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Barbie may be a money-gobbling behemoth, but not everyone’s a fan. Greta Gerwig’s follow-up to her prized adaptation of Little Women has proven unexpectedly controversial, at least among far-right dorks. (That Joe Rogan has been the voice of reason here shows how weird things have gotten.) But haters in America have some company abroad: Its proven controversial in some Middle Eastern countries, with one banning it outright and another thinking of doing so.

As per The Hollywood Reporter, the frothy yet feminist movie about a doll escaped being banned in the region’s two biggest markets, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. It wasn’t so lucky in Kuwait. The same fate may befall it in Lebanon, which may seem strange given that it’s among the region’s more liberal nations.

Still, Barbie’s caught the ire of the country’s culture minister Mohammad Mortada, who’s claimed that it “promotes homosexuality” and “contradicts values of faith and morality,” allegedly by diminishing the role of the family unit.

The latter charge is a bit perplexing; it’s a movie about sentient dolls. (It also features a mother and daughter as prominent characters, though maybe Mortada doesn’t like that dad’s not in the picture, much less all that dragging of the patriarchy.)

As for the “promotes homosexuality” charge, the film doesn’t have any clear gay characters (though one of the Barbies is played by trans actress Hari Nef and another by Kate McKinnon, who’s gay). In fact, star Margot Robbie has pointed out that all the doll characters don’t have any sexuality in part because none of them have genitals. Maybe they’re just mad that it’s extremely pink.

And so moviegoers of Lebanon — and Kuwait — will be deprived a movie so good it broke the brain of Ben Shapiro. Way for the leaders of both nations to choose the wrong side.

(Via THR)

Last year’s Elements Music & Arts Festival was a major success, featuring performers like Kaskade (redux), Rezz, Fisher, Sofi Tukker, Zeds Dead, Claude Vonstroke, and more. Taking place in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, the event is set to unfold this year from August 11 to August 13, with artists like Skrillex, Porter Robinson, John Summit, Elderbrook, Ganja White Night, Lotus, and more.

The festival has five stages — the Air Stage, the Earth Stage, the Fire Stage, the Water Stage, and the Wub Hub — and all of them have an array of amazing musicians over the course of the weekend.

You can find the set times for the festival below.

Friday, August 11

Air Stage

2:00-3:00 — Jø
3:00-4:00 — DJ Prophet
4:00-5:00 — Mustafa Faheem
5:00-6:30 — Max & Dana
6:30-8:00 — Black Diamond
8:00-9:30 — Gab Rhome
9:30-11:00 — Qrion
11:00-12:30 — Eli & Fur
1:00-2:00 — Elderbrook

Earth Stage

12:00-12:45 — Lu Filthy
12:45-1:45 — Rafeeki
1:45-2:45 — Jon Casey
3:00-4:00 — Manic Focus
4:30-6:00 — Pigeons Playing Ping Pong
6:30-7:30 — Mersiv
8:00-9:15 — Lotus
9:45-11:00 — STS9
11:30-12:45 — Ganja White Night

Fire Stage

4:00-5:00 — Castor & Pollux
5:00-6:00 — Jungle Punk
6:00-7:00 — Olaf
7:00-8:00 — Sommer
8:00-9:15 — Tres Mortimer
9:15-10:30 — Sam Blacky
10:35-12:05 — Tchami
12:15-2:00 — John Summit

Water Stage

12:00-1:00 — Berger & Beezy
1:00-2:00 — DJ Dayoh
2:00-3:00 — DMTR
3:00-4:00 — N2N
4:00-6:00 — SNBRN

Wub Hub

4:00-5:00 — Trowl
5:00-6:00 — Shotgun Knights
6:00-7:00 — LEUTHERO
7:00-8:00 — Festival Finesser
8:00-9:00 — Masta Plan
9:00-10:00 — Crawdad Sniper
10:00-11:00 — Nikademis
11:00-12:00 — SAVAS
12:00-1:00 — Barnacle Boi
1:00-2:00 — Skeler

Saturday, August 12

Air Stage

2:00-3:00 — Diossa
3:00-4:00 — Ohad Baruch
4:00-5:00 — Joey Greiner
5:00-6:00 — Drew Proud
6:00-7:30 — Rïa Mehta
7:30-9:00 — Tony Y Not
9:00-10:30 — Tinlicker
10:30-12:00 — Will Clarke
12:00-2:00 — David Homme

Earth Stage

12:00-1:00 — HGods
1:00-2:00 — Villa
2:30-3:30 — Giant Panda Guerilla Sub Squad
4:00-5:00 — Elephant Heart
5:10-6:10 — Moore Kismet
6:20-7:20 — Zingara
7:30-8:30 — Daily Bread
8:40-9:40 — Peekaboo
9:50-10:50 — LSDream
11:00-12:20 — Subtronics

Fire Stage

4:00-5:00- Dante Saverio
5:00-6:00 — ISME
6:00-7:30 — Massane
7:30-9:00 — Lane 8
9:15-10:15 — DOT
10:15-11:15 — Coco & Breezy
11:15-12:30 — Gorgon City
12:30-2:00 — Skrillex

Water Stage

1:00-2:00 — Riva & Bianca
2:00-3:00 — Kaleena Zanders
3:00-5:00 — LP Giobbi

Wub Hub

2:00-3:00 — Bellatrxx
3:00-4:00 — Wusta
4:00-5:00 — Kitty Pack
5:00-6:00 — LYQD
7:00-8:00 — Soukii
8:00-9:00 — Tunic
9:00-10:00 — Mikayli
10:00-11:00 — Gurf B2B Runnit
11:00-12:00 — Tsimba
12:00-1:00 — Cyber G
1:00-2:00 — kLL sMTH

Sunday, August 13

Air Stage

11:00-12:00 — Lightcode by LSDream
2:00-3:00 — Joy Supply
3:00-4:00 — DJ Shango
4:00-5:00 — Billy Bevevino
5:00-6:00 — Koopmusik
6:00-7:30 — Dastan
7:30-9:00 — Nala
9:15-10:30 — Joplyn
10:45-12:00 — TOKiMONSTA
12:30-2:00 — Giolì & Assia

Earth Stage

12:00-1:00 — Camnah
1:00-2:00 — Mantra Sounds
3:30-4:30 — Splintered Sunlight
5:00-6:00 — Yam Yam
6:30-7:30 — Doom Flamingo
8:00-9:00 — Level Up
9:00-10:00 — Of The Trees
10:05-11:15 — Rezz
11:30-12:45 — Porter Robinson

Fire Stage

4:00-5:00 — Johnny Mahon
5:00-6:00 — Shek
6:00-7:00 — Skillathon
7:00-8:00 — Lauchness
8:00-9:00 — Papyon
9:00-10:00 — Golden Pony
10:00-11:15 — Honeyluv
11:15-12:30 — Noizu
12:30-2:00 — Chris Lake

Water Stage

1:00-2:00 — Jackal Jyve
2:00-3:00 — RNÉ

Wub Hub

2:00-3:00 — Android Dreaming
2:00-4:00 — Second Nature
4:00-5:00 — JiV
5:00-6:00 — Lavier
6:00-7:00 — Curra
7:00-8:00 — VIDE
8:00-9:00 — Madi
9:00-10:00 — Melodelic
10:00-11:00 — XL
11:00-1:00 — Queen City Takeover
1:00-2:00 — Chef Boyarbeatz

The first episode of this season of Hard Knocks featured an awful lot of Aaron Rodgers, which is not surprising as he is the biggest reason HBO selected the New York Jets as the team they’ll follow this season.

The episode highlighted Rodgers first week of camp in New York, his love of Hard Knocks narrator Liev Schrieber (who flew in for a practice to meet the star QB), and his budding relationships with young stars like Garrett Wilson and Sauce Gardner. There was also the secondary storyline of Zach Wilson trying to embrace being demoted to Rodgers’ backup and making the most out of his opportunity to learn from an all-time great as he will look to revitalize his young career once Rodgers ends his.

However, while all of that was fairly entertaining, it did not hold a candle to the best moment of the first episode which took place during a very brief check in with the defensive line. Solomon Thomas was trying to get his fellow linemen to join him for a Broadway show, but had some concerns about whether all of them could behave appropriately at the theater. His chief concern was with Tanzel Smart, who was offended that his etiquette would be questioned when he was just trying to broaden his horizons by going to a Broadway show and eating a “car-coochie” board.

Look, charcuterie is a tough word and we’ve all fumbled saying something before, but “car-coochie” is an all-timer and sent his fellow linemen into hysterics. This really was the most entertaining part of the show. Thomas insisted they’d like going to Broadway but the rest of the big fellas had concerns about seat size and if it’d hurt their knees to be crammed in a theater seat. Only Smart was into it, but he was the one Thomas had reservations about. I really hope the second episode features all of them going to a show and getting their reviews of it. I also hope they get Smart a charcuterie board.

Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” can bring most folks to tears already. After all, the song, created for a pivotal part in the “Barbie” movie, touches on the special kind of grief one feels for their younger, more carefree self that often fades away as we become adults. Plus Eilish’s airy, wistful voice feels innocent and weary all at the same time, touching right on the heartstrings.

Now, add onto that home video footage that perfectly shows the beauty and wonder of childhood that exists beyond the limits of time and space… and…excuse me? Does someone have a tissue?

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In a viral video created by Carrie Moses, we see a side-by-side comparison of clips from her own childhood and those from her mom’s childhood, all while the song plays. There’s something so beautiful and healing about seeing how, whether it’s in the 60s or the 90s or even today, childhood still feels the same.

Joyful. Playful. Full of games. Full of dancing. Full of silly faces and pretty dresses. Full of zest. Full of life. Full.

Somehow along the way, our lives become full of responsibilities, worries, regrets…you know, adulting. And that light begins to dim. But it does come back in fleeting moments.

Moments like the ones below. Watch:

@carrie_momo Replying to @Vanessa’s Travels & Tips 🛩️🌎 Ask and you shall receive! Had to do a part 2! Me and my mom are overwhelmed by the response to the first one. My mom is so happy. She’s watched it so many times and read all the comments. First clip is mom with Midge (Barbie’s BFF 😭😍) FAQ: to transfer I bought the Wolverine super 8 movie maker on Amazon. Expensive but worth it for the memories. Thinking about opening up a service to transfer Super 8 reels to digital when I get back from my trip. #barbie#barbiemovie2023#barbiemovie#billieeilish#whatwasimadefor #whatwasimadeforbillieeilish #thenandnow#super8 #super8film #fyp ♬ original sound – Carrie_momo

As you wipe the snot away, I leave you with one last touching quote from “Barbie,” which clearly resonated with Moses as she created her montage, since she put it in her TikTok video:

“We mothers stand still so our daughters can look back to see how far they have come.”

Conor O’Brien, who goes by @cobreezyy on TikTok, has delighted over 5 million people on the platform by sharing his father’s rave review of “Barbie,” in which he claims the film is a turning point in human history.

The review is super sweet because middle-aged dads aren’t exactly the target demographic for the film. It also is a solid rebuke of the male voices in the media who have labeled the film “anti-male.”

Conor’s dad, Dan O’Brien, didn’t hold back when he shared his thoughts in the family group text. “I think Barbie is going to change the world. We will think of life as BB/AB Before Barbie/After Barbie. I can’t stop thinking about it. Already in my top 5 movies, I think,” Dan wrote.

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His son was grinning ear to ear while reading the text on TikTok, claiming that the review was “too good not to share.”

@cobreezyy

I think my dad really liked Barbie #barbie #barbiemovie #moviereview #fyp

His father compared “Barbie” with the popular superhero characters that have taken over modern cinema, which he believes are two-dimensional. But Dan thinks that Barbie is a fully-fleshed-out character who shows every part of herself in the film.

“Barbie is a superhero movie, but she is more powerful than Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, etc,” Dan writes. “She uses her EQ, thoughts, senses, feelings, intellect, courage, and confidence & love. And she can communicate all of it immediately in real-time.”

He also has no problem with the film’s feminist message. “Barbie takes on the patriarchy with surgical precision,” he writes.

The father also understands the importance of a massive blockbuster with a female lead. He compares it to the moments when America has chosen to elect presidents who broke the mold, such as John F. Kennedy or Barack Obama.

“Women’s roles in cinema have been getting much more significant, but Barbie lands like JFK as the first Catholic Pres. and Obama as the 1st black president,” Dan writes.

The father ended his review by claiming the world will never be the same after the film’s release. “All the king’s horses and all the king’s men, couldn’t put Barbie back in her box again,” Dan ended his review.

Much like an election where Americans choose to support one side of the political argument over the other, “Barbie” was an opportunity for Americans to either accept or reject a film with overtly feminist themes. But “Barbie” has won in the court of public opinion, raking in over $1 billion at the box office and receiving praise from critics proving the naysayers wrong.

There’s nothing that Hollywood likes more than a winner, so Barbie’s success is sure to inspire a new wave of like-minded films. Some say it has also helped to usher in a new wave of “bimbo feminism,” where it’s OK for women to embrace their femininity while also supporting women’s advancement.

The review is earning a lot of love on TikTok, where commenter macattack6161 called it “Singlehandedly the best Barbie review I’ve heard.”

“He not only liked Barbie, he understood it,” amandanicole411 added.

There are only a few reasons why a man would cling so hard to maintain the right to stand while peeing, and they’re all far from logical. After all, sitting while urinating is not only less messy, it could prevent certain health issues.

One reason could just come down to sheer laziness. Standing while peeing is a habit so deeply ingrained one simply can’t be bothered to try new things. Or it’s quicker and easier, though that also seems debatable.

But the other, more prevailing cause is that peeing while standing up is so closely linked with the notion of masculinity. Because…it’s how the cowboys did it in the Wild West, I guess?

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Saying (or writing) these things out loud, it’s easy to see how ridiculous these arguments are, especially when other people are left to clean up afterward. Urine is bound to go at least a little astray, even with the best of aimers. Put children into the equation, and you’re basically dealing with Jackson Pollock.

This is why one mom is taking a stand against the pee stand. Over on Reddit’s Am I The A**hole forum, she shared how her kids previously had zero issues peeing while sitting down.

“After we potty trained our sons I kept making sure that they were sitting to pee,” her post explained. “They are young and don’t really care. They can use a urinal when we are out somewhere.”

Everything was fine until the woman’s brother-in-law came to visit and took issue with the arrangement. He started “bugging” his brother about his nephews sitting to pee. So her husband pulled an about-face and began telling the boys that when they only pee, they should stand.

AITA for changing the chores unilaterally since my husband wants the boys to stand to urinate.
by u/NoTangerine5335 in AmItheAsshole

And that’s when the trouble started.

“The boys don’t have great aim but they make up for it with a short attention span,” the poster quipped. Though she usually stuck to using her own bathroom, after a few days she ventured into the kid’s bathroom and, to no one’s surprise, “it was gross.”

This prompted the mom to initiate a new cleaning routine. Her post concluded, “When my husband got home I told him that he picked up a new chore. He now has to clean the toilets, floors, and walls in the bathrooms the boys are using. He said that it wasn’t his turn. I said it was his idea for the boys to stand to pee so he had to deal with the consequences.”

via GIPHY

The verdict was fairly unanimous: This woman was NOT the a-hole. In fact, lots of other women felt the same kind of frustration and met it with similar retaliation.

“I will never understand why it’s socially acceptable for boys and grown a** men to spray bathrooms like tom cats because they choose to stand to urinate,” one person wrote. “It’s unnecessary and unsanitary. Either aim better, clean up after yourself, or sit.”

“I told my husband that I didn’t sign up for cleaning his piss off the toilet and floor for the next 50 years,” added another. “He has been sitting ever since. Somehow he’s still a man after over a year of sitting to pee!”

Luckily, peeing while sitting down is starting to be viewed as something beneficial rather than emasculating, as more men worldwide adopt the practice. Perhaps even more would be on board if they were responsible for clean-up.

Mom and TikTok creator Marissa Kile recently brought up an interesting topic that no one ever discusses but significantly impacts how families interact. According to Kile, there are two types of parents, those who hang out in their bedroom and those who spend time in the living room.

Bedroom parents are comfortable keeping their kids at a distance while they relax. In contrast, living room parents are happy to have their children around during downtime.

“I grew up where like my parents hung out in their bedroom,” she explains in the video. “Like 24/7, they were never in the living room, okay? So, like, going into my parents’ bedroom was like a sacred thing. Like, you stood at the door, and you waited for permission to go in, okay?”

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However, Kile always wished her parents were spending time with her in the living room. “I always wanted my parents to be in the living spaces with us,” she adds.

@maroo927

I DONT hang out in my room.. its just a sleeping zone. Anyone else? #sleepzone #donthangout #herdofkids #fyp #sahm #foryoupage #missouri #

So now that she’s a parent, she spends all her time in the living room. She only uses her bedroom to sleep and notes in the video that it’s not even decorated.

In a follow-up video, she clarified that modern-day bedroom parents are probably different from the ones back in the day who wanted to avoid dealing with their children. “My bedroom parents didn’t want to know that we existed. Okay? So, like, when they were in their bedroom, it’s because they just didn’t want to be around us. And, like, my mom has said so many times, she didn’t want to have kids, okay? And my dad didn’t want to either. So, it is what it is,” she explained.

@maroo927

TikTok · MaRoo927

The video created a debate over parenting styles on TikTok, and many parents had to confront what their decisions say about their relationship with their kids. Does being a bed person mean you don’t want to spend time with your children or that you’re teaching them to be independent?

“My room is my sacred spot. I need to be somewhere I can lay flat and stare at the walls to be alone,” Brookeebaby wrote.

“I’m a bed person, and now I feel bad,” Paige admitted. “I usually invite my kiddos to come with me tho if that makes a difference.”

“Parents were bedroom, and I’m a living room parent… didn’t realize tho. Generational issue broken,” Sav wrote.

A user named Noooooo reframed the debate as “couch” versus “bed” people. “There’s bed-people and couch-people,” they wrote. “Neither is right or wrong. I’m a bed person, so my kids all chill in my room with me.”

Even though it’s questionable to generalize people as strict bedroom or living room parents, the comments showed that just about everyone identified as one or the other. In the end, there’s nothing wrong with being a bedroom or living room parent. But Kile’s video did a great job at bringing up the topic so parents can think about where they spend their time in the house and whether it’s the best way to have a healthy and happy home.

People get dogs to be loving members of their families, but sometimes dogs have a second role—to guard the house. But not all dogs are made for guarding anything other than their favorite stuffed animal. Some dogs are too small to scare anyone away and some dogs will just lick intruders to death.

A Golden Retriever in San Diego just proved to his owners that he is definitely in the latter group. The shaggy dog caught a stranger stealing his owner’s $1,300, 2019 Electra 3-speed bicycle out of the family’s garage redhanded. But instead of barking to alert his humans or attempting to scare the bike thief, he happily asked for belly rubs.

If you thought the bike bandit was going to ignore the wagging tail and sweet doggy requests, then you’d be wrong. Now would be the perfect time to explain how the friendly dog stopped the robbery in its tracks.

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“You’re so cool, come here! You’re the coolest dog I’ve ever known,” the thief tells the dog as he rubs his face. “I love you, too. Come here. You’re a sweetheart. I want you to come home with me.”

Just a full-on, audible doggy-human love fest going on in the garage while the dog’s owner is none the wiser. The dog wasn’t working to distract the bike thief; he was there for his own personal gain, getting head scratches and belly rubs from all who enter the open garage. And while the dog momentarily thwarted the burglar, he didn’t prevent him from stealing the bike.

The man and the bike are now nowhere to be found, and there’s probably a sneaking suspicion that the family’s golden retriever wouldn’t alert anyone if the guy came back. A home surveillance camera caught the entire encounter, which was uploaded to TikTok where it has over 2.5 million views.

Watch the video below:

Travis Scott brought his new album Utopia to Italy on August 7 to kick off his latest tour of the same name. The drama has been plentiful, with a ticket sale delay and a controversial appearance from Kanye West for a performance of “Praise God.”

However, the concert in Italy was more chaotic than expected. It took place at Circus Maximus, and the director of the Colosseum has now called to terminate shows at that venue due to concerns about damaging the ancient site. During Scott’s performance, there were hundreds of calls from people in the area worried that there was an earthquake happening when it was just the movement of the audience jumping up and down.

According to CNN, The director of the head of the Colosseum Archeological Park, Alfonsina Russo, told an Italian news outlet, “The Circus Maximus is a monument. It is not a stadium, not a concert hall,” she said. “These mega rock concerts put it at risk, including the Palatine Hill nearby.”

“Rock concerts should be held in stadiums so as not to endanger public safety,” she said.

There were also reports of pepper spray in the crowd, leaving 60 people needing medical attention.

In late June, Scott was cleared of any criminal charges in regards to the 2021 Astroworld tragedy that resulted in 10 documented deaths.

Donald Trump may be the current ruler of the Republican Party, but he’s still his own man. He does whatever he wants, not what others tell him. There’s a pledge going around the GOP right now in which Republicans vow to support whoever clinches the 2024 presidential nomination, no matter who it is. Ron DeSantis recently signed it. As for the rival who keeps mocking him? Nah.

As per Mediaite, Trump went on Newsmax for a sitdown amidst his latest round of legal woes. The subject turned to the other big item in his life: the fact that he’s running for president a third time. His refusal to attend the primary debates — which has earned him mockery from Chris Christie, his most relentless critic among his rivals — came up, which prompted Trump to reveal he might not support his party depending on who they nominate (provided if it’s not him).

I have a problem with the debate for another reason. I wouldn’t sign the pledge. Why would I sign a pledge? There are people on there that I wouldn’t have. I wouldn’t have certain people as, you know, somebody that I’d endorse. So they want you to sign a pledge, but I can name three or four people that I wouldn’t support for president, so right there, there’s a problem, okay? Right there, there’s a problem.

When asked, Trump wouldn’t name names, because “there’s no reason to insult them.” After all, he’s insulted some of them already. Then he named two, saying that if he attended the debates, both Asa Butterfield and Christie would “ask me nasty questions.” At least he didn’t mention Meatball Ron. (He did say both Tim Scott and Vivek Ramaswamy have been “very, very nice.”)

Presumably he’d also not support Mike Pence, presumably in part because it must be awkward to support a guy he almost got killed.

(Via Mediaite)