Over the last year, we’ve witnessed beautiful moments of human kindness and have come together to support each other like never before. As we look ahead to 2021, we are excited to partner with P&G Good Everything to continue supporting all the different ways people are leading with love.
There’s never been a better time to come together, step up and act. That’s why P&G Good Everyday is committing to 2,021 acts of good in 2021 — starting with the next wave of donations including health, hygiene and cleaning products, personal protective equipment (PPE) and financial support worth tens of millions of dollars for COVID-19 relief efforts in communities in the U.S. and around the world.
And by joining P&G Good Everyday, you can lead with love through your actions. Each time you answer surveys, take quizzes and scan receipts, you can feel good knowing that P&G will automatically donate to your favorite cause like ending period poverty, saving wildlife, or providing natural disaster relief.
Join us and #LeadWithLove. We know that even the smallest acts of good can make a world of difference.
On Friday, outgoing vice president Mike Pence had some exciting news: that wing of the military that will, like, patrol the stars or something? The one that’s already inspired a Netflix comedy that mocks it in its very name? Well, their service members now have a title. Those serving in the branch called Space Force will be called [drum roll] “Guardians.” The news prompted an asteroid shower of jokes, many of them related to Guardians of the Galaxy, the likely inspiration for the title. But one person was particularly rankled.
James Gunn, who oversees the Guardians wing of the MCU (and is also hard at work on The Suicide Squad), responded to the news. And he had a valid question.
“Can we sue this dork?” Gunn asked out loud. It’s a good question. If the franchise shares a name with a widely belittled branch of the military — created by a highly unpopular president — it cheapens the brand.
Gunn wasn’t the only member of Team Guardians of the Galaxy who was flummoxed. Pom Klementieff, who’s played Mantis since Vol. 2, chimed in.
“Maybe I can make them all sleep?” she asks, alluding to Mantis’ powers. “Maybe for like a year or something. Thx,” Gunn responded.
Of course, it’s not clear how long Space Force will still be around. Pence’s announcement came just shy of his last month in office. What’s more, there’s always the chance incoming president Joe Biden will scuttle plans for the branch, which has not yet been formally enacted anyway. Anyway, things sure are weird!
Over the last year, we’ve witnessed beautiful moments of human kindness and have come together to support each other like never before. As we look ahead to 2021, we are excited to partner with P&G Good Everything to continue supporting all the different ways people are leading with love.
There’s never been a better time to come together, step up and act. That’s why P&G Good Everyday is committing to 2,021 acts in 2021 — starting with the next wave of donations including health, hygiene and cleaning products, personal protective equipment (PPE) and financial support worth tens of millions of dollars for COVID-19 relief efforts in communities in the U.S. and around the world.
And by joining P&G Good Everyday, you can lead with love through your actions. Each time you answer surveys, take quizzes and scan receipts, you can feel good knowing that P&G will automatically donate to your favorite cause like ending period poverty, saving wildlife, or providing natural disaster relief.
Join us and #LeadWithLove. We know that even the smallest acts of good can make a world of difference.
Finding the best whiskey to give as a gift is always daunting. There’s just so much of the beloved brown liquid on store shelves. Bottles you’ve been meaning to buy get lost in the mix and you end up settling for the tried and true.
Not this year. We’ve got your back this holiday season — ready to help you find that perfect bottle of whiskey to gift someone you care about. To help us with this mission, we pulled in some serious whiskey experts. We’re talking about whiskey judges, distillers, writers, critics, and sellers who live with whiskey every single day. They know the good stuff.
The bottles below are not ranked, but they are listed by price with the most affordable up top and the priciest at the bottom. We also tried to keep these bottles squarely in the “accessible” category, meaning that you can get most of these bottles nationwide, without too much effort or hunting. Other than those parameters, the only metric was whether or not the juice tastes good.
If I have to give a bottle of bourbon as a gift, people expect it to be a limited edition or hard to find and to be blown away by some exorbitant cost. That shouldn’t be the case. My go-to only comes in a 1L bottle, is near the bottom shelf for around $25, and won the Bourbon Pursuit bottled-in-bond competition back in 2019.
I’m talking about Early Times Bottled-in-Bond. Brown-Forman revived this brand and ditched the blended whiskey in favor of a straight bourbon whiskey. We’re so glad they did. It’s a brand with a storied history dating back 160 years. In 1953, Early Times was the best-selling bourbon in America.
Tasting Notes:
This expression comes in at 100 proof which helps it provide more flavor than standard bourbons on the shelf. With notes of honey, brown sugar, walnut, a good hint of oak, it checks all the boxes I seek. In June of 2020, Sazerac announced that it purchased this brand along with the remaining stocks from Brown-Forman. Stock up now because who knows what the future holds.
This product is only sold regionally, so find a good friend to help you out.
We’ve talked a lot about Uncle Nearest 1820 this year in our “best of” lists. Now, it’s time to give their small-batch expression some much-needed love. This juice is hand-selected by Nathan “Nearest” Green’s direct descendent, Victoria Eady Butler, who assures the quality of each drop of whiskey.
The Tennessee whiskey is a minimum of seven years old when it’s small-batched, proofed, and bottled according to the Green family’s generations of taste and experience.
Tasting Notes:
You’re drawn in by fruits, Christmas spice, and oak with a fleeting sense of tart apples covered in caramel next to vanilla pods. There’s a light dried floral feel underneath the fruit, sweetness, oak, and spice that helps the dram shine. The end lingers for just the right amount of time to draw you back into the apple crumble — full of brown butter and sugar, plenty of dark spices, and a final touch of aged wood.
Aberlour A’bunadh — Jared Himstedt, Head Distiller and co-founder Balcones Distilling
My pick is Aberlour A’bunadh. It’s overproof, which can satisfy a cask strength lover, but takes water surprisingly well for those who like their whisky at a lower proof. It’s pretty heavily sherried, but not overly so. It has enough wood influence on it to have a cross-over appeal to bourbon drinkers.
It is dense, rich, and decadent — great for this time of year.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is quite vinous, somewhat solventy, with dense fruit and sweetness, with dried fruits and nutmeg, a hint herbal. Coating and thick on the palate, with the dark fruit accentuated by great acid and body. Dry and spicy enough on the finish to make you want more. With water, it’s nuttier and has a bit more sulfur on the nose, with the body lighter, with berries and black tea-like tannins more exposed.
It’s easy to see the versatility here, knowing it will get diluted, poured over ice, used in a cocktail, or over a dessert.
The holidays want me to recreate the Norman Rockwell setting of friends gathered around the fireplace and drinking something that will keep us warm. Because I do not have a fireplace, I keep a special shortlist of friends on my phone who do have a fireplace and more importantly appreciate good whiskey.
They know when I come to visit I am bringing a smoky Islay whiskey and this year’s gift is Lagavulin 16.
Tasting Notes:
Lagavulin is one of the stalwart distilleries located in the south of Islay near Ardbeg and Laphroaig that sets the standard of a smoky/peaty whiskey. When the glass is brought up to your face, your nose will immediately pick up the strong concentration of peaty smoke along with iodine. When you breathe it in as it gets closer to your nose, sweet spice as well as sherry, vanilla, and oak round out the experience. In your mouth, it has a pleasurable fullness as it lays on your tongue with the continuation of sherry as well as light sweetness and oak. The finish is properly layered as it goes down to your chest with a continued light sweetness, smoke, and hints of vanilla.
Searching for the perfect gift for the single malt scotch lover in your life that’s a little different? Why not introduce them to the world of Irish malt and gift them the rare Tullamore D.E.W. 18-Year-Old Single Malt.
Tullamore D.E.W. 18 is characterized by its rare, four cask recipe, finished in bourbon, Oloroso sherry, Port, and Madeira casks. This innovative finish gives the malt a uniquely rich and mellow taste.
Tasting Notes:
It’s rich and oaky with deep malty notes, caramelized fruits, and woody spice. It’s velvety smooth and mellow. Vanilla oak notes intertwine with cinnamon, baked apple, toasted marshmallows, and a biscuity sweetness. It’s rich and warming with a lingering malty sweetness.
This is an exceptional value for high-end single malt whisky. The packaging is elegant and warrants a double-take when gifting any friend or deserving party. A notch above any entry-level whisky and a gift anyone would be happy to indulge in!
Tasting Notes:
The spirit itself is well composed with a profile of apricot, oak, cinnamon, and is balanced from start to finish. Quite the gift!
If I could only give one bottle of whisky as a gift and price isn’t a factor, the answer comes easily: Highland Park 18. This single malt is sherry cask matured for at least 18 years, which gives it that dried fruit quality associated with some Christmas cakes, specifically fruit cake. My great uncle made one that was rich and decadent. It’s ingrained in my childhood memories.
The distillery also utilizes peat from Orkney, which is not the iodine-heavy variety from Islay. Orkney peat features a lovely heather note that adds a unique touch to this single malt.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll find dried fruit and sherry notes upfront. Hiding just past that is sweet malt, honey, heather, and floral peat, is a nice candied orange peel. The whisky is rich and refined. Fresh citrus hits the palate first, followed by honey, dried fruit, sweet peat, and a slight herbal note. There is a lot going on here, but it doesn’t seem busy. In fact, the flavors here play off each other extremely well.
The sweet citrus/malt note carries over into the long finish, with just a touch of smoke. After a while, the finish becomes dry, inviting you to take another sip.
The Balvenie 21 Year Old Portwood — Chris Perugini, Single Malt Savvy
With the holidays upon us, it’s time to splurge a bit on a gift that any whisky lover will appreciate! The Balvenie’s 21 Year Portwood sits near the top of their standard range and this expression is my pick for good reason. This is one of those whiskies that really showcases the versatility of the brand’s honeyed, citrus house style with the added benefit of wine cask influence.
After maturing in ex-bourbon casks for 21 years, the whisky is transferred to large Port barrels called “pipes” for a short finishing period before bottling.
Tasting Notes:
This is a whisky that rewards patience. The longer you spend with it, the more complexities you’ll uncover. As with any Balvenie, the nose starts with deep honey and orange peel notes. The port casks add a layer of slight nuttiness, chocolate, and wine sweetness. Once you taste it, you’re greeted with red berries, baked apples, almond, mocha, and dark dried fruits in the form of prunes and figs. If you take your time, you’ll occasionally catch hints of fresh mint and a slight floral note.
Portwood is a grown-up Balvenie that shows its age while maintaining the perfect level of silky refinement you’d expect from a well crafted single malt. If you end up picking this up as a gift for someone, make sure they save you a pour!
Despite some early successes and early-action when facing coronavirus, California is experiencing a huge surge of COVID-19 cases as pandemic fatigue sets in amongst the general public. Daily cases have risen exponentially, from an average hovering around 4,000 statewide in late October, to numbers exceeding 30,000 a day over the past week. Elected and health officials across the state have been pleading with Californians to stay home — particularly since mid-November — and even issued a largely ignored Stay At Home order in counties across the state on November 22nd.
The purpose of that order was, in part, to discourage Thanksgiving travel. Making it even more surprising to learn that Yosemite Valley’s Ahwahnee Hotel hosted a massive indoor feast for hundreds of hotel guests from out of town over Thanksgiving. Given that the Ahwahnee Hotel is located on federal land, the hotel was not subjected to California’s mandatory mask order, which means hotel guests were only strongly advised to wear masks.
On an event ad posted on the Yosemite Mariposa County Tourism Bureau’s website, guests were told to: “Prepare to be delighted with a Thanksgiving feast set in the historic Ahwahnee dining room. Located in Yosemite Valley, the high ceilings and chandeliers create the perfect backdrop for special occasions.” To be fair, signage at the party strongly suggested that hotel guests mask up, seating was arranged to encourage social distancing, and food was served via a touchless buffet. But according to SF Gate, which spoke with many of the hotel employees working over the holiday weekend, the Ahwahnee was fully booked and hundreds of guests showed up for the dinner’s multiple indoor seatings on Thanksgiving.
“Thanksgiving was a f-ing s-show… It was awful… every bellman, bartender, server and rooms keeper… all were very concerned about possibly being exposed.” Lianne Saylor, an employee speaking under a pseudonym told SF Gate.
It is currently unknown whether any Ahwahnee employees contracted the virus since Thanksgiving weekend, but accommodations and dining at the hotel have been temporarily closed due to a state-ordered shutdown that was implemented after California’s San Joaquin Valley ICU capacity (where the hotel is located) dipped below 15%.
Currently, 47 out of California’s 58 counties are under a regional stay-at-home order, representing 98.3% of the state’s total population. According to recent statewide metrics, California has only 2.1% ICU availability and logged over 41,000 cases and 300 deaths statewide on Friday, December 18th alone.
While adults are clearly having a hard time with the pandemic, quarantine, unemployment, and general ennui, it’s the children that many people are worried about. Being isolated from hanging out with their friends — and for many kids, staying home from school and unable to socialize — has been a major concern during 2020’s chaos. Luckily, the boldness of youth has stuck around with one 12-year-old aspiring DJ, who took matters into his own hands when it came to throwing a rave at school. Cael Bell, an English pre-teen apparently used Snapchat to invite all the boys in his grade to a bathroom dance party that went on for about a half hour before school authorities shut it down.
His mother, Louise Bell, posted on Facebook about the incident and has not been concerned about punishing her son at all, but in fact appears to be quite tickled by the whole thing. After inviting “all the boys from year 8” at St. Antony’s Catholic College in Manchester, UK to the party, he reportedly also had refreshments on hand.
“Just had a call from Caels school,” she wrote. “He had organised a rave in the boys toilets at dinner time invited all the boys from year 8 so he has now had his speaker and lights confiscated. Am I wrong for finding this funny. Well he’s home, I’ve asked him about it he never lets me down this boy…… He advertised on snap chat a week ago and posted date time etc. They handed round Cadbury’s twirls and lucozade. It lasted 30 mins before getting shut down. I might ask to see the video footage sounds good. I haven’t managed to get my hands on the actual footage just yet but hold Tight people I will. I’ve posted a few old Videos of Cael DJing in his room for now to give you all a idea of what he gets up 2.”
Along with the story, his mother also posted some videos of the sets Cael gets up to at his room at home, and they’re not bad! Check out his mom’s full post below:
Just had a call from Caels school
He had organised a rave in the boys toilets at dinner time invited all the boys from…
It’s been a banner week for Kyrie Irving. After calling the media “pawns” and refusing to participate in his media responsibilities, Kyrie earned a hefty fine and, of course, drew the ire of many in the world of sports reporting. That included Charles Barkley, who went particularly hard at Kyrie on Friday and what he characterized as his need to be seen as the “smartest person in the world.”
Thankfully, it was back to actual basketball on Friday night, as Kyrie and the Nets traveled to Boston to face his former team in the final tune-up game of the preseason before the regular season gets underway next week. And just to make sure that there wasn’t any lingering negative energy from his departure two summers ago, Kyrie made sure to literally clear the air with some sage prior to tip off.
Kyrie returns to Boston tonight with the Nets. He is out on the court early burning sage before tipoff.
It should come as little surprise that Irving would subscribe to this popular new age practice, and whether it was the sage or not, he was greeted warmly by his former teammates prior to tip-off.
That, combined with the outcome of the game, is enough to make the argument that it may have helped a little bit, as the Nets finished up their preseason with a 113-89 win in Boston.
Irving finished the game with 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting for the night, to go along with seven rebounds and five assists against his former team. But it was Kevin Durant who led the way for Brooklyn with 25 points. The two have given us a tantalizing look at what we can expect in the regular season, and let’s hope that Kyrie’s sage-burning practice continues to be part of that routine, as well.
Mulatto has found herself in a bit of hot water recently. After being inducted into 2020 XXL Freshmen Class, the rapper instantly faced scrutiny over her chosen name. More recently, Mulatto was slammed by people on Clubhouse for claiming colorism isn’t real, an allegation she later denied. All this controversy has led the rapper to contemplate a name change — and she just confirmed that it’s in the works.
Mulatto addressed the name change in an interview with The Shade Room. The rapper said it is happening, but people need to be patient:
“It’s still in the works. People gotta understand too that at this level in an artist’s career, that’s not something that just happens overnight. Or, it’s not something that even happens period because there’s so much money and investments on the line. I think people need to be more patient and then they need to be more understanding, but it’s definitely in the works.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Mulatto also addressed accusations that she denied the existence of colorism. “First of all, I’m not a colorist,” she said. “I’m not a colorist. But the internet, you know, they going to do what they going to do. I can’t convince people that already don’t like me otherwise. So I’m not finna have a stroke about it. But that would be my biggest misconception as of recent.”
The rapper also mentioned that she’s been educating herself on issues like colorism: “That’s why I’m doing my little part on the back end, learning, and talking about the name change, stuff like that.”
This isn’t the first time Mulatto mentioned the possibility of a name change. In a recent interview with HipHopDX, the rapper said it’s something that often crosses her mind: “I can’t say too much because we’re working on something right now, but I would be lying to say it hasn’t crossed my mind before. It is a controversy that I hear and see every day as far as my name goes, so I would be lying to say no I never thought of that. But I can’t say too much because right now because it’s going to be a part of something bigger.”
Hear Mulatto’s full statement about her possible name change above.
Even if the Orlando Bubble is starting to feel more like a distance memory, especially with the quick turnaround start of the new season, that doesn’t mean the reigning champs are winding down on their title celebrations anytime soon. Soon, they’ll raise their 17th championship banner at Staples Center, adding to an already legendary legacy as one of the NBA’s all-time great organizations.
For LeBron, it marked his fourth title and fourth Finals MVP award, an astonishing feat for a player entering his 17th NBA season. For some of the younger guys — like Anthony Davis, for instance — it represents a legacy-cementing milestone in a young career, the culmination of lifelong pursuit of basketball greatness.
To honor that, Lakers owner Jeanie Buss decided to bestow her players with another personalized gift as they head into the new season with their eyes on defending their crown. Buss reportedly gave each Lakers player a personalized bottle of Cincoro Tequila, featuring their name, jersey number, and a special message.
Lakers owner Jeanie Buss (@JeanieBuss) gifted her players a personalized bottle of Cincoro Tequila (@CincoroTequila). Each bottle beautifully etched with each recipient’s name, jersey number, and “leave a legacy” – a message from Jeanie. pic.twitter.com/OMnmJjtFHD
After a productive offseason, the Lakers enter the new campaign next week on a quest to repeat as champions. They’re a considerable favorite to do so by many, but they’ll face stiff competition in the West, including from their locker-room rivals, who will be eager to prove that they are capable of seizing the crown of L.A.’s top team.
Cyberpunk 2077 is currently going through one of the worst releases of the 2020 gaming calendar, with frustrated gamers getting an apology from developer CD Projekt Red and a promise of refunds if they’re unsatisfied with the followup to The Witcher 3.
Though in development since 2012, the actual game was delayed three times in 2020 and finally hit the market on December 10, greeting more than 8 million gamers with a buggy and oftentimes broken game, especially on last-generation consoles like the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The result of the Polish developer offering refunds has been a lot more complicated than simply making it so, starting with Sony initially denying gamers a refund, then relenting while also abruptly pulling the title from its online store.
On Friday, Microsoft officially outlined a policy for gamers to get refunds of Cyberpunk 2077, though it did not pull the title from its own online retailer. Microsoft’s support Twitter account addressed the issues gamers have had with Cyberpunk and linked a website where gamers can get refunds if they’re unhappy with the title.
Cyberpunk 2077: To ensure that every player can get the experience they expect on Xbox, we will be expanding our existing refund policy to offer full refunds to anyone who purchased Cyberpunk 2077 digitally from the Microsoft Store, until further notice. https://t.co/04TcniwVzy
To date, we have granted refunds to the vast majority of customers who have requested one. To request an Xbox refund for Cyberpunk 2077, please follow the steps listed on our Xbox refund page here: https://t.co/04TcniwVzy
Meanwhile, Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier reported on Friday about the rising tensions inside CD Projekt Red about the backlash to Cyberpunk‘s belated and turbulent launch. The tense discussions within the company also included a juxtaposition many gamers and reviewers noted about using crunch — the mad dash to complete what was still an incomplete game using long hours and reportedly mandatory six-day work weeks to ultimately make a game about corporate exploitation of labor.
One employee asked the board why it had said in January that the game was “complete and playable” when that wasn’t true, to which the board answered that it would take responsibility. Another developer asked whether CD Projekt’s directors felt it was hypocritical to make a game about corporate exploitation while expecting that their employees work overtime. The response was vague and noncommital.
Schreier’s reporting is a great look inside the complicated relationship of game company executives and the developers actually responsible for making the games. It seems increasingly clear it was the former that decided when the game should come out, even if the latter was struggling to make that deadline with a fully-functional game to take to market.
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