Author: GoneTrending

The WNBA will be bringing its All-Star Game back in full in 2021, announcing on Monday that the game will be played on July 14 in Las Vegas.

The format of the game will pit All-Stars against the Team USA Basketball roster in a game that will serve as a late tune-up for the Olympic team before they depart for Tokyo. The women’s USA Basketball squad will be in Vegas for camp after the WNBA begins its Olympic break on July 11, with games against Australia and Nigeria following the WNBA All-Star game.

Fan voting for the WNBA All-Star game will begin tomorrow, June 15, at 2 p.m. ET, and conclude on June 27, with fan able to choose four backcourt and six frontcourt players.

Voting for the AT&T WNBA All-Star 2021 will tip off on Tuesday, June 15 at 2 p.m. ET and conclude on Sunday, June 27 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Fans will be able to directly impact the on-court competition by voting for up to ten (four backcourt players and six front court players) of the WNBA’s top stars at WNBA.com/vote and the WNBA App. All current WNBA players will be eligible for selection. Two “2-for-1 Days” will allow fans to have their votes count twice on Sunday, June 20 and Sunday, June 27 through WNBA.com/vote and the WNBA App voting platforms. All “2-for-1 Days” will be designated from midnight ET – 11:59 p.m. ET.

The All-Star selections will be decided by the fan vote (50 percent), player vote (25 percent), and a media vote (25 percent), with the 36 top vote-getters not on the USA Basketball roster then being selected by the coaches to fill out the 12-player non-Team USA roster.

The name on everybody’s lips today is Lil Dicky (aka Dave Burd).

He’s back to tell everyone about why he personally hates concerts and earn comparisons to Larry David in a profile with GQ. Of course, Dicky has been a semi-joke-y rapper around for several years now, but the surprise success of his TV show Dave is really what spurred him to heights such as a massive profile in a fashion magazine like GQ.

Speaking to them about one of his “joke-y” songs from a few years ago, Dicky let the music world know why he felt collaborating with Chris Brown was a good thing to do. Their 2018 song “Freaky Friday” featured the two rappers switching places for the day and was deemed problematic for any number of reasons, facing serious backlash at the time, but also became a No. 1 hit. Dicky said he thinks letting Brown “use his talents for good” is the right choice with Brown.

“With Chris Brown, we can do one of two things,” Dicky explained. “We can never hear from him again and say ‘I won’t accept any Chris Brown whatsoever,’ or I feel like we can allow him to use his talent for good. When I see people react to the song, I really think that it makes people laugh and it makes people happy. I don’t think it’s the type of thing that really is making the world a worse place, on a micro-specific, talking-about-the-song level.”

He later added: “A song like ‘Freaky Friday,’ let’s be honest about it — it’s a f*cking global smash hit. It sounds like a hit. If you’re not even listening to the lyrics, it literally has the palette of a hit.”

And finally clarified that when he offends people, it really does hurt him “I’m aware of how insensitive my art can be, but I’m a very sensitive person and I hate offending people,” he said. “If I see anybody that’s offended by something I’m doing, it really hurts my heart, truly. I’m very confident that if I had 10 hours to spend with somebody, that they would like me. There have been very few instances in my life where someone has known me and disliked me. Yet a ton of people, understandably so, would dislike me as an artist or me as a comedian.”

And that last part is probably why the extended narrative of Dave has changed the perception of Dicky in culture quite a bit. Check out the full profile here to continue getting to know him.

About a dozen years ago (or at least, that’s how long it feels, although it was actually 2019), Kevin Hart pulled out of his Oscars hosting gig after resurfaced tweets prompted a backlash. Hart later admitted that he “did f*ck up,” but let’s just say that Hart isn’t feeling too badly about what happened a few years ago. In fact, the comedian’s feeling unexpectedly good. Rather than make like Seth Rogen, who astutely suggested that comedians should accept their jokes didn’t age well, though, Hart is telling cancel culture proponents to stuff it.

In a new Sunday Times profile (to promote Hart’s family film, Fatherhood, that’s coming out this upcoming weekend on Netflix), Hart appears to be taking an unaffected stance, and that’s possibly because he’s still attracting major eyeballs for Netflix. His Zero F*cks Given comedy special was reportedly Netflix’s most viewed entry of that category in 2020, and he’s now discussing how he’s been “cancelled” multiple times, yet his career kept on trucking. From the Sunday Times:

“I mean, I personally don’t give a sh*t about it,” he says of cancel culture. His raised eyebrows suggest he really means that too. “If somebody has done something truly damaging then, absolutely, a consequence should be attached. But when you just talk about… nonsense?” He flicks his hand dismissively. “When you’re talking, ‘Someone said! They need to be taken [down]!’ Shut the f*** up! What are you talking about?” On stage he is full of movement, and he is now chopping at the air wildly. It feels like the start of a routine. Except he’s deadly serious.

Hart also stresses that he feels as though he’s grown as a person, and he wants to know, “When did we get to a point where life was supposed to be perfect? Where people were supposed to operate perfectly all the time?” He adds that everyone messes up, and he makes allowances for that when it comes to kids, family, friends, co-workers, employees, and so on. The “last I checked, the only way you grow up is from f***ing up,” he says. “I don’t know a kid who hasn’t f***ed up or done some dumb sh*t.” Hart adds that everyone is capable of changing, and his stance certainly isn’t the more reflective perspective that we saw from Seth Rogen, but it appears to be working out for Hart. We’ll see whether audiences are interested in his dramatic turn when Fatherhood streams on Netflix (beginning June 18).

(Via The Sunday Times)

Polo G’s latest video from his new album Hall Of Fame, “Painting Pictures,” is a prime example of the evocative appeal of the young Chicago rapper’s music. The video, which is shot in his hometown, employs a simple concept to highlight the tales of brotherhood that run through the somber track, on which he reminisces about fallen friends and compares his early days of struggle to his current fame and ability to give back.

“Painting Pictures” is the opening track from Polo’s third album Hall Of Fame, which is currently on track to become his first No. 1 album. Before the project’s release, his song “Rapstar” became his first single to top the Hot 100 chart, debuting there in its first week then returning for a second straight week on the next edition of the chart. Other singles from the album include “Gang Gang” featuring Lil Wayne and “No Return” with The Kid Laroi and Lil Durk.

Unfortunately, Polo’s recent success was unable to immunize him from the effects of biased policing. Polo was arrested over the weekend after his release party in Miami for battery against a police officer and criminal mischief. He later tweeted that he believed the officers had been following him since his arrival in Miami, writing, “They playin foul in Miami & dat shit been like that for a minute.”

Watch the “Painting Pictures” video above.

Hall Of Fame is out now on Columbia Records. Get it here.

The Nets looked like they had a stranglehold on their second round series with the Bucks as they left Brooklyn with a 2-0 series lead, but as the series returns to New York, things have changed dramatically. The Bucks won both games at home to even things at 2-2, but it was Game 4 that created bigger worries for Brooklyn, as Kyrie Irving sprained his right ankle in the late second quarter when he landed on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s foot in the paint.

It was a brutal blow for a team that already saw James Harden suffer a hamstring injury a minute into Game 1, and with two stars out their margin for error was effectively nil, even with Kevin Durant in the lineup, as Milwaukee steadily pulled away for a big win. Going into Game 5, the Nets know they’ll be without Irving, announcing he would be out on Monday afternoon with that ankle sprain.

However, there is still some hope that Harden may re-enter the lineup, as he’s working out and testing where his hamstring’s health is over the next 24 hours with no determination on his status.

That, obviously, would make a massive difference, but after Game 4 Steve Nash was quick to be clear that they won’t rush Harden back and that the criteria for his return remain the same with the medical staff. Still, with how much better the Bucks played at home in Milwaukee in Games 3 and 4 (and all season), Game 5 feels crucial for the Nets to take and hold homecourt.

When you buy a piece of furniture you’re usually looking for something that fits the theme of your home. Nobody wants a purple couch, for example, if it clashes with the overall design of their house. It will just look weird and become an eyesore. This goes for lamps, too. Which is why you need to have a certain aesthetic to require a lamp from IKEA that you can play DOOM with.

Thanks to the group at next-hack, a lamp you can buy off the warehouse floor at IKEA is officially capable of playing DOOM. Why would someone try to make an IKEA lamp computer capable of playing DOOM? Besides a need to port DOOM to every computer ever made, a viral story about a group that attempted to make DOOM playable on a pregnancy test piqued next-hack’s interest.

They said in their blog post that the viral pregnancy test was technically not true. Though the LCD screen on the device could be used to appear like DOOM was running on it, the game was not actually playable. But that presented them a new challenge.

In fact, as clearly reported in Foone’s tweets, the author was trying to find what was inside an electronic pregnancy tester. Since the electronics was not reprogrammable, and the LCD was able to show just few segments, Foone replaced the display with an OLED display, and used a Teensy 3.2 board (featuring a 72 MHz Cortex M4). Later, Foone was also experimenting in streaming videos to the OLED display, attached to the Teensy, via the USB port. To do this, Foone used the SDL library to downscale and dither a window containing the video to be streamed, and sent it to the USB port, probably using the virtual CDC USB COM interface.

…

We wanted to challenge ourselves once more, this time by bringing our contribution to the list of unusual things Doom has been ported to (this time for real!)

Well they certainly accomplished it this time and they even showed their homework throughout the entire process. For anyone that’s savvy with electronics and computer, they have their entire process explained on their blog post. If anyone wants to attempt this themselves please be careful and do so safely. There are many more reasonable ways to play DOOM, but this one is officially up there as one of the more creative platforms to game on.

[via Vice]

After a freak winter storm caused the power grid in Texas to fail due to unseasonably low temperatures, the state is now facing another power crisis because of the summer heat. On Monday, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) urged residents to conserve energy for the remainder of the week to prevent blackouts. According to ERCOT, the state is on track to have “record-breaking” power use for the month of June, which poses a risk to the weakened grid. Via Austin NPR affiliate KUT 90.5:

In a media release, ERCOT blamed the tight grid conditions on more electric generators than usual being shut down for repairs. The grid operator said 11,000 megawatts of generation capacity — about the amount of energy it takes to power 2.2 million homes on a summer day — is unavailable due to those forced outages. One megawatt of electricity can usually power about 200 homes on a summer day.

According to ERCOT, about 73% of that unavailable power comes from “thermal” generators, typically gas and coal plants, being offline.

With the state facing yet another power crisis, that can mean only one thing: Ted Cruz is about to book it out of there. OK, that hasn’t happened yet, but it it didn’t stop Twitter from dunking on Cruz as soon as word got out that his state was in trouble again.

However, Cruz wasn’t the only one being dragged for looming energy crisis. ERCOT got its fair share of dunks as people blasted the energy commission for not being aware that Texas would be hot in the summer? Unlike a freak snow storm, it’s seems like that’s not a hard one to predict, and folks let ERCOT have it.

(Via KUT 90.5)

It feels like just yesterday we heard that Big Mouth would spin off a very intriguing part of its fictional version of puberty on Netflix, but nearly two years later we are finally getting some casting news about Human Resources. What began as a cartoon about humans and hormone monsters has grown into a show where a variety of anthropomorphized beings influence the whims of young adults, and now the spin-off has some very impressive voices included in the cast.

Variety reported that Nick Kroll and Maya Rudolph will have roles in the show, and Randall Park, Aidy Bryant and Keke Palmer are among an impressive list of voices that will help bring Human Resources to life. The reveal came as part of the Annecy Animation Film Festival, which featured some video teasers of the series and lots of quotes from show creator Nick Kroll about just what Park will be doing: playing a rock named Pete. We also know now that the Shame Wizard, voiced by David Thewlis, will “feature heavily” in the new show:

They were also visited briefly by Park, who shared a first-look image of his character, a Logic Rock named Pete.

“I’m very much a logic rock,” Park said when asked if he related to any of the monsters from the “Human Resources” world. “I felt like this part was written for me, was it? I’m very logical, organized, clean. Pete does everything by the book like me. He has rock hard abs…” he trailed off to laughter from the panel.

Two videos were shown as part of the presentation, the first taken from Season 5 of Big Mouth where we first see the Human Resources offices. The other was reportedly an HR-style welcome video that looked very much like what you’d expect from a corporation that controls human emotions. Kroll also gave some hints about what Park’s Logic Rock and others will be like, calling it a “joy” to further flesh out these concepts in a full-length series:

“You have these characters that represent a major force in the human condition,” Kroll explained of the major difference in creating the two shows. “The challenge has been that these characters don’t only function according to the one thing they do professionally. The Logic Rock is filled with a lot of emotion and love and that defies his nature. Building out the characters in that complex way has been a joy.”

Any animated show that has Maya Rudolph doing voice work is worth watching, and given the popularity of Big Mouth on Netflix this seems like a sure thing. But it certainly seems like things are heading in a very interesting direction here.

[via Variety]

The Republic Of Sarah (CW, 9:00pm) — This show follows the ending of tranquility of Greylock, N.H., after it’s found to be sitting atop an enormous stash of the valuable coltan material. This leads a corporation to attempt to wipe the whole town off the map, and a rebellious teacher (Sarah Cooper) steps in to halt the madness. Or at least, she attempts to do so by proposing that the town declare independence, therefore becoming internationally sovereign. Soon enough, there’s the prospect of Greylock becoming a fresh nation, which will present problems of its own.

All American (CW, 8:00pm) — Spencer’s quarterback is on the blink for the big game, so he’s feeling the pressure on the entire team due to the high stakes.

In Treatment (HBO, 9:00 & 9:30pm) — Brooke finds herself disturbed by Laila’s disclosure following their last session, so they talk even more about love, sex, and the future and all of the resulting complications. Meanwhile, Brooke looks for clarity on her own interactions with Rita.

The Housewife and the Hustler (Hulu) — Legal powerhouse Tom Girardi, who happens to be married to The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast member Erika Jayne, gets the ABC News Originals treatment into his real-life legal woes.

Jimmy Kimmel Live — Elisabeth Moss, Omar Sy, Valerie June

The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon — Ethan Hawke, Ilana Glazer, Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall

Late Night With Seth Meyers — Luke Wilson, Juno Temple, MARINA, Stevie Nistor

The Late Late Show With James Corden — Hugh Grant, Mike Colter, TOMORROW X TOGETHER

In case you missed these streaming picks:

Betty (Friday, HBO 11:00 p.m.) — Like a breath of the most refreshing, free-wheeling air possible, HBO’s Betty will soon glide back into our lives. It’s what we really need to heal our pandemic-addled minds, and somehow, director Crystal Moselle managed to gather the Skate Kitchen crew back up for a second season and film on the streets of New York City. The main players are all back — Rachelle Vinberg as Camille, Ajani Russell as Indigo, Dede Lovelace as Janay, Moonbear as Honeybear, and Nina Moran as Kirt — and they’re still making the act of soaring through the streets look like the coolest thing on Earth. In their defense, Betty really is the coolest show on TV these days, and we could all stand to live vicariously these days.

Lupin: Part 2 (Netflix series) — This (the fancy French heist show starring Omar Sy) turned out to be a smash hit for Netflix in January. The overwhelming reaction even led the streamer to hustle fast to release Part 2, so that everyone could see how the beloved gentleman burglar would take revenge (against Hubert Pelligrini) for the abduction of his son, and by the way, we could probably use a lot more heisting as well? Give it to us. Of course, after that train station switcheroo in last season’s finale, we can expect police to redouble their efforts. So, Assane reenters as the most wanted man in France, and he’ll tempt fate while attending black tie events, high-speed car chases, speeding motorboats, thrown punches, and a trip to the catacombs.

This summer is gearing up to be one for the books — with the dramatic lessening of restrictions and newly vaccinated travelers anxious to get out of the house. Despite the travel surge, it is still complicated or even impossible to travel to many places outside of the United States, making a classic summer road trip a no-brainer. Interest in National Parks is at an all-time high, so I’ve outlined five of my favorite itineraries for summer road travel that will maximize your time in parks and your level of stoke.

1. The Washington Parks Circuit

Washington is known for Mount Rainier and Olympic National Parks, but many people wouldn’t be able to name the third — and arguably best — National Park in the state. North Cascades is one of the most awe-inspiring landscapes I have ever traversed. It is dramatic and mountainous while also feeling small and somewhat secretive. Like you just happened to drive into a fairytale.

While technically open year round, many services can only be accessed during the summer months, so this circuit is a perfect excuse to take a Washington Parks road trip. I would fly into Seattle (if I wasn’t driving from another Western location) and start by spending a few days on the Olympic Peninsula — visiting Hurricane Ridge, the western beaches, and the Hoh Rainforest before heading down to Lake Quinault.

From there, it’s just a three hour drive to Mount Rainier. Spend some time in the aptly named Paradise to marvel at the wildflowers and — hopefully — get a clear view of the massive mountain. Then it’s just a three and a half hour drive to North Cascades. Swim, hike, camp, and marvel at the beauty that is somehow still considered “underrated”.

Pro Tip:

There are several beautiful spots to swim in Olympic and North Cascades. Bring your swimsuit!

Where to stay:

In Olympic your options are fairly limited outside of camping. I’d stay in Port Angeles or Forks for a night or two and then Lake Quinault or even Olympia/Tacoma — a great central location to the southern part of the Peninsula and Mount Rainier.

Reminders:

Mount Rainier will be very busy this time of year. They all will be very busy, I’m sure. So plan ahead, get there early, and have a plan B if you can’t find parking at the trailhead you planned on.

2. Grand Teton To Yellowstone National Park

Grand Teton and Yellowstone are perennially some of the busiest National Parks in the summer months — but for good reason. They are both bucket list destinations that happen to only be 31 miles from each other.

Our avice? Brave the crowds this summer and take yourself to both. If I was flying I’d book a ticket straight into Jackson — the only commercial airport entirely within a National Park — then rent a car and spend a few days exploring Grand Teton before hitting the (short) road to Yellowstone.

Despite their proximity I find these two parks to be vastly different experiences, and definitely both worth your time. If you’re coming from the Tetons you’ll enter at the South entrance in Yellowstone, but you’ll want to spend time in all of the major areas and, yes, even the touristy areas.

Pro tip:

Watch Old Faithful erupt from the bar balcony at the Old Faithful Inn (if and when COVID restrictions have fully lifted). You get a unique vantage point above the ever present crowds, and a chance to cool down with a drink (or two).

Where to stay:

The obvious choice is Jackson, WY, but be prepared for crowds and very high prices. The less obvious and also less crowded (and least likely to break the bank) is a stay on the Idaho side or even West Yellowstone.

Reminders:

While there are no reservations needed for GTNP or Yellowstone this summer, visitation is already over 2019 numbers — so get there early and be prepared for some crowds.

3. The California Parks Route

As the state with the most major National Parks, of course there are many great options for road trips in California this summer. I’d generally recommend two different itineraries — one in and around LA and one with a more Northern trajectory. Around LA, you can easily visit Joshua Tree, Channel Islands and even Death Valley in one loop of a trip — but summer isn’t going to be enjoyable in two out of those three. So I’d opt for heading North.

I often fly into San Francisco as a jumping off point to Yosemite, Pinnacles and Lassen National Parks. Sequoia and Kings Canyon are also within 4 and a half hours from the city — giving you truly endless options. Spend a week or a month, you’ll never get bored with these diverse landscapes.

Pro Tip:

Lassen is super underrated (many of you are probably scratching your head as to what I’m even talking about as we speak) so plan to spend more time there than you originally think. Yosemite will be super crowded, but the banks of the Merced always have a spot to cool down.

Where to stay:

You won’t want to base yourself in SF for more than bookends to your trip. Outside of camping I’d recommend looking to Airbnb. There are tons of great options around each park.

Reminders:

Yosemite is on a reservation system. If you opt to head down towards the Channel Islands you’ll also need advance ticketing (they are only accessible by boat).

4. Colorado National Parks

There are four major National Parks in Colorado, all located near opposite corners — making a National Parks road-trip an obvious choice. I would start in Denver and, depending on my timed entry tickets to Rocky Mountain National Park, either begin or end there. (I wrote a detailed guide here.)

Pro Tip:

Like most of the places on this list, Colorado is very crowded in the summer and most camping is now reservation only. So head to recreation.gov or Airbnb far in advance if you want any sort of unique lodging.

Where to stay:

So many options here. Summer is especially perfect in Boulder, Buena Vista, Salida, Aspen and Crested Butte.

Reminders:

RMNP is on a timed entry system! And to drive Bear Lake Road (where many popular insta-worthy hikes originate) you’ll need another permit on top of the entry ticket on top of admission. Spend some time understanding the reservation system before you go.

5. Great Smoky Mountains and New River Gorge

One of the most classic (and most visited) National Parks just happens to be just four and a half hours from our newest National Park — New River Gorge. If you haven’t been back to the Smokies since your childhood family vacation, now is the time to go. Not only to experience the majesty of the range, but to visit New River Gorge while it’s still slightly under the radar.

Pro Tip:

New River Gorge is known for rafting! Book a tour as far as possible in advance

Towns to stay/play:

Gatlinburg is a touristy, but fun gateway to the smokies where you may want to spend a night. Pigeon Forge is just down the road — and home to Dollywood! For New River Gorge there really are no large towns to speak of — part of it’s charm — but there are many Airbnbs and bed and breakfasts that dot the area and are worthy of checking out.

Reminders:

Great Smoky Mountains is the most visited major US National Park every year. It’s large, sure, but it will still be crowded. Like most parks on this list, plan ahead. New River Gorge is the newest park so info is still a little scratchy. So again, plan ahead.