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This year is different. Everything you feel, say, and do is different and matters like never before.

So, how about we let the good gifts roll?

Explore our brand new GOOD Market, a curated shop of goods that do good, and discover the perfect gifts for your quirky, picky, practical, eccentric, “don’t know what to give them” family and friends.

On the giving side — every one of these is a gift that gives back. We believe in the power of your purchase, in sharing the best of humanity with the rest of the world, so every GOOD Market purchase supports local artisans and social causes around the world.

GOOD Market is a collaboration with NOVICA, one of the world’s largest impact marketplaces for artists and artisans around the world. Here, you’ll find gifts that fit the person, not just the holiday. You’ll find something for every friend and family member and a great way to celebrate a year where some days seem to have been built around waiting for a delivery.

Here are a few suggestions for keeping this holiday season meaningful and memorable.

Gifts for those Home Not Alone or Family Gifts

In a year of laughter and tears, it’s time to find the perfect gift to express all they mean to you whether you’re bound to them 24/7 or only sharing a screen.

GOOD Market’s Artisan Gifts by global artisans range from the cool to the beautiful to the “you’ve got to be kidding me-posting this right now” kind of gifts. They include jewelry and apparel, original one-of-kind artworks, archeological replicas, global decor, and countless other cultural treasures. Gifts as special as they are.

Worry Wall Dancers (Guatemala)

Upworthy Merchandise

GOOD Market also offers a unique range of Upworthy Merch. The type of apparel that makes it easier to show everyone where you stand. This gear lets you broadcast your intention to stand up and not just stand by. Make a powerful statement with our ethically-sourced, made in the United States shirts and hoodies.

This Too Heather Red Unisex Sueded Jersey T-Shirt

Gifts for those Who Ain’t Going Nowhere or Kalmazoo to Kathmandu Blues

Grab something from our GOOD for the Home Collection – it’s perfect for bringing a touch of faraway dreaming to multi-purpose work and living spaces. From hand-tooled leather catch-alls to Peruvian ekekos and retablos there is something to quench the longing of everyone resigned to traveling sometime next year. Explore our GOOD Gift Suggestions

Handcrafted 3-Piece Shapivo Nativity Scene

Jewelry for All Seasons & Reasons

GOOD Market artisan jewelry does a whole lot of good. Our collection of traditional and contemporary designs, precious metals, and gemstones celebrate our commitment to doing and standing for what is right.

Hope and Peace Sterling Silver Stacking Ring Set

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Our favorite TikToker showed us that no matter what you’re going through you will get through it. Shop this exclusive collaboration between @upworthy and the incomparable @TegaReacts and just Continue …

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Gifts Too Quirky for Words or the Different Drum Guide

Beaded bananas, mariachi pigs, rubber porcupine desk cups, and other never-imagineds live side by side in the GOOD Market. For those on your list that march to the beat of a different drum or just embrace the whimsical on the daily, this is your destination. You’ll find everything from a rooster on a tortoise sculpture to hand-crocheted taco earrings. Let the fun begin.

Dolphin-Themed Mahogany Mini Djeme Drum from Bali

Keeping it Cozy Gifts

The look of this season is the cozy something — from scarves to sweaters or cushions to throws, our collection of handknit and handwoven GOOD Market Clothing is soft, stylish and oh-so-comfortable.

Alpaca Striped Kimono Ruana in Orange

Stocking Stuffers

Face masks have replaced the season’s ubiquitous socks and you’ll find hundreds of GOOD Face Masks perfect for gifting. These are truly gifts that give back. This year tourism is down and local markets have closed forcing many artisans to make face masks to survive and the results have been amazing.

Artisans have been able to support their families, offer work to their neighbors, and keep global craft traditions alive all while helping the rest of us to mask up.

3 Colorful Nature Print 2-Layer Rayon Ear Loop Face Masks

Find the good in everything, after all that’s what this season is all about — show someone you care for them and acknowledge the care they show you. Choose gifts that give back. As the saying goes: it’s the thought that counts. And there is a lot of thought and love behind a handmade gift that gives back to the hands that made it.

The comics versions of comic book characters aren’t always on the same paths as their big screen counterparts. Often times they’re very different. A recent example can be found in the latest issue of Guardians of the Galaxy. In the movies, Star-Lord — the gang’s resident half-human, played by Chris Pratt — is still merrily cruising around the stars with his team, plus new buddy Thor, rearing for their third adventure. In the comics, meanwhile, he’s enjoying a long stint in a polyamorous bisexual relationship.

In the latest issue, entitled “I Shall Make You a Star-Lord,” a long-haired and intensely bearded Peter Quill finds himself in a strange land called Morinus, where he winds up spending 150 years. After twelve years he winds up in a threeway relationship with a pair of humanoids: a woman named Aradia and a man named Mors.

“It’s been over a decade,” Quill tells the two when he decides to take things next level. “Time to accept the truth…Morinus is my home. You’re my home.”

Marvel has yet to comment on whether this will wind up incorporated into the film wing of the Guardians-verse, but many online are much more interested in hearing what Pratt has to say. Back in February of last year, Elliot Page called out Pratt’s church, Hillsong, for being “infamously anti-LGBTQ.” Pratt defended his parish, saying, “Nothing could be further from the truth. I go to a church that opens their doors to absolutely everyone.”

In the meantime, Guardians director James Gunn still has to finish The Suicide Squad before he gets to Vol. 3. So there’s plenty of time to wonder if the Pratt version of Star-Lord is cooler than we thought.

(Via EW)

It took a while for this era of comic book movies to be okay with going R-rated, but it was usually because of violence, not because your favorite superheroes suddenly became Veep-level potty mouths. That’s about to change, sort of. Zack Snyder told Entertainment Weekly about some new developments with his much-anticipated “Snyder Cut” of Justice League, DCEU’s infamously troubled attempt at an Avengers-style mash-up. And one tidbit is this: You’re finally going to hear Batman drop an f-bomb.

Snyder was hyping his new version, which will be broken into four hour-long episodes and dropped onto HBO Max next year. While it has yet to be evaluated by the MPAA, he’s sure it won’t be your usual comic book movie PG-13.

“The movie is insane and so epic and is probably rated R — that’s one thing I think will happen, that it will be an R-rated version, for sure,” Snyder said. And what are some things that will make it restricted to those under 17? “There’s one scene where Batman drops an F-bomb.”

That’s one notch above what Frank Miller infamously did to Batman in his All Star Batman & Robin run in the mid-aughts, which was so gritty that he had the Caped Crusader utter the meme-able words, “I’m the G*ddamn Batman.”

But there’s more! Snyder suggested Ray Fisher’s Cyborg is a little loose with his language, saying, “he tends to speak his mind.” Meanwhile, main baddie Steppenwolf doesn’t cuss but he “is pretty much just hacking people in half.” Ergo, Snyder says, the R-rating would be due to “violence and profanity, probably both.”

There was another big reveal about the rehabbed Justice League. Even though this new cut is essentially made for TV (or at least streaming), it may wind up playing in theaters, too. “I’m a huge fan and a big supporter of the cinematic experience, and we’re already talking about Justice League playing theatrically at the same time it’s coming to HBO Max,” Snyder told EW. “So weirdly, it’s the reverse [of the trend].”

Snyder was referring to the controversial news that Warner Bros., which owns Justice League, will drop its entire 2021 film slate onto their new streamer HBO Max the same day they hit theaters. That decision has not been met kindly by certain Warner’s filmmakers, especially not another Batman movie director, Christopher Nolan. Snyder had some thoughts about the move himself:

“It felt like a pretty bold move and that maybe the implication wasn’t 100 percent thought out … I feel like there’s a lot of people panicking during COVID. I hope that, in the end, that’s what this was — some sort of knee-jerk to COVID and not some sort of greater move to disrupt the theatrical experience. I thought we were kind of already getting very close to the ideal theatrical window where you still had marketing material out there and you hadn’t forgotten about the film by the time it came out on DVD or streaming. I thought we were starting to hone in on that sweet spot, but this kind of throws a monkey wrench in the works.”

So there you have it: You’ll get to hear Ben Affleck’s Batman deploy an f-bomb. Perhaps it will be as forced and anticlimactic as that time Samuel L. Jackson was brought in for re-shoots on Snakes on a Plane, just so he could appease the internet and drop a double “motherf*cker.” But given how much world-weariness Affleck brought to his iteration of Bruce Wayne, it might actually be good.

(Via EW)

Megan Thee Stallion has had her fair share of ups-and-downs this year. On one hand, she released her anticipated album Good News to glowing reviews; she also received her first-ever Grammy nomination. But the rapper also made headlines when she was allegedly shot in the foot by Tory Lanez. To make matters worse, some people online didn’t believe her.

Megan eventually revealed some details about her side of the story in a video, and she also penned a powerful op-ed in the New York Times about the importance of speaking up for Black women. But as Megan told the LA Times in a recent interview, the online hate she received following the shooting put her in a “dark place.”

While Megan was barred from sharing details about the case for legal reasons, she did open up about her head space at the time. “Sometimes you need a day when you just want to holler,” she said, adding that her immediate response to stress is to “to throw myself into work.” She added that she leaned on her support system for comfort. Among those to stick by her side were Beyonce and Jay-Z, who she recently told Stephen Colbert gives the best “turnt up advice.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Megan also discussed the backlash she received over her Cardi B collaboration “WAP.” “This is my body; why can’t I talk about it?” she said. “Men have been doing it for years. Me saying I have a WAP should not be making the boys cry this hard.”

Good News is out now via 1501 Entertainment. Get it here.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

2020 was a hard year, that’s obvious. One thing that makes it remarkable is that, in some form, it was hard for nearly everyone. So it’s tempting to hop on the bandwagon of bashing this “365-day dumpster fire.” But to reduce this year to only its most negative aspects would be to ignore glimmers of progress amidst pain. Slivers of light piercing the storm clouds.

In 2020, people took to the streets in record numbers (and with a record-level of diversity across the race and gender spectrums) to protest racial inequality and police violence. That remarkable movement, in turn, sparked a different sort of fire — a growing commitment to pay attention to the broader implications of systemic racism faced by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). From healthcare to upward mobility to employment to travel to media representation, conversations about race in America are being had on a wider scale than ever before.

The support of BIPOC-owned businesses is a vital piece of this puzzle and crucial in tearing down white supremacy’s stranglehold on the economy. Especially with these establishments being disproportionately shut out of pandemic relief and gate kept from success.

“Between 40% and 50% of black-owned businesses are slated to go under permanently as a result of this pandemic,” Melina Abdullah, co-founder of the Black Lives Matter LA chapter says. “So, yes, we really want to support Black-owned businesses during this season. If you’re buying stuff, we’re saying ‘buy Black!’”

If you’re still holiday shopping, here are 15 incredible Black-owned businesses to show love to as 2020 winds down.

1. Crowns and Hops Brewing Company

Founders of the recently opened and LA-based Crowns and Hops Brewing Co., Teo Hunter and Beny Ashburn, actually met on a Tinder date at a taproom. As they connected over their shared love of beer, they began to notice how little representation there was for Black people in the craft brewery world.

So they started their own business. It’s both an inspiring story of entrepreneurship and a hell of a meet-cute.

Hunter and Ashburn are hoping to branch out into a taproom in Inglewood in the coming year. In the meantime, you can buy their beer while supporting their goal to make the beer world more inclusive. Doing good while having drinks is the kind of win/win we need more of right now.

Check Crowns and Hops out here.

2. Proper Gnar

The only Black and woman-owned skateboarding company in the market today, founder and artist Latosha Stone blends activism and social consciousness with her custom skateboards and pieces.

This is an incredibly cool business with so many gifts for others (and, of course, yourself).

Check out her boards and art here.

3. Harriett’s Bookshop

This recently open Philly bookshop, named after Harriet Tubman, celebrates womxn authors and activists. It’s also an adorable space — with owner Jeannine A. Cook personally curating the collection with books she loves or wants to read herself.

Check out the books you need to own here.

4. Red Bay Coffee

Red Bay Coffee Roasters, founded by artist Keba Konte, is a brand that’s intent on crafting delicious brew while also being sustainable and inclusive. They hire from all backgrounds, but especially people who have been left out of the coffee industry like BIPOC, the formerly incarcerated, women, and people with disabilities.

Skip the Starbucks line this year and buy from a Black-owned brand that’s doing some good in the world.

Grab your caffeine fix here.

5. BLK MKT Vintage

BLK MKT Vintage specializes in vintage, cultural pieces of Black history, and Black Power-centric work — carrying everything from signed books to movie stills to posters.

If you’ve been staring at the walls of your home office — walls which you never thought you’d be spending so much of your time looking at — and feeling disconnected, now is the perfect time to get some special pieces and do some decorating.

Pick out some awesome memorabilia here.

6. Grounded

The perfect way to get through an especially isolating winter is by buying people you love plants. This women/ Black-owned plant service will help you do exactly that, shipping you and your loved ones plants that are sure to liven up any living space. You can buy plants individually or opt for a subscription service with new greenery arriving monthly.

The service was launched this year, which comes as no surprise. The healing energy of plants as self-care is more needed than ever right now.

Make your space more beautiful here.

7. Vela Negra

Aisha Cort used her blended Afro-Cuban and Guyanese background to create candles that evoke the scents from her many travels and favorite places. Made of vegan coconut soy wax and ethically-sourced wooden wicks, fragrance, and dyes, her black candles, which she says absorb and dispel negative energy, will cleanse your space for a fresh start to the new year.

Plus, her soothing scents will have you dreaming of your next beach adventure — bridging the gap until you can get back out there to one.

Start your aromatherapy here.

8. Feelmore Adult

If you could use a little relaxation after the last year, look no further than the products from Feelmore.

Nenna Joiner started her career selling dildos and vibrators out of the trunk of her car. Now, she has a popular Oakland shop that not only sells a large variety of sex toys, but works to create a non-judgmental, safe space for the community to access, talk about, and engage in pleasure. She also works to curate products that are inclusive and makes sure her shop is centered around the exploration and fun of human sexuality.

Feel more pleasure by going here.

9. GOODEE

Brothers Byron and Dexter Peart founded GOODEE to bring home decor and accessory brands that were beautiful, sustainable, and making a positive social impact under a single banner. You can’t go wrong with their incredible products, made by artisans, which they carefully curate. And you can feel good knowing that they did the research for you as to whether your money is going toward a “good” purchase, made ethically.

Start purchasing off your Pinterest dream board here.

10. The Brooklyn Circus

Brooklyn Circus, the super hip menswear brand by Ouigi Theodore, makes vintage style pieces look modern by blending streetwear and prep with a timeless style that celebrates African American history and culture. It’s absolutely unique and will make you feel Brooklyn cool — regardless of where you live.

Get dressed up here.

11. McBride Sisters Wine

McBride Sisters is not only the largest Black-owned wine company in U.S. but also a company that works to promote sustainability and inclusivity in the industry. And their wine is approved by UPROXX’s Janice Williams. Get a botle for everyone you love and a few for yourself.

Grab a few bottles (or cases) here.

12. Coco and Breezy

These Black, Puerto Rican, DJing sisters make eyewear and sunglasses that magazine covers and are a favorite of celebs. You can see why. They’re stylish, classic, and would absolutely make a great present to wear into the next year.

After many months inside, we’ll probably need to protect our eyes when we end up at rooftop bars and festivals again — so we might as well do so in style.

Pick up a pair of shades here.

13. Mahogany Books

This family owned Washington D.C. bookstore not only stocks an incredible selection by and about the African Diaspora, but they also bring readings, enrichment opportunities, and cultural events to the surrounding community. Plus, they founded an organization to provide books featuring Black protagonists to kids.

Trust us, they’re awesome.

Finish out 2020 reading by buying some books here.

14. Southern Girl Desserts

With award winning pies, cookies, and cupcakes, this Los Angeles-based bakery, owned by two Black women, brings you incredible southern cooking shipped right to your home. Perfect for gifts and ringing in 2021. God knows that if we’re still stuck inside we at least deserve delicious desserts to savor while we binge-watch Netflix and wait for a vaccine.

Get all your treats here.

15. Brough Brothers Bourbon

Opened just this year, this craft whiskey distillery is the long-overdue first African-American owned distillery in Kentucky. And not only is this expression flying off the shelves and gaining buzz, but the three Brough brothers themselves have made a clear commitment to spreading knowledge, bringing jobs to, and revitalizing the economically depressed community near their HQ.

Less than a year after their launch, Brough Brothers is already being sold in several states. We can’t wait to see where they go next.

Get a bottle of whiskey to toast to 2021 here.

The very first doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine began being distributed around the country on Monday after getting FDA approval over the weekend, with hospitals beginning to give out the vaccine to first responders and healthcare workers.

Video of some of the first doses being wheeled into George Washington University Hospital in the early hours of the morning went viral after sports and wrestling fans couldn’t help but laugh at how much it looked like a wrestler or boxer’s ring entrance.

That resulted in a lot of people dubbing the vaccine video to various wrestler themes, most popular among them being Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Undertaker, and Goldberg.

For others, they couldn’t help but notice a different correlation, as it was eerily similar to the coverage they give the people who wheel in the championship trophy during the NBA Finals or the Stanley Cup Final.

That led to my personal favorite edit of the video, which put the NBA on ESPN theme music over it.

Now I need someone to dub a Mike Breen “BANG!” call over video of the first people receiving the vaccine, and we’ll really be cooking. There were plenty of other memes out there, including this visual I very much enjoyed of them bringing the vaccine into the hospital like they do bottle service at the club, just with fewer sparklers.

It’s been exactly ten years since Diddy released his seminal album Last Train To Paris and the rapper is celebrating the anniversary by reliving memorable moments in the studio. He shared a handful of behind-the-scenes videos of him working on the album and the clips depict Kid Cudi, Busta Rhymes, and Jay Electronica offering their two cents on the recording process.

In the never-before-seen footage, Kid Cudi can be seen trying out a verse while Busta Rhymes notes the album’s “future” sound. In one of Diddy’s resurfaced clips, he describes how Pharrell complimented the album’s sound:

“So I played this sh*t for Pharrell in the infantile stages. That n***a ain’t never amp me up. He said, ‘I ain’t gon’ front, n***a. You on to the new Black. And I’m running with that. This sh*t is the new Black. We got a lot of sh*t inspiring us to be who we can be. We got Obama. We entering our f*ckin’ 20th year doing this sh*t. We should be able to be the essence of who we want to be. This sh*t is the new. We making new Black all around.”

While the behind-the-scenes footage was shared for The Last Train To Paris‘ ten-year anniversary, the video arrives at an apt time, as Kid Cudi and Busta Rhymes both just released anticipated albums. The former debuted Man On The Moon III: The Chosen last week, while the latter shared a deluxe version of his 2020 LP Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath Of God in November.

Watch Kid Cudi, Busta Rhymes, and Jay Electronia in the studio with Diddy above.

The year 2020 has been…a lot — so astonishingly, epically, inventively awful that even Jeff Bridges wasn’t left unscathed. Back in October, the screen legend and Oscar-winner revealed that he’d been diagnosed with lymphoma. (Being the once and forever Dude, he broke the news via a goofy tweet, complete with a Big Lebowski reference.) Almost two months later, he offered a health update, one that was patently chill and reassuringly jokey.

It was short and to the point:

Here’s the latest:
• Feeling good
• Shaved my head
• Got a puppy – Monty
• Had a Birthday – 71, man

Attached was a picture of a smiling, lounging Bridges, just over a week after his birthday. His head was indeed shaven, making him look like the baddie he played in the first Iron Man, minus the intense beard. There was also Monty, the promised puppy. And sure enough, he looked good and happy, as we all are, surely, on the day that Joe Biden was named the 46th president by the Electoral College.

The Mayo Clinic defines lymphoma as “a cancer of the lymphatic system, which is part of the body’s germ-fighting network,” which is comprised of “the lymph nodes (lymph glands), spleen, thymus gland and bone marrow.” Treatments include “chemotherapy, immunotherapy medications, radiation therapy, a bone marrow transplant or some combination of these.”

So hang in there, Dude. Long may you abide.

A lot has changed since the HIV/AIDS epidemic began in the ’80s. Sadly, up to 40 million people died across the world due to the epidemic, but the numbers have been dropping rapidly over the past 15 years.

New HIV infections have been reduced by 40% since the infection rate reached its peak in 1998, and AIDS-related deaths are down 60% since 2004.

Over the past three decades, scientific advancements have turned an HIV diagnosis from a death sentence to a manageable condition. As a result, many countries in the Western world are beginning to reevaluate how the medical community sees those most likely to become infected.

via Matt Buck / Flickr

Currently, UK rules stipulate that “all men must wait three months after having oral or anal sex with another man before donating.”

However, these rules were seen as unnecessary and discriminatory against men who have sex with men. So, starting in the summer, the UK is relaxing its rules and allowing all blood donors who have had one sexual partner and have been with them for more than three months to be able to donate.

These rules apply regardless of gender or the type of sex acts they’ve performed.

Donors who have had more than one sex partner or a new one in the past three months will be allowed to donate only if they’ve abstained from anal sex.

According to the CDC, anal sex is the riskiest type of intercourse for getting or transmitting HIV.

These recommended changes came after The Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs — which advises the UK health department — examined the latest evidence regarding the safety of blood donors.

The UK government claims their new approach to blood donors is a “more individualized risk-based approach” to donor selection criteria. “Patients rely on the generosity and altruism of donors for their life-saving blood. I’m pleased to have concluded that these new changes to donor selection will keep blood just as safe,” Su Brailsford, associate medical director at NHS Blood and Transplant,” said according to the BBC.

“This landmark change to blood donation is safe and it will allow many more people, who have previously been excluded by donor selection criteria, to take the opportunity to help save lives,” Health Secretary Matt Hancock adds.

“This policy is a fundamental shift toward recognizing people are individuals,” Ethan Spibey, the founder of FreedomToDonate, a British activist group, told The New York Times. He added hoped it would “have ripple effects around the world for potentially millions of gay and bi men.”

The United States recently relaxed its restrictions on blood donations from men who have sex with men. In 2015, the FDA lifted the lifetime ban for gay and bisexual males and reduced it to any men who had homosexual sex within the past 12 months.

On April 2, 2020, to help fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA reduced the ban to men who’ve had sex with men within the past three months.

The new ruling also allowed women who’ve had sex with a man who’s had sex with a man to donate after three months of abstinence as well.

“To help address this critical need and increase the number of donations, the FDA is announcing today that based on recently completed studies and epidemiologic data, we have concluded that the current policies regarding the eligibility of certain donors can be modified without compromising the safety of the blood supply,” the notice said.

These changes in policy acknowledge that when it comes to how we see people from a medical perspective, it’s more important to judge them based on their behavior than their sexuality. Responsibility knows no orientation, so hopefully, more governments will follow suit in reassessing how blood donors are evaluated.

Thanks to a short blurb in a Hollywood Reporter profile on former Warner Bros. executive and almost CEO Jeff Robinov, headlines started rolling in that Ben Affleck is attached to star in the long-simmering Houdini movie to be directed by Black Mirror‘s Dan Trachtenberg for Disney. However, there’s a catch: Affleck is not playing the famed magician. According to /Film, Affleck will play a “supporting character who is some kind of agent.” The film is based on the book The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America’s First Superhero and has bounced around Hollywood for years with Trachtenberg being the latest director attached to the project:

The book posits that Houdini was actually a secret agent who investigated the occult, and the pitch for the movie was that not only was the man a world-class magician and escape artist, but also “part Indiana Jones and part Sherlock Holmes.” When last we heard, the latest draft of the script was written by Noah Oppenheim (The Maze Runner, Jackie). Trachtenberg has been attached to direct since 2016.

Lead role or not, Affleck’s participation could signal a career shift after personal upheaval, which coincided with the poor reception to Batman V Superman and Justice League. However, despite his candid remarks on how his time in the DC Comics world may have exacerbated his struggle with alcoholism, Affleck not only participated in reshoots for Zack Snyder’s director cut of Justice League, but he’ll be returning as Batman in the solo The Flash movie from It director Andy Muschietti.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter, /Film)