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A group of self-described “non-Americans” shared the quintessential American things they wish they could do and it’s a great reminder of some of the endearing aspects of American culture that far too many of us take for granted.

At a time when America is plagued by political divisions, it’s refreshing to remember that we all share a unique culture that others appreciate.

The responses were prompted by Reddit user gaping__hole, who asked the online forum, “Non-Americans of Reddit: what is an American thing you have always wanted to try?” The most compelling thing about the responses is they didn’t center around the advantages afforded by the country’s commitment to freedom and individuality. Instead, they focused on the day-to-day experiences that the average American enjoys.

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The “non-Americans of Reddit” seemed to be really interested in sampling America’s unique culinary contributions such as fair food or things that are deep-fried. They appreciated the lifestyle that Americans in small towns and middle-class neighborhoods enjoy.

They also wanted to take advantage of America’s size, whether that’s the diverse topography or the idea that one can change their life by moving a few hundred miles away.

Personally, the responses gave me a renewed appreciation for the small comforts that we enjoy as Americans whether that’s chowing down on a corn dog or watching a yellow school bus roll down the street full of happy kids.

Here are 19 of the “American things” that non-Americans have always “wanted to try.”

1.

“To visit a diner like in the movies. In the middle of the night, it’s raining and just a few people there with great music from a jukebox.” — TotalAd6225

2. 

“Can I interest you in our lord and savior Waffle House?” — ShadowDV

3. 

“Ride a yellow school bus even if I’m too old. Growing up I always loved seeing them on TV.” — infiresemo

4. 

“A friend of mine from Indonesia said, ‘the food chewer in the sink.’ Garbage disposal.” — Mnemonic22

5. 

“Being able to start a whole new life ‘elsewhere’ without having to leave my country and going through an arduous immigration process.” — Gmtfoegy

Gatvolkak added:

“It really is a country where you can get up, move 3 hours away and completely reinvent yourself. The only thing that follows you is your credit score.”

6. 

“Deep fried foods at a state fair. I’m from Scotland and we love to deep fry everything and I wanna know if it’s just as good or better.” — fenrislfr

7. 

“Trick or treating at Halloween.” — IvanaHug

8. 

“Proper tailgating before a ball game, the kind where there’s ribs and stuff.” — SpiraltoNowehere

9. 

“7/11 slurpees.” — Elford12

10. 

“Corndogs, I don’t understand what it is but I want to try it.” — AFowlWaterfowl

11. 

“A friend of mine from China took a vacation to the US. He landed in Chicago, rented a car and drove down Route 66 until he could peer over the edge of the Grand Canyon, then drove back. Where he’s from, a road trip isn’t even a thing.” — Henri_Dupont

12. 

“Chicken and waffles.” — Wide-Flower3494

13.

“It’s impossible, but the small town/suburban middle-class American childhood experience from the ’80s (think ‘ET’ or ‘Stranger Things’ or ‘Goonies,’ minus the spooky fantasy stuff). What you guy’s say about Blockbuster nights nostalgia, the shopping malls. Growing up in Latin America at that time, we had a few glimpses of that lifestyle in some movies and it was fascinating, dreamlike.” — steak_tartare

14. 

“I want to understand baseball. Man that sport looks boring, but a lot of movies are made about it I just wanna figure out how the game is played.” — shweyzy02

15.

“Using the word ‘ya’ll’ in general conversation.” — Devlin_McGregor

16. 

“French woman I used to hang out with needed instructions on how to eat a chili dog. Blew her mind. Steamed and toasted bun, all-beef natural casing hot dog from a local farm, homemade chili, raw and finely chopped onions, and a bunch of Colby-jack cheese. She had seen pictures and wanted to try it, so I took her to this place run by a Vietnam vet who had wanted to own a chili dog stand since he was in the war. That was his life goal. Not get married, raise a family. But survive the war and open a chili dog stand. He finally made it after decades of biding his time, and all that passion went into the perfectly executed chili dog.” — DeepStateofAffairs

17. 

“White Castle. Specifically that big box of white castle sliders. (I want to try it because of Harold and Kumar).” — Camus-Albert

18. 

“I’ve always wanted to go to a ‘real’ haunted house with actors during the Halloween season. Or those scary corn mazes with actors, etc.” — tadpolecrusader

19. 

“Beer pong.” — manserct

The rollout for Nicki Minaj’s comeback continues with the upcoming release of her new single, “Super Freaky Girl.” The song — which samples Rick James’ 1981 hit single “Super Freak” — is set for release on Friday, August 12, after a new episode of her podcast Queen Radio goes live the day before.

Earlier this month, Nicki teased the single on Instagram, playing a snippet as she mugged the camera for a racy video announcing the new song. Since then, she’s devoted her energy to stirring up more fan involvement from her loyal Barbz, even hosting a poll to rename the song after running into some copyright issues with its original title, “Freaky Girl.”

When some fans complained about the new title, Nicki pointed out on Twitter that she “did a whole poll that 100K ppl took so sit down & SHUT IT! legally we can’t use freaky girl. Don’t you think I would if I could? Use your noggin.” The song snippet is also apparently doing well on TikTok, something Nicki has been quick to tout on Twitter.

In other Nicki Minaj news, the rapper recently released the trailer for a six-part docuseries, Nicki, which she says is coming out this year. “We have the month that the documentary is coming,” she announced during a recent episode of Queen Radio. “We do not have the date, but we have the month. It’s going to be a very exciting month for the Barbz. It’s obviously coming out in 2022.”

In the meantime, prepare for the release of “Super Freaky Girl” by pre-saving it here.

It’s the final month of summer, so if you haven’t gotten your summer festival experience in yet, beware — you’re running out of time. Trust us, you’re not going to want to wait because while we’re always flooded with an abundance of events to attend, you don’t want to be the person who ends up at something that you’re not vibing with as a compromise. Not every festival appeals to everyone, so choose wisely while you still can before you end up at your last choice.

But with so many festivals, which is the most worthy of your time? If your vibe is experiential festivals that combine psychedelic fashion with large-scale interactive art installations, chest-rattling electronic music, and the sort of outdoor activities that make you feel like you’re at a magical summer camp instead of a dusty post-apocalyptic hellscape (*cough* Coachella), then you can’t go wrong with the Elements Music and Arts Festival.

This epic three-day festival has come a long way from its humble beginnings at the Brooklyn waterfront, and for its fifth anniversary, it’s going bigger and better than ever by decamping to a new venue at Long Pond Pennsylvania, where it promises to offer 72 hours of music, immersive car camping, dancing, multidisciplinary workshops and more.

Whether you want to chill out with some yoga, aromatherapy, and sound baths or go nuts by repelling from 100-foot grain silos, Elements has you covered. Not only that but your “choose your own adventure” will be soundtracked by the festival’s best lineup ever. The music will be spread across four stages this go around, with performances from artists like Kaskade (redux), Rezz, Fisher, Sofi Tukker, Zeds Dead, Claude Vonstroke, and more.

To help get you ready for what to expect, we gathered up some photos from previous Elements festivals and we’ve got to say, this festival already looks more unhinged than any festival we’ve been to all year — so we can only imagine how crazy this year is going to look. The Elements Music & Arts Festival is coming to Long Pond, Pennsylvania from August 19-22. Get your passes here, check out the photos below and prepare yourself for the visual insanity.

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Over the past few years, Ezra Miller has been making their way around the world picking fights and allegedly grooming minors, though much of their actions haven’t come to light until now.

Earlier this year, Miller was arrested twice, criticized for allegedly grooming teenagers, and holding a family at a remote Vermont cabin with a variety of weapons and drugs. Now, more victims of Miller have been speaking out and recalling a two-month stint in which Miller was living out of an Airbnb in Iceland with various companions in a “cult-like” situation, according to Insider.

Miller traveled to Reykjavik in early 2020 after the production of Fantastic Beasts was shut down due to COVID. There, they lived in an Airbnb, walked around barefoot, and frightened the locals. One woman, who spoke to Insider, referred to the house as a “commune,” with mattresses spread out on the floor and guests being enamored with the movie star. “It felt like everyone was hypnotized.”

Various friends, artists, and ex-pats lived with Miller, some of whom were teenagers who had sexual relationships with them. “Nobody ever was kind of allowed to disagree with them,” recalled a young woman who had a brief relationship with Miller in Iceland while she was 18 and Miler was 27. “Their reality painted everybody else’s reality. There was no room for anybody else’s opinion or feelings.” Miller was also filmed choking a woman while in Iceland.

Miller stayed at the Airbnb for several months before returning to the states and now seems to be residing in a remote Vermont cabin with several others, though it seems like nobody can get a hold of them.

Despite the pleas from friends, it seems like Miller is still MIA and failed to report to a July court appearance. Miller is still slated to appear in the upcoming Flash movie which is set for a June 2023 release, though that depends on just exactly how much trouble they get in before then.

(Via Insider)

One! Armani suits and run!

Have you ever watched Breaking Bad or Better Call Saul and wondered, “where do I get these fabulous wide ties in horrific colors and suits that wear the person, not the other way around?” Look no further! At long last, you can finally own items from style icon, BlueTooth influencer and corrupt lawyer Saul Goodman’s wardrobe that were actually worn by Bob Odenkirk on Better Call Saul. Saul’s extravagant and colorful style is not for everyone, but it will certainly get people’s attention.

Propstore announced on Thursday that it will hold an exclusive online auction of over 250 original props, costumes, and more from the production of seasons one through six of Better Call Saul. Props for sale include Chuck McGill’s journal and space blanket, Gus Fring’s Los Pollos Hermanos uniform and flip phone, Hector Salamanca’s bell, and Jimmy McGill’s University of American Somoa sweatshirt. Unfortunately, it does not look like Kim Wexler’s iconic curled ponytail will be up for auction.

The Better Call Saul auction begins on August 18, just three days after the August 15 series finale. So start saving now. Or, if you’re a true Slippin’ Jimmy fan, start scheming. The auction ends on September 1. In the meantime, let’s continue to pretend that Better Call Saul will end with Jimmy and Kim running off into the sunset holding hands.

Eminem is gearing up for the release of his second greatest hits compilation, Curtain Call 2, which will feature 34 tracks from the past 13 years of his career. It’s a follow-up to the original Curtain Call, released in 2005, which covered the first 13 years of his career (not including his pre-Aftermath/Interscope work, which included underground collaborations with Rawkus Records and his independently-released album Infinite). Does anyone sense a pattern developing here?

But as with any project touting all of an artist’s greatest hits, Curtain Call 2‘s impending release begs the question: What exactly constitutes their “greatest” hits, anyway? In this case, we see entries such as “Berzerk,” “Godzilla,” “Lucky You,” “The Monster,” “Venom,” — and even “Walk On Water,” which is a pretty iffy selection considering its initial reception on release. Since we already know which songs Eminem considers to be his “greatest” hits — at least according to the album’s tracklist — let’s break them down by album and see which ones actually deserve that title.

2009 — Relapse

Hits: “3 a.m.,” “Beautiful,” and “Crack A Bottle” featuring 50 Cent and Dr. Dre. According to Billboard, “Crack A Bottle” is the real winner here. As the lead single from Eminem’s first “comeback” album, it broke the first-week digital sales record with 418,000 downloads, topping the Hot 100 chart. It was only his second single to do so after “Lose Yourself.”

2010 — Recovery

Hits: “Cinderella Man,” “Love The Way You Lie” featuring Rihanna, “No Love” featuring Lil Wayne. “Not Afraid,” “Space Bound,” “Won’t Back Down” feat. Pink, and “You’re Never Over.” This one’s obvious. While Recovery produced the most hits in Em’s recent catalog, “Love The Way You Lie” is objectively one of Eminem’s most popular songs ever thanks to the emotive chorus penned by Skylar Grey and sung by Rihanna. It’s Em’s best-selling single, moving over 12 million copies in the US alone. It was a massive smash and led to Eminem attempting to recapture the magic with “Won’t Back Down” from this album (nah) and “The Monster” from his next album, The Marshall Mathers LP 2.

2013 — The Marshall Mathers LP 2

Hits: “Berzerk,” “Headlights” featuring Nate Reuss, “The Monster” featuring Rihanna, “Rap God,” and “Survival.” Speaking of, The Marshall Mathers LP 2 was Eminem’s attempt to go back to basics after the critically well-received Recovery alienated some fans of his earlier work (leading to his current string of reactive records that tries to course-correct on the critical reception of its predecessors). Nevertheless, despite “Rap God” meeting those fans’ expectations, the best-received song from the album was still the Rihanna redux “The Monster,” which again peaked at No. 1 on the Hot 100.

2017 — Revival

Hits: “Nowhere Fast,” featuring Kehlani, “River” featuring Ed Sheeran, and “Walk On Water” featuring Beyonce. As one of Eminem’s worst-received albums, it’s no surprise that this one only owns three of the records that appear on Curtain Call 2. They’re also Em’s weakest singles, dipping into the pop-ballad well that worked so well with Rihanna one too many times, with too many artists who were just bad fits in retrospect. “River” was technically the most fruitful of them, rising to No. 11 on the Hot 100 and sparking a creative partnership between the two artists that continues to produce to this day.

2018 — Kamikaze

Hits: “Fall,” “Lucky You” featuring Joyner Lucas, and “Venom.” Em’s rampaging follow-up to Revival was better received — at least by his fans — but still only produced three singles. While they were all technically “hits” on the strength of their streaming, “Lucky You” turned out to be most popular, climbing to No. 6 on the Hot 100 and launching Massachusetts rapper Joyner Lucas to a new plateau of stardom. Still, the meme-ready “Venom” is probably the single with the most lasting impact, appearing in the Sony film of the same name and becoming a go-to sound on TikTok four years later.

2020 — Music To Be Murdered By

Hits: “Darkness,” “Farewell,” “Gnat,” “Godzilla” featuring Juice WRLD, and “Higher.” As Em’s latest album, this one probably benefits from recency bias. It’s got five entries on Curtain Call 2 but in its defense, they were some of Em’s better recent singles. “Godzilla”‘s the clear standout; aside from charting the highest at No. 6 on the Hot 100, it has the benefit of a viral challenge without the drawback of a distasteful reenactment of a national tragedy. It also boosted the visibility of the late Juice WRLD, making it a bit more likable.

Curtain Call 2 is due 8/5 on Aftermath/Interscope/Shady Records.

The fine folks in the city of Pittsburgh were treated to some afternoon baseball on Thursday as the Pirates played host to an NL Central rival, the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers. Not only that, but the fans at PNC Park were treated to some free baseball, too, as the game was tied at 3-3 after nine innings and needed extras.

Milwaukee was able to get some breathing room in the top of the tenth, as Kolten Wong got hit while the bases were loaded and drove in a run. But Pittsburgh was able to erase that deficit right away — during the first at-bat in the bottom of the tenth, Bryan Reynolds hit a ground rule double that drove in Tucupita Marcano.

After an intentional walk, a sacrifice fly to advance the runners, and another intentional walk, the bases were loaded with one out and Michael Chavis at the plate. Brewers pitcher Matt Bush got ahead 0-2 and tried to get Chavis to chase something out of the zone, but instead, Bush threw the ball into the opposite batter’s box, causing the ball to bounce and get away from his catcher, Victor Caratini. As a result, Reynolds got to jog in from third for a wild pitch walk-off.

It’s the second game in a row to end in a walk-off, as Reynolds went yard in the bottom of the ninth in a tied game on Wednesday.

Earlier this week, Canadian fans looking forward to a Young Money Reunion concert featuring Drake, Lil Wayne, and Nicki Minaj were disappointed when Drake announced that the show would have to be postponed after he contracted COVID-19. However, there’s good news on the horizon; Drake’s clearly feeling healthy enough to put the show on this weekend instead, proudly announcing his negative COVID test and the new dates for the final show of his inadvertently extended October World Weekend.

“Negative test…” he wrote, “positive outcome…this was the only date available until the fall and because the family is so solid everybody is flying back in to make it happen for you all…SEE YOU SATURDAY…young moulaaa.”

The show will conclude the most recent segment Drake’s “Road To OVO Fest,” which he announced earlier this month as an alternative to his usual blowout weekend in Toronto. Since he says he’s working on bringing OVO Fest to the world for its 10th anniversary, he instead offered October World Weekend, including shows with an All Canadian Northstars lineup at Drake’s venue History (where he sang along with surprise guest Nelly Furtado), the Toronto stop of the ongoing Lil Baby and Chris Brown tour, and now, finally his Young Money Reunion concert.

Lady Gaga just wrapped up her UK and European run of The Chromatica Ball, her summer stadium tour that’s gearing up to hit North America with a Toronto show on August 6. Ahead of then, though, what songs has Gaga been performing most?

According to data from Setlist.fm, the most comprehensive resource for concert setlists available online, it’s a 19-way tie (as of August 4), as the setlists have been pretty consistent. There are a few songs that have been played slightly less than the rest, though: “1000 Doves,” “Fun Tonight,” and “The Edge Of Glory.”

Setlist.fm also has an “average setlist” for The Chromatica Ball, which is based on setlists from previous shows, so it’s an indication of how an upcoming Gaga show might be structured. So far, the tent poles have been the same story every time: She opens with “Bad Romance,” closes the main set with “Rain On Me,” then returns for an encore with “Hold My Hand.”

When it comes to album-by-album representation on the setlist, Chromatica has the most songs included, followed by The Fame, The Fame Monster, the A Star Is Born soundtrack, and Born This Way.

Find Gaga’s most played songs on The Chromatica Ball tour below, as well as the tour’s average setlist. Check out Gaga’s upcoming tour dates here.

T1. “911″ (6 performances)
T1. “Alice” (6)
T1. “Always Remember Us This Way” (6)
T1. “Babylon” (6)
T1. “Bad Romance” (6)
T1. “Born This Way” (6)
T1. “Enigma” (6)
T1. “Free Woman” (6)
T1. “Hold My Hand” (6)
T1. “Just Dance” (6)
T1. “LoveGame” (6)
T1. “Monster” (6)
T1. “Poker Face” (6)
T1. “Rain On Me” (6)
T1. “Replay” (6)
T1. “Shallow” (6)
T1. “Sour Candy” (6)
T1. “Stupid Love” (6)
T1. “Telephone” (6)
T20. “1000 Doves” (5)
T20. “Fun Tonight” (5)
T20. “The Edge Of Glory” (5)

(opening film)
“Bad Romance”
“Just Dance”
“Poker Face”
(“The Operation” video interlude)
“Alice”
“Replay”
“Monster”
(“Flowers” video interlude)
“911”
“Sour Candy”
“Telephone”
“Lovegame”
(“The Birth Of Freedom” video interlude)
“Babylon”
“Free Woman”
“Born This Way”
(“Tamara” video interlude)
“Shallow”
“Always Remember Us This Way”
“The Edge Of Glory”
“1000 Doves”
“Fun Tonight”
“Enigma”
(“Sonnet” video interlude)
“Stupid Love”
“Rain On Me”
“Hold My Hand” (encore)

Donald Trump is getting hammered in a new attack ad. Only this time, it’s coming from his own side of the aisle. Former Vice President Dick Cheney came out swinging in a campaign video for his daughter, Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney. Unfortunately, the congresswoman is facing an uphill battle as her participation in the January 6 committee has made her persona non grata to the vast portions of the Republican party who are still loyal to Trump. Well, ol’ Dick has something to say about that.

“In our nation’s 246-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump,” Cheney says in the ad before tearing into Trump for his “Big Lie.” Via Mediaite:

He is a coward. A real man wouldn’t lie to his supporters. He lost his election and he lost big. I know it, he knows it and deep down I think most Republicans know it.

Lynne and I are so proud of Liz for standing up for the truth, doing what is right, honoring her oath to the Constitution when so many in our own party are too scared to do so.

After tearing into Trump, the elder Cheney pointed out that his daughter is the exact opposite of the former president as evidenced by her relentless work on the January 6 committee, despite the attacks from her own party.

“Liz is fearless. She never backs down from a fight,” Cheney said. “There is nothing more important she will ever do than lead the effort to make sure Donald Trump is never near the Oval Office again. And she will succeed.”

If Trump isn’t scared of that ad, he should probably remember that Dick Cheney once shot his own best friend in the face and has survived at least 40 heart attacks. He’s practically the Terminator.

(Via Mediaite)