The best new hip-hop this week includes albums, videos, and songs from Black Thought, Ice Spice, and more.

Rap royals Ice Spice and Nicki Minaj teamed up this week, producing a pugnacious remix to Ice’s Like…? standout “Princess Diana.” Not to be outdone, fellow former Nicki Minaj protege Doja Cat took advantage of the boom-bap beat on SZA’s “Kill Bill” to deliver some truly non-corny raps. Fivio Foreign played around with fire in his video for “Hot Sauce,” while Chicagoans Saba and No I.D. teamed up for the first song from an upcoming duo project(!), “Back In Office.”

Here is the best of hip-hop this week ending April 14, 2022.

Albums/EPs/Mixtapes

Black Thought & El Michels Affair — Glorious Game

One of my personal most awaited releases of the year, Glorious Game continues the thread of excellent releases from Mr. Tariq Trotter, this time, pairing him up with a group that brings some ’70s soul-backed Blaxploitation vibes to his heady hip-hop observances. It’s yet another match made in heaven.

Grafh & 38 Spesh — Art Of Words

When I was a freshman in college, I loved Grafh — mainly for two specific performances. One was an appearance on the protest record “Tree Never Grown,” on which he held his own alongside luminaries (no pun intended) like Mos Def, J-Live, Tame One, and Wordsworth. On the other, which came from a DJ Kay Slay tape, Grafh spat one of his hardest verses on Jay-Z’s “This Life Forever.” Anyway, Grafh’s career never panned out the way I thought it would, but I still have a soft spot for him and he’s still got a way with words.

NLE Choppa — Cottonwood 2

Allow NLE Choppa to reintroduce himself. Since the last Cottonwood, the Memphis kid has seen his fortunes rise, caught flak over his self-improvement efforts, and grown a lot as an artist. On this sequel, Choppa branches out, trying styles as diverse as Jersey Club and New Orleans Bounce as he works to set himself apart from not just the rest of his city’s rap scene, but his former self.

Troy Ave — Dear Hater, I Won

In my research for this week’s column, I was surprised to see another survivor of the blog era, a man I once fondly referred to as “Helium 50,” has a new album out today. I gave it half a spin and was pleased to learn that despite his numerous setbacks and a notable decline in attention, his defiant, boastful persona remains unbowed, his rhymes remain as witty and amusing as ever, and he has refused to go away, like the living embodiment of the New York he once obnoxiously championed.

Singles/Videos

Ciara — “Da Girls (Girls Mix)” Feat. Lola Brooke & Lady London

Ciara’s been on an interesting, devil-may-care kick lately and it’s been pretty entertaining to watch. She’ll as gladly lend her still-generous helping of spotlight to both battle rap nepo babies like Coast Contra as she is to a pair of New York rap it-girls in Lola Brooke and Lady London. The low-budget vibes of the video actually serve the carefree vibe of the song really well — they’re just girls having fun and you know what? You can’t fault them for that at all.

Doe Boy — “Roll The Dice” Feat. Dej Loaf

I love a good Midwest connection; the acts encompassing areas like Dej Loaf’s Detroit and Doe Boy’s Cleveland have a unique kind of chemistry, often resulting in surprising, off-kilter products that are more than the sum of their parts. For instance, here, the usually brusque Doe Boy sounds downright tender, while Dej puts a little more melodic lilt in her singsongy rap style than usual. The combination is a little like PB&J — subtly complex and simply satisfying.

Jay Worthy & Harry Fraud — ““GS 350”

It’s a reunion! Harry Fraud’s loopy production has always provided a potent counterpoint to Jay’s subtle gangsterisms. When the beat kicks in on this one, it levitates to another level.

Meyhem Lauren, Madlib & DJ Muggs — “African Pompano”

Queens rapper Meyhem Lauren has been consistently toiling just at the edges of mainstream attention. He may be better known as one of Action Bronson’s two burly sidekicks on F*ck, That’s Delicious, but he’s been a worthy entertainer in his own right all along. “African Pompano,” with production by Madlib and DJ Muggs, is a solid example.

Reuben Vincent — “Bottle Service” Feat. Reason & Stacy Barthe

A standout from Vincent’s debut album Love Is War, “Bottle Service” is like Kendrick Lamar’s “Swimming Pools,” only stripped down to its message and heartbreaking storytelling. A spoonful of sugar may help make the medicine taste better but sometimes, you’ve got to take it straight up if you want the full effect.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Ben Affleck is a bit of an enigma. He is first and foremost an actor who loves being in movies and making movies, but he doesn’t seem to like being a celebrity too much. It does make sense considering that he has been in this industry for so long, he’s probably a little tired of living in the shadow of his best friend Matt Damon, which might be why he has been calling out his messiness lately. He’s just mad that Damon bought a zoo without him.

But since he’s been around for a while, Affleck was recently asked by James Corden if he had ever been fired from a role before, to which the actor responded that he was often fired from projects as a teen due to his unfortunate “tardiness problem.” If you’re going to be late to anything as a teenager, you might as well make it gym class and not a big-budget Hollywood production, but he must have learned his lesson. Affleck did mention a time when his lines were cut from a movie, even though he thought he had delivered a Teen Choice Award-worthy performance.

The actor was 20 when he scored one of his first movie roles as the infamous “Basketball Player Number 10” in 1992’s Buffy The Vampire Slayer, the movie that inspired the TV show. “I got one line … it was for a basketball player,” he told Corden. His character was supposed to offer the ball to a werewolf that happened to be running through the gym. This movie made $16 million at the box office, by the way.

“I was feeling it. I felt authentically afraid,” Affleck explained of his character. And he looked it, too! “And then I went and saw the movie with friends … and I sounded very different. And I realized right then they re-recorded my line.” Maybe he wasn’t afraid enough. This is what happens when you skip high school gym class.

He continued, “I was so bad. They needed me to be in the scene, but the director [Fran Rubel Kuzui] obviously [was like], ‘I can’t hear the voice again!’ They had to pay someone to come in and say, ‘Hey man, take it.’ Because apparently, I couldn’t say that convincingly enough.”

Perhaps this is what inspired Affleck to embark on a life-long journey to insert himself into many basketball-related situations. He and Damon just released Air, so he clearly wasn’t nervous about going back into the basketball court. Even if he should be (because of the werewolves).

(Via People)

Earlier this week, New York City Mayor Eric Adams unveiled his new “Rat Czar,” which naturally raised all kinds of questions including, but not limited to… “what the heck is a rat czar?” While appearing on CNN’s This Morning, Adams attempted to explain the title to Don Lemon, who was curious about the new position that was now being filled by former school teacher Kathleen Corradi.

Turns out, there was a large number of applicants to be Rat Czar, but as Adams revealed, it takes a very special person who was born for the task.

Via Mediaite:

“Imagine waking up and seeing a rat scurry across your floor or opening one of your kitchen cabinets and seeing a rat come out or even in your car,” Adams said. “Rodents impact on our health, our quality of life, and our mental psyche. You’ll think about that rat the entire day.”

According to Adams, the city received a “substantial number of applicants” for the position of waging war on city rats and the person they chose has apparently been battling the furry creatures since she was just a child.

When Adams announced Corradi as the city’s new Rat Czar, he called her rat’s “worst nightmare” thanks to her almost life-long commitment to killing rats. She really hates them, and yes, this does sound like the origin story for a Batman villain.

“This is an amazing young lady,” Adams said. “When she was 10 years old, she did a petition on her block to get rid of rodents.”

The lesson here: If you want your child to grow up to be Rat Czar of a major city, it’s never too early to start.

(Via Mediaite)

Yellowjackets spoilers will be found below.

A good mystery is judged by its clues and Yellowjackets is the kind of show that loves to drop a few in each episode to keep fans salivating for more. In episode four’s “Old Wounds,” those Easter eggs included hints as to what happened to Shauna’s wilderness baby, references to classic works of fiction, and both a Sandra Bullock and Agatha Christie nod.

Here are some of the references in this week’s Yellowjackets episode that you might’ve missed.

What Is The Magus?

For a brief second, Coach Ben (Steven Krueger) can be seen opening (and quickly closing) a tattered copy of author John Fowles’ classic work of postmodern fiction, The Magus. If you’ve read that dark, rambling tale, you know it’s filled with illusions, mythical metaphors, and frustratingly ambiguous endings. Not exactly the kind of “beach read” one would hope for when stuck in a decrepit cabin in the middle of the wilderness with a bunch of teenage cannibals. But the book does offer some clues as to what Ben, who’s been experiencing hallucinations formed from intimate memories and wishful alternate realities, might be going through at the moment. More importantly, it might foreshadow what his role within the group could look like down the line.

The Magus centers on a naive and disillusioned English schoolteacher who takes a job on a remote Greek island and befriends a wealthy recluse, quickly becoming embroiled in what the novel names “the godgame,” eccentric, psychological plays that cause the young man to question his own reality. Eventually, the protagonist escapes the island, realizing the entire scheme was an experiment meant to cause him to confront his own failings and the cruel nature of mankind, but he still imagines he’s being watched or “studied” back home in London. Eventually, he reunites with the woman he left to work at the school, choosing love and discarding the mask of his former self — though whether the pair actually end up together is left uncertain.

Obviously, there are some parallels between Coach Ben and the schoolteacher — both are depressed, isolated, longing to fix their mistakes and make better choices in their romantic relationships. But the mythology and mysticism, the idea that things aren’t as they seem, might also connect to the strange happenings in the woods, and the “darkness” calling the adult survivors back to the wilderness.

Who Is Lady Mallowan?

When Misty (Christina Ricci) and Walter (Elijah Wood) check into the bed and breakfast near the end of episode four, Misty insists on booking a separate room under the pseudonym, Lady Mallowan. Walter gives her an incredulous look before the pair are shown going through the motions of their very similar nighttime routines. While Walter’s John Lange identity is a nod to the pseudonym used by Jurassic Park writer Michael Crichton, Misty chosen name is in reference to the title famed crime writer Agatha Christie inherited when she married her second husband. (A couple who uses obscure literary references together, stays together.)

That Alanis Morrisette Theme Song

We’ve written about the fantastic needle drops in Yellowjackets before, but in “Old Wounds,” one such musical moment happens so early that you might have missed it. If the iconic intro theme sounded a bit different in episode four, that’s because grunge queen Alanis Morissette recorded a cover of “No Return” by Anna Waronker and Craig Wedren. The haunting rendition can also be heard playing during Lottie’s (Courtney Eaton) food court hallucination.

An Answer To The Wilderness Baby Question

In the past, Shauna is still pregnant and scolding the unidentified bear meat thief for taking more than their share, but in the present, her only child is a troublemaking teenager who couldn’t possibly be the same baby she’s carrying in the woods. Callie (Sarah Desjardins) is too young, and a girl, while Lottie is sure Shauna’s cabin baby is a boy. We’re still not sure what happens to the child, but during an argument between Shauna (Melanie Lynskey) and Jeff (Warren Kole), the show makes it clear that either the wilderness baby doesn’t survive, or Jeff doesn’t know about him.

After revealing that she told Callie about Adam’s murder and Jeff’s blackmail scheme, the poor guy goes on a 20-second monologue about how the couple only has one kid, one shot to get this parenting thing right. If Jeff knew about the baby, or if the baby hadn’t died in the wilderness, this turn of phrase would feel off. It sounds like the show might be setting the groundwork for a heartbreaking trauma for Teen Shauna down the line.

Van’s Video Store

When Taissa (Tawny Cypress), still half out of it after hitchhiking her way across state lines in yet another sleepwalking haze, finally stumbles upon Van’s vintage video store, there’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it glimpse of the business’ name, “While You Were Streaming.” The clever pun is a callback to season one, episode seven when Van (Liv Hewson), pre-wolf attack, entertains the girls with a campfire retelling of her favorite ’90s rom-com, While You Were Sleeping.

Showtime’s ‘Yellowjackets’ streams on Fridays, followed by TV airtime on Sunday nights.

We’ve all seen our fair share of older-sibling-meets-new-baby videos, which are generally pretty darn adorable. But once in a while, one comes along that socks us square in the heart and has us desperately reaching for a tissue.

Brace yourselves, friends, because this is one video that truly requires a tissue warning.

Shared by @brianaarielle89 on TikTok, the video shows a preschooler dressed up in a dinosaur costume entering a hospital room to meet his newborn sibling for the first time. He asks, “Mommy, where is Hudson?” and is guided over to the cot where his baby brother is bundled.

At first, he walks right past him. But then he turns, sees him and simply stares for a few seconds.

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A man’s voice asks, “What do you think?” and oh, the emotion in his little voice as he breaks into tears.

“Hudsooooon!” he wails. “Hiiii!” And then he cries out the sweetest BFF declaration you’ll ever hear.

@brianaarielle89

#fyp #viral #heartwarming #siblings #brothers #babiesoftiktok

Oof, right? This is the purest love there is. What a little sweetheart and what a lucky little brother Hudson is.

I regret to inform you that there is a part two, which is also adorable.

@brianaarielle89

#fyp #babiesoftiktok #brothers #feelings #happycry

“I’m happy crying, okay?” Okay, kiddo. So is everyone else now.

Of course, not all young children are overcome with happiness when they get to meet their younger siblings. In fact, some kids can be downright hostile about it, asking the parents if they can send the baby back or acting out in anger and jealousy. Depending on their age, older siblings might demand more attention than usual or regress in certain developmental milestones, such as potty training.

For parents whose young children didn’t gush with love when they met a new sibling, don’t worry. Jealousy of babies is totally normal and doesn’t mean your kids won’t get along eventually. It just takes time to adjust to a new reality and a new dynamic in the household. Dr. Hindie M. Klein recommends tips like referring to the new baby as “our baby,” letting the older sibling help in caring for the baby (in ways that are age-appropriate, of course) and providing some special parental one-on-one time with the older child to help kids more easily adjust to a new baby in the house.

Even baby Hudson and his big-hearted bro here will surely have sibling spats of their own over the years. Sibling love is complicated, but it’s great to see it start off on such a beautiful note.

This article originally appeared on 9.21.22

Father and daughter dances are a traditional staple of weddings. They tend to range somewhere between tearfully sweet and hilariously cringey. But sometimes, as was the case of Brittany Revell and her dad Kelly, they can be so freakin’ cool that millions of people become captivated.

Brittany and Kelly’s video, which amassed, I kid you not, more than 40 million views on TikTok, shows the pair grooving in sneakers (Brittany’s were white because, hello, wedding dress) to their “dance through the decades.”

It all began with Young MC’s “Bust a Move,” to give you a clear picture. And bust a move, they did.

Though the duo did a handful of iconic moves—the tootsie roll, the MC Hammer dance, the Carlton, just to name a few—“the dougie,” made famous by Cali Swag District, was the obvious fan favorite.

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Brittany is clearly no stranger to busting a move and showed off her skills, but Kelly had the audience (and the internet) absolutely floored. He not only nailed every move, but kept a constant grin from ear to ear.

“Reason number 1838329194920 why I love my dad,” Brittany wrote in her caption.

@bnrevell Reason number 1838329194920 why I love my dad. 🫶🏼🥹 #thatdougietho #fatherdaughter #weddingtok ♬ original sound – Brittany Revell

People in the comments were quick to profess love for Kelly as well. Here are some gems:

“WHO IS THIS LEGEND!”

“I aspire to this level of smooth.”

“Pops got moves!!🔥”

“He really is the main character 🤩🤩”

Others shared praise to both dancers for delivering an unforgettable performance.

“I would absolutely lose my mind if I saw this at a wedding,” wrote one person.

“This is probably THE best TikTok I’ve ever seen. You and your dad are legit rockstars!! Congratulations!!” added another.

Brittany told The Morning Show on Channel 7 that she and Kelly have been learning dances together “for fun in the living room” since she was little. “He has always had some rhythm, but I did not know he could pick up the moves like that,” she quipped. Hey, there’s always something new to learn about dear old dad.

Brittany also shared in an interview with NBC News that people were responding to more than just impressive choreography—it touched them on a heartfelt level.

“I think it’s kind of unique to see a dad of Asian descent be able to open up, let loose and just embrace their American child’s music and culture,” she said, adding that several people who didn’t have relationships with their fathers commended how “inspiring” it was to see the fun Brittany and Kelly created, encouraging them to “be better with their future kids.”

Weddings are a celebration of love, and that can extend beyond the bride and groom. This father expressed his love on the dance floor, and it’s giving us all something to smile about.

Odds are Brittany and her dad are gonna keep posting even more amazing dance videos. You can keep up to date by following Brittany on TikTok here.

This article originally appeared on 09.13.22

Not everyone enjoys flying. The level of non-enjoyment can range from mild discomfort to full blown Aerophobia, which is defined as an extreme fear of flying. While flying is the quickest way to get to far away destinations, for some people being that far off the ground is terrifying and they’d rather take their chances on the ground.

A passenger flying from Charlotte-Douglas International Airport in North Carolina to JFK International Airport in New York confronted that fear while flying with Delta. The woman, who is currently still unidentified expressed that she was nervous to fly according to Molly Simonson Lee, a passenger seated behind the woman who witnessed the encounter. Tight spaces don’t make for much privacy, but in this case, the world is better for knowing this took place.

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According to Lee, who posted about the exchange on Facebook, the Delta flight attendant, Floyd Dean-Shannon, took his time to give the nervous traveler his undivided attention. Lee told Upworthy the unidentified passenger, “was very nervous and even before the plane took off, she was visibly shaken by each sound.”

Approximately 25 million people in the United States have Aerophobia according to the Clevland Clinic and most of them probably wish Dean-Shannon was on their flights. “He took notice and began explaining what each [sound] was, with the warmest, calmest tone,” Lee said. That wasn’t even the most amazingly sweet part of the story.

While the explanation of noises helped, Lee said about halfway through the flight the passenger was fighting back tears, which prompted Dean-Shannon to sit on the floor and hold the frightened passenger’s hand. He comforted her for the rest of the flight while sitting on the floor. “His tone was so kind and soothing,” according to Lee.

Dean-Shannon’s kindness didn’t stop there. Lee explained, “the woman next to me was celebrating a birthday and he sang to her and made her a ‘cake’ with all of the goodies he could round up.”

I’m not sure what Delta pays him but he needs a raise immediately and it seems the people of the interwebs agree.

Commenter, Miranda Anderson, tagged Delta Airlines and wrote, “I hope you see this! These are the types of people that deserve raises and make your company worth flying with. This is what pits [sic] you above the others so show these employees this is what you want and what you need.”

“I love this. This is what society is lacking. Empathy and kindness towards people in time[s] of need” wrote Diane Lawrence.

While Mary Beth Acker Ford, said, “I was on a flight with him today. He exudes joy and is intentional about making a connection with each person!”

This level of engagement with passengers is not a common experience but clearly people are happy to see this type of connection between humans. Flying anywhere can be stressful for any amount of reasons. From leaving the house late and having to participate in an involuntary 5k to catch your flight, to making your way through the devil’s backyard, also known as Atlanta International Airport…just for them to change your gate 10 minutes before boarding.

So having a flight attendant like Dean-Shannon is just the breath of fresh air people need. “The way he’s looking at her…letting her know she’s safe!!! This is just one of the many reasons I will always fly Delta Air Lines,” Liz Martin wrote in the comments.

“It was obvious he is just a good, kind soul who shares that generously with everyone he encounters. Such kindness is rare and a true gift when encountered,” Lee remarked. That level of kindness is rare indeed and we sure are happy someone thought to capture it.

This article originally appeared on 01.19.23

There may not be a first round series in the playoffs this year with two teams under more pressure than the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Clippers. Both teams are trying to escape the ghosts of their past — the Suns (pun not intended) flamed out of the postseason last year against the Dallas Mavericks in one of the most embarrassing Game 7 performances we have ever seen, and responded by going all-in at the trade deadline and acquiring one of the best players in the world. The Clippers are, I mean, do I even need to list everything that has happened in the history of the Los Angeles Clippers at this point in the NBA’s calendar?

It is hard to imagine what is coming for the loser of this series, with both expensive, star-studded rosters put together by owners that want to win as soon as possible. It’s also hard to figure out, exactly, who is going to end up losing this series in general, although the injury to Paul George that is likely to keep him out for the series certainly complicates things in Los Angeles.

With all that out of the way, let’s take a look at the 4-5 matchup in the Western Conference before things tip off on Sunday evening.

Keys for the Suns

There is, basically, one question that looms over everything for the Phoenix Suns, not just in this series, but for as long as they are in the postseason this year: Have they had enough time to make this work?

The team pulled off perhaps the most high-profile midseason trade in NBA history at the deadline by giving up the farm to acquire Kevin Durant from the Brooklyn Nets. Unsurprisingly, when Durant has played, he has been nothing short of magnificent, averaging 26 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.3 blocks in 33.6 minutes per game. His shooting splits: 57 percent from the floor, 53.7 percent from three, an uncharacteristically low 83.3 percent from the free throw line. Lineups with himself, Devin Booker, Chris Paul, and Deandre Ayton all on the floor together have a net rating of 18.2, per PBPStats.

The problem is that those four have played a total of 180 minutes together. Yes, the Suns are 8-0 with Durant in the lineup, but the playoffs are entirely different animal. What happens if/when they get hit in the mouth and the pressure that comes with being in the playoffs is suddenly ramped up? The Durant/Booker/Paul trio is a group of basketball geniuses, but is the inherent chemistry that can only come from playing together already there? With how good the Clippers can be at junking up games with their army of rangy dudes who can switch, will they be able to knock the Suns out of the rhythm that makes them so beautiful to watch at their very best?

Regardless, Monty Williams can and should keep at least two of these guys on the floor at all times. Assuming health (a gigantic assumption, particularly with Durant and Paul), Phoenix should have enough firepower to go at the Clippers for 48 minutes every single night. If they can cobble together enough from their other guys — Josh Okogie, Terrence Ross, Cameron Payne, Jock Landale, Damion Lee, TJ Warren, Torrey Craig, etc. — to keep Los Angeles honest, those four stars are good enough to make them pay.

Keys for the Clippers

Well, obviously, there’s this Kawhi Leonard guy who has a proven track record of being one of the NBA’s premier postseason killers. With Paul George sidelined, Leonard’s importance increases tenfold, and fortunately for Los Angeles, Leonard has been out of his mind since the All-Star break. The limited amount he has played will probably cost him an All-NBA nod, but in the second half of the season, Leonard has averaged 27.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in nearly 36 minutes per game while hitting 53.8 percent of his shots from the field and 47 percent of his threes. He’s doing all of this on basically the exact same usage pre and post All-Star. He’s just back to being Kawhi Leonard, which means the NBA’s grim reaper is ready to go at the time of year when he’s historically been at his best.

A major thing for the Clippers might come down to whether or not they can throw guy after guy after guy at Booker and Durant and slow them down just enough. You obviously cannot stop those two entirely — they are two of the best 1-on-1 players on earth, capable of going deep into their respective bags of tricks to get themselves good looks no matter what you do — but this L.A. team is built around having guys who can provide different looks on the wings. Even without George, Ty Lue can turn to Leonard, Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington, Marcus Morris, and Norman Powell with the hopes that they can provide speed bumps on both stars.

And then there’s Russell Westbrook. Without George, his importance as the team’s second-best option to initiate their offense increases considerably. It’s a credit to him that he’s been quite good since George went down (19.3 points, 8.6 assists, 4.6 rebounds, 53 percent from the field, 50 percent from three(!!!) in the last seven games) but the pressure is about to ramp up considerably. Can he punish a Phoenix defense that will challenge him by going underneath screens, give him chances to beat them, and have a pair of bigs in Ayton and Durant waiting for him at the rim when he attacks? With George out, Westbrook becomes far, far more important, and so far, he’s answered the call.

X-Factors

The big man battle in this series is going to be a delight. Ivica Zubac has been one of the NBA’s most underrated players for what feels like a decade at this point. Deandre Ayton is a double-double machine whose willingness to battle against big, physical opponents is under-appreciated. When they go to the bench, Mason Plumlee and Bismack Biyombo are a pair of steady veteran hands who can keep things moving — Plumlee, obviously, is far newer to the Clippers than Biyombo is to the Suns, so perhaps the latter has an edge on the former. Jock Landale has consistently given Phoenix decent minutes when he’s been called upon. With how much these teams rely on guards and wings, any edge that can be gained in the frontcourt is gigantic.

There’s also just the general balance of talent in this series. The Suns have two guys who can go off on any single day, plus two guys who have consistently helped them get the job done (and, in fairness, can give them 20+ points on a given day, too). Then, things fall off a bit for them. The Clippers, meanwhile, have Leonard, and while they lack a defined second option, they can make up the rest via what they get from guys like Russell Westbrook, Norman Powell, Marcus Morris, Eric Gordon, Bones Hyland, Terance Mann, Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington, and the Zubac/Plumlee duo. However, with all those options comes the requirement that Ty Lue pull the right strings at the right times, and be quick in recognizing who is working — and maybe more importantly who isn’t — against various matchups. Leonard almost certainly won’t single-handedly match Booker and Durant’s production. That puts the onus on everyone else on the Clippers’ roster to help make up for that against Ayton, Chris Paul, and the rest.

On March 8, 2023, a keeper at World Bird Sanctuary in St. Louis County, Missouri, noticed something odd. A male bald eagle named Murphy was guarding what appeared to be a large depression in the ground.

“The spot was sparsely but carefully decorated with leaves and branches, and featured a simple rock right in the center,” the nature preserve shared on its Facebook page.

Murphy began sitting on the rock, nudging it and becoming fiercely protective of it, as it if were an egg. People visiting the sanctuary would inquire about the bald eagle just sitting there, wondering if he was okay. The keepers finally put up a sign that read:

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“If you see an eagle lying down in the back left corner under a perch, that’s Murphy! Murphy is not hurt, sick, or otherwise in distress. He has built a nest on the ground, and is very carefully incubating a rock! We wish him the best of luck!”

In case you’re wondering if this is unusual behavior for a 31-year-old male bald eagle, the answer is “not really, but….” Male bald eagles do share equally in nesting and baby-raising, so the paternal instinct part is normal. Murphy’s channeling of that instinct onto a rock…maybe not so much. And at 31, he’s more like a great-granddad than dad, as bald eagles usually live 20 to 30 years in the wild (though they do live longer in captivity).

Murphy takes fatherhood seriously, though. Soon he began screaming and charging at the four other eagles in the aviary if they came anywhere near RockBaby. (That’s the official name the keepers gave Murphy’s…well, rock baby.) Naturally, the screaming and charging caused a fair amount of stress for all involved, so Murphy and RockBaby were moved to their own enclosure for everyone’s protection.

People who saw this unfold started suggesting sanctuary staff replace Murphy’s rock with a real egg or get him a mate, but 1) Eagle eggs aren’t just lying around waiting to be given to wanna-be dads, 2) hatching a different kind of bird’s egg would be potentially dangerous for it, and 2) Murphy had two females right there in the aviary, and none of them were interested in each other. Alas, the heart cannot be forced.

However, a different opportunity presented itself in late March when an aerie with two chicks in it was blown down by high winds. One chick didn’t survive the fall, but the other was brought to World Bird Sanctuary’s Wildlife Hospital.

A bit bruised, but otherwise healthy, the chick was given a good prognosis. Staff began feeding it while wearing a camouflage suit and holding an eagle stuffy to prevent the eaglet from imprinting on humans. What the baby really needed was a foster parent—an adult eagle who would feed and care for it.

“Murphy’s dad instincts were already in high gear,” the sanctuary wrote on April 11, “but at 31 years old, he had never raised a chick before. It’s definitely a gamble, but also the chick’s best chance.”

Introducing an eaglet to an adult eagle isn’t as simple as dropping it in the enclosure. First, the eaglet is put into what the sanctuary refers to as a “baby jail,” which is a heated, comfy cage made of wood and wire that protects the eaglet but still allows some interaction between the birds so they can get used to one another. Once the desired bonding behavior is observed, then they try out some direct one-on-one interaction without the cage.

On April 12, World Bird Sanctuary announced, “IT’S HAPPENING!!!!”

The eaglet (referred to as Bald Eaglet 23-126—they don’t name foster babies at the sanctuary for superstitious reasons) was released from baby jail, and after an hour or so Murphy approached it with curiosity. Was he wondering if his RockBaby had hatched? Maybe. Would he be the nurturing dad everyone hoped he would be? It appears so.

As the sanctuary shared:

“This morning, Murphy got his chance to be a full parent as 23-126 left the nest to go be closer to Murphy. The food is being dropped through a blind drop tube into the nest and baby appears unable to be able to get over the lip to get back into the nest to get the chopped food. When we checked back, we found that baby was still out of the nest and all the chopped food was still in the nest. However, Murphy’s whole fish had been removed from the nest and baby had a full crop. 23-126 is not yet old enough to tear food which means MURPHY FED THE BABY!!!!”

The comments on the update, of course, are pure gold as people have become fully invested in this story:

“I can’t believe I’m crying over eagles!”

“Murphy’s going to be giving a TedTalk: Manifest The Eaglet You Need In Your Life.”

“So happy for Murphy & eaglet Dwayne (the rock Johnson).”

“‘Rock, I am your Father.'”

“Omg I’m crying! Murphy never gave up on his rock and now has a baby of his very own The wonders of nature never cease. Ty, WBS, for making this possible. These two are saving each other .”

Many people have lamented that there is not a live cam so we can all watch this pair as their relationship develops, but staff reminded everyone that the sanctuary is out in the middle of the woods and they don’t have a strong enough signal for a live stream.

But WBS staff has been posting updates on social media and will share the story as it continues to unfold. Follow World Bird Sanctuary on Facebook here. And if you feel compelled to donate to help feed little Dwayne or 23-126 or whatever you’d like to call Murphy’s new baby—who apparently eats a ridiculous amount—you can donate here or check out their Amazon baby registry (yes, seriously!) here.

Congratulations, Papa Murphy!

For a brief moment, it seemed like Kanye West was about to become the new owner of Parler, a conservative based social media platform that was actively courting the rapper while he was palling around with white nationalist Nick Fuentes. The move would’ve been bad news for Donald Trump’s other conservative platform, Truth Social, which was already having enough problems that will come into play here in a second.

Ultimately, the Kanye deal never happened, which left Parler up for grabs. It’s since been acquired by Starboard, a Virginia-based digital media company who announced on Friday that it’s already shutting down the platform because, as Trump and now Elon Musk are learning, trying to make conservative-only platforms is a huge waste of time and money.

“No reasonable person believes that a Twitter clone just for conservatives is a viable business any more,” Starboard said in a brutal statement. As for what will happen to Parler’s users, they will apparently be ported over to the company’s existing platforms that service actually censored communities? Your guess is as good as ours here.

Via Variety:

Instead of continuing to offer Parler as a consumer-facing social service, Starboard said it would leverage Parler’s assets across its existing businesses as well as provide information-technology services to customers in “marginalized or even outright censored communities – even extending beyond domestic politics.” Starboard said the Parler acquisition gives it an opportunity to “begin servicing unsupported online communities – building a home for them away from the ad-hoc regulatory hand of platforms that hate them.”

Gonna be real, we have no idea what any of that means. We just think it’s hilarious that the new owners of Parler said that trying to make a conservative Twitter is a dumb and terrible way to run a business. That was pretty fun.

(Via Variety)