Category: Trending

Hello friends!

It probably shouldn’t be surprising, but this week’s roundup of delightful finds from around the internet is saturated with babies. Not just human babies, but animal babies, too. Hilarious babies. Adorable babies. Babies babies babies.

It makes sense, what with their unbearable cuteness and all. Babies are the best. No matter how ugly things get in the world, we can always look at the sweet innocence of new life to remind ourselves of humanity’s potential. We can delight in the wonderment of their discoveries and try to capture some of that wholesome curiosity ourselves. We can revel in their smiles and giggles and share that contagious joy with others.

Of course, if babies don’t make you smile (is that really a thing? no way that’s a thing) there are some other fun finds here as well, from a silly Wordle parody to a heartwarming gush of library love.

Enjoy!

Woman stops traffic to help a mama duck and her zillion ducklings cross the street.

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A human taking the initiative to help a little animal family avoid getting squished by cars is really sweet. But it’s the way the mama duck follows the woman’s hand signals that does me in. How does she know??? (And how on Earth does she have that many ducklings at once?)

Author Clint Smith reminds us that public libraries are one of the greatest human inventions.

Quite practically, my books could not have been written without public and research libraries. It was the generosity of librarians who assisted me at every turn, it was the space these buildings offered me to work, and it was the range of people who made these spaces a community.

— Clint Smith (@Clint Smith)
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Writers make money selling books, so saying “get my book for free from a library” is awesome. It’s also a reminder that libraries are one of the best things humans have ever come up with. “I mean think about it, a place where you can go and get books…for free!” Smith wrote. “And then pass them along to someone else. And then…get even more books. And it’s open to everyone. What a concept! It’s a testament to public community institutions, and one we shouldn’t take for granted.”

Tired of winter? Let these kitties being fascinated with the snow refresh you.

Kitten sees snow for the first time..pic.twitter.com/p8UFXFW6P5

— Buitengebieden (@Buitengebieden)
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Those of us who live in the northern climes are pretty much over the snow by mid-February. But seeing these cats’ wonderment at watching the snow fall is a good reminder of how magical it can be.

Speaking of the magic of snow, watch this humongo doggo freak out over a little lip of snow.

Dogs.. pic.twitter.com/0vFDxfX0d1

— Buitengebieden (@Buitengebieden)
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He gives it a go several times, chickens out each time, and then absolutely refuses. Hilarious.

And this tiger kitty spooking its enormous mama momma is hilarious, too.

Tiger cub sneaks up on its mom.pic.twitter.com/kn7YsZsMpC

— ud835udd50ou0334gu0334 (@ud835udd50ou0334gu0334)
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Snow tigers are gorgeous, aren’t they? This little one’s pounce is so cute, but its mom’s genuinely startled reaction is too funny.

This 3-year-old reacting to “Goofy” calling her through her walkie-talkie is too adorable.

@zeth

I don’t know if we can top this reaction 😂

The video was shared last summer, but it’s my first time seeing it. I’ve now watched it a dozen times. The little mini-hyperventilation is just the best. And the “And he answered!” Find more Zeth and Saylor here.

“A Whole New Wordle” parody hilariously nails the word game phenomenon.

“Let me share my Wordle score with youu…” The Holderness Family does awesome parody videos, and they hit all the high spots in the Wordle phenomenon with this one.

This monkey momma is all mommas. 

The highs and lows of parenting in 19 seconds. nnCredit: Imgur/mfrybeasleypic.twitter.com/728DTYT21M

— Danny Deraney (@Danny Deraney)
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“Hey, get down from there!”

“Okay, momma. Now lemme smother you with big, open-mouthed kisses.”

Basically parenting a wee one in a nutshell.

Dad gets baby to stop crying in 18 seconds and is so happy about it.

@tuquedaddy

Reply to @king.marcellius I wanna see people try!! Duet this and try if you can!! I wanna see y’all super heroes 🥰🥰🥰 #tuquedaddy #fypシ #parenting

Sorry for the first 10 seconds of this video—baby cries are torturous. But the way he talks to his son and the smile on his face at the end is just the sweetest. That is one dang cute baby. Read more about this video and the baby hold here.

Speaking of cute babies, check out this little one discovering the joy of cheese.

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Mmmm, the queso promised land. Been there, baby. Same smile and everything.

Hope you enjoyed this week’s roundup! Come back next week for more snippets of delight to make your week a little brighter.

You may recall a time when it felt like only a handful of Black shows or movies were even allowed to exist at the same time. Thankfully, that’s no longer the case. Now, we have so many that it can be hard to keep up with them all.

That’s why, in this episode, Obsessed hosts and resident culture gurus Britt Ellis and Taylour Chanel are walking us through the evolution of Black stories on television and film. They start off by saying goodbye to a couple of shows that have recently left us or soon will, such as Insecure, Pose, and Black-ish, which helped break ground for many shows that came after. Sure, watching these shows go off the air may make us a bit sad, but that also means a bunch of talented people can make new shows to fall in love with.

Britt and Taylour agree and give their takes on new additions like ABC’s Abbott Elementary and Peacock’s dramatic reboot of classic sitcom Fresh Prince in Bel-Air, which Taylour can’t wait to dive back into. Before you head for the remote to check to check out these and other recs (watch Grand Crew before it goes away, people!) though, do click on the episode above to see what Britt and Taylour have to say.

Check out the video above for more

The scope of Darius Garland’s duties have multiplied at various intervals this season. First, he was asked to assume a broader scoring load when Collin Sexton went down for the year in early November. Then, his playmaking duties heightened when Ricky Rubio suffered a season-ending injury in late December. At both turns, Garland has seamlessly answered the call for the Cleveland Cavaliers en route to his first of many All-Star berths.

Before Sexton’s injury, Garland was averaging 15.4 points per game and jacking up a meager 11.7 shots. Since the injury, he’s averaged 21.4 points on 17.4 shots per game. Once Rubio went down, his assist output leapt from 7.3 to 9.3 a night.

Few players are more indispensable to a team than Garland this season. Cleveland is 11.2 points better per 100 possessions with him on the floor. Its offense craters when he’s resting — 7-foot rookie Evan Mobley often spearheads possessions sans Garland.

That’s not really an indictment on Mobley. His potential as an initiator is tantalizing, but not so tangible the playoff-bound Cavs should lean on it to the extent they currently do at times. This is how vital Garland is to their success.

Embers of this breakout began last season. In 26 games following the All-Star break, he averaged 18.8 points and 6.3 assists on 57 percent true shooting. He was more aggressive hunting triples and more effective inside the arc. This season, he’s averaging 20.3 points on 58.4 percent true shooting, sporting a career-high three-point rate and career-best 54.7 percent clip on twos.

The third-year guard is one of the league’s most marvelous passers. He’ll sling skip passes off a live dribble, rifle dimes to cutters, and expertly mask the difference between his silky floater and a lob to Mobley or Jarrett Allen. As a scorer, he dances around screens, bounces into step-back jumpers and operates like the ball is naturally an extension of his body that he doesn’t even have to account for while maneuvering.

He yo-yos crossovers into space. He’ll swirl an in-and-out dribble to dust defenders. Rejecting screens after wielding his dexterous handle to set them up is a go-to pastime. All the skills that made him an enticing prospect in 2019 are amplified by his shot-making development.

He’s shooting 38 percent on pull-up triples and ranks fourth league-wide in assists per game. His true shooting percentage is 2.4 points above league average, the first time it’s been above average in his abbreviated, three-year career. The jump from promising, wide-eyed initiator to full-fledged star ball-handler has occurred, and it has Cleveland within range of the East’s No. 1 seed.

When Sunday’s All-Star Game tips off, the Cavs will have two stars featured — Garland and Allen. Mobley is also part of the weekend’s earlier festivities. All of it feels fitting because the story of the 2021-22 NBA season cannot be written without Cleveland’s surprise run. And Cleveland’s surprise run cannot be explained without Garland at the core.

He’s the heartbeat of an offense that does just enough to complement an elite, long-limbed defense. He amplifies Mobley and Allen’s offensive skill-sets. He undertakes every responsibility with nary a hiccup.

More simply, though, he’s a 2022 All-Star.

(Plentiful spoilers from Netflix’s Ozark will be found below.)

Ozark‘s most recent batch of episodes landed precisely at the halfway point of the final season. We’ve talked about when the finale will be on Netflix, but there’s a very morbid set of details that must also be considered: Who will die when the show comes back for the final seven episodes?

Clearly, the bloodshed could not end with the deaths of Helen and Tom (in Season 3) or with the murders of Darlene and Wyatt (in Season 4). This isn’t the type of show that will let anyone walk away with too happy of an ending, and some universe-bound justice must be served. So, who could die before all is said and done?

The Byrde Family, But Especially Marty: Alright, so we need to talk about that car crash. It’s very clearly supposed to be a mystery and incredibly important, given that the season’s trailer put it on display (while interspersing sins from the past, like this was retribution), and it’s the season’s first scene. It’s all ambiguous and purposely so, but we do know that the entire Byrde quartet (Marty, Wendy, Charlotte, and Jonah) is looking relatively relaxed (well, other than Jonah, who’s had enough of this family sh*t) in family driving mode. Wendy’s practically humming, and Marty declares, “We’re all set for the FBI tomorrow.” He’s called the moving company (to head back toward Chicago), and they’re joking around about stacks of hundreds, etc. All of a sudden, a semi truck that’s carrying several cars heads straight toward them, and Marty veers off the road, where the car starts rolling and lands upside down like this:

I’m not sure that anyone could survive this crash, but if there’s anyone here that should go, it’s Marty. He’s the one who got his family into this money-laundering mess. Was this an accident or a hit? Gotta be the latter, and the show will surely follow up on the details rather than leaving everyone hanging.

Javi Elizonndro: The dude killed Wyatt, and that’s set Ruth on a course of vengeance, which she unleashed upon Marty in Episode 7. In all likelihood, Ruth (who’s dominating the show) will not heed Marty’s weak warnings and will set a plan in motion to kill the Navarro successor. Does Javi deserve to die? Obviously, the answer is yes. He didn’t even know who Wyatt was (and even admitted as much) before killing him, simply because Wyatt was there when Javi came for the reckless, arrogant Darlene. Now, what I wonder is whether Ruth will likewise be reckless and actually take her shotgun and come for Javi, or if she’ll simply pull strings and have someone else do the dirty work. Clearly, Jonah will do anything for her, and it would be a believable end (sorry, Jonah) for Marty to see that his ridiculous, show-long screwup led to one of his children’s deaths. It’d be fitting, really, but heck, they might all die in the car crash.

And Who Should Not Die…

Ruth Langmore: Look, I know that Ruth’s a lot smarter than anyone expected her to be back when she was cleaning rooms at the motel where she initially encountered the Byrde fam. And I know she sometimes does not-so-smart things and has had the holy hell beaten out of her, by Frank Jr., no less. But she should and needs to live. She’s the soul of the show, and this is her domain, and I’d be very upset if Ruth dies and Marty lives. I’d be very upset if she ended up Jesse Pinkman-ed at the end of this series, all to set up some movie down the line. And I don’t need to see a Frank Jr.-Ruth spinoff as suggested by actor Joseph Sikora (who has a whole lot going on with Power Book IV: Force). No, I want Ruth to end this thing while litrally jumping from a casino boat to her own yacht. She needs to fully run this town, so to speak.

‘Ozark’ is currently streaming (Season 4, Part 1) on Netflix.

Sometimes, it’s hard being rich and powerful, because when you break up with your former co-star, they will sell their stake in your $164 million estate, which is currently happening with Brad Pitt.

Pitt claims that his ex-wife Angelia Jolie has sold her stake she had in their fancy French estate without asking him. Pitt also has a stake in the property, and the duo allegedly agreed they wouldn’t sell without explicit permission from each other. The couple bought the property in 2008 for $28.4 million when they wanted to build a family wine business, as one does. They split over a decade later in 2019. Perhaps understandably, Jolie sold her own stake in the estate, and he’s pissed.

The actor, known for his role in the iconic children’s animated feature Megamind, among a list of other little-known films, is suing Jolie, saying she didn’t ask him for his permission to sell her stake in the 35-room mansion. In October 2021, The Stoli Group announced it purchased Jolie’s 50 percent stake in the estate and the vineyard that Pitt allegedly spent millions to bring to life. Pitt claims Jolie is depriving him of his property and potential wine business the two had reportedly been planning.

According to the suit, “The purported sale deprives Pitt of his right to enjoy his private home and to oversee the business he developed from scratch.” Pitt was also planning on using the property as a recording studio. It’s a shame he may have to settle for his private island instead.

Jolie has yet to comment on the matter, only mentioning last year that the decision to sell was “heartbreaking” for her, as she once planned on growing old with Pitt on the property.

When most people do an impression of somebody else, they change their voice in an effort to mimic them. An underrated aspect of impersonation, though, is the physicality of it, and getting somebody’s mannerisms or facial quirks correct can make or break an impression. That’s the aspect Doja Cat focused on in a new video, in which she fires off a bunch of celebrity impressions, mostly without saying a word.

In a TikTok video, an overlay above Doja’s head randomly selects impersonation prompts. When the first one lands on Drew Barrymore, Doja contorts her mouth in a distinctly Barrymore-ian way. Some of Doja’s impressions are better than others: for Oprah, she just sported a big smile. When Samuel L. Jackson’s name popped up, Doja let out a loud “What?!,” which isn’t a bad approach to take.

Elsewhere in the clip, Doja did her best Kevin Hart, Elvis Presley, Al Pacino, Beyoncé, and Nicki Minaj, the latter of which came in last and saw Doja just letting out an emphatic scream.

This comes after Doja popped up during the Super Bowl with a different sort of impression, channeling Hole to cover “Celebrity Skin” for a Taco Bell ad.

Check out Doja’s impressions video above.

With the Peacemaker Season 1 finale now out in the wild, series creator James Gunn has continued his knack for being an open book when it comes to his creative process. While The Suicide Squad director has previously talked about how he created the Peacemaker out of boredom during the early pandemic lockdown, he’s never fully revealed what made him decide to go big on the John Cena character, who Gunn has often described as “the biggest douchebag in the world.”

In a new interview, Gunn explains that the creative inspiration hit him after watching Cena display some surprising acting chops while filming a scene for The Suicide Squad. Via Vulture:

There’s one really specific moment with me and John that I can trace the origin of this show back to. It’s the moment in The Suicide Squad where Peacemaker is holding his gun on Ratcatcher 2 and he’s about to kill her. I went into this tight closeup of his eyes. On set, I’m always on the microphone talking over everything while we’re shooting. So I’m talking to John on the God Mic about what he’s feeling, and I see his eyes switch. I see him go to this incredibly sad, vulnerable place. We realize this character is a guy who’s doing something he doesn’t want to do at all, but that he’s going to do anyway, which is shoot a young girl.

As Gunn explains, that’s when he realized Cena had the goods and wanted to keep working with him. “I knew John was not just a performer who was funny, which is why I hired him, but a guy who had this other layer,” Gunn said. “At that moment, I knew John had that thing. It’s a thing a lot of big actors don’t have, and that most wrestlers turned actors don’t have.”

Considering the two have worked together on Guardians of the Galaxy, Gunn is quick to mention that Dave Bautista also has the same thing as Cena. As far other wrestlers turned actors, Gunn notably doesn’t mention anyone else having serious acting chops — like, say, someone recently joining the DCEU — and we’ll just leave it at that. No further comment.

Peacemaker Season 1 is available for streaming on HBO Max.

(Via Vulture)

One of the many (we do mean many) Game Of Thrones spin-offs that nobody really asked for has finally wrapped filming, according to author George R. R. Martin, who confirmed on his blog, titled “Not A Blog.” Martin has seen “rough cuts” of House Of The Dragon, which is aiming to be released later this year on HBO.

“I have seen rough cuts of a few of them, and I’m loving them. Of course, a lot more work needs to be done,” the author added. “Special effects, color timing, score, all the post-production work.” So, it looks like 90% of the show still needs to be done.

“But the writing, the directing, the acting all look terrific,” Martin continued, “I hope you will like them as much as I do. My hat is off to Ryan and Miguel and their team, and to our amazing cast.” The cast features Doctor Who alum Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen, Emma D’Arcy, Steve Toussaint, Rhys Ifans. and Olivia Cooke.

While there is no confirmed premiere date, Martin insists he is “excited” and will let the fans know as soon as he knows. “When will the dragons dance? I wish I could tell you. Lots of work remains to be done, as I said, and COVID makes planning difficult. This spring? Unlikely. Maybe summer? Could be. Fall? Who knows?” Basically, in true Game of Thrones fashion nobody knows what’s going on.

Jordan Klepper has rarely witnessed a right-wing protest he didn’t want to infiltrate. So for his latest episode of “Fingers the Pulse,” The Daily Show correspondent headed to Ottawa to get to the bottom of the Great Canadian Trucker Convoy of 2022—yep, the same protestors that Russell Brand is for some reason praising. Among the questions Klepper wanted answered: How long do you plan to stay here? (Two years was one man’s answer.) Are you smoking a lot of weed to pass the time? (Yes, the same man said.) And have you seen the end table Klepper ordered from Wayfair several weeks ago and has yet to receive (no luck there)?

As Klepper attempted to make his way around the streets of what he called “Canada’s eighth-best city,” he couldn’t help but wonder: How had it come to this? What began as a protest against vaccine requirements for truckers entering Canada has morphed into an all-out war against vaccine mandates in general and the kind of thing Tomi Lahren and Ted Cruz are on board with (which is never a good thing). Yet the results of this ‘Freedom Convoy’ have meant a further disruption to the already challenging supply chain in America, plus higher prices for American consumers. None of which really hits Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau where it hurts, which seems to be their primary goal… if they even have one.

When one protestor told Klepper that the demonstrations were “about our freedoms,” he asked if she could “be any more generic?” It turns out, she could: “You know, if you are vaccinated, you get to do certain things. If you’re not vaccinated, you don’t. I don’t think people should be divided. We should all be together, united.”

Klepper, ever the professional, wanted to make sure he had the protestors’ side of the story right, so he clarified: “We’re setting up, essentially, a truck barrier to keep everybody together so they can be united,” and was told “yes,” exactly that. “Gotcha,” he replied. “We might as well lock them in. Sort of like a parent who locks the door and says, ‘You guys are in here until the water runs out, you become friends, or democracy crumbles.’” Again, he was met with two nodding heads of agreement.

Klepper learned a lot more during his north of the border adventure, including that Canadians love to appropriate American culture by comparing vaccine mandates to Nazi Germany, pushing QAnon conspiracy theories, and stealing the line that Donald Trump stole from Adolf Hitler by declaring that we should “Make North America Great Again.” He also learned about Agenda 2030, which one protestor described as the world being headed toward “one government” that will “sterilize us [so] that only certain people can have kids.” (Though he also guessed that he might be sterile already.)

You can watch the full segment above.

Would you believe that the filthy-mouthed Bob Saget, who tricked the world into believing him to be a wholesome Dad on Full House, put a final bow on his legacy in a rap video with a pornstar? Heck yes he did. Bob Saget’s last role before he tragically died of a fatal head injury was as a bacon-frying and cash-grabbing chef in Desiigner’s latest video for “Bakin.”

Saget was featured in the video alongside Snoop Dogg, Jay Pharoah, pornstar Kendra Sunderland, and the track’s artists Desiigner, DJ Whoo Kid, and Slushii. “Please believe me when I tell you this: Get Bob on the job,” Snoop Dogg says to Desiigner as the hilarious and raunchy video begins. Shot in the Hollywood Hills a few weeks before his death, Rolling Stone reports that Whoo Kid corralled Saget, whom he already knew, after Willie Nelson wasn’t available.

A minute of outtakes plays after the video clip (above) in remembrance of the late comedian and in them, he’s funny as hell. “I’m just here to have bacon,” he says, before noting that “Bakin”/bacon is “a supreme pun. It’s like the best Dad joke ever.”

“You don’t expect him to be sitting around here with all these bad models, and booties-a-clapping and racks being thrown and Desiigner being there doing his thing,” Pharaoh told Rolling Stone. “But it works because that’s what Bob’s whole spirit was. It was different. It was, ‘Put me in an odd place that you wouldn’t expect for me to be and watch me shine.’”

There was nary a room that Saget walked into that he didn’t light up. And he somehow manages to steal the show in a video featuring rappers, pornstars, money, and bacon. “Full House, Nick At Nite, Bob Saget used to rock me to sleep at night, man,” Desiigner added.

Watch the video for “Bakin” above.