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Episode seven of Pod Yourself The Wire is now available early at Patreon.com/frotcast. Episode six is now available for free.

“I’m old enough for all of this.” -Dan From The Internet

On the latest episode of the Pod Yourself The Wire, Matt and Vince welcome a frustratingly young guest, Dan from the internet, to talk about The Wire season one episode seven, “One Arrest.” Dan is a Gen Z content creator and news commentator. He’s a host on Good Morning Bad News on TikTok, as well as his news & culture show Power Report and Audioface where he and his co-host reviews new music almost every week. To keep up with everything Dan does everywhere, follow him on Twitter.

It’s appropriate that Dan introduces the podcast to the concept of ugly bastard hentai, because there is a lot of ugly bastard behavior from the various characters in David Simon’s Baltimore in this episode. Landsman pranks a desperate Santangelo into enlisting a low-rent psychic to help him clear cases, drunk Bunk implores a woman to “rub ‘em together like that,” and even Judge Phelan is vocalizing his desire to “throw a f*ck” into a peer. ACAUB.

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-Description by Brent Flyberg

Riding the highs of his latest viral hit, “Poland,” Lil Yachty has shared a second visual for the lean-inspired anthem.

Like the song’s first music video, the second sees Yachty on a “walk” through Poland, this time, during the day. He is wearing a green hoodie, with some sort of contestant number printed on the front. Yachty also spits bars sitting on a stoop and dances in a garage.

Though it was only officially released this morning onto streaming platforms, the original video for “Poland” had already received over 4.3 million views on YouTube.

Yachty has previously described his upcoming album as more “alternative” sounding. In a recent interview with Complex, Yachty revealed that the album is complete, however, he is unsure as to when it will arrive.

“My album is done,” he said. “It’s mastered and done. When you’ll get it, I don’t f*cking know. My date has been pushed back like five times. The disappointing thing is that it probably won’t be on this side of the year unfortunately.”

He didn’t say much else about the album, though it’s likely we may hear a Drake collaboration.

“That’s my f*cking guy,” said Yachty about the Canadian rapper. “I talk to Drake every day.”

Check out the new video for “Poland” above.

Technology is so good right now that it’s bad. By “bad” we mean that now more than ever it’s easier to trick people into believing something fake is real. Deepfakes? They’re really bad. DALL-E AI images? Less bad, but still worrying. A more lighthearted version of digital subterfuge can be seen in a series of posters, made in part with DALL-E, that were so good some people were convinced Netflix was making a Legend of Zelda movie with Tom Holland, Emma Watson, Idris Elba, and more. Spoiler: They’re not.

As per Kotaku, someone posted a handful of posters for this fake, definitely not real Netflix production, featuring big names dressed up like characters from one of Nintendo’s first sensations. They’re pretty realistic-looking! Holland, as Link, has blonde hair, elfish ears, and an earring. Watson looks like how Watson would look like if she was playing Zelda. Elba makes for a menacing Ganon. Again, none of them are playing any of these characters, in a movie that doesn’t exist.

But the fakes were spot-on. They should be: In his post, their creator, one Dan Leveille, said they were made with such AI tools as Midjourney, in painting with DALL-E, Tencent ARC, and a “bunch of Photoshop.” Leveille even said as such, revealing that they were fakes.

That didn’t stop the post from getting almost 300,000 shares of this writing. The comments board was lit up, with some of the usual unwelcome suspects. There were fans complaining that Netflix was ruining their childhood. There were racists making jokes about how a Zelda movie in 2022 would have to be even more diverse.

So to reiterate: There is no Zelda movie with Tom Holland and Emma Watson and Idris Elba. There’s just some painstakingly designed fakes from someone with some real skills and some real time on their hands. Hopefully Holland didn’t catch wind of them, long as he’s still on his social media break.

(Via Kotaku)

Adam Sandler has gone serious plenty of times before. Indeed, today is the 20th anniversary of the theatrical release of maybe his finest film, Paul Thomas Anderson’s Punch-Drunk Love. But the most popular of his non-Happy Madison productions is Uncut Gems, the unbearably intense gambling thriller he made with two of New York City’s most New York City filmmakers, Ben and Josh Safdie. There’s been talk of the three reuniting for yet another panic attack of a movie. But not only is that actually happening, it’s actually happening very soon.

Sandler spoke with Vanity Fair, where he up and revealed that he’s teaming back up with the Safdie brothers, and that they’re going to “start in the late winter.” Whether that mean they’re starting pre-production or actual shooting is unclear. Nor is there any indication about what it will be about. Some poor shlub suffering through one of NYC’s brutal winters?

What we do know is that Sandler is stoked. “I love those guys, I know we’re going to dedicate ourselves into working our asses off and making sure it’s as good as it can be, and I know that takes a lot of time,” he said. He also talked about getting into the zone. “Like everybody, when you work hard you’re tired, you’re knocked out, and you miss out on some stuff that you wish you could’ve seen. But ultimately, I know it’s going to be a few months of going after a goal that we all feel the same about. We want to do the best we can.”

When asked if it will be as “intense” as Uncut Gems, he said, “Yeah, because of how much these guys care.” That’s a bit cryptic. Does he mean the film will be as intense or it will be an intense shoot? Perhaps both? It’s probably both. What he will say is he doesn’t “want to let them down,” adding, “And I see how hard they work, and just like when I’m working on my comedies with my friends, it means a lot to us. Every joke means a lot. The Safdie boys, every word means a lot to them, every frame of the movie means a lot. So I don’t want to walk through anything. I care about it, and I respect those guys so much.”

When Uncut Gems came out in 2019, it instantly scored Sandler the best reviews of his career. There was Oscar talk, which, alas, came to naught. It would have been deserved. After all, he allowed himself to almost get choked for real during one of the many tense scenes. Still, even though the Academy snubbed him, he won plenty of other trophies and became a welcome, goofy presence on the awards circuit, delivering delightful speeches such as the one below.

(Via Vanity Fair)

When EST Gee dropped his new album I Never Felt Nun last month, one track that drew a lot of attention was “Death Around The Corner” as the track featured the seemingly unlikely pairing of the Louisville native with another Midwestern mainstay, Machine Gun Kelly. Today, they’ve capitalized on that attention with the release of the fiery music video for “Death Around The Corner,” which shows rapper-turned-rocker-turned-rapper-again MGK fitting right in with Gee’s gritty aesthetic and ominous portrayal of street life.

While the MGK collaboration confused fans, some of Gee’s other album features were praised for displaying strong chemistry. Fans loved the combination of EST Gee and Jack Harlow, favorably comparing their track “Backstage Passes” to the two Kentuckians’ prior team-ups, while “Shoot It Myself” with Future counts NBA star James Harden as an admirer — one who even appeared in the duo’s music video for the song.

EST Gee’s been on a roll for a while now, thanks to a string of successful mixtapes over the past two years including Ion Feel Nun, I Still Dont Feel Nun, Bigger Than Life Or Death and its sequel, and the joint project Last Ones Left with CMG labelmate 42 Dugg. Gee also offered some standout contributions to the CMG compilation album Gangsta Art. The man’s been plenty busy and shows no signs of slowing up anytime soon.

Watch EST Gee’s video for “Death Around The Corner” featuring Machine Gun Kelly above and check out his album I Never Felt Nun, out now via CMG/Interscope, here.

Longtime Lizzo lovers are likely aware of the Special singer’s affinity for astrology but it turns out, even she wasn’t aware of her actual sign. She was informed during her appearance on Vanity Fair‘s infamous lie detector test, during which she answered questions about her best performances and how her former classmates responded to seeing her become a star. When the interviewer informed her of her “true” zodiac sign, though, she was less than enthused to find out she’s not a Taurus, as she’s believed all along.

“I really love being a Taurus,” she said, in response to the question “What do you think your new zodiac sign would be?” “I think I could get down with being a Pisces. I think I could get down with being a Libra, for sure… Why? Don’t f*ck with me today!”

Upon learn that she’s (supposedly) actually an Aries, though, she looks visibly appalled at the revelation. “Bitch, no,” she exclaims, kissing her teeth. “I’m not an Aries. I’m not a f*cking Aries… I’m not gonna say it’s my least favorite sign but it’s the least likely I would ever wanna be — high-key. No shade. All tea. An Aries? No shade, ewww! I don’t like Aries men!” Sorry to all those Aries guys out there, I guess.

You can watch Lizzo’s full lie detector test above.

Earlier this year, Republican Representative Madison Cawthorn was narrowly ousted in a North Carolina Primary race. The loss wasn’t surprising. For months leading up to the race, Cawthorn had suffered embarrassment after embarrassment in the press — from giving bizarre interviews in which he accused his fellow GOP members of participating in orgies and doing cocaine to speeding tickets, driving with a revoked license, and trying to carry a loaded gun into an airport (twice).

Now, The Washington Post is asking what’s next for Cawthorn, once his term ends next month. And his fellow Republicans are answering, though Cawthorn might not want to hear what they have to say.

In a new report from the paper, several Washington insiders and GOP analysts admitted Cawthorn’s going to have a tough road to redemption after hanging his party members out to dry, behaving badly in the press, and suffering leaks that included videos of him simulating sex acts on another man and wearing women’s lingerie.

“He’s not anywhere to be found,” the former chair of Cawthorn’s district, Michele Woodhouse, said. “I don’t hear from anyone that there’s any great interest in what Madison Cawthorn is doing.”

In fact, Cawthorn’s offices in his home state and in D.C. are empty, his voicemails aren’t being checked, his website hasn’t been updated in nearly a year, and he’s voted by proxy over 80 times in 2022.

“After all the shenanigans, he deserved to get beat,” pro-Trump radio host John Fredericks said. “In two years, he demonstrated an incredible lack of maturity.”

Cawthorn has allegedly said he’s taking a break from politics to focus on building a family despite announcing he and his wife were getting a divorce late last year, but even if he wanted to launch a comeback, it sounds like he’s burned too many bridges in North Carolina. The House Ethics committed opened a probe into Cawthorn’s unusual spending — thousands of campaign dollars went to cigar bars, shooting ranges, taxidermist “gifts,” and steak houses — and his more local supporters seem to have washed their hands of him because of it.

“All he has done is fly around the country and live high on the hog,” said George Erwin, a retired Henderson County sheriff who supported Cawthorn early in his run. “He could have gone up there and been something, but he blew it. Nobody talks about him anymore. As time goes on, he will fade away.”

Few would complain about that, it seems.

(Via The Washington Post)

Drug addiction is brutal, both for the person addicted and for their loved ones. Addiction can destroy lives, tear apart families and wreak havoc on communities. Anyone who has dealt with addiction themselves or has tried to help a friend or family member through it knows how hard it can be and how helpless it can feel.

Anger, confusion and frustration are natural responses to the behaviors of a person struggling with addiction. So are love, compassion and empathy when you understand the nature of addiction. Parents of people struggling with substance abuse often feel a constant push and pull between all of those feelings, but at the end of the day, every loving parent just wants their child to be OK.

When Sean Hannity aired a leaked 2018 voicemail message from Joe Biden to his son, Hunter, on his Fox News show, the world got a glimpse of the emotional weight of addiction and the unconditional love of a parent who doesn’t know how to help their child stuck in the throes of addiction.

In the voicemail, which was obtained by the Daily Mail, we hear an emotional Biden telling his son that he loved him, that he needed to get help and that he was there for him.

“It’s Dad. I called to tell you I love you. I love you more than the whole world, pal. You gotta get some help. I know you don’t know what to do. I don’t either. But I’m here, no matter what you need … I love you.”

Hannity called the voicemail “sad,” and then tried to use it to make Biden look bad. “Now that voicemail reportedly came at the exact same time Hunter lied on a gun application to buy a handgun,” he said.

However, rather than seeing it as damning, people reacted to the recording with overwhelming support. Those who have struggled with addiction, and those who have loved ones who have, simply saw a concerned father reaching out to a struggling son with compassion and love.

For instance, former NBA star Rex Chapman, who went through a very public struggle with opioid addiction, wrote on Twitter, “As a recovering drug addict I can’t tell you how mean spirited this feels … They’re exploiting a dad’s love for his son who’s troubled. Wow. I guess no one at Fox News knows any of these opioid addicts across the country.”

Chapman pointed out that the Biden family has endured unfathomable tragedy, with Hunter Biden losing his mom and sister in a car accident and losing his brother to brain cancer.

“The fact of the matter is that many addicts have family members who can’t or won’t say these words to them. Who only judge. Hunter is very lucky to have a dad like this,” he shared. “If only every addict were so lucky…”

u201cThe fact of the matter is that many addicts have family members who canu2019t or wonu2019t say these words to them. Who only judge. Hunter is very lucky to have a dad like this.u201d

— Rex Chapmanud83cudfc7ud83cudffc (@Rex Chapmanud83cudfc7ud83cudffc)
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Actor and journalist Ben Dreyfuss shared that he’d gotten calls like this from his family when he was struggling with drugs and mental health issues and that the audio made him want to cry. “Joe Biden seems like a really good dad?” he wrote.

u201cThe actual audio of thisu2014as someone who has struggled with drugs and mental health issues and received calls like this from my familyu2014just sort of almost made me cry u201d

— Ben Dreyfuss (@Ben Dreyfuss)
1665459177

The bafflement at how this voicemail could possibly make Biden look bad came from across the political spectrum. Conservative commentator Bill Kristol simply wrote, “The fact that Fox News thinks this reflects badly on Joe Biden says it all.”

u201cThe fact that Fox News thinks this reflects badly on Joe Biden says it all.u201d

— Bill Kristol (@Bill Kristol)
1665500328

And conservative writer Megan Basham of The Daily Wire wrote, “This is nothing to sneer at. It’s been quite a number of years, but I’ve been on the receiving end of calls like this from my parents. Praying today for Hunter’s salvation.”

u201cThis is nothing to sneer at. Itu2019s been quite a number of years, but Iu2019ve been on the receiving end of calls like this from my parents. Praying today for Hunteru2019s salvation. Who knows but such a mighty work of God might change Bidenu2019s own heart.u201d

— Megan Basham (@Megan Basham)
1665493701

Surveys have shown that about half of American families report being touched by addiction, and addiction doesn’t discriminate between political parties or points of view. What reactions to this voicemail show is that a father reaching out to his drug-addicted child with a message of concern and unconditional love is heart-wrenching, but also relatable for so many people.

There are healthy and unhealthy ways to love a person through addiction, but it’s important for every human being to know that they are loved and that their loved ones are going to be there for them, no matter what struggles they face.

This message from Biden to his son should have remained private. But since it’s out there, let’s acknowledge it for the beautiful example of parental love that it is.

Tyler The Creator has been pretty busy for the past decade or so, going from teenage troublemaker to Grammy-winning superstar. Still, it’s kind of impressive that he was so busy that he completely missed the release of the third Rush Hour film in 2007 — and somehow forgot it exists for the 15 years since. A recent viewing of the first Rush Hour apparently brought it to his attention and not only was he floored by the discovery, he now refuses to watch Rush Hour 3, which he still doesn’t quite believe exists.

“So we watched rush hour two and i was bout to blurt out ‘sad they didnt get the third one in,’” he wrote on Instagram. “But before i could this f*cking popped up and i feel like im in a vortex. WHEN THE F*CK DID THIS MOVIE HAPPEN BROOD WHERE WAS I, I DO NOT REMEMBER THIS EXISTING
THIS IS FAKE, IVE BEEN LIED TO IM NOT GONNA WATCH IT EITHER.” T also took a screenshot from his Instagram Story and shared it on Twitter, writing, “i dont believe this is real mandela effect or something.”

Mandela effect refers to the phenomenon of false memories being shared by multiple people, but it’s unclear whether Tyler thinks it’s the Mandela effect that he wasn’t aware of the second Rush Hour sequel or that it actually exists. Can Netflix’s algorithm be tricked into proposing movies that no one’s ever seen? Pretty trippy, right? Now we’re all in a vortex. Meanwhile, maybe T really is better off skipping this one; Rush Hour 3 only holds a 17% on Rotten Tomatoes, although the audience score is a little over 60% (not really a great thing, in my experience). On the other hand, he might want to catch up; Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan have been teasing Rush Hour 4 for a little over three years.

On Tuesday, the world lost Angela Lansbury, who passed away mere days shy of what would have been her 97th birthday. Over her long career, the British-born actress was many things: a starlet signed to MGM during the Golden Age of Hollywood; a three-time Oscar-nominee; a Tony-winning musical theater goddess and gay icon; a TV staple who spent 12 seasons on Murder, She Wrote.

Lansbury was also a major part of one of Disney’s biggest-ever hits: 1991’s Beauty and the Beast, in which she voiced Mrs. Potts, the cook-turned-teacup. Her big song was “Be Our Guest,” which she sang alongside Jerry Orbach’s maître d’-turned-candelabra Lumière. It’s a really charming song, maybe the movie’s peak number. Upon news of Lansbury’s passing, people shared not just the movie sequence but the behind-the-scenes footage of them recording it, which might actually be even more delightful than the scene itself.

In the clip, Lansbury is really into it. She makes faces, she contorts her body, she acts it out. Orbach, too, is really into it, and if you only know him as the stern dad from Dirty Dancing or the driven NYPD detective from Law & Order, it should be mindblowing.

Lansbury’s career was long and diverse, and social media was clogged with clips of her work after she passed on. So while we’re here, here’s a bit of a gear shift: her blood-curdling, Academy Award-nominated turn as one of the screen’s worst-ever moms in 1962’s The Manchurian Candidate.