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Despite the fact that Game Of Thrones ended with a not-so-great final season nearly three years ago, George R. R. Martin is still trekking away at his gigantic books that will hopefully be finished sometime in the next decade, but who really knows.

While the various Game Of Thrones spin-off shows have been taking center stage as of late, Martin took to his infamous blog to give fans an update on how he intends to continue the series. And, guys, he knows that it’s been a while. He is working on it!

Martin blogged, “Most of you know by now that I do not like to give detailed updates on WINDS. I am working on it, I have been working on it, I will continue to work on it. (Yes, I work on other things as well). I love nothing more than to surprise my readers with twists and turns they did not see coming, and I risk losing those moments if I go into too much detail.”

So, to make up for the long wait (the last novel came out over a decade ago in 2011), Martin is giving a lengthy update on where he’s at:

What I have noticed more and more of late, however, is my gardening is taking me further and further away from the television series. Yes, some of the things you saw on HBO in GAME OF THRONES you will also see in THE WINDS OF WINTER (though maybe not in quite the same ways)… but much of the rest will be quite different.

And really, when you think about it, this was inevitable. The novels are much bigger and much much more complex than the series. Certain things that happened on HBO will not happen in the books. And vice versa. I have viewpoint characters in the books never seen on the show: Victarion Greyjoy, Arianne Martell, Areo Hotah, Jon Connington, Aeron Damphair They will all have chapters, and the things they do and say will impact the story and the major characters who were on the show. I have legions of secondary characters, not POVs but nonetheless important to the plot, who also figure in the story: Lady Stoneheart, Young Griff, the Tattered Prince, Penny, Brown Ben Plumm, the Shavepate, Marwyn the Mage, Darkstar, Jeyne Westerling. Some characters you saw in the show are quite different than the versions in the novels. Yarra Greyjoy is not Asha Greyjoy, and HBO’s Euron Greyjoy is way, way, way, way different from mine. Quaithe still has a part to play. So does Rickon Stark. And poor Jeyne Poole. And… well, the list is long. (And all this is part of why WINDS is taking so long. This is hard, guys).

Oh, and there will be new characters as well. No new viewpoints, I promise you that, but with all these journeys and battles and scheming to come, inevitably our major players will be encountering new people in lands far and near.

One thing I can say, in general enough terms that I will not be spoiling anything: not all of the characters who survived until the end of GAME OF THRONES will survive until the end of A SONG OF ICE & FIRE, and not all of the characters who died on GAME OF THRONES will die in A SONG OF ICE & FIRE. (Some will, sure. Of course. Maybe most. But definitely not all) ((Of course, I could change my mind again next week, with the next chapter I write. That’s gardening)).

And the ending? You will need to wait until I get there. Some things will be the same. A lot will not.

Sure, he could have spent this time writing the actual book instead of writing about why the book is taking forever, but it’s really the thought that counts, right? Besides, here is a dragon app to tide you over. Everybody wins!

Young Thug is currently in a Georgia jail as part of an ongoing RICO indictment investigation against him and many of his YSL crew members. Early last month, he was denied bond when a judge felt he was a danger to his community. While this questionable racketeering investigation has come under fire as “racist” by some for citing Young Thug’s lyrics as evidence, a new case against Thugger’s cousin, Fardereen Deonta Grier, might be a little more straightforward.

Grier has been arrested for murdering his girlfriend by shooting her in the face, according to TMZ’s source at the East Point Police Department in Atlanta. The East Point PD spokesperson says that Grier identified himself as Young Thug’s cousin — the son of Thugger’s youngest sister — when he was getting arrested.

The East Point PD spokesperson also elaborated, saying that Grier’s girlfriend, Destiny Fitzpatrick, was “dead in a pool of blood by the front door,” at the scene and that Grier was in tears. He allegedly tried to tell the cops a story about fending off intruders, but soon admitted to shooting his girlfriend. He was booked and charged with murder.

Young Thug is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Neighbors of former acting assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Clark got quite an eyeful recently when the Department of Justice conducted an early-morning raid on the alleged Donald Trump loyalist’s Virginia home. As Raw Story reports, CNN’s Hannah Rabinowitz obtained bodycam footage of authorities arriving to execute a search warrant and catching Clark in nothing but a dress shirt and pair of boxers.

CNN’s Erin Burnett broadcast the footage on Thursday night, which shows an officer with the DOJ’s Office of Inspector General introducing herself and informing Clark that she and her team are there to execute a search warrant on his home, then asking him to immediately step outside. Though he’s pants-less, Clark’s first concern is whether he can call his lawyer. When he’s told that he can, but only once he steps outside, Clark—whose former colleagues recently testified that he was totally game to use the power of the DOJ to help Trump overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election if appointed Acting AG, and painted him as kind of an idiot—seems to realize that he’s in his undies and pathetically asks, “Can I put pants on first?”

The answer to that question was also a big N-O, but officers promised to place him behind his car so that no one would see him. Well, no one except for the bodycam that was pointed directly at his half-naked body and the millions of people who have since seen the footage. According to Burnett, “officials seized a number of electronic devices from Clark during that early-morning raid. Officers also dispatched an electronics-sniffing dog to search Clark’s house.”

Given Clark’s alleged eagerness to help Trump dismantle democracy as we know it in exchange for a tiny taste of power, getting caught with your pants down—and in the other room—for all the world to see seems like a fair tradeoff.

You can watch Burnett’s full report above.

(Via Raw Story)

Is it ever really worth buying super expensive whiskey? That’s a tough question. I’d say if you’re just going to drink it, probably no. There’s so much great whiskey out there for great prices that spending a ton on one just seems unnecessary. If you’re building an investment portfolio, however, well, then probably yes.

That conundrum arose when I was tasting a brand new, super expensive, very rare bourbon whiskey the other day. Specifically, a Rare Hare 1953 Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in XXO Cognac Casks.

Rare Hare 1953 is the lux brand from Playboy’s spirits line. Playboy got into the spirits game last year with a special Extra Añejo release from Codigo. This year, they’re dipping their toes into the ever-expanding bourbon market with a very rare release of 17-year-old bourbon at a hefty price tag. The thing is, that high price tag is the bottle’s MSRP (suggested retail price). This whiskey is supposed to cost $589, so you’re truly paying for a rarity. For comparison’s sake, that $1,000 bottle of WL Weller you see on some shelves should really cost $99 (its MSRP). That’s a massive difference between the true cost and the inflated cost of a whiskey.

So, is Rare Hare 1953 Straight Bourbon actually worth the nearly $600 price tag? Let’s dive into the juice and find out.

Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months

• We Blind Tasted A Whole Bunch Of $30-60 Bourbons To See If Any Could Beat Weller
• We Blind Tasted Classic Bourbons And Were Shocked By The Winner
• The Best Ten-Year-Old Bourbon Whiskeys, Tasted Blind And Ranked
• We Tasted Bourbon Whiskeys ‘Double-Blind’ And Tried To Guess Each Bottle
• All The Double Gold-Winning Straight Bourbons From This Year’s San Francisco World Spirits Competition

Rare Hare 1953 Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in XXO Cognac Casks

ABV: 55.5%

Average Price: $589

The Whiskey:

The juice in the bottle is a blend of 17-year-old bourbons from undisclosed sources. Those 17-year-old barrels were blended and then re-barreled into XXO Cognac casks (barrels that held brandy for at least 14 years in Cognac, France) for an additional 12 months of mellowing. Finally, that juice is vatted and bottled as-is into 1,953 bottles.

Tasting Notes:

The nose is shockingly subtle for its age with mild lines of dark fruit leather next to brandy-soaked raisins with a twinge of tart cherry and a clear yet soft graininess that’s very Tennessee hollow on a cold fall day, with amber and golden leaves falling on a forest floor. There’s a hint of clove and toffee on the nose that leads into the palate with a sense of sharp cinnamon spice next to a touch of black licorice that’s kind of like a black Necco Wafer. The mid-palate eases off the sharp spices towards a gentle espresso ice cream with a hit of nutmeg and plenty of vanilla oils and a whisper of old peach buried deep in there. The end leans back into that autumnal forest with a barky chewiness that’s slightly sweet and fruity next to a final note of salted toffee drizzle over a thin line of sour cherry tobacco leaf.

The Bottle/Presentation:

The bottle is a beauty on its own with a curvy edge and heavy bottom. The label is embossed and the neck label is understated and slightly art deco. The box has a swanky presentation with a leather exterior and wooden interior with an NFT that’ll lead you to a luxury lifestyle travel registration. Overall, this is a great-looking gift bottle.

Bottom Line:

This is very Tennessee whiskey, so that’s going to be a deal-breaker for a lot of folks. I love Tennesse whiskey, so I’m into it. That all said, this felt like a bit of a show-off pour more than one I’d actually want to return to day in and day out.

Ranking:

89.9/100 — This is the most solid of solid B-pluses. It’s really nice but nothing we haven’t seen before.

Value?

I can see reaching for this if someone asks for a pour, but I’m not going to stand in line to snag a bottle. I’d say save it for your vault. It is a rare whiskey that we are not going to see again. There are only 1,953 bottles, period. That number is constantly dwindling — mine’s open! So there will be value in that rarity down the road.

And if not, you have a really solid 17-year-old whiskey to sip on throughout the year. That’s a win either way.

In case you haven’t been on Twitter this week, perhaps you have not been blessed to see Jeremy Allen White’s photo on your timeline with some sort of anecdote about the food service industry. The still is from White’s new show The Bear, a food-centric drama about a young man who takes over his family’s sandwich shop after a tragic death.

Despite playing a savvy chef, White himself is actually a bit self-conscious about his food choices. While speaking to IndieWire, the actor admitted that people might judge him for his go-to food spots in Chicago, where the show takes place. “People are gonna make fun of me,” White began.

“We didn’t shoot Shameless really in Chicago — we shot it in Los Angeles mostly — but we would go kind of like two weeks a season,” White explained. “And there was a Portillo’s, which is like a chain in Chicago, but their Italian beef was very good. It was kind of like my introduction to Italian beef. Also their sausages; they have a really amazing chocolate cake. But it’s like a blue-chip sandwich spot, so I dunno if I’m gonna get like dragged for picking it. But it was my first, so I’d have to say I’ll always have a soft spot for Portillo’s.”

Unlike the show, which is riddled with anxiety-inducing kitchen montages, White said the vibes on set were great. “We knew that we did something really good. The feeling on set was always strong. But then when you put something out there, you just never know.” he added. “You could be thinking you’re making the greatest thing and it just doesn’t touch upon whatever is going on in the zeitgeist and it doesn’t catch.” It seems like it caught!

All episodes of The Bear are streaming on Hulu now.

(Via IndieWire)

“You’ve just become part of a bigger universe. You just don’t know it yet.”

When Samuel L. Jackson creeped out of the shadows in 2008’s Iron Man, warning newly-minted superhero Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) that he wasn’t the only one of his kind, he was alluding to the roster of multiverse power players yet to come. But we’d like to think he could have also been foreshadowing Marvel’s role in retconning the all-important after-credits scene. After all, before the studio started slapping running gags and sequel teasers to the end of those “thanks to” rap sheets, a film’s end credits were simply a scrolling list of unknown names that signaled the fun was over, the theater could clear out, and the ushers could sweep up the mountains of uneaten popcorn littering the floor, in peace.

Now, a decade and a half, dozens of movies, and a few phases later, those end credits clips (also called stingers) represent something else – a calling card for a franchise that’s built its cinematic empire by taking a seemingly useless bit of filmmaking real estate and transforming it into a reward for die-hard fans, a way to say “thank you” to those willing to keep their seats warm in exchange for a character tease, a narrative cliffhanger, or a nostalgic nod to a movie’s comic book origins. And while plenty of entries in the MCU like to shock and string-along audiences craving just a bit more superhero lore, there are a select few that have just a bit more fun.

These specific scenes may not be the most important, the most clever, or the most significant, but they are the funniest, and sometimes, when you’re watching a bunch of superpowered weirdos in spandex constantly fend off galaxy-ending genocidal maniacs, all you really want is to laugh a little. These after-credits scenes will probably help with that.

5. The Groot Get-Down – Guardians of the Galaxy

Dave Bautista’s superior reflexes are the butt of the joke in this end-credits scene from the first Guardians of the Galaxy film. The movie gave the MCU a much-needed refresh with its killer soundtrack and space-comedy vibes but, oddly enough, the funniest scene in James Gunn’s superhero adventure was this short clip of the franchise’s most beloved character, AKA Baby Groot, dancing his little twig off to a Michael Jackson track. Not only did this scene comfort any lingering fears that the three-syllable-loving sentient tree hadn’t survived the movie’s climactic fight sequence, but it also schooled fans on who amongst this motley crew of space pirates has the best dance moves – and sorry Quill, it ain’t you.

4. Captain America’s PSA – Spider-Man: Homecoming

With nearly a decade in the game, Marvel was able to have some fun with its own track record of holding audiences hostage at the end of a film in the first Spider-Man MCU solo film. Captain America pops up a few times in the film with cutesy straight-to-camera messages that are played to inspire students at Peter Parker’s high school to be better citizens. He’s the modern-day Uncle Sam poster come to life but he’s in on the gag in this after-credits clip that tries to teach theatergoers the true meaning of the “patience is a virtue” saying by rewarding them with a big ole nothingburger at the end. Who knew old man Rogers had jokes?

3. Tony’s Therapy Session — Iron Man 3

Tony Stark is a man who loves to hear himself talk but he takes that narcissism to an entirely new level in this end-credits scene that retcons the entire film as something of a therapy session. Unfortunately for Stark, his bestie Bruce Banner is just not that kind of doctor. Lulled to sleep by the sounds of Stark’s ADHD-riddled story time, Banner wakes just as his friend is thanking him for being such a good listener. Obviously, the fact that he put his buddy into a temporary coma with one story isn’t enough to stop him from starting another – one that begins with a weird anecdote about having a nanny at 14 – but what’s truly great about this scene is how it represents the friendship between these two mad geniuses.

2. Shwarma Feast — The Avengers

What does one do when they’ve successfully defended New York City against an extraterrestrial attack and hitchhiked a ride to space via a nuclear bomb? If you’re genius billionaire philanthropist playboy Tony Stark, you get your superpowered friends together to stuff yourselves on delicious Middle Eastern cuisine. The visual of these god-like beings binge-eating spiced meats amongst the wreckage of Loki’s failed invasion speaks for itself – literally, there’s absolutely no dialogue in this scene – and the fact that it was an addition sparked by a bit of improv from Robert Downey Jr. makes it feel all the more special.

1. Musical Mayhem — Hawkeye

Like a brightly colored train wreck you just can’t look away from, the Rogers Musical that takes up space as a mid-credits scene in Disney+’s Hawkeye series is trash. Glorious, kitschy, deafening trash. It’s also the greatest use of the end credits genre in cinematic history. For over four minutes a cast of Broadway performers go full force, backflipping, gyrating, and belting on stage while reciting cheesy lyrics narrating the battle of New York that took place in the first Avengers movie. Each original superhero gets their time in the spotlight – though the subtle dig at Hawkeye, who’s described as just a “really nice guy” while the others are praised for their god-like abilities and kick-ass track record, is the standout. But, as ridiculous as this musical interpretation of the MCU is, we’d be remiss not to salute the show for taking a risk. It’s no Cats butthole cut, but it’s certainly close.

We’ve seen Chris Evans’ trash ‘stache. We’ve seen Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans punch each other in the face. Now please enjoy Chris Evans asking Ryan Gosling to dance (hint: by “dance,” he means more punching).

Directors Anthony and Joe Russo, a.k.a. the Russo brothers (Netflix is in the brothers business, and business is good), have released the latest teaser for The Gray Man, the most expensive film ever made by the streaming service. You can watch it below.

The colorful fireworks are a nice touch — could it be a nod to the “A Fistful of Paintballs” and “For a Few Paintballs More” episodes of Community, which Joe Russo directed? Probably not! But it’s still fun to remember that the directors of the second highest-grossing movie ever used to work on Community, Happy Endings, and Arrested Development.

Here’s the official plot synopsis:

The Gray Man is CIA operative Court Gentry (Ryan Gosling), aka, Sierra Six. Plucked from a federal penitentiary and recruited by his handler, Donald Fitzroy (Billy Bob Thornton), Gentry was once a highly-skilled, Agency-sanctioned merchant of death. But now the tables have turned and Six is the target, hunted across the globe by Lloyd Hansen (Chris Evans), a former cohort at the CIA, who will stop at nothing to take him out. Agent Dani Miranda (Ana de Armas) has his back. He’ll need it.

The Gray Man comes to Netflix on July 22.

A big lesson when it comes to attending concerts is that music lovers are prone to breaking out into violence, whether the performers are delivering the grittiest of raps or the most soothing soul ballads. Now, when fights occur on the floor area where there aren’t any seats and it is a battle for space, it makes sense to an extent. However, in the case of Erykah Badu’s most recent concert where a scuffle broke out in the stands, there are more questions as to how it could have got to that point.

In a Twitter clip posted today (July 8), Badu can be seen on stage taking a drink before asking the concertgoers if they are doing alright. Hilariously, the camera then pans to the stands where multiple women can be seen throwing blows and attempting to remove clothing while one even straddles her opponent as someone yells, “Oh my god!”

It definitely gives off two-on-one handicap match vibes a la WWE, but thankfully bystanders stepped in to break it up. All the while, the 51-year-old continues performing her classic record “Window Seat.” It is unclear whether Badu was aware of what was going on or not, but if any music can heal the vengeful spirits of said fighters, it is hers.

Check out the clip of the fight above.

Cordae may have decided that his most recent album, From A Bird’s Eye View, doesn’t quite measure up to his debut, The Lost Boy, but that hasn’t stopped him from continuing to push the new album in new and unexpected directions. The latest is a live, visual version of From A Bird’s Eye View that will include live versions of the album’s standouts “C Carter,” “Chronicles,” “Sinister,” and “Super.” The live version of the album is available now, exclusively on Facebook. You can check it out here.

In addition to promoting From A Bird’s Eye View, Cordae has been busy on other projects, including launching his label, Hi-Level Productions, and explaining his Hi-Level philosophy in an insightful TED Talk. Musically, he recently collaborated with North Carolinian rap crooner Morray on “Still Here,” and is preparing for the European leg of his From A Bird’s Eye View Tour, which will include dates in Amsterdam, Belfast, Dublin, London, Manchester, Paris, Stockholm, and more. You can see the dates for that below.

09/27 — Belfast, UK @ Limelight
09/28 — Dublin, Ireland @ The Academy
09/30 — Manchester, UK @ Academy 2
10/01 — Birmingham, UK @ Institute 2
10/02 — London, UK @ Electric Brixton
10//05 — Brussels, Belgium @ Botanique Orangerie
10/06 — Paris, France @ Elysse Monmarte
10/07 — Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Melkweg (The Max)
10/09 — Cologne, Germany @ Carlswerk Victoria
10/11 — Copenhagen, Denmark @ Lille Vega
10/13 — Stockholm, Sweden @ Klubben
10/14 — Oslo, Norway @ Vulkan
10/17 — Berlin, Germany @ Astra
10/18 — Vienna, Austria @ Flex
10/19 — Zurich, Switzerland @ Dynamo

Cordae is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The Weeknd is kicking off his After Hours Til Dawn Tour tonight to the tune of a sold out show at Toronto’s Rogers Centre. Selling out a 55,000 capacity show in his hometown stadium is a full circle moment for The Weeknd and the magnitude of it all was definitely lost on Drake, one of his earliest supporters. In a video posted to his Instagram Stories, Drake, who just released his latest album, Honestly, Nevermind last month, fawns over hearing The Weeknd for the first time in the driveway of his old Toronto apartment and he was all in his feels about it.

“Ok, look… This right here, this little driveway area right here, this is the first place that I ever heard the Weeknd’s music, right here,” Drake says in the clip, moving the camera over to show the area. He’s borderline gushing and maybe a little emotional from a night out.

He shouts out Oliver El-Khatib (“my brother, of course”) for playing him The Weeknd back then, before continuing with his thought: “This is my old building, in Toronto. We were parked out here, and it was raining. Right here. And that same guy selling out SkyDome tomorrow night… not the Rogers Centre. ‘Cause we just still call it the SkyDome. That man is selling out the SkyDome tomorrow. So I just want anybody that’s trying to do this sh*t to understand… Like, I heard this man’s music right here for the first time. Pouring rain. It’s a great life.”

You have to appreciate not only Drake’s pure love for The Weeknd, but also his commitment to still calling the Rogers Centre the SkyDome, even though the name changed back in 2005. Regardless, Suffice it to say that Drake will be cheering Abel along on stage like an NBA bench-warmer tonight.