Taylor Swift can dominate music, movies, and sports. But can she eat a really spicy chicken wing? We might find out soon. First We Feast, the home of Hot Ones, shared a video on Monday with the words “challenge accepted.” The caption: “Are you ready for it?” That certainly seems to be a reference to “…Ready For It?,” the first song from Swift’s 2017 album Reputation.
The Hot Ones timing would make sense: Swift has an album, 1989 (Taylor’s Version), coming out next week, and she was also recently photographed eating a piece of chicken with with “ketchup and seemingly ranch.” Maybe “seemingly” is code for “spicy” (although not as spicy as the chair dance that got her box office-conquering Taylor Swift: The Eras Toura PG-13 rating).
You can see the video below.
Earlier this year, a fan created a Change.org petition to get Swift on Hot Ones. “Taylor Swift is an icon and the world would love to see her on Hot Ones from First We Feast, the show with hot questions and even hotter wings. They’ve had similar artists/friends such as Ed Sheeran and Halsey. It’s only fitting that she is on the next season! This could be one of the most amazing Hot Ones episodes ever,” it reads.
The petition has 79 out of the desired 100 signatures… but 79 in reverse is 97… Swift’s favorite number is 13… 97 minus 13 equals 84… 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is the fourth installment in the Taylor’s Version series… 84 plus 4 is 88… Swift has a song called “The 1″… 88 plus 1 is… 89! The clues were always there.
1989 (Taylor’s Version) includes every song from the original album, as well as five previously unreleased “From the Vault” tracks, including the much-anticipated “Slut!” It comes out on October 27th.
Maybe you notice you’re less motivated than usual. Maybe you acknowledge that you’re no longer going the extra mile, and you’re not quite sure why. Maybe professionalism is a term you’ve long since forgotten.
For many of us, the struggle can be so, so real. That’s why Willie Muse wrote these all-too-relatable comics for College Humor, illustrated by Karina Farek.
These six funny comics perfectly illustrate what a typical first day at your job looks like versus the 101st day:
1. Who doesn’t look at at least one viral video a day?
2. You suddenly find the time to fit in a breakfast sandwich.
3. You go from wanting your boss’s approval to hating his or her guts.
4. All the details that were once so important become nuisances.
5. Your (lack of) motivation can take you from hero to zero — quick!
6. And you most certainly DO NOT want to end up like this.
Let’s be real: These comics are funny, but they also aren’t ideal.
In a perfect world, we’d all have jobs that still look and feel like Day 1 on Day 101. And one of the only ways to get there is to intentionally strive for a life that’s full of work-life balance. We really do have the power to not let things play out like this.
What can we do?
At a most basic level, we can make sure we’re getting enough sleep, eating well, and doing at least a little exercise. We also shouldn’t underestimate the benefits of detaching from computer screens and smartphones every once in a while. Plus, we can also minimize our stress levels by not multitasking and instead concentrating on one task at time.
The most overlooked advice for maintaining a healthy work-life balance is to actually take time off.
Disconnect from your daily work routine. Make a conscious effort to recharge.
Perhaps if we dedicate more time to enjoying life outside of work, there’s more of a chance that we’ll be on Day 1 for months, feeling grateful for our jobs rather than impatiently waiting for the clock to strike 5. Let’s get to it!
Grandparents can be a wealth of history and knowledge. But one TikTok user, Reagan Jones, was blown away by her grandmother’s ability to write in shorthand, so she did what a lot of people do in this century—uploaded it to TikTok. Not surprisingly, most people who viewed the video had no idea what shorthand was and some thought the whole thing was made up. The reaction to it certainly makes you question if it’s more than a lost art, but a forgotten part of history.
Shorthand is a method of quickly writing that has been around for a centuries. The first recorded history of a form of shorthand being used was in the 4th century B.C.. In the 1800s, two different types of shorthand became popular, Pitman in 1837 and Gregg in 1888. Looking at the shorthand alphabet may make you furrow your eyebrows because a lot of the symbols look ridiculously similar. It’s full of lines that are straight, slightly curled or partially looped and some that just look like a squiggle. It’s something to behold and resembles a super secret language.
Judging by the comments on the video, other people feel the same way. One commenter, Jamie wrote, “I’ve heard the term shorthand but I think my brain always took it as abbreviations not this 😳😅”
Another commenter, Samantha said, “Nah this has to be a glitch in the timeline I’ve never heard of this from any of my family member.”
This is called “short hand” and its a real form of old-style note-taking. She uses this to write herself notes daily. 😂#coolgrandma #funwithgrandma #grandparents #handwriting #shorthand
In a reply to a commenter, Jones revealed, “My grandma was a legal secretary for the railroad 🙂 She won a lot of awards for her work and shorthand in school.”
Now, that’s just cool. Sure there are still professions like court reporters and such that use shorthand, but it’s not as common as it was back when most people’s grandparents and great-grandparents were young adults. This was such a neat blast from the past. It’s clear that Jones’ grandma could probably still take home some awards for her unique skill.
Look, you’re busy. You’ve got stuff that needs to be done today. Do you really have time to watch tiny baby goatsjump in slow motion? Will that really add anything of value to your life?
These little guys hail from Sunflower Farm Creamery in Maine, where 60 (yes, 60) goats are born each year. Sunflower Farm promises that even if you didn’t love goats before, you will after watching videos from its Youtube channel showing the wee babes run, play, hop and snuggle. I mean, there’s another video showing the goats in pajamas…what’s not to love?
But back to this one. In the video’s description, Sunflower Farm writes, “The amount of effort a baby goat puts into each hop is astounding, and only fully observed by slowing down their motion so you can see every twist and turn clearly. They leap so bravely forward. Even the youngest six, who are one week old, are full of twists and turns and side kicks.”
Yep, in the clip you can definitely see boundless energy and fearlessness in their leaps. Which, let’s be honest, might not always result in the most graceful move. And yet when you slow that action down and put on a little Tchaikovsky, it suddenly becomes a riveting ballet nonetheless.
Check it out:
The farm added that the goats aren’t merely hopping around to learn how to avoid predators. They are also simply doing it for the “joy of it.” Play in the animal kingdom is as nuanced as it is for humans, with many experts noting that some species actually don’t engage in play to develop any sort of motor or cognitive skills. They do it, seemingly, just cause.
In other words, these goats “leap because they can.” And that’s that.
Folks who watched the video seemed to agree that their spontaneous, unbridled joy was contagious.
“OMG, the sheer joy! I had no real understanding of how random their movement was! That is probably the best thing I’ve seen in months!” one person comments.
Another added, “These kids are simply experiencing the sheer joy of life bursting out of them. Absolutely wondrous to watch.”
Sure, it’s a silly little goat ballet, but Sunflower Farms argues that humans could learn a thing or two from it.
“Humans could benefit so much by practicing being more nimble, fluid, and joyful. It is so easy to get stuck in our ways, to feel heavy, and weighed down by the world. The goat kids show us that there is another way,” the video description read.
Indeed, life might feel heavy at times. But take it from a group of baby goats…jumping around for no reason at all can be the best pick-me-up. No kidding.
Throughout the past week, some of the biggest artists have taken over various television shows to deliver incredible performances. Some of those might have been missed in the day-to-day shuffle, so continue scrolling for a roundup of some of this week’s best.
Ice Spice
Over the weekend, Ice Spice appeared as the musical guest for Saturday Night Live‘s return episode. Not only was Pete Davidson the host, but she was also introduced by none other than her “Karma” collaborator, Taylor Swift. The Bronx rapper went on to perform “In Ha Mood” and her latest single, “Pretty Girl,” with Rema.
Kelly Clarkson
Although Kelly Clarkson has her own show, that doesn’t stop her from popping up on other ones. She dropped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to deliver a mesmerizing “Lighthouse” performance, from her recent album, Chemistry.
Raye
Raye was also among The Tonight Show musical guests this past week, as she had to cancel a concert to take the opportunity. Her debut album, My 21st Century Blues, dropped earlier this year, and she played a mashup of her hit, “Escapism,” and “Worth It.”
Wilco
Over at Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Wilco dropped by to play “Evicted,” bringing the chill, psychedelic vibes to the excited crowd. The track is featured on the band’s new album, Cousin.
Måneskin
Måneskin honored the upcoming deluxe version of their album, Rush!, by also joining Jimmy Kimmel’s musical lineup this past week. They played one of the additions, “Honey (Are U Coming).”
Metric
Moving over to The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Metric performed “Just The Once” from their forthcoming Formentera II album.
Lovejoy
Lovejoy’s “Call Me What You Like” rendition aired on The Late Show this past week. While the video wasn’t live, as it was filmed in Poland earlier this year, it still gives new viewers an introduction to the band — as they rock out under blue lighting.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Doris Burke is a woman of many talents, and the longtime ESPN analyst has now taken a seat alongside Mike Breen and Doc Rivers in the network’s lead NBA booth for this season.
Burke has steadily established herself as one of the best in the business breaking down the game of basketball, and has the respect of players across the NBA and is a fan favorite for many. However, her skills on the mic apparently only go as far as breaking down hoops, as she explained on Sunday’s ESPN broadcast of Bucks-Lakers that she was once asked to record lines for one of Damian Lillard’s tracks under his artist name Dame D.O.L.L.A. but got cut from the song which she said was “not a surprise.”
Doris Burke got cut from a Damian Lillard track
“Do you know I once got cut from a Damian Lillard track. I kid you not – He had me record lines, I didn’t make it”
This really only raises some more questions. Most notably, was she asked to record like a whole guest verse or was this just her talking as part of an intro? I like to believe its the former and that there’s some Doris Burke bars on a hard drive somewhere that Dame hasn’t yet shared with the world. I also can only assume that upon hearing that he was almost beat to the punch on getting DB on a song that Drake will have her featured on a track by the end of the year.
“Stick to the plan.” “Don’t improvise, anticipate.” We hear these words a lot during David Fincher’s The Killer, a lean and devilishly mean movie about an assassin who always gets the job done … but what if, this time, for once, he kind of messes the whole thing up?
We meet our unnamed assassin (well, he uses lots of names, we will get to that), played by Michael Fassbender, in Paris and through a voice-over we get the impression being an assassin can be very tedious and dull as he spends day after day in a rented out WeWork office (very funny concept) doing a lot of nothing, just waiting for his target to arrive across the street while trying not to leave any forensic or photographic evidence he was ever there. This opening scene is very good at establishing this guy “gets the job done.” Honestly, if the whole movie was just Fassbender doing a monologue about what an assassin has to do to prepare for his job, I would have enjoyed that. But, after days and days, the target does finally come home and our assassin who “gets the job done” misses when someone else inadvertently steps in the way at just the wrong moment — or the right moment, depending on who you are in this situation.
(Around this point, I couldn’t help but wonder if there is anything I’m so good at that I’d never even think of failing in my wildest dreams. Being that good at something is appealing. I literally couldn’t come up with anything. I kind of always expect to fail at pretty much everything I do. Now, this doesn’t mean I do fail, I just expect to fail. This way of looking at life does cut down on disappointments.)
I am not an assassin. I assume you are not an assassin. (Though, maybe that’s presumptuous of me because I bet assassins are looking forward to this movie and might want to read about it before seeing it. Assassins probably like keeping a low profile and are most likely taking a risk seeing a movie like this in theaters, as opposed to just waiting for it to come on Netflix.) Even though we are both most likely not assassins, it may not come as a surprise that missing an intended target and hitting a bystander instead causes a lot of problems for a lot of people.
Using a slew of aliases that all coincide with the name of sitcom characters from the ’60s, ’70s or ’80s*, our assassin makes it back to his hideout in the Dominican Republic, but returns home to find his home already ransacked and his, we presume, girlfriend is in the hospital. And, there, now, we have our movie. Instead of being a literal hired gun – up until this point he keeps telling us how he literally “doesn’t give a fuck” about any kind of cause – now has a cause … revenge. Revenge on, first, his own handler who set up what happened at the house in the Dominican. Then revenge on the actual hit people who performed the job. Then revenge on the original client who must have ordered all of this after the blunder in Paris. We learn early that a key to being a good assassin is to not get emotional. Now, he’s very emotional.
(*Maybe this is my talent because I knew every single alias he used and doing a quick survey after the movie, I couldn’t find anyone else who knew every single one. Now, some of these were pretty easy. The first three names he uses are Felix Unger, Archibald Bunker, and Oscar Madison. But both Reuben Kincaid from The Partridge Family and Robert Hartley from The Bob Newhart Show seemed to stump a lot of people. Now, I can understand how a person can travel under the name Robert Hartley and not get many people making The Bob Newhart Show reverences, but I have a hard time believing the names George Jefferson and Sam Malone wouldn’t raise a few eyebrows.)
Even though The Killer is coming out during the time of year when prestige movies usually come out, and it’s played a couple of film festivals, it’s not really that kind of movie, and I say that as a compliment. This is just David Fincher making a bloody, fun, gritty movie about an angry assassin. The name of the movie is The Killer and our lead character very much does that. Also, our main character is very repetitive, at one point repeating the word “redundant” multiple times, and it’s hard to not imagine Fincher poking a little fun at himself for his well-documented love of multiple takes. And Fincher very much “sticks to the plan” and, unlike his title character, Fincher here doesn’t miss.
This week on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (October 16-20), the host plans to chat with Jada Pinkett Smith (prepare for more juicy gossip fodder about Will!), Rachel Maddow, Talking Heads, and Keegan-Michael Key, while the show’s former bandleader Jon Batiste returns for both an interview and a performance and Caroline Polachek and Daniel Caesar give musical performances. For more on this week’s musical guests, see below:
Caroline Polachek — Tuesday, October 17
The genre-bending alt-pop star is promoting the release of her fourth studio album, Desire, I Want To Turn Into You. While she had previously performed the song “Welcome To My Island” on The Tonight Show, her TV tour was understandably curtailed by that pesky writer’s strike, so she’s picking up where she left off. From Tuesday’s performance, she’ll be off to Miami for the III Points Festival, then continuing her Spiraling Tour in Asia and Oceania, as well as playing C2C Festival in Italy.
Daniel Caesar — Wednesday, October 18
Daniel Caesar has had one hell of a bounce-back year. After dropping his comeback album Never Enough in April, he followed up by announcing his Superpowers World Tour, which launched in August and is concluding this week at the Met in Philadelphia. The album, which reached No. 14 on the US Billboard 200, has been shortlisted for the 2023 Polaris Music Prize.
Jon Batiste — Thursday, October 19
The Louisiana native is returning triumphantly to his old stomping grounds after releasing his seventh studio album, World Music Radio, in August after winning the Album Of The Year Grammy in 2022. While he’s mainly promoting the album, he’ll likely also want to talk about making his acting debut in the musical version of The Color Purple, which hits theaters on Christmas.
The New Orleans Pelicans got off to a tremendous start last season and looked like a team ready to take the leap into being a top-4 contender in the West. However, injuries derailed that promising start, as Zion Williamson injured his hamstring after 29 games and never returned, and Brandon Ingram was in and out of the lineup with ankle issues that limited him to just 45 appearances.
Without their top two stars playing consistently, the Pelicans limped home to a 42-40 record before being bounced in the first Play-In game. While this offseason saw them mostly stay the course in terms of roster moves, it wasn’t without noise, as rumors swirled about Williamson’s future with the organization. Entering this season, there isn’t the same level of excitement and optimism around what this team can be, as there is instead this lingering feeling that we may never see this talented roster reach its full potential. Hopefully that is a misguided feeling, but the NBA world will want to see it for a full season before they believe it with this Pelicans squad.
Biggest Question: How Much Will Their Starting Unit Play Together?
With most teams I have tried avoiding going with health-related questions, but it’s impossible to talk about this Pelicans team without addressing the elephant in the room. We saw last year that when they’re all on the floor they can be an absolute buzzsaw, as they have terrific balance when at full strength. Their top-6 is genuinely among the best in the league, as Williamson is an unstoppable freight train getting to the rim, Ingram has become an elite midrange scorer, and McCollum is a steady hand in the backcourt and knockdown shooter. Around those three they can go big or small, with Jonas Valanciunas, Herbert Jones, and Trey Murphy III all providing a different complementary skillset to their trio of stars.
The Pelicans even have solid depth beyond that six, but there is a ceiling on how far that can take a team if their top stars aren’t on the floor. There are already some injury concerns in New Orleans before the season even begins, but if they can get 60+ games out of Zion and Ingram each, they absolutely have a shot at being in the West playoff chase. That’s how good they are, it’s just a matter of whether they can finally sustain it for a full season or if we’re doomed to dream of what could’ve been in New Orleans once again.
X-Factor: Trey Murphy III
If we move away from the health of the Pelicans’ stars, the player who unlocks their team’s full potential is Trey Murphy III, who will be sidelined to start the season with a meniscus injury. The Pelicans do not have anyone on the wing who brings the skillset Murphy does as a knockdown shooter (40.6 percent on 6.3 attempts from three last year) and a cutter/finisher at the rim (75.9 percent shooting at the rim). His ability to space the floor and apply pressure to defenses off the ball is so important for a team with three terrific on-ball threats, and he’s continued to get better as a secondary creator and three-level scorer. Last season he took a considerable leap in terms of efficiency from every area of the floor, and his continued development is one of the things to watch this season as he can alleviate some of the pressure on Ingram in terms of wing creation.
On the other end, Murphy is a big, long defender with plenty of versatility that helps paper over some of the deficiencies on that end from their stars. Getting Murphy back on the court healthy is the first order of business for New Orleans, because they simply don’t have a replacement for all that he brings this team on the wing. If he can continue taking a step forward as an offensive playmaker, the Pelicans will be a true nightmare to deal with offensively because of the attention you have to give their top-3 already.
When autumn arrives, some beer drinkers feel like it’s time to immediately crack open dark lagers, brown ales, stouts, and porters. But we all need a break from all that heaviness now and then. That’s where a nice session beer comes in this time of year — acting as a respite from the darker beers of fall.
A session beer isn’t a single style like a lager, IPA, or barrel-aged stout. It’s not a designation that comes with a set flavor profile. Instead, a session beer is simply an easy-drinking, usually refreshing, well-balanced beer. More than that, session beers are typically lower in alcohol than most other beers (so that you can down a few “in a session.” We’re talking usually 5% ABV or less (although some sneak just past that number).
To find some of the best examples of session beers for fall sipping, we went to the professionals for help. We asked a handful of well-known brewers and craft beer experts to tell us their go-to session beers for fall. They were nice enough to let us in on their favorite easy-drinking pilsners, IPAs, English bitters, and more. Keep reading to see them all.
Lawson’s Finest Super Session Centennial IPA
Lawson’s Finest
Andrew Hueston, USBG bartender at El Vez in Philadelphia
I have to give this one to Lawson’s Super Session Centennial IPA. They used to change this recipe once in a while denoted by the # in the series which made things interesting. Now they have added it to their core list and honestly, I’m glad they did because they clearly picked their best recipe.
Tasting Notes:
Thanks to the liberal use of Centennial hops, even though this is a session IPA, it’s filled with citrus and floral notes that will scratch your IPA itch.
Firestone Walker Pivo Pils
Firestone Walker
Nick Purdy, president and founder at Wild Heaven Beer in Atlanta
These days I’m always on the lookout for something with flavor that hits clean and crisp when it comes to a sessionable beer. One of my favorites is Firestone Walker’s Pivo.
Tasting Notes:
Reminiscent of great European beers but with a bold flavor that’s a hallmark of American craft brewing. This dry-hopped pilsner is crisp, floral, hoppy, and very drinkable.
Chuckanut Festbier Lager
Chuckanut
Chad Henderson, head brewer and co-owner of NoDa Brewing Company in Charlotte. North Carolina
ABV: 5%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
Lower-ABV Festbiers. Despite their lower alcohol content, Festbiers often pack a flavorful punch. They offer a balance of malt sweetness and hop bitterness, providing a full-bodied taste without being overly heavy. The lighter nature also makes them highly refreshing, ideal for outdoor autumn celebrations. A great example is Chuckanut’s Festbier Lager. Brewed with Vienna malts, this crisp Marzen-style lager is a great sessionable choice for fall.
Tasting Notes:
This highly balanced fall beer is known for its nice mix of malt sweetness, floral hops, and crisp, refreshing finish.
When it’s available – and it certainly is a hard find in some areas of the US – it would have to be Fuller’s London Pride. When I am in London, I often enjoy it at the Victoria Pub near Paddington Station with fish and chips.
Tasting Notes:
This imported English bitter (that’s not bitter, folks) has a malt balance and sweet light toffee aromas with its characteristic fruity notes and is on tap at a mere 4.1%.
Yards Brawler
Yards
George Hummel, grain master at My Local Brew Works in Philadelphia
The guys at Yards were very smart when they named their ruby mild: Brawler. The British style doesn’t get much love on this side of the pond. And probably because the average craft brew consumer probably doesn’t want a ‘mild’ experience.
Tasting Notes:
Linguistics aside, this garnet-colored brew showcases malt. Notes of caramel, warm biscuits, and raisins are balanced with a gentle kiss of Golding hops.
Forest & Main Dark Mild
Forest & Main
Matthew Steinberg, co-founder and head brewer at Exhibit A Brewing in Framingham, Massachusetts
ABV: 4%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
Dark Mild, 4%, from Forest & Main Brewery in Ambler, Pennsylvania. It’s brewed with Maris Otter malts as well as a mix of dark and roasted malts as well as Fuggle and Polaris hops.
Tasting Notes:
It’s malty with mild roastiness and smooth. There are hints of coffee and biscuits. It’s perfect for the cooler weather.
Maui Brewing Kōkua Session IPA. This is a project started by Maui Brewing to benefit those impacted by the Maui wildfires. Chances are your local brewery will have brewed a version. With malts and hops donated by the partner suppliers, the sky was the limit on the hop load for this beer.
Tasting Notes:
Bursting with a tropical hop aroma of mango, pineapple, and citrus from Mosaic and Waimea hops and coming in at only 4.2%, you know you can enjoy several of these and do your part to help.
DESTIHL Apple Pie Sour
DESTIHL
Garth Beyer, certified Cicerone and owner of Garth’s Brew Bar in Madison, Wisconsin
DESTIHL Brewery’s Apple Pie Sour is a fun, sessionable beer to drink this fall. Made to taste like an apple pie, it’s brewed with tart apples, cinnamon, and lactose.
Tasting Notes:
Think of this like an apple pie shot without the booze and burn. It’s thin, comes in around 4% ABV, and quite frankly, a refreshing step away from pumpkin spice but still in the direction of the fall season.
One of the best session beers to enjoy this fall is All Day IPA by Founders Brewing Co. It’s a fantastic session beer for fall because it combines the refreshment of a session beer with the robust flavors of an IPA, making it perfect for crisp autumn days.
Tasting Notes:
What makes this beer great is its flavor profile. It’s a light-bodied beer with a moderate alcohol content, making it highly drinkable for extended sessions. Despite its lower alcohol level, it doesn’t compromise on taste. You’ll find a delightful balance of citrus and piney hop notes, along with a subtle malt sweetness.
I am certainly a hop head, but sometimes I don’t want a 10+% ABV quadruple dry hopped triple IPA, but rather a low ABV, balanced session IPA. My choice for session beer was Firestone Walker Brewing Co.’s Easy Jack, but they don’t make it anymore. Their 805 ale is great as well. It’s a blonde ale that gets extra flavor from the addition of sweet malts and select hops.
Tasting Notes:
At just 4.7% ABV, 805 makes throwing a few back after raking the leaves that much more enjoyable. It’s known for its crisp, refreshing flavors, sweet honey, caramel malts, and light, floral hops at the finish.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
