As Newsweek noted, the Rocky star posted a photo on Instagram this week that showed him donning what looks to be a blue hat with the letter “Q” (?) stitched in the center. Adding to the theory that the hat is actually an endorsement for the far-right movement that was a big player in the insurrection, here’s Stallone’s caption: “Heading into the Storm …”
That phrase is a popular slogan amongst QAnon cult members who believe that a secret, satanic cabal of pedophiles is running the world’s governments. Democrats and Hollywood elites have been targeted by the group, who continue to maintain that Donald Trump, the twice-impeached president now retired in Florida, is working to bring down the cabal — despite Trump being a reality TV star and millionaire who used to live in New York City.
This is the first time Stallone has appeared to publicly endorse QAnon, but he’s been a friend to Trump for a few years now. The A-lister has been a guest at Mar-A-Lago and successfully petitioned Trump to issue a posthumous pardon to heavyweight boxer Jack Johnson in 2018. Though Stallone never endorsed Trump for president, his relationship with the election fraud conspiracy theorist and this latest social media post has some QAnon members hopeful he’s on their side.
One QAnon Telegram account using the handle Truth Hammer wrote, “Check out that hat and that caption. Stallone knows.” Another that goes by the handle Pepe Lives Matter said, “What kind of hat is that? Stallone with an interesting photo.” Still, some users on Instagram questioned why Stallone would support QAnon in the first place, saying, “Seriously, is my childhood hero going QAnon? Say it ain’t so!”
Weirdly enough, Rocky Balboa turning out to be a cultist who believes lizard-people are secretly in power probably isn’t the most bizarre thing on anyone’s bingo card this year.
You’ve got the Gucci wallet, you’ve got the Gucci flip-flops, and maybe you’ve got the Billie Eilish perfume, too. Now round out the collection with Eilish’s Happier Than Ever on Gucci recycled vinyl! Facts only, folks. And the limited edition record also comes with some extra flair.
Eilish took to her Instagram yesterday to announce the collaboration. “So excited to share my limited edition “Happier Than Ever” vinyl and @gucci nail stickers featuring an exclusive box designed by @alessandro_michele,” the post began. “The vinyl is made from recycled vinyl scraps from all the colors of the original pressing of the record and each piece is completely unique!!
The recycled vinyl is a similar concept to Paul McCartney’s McCartney/333 special edition vinyl pressed by Third Man Records. Except McCartney’s records were made from recycled pieces of his first two solo records, whereas Eilish’s is an amalgamation of other editions of Happier Than Ever. Although Eilish definitely has McCartney one-upped with the Gucci nail stickers.
Eilish’s post continued on to list out the Gucci Boutiques where the records/box set will be available. Cities include Paris, Berlin, Milan, Madrid, London, Los Angeles, New York City, Sydney, Osaka, and Tokyo. It’s an opulent and exclusive release to say the least, and since it’s currently only available at retailers, the price isn’t listed online. But it’s safe to say that it’ll come with a hefty price tag. This isn’t lost on your day-to-day Billie Eilish fan and the top comment on the Instagram post summed it up best: “bae i’m broke”
Transgender Jeopardy! champ Amy Schneider has proven to be a total pro while crushing twelve games (thus far) and closing in on the half-million mark with $483,000 in winnings. She’s also pure class, as she’s shown while praising Ken Jennings as a fill-in host while producers attempt to figure out who’s going to be the full-time host, beginning in 2022. Schneider reached initial champ status during Trans Awareness Week, and she’ll be eligible for the Tournament of Champions, at some point down the line.
For the moment, though, it’s worth drawing attention to how Amy has been tweeting up a storm about the Thursday episode, which included an opponent who left her starstruck. That would be Jessica, one of the Fug Girls from the Go Fug Yourself fashion site. Here’s Jessica in action, looking as chic as expected:
Well, Amy fired off a tweet thread about her excitement to go up against Jessica, although she didn’t realize it at the time. Amy later wrote, “When I found out who she was, I was so bummed that I hadn’t gotten the chance to tell her how much I’ve loved her writing. I’m (retroactively) star-struck!” Amy has loved the Fug Girls for “years and years,” and yes, Amy did beat Jessica, like she’s beating everyone else. The reigning champ admitted, “I suppose it’s for the best that I didn’t know, since some part of me wouldn’t have wanted to make a Fug Girl feel bad by beating her.” She also added, “[T]o quote myself: ‘I like money!’”
Pre-game thoughts: -Another quick change (I felt I’d finally waited along enough that it would be ok to wear the pink blazer again), and I went to makeup where I saw who my next opponents were.
I don’t remember thinking much about it, but that’s only because one of my opponents hadn’t revealed her true identity! Jessica, who I believe I’d chatted with briefly, and had retained a vague but positive impression of, was in fact one of the @fuggirls!
For those who don’t know, Go Fug Yourself is a celebrity fashion review site that I’ve loved for years and years. When I found out who she was, I was so bummed that I hadn’t gotten the chance to tell her how much I’ve loved her writing. I’m (retroactively) star-struck!
I suppose it’s for the best that I didn’t know, since some part of me wouldn’t have wanted to make a Fug Girl feel bad by beating her. But I don’t think that really would have stopped me; to quote myself: “I like money!” See you after the game!
In an interview with Variety, the film director and playwright said there are three things he wants audiences to walk away with after watching Being the Ricardos, his upcoming biopic spotlighting the off-screen relationships between Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. While simply having a “good time” topped the list, Sorkin said he also hopes people leave the theater with less of a connection with social media.
“Mostly, I want them to have a good time during the two hours that were asked for their attention, realize that the lives of Lucy and Desi were considerably more complicated than Lucy and Ricky, and pay less attention to Twitter,” Sorkin said.
However, while Sorkin’s words might sound a bit crochety at first, it turns out the director actually had quite a lot more to say about social media and did raise some great points about how reactive and divisive it can be, drawing a comparison to it and society’s fear of Communism in the early 1950s. Sorkin said he hopes watchers will be able to spot some parallels between what Lucy undergoes in the film and what happens to folks “that fall out of favor with Twitter.”
“I hope the way they’ll react is that they’ll see some similarities between what’s happening to Lucy and what happens to a number of people that fall out of favor with Twitter,” Sorkin said. “It just seems like when you walk into social media that you’re walking into a big room with mean graffiti all over the walls.”
Set during the 1950s, Being the Ricardos takes place over the course of one production week on the set of I Love Lucy and follows Lucy and Desi as they confront rumors that could jeopardize both their marriage and careers, and according to the press release, that’s merely the beginning:
Lucille Ball (Nicole Kidman) and Desi Arnaz (Javier Bardem) are threatened by shocking personal accusations, a political smear, and cultural taboos in Academy Award-winning writer and director Aaron Sorkin’s behind-the-scenes drama Being the Ricardos. A revealing glimpse of the couple’s complex romantic and professional relationship, the film takes audiences into the writers’ room, onto the soundstage, and behind closed doors with Ball and Arnaz during one critical production week of their groundbreaking sitcom I Love Lucy.
Being the Ricardos opens in select theaters on December 10 and will be available to watch via Amazon Prime Video starting December 21.
Goldenvoice has a proven track record of putting on killer festivals, as they’re behind events like Coachella, Day N Vegas, and Stagecoach. Now, they’re adding a new fest to that list: This Ain’t No Picnic is going down on August 27 and 28, 2022 at Brookside (by the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California).
The lineup has a rock and alternative lean to it, as the 2022 headliners are The Strokes, LCD Soundsystem, and Le Tigre performing what is currently set to be their first and only reunion show of the year. Also on the bill are Phoebe Bridgers, Beach House, Jorja Smith, Kaytranada, Idles, Four Tet + Floating Points, Honey Dijon, Wet Leg, Genesis Owusu, Courtney Barnett, Descendents, Yves Tumor, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Caroline Polachek, Turnstile, Earl Sweatshirt, and others.
If the festival’s name sounds familiar, that’s because it’s a throwback to the original Goldenvoice festival of the same name. The initial This Ain’t No Picnic debuted in 1999, continued in 2000, and after having to skip 2001, came back for the last time in 2002. A fair amount of artists on those lineups actually wouldn’t feel out of place on this year’s bill, by the way: Sleater-Kinney, Beck, Yo La Tengo, Modest Mouse, and El-P were involved.
Of all the most bulletproof rap personas, Rick Ross‘ commitment to drug dealer kayfabe is probably the most impressive. We all know that his tales of being a lavish cocaine kingpin are likely mostly fabricated but we continue to tap in and enjoy them nonetheless. In turn, he keeps cranking them out and occasionally upping the ante, as he does on his new single “Little Havana.” The track opens with a monologue from Augusto Guillermo “Willy” Falcon, a former drug kingpin credited with operating one of South Florida’s biggest drug organizations through the ’70s, ’80s, and early ’90s. He’s credited here as “Willie Falcon.”
Willy expresses pride in his accomplishments, boasting, “I helped build Miami skyline into what it is today. Twenty billion dollars got me twenty-seven years in federal prison. I always live by the code of honor. That’s why my best days are ahead of me.” Meanwhile, Ross manages to remain humble even as he continues to brag about his own feats. “Problem was I never was a prodigy,” he raps in his verse. “Possibly, my biggest flaw is lack of modesty.”
Ross has plenty to boast about these days, though. His new album titled Richer Than I Ever Been drops next week, he and the founder of Rap Snacks have launched their own cannabis company, Drake’s called him the “greatest rapper alive,” and he’s even just got his driver’s license after being eligible for the past 29 years. Things are looking up for Rick Ross; indeed, it seems that like his good buddy Falcon, his best days are ahead of him.
Play Rick Ross and The-Dream’s “Little Havana” above.
Richer Than I Ever Been is due 12/10 via Maybach and Epic.
With its release a little over a month away, the new Scream movie just released a trio of character posters featuring the stars from the original film: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette. While, technically, the movie is the fifth installment in the franchise, the filmmakers decided to pull a Halloween and call this latest chapter Scream instead of the less-confusing Scream 5.
First up is Campbell reprising her breakout role, Sidney Prescott. According to Campbell, she almost passed on returning for the fifth film because it would be the first installment without Wes Craven at the helm, but she was swayed when directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (Ready or Not) sent her a “beautiful letter.” The filmmaking team listed the first Scream and Craven’s work as their inspiration for becoming directors, and Campbell was sold.
Up next is Cox and Arquette reprising their roles as Gail Weathers and Dewey Riley, respectively. As for why all three are holding the Ghostface mask… that’s anyone’s guess, but we’re sure it will no doubt play into the mystery of who’s stabbing a whole lot of people, as these things do.
Twenty-five years after a streak of brutal murders shocked the quiet town of Woodsboro, a new killer has donned the Ghostface mask and begins targeting a group of teenagers to resurrect secrets from the town’s deadly past.
Scream will knife its way into theaters on January 14, 2022.
After years spent in her conservatorship, Britney Spears has made time in recent months to vent about her experience. The latest example of that is a new video Spears shared yesterday, a comedic self-shot skit in which she plays one of the therapists she was apparently required to see under the terms of her conservatorship.
In the video, Spears, as a therapist, speaks reassuringly and says that she wants Spears to relax so she can “do my work for you” of helping to “clear these blockages” caused by “the psychosis of what’s going in your head.” After the spiel, the video cuts to Spears laying stiffly on a couch as she says monotonously, “Yes, I’m feeling fine. I had a great year. I’m having a great day.”
It then cuts back to therapist Spears, who says they “need to figure some things out” and asks about Spears’ sleeping, breathing, and eating habits before concluding, “I’m here to help you.” Then Spears breaks character and, as herself, says, “False,” then lets out a string of exclamations and expletives.
She explained the video in her caption, writing, “As much therapy as I’ve had to do against my will … being forced to pay and listen to women telling me how they are going to further my success … it was a joy … no really … 10 hours a day, 7 days a week … no lie … in this beautiful nation it would only be fair for me to dedicate my life to skits to the wonderful therapist !!!! I genuinely thank you dear sweet hearts for your efforts !!! The end is me celebrating … it’s clearly OVER because my medication is working ‘Murica !!!! Pssss BALLS and KISS MY MOTHER F*CKING ASS !!!!!”
There isn’t a better deal for gamers than Xbox Game Pass. The Microsoft-exclusive service allows players on Xbox consoles and PCs to access a huge library of games with nothing more than a subscription fee. What makes Game Pass so special, however, is that it will frequently feature brand new releases on the service alongside its huge library of current and retro titles. There is just no better bang for your buck than Game Pass, and as a result, it’s led to more and more people buying Xboxes or gaming PCs just so they can sign up for the service.
The rest of the video game world is seeing the success of Game Pass and want to get in on the fun. That includes Microsoft’s biggest competitor, Sony. The PlayStation has had its own Game Pass-esque service, PlayStation Now, for some time, but the library and quality of the service pale in comparison. Nobody buys a PlayStation for PlayStation Now, but plenty of folks buy an Xbox for Game Pass.
It stands to reason that difference led to a recent report from Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier that PlayStation is planning a new service to directly compete with Game Pass under the codename “Spartacus.”
The service, code-named Spartacus, will allow PlayStation owners to pay a monthly fee for access to a catalog of modern and classic games, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorized to speak to the press about the plans. The offering will likely be available on the smash hit PlayStation 4, which has sold more than 116 million units, and its elusive successor, the PlayStation 5, which launched more than a year ago but is still difficult to buy due to supply chain issues.
This would be a huge move by PlayStation for multiple reasons. For starters, this new service being available on PlayStation 4 would extend the lifespan of Sony’s previous-generation console. Not only that, but this is a clear indication that services like Game Pass are becoming a far more regular part of video games as a whole. Just like how services like Netflix changed movies and TV, we are now seeing services like Game Pass and “Spartacus” change the video game industry.
More importantly, this is a win for all of us who enjoy playing games. Services like Game Pass and this new PlayStation option are making games more accessible. We’re able to play more games at a more affordable option. It’s making older games for consoles that are hiding in our closets somewhere easier to play. All of this is great for the video game ecosystem as a whole.
Season tickets are pretty much the ideal gift for the b-ball fanatic in your life, but good seats can cost a small fortune, so what else is out there for hoops lovers this holiday season? You’d be surprised. Basketballs, basketball games, basketball-themed toys, basketball shoes, headphones that you can listen to basketball games on while you’re trying not to think about the apocalypse and society’s impending collapse — look, there are a lot of things that we hoop lovers go crazy for. We’re normal people too ya know, even though we turn into unrecognizable monsters anytime our team does … anything.
Anyway, we know that basketball fans can be picky, which is why the team over at DIME put together this streamlined but well-thought-out gift guide that is sure to appeal to the hoops lovers in your life.
BLK and Bold “The Warm Up” coffee (Eastern or Western conference)
BLK Bold
Price: $14
Every year I get certain people in my life coffee as a gift around the holidays. There’s something about interacting with the beans –– as involved as a pour-over or as automatic as a reusable Keurig cup –– that gives me a sense of place and community. It’s a forced break that leads to sensory therapy. And in the pandemic, coffee’s taken on even more importance, reminding me of those days working in shops, those quick stops in a new neighborhood, the chance to stop and look around at where I am both spiritually and physically. BLK and Bold is Black-owned, fair trade certified and gives five percent of all profits back to at-risk youth. Plus, their Warm-Up blend (which makes a dynamite cold brew) lets you rep your NBA conference of choice.
Wilson took over from long-time partner Spalding, and while players are still getting used to the new official ball, you can too. I’ve found there’s no bad time to get a basketball if you’re a hoophead; one is always wearing down, one might be left at a buddy’s place, one might have gotten lost in a move, one might be in your car’s trunk (maybe, you keep saying you’ll remember to look). And it’s always fun to play with the same ball your favorite player is shooting with.
The series has taken on a life of its own in the Neighborhood, where fans and gamers and just about everyone else can exist in a Metaverse that long predated anything Zuck was trying to do. The 2K community (and the game itself) aren’t without their challenges, but there’s no better entry point into an extremely important cross-section of fans than by playing 2K. Someone out there in your life doesn’t have this year’s game yet, and you’ll be making their holiday with this one.
There’s no better deal in gaming than Game Pass. New games are added every month, including day-one releases, and even if you pause your membership for a month or two, your saves remain when you’re ready to pick up the sticks. At $15 a month, that’s basically the cost of three new games per year, available anywhere you are, at any time. While I’m still a huge fan of physical media, Game Pass is still such a great entry point to anyone with an Xbox.
Live NBA games have a certain feel to them that’s hard to replicate. In-arena songs, player intros, promotions, PA announcer idiosyncrasies, and even colors are grounding and add to the experience. In the pandemic, some of that has been lost, especially with the Bubble and limited capacity games. But this year, with arenas flipping the switch again, the experience is largely back. Still, for folks a bit leery of big crowds, or trying to save money in an extremely difficult economic climate, the live NBA experience might not exactly be realistic. For the price of basically four tickets, food and drinks, and parking, you get an entire season of basketball — but every team — and the highest tier League Pass sub even gets you the in-arena cam during timeouts and halftime. While the league really needs to find a way to do something about blackout rules (it’s 2021, rights issues need to go away forever), firing up a late night Memphis-Blazers game when Ja and Dame are going at it, or checking in on Giannis as he’s got a triple-double, or tuning into Steph when he’s supernova, is so powerful.
Recovery has become everything to athletes. And the percussive massage trend is real, portable, convenient, and a lot more comfortable than foam rolling. There are plenty of options on the market, but if you’ve got the cash, skip the Amazon knockoffs and opt for the GO from Hyperice, which is a cheaper price point than their heavy-duty professional series. You trade away some functionality (including the bluetooth controls), but get an extremely light and quiet tool you can toss in a bag and take with you anywhere. Trust me, your muscles will thank you.
Just in time for Spotify Wrapped season, a solid pair of portable, powerful headphones with strong battery life are never a bad call. The Studio Buds earbuds turned the corner beyond the brand’s non-overear options (with adaptive noise cancelation and Dolby Atmos), and the Fit Pros take that a step further by locking in place a bit better with a small strap that harkens back to the Powerbeats Pros (which are great for running, but are a bit bulky for consistent portability in case). Whatever the soundtrack of your day is, on court, at home, or in transit, having headphones with you all the time can allow you to get lost in the music (or a podcast), something we can’t get enough of in a chaotic world.
The Funko Pop craze touches just about all genres, from comics to movies. And now you can get his Airness himself — on your desk, in your car, or anywhere you need to crack a smile. Plus it’s a lot less creepy than that Elf on the Shelf.
Jordan releases are a year-round occasion, and while battling the SNKRS app is its own form of torture, if you’re lucky and can get the ‘Got ‘Em’ screen grab, the Cool Grey 11s would be a huge win. 11s go with just about anything and are an iconic silhouette, and the Cool Grey colorway couldn’t be more classic. If you miss those, the Bubble Gum 1s drop on Dec. 22 and absolutely rule.
They’re comfy, they can be worn year-round, they work as well running to the store as running a 10k, and they go with everything. Athleisure is here to stay, and Lulu is the cream of the crop when it comes to materials, functionality, and style. Everyone needs a good set of joggers.
Mindfulness is something you can’t force. But not everyone has time (or the budget) to attend guided meditations, much less hire a coach. With so many things competing for our attention, our phones constantly push notifying us with bad news, or gaslighting us to buy more things, it’s sometimes good to remember the phone is a tool — and a mirror — and it can still offer hope and clarity. Calm has a meditation for every situation, including sleep stories with LeBron himself, and when you press play you can set the phone aside and just be present for a minute or an hour, whatever you have. It may seem daunting at first, but it’s a great place to start.
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