A new 30-day pilot program at the Miami International Airport has enlisted man’s best friend to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Cobra and Beta are among the world’s first canines trained to sniff out the virus and they are using their skills to detect potentially infected travelers before they board flights.
“We’re blessed in Miami-Dade County to have the first COVID-sniffing dogs — actually, we have a couple of them — and it’s the first airport anywhere that’s utilizing this type of technology in our four-legged friends,” Miami-Dade Commission Chair Jose “Pepe” Diaz said, adding that they’re a “big win for the community.”
Early studies show they’re incredibly good at their new jobs.
“The dogs are 97% accurate,” an airport official said. “I mean, it’s the same as a PCR test, so it’s a great thing.” The dogs have been trained to detect the scent of COVID-19 on face masks and when they come across the virus, they jump to alert their handlers.
The dogs are part of a program with Florida International University (FIU) and were taught to detect the virus by smelling face coverings from recovering COVID-19 patients at the Baptist Health South Florida hospital.
Researchers used ultraviolet light on the masks to kill the virus without eradicating its smell. Then the dogs were exposed to masks with and without the virus to learn how to differentiate between the two.
The dogs’ trainers say they’re one of the most reliable ways to detect the virus and they will not need special training to recognize new variants.
Although the research on dogs and COVID-19 isn’t robust, there have been a few reports of dogs getting the virus. But according to the Centers for Disease Control, COVID-19 doesn’t pose much of a risk to them.
“Of the pets that have gotten sick, most only had mild illness and fully recovered,” the CDC says on its website. “Serious illness in pets appears to be extremely rare.”
If this pilot program is successful it could be a huge win for public health. COVID-sniffing dogs could be used at just about any large gathering of people to detect those with the virus. Authorities could pull aside those who set off a dog’s covid senses and they could be given a rapid test to confirm the results.
Cobra and Beta are able to detect the smell of COVID-19 because they have a sense of smell that is so developed it’s nearly impossible for humans to imagine.
It’s estimated that dogs can smell anywhere from 1,000 to 10,000 times better than humans. They have 100 million sensory receptors in their nasal cavities compared to a human’s six million. The area of the canine brain that processes scent is 40 times larger than that of a human.
Let’s hope that the test goes well and that man’s best friend can give us one more option to protect ourselves from the coronavirus.
September 11, 2021 marks the twentieth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Two decades, yet in many ways it still feels like yesterday.
We’ll never know how much worse the attack could have been, how many more buildings would have been hit if flights had not been grounded after two planes hit the World Trade Center and another hit the Pentagon. But we do know that the heroic acts of passengers and crew members on Flight 93 prevented one attack, likely on the U.S. Capitol or the White House.
After learning about the attacks in New York, passengers and crew aboard Flight 93 realized they were part of a planned attack and took matters into their own hands. A group of them stormed the cockpit and foiled the plan. The terrorists ended up crashing the plane in a rural area of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, east of Pittsburgh. No one survived the crash.
To honor those on board Flight 93, Pittsburgh-based chalk artist Erik Greenawalt (also known as The Chalking Dad) and a team of artists are creating chalk portraits of each passenger and crew member at the Flight 93 National Memorial site.
The Flight 93 National Memorial shared photos of some of the portraits in progress on Wednesday, and they are stunning.
The 10 artists are using photos from the National Parks Service to create the portraits on 3-foot by 5-foot charcoal-covered canvases, which can be moved under cover if inclement weather hits. Visitors to the memorial can watch the artists work while they tour the grounds.
“I think it gives people who walk by a chance to stop and sort of absorb a little bit more of who they were—to see them as individuals,” artist Shelley Brenner told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “They were people with families, neighborhoods, their own lives.”
For those who knew the passengers and crew personally, the portraits honoring their loved ones are particularly mpactful.
“The Chalking Dad” has been busy creating chalk portraits of the heroes of Flight 93 ahead of the 9/11 anniversary.… https://t.co/FqH08DkITh
Art is a powerful tool for creating a collective experience, so a live art installation that commemorates the 40 individuals whose lives were lost while stopping a terrorist attack feels like a fitting tribute.
Thank you, artists, for always helping us process our emotions and experiences in the most beautiful way possible.
In case you missed it, Drake and Kanye West don’t currently have a thriving interpersonal relationship. The pair is beefing at the moment, and as part of that, Drake premiered an unreleased West song while guest-hosting Sound 42, his SiriusXM radio show on the OVO Sound channel. Furthermore, the track, titled “Life Of The Party,” included some shots at Drake.
The song apparently existed in other forms before it became targeted at the Toronto rapper, since Tyler The Creator says he heard an earlier version of the song. He was a big fan of it, too, as he exalted it on Twitter yesterday, writing, “man i heard life of the party a few months back and lost my mind. song is beautiful man i want to eat it. very anita baker styled progression. original verse was so warm and true. pretty.”
man i heard life of the party a few months back and lost my mind. song is beautiful man i want to eat it. very anita baker styled progression. original verse was so warm and true. pretty
It appears the song has had free real estate in Tyler’s head for the past few days: Last weekend, he quoted some lines for it on Twitter and showed love to Andre 3000’s performance on the track. The admiration is mutual, as Andre wrote in a statement about the song after it leaked, “I just want to work with people that inspire me. Hopefully I can work with Kendrick [Lamar] on his album. I’d love to work with Lil’ Baby, Tyler and Jay-Z. I respect them all.”
Fleetwood Mac have certainly had their fair share of ups-and-downs as a band over the years, some of which culminated in 2018 when former guitarist and Stevie Nicks ex Lindsey Buckingham parted ways with the group. Buckingham claims he didn’t learn about being fired from the band themselves, but instead received the news through his manager. Now, Nicks has spoken out about what exactly transpired three years ago, claiming Buckingham’s account isn’t quite accurate.
Buckingham recently sat down with Rolling Stone for a lengthy interview about his new solo album. During the conversation, Buckingham claimed Fleetwood Mac let him go because he had asked them to delay a tour so that he could release a solo album. To him, Nicks was at fault.
“I think she wanted to shape the band in her own image, a more mellow thing, and if you look at the last tour, I think that’s true,” Buckingham said, going so far as to compare Nicks to Donald Trump. “I think others in the band just felt that they were not empowered enough, individually, for whatever their own reasons, to stand up for what was right,” Buckingham continued. “And so, it became a little bit like Trump and the Republicans.”
But Nicks didn’t let Buckingham’s slight go unanswered. Responding to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment, Nicks called Buckingham’s recollection of events “factually inaccurate”:
“It’s unfortunate that Lindsey has chosen to tell a revisionist history of what transpired in 2018 with Fleetwood Mac. His version of events is factually inaccurate, and while I’ve never spoken publicly on the matter, preferring to not air dirty laundry, certainly it feels the time has come to shine a light on the truth. Following an exceedingly difficult time with Lindsey at MusiCares in New York, in 2018, I decided for myself that I was no longer willing to work with him. I could publicly reflect on the many reasons why, and perhaps I will do that someday in a memoir, but suffice it to say we could start in 1968 and work up to 2018 with a litany of very precise reasons why I will not work with him. To be exceedingly clear, I did not have him fired, I did not ask for him to be fired, I did not demand he be fired. Frankly, I fired myself. I proactively removed myself from the band and a situation I considered to be toxic to my well-being. I was done. If the band went on without me, so be it. I have championed independence my whole life, and I believe every human being should have the absolute freedom to set their boundaries of what they can and cannot work with. And after many lengthy group discussions, Fleetwood Mac, a band whose legacy is rooted in evolution and change, found a new path forward with two hugely talented new members.”
Read Rolling Stone‘s full interview with Buckingham here.
Hip-hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa, who was accused in 2016 of molesting a 15-year-old in 1980, is being sued for sex trafficking by a man who says he was just 12 years old at the time of the abuse, according to Pitchfork. Pitchfork has obtained documents filed New York State Supreme Court on August 4 on behalf of the anonymous accuser claiming that from 1991-1995, Bambaataa repeatedly abused him and arranged for him to be abused by other adult men. Bambaataa would have been around 33 at the time the alleged abuse began.
The lawsuit was filed under New York’s 2019 Child Victims Act allowing victims of sexual abuse to sue their abusers past the statute of limitations of the crimes themselves. In this case, the accuser, a Bronx native identified in the documents as John Doe, says Bambaataa “repeatedly sexually abused and sex trafficked” him beginning at the Bronx River Houses public housing project, where both lived at the time.
The suit claims Bambaataa “eventually began to inappropriately touch [Doe] in his private areas while [Doe] was in [Bambaataa’s apartment],” then eventually encouraged [Doe] to watch pornographic videos while in [Bambaataa]’s apartment,” eventually progressing to trafficking as “[Bambaataa] would transport [Doe] to other locations and offer [him] for sex to other adult men. During said encounters [Bambaataa] would watch as [Doe] was sodomized by other adult men.”
The suit claims John Doe has suffered “physical injury, severe and permanent emotional distress, mental anguish, depression and embarrassment,” and charges assault, civil battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and gross negligence. Bambaataa has yet to respond to the lawsuit as of press time; however, after being accused of similar charges by Ronald Savage in 2016, he issued a statement denying the accusations. Three other men came forward in the weeks thereafter, prompting Bambaataa to step down from his role as leader of the Zulu Nation awareness organization.
The Nation is also named in the current lawsuit, but through a statement to Metropolis, distanced themselves from the embattled hip-hop pioneer. “Nothing has changed since 2016 when these decades-ago accusations first surfaced,” it reads. “This is a personal matter for Afrika Bambaataa and his lawyers to deal with.”
By this point, Republicans should know that gunning for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is never going to end well for them. Her social media game is a brutally efficient machine when it comes to serving out dunks, which Sarah Palin quickly found out the hard way.
During an appearance on Wednesday’s Fox News Primetime, Palin responded to AOC blasting Texas Governor Greg Abbott over his controversial abortion ban. “I don’t know if he is familiar with a menstruating person’s body,” AOC said in reference to the law banning abortions after six weeks when most people don’t even know if they’re pregnant yet. “Six weeks pregnant means two weeks late for your period.”
Palin took issue with AOC bringing menstruation into the discussion, even though it’s a central part of the pregnancy process, and accused the New York congresswoman of being “such a fake feminist” who is “milking the whole female thing.” Palin then went on to refer to herself as a “real feminist” who’s embarrassed for AOC.
On Thursday morning, AOC fired back with a video message to Palin where she announced the creation of a new hotline specifically for the former Alaska governor and failed vice presidential candidate. The number? 1-800-CRY-NOW.
AOC then took things a step further by creating a 1-800-CRY-NOW website, which led to a donation page for “abortion and reproductive health providers in Texas.” In a matter of minutes, the site raised over $250,000 to keep abortion access going in Texas (ironically, thanks to Sarah Palin).
We’ve raised over $250,000 to Texas grassroots pro-choice organizers and healthcare providers so far.
Even if you can’t lock in travels to Thailand, Sweden, Australia, and so many other places this instant, you can still get plenty of trip inspiration. Myriad travel movies, shows, and documentaries are ready to give you FOMO right now. Some even share enough info to help you cure it (eventually)!
From docuseries highlighting culinary delicacies from around the world to an interactive video-game-like movie with Bear Grylls, there are plenty of travel-inspired Netflix Originals to keep the travel bug alive until you feel comfortable hitting the road. Check our favorites, below.
Have you ever wondered what it takes to capture that perfect photo? Tune into Tales by Light on Netflix to watch as photographers and filmmakers travel the world in the hopes of capturing incredible, one-of-a-kind images of people, places, wildlife, and cultures from previously unseen angles.
The stories, imagery, and views in the show are breathtaking, to say the least. Within the first few episodes, you’ll feel not only creatively inspired but also motivated to go out there and explore the ends of the earth for yourself.
Outdoor enthusiasts, mountaineers, and curious travelers alike don’t want to miss this Netflix Original docuseries. The crew adventures through the Andes Mountains region of South America (Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia) to highlight the majestic landscapes and meet the people living within them.
In each episode, you’ll get to know the unique cultures, people, and stories that make up the beauty of the Andes.
Bear Grylls is a reality T.V. star, master of the outdoors, and now…video game character? Well, kind of. In this interactive series, the viewer (AKA, you) is in control of the plot. You’ll make key decisions to help Grylls survive and complete missions in a few of the harshest environments on the planet.
You’ll venture from the depths of the jungle to snowy mountaintops and even an underground mine in the remote European wilderness. Whatever choices you make throughout the series, it’s sure to get your adrenaline going and ready for some wild adventures of your own.
Foodies, rejoice! If you’re someone who chooses your vacations based on where the best food is, Netflix has you covered. Get ready to embark on a journey through the culinary traditions of China in Flavorful Origins. Throughout the series, you’ll uncover the stories of people who create and cherish these long-lived Chinese dishes in Gansu, Yunnan, and Chaoshan.
From the farming process to the table, you’re sure to be salivating by the end of each episode. I’m hungry just thinking about it!
Maybe I’m biased because Zac Efron has been my number one celebrity crush since his High School Musical days, but I think Down to Earth is actually an incredibly insightful, heartwarming show. Efron travels the world with superfood guru and wellness expert Darin Olien to search for the healthiest and most sustainable ways to live.
With destinations like Iceland, Costa Rica, Sardinia, and France, you’ll get a glimpse of each country’s landscapes, cultural practices, and eco-conscious efforts. Efron, Olien, and their crew are filming season two — expect even more eco-travel inspo to come in 2022!
If you’re someone who’s always looking for memorable places to stay, then you’ll love this Netflix Original. In The World’s Most Amazing Vacation Rentals, three lively millennials (Megan Batoon, Jo Franco, and Luis D. Ortiz) take viewers around the globe to find unique, budget, and luxury vacation rentals while sharing their expert travel tips and advice.
Whether you want to sail away at sea, live the #VanLife for a few days, or sleep in a treehouse, this show will teach you exactly how to do it. Click here for the complete list of accessible vacation rentals from the show.
If you’re not afraid of being a little (okay, a lot) taboo, then get your fix of all things strange (and slightly terrifying) with Netflix’s Dark Tourist. Journalist and lover of the weirder things in life, David Farrier, visits unconventional tourist attractions and destinations that are associated with death and destruction. From visiting a nuclear lake and a warzone to dining with “vampires” in New Orleans, anyone who’s looking for the most outrageous adventures should watch this.
If you dare to follow in Farrier’s footsteps, you’ll have some of the spookiest stories to tell when you get home.
Quintessential American adventure meets HGTV with this vacation rental makeover series. Designer Genevieve Gorder and real estate expert Peter Lorimer travel across the United States to help property owners turn their short-term rentals into successful, money-making investments. From Seattle and Palm Springs to Brooklyn and Paso Robles wine country, you might just find your next domestic vacation spot.
Is Latin America a must on your travel to-do list? Then you’ll want to check out Street Food: Latin America, a docu-series from the creators of Chef’s Table. As a viewer, you’ll visit six countries (Argentina, Oaxaca, Brazil, Peru, Colombia, and Bolivia) to watch as master street food chefs tell their stories. Learn about the delicious traditions, vibrant cultures, and remarkable people who live in each region.
You’ll be drooling over the indulgent delicacies and planning your Latin American tour by the end of the season.
Here’s another one for design aficionados and adventure daydreamers alike. In this Netflix Original series, award-winning architect Piers Taylor and actress turned property enthusiast Caroline Quentin travel the world touring beautifully unconventional homes. You’ll get a sneak peek at some of the world’s most avant-garde residential architecture while taking in their fascinating landscapes.
From an underground subterranean living quarter in Greece to a farmhouse made of steel in Spain, the properties in the series showcase eccentric and fascinating people from around the globe.
Rockstar-turned-game developer Johnny Galvatron created the studio Beethoven & Dinosaur out of his desire to make his own video game. Unsurprisingly, the game he decided to create, The Artful Escape, is heavily influenced by music, so much so that a lot of times it feels more like an experience that you’re guided along than a game. This is a good thing — many fantastic games are less about challenging the player, or giving them an obstacle to overcome, and instead provide a narrative for them to follow along with. The Artful Escape took this approach and managed to knock it out of the park.
The game begins in a small Colorado town called Calypso. Its main character, Francis Vendetti, sits at the edge of a cliff while strumming a folk tune on his guitar. Vendetti spends most of his life living in the shadow of his uncle, Johnson Vendetti. A famous folk singer, Johnson is the pride and joy of the town and someone whose footsteps Francis is expected to follow. However, no one knows that Francis can shred and is a natural-born rockstar.
The rest of the game is a coming-of-age story for Francis. Along the way, he’ll meet some interesting characters and go on a journey to discover who he really wants to be. Is Francis a rockstar, or does he want to walk the path of a folk singer? At least that’s the main premise of the game, and it’s an interesting one, but the real enjoyment of it comes from watching Francis gain confidence in himself. Francis is an awkward teenager going through a personal crisis, and while it’s music related, many of us went through that same sort of moment in our lives, too. We wanted to express ourselves, but we weren’t sure how to do so or even if we felt comfortable doing it.
While The Artful Escape is a journey that we are guided along, there’s also plenty of interactivity. When outside of the main levels, Francis can wander around and speak to other characters. He will sometimes ponder about the scenery. These moments are where a lot of really funny dialogue can come in. The game is well written, knowing exactly when to be charming, and never taking itself too seriously. Even during heartfelt moments, the developers weren’t afraid to throw in a line that gets a chuckle.
We get to see Francis’s struggle to grow up play out in some fun gameplay. To break the game down into its simplest form, a conversation or plot moment will occur. The player will be given some dialogue choices to allow Francis to express himself in a way they choose — we can make Francis sound confident, hesitant, somewhere in the middle, or really any range of emotions. After these conversations, Francis will run through a stage with guitar in hand as he shreds his way to the end of each sequence.
These side-scrolling levels make up the majority of the game with Francis using music to push through by running, jumping, and shredding his guitar through breathtaking visuals.
Throughout levels are simple Simon Says-like mini-games where the player will copy onscreen button inputs, which lead to further visual spectacle and some really great music. One of the plusses of this game being more of a guide than a challenge is it gives the player the opportunity to really appreciate everything that is happening on-screen at all times. The Artful Escape is a gorgeous game with some truly beautiful moments that will sit with the player well after they’ve watched the credits roll.
The Artful Escape
Technically, you could call this game a platformer, but the obstacles are never a hindrance. Anytime the player fails to make a jump, or fails during a mini-game, they’ll quickly reset and be given an opportunity to try again. There is no punishment for failure in The Artful Escape, and that’s a good thing because it would interrupt the true purpose of telling Francis’s story. This is not a game about the player overcoming a triumph, it’s about watching Francis grow into his own person.
This isn’t a game for everyone. People who adore music, and anyone with a musical background of any kind, should give it a try. Even those who aren’t exactly Mozart can appreciate The Artful Escape. It has plenty of moments that will leave a smile on your face and the art direction is fantastic the entire way through. Don’t go into this expecting platforming or combat challenges. Instead, be ready to go on a journey, sit back, and enjoy the ride.
Charlie Cox did not spend his quarantine like the rest of us.
While we were off testing our sourdough recipes and devoting a disturbing amount of energy to scrolling through Tik-Tok videos, he was on the streets of Dublin, kidnapping and killing people.
Well, pretending to anyway.
The actor views his new AMC+ crime drama Kin as more than just a break from self-imposed isolation though. It’s a chance to return to TV, with a role that feels markedly different from his Daredevil days. As the enforcer for an Irish crime family who’s recently been released from prison and is trying to rebuild his life without all the bloodshed, Cox’s Michael is stoic, shy … often barely audible. He’s also the kind of bad guy Matt Murdock would happily beat to a pulp were his red cowl handy. Despite that, over the course of the show’s eight episodes, Cox gives this outsider enough heart and emotion that, oddly enough, you root for him to escape an entirely different kind of prison: his family.
We chatted with that actor about delving into the very real criminal underworld of Dublin, being a first-time dad (onscreen), and what he thinks about Spider-Man: No Way Home’s #ForearmGate.
I know you’re not big on social media. Did you know your forearms were trending on Twitter?
[Laughs] It has been mentioned to me, yeah.
Is that flattering, that people think they can recognize your arm hair?
It’s really cool that people care that much. That means a huge amount to me that people care enough to spend time trying to figure out if one frame of an arm is actually my arm. Obviously, I’m not going to speak about anything in regards to whether it is or isn’t, just because I would hate to spoil anything for anyone.
So you’re not going to tell me your theory of whether it’s really you or not?
[Laughs] I’m not going to give you my theory. But I will say, from what I hear, everyone is in that film. Do you know what I mean? It looks like it’s going to be a great movie, and it’s going to be a lot of fun, and we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.
Well, this is your first TV role after Daredevil. What’s it like going from a comic book story with so much fan investment to this crime drama where you get to build something of your own?
It was nice to not feel the same amount of pressure. Playing a Marvel superhero comes with a great amount of responsibility. Those characters are enormously important to people all over the globe and have been for decades. I’m grateful that for the most part, we seem to have got it right, and people really enjoyed the show, but, every episode felt really, really, really important and I didn’t want to get it wrong.
Understandable.
With Kin, obviously, there was less pressure and I could be a little bit more lenient with my interpretation of things. It was also really enjoyable to be able to use my eyes as an actor again. That was something that was a great challenge to play as Daredevil, and something I took very, very seriously. But it’s difficult to convey emotion on-screen without the use of one’s eyes. So, it was fun to be able to do that again. Sometimes I had to remind myself that I could look at people.
So, you could use your eyes again on-screen. Anything else really interest you about the character?
I was really taken by the fact that you’ve got a man who’s come out of jail and is clearly very different and very changed from the person that everyone remembers. Of course, we don’t get to see who he was. So, all of that has to be done through the acting and I was really excited about the prospect of playing someone who has a reputation for being very destructive and violent, and a pretty bad dude, to someone who now is kind of delicate and fragile — who we can’t help but feel for and root for in a weird way. I thought that was a fun challenge.
As an American, I know absolutely nothing about the criminal underworld of Dublin. Did you learn anything surprising while filming there?
Yeah, obviously our show is a fictional family and fictional circumstances but I was amazed to discover that there is quite a significant crime scene in Dublin. I’m English and I hadn’t spent much time there. So, I learned all about that when I was preparing for the role. There are a lot of articles and books and podcasts about the crime scene in Dublin, and I was able to read up on that to help influence my performance.
You’re saying you didn’t go method and start shooting people in pubs? Dealing drugs?
[laughs] Not any more than I usually do.
Story-wise, there’s a lot bubbling just underneath the surface on this show. Is any of the familial tension going to be resolved by the season finale?
Resolution is not the kind of thing that happens in this family. Their version of resolution is, shove as much of it as possible under the rug and hope that it goes away, kind of thing. Which I think is actually true to life in many ways. A lot of difficult situations with families are made more difficult because confronting that issue potentially opens a can of worms. Sometimes with families, if you push too far, you could end up having a rift that’s unfixable.
So, what Michael, Jimmy, and Amanda are dealing with is, they have paradoxical desires. One, for all of them to get on with each other and love each other, and for things to be amicable. But rather frustratingly, sometimes for Michael and Amanda particularly, that goes against their heart desires. Therein lies the drama, I guess. So, resolution no, but more will be revealed.
There’s a father/daughter relationship on the show that’s really heartbreaking. Why is that added element so important to the character?
I’m a father, and this is the first opportunity I’ve had to play a dad, so I was really excited to dig into that. I felt like, despite Michael’s life and the kind of things he’s done, he was a really, good present father. I like that weird concept, that someone who can enforce that much harm and be so cruel to people, he’s also someone who loves deeply and cares so much about his daughter. I think that being taken away from his daughter was the worst and hardest thing that’s ever happened to him. I wanted his need to rekindle that relationship, to be the driving force behind everything he does, and everything that the rest of his family wants him to do works in opposition to that.
Since you are a dad, was that tough to play on-screen? I imagine that’s not the kind of relationship you hope for with your own kids.
Yeah, It brings up painful thoughts and feelings. It involves the loss of the relationship. That’s a very painful thing to think about and dwell in. I absolutely love being a dad, and I’ve been lucky enough that I’ve been around a great deal for my children’s lives so far, and I’m very involved in their lives. My kids are the most important thing in the world. There’s nothing that trumps my relationship with my children and my wife. So, it just raises the stakes playing a role that has very strong family ties, there’s a lot to get stuck into. There’s a lot to play with. There’s a lot of deep emotion there.
Let’s get down to the hard-hitting questions now. When are we getting a Stardust sequel? It’s time.
Seriously! It’s been almost 15 years. Sadly, we don’t have any plans to make a sequel, at least not involving me. But I’m looking forward to my daughter watching it. I did put it on the other day, just for the first few minutes. Obviously, she’s too young for a lot of it. So I was just going to show her a minute of it, and, quite quickly, she was like, ‘Daddy, I’m bored. I want to watch something else.’ I was like, ‘What do you mean? In a minute I’m going to ride a unicorn. You don’t want to see that?’ I’m excited for her to be old enough to appreciate that whole thing.
Ben Simmons is still a member of the Philadelphia 76ers despite the fact that both parties seem to agree that a parting of ways is in everyone’s best interest. Reports have indicated the team is shopping the All-Star guard/forward around, while Simmons apparently sat down with the Sixers’ decision-makers recently and expressed that he wants a trade so badly that he’d skip training camp.
Everything happening around Simmons looks like it rubs Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal the wrong way. Barkley joined Shaq, Nischelle Turner, and Spice Adams on an episode of The Big Podcast with Shaq, and when the conversation turned to Simmons, both Hall of Fame inductees expressed their frustration with how things are going with him.
Shaq and Chuck share their thoughts on Ben Simmons’ reported trade request from Philly
“I’m disappointed in Ben Simmons,” Barkley said. “When you give somebody $200 million to dribble a stupid basketball, and the only thing you ask him is be better as a player, and their first response is, ‘I don’t wanna play here anymore,’ that disappoints me as a player, that disappoints me as a fan. They’re not saying, ‘Hey, come over here and cut my grass,’ they’re saying, ‘Ben, we need you to learn how to shoot the basketball.’”
Shaq shared that sentiment, going as far as to tell Simmons he isn’t a great player.
“If you want to get to that next level, you have to be great, and to be great, you have to work on your game,” Shaq said. “Don’t be putting pictures on your Instagram of your Ferrari or what actress you hang around with. When you play in a town like Philadelphia, Boston, L.A., Miami, hard working towns, they don’t give a sh*t about none of that. They want you to come, work hard, and play hard.”
The Hall of Fame center then brought up Simmons’ Game 6 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Atlanta Hawks, saying that he looked into his eyes and saw a player who was “terrified of being fouled and missing free throws,” while Barkley expressed his annoyance at “the third year in a row they put up them bullsh*t jump shots during the summer.”
“A lot of these people, you hear from your followers how good you are, how great you are,” Shaq said to close. “But you’re hearing from some OGs right now: you ain’t that damn good. And I said what I said, and Chuck said what he said. If you don’t like it, do what you gotta do. But you ain’t that damn good.”
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