“A lot of people think that OCD is just about cleanliness — that’s actually so far from the truth.”

---

View Entire Post ›

The world is facing unprecedented tragedy thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, with over 60,000 Americans dead and millions suddenly out of work, unsure about their futures. Meanwhile, Elon Musk is apparently still planning on going to space. But that’s not all: According to Deadline, Tesla’s CEO and chairman, who Forbes calculates is currently worth $38.7 billion, is teaming up with Tom Cruise to make a cinema first: a narrative movie filmed in outer space.

There are no details about the movie, beyond it being an action adventure and that it won’t be connected to any Cruise franchise. That means you won’t see Mission: Impossible daredevil Ethan Hunt in space, unless this changes. Nor is any studio currently involved. Deadline claims it’s all in the early stages, so it may not happen until life has been restored to something resembling order — perhaps after the eternally youthful Cruise has crossed the 60-year-old mark, when he may still be willing to put his life at risk to entertain us.

Musk has been working on revolutionizing space transportation with his company SpaceX, which alone is worth $20 billion, and it’s likely that only the rich and powerful will be able to afford cruising between the stars like some jet around the nation or planet. Cruise is definitely someone who could afford a SpaceX flight, but this, of course, would be one better. If so, it would — and this is true — be the first movie Cruise has made not only filmed but also set in outer space.

(Via Deadline)

States across the country are reopening and implementing sweeping changes to their stay-at-home orders this week, despite the fact that the coronavirus hasn’t, you know, gone anywhere. This fact isn’t lost on the states, who are essentially operating in the dark and responding to a problem that no one can really offer definitive answers or guidance on. Governors are balancing communications with hospitals and doctors against the president’s aggressive position and armed protests. It’s no small puzzle.

Clearly, we don’t know for certain what post-lockdown life will look like yet, but our most populous state has given some early indications. California — the first state in the country to implement a statewide lockdown — currently has the lowest number cases and deaths per 100 thousand people when compared to the top eight states by total confirmed COVID-19 cases. That success, in a state with a population of nearly 40 million, is due to a wide number of factors, with the state’s leadership and rapid response being central elements.

On May 4th, California Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled phase two of California’s plan to reopen in a press conference and indicated that by as soon as Friday, people could expect certain businesses to open for the first time since early March. This plan will allow clothing stores, florists, bookstores, and sporting good stores to open their doors this Friday. Offices will remain closed and teleworking will continue, restaurants will still be barred from in-person dining, and shopping malls will remain closed.

Governor Newsom has long said that California’s reopening plan would be determined by science and data and not public pressure, but it appears that he has caved slightly to a certain subset of Southern Californians who were growing increasingly frustrated with the governor after he ordered all Orange County beaches to close after large crowds flocked to the beaches during a particularly hot weekend in SoCal.

Beginning on May 5th, beaches in the Orange County cities of Laguna Beach and San Clemente have been granted permission to reopen on a very limited basis. According to CNN, beaches in the two cities will be open between the hours of 6 am to 10 am (on weekdays only for Laguna). People who want to visit the beach must participate in what is being called “active recreation” — meaning they’ll be able to visit the beach so long as they’re running, swimming, or surfing. Picnicking and beach lounging will remain prohibited, so if you want to work on your tan you’re going to have to do that at home or on the move.

“In the spirit of collaboration and the spirit of modifications I want to really thank the leadership down in Orange County,” said Newsom in a press conference announcing the changes. “They put together an outstanding plan to begin to reopen those beaches and we not only applauded that, we enthusiastically embraced it, and as a consequence, with those modifications… those beaches will be reopened.”

The changes come just three short days after the county attempted — unsuccessfully — to block the Governor’s order to close these same beaches. Governor Newsom also indicated that similar announcements would be made in the coming days regarding other public gathering spaces, while stressing that individual communities will need to remain proactive in what they feel is too much too soon, given the massive size of the state. If things go as smoothly as the state is hoping, we could be looking at a useful model for other states to adopt.

“We are not telling locals that feel it’s too soon, too fast to modify,” Newsom said. “We believe those local communities that have separate timelines should be afforded the capacity to advance those timelines.”

Given that the temperature across Southern California for the next seven days looks likely to hover around 90-degrees, we imagine people aren’t going to be waiting too long to hit those freshly opened beaches. If that means you, just remember to put your pent up quarantine energy to good use and keep moving.

Tonight, in the With Spandex WWE Raw open discussion thread:

The Viking Raiders said they want the smoke. They’ll get it this Monday on Raw when they face Raw Tag Team Champions The Street Profits.

Erik & Ivar have been quick to point out that Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins have yet to defeat them, which set off the champions, leading them to accept The Viking Raiders’ challenge.

Who will emerge victorious in this battle between two of the red brand’s hottest teams? Find out this Monday on Raw at 8/7 C on USA Network! (via WWE.com)

Also on this week’s show there’s a “Last Chance Gauntlet Match” to name Apollo Crews’ replacement for the men’s Money in the Bank match at … I can’t remember the name of the pay-per-view, as well as Drew McIntyre squashing Buddy Murphy to send a message to Seth Rollins. And hopefully the Viking Raiders drive home after the show chanting in their car.

As always, +1 your favorite comments from tonight’s open thread and give them a thumbs up and we’ll include 10 of the best in tomorrow’s Best and Worst of Raw column. Make sure to flip your comments to “newest” in the drop down menu under “discussion,” and enjoy the show!

Star Wars Day, aka May 4th, is a day to remember and honor its namesake franchise, even if, on this SWD, in 2020, it also serves as a stark reminder that the franchise isn’t in the best shape, with the slightly underperforming — and quite controversial — Rise of Skywalker only a few months in the past. Still, the day did bring some good news. And we learned something about one piece of Star Wars content that’s done very well: Remember Baby Yoda, the breat-out puppet star of The Mandalorian? The one whose toy supply was threatened by this rampaging pandemic? Well, he was almost, if anything, even cuter.

This comes from Vanity Fair, who dug up some new dirt on the genesis of the one known as The Child, though which has become colloquially known (and loved) as “Baby Yoda.” The idea for a Yoda-like character came from show creator Jon Favreau, who thought all he needed for a popular program was “a guy in a mask” and “a puppet.” But he told VF he didn’t want it to be too cute.

“I was worried about what we called ‘Bleep Syndrome,’” Favreau said — a term he coined that was inspired by cute animated sidekicks, as seen on shows like Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space, and which he repeatedly used during the design phase. He didn’t want it to be a mere “comic relief,” instead being more in the spirit of Star Wars creator George Lucas, who, Favreau said, had a knack for making creatures “just cute enough.”

But nailing that balance wasn’t easy. “All the drawings originally were very cute,” Favreau said. “Even with the merchandising, they were always trying to soften the rough edges on him. We really tried to look at how much we could ugly up all the different individual features.” Favreau and co-writer Dave Filoni insisted it have “weird little hairs growing out of him,” and they rejected designs that made him look remotely human baby-like. His teeth, for instance, were sharp and jagged, while the sound design was to make him animal-like, using creature noises rather than human toddler coos.

As per VF:

The frog-swallowing in season one may only be the beginning of the “gross things” the show will let the Child do in order to underline the idea that in the end, he’s still an animal. “It’s like a stray dog or having a little baby alligator or something,” Favreau said. Then again, a baby alligator probably never sold this many toys.

The piece also details how they were reluctant to bring anything Yoda-like to the project, with those working on the franchise nowadays hoping to honor Lucas, who is no longer in control of his pet series but who they still tend to seek out for advice:

They were hardly likely to embark on something that Lucas might disapprove of: “[We’re] always keeping an open door to George because this is a character that’s very beloved to him,” Filoni said. “He comes by the set whenever he wants to know what’s going on. We fill him in and we want to hear his perspective.” Years of collaboration allow him to anticipate how Lucas will react to any twists in the Mandalorian’s journey: “We understand how to collaborate with him in a way where it never gets too far afield from something he would be comfortable with.”

So there you have it. Not only might you have almost never have gotten a Baby Yoda, but the one you did get could have been insufferably adorable. Instead, you may agree, they got it just right.

(Via Vanity Fair)

After flashing star potential on debut album True 2 Myself last year and building on his buzz with a steady stream of solid singles including Pop Smoke homage “Forever Pop,” the melodic love letter “Sex Sounds,” and the harder-hitting “Ice Cold,” Tjay has shared the release date of his new full-length effort: A mixtape titled State Of Emergency. Playing off current events, the title was revealed in teaser trailer on Instagram featuring Tjay wearing a mask intercut with file footage taken from news broadcasts.

Tjay previously teased the mixtape in another video captioning the post with a declaration that he is the new “King Of New York.” The caption also seemingly popped off at fellow New York standard bearers A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and Tekashi 69, both of whom had been tabbed as the successors to the city’s weighty hip-hop legacy, but ran into some speed bumps on the road to greatness that either slowed them up (A Boogie) or took them out of the picture (Tekashi).

Tjay apologized for taking the shots and “losing compsore” on his Instagram Stories, but not before he’d made himself a trending topic by posing several videos with fellow rapper Rubi Rose claiming that had flown her to New York for a romantic encounter and then refused to pay her way back.

State Of Emergency is due May 8 on Columbia Records.

While the 245-year old U.S. postal service battles for its survival, a story of the power of a personal letter is showing us why we cannot let it fail. Not only does USPS provide mail services to rural areas that otherwise wouldn’t have anyone to deliver mail or packages, but it serves the public with diligence and heart.

A story shared by a dad of a daughter who loves to write and send letters has tugged at people’s heartstrings on social media. Graphic designer Hugh Weber wrote on Twitter:

---

“Emerson, my 11 year old, is on a bit of a wild ride with the @USPS and our local mail carrier, Doug.

And, I think there’s a deeper message to it all.

First, the backstory…

Em has a serious letter writing habit. She maintains active correspondence with over a dozen of her favorite people. And, if you’ve been the lucky recipient of one of Em’s hand decorated letters and envelopes, then you have a pretty good idea of the joy they bring.

A letter from Emerson is likely to include some art, a joke or two, a mention of her younger brother, confessions of her love for Taylor Swift and enough questions to guarantee a response.

So, when she decided to thank our mail carrier for the service he provides us, she left nothing out. In went Taylor Swift, in went the little brother, in went the jokes.

Q: Why do you never see elephants hiding in trees?
A: Because they’re really good at it.

Em wrote, “I’m Emerson. You may know me as the person that lives here that writes a lot of letters & decorated the envelopes. Well, I wanted to thank you for taking my letters and delivering them. You are very important to me. I make people happy with my letters, but you do too.”

She continued, “The reason you are very important in my life is because I don’t have a phone so how else am I supposed to stay in touch with my friends? You make it possible!”

She put it in the box, smiled when he took it & that was enough.

The next day a package arrived with some stamps & two letters. Doug had shared Em’s letter with his supervisor, Sara, and they both wanted to share how touched they were by her note.

Sara said that, as an essential worker, Doug might not be able to maintain regular correspondence, but she sure could. Em started writing that very afternoon.

This is when things get interesting. The next week, we got a letter address to ‘Mr and Mrs Weber.’ It seems that Sara had shared Em’s note as a ‘Token of Thanks’ in the internal newsletter for the Western US and there were some postal folks that wanted to thank her.

Today, we saw Doug getting out of the truck with two BOXES of letters from around the country. We snapped a quick photo through the door as he and Emerson met for the first time. It was a beautiful moment on silent reciprocity.

These letters are so deeply human. They are filled with family, pets, hobbies, community and an overwhelming sense of kindness.

Because Em was fully vulnerable, they were too.

Em shared jokes, so they shared jokes.

Em share her brother, so every gift that was sent came in duplicate.

Em shared @taylorswift13 and it turns out that the US Postal service is filled with lots of undercover Swifties.

One maintenance manager from Minnesota wanted to inspire her to start collecting stamps so he sent along two stamps of his own from the bulletin board in his office to start her collection.

And, they sent stamps to be used as well. Stamps for her to write back. Stamps for her to write others. Stamps, stamps, stamps. (218 by Em’s count.)

But, there was something more in these letters. People felt seen – some for the first time in a long time.

“I work alone in a small rural post office…”
“My kids all live far away…”
“Not a lot of people think about how hard we work…”

One wrote,
“I can’t tell you how much it means to read your letter…”

Another,
“I have a son in Kuwait and if you have a second to send him a letter he would love it.”

And another,
“I know you can’t write back to all of us, but maybe I can drop you a line from time to time?”

With dozens of new pen pals, Em did what she does best.

She wrote the dad.
She wrote his son.
She assured the secret swifties not to be embarrassed because her dad likes TSwift, too.
She acknowledged that there WERE a lot of letter but that she had time.
She sees them all.

I’m not sharing this because I’m a proud dad. I’m sharing it because it is relatively easy, if we take the time, to give others the one thing they need to be well – human connection.

I have a friend that says we all just want to be seen, known and loved.

Em does this boldly.

It’s #MentalHealthAwareness month and I want to be bold and brave like Em.

We’re all in a moment of physical isolation that is amplifying a real epidemic of loneliness, anxiety and depression. I’ve been feeling it personally since long before we locked our front door.

In the second week of quarantine, I responded to hundreds of DMs from creatives who are feeling this disconnect in a significant way. I heard from college students to senior executives who personally and professionally are stressed, worried and/or afraid.

Two weeks ago, I personally started working with a @talkspace therapist for the 1st time.

For years I’ve travelled the country talking about relationships of influence, but I’ve used that travel as an excuse not to seek the support I know I need. This pause gave me time to act.

I have incredible family & friends, but the truth is that I needed more. And, sending texts via an app has been the small step I needed.

Moral of the story: it’s the small things that matter most, friends.

Send a letter.
Make a call.
Practice self care.
Take a step of boldness.
For yourself or for others.

And, thank your mail carrier (from an appropriate distance.) They are working extremely hard to keep us all connected.

And, if any of you are feeling isolated, anxious, scared or depressed, those feelings are valid. I’m feeling them, too.

And, I’m here if you need me.”

What a beautiful example of humans reaching out and touching other human hearts in simple yet profound ways. In a time when we are more physically isolated than ever, seeing these sincere efforts to connect are truly hopeful. And at a time when the postal service needs support, what a lovely illustration of why it’s worth saving.

To support USPS, you can buy stamps on their website. (“Forever” stamps will always work for sending a letter, even if stamp prices go up. Stock up and send grandma or an old friend a card or letter in the mail. You know they’ll love it.)

---

View Entire Post ›

ACH‘s career changed dramatically in November 2019. After WWE released a T-shirt for him that resembled blackface imagery, the 32-year-old-wrestler, who had been working in NXT under the ring name Jordan Myles, spoke out on Twitter about the design. Things escalated from there, and he soon quit WWE, then spent days on social media responding to fans and critics and commenting on the wrestling industry. After being released from WWE, ACH worked a handful of matches on the independent scene but has been on hiatus since February.

In the most recent episode of the podcast “Submission Squad Presents: Dollar Menu Midcarders” (hosted by tag team Evan Gelistico and Pierre Abernathy, who are longtime friends of ACH), the Texan wrester spoke in-depth about his career from his indie beginnings to his time in WWE, and addressed the T-shirt incident and its aftermath.

ACH says he was initially having a good time in WWE, but when the shirt incident occurred, it brought up issues not just with WWE, but how he feels he was perceived earlier in his career. “When the released this shirt of the minstrel show [imagery], it was like, ‘Is that what I am? Am I just a joke? Am I just like something that no one takes serious? Is that what I am?’”

ACH also addressed how smiling becoming part of his NXT persona:

I was told to smile because that’s a Vince thing. Vince likes that. Now, when I got there I wasn’t smiling at all, I would come out and I’d have a straight face and I would wrestle. That was my thing. And I was told ‘you should smile more.’ And I went, ‘Okay, you want me to smile more? You got it.’ And I smiled, and I smiled a fucking lot. And I’m one of those people if you tell me to do something and if I’m not feeling it, I’m going to do it because it’s my job, but I’m going turn that motherfucker up to a 10, and that’s exactly what I did.

Despite the character change, ACH said he was still having a good time in NXT until the T-shirt incident.

Then they released that shirt and I got angry. And I made a lot of comments that I’m not going to take back because that’s just how I feel. Now, could I have said them a lot better? Absolutely. Absolutely. I said a lot of things out of anger. If I had said those things a little bit more intelligently and calmly and came from a real place and not an angry place, it would have been okay. But I was just so angry and mad and disrespected and I just feel like a joke.

He says he talked to management about the shirt before addressing it on social media because “mistakes can happen,” but never got a clear explanation.

This guy [the shirt designer] lied to my face. He said that I approved the shirt when I didn’t approve that shirt. That was another thing that got me hot, when they released the ‘He approved of it.’ No, I didn’t. The dude told me that was Triple H’s vision for me. So how am I supposed to feel if I work for this guy and he thinks that’s what I look like?

ACH says he was told the design was meant to look like the famous Rolling Stones lips logo, but he looked at the designs side by side and thought they looked nothing alike. ACH offered an alternate logo for his shirt and says he offered to collaborate on another design, but the designer told him that Triple H wanted to stick with the first design. When ACH talked to Triple H about the issues, the WWE executive told him, “I thought you approved this.”

After the issue went unresolved and the shirt was released (briefly – it was taken down after people pointed out it looked like the racist depictions of black people from minstrel shows), ACH took to social media about the issue. With the Submission Squad, ACH addressed his mindset at the time and some of his comments, including when he controversially called ROH star Jay Lethal an “Uncle Tom.”

ACH says he used to look up to Lethal, but they did not get along in ROH and he knew they never would after an incident where Lethal slapped him. ACH says he still has “a lot of resentment” because of that and, “Maybe I should have not called him that. I should have used something else, definitely not an Uncle Tom. But I was angry and upset. At the time, I felt like he was an Uncle Tom.”

ACH described the kind of anger he had at the time as “toxic” and “unhealthy.” Though many online commenters went further and said his behavior must be the result of mental illness, ACH says that wasn’t the case.

I honestly wish I could have done things differently. I feel like I had people trying to tell me to use mental issues as not as an excuse, but you know, say that’s the thing. You know, ‘your anxiety or your depression…’ to help smooth things over. But I’m not one of those people. I don’t come up with excuses for myself. I was angry… I’m not going to be like, ‘Oh, sorry guys, like, mental illness!” because people deal with this stuff in serious ways. That’s a serious issue. I’m not going to publicly say things like that to smooth things over…

ACH went on to describe his online behavior as “a meltdown.”

I had a freaking meltdown in front of the entire world. That’s really what happened. I had a meltdown. I broke down in front of the entire world. The only thing is that people didn’t see me cry…

Truth be told, it’s all my fault. It’s all my fault. I’ll take the blame for this. I could have easily just put the phone down. I could have easily deleted my Twitter app like I normally do. Like, I didn’t have to go on there and say all those things, but I chose to because I was angry, and I felt like I needed to get a lot of stuff off my chest and that’s just not a place to get stuff off your chest. Social media’s just not the place.

Though he says the incident killed his passion for pro wrestling for a while, ACH ends the interview sounding ready to return to the ring once wrestling can resume. In his words: “This could be a really cool comeback or a really shitty ending.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has to be a real letdown for the Class of 2020. They’ve worked years to earn their graduation, prom, baccalaureate, and senior banquets all to have it wiped away by the pandemic.

The end of the 2020 school year is also a disappointment for teachers and staff at schools across the country. They also feel a sense of tremendous pride in watching their students graduate.

Virdie Montgomery, the principal of Wylie High School in Texas, didn’t feel like he was doing enough to congratulate the class of 2020, so he decided he would do so in person to all 612 graduating seniors.

---

After all, the self-described “66-year-old, fat, bald principal” was known for his exuberant school spirit. He once dressed as an Elf on the Shelf and perched himself on top of the school’s marquee to celebrate the holidays.

via Virdie Montgomery / Facebook

“I get emotional real easy with my kids,” he told WFAA. “And I just didn’t feel like I was doing enough. It just seemed like the right thing to do.”

So the principal and his wife jumped in their car and got to work.

“She told me I was crazy,” Montgomery said. “I tell you what, that first day, at the end of the first day it felt like I had made a mistake. Because it was hard,” he said. He delivered a Snickers candy bar to each student and it came along with a dad joke.

He told them each that they’d look back on these days and “snicker.” “I delivered that joke nearly 600 times. So it’s pretty lame,” he admitted.

“I just love our kids and they have awesome families I have found,” he wrote on Facebook. “If I missed someone it was totally by chance.”

It took 12 days and put over 800 miles on his car’s odometer but Montgomery and his wife were able to reach all 612 seniors at trips to 636 addresses.

“I am now a well-traveled Wylie person and found parts of the town I did not know existed and so many Pirates that live on the other side of town was humorous as well,” he wrote on Facebook.

The principal hopes that someday his school will be able to hold a graduation ceremony for the Class of 2020. Texas’s statewide stay-at-home order ended on Thursday so people are starting to get back to normal.

Non-essential businesses, including shopping malls, retail establishments, movie theaters, are now allowed to operate at 25% capacity. Museums, libraries, and restaurants are now open as longs as people practice social distancing.

Large gatherings in the state are still forbidden until further notice.

Montgomery’s trip surely brightened the days of his students on lockdown, but it meant just as much to him. “All I know is that for me it was something I needed to do,” he said, “I can’t adequately describe the reward it is to get to do this and see these kids in their natural environment.”