Category: Worldwide

When it comes to both sci-fi and A-list stars, Apple TV+ is doing a pretty damn good job at swooping ’em all up. Following the streaming service promoting sci-fi series Foundation, Invasion, and Wool, Apple TV+ has revealed a trailer for another upcoming sci-fi project: Swan Song. Unlike the previously mentioned series however, the feature film is decidedly more grounded than galactic and — if it’s half as emotional as its first trailer is — promises to be a real tearjerker.

Directed by Oscar-winner Benjamin Cleary (Stutterer, Glimpse), Swan Song is a science-fiction drama that explores identity and asks how much you would be willing to give up to protect your loved one from pain. In it, fellow Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali (Green Book, Moonlight) plays Cameron, a husband and father who has been diagnosed with a terminal illness during his wife’s second pregnancy. However, before he can share the heartbreaking news with his wife Poppy (Naomie Harris), a scientist (Glenn Close) approaches Cameron with an offer to spare his family’s suffering by creating a perfect replicant of him — memories and all — who will carry on living with his wife and children after his death. Ultimately Cameron decides to go through with the plan, but finds himself in constant mourning and pain as he debates whether or not the choice he made is actually the right one.

In addition to Ali, Harris, and Close, Awkwafina, and Adam Beach also appear in the film. Swan Song is produced by Rebecca Bourke, Adam Shulman, Jacob Perlin, Jonathan King, and Ali and Mimi Valdeìs, and will be released in theaters and on Apple TV+ on December 17.

Like many Indiana natives, Freddie Gibbs is a hardcore hoops fan, however, despite growing up in the Hoosier State, which you might think would make him an Indianapolis Pacers fan, Gary, Indiana’s proximity to Chicago meant the gruff-voiced rapper developed more of an affinity for the Bulls. However, as it turns out, despite being a relatively well-known rapper — he was nominated for a Best Rap Album Grammy this year and has seen his profile rise prolifically since his initial foray into the rap game — Freddie can’t get tickets to see his favorite team — and it’s all Chance The Rapper’s fault, apparently.

At least, that’s what Gibbs attributed his rotten luck securing to on Twitter. “Can’t get no f*ckin bulls tickets cuz they give em all to Chance the Rapper,” he tweeted. It’s no secret that Chance is a pretty big hoop head himself, vowing to get a Chicago Sky tattoo after a recent playoff win (no word yet on whether he’s actually done it), getting shots up (poorly) at Staples Center in Los Angeles after a Clippers game, and even buying his new house just 10 minutes away from Michael Jordan’s estate (which might be a coincidence, but had to leave him pretty jazzed). To be fair, Chance is actually a Chicago native with a longstanding track record of community activism, which might have factored into the favoritism.

But while Chance gets to appear on the Jumbotron at Madison Square Garden, it looks like poor Freddie Gibbs can’t even get in the door at the United Center. While it’s possible — likely, even — that Gibbs is just trolling, as he’s wont to do from time to time (he’s currently engaged in a cheeky tet a tet with Wale over a feature that couldn’t get cleared for Folarin II), here’s hoping he and Chance can work out a timeshare or something, since the Bulls are actually good again (the City of Compton acknowledges your debt, Chi-Town. You’re welcome).

This article originally appeared on 08.06.19

Recently, blogger Jen Hatmaker had a funny conversation with a friend about parenting:

“My girlfriend told me the greatest story. Apparently her 11-year-old also wanted to be a grown up this week and, in fact, not only did he treat his siblings like despised underlings, but when asked what he wanted, he said: ‘I want the authority to be in charge of them and tell them what to do, because they deserve it!’

Well. My girlfriend and her husband are NOT AT ALL MESSING AROUND with parenting. Calmly, evenly, they granted his request to be a grown-up for a week by pulling him out of camp (the underlings still got to go, because they are ‘such children’) and sending him to work ALL DAY EVERY DAY with his dad. He has to get up early and shower and make breakfast for everyone. He has to kiss the underlings before he goes to work and tell them to have a great day and that he loves them. He has to work on a typing project during his office hours. He only gets to eat what his dad eats, because eating like a grown-up is not nearly as fun as eating like a kid.

Want to be an adult? Fine.”

Photo via iStock.

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Hatmaker’s post went viral, with thousands of parents chiming in with their own stories of tough love, both giving and receiving.

The responses were hilarious, poignant, and a sign that the next generation is being parented by extremely capable, if not a little bit diabolical, hands.

Here are five of my favorite stories from the comments about parenting-gone-absolutely-right:

1. Jill Duff’s mom used an embarrassing outfit to teach her sister an important lesson:

“My sister was snotty to my Mom. She called her and pretty much demanded, ‘Bring my band uniform to the high school!’ She’s the one who forgot her uniform in the first place. Then she told my Mom ‘Do not come in the school, that would be so EMBARRASSING. Just wait for me by my car.’

So my Mom did just that. She stood by my sister’s car, in the Texas heat, WEARING my sister’s band uniform. All the kids walking out for the day saw it.

Parenting GOLD.”

And Mom was like… GIF via “Spongebob Squarepants.”

2. Jessica Klick got her sons new shoes … but not the ones they wanted.

Image via iStock.

“Our 11 and 12 year olds at the time were complaining and whining and being ungrateful, saying how ‘hard their life was.’ For boys, the big thing is wearing those cool Steph Curry shoes and our boys LOVE their Currys!

So after hearing the last complaint my husband went to Walmart to buy white maypop leather shoes (the kind you see in geriatric centers) and high white socks. He brought those bad boys home, set them on the boys’ dresser, and made them wear those things everywhere we went. Those devastated boys told us we were ‘ruining their lives.’

I may or may not have laughed like a little girl when I dropped them off at school and watched them do the walk of shame.”

3. Marisa Rodriguez Byers says she wished her mother was dead. And boy, did she regret it.

“I was a wretched, hormonal teenager. At the age of 13 I told my mom, ‘I wish you were dead!’ And at that moment, she ‘died,’ but to me only. (I had younger sisters).

She completely ignored me, didn’t speak at me, didn’t look at me, wouldn’t cook for me, set my place at the table, wash my clothes, take me to school, NOTHING. After 8 days, I broke down in the middle of the night, went to her room, clutched her tightly while sobbing how sorry I was and how much I loved her and that I would NEVER say those words again. I’m 41 years old now, I have NEVER uttered those words or anything remotely like them after that incident.”

After tough love, you gotta hug it out.

4. Jessica Hill gave her daughter a good scare — and, in turn, a new appreciation.

“I was grocery shopping with my three year old when she decided to start screaming for ice cream. There was no reasoning with her in this hulk-type rage. I swear she had super human strength as I struggled to get her out of the cart full of groceries.

I was completely unaware of the two police officers who were witnessing this wrestling match. She was still hitting, kicking, and screaming when I was stopped by the police officers in the parking lot. They thought I had abducted her. This happened long before we had smart phones full of our children’s photos. They tried questioning her but she was still too busy throwing a fit, so I handed her over. I told them she could ride with them because I really needed a break and they could follow me home to see her birth certificate, baby book, etc. They started chuckling as one officer said, ‘Spoken like a true mom!’ I think they were more relieved than I was when she finally cried out, ‘Mommy?’

The officer handed her back to me while the other went back inside the store to ensure there wasn’t a distraught mother looking for her missing toddler. That evening my daughter told her dad she almost went to jail because she threw a fit, and I let her believe it. She didn’t throw a fit in public again.

“Uhh, ma’am?” Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images.

I didn’t mean to scare her, so after this experience, I wanted to ensure my daughter had a healthy respect and appreciation for first responders. Today, I’m happy to say she is highly aware and appreciative of the police, firemen, paramedics, and military personnel who serve to protect her. “

5. Erica Goodnight taught her son an incredible lesson that he carries to this day.

Photo by Mike Mozart/Flickr

“My kid was whining over not having anything to play with. So, without a word, I went to the garage and got a black 50 gallon trash bag and started putting in all the toys that he obviously didn’t even realize were in our home to play with.

I loaded them AND him into the car and we drove to our local homeless shelter and gave every. single. toy. in the bag away. To a child who TRULY had nothing. And you know what? He didn’t even cry. His eyes were opened to the ones who have nothing. He actually enlarged his heart that day. And, we still do it. We still take toys to kids with nothing at least once a year.

Parent win. Life lesson score.”

There’s a fine line between teaching your kids a tough lesson in a funny way and engaging in “humiliation parenting.”

Making children wear a sign that says, “I sneak boys in at 3 a.m. and disrespect my parents and grandparents” or otherwise berating them publicly is a good way to erode trust between the two of you and seriously damage your relationship.

But calling their bluff on a ridiculous demand? Or having a little fun with how you choose to correct their bad attitude? That’s just plain survival.

And that’s what parenting is really all about.

You can read the whole hilarious exchange over on Facebook.

In the meantime, what’s your favorite tough-love story?

This article originally appeared on 01.06.16

Ever wonder what winds up at the bottom of a canal after 15 years?

Photo by Patrick Kovarik/Getty Images.

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For the first time since 2001, the Canal Saint-Martin in Paris was drained so it could be cleaned, and the photos of the operation do a pretty neat job of answering that question.

The project began on Monday, Jan. 4, and is expected to continue for the next three months, according to a report in The Guardian.

A lot of what workers have found so far is kind of fascinating. And definitely not pretty. It’s either the remains of the most off-the-wall holiday party ever or a real-time look at a decade and a half of pollution.

1. Here’s what the canal looks like on an ordinary day.

Photo by Coyau/Wikimedia Commons.

What are you hiding, canal? What. Are. You. Hiding?

2. To start the drainage process, a dam was lowered into the canal.

Photo by Patrick Kovarik/Getty Images.

Presumably, there are dozens of dudes just out of frame, muttering, “I could lift that,” to each other.

3. Then, before anything else could happen, workers had to go in and dig out all the fish.

Photo by Patrick Kovarik/Getty Images.

Here, fishy fishy fishy! The canal cleaners remove the fish the old fashioned way — by catching them by hand with long nets. According to a Vice News report, the deadline for all the fish to be extracted is Friday.

4. And carry them gently to safety…

Photo by Patrick Kovarik/Getty Images.

5. …where a full accounting was made of all the fish.

Photo by Patrick Kovarik/Getty Images.

The fish are weighed and identified before they’re relocated. Not a particularly comfortable set-up for the fish, but far better than the alternative.

6. Meanwhile, clean-up crews got to check out all the cool, gross stuff the canal had been hiding, including … a suitcase.

Photo by Patrick Kovarik/Getty Images.

Best/worst. Work. Party. Ever.

7. A traffic cone.

Photo by Patrick Kovarik/Getty Images.

8. A shopping cart.

Photo by Patrick Kovarik/Getty Images.

“I said three heads of garlic and FIVE lemons!!!”

9. An office chair.

Photo by Patrick Kovarik/Getty Images.

Seriously. I am so bummed I missed this company holiday party.

10. Bikes…

Photo by Patrick Kovarik/Getty Images.

11. …bikes…

Photo by Patrick Kovarik/Getty Images.

12. …and more bikes.

Photo by Patrick Kovarik/Getty Images.

Stop pushing your bikes into the river, people!

13. A couple of upturned tables.

Photo by Patrick Kovarik/Getty Images.

14. A shopping bag, a chair, and some sort of bedspring(?).

Photo by Patrick Kovarik/Getty Images.

15. A dolly.

Photo by Patrick Kovarik/Getty Images.

I feel this way at the end of a big move too, tbh.

16. Motorbikes.

Photo by Patrick Kovarik/Getty Images.

Seriously?? I’d have taken them.

17. A pile of bikes.

Photo by Patrick Kovarik/Getty Images.

I’m starting to sense a pattern here…

18. A mysterious block of some kind.

Photo by Patrick Kovarik/Getty Images.

All hail the block.

19. At least one can of Heineken.

Photo by Patrick Kovarik/Getty Images.

Crunk was obviously got.

20. A bunch of old bottles and twisted metal.

Photo by Patrick Kovarik/Getty Images.

The canal is located in one of Paris’ more hangy-outy spots, and it shows. Plastic in waterways, unfortunately, is pretty terrible for most wildlife. And there’s a lot of it floating around our oceans and rivers. Too much, in fact.

21. And basically, just generally, a collection of the grossest trash on Earth.

Photo by Patrick Kovarik/Getty Images.

Yeeewwwww. Just. Yeww.

There’s a lesson here, people.

Photo by Patrick Kovarik/Getty Images.

While it does make for a bunch of great photo ops, we should definitely stop throwing our trash in rivers and oceans. It adds up. Especially over decades. (Just take a gander at the gigantic patches of gross human trash floating around the Pacific Ocean right now.)

Especially if what we’re throwing in there is a full-on motorbike.

Again, seriously? Photo by Patrick Kovarik/Getty Images.

Waterway pollution kills over a million seabirds, more than 100,000 marine mammals, and costs billions of dollars — dollars that could be better spent elsewhere — to clean annually.

So don’t do it.

Or guess who’s going to have to tidy up after you.

“That’s right, humans. And I don’t even have hands.” Photo by Patrick Kovarik/Getty Images.

In 2013, I found out I was pregnant with triplets.

Image via iStock.

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My husband and I were in shock but thrilled at the news after dealing with infertility for years. And it didn’t take long for the comments to begin. When people found out, the usual remarks followed: “Triplets?! What are you going to do? Three kids at once?! Glad it’s not me!”

After mastering my response (and an evil look reserved for the rudest comments), I figured that was the worst of it. But little did I know I would be facing far worse comments after two of my triplets passed away.

On June 23, 2013, I gave birth to my triplets, more than four months premature.

My daughter, Abigail, passed away that same day; my son, Parker, died just shy of 2 months old. Before then, I didn’t know much about child loss; it was uncharted territory. Like most people, I wouldn’t know how to respond or what to say if a friend’s child passed away.

Image via iStock.

But two years later, I have found that some things are better left unsaid. These comments come from a good place, and I know people mean well, but they sure do sting.

Here are my top five things not to say to a grieving parent — and the thing I love to hear instead.

1. “Everything happens for a reason.”

It’s a cringeworthy comment for those of us who have lost a child. Sometimes, there is no rhyme or reason for why things happen in life. A parent should not outlive their child. I don’t know why my body couldn’t handle my pregnancy or why I went into labor at 22 weeks.

This phrase goes along with another I often hear: “God only gives us what we can handle.” I remember talking with my childhood rabbi the night before my son passed away, and I asked her, “Why me?” Her response is something I now live by every single day. She said, “God doesn’t give us only what we can handle. He helps us handle what we’ve been given.”

2. “They are in a better place.”

Instead of comforting, this is a phrase that makes me feel down in the dumps. I longed to be a parent for so many years. And children are meant to be in the loving arms of their parents.

I think I speak for every grieving mother and father when I say, we would give anything to hold our babies again.

3. “At least you have one survivor. Count your blessings.”

I like to think of myself as a positive person. But even two years later, my heart still aches for Parker and Abby. And on the most difficult, dark days of grief, it’s hard to “count my blessings.”

Yes, I am blessed. I have a gorgeous miracle child who is the light of my life. But Peyton should be playing with her brother and sister in our home, not just waving to their pictures and blowing kisses to heaven.

4. “You are still young. You can have more children.”

It doesn’t matter whether or not our biological clock is ticking. Many people have no idea what couples go through to have a child: Some can’t have children of their own; others may face years of infertility or miscarriages. And for people like me, trying for more children may be something too scary to even think about. I came close to death after delivering my children — that’s enough to scar me for life.

5. “I don’t know how you do it. I couldn’t imagine losing two children.”

Some days I don’t know how I do it either. But we learn how to live with it. We learn a “new normal,” and in those tough moments, we celebrate that we survived the day. This comment is a difficult reminder of our grief and the children who were sent to heaven.

So, what should you say to a grieving parent?

There are no words to take the pain away, of course, but simply letting that person know you are there for them is more than enough.

Image via iStock.

For me, the best thing someone can do is to talk about my angels. Say Parker and Abby by name, and don’t be afraid to ask questions about them.

While they were only here for a short time, they left a huge imprint on this world. I love talking about my angels, and simply hearing someone else mention them by name is enough to wipe away the grief and warm my heart for days.

This article originally appeared on 05.06.16

Dads are ridiculous.

Dads, cooking something up. Photo via iStock.

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But perhaps, in the world today, there is no dad quite so ridiculous as Rob Lopez:

Photo via Rob Lopez/YouTube.

On a morning not too long ago, Lopez apparently had the following thought: “I’m going to dress up as Darth Vader and wake up my 2-year-old.”

Photo via Rob Lopez/YouTube.

Clearly, the correct follow-up thought is, “No. That’s silly. Why would I ever wake up a 2-year-old. Like, on purpose.”

But not for Rob Lopez. Oh, no.

After suiting up…

GIFs via Rob Lopez/YouTube, unless otherwise noted.

…and receiving the mission critical sign-off from his wife.

He grabbed his lightsaber and gave it a go. The results … pretty much speak for themselves (fast-forward to 1:05 for the main event).

There are a couple of things about Lopez’s son’s reaction that we should talk about.

First, this child is objectively the hardest core human on the face of planet Earth right now.

He grabs the lightsaber he keeps next to his bed (just in case) and it’s game on, Dark Lord of the Sith.

Game. On.

Think about how you would feel, as an adult person, in complete control of your faculties, with a firm grasp on the difference between fiction and reality, being aggressively prodded awake by a six-foot-tall man in a full-body Darth Vader mech-suit complete with voice modulator and terrifyingly heavy breathing.

Think about how loud you would scream and the volume of pee you would pee into your pants.

Meanwhile, this toddler — who is probably no more than three feet tall, groggy and vulnerable, with no cognitive ability to discern this is not the real Darth Vader — didn’t even think twice about taking him on.

Perhaps the most impressive part? At a mere 2 years of age, he’s already learned, perhaps, the single greatest lesson of “Star Wars.”

You don’t defeat the dark side with mad lightsaber skills (although they are fun to show off).

GIF from “Return of the Jedi.”

You defeat it with compassion.

GIF from “Return of the Jedi.”

…which, in this kid’s case, involves casually grabbing a book and asking Darth Vader to read him a story.

Empathy for Siths — with an assist from curiosity and literacy: That’s a lesson we could all use.

Happy weekend!

Christian Lee Hutson‘s 2020 debut album Beginners introduced listeners to his softhearted songwriting and poignant lyricism. The last we heard from him, Hutson released the 2021 EP The Version Suicides, Vol 2 featuring the musician Shamir. But now, Hutson returns with a brand new standout track that was recorded with the help of some big-name musicians.

Hutson’s new song “Strawberry Lemonade” includes quite the indie music powerhouse. Not only was it produced by Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst (who also make up the side project Better Oblivion Community Center), but it features Bright Eyes’ Nate Walcott on piano and trumpet, Hand Habits’ Meg Duffy on electric guitar, and Oberst and Sharon Silva on backup vocals.

The song itself is a tender acoustic guitar ballad that’s a quite reflection on mistakes and rebirth. It features heart-tugging lyrics like, “Pain is a way you can move through time / And visit people that are gone in your mind,” and showcases Hutson’s intimate songwriting. Speaking about the new track in a statement, Hutson said:

“‘Strawberry Lemonade’ is a series of vignettes about memory, letting go and holding on. I remember talking to a friend, around the time that I wrote it, about the relentless repackaging of 1960’s culture; so some of that ended up in there. The laugh at the beginning of the song is my friend Harry who plays bass on the song.”

Even though Oberst and Bridgers joined together to work Hutson’s track, it doesn’t necessarily point to an official Better Oblivion Community Center reunion any time soon. The last we heard from the musical duo was about a year ago when they released the abortion rights song “Miracle Of Life,” but here’s been no word on more upcoming releases.

Listen to “Strawberry Lemonade” above.

While opening for The Strokes on Wednesday night, Chris Rock slammed anti-vaxxers and NBA star Kyrie Irving during a scorching set in Brooklyn, where Irving plays. As he warmed up the crowd, Rock quipped that he hasn’t been at any shows since COVID. “Has anybody been like, ‘throw your mask in the air, and wave it like you just don’t care’?” the comedian asked before turning his sights on the unvaccinated.

“Where’s my anti-vaxxers at? Where you at?” Rock said in what was clearly a trap. “You f**king dumb Kyrie motherf**kers.”

After roasting Irving and anti-vaxxers, Rock slipped in a quick jab at the Johnson & Johnson shot which he called “the food stamp of vaccines.” Of course, in this situation, Rock is mocking himself for catching COVID-19 last month after going with the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine earlier in the year. However, he didn’t let that experience sour him on vaccination, and while sick with virus, the stand-up comedian tweeted to his fans, “Trust me you don’t want this. Get vaccinated.”

As for Irving, the Brooklyn Nets star still isn’t vaccinated, and the team owner made it clear last week that it’s “untenable” to have a player who can only play in away games due to New York’s vaccine mandate.

(Via Wu-Tang Is For The Children on Twitter)

ESPN published a damning report into the organization-wide culture fostered by Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver. In interviews with current and former staffers, Sarver is alleged to have been a racist and sexist on numerous occasions, including multiple incidents in which he used the n-word. Things were so bad that one person told ESPN, “If the commissioner comes in and investigates to see what the f*ck is going on in Phoenix, [he] would be appalled.”

In the aftermath, Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the expectation is that this will, indeed, happen.

“The expectation now is that the league will launch an investigation into the reporting in Baxter Holmes’ story,” Wojnarowski said. “They have yet to do that, they’re obviously reviewing the reporting now. And then ultimately, I think, for the NBA, this could be a lengthy investigation based on cooperation of team employees. There are, in the story, numerous denials from Robert Sarver about his behavior.”

Wojnarowski went on to say that there are plenty of people who, as illustrated by Holmes’ story, are “very open to the idea of sitting down” with the NBA and going through their claims. Additionally, a statement released by Suns Vice Chairman and part-owner Jahm Najafi indicated that he will offer his “support to ensure there is full accountability,” calling the allegations against Sarver “unacceptable.”

It sure seems like Mayim Bialik’s gaining momentum for the most audience-favored candidate to host Jeopardy! on a full-time basis. She’s made no secret, as well, of her desire to take over the job after she and Ken Jennings finish out the year of sharing those duties. And Mayim seems incredibly comfortable with the job, too, as she welcomed contestant Julian Huerta this week while devoting some airtime to how he celebrated hearing that he’d be on the show.

Julian received the news on a very significant day, and he elaborated in response to Mayim’s prompt. “We actually got the original email that we were gonna be called back to do the audition process,” Julian explained. “And my wife happened to drop the same day that we were pregnant, as well. So, we actually ended up naming my son Alex.”

What an undeniably sweet tribute. “We love this baby name!” the Jeopardy! Twitter account wrote in response.

Not only that, but the pregnancy yielded twins with a girl named Emma. Alas, Julian did not fare too well during his time on the show, heading out with a third-place finish, but he’s got the souvenir of a lifetime. Nothing to complain about there, for sure.