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Today (Like Every Other Day) Is A Good Day To Remember Taylor Swift’s 2009 Dead Body Appearance On ‘CSI’

Taylor Swift CSI
CBS

The year is 2009: Obama is president, James Cameron is gearing up to release his little passion project Avatar, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is the number one show amongst nursing homes and doctor’s offices everywhere. It also happened to be Taylor Swift‘s favorite show. She was 19 at the time.

“For about three years I’ve been saying to everyone that my favorite show is CSI,” Swift told Rolling Stone back then. It was her “dream” to die on the show, and it ended up coming true all those years ago, before she singlehandedly changed the friendship bracelet industry.

Rolling Stone journalist Vanessa Grigoriadis revisited an interview with Swift for the Infamous podcast (caught by People). In the resurfaced interview, Swift described how her on-screen persona was different from her 2009 self, who had just released her second album Fearless. “I’m black-haired, have a nose ring, earrings, spikes, combat boots…” Swift told Grigoriadis. This is the opposite of what Swift’s 2009 persona was.

She continued, “And you end up figuring out that there’s this whole back story, and that my parents had a child that ended up dying and I was the second replacement child. And my mom never really loved me… and there are so many different intricate storylines that come into play,” she added. Swift knows a thing or two about intricate storylines so she was right at home.

The interview also revealed that Swift’s mother Andrea was not a fan of her (spoiler alert) corpse scene after she ended up dying in the episode. “My [own] mom was a little freaked out. I was open-eye dead, literally had to stare off into nothing and not breathe during the close-ups… not flinch or anything,” she said. That would have been a whole other show if she had flinched.

Nowadays, Swift is really good at acting. She acts like she cares about her boyfriend’s little ball game every week.

(Via People)

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When Will ‘The Curse’ Season 1, Episode 8 Come Out?

CURSE
SHOWTIME

There are home renovation horror stories and then there’s The Curse, Showtime’s dark satire starring Nathan Fielder and Emma Stone as a married pair of house flippers determined to gentrify their New Mexico neighborhood despite the bad vibes that follow them.

The show, created by Fielder and Benny Safdie, is an exercise in cringe comedy, filled with awkward moments that linger too long and set to a narrative rhythm that viewers can never fully pin down. That, paired with some muted and sinister performances from Fielder and Stone has propelled it to the top of our must-watch list. Thankfully, Showtime and Paramount+ have decided to ignore the sanctity of the holiday season and allow this weird-as-hell TV experiment to stream uninterrupted, meaning fans won’t have to suffer through a winter hiatus before the show’s next episode airs.

After dropping its seventh episode on Christmas Day, The Curse’s eighth episode is scheduled to premiere on Dec. 29th at 12:00 p.m. PT. Streaming fans can catch it then while traditional cable watchers will have to wait until Sunday to watch the hour-long installment titled, “Down and Dirty.” The episode’s synopsis hints that Asher (Fielder) and Dougie (Safdie) enjoy a boys’ night out while Whitney (Stone) explores her artistic side — which sounds harmless enough until you remember this is the same show that gave us micro-penis think pieces and truly bizarre late-night talk show appearances and promo feuds.

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Who Does Fantasia Play In ‘The Color Purple?’

fantasia
Warner Bros. Pictures

The Color Purple had a Christmas to remember at the box office. Variety reports that the musical, which grossed $18 million on Monday, had the “largest Christmas Day opening for a film since 2009, and the second-biggest Christmas Day opening of all time” behind only 2009’s Sherlock Holmes. (If there’s one thing the late 2000s loved, it’s anything and everything Sherlock Holmes.) But The Color Purple is not only a hit among theatergoers. It’s also been praised by critics (89 percent “Fresh” ratings with Rotten Tomatoes), many of whom have singled out Fantasia‘s performance as a highlight.

The singer and former American Idol winner plays Celie Harris-Johnson in 2023’s The Color Purple, a role she reprised from the Broadway musical the movie is based on. The character was formerly portrayed by Whoopi Goldberg in an Oscar-winning performance in 1985’s The Color Purple.

When asked by Entertainment Weekly about her experience making The Color Purple, Fantasia replied, “I feel like there was once a time in my career where things were not so good. Days were not so bright, but I kept going and I never gave up. Through Celie, I caught my breakthrough and I’m grateful for that. If they can’t see it through me, then I allow myself to be a vessel so they can see it through Celie. I’m most proud of myself for standing up and doing things that I never thought I could do and bouncing back. It feels like Idol again. But I’m just wiser. I’m grown now.”

The Color Purple is out in theaters now (and streaming eventually).

(Via Variety and Entertainment Weekly)

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When Does ‘Percy Jackson And The Olympians’ Season 1, Episode 3 Come Out?

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Walker Scobell
Disney+

After rolling the dice on feature film adaptations of his beloved book series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, author Rick Riordan has teamed up with Disney+ for a series adaptation that he hopes will be more faithful to the fan-favorite novels. Riordan has been intimately involved with the new Disney+ series and has not been shy about battling online trolls who have criticized the show’s casting decisions.

Based on the early Rotten Tomatoes scores, Riordan’s involvement has been a huge boon to Percy Jackson and the Olympians following its December 19 debut. The series is sitting at a whopping 96% fresh with critics and an audience score of 88%, which has to be music to Disney’s hear. The House of Mouse is hoping Percy Jackson will be a major hit for the streamer.

With the first two episodes already available on Disney+, fans are clamoring to know when Episode 3 will arrive. We got you covered.

When Does ‘Percy Jackson And The Olympians’ Season 1, Episode 3 Come Out?

Following in the footsteps of Ahsoka and Loki Season 2, which brought a notable change to how Disney+ streams its shows, Percy Jackson and the Olympians will stream new episodes on Tuesday night during primetime. Previously, the streamer used to drop new episodes at 3 AM, which was not the most convenient time.

That release schedule means Percy Jackson Season 1, Episode 3 will come out on Tuesday, December 26 at 9 PM ET.

Here’s the official synopsis:

Percy Jackson and The Olympians tells the fantastical story of a 12-year-old modern demigod, Percy Jackson, who’s just coming to terms with his newfound supernatural powers when the sky god Zeus accuses him of stealing his master lightning bolt. Now Percy must trek across America to find it and restore order to Olympus.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians streams new episodes Tuesday night at 9 PM ET on Disney+.

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When Will ‘All Of Us Strangers’ Be On Streaming?

If you’ve seen more of Andrew Scott (Fleabag) and Paul Mescal (Normal People) on your timeline lately that’s because the Irish actors’ latest film, All Of Us Strangers, has finally landed in theaters. The pair star in director Andrew Haigh’s Queer love story that follows a lonely, middle-aged man (Scott) who strikes up a relationship with his neighbor (Mescal) and ends up revisiting his childhood in the strangest of ways.

The film, based on a book by author Taichi Yamada, will likely earn more than a few Oscar nominations which is why it’s releasing now — and why both Mescal and Scott are promoting it via cutesy Vanity Fair interviews and curated Spotify playlists. But, if trekking to the theater to catch this fascinating, bittersweet ghost story doesn’t fit in with your holiday plans, don’t worry — the film will probably land on streaming before awards season ends.

Haigh’s drama dropped in theaters on Dec. 22nd. Currently, the film doesn’t have a streaming release date but here’s what we know: the movie was produced by Searchlight Pictures. Searchlight Pictures is owned by Disney, which also owns Hulu now. A handful of Searchlight movies have landed on Hulu once their theatrical windows closed and, it’s likely All Of Us Strangers will do the same. As for when, we’d imagine Searchlight and Disney would like to drum up buzz for the film before Oscar voting begins and the best way to do that is to make it more widely available, i.e. streaming so look for the movie to pop up on the platform in early 2024.

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Lamar Jackson Responded To Mike Florio’s Prediction That The Niners Would ‘Kick The Sh*t Out Of The Ravens’

lamar jackson
Getty Image

Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens made a major statement on Monday Night Football this week. Baltimore went on the road to take on the San Francisco 49ers in a matchup of the two best teams in the NFL, and thanks to Jackson and a monster performance from their defense, the Ravens were able to pick up a 33-19 win that sure makes them look like the team to beat once the postseason rolls around.

Baltimore actually entered the game as 6.5-point underdogs, while San Francisco rode a 6-game winning streak into Monday’s tilt. As such, a whole lot of people picked the Niners to win the game, and in the aftermath, the Ravens decided to single out one particular prediction that came from Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.

“As long as the key players are healthy, they’re gonna kick the sh*t outta everybody they face,” Florio said before the game. “The quest is for second place. That’s it, as long as those people stay healthy, they’re currently healthy. The 49ers kick the sh*t out of the Ravens on Monday night.”

The clip got the attention of Lamar Jackson, who hopped onto Twitter after the game and decided to troll Florio.

Florio did end up accepting this L on Tuesday, saying that he admits he was wrong about the Ravens in the lead-up to the game.

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Hovvdy Brings On Some Chill Acoustic Country Vibes In Their New ‘Portrait’ Single

Hovvdy dropped their new single, “Portrait,” today, on the heels of their two previous singles from this year. Opening with a chill, acoustic guitar, the vocals are distant with a little country twang, giving the instrumentals and lyrics a chance to shine.

From an Instagram post, they released it to help ring in the new year.

“It is hard to forget how it went that night / Silhouettes burning out / Broken like glass from the second floor / Washed by a rush when the flooding came down, down, down,” the duo opens the song.

“Your eyes are talking / And they don’t seem fine to me / May as well be walking / Away with your eyes turned from me / Away with your eyes turned from me,” Hovvdy adds in the chorus. As Stereogum noted, it feels similar to a John Mayer track — making it a likely addition to a nice coffee shop rotation.

The band appears to be working on their fifth album, according to Genius, with the few songs providing fans with a glimpse of what’s to come. Their past single, “Bubba,” focused in on two different perspectives of siblinghood. “It’s tough and time flies and we grow older and process in our own ways; and this song is about how that feels,” band member Charlie Martin previously shared.

Next year, they will also be supporting Cold War Kids on tour. More information can be found here.

Check out Hovvdy’s “Portrait” above.

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Hugh Jackman Got In A Little Trouble For Getting Too Close To The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

Hugh Jackman
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Most people celebrate holidays with their families and loved ones and Will Ferrell. Celebrities like to celebrate with over-the-top ensembles and rich people food. Hugh Jackman, who is a mix between “most people” and “celebrity,” decided to go his own route and embark on a new holiday tradition by getting in trouble near the Rockefeller Christmas tree.

Jackman took to Instagram to tell his followers about his little “holiday hack” without taking into consideration the fact that he’s literally Hugh Jackman, so of course a security guard is going to let him go with a warning or else he would whip out his finger knives and attack.

The actor posted a video of himself taking a video (this is the celebrity part of him) of the tree, with the caption, “I highly recommend getting up really early on Christmas morning and taking a walk to see the Rockefeller Christmas tree. It’s so beautiful and not crowded at all,” he wrote, though anyone who had to pass through Grand Central on Christmas Day knowns this is simply not true.

Jackman added that he did have a run-in with the law: “I did get in trouble for going beyond the barrier but the security guard was nice and let me go with just a warning.” How nice that a tree has its own security guard. Jackman also added other shots of himself in full Dad Mode:

Now you know where Hugh Jackman will likely be at 7 am on Christmas Day next year, so feel free to use that information however you see fit!!! He also hung out with Will Ferrell, too.

(Via People)

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12 real stories that show why ruthless immigration laws are the wrong move.

If there’s ever been a particularly bad time to be an undocumented immigrant, it’s right now.

President Donald Trump, who launched himself into the 2016 presidential race with his support for a multibillion-dollar border wall, has been cracking down on immigration as promised. In addition to tightening border security, he’s pledged to remove 2 to 3 million undocumented immigrants “immediately.” And he appears to be keeping his word.

Deportation is nothing new, but Trump’s plans are unprecedented. Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images.


It’s a scary climate we’re facing, but unfortunately, it’s not just Trump and it’s not just America. All over the world, people are more concerned with their countries’ borders than seemingly ever before. Nations all over Europe, for example, are tightening up immigration rules and/or ramping up deportations themselves.

Amidst all the noise and rhetoric — every “radical Islamic terrorist” attack that gets waved about by politicians with something that eerily resembles pride, every horrific crime committed by white Americans that’s met with deafening silence, every press conference faux pas — there are real people and real families being ripped apart in the name of patriotism.

Their stories are terrifying and heart-wrenching, but they’re massively important.

1. A DREAMer gave a powerful speech about deportation. Moments later, she was arrested.

Daniela Vargas, who has lived in the U.S. since she was 7 years old, spoke at a news conference in Jackson, Mississippi, about the importance of the DREAM Act, which aims to help immigrant children who have lived in the U.S. for more than five years and graduated high school receive permanent legal status.

After the event, Vargas and a friend were pulled over and arrested by immigration agents.

2. A Sri Lankan student studying in North Wales was saved from deportation only by a last ditch effort hours before her flight.

Shiromini Satkunarajah, an electrical engineering student at Bangor University, was nearly sent back to Sri Lanka earlier this year. Despite having lived in the U.K. since she was 12 and being only three months shy of graduation, Satkunarajah was only allowed to stay after receiving an outpouring of community support.

3. A woman living in Great Britain was sent back to Singapore without being allowed to say goodbye to her husband and two children.

Irene Clennell had lived in the U.K. since 1988 but was abruptly sent back to Singapore after having her indefinite leave to remain revoked. Clennell is married and has two children with her husband but was not afforded the chance to see them one last time.

4. A mom living in Phoenix was sent back to Mexico. Her children would later face Trump as he addressed a joint session of Congress for the first time.

Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos’ children were reportedly in attendance as Trump addressed Congress. Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo/AFP/Getty Images.

Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos was sent back to Mexico in January this year for having a criminal record. Her crime? Working under the table to provide for her young children.

5. A beloved restaurant manager in a deep-red town in Illinois was arrested, and now the community is reeling.

Most of the people in West Frankfort, Illinois, voted for Trump. They never thought anything would happen to Juan Carlos Hernandez Pacheco, the friendly restaurant manager who seemed have done at least one kind deed for everyone in the community. Now, he’s been detained by ICE and is currently waiting to find out if he’ll be sent back to Mexico.

6. A Kuwaiti man and father of two living in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on the other hand, was miraculously spared from deportation because it would cause his family too much hardship.

Yousef Ajin has lived in the United States for 18 years with his wife, with whom he has four children. He reportedly met with immigration officers frequently, but on Jan. 30, 2017, he was suddenly detained.

In February, a judge granted a deportation waiver in order to spare Ajin’s family from hardship. Many other immigrants aren’t so lucky.

7. One man was caught trying to cross the border and returned to Tijuana. He appears to have jumped to his death shortly after.

The man, Guadalupe Olivas Valencia, had reportedly worked in the U.S. before to provide for his family back home before being deported multiple times. Caught trying to enter the country once again, he seemingly decided jumping from a bridge was his only option.

8. A single mother in California was sent back to Mexico, leaving her two young children in peril.

Photo by Jose Cabezas/AFP/Getty Images.

On Feb. 7, María Robles-Rodríguez was nabbed by U.S. Border Patrol and sent back to Mexico, leaving her twin 18-year-old daughters to fend for themselves.

9. Gay men being deported from Britain to Afghanistan are being told to pretend they’re straight.

The British government’s advice to gay men being sent home to Afghanistan, where they can be freely persecuted for their sexual orientation? Just don’t act gay and everything will be fine!

Seriously.

10. Jose Escobar was detained after a routine meeting with immigration officers. He’s a husband and father of three.

Escobar, who has lived in the United States for 16 years, had a deportation scare a few years back but was told he’d be safe if he checked in with immigration agents every year. Only this year, an agent reportedly told his wife, “We’re just doing what President Trump wants us to do with the new rules.”

Escobar will likely soon be deported.

11. A Mexican man living in Idaho was deported. His wife and the mother of his children could be next.

Tomas Copado ran his own auto body shop in Idaho Falls until he was sent back to Mexico earlier this year. His wife, for the sake of their children, recently had her own deportation deferred.

For now.

12. Some undocumented immigrants may be deported to Mexico even if they’re not from there.

Photo by John Moore/Getty Images.

According to several reports, the Department of Homeland Security plans to send anyone who crosses illegally over the southern border of the U.S. back to Mexico, even though they may be citizens of another country.

Needless to say, this is horrendous and possibly in violation of international law.

Every modern nation needs smart, empathetic paths to citizenship. Any immigration policy that tramples on human rights and rips families apart is a travesty.

It’s time to bust the narrative that foreigners primarily come to our country — or any country — to do harm. They come mostly to find opportunity, to escape persecution, or to be with family.

If we can’t come to see them as human beings rather than inanimate outsiders, finding the money to pay for a giant wall will be the very least of our problems.

This article originally appeared on 03.02.17

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Video shows how Gummy Bears are made in reverse

The first gummy bears were created in the 1920s by Hans Riegel, owner of the Haribo candy company in Bonn, Germany. Since, gummy candies have become popular worldwide and evolved to take the shapes of fish, sour patch kids, frogs, worms, and just about anything a clever candy maker can imagine.

But unlike the popular Disney ’80s “Gummi Bears” cartoon, these sweet little guys don’t come from a hollow tree in the forest. Sadly, their creation is a bit more terrifying.


In the video below, Belgian filmmaker Alina Kneepkens shows how the colorful snacks you bought at the movie theater actually began as pigskin. Yes, an NFL football and a gummy bear have the same humble beginnings. But if you’re a vegan or vegetarian, there’s no need to worry; there are candy manufacturers that make gummy bears out of agar and pectin so you can enjoy these fruity delights minus the swine skin.

Now, you know you want to sing along to this tune.

This article originally appeared on 9.3.21