Category: News

The Sex and the City follow-up And Just Like That… wrapped up its 10-episode run earlier this month, after two months of sometimes startling developments. There was the Peloton business. There was the lack of Samantha Jones. There was the uproar over Che Diaz. What there wasn’t was Candace Bushnell, the former New York Observer journalist whose ‘90s column “Sex and the City” birthed the show of the same name. She wasn’t involved in the revival (nor was really involved in the most of the show or the movies). But in a predictably juicy interview with The New Yorker, she strongly intimated that she wasn’t feeling it.

Bushnell, whose life partially loosely Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie Bradshaw, was asked by the reporter whether she felt similar to the characters in the new show, who feel like they “have suddenly awoken into a sense of being out of step with culture.”

Her response was simply, “No.” She added that she was “really startled by a lot of the decisions made in the reboot,” distancing herself from it by saying, “it’s a television product, done with Michael Patrick King and Sarah Jessica Parker, who have both worked with HBO a lot in the past. HBO decided to put this franchise back into their hands for a variety of reasons, and this is what they came up with.”

When asked if she “sees” herself in the characters anymore, she replied, “Not at all.” But her fictional analog and her parted ways a while ago. “Carrie Bradshaw ended up being a quirky woman who married a really rich guy. And that’s not my story, or any of my friends’ stories.”

But Carrie and her were simpatico for a while, particularly how much both were making in media during a happier time. When she worked for Vogue, in the ‘90s, she says she was paid $5,000 a month — nearly $10,000 a month now, adjusted for inflation.

“I mean, this was a time that writers were getting a Vanity Fair contract for six pieces and two hundred and fifty thousand dollars a year,” she said. “People valued writing; it wasn’t considered something everyone can do. Now, because of the computer, everyone has to do it, so we think everyone can do it.”

(Via New Yorker)

The Los Angeles Lakers have had a dreadful season, with a combination of poor play overall that, when coupled with injury woes, has pushed them down into a fight for a play-in spot in the West heading into the All-Star break.

The Lakers just recently got Anthony Davis back from a sprained left MCL, and his play since returning has been one of the bright spots in another rough patch of play, as he seemed to be getting closer to the elite level he’d long established for himself. He continued that in the first half against Utah on Wednesday, scoring 17 points in 17 minutes before disaster struck as he jumped to catch a lob and came down on Rudy Gobert’s foot, rolling his right ankle terribly and writhing on the ground in pain.

Davis stayed down for some time as trainers attended to him and eventually was helped off the court without putting any weight on that leg and into the locker room.

The ESPN broadcast showed a reverse angle of the injury that showed Davis’ ankle turning over almost completely 90 degrees, as it looked as bad of an ankle turn as you can have.

The Lakers will release an official update later, but it would seem that Davis’ night is done and he could miss another stretch of time with what appeared to be a nasty sprain. Hopefully it’s nothing more than a sprain, but that will be determined after further tests as the Lakers once again may find themselves without their star big man for some time.

UPDATE: Initial X-rays came back negative, so the good news is there isn’t a fracture, but Davis is done for the night and an MRI to come will provide further insight into the severity of the sprain.

The New York Knicks played host to the Brooklyn Nets, who were without Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Ben Simmons, on ESPN on Wednesday night, and put on a show in the first half, leading by as many as 28 and took a 21-point advantage into the break.

However, the second half was an all-too-familiar disaster for the Knicks, as they watched the Nets steadily reel them in over the course of the final 24 minutes, punctuated by rookie Cam Thomas’ 16-point fourth quarter, including a dagger in the closing seconds that left the Knicks faithful in The Garden in shock. The loss dropped the Knicks to 25-34, pushing them to 3.5 games out of the final play-in spot in the East, and vibes in Manhattan couldn’t be much worse.

There are reports swirling that Tom Thibodeau could be on his way out soon, but the issues seem to run much deeper than just the coach in New York. After the game and before the late game between the Jazz and Lakers, ESPN went back to its NBA Countdown crew so that Stephen A. Smith could get some things off of his chest in what is an instant classic Stephen A. rant, as he goes after just about everyone, from Thibs to Julius Randle to Leon Rose, calling the team “trash” and saying fans should boycott the team for the rest of the season.

It’s all gold from Stephen A., who is rarely operating at a higher level than he is when the Knicks are absolutely awful, but the best part to me is when he talks about how he’s embarrassed that he let last year’s success convince him the Knicks had turned the corner and now he owes all kinds of people dinners and suits for bets he’s made about New York being back.

MTV’s supernatural teen drama tv show Teen Wolf based on the 1985 supernatural teen drama movie of the same name, was a hit for anyone who frequented Tumblr in 2011.

The show starred Scott McCall as a hot-shot lacrosse player who just so happen to be a werewolf (hey, high school is rough). Over the six seasons from 2011-2017, the show incorporated many different supernatural elements beyond just werewolves, including banshees and giant reptile humans.

Rumors of a possible revival movie have been circulating for months after cryptic social media posts from MTV and other actors involved in the show. Finally, Paramount+ has confirmed the series would be getting its own movie spin-off.

The streaming service has confirmed who would be back for the movie, which includes: Tyler Posey as Scott McCall, Holland Roden as Lydia Martin, Shelley Hennig as Malia Tate, Crystal Reed as Allison Argent, Orny Adams as Coach Bobby Finstock, Linden Ashby as Sheriff Noah Stilinski, JR Bourne as Chris Argent, Seth Gilliam as Dr. Alan Deaton, Colton Haynes as Jackson Whittemore, Dyan Kelley as Deputy Jordan Parrish, Melissa Ponzio as Melissa McCall and, finally, Dylan Sprayberry as Liam Dunbar.

The list is strange for several reasons: one being the inclusion of Crystal Reed’s character, who infamously died in season four. But mainly, the absence of three main cast members, Dylan O’Brien, Arden Cho, and Tyler Hoechlin, who played Stiles, Kira, and Derek, respectively. No reason was given for Hoechlin, but O’Brien has been busy with some high-profile roles, which might have made him pass on the teenage drama.

As for Cho, the only woman of color in the show, rumor has is that the network wasn’t offering her enough money compared to the other actresses.

Production is expected to take place later this year.

The Brooklyn Nets played one of the worst first halves of basketball any team has all season, trailing by 21 at the half and by as many as 28 to the Knicks in Madison Square Garden.

While the Knicks are always capable of giving up a lead, with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving both out (and Ben Simmons still not ready to play), it was hard to see where the offensive burst would come from if they were to claw their way back in. However, after starting to reel in the Knicks in the third quarter, rookie Cam Thomas — who had been 2-for-11 through three quarters — put the team on his back in the fourth in an absolutely stunning comeback win for Brooklyn.

Thomas had 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting in the fourth quarter, as he found his stroke and did not care who was in front of him once he got to his spot and rose up for a jumper. The rookie tied the game for the first time midway through the fourth, as the MSG crowd could only watch in disbelief that this was happening again.

Thomas then gave the Nets their first lead of the game with another pull-up from the right wing, as he picked apart the Knicks defense and hit tough shot after tough shot.

Brooklyn would eventually find itself up three and had the ball with 16 seconds to play, shot clock at 10 after a wild sequence featuring a pair of offensive rebounds — and threw an inbound pass the Thomas in the backcourt and cleared the stage for him to go one-on-one with Quentin Grimes to try and find the dagger. Thomas stalked the Knicks rookie down, sized him up, and drilled a stepback 28-footer that left the Garden speechless and had the Knicks bench going crazy.

It was a comeback that should’ve been unbelievable, but has become all too familiar a sight for Knicks fans this season, as they’ve seen a number of late leads evaporate as their crunchtime offense slows down and they lose all rhythm. The Knicks are now just 4-3 in their last seven games that they’ve held a 20-point lead, which seems impossible, but illustrates just how frequent these collapses are.

Still, the other team has to find shotmaking in order to make those comebacks happen and on Wednesday night, without their top two bucket-getters, it was the rookie Thomas who has shown that ability throughout his first season in the league who shook off a dreadful start to the game and found his stroke to carry Brooklyn to a thrilling win.

Over the weekend, Juicy J and Wiz Khalifa unleashed a new joint album after more than a decade of working together. Stoner’s Night arrived after weeks of anticipation and a couple of singles: “Pop The Trunk” and “Backseat” with Project Pat. Now that the album is here, Juicy J and Wiz are looking to further promote it with a brand new video for the track “Weak.” It finds Juicy J leading a cast of women who aim to get strong. It also sees Wiz kicking it in a room full of models while Memphis rapper Big30, who also appears in the song, drops some bars from a kitchen.

Juicy J and Wiz Khalifa’s Stoner’s Night —their first project since the deluxe release of the former’s fifth album The Hustle Continues — boasts 16 songs and appearances from Big30, Project Pat, and Elle Varner. As for Wiz Khalifa, he recently teamed up with producers Cardo and Sledgren for Wiz Got Wings.

Stoner’s Night is not Juicy J and Wiz’s first project together. Back in 2016, they teamed up with producer TM88 to form the group TGOD Mafia for TGOD Mafia: Rude Awakening.

You can watch the video for “Weak” above.

Stoner’s Night is out now via Trippy Music LLC. You can stream it here.

For a 5-year-old to lose their teddy bear is akin to the death of a family member or a pet. Children become attached because they truly believe their stuffed animals have an innate life force.

That’s why when a child loses their attachment object, it can be impossible to replace, even if the parents find something that’s identical.

“If there was a machine which copied a favorite object in every way down to atomic level, we would still prefer the original. It has an essence to it,” psychologist Bruce Hood told The Guardian. “We anthropomorphize objects, look at them almost as if they have feelings. The children know these objects are not alive but they believe in them as if they are.”

That’s why 5-year-old Ezekiel Burnett was devastated after losing his teddy bear, aka “Original Teddy” at Milwaukee Airport last November. He was boarding a plane with his parents when he threw it up in the air on the concourse and it got stuck in the rafters.

Recognize this face? The search for bear’s owner continues! Thank you for helping us spread the word and to those who pointed out that this bear likely belongs to a kid born with CHD. How special he must be. Let’s get him home!pic.twitter.com/hCZc4RhF0P

— MKE – Milwaukee Airport (@MKE – Milwaukee Airport)
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The family didn’t have time to stop and retrieve the bear for fear of missing their flight. So Original Teddy was left behind.

“He’s had this bear since day one and slept with it every night. It has a lot of sentimental value to him,” his dad, David Burnett, recounted. “When we got back home he literally cried the whole flight and was still upset. So, it’s really special to him.”

In January, the bear was found and returned to the airport’s information desk and it put out several tweets searching for Original Teddy’s family. A post featuring the bear went viral and was seen more than 4 million times.

Earlier this month, David Burnett and his wife were watching “Survivor” on TV when she nearly jumped out of her chair like “she won the lottery” after seeing a video of the bear shared by a friend on Facebook. “She couldn’t even speak,” he later recalled.

The family got in touch with the airport and it shared the good news on Twitter.

Update: Thank you all so much! We found the owner and we are working out the details for their reunion! Stay tuned! pic.twitter.com/EgZSzXRJ9z

— MKE – Milwaukee Airport (@MitchellAirport) February 9, 2022

This type of bear resonated with many of the people who shared the video and tweets because it has a heart on its chest with stitches. These bears have been given to children born with congenital heart defects. Ezekial was born with a healthy heart and was given the bear as a gift from a friend of the family.

Teddy and 5-year-old Ezekiel have been REUNITED! Thank you @SouthwestAir and the 4 million people across the globe who followed along on Teddy’s journey. We’re so glad he’s home!pic.twitter.com/UWv9cI7m8G

— MKE – Milwaukee Airport (@MKE – Milwaukee Airport)
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Southwest Airlines was kind enough to fly the family from their home in Texas back to Milwaukee to retrieve the bear at a ceremony in one of its terminals.

“We’re very honored to be a part of this special moment,” Airport Director Brian Dranzik said. “Small moments like this, along with the bigger ones, are why we support our hometown airport.”

David Burnett said that his son was overjoyed that the bear had been found and can’t quite understand the “magnitude” of the event, “but has been talking about it every single day.”

At the ceremony, Ezekiel and Original Teddy were reunited and hopefully, this time, it’s forever.

Late last year there finally came some good news: Magic Mike will be getting a threequel. Apart from star Channing Tatum and director Steven Soderbergh, it’s not clear who will be returning. Matt Bomer? Kevin Nash? Would Joe Manganiello grind to another Nine Inch Nails number? One name evidently not on the call sheet so far is Matthew McConaughey, who played the Master of Ceremonies in the first, darker film in the male stripper saga. But evidently he’s down for it if it’s not too late.

In a chat with Variety, the former potential gubernatorial Texas candidate was asked if he’d be game to have his still perfect abs be once again ogled by randy viewers. His reply: “Channing Tatum, call me, bro! I haven’t heard from ya!”

When pressed, McConaughey was a bit more restrained “I don’t know,” he said, “I’d have to read [the script] first. It was a helluva lot of fun doing the first one.”

In the first Magic Mike, which came out a decade ago this June, McConaughey played the owner of former stripper who ran and emceed at his own club. He did some stripping of his own, ribbed his real-life naked bongo playing, and, of course, busted out his patented “Alright alright alright.” He was AWOL for the much lighter sequel, Magic Mike XXL, which took Tatum’s titular hero and the gang on a road trip for what was supposed to be one last dance. Turns out that was only the penultimate final spin for some guys who get older while their fanbase…well, also gets older, too.

While the a thirsty people await Magic Mike’s Last Dance, you can catch up with Soderbergh’s most recent output, Kimi, which bowed last weekend on HBO Max.

(Via Variety)

Kids’ play fads come and go, but there are certain classic toys that never get old. Of such timeless toys, the simple LEGO brick stands out as it has spanned multiple generations and is still going strong. In fact, LEGO building sets have only seemed to get better and more popular in recent decades. (Full disclosure: Huge LEGO fans in my household.)

As the Danish company celebrates its 90th year in business, it’s re-upping its dedication to early childhood development. The LEGO Foundation is launching a whopping $143 million grant challenge—its largest public grant ever—to help mitigate issues facing young kids, many of which have been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Build A World of Play Challenge is a global grant competition for organizations around the world that are “exploring evidence-based innovative solutions to the biggest problems” affecting early child development, including “access to quality early childhood education and care, adequate nutrition, eradication of toxic stress in homes and communities, reduction of violence in homes and communities, protection from pollution, and supporting the social and emotional well-being of the whole family.”

The competition is now open, and participants enter by registering first (via this link before April 7, 2022) and then submitting a full application prior to May 17, 2022. Submissions will be evaluated on how impactful, feasible, sustainable and community-oriented their work is. Three winning organizations will receive approximately $30 million and two will receive $15 million. Ten additional finalists will receive approximately $1 million each to “strengthen their proposed plans, start building the team, and skill up to successfully implement their innovation.”

Introducing: the 900 million DKK #BuildaWorldofPlay Challenge. Itu2019s an open call to share impactful solutions that centre on children from birth to six. We encourage organisations around the world to join this challenge. Click here to find out more: http://ow.ly/u4Io50HUkGMu00a0pic.twitter.com/kXJ8sSv8Tp

— The LEGO Foundation (@The LEGO Foundation)
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Thomas Kirk Kristiansen, chair of the board of directors at The LEGO Foundation (and fourth-generation member of the LEGO owner family), emphasized that children have the right to safety, quality education and healthcare, but early childhood development has been grossly underfunded.

“Children are the builders of tomorrow,” he said in a statement. “To build a better world for future generations—focusing on innovation and action—we must work together. If we do not invest in the youngest children in our society, we don’t invest in our collective future.”

The LEGO Foundation CEO, Anne-Birgitte Albrectsen, explained why the organization is focusing so intently on kids from birth to age six:

“We are currently facing the biggest global early childhood emergency that the world has ever seen. The quality of experiences in the first few years of a child’s life is where brain development is in its most adaptive and rapidly developing state. They also provide the foundations for learning, health and behaviour in the long-term – investment in which we know improves educational outcomes, develops holistic skills, and enhances quality of life. Providing whole-child support through early childhood development interventions is one of the most powerful and cost-effective equalizers we have at our disposal. Through the Build A World of Play Challenge, we want to join forces with others to urgently address the biggest challenges societies globally face, with creative, actionable ideas that put children at the centre of global decision making. We must start building a world that puts the youngest in society first: building cities, education systems, healthcare systems and solutions to save our planet, at the forefront. This competition is an opportunity to make a real difference to the lives of the youngest children.”

Kudos to LEGO for putting a flood of resources toward the well-being of the youngest among us. Children truly are our future, and if we neglect their needs and their potential in their earliest years, we are harming not only them but ourselves.

Last year was a special year for Coi Leray. The musician had a viral moment with “No More Parties,” which was later remixed by Lil Durk. She also earned a spot on the 2021 XXL Freshman Class list. However, her highs have also come with lows. Leray has seen her body and rap skills often criticized and she may have reached a breaking point with a message she posted and deleted.

Leray’s message began with a tweet that read “Brain dead.” However, in a second post, which she later deleted, she went in-depth about her mental state. “To all my trendsetters, I’m sorry I let you down,” she wrote. “I don’t have it in me to keep pushing. I feel like I’m brain dead. I pray that everyone continues to keep setting trends and striving.” She added, “Don’t know when I’ll be back but I don’t even want to think about it. I love you for life. -coi.”

Her message comes a few months after she revealed that Lil Durk stopped her from quitting rap. “Almost gave up one day and he told me don’t ever stop,” she wrote on her Instagram Story. “Most artist show love from a distance on some weird sh*t, but this man right here believed in me, believe[d] in ‘No More Parties’ and been behind me ever since. He know a star when he see one, and I just wanna thank you for all your support. OTF FOREVER.”