GoneTrending

How’s everyone doing right now? Doing okay? Struggling a little, or maybe a lot?

Honestly, I’m not sure if anyone is feeling full-throttle awesome during these days of pandemic upheaval. We can all use a little pick-me-up, right?

Thankfully, there are always things we can find to make us smile. Here are 10 just from this week.

Enjoy a little joy-scrolling:

1. New dad buys a used washer and dryer and finds an awesome surprise inside.

The $400 he paid the guy for it was tucked into the lint filter. “A gift for the new baby.” Come on! People are awesome.

2. This toddler has the most infectious giggle ever.

I don’t care who you are, farts are funny. But this little cherub’s laugh makes them even funnier.

3. Who knew a dog kissing a fish could make us feel so happy?

Why is it so delightful to see different species of animals interact with each other? That fish just can’t get enough dog lovin’.

---

Free kisses.. 😊 https://t.co/Iw7WsHnbUd

— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden_)
1632321458.0

4. Modern-day superhero rescues a sheep trapped in a barbed-wire fence.

Everything about this is perfection. The expertise in handling a sheep. The figuring out how to heave it over the fence. The Steve-Irwin-meets-Thor vibe. And of course, the bleat of thanks at the end.

This dude deserves endless retweets 👍

https://t.co/PXNhaU03B2

— Kevin W. (@Brink_Thinker)
1632353579.0

5. High school football player stopped to stretch an opponent’s leg when it cramped.

Good sportsmanship between opponents is always uplifting. Seeing it in young people in a highly competitive sport is extra heartwarming.

6. Preschooler brings ukulele to show-and-tell and puts on a full-blown rock performance.

Kiddo is ROCKIN’. OUT. Amazing.

And to make it even better, someone added what it looked like he was hearing while he “played”:

7. This traditional folk dance from the Philippines is just pure, joyful energy.

The Tinikling is a rhythmic dance that mimics a bird found in the Philippines called the tikling. I could watch this all day.

8. Puffin and Binx, two rescued cats, can’t get enough of each other.

And we can’t get enough of them. Puffin and Binx were rescued from a hoarding situation and they are inseparable. Just look at them hugging. Cue all the endorphins.

9. These babies were accidentally switched at birth, and how the families handled it was amazing.

What do you do when you find out you’ve been raising someone else’s baby for three years? That happened to two families who found out their daughters had been switched at the hospital as newborns. After DNA tests confirmed it, they did the most extraordinary thing—the two families simply raised their kids together. Read the story here.

assets.rebelmouse.io

10. Let this 73-year-old skateboarder roll you into the weekend.

Those knees, though. Impressive, Igor. May we all carry this much joy with us into our older years.

Hope that brought some brightness to your day! Enjoy your weekend!

Mayim Bialik wants you to know that she’s fully vaccinated despite what she may have written about vaccine skepticism in the past. The Jeopardy! guest host finished her first impromptu week on the job Friday following the Mike Richards flameout, and in a new interview she once again clarified that she’s vaccinated, including against the novel coronavirus.

Bialik had previously set the record straight about her (and her children’s) vaccine status several times in the past, including in a video she put on YouTube late last year. The long and short of it: Bialik and her family are now fully vaccinated and she supports vaccinating against coronavirus in particular.

But it’s notable because any name attached to the full-time Jeopardy! hosting job has seen at least one news cycle where past controversial comments were resurfaced. In Bialik’s case a book she wrote in 2012, Beyond The Sling, where she explained that her children were not fully vaccinated has become a lightning rod of sorts, especially in the coronavirus pandemic where vaccine skepticism is now a full-blown public health crisis.

“We made an informed decision not to vaccinate our children, but this is a very personal decision that should be made only after sufficient research, which today is within reach of every parent who seeks to learn about their child’s health regardless of their medical knowledge or educational status,” Bialik wrote at the time.

She’s obviously changed that stance in the years since, and it continues to come up as her role at Jeopardy! expands. Asked about her controversy in an interview with the Associated Press on Thursday, Bialik said she didn’t “regret” what she wrote but clarified that her entire family is vaccinated now.

“I don’t regret that at the time I wrote a book about parenting, my kids were young, they hadn’t received all their vaccines,” she said. “Now I’ve been very public and declared that I am a vaccinated person, we’re a vaccinated family, we’re all vaccinated for COVID.”

Bialik admitted that her public perception as an anti-vaxxer has been difficult, as many anti-vaxx sentiments from nearly a decade ago have been shared on platforms like Facebook in recent months despite her evolving viewpoints. And she also thanked those working at Jeopardy! for sticking with her despite her past comments.

“That’s part of the challenge of being a public person, and the court of public opinion is extremely significant,” she said. “I’m grateful to Sony and to ‘Jeopardy!’ for believing in me as a host right now, with the ability to do my job with all the other things aside.”

Considering just how difficult it is to combat the spread of misinformation online, especially on social media, Bialik’s stance on vaccines will continue to come up. But while Richards’ controversies were simply too many to keep him involved with the show, it’s clear that Bialik’s words haven’t impacted her chances of being selected as the show’s full-time host. Time will tell if the same can be said for fellow guest host Ken Jennings, who has his own past comments online continue to haunt him.

[via Associated Press]

Riffing on the popular dating advice book, Princess Nokia points out the differences in genders on her new single “Boys Are From Mars.” Offering her own, slightly salty advice to listeners, she asserts that not only are men and women from different planets but that it’s also up to women to set the terms of engagement in the gender war — and in love. Yung Baby Tate joins her sister-in-arms to spit her own clever verse goofing on men’s inability to deliver and telling girls to “focus on yourself” while doing helpful activities like tai chi and yoga.

“Boys Are From Mars” is Princess Nokia’s second single of the year after the J-Lo-inspired “It’s Not My Fault” which symbolized coming of age for “the average millennial woman, taking control of herself as the subject.” However, whereas “It’s Not My Fault” and Nokia’s other most recent video, “I Like Him,” took a techno-futuristic approach to their respective visual components, the lyrics video for “Boys Are From Mars” takes its inspiration from retro cinema instead — particularly the Saturday afternoon matinee double-features of the 1970s, which featured Blaxploitation and martial arts flicks as their main draws. As the lyrics flash on the screen, the two artists can be seen in silhouette, throwing flare-legged high kicks and waving curved Chinese swords.

Listen to Princess Nokia’s “Boys Are From Mars” with Yung Baby Tate above.

If there’s one thing Dave Bautista keeps teaching us through his films and his actions, it’s just how powerful found family can be. The former wrestler and actor best known for his role as Guardian of the Galaxy‘s Drax has announced the Bautista family is getting a furry new addition: a three-month-old pit bull puppy named Penny. While every rescue story is just as heartwarming as the next, Penny’s journey to the Bautista family has been a pretty high-profile and particularly emotional one that started all the way back on September 16.

On the 16th, the Humane Society of Tampa Bay shared that a dog named Sage has been brought into the shelter after someone found her living on the streets with a metal chain embedded into the skin around her neck. The story was quick to go viral, and soon caught the attention of Bautista, who offered to “personally hand $5,000” to any person who had information that would lead to the arrest of the person responsible for Sage’s injuries. According to People Magazine, Bautista explained to local news channel WHAS11 why he was so invested in the case, saying that to him, “there’s nothing more innocent and pure than a puppy. For someone who can abuse a puppy has got to be the lowest form of human being, pure evil, for someone who can abuse an animal like that. It makes me sick to my stomach.”

The Humane Society of Tampa Bay soon joined the actor’s efforts, adding $1,000 to the reward before Alvarez Injury Law chipped in another $5,000. While no one has stepped forward to claim the $11,000 reward and shed some light on who Sage’s past owners might have been, Bautista decided to personally ensure Sage would no longer have to suffer abuse or neglect from anyone else and went to the Humane Society of Tampa Bay to adopt the puppy.

Bautista took to Instagram to share the big news about the newly-named Penny joining the Bautista family, telling fans:

“The good news is, the puppy you know as Sage actually became Penny Bautista. So I’d like to introduce you to the newest member of my family. Healing up, nice, and recovered. She is now a Bautista and she will never be abused again a day in her life. She is about to live her best puppy life ever … and she has her forever home.”

Penny joins Bautista’s other two pit bulls, Ollie and Maggie, who he celebrated just last month during National Dog Day. Based on the picture he shared of his two other pups, it’s safe to say Penny will be living the good life from here on out.

No stranger to being an advocate for treating people with kindness, gentleman heartthrob Harry Styles gave some straightforward dating advice mid-concert that left female fans feeling empowered.

During his Love On Tour stop in Detroit, Styles found a fan holding a sign that read, “Should I text him?” which received boos among the crowd. However, in typical Harry fashion, his reply was simply, “is he nice to you?”

You can watch the full video here:

---

“should i text him?” TRASH TRASH TRASH!!
@Harry_Styles https://t.co/B2cvfzzAKW

— 𝚡𝚘𝚡𝚘, 𝚊𝚕𝚣. ♡︎ (@alliefriese)
1632370280.0

He concluded with, “My personal opinion is that if there’s any sort of games, trash, trash, trash, not for you,” a piece of advice that resulted in raucous applause and a flood of tweets from fans.

This is more than your run-of-the-mill fan-girling. There’s plenty of evidence out there that shows Harry Styles has been a champion for feminism in a way that few men have succeeded. And that goes far beyond his fashion choices.

Take for instance in 2014 when he joined the #HeForShe movement in supporting gender equality.

I’m supporting @UN_Women and @EmWatson in #HeForShe
As should you.. http://t.co/RYtM4SKkqN

— Harry Styles. (@Harry_Styles)
1411659942.0

Or in 2017, when he wore T-shirt that bearing the slogan “Women are smarter.”

Or my personal favorite, in 2017 when Harry had his Rolling Stones interview, and was quick to defend his fanbase.

“Young girls like the Beatles. You gonna tell me they’re not serious? How can you say young girls don’t get it? They’re our future. Our future doctors, lawyers, mothers, presidents, they kind of keep the world going. Teenage-girl fans—they don’t lie. If they like you, they’re there. They don’t act ‘too cool.’ They like you, and they tell you. Which is sick.”

It’s no wonder why some dub him the “Feminist Prince.” And with his special brand of sincerity and charm that encourages women to step into their own power…long may he reign.

Giannis Antetokounmpo finally ascended to basketball’s mountaintop earlier this year. Antetokounmpo led the Milwaukee Bucks to the franchise’s first championship since 1971, earning NBA Finals MVP honors for his performance on the game’s biggest stage — the Greek Freak averaged 35.2 points, 13.2 rebounds, five assists, 1.8 blocks, and 1.2 steals in 39.8 minutes per game while playing on a knee injury that he suffered in the Eastern Conference Finals.

For a player who had won back-to-back NBA MVP awards, Antetokounmpo had always made clear his goal was to become a champion. Despite this, Harris Stavrou of SPORT24 in Greece highlighted a quote Antetokounmpo gave where he expressed his belief that he is not yet the best basketball player in the world. He went on to list a number of players who he believes are better than him, and gave his pick for the best player on the planet right now.

Antetokounmpo has never been the kind of guy to say he’s the best player in the world, so even if this is true (and he certainly has a case!), he’s probably never going to explicitly say it. Picking James is an interesting choice, however, if only because he’s about to enter his 19th season in the league, and it’s something else that he’s still performing at a level that leads to him being in this conversation.

Eminem is going from rapper to restauranteur with next week’s opening of Mom’s Spaghetti, a new eatery based on the pop-up concept inspired by one of his most famous lyrics. The Detroit rapper previously brought the dish based on his famous “Lose Yourself” line to his Revival promotional event, as well as a second pop-up dedicated to the hospital workers of Detroit during last year’s quarantines. He also brought the pop-up to Coachella and Firefly in 2018 when he headlined those festivals. To promote the restaurant, Eminem even shot a tongue-in-cheek commercial that is currently airing on local TV.

In addition to Mom’s Spaghetti — both with and without meatballs — the restaurant will apparently be serving something called a “s’ghetti sandwich,” which sounds like exactly the thing a stressed-out mom living on the outskirts of Detroit’s city center would serve a hyperactive pre-teen. In the commercial, which details these items, Eminem appears to upchuck a takeout container from the restaurant, paying a fitting tribute to the line that inspired the whole thing:

His palms are sweaty
Knees weak, arms are heavy
There’s vomit on his sweater already: Mom’s spaghetti

You can lose yourself in the saucy, noodle-y goodness next Wednesday, September 29 in Detroit.

Azealia Banks is one person elated at the news of Elon Musk and Grimes’ breakup. Posting a screenshot of the Page Six tweet announcing the split to her Instagram, the controversial artist crowed in a caption, “Ok girl, can we finally make those darn songs now that apartheid Clyde is out of the way? We were really supposed to eat these bitches up.”

https://twitter.com/bigblackjacobin/status/1441430962928291842/

Back in 2018, when the couple first got together, Grimes invited Banks to Musk’s estate to work on music together but apparently, the weekend didn’t go as planned. Banks eventually went on a tirade against Musk, saying that he avoided her during the visit while scrambling to find investors for Tesla after tweeting about taking the company private. She said that she missed her chance to collaborate with Grimes, who was attending to the stressed-out Musk, calling the whole situation a real-life scene from Get Out. She also says Musk’s staff took her phone.

Musk, meanwhile, denied ever having met Azealia, calling her a compulsive liar (he’s not the first), while earlier this year, Grimes told fans on Discord that her song “100% Tragedy” was about “having to defeat Azealia Banks when she tried to destroy my life.” This prompted Azealia to call Grimes “weird undercover millennial racist” who “doesn’t have the musical capacity i have.”

Something tells me that Grimes isn’t going to be calling Banks to work together again anytime soon.

It’s hard to imagine Jeopardy! without Alex Trebek (look at all the trouble they’ve had trying to replace him), and it’s equally difficult to picture Wheel of Fortune without Pat Sajack and Vanna White. The hosts have worked together on the syndicated game show since the early 1980s, and in that time, they’ve only had one major disagreement. “Believe it or not, Pat Sajak and I have only had one argument in 36 years and that was over putting ketchup on a hotdog,” she said in 2019. He’s mustard only, while she prefers ketchup and mustard — I’m sorry, Vanna, but I gotta side with Pat on this one.

In an interview with USA Today, Sajak was asked whether he’s thought about retiring. “We’re much closer to the end than we are to the beginning,” he answered. “There’s a pretty good chance that when one of us leaves, we’ll both leave, because it would be odd for either of us to work with somebody else. I always say that I want to leave while the show is still popular and before people tune in and say, ‘Ooh, what happened to him?’ I’m not quite there yet.” He needs to get his dream Wheel contestant first:

“My secret desire is to get Meryl Streep on the show, just because I want to hear her say, ‘Come on, Big Money!’” he says. “I think that would be really dramatic.”

I thought Roy Kent saying “Muppets dream” was the thing I most wanted to hear this week. No, it’s Meryl Streep saying “Big Money.”

(Via USA Today)

After four years off the air, MTV’s hit show Teen Wolf is returning, and in more ways than one. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Teen Wolf creator and writer Jeff Davis has just entered in to a multi-year deal with streaming service Paramount+ to revive the series with a 2022 sequel movie and spin-off show, Wolf Pack.

As of right now, it’s unknown who will be starring in the upcoming film or when exactly in 2022 it will hit the streaming service. However, The Hollywood Reporter revealed Paramount is currently in talks with the series’ original cast (Tyler Posey, Crystal Reed, and Dylan O’Brien) in hopes of ensuring their return to the franchise. The outlet also shared the movie’s lengthy logline, which definitely seems to promise a whole lot more of the same Teen Wolf fans know and love:

A full moon rises in Beacon Hills and with it a terrifying evil has emerged. The wolves are howling once again, calling for the return of Banshees, Werecoyotes, Hellhounds, Kitsunes and every other shapeshifter in the night. But only a Werewolf like Scott McCall, no longer a teenager yet still an Alpha, can gather both new allies and reunite trusted friends to fight back against what could be the most powerful and deadliest enemy they’ve ever faced.

In addition to the movie, Davis is also developing a new series: Wolf Pack. Based on the book series of the same name by Edo Van Belkom, Wolf Pack “follows a teenage boy and girl whose lives are changed forever when a California wildfire awakens a terrifying supernatural creature and drives it to attack a highway traffic jam beneath the burning hills. Wounded in the chaos, the boy and girl are inexplicably drawn to each other and to two other teenagers who were adopted sixteen years earlier by a park ranger after another mysterious wildfire. As the full moon rises, all four teens come together to unravel the secret that connects them — the bite and blood of a werewolf.”

All in all, it’s a great day for fans of the Teen Wolf franchise and hey, if you’re not a fan yet, here’s a casual reminder that the entire 100-episode series is coming to Paramount+ later this December, giving you plenty of time to watch it before the movie.