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George Carlin’s brilliant ‘whiny Boomer’ rant was decades ahead of its time

“OK Boomer” is a catchphrase that has come to perfectly encapsulate the generational divide in modern American politics. It has also led to some moments of pure comedy gold.

But it turns out that one of the great all-time standup comedic minds was literally decades ahead of the game when it came to dragging Boomers for selfish, hypocritical, and entitled behavior. In his 1996 stand up special “Back in Town” George Carlin devoted a glorious two minutes and twenty-seven seconds to putting Boomers in their place.


“A lot of these cultural crimes I’m complaining about can be blamed on the Baby Boomers,” Carlin says, beginning what would become a now legendary rant.

“I’m getting tired of hearing about Boomers,” Carlin continues. “Whiny, narcissistic, self-indulgent people with a simple philosophy: ‘GIMME IT, IT’S MINE!’ ‘GIMME THAT, IT’S MINE!’ These people were given everything. Everything was handed to them. And they took it all: sex, drugs, and rock and roll, and they stayed loaded for 20 years and had a free ride.”

“But now they’re staring down the barrel of middle-age burnout, and they don’t like it. So they’ve turned self-righteous. They want to make things harder on younger people. They tell ’em, abstain from sex, say no to drugs; as for the rock and roll, they sold that for television commercials a long time ago…so they could buy pasta machines and Stairmasters and soybean futures.”

Or, as one person on Reddit commented on Carlin’s video: “My feeling about baby-boomers is that they were one of the first generations to really adulate and idolize the idea of youth, and youth empowerment but when they themselves reach senior ages their own ideas were working against them so they changed to demonizing youth.”

But Carlin wasn’t done there. He says the Boomers have not only become hypocrites, they turned their own generational shift into cutthroat, corporate catchphrases that guilt and shame others who don’t comport to their world view.

“You know something? They are cold, bloodless people,” Carlin says.

“These people went from ‘Do Your Own Thing’ to ‘Just Say No.’ They went from ‘Love is All You Need’ to ‘Whoever Winds Up With the Most Toys, Wins.’ And they went from cocaine to Rogaine.”

Carlin’s bit concludes in epic fashion with an all-encompassing take down that applies to, well, literally everyone. But the next time you hear a Boomer ridiculing young people or defending their own legacy, just show them this clip and remind them that Boomer criticism is something that transcends age, gender or race. Heck, even if you’re from the Boomer generation, this clip is just too good to not enjoy and share.

This article originally appeared on 02.20.20

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People are raving about how much easier it is to read with ‘bionic reading’ font

Reading is a fundamental tool of learning for most people, which is why it’s one of the first things kids learn in school and why nations set literacy goals.

But even those of us who are able to read fluently might sometimes struggle with the act of reading itself. Perhaps we don’t read as quickly as we wish we could or maybe our minds wander as our eyes move across the words. Sometimes we get to the end of a paragraph and realize we didn’t retain anything we just read.

People with focus or attention issues can struggle with reading, despite having no actual reading disabilities. It can be extremely frustrating to want to read something and have no issues with understanding the material, yet be unable to keep your mind engaged with the text long enough to get “into” what you’re reading.


But what if there were a font that could help you stay focused? That could help you not only read faster but better retain what you’ve just read?

That’s what the creators of Bionic Reading claim is possible with their font tool.”Bionic Reading revises texts so that the most concise parts of words are highlighted,” the Swiss company’s website reads. “This guides the eye over the text and the brain remembers previously learned words more quickly.”

Give it a try:

The gist is that our eyes don’t need to focus on the entire word because our brains can fill in the rest for us. By bolding the first part of the word, we’re more quickly able to move from word to word.

“Bionic Reading aims to play a supporting role in the absorption of volume text,” states the website. “We see technological progress as an opportunity for all those who want to increase the pleasure of reading in a noisy and hectic world in a focused way and without distraction.”

While there are no studies cited on this method of reading, there are plenty of anecdotes about it being helpful. The example shared by @WhattheADHD on Twitter got people’s attention and many people responded with enthusiasm at how much easier the bionic reading text was for them to read.

“This is amazing! I have ADHD and I didn’t even realize that I was having trouble fixating when I read,” wrote one person. “My eye latches right on to the bold face. Can’t wait to try reading a book again. It’s been all audiobooks for a while.”

“It’s incredible how reading this feels like finally unlocking 100% of your brain,” wrote another.

However, not everyone was impressed or thrilled with the sample. Some people said that they had a harder time reading the bionic text or that it distracted or slowed them down. Both positive and negative responses came from a diverse pool of people. Some who described themselves as neurodivergent said that they loved it and some said it was harder. The same went for people who said they were neurotypical, so it’s hard to say who this tool may specifically help the most. Everyone’s brains work differently, and different people will find different things helpful.

Bionic reading might be a game-changer for some, but it’s not the only tool of its kind. There are speed-reading programs that train you to stop reading each word and allow your brain to read visually instead of auditorily. There are also various methods of making reading easier by adjusting how your eyes move across the text.

For instance, check out this “space reading” technique:

Bionic Reading has a free text converter on its website that you can use to try out its font changes. A YouTube clip from the company also shows possibilities for how the font can be adjusted to individual preferences, making more or less of the initial letters bolded.

And again, if this doesn’t work for you, then it’s probably not made for you. For people who struggle with reading, something like Bionic Reading could make a huge difference.

Three cheers for technology being used to help people overcome difficulties and make learning easier and more efficient.


This article originally appeared on 5.30.22.

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When Did Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s ‘Murder On The Dancefloor’ Come Out?

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Sophie Ellis-Bextor has found a resurgence for her song “Murder On The Dancefloor” through TikTok. The track gained traction after appearing in the final scene of the recent movie Saltburn, which (spoiler alert) ends with a naked Barry Keoghan dancing around a mansion to it. Since then, listeners have used the dancefloor hit to soundtrack their own moves — or just to sing along, as it is insanely catchy.

Because of this, Ellis-Bextor has made her way onto the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time and is currently sitting at No. 51 — inching up the chart.

Here’s what to know about the song’s origins.

When Did Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s ‘Murder On The Dancefloor’ Come Out?

Murder On The Dancefloor” was initially released back in 2001, as it was part of Ellis-Bextor’s debut album, Read My Lips. At the time of its release, the disco-inspired pop track peaked at No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart, staying there for 16 weeks. It also had crossover success in Australia, peaking at No. 3 over there.

“It actually feels really magical,” she told BBC following the reignited success. “And if I’m honest, I don’t think I’ve completely processed it really… It’s extraordinary. It’s a song I’ve been singing for over 20 years, I still love singing it. I love the way people react when I do it live. But for new people to be discovering it, for it to be making new memories with people is kind of beautiful.”

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Who Is Featured On Usher’s ‘Coming Home’ Album Tracklist?

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Usher has some pretty big times ahead: He’s performing the Super Bowl Halftime Show on February 11, and on the Friday before that, he’s dropping a new album, Coming Home. While it remains to be seen if anybody will join him on stage at the big game (Taylor Swift almost certainly won’t), we do know who’s going to be on the album.

Today (January 31), Usher revealed the tracklist for Coming Home, as well as the artists he collaborated with for the project.

Who Is Featured On Usher’s Coming Home Album Tracklist?

The 20-song tracklist features collaborations with Burna Boy, Summer Walker, 21 Savage, Latto, The Dream, HER, Pheelz, and BTS’ Jung Kook. Perhaps one or more of them will turn up for the Super Bowl?

Usher’s Coming Home Album Tracklist

1. “Coming Home” with Burna Boy
2. “Good Good” with Summer Walker and 21 Savage
3. “A-Town Girl” with Latto
4. “Cold Blooded” with The Dream
5. “Kissing Strangers”
6. “Keep On Dancin’”
7. “Risk It All” with H.E.R.
8. “Bop”
9. “Stone Kold Freak”
10. “Ruin” with Pheelz
11. “BIG”
12. “On The Side”
13. “I Am The Party”
14. “I Love U”
15. “Please U”
16. “Luckiest Man”
17. “Margiela”
18. “Room In A Room”
19. “One Of Them Ones”
20. “Standing Next To You (Remix)” with Jung Kook

Coming Home is out 2/9 via Mega/Gamma. Find more information here.

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‘The View’s Joy Behar Feels ‘Sorry’ For The Men Hating On Taylor Swift: ‘They Need Some Help’

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In an odd twist for The View, co-host Joy Behar took a moment to express her sympathy for the predominantly right-wing horde of men who have been frothing at the mouth over Taylor Swift attending NFL games and, presumably, the upcoming Super Bowl.

Swift has been dating Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce, and with his team now headed to the big game, conservatives have latched onto a wild conspiracy theory that the CIA orchestrated the Chiefs’ AFC victory so Swift can endorse Biden during the massive sporting event. It’s all pretty nuts, and Behar feels “sorry” for the men who are launching these hare-brained attacks.

“I do! No, I’m not making a joke,” Behar said. “I feel for them because things have not gone their way. There are fewer jobs for them, a lot of these guys … college enrollment for men [is] down. They were up 60%, now it’s 41%. Women are moving ahead like crazy.”

To be clear, Behar qualified her remarks by saying these men should try working harder and seek out therapy. Via Decider:

“Look, as a woman comedian, I felt like it was harder for me,” but she added, “I didn’t say, ‘Oh, I resent that the men can do it better or that they get a better audience.’ I tried to work harder.”

Behar then suggested “these guys” try out therapy.

“Go get a shrink!” she exclaimed. “I mean, they don’t consider it masculine to be in therapy. It is not about masculine, feminine. It’s about your brain. They need some help, and that’s why I feel sorry for them.”

Despite being sympathetic to their plight, Behar made a point to highlight the severity of the situation.

“These kind of guys can be dangerous,” she said. “They have guns, a lot of them. I feel sorry — at the same time, I’m worried.”

(Via Decider)

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Usher Dropped The Tracklist For His Album ‘Coming Home’ And It Features 21 Savage, Jung Kook, And More

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Usher unveiled the tracklist for his upcoming album, Coming Home — and fans are extremely excited. Spanning 20 songs, Usher will also be collaborating with a ton of artists. Burna Boy will help open the record as a feature on the title track, and then, Summer Walker and 21 Savage will follow it up on “Good Good.”

It also is a great day for BTS fans, as Jung Kook will appear on Usher’s remix of “Standing Next To You” — the final track of the album.

Fans will get to hear Usher’s album just two days before he takes the stage of Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium to deliver his Super Bowl Halftime Show — making it genius timing to prepare the release. And hey, maybe even some of these artists could join him there, who knows.

Usher’s Coming Home Album Tracklist

1. “Coming Home” with Burna Boy
2. “Good Good” with Summer Walker and 21 Savage
3. “A-Town Girl” with Latto
4. “Cold Blooded” with The Dream
5. “Kissing Strangers”
6. “Keep On Dancin’”
7. “Risk It All” with H.E.R.
8. “Bop”
9. “Stone Kold Freak”
10. “Ruin” with Pheelz
11. “BIG”
12. “On The Side”
13. “I Am The Party”
14. “I Love U”
15. “Please U”
16. “Luckiest Man”
17. “Margiela”
18. “Room In A Room”
19. “One Of Them Ones”
20. “Standing Next To You (Remix)” with Jung Kook

Coming Home is out 2/9 via Mega/Gamma. Find more information here.

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

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Travis Kelce And Patrick Mahomes Planned On Getting A Taunting Penalty If Justin Tucker Missed A Field Goal

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Prior to Sunday’s AFC Championship showdown between the Chiefs and Ravens, Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes had a pregame run in with the unlikeliest of foes — Baltimore kicker Justin Tucker.

The consensus best kicker in the NFL (and likely in NFL history) decided to start his warmup right where Mahomes was getting ready on the goal line, and there were some shenanigans and trash talk, with Kelce tossing aside Tucker’s stuff to clear room for his quarterback.

It was mostly all in good fun, with a little bit of real tension mixed in there given the stakes of the game, and ultimately it was Mahomes and Kelce that got the last laugh in a 17-10 win to reach their fourth Super Bowl in five years. However, the star QB/TE duo didn’t really get to rub it in Tucker’s face the way they hoped, as they explained in an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday.

After Mahomes popped in on Kelce’s interview, McAfee ribbed him about how Tucker was going to “beat his ass” which led to Kelce revealing that the two planned on earning a 15-yard taunting penalty if Tucker missed his late field goal attempt to cut the Baltimore deficit to one score.

Tucker, as he almost always does, drilled the field goal, with Mahomes lamenting that he couldn’t let them have any fun, but it would’ve been truly incredible if Kelce and Mahomes and stormed out onto the field and picked up a flag for taunting the opposing kicker because of some pregame shenanigans.

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People are loving Drew Barrymore’s live reaction to her first perimenopause hot flash

It feels safe to say that many, if not most people hail Drew Barrymore as the “Queen of Candid.” She can seemingly talk to absolutely anyone about anything in a way that’s consistently warm and authentic.

That even goes for when she experiences her first hot flash in front of a live television audience, apparently.

While speaking with guests Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler on her talk show, Barrymore abruptly appears flustered, fanning herself and removing her jacket.

Without missing a beat, she says, “I am so hot, I think I’m having my first perimenopause hot flashes.”


“Oh, I feel so honored!” Jennifer Aniston quips as she fixes Barrymore’s mic, which is a sweet moment in and of itself.

“I’m so sorry!” Barrymore continues, laughing through it all. “Do you feel this?!” she says, placing Aniston’s hand just below her neck. “Or maybe I’m just excited!”

@drewbarrymore I either had my first perimenopause hot flash or got really exciting! Maybe both? @thedrewbarrymoreshow ♬ original sound – Drew Barrymore

Sandler, then reaching for Barrymore’s palm, assures her, “Yeah you got a hot hand.”

“Well, I’m so glad I have this moment documented!” Barrymore exclaims.

One viewer on TikTok gushed, “I don’t know that I have ever heard a celebrity talk about a hot flash in the moment. Thank you for being so real.”

Another echoed, “Drew, we have a whole generation (X) entering the change. Let’s normalize it. Just wait until you’re soaked with sweat, then cold lol.”

One person commented on the exchange between Aniston and Barrymore, noting how refreshing it was to see two “beautiful, authentic, powerful women my own age to look up to.”

Only a week prior, Barrymore had again been an unofficial spokeswoman for perimenopause when she sat down with Gayle King of “CBS Mornings” to share more of her personal experiences, including having a period “every two weeks.”

“One doctor also just told me this could last, in the worst-case scenario, 10 years. And I was like, ‘I will never make it 10 years like this!’” she told King.

@cbsmornings How did Drew Barrymore know she was in perimenopause? She tells Gayle King and Nikki Battiste one of the main symptoms she experienced. Watch their full conversation tomorrow on #CBSMornings. #drewbarrymore #gayleking #menopause #perimenopause #fertility #health ♬ original sound – CBS Mornings

Considering that every woman who lives past their 40s will probably go through at least some version of this—even earlier, for some—one would think that there should be more conversations about this pivotal life chapter. Maybe then it wouldn’t be so daunting.

Or at the very least, there might be less stigma around it. As Barrymore eloquently put it in her interview, “The way menopause has been branded is, ‘You’re old, you’re done.’ That’s not it.” Instead, she feels that in reality, “more women in their 40s, 50s, and 60s are looking so attractive, feeling so vibrant, living their best lives.”

Imagine that—life getting better as you grow older. What a radical thought.

This article originally appeared on 3.30.23

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Guy shares the reason viral gym videos need to end, and it’s so spot on

Gyms are communal spaces where people can come to improve their health, fitness and/or overall well-being.

However, it’s no secret that many gyms have also become a production studio of sorts where influencers can set up a tripod to demonstrate the most cutting-edge squatting technique or where the average Joe can take that obligatory gym selfie to prove that the workout did, in fact, happen.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with either of these activities. However, they have sparked a new kind of behavior in gymgoers where they feign extreme frustration if folks walk from one machine to the next or grab a piece of equipment and, heaven forbid, enter the frame.


Take for instance a video shared to Reddit by u/ASTATINE_628, where we first see several cuts of a young woman at the gym, seemingly perturbed that people are continuously walking through her frame in her video.

The clip then cuts to a guy who breaks down what’s wrong with this scenario in a very clear and concise way.

“This sense of entitlement has gotten out of hand,” he said, noting that “for you to get upset because there’s people simply in your video going about their workout, not bothering you, minding their own business, is ridiculous.”

To act like she owns the gym.
by u/ASTATINE_628 in therewasanattempt

He certainly has a point. Of course, when personal space is actually being infringed upon, like when someone is facing harassment, that’s a different story. But in this case, as the man stated, there is no wrongdoing by simply existing.

The man then summed it all up with a short and sweet reminder about common decency. Or maybe not-so-common, since we’re needing reminders.

“Unless your name is on that gym, your filming is never a priority over other people. They pay the same gym membership that you do. If you can’t film responsibly, if you can’t respect other people in a shared space, you don’t belong filming at all,” he said.

Really, this behavior stems from something larger than modern-day gym culture. We film ourselves a lot these days, and often in public. This has undoubtedly caused a shift in how we view personal boundaries in the outside world, with both positive and negative effects.

On the one hand, it can be fun and self-esteem-boosting to treat your life as one big video diary. On the other hand, we bring strangers unwillingly into our orbit, treating them as punching bags, entertainment, or, in the case of the miffed gymgoers, nuisances. We vainly stop treating other people like fellow humans sharing life on this crazy blue planet. No video seems worth forgetting that.

Even for those who have never set foot into a gym, and never will, this is a poignant reminder to not lose our humanity as our relationship with social media grows. It’s perfectly fine to tap into “main character energy.” Let’s just keep in mind that really, we’re all part of the same story.

This article originally appeared on 3.28.23

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The New And Still-Untitled ‘Bosch’ Spin-Off: All The Details That You Need To Know (Update For January 2024)

Bosch
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Bosch is back! Even though he never really left. But there’s always room for this guy. Not only will Bosch: Legacy be coming back around for another season, but there are two more Bosch adventures on the way. After all, there are 24 novels in the book series there should be enough content for years if not decades.

The next series in the Bosch universe will be a new story based on Detective Renee Ballard. While Ballard has not yet appeared on the show, she has her own line of novels, so there is surely enough material to get some good seasons out of it. Here is everything we know so far about the currently-untitled Bosch spinoff.

Plot

According to Variety, the upcoming spinoff will follow Detective Renee Ballard “who is tasked with running the LAPD’s new cold case division—a poorly funded, all-volunteer unit with the largest case load in the city. Ballard approaches these frozen-in-time cases with empathy and determination. When she uncovers a larger conspiracy during her investigations, she’ll lean on the assistance of her retired ally, Harry Bosch, to navigate the dangers that threaten both her unit and her life.”

Michael Connelly, Bosch author and creator, shared his excitement in a statement. “It is so exciting to bring Renée Ballard to the screen and to do it with Prime Video, my streaming partner for going on 10 years. This show will have the same authenticity and propulsive momentum of Bosch: Legacy. Fans of the books will love it,” he concluded.

Cast

While no casting announcements have been made thus far, it seems like Welliver is willing stick around as Bosch as long as he can, so he will likely make an appearance in the new series. The role of Renee is currently up for grabs.

Release Date

No release date has been announced at this time. We can assume the show will begin production in the new year, hopefully aiming for a Winter 2025 release.

Trailer

There is not a trailer yet, but check out the trailer for Bosch: Legacy below.