Category: News

After some speculation in recent months, earlier in May, Taylor Swift officially announced that her next re-recorded album will be Speak Now (Taylor’s Version). The album notably includes some lyrics believed to be about Swift’s exes, including Taylor Lautner on “Back To December.” He’s not feeling worried… at least not for himself.

In an interview with Today.com, Lautner was asked about how he’s feeling when it comes to Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), and after a laugh, he said, “I think it’s a great album. Yeah, I feel safe. Praying for John.”

“John,” of course, refers to John Mayer, who is likely the titular ex in the Speak Now highlight “Dear John.”

As for how Lautner’s wife, also named Taylor Lautner, feels about this, she’s actually a big Speak Now fan, saying recently, “Speak Now is one of the best albums of all time. The lyrics are insane.”

Meanwhile, Mayer recently made an admission about his own “Paper Doll,” which is supposedly inspired by Swift. On stage, he said, “I wonder if people don’t like it because it sounds a little pissed off. I don’t really like ‘pissed off’ as a song. I think it was more… I think there is something about it that’s a little bitchy. I try not to give bitchiness in the song, and then it happens sometimes.”

Last year, Spoon shared Lucifer On The Sofa and embarked on a co-headlining tour with Interpol. Since then, they’ve announced more tours with The Black Keys and Weezer. Now they’re back with more news.

On Tuesday, May 16, the band announced an EP called Memory Dust and released the single “Sugar Babies.” The EP consists of two original songs as well as a cover of Bo Diddley’s “She’s Fine, She’s Mine.” The jaunty “Sugar Babies” works as a good singalong, with an infectious chorus: “They wanna know how much they changed / They wanna know how I feel about it / Do I think they look the same? / Or do I hear their voices talkin’ to them,” Britt Daniel sings.

Also in 2022, Spoon unleashed the Wild EP, which included a Jack Antonoff remix. “Jack and I got together years ago. I feel like we worked on two songs — this one and ‘Can I Sit Next To You,’ but nothing really happened with that,” Daniel explained. “I don’t know how exactly to describe his signature other than there’s something about the chord changes that are a little more epic than usual.”

Listen to “Sugar Babies” above.

Find the EP artwork and tracklist below.

1. “Sugar Babies”
2. “She’s Fine, She’s Mine”
3. “Silver Girl”

Memory Dust is out 6/13 on Matador Records. Find more information here.

Tim Robinson has a good thing going: Every two years he drops six more episodes of I Think You Should Leave, his absurdist — and frequently shouty — Netflix sketch show. You never know what you’re going to get. A guy could obsess over too-easily-detachable steering wheels on cars. A bruncher could bust out messed-up social media posts. A prankster could suddenly tumble into existential dread while in a ridiculous costume. A sketch about a guy in a hot dog suit could, in our creatively awful timeline, become a way-too-endurable internet meme. It’s brilliant stuff, so when is there going to be more?

The answer: very soon. Netflix plans on dropping the next batch of I Think You Should Leave episodes on May 30. The streamer doesn’t do that thing that joints like Hulu or HBO Max (sorry: Max) do and parcel out episodes weekly. In about two weeks you’ll be able to plow through the next batch of Tim Robinon episodes, and it’ll probably take you less than three hours.

Like many, Uproxx has been obsessed with Robinson’s delightful show. We’ve even ranked the sketches from both seasons. You have plenty of time to revisit those episodes and those sketches, and it won’t even take you very long. But that’s a good thing: Quality is always preferable to quantity.

Imagine going about your day, a million things weighing on your mind, when suddenly you see a red circle drawn on the sidewalk. Next to it, a sign reads, “Dance Here.” Would you bust a move?

That’s certainly what this group of random Californians did.

A Youtube user by the name of Thoraya conducted a lighthearted social experiment where she placed a red circle on the ground with the words “Dance Here” written next to it. Anytime someone would walk across the circle, music would begin to play.

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The result is 10 beautiful minutes of strangers dancing their hearts out. Friends grooving together, old folks proving they still got it, kids twirling and stomping around. Disco moves, stanky legs, bike wheelies, chest bumps, moonwalks…just a celebration of humanity in its purest form.

Watch:

Just lovely, right? Others seemed to think so too. Here are a few of the comments from Youtube:

“If there was a 24hr live cam of this I would watch it all day. I don’t want it to stop. Pure ecstatic dance energy.”

“And…there come the tears :’) I don’t know why but I find these types of videos to be so moving. There’s just something so beautiful and touching about seeing people united by a random, lighthearted gesture like this.”

“That is amazing! Just pure joy and happiness, it’s so heartwarming, I love it!! These people are all so different, yet they all agreed to randomly dance on the street.”

“You and THIS are exactly what the world needs more of. Thank you for bringing this joy to everyone.”

“I hope we never lose art, whether it be dance, music, or just sharing this world of ours. It lets me know everything will be OK as long we share the joy and wonder it gives.”

Thoraya’s channel has all kinds of projects that inspire connection. Some are simple, asking strangers deeply personal questions like “Tell me about your first love” or “What’s the worst thing you’ve done to please someone else?” Others are more interactive, like the dance circle or having strangers meet and carry on a conversation without ever seeing each other. Each one is uniquely touching and healing.

Thank you, Thoraya, for bringing us all back to our joy and reminding us that we really do have more in common than we think.

One of the biggest problems with coffee production is that it generates an incredible amount of waste. Once coffee beans are separated from cherries, about 45% of the entire biomass is discarded.

So for every pound of roasted coffee we enjoy, an equivalent amount of coffee pulp is discarded into massive landfills across the globe. That means that approximately 10 million tons of coffee pulp is discarded into the environment every year.

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When disposed of improperly, the waste can cause serious damage soil and water sources.

However, a new study published in the British Ecological Society journal Ecological Solutions and Evidence has found that coffee pulp isn’t just a nuisance to be discarded. It can have an incredibly positive impact on regrowing deforested areas of the planet.

In 2018, researchers from ETH-Zurich and the University of Hawaii spread 30 dump trucks worth of coffee pulp over a roughly 100′ x 130′ area of degraded land in Costa Rica. The experiment took place on a former coffee farm that underwent rapid deforestation in the 1950s.

The coffee pulp was spread three-feet thick over the entire area.

Another plot of land near the coffee pulp dump was left alone to act as a control for the experiment.

“The results were dramatic.” Dr. Rebecca Cole, lead author of the study, said. “The area treated with a thick layer of coffee pulp turned into a small forest in only two years while the control plot remained dominated by non-native pasture grasses.”

In just two years, the area treated with coffee pulp had an 80% canopy cover, compared to just 20% of the control area. So, the coffee-pulp-treated area grew four times more rapidly. Like a jolt of caffeine, it reinvigorated biological activity in the area.

The canopy was also four times taller than that of the control.

The coffee-treated area also eliminated an invasive species of grass that took over the land and prevented forest succession. Its elimination allowed for other native species to take over and recolonize the area.

“This case study suggests that agricultural by-products can be used to speed up forest recovery on degraded tropical lands. In situations where processing these by-products incurs a cost to agricultural industries, using them for restoration to meet global reforestation objectives can represent a ‘win-win’ scenario,” Dr. Cole said.

If the results are repeatable it’s a win-win for coffee drinkers and the environment.

Researchers believe that coffee treatments can be a cost-effective way to reforest degraded land. They may also work to reverse the effects of climate change by supporting the growth of forests across the globe.

The 2016 Paris Agreement made reforestation an important part of the fight against climate change. The agreement incentivizes developing countries to reduce deforestation and forest degradation, promote forest conservation and sustainable management, and enhance forest carbon stocks in developing countries.

“We hope our study is a jumping off point for other researchers and industries to take a look at how they might make their production more efficient by creating links to the global restoration movement,” Dr. Cole said.

This article originally appeared on 03.29.21

One the more mysterious aspects of being human is our sense of intuition. This “sixth sense” isn’t something we can see or measure, but many people have experienced it in some form or fashion. Maybe it comes as a strong feeling that something isn’t right, or that we or someone else should or shouldn’t do something. It can be hard to read—not every feeling we get is truly our intuition—but there are plenty of examples of people trusting their instincts and being glad they did.

One such story has gone viral on TikTok. Jessica Higgs, a mom who works as an Instacart grocery delivery person, shared a story in an emotional video that illustrates the importance of listening to that inner voice when it prompts you to make sure someone is OK.

“I just want to start this off by saying if you see something, say something,” Higgs said.

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She explained how she had done an Instacart order the previous day for a daughter who was ordering for her older dad who couldn’t shop for himself. She said she was going the extra mile like she always does for her customers, and that the daughter told her to just drop the groceries on the porch and he’d get them. That’s what Higgs would usually do.

“I get there and something was telling me no, you gotta help this man out,” she said. “He came out, and I was like OK let me help you, and I got the groceries. You’re not supposed to go into someone’s house, but I used my judgment and I brought the groceries inside and put them down wherever he wanted me to put them down. You’re not supposed to, but I did. And you’re supposed to just take a picture and leave, and I could not just leave.”

@jessicahiggs3

@Instacart #28DaysOfEucerin #fyp

Higgs noticed that the man looked really sick and she was really concerned. A voice in her head said, “You gotta say something. You gotta say something, Jess.” Rather than mark the order as complete, she messaged the man’s daughter and told her that it was really unprofessional to say something like this, but she felt like her dad wasn’t doing well. “There’s a propane tank in there,” she told the woman. “I was in there maybe five feet and I got dizzy. There’s got to be a leak. He might not be doing good because of this leak.”

The woman said she would send her son over to check it out and Higgs left. The woman changed her tip from $14 to $100, which Higgs appreciated, but the message she sent her the next morning was a much greater reward for her going the extra mile.

“Thank you so much, once my son went to check on my dad it turned out it was definitely leaking,” she wrote. “You definitely saved my dad and my younger son’s life!!!”

Through tears, Higgs said, “I’m just an Instacart worker, but if you see something, say something. I did and I’m so happy I did.”

Higgs’ TikTok has been viewed more than 15 million times and has been shared widely on social media. It has also attracted the attention of big companies.

Royal Caribbean Cruises shared a TikTok video of its own praising Higgs for her heroic act and offering her and her family a seven-day cruise anywhere in the world. “Cause even heroes need a vacation,” the company wrote.

@royalcaribbean

Stitch with @jessicahiggs3 – cause even heroes need a vacation. Thanks @captaincruiseguy

Old Navy connected with her and arranged a shopping spree where she got to model several new outfits. People Magazine commented, “You’re literally a HERO! Good job trusting your instincts. 💕” Even TikTok itself wrote, “You are amazing ❤️thank you for sharing this with all of us.”

Lots of commenters also pointed out that she’s not “just an Instacart worker.” Her work is important, she’s providing a needed service and any job done in a spirit of helping others should not be minimized. If she hadn’t been there doing her job well, that man may not be here. Never underestimate the difference each of us can make by the simple act of looking out for one another, friend and stranger alike.

Higgs’ heartfelt story touched millions, and she’s being rightly rewarded for listening to her heart and going out of her way to help someone. Gotta love seeing good things come to people doing good. Well done, Jessica Higgs.

This article originally appeared on 02.08.22

Nothing can ever fully prepare you for being an adult. Once you leave childhood behind, the responsibilities, let-downs and setbacks come at you fast. It’s tiring and expensive, and there’s no easy-to-follow roadmap for happiness and success.

A Reddit user named u/Frequent-Pilot5243 asked the online forum, “What’s an adult problem nobody prepared you for?” and there were a lot of profound answers that get to the heart of the disappointing side of being an adult.

One theme that ran through many responses is the feeling of being set adrift. When you’re a kid, the world is laid out as a series of accomplishments. You learn to walk, you figure out how to use the bathroom, you start school, you finish school, maybe you go to college, and so on.

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However, once we’re out of the school system and out from under our parents’ roofs, there is a vast, complicated world out there and it takes a long time to learn how it works. The tough thing is that if you don’t get a good head start, you can spend the rest of your life playing catch-up.

Then, you hit middle age and realize that life is short and time is only moving faster.

Adulthood also blindsides a lot of people because we realize that many adults are simply children who grew older. The adult world is a lot more like high school than a teenager could ever imagine.

The Reddit thread may seem a bit depressing at first, but there are a lot of great lessons that younger people can take to heart. The posts will also make older people feel a lot better because they can totally relate.

Being an adult is hard, exhausting and expensive. But we’re all in this together and by sharing the lessons we’ve learned we can help lighten each other’s load just a bit.

Here are 21 of the most powerful responses to the question: “What is an adult problem nobody prepared you for?”

1. Lack of purpose

“Lack of purpose. All your young life you are given purpose of passing exams and learning, then all of a sudden you are thrown into the world and told to find your own meaning,” — Captain_Snow.

2. No bed time

“You can stay up as late as you want. But you shouldn’t,” — geek-fit

3. Friendships

“Where did all my friends go?” — I_Love_Small_Breasts

Most of them are at the same place as you are … Probably wondering the same thing,” — Blackdraon003

4. Bodily changes

“I’m closer to fifty than forty, would have been nice to be better prepared for some of the ways your body starts to change at this point that don’t normally get talked about. For instance your teeth will start to shift from general aging of your gums,” — dayburner.

5. People don’t change

“Didnt know that other adults have the emotional intelligence of teenagers and its almost impossible to deal with logically,” — Super-Progress-6386

6. Money

“$5K is a lot to owe, but not a lot to have,” — Upper-Job5130

7. Our parents age, too

“Handling the decline and death of your parents,” – Agave666

8. Free time

“Not having a lot of free-time or time by myself,” — detective_kiara

9. No goals

“Not having a pre-defined goal once I was out of college. Growing up my goals were set for me: get through elementary school! then middle school! Then high school, and get into college and get a degree, then get a job, and then…? Vague “advance in your career, buy a house, find a spouse, have a kid or multiple, then retire.” At 22 I had no idea how to break that down more granularly,” — FreehandBirdlime

10. Constant upkeep

“Life is all about maintenance. Your body, your house, your relationships, everything requires constant never ending maintenance,” — IHateEditedBGMusic

11. Exhaustion

“Being able to do so many things because I’m an adult but too tired to do any of them,” — London82

12. Loneliness

“Being an adult feels extremely lonely,” — Bluebloop0

13. Dinner

“Having to make dinner every. Fucking. Day,” — EndlesslyUnfinished

14. Time changes

“The more life you’ve lived, the faster time seems to go,” — FadedQuill

15. You’re responsibile, even if you didn’t mean it

“You are held to account for bad behaviour for which you are negligent even if you had no intention to cause harm. As a lawyer, I see this all the time. People don’t think they’re responsible for mistakes. You are,” — grishamlaw

16. Work is like high school

“The intricacies of workplace politics,” — Steve_Lobsen writes. “

“When you’re in school, you think that you won’t have to deal with gossiping and bullying once you leave school. Unfortunately, that is not true,” — lady_laughs_too_much

17. Nowhere to turn

“How easy it is to feel stuck in a bad situation (job, relationship, etc) just because the cost and effort of getting out can seem daunting. And sometimes you just have to accept a figurative bowl full of shit because you can’t afford to blow up your life,” — movieguy95453

18. The happiness question

“Figuring out what makes you happy. Everyone keeps trying to get you to do things you’re good at, or that makes you money, but never to pursue what you enjoy,” — eternalwanderer5

19. Constant cleaning

“The kitchen is always dirty. You’ll clean it at least three times every day,” — cewnc

20. Life costs money

“One adult problem nobody prepared me for is how expensive everything is. I always thought that as an adult I would be able to afford the things I wanted, but it turns out that’s not always the case! I’ve had to learn how to budget and save up for the things I want, and it’s been a difficult process,” — Dull_Dog_8126

21. Keeping above water

“All of it together. I was relatively warned about how high rent is, car bills and repairs, how buying healthy food is expensive as hell but important for your health, how to exercise and save what you can, my parents did their best to fill in my knowledge about taxes and healthcare and insurance that my schooling missed, about driving and cleaning a household, about setting boundaries at work but working hard and getting ahead if you can, about charity and what it means to take care of a pet and others, about being a good partner if you were lucky enough to have one, about how dark and messed up the world is when you just read the news and what all that means to me and my community… I was reasonably warned about all of it.

“No one could have ever prepared me for how hard doing all of it at the same time and keeping your head above that water would actually be,” — ThatNoNameWriter

This article originally appeared on 01.28.22

Dolly Parton just announced her new album Rockstar after teasing it for quite some time. The lead single “World On Fire” quite obviously confronts the political climate: “Don’t get me started on politics / Now how are we to live in a world like this / Greedy politicians, present and past / They wouldn’t know the truth if it bit ‘em in the ass,” she sings.

On The Today Show, Parton discussed the song. Interviewer Jacob Soboroff asked which politician it’s about, and she answered, “All of em! Any of em!” Parton said. “I don’t think any of ’em are trying hard enough. I’m sure they’re all trying, but I just really think that, often, they worry more about their party than they do about the people. If we just do what we felt was the right thing, rather than who’s gonna lose, who’s gonna win this, who’s gonna look better if they do this, rather than working from the heart.”

She also revealed off-camera to Soboroff that she declined an invitation to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Joe Biden, after she rejected it twice from Donald Trump. She said she didn’t want to be associated with either.

Parton’s also doing something she rejected and then accepted: going to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “I had always thought I might do one, but I hadn’t thought about doing it right now,” she said. “But I thought, Well, why not right now, with all the hoopla and all the craziness that went on around this?”

Rockstar is out 11/17 via Butterfly Records. Find more information here.

Victor Wembanyama is heading to the San Antonio Spurs. Barring something completely insane happening, the Spurs getting the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft means that the ultra-talented Frenchman will begin his NBA career in San Antonio, as he’s slated to join a pair of Hall of Fame inductees in David Robinson and Tim Duncan as big men who the franchise took No. 1 overall.

There is, of course, a ton of history for French players with the Spurs. Tony Parker is a franchise icon (and someone who has mentored Wembanyama), Boris Diaw won a ring with the team in 2014, and a few other Frenchmen have come through San Antonio over the years. In fact, Wembanyama said after the Draft Lottery that he believes France, as a whole, wanted the Spurs to get the top pick.

“There’s a special relation between France and the Spurs, because of Tony, of course, and also Boris,” Wembanyama said. “And I know half of the country, if not the whole country, wanted the Spurs to have the first pick. So, I was looking at everyone in the room, was happy. So I was, too.”

Wembanyama also took to Twitter and is ready for what his future holds.

The Spurs will officially make Wembanyama the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft on June 22.

Over the weekend, Ja Morant was once again spotted on an Instagram Live with a gun in his hand, mere months after picking up what became an 8-game suspension for doing the same thing in the middle of the season — ultimately costing him a spot on the All-NBA teams and nearly $40 million on his new contract extension. He was, again, suspended indefinitely by the team as they investigated the matter alongside the league.

After the first incident, Morant apologized and did interviews about how he was in the wrong and was learning his lesson, which meant whatever he said after this latest video was going to be met with plenty of eyerolls. He didn’t help his cause by waiting to release a statement until Tuesday night as the fourth quarter of Game 1 between the Lakers and Nuggets was going on (and after the Draft Lottery earlier in the evening). Morant was at least aware enough to know that his “words may not mean much right now,” committing once again to working on himself.

Morant is correct in noting that very few people are going to take much from his statement, and it’s now on him to show that he’s actually trying to make the changes that clearly didn’t stick after the first time we went through this situation. Earlier in the evening, Adam Silver told ESPN he was “shocked” when he saw the video, with the league still looking to determine if it was what it appeared to be. Morant’s statement certainly seems to confirm that, and with reporting he could face a lengthy suspension for a second incident, he will likely have plenty of time for reflection over the summer and the start of next season.