When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Ed Sheeran’s latest Instagram post suggests he knows that phrase. While appearing to enjoy a break from his Mathematics Tour, the “Bad Habits” singer joined his Academy of Country Music Awards duet partner Luke Combs for a friendly outing.
As the musicians enjoyed the beautiful sunset, Combs took a moment to teach Sheeran a good old-fashioned American tradition: how to shotgun a can of beer. In the video uploaded to Sheeran’s social media, he narrates what’s happening, saying, “Alright, for context, Luke is — what is it, shooting?”
Combs chimes in to correct Sheeran, replying, “Shotgunning.”
Sheeran turns back to the camera to continue, saying, “Luke is teaching me how to shotgun a beer.”
Combs tries to walk Sheeran through the delicate science that is shotgunning as delicately as possible. “You wanna be mindful of where your top is … you want this pointing at the sky,” says Combs.
The pair then proceed to chugging their cans of brew.
If Sheeran found shotgunning difficult, he should prepare himself for when he travels to Australia. Or maybe his friend Harry Styles can give him a run-through of how their beer-drinking tradition goes.
Ed Sheeran is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
There may be a WGA’ strike going on, but that doesn’t mean America’s entertainment industry can’t at least announce shows they might do when it ends. (And it could be a good while till that happens.) On Monday, Showtime announced not one but two revivals of beloved shows that ended a long time ago: Nurse Jackie and Weeds. They’d be proper returns, too, with the original casts and everything. But one show’s star isn’t sure he’s into it.
Varietyspoke with Weeds alum Justin Kirk, who was just seen playing fascist potential president Jeryd Mencken on the most recent Succession, and it doesn’t sound like Showtime got all its ducks lined up before saying they were bringing his old show back.
“Even as a fan, do you really want to see us all old and coming back? By the time of Season 8, I don’t think the general idea was, ‘We should keep doing this!’” Kirk said. “Look, I love those people, I love that character. I probably know as much as you do about any future reboots.”
The series, should it come to fruition, would catch up with the Botwin family 10 years after the show ended, which was back in 2012. It’s not the first time Kirk has heard talk of them reviving it.
“I had heard rumors of various iterations. Once, I heard about it being a prequel with younger characters, and then you just see us in flash forwards. So I have no idea,” Kirk said. “Although weirdly enough, I did recently hear of it again, so they may be trying to drag its tired carcass out.”
Kirk generally sounded skeptical about anything getting done in this town. “There are a million things that are claimed to be in some sort of development,” Kirk explained. “My agents haven’t mentioned it to me in a long time. Maybe they’re going to recast [Andy, his Weeds character].”
When asked if he’d return should Showtime formally ask him to, Kirk was a bit more open-minded.
“That is a $64,000 question. I guess we’d have to see what it was,” Kirk said. He then became more optimistic. “My very favorite piece of narrative entertainment is ‘Twin Peaks: The Return.’ There is something exciting about seeing the people from something you were into however much older. There’s something cool about that. There’s got to be a story to tell, or some reason to do it. So we’ll see.”
I feel that question in my bones. It’s my job to vet bourbons and even I find it to be… a lot. I’ve already tasted literally hundreds of bourbonsfor work this year (a ton of it was perfectly fine). And even still, there are always new bourbons arriving on my desk to sample. So to help you sift through all the static of non-stop bourbon releases, I’m conducting a new blind taste test.
There’s no real trick here besides that these are all new(ish) bourbons from the last six months to the last few weeks — days even — that are on shelves around the country now. Our lineup today features the following bottles of bourbon:
Rattle & Snap Tennessee Straight Whiskey Aged 4 Years
Jefferson’s Marian McLain Blend of Straight Bourbon Whiskeys
Kentucky Senator Bourbon Release #3 John C. Carlisle
Rieger’s Straight Bourbon Whiskey Bottled In Bond
Monk’s Road Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Tommyrotter Napa Valley Heritage Cask Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Traverse City Whiskey Co. Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Seasoned Sherry Casks
Nelson Bros. Whiskey A Blend of Straight Bourbon Whiskeys Finished in Trubee Honey Casks
After tasting these bourbons blindly, I’ll rank them according to taste alone. It’s that easy. Hopefully, you’ll find a new bourbon that speaks to you (read those tasting notes!). If you do, click on the price link to see if you can find that bourbon in your neck of the woods. Let’s dive in!
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months
Nose: There’s a sense of classic bourbon cherry on the nose with a hint of apricot jam over warm buttermilk biscuits with a hint of cinnamon and a faint whisper of Big League Chew gum.
Palate: An earthy vanilla vibe drives the palate toward cherry bark and light grassiness with a hint of apple cider just kissed with a floral vibe.
Finish: The end leans into an apple woodiness with a dry sense of cloves and old vanilla pods.
Initial Thoughts:
This was a pretty good standard whiskey overall. That earthiness leads me to think it’s a Tennessee whiskey but something unique.
Taste 2
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a mix of old whiskey barrels wrapped in worn saddle leather with a sweet and creamy sense of honey, vanilla, and old cinnamon sticks dipped in hot apple cider.
Palate: The palate is fruity with a sense of mango chutney and rum raisin next to dark chocolate-covered espresso beans, salted toffee, and banana bread inside of a cedar box with a twinge of smoldering wild sage.
Finish: The end is lush and full of dark holiday cakes brimming with soft spices, roasted nuts, and dark dried fruits next to more of that creamy honey and silken vanilla.
Initial Thoughts:
This is pretty good too. It’s deep and classic with a nice nutty finish. I liked this overall.
Taste 3
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is deep and classic with a sense of roasted nuts, toffee, and vanilla cake next to subtle winter spices, apple cider sharpness, and a hint of oak-toasted marshmallows.
Palate: The spice melds with the nuttiness in a holiday cake with a can of cream soda on the side before orchard bark and porch wicker arrive with a sense of old gingerbread cookies dipped in dark chocolate.
Finish: Toffee tobacco and singed applewood drive the palate toward a big Kentucky hug (warmth) of winter spice barks and old cellar oak and rich marzipan just kissed with apple brandy.
Initial Thoughts:
This was really nice and deep and took me on a journey. It’s also just pretty freaking delicious.
Taste 4
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is old and leathery with a good layer of salted caramel over pecan waffles with buttercream and cinnamon syrup next to a hint of black peppercorn and woody orchards.
Palate: Maple syrup attaches to the pecan waffles with a sense of Christmas nut cake, dried cranberry, and vanilla cream with a touch of winter spice barks and burnt orange.
Finish: The end has a classic warmth derived from spiced wood notes next to a hint of winter cake tobacco with plenty of dark and spicy syrup and buttery caramel.
Initial Thoughts:
This is pretty damn good too. It’s on the nuttier side, but that’s not a knock.
Taste 5
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This is a stone-cold classic bourbon nose of dark Cherry Coke, spiced winter cakes, and salted caramel with an old oak barrel sense.
Palate: The palate leans into the spiced dark cherry with a hint of root beer (maybe even Dr. Pepper) next to singed apple and cinnamon bark with this fleeting sense of peanut brittle underneath it all.
Finish: The end leans into the smoldering woody spices and orchard barks with a hint of marzipan and burnt orange rounding things out.
Initial Thoughts:
I like this a lot too. It was classic but deep.
Taste 6
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This has a pretty light nose full of dark red fruits, leather, and caramel with a hint of vanilla oils.
Palate: The palate is a mix of roasted nuts and winter spice barks with a hint of that sweet dark fruit and caramel.
Finish: The end plays on those classic bourbon themes with a light finish.
Initial Thoughts:
This tasted like a good but very standard bourbon.
Taste 7
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is lighter but leans into rum raisin and caramel with a hint of Cherry Dr. Pepper and cinnamon toast.
Palate: There’s a good amount of cinnamon and vanilla on the palate with a touch of walnut bread with plenty of butteriness, clove, and anise.
Finish: The end hints at apple cinnamon tobacco and vanilla beans but ends very lightly.
Initial Thoughts:
This was nice but didn’t have the oompf it needed.
Taste 8
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose runs deep with a sense of red fruit leather, dark yet sharp woody spice barks, salted toffee rolled in toasted almond, and a fleeting whisper of dark chocolate sauce cut with salt, lavender, and red chili.
Palate: The palate opens with juicy pears and grilled peaches next to stewed plums and leathery prunes over rum raisin dipped in that dark and spicy chocolate with a hint of creamy cherry butteriness.
Finish: The woody chili spice and creamy dark fruit kicks up on the end with a sense of sticky toffee pudding tobacco, old cedar humidors, and a bushel of dried vanilla pods layered with smudging sage.
Initial Thoughts:
Well, this is outstanding whiskey.
Taste 9
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This is pretty standard on the nose with caramel, oak, spice, and cherry.
Palate: The palate is largely the same with a bourbon-y Cherry Coke vibe overall.
Finish: The end is short and sweet but clearly hits nice bourbon notes.
Initial Thoughts:
This was pretty standard stuff. It was well-built but very much feels like a cocktail bourbon that you use to build with.
Taste 10
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a sense of a fruit orchard on a sunny day with subtle spice barks and floral honey next to a moment of leather, caramel tobacco, and almond.
Palate: Those almonds take on some toast on the palate as vanilla cake cut with buttercream and floral honey leads to a sense of honey sesame crackers and sharply spice oak staves.
Finish: A bright pepperiness drives the finish into spiced honey with a touch of toasted oats, marzipan, and burnt orange with a whisper of chamomile tea.
Initial Thoughts:
This is another excellent whiskey. It’s got a clear honeyed vibe which just works with the spice, wood, and nuttiness.
This is a sourced whiskey created by BBQ pitmaster Carey Bringle. The whiskey is made with a mash of 84% corn, 8% rye, and 8% malted barley and aged for at least four years. Those barrels are then blended to be the perfect backyard barbecue pairing bourbon.
Bottom Line:
This is a very standard bourbon. There’s nothing wrong with that. I’d use it for batching a cocktail at my next backyard barbecue party. I’d be surprised if anyone on the Peg Leg team wasn’t thinking exactly that with this release.
This bourbon is a four-grain mash bill by virtue of the sourced barrels involved in the blend. The whiskey is made from a high-corn, high-wheat, and high-rye trio of bourbon barrels. Once batched, that whiskey is re-barreled into Taub Family Selections’ Heritance Cabernet Sauvignon French oak barrels from Rutherford in Napa Valley. After three months, those barrels are batched and bottled
Bottom Line:
This was nice but very standard bourbon. Again, there are no faults here and this feels like a simple crowd-pleaser. I’d mix cocktails with it.
8. Traverse City Whiskey Co. Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Seasoned Sherry Casks — Taste 7
This is classic award-winning Traverse City high-rye bourbon that’s re-barrelled in sherry casks for a final rest. Those sherry casks were then blended, proofed with local Michigan water, and bottled.
Bottom Line:
This was nice too but a little better than standard for sure. Still, this felt more like a whiskey that you build a killer cocktail with than sip neat.
This whiskey is sourced from Tennessee. The four-year-old barrels are sent up to Kentucky where they’re batched, proofed, and bottled by the famed Dant family (icons in Kentucky whiskey-making going back to the early 1800s).
Bottom Line:
This is a nice pour. It’s more than just a cocktail whiskey, though I’m sure it’d make a killer old fashioned. That aside, I can see this working nicely over some ice when you’re looking for a good yet easy-going mid-week pour.
6. Jefferson’s Marian McLain Blend of Straight Bourbon Whiskeys — Taste 2
This whiskey pays tribute to Jefferson’s founder Trey Zoeller’s grandmother — Marian McLain — who was an 8th-generation moonshiner and bootlegger back in the day (she’s one of the earliest documented women in American whiskey to boot). The whiskey Zoeller made to honor McLain is a blend of five whiskeys. 40% of the blend is an 11-year-old Kentucky bourbon, 21% is a 14-year-old Tennessee bourbon, 17% is a rum-cask finished bourbon, 14% is a wheated double-barreled bourbon, and 8% is an eight-year-old Kentucky bourbon.
Bottom Line:
This is damn fine whiskey. I think it’d work best in a simple whiskey-forward cocktail but I can see sipping this neat (with a drop of water) any ol’ time.
This wheated whiskey from Log Still is all about highlighting that grain. The bourbon is sourced (for now) and aged and bottled by the Dant Family in Gethsemane, Kentucky.
Bottom Line:
This is a very easy-going on the rocks bourbon that’ll work wonders in a cocktail. It’s pretty much classic through and through. And that’s it.
4. Rieger’s Straight Bourbon Whiskey Bottled In Bond — Taste 4
This small craft whiskey is made with a mash of 56% corn, 30% rye, and 14% malted barley. The whiskey was left to age for six years before batching, proofing, and bottling.
Bottom Line:
This is nice stuff. It still feels very much in the classics column but that’s not a knock. This is simple, straightforward, easy-sipping bourbon that’ll also make a good, deep cocktail. You can’t beat that. And of the standard/classic stuff on the list today, this was the most interesting and deeply hewn.
3. Nelson Bros. Whiskey A Blend of Straight Bourbon Whiskeys Finished in Trubee Honey Casks — Taste 10
This whiskey starts off by seasoning used whiskey barrels (from Nelson’s Green Brier’s warehouse) with honey. The distillery sends its barrels to TruBee Honey Farm in Arrington, Tennessee where the barrels are filled with wildflower honey. After the honey has finished its rest, the barrels are emptied and sent back to Nashville. Once they arrive at Nelson’s, they’re filled with Belle Meade’s award-winning bourbon for a six to eight-month rest where the honey makes its mark on the whiskey.
Bottom Line:
Once you get a taste of this, it’s really easy to see why so many folks clamor for it. It’s clearly bourbon that’s just touched with real honey that accents and builds instead of takes over with an overly saccharine idea of honey. It’s delicious, subtle, and very drinkable.
This is a classic and very high-end luxe blend of bourbons from Lux Row. The whiskey is made with one 16-year-old bourbon barrel married to two 12-year-old barrels. That batched whiskey was then blended with three seven-year-old bourbons that were finished in Spanish Oloroso sherry casks, all sourced from the Sherry Triangle region in Southwest Spain. Once batched, the whiskey is bottled as-is with no proofing.
Bottom Line:
This is just great bourbon. Get one if you can find it. It’s a killer whiskey that’ll truly take you on a journey.
1. Kentucky Senator Bourbon Release #3 John C. Carlisle — Taste 3
This old-school Kentucky whiskey is made from sourced juice from Kentucky. In this case, it’s made with seven-year-old barrels of Kentucky bourbon with a classic mash bill of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley. The bourbon was made in honor of late 1800s Kentucky Senator John G. Carlisle who was one of the last “Bourbon Democrats” — a now-dead wing of the Democratic party that traded in classical liberalism with a deep sense of fiscal conservatism.
Bottom Line:
This just inched out the Blood Oath today thanks to a profile that went beyond classic and into that something extra. There was a nice earthiness with a hint of funk that really deepened the overall experience. This is a great Kentucky bourbon pour.
But this is going to be harder to find at retail. But you can get a pour Jack Rose Dining Saloon in Washington, D.C. if you want to give it a try before you start the hunt.
Part 3 — Final Thoughts on the Bourbon Whiskey
Zach Johnston
Hard to find or not, the top three pours really are the good stuff, folks. I’d focus mostly on those if you’re looking for something new.
That all said, numbers eight through four are all perfectly good and very drinkable bourbons worth checking out. They won’t blow your socks off but they’ll get the job done. Sometimes that’s enough. JHust depends on what the goal is!
Grammy Award-nominated recording artist Latto’s career has drastically improved since her reality TV debut. Many fans of the “Put It On Da Floor” rapper aren’t even aware of her time on The Rap Game. However, the show’s co-producer and host, Jermaine Dupri, hasn’t.
During a recent interview with HipHopDX, the music mogul addressed the public’s thoughts on how he handled Latto’s career after she won the show’s game prize.
“People keep saying, ‘Jermaine, you dropped the ball on [Latto]. But what I think people don’t understand is, I put Latto’s record out,” said Dupri, referring to the deal promised to Latto for winning the season.
Viewers were under the impression that the winning contestant would be granted an exclusive recording contract with Dupri’s legacy label, So So Def. Dupri said that was indeed not the case. “The deal was, if you win on The Rap Game, you get a single from Jermaine Dupri on So So Def,” said Dupri. T”hat single [Who is You] came out.”
He added, “The problem was that Latto was 16 years old, and the outlets didn’t support it. And nobody was like speaking on it. Nobody talked about it. If you watched the TV show, you saw it…But people didn’t really start talking about Latto until she started making more vulgar records, dressing more sexual, and being more adult.”
Latto’s recollection of the event differs from Dupri’s account. In 2016, she told VladTV that she was offered a deal with Dupri’s label but ultimately turned down the contract because, “It wasn’t enough money.”
Latto has gone on to achieve great success while Dupri has continued to add to his legacy with an upcoming Verzuz battle slated for September. There doesn’t seem to be a loser in this scenario.
Since taking over the House, GOP representatives have wasted a lot of time. They’ve held committee hearings that failed to dig up any dirt but do create dumb spectacles. They’ve also been investigating President Joe Biden and his family, vowing to reveal all manner of seedy underhandedness. Well, guess what? That isn’t going so hot either.
Over the weekend, Rep. James Comer told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo at least one of their alleged whistleblowers went AWOL. The next day, however, things got worse. As per Raw Story, during an appearance on Steve Bannon’s podcast, the Georgia lawmaker said that they couldn’t locate nine of their stool pigeons. She tried to spin it as a positive: They still had one!
“Now, the truth that I can tell everyone this morning is we have not lost the submarine,” Greene said. “That whistleblower is very safe. But he does fear for his life, and rightfully so.”
Still, yes, there is quite a lot more bad news than good. “But other whistleblowers, yes, they are missing,” she admitted. “They’re either in court, they’re in jail, or we cannot talk with them at this time because they can’t be found.”
But perhaps the one (1) whistleblower who hasn’t gone off the grid will suffice. ” Greene spoke of how “important” their investigation into Biden and family’s so-called crimes, vowing that “this will bring down the president of the United States.”
When we try to take stock of where we live, sometimes we can be too close to things to appreciate what’s right in front of our eyes. It can also be hard to accurately assess some of the problems we’ve learned to live with over the years.
That’s why a Reddit post by a Dutch tourist who spent some time in the U.S. resonates with many Americans and Europeans alike. In the post, a Reddit user named MikJon shared the things they liked and didn’t like about their time in America.
They noted they didn’t post anything about politics, taxes or healthcare because those issues aren’t relevant to tourists.
Here are the 5 things that they liked:
1. Nature
Raw, wild and untouched, and—most of all—VAST. The sheer vastness AND variety of nature and pure wilderness here are definitely unmatched in Europe. Specifically the little nature we have in The Netherlands is laughable compared to the USA.
2. People
People are generally approachable and friendly. Yes, I do like Americans, at least their overall demeanor. I would be greeted and asked where I’m from, even by someone at the 7-11. In general Dutch people are quite rude.
3. Free refills!
This is a small thing but really unheard of in the Netherlands. In my country, you pay the same price for just one tiny cup of coffee. In fact, all drinks you order are tiny in The Netherlands and you pay for each one.
4. Traffic lights across the street
I can’t for the life of my understand why we still have to lean over the steering wheel and get a sore neck looking straight upward at the traffic lights in Europe.
5. The doggy bag
You MIGHT be able to get to take your leftover with you in certain places in The Netherlands, but it is really not the norm, and would surely raise an eyebrow if you ask. Here it is normal and I find it very good to not let the food go to waste. Besides, I did pay for it so it’s nice to be able to take it with me.
Here are the top 4 things they liked least:
1. Tipping!
Why the heck do I need to be partly responsible for a proper salary for these people? Also, it is just annoying to have to calculate the tip every time. It is also annoying that listed prices are almost exclusively without tax. In my country—and across most of Europe as far as I’m aware—you pay exactly what is listed as the price. No hidden surprises.
2. The food, especially breakfast
Almost everything contains sugar. Breakfast is never with fresh bread and fresh good meats and cheese. In fact, American cheese is awful, but maybe I’m spoiled living in a cheese country. For dinner the food isn’t quite as bad, but it’s still nowhere near the quality and variety that you find in Europe.
3. Plastic!
Too much plastic is a problem in Europe also, but the amount of plastic (and styrofoam or other disposable crap) used here is bizarre. I also find it really bizarre that in every hotel breakfast, it’s all disposable cutlery and plates also. You really NEVER see this in Europe, not even in the cheapest hotels.
4. Imperial measurements
Gallons, miles, feet and especially Fahrenheit is so bizarre. Also because the conversion factor to metric is odd. Almost all the world, as well as the scientific world, uses metric which makes so much more sense in every way. Why does the U.S. hold on to such an archaic system?
A Belgian Redditor named Jakisirtaki mostly agreed with the original poster.
PRO:
European (Belgian) here who just came back from a one-month road trip in the U.S. I’m so jealous of the magnificent nature you have in your country. I saw so many beautiful sights! Please treasure it. I disagree with the low-quality food, I had both really good meals and really poor ones. Best Thai food I ever had was in LA. Also, so many places sell drip coffee just the way I like it, not some watered-down espressos. Loved that! Another like were the many (mostly) clean and free restrooms.
Having to pay for using a dirty restroom in a rest area along the highway in Europe sucks. That being said, some restrooms in the U.S. really didn’t care about my privacy with one-inch gaps everywhere. Driving was so convenient, being a pedestrian not so much. I biked through SF but couldn’t say I felt very safe.
CON:
Dislikes were the tipping culture and prices listed pre-tax. I mean, I ordered food or drinks to go a couple of times where I often had to tip in advance only for something to go wrong with my order. Not getting my tip back am I?
Domina from New Zealand is a big fan of Americans’ “can-do” attitude.
Like:
Sports culture, have-a-go culture, general enjoyment of life, being encouraging of people that are willing to try something or hustle, low barrier to entry for someone starting a business, online shopping, gas stoves, diversity across the different parts of the country, super friendly, most people are big on values, pride in keeping towns tidy.
Dislike:
Tipping (I know you have it already but seriously, what gives), treatment of indigenous history, lack of consumer protection, level of poverty, strange policy-making that reinforces lack of trust in government, occasional respect for road rules, hard-to-access to good quality produce at a reasonable price, no ring-pulls on tinned food.
Just pet peeves. Overall I freaking love being in U.S.! This country rules and will continue to rule!
Edit: I forgot to add innovation. It feels like this country could invent anything.
Kelpo has a real problem with how people get around in Los Angeles.
I went to LA recently and found the car-centric culture suuuuper inconvenient for a tourist. Every time you want to see a thing, you need to research it beforehand and then drive there. Want to see another thing? More research, then drive. In just about any other city I’ve ever been I would just head to the city center and explore on foot and pop in to whatever place looked interesting.
Admittedly it was a short trip and maybe I did it wrong, but the closest thing to being able to just wander around was in downtown, and even there, you occasionally have to walk over a nice 8-lane highway, which is a long way to walk (and be wary of certain neighborhoods and whatever).
That and since a car had to be involved at every step, you couldn’t really stop for a few beers or whatever. I guess locals either plan their days better or drive drunk.
An American who goes by HTC864 took on the original poster’s points one by one and, for the most part, agreed.
Nature
Natural resources have always been the big selling point.
People
People are generally approachable and friendly. I think this changes depending on which area of the country you’re in, but I also don’t know anything about the Dutch in comparison.
Free refills
Just [happy face emoji]
Traffic lights across the street
Weird to me that it would be any other way.
The doggy bag
I wouldn’t have thought this was an issue anywhere. Is the resistance to taking home food a European thing or just in the Netherlands?
Tipping
Hard agree. I think most of us know this system isn’t helpful and should be done away with.
The food, especially breakfast
There are a lot of variances, but we do overuse sugar (and salt) on top of having larger-than-needed portions.
Plastic
Again, hard agree. We need to do more to reduce our overuse of plastics, although we’ll probably never be rid of them.
Imperial measurements
Doesn’t bother my day-to-day, but it would make more sense for there to be one international standard.
A New Yorker with the username inbettywhitewetrust realized they need to appreciate the beauty in their own backyard.
As a New Yorker, it’s funny to see the vastness of nature as the first one. Your post motivates me to go on domestic vacations instead of galavanting around Europe in the summers; I really haven’t seen any of the U.S. aside from the East Coast’s major cities.
Accomplished-Sky-434, an American who recently visited the Netherlands, turned the conversation around and shared what they thought about the original poster’s city.
Pros:
Amsterdam is a beautiful city. It was pretty clean and felt safe too!
Fresh and tasty food everywhere! Maybe this is just my perception from my recent experience but every meal we ate seemed like it was made from fresh ingredients. Made everything seem that much more tasty. Especially the cheese!
The walkability. A 30-minute walk in Amsterdam city center was nothing. If anything it was a delight walking past tiny cafes and beautiful buildings. In the U.S. a 30-minute walk is a no-go almost anywhere. A 30-minute walk in Texas means you’re walking along major roads and under/over freeway overpasses.
Tipping was totally not expected! Anytime I did tip the servers in NL were genuinely grateful. Unlike the U.S. where if you don’t tip it’s viewed very negatively.
Lots of really cool things to do. From museums to river cruises and coffee shops. Need I say more?
Cons:
Taxi drivers try to take advantage of you. Maybe this is the same in the U.S. but I don’t ever use taxis here. In Amsterdam, I tried approaching taxi drivers and they almost always made up some kind of excuse like “minimum payment is €40 regardless of distance” or “I can only take you this far, you have to walk the rest.’” I learned to just use Uber while I was there.
Hard to find gluten-free food! I have celiac disease so I have to eat gluten-free. Not much of a problem in the U.S. for a number of reasons but in the Netherlands, restaurants rarely advertised gluten-free options, had gluten-free menus, or had any items on their menu that were gluten-free.
Chances are you’ve seen plenty of bathrooms before, especially if you’re on a device that connects you to the entire world. It’s generally the same setup no matter whose house you go to; there’s a toilet, a bathtub or shower and a sink. Bathrooms aren’t really anything to phone your best friend about.
Unless, of course, you’re this mom in a viral video posted to TikTok.
Freddy Ray, who runs the TikTok account @thebeastnasty, shared a video of his mom’s reaction to his bathroom remodel, and her reaction is the best. Sure, everyone loves a new look to a room they use frequently, but this bathroom is causing serious powder room envy by viewers. When the video starts, Ray’s mom is standing in awe as the lid to the toilet softly closes on its own. That’s plenty fancy by itself, but the cool factor doesn’t stop there.
Ray explains to his mom that the toilet lid opens when someone stands in front of the bowl before pointing out the remote for the toilet and shows her how to operate it. The entire time, his mom shouts in amazement with each new discovery. It’s probably the most “mom” reaction ever.
But just when you think he’s done, there’s more. The bathroom is like a clown car full of surprises. The fixtures look more like decorations than knobs to get the water flowing, and the beautiful picture hanging above the tub is actually a television. The entire bathroom is even equipped with self-sanitizing UV lights because he clearly thought of everything. People in the comments were jokingly (and not so jokingly) envious.
“I just got called poor by my bathroom,” one commenter wrote.
“In the bathroom looking at my commode like a mere outhouse, with its peasant manual flush,” another wrote, complete with crying laughing emojis.
“With a bathroom like this, I will not be early to any events,” someone wrote.
If you’ve never experienced bathroom envy, then you haven’t watched the video below. It currently has 2.3 million views and over 280,000 likes. Pretty sure his mom is going to be easy to locate when she comes to visit.
Replying to @itislilya 😅 here’s how she reacted to the rest of the bathroom! My ultimate hype mom 😍 #diy #bathroom #project #rennovation #remodel #hgtv #amazon #amazonfinds #toilet
No other mammal is as varied in size, shape, color and features as domestic dogs. If you put a Chihuahua and a Puli in front of an alien, they would never guess they were the same kind of animal. Seriously, how can a Dachshund, a Poodle and a Samoyed all be the same species?
Some dog breed origins are somewhat discernible by the location clues in their names, such as Newfoundlands, Labrador Retrievers, Alaskan Malamutes and Great Danes. Other names have recognizable regional language roots, like the Shih Tzu and Shiba Inu. We associate Poodles with the French and Huskies with the Arctic, but there are over 450 dog breeds the world over. Where did they all come from?
It could take hours to explore the vast history of dog breeds, but a video from BioArk offers a fascinating and entertaining overview in less than 20 minutes.
The story of domesticated dogs began more than 23,000 years ago when nomadic peoples started giving wolves table scraps. Since then, dogs have evolved alongside humans as our loyal companions, hunting helpers and protectors, but most modern dog breeds bear little resemblance to their wolf ancestors.
Some evolutionary change and adaptation are to be expected over thousands of years, of course, but that doesn’t explain the enormous variety in dog breeds in a relatively short period of time. While dog breeds originated on basically every continent, a good percentage of the dogs we know today came from what’s known as the Victorian Explosion, when intentional dog breeding intensified and expanded in the British Isles in the 19th century. Even so, as the video explains, each dog breed’s unique history almost acts like a microcosm of the history of the culture it came from.
Check out BioArk’s “Where Every Dog Breed Came From” for the full overview:
Drew Barrymore made a recent blog post in honor of Mother’s Day reflecting on her own complicated mother-daughter relationship, which eventually led to the actress and talk show host filing for emancipation at the age of 14.
Barrymore has long been candid about having a turbulent childhood, and in her blog post, she details being sent by her mother to a mental health facility in her adolescence, where she spent two years in the center’s youth program attending individual and group therapy.
While going to rehab was certainly a humbling experience for the teen star, looking back she can confirm it was also a “revelatory” one, particularly in the way she viewed the importance of adults setting up protective structures for kids.
“I understand now: kids love feeling safe, and having boundaries is one of those crucial bumper rails. I lived a boundaryless life and job. And this place, as hellacious as it was, it was exactly what I needed from the too much excess my life had become on the outside,” she wrote.
During that time, she also learned the importance of advocating for one’s own emotional needs, even if that means putting distance between themselves and those they dearly love. Certainly a relatable lesson for many.
“It taught me the foundations of telling your truth…Your feelings. Your faults. Your hopes and wishes. Your hurts. What and where you wanted to get to in life,” she wrote. “And—very important—who was going to help you on your path and who would you have to let go. For me…it was my mother.”
When Barrymore did emancipate from her mother, there was a newfound sense of freedom (“the umbilical cord was severed,” she wrote). But still, she had to learn to reparent herself and somehow establish a structure she had never been taught. No easy task.
“I cannot give myself rave reviews. I drank too much. Partied and burned the candle at every end. I danced on desks and posed half-naked in the name of art. Nothing I judge. It’s my history. I was just trying to figure out how to grow up and who I wanted to become,” she shared.
Though over the years she has found a way to bring stability into her life, Barrymore admitted that being a mother “constantly triggers everything from my own childhood now,” especially since today, with social media providing “everything at your fingertips,” kids live in a similar world to what she grew up in. “It is the world I promised my daughters wouldn’t experience…and yet all our kids are in it now,” she shared.
And still, she declared that being a mom is the “greatest thing” she will ever do in her life.
“Everything in my experience here on this pale blue dot has been for them,” she wrote. “And now it is also my chance to not make it about me but learn how to deal with all that comes with choosing to be a parent.”
As for her current relationship with her mom, Barrymore finished her blog post by sharing that it had recently been her mother’s birthday. After sending a quick and simple birthday message, her mother wrote back, “Thank you so much! I’m incredibly proud of you and send you love,” which felt like the “greatest gift.”
And to her girls, Barrymore had this sweet Mother’s Day message: I just hope I can be someone who makes you feel safe,” she wrote. “And that you can laugh with. And that you can tell me anything. I’m here for it. I’m in the circle with you… for life.”
Barrymore has a reputation for being raw and honest, but fans seemed more profoundly struck by the vulnerability of this essay.
“I love your openness and honesty about what you have been through and experienced. Your example helps those you struggle in their own ways to see past the step they are on in this thing called life and know you can continue in whatever way/path you choose,” one person commented on Barrymore’s Instagram.
Another wrote, “Thank you! For your openness, for sharing and for fighting to be different and be yourself, for helping me set my heart at peace and know I am being true to myself. Happy Mother’s Day you beautiful human!”
Mother’s Day can indeed be a complicated time for many. The holiday can trigger feelings of loss, betrayal, resentment, yearning, fear—maybe all of the above and all at once—if someone’s relationship with their own mom was/is turbulent. There has been more awareness and sensitivity around this in recent years. Many companies have even given the option for customers to opt out of any Mother’s Day-related messaging.
No matter what wounds our mothers might have left us with, open conversations can be healing, be it online, in therapy groups or in our close friend circles. Who knows, it might just provide that bit of nurturing the soul has been searching for all along.
If you’d like to read Barrymore’s full blog post, click here.
There’s long been a toxic, racist wing of Star Wars fandom. They came for John Boyega. They came for Kelly Marie Tran. It took until they came for Obi-Wan Kenobi actress Moses Ingram for the franchise’s top dogs to finally stand up and fight back. But something funny happened when Andor introduced one of Star Wars‘ first live-action queer character: Nothing happened — or at least as experienced by the character’s very offline portrayer.
In a new interview with The Independent(in a bit caught by The AV Club), English actress and Game of Thrones vet Faye Marsay discussed playing Vel Sertha, a Rebel Alliance member who’s in a relationship with fellow fighter Cinta Kaz (Varada Sethu). Surely the presence of queer characters in Star Wars — which racist fans seem to not notice is one of the most diverse franchises in history, with an untold number of species hobnobbing together — would result in heaps of online abuse? Right?
“I’ve not had any,” Marsay told The Independent. “Nothing. It’s gorgeous. And reassuring. And the way it should be.”
There is one big caveat here: Marsay is barely on social media. She was mostly driven off because of the “quite intense backlash” she received from Game of Thrones fans, who were none-too-happy that, as The Waif in seasons five and six, she was tormenting Maisie Williams’ Arya Stark, even at one point beating her with a stick.
“I’m just a bit rubbish technology-wise,” she said. “I’m like, the worst millennial on earth. The struggle is real! Like, I can’t really properly put a post up. It takes me a while.”
In other words, Marsay’s not exactly present to witness any potential harassment. Or maybe it never happened because people learned to be cool! But that seems unlikely.
Marsay also talked about playing Star Wars’ first queer live-action character (the video games introduced their first all the way back in 2003).
“While we were filming, I wasn’t thinking too much about it,” she admitted. “But then when you think about what it means to the community, and what it says to the massive bunch of people that need to see themselves mirrored in the shows they watch. The further we got, the more myself and Varada were aware that we were the first openly written queer characters, and how important that was.”
Marsay added, “Like I always say: people in the LGBTQI+ community, it’s been going on since the beginning of time; it’ll go on till the end of time. Andor was just normalising the normal. That’s it.”
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