There should be a line of succession when it comes to selecting the next James Bond. The current James Bond gets the first pick, but if that’s too much pressure (and because he’s busy being silly), he can decline and the responsibility goes to the most recent movie’s Bond Girl. The closest thing No Time to Die had to a Bond Girl was Ana de Armas, who a) was great, and b) has a solid nomination for who should replace Daniel Craig as 007.
“Do you have someone you’d want to be the next Bond?” an interviewer for Wired asked de Armas and her Ghosted co-star Chris Evans in a recent video. “I’ll do it,” Captain America answered. When de Armas wondered if he was serious, he replied, “I thought you were going to say the next Bond girl. The joke would’ve been funnier then. Then you just said Bond.” Then de Armas offered her choice: “I think Paul Mescal should be the one.” Evans is “a big Aaron Taylor-Johnson guy,” but conceded Mescal is “great.”
If Mescal is named the next James Bond (although he might be too young and too famous), maybe he can also do the theme song. That’ll save some money.
I write about a lot of bourbons for UPROXX. One aspect that always sort of bugs me in the back of my head is that while there’s a metric shit-ton of bourbon these days, much of it is not widely available. Like at all. In some cases, some of the best bourbons are not available outside of very small markets/circumstances. That can be frustrating. I get it. So, I’m lifting the veil and calling out great bourbon that you should actually be able to find at your local store (grocer or liquor store, depending).
There is some method to my madness here. I’m going to call out bourbons that are all under $50 but I’m avoiding some of the basic stuff like Wild Turkey 101 or Jim Beam Black Label. They’re budget bourbons that are fine but not great. I’m also avoiding releases like Buffalo Trace Bourbon and Evan Williams Single Barrel. Both are great for sure but Buffalo Trace Bourbon is very hit-and-miss due to strict allocation and Evan Williams Single Barrel is a Kentucky-only release now.
This is about great bourbon that you, dear reader, can actually find at Costco or Ralph’s or Total Wine or whatever… That said, some of these might not be on every single shelf nationwide (looking at you, Utah). But they will be on most shelves.
I’ve also ranked these great bourbons. Look, some just slap a bit harder than others with the top-ranking half of this list truly hits high marks. Let’s dive in!
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months
The whisky in the bottle is the same Dickel Tennessee whiskey but pulled from barrels that leaned more into classic bourbon flavor notes instead of Dickel’s iconic Tennessee whisky notes. The barrels are a minimum of eight years old before they’re batched. The whiskey is then cut down to a manageable 90-proof and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This nose is classic, with rich vanilla next to dry spicy tobacco leaves next to apple hand pies with sugar icing made with plenty of dark spices and butter.
Palate: The palate has a bran vibe that hints at a white Necco Wafer with a ripe white peach fresh off the tree with a hint of ginger bite to it.
Finish: The end circles back around to a vanilla wafer with nutmeg, orange zest, and a twinge of dark chocolate sauce leading to a dry and slightly molded wicker chair sitting in the sun.
Bottom Line:
This is a really solid workhorse bourbon. It’s a great, easy backyard sipper, cocktail base, or on-the-rocks pour — basically, this is a quintessential table whiskey.
11. Evan Williams Bottled-In-Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Look, Heaven Hill makes great whiskey, especially inexpensive bottled in bonds. This “b-i-b” is tailored for the Evan Williams flavor profile. Still, this is Heaven Hill, so we’re talking about the same mash bill, same warehouses, and same blending team as beloved bourbons like Elijah Craig and Heaven Hill releases. This is simply built to match a higher-end Evan Williams vibe.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a lovely nose at play with soft taco mix spice next to creamy vanilla, caramel-dipped cherries, a hint of pear skins, and plenty of nutmeg.
Palate: The palate has a minor note of cornbread muffins next to cherry-vanilla tobacco with a dash of leather and toffee.
Finish: The end leans into some fresh gingerbread with a vanilla frosting next to hints of pear candy cut with cinnamon and nutmeg.
Bottom Line:
This is classic, cheap bourbon. You’re not going to have your socks blown off by this one, but it will be very satisfying. This is a bourbon lover’s bourbon at an amazing price point.
This is classic (sourced) Bulleit Bourbon that’s aged up to 10 years before it’s blended and bottled. The barrels are hand-selected to really amplify those classic “Bulleit” flavors that make this brand so damn accessible (and beloved) in the first place.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a lot going on with butter and spicy stewed apples, maple syrup, Christmas cakes full of nuts and dried fruit, and a hint of savory herbs all pinging through your nose.
Palate: The palate brings about smooth and creamy vanilla with plenty of butter toffee, sourdough crust, more X-mas spice, cedar bark, and a hint of dried roses.
Finish: The finish is long, warming, and really embraces the toffee and spice.
Bottom Line:
This is just good. I like it as an easy, everyday sipper over some rocks or a go-to Manhattan base.
A few years back, Wild Turkey brought on Matthew McConaughey to be the brand’s Creative Director and create his own whiskey (though they’ve since parted ways). The product of that partnership was launched in 2018. The whiskey is a wholly unique whiskey for Wild Turkey, thanks to the Texas Mesquite charcoal filtration the hot juice goes through. The whiskey then goes into oak for eight long years before it’s proofed and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Christmas spices meet oily vanilla, subtle caramel, and a whisper of singed cedar bark up top.
Palate: The palate adds orange oils and buttery toffee to the mix, as the edge of the spices upwards on the palate, next to a creamy vanilla pudding body.
Finish: That velvet texture builds throughout, with toasted oak and cedar notes as a hint of sweet firepit smoke arrives on the long and satisfying finish.
Bottom Line:
This is a bold whiskey that hits just right. It’s great in a cocktail but can easily be used as an everyday sipper over some rocks.
8. Jim Beam Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Each of these Jim Beam bottlings is pulled from single barrels that hit just the right spot of taste, texture, and drinkability, according to the master distillers at Beam. That means this whiskey is pulled from less than 1% of all barrels in Beam’s warehouses, making this a very special bottle at a bafflingly affordable price.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Vanilla pound cake and salted caramel are countered by spicy cherry tobacco, mulled wine vibes, and dark chocolate cut with orange zest and a hint of corn husk.
Palate: The palate brings in some floral honey sweetness and more orange oils with a sticky toffee pudding feel next to more spicy cherry tobacco and a hint of coconut cream pie.
Finish: The end amps up the cherry with a little more sweetness than spice before salted dark chocolate tobacco folds into dry sweetgrass and cedar bark before a hint of fountain Cherry Coke pops on the very back end with a sense of sitting in an old wicker rocking chair.
Bottom Line:
This was just good. It’s clearly built whiskey with a profile that goes deep. It was also one of the easiest sipping whiskeys on the shelf. You can easily sip this neat, on the rocks, or in your favorite cocktail.
This expression takes standard Woodford Bourbon and gives it a finishing touch. The bourbon is blended and moved into new barrels that have been double-toasted but only lightly charred. The whiskey spends a final nine months resting in those barrels before proofing and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a welcoming aroma of marzipan, blackberry, toffee, and fresh honey next to a real sense of pitchy, dry firewood.
Palate: The taste drills down on those notes as the sweet marzipan becomes more choco-hazelnut, the berries become increasingly dried and apple-y, the toffee becomes almost burnt, and the wood softens to a cedar bark.
Finish: A rich spicy and chewy tobacco arrives late as the vanilla gets super creamy and the fruit and honey combine on the slow fade.
Bottom Line:
This is another bourbon that’s just good. Pour it over some rocks or mix it into your favorite cocktail. Either way, you’ll be all set.
6. Knob Creek Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 9 Years
This is Jim Beam’s small batch entry point into the wider world of Knob Creek. The juice is the low-rye mash aged for nine years in new oak in Beam’s vast warehouses. The right barrels are then mingled and cut down to 100 proof before being bottled in new, wavy bottles.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on this feels classic with a bold sense of rich vanilla pods, cinnamon sharpness, buttered and salted popcorn, and a good dose of cherry syrup with a hint of cotton candy.
Palate: The palate mixes almond, orange, and vanilla into cinnamon sticky buns with a hint of sour cherry soda that leads to a nice Kentucky hug on the mid-palate.
Finish: That warm hug fades toward black cherry root beer, old leather boots, porch wicker, and a sense of dried cherry/cinnamon tobacco packed into an old pine box.
Bottom Line:
This is big and bold and very spiced-cherry forward. If you’re looking for something to mix a killer Manhattan or old fashioned with, this is it.
5. Four Roses Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon is a blend of four whiskeys. The blend is split evenly between the high and mid-ryes with a focus on “slight spice” and “rich fruit” yeasts. The whiskey is then blended, cut with soft Kentucky water, and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Soft and sweet apple and cherry woods greet with a good dose of sour red berries dusted with brown winter spices, especially clove and nutmeg.
Palate: The palate leans into soft and salted caramel with a hint of those berries underneath while the spices get woodier and a thin line of green sweetgrass sneaks in.
Finish: The finish is silky and boils down to blackberry jam with a good dose of winter spice, old wood, and a hint of vanilla tobacco.
Bottom Line:
This leans into unique flavor notes that go beyond basic Kentucky bourbon cherry and spice. There are botanicals, herbs, orchard fruits, and florals. It’s complex but didn’t lose any of its basic characteristics to be unique. Get this if you’re looking for something a little different on the palate amidst your regular bourbon routine.
This bottle from Beam Suntory marries Kentucky bourbon, California wine, and Japanese whisky blending in one bottle. Legent is classic Kentucky bourbon made by bourbon legend Fred Noe at Beam that’s finished in both French oak that held red wine and Spanish sherry casks. The whiskey is then blended by whisky-blending legend Shinji Fukuyo at Suntory.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Plummy puddings with hints of nuts mingle with vinous berries, oaky spice, and a good dose of vanilla and toffee on the nose.
Palate: The palate expands on the spice with more barky cinnamon and dusting of nutmeg while the oak becomes sweeter and the fruit becomes dried and sweet.
Finish: The finish is jammy yet light with plenty of fruit, spice, and oak lingering on the senses.
Bottom Line:
This sherry-finished bourbon is spot on. The whiskey has a great texture and depth, making it a great sipper or cocktail base. If you want to make a great Manhattan or just have an everyday easy sipper around, get this bottle.
3. Maker’s Mark Cask Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky
This special release from Maker’s Mark is their classic wheated bourbon turned up a few notches. The batch is made from no more than 19 barrels of whiskey. Once batched, that whiskey goes into the barrel at cask strength with no filtering, just pure whiskey-from-the-barrel vibes.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Burnt caramel candies and lush vanilla lead the way on the nose with hints of dry straw, sour cherry pie, and spiced apple cider with a touch of eggnog lushness.
Palate: The palate has a sense of spicy caramel with a vanilla base that leads to apricot jam, southern biscuits, and a flake of salt with a soft mocha creaminess.
Finish: The end is all about the buzzy tobacco spiciness with a soft vanilla underbelly and a hint of cherry syrup.
Bottom Line:
This is delicious whiskey. It’s so clearly a good and lush bourbon, even the newcomer can taste the excellence (and the flavors are dialed, which makes analyzing it a little more clear-cut). Get some!
This whiskey is made from Jack’s classic mash of 80% corn, 12% barley, and 8% rye before it’s twice distilled and run through Jack’s long Lincoln County sugar maple charcoal filtration process. The spirit then goes into the barrel for at least four years — per bonded law — before it’s batched, cut down with a little water, and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose draws you in with Cherry Jolly Ranchers next to sweet cedar bark braided with old strands of leather and orange-laced tobacco leaves while a hint of vanilla wafer and general “health food store” vibes underneath it all.
Palate: The palate feels like warm apple pie on a sunny day with the best vanilla ice cream on top as layers of eggnog nutmeg and creaminess move toward a Cream of Wheat vibe.
Finish: Some apple wood chips for a smoker and a hint of almond shells pop on the finish.
Bottom Line:
This has no business tasting this good at this price point. The lesson here is that higher proof Jack is better Jack, especially if you’re looking for a killer cocktail base or easy sipper.
1. Michter’s US *1 Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Michter’s really means the phrase “small batch” here. The tank they use to marry their hand-selected eight-year-old bourbons can only hold 20 barrels, so that’s how many go into each small-batch bottling. The blended juice is then proofed with Kentucky’s famously soft limestone water and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on this is very fruity with a mix of bruised peach, red berries (almost like in a cream soda), and apple wood next to a plate of waffles with brown butter and a good pour of maple syrup that leads to a hint of cotton candy.
Palate: The sweetness ebbs on the palate as vanilla frosting leads to grilled peaches with a crack of black pepper next to singed marshmallows.
Finish: The end is plummy and full of rich toffee next to a dash of cedar bark and vanilla tobacco.
Bottom Line:
This is an essential bourbon whiskey. It’s also the best mixing bourbon on the list for simple, whiskey-forward cocktails. That said, it works just as well over some ice in a rocks glass. You really can’t beat the depth of this beautiful whiskey from top to bottom.
“Ugh, I missed Miami Music Week, Ultra, and Envision Festival for this?” I thought to myself. I was… upset. Understandably so, because I’d just been informed that Costa Rica’s inaugural Jungle Dreaming Festival — which I’d hyped up and was hyped on — was canceled. Not only that, I was slated to board my flight from the United States to Costa Rica in just a few hours.
“Should I still go?” I texted a few friends.
With the flights booked, the Airbnb ready to go, and my bags packed, it was sort of a no-brainer. Rather than let the whole adventure fizzle, I decided that I still would head to the airport, hop aboard my flight, and hope for the best. People always say spontaneous travel is the way to go, this was a chance to really live it.
Still, I couldn’t help being a tad resentful. “How ironic that Jungle Dreaming Festival ended up being just a dream,” I said to my roommates on my way out the door.
While the promise of this sustainable festival in Costa Rica offered up visions of community, local jobs, and cultural integration, it ended up being empty promises. Good intentions, sadly, don’t equal logistics or infrastructure. In other words, the hippie energy morphed into Fyre Fest vibes.
Though I was angry, I did have to remind myself that throwing a music festival is hard and throwing a music festival in a foreign country poses its own complex set of issues. That’s not to excuse Jungle Dreaming from not properly crossing their T’s and dotting their I’s when it came to the logistical planning and legalities of throwing such an event — they unarguably failed to get the job done. But it also made me wonder if foreign governments make it feasible for new events to pop up and manage the legalities that come with it. (Or even if they should — it’s not like they “owe us” a festival and there is a part of me that sees “American throwing a festival in Costa Rica” as a new era of techno-fueled colonialism.)
Costa Rica is known for being particularly difficult to work with on projects of this size. Envision Festival — widely beloved and known as one of the world’s best and biggest jungle parties — has still had its fair share of logistical problems over the years. After just skirting by and being able to throw its 10th annual event in February 2020 before the world shut down, it would take festival organizers three years to finally be able to produce the event again. After selling early bird tickets throughout the spring and summer of 2020 for its 2021 edition – that inevitably did not happen – the festival ended up postponing not one but two times due to logistical problems working with Costa Rican authorities and the health department.
That was three years of thousands of upset attendees, a slightly tarnished reputation, and endless hours, time, and promotional resources wasted. This makes it seem both impressive and fascinating that the festival scraped its way back in 2023.
Mikala Lugen
While my earlier Fyre Fest reference might seem a tad aggressive, considering the obstacles Jungle Dreaming faced, it’s an obvious reference point. Fyre is a prime example of an international event gone wrong, one that put hundreds of inexperienced, wealthy influencers and gullible people easily influenced by inexperienced influencers stranded on an island in the Bahamas in 2017. Attendees who were promised and promoted a luxury resort destination filled with music instead found themselves on a garbage-strewn island and were left to sleep in tents after being served a “gourmet meal” of a single cheese sandwich in a styrofoam container.
But the Jungle Dreaming cancellation wasn’t as catastrophic as the Fyre Festival. While plenty of journalists, musical artists and DJs, and performing artists ended up flying out to be a part of what would’ve been the inaugural event, we weren’t left twiddling our thumbs, wondering about what to do. We were happy to still be in the beautiful country of Costa Rica, not necessarily constrained by the limitations of a heavily scheduled festival. Instead, we were met with a clean slate — days stretching ahead of us with no place to be.
So we did exactly that.
Mikala Lugen
Because so many of the festival’s staff and music artists were already in the area, several of the local businesses put their heads together to ensure that the show – at least to some degree – would go on. The little Pacific coast town of Jacó that was supposed to host Jungle Dreaming also happened to be celebrating the grand opening of a new nightclub, Fuse. It literally wasn’t even on Google Maps yet but with plenty of publicists and music industry know-it-alls in the area the word spread. In a nice twist of luck, Fuse was on-point and worth the would-be festival attendees descending on — boasting freshly painted murals of landscapes and rock music icons, while faux-fancy chandeliers lined the ceiling around a disco ball.
My first night in Jacó, I went to the nightclub with no expectations and left with a little pep in my step — thanks to a pretty decent dancing session with my new industry friends to a live set by one of the members from Stanton Warriors. It was certainly something better to do on a Friday night than just sit in the Airbnb sulking about a canceled festival (watch any Fyre Fest doc and you’ll be amazed at how willing the attendees were to sulk). I found out later that it was festival organizers who tried to rally some of the DJs to play at the nightclub’s grand opening weekend, which ended up still lacking luster due to literally no promotion.
I remember asking myself, “Why isn’t the festival promoting this as a sure-in solution to the abandoned attendees?” My question was never answered.
It would actually be Hotel La Sirena, around a 40-minute drive south of Jacó, that finally upgraded the weekend out of “bust” territory. While Jungle Dreaming Festival left its attendees in the dark all weekend, Hotel La Sirena ended up putting its own last-minute funds together to create a three-night beachside event. Although it was kind of hard to get to, the property invited locals and displaced tourists alike to dance to some wonky jungle bass music on the sand. An-Ten-Nae, Mystic Grizzly, and around a dozen other local and global producers performed hour-long sets on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights while fire dancers dazzled the lucky attendees who caught wind of the pop-up event.
Art vendors also set up shop around the space, mimicking the artsy “downtown” space that most festivals offer. It wasn’t quite the same but it was pretty great nonetheless.
On Sunday night, I found myself watching two massive piles of wood get set on fire on the star-lit beach while bass music played in the distance. It was then that I realized the power of the music, travel, and Costa Rican communities. Even though we went to Costa Rica for a festival that was canceled at the last minute, these three communities came together and made sure that the show would go on. Mixed in with all the partying, I found out that the locals were just as excited as all the privileged tourists that flocked to the country for the festival to happen — so they found a solution for not only us outsiders but for themselves to have some fun. From the outside, a music festival might just look like a bunch of drugged-up hippies dancing around for three days straight, but in reality, it does create a lot of revenue, jobs, and tourist money for the area that hosts it.
And as one of those drugged-up hippies I was glad to be reminded that although things don’t always work out as planned, they do work out exactly as they should.
Mass Appeal’s Hip-Hop 50 celebration continues with a new EP, this one produced and curated by Swizz Beatz. The Hip Hop 50: The Soundtrack series kicked off last year with DJ Premier‘s Hip-Hop 50 Vol. 1 featuring the “Beat Breaks” with Nas and “Remy Rap” with Remy Ma and Rapsody. Now, Swizz Beatz presents six new tracks showing off the span of talent hip-hop offers, from old-schoolers like Jadakiss to current stars like Benny The Butcher, Fivio Foreign, and Jay Electronica, as well as future ones like Bandmanrill and Scar Lip.
Swizz has been working hard to celebrate hip-hop history even before teaming up with Mass Appeal for Hip-Hop 50. His and Timbaland’s Verzuz hits battles were a way to highlight the legends of yesteryear and bring their contributions to the hip-hop canon to the fore for younger generations who might not remember the era. However, their efforts were nearly derailed after partnering with Triller, prompting them to sue the streaming platform’s parent company for $28 million. A settlement was reached last September in which Swizz and Tim will receive a greater ownership stake, giving it to the artists who appear on the platform. However, there haven’t been any Verzuz events announced since then.
Meanwhile, the Hip-Hop 50 celebrations continue, with the Grammys producing a massive tribute performance and outlets like BET joining the fun with the help of rappers like Black Thought. Uproxx’s own coverage so far includes interviews with DJ Premier and Just Blaze.
Hip-Hop 50: Vol. 2 is out now via Mass Appeal. Check it out below.
After the tragic shooting on the set of Rust that left cinematographer Halyna Hutchins dead, Guy Ritchie made a decision that he immediately put into effect: No more real guns on his movie sets. Considering the next film on his plate was the action-heavy The Covenant, starring Jake Gyllenhaal in warzone conditions, Ritchie had his work cut out for him. However, the director is actually glad he finally made the call.
“It’s a tremendous relief for all of us,” Ritchie told Newsweek while he and Gyllenhaal touted the benefits of using Airsoft weaponry for the military action scenes:
“They’re as good as, they look as good as real weapons, they do all the functions as a real weapon. You get a gas discharge. It all seems as authentic as it can be, but as Jake said, it’s Airsoft though. No one can get into any trouble.”
Ritchie also revealed that he’s “never liked” using real guns while filming, and he’s glad the industry is finally waking up to the fact that there are safer methods.
“I had no idea why we carried on in the industry with real firearms,” Ritchie said. “It was just one of those things that everyone did, and it’s a tremendous relief, as I’m sure it is for Jake, as much as it is for me, that you don’t have that sword hanging over us any longer.”
Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant is now playing theaters.
YoungBoy Never Broke Again has been making the most of his house arrest in Utah (as documented by Billboardin February). He dropped I Rest My Case in January, and it’s followed by Don’t Try This At Home today, April 21. We already knew the newer album housed “WTF” featuring Nicki Minaj, as the single was released earlier this month, but the roster of featured artists doesn’t end there.
The Isaac Garcia-directed video begins with a comic-book-like animation before we find YoungBoy Never Broke Again cooling by the fire at night in the snowy Utah mountains. (Posty also resides in Utah.) YoungBoy boasts in the chorus, “F*ck what they say / I done made it out the storm / Check my bank, I made new commas / I can’t take no break, I’m way too young.”
About 90 seconds in, The Kid Laroi emerges from the woods and joins in on the hard-earned bragging, “All this drama, baby, I’m too rich for that / All these commas like I’m an aristocrat.” Post Malone brings it home, sitting on a snow mobile and singing about giving people “somethin’ they can copy off” and refusing to “have my baby rockin’ knockoffs.” (Post became a first-time father last year.)
On the same day, The Kid Laroi is showing his softer side with the solo single “Where Does Your Spirit Go?” Post Malone is also fresh off the release of the similarly introspective track “Chemical.”
This week, Elon Musk made good on his repeated threats/promises to unverify all legacy verified Twitter users unless they paid for the $8+ Twitter Blue service. Millions of users saw their checkmarks disappear, other than a select few. Those included Stephen King, Ice-T, and LeBron James, for whom Elon claimed to have picked up the tab, possibly to troll the trio.
It’s a bit of a Homelander move, yes, which isn’t a compliment, but given Musk’s popularity with the right wing, this jibes with the far-right fanboy meltdown after certain segments of The Boys audience were shocked to realize that Antony Starr‘s character is a bad dude. And Amazon Prime Video’s social media team decided to make like Billy Butcher and take the p*ss by doing some trolling of their own. In memed fashion, the U.K.-based account compared Elon to Homelander throwing his son, Ryan, off a rooftop in an attempt to make him fly.
“Well… he can do what he wants” was coupled with a “shrug” emoji in a tweet.
This quote also happens to be a reference to a much more R-rated moment from The Boys, which involved Homelander putting on a solo performance from another rooftop while raining down “little Homelanders” upon unsuspecting civilians. The quote is quote a comparison, too, given that Homelander didn’t fare too well emotionally in Season 3 after his “I can do what I want” declaration and Maeve putting him in his place.
Then again, we don’t know exactly how Elon is truly reacting behind the scenes while the formerly verified masses reject signing up for Twitter Blue. He put on a positive face for his exploding rocket, so perhaps the “shrug” emoji is the most accurate way to describe the entire situation.
Also and for the record, Antony Starr bid farewell to his checkmark, too.
Ok guys . Looks like they are taking away the verification ticks tomorrow. Will see how things go. This is and will be my only real account. Anything else will be bogus. I’m on IG. Follow there too. Night
There are some places, that despite not existing, are still very real to many. For instance, Hawkins, Indiana is not a real place, but it does mimic rural suburban towns. We all know that Westeros isn’t as west as it seems, because it isn’t real. And no matter how hard Ben Affleck tries to convince you that Boston is a place, it’s clear that it’s not a real city with real people. We all know this, right? Boston isn’t real. Even though it’s technically on the map and legally recognized as a city.
But if you’re not from America, it can be hard to understand all of the various towns that people throw out there on shows. Rye, New York, where Don Draper lived on Mad Men might sound like a fake place, but it is in fact a real town with a very real haunted amusement park. So when the characters on The Office mention living in Scranton, it’s hard to tell if that is a real place, or just an off-brand cleaning product. For most of the UK, they tend to believe it’s not real.
According to a new report from TonerGiant, every month, an average of 400 people in the United Kingdom Google the question “Is Scranton a real place?” That question becomes asked about 5k times a year, meaning that maybe geography should be taught more extensively over there.
While Scranton is a real place (and the birthplace of President Joe Biden) there isn’t a lot to do there, and there definitely isn’t a paper company. There is a Steamtown mall, though, and they like to lean into the whole Office thing.
The study also shows that, unsurprisingly, the UK version of the series is more popular across the pond, despite only having two seasons. The humor is a lot different, with David Brent (played by Ricky Gervais) being a less lovable and more tone-deaf boss than Michael Scott.
On the other hand, how do we know that people in America aren’t googling “is Berkshire, England a real place and not just a western Massachusetts village?” Who’s to say?
After starring in a string of “breezy” romantic-comedies in the late 2000s, Matthew McConaughey faced a $10.5 million decision: continue taking his shirt off in creatively unfulfilling movies, or try something more challenging.
He chose the latter (although, to be fair, no one has ever been more shirtless than Dallas from Magic Mike).
McConaughey began taking roles in auteur-driven fare like Killer Joe, Bernie, and Mud, leading to the “McConaissance.” In a new interview, the Texas icon claims he came up with the “self-marketing” term himself.
McConaughey recalled on Chelsea Handler’s Dear Chelsea podcast that while he was promoting Mud at a film festival, a reporter told him, “You’re on a roll right now, man. It needs a name of something.” He replied, “Yeah, I was talking to this guy a minute ago and he actually called it the McConaissance.” McConaughey was telling a little lie, but “I threw it out there and he goes, ‘The McConaissance, I love that! You like that?’ And I go, ‘Yeah, sounds good, man.’ So I snuck it in there and the sonofabitch, it stuck. So I made that up.”
We could all learn a thing or two about marketing from McConaughey — and we probably will at his The Art of Livin’ event.
After news of the split between the pop star and actor broke earlier this month, eagle-eyed fans are now keeping a running tally of which T. Swift besties have unfollowed her ex on social media. Swift and Alwyn were together for six years before calling it quits with sources claiming “differences in their personalities” and the singer’s level of fame were problems they just ultimately couldn’t overcome. Some speculated the pair might reconcile after some time apart, with one insider telling People, “They’ve had rough patches before and always worked things out, so friends thought they would take some time apart but eventually come back together.” But now, some eyebrow-raising unfollows on social media seem to suggest their love story is well and truly over.
Fans have noticed that some of Swift’s closest friends and family members have unfriended Alwyn on Instagram. That list included her brother, Austin, all three Haim sisters — Danielle, Este, and Alana — Lily Aldridge, and Ryan Reynolds.
Well well the new person who unfollowed joe alwyn is Ashley Avignon.
Reynolds seems the most surprising of the group considering he wrote a glowing profile of Alwyn for TIME last year. Reynolds, along with wife and Swift bestie Blake Lively, was spotted having dinner with the singer earlier this week, which might explain the recent unfollow. Though Swift has graciously stayed silent on the break-up, choosing to focus on her current tour, the moves her friends are making online speak volumes.
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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.
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