There’s nothing wrong with asking someone where they’re from—in fact, it’s a normal conversation starter among a lot of humans around the world. The follow-ups to the initial question, however, can turn problematic quite quickly when there are racial and cultural assumptions,biases and stereotypes underlying the questioning.
Unfortunately, that’s all too often the case. Frequently, when the question is asked of non-white people in the U.S., “Where are you from?” leads to “No, where are you really from?” which then leads to an awkward ancestral analysis and an implicit “othering” that the questioner is often oblivious to.
That obliviousness isn’t charming or harmless, as a video sketch played out by actors Stella Choe and Scott Beehner shows.
The “What Kind of Asian are You?” video from Ken Tanaka, originally released in 2013, starts with a woman on a trail stretching for a jog. A man comes up to her and starts chatting with her, and at first she seems interested. But then he almost immediately asks her where she’s from while also telling her, “Your English is perfect.”
She tells him she’s from San Diego, but by the look on her face she clearly anticipates what’s coming next. And sure enough, what follows is a predictable series of increasingly offensive questions and responses, which the character in the sketch probably just considers “friendly get-to-know-you talk.”
But when the woman turns the tables and asks him the same exact series of questions and responds with exaggerated or inaccurate cultural stereotypes, he acts like she’s the weird one.
Watch:
People who have been on the receiving end of these kinds of questions and assumptions have shared the video multiple times over the years since it came out, resulting in several waves of virality. And commenters have shared what they love about the video.
“It’s the subtle things in this that make it the more awesome,” wrote one person. “Like how she amalgamates in Irish stereotypes (Guinness, Top o’ the mornin’ to ye) with English stereotypes… the same way people like that guy mix Chinese, Japanese, Korean etc. stereotypes together as if those nations were the same thing.”
“I’d just like to point out that while a lot of you think this is a parody video and this guy is a characterized, over-the-top version of a person, it’s not,” wrote another. “This is my life (minus me jogging and being as funny back). And it’s not even a compilation of lots of mini experiences all summarized in one video to make even more of a point. In fact, if anything, I think it’s missing the part where the man then tells her about how his last 5 girlfriends were all Asian and how he has learned how to make awesome spring rolls, where he starts speaking Korean at her, and then proceeds to ask if she has a boyfriend. Because then, it would be real life.”
“This is an actual conversation I’ve had!!!” shared another. “So funny to see it here, wish I could’ve had a good comeback for it like this!”
Some people pointed out that the woman said her great-grandmother was from Seoul while the man said his grandparents were from England. That would technically make her more of “a regular American” than he is. (Unless, of course, “regular American” just means white. Ahem.)
Choe and Beehner also had some fun with the comments section, reading aloud some of the affirming as well as some of the more obtuse and/or racist responses to the original video. It’s amazing.
Wow. Wow. Wow. This trailer for Sidney Poitier documentary Sidney is as powerful as he was. Is it weird to call a trailer a tour de force? Yes? Fine. Let’s be weird, because this thing is a TDF. Hopefully the doc, which hits Apple+ on September 23rd lives up to this hype.
Directed by Reginald Hudlin (Marshall, The Black Godfather), and featuring an incomprehensible list of famous talking heads, the film tells the life story of the actor who grew up in a shack without electricity to become a tectonic force in American culture during a period of immense upheaval. Poitier won the Oscar for Lilies of the Field and became the world’s biggest box office draw following In The Heat of the Night and Look Who’s Coming To Dinner in the late 1960s — both of which dealt directly with deep-seated racism and changing attitudes. He was consistently a pioneer, with “First Black man to…” etched multiple times throughout his biography. As President Barack Obama said while honoring Poitier with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the actor “opened doors for a generation of actors.”
Those honoring him in the Oprah-produced documentary include Spike Lee, Morgan Freeman, Robert Redford, Barbra Streisand, and many, many more. Plus, we get to hear from Poitier himself, which will be bittersweet following his death in January of this year. Fortunately, this documentary looks like a worthy celebration.
Though the internet often creates a narrative about celebrities based on their social media use, sometimes the stan accounts can be right. In the case of Megan Fox, not posting images of her husband Machine Gun Kelly for a bit has led some to believe they may have broken up. But there appears to be nothing to this speculation: TMZ has reported the couple was spotted together grabbing lunch in Brentwood on Tuesday, August 16.
Since June, the Transformers actress had noticeably not included the “Rap Devil” artist in any of her Instagram posts, despite the couple once averaging one picture together per month. The breakup rumors gained even more life when Fox did not attend her husband’s hometown show in Cleveland. However, all now seems well.
In footage obtained from the show, Kelly explains he spoke to his wife before coming out and she said, “When you’re on stage, you’re where you love to be. Don’t think about anything. You don’t have to prove anything to anybody. They all came to see you, so give them the best f***ing performance of their life.”
While those could be the words of a supportive ex-turned-friend, that clearly is not the case here. Evidently the speech had MGK so excited that he bloodied his face earlier in the show. Through the rumors, blood sharing, or bloodshed, love still wins.
Check out the clip of Machine Gun Kelly’s Cleveland show above.
The powers that be may be telling you summer is over, but the powers that be lie. Ads for fall fashion and Halloween aisles in August are but evidence of late-stage capitalism clamoring for your attention. Live in the present and get outside.
So let’s hit the beach. According to the calendar, there are 37 days of summer left — over a third of the season in its entirety. Not only is summer not over until Autumn Equinox says it’s over (Sept 22), but September and October are the unsung heroes of beach season. Especially in California.
Pesky tourists have gone. The marine layer burned off. Let’s f*cking go.
But not every cannabis product lends itself to a blissed-out beach day. Edibles can melt in the heat, hash evaporates in the sun, and rolling joints in the wind sucks. While being high at the beach is great, getting high can be harder than it sounds.
Here’s a list of beach-ready weed products to have you vibing on la playa til it’s too cold to do so.
Hoppy Chill Hi-Fi Sessions by Lagunitas
IG
Hi-Fi Hops by Lagunitas are IPAs with weed in them instead of alcohol. They’re happy, they’re hoppy, they’re game fucking changing! All of their offerings taste like you’re drinking a beer and get you high in a bubbly way — it’s much more similar to a carbonated bevvy of the alcoholic variety.
While Hi-Fi has a ton of different flavors to choose from, I like the Hoppy Chill from their new THC:CBD ratio-based Sessions line. With 5mg THC and 5mg CBD per can, they’re balanced, relaxing, and social. But still strong enough to get you splashing in the waves.
Bottom line: Great for partying at the beach sans hangover.
Beach Crasher is an award-winning cultivar from Hogwash Pharms that makes you feel how weed is supposed to make you feel: lighthearted, happy, and really, really high. Grown in the hills of Humboldt by multi-generational master growers, her nugs are green and orange, dense and crystalline. The smell is a tart, tropical fruit, with a sour, spicy finish. The flavor is earthy lemon pepper.
High in the terpenes caryophyllene, limonene and myrcene, this is a strain that leaves you cruising at a higher altitude than usual. It comes with a stoney head high, red eyes, and a big smile. This flower is potent and heavy, but in a whimsical way that doesn’t lock you down. It kind of mimics the feeling of being at the beach — psychically euphoric and buoyant like water, with mental serenity. Great for getting high in the sand, feeling the sun on your skin, and watching the waves roll in.
GRAV is a glass brand that’s been around forever and makes pieces that feel good to smoke out of. While the new wave of arty bongs and pipes are cute, they don’t always deliver when it comes time to take a solid hit. GRAV pieces are for stoners, by stoners and I appreciate that.
The Octo-taster, essentially a hitter-shaped pipe with a rubber sleeve on it, is my staple summer adventure companion. It’s discreet, break-proof, and designed to pack and go.
What makes this rubber-clad hitter so effective at the beach is that you can hold the rubber mouthpiece in your teeth, light with one hand, and shield wind with the other. Whereas hitting a normal pipe at the beach can require a towel shield and often another human to hold it, you can use this pipe at the beach easily by yourself.
Bottom line: This life-proof little pipe is perfect for exhaling worries into the sea breeze.
The El Bluntito Rosas by El Blunto are some of my favorite cannabis products of 2022. Each of these little joints is meticulously rolled in organic rose petals and contains .5 g of high-quality Limoncello or Bubble Gum flower.
I’ve only tried the Limoncello, but I was completely blown away by the experience. The flower is bursting with lemon flavor, offset by a hint of floral terps from the petals. The joints burn perfectly, slowly, and evenly, which is often not the case when it comes to rose petal prerolls. El Blunto hand rolls and cures all of their products. Their attention to detail has made them a favorite in even the snootiest corners of the canna world.
While these are great for special occasions, I found them to be perfect for the beach because they burn slower than your average paper-rolled joint would, and hold up better to the wind. Plus, pretty much the cutest thing you could ever do at a beach hang is pull out a pack of these babies.
Bottom line: Sophisticated and fun, they’re as good for a wedding gift as they are for a beach picnic.
When it comes to Alice in Wonderland-esque weed beverages, Pure Beauty takes the auspiciously small cake with their Little Strong Drink. This 2.2 oz bev packs in 100mg of THC, making it the perfect touch of magic to top off a beachy cocktail, mocktail, or my personal favorite, bottle of seltzer.
The flavor is chic, kind of like a non-alcoholic red wine with a spicy cardamom twist. It almost tastes like mulled wine or a holiday drink when concentrated, but stretches into a mildly tart and spiced grape flavor when added to drinks. In addition to the THC, it contains ashwagandha to take the edge off, and add an anxiety-free overtone to the hyper blast of THC.
Bottom line: Great for adding a touch of magic to your everyday beach beverage.
The notion that edibles should be bad for you is antiquated and tied to the concept of weed being a vice as opposed to what it really is, a motherfucking virtue! Thankfully the market is maturing, and we’re beginning to see high-quality, healthy edibles hit the shelves, like Kaneh Co’s Solventless Cranberry Almond Granola.
Kaneh Co is a woman-owned edibles brand out of San Diego that has always been ahead of the curve. This granola is an amalgam of superfoods like chia seeds and hemp seeds with gluten-free oats and coconut oil, among other things. Each 100mg package contains two 50mg bars, with a dosing cutting guide, of course.
Bottom line: Perfect for maintaining your bikini body (and bikini mindset!) while snacking in the sand.
Caramel Apple Solventless Live Rosin Vaporizer by Golden State
Caramel Apple
While I’m not much of a vaper myself, I certainly see their merit for new and casual users. Vapes are simple to use and offer a mellow experience that is hard to overdo. They’re also great for the beach, because they’re ready to hit at all times regardless of the circumstances existing around them.
If you’re a cannabis consumer of the vaper variety, Golden State’s new line of Solventless Live Rosin Vaporizers is a fantastic choice in a product genre riddled with duds. There are a few strains available. I tried the Caramel Apple, which was super peppery, earthy, and lemony. The high was perfect for melting on the sand, relaxing, and overall buzzy.
Bottom line: Perfect for the new or casual user looking for a no-fuss, mildly stoned beach experience.
While I rarely write about budget flower, I feel it’s appropriate here because certain beach days, especially party days, require you to bring a bunch of weed to share with all your friends. This weed might get sandy. It might get wet. You’ll probably lose track of the bag at some point in the day and never see it again. For days like this, bring Deli Greens.
Cheap and widely available, this Wedding Cake isn’t the best weed in the world but it’s great for sharing and not caring. The high is mildly relaxing and good for social settings.
Bottom line: The weedy equivalent of bringing a 12-pack of Coors Light to a beach party.
Unions have been all the rage for the last handful of years now, with attempts being made in industries like video game design and car-share driving to Amazon. Now add strippers to the list. As per The Wrap, employees at a Los Angeles have filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to be represented by Actors Equity, the union for live performers.
The move comes after months of protesting by the staff at the Star Garden Topless Dive Bar, located in North Hollywood:
Since March, strippers at Star Garden have protested against their employers over various issues including wage theft and a failure by the bar’s security to protect them from unruly patrons. This week, a majority of the bar’s 30 performers, with the assistance of the advocacy group Strippers United, filed to hold a unionization vote with the National Labor Relations Board. In the meantime, the strippers say they will continue protesting and organizing other workers.
Staff at the club have said their options should be better. “We like what we do,” said one of the venue’s dancers, who goes by Velveeta. “We would like our jobs even more if we had basic worker protections. We’re like so many other workers who have learned that it’s not a choice between suffering abuse or quitting. With a union, together, we can make needed improvements to our workplace.”
The majority of the Star Garden’s dancers have reportedly signed the petition. Should the unionization vote pass, they would become the first successful strippers union since the staff at the (since closed) Lusty Lady in San Francisco voted to join SEIU in 1996.
At long last you can take your excitement out of the proving drawer. It has fully risen, and it’s time to bake. After 12 seasons of The Great British Bake Off (also known as The Great British Baking Show in the United States because Pillsbury owns the phrase “bake-off” apparently), an American version is coming to Roku.
The Great American Baking Show (still not a bake-off!) will still feature chef Paul Hollywood and restauranteur Prue Leith as the judges. Ellie Kemper (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) and Zach Cherry (Severance and all around That Guy) are set to host. It’s a solid combination. Cherry has a dry stoner wit perfect for a show about copious amounts of baked goods, and Kemper is bright, sunny, and versatile. That follows the classic mold of the British series, and it’s a good signal that producers are trying to maintain the good vibes instead of fully Americanizing it into a flour-fueled circus where people “aren’t there to make friends.”
Another good signal? Roku Head of Alternative Originals Brian Tannenbaum saying they wanted good vibes only. “Our adaptation of the iconic series will continue to dish out the enduring warmth and humor that fans of the Baking Show universe love, with a twist that we know Ellie and Zach will deliver,” he said in a press release.
The series of 60-minute episodes will premiere in 2023, so you have plenty of time to prepare to get cozy.
The 2022-23 schedule for all 30 NBA teams has finally been released, and it allows fans the opportunity to start marking their calendars and planning around the can’t miss games on the schedule. While not every team shares the same goals for the 2022-23 season, they all have games where fans will be circling dates and trying to make sure they’re in the building for or at least able to watch on TV, and here we are going to highlight five such games for each team.
Here, we’ll look at the reigning Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics, who spent their offseason addressing the biggest weakness that was exposed in their Finals run by getting another ball-handling option in Malcolm Brogdon (without having to give up a rotation player in the deal). While it wasn’t all smooth sailing in the Celtics offseason — the trade rumors connecting them to a Jaylen Brown for Kevin Durant swap that might not be totally dead takes a bit away from the great vibes they ended the year with — they enter this year as the favorites in the East for good reason.
October 21, 2022: at Miami Heat (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
After a season opener at home against Philly (which will be a big one, obviously), the Celtics hit the road to face the Heat team they narrowly escaped in the conference finals. Miami has had a quiet offseason to this point and that’s kept them from being a focal point of discussion, but this is still a team that will provide a stern test and knows how to frustrate Boston’s offense.
December 12/13, 2022: at Los Angeles Clippers/Lakers (10:30 p.m. ET/10:00 p.m. ET, NBCSN/TNT)
I’m going to cheat here a bit and combine two games. This is the end of a brutal road trip that goes Brooklyn-Toronto-Phoenix, then their first matchup with Golden State, before this back-to-back in L.A. to cap off a rather miserable 9-day road trip. The Clippers very well could be a top-2 seed in the West, while the Lakers are looking to bounce back into being a title contender themselves. In any case, how the Celtics respond at the end of a long road trip against two good teams might tell us a bit about their fortitude a year after a Finals run.
December 25, 2022: vs. Milwaukee Bucks (5:00 p.m. ET, ABC)
The Celtics get to host a Christmas Day game this year by virtue of being the East champs and get a rematch of last year’s Christmas showdown in Milwaukee against the team many think represents their biggest challenge in the conference. These two teams, as we saw last year in a thrilling playoff series, matchup incredibly closely and it makes for great basketball, and this could be a gem in the middle of the Christmas lineup.
January 19, 2023: vs. Golden State Warriors (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
This is the second game for the Celtics against the team that beat them in the Finals, with the first coming in the middle of that hellacious road trip mentioned earlier. This one will be festive in Boston, and the Celtics have a couple days off beforehand so they might be in better shape than the first meeting. In any case, they’ll have this one circled as a chance to send a message prior to the All-Star break.
April 4, 2023: at Philadelphia 76ers (8:00 p.m. ET, TNT)
The last big road game of the year sends Boston to Philly for what could be a game with real seeding implications. For all the Sixers postseason struggles, they’ve been a fixture atop the East standings in recent years and if Boston’s going to nab a top-seed, they very well may need this game. It also is the last really big game (with all due respect to a back-to-back with Toronto and a finale against Atlanta) on the regular season schedule for the Celtics, and could be a spot where they ramp it up one last time, even if seeding isn’t in doubt.
The 2022-23 schedule for all 30 NBA teams has finally been released, and it allows fans the opportunity to start marking their calendars and planning around the can’t miss games on the schedule. While not every team shares the same goals for the 2022-23 season, they all have games where fans will be circling dates and trying to make sure they’re in the building for or at least able to watch on TV, and here we are going to highlight five such games for each team.
In this post, we will glance at the schedule for the reigning champion Golden State Warriors. The Warriors are the only franchise that entered the 2022 offseason with complete bliss, knocking off the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals, but Golden State did not rest on its laurels. The Warriors did lose Otto Porter Jr., Gary Payton II, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damion Lee, and Nemanja Bjelica in free agency, but Golden State retained Kevon Looney, added JaMychal Green and Donte DiVincenzo through free agency, and tabbed Ryan Rollins and Gui Santos in the draft. Most importantly, the Warriors bring back the core of a multi-title winner, and Golden State has young players in Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, and James Wiseman that could make a considerable leap. The Warriors will take the best shot of any opponent this season, and there is no shortage of high-profile matchups to monitor.
For the purposes of this exercise, we’re looking for games where Golden State figures to show up with its A-game, with five big-time matchups that could serve as benchmarks for their season defending as champs.
October 25, 2022: at Phoenix Suns (TNT, 10:00 p.m. ET)
Ring night is a big deal, but I’m more interested in the game a week later in Phoenix, likewise on TNT, where the Warriors will face their first big road test of the year against the Suns. We still don’t know exactly how the Suns will rebound from last year’s collapse, but they should be a team that is fighting Golden State for a top seed in the West. It’s one thing to get up for ring night, but how they arrive a week later for their first major road clash will tell me a bit more about the Warriors and how they’re approaching the early portion of the season.
December 10, 2022: vs. Boston Celtics (ABC, 8:30 p.m. ET)
This will be the first time the Warriors get to face off with the team they dispatched in the NBA Finals, and given that both teams sit atop the oddsmakers favorites list, it could be a preview of a Finals rematch to come in 2023. This will be among the games you’d expect the Warriors to get up for and try to be at their best — which the NBA aided by giving them two days off before this one — for a primetime showdown.
December 25, 2022: vs. Memphis Grizzlies (ABC, 8:00 p.m. ET)
Getting a Christmas Day game at home is one of the perks of being the champs, and in this instance the Warriors will get their first look of the season at a budding rival in Memphis, after going six games in the conference semis against the Grizzlies. This again figures to be a game the Warriors bring their A-game, and while it’s probably a bigger deal for the Grizz, Golden State will want to remind the young Memphis team of the pecking order in the West.
March 11, 2023: vs. Milwaukee Bucks (ABC, 8:30 p.m. ET)
The other favorite in the East are the champs of two years ago, and the Warriors will face them for the second and final time of the season at home on a Saturday night primetime game that could serve as another potential Finals preview. How these two teams matchup is fascinating and watching Giannis and Steph dominate on the same floor in two polar opposite ways is always fun.
March 15, 2023: at Los Angeles Clippers (ESPN, 10:00 p.m. ET)
The Clippers are the team that many believe should be the Warriors top competition in the West if they stay healthy (always a big if), and the two teams will face off three times over the course of a month days from a Valentines showdown before All-Star up to this one in L.A. in mid-March. Now, the first two of those have each team on some leg of a back-to-back, meaning it’s not a lock we get them at full strength even if health isn’t an issue. This one, though, has each team coming off of at least one off day (Warriors one day before, L.A. with three). To me, that signals this could be a bit of a playoff dress rehearsal for each team a month prior to the end of the regular season, which could make it very fun.
Harry Styles’ Love On Tour 2022 got underway this week. In support of his wildly popular latest album, Harry’s House, the Love On Tour began in Toronto and will be making stops in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Austin. The Love On Tour 2022 plays itself out like a row of residencies, with Styles playing multiple shows in each of those cities and turning them into his “Harry’s House.” In New York City and Los Angels, Styles added five additional dates to bring the grand total to 15 shows in both cities. And while the Love on Tour 2022 presents itself as the ultimate experience of Harry Styles and Harry’s House, it’s also a showcase for some excellent opening acts. So who are they?
Who Are Harry Styles’ ‘Love On Tour 2022’ Openers?
The two Toronto concerts on Harry Styles’ Love On Tour 2022 at Scotiabank Arena featured Los Angeles indie singer-songwriter Madi Diaz. The fifteen-night residency at New York City’s Madison Square Garden has London-born, Brooklyn-based Blood Orange, which is fronted by the incomparable avant-pop musician Dev Hynes. The five nights of gigs at Austin’s Moody Center have Gabriels as support, a neo-R&B/soul trio based in Los Angeles who we named as an Artist To Watch earlier this year. Five nights at Chicago’s United Center will feature British R&B/pop chanteuse Jessie Ware as the opening act, while the final fifteen-night residency at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles has the legendary folk-rocker, Ben Harper, as the opening act.
All in all, these five opening acts make Harry Styles’ highly-anticipated Love On Tour 2022 even more alluring.
Jonah Hill has been making movies for nearly two decades, serving not only as an actor, but also as a writer, producer, and director. He has been transparent about his struggles in the spotlight and is now opening up about his anxiety and how it has affected his wide-ranging career.
Hill will release a documentary about himself and his therapist called Stutz later this fall, and the announcement came with some more personal news. In a letter posted to Deadline, Hill announced that he would take a step back from promoting his work due to his own mental health, though he made it clear that he would not be quitting acting completely. Despite the break from promoting his work, Hill still has numerous projects lined up, like the upcoming Netflix comedy You People, which he co-wrote and starred in.
Check out the letter here:
I have finished directing my second film, a documentary about me and my therapist which explores mental health in general called “Stutz.” The whole purpose of making this film is to give therapy and the tools I’ve learned in therapy to a wide audience for private use through an entertaining film.
Through this journey of self-discovery within the film, I have come to the understanding that I have spent nearly 20 years experiencing anxiety attacks, which are exacerbated by media appearances and public facing events.
I am so grateful that the film will make its world premiere at a prestigious film festival this fall, and I can’t wait to share it with audiences around the world in the hope that it will help those struggling. However, you won’t see me out there promoting this film, or any of my upcoming films, while I take this important step to protect myself. If I made myself sicker by going out there and promoting it, I wouldn’t be acting true to myself or to the film.
I usually cringe at letters or statements like this but I understand that I am of the privileged few who can afford to take time off. I won’t lose my job while working on my anxiety. With this letter and with “Stutz,” I’m hoping to make it more normal for people to talk and act on this stuff. So they can take steps towards feeling better and so that the people in their lives might understand their issues more clearly.
I hope the work will speak for itself and I’m grateful to my collaborators, my business partners and to all reading this for your understanding and support.”
-Jonah Hill
Hopefully, this will inspire more actors to help reduce the stigma around anxiety while working in Hollywood, and also help others feel a bit less alone.
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