Billie Eilish thrilled Angeleno fans of both nightmares and Christmas when the news broke that she’d be appearing at one of Danny Elfman’s Nightmare Before Christmas concerts in LA. Hosted last night at the Banc Of California Stadium, the show was a success with Billie stepping in as Sally to perform “Sally’s Song,” and later joining Elfman as Jack Skellington for a duet of “Simply Meant To Be.” Obviously, celebrations of this magnitude around Halloween last year weren’t possible due to the impact of the pandemic, so fans of ghouls and ghosts came out in droves for the orchestral-backed screening as part of the holiday celebration.
Check out Elfman and Eilish (heh) doing “Simply Meant To Be” right here:
The connection between Billie and Halloween is pretty much a no-brainer considering her first album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? was incredibly eerie and utilized lots of spooky imagery! Now that she’s shifted tone and direction to laidback Parisian jazz for Happier Than Ever, she’s still maintained enough edge and versatility that the casting makes sense. Though other pop stars have recently been making their way into silver screen productions, Billie hasn’t gone that route so far, but based on the above rendition of “Sally’s Song,” maybe she should? Check out that performance up top.
Last week, nearly 10 months after being booted off of much of social media, former president Donald Trump made a big announcement: His long-threatened social media service was soon to become a reality. It’s called Truth Social (of course), and it will start beta testing in November, with plans for a proper launch in early 2022. But how could Trump, whose history of bankruptcies and loan defaults have largely barred him from the mainstream financial history, pay for it? A new report found some predictable answers.
According to The New York Times, Trump recently merged his social media business, Trump Media, with what’s known as a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. (His is called Digital World Acquisition, of DWAC.) SPACs are, as NYT puts it, “empty vessels” and stock exchanges “allow them to list their shares without disclosing much financial information.” To prevent shady business dealings, SPACs are not supposed to have mergers planned at the time they go public.
But that may be exactly what Trump and his cohorts did. When DWAC went public in September, they stated they had not had any “substantive discussions, directly or indirectly” with any companies. But Trump and his team had already long been in talks with an obscure Miami banker named Patrick Orlando:
Mr. Orlando had been discussing a deal with Mr. Trump since at least March, according to people familiar with the talks and a confidential investor presentation reviewed by The New York Times. That was well before his SPAC, Digital World Acquisition, made its debut on the Nasdaq stock exchange last month. In doing so, Mr. Orlando’s SPAC may have skirted securities laws and stock exchange rules, lawyers said.
As a result of the merger, Trump was able to secure $300 million to pay for Truth Social. But to do so, they may have ventured into what the Times describes as an “unregulated and sometimes shadowy corner of Wall Street.”
It’s been almost a year since Donald Trump lost re-election, and yet a large number of Republicans still refuse to admit it publicly. One of them is Sean Spicer. The former president’s first press secretary went on Real Time with Bill Maher Friday to promote his book, Radical Nation: Joe Biden & Kamala Harris’ Dangerous Plan for America, hoping for a spirited debate. Instead he got called out for being just another member of the GOP who won’t say their former leader is a loser.
“Trump lost this election and you won’t say it. You’re either part of the Big Lie, or you’re part of the conspiracy.”
Spicer spent the first chunk of their chat attacking Biden’s increasingly decreased Build Back Better bill, whose transformative aspects are being chipped away thanks in large part to Democratic senators Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin. But eventually Maher got him on the topic of bonkers conspiracy theories floated by Republicans. Spicer denounced QAnon. But when it came to the “Big Lie” — that the 2020 election was somehow stolen from his former employer — he fell right in line with the worst in his party.
“What about (the theory that) the election was rigged and Trump really won?” Maher asked him, point blank. “Is that lunacy?”
Spicer responded with the line that “there are some serious problems with the election,” even repeating the claim that some staets “changed the rules” before an election taking place during a once-in-a-century public health crisis.
But Maher wasn’t having it: “This is a rabbit hole you want to go down to avoid the question: Did Trump win or lose the election?’”
Spicer replied, “I don’t know.”
“Well, there you go, because the world does,” Maher replied. Spicer tried to get into the nitty-gritty, but Maher eventually called him out, saying, “You’re afraid of Trump.”
“I’m not afraid of anything,” Spicer replied.
“Yes, you are,” Maher responded. “This is all about, you work in the conservative sphere of media. If you say what I want you to say, what I think you truly believe, you won’t get your job, Trump will start attacking you.” He added, “It’s bullsh*t, Sean. You know it’s bulllsh*t.”
Ultimately all Spicer would admit in public is what most Republicans will say with cameras trained on them: that Joe Biden “is president.” But they won’t say how he got there.
Only because I got time today. Stop making up headlines. Watch the @RedTableTalk I did with @GwynethPaltrow for yourselves. Will and I have NEVER had an issue in the bedroom. Thank youhttps://t.co/wBpqSTTaGi
But hip-hop’s favorite cad thought the situation still might be a chance to stir the pot. After a fan suggested Will Smith start hanging with Future, the rapper responded that he’d rather hang with Jada.
Instagram Stories
Rumors about infidelity and affairs have swirled around Jada and Will from time to time, including an allegation last summer that Jada and August Alsina had a relationship. The couple actually sat down for Red Table Talk themselves to clear the air, letting fans know that there was a period of separation between the two of them, and the relationship happened at that time. Ultimately, they’ve chosen to remain a couple for over 25 years, something that is incredibly rare in this day and age – especially for celebrities. But Future got his dig in, anyway.
As the last decade has seen a plethora of unexpected or untimely deaths in the hip-hop community, the call to give veterans their roses while they’re still here has been strong. That’s exactly what Wale has done by bringing the Tribe Called Quest legend out during his set. Regardless, the internet has certainly changed how hip-hop is perceived, and how it is consumed. In a recent interview with Uproxx for a cover story earlier this month, Wale said that the new shift toward recording everything on social media has changed public perception a lot. He cites his won accomplishments in his early career that rarely get recognized as an example.
“I don’t think a lot of people don’t know that me, Cole, and Pharrell opened for Jay-Z,” he said. “We did a whole college tour… A lot of people don’t know I opened for Jay before that, even in Europe… A lot of people don’t know I opened for Rihanna in Europe. Because there was no Snapchat. I wasn’t walking around with a cameraman for YouTube all day. It was a weird time… We got a little bit of the Mandela effect going on in this generation.” Read the full cover here, and check out Wale’s “Poke It Out” video above.
The Indri indri of Madagascar are not only the largest of the lemur species, they’re also talented singers. And now, thanks to a new study, they might be the next piece to solve the mystery of “where does music come from?”
As it turns out, it might have not started with humans.
“There is longstanding interest in understanding how human musicality evolved, but musicality is not restricted to humans,” said Dr. Andrea Ravignani, leader of an international research team whose primary focus is finding musical abilities in primates, according to Sci News.
She continued that “looking for musical features in other species allows us to build an ‘evolutionary tree’ of musical traits, and understand how rhythm capacities originated and evolved in humans.” Being one of the few non-human mammals capable of this kind of musical feat made them the perfect candidates for researchers looking to study the potential origins of rhythm.
“In the primate family tree they’re on the exact opposite end from us. In studying lemurs and studying primate evolution, that allows us to look at the history of primates and how we evolved,” Alanna Marron, lead educational technician at the Duke Lemur Center said in an article for USA Today.
Lemurs have a history of being a malleable species. The Duke Lemur Center explained that these adorable monkey-squirrels floated from Africa to Madagascar by accident, and dropped into brand new biological challenges that required adaptation to survive. Perhaps singing was one of the adaptations.
These tree-dwelling chorus singers fill the rainforest canopies with a series of loud, uniquely high-pitched howls, sounding a bit like an eerie squeak toy that’s being slowly squeezed. As social creatures, Lemurs might use the calls to mark territory, attract mates and give warning signals. “Everyone has a different part in it,” said Marron. “Usually, the adult pair is the one in the family group that does the most of the singing…If they feel scared or threatened, they will make vocalizations to warn everybody else in the area.”
Okay, they make sounds, but is it music? Research says “yes.”
The study, published in the journal Current Biology (paywall), shared that researchers listened to 636 recordings of vocalizations from 39 adult indris. After dedicating 12 years to the task, the team discovered that the lemurs could sing with categorical rhythm.
For those wondering what the heck that means (I sure did), Dr Ravignani explained that “rhythm is categorical when intervals between sounds have exactly the same duration (1:1 rhythm) or doubled duration (1:2 rhythm).” It’s what makes a song recognizable even when played or sung at different speeds, and it’s universally found in human music, but never before heard in animals minus birds.
The lemurs even manage to sing in a rhythm similar to “We Will Rock You,” according to the study. That’s something most humans can’t accomplish even on the best karaoke night.
As the “last common ancestor between humans and indri lived 77.5 million years ago,” it certainly gives some interesting insight as to how our sense of music might have started as a means for survival. Although it doesn’t indicate why some people are blessed with a keen sense of rhythm, and others (like myself) struggle to “feel the beat.” Don’t even get me started on pitch.
I don’t know about you, but all of this [gestures widely at the general state of things] has been getting to me a bit lately. And when that happens, I’ve learned that the best way to pull myself out of the funk is to find joy in simple things. The fleeting colors of a beautiful sunrise. The hilarious quirkiness of my cats. The sound of my kids’ laughter.
Big happiness can be found in little things, especially when you add a bunch of them together.
So without further ado, here are 10 things that can bring us all some joy as we head into our weekend.
A puppy riding a rooster is the unexpected therapy we all need.
What is even happening here? How did these puppies and roosters meet? When did they become friends? Who knew a rooster would ever do anything like this? So many questions, but honestly, who cares. It’s friggin’ adorable.
You can see the exact moment this cat says, “Oh crap,” and it’s just perfection.
This is Luna. In her defense, that is her bed. 14/10 she did nothing wrong https://t.co/09C4znnauJ
After selling the majority share of her company, Sara Blakely shared the wealth with her workers in the form of two first-class plane tickets and $10,000 to spend wherever they went. An awesome example of taking care of the people who help you build success. Rock on, Sara Blakely. Read the story here.
A dad of an autistic boy shared how a U.K. football club made him feel at home.
A dad took his autistic son to an Arsenal football game, and when he became overstimulated, he was going to take him home. But a kind employee intervened and took them to the club’s sensory room, which is set up for people who might experience sensory overload at the game. Read about this beautiful example of inclusion here.
Every parent has experienced the planking baby vs. carseat fiasco. Too familiar, and too funny.
Light as a feather, stiff as a board! #TargetHalloween #carseat #uppababy
Seriously, when they do this it’s nearly impossible to get them to bend without feeling like you’re going to break them. It’s like a superhuman ability all babies are born with.
Awesome teacher wrote an official letter to the tooth fairy on behalf of a student who threw away their tooth.
It’s even on official school letterhead! Gotta love a grown-up dedicated to keeping magic alive for kids.
Chris Evans’ giddiness over playing Buzz Lightyear is the most delightful thing ever.
You’d think playing the studly superhero Captain America would be the pinnacle of an actor’s career, but Chris Evans has never gushed over that role like he has over getting to play Buzz Lightyear in Pixar’s upcoming film, “Lightyear.” Check out how he talks about playing his dream role here.
These twin toddlers giggling their way through their first Target experience are all of us.
The plaque reads, “On 23rd August 2019, Bethan visited Poole Museum. After talking with her mum about what museums do, Bethan decided she wanted to donate her ‘most precious’ rock to the museum. She asked that we put it behind glass and look after it, so that everyone could see and enjoy it.”
As debates over vaccine mandates raged this summer, United Airlines took the decisive step to require all employees to get vaccinated for COVID-19. Employees who applied and were approved for a medical or religious exemption would be placed on medical leave and risk losing income. Those who refused the vaccine and did not receive an exemption would be terminated.
The not-messing-around approach worked smashingly. Prior to the deadline, only a fraction of a percent of United’s staff—320 out of 67,000 employees—ended up choosing termination. That left United Airlines with an astounding 99.5% vaccination rate.
United took a risk and it paid off. Not only did the company retain the vast majority of its workforce, but applicants started clamoring to work for the airline. According to The New York Times, the airline received 20,000 applications for approximately 2,000 flight attendant positions after the vaccine mandate was announced.
“Job applicants said they were excited to join a company that took employee safety seriously. United has received 2… https://t.co/Dl4W9Ww287
United kicked off a trend. Other airlines followed suit, and we saw more and more companies requiring employees to be vaccinated.
Vaccine mandates have proven successful, but not without controversy. Within an already understaffed health care industry, the risk of losing employees who refuse to be vaccinated is real. So is the risk of unvaccinated health care workers treating patients.
In California, mandates for health care workers resulted in a huge uptick in vaccinations. The same thing happened in Texas. Despite predictions of a mass exodus of New York and New Jersey health care workers, only a small number chose to quit when mandates took effect. In fact, many of those who chose to stay on and take the alternative weekly testing option decided to get vaccinated after just a few weeks of being swabbed.
Mandates clearly work—but it’s maddening that we have had to resort to them. Some success stories have proven that mandates aren’t always necessary to reach a high vaccination rate. After being the only team in the NFL to have zero COVID-19 cases during last season, the Seattle Seahawks made a strong push to get their staff and players vaccinated. The NFL asked for teams to try for an 85% vaccination rate; with just one player declining, the Seahawks hit a whopping 99% vaccination rate weeks before the football season even began. By the time the season officially started, the NFL reported that 93% of players across the league had been vaccinated—a far higher percentage than the general population.
Perhaps that’s due to the stringent protocols players who aren’t vaccinated have to go through. Perhaps it’s the sense of competition within the league and the knowledge that COVID-19 outbreaks can derail a team’s chances of a winning season. Perhaps it’s because NFL players are supportive of science and common sense than the average American. Whatever it is, the NFL has proven it’s possible to create a culture that results in a high vaccination rate without mandates.
If only we could figure out how to create that culture in this country as a whole.
There are legitimate debates to be had about the government mandating vaccines (despite public schools having mandated vaccinations for more than a century), but it’s harder to argue against private businesses and organizations requiring them as a condition of employment or participation. People sure do try, though. Anti-vaxxers and “freedom fighters” who disagree with all manner of mandates in the name of personal liberty are loud and proud in their stance. But that doesn’t mean they’re right.
According to Gallup, the majority of Americans support COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Other polls, including one from Fox News, have found the same thing. If mandates are going to help us stop losing tens of thousands of Americans every month, bring them on.
In a global pandemic that has taken the lives of more than 700,000 Americans in a year and a half, vaccines that lower the risk of infection and transmission and greatly lower the risk of hospitalization and death are a gift. Mandate or no mandate, getting vaccinated is objectively the right thing to do. It would be fabulous if we could get to a high vaccination rate without creating requirements, but with few exceptions (like the NFL), that ideal has proven to be unrealistic.
If it weren’t for the massive misinformation machine derailing reality for millions, far fewer people would refuse the vaccine. We’re battling a crisis of viral conspiracy theories in addition to the actual viral pandemic, and something has to give.
Roy Wood Jr. isn’t one to mince words, so the standup taking a stance on racism in movies is certainly no surprise. The Daily Show correspondent saw his third hour-long standup special hit Comedy Central on Friday night, and one of the highlights from “Roy Wood Jr.: Imperfect Messenger” is the above clip where he highlighted a little-acknowledged form of allyship in his mind: playing an extremely racist character in period pieces about the Black struggle.
In a clip Comedy Central released ahead of its premiere on Friday, Wood Jr. addressed actors who have taken on extremely racist roles and said they’re impact on people is extremely underrated.
“Because here’s the thing if you’re going to have a Black struggle movie, and you’re going to tell the truth that means you need to show some heinous sh*t happen,” Wood Jr. said. “And to show heinous sh*t happening that means you have to have white actors being motherf*ckin terrible on camera. You gotta have it.
Wood Jr. said he’s met some of these actors, who he calls “normal white boys” who have to “walk on set and just turn on the racism.”
“You’re going to tell the history of my people the right way, every now and again you’re going to need a white actor being a heinous mother f*cker on that camera,” Wood Jr. said, citing Leonardo DiCaprio’s performance in Django Unchained as evidence.
“Leonardo DiCaprio transformed in that movie,” Wood Jr. said. “That was one of the bravest white allies I’ve ever seen in my life.”
They love to say Tom Cuise does all his own stunts,” Wood said, describing some particularly uncomfortable scenes from the movie. “Well so does Leonardo DiCaprio.”
As previously announced back in July, Nicki Minaj will be taking the place of regular host Andy Cohen for one of the biggest housewives reunions this year. The Real Housewives Of Potomac need a stabilizing force like the Sagittarius energy Minaj brings to the table (yes, obviously I’m bringing up astrology and Housewives in the same post, sue me) and that’s exactly what they’re going to get. Though we don’t yet know what all is going to go down in what are often very dramatic rehashes of the season, it’s now clear that Minaj will be part of it.
In a dramatic teaser clip, all the ladies react to Minaj walking into the set:
The longer trailer shows that Andy will definitely be involved as a host and moderator for some of the reunion, which stretches to a whopping four parts (!) but ends with the clip of Nicki walking in, that’s excerpted above. Check out the full trailer here:
This will be a more positive moment for Minaj, who has been embroiled in a not-so-great moment for her collaboration with Jesy Nelson, “Boyz.” The former Little Mix member has been accused of “blackfishing” in the clip, and though Nicki has defended her, most of the internet agrees that Nelson’s portrayal was offensive.
We’ll see if Nicki can steer the topic away from herself and her own drama while she moderates this reunion.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
”
