lately it seems like Paul, Schröder, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are cracking the code. They had a combined 74 points, 19 rebounds, and 11 assists on Monday afternoon, and maybe most importantly they limited the turnovers to just six combined — and OKC had just 14 as a team. The Houston defense thrives on chaos and make their small-ball system work by forcing turnovers to balance out made shots by opponents. That wasn’t the case Monday and it’s because the Thunder are finding a balance in moving the ball and also attacking mismatches in isolation.
Late in the game, they didn’t panic when the game got close and even when Houston took a late lead. Instead, the steady hands of Chris Paul and the suddenly stoic Schröder found themselves in matchups they like, got to their spot off the dribble, and knocked down clutch buckets.
It was an impressive performance by Oklahoma City in Game 4 to even things up and they have to be feeling confident going forward. The addition of Luguentz Dort has shifted their defensive success tremendously — evidenced best by his denial of Harden on a late inbounds that led to a woeful Jeff Green heave to help the Thunder ice the game — but on offense they will live and die with the performance of their backcourt trio. After two games of trying to find their footing, those three seem to be in rhythm and the Thunder have to feel pretty good about their chances.
3. It is, indeed, a make or miss league
The old adage is always relevant in the modern NBA, but never more applicable than in Houston games where they fire away from three no matter how things are going. At one point, that led them to hitting eight straight threes to open up a 15-point advantage in the third quarter.
But the law of averages caught up to them and they then had a stretch where they went 3-for-23 from three-point range. The biggest of those misses came from P.J. Tucker late, as he was off on a wide open corner three that could’ve tied the game at 114-114 with under 30 seconds to go.
It is always how it is with the Rockets, whose refusal to budge from their system even as things crash down around them is what makes the, arguably, the NBA’s most human team. Their complete and total dedication to what they do and full belief that, ultimately, it will take them where they need to go leads to unbelievable highs and historic lows. Sadly for Houston, Monday was the latter as they set a playoff record with 58 threes taken, making a strong 23 of the, but still coming out with a loss to a Thunder team that was just 11-of-32 from distance.
The only thing we know is that on Wednesday, they’ll try it all again, hoisting three after three and hope this time, enough go in.
Shan Boodram really wants you to buy yourself a sex toy, but mostly, she would really like to reframe the antiquated way you’ve been thinking about sex toys and maturation. “It’s not just this thing that you do because you don’t have a partner or not just a thing you do that you’re embarrassed by, it’s a thing that you do for yourself as a way to meet the challenges of the world dead on.”
Boodram knows sex, in fact, she’s an expert. A highly sought-after certified sexologist, intimacy expert, sex educator, author, and internet personality. Boodram describes herself as “Dr. Ruth meets Rihanna” thanks to her ability to present sex education in a way that is as titillating as it is informative.
As the host of her Quibi show, Sexology, Boodram drops daily doses of knowledge on all things sex, from information on the mythical G-spot — and why it should really be called the G-Region — to how to perform better oral sex, to discussions about the importance of foreplay.
But what makes Boodram such a refreshing voice in the sex education space is that she doesn’t lecture you in front of a whiteboard with a bunch of facts and figures. She sits down with real people who share their real intimate desires and frustrations and presents the whole thing in a fun and sexy way.
Which is why TENGA — a Japanese brand of sex toys that are trying to reframe the devices as a tool for wellness rather than a pornographic apparatus that you keep hidden under layers of clothes in a dresser drawer — partnered with Boodram as an ambassador for their 2020 Global Self Pleasure Study.
TENGA’s 2020 Global Self Pleasure Report surveyed 5,000 men and women aged 18-54 across 5 countries to take a deep dive into their habits related to sex, masturbation, and sex toy usage. They found that not only are Americans now more open to talking about masturbation and sexuality than ever before, they’re also more likely to use masturbation as a form of self-care, especially in relation to the added stress we’re feeling as a result of the pandemic. The New York Times also reported that during the pandemic online retailers saw sex toys explode in sales, and who could forget this famous moment when an understandably frustrated Amazon employee declared “Dildos are not essential items!” Boodram, TENGA, and the receivers of those toys would have to disagree.
80 percent of Americans in TENGA’s study admitted to using masturbation as a form of self-care, a 30 percent jump compared with the previous year. Interestingly, 68 percent of that 80 percent said that they’d continue to use sex toys once social isolation was over, which also really shouldn’t surprise anyone.
So we reached out to Shan Boodram for a phone chat about all things sex and talked about intimacy in the age of COVID-19, why you need to change your old feelings about sex toys and masturbation, and how we can continue to revolutionize the way we think about and depict sexuality.
Shan Boodram
You’re approaching sex education from a totally fresh perspective, why did you feel like the way we’ve learned about sex needed that refresh?
I was extremely sexually tenacious at a young age. I also went to a Catholic school and had parents who were very afraid of that tenacity. So as a result, I self-educated myself on sexuality through whatever backdoor method I could find in my teen years, which tended to be porn and fiction, and that’s how I learned about sex. So when I entered the world as a sexual person in my mid to late teens, all of my information was based on lies and myths and, as a result, I had a really negative teen sex life.
So I re-educated myself when I was around 19-20 years old just by reading books and every scholastic text I could possibly find in my local library. I noticed there was a massive gap happening — the books I was reading had awesome information that was life-changing, that set off all these light bulbs that helped me to understand why I had all these negative experiences and misgivings about my experiences, but I also noticed it was incredibly boring. I noticed that it was very dry information, sex education in many ways is bad sex: it’s dry, monotonous, faceless, emotionless. The media uses sex to sell their message, but sex ed doesn’t sell because they’re not using sex to sell the message. Why should learning about factual information be any less enticing than watching porn? Or your favorite TV show, or reading about your favorite characters in a novel? The conversations can still be exciting even though it’s factual.
How do you go about making sex education sexy?
You just lean into the same principles that already exist: use real people, real stories. We are inherently storytellers and story listeners. It can’t just be facts, figures, and numbers. You’ve got to see the people behind them, you have to feel connected to them, which is why I use so much of my personal story in my messaging because people have come to know me and feel a connection. It’s so much easier to learn when you feel like you can empathize or relate to somebody. I also make it a really big point to use other people’s stories. I’m constantly casting my work around diversity. It’s about being able to see yourself reflected back — even if there is a factual stat that’s grounded in why you’re sharing that information — the conduit for that information is someone who looks like you and sounds like you or has been through something that you’ve been through. Engage all the five senses. It has to be visual. I put a big effort into production for that reason, even in my partnership with Tenga. I think for so long both sex education and sex toys have been extreme. Sex education is really dry, and then sex toys are really pornographic and really almost shock value embarrassing.
Sex toys are rising in popularity, so what advice do you have for people who are still turned off by their crazy designs or just too embarrassed to take that leap?
I think that you’ve got to look again. Whatever you think about sex products, whatever impression you’ve formed because of the experience you had five years ago or because of the embarrassing thing you found in your parent’s drawer, or at your aunt’s or best friend’s house that made you think “I don’t ever want to have this embarrassment in my life so I’m not going to engage in toys,” it’s just wrong. When I think about sex toys for men, I think about the Jankles, which is an ankle that is a fleshlight that you masturbate into and you’re like “that’s not me at all, so I don’t associate with sex toys.”
Technology is changing so quickly, the millennials are entering into the market place and really changing the look and feel of things. It’s also a global market now too so you’re getting ingenious designs from all over the world. You’re not just subject to what somebody in Utah thinks is sexy or what a sex product should look like, so look again and explore.
Sex toys can literally just be art pieces. It’s not something that if it was left out in your nightstand and the cleaner came over and you totally forgot or your best friend was in town and you didn’t put it away, you wouldn’t be mortified if they found it. It’s not all 20-inch green dildos that glow in the dark. There are many ingenious and sleek designs that reflect how you feel about your own sexuality. I don’t feel embarrassed about my sexuality, so I shouldn’t feel embarrassed about my sex toys.
You’ve shared some figures collected by Tenga that show masturbation is on the rise. Why is it important for people to engage in that self-exploration now more than ever?
Right now with the increased cortisol that we’re all experiencing as a result of the stress and uncertainty of 2020, our body is overloaded with stress hormones and so wellness takes on a whole new priority because it’s not just about balancing yourself. It’s about combating the stress and negativity that the world is naturally feeding all of us, and it’s manifesting into different people in different ways. It’s almost a survival mechanism to find ways to balance your mood back out, to bring you back to a state of normalcy. You do have the energy to tackle the stresses of the world.
I love that Tenga Self Pleasure Report because it really grounds you. It’s really cool that it’s been happening for five years now. You can see how the attitudes towards masturbation as a form of self-care have been shifting and now people are being like “yeah, it has boosted my mood, I actually feel healthier, my brain function is better, I have more confidence, I feel sexier and more energized.” It’s not just this thing that you do because you don’t have a partner or not just a thing you do that you’re embarrassed by. It’s a thing that you do for yourself as a way to meet the challenges of the world dead on.
The attitude towards masturbation is changing because the world is changing and now we see sex care as a form of self-care. Self-care is an act of rebellion against all that 2020 is throwing at us.
Right now, since we’re all living locked down more or less, why is it vital to still find ways to experience intimacy and how do we go about that in this modern world?
I think we have to reframe intimacy. Intimacy is just a close vulnerable connection. It’s something that puts you in common connect. It’s something that distracts you from fight or flight. It’s something that makes you feel understood and valued. Traditionally we think of intimacy as human to human contact, to get intimate with somebody is to get vulnerable in person, to let your guard down where somebody can literally see and touch you, but I think that we can redefine intimacy and just say it’s any method or medium that allows you to feel like a more relaxed, connected and understood human version of yourself.
Intimacy is possible to experience via technology, with yourself, or even with a toy. One-in-ten people have purchased a sex toy specifically during quarantine because they wanted to increase intimacy with themselves. They wanted to enhance their sexual experiences because you don’t necessarily have partners who are going to bring you that variety. So you have to bring that variety to yourself and that in itself is an act of intimacy. I think as we redefine it to say that there are various different forms of intimacy just like there are various different forms of love. It doesn’t have to qualify under some 1990’s version to be seen as valuable, as healthy, and as necessary.
What lasting impacts on our sex lives do you think the pandemic will have?
I think that what we can do is look for seeds of hope that despite the fact that it’s been very challenging and there was a lot of fear in the beginning, people really did find alternate routes and ways to connect and we really readjusted very quickly.
I think intimacy is resilient. I think people’s drive for intimacy is resilient. Even though I spoke to a lot of people who went through droughts or really low sex drives, they noticed that that was an issue they wanted to make a priority to solve because they realized that when nothing else in the world makes sense, something you can always rely on is the feeling of vulnerability, closeness, or love, whatever that is, whether that’s self-love or love between two people.
Not only do you approach sex education in this new modern way, you really represent a new voice and face in the space. What are the unique challenges you face as not only a woman but a woman of color talking about sex education?
Absolutely, this is not an area a lot of people want to talk about. It’s difficult to bring up topics that are touchy for people, that are taboo for people, or that they feel they aren’t great at. That’s no fault of their own. That’s the fault of a society that still has ridiculous education programs and is still extremely repressive when it comes to sexual knowledge and exploited when it comes to sexual content that we’re overwhelmed. You see these high expectations that you’re supposed to meet, and you get the information on how to get there, and as a result most girls already feel inadequate. So you feel inadequate, then you have this brown woman trying to tell you what you need to do. So just by virtue of that, it pisses a lot of people off because it sparks off insecurities.
People are just comfortable learning from an older white gentleman. A friend of mine who is a psychologist said that his superpower is — he’s a 50-year-old white man — that no matter where he goes people always assume that he works there. People just naturally look at him as a voice of authority. That’s the opposite for me. I go to the grocery store and people ask me “Oh do you work for Instacart?” They just aren’t accustomed to seeing me in the environment I pop up in. When I pop up on a soapbox, I expect there is going to be a natural aversion but my superpower is that I’m not awkward. That’s why I can talk about these topics so freely, and I’m honest about the reality of the world we live in. That’s the world I’m trying to change and make a difference in. I empathize with people who initially have a hard time accepting me as a voice of authority or accepting my opinion. I’m a train that keeps on moving. If people don’t want to come on this stop, that’s fine. I’m going to keep going. I’ll catch you on the next one!
Shan Boodram
Where do you stand on porn and do you have suggestions for people who feel turned off by the controversy surrounding certain tube sites and the sometimes violent or incestual way in which it’s generally depicted in mainstream porn?
I think it’s great we are starting to have these issues come to light. The conversation of ethical porn is very important, if you ask somebody what they love most about having sex with their partner, they often say “I love seeing the other person.” We need to extend that into porn. What you should love most about consuming porn is that you feel the people you’re watching doing it are actually enjoying it and if that the platform that you’ve been spending your time and energy and possibly money into, you’re not getting that from them. Don’t just throw the baby out with the bathwater. I think that porn is very important during this time. It’s erotic stimulation. It’s a way to get you going. It pairs lovely with that new sex toy you just bought!
In March, 150,000 OnlyFans accounts were created daily. There is so much more user-generated porn and that’s where the money is going directly into the performer’s pocket. That’s people who are willingly there and are setting their own conditions. They’re entrepreneurs. It’s more likely they’re doing activities they actually enjoy because they aren’t being told by a production company or a director about how they should be experiencing pleasure or how they should play out pleasure in their own home.
Porn is created to arouse not educate. The purpose is to turn you on and get you off, it’s not to get you there. Porn can’t masturbate for you, it’s not designed to do that. I can’t literally do what I see in porn and expect for my partner to get off. That’s not the purpose of it. The purpose is to get that person horny or aroused. Look at it for inspiration on how to turn your partner on, what turns you on, and draw little pieces of things you may want to try. But research outside of porn sites if you want to do it in a way that is actually pleasurable for human beings.
What still surprises you about how little people know about sex?
It surprises me that people think that it’s embarrassing to look for knowledge. I’m not surprised that people don’t know a lot because it’s not accessible. There is this bizarre dichotomy that exists where you’re not told anything and then if you look for information that in some way makes you more of a loser because you should already know it. The fact that people haven’t caught on to how stupid that is, people with penis’ in particular… I think that a lot more female-identifying people are a lot more okay being like “I went to this class, I read this book, I checked out this tutorial.” I very rarely meet men who admit they have sought out there own sex education.
It surprises me that that system hasn’t been completely dismantled. People who have a stake in being great at sex should invest energy into learning how to get better at it. Their pride shouldn’t get in the way of that.
We touched on this earlier, we’re at a point where women are more freely talking about sex and orgasms. What things that are still taboo do you wish we would tackle or erode away?
Specifically for women, I would like to see more conversations around the nuance of fantasy. There is a lot more porn for people who identify as women or for people who enjoy watching women have sex. I was speaking with Jacky St. James who is a porn director and her entire production house is women performers, women writers, women directors, and all the people on set are women.
The consumption rate of porn is also changing too. Now women feel like they’re invited to the table to view. But I think what’s really cool about porn for people who identify as male, is that there are just so many categories. No matter what you’re into, you can search it up and that tells you that there are other people who find what you find sexy or hot as well too. That same nuance for women would be really cool, so it doesn’t all look the same. We need to see what that looks like because we haven’t even seen that before! I want to see the crazy fantasies that I know women often have that they feel a lot of shame and repression over. I want to see that depicted.
I would love to see sex toys featured in TVs and movies in a way that isn’t embarrassing. They need to start uplifting and supporting the culture to show that it is cool. It is chic. It is very hot to know somebody who knows their body and feels good about it. To feature toys where the gag isn’t always “how embarrassing.” I guess I would like art to mimic reality more. People’s attitudes towards self-pleasure are changing. People are feeling more confident and in control and cool. People are starting to open up more about the nuances of their desire and their pleasure. I just want to see more media that celebrates and highlights that.
Beloved K-Pop group Blackpink recently teamed up with Lady Gaga for a single on the pop star’s recent album Chromatica. Now, the four-piece is gearing up for an other big-name collaboration. Their song “Ice Cream” with Selena Gomez drops Friday, and Gomez found the perfect way to promote the single. Gomez partnered with Serendipity ice cream to create a brand-new flavor inspired by her Blackpink track.
The new pint, named Cookies & Cream Remix, reimagines a popular flavor. It combines pink-colored vanilla ice cream with fudge swirls and Oreo-style cookies. “Basically, it’s heaven and every bite is delicious,” Gomez said in a video announcing the flavor.
In a statement about the endeavor, Gomez said she wanted to put her “own spin” on a classic flavor: “Growing up and loving the iconic Serendipity restaurant, I couldn’t be more excited to become a partner in their expanding brand. For the Cookies & Cream remix, I wanted to put my own personal spin on this classic flavor by making it with pink vanilla ice cream as a nod to my girls Blackpink and celebrate our new song ‘Ice Cream.’”
President and COO of Serendipity Brands Sal Pesce echoed Gomez’s excitement about the new flavor: “Selena Gomez is the perfect partner and flavor engineer for Serendipity Brands. As a forever fan of our brand, Selena brings a fresh perspective and a whole new set of fans to help us take over the decadent ice cream category with our innovative, indulgent mixes.”
Cookies & Cream Remix hits shelves 8/28 alongside the single’s release. Order it here.
In 2004, basketball was still all about the midrange and big men dominating in the paint. The Shaq-Kobe Lakers were still the league’s most dominant team, with the rugged Detroit Pistons emerging in the East behind a bruising style. Then, on February 18, 2004, the tide began turning, unwittingly, leading to the emergence 16 years later of the greatest small-ball experiment in NBA history.
There are a number of legendary lines from that episode, but none have had more influence on folks playing ball at every level than Prince yelling, “Shoot the J. Shoot it!” after flinging a no-look pass to the corner where a worse teammate hesitated to put up the shot.
Comedy Central
It was in this moment that the NBA’s analytics movement was born. Daryl Morey, two years away from becoming the Houston Rockets assistant GM, was a year into working for the Celtics as their SVP of Operations at the time and had an awakening. He clearly saw Chappelle’s Prince, a dominant, isolation player capable of hitting stepbacks and attacking the rim with size and skill, destroying the opposition with a five-out look around him. He saw lesser players being encouraged to fire away three-pointers, knowing the math advantage was there. There was no traditional center, but they all switched and screened in perfect, positionless, Prince-y bliss.
Fourteen years later, he finally was able to put together a team in this image. Harden as Prince. P.J. Tucker as Micki Free. Russ as the guy in the tiger print shirt. All willing to play whatever role was needed for the good of the team.
dave chappelle actually invented the analytics revolution in the prince sketch when he whipped the pass to the corner and demanded a lesser player shoot the j
On top of all of the clearly defined historical basketball influence of the sketch, I’m also like 90% sure P.J. Tucker, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook have worn these exact outfits to a game this season.
Five years ago, Dan Price upended the status quo of the corporate world—one in which executives reap many times what employees sow—by taking a radical stance on salaries at his credit card processing company, Gravity Payments. First, he cut his own salary from more than $1 million to $70,000. Then he created a minimum salary of $70,000 for every employee at his company.
These moves made waves. People debated whether it was brilliance or silly idealism on Price’s part.
As they say, the proof is in the pudding. And after five years, Price has receipts.
He recently wrote on Twitter:
“When I started a $70k minimum wage for my company in 2015, Rush Limbaugh said: ‘I hope this company is a case study in MBA programs on how socialism does not work, because it’s gonna fail.’
Since then our company tripled & we’re a successful case study at Harvard Business School.”
He added in another tweet:
“Since my company started a $70k min wage in 2015:
*Our business tripled
*Staff who own homes grew 10x
*401(k) contributions doubled
*70% of employees paid off debt
*Staff having kids soared 10x *
Turnover dropped in half
*76% of staff are engaged at work, 2x the national average”
Since my company started a $70k min wage in 2015:
*Our business tripled
*Staff who own homes grew 10x
*401(k) contr… https://t.co/FvTubMAw8X
Price seems to have hit on a truth that somehow eludes many in our cutthroat capitalist system—happy, satisfied employees are good for the bottom line. In Price’s words, “When someone can actually focus on work without outside stresses, the company also benefits.”
And that employee loyalty has paid off through the economic upheaval of the pandemic. Price told the Idaho Statesman that when the shutdown happened in March, Gravity faced a 55% revenue loss. Determined not to lay anyone off, Price cut his own salary down to $0. He met with his 185 employees, and nearly all of them volunteered temporary pay cuts of between 5% and 100%.
In 16 years of business, Gravity has never laid off employees and he didn’t intend to start now. “I’m so proud of my team,” Price told the Statesman. “I’m genuinely shocked by their willingness to sacrifice in so many ways and to help so many small businesses and get us to a place where we’re going to be around for a long time.”
Our company faced 50% revenue loss. We did 0 layoffs. Employees volunteered temporary pay cuts.
Price is an outspoken advocate for employee pay structures that don’t disproportionately enrich executives and upper management. In a tweet just today, he pointed out how much more CEOs make than their median worker—a number that has always been fairly ridiculous, but which has grown exponentially in the past few decades.
“At my company the highest-paid person makes 3x the median worker, down from 36x in 2015. Since raising wages and slashing my CEO pay, our business tripled.”
There’s no doubt that a CEO has more stress and higher risk, and may even work far more hours than an average worker. But 300 times more? No. That’s not even humanly possible.
He’s also highlighted the ludicrous reality that the stock market continues to climb and the uber-wealthy keep getting uber-wealthier during the pandemic, while tens of millions of Americans remain unemployed. Some of the reason for that, Price claims, is that companies are saving their billion-dollar profits by massively cutting jobs.
“Companies everywhere are doing this, which is how the stock market booms amid lower revenues,” Price wrote. “Remember which companies valued profits over humans.”
Deere sales are down 25%. Yet it’s making a $2.25 billion profit this year by doing mass job cuts.
Price is a breath of fresh air in the business world—one it would be nice to see from more corporate executives. People over profits isn’t just a saying, but a deliberate choice people in charge have to make. Price made that choice five years ago, and it has paid off in more ways than one. Employees are healthier, they’re having more babies, they’re buying more houses, and putting more money into their retirement plans.
“We saw, every day, the effects of giving somebody freedom,” Price told the BBC.
And they’re appreciative of Price’s own sacrifices. So appreciative, in fact, that the team pitched in to buy Price a Tesla to replace the 12-year-old Audi he drove to work every day in 2016—a move they called giving Price “a tates of his own medicine.”
Gravity Payments Team Surprises CEO, Dan Price, With A Tesla!
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