Category: News

It’s been an up-and-down past few months for Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus. In June, he publicly revealed that he had cancer. Throughout his treatment, he was open and transparent about how the process was going, and towards the end of September, he had awesome news to share: He’s officially cancer-free. Now that Hoppus’ health is trending upward, he made his return to the stage this past weekend for his first post-cancer concert.

He teamed up with Travis Barker (and Escape The Fate’s Kevin “Thrasher” Gruft) for his House Of Horrors pay-per-view broadcast and performed a set of Blink-182 songs (while decked out in Batman costumes): “What’s My Age Again?,” “The Rock Show,” and “Family Reunion.”

When Hoppus announced his good cancer news, he wrote, “Just saw my oncologist and I’m cancer free!! Thank you God and universe and friends and family and everyone who sent support and kindness and love. Still have to get scanned every six months and it’ll take me until the end of the year to get back to normal but today is an amazing day and I feel so blessed. Can I get a W in the chat?”

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

In the Philadelphia 76ers’ season-opener against the New Orleans Pelicans, superstar center Joel Embiid banged up right his knee after colliding with Jonas Valanciunas. While he’s suited up for the ensuing five games, he’s often been listed on the injury report and even said he “probably” shouldn’t have played against the Brooklyn Nets on Oct. 22.

According to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Embiid will sit out his first game of the season Monday against the Portland Trail Blazers. Pompey reported this absence was planned ahead of a stretch that sees the Sixers play six games in nine days, featuring two separate back-to-backs.

Meanwhile, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported that “Embiid had an MRI on his sore right knee over the weekend, which revealed no concerns,” and that he should be back on Wednesday when Philadelphia faces the Chicago Bulls.

Already down Ben Simmons for the time being, the Sixers are now without their two best players for Monday’s game, which will task Tobias Harris, Seth Curry and others to step up in pursuit of a third straight win. Through six games, Embiid is averaging 21 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.0 steals on 57.6 percent true shooting for the 4-2 Sixers, who are sixth in the Eastern Conference.

Everything is data. Whether we’re talking about physical or digital elements, breathing entities or inanimate objects, it can all be turned into cold, hard numbers that someone out there is interested in analyzing. Data is factual, emotionless, and let’s be honest, boring. But it doesn’t have to be.

In fact, according to media artist and designer Sebastian Peschiera, the right data set can be downright beautiful, depending on what you do with it.

“Usually when working with dimensional data, I don’t know exactly how it’s going to look,” says Peschiera, who was tasked with creating a piece of data-driven art based on the new Lexus NX 450h+. But when it came to this data of the Lexus, it became very beautiful, because it was already so carefully designed.”

In the first episode of the new Uproxx series Human Element, Peschiera walks us through his process and reveals the intricate beauty buried deep within data, and how he’s able to turn that into artwork that can inspire an emotional response from the viewer using elements that were there all along yet hidden from plain view.

“Part of the idea behind this Lexus experience was to create an artwork that shines around the car by using a projector. So when you step inside the car and you look around you can see the data surrounding you,”Peschiera notes. “That, to me, is the peak of the data artwork creation, once you can put it into the physical space… to create a new experience of the Lexus. One that is both hidden and visible.”

To learn more about Peschirea’s gift for turning the cold factual aspects of data and translating it into beautiful art, catch the first episode of Human Element above.

Making jokes about explosive devices is a major no-no. That’s the sort of thing that will get civilians thrown off flights with no questions asked and found guilty in a court of law of making true threats. So, what happens when two GOP members of the House of Representatives joke around about setting off explosives to destroy the U.S. Capitol’s metal detectors? Well, that remains to be seen.

Gun-loving (and rootin’ tootin’) Lauren Boebert has shown herself to be very outspoken about her distaste for the metal detectors at the U.S. Capitol. She even protested the searching of her bag and has bragged about her desire to carry on the House Floor. Those devices were installed as a direct response to the Jan. 6 insurrection, and Mediaite reported over the weekend that Matt Gaetz was joking around onstage while stumping for Florida State Rep. Anthony Sabatini, who’s a 2022 congressional hopeful. Gaetz wasn’t subtle, either: “I said, man, is it, is it ‘tannonite’ [sic] or C4 we want to put in those metal detectors and we blow ’em up.”

Subsequently, Gaetz was almost too excited about being called out for his remarks. “If you can’t fantasize about blowing up useless metal detectors with @laurenboebert at a Florida Halloween political rally for @AnthonySabatini, when can you?” he tweeted.

Very quickly, Boebert climbed onboard the irresponsible train with a “I’ll bring the Tannerite!”

Tannerite, which is essentially an over-the-counter explosive substance that’s frequently used for target-practice explosive devices, has been in the headlines a lot lately due to unfortunate gender-reveal party tragedies. The sitting congresswoman also pointed a finger at “the fools who think this would be done inside the Capitol.” She added, “[G]et a life!” and “The metal detectors are useless and we are getting rid of them when Republicans take back the House.”

Let’s just say that people aren’t enjoying this joke, and they’re wondering why the FBI isn’t taking action against lawmakers whose “jokes” could inspire, and literally spark, another January 6-style attack on the Capitol.

Over the weekend, Megan Thee Stallion released her new mixtape, Something For Thee Hotties, rejuvenating her musical image somewhat among longtime fans who were disappointed by the stylistic departures on her debut album Good News. Rapping over bass-heavy, club-friendly beats produced by the likes of Buddah Bless, Juicy J, Murda Beatz, and OG Parker, Megan got back to basics, reviving her Tina Snow persona with a selection of freestyles and unreleased tracks hearkening back to her early days on the come-up.

One unexpected fan, though, turned out to be Weird Al Yankovic, who jumped into the Twitter discussion about the tape this morning with a funny, tongue-in-cheek critique about one of the project’s 20 songs, “Eat It.” You may remember that Weird Al has a song with the same title, a parody of Michael Jackson’s 1982 hard rock hit “Beat It” from Al’s 1984 album “Weird Al” Yankovic In 3-D. Apparently, upon listening to Megan’s song, Al was surprised to learn that it was not, in fact a homage to his own parody work, responding with a winking assessment that it was “Not a very faithful cover version, if you ask me.”

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

You know what would make getting a snap from your bestie even better? Being greeted by the soothing voice of Mike Myer’s Shrek upon opening it — and soon you’ll be able to!

Snapchat has officially announced they are partnering with NBCUniversal to bring sound clips from several hit films and shows, such as Shrek, to the social media platform (via The Hollywood Reporter). In addition to everyone’s favorite fairytale farce, Snapchat users will also be able to enjoy audio from comedy classics like Bridesmaids, The Office, Parks and Recreation, Back to the Future, and Saturday Night Live, giving the platform’s 306 million daily users a new variety of colorful ways to communicate.

While users could previously add music samples to their snaps, this is the first time Snapchat has introduced a partnership that included film and tv audio clips and is seemingly a direct response to their popularity on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. However, the feature won’t solely bolster Snapchat’s online presence. To help navigate users to their favorite films and shows — as well as encourage them to sign up for streaming services such as NBC’s Peacock — all snaps using NBCU audio will feature an option that allows viewers to swipe up to learn more about the sound clip’s origin, as well as a link to view what platforms the title is streaming on. Now your friend who still hasn’t seen The Office has no excuse not to give it a shot.

Ben Schwerin, Snapchat’s senior vice president of content and partnerships, says the platform is “thrilled” to host NBCUniversal’s iconic catalog on the site, stating users will love adding quotes to help “perfectly express the moment.”

“NBCUniversal has an iconic catalog and we know Snapchatters will love adding quotes from their favorite movies and series to their Snaps to help perfectly express the moment. NBC has been a tremendous and long-standing partner to Snap and we’re thrilled to continue to innovate together on new experiences for our community.”

This deal marks the second major acquisition for Snapchat this year following the platform entering a multiyear licensing deal with Universal Music Group back in June. That merger ultimately brought the entirety of Universal’s massive music catalog to Snapchat, and has contributed significantly to the creation of more than 521 million videos on Snapchat that utilize the “add audio” feature.

The Los Angeles Rams are all-in on trying to win a championship this season after swapping Jared Goff for Matthew Stafford in the offseason. In recent years, the Rams have been very aggressive in adding veteran talent via trade, most notably on the defensive side of the ball with acquisitions like Jalen Ramsey.

This year will be no different, as word broke on Monday that the Rams were sending a pair of 2022 draft picks to Denver in exchange for star edge rusher Von Miller to further bolster their defensive front and add a little more juice to the pass rush on the outside of Aaron Donald.

Miller’s agent confirmed the deal shortly after the reports from Schefter emerged.

Miller has long been the face of the Broncos defense and, in the post-Peyton Manning era, the face of the team as a whole. To move him is significant, but getting a pair of solid draft picks in exchange was worthwhile for a team currently stuck in something of a limbo situation — not a contender but also not among those vying for the very top picks in the draft. This will allow them to continue retooling the roster without, they hope, having to bottom out, even if it sends out one of the franchise legends in the process.

For the Rams, the message is clear that they want to win a Super Bowl this season. They’ve never been shy about shipping out draft picks for players they think can help them do that, and pairing Miller with Donald will give opposing offensive lines plenty to think about with regards to where they send help and doubles. On the season, Miller has 19 tackles and 4.5 sacks, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see an uptick in sack production in L.A. where he’ll see far more favorable matchups and one-on-one situations. His job will be to put pressure on the likes of Kyler Murray in the Rams chase of a divisional crown as well as an NFC title, and if nothing else the Rams roster is full of household names at this point.

October was a huge month for video games and November is going to be no different. Now that the holidays are here, we’re seeing lots of publishers put out their heavy hitters. This is when games like Call of Duty release, but we also have some other major titles and a major DLC update to get excited about.

With so much to talk about, let’s not waste any more time and dive into why these are the games everyone should be playing in November.

PlayStation Plus Games – PlayStation 4/PlayStation 5

The PlayStation Plus games for this month are interesting. Among them is a must-play, a curiosity, and a multiplayer game called First Class Trouble. First Class is a survival game similar to Among Us where a team of players is trying to survive performing tasks while there are imposters among them. As always, a good group of friends is going to really decide how good that game is. The other two games in this collection are more interesting by far.

Kingdoms of Amalur Re-Reckoning is the infamous game that Curt Schilling’s video game company, 38 Cent, published shortly before it went bankrupt. The game was seen as a moderate success at the time and likely would have gotten a sequel had they had a more reliable publisher behind them. It’s a piece of video game history so it should get some interest as a free downloadable for PS Plus members.

The big winner in this trio of games though is Knockout City. A team-based dodgeball game, Knockout City is a really fun time and with a good group of friends can become intensely competitive. It didn’t really blow up though and that’s a shame because it’s a gem of a game that deserves more attention. Hopefully being part of this PS Plus package will get it some more attention.

Games With Gold – Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

The Games With Gold and GamePass Ultimate Package this month is great for anyone that has siblings or a significant other that they want to play something casual with. Moving Out is an incredibly silly game where you work for as a Furniture Arrangement and Relocation Technician (yes, FART) but for anyone that wants a classic co-op experience then we strongly suggest Lego Batman 2 DC Super Heroes. The Lego games are frequently very solid and fun without too much barrier to entry. Anyone can sit down and have a good time with them.

Also among this package is Rocket Knight, a 2.5D platformer/side-scrolling shooter. Rocket Knight reminds us of the days when every character had to have mascot potential. The game got favorable reviews at the time and might be a good point of nostalgia for anyone that played it back on the Xbox 360.

Kingdom Two Crowns has a pixel art style that likens back to the days of the NES and is just fun to look at. The story involves a Monarch trying to protect their kingdom and features side-scrolling gameplay, but it’s been described as a strategy game. It has an interesting premise and for free it can’t hurt to give it a try.

Call of Duty: Vanguard – PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC

It’s the latest Call of Duty game and this one is going all the way back to World War II. We pretty much know what’s in the box with this one considering a lot of the base engine is the same as Modern Warfare, Warzone, and Black Ops Cold War. All of that said, the opportunity to get some new maps and settings is always an intriguing one even if it does feel a lot like the previous games.

We got a chance to play through the beta and for the most part enjoyed ourselves. The thing about the Call of Duty games is that, on a technical level, they are some of the most consistent games out there on a year-to-year basis. This is great for those that like to buy every entry, but it also means each game needs to do a lot to stand out from the sea of games. We’ll be interested to see how the developers plan to make this one special and unique.

Forza Horizon 5 – Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC

A cynical way to look at car games is that they’re really just glorified tech demos. We all know what a car is supposed to look like so when a company wants to show off how powerful their box is they release a new car game to show how nice and realistic it looks. While Forza Horizon 5 does fall into this category, it at least has the added benefit of giving players some cool locales to look at. The environments that players will be racing through are cool and yes they do look really pretty.

Of course, with a long-running series like this, it needs to show off something unique and special about the game itself. Forza Horizon 5, based on some of the trailers we saw beforehand, seems very committed to its multiplayer mode. There are a plethora of options from typical racing to sillier games like target practice. They can only push a box so far to make cars prettier, but they can do a lot to make these games fun and we’re seeing a lot of that with this iteration.

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition – PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch, PC

The return of what many consider to be the Grand Theft Auto golden years. Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas were iconic for a variety of reasons. They helped revolutionize video games but also created a whole lot of controversy along the way. Now they’re back in remastered form with a new coat of paint and updated controls.

The big winner of this game coming out is going to be Nintendo Switch owners because this is the first time these games will all be coming to a Nintendo console. It’s also just going to be fun to have the option to go back to our old haunts and experience what those games were like again. The updates as far as we can tell have all been very minor which is going to be a plus for some and a minus for others. They really are just a nostalgia trip, but they also have the GTA name on them so they’re going to be immensely popular.

Shin Megami Tensei V – Switch

Surpassed by the Persona series in mainstream popularity, Shin Megami Tensei V is the fifth mainline installment in the franchise. Many games and series have spun off SMT and for good reason. They’re really fun, fairly challenging, and full of classic JRPG nonsense with all of its good and bad.

The real fun in these games comes in the addicting combat system. Most enemies have a weakness and when that weakness is exploited it allows players to get a second chance at an attack. To get new powers, players typically have to collect an army of monsters which in turn makes them stronger. This may sound like Pokemon, and there are certainly a lot of similarities, but the scale of SMT is far larger and will guarantee that most players put 60 to 80 hours into the main story alone. Any fan of JRPG’s is going to be excited for this one.

Battlefield 2042 – PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC

While Call of Duty has a fairly continuous release schedule, its main competitor Battlefield is a little more selective with its releases. There hasn’t been a new game in the series since Battlefield V in 2018 so fans are eagerly anticipating Battlefield 2042. This was originally supposed to come out in October, but a late delay pushed it into November right into the same window as Call of Duty. The two military shooters will be going head to head this year and that means fans will get to pick which one they like more.

Battlefield has always been more about having gigantic battles that span across huge maps instead of the more close-quarters combat Call of Duty has perfected. What Battlefield does has over Call of Duty however are wacky highlights. With vehicles and huge maps, the chaos that takes place can not be understated and players really like to get creative with trick shots. Some of this can be seen on display in the reveal trailer when it recreated the famous RendeZook where a player in Battlefield 3 jumped out of their plane, shot another plane down with a rocket launcher, and then got back into their plane. More of this in 2042, please.

Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker – PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PC

Fans of Final Fantasy XIV really love that game and for good reason. It’s one of the best MMOs made in over a decade and the amount players can playthrough before they have to actually start paying for it is really incredible. So much so that players of the game have begun memeing a specific copypasta about it.

Have you heard of the critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV? With an expanded free trial which you can play through the entirety of A Realm Reborn and the award winning Heavensward expansion up to level 60 for free with no restrictions on playtime.

While it’s a meme, all of that statement is true. If you’re not careful you can put a disgusting amount of time into Final Fantasy XIV and it’s about to take away even more time. The next expansion, Endwalker, is releasing this month and it’s set to be a one of the most exciting MMO experiences in recent memory.

Pokémon Shining Pearl/Brilliant Diamond – Switch

Few series are as popular as the Pokémon series. It might not ever reach the same level of mania that was the 90s, but it has a very loyal following that plays every new game. The upcoming Pokémon Shining Pearl/Brilliant Diamond is a remake of the fourth generation and fans are excited to see what it can do to improve on the series.

What’s different about this game is they’re going with a completely different art style. While the recently released Pokémon Sword/Shield went to a completely 3D world, Gamefreak has decided to give this remake a chibi cutesy look and shift back to an overhead view. It’s a completely new style and one that is really divisive among fans so far. We’re excited to see it in action once we’re able to get our hands on it later this month.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Happy Home Paradise DLC – Switch

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a great game that got a lot of people through the tougher parts of 2020. That said, for longtime Animal Crossing players, it felt very shallow in terms of content. Longtime features were missing, characters weren’t there, and aspects of the game felt tedious.

Thankfully we’re getting a huge DLC update on November 5, along with some paid DLC called Happy Home Paradise, to alleviate some of these issues. The free DLC update is going to add back some desperately missing features like Brewster’s coffee shop and a central shopping location. Happy Home Paradise meanwhile is basically a sequel to Happy Home Designer on the Wii U, but it directly connects to our current islands so we all get new content in the current base game as well. This is a huge and much-desired update and one that is going to send a lot of people back to their islands.

If there was any doubt that Aaron Rodgers is a hardcore John Wick fan, the Green Bay Packers quarterback went all-out this Halloween with a pretty accurate costume of Keanu Reeves’ master assassin. Not only did Rodgers nail the look, but he posed for a series of photos to match scenes from the movies and posters. Also, for some reason, he posed next to Bane, who we don’t remember being in the movies, but we wouldn’t be mad if he pops up in John Wick 4.

You can see Rodgers’ John Wick photoshoots below, and while his dog does make an appearance, don’t worry, no harm befouls any pups in this universe:

Rodgers is coming off a fan-favorite stint on Jeopardy! where he filled in as one of the rotating cast of guest hosts following Alek Trebek’s death. In fact, Rodgers loved it so much, that he would’ve absolutely said “yes” to being the full-time host if asked. Instead, he’s back on the gridiron throwing touchdowns to ice out the Bears.

As for the John Wick franchise, the fourth installment is currently in production, and the assassin series is getting ready to expand even further. A prequel series starring Mel Gibson (yeah…) is coming to Starz, and Ana de Armas is reportedly in talks to star in the spinoff project Ballerina.

(Via Aaron Rodgers on Instagram)

Director Roland Emmerich is one of the best at making supremely stupid movies that are also entertaining as hell. I’m talking Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, 2012, and White House Down. Moonfall looks like a nice addition to the dumb fun canon.

The official plot summary for the science-fiction disaster film begins, “In Moonfall, a mysterious force knocks the Moon from its orbit around Earth and sends it hurtling on a collision course with life as we know it.” That’s the good stuff. It continues:

With mere weeks before impact and the world on the brink of annihilation, NASA executive and former astronaut Jo Fowler (Halle Berry) is convinced she has the key to saving us all – but only one astronaut from her past, Brian Harper (Patrick Wilson) and a conspiracy theorist K.C. Houseman (John Bradley) believes her. These unlikely heroes will mount an impossible last-ditch mission into space, leaving behind everyone they love, only to find out that our Moon is not what we think it is.

I always knew Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, and Sam from Game of Thrones would save us all from the moon (and moon monsters???) from killing everyone on Earth. Moonfall, which also stars Michael Peña, Charlie Plummer, Kelly Yu, Eme Ikwuakor, Carolina Bartczak, and Donald Sutherland, opens on February 4, 2022.