GoneTrending

When a movie makes as much as Barbie did last year, you know what happens next: a sequel! Or a spinoff! Or failing those, maybe a tangentially-related franchise? Since both Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig have no interest in Barbie 2, the latter is what’s happening, with Mattel figuring they can get audiences back to theaters to watch movies about Hot Wheels, Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots, even the Magic 8-Ball. Still, spinoffs are at least being talked about. Maybe there will be a Ken movie. And Michael Cera wouldn’t mind dusting off Allan, his break-out scene stealer, even though by his own admission there’s not a lot to him.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, Cera went on The Tonight Show, where he was asked about being up/down for more Allan Sherwood.

“I think it would be kind of a weird movie, but I’m there,” Cera told the host. He then laid out the case for why an Allan movie would either a) not work or b) pretty bizarre:

“He’s kind of like an inactive character. He kind of just stands [there]. For me, the biggest inspiration for the character was Hans Moleman, that character in The Simpsons. He just stands there all the time. For me, that’s like the core of the character.”

The Allan doll was first introduced in 1964 as one of Ken’s friends, with whom he could exchange clothes. In Gerwig and cowriter Noah Baumbach’s film, he was the only man in Barbieland who didn’t taken part in Ken’s toxic/ridiculous patriarchy rebellion. Allan’s awkwardness made him an endearing part of an already goofy picture, giving Cera — who’s also an established serious Broadway actor and star of smart indie films — one of his funnier roles.

Could Allan sustain an entire movie by himself? Perhaps if it was treated like a renegade blockbuster that isn’t trying to play nice. Then again, Barbie was itself a renegade blockbuster, thinking way outside the box far as modern films based on famous IP go, and look what happened there. Besides, who wouldn’t want to spend an entire movie with a character inspired by The Simpsons‘ top shelf supporting character Hans Moleman?

You can watch Cera’s Tonight Show appearance in the video below.

(Via THR)

Larry David doesn’t get along with many people, but he especially doesn’t get along with Republicans. The Curb Your Enthusiasm star famously blew up on Alan Dershowitz in public (on Martha’s Vineyard!) for defending Donald Trump. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is technically a Democrat, but he’s Republican-ish and David really doesn’t like him, despite introducing him to his spouse Cheryl Hines. The first two episodes of Curb’s 12th and final season find Larry in Georgia, and conservatives predictably don’t come off too well. One person who did not appreciate their portrayal was one of MAGAland’s loudest members.

Per Mediaite, Marjorie Taylor Greene dropped an epic, scorched earth post on Twitter/X, saying the latest episode was a “glaring reminder of why most Georgian’s resent Republicans in our state for inviting the nasty commies from California, the Hollywood elites, into our state by dishing out Hollywood tax credits.”

The latest episode, Greene wrote, “lied and painted GA conservatives and Trump supporters as racists and red necks and made fun of our good new law that stops the Stacey Abrams vote pandering machine and prevents voter fraud.”

Atlanta, Georgia, of course, has long been a kind of second Hollywood, with many productions, such as Marvel and Stranger Things and Tyler Perry stuff and Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis. That brings a ton of revenue to the state.

But evidently Greene doesn’t think it’s worth it. She accused “disgusting Hollywood” or bringing their “disgusting values and elite judgement” to a state they want, she claimed, to turn “blue.”

Less then halfway through, Greene’s screed took a turn to a takedown of the “failing” electric car industry. Her post, initially about her anger over a Curb Your Enthusiasm episode she watched, ended by writing, “PROTECT GEORGIA!”

New episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm air on Sundays on HBO and the streamer known as Max, where you can watch the episode that so outraged Greene. There are only eight more left forever…unless David again gets bored and brings his fictional analogue back for more airing of grievances.

(Via Mediaite)

Megan Thee Stallion is stepping into the fashion game. Literally. Today (February 13), the Hot Girl Coach revealed Hot Girl Systems, her new line of activewear which arrives as a partnership with Nike.

Hot Girl Systems offers a variety of fashions, including a flowing bomber jacket, red biker shorts, black bodysuits, red body suits, a white cropped shirt, a black cropped shirt, and black sports bras. Though we are still a few months away from Hot Girl Summer, fans can’t wait to get their hands on Meg’s stylish new collection. And, they will be able to make these purchases very soon.

When does Megan Thee Stallion and Nike’s Hot Girl Systems collection come out?

The first drop for Meg’s Hot Girl Systems collection arrives just in time for her birthday. According to an Instagram post announcing the collection, fans will be able to purchase items from Hot Girl Systems via Meg’s official website beginning Thursday (February 15). This drop coincides with Meg‘s 29th birthday. The second drop will arrive through Nike’s website and retail stores next Tuesday, February 20.

You can see a Hot Girl Systems teaser above.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

When it comes to parenting, the second most important decision—after whether to have a child or not—is choosing a name for the kid. Even though we live in times where parents are getting more and more creative about picking a name for their children, those with a more common name have a greater chance of being socially accepted than those without.

According to Psychology Today, grade-school kids with highly unusual names or names with negative associations tend to be “less popular” than those with more “desirable” names. Later in life, people with “unpopular or unattractive” names have more difficulty finding romantic partners.

A 23-year-old mother-to-be wanted to name her son Gaylord and had her family’s full, passionate support, but her husband, 24, and his side of the family were firmly against the idea. The woman was looking for validation and posted about the dilemma on Reddit’s AITA forum.

“In my family, our genealogy is extremely important. The firstborn son since the 1800’s has been given this name. I’m well aware it’s a stigmatized name today, so that’s why I have agreed to using a short form,” the woman wrote.

Understanding that her son would be bullied for being called Gaylord, she decided that it would be his legal first name, but could go by Gail. Her family believed that it was acceptable for him to be known as Gail initially, but as society grows more tolerant, will be called Gaylord when he gets older.

“They see the backlash over the name today as a fad that will eventually disappear, and I agree seeing how accepting each generation tends to become,” she continued. “When society stops being so immature about it, he can start using the full name.”

The father wouldn’t even consider naming his son Gaylord, or Gail, for that matter. His family went a step further and said that naming him Gaylord or Gail would be “abusive.”

“My in-laws are telling me that even Gail isn’t an acceptable boy’s name and that I need to ‘get with the times’ and choose something more appropriate,” she continued. “What happened to respecting our elders and traditions? His family doesn’t have any naming traditions, so it should fall to my family that does. How could I be expected to break a centuries-old family tradition?”

The commenters were overwhelmingly against the mother’s decision.

“Use your imagination. A boy named Gaylord goes to his first day of school. The teacher does the roll call. ‘GAYLORD SMITH?’ Class breaks into giggles. Embarrassed boy says, ‘It’s Gail.’ Class giggles some more, since Gail is usually a girl’s name. Boy has no chance of fitting in with his classmates. His fate is sealed. He is a social pariah for life. Don’t do this to him. Please,” one user wrote.

“Your name is the first thing people know about you. It’s the cover page of how people perceive you. Even if you think Gaylord will just appear on the birth certificate, you’re wrong. His legal name will have to be used on official documents, at school, on his license and passport. It will appear at the top of every resume he hands out. It’s not as simple as putting a name on paper. It’s how he is going to appear to the whole world. Gaylord is totally stigmatized and has been for decades. It’s not going away, sorry.” Elinbeth added.

“Some traditions reach the point where they are no longer suitable for modern times. This is 100% that time. Pick another name,” CashieBashie wrote.

After the post went viral, the mother shared that both sides of the family have tentatively agreed on a name.

“We managed to work out that Gale Gaylord would be a reasonable compromise, with Gale being the complete first name, and Gaylord being the middle name,” the woman wrote. “My husband can then add a second middle name after Gaylord if he wants. Grandpa is especially not impressed that it’s being demoted to a middle name, but he did say he understands the pressure I’m facing here.”

Cats have a reputation for being fickle little weirdos, and for good reason. Perhaps your Persian wakes you up every morning by affectionately chewing on your hair. Maybe your tabby has a pet almond that he carries around like a security blanket. Maybe your Maine Coon likes to sleep with his face buried in your shoe.

Since finickiness is an innate feline trait, it shouldn’t surprise us to hear about a kitty’s particular peculiarity, but it often does. because just when we think we’ve heard all of the strange things that cats do, someone shares a new one that makes us laugh, scratch our heads and say, “Huh?!”

For instance, meet Shaggy, the cat who won’t eat his wet food unless it’s accompanied by a side salad.

“Side salad” is not some cute nickname for a kitty treat, by the way—we’re talking about a literal salad on an actual salad plate, human being-style.

Witness:

@the_shags2021

#blackcat #housepanthers #funnycat #spoiledcat #pickycat #catseating #healthyeating #becausecats #salads #catsareweird

Shaggy’s owner, Dina Moeller, tells Upworthy that he started off life as a feral cat. Now here he is living the bougie life, full-on expecting a fancy, multi-course meal.

The good people of the internet, of course, have had a heyday in the comments, “warning” Moeller about this behavior.

“Actually cats shouldn’t eat sides of salad,” wrote one person. “They should not because, long term the cat will end up expecting a candle lit table with a glass of wine and live smooth jazz. You need to be more careful.”

“You shouldn’t feed your cats salads,” wrote another. “If you do, they may end up becoming baddies and making gym girl/bro thirst trap videos on IG before moving on to becoming health gurus who are only licensed by YTube 😂.”

“Don’t do this!! The cat will ingest iron from the leafy greens, become too strong, and take over your entire family (and then the world) 😔,” cautioned another.

“Next thing you know he’ll be demanding oat milk in his latte,” added another.

Many people joked about Shaggy requesting a wine list and cleansing his palette, while other cat owners chimed in to commiserate with their own kittys’ quirks:

“My black cat prefers to drink hot water (not warm), which I have to leave for him on the side of the bathtub every morning. I have no idea how we got there either 😂,” shared one person.

“My cat won’t eat the dry food if she’s not there to see it poured,” shared another. “This is fun at 4:30am.”

“I have to sit with Tiki while he is eating his wet food and the entire house must be silent. I sneezed during his dinner the other night and ruined his whole meal 😂,” shared another.

Many people suggested that Shaggy might have “whisker fatigue” from using the bowl for his wet food and suggested putting it on a flat plate like the salad.

But as Moeller’s showed in another video, the whiskers do not appear to be the issue, as Shaggy will go to the fridge and shove his entire face, whiskers and all, into the bag of salad.

@the_shags2021

#catsareweird #blackcats #funnycat #spoiledcat #healthyeating #becausecats #housepanthers ##catsarelife #whiskerfatigue #saladcat #catseating

But it’s not just salad that Shaggy craves.

“He steals all my food,” Moeller tells Upworthy. “Bagels out of the toaster, fights me for muffins or scones, tries to get cookies out of containers or wrappings! Nothing is safe from his appetite!”

While it’s not great for cats to eat too much human food, Moeller has discussed Shaggy’s habit with her vet and is cautious about what kind and how much people food he gets. There’s only so much you can do with a cat’s unique quirks, though—and Shaggy’s got plenty of them.

“He’s kind of a cat’s cat and a bit of a punk,” says Moeller. “Doesn’t listen. Nothing scares him when he’s determined to do something good, bad or unsafe. Eats the plants when he wants to annoy me or get my attention. He gives me a hard time when I work at my desk past 6:30pm.”

Shaggy is quite the talker, too, having “conversations” with Moeller. “He likes to hide behind behind the shower curtain in the bathroom when I’m in there,” Moeller adds. “When I call his name and wonder out loud where he is, he will burst out from under it as if to say, ‘Here I am!'”

Here’s to our cats and all their quirky quirks. You can follow Shaggy on Instagram and TikTok.

We all have a friend who seems to live in their own time zone and is never punctual for anything. This can become a headache after a while because you always have to wait to get your table at a restaurant, or you may miss the first few minutes of a movie.

After a while it becomes harder to let them off the hook for being late because it’s just so darn inconsiderate.

A 32-year-old female Reddit user named Danceofthefireys had it up to her neck with her friend, a male who’s also 32, for constantly being late. So, after he was late for a lunch date, she took drastic measures to prove her point. But did she go too far?

“This friend is always late to everything. Being late is fine; however, in this day and age of mobile phones, I have strong feelings that one should try to notify a person if they are running significantly late to a date/meeting,” she wrote in a post on the AITA forum.

But after being 30 minutes late to lunch, he didn’t text or call to let her know what was happening. Of course, she could have texted him but she didn’t feel it was her responsibility. “I got to the café at 12 pm, which was the arranged time,” she continued. “I sat at a table by myself, surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the busy café. At 12.30 pm, my friend had not arrived. I’d received no text, so I simply left and went home. At no point did I try to text or ring him to see where he was/how far away he was.”

After she left the café, he texted her at 12:38 pm, saying, “I’m here, where are you.” But the woman refused to turn around and return to the café. “I assumed you weren’t coming, so I went home,” she replied. After she got home, her husband said she should have at least “rang him” before leaving, but she didn’t.

“Is she wrong for leaving her friend for being over 30 minutes late? Most of the commenters said she did the right thing. “Your friend is rude and clearly values their time more than your own. You shouldn’t have to chase them up and accommodate them as if they were a child. You’ve laid down a boundary now,” Sleepy_Felines wrote.

But some believe she lost the moral high when she didn’t text him before leaving.

“You were fine until you didn’t tell him you were leaving. You clearly wanted to punish him for always being late. Two wrongs don’t make a right folks,” Narrauko wrote.

One commenter, KatzKat, supported the woman with a clear and simple point: “You shouldn’t have to manage someone else’s time.”

According to popular opinion on Reddit, it seems that she wasn’t wrong to leave, but should have communicated with him via text before making her exit. If she faces a similar situation in the future, she can follow the advice given by Leah Campbell and Bethany Juby, PsyD, in an article on Psych Central, where they explain how to deal with people who are chronically late.

“If you’re dealing with someone who is perpetually late, communicate this to them ahead of time — let them know you will be leaving after a certain amount of time has passed,” Campbell wrote. “Still, try not to sound accusatory. Consider acknowledging that you two have different personalities. You’re not trying to change them, but you need to set time boundaries for yourself because you can’t afford or don’t want to wait any longer.”

All good things must come to an end — or they used to, anyway. When a show ends, fans may rally to bring it back. Sometimes it takes awhile. That Frasier reboot took nearly two decades. Suits is already en route to returning, if as a Meghan Markle-less spinoff, after the show blew up on Netflix over the summer. Last year The Blacklist concluded after 10 seasons. That doesn’t mean it’s gone for good.

So: Will The Blacklist ever get a Season 11?

The answer, for now, is: nope. That could change down the line; again, dead shows get exhumed all the time, long after they ended. But when The Blacklist let James Spader’s FBI-cooperating fugitive finally retire after a decade, creator Jon Bokenkamp made clear they were going out on top, as he told NBC Insider:

“After 10 years, hundreds of Blacklist cases, and more than 200 episodes produced, we’re honored to reach our conclusion. It’s been incredibly fun to create the strange, devious, and delightful Blacklisters to challenge Raymond Reddington and our FBI Task Force each week. We would like to thank everyone at NBC and Sony, our extraordinary crew who make the impossible happen every day, our endlessly inventive writers and producers, and our remarkable cast who brought life to these characters. We appreciate our dedicated fanbase who came along for this wonderful ride and are excited to share this final season with them.”

Spader himself seemed reluctant to push any further. “If the show went beyond this year, it would turn into a very different show,” he told NBC Insider. He added that any subsequent Blacklist seasons would be very un-Blacklist-y:

“I think if the show went beyond this year, it would turn into a very different show. And I think that the thing that has been nice about this show was that we’ve never really had a really clear paradigm for the show. Tonally the show shifts a lot from episode to episode, and I think that even the show has taken strange turns, and I suspect that the show, if it went much further, would just become something that would be less recognizable to me.

Again, that doesn’t mean Season 11 or whatever they’d call it won’t happen. Five years, 10 years down the line, Raymond Reddington and his black get-up may be back on screens.

A stunning photo of an African-American woman confronting police at a Black Lives Matter rally blazed across social media this weekend, with some calling it a touchstone image that will stand as a powerful symbol for many years to come.

The photo, captured by Jonathan Bachman of Reuters, comes from a Black Lives Matter rally outside Baton Rouge police HQ this weekend. Police in full riot armor are shown descending on a poised, well-dressed woman, apparently about to be cuffed.

Her name is Leshia Evans, according to the Daily Mail, a 28-year-old nurse from New York who had not been to a protest rally before this one. The AP says Evans was arrested for blocking a public roadway shortly after the image was taken.

DeRay McKesson, one of the most prominent voices of the Black Lives Matter movement, was also arrested at Saturday’s rally. McKesson was released after 16 hours in a cell; he told the New York Times that he felt Saturday’s mass arrests were unlawful, as the protesters were peacefully assembled on the side of the highway.

“What we saw in Baton Rouge was a police department that chose to provoke protesters to create, like, a context of conflict they could exploit,” said McKesson. Over 100 other protesters were also arrested Saturday.

The protests were a direct response to the killing of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge last week, after two officers shot him repeatedly outside a Baton Rouge convenience store. Shortly after Sterling’s death, a school cafeteria worker was shot and killed by police in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. And at a protest rally in Dallas following Falcon Heights, five police officers were killed by snipers.

Last week’s violence is already proving to be an intensely raw and revealing piece of American history. Bachman’s photo will surely be one of the images that lasts.

Jonathan Bachman’s #BatonRouge protest photo will become as iconic as “woman in red” during 2013 protests in Turkey.pic.twitter.com/igMnWOdL4g

— Matt Sandiford (@Matt Sandiford)
1468221527

When you see this image you think thank God America won the Cold War and defeated tyrannyn(JONATHAN BACHMAN/REUTERS)pic.twitter.com/ryVd3lGqIw

— Karl Sharro (@Karl Sharro)
1468227689

This article originally appeared on 10.23.17

A stunning photo of an African-American woman confronting police at a Black Lives Matter rally blazed across social media this weekend, with some calling it a touchstone image that will stand as a powerful symbol for many years to come.

The photo, captured by Jonathan Bachman of Reuters, comes from a Black Lives Matter rally outside Baton Rouge police HQ this weekend. Police in full riot armor are shown descending on a poised, well-dressed woman, apparently about to be cuffed.

Her name is Leshia Evans, according to the Daily Mail, a 28-year-old nurse from New York who had not been to a protest rally before this one. The AP says Evans was arrested for blocking a public roadway shortly after the image was taken.

DeRay McKesson, one of the most prominent voices of the Black Lives Matter movement, was also arrested at Saturday’s rally. McKesson was released after 16 hours in a cell; he told the New York Times that he felt Saturday’s mass arrests were unlawful, as the protesters were peacefully assembled on the side of the highway.

“What we saw in Baton Rouge was a police department that chose to provoke protesters to create, like, a context of conflict they could exploit,” said McKesson. Over 100 other protesters were also arrested Saturday.

The protests were a direct response to the killing of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge last week, after two officers shot him repeatedly outside a Baton Rouge convenience store. Shortly after Sterling’s death, a school cafeteria worker was shot and killed by police in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. And at a protest rally in Dallas following Falcon Heights, five police officers were killed by snipers.

Last week’s violence is already proving to be an intensely raw and revealing piece of American history. Bachman’s photo will surely be one of the images that lasts.

Jonathan Bachman’s #BatonRouge protest photo will become as iconic as “woman in red” during 2013 protests in Turkey.pic.twitter.com/igMnWOdL4g

— Matt Sandiford (@Matt Sandiford)
1468221527

When you see this image you think thank God America won the Cold War and defeated tyrannyn(JONATHAN BACHMAN/REUTERS)pic.twitter.com/ryVd3lGqIw

— Karl Sharro (@Karl Sharro)
1468227689

This article originally appeared on 10.23.17

A childhood game can go very wrong in the blink of an eye.

“You’ll never get me!”

“Freeze! Put your hands up.”

If you’ve ever played cops and robbers, you know how the game goes.

John Arthur Greene was 8 and he was playing that game with his older brother Kevin. Only the two brothers played with real guns. Living on a farm, they were both old hands at handling firearms by their ages.

The blast from the gun must have startled them both.

“We were always extremely safe. They were never loaded,” John said.

Except this time it was. And John’s brother died in his arms while he watched.

It happens more often than you would ever want to imagine.

In federal data from 2007 to 2011, which is likely under-reported, an average of 62 children were accidentally killed by firearms per year.

Here’s a chilling example from Everytown for Gun Safety:

“In Asheboro, North Carolina, a 26-year-old mother was cleaning her home when she heard a gunshot. Rushing into the living room, she discovered that her three-year-old son had accidentally shot her boyfriend’s three-year-old daughter with a .22-caliber rifle the parents had left in the room, loaded and unlocked.”

And the numbers may actually be getting worse.

With an increase in unfettered access to guns and philosophical opposition to gun regulations, the numbers seem to be on the rise. Here’s how many accidental shootings happened at the hands of children in 2015 alone, by age:

From January 19-26 of 2016 — just one week — at least seven kids were accidentally shot by another kid.

If the pace holds up for the rest of the year, America would be looking at over 300 accidental shootings of children, in many cases by children, for the year. That’s far too many cases of children either carrying the guilt and pain of having shot a loved one or hurting or killing themselves by accident.

John Arthur Greene has been able to manage his feelings of guilt and sorrow through music and by sharing his story for others to hear.

He told his story during an audition for the final season of “American Idol.” He says music has helped him keep his brother’s memory alive:

“Right now I lift him up every day and he holds me up. Music is how I coped with everything.”

It’s a powerful reminder. No matter how we each feel about gun safety laws, guns should always be locked away unloaded and kept separately from ammunition.

Our babies are too precious to leave it to chance.

Watch John Arthur Greene’s audition for “American Idol” here:

This article originally appeared on 03.07.16