Saturday Night Live has announced the next round of hosts, and it’s a killer line-up. Abbott Elementary star and creator Quinta Brunson will kick things off this Saturday followed by SNL alum Molly Shannon and Blonde star Ana de Armas.
Brunson is, of course, riding high from the award-winning success of her sitcom. Shannon is currently in theaters with the Florence Pugh-starring film, A Good Person, and she’ll next be seen in the third season of The Other Two on HBO Max. De Armas will be on hand to promote Apple TV’s Ghosted starring her Knives Out co-star Chris Evans.
April 1 – Quinta Brunson with Lil Yachty
April 8 – Molly Shannon with Jonas Brothers
April 15 – Ana de Armas with Karol G
While this is Shannon’s second time hosting at her old stomping grounds, it is the first time for both Brunson and de Armas. As for their musical quests, Lil Yachty will be performing from his new album “Let’s Start Here,” The Jonas Brothers will be performing from their new album with the super-original title of “The Album,” and Karol G will be performing from her all-Spanish album “Mañana Será Bonito.”
Saturday Night Live airs Saturday on NBC with new episodes live-streaming on Peacock.
Rick Astley has to be the luckiest ’80s musician on the planet. The whole “Rickrolling” phenomenon has given his hit song “Never Gonna Give You Up” a reach far beyond its natural life span, and kept the guy a household name far longer than he probably would have been.
(For those who are unfamiliar, Rickrolling is when you make someone think they’re being sent to a website, but the link goes to Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” video instead as a joke. It’s a silly viral bait-and-switch gag that’s been going since 2006.)
But what people may not realize, because his most famous song has become an internet joke, is that Rick Astley is actually a really freaking great musician. The man can saaaang and it seems he’s only gotten better with age.
If you were to choose the most unlikely combo of musical mashups, it might just be Rick Astley and Foo Fighters. Right? Like who would put them together?
Oddly enough, they put themselves together in 2017, when Foo Fighters brought Astley on stage during a concert to sing “Never Gonna Give You Up.” Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl even created his own Rickroll-inspired meme, the Dave G’Roll, with the band’s song “Best of You.” So there’s a history there.
But nothing has been more surprising than hearing Rick Astley do an acoustic cover of Foo Fighters’ “Everlong.” It’s so good. Like, so good.
Not to knock Rick Astley of the 1980s, but that strangely deep voice on a young man was sort of his signature thing. Ergo, you’d think it would be easy to recognize Astley’s voice no matter what he was singing. But you’d be wrong. If you close your eyes and listen to this, you’d likely never guess it was Rick Astley.
Maybe it’s because the song itself isn’t something you expect from the “Never Gonna Give You Up” guy. Maybe it’s because you had no idea that Rick Astley was still making music. Who knows. All I know is that my jaw dropped watching him knock out an awesome version of a grungey rock song with just his voice and acoustic guitar.
Seriously, that was amazing, right? Even hardcore Foo Fighters fans gave Astley props in the comments:
“As a huge Foo Fighters fan, all I can say is this cover didn’t let me down.”
“Tbh I could listen to a whole album of Rick Astley doing grunge covers.”
“Are you kidding me?????? That voice from the 80’s… And one of the greatest numbers of all times…. Didn’t think you could pull that of…. But you did….. Respect to you Rick.”
And, of course, some had to make jokes:
“I love this cover. It feels like the singer is never going to give you up or never gonna let you down. He doesn’t run around and desert you. He will never make you cry and never say goodbye. He doesn’t tell a lie and hurt you. I think that is special.”
“This guy should stop making memes and stick to music! He’s got talent!”
“I’m glad he’s never given up. This did not let me down.”
But this comment perhaps best summed up what most of us walked away thinking:
“God now I feel bad that we’ve ridden on Rick Rolling for so long that we missed the part where Rick Astley is actually a badass musician…”
Reading is a fundamental tool of learning for most people, which is why it’s one of the first things kids learn in school and why nations set literacy goals.
But even those of us who are able to read fluently might sometimes struggle with the act of reading itself. Perhaps we don’t read as quickly as we wish we could or maybe our minds wander as our eyes move across the words. Sometimes we get to the end of a paragraph and realize we didn’t retain anything we just read.
People with focus or attention issues can struggle with reading, despite having no actual reading disabilities. It can be extremely frustrating to want to read something and have no issues with understanding the material, yet be unable to keep your mind engaged with the text long enough to get “into” what you’re reading.
But what if there were a font that could help you stay focused? That could help you not only read faster but better retain what you’ve just read?
That’s what the creators of Bionic Reading claim is possible with their font tool.”Bionic Reading revises texts so that the most concise parts of words are highlighted,” the Swiss company’s website reads. “This guides the eye over the text and the brain remembers previously learned words more quickly.”
Give it a try:
The gist is that our eyes don’t need to focus on the entire word because our brains can fill in the rest for us. By bolding the first part of the word, we’re more quickly able to move from word to word.
“Bionic Reading aims to play a supporting role in the absorption of volume text,” states the website. “We see technological progress as an opportunity for all those who want to increase the pleasure of reading in a noisy and hectic world in a focused way and without distraction.”
While there are no studies cited on this method of reading, there are plenty of anecdotes about it being helpful. The example shared by @WhattheADHD on Twitter got people’s attention and many people responded with enthusiasm at how much easier the bionic reading text was for them to read.
“This is amazing! I have ADHD and I didn’t even realize that I was having trouble fixating when I read,” wrote one person. “My eye latches right on to the bold face. Can’t wait to try reading a book again. It’s been all audiobooks for a while.”
“It’s incredible how reading this feels like finally unlocking 100% of your brain,” wrote another.
However, not everyone was impressed or thrilled with the sample. Some people said that they had a harder time reading the bionic text or that it distracted or slowed them down. Both positive and negative responses came from a diverse pool of people. Some who described themselves as neurodivergent said that they loved it and some said it was harder. The same went for people who said they were neurotypical, so it’s hard to say who this tool may specifically help the most. Everyone’s brains work differently, and different people will find different things helpful.
Bionic reading might be a game-changer for some, but it’s not the only tool of its kind. There are speed-reading programs that train you to stop reading each word and allow your brain to read visually instead of auditorily. There are also various methods of making reading easier by adjusting how your eyes move across the text.
For instance, check out this “space reading” technique:
Bionic Reading has a free text converter on its website that you can use to try out its font changes. A YouTube clip from the company also shows possibilities for how the font can be adjusted to individual preferences, making more or less of the initial letters bolded.
And again, if this doesn’t work for you, then it’s probably not made for you. For people who struggle with reading, something like Bionic Reading could make a huge difference.
Three cheers for technology being used to help people overcome difficulties and make learning easier and more efficient.
Lately, there has been a lot of talk about method acting, what it is, and why everyone seems to be all frazzled by it. There are many different types of acting styles from the Jeremy Strong-type, to the “send your co-stars a series of disturbing packages” type that Jared Leto is so used to. But then there is Nic Cage.
Cage has been in over 100 movies throughout his very diverse career, even playing himself at one point, so he’s not one to just phone it in. His latest film Renfield follows Cage as Dracula, who is accompanied by his long-time servant Renfield, who is trying to make his own way in the vampire world. In order to really stay in the zone, director Chris Mckay said that Cage was always on point as Dracula, even when the cameras weren’t rolling.
McKay told Insider, “Whatever scene we did, [Cage] would still be 100% living in that attitude after we stopped shooting,” the director explained, adding that Cage’s character was often present in between shoots. “So if he’s a little frosty in the scene he’s going to have a little bit of that between takes. But still up for whatever we were doing.” What do you think a “frosty” Nic Cage would be like?! Probably something like this.
It might seem a little stressful to have Dracula breathing down your neck all day, but McKay said that it was more of a logistical choice than a methodic one. “You also have to remember, he’s covered head to toe in Dracula makeup and costume, so it’s a different thing,” McKay said. “Sometimes he couldn’t even bend his body very much because he’s got a whole body appliance on. So he’s Dracula whether he wants to be Dracula or not.” He opted to be Dracula a lot, it seems.
Cage even said he would be open to revisiting the character after Renfield debuts. As long as his method of acting doesn’t involve actually drinking people’s blood, it should be fine.
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel has quickly become one of the NFL’s best quotes, as he’s willing to show a little more of his quirky personality to the masses than most coaches who seem to prefer to act more as football robots than people in press conferences.
On Monday, McDaniel spoke with the media, as did all of the NFL’s coaches at the annual league meetings, and he was asked for his thoughts on the impending sale of his former employer, the Washington Commanders. McDaniel seemed to not want to indulge much into talking about Dan Snyder and what it was like working for him, but he couldn’t help but offer an incredible quote (and say plenty about Snyder and how he runs the team) by noting that he was shocked when he learned the value of the Commanders when he remembered they wouldn’t even provide free coffee to the coaching staff.
Dolphins head coach, Mike McDaniel, coached in Washington for three seasons.
McDaniel was part of the now legendary offensive staff that had current head coaches Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay, Matt LaFleur and McDaniel all aboard, and apparently in the early 2000s, the franchise wasn’t exactly providing a lot of perks in the workplace. That tracks with just about everything we know about Snyder and how he runs the team. He’s reportedly asking for $6 billion from the sale of the franchise, and there are probably plenty more former employees of his a little frustrated at his penny-pinching ways given the windfall he’s about to receive.
After filming The Birdcage, Nathan Lane and Robin Williams went on a press tour to promote the Mike Nichols and Elaine May comedy hit. It was while they were on The Oprah Winfrey Show that Lane, who was not publicly out yet, credits Williams for protecting him from questions about his personal life.
“I don’t think Oprah was trying to out me,” Lane explained on Sunday Today, “but I said to Robin beforehand, ‘I’m not prepared. I’m so scared of going out there and talking to Oprah. I’m not prepared to discuss that I’m gay on national television. I’m not ready.’ He said, ‘Oh, it’s alright, don’t worry about — we don’t have to talk about it. We won’t talk about it.’”
The Lion King star recalled Winfrey asking questions like, “How come you’re so good at that girlie stuff?” (it was a different time?), but Williams “sort of swoops in and diverts Oprah, goes off on a tangent and protects me.” Lane, who publicly came out in 1999, called his co-star a “beautiful, sensitive soul.”
“I just wasn’t ready to do that,” Lane added. “Now you have to make a public statement about it — I was terrified… It’s great that everyone now feels comfortable but homophobia is alive and well and there are plenty of gay people who are still hiding.”
For those who haven’t been putting their Disney Plus subscription to work, The Aristocats follows the adventures of a family of rich kitties (hence, “Aristocats” — get it?) who are left a massive fortune in their owner’s will. Her vengeful butler, however, catnaps them and abandons them in the French countryside, and its only with the the help of O’Malley, a streetwise alley cat, that they can make it back to Paris and the fortune that awaits them.
The 1970 animated original was distinguished by its extensive use of jazz to drive home the themes of the plot — O’Malley hangs with a swingin’ band, while the Duchess and her kittens are classically-trained musicians (it’s a cartoon, just go with it) — so Questlove, a musical encyclopedia with legs, is the perfect person to direct a live remake. And, as a bonus, some of the more racially insensitive caricatures can be quietly removed. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Quest’s also overseeing the music for the film and producing via his Two One Five Entertainment company — along with The Roots partners Black Thought and Shawn Gee, as well as Will Gluck and Zarah Zohlman. Stay tuned for more news to come.
Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” is a hit and it’s not slowing down: It came out about two-and-a-half months ago and it’s still the top song in the country. On the new Billboard Hot 100 chart dated April 1, “Flowers” is once again No. 1 for an eighth total week. The Endless Summer Vacation favorite was Cyrus’ first song to debut at No. 1 and is her second chart-topping single after “Wrecking Ball.”
She’s not the only one making noise on this week’s Hot 100, though, as two artists have made their debut in the top-10 on the new chart: Coi Leray’s “Players” has risen to No. 9 while TikTok-boosted country star Bailey Zimmerman’s “Rock And A Hard Place” is No. 10.
Previously, Leray had two songs reach the top 40 of the Hot 100: 2019’s “No More Parties” featuring Lil Durk peaked at No. 26 while last year’s Nicki Minaj collaboration “Blick Blick” topped out at No. 37. “Players” samples the Grandmaster Flash classic “The Message” and has become a hit on TikTok. She also recently released a Busta Rhymes-featuring remix of the song.
Zimmerman, meanwhile, is readying his debut album, Religiously. The Album., which is set for release on May 12 via Warner Music Nashville. “Fall In Love,” his debut single that immediately preceded “Rock And A Hard Place,” managed a Hot 100 peak at No. 29.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
The relationship between athletes and referees/officials/umpires has never been more strained than it is right now and all parties involved are at fault. Athletes have become far too combative with officials, who have a near-impossible job given the jump in speed and physicality just about every sport is played with now. On the other side, officials now see just about everything as a slight against them, and some have far too quick of a trigger to hand out an ejection or technical or personal foul.
We saw a rather hysterical example of the latter on Monday afternoon in a Grapefruit League game between the Phillies and Blue Jays, as JT Realmuto asked for a new ball from umpire Randy Rosenberg. After it took a second for Rosenberg to get the ball out of his pocket, Realmuto flipped his glove over and pulled it down, leading to Rosenberg tossing the ball into the dirt. Rosenberg somehow took such great offense at this, thinking it was some diabolical prank by Realmuto, that he gave him an immediate (and forceful) ejection, that left Realmuto absolutely stunned.
As they explained on the broadcast, this came after a pitch clock violation against Craig Kimbrel, which likely had Rosenberg a little defensive and ready for pushback, but even so this is a hysterically soft ejection. Realmuto’s response tells the story as he just turns around asking “what?” after hearing that he’s outta there, and can’t help but chuckle at being tossed from a spring training game for what seemed like a simple misunderstanding — as the broadcast notes, the last time he asked for a new ball Rosenberg just threw it straight to the pitcher — and at absolute worst was a goofy little prank.
Lara Logan is getting roasted on Twitter for her latest tweet about Walmart. The conservative journalist, whose recent penchant for spouting QAnon-esque conspiracy theories has already led to bans at Fox News and Newsmax, tweeted a photo of vibrators sitting on a shelf at the big box retailer.
“Why is Walmart selling sex toys?” Logan asked in the caption.
If this controversy seems familiar, it’s because Marjorie Taylor Greene launched a similar crusade back in December. Although, in the case of Greene, the vibrators were placed next to children’s toothbrushes, which prompted the Georgia congresswoman to accuse the retail giant of grooming.
“Selling sex toys openly where children are exposed to them is wrong, inappropriate, immoral, indecent, perverted, shameful, and incredibly harmful to children,” Greene tweeted. “Why is Walmart participating in the grooming and sexualization of children?”
In a statement to Newsweek, Walmart said, “The placement of the product was a mistake and was promptly corrected at the store.” And that appears to be the case.
In the photo tweeted by Logan, the vibrators are located next to women’s razors and contraceptives, a pretty appropriate place if there ever was one. However, for conservatives like Logan, the proper place for sex toys is nowhere, and she was roundly schooled on Twitter for her puritanical stance.
“Because people buy them and Walmart, being a business that sells products to people who want them, realizes they can make money by selling these,” David S. Cohen tweeted. “What part of capitalism do you not understand?”
Because people buy them and Walmart, being a business that sells products to people who want them, realizes they can make money by selling these. What part of capitalism do you not understand?
Why not? Your religious beliefs should not stop others from enjoying and living their own lives. Don’t like them? Don’t look at them. Just walk on by. I don’t like the Goya section so I walk on by! See how easy that is!
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