A school district in Florida has banned more than 300 books over the past year as part of Governor Ron DeSantis‘ tireless efforts to convince people to never want to move or visit the Sunshine State. He’s doing a good job. The list of titles affected by the alarming ban includes literary classics like Anna Karenina, Slaughterhouse-Five, and On the Road, as well as works from authors Stephen King, Judy Blume, Mary Higgins Clark, Neil Gaiman, Toni Morrison, Joyce Carol Oates, and Steve Martin. Yes, that Steve Martin, the comedian, actor, and musician who published a novella, Shopgirl, in 2000.
In response to the ban, the Only Murders in the Building star wrote on Instagram, “So proud to have my book Shopgirl banned in Collier County, Florida! Now people who want to read it will have to buy a copy!”
I haven’t read the novella, but the movie it’s based on includes “several sex scenes, some delicate and others overtly comic (one features handcuffs); stereotypically busty rock groupies; a brief image of a man masturbating (his hand inside his boxers), and discussion/images of condoms.”
No wonder DeSantis is trailing behind Trump in every poll — he’s too busy saving Florida’s youth from overtly comic sex scenes.
Tempe, Arizona music fans have yet another reason to look forward to the new year, as Innings Festival has announced the dates for its 2024 sixth annual event. Returning to Beach Park & Arts Park on February 23-24, 2024, Innings Festival will be headlined by Red Hot Chili Peppers and Hozier, with a lineup including Greta Van Fleet, Jimmy Eat World, Macklemore, Third Eye Blind, and more.
Red Hot Chili Peppers recently wrapped up the 2023 tour for the band’s new albums, Unlimited Love and Return Of The Dream Canteen. Hozier, meanwhile, has been taking audiences to church all across the globe, headlining such festivals as Shaky Knees and Sound On Sound (which also included the Peppers) and is billed on the 2024 High Water Festival, as well as all three South American Lollapaloozas in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile.
Meanwhile, this year, Innings will be followed by the inaugural Extra Innings Festival the following weekend, March 1-2, with headliners Chris Stapleton and Dave Matthews Band. The lineup includes Elle King, Noah Kahan, Ryan Bingham with The Texas Gentlemen, Sheryl Crow, and Turnpike Troubadours, and allows us to make some awesome “double header” jokes (at least until they are inevitably overplayed).
You can find tickets and more information about Innings and Extra Innings at inningsfestival.com. Check out the lineup flyers below.
When you have a new baby people come in with all sorts of advice that is often conflicting. Things like, don’t hold the baby all day or they’ll never learn to self soothe but also, if you want to get stuff done you need to strap the baby to your body like a tiny kangaroo. Which is it? Do you hold them all day to get work done or do you not hold them all day so they can learn to self soothe?
This perpetual contradiction of parenting advice has been baffling parents for decades and “It’s a Southern Thing” created a video that hilariously shows the contradictions in action. It’s a realistic view of what it’s like to not only have a baby but to attempt to take the advice given by well-meaning friends and family.
The video starts out with a couple sitting on the couch holding an infant explaining that they’ve “unlocked the secrets to having a happy calm baby.”
The baby was not calm at all. In fact, after they finished their sweet family intro, you see the woman with the baby strapped to her chest to bring you tip number one.
“Wear him. If your baby is anything like our little Devin, he’s the most calm when he’s being held. But holding your baby 24/7 is totally unsustainable,” she says. “That’s why a baby carrier, like this one is a literal life saver.”
Of course it’s suggested that you could get things done around the house while wearing the baby, which quickly results in the baby crying when the woman tries to clean out a bottle. It was also impossible for her to unload the washing machine while wearing the little guy. In the next tip, the husband talks about keeping the baby on a sleep schedule but every time he attempts to lay the baby down for a nap, it starts crying. That is until her reaches success after multiple tries. Then…the doorbell rings and the dogs bark, which of course wakes the baby.
The entire video is so accurately hilarious if those stages are in your rearview. For those still in the thick of it, maybe the video can show you just how contradictory some of the tips you’ll receive can be. People in the comments found the video to be extremely accurate.
“This should be part of all high school human growth and development classes,” one person writes.
“This needs a trigger warning for accuracy! The only thing worse is having a second and managing all that WITH a toddler. Took my youngest being 8 years old before I even remotely liked the sight of a baby again. haha,” someone adds.
“As a parent expecting the child in a few weeks, I am both laughing and crying over the accuracy and expected loss of sleep,” a soon to be parent confesses.
“I still vividly remember having to sit in my son’s room until he fell asleep and then slowly slowly scoot myself toward the door while holding my breath for fear of waking him up again,” another writes.
Well if anything, maybe this can be shown in high school classes and freshman orientation at colleges for…science. Yeah, science. Good luck to all the new parents out there, babyhood only lasts a short time. Watch the scary accurate video below and maybe go hug one of your parents.
Joshua Cauldwell, known as @imjoshfromengland2 on TikTok, often posts humorous videos detailing his observations about American culture—everything from the country’s aggressive driving habits, “exotic” animals and of course, signature foods.
Previously Cauldwell has gushed about dishes like “authentic Texas BBQ” and beef jerky, but in a recent viral clip, he lists the three foods that truly exceeded his expectations.
First up, the good ol’ American corndog.
“Let’s be honest, they do not look appetizing at all,” Cauldwell says of the deep fried sausage on a stick. “You take one look and you think, ‘no thank you!’”
But his tune apparently changed after dipping it in mustard and ketchup.
“It tastes absolutely wonderful!” he exclaims in the clip.
Next: gumbo. A staple stew dish of Louisiana, usually made of multiple meats—seafood, chicken, sausage—along with spices, some veggies and rice. Which, when mixed together, does sort of produce a sloppy brown mess.
“When I first had it I thought…that the guy in the back had just scooped it out the bin,” Cauldwell says, suggesting it looks like something found at the bottom of a trash can.
“However,” he admits, when he took a bite, “it tasted divine.”
Saving the best (and ugliest) for last, Cauldwell noted that biscuits and gravy surprised him the most.
“This straight up looks like vomit, mate. However, you try it, and it is the best American food. It is incredible! I love it!” he says in the clip.
Watch Cauldwell’s enthusiastic review of American foods below:
Funny enough, Cauldwell isn’t the only Brit to go viral for his shock at how great biscuits and gravy are. Back in June 2023, a group of British schoolboys were equally delighted at the classic Southern breakfast item.
In fact, many weren’t surprised at all that biscuits and gravy were mentioned. One person even commented that “I knew biscuits and gravy would be here.”
It’s alway interesting to see how the mundane, everyday things you might take for granted can seem completely new and fascinating to someone not accustomed to them. Truly, this is the beauty of exploring other cultures. May we all get to explore the wonderful sights, sounds and tastes that humanity has to offer.
A recent study by the National Center for Education Statistics found that 87% of public schools say the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted students’ socio-emotional development. Respondents have also said there has been a significant increase in student misconduct.
However, a teacher with 24 years of experience in the U.S. and abroad believes we are misplacing blame for this rise in misconduct. In a viral TikTok video with over 480,000 views, Lisa Conselatore claims that the big problem isn’t the pandemic but modern parenting.
“The problem is cultural,” Conselatore says. “We have raised children to think that they are absolutely the most important person in any room. They are so special that whatever they want to do, or whatever they think, or whatever they say is the most important thing in that moment.”
“I know your children are special to you. I know that my children are special to me,” she continues. “But none of them are the most special person ever in the room at any time. They’re not. Nobody is because we live in a society and we all have to get along and we all have to respect one another and part of respecting one another is recognizing when you have a contribution to make and when you need to sit there and open your ears. … We don’t have that down. We’ve missed it.”
In the video, Conselatore lays some pretty big blame on America’s parents, but she also offers some simple solutions to improve the situation.
“Teach them when to listen, taking a turn to speak. Speak when it’s appropriate. When you have something to say and. It’s your turn,” she says. “Let’s reevaluate our family cultures, our community cultures, and our larger society cultures. Because of this is not working, not working.”
When Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim and Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi both landed their high jumps at 2.37 meters, they were in the battle for Olympic gold. But when both jumpers missed the next mark—the Olympic record of 2.39 meters—three times each, they were officially tied for first place.
In such a tie, the athletes would usually do a “jump-off” to determine who wins gold and who wins silver. But as the official began to explain the options to Barshim and Tamberi, Barshim asked, “Can we have two golds?”
“It’s possible,” the official responded. “It depends, if you both decide…” And before he’d even told them how sharing the gold would work, the two jumpers looked at each other, nodded, and then launched into a wholesome and joyful celebration guaranteed to bring a smile to your face.
Just watch:
None
— (@)
(If you are unable to view the video above, check it out on NBC’s YouTube channel here.)
The two jumpers have been competing against one another for more than a decade and are friends on and off the field, so getting to share the gold is a win-win—literally—for both of them. It’s also a historic choice. According to the BBC, the last time competing track and field Olympians shared the gold medal podium was in 1912.
The friendship and camaraderie between the two athletes are palpable and their immediate decision to share the gold truly embodies the Olympic spirit.
“I look at him, he looks at me, and we know it,” Barshim said, according to the CBC. “We just look at each other and we know, that is it, it is done. There is no need.”
“He is one of my best friends,” he added, “not only on the track, but outside the track. We work together. This is a dream come true. It is the true spirit, the sportsman spirit, and we are here delivering this message.”
Barshim was the silver medalist in the event in the Rio 2016 Olympics, and Tamberi suffered a career-threatening injury prior to those games, which took him out of medal contention.
“After my injuries, I just wanted to come back,” Tamberi told CNN. “But now I have this gold, it’s incredible. I dreamed of this so many times. I was told in 2016 just before Rio, there was a risk I wouldn’t be able to compete anymore. It’s been a long journey.”
What a beautiful display of sportsmanship, excellence, and genuine human connection. This is what the Olympics are all about. Love to see it.
It does feel like we say it every month but honestly… November is an outstanding month for beer drinkers. As the month begins, fall is heading straight towards winter like a train fueled by Cascade hops and roasted malts. In most places, there’s already a nip in the air. There are still random warm days for lighter beers, sure, but now that Daylight Savings Time is over, the days are ridiculously, uncomfortably short, and getting colder as we move towards December.
It’s a great month to imbibe warming, maltier, and higher-ABV beers. That’s our big thesis here.
This is a month for imperial IPAs, stouts, dark lagers, porters, and even a pilsner here and there (mostly because there’s no wrong time for a well-made, crisp pilsner). Keep reading to see our eight picks for can’t-miss November beers. Some are new releases, others are seasonal favorites, and all are perfect for imbibing while you sit by a backyard fire or on a porch covered in a heavy blanket as the cool fall evening wind rustles in the trees.
This beer was created to taste like a Manhattan in beer form. It’s a potent 12% ABV amber ale that was matured for nine months in whiskey barrels. Dark cherry and orange flavors are added to complete the beer cocktail feeling.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is filled with dried cherries, orange peels, oak, and warming bourbon. There’s more of the same on the palate as cherries, candied orange peels, oak, vanilla, and sweet bourbon take center stage. It’s a unique, warming beer for a cold fall night.
Bottom Line:
The folks at Ommegang set out to make a beer that tasted like a Manhattan cocktail and they did just that. Wave after wave of bourbon, cherry, and orange make this a memorable beer.
A late fall and early winter favorite, Troegs’ Blizzard of Hops is back for another year. It’s brewed with Pilsner, unmalted wheat, and wheat, as well as Centennial, Chinook, El Dorado, and Galaxy hops. This results in a fruity, pine-forward IPA well-suited for colder-weather drinking.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is surprisingly fruity with aromas of candied pineapple, pale malt, orange rind, and bright pine needles. Drinking it reveals hints of lemon candy, orange peel, grapefruit, pineapple, light caramel malts, and dank, resinous spruce tips. The finish is dry and lightly bitter.
Bottom Line:
This is a classic, citrus-forward, dank pine IPA. It might be a seasonal IPA, but it’s so good you’ll want to drink it all winter long.
If you’ve never tried this seasonal dark lager, this is the month to grab a six-pack. Known for its mix of roasted malts and light, hoppy bitter flavor, it’s brewed with Hallertauer Mittelfrüh and Hersbrucker hops as well as pilsner, dark Munich, Carahell, Carafa II, light Munich, and Carapils malts.
Tasting Notes:
A nose of caramel, roasted malts, chocolate, and dried fruits start everything off on the right foot. The palate is filled with more roasted malts, yeasty bread, dark chocolate, coffee, and dried fruits. With that being said, it’s surprisingly light and drinkable.
Bottom Line:
This is a great fall beer. It’s filled with rich, bold flavors and aromas but it’s light and has a low enough ABV to be sessionable on a warmer fall day.
Brooklyn Fonio Rising
Brooklyn
ABV: 6.4%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
Fonio has been called the “seed of the universe”. It’s an ancient “super grain” from West Africa that has been grown for more than 5,000 years. Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster Garret Oliver has been using the grain in his beers since 2019. This new double pilsner was brewed with fonio as well as Hallertau, Perle, and Saaz hops.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll find aromas of pineapple, mango, citrus peels, and floral, piney hops. The palate is a symphony of flavors including mango, honey, caramelized pineapple, grapefruit, lychee, and floral, earthy hops. The finish is crisp, sweet, and highly refreshing.
Bottom Line:
Regardless of whether or not you know anything about fonio or any other ancient grains, after one sip you’ll agree that this is a flavorful, crisp pilsner that can’t be missed.
Historically, a marauder is someone who raids and pillages towns, villages, or cities. Fat Head’s decided to name its fall seasonal imperial IPA after this raider because it believes there is a “ruthless” amount of Chinook and Citra hops in this resinous, pine-filled beer.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll find scents of dank, resinous pine, papaya, mango, pineapple, grapefruit, and cereal grains. One sip and you’ll be transported to a world of juicy grapefruit, caramel malts, pineapple, papaya, mango, passionfruit, and dank, lingering, resinous hops. The finish is bright, crisp, dry, and perfectly bitter.
Bottom Line:
This tropical fruit, citrus, and resinous hop-filled imperial IPA will transport you to a tropical paradise even on the coldest fall days.
With a name like Firestone Walker Cinnamon Dolce Nitro Stout, you should have a pretty good grasp on what this beer is all about before you crack one open. This winter release was first launched in 2021. It begins with a stout brewed with dark roasted specialty malts which is then infused with cinnamon and vanilla beans before being nitrogenated.
Tasting Notes:
Complex aromas of cinnamon sugar, vanilla beans, coffee beans, chocolate, and almond cookies make for an interesting nose. The mouthfeel is velvety and smooth, and the palate is filled with dark chocolate, vanilla beans, cinnamon candy, and freshly brewed coffee. The finish is semisweet, creamy, and indulgent.
Bottom Line:
This beer is as close to a dessert stout as you’re likely to find. It’s great on its own, but it’s even better when it’s poured over vanilla bean ice cream.
Genesee Citrus Pilsner
Genesee
ABV: 4.5%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
Genesee has become well-known for its seasonal releases, but this one is even more special than the others. This is because it was brewed after being chosen in a fan vote. It’s a refreshing, crisp pilsner with natural tangerine and lime flavors. It might not seem like a fall beer, but who wouldn’t want a summery vacation in a can on a cold fall night?
Tasting Notes:
The nose is all pilsner malts, honey, tangerine, orange, lime, and bright, floral snappy hops. The palate continues this trend. It’s crisp, highly refreshing, and loaded with bready malts, sweet honey, orange peels, grapefruit, lime, and floral, earthy hops.
Bottom Line:
There’s no wrong time of year for a pilsner. Especially a crisp, thirst-quenching pilsner with tangerine, lemon, and other citrus flavors.
There are a few fall/winter seasonals as eagerly awaited as Sierra Nevada Celebration Fresh Hop IPA. Brewed with Caramelized and 2-row pale malts as well as ale yeast and Cascade, Centennial, and Chinook hops, it’s a well-balanced beer well-suited for late fall and early winter sipping.
Tasting Notes:
A nose of biscuit-like malts, caramel, honey, citrus peels, and earthy, lightly dank pine greet you before your first sip. The palate is centered on freshly baked bread, caramel malts, grapefruit, pineapple, grass, and dank, resinous pine. This well-balanced IPA finishes dry and pleasantly bitter.
Bottom Line:
There’s a reason Sierra Nevada Celebration Fresh Hop IPA is one of the most popular winter seasonals. It’s sublimely well balanced between bready, caramel malts, and bright, piney hops.
Despite ramping up its marketing campaign and heavily teasing that the film will have an X-Men connection, the box office predictions for The Marvels have continued to plummet. Just last week, the Captain Marvel sequel was already looking at an opening weekend that’s barely half of what the first Brie Larson film pulled in. Those numbers have not gotten any better.
According to Deadline, The Marvels could arrive in theaters with one of the lowest opening weekends in Marvel history as tracking for the sequel keeps dropping:
The Marvels, which is also an extension to Disney+ series WandaVision and Ms. Marvel, has seen its weekend forecast collapse from $75M-$80M three weeks ago to around $60M stateside. Some tracking services, such as Quorum, have lowered their estimates to $50M+. The Marvels opens this Friday.
That’s a domestic opening that low puts the $200M production in the neighborhood of Ant-Man ($57.2M), and lower than Marvel’s November misfire Eternals ($71.2M).
Obviously, international box office is not looking great either. To add insult to injury, Deadline also reports that presales for The Marvels are roughly the same as The Flash, which resulted in yet another massive superhero bomb for Warner Bros.
Marvel used to be the box-office king, but if its movies start performing as badly as the last vestiges of the DCEU, that’s not a great sign. The studio probably should be going into panic mode as Variety reported last week.
There’s a good chance I’ve written this quick, at best marginally interesting story before, but I decided I don’t care so here it is again. The first Yorgos Lanthimos movie I ever saw was his first English language movie, The Lobster. I remember seeing it in 2015 (I seriously can’t believe it’s been that long, but also I can) at the Toronto International Film Festival because I like Colin Farrell movies and absolutely fell in love with it. Though, as you know if you’ve seen it, it’s a strange film, as most if not all Lanthimos’s movies fall into this category. As I walked out, a colleague and I started joking how that was a “meat and potatoes” kind of movie (again, it’s not). How it’s, “the kind of movie you watch with the family around the holidays,” (also a joke). You know, “It’s the kind of movie John Wayne used to make,” (maybe if he’d been tricked, and I’m fairly convinced he got tricked into doing The Searchers, so I’ll leave this one open).
I thought of these jokes after I saw The Killing of a Sacred Dear and The Favourite – a movie I like but strangely my least favorite of those three, even though it’s by far the most successful of the three and the most accessible. Anyway, I thought of all that again when I saw Poor Things, a movie I’m fairly sure I love, but I don’t like saying that so soon after I see something because I do think longevity matters with these sorts of things. There are a lot of movies I’ve loved over the years that I truly have never thought about again, which kind of proves I didn’t love them as much as I perhaps thought I did. Though Lanthimos’s movies do have a way of sticking with me long after I’ve seen them, so I feel slightly more comfortable making that claim here.
What’s interesting about Poor Things, as opposed to, say, The Lobster, is how Lanthimos weaves his absurd and macabre story into something that feels more like this entire world we are watching is absurd.
We first meet Bella (Emma Stone), fully grown, but acting like an infant. She’s the creation of Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe), who found her body floating in a river after an apparent suicide. At the time Bella’s former self drowned, she was pregnant. Dr. Baxter, who, himself, had been experimented on endlessly as a child by his father, transplants the unborn baby’s brain into Bella, creating a grown adult with the mind of a child. Max McCandles (Ramy Youssef) is hired by Dr. Baxter to document Bella’s progress, which is fast. Max then falls in love with Bella and Dr. Baxter suggests the two marry, with the stipulation Bella never leaves the premises. The lawyer reviewing this agreement, a cad named Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo, having the time of his life) convinces Bella to run off with him instead promising that he’s the greatest lover who’s ever lived. And off we go.
Most of the movie follows Bella’s physical journey from location to location, but also (as you’ve probably heard by now) her sexual journey. An interesting thing about Bella is her transformation from the behavior of an infant to, by the end, a very intelligent woman, is so gradual there’s never an “oh, there it is” moment. Every phase of Bella’s mental growth still has some traits of the previous one and some traits of the one to come, blending them all together where we, as an audience, really feel like we watched this person become fully developed over the course of 140 minutes.
Emma Stone gives the performance of a lifetime in this. The best word I can give here is “fearless.” She does a lot of things in this movie that a lot of actors would never do. Acting is hard! Especially in a role like this, while everyone in the cast crew is doing their job but also there observing. If there’s an ounce of doubt in Stone’s mind about the performance she’s giving, just a little bit of that self-conscious fear, there’s no possible way this works. Like, seriously … none. But she just goes for it and it’s a masterful thing to watch.
Though, at the aforementioned 140 minutes, there’s only so long a person, namely us, can stay in this world without it wearing out its welcome, and by the time Poor Things ended I was almost there, but not quite. Though I can certainly see someone not as high on Lanthimos’s aesthetics and quirks having a lower threshold. It’s a lot. But, personally, I’m glad it’s a lot. Poor Things does feel like a culmination, of sorts, of all the things that make Lanthimos’s movies unique and special. I, for one, am very pleased he’s still making what would be the opposite of these “meat and potatoes” movies.
For decades, the city of West Hollywood has been rooted in celebrating diversity, community and glamor as it resides in the entertainment capital of the world. It’s an epicenter of culture-making, a historically known LGBTQ+ destination, and one hell of a place to celebrate life. Last week, the always-lively neighborhood officially proved to be back and better than ever post-pandemic as it kicked off the return of the infamous West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval after a four-year hiatus.
VANESSA L. POWELL
This year especially, the celebration attracted partygoers from near and far for dancing, food trucks, buzzy bar hopping, and a myriad of self-expression through creative and culturally relevant costumes along a one-mile (shut down) stretch of Santa Monica Blvd. The energy was magnetic—as if the thousands of revelers were one big family reuniting in a safe and open space to dance together. The DJ played a variety of house mixes as dancers performed in the shadows to Rihanna and Miley Cyrus along with ‘90s club classics like “Jump Around.”
VANESSA L. POWELL
WeHo went all out and lined the streets with spooky decorations and rainbow lights giving revelers a festive stage to frolic on.
“Here in West Hollywood, Halloween is like gay Christmas,” Mayor Pro Tempore, John Erickson said as he addressed the crowd of disco queens, life-sized memes, goblins, and Swifties.
The return of the Halloween Carnaval represents the return of something bigger: the resilience of West Hollywood as a city. Small businesses and restaurants along Santa Monica Blvd have prevailed through a tough stretch, with historical mainstays like The Roxy Theater celebrating 50 years this fall. The Halloween Carnaval was only the beginning, as WeHo continues a newer celebration from November 3rd to November 12th: Eat and Drink Week. It’s 10 days of amazing food, creative cocktails, and special offers from the best restaurants in the neighborhood, celebrating culinary artistry, innovation, and the rich tapestry of flavors that make West Hollywood a unique hotspot.
VANESSA L. POWELL
Whether you live in the L.A. area or not, West Hollywood is and will always be an eclectic place to eat, drink, dance, and party. It boasts creativity, community, self-expression, and idealism. Stay tuned for more celebrations and city updates at www.visitwesthollywood.com
MORE PHOTOS FROM THE WEST HOLLYWOOD HALLOWEEN CARNAVAL:
VANESSA L. POWELLVANESSA L. POWELLVANESSA L. POWELLVANESSA L. POWELLVANESSA L. POWELLVANESSA L. POWELL
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