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When the James Webb Space Telescope launched late last year, astronomers bestowed it with an infinite number of missions. And I say infinite because the ultimate goal of this engineering marvel isn't merely to answer every question we have about the universe. It's to answer questions no mortal human would've thought to ask.
But before skipping to that mind-bending end goal, our brilliant new lens is dutifully strutting through the tasks we did give it, one of which is to pierce through veils of cosmic gas and dust and reveal secret star escapades within. Things standard optical telescopes, like Hubble, can't always see.
Behold, on Tuesday, the JWST decoded a glimmering scene behind one of space's dark curtains, a dusty canopy that enshrouds a pair of merging galaxies some 270 million light-years away from Earth.
The JWST caught a glimpse of a sparkly, sparkly cosmic scene.
ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, L. Armus, A. EvansWe have two realms, dubbed IC 1623 A and B, stuck on a collision course through space and time. They're located in the constellation Cetus, and have long been of interest to scientists for a few reasons.
Perhaps most strikingly, they might be in the process of forming a supermassive black hole -- a gargantuan void with enough gravitational force to warp the fabric of our universe as we know it.
But that budding cavern of destruction is expected to be strung with a necklace of light.
The ultra-high intensity of galaxy merger IC 1623 also spurred the creation of a zippy star-forming region nearby. It's called a starburst, and this one in particular, according to the European Space Agency, is creating new stars at a rate more than 20 times that of the Milky Way galaxy.
And this is what the JWST caught.
Hubble already gave us a preliminary view of IC 1623 A and B, but astronomy's newest contract with space has pierced through the duo's cosmic veil, just as scientists hoped it would since the beginning. By doing so, it's shown us the luminous core of this merger and presented humanity with a full, mesmerizing image of IC 1623 rather than a concealed one with a central region left to our imagination.
Here's Hubble's view of merging galaxies IC 1623 A and B. It's much less sparkly, because the central regions of these realms are obscured by dark dust.
ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, L. Armus, A. EvansTwo words: infrared imaging.
All light emanating from deep space can be categorized on a sort of diagram known as the electromagnetic spectrum. Different wavelengths of light, which also translate to different colors in our eyes, are located on different parts. On one hand you have redder wavelengths, and on the other, bluer ones.
But if you go beyond the red side of the electromagnetic spectrum, as some light indeed does, you get to infrared light.
Infrared light, unlike regular red light, is essentially invisible to human eyes. That means it's also invisible to instruments that act like human eyes, even if they're really powerful versions like the Hubble Space Telescope.
But infrared light is precisely the kind of light emanating from stars within most clouds of thick cosmic dust, like the veil surrounding IC 1623. So to figure out what's going on inside, we need an infrared-light-detecting telescope. And that's JWST.
This infographic illustrates the spectrum of electromagnetic energy, specifically highlighting the portions detected by NASA's Hubble, Spitzer and Webb space telescopes. Spitzer is now retired, and wasn't as high tech as the JWST is.
NASA and J. Olmsted [STScI]As a side note, light from stars and other phenomena located really, really far away from Earth arrive at our planet as infrared light, too. That's why the JWST is prepped to bring us information about the distant universe as it was near the beginning of time, information invisible to us and to the Hubble Space Telescope. More on that here.
Returning to IC 1623, ESA explains that "Webb's infrared sensitivity and its impressive resolution at those wavelengths allows it to see past the dust and has resulted in the spectacular image above, a combination of MIRI and NIRCam imagery," in reference to two of the JWST's high-tech instruments.
Another Easter egg in this image, as with all JWST pics, is the eight-pronged diffraction spikes you see at the very center. (It looks like six spikes, but there are two mini-spikes traveling horizontally through the midpoint. They're just hard to see). All JWST images have this signature, in contrast to Hubble's four-pronged version.
Here's an outline of what the JWST's diffraction spikes look like. You'll see these in every JWST image!
NASA, ESA, CSA, Leah Hustak (STScI), Joseph DePasquale (STScI)In general, these spikes are super prominent when lots of light is present in an image, explaining why the telescope's latest image of two galactic cores boasts its bright central snowflake.
Hopefully, the next time JWST focuses its lens, it'll be on one of those sights with evidence of something we never thought to ask about.
Taylor Swift has changed her music video after facing backlash from some of her fans for a scene in her new music video, "Anti-Hero," which showed the pop star on a scale that read "fat."
The song's music video, from her tenth studio album, "Midnights," which was released on Oct. 21, opens on Swift eating alone at a table. She realizes she's being haunted by ghosts — clad in sunglasses over vintage sheets — and as she runs away, another version of herself knocks at the door.
Swift spends time with the other "Taylor" throughout the video, engaging in self destructive behavior like taking shots and drinking from a wine bottle on the roof.
"It's me, hi, I'm the problem," she sings in the chorus. "At tea time, everybody agrees. I'll stare directly at the sun but never in the mirror, it must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero."
After the music video dropped, many creators took to social media to accuse the singer of being insensitive due to one, nine-second scene in the music video which shows Swift standing on a scale.
The old-fashioned scale turns to show her weight, which displays just the word “FAT,” as her evil twin looks over her shoulder disapprovingly.
By Oct. 26, the music video on both Apple Music and Youtube had been edited to remove the close up shot of the scale and the offending word.
"Being fat is not a bad thing and in five seconds of your music video you have successfully reinforced the idea that it is," one TikTok influencer, Reyna Cohan, says in her now-viral video, adding that she understands Swift has struggled with disordered eating in the past.
"But that does not give her permission to perpetuate a really harmful f---ing narrative," Cohan continues. "Fat is not a feeling! And feeling fat or fearing being fat or not liking the way you look...does not mean that you deal with the systemic issues that actual fat people actually deal with."
"We need to talk about the word 'fat' on the scale," Kayley Alissa said in her response on TikTok. "When I saw that this morning, it made it very clear that Taylor has never thought to or doesn't care to listen to plus-size people."
"We have been screaming for years asking people to stop saying that you feel fat," she continued. "When your biggest fear is that you are fat, that is literally fatphobia."
In a tweet, Jenny L. Howe wrote the scene is "an example of how insidious and casual fatphobia is."
"Saying having a body like mine is one of your biggest fears further dehumanizes me and my body," Howe concluded. "Further suggests it’s undesirable."
"Taylor Swift’s music video, where she looks down at the scale where it says 'fat,' is a s---ty way to describe her body image struggles," Shira Rose tweeted. "Fat people don’t need to have it reiterated yet again that it’s everyone’s worst nightmare to look like us."
The Boston Medical Center defines fatphobia as "the implicit and explicit bias of overweight individuals that is rooted in a sense of blame and presumed moral failing."
The center's definition notes that being overweight is "highly stigmatized in Western Culture" and that "anti-fatness is intrinsically linked to anti-blackness, racism, classism, misogyny, and many other systems of oppression."
Swift has long been open about her struggles with disordered eating and mentions it elsewhere on the "Midnights" album.
"I hosted parties and starved my body," she sings in another song, "You're on Your Own Kid."
In the 2020 documentary "Miss Americana," Swift spends several minutes discussing her eating disorder.
"I tend to get triggered by something — whether it's a picture of me where I feel like I looked like my tummy looked too big or like someone said I looked pregnant or something, and that will just trigger me to starve a little bit, just stop eating," she said in the film, adding she was "not proud of it in any way."
In an interview with Variety from around the same time, she said that it had been difficult for her to bring up her issues with food in the film but she felt like it was time to talk about it — however inelegantly.
"But all I know is my own experience. And my relationship with food was exactly the same psychology that I applied to everything else in my life: If I was given a pat on the head, I registered that as good. If I was given a punishment, I registered that as bad,” she told the outlet, recalling a time one tabloid suggested she was pregnant at the age of 18 because of a certain outfit she'd worn.
"I think I’ve never really wanted to talk about that before, and I’m pretty uncomfortable talking about it now... But in the context of every other thing that I was doing or not doing in my life, I think it makes sense."
Swift's representation declined to comment on the record when reached by TODAY for comment on Oct. 21, and had not responded to a follow up request for comment after the music video was changed on Oct. 26.
Many people also came to the defense of Swift following the backlash.
Jill Stoddard, a clinical psychologist and the author of "Be Mighty: A Woman’s Guide to Liberation from Anxiety, Worry, and Stress Using Mindfulness and Acceptance," told TODAY the imagery of the music video would only be "powerful when taken out of context."
"Taylor is creating commentary about our inner critics — we are our own worst enemies and need to notice when unhelpful narratives arise and not act on them or let them drive us," she said in a text to TODAY.
Many people online also defended the pop star, writing that in their opinion, accusing people with eating disorders of fatphobia is unfair.
"As a fat person who has struggled with eating disorders, i think accusing people with EDs of fatphobia based on the way *they see themselves* is beyond ridiculous," @lagunabayfables wrote on Twitter. "Society collectively needs to unlearn fatphobia so blaming (people) with eating disorders is wild."
In a follow up "stitch" video with Cohan's critique, @thegirlwithamicrophone said that while she (a self-identified "fellow fat" person) respects the original poster's opinion, she thinks her interpretation is lacking "nuance."
"For me, the scene...is commentary on Taylor's eating disorder," she says in her response. "But the important thing is context."
"Point of view in writing in art, makes a difference when it comes to the imagery and the messages that are portrayed. It's pretty clear that Taylor is not saying that the way she feels when she steps on the scale is normal, good, or healthy," she says.
"So I don't have a problem with her showing what her eating disorder sounds like to her," @thegirlwithamicrophone continues. "I personally think we have to have space for the problematic sides of ourselves and others can be portrayed in art but through a point of view that makes it clear that these are not normal or healthy."
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Angela Hammontree, 55, considers herself very conservative - "pro-gun, pro-Bible, pro-Trump".
That can trip her up when it comes to love, though.
"The first person I dated after my divorce seemed like a great guy," Ms Hammontree recalled. "And then I found out he was a freaking Democrat!"
They dated for three months, but broke up one month before the November 2020 presidential election.
"I couldn't stand it any longer," she said. "I really liked the guy. But I just don't feel like a relationship can go very far without those same [political] views."
Now, she checks voter registrations on Google before dates - just to make sure she's not going to be dining with a Democrat.
In fact, studies suggest that Ms Hammontree is not alone in her view on relationships. A 2020 YouGov/Economist poll found that 86% of Americans think it has become harder to date someone who supports the opposite political party.
Experts say that who you vote for has now risen to be among the most important factors in love.
The challenge is particularly acute - and cuts across generations - for singletons living in places where they are in the political minority.
Young people who worked in the Donald Trump White House, for example, famously found romance difficult in liberal Washington DC.
Daniel Huff, a former Trump White House adviser, once went on a date, ordered cocktails, and found himself alone before they even arrived. In that small window of time, his date had learnt where Mr Huff worked. She promptly walked away.
That experience inspired him and fellow ex-Trump staffer John McEntee to launch a dating app, The Right Stuff, earlier this month, which only allows conservatives to join.
"Conservatives in liberal areas are totally discriminated against," Mr McEntee complained. "They're made to feel on their own. Totally alienated."
To sign up, users must disclose standard information such as height and gender. But to add some personality to their profile, they can choose to fill in prompts including: 'A random fact I love about America'; '[My] favourite liberal lie'; 'My favourite conservative pundit' and 'January 6th was...'.
A user must be invited to join. In theory, this will keep liberals from accessing the app and possibly spoiling it for serious users.
Liberal women in conservative parts of the country find dating equally challenging.
Nora Murphy, 32, spent a few years exploring the dating scene in deep red Idaho. Recognising she was in the political minority, Ms Murphy sought to give conservative men in her area a chance.
"We'd be getting along great and then politics would come up and it was clear it just wasn't going to work out," she said.
She eventually married a Romanian.
The dating divide is just one symptom of an extremely polarised United States. According to the Pew Research Center, "Democrats and Republicans are farther apart ideologically today than at any time in the past 50 years".
And last month, a CBS poll found that a plurality of Democrats and Republicans see the other side of the aisle not as political opposition but as "enemies".
Ms Hammontree, who lives in Canton, Ohio, conceded that her views on politics and dating were a relatively recent development. Though a lifelong Republican, she doesn't remember caring so much when she was younger.
"I don't think I would've thought about it as much of a deal-breaker then," she said.
Researchers think that as more singles pair up with partners who share their politics, those same politics will be passed along to their children. "This has the potential to amplify polarisation through the creation of homogenous social networks and households," a 2017 study said.
Indeed, a trend of liberals and conservatives living in clusters of their own political tribe has become more pronounced in recent years, according to Rose McDermott, a political psychologist at Cornell University.
The narrative of a deeply divided modern America - in the dating world and society broadly - has truth to it, said Dr McDermott.
"I don't think it's overblown," she said. "I think it's getting worse."
The Department of Forensic and Investigative Science at Eberly College of Arts and Sciences will conduct a mock crime scene training exercise from 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2, until 6 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 3, on the Med Fields on Chestnut Ridge Road.
This event will simulate an active crime scene with a visible presence of emergency vehicles, staged media and investigative tasks like photography and evidence collection.
Faculty, staff and students from the Department of Forensic and Investigative Science will participate and students from the Reed College of Media will serve as members of the media throughout the night.
Undergraduate student volunteers will also participate as mock victims and witnesses.
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STODDARD COUNTY, Mo. (KFVS) - Emergency crews rushed to the scene of a three-vehicle crash, which also involved a pedestrian, on Highway 25 south of Dexter on Sunday evening, October 23.
The crash involved a Peterbuilt crane, a car and an SUV.
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the SUV and car were stopped in traffic at the scene of a fire when both vehicles were hit by a crane truck that failed to yield.
MSHP said the force of the crash caused the car to hit 24-year-old Corey Martinez, of Bloomfield.
Martinez, a pedestrian, was taken to a Dexter hospital with moderate injuries.
The driver of the car, Lauren M. Neuhaus, 33 of Dexter, was seriously injured and flown to a St. Louis hospital.
The driver of the crane and the SUV were reportedly not hurt.
MSHP said the car and SUV were totaled in the crash.
Copyright 2022 KFVS. All rights reserved.
There are spoilers below for House of the Dragon!
Season one of House of the Dragon wrapped up Sunday evening after a ten episode arc including dragons, the never-ending desire for the Iron Throne, and yet another ridiculously graphic, over the top, traumatic birth scene with absolutely zero trigger warnings.
If you recall, halfway through the pilot episode, King Viserys Targareyen (Paddy Considine), desperately hoping for a male heir, chooses to sacrifice his pregnant wife, Aemma Arynn (Sian Brooke), to save their unborn child, who is in breech position. Aemma is then forced to have a C-section after her baby is unable to be manually turned head-first in the uterus.
During the procedure, Aemma bleeds out and the infant dies hours later.
During the finale episode of the first season, a similar, but even more horrifying scene takes place. As Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) finds out her father died and her half-brother Aegon Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney) has taken the Iron Throne, even though she was named by her father to be the new queen, she goes into premature labor.
What takes place next is something that definitely deserved a trigger warning. While screaming in pain, Rhaenyra literally pulls her stillborn baby out of her own body, all the while her husband, Daemon, couldn’t really care less. He ignores her screams while planning for war with his army. After Rhaenyra delivers the stillborn child, the scene, very graphically, shows her cradling the lifeless child who she then later wraps up herself, before the body is cremated as part Targaryen tradition.
Several people, mostly women, have called out the fact that the episode had zero triggering warning specifically mentioning infant loss and the disturbing birth scene, while also remarking that maybe the scene did not need to be that graphic.
One Twitter user wrote, “Bruh... does this scene need to be this graphic .. there should be a trigger warning.”
Another echoed, “If you’re healing from miscarriage, infant loss, still birth, please do not watch this week’s episode of #HOTD HBO said f—k a trigger warning.”
HBO not including any sort of trigger warning also sent some women into PTSD episodes. “#HouseoftheDragon really needed a trigger warning for the season finale. I was completely unprepared and emotionally wrecked by the episode. If you have child loss PTSD, you may want to prepare yourself or skip the first 20 minutes entirely ... “ one user warned.
Another wrote, “Warning to anyone who is watching over here: severe trigger warning on the birth scene in the premiere of #HotD. It sent me into a severe ptsd episode. I tried, but wasn’t able to finish the episode. If you have any trauma around birth, be warned of the tournament sequence.”
So, why did House of the Dragon choose to include such a graphic scene? The creators would say it was necessary for the plot, character development and progression of the show. Show runner Ryan Condal told Deadline that there was a purposeful link between “the horrific birth that goes terribly wrong in the pilot with another horrific birth that goes wrong in the finale.”
“It’s mother and daughter,” he explained. “It’s the daughter of the woman who died in the pilot now having this very difficult birth. That was always her fear, birth is a battlefield and now Rhaenyra finds herself at war and this is her going through her own battle. She’s having a miscarriage. She knows she’s not far enough along in her term that she’s going to have a viable infant. It’s medieval times. There is no premature baby unit in the maester’s hospital.”
After the first shocking birth scene at the beginning of the season, Condal sent the same message.
“It's not meant to be gratuitous. It's meant to show there's a heavy theme in this particular period,” he told Vanity Fair. “In Fire and Blood, there's a lot of very difficult births. It was something we wanted to carry over the season. There's this whole idea in Game of Thrones, or in the Middle Ages, or in historical age like this, that the men marched off to the battlefield and the women's battlefield happened in the child bed.
Even if the multiple traumatic birth scenes are all for the plot, when will the show runners realize that trigger warnings do no harm? 1 in 4 women experience pregnancy loss. 1 in 175 pregnancies end in stillbirth. Clearly from all the tweets and viewer criticism after the episode’s airing, women watch this show and are also fans of the Game of Thrones universe.
So, why not do a solid to those who are just trying to watch a television show and not go into a PTSD episode?
The announcement from Prime Minister Liz Truss of Britain that she would resign is the latest episode of political instability in the U.K.
I combed the rainy streets in London to gauge people’s reactions.
Here’s what I saw →
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House of the Dragon's ninth episode, called The Green Council, is among the show's best yet. It's clever, allowed Queen Alicent Hightower to shine like never before, and built anticipation for next week's big finale. One scene stuck out, though, and not necessarily in a good way.
It has to do with Larys Strong, who, in discomforting fashion, was revealed to have a nasty foot fetish. Not nasty like people-who-like-feet-are-weird nasty. But coercive nasty. If you saw episode 9 and are wondering what you hell you just watched, I'm here to tell you that it was, unfortunately, what you thought it was.
Caution: House of the Dragon spoilers ahead. In addition, this recap references sexual coercion.
Larys is Queen Alicent's unofficial master of whisperers. For much of House of the Dragon's first season, he's kept her abreast of happenings, opportunities and liabilities. He did exactly that in episode 9, making Alicent aware of the ring of spies that "White Worm" Mysaria has inside the Red Keep.
But that information comes at a price. While Alicent speaks with Larys, she takes her shoes off and places her stocking-adorned feet on the table between them. Larys reveals the existence of the spies and says Alicent's father, Otto Hightower, is aware of them. He has more information, but stops himself from spilling it.
To get it out of him, Alicent has to peel her stockings off and lay her bare feet on the table. Larys then explains that Alicent's servant is one of the spies and indicates he could take out the spymaster if the queen wishes it. Alicent seems all too aware of what this means.
She sighs, puts her feet up on a nearby chair and looks away from Larys. Larys then sneaks his hand down his pants and starts masturbating to the queen's nude feet.
Alicent's response to Larys -- to putting her feet on the table, taking her stockings off and then finally placing her feet in full view and turning away -- indicates this definitely isn't the first transaction like this.
Later in the episode, when Erryk is escorting Rhaenys out of the Red Keep, we see a servant has been hanged, and what appears to be Mysaria's headquarters has been lit aflame. We can't confirm until next week, but it looks an awful lot like Larys' handiwork.
Larys Strong, also known as "the Clubfoot," is the son of Lyonel Strong, who briefly served as Hand of the king after King Viserys sacked Otto Hightower. You'll also remember Larys' brother, Harwin Strong. Harwin was a City Watch guard, and the real father of Jacaerys and Lucerys Targaryen, the sons Rhaenyra Targaryen claimed to have had with Laenor Velaryon.
Larys, aligning himself firmly in team Hightower, in episode 6, arranged for both his father and brother to be killed on their return to Harrenhal. The following episode, we learn Larys has since been named Lord of Harrenhal.
He first acquainted himself with Alicent when she was alone in the Godswood contemplating Rhaenyra's rumored fling with Daemon. Larys revealed to Alicent that morning-after tea was sent to Rhaenyra's quarters by Viserys -- the first of many secrets he'd share with the queen. Larys has served the queen since episode 5, which means he's been at her side for about 16 years in House of the Dragon canon.
We didn't know what he got out of the arrangement. Now, we unfortunately do.
House of the Dragon's ninth episode, called The Green Council, is among the show's best yet. It's clever, allowed Queen Alicent Hightower to shine like never before, and built anticipation for next week's big finale. One scene stuck out, though, and not necessarily in a good way.
It has to do with Larys Strong, who, in discomforting fashion, was revealed to have a nasty foot fetish. Not nasty like people-who-like-feet-are-weird nasty. But coercive nasty. If you saw episode 9 and are wondering what you hell you just watched, I'm here to tell you that it was, unfortunately, what you thought it was.
Caution: House of the Dragon spoilers ahead. In addition, this recap references sexual coercion.
Larys is Queen Alicent's unofficial master of whisperers. For much of House of the Dragon's first season, he's kept her abreast of happenings, opportunities and liabilities. He did exactly that in episode 9, making Alicent aware of the ring of spies that "White Worm" Mysaria has inside the Red Keep.
But that information comes at a price. While Alicent speaks with Larys, she takes her shoes off and places her stocking-adorned feet on the table between them. Larys reveals the existence of the spies and says Alicent's father, Otto Hightower, is aware of them. He has more information, but stops himself from spilling it.
To get it out of him, Alicent has to peel her stockings off and lay her bare feet on the table. Larys then explains that Alicent's servant is one of the spies and indicates he could take out the spymaster if the queen wishes it. Alicent seems all too aware of what this means.
She sighs, puts her feet up on a nearby chair and looks away from Larys. Larys then sneaks his hand down his pants and starts masturbating to the queen's nude feet.
Alicent's response to Larys -- to putting her feet on the table, taking her stockings off and then finally placing her feet in full view and turning away -- indicates this definitely isn't the first transaction like this.
Later in the episode, when Erryk is escorting Rhaenys out of the Red Keep, we see a servant has been hanged, and what appears to be Mysaria's headquarters has been lit aflame. We can't confirm until next week, but it looks an awful lot like Larys' handiwork.
Larys Strong, also known as "the Clubfoot," is the son of Lyonel Strong, who briefly served as Hand of the king after King Viserys sacked Otto Hightower. You'll also remember Larys' brother, Harwin Strong. Harwin was a City Watch guard, and the real father of Jacaerys and Lucerys Targaryen, the sons Rhaenyra Targaryen claimed to have had with Laenor Velaryon.
Larys, aligning himself firmly in team Hightower, in episode 6, arranged for both his father and brother to be killed on their return to Harrenhal. The following episode, we learn Larys has since been named Lord of Harrenhal.
He first acquainted himself with Alicent when she was alone in the Godswood contemplating Rhaenyra's rumored fling with Daemon. Larys revealed to Alicent that morning-after tea was sent to Rhaenyra's quarters by Viserys -- the first of many secrets he'd share with the queen. Larys has served the queen since episode 5, which means he's been at her side for about 16 years in House of the Dragon canon.
We didn't know what he got out of the arrangement. Now, we unfortunately do.
The Walking Dead series is quickly approaching the series finale episode, and with that comes the nostalgia for where this series has come from. From its humble six-episode season 1 beginnings to the mega 24-episode final season. Throughout the series, numerous directors have shared their talents with the fans of the series. One such director is Rosemary Rodriguez.
She has been directing since the early 2000s with her directorial debut, Acts of Worship. Rodriguez wrote and directed this film featured at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival.
She is well-known for directing TV series including Law & Order, Without a Trace, White Collar, Criminal Minds, The Good Wife, Jessica Jones, Home Before Dark and more. Recently she directed an episode in Peacemaker, “Monkey Dory,” that aired on January 27, 2022, on HBO Max.
Next, she directs a horror movie, Hail Mary, a modern retelling of the story of Mary and Joseph from the bible. The film promises to alter “everything you thought you believed in.” It stars Jack Huston, Angela Sarafyan, Natalia del Riego, and Benny Emmanuel and was filmed in Mexico City earlier this year.
As everyone is feeling nostalgic, Rodriguez recently shared a still of one of her favorite scenes from The Walking Dead on Instagram. This was from the season 9 episode “Obliged,” written by TWD veteran Geraldine Inoa. She praised Andrew Lincoln and Norman Reedus, who plays Rick Grimes and Daryl Dixon, for giving their all to this scene.
The scene she mentions is one fans will remember well. Daryl and Rick were traveling to Alexandria on the motorcycle. Daryl reveals that a plan was set up to allow Maggie (Lauren Cohan) to sneak into Negan’s (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) cell and kill him.
This leads to an altercation between Rick and Daryl in which they wrestle themselves into a deep pit. They immediately begin to figure out how they will escape their prison. Then the talk goes to whether or not keeping Negan alive is a good thing. The talk gets deep when Daryl reminds Rick that he wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for Glenn (Steven Yeun) and Maggie has to do what she needs to do.
This scene was executed brilliantly by Lincoln and Reedus. It was full of emotion, passion and, most of all the brotherhood these two shared, on-screen and off.
Rodriguez also directed season 8, episode 2, “The Damned” and “Sing Me a Song,” which featured the smack heard round TWD world. This was when Olivia (Ann Mahoney) gave Negan a well-deserved slap after he crudely offered to sleep with her.
Follow Undead Walking on Twitter and sign up for the once-daily Undead Walking newsletter to avoid missing out on all things in The Walking Dead universe.
After over two decades, it’s harder than ever to keep up with who’s in Broken Social Scene, the dozens-strong Canadian rock collective. Just last night in New York, they added two more members to the band! Meryl Streep and Tracey Ullman joined Broken Social Scene on stage to sing “Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl,” the band’s signature song, at the final show of the 20th-anniversary tour for You Forgot It in People. (Per a fan on Reddit, bandleader Kevin Drew said he ran into Ullman and invited her to the show; Ullman’s BFF, Streep, must’ve been her plus-one.) And okay, Streep and Ullman may not end up on the next album, but they performed like longtime members, grooving with singers Amy Millan and Jill Harris as they shouted the lyrics. But no, Streep didn’t actually drop that phone — she appeared to get the whole thing on video, as any fan would.
Broken Social Scene have been celebrating the 20th anniversary of their breakthrough sophomore album, You Forgot It In People, on tour this fall, and they stopped in NYC for a pair of shows at Webster Hall this weekend (10/15 and 10/16). We caught night one on Saturday, which fell on the album's actual birthday. After beginning their set with a full band huddle, BSS launched into YFIIP in track order at first, with members coming on and off stage as needed. While each are individually captivating performers -- from Brendan Canning's high kicks and jumps to Andrew Whiteman's guitar flourishes -- they shine even more as a collective, and the stage remained a hive of activity, with members switching instruments and taking turns on vocals, striking heroic guitar poses and making way for the horn section at key points. Stars' Amy Millan got cheers when she first came out on "Almost Crimes," dueting with Kevin Drew,`and Jill Harris was also on hand to add vocals. 20 years later, the songs remain as compelling and irresistible as ever, and they all sounded fantastic.
After "Pacific Theme," BSS veered off from YFIIP, playing a couple of favorites from their 2005 self-titled album -- "7/4 (Shoreline)" and Fire Eye'd Boy" -- and "Stay Happy" from their most recent LP, 2017's Hug of Thunder, before returning to YFIIP. Drew explained that when he'd seen Alanis Morissette on her Jagged Little Pill tour, she'd switched up the song order too, inspiring them to do the same. While part of me wished they'd played the album straight through chronologically, I couldn't fault them for adding a couple of their most beloved songs into the mix mid-set, nor for the eventual outcome, which was to finish the album performance with the always-magnificent "Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl." While night one didn't get a surprise appearance from Meryl Streep and Tracey Ullman on that song like night two did, Kevin did dedicate the song to Busy Philipps for her ongoing support of independent music, and she waved and cheered from the VIP balcony. After that, they ended the night with another favorite from their third album, "Ibi Dreams of Pavement (A Better Day)."
See pictures from night one (including Jasmyn's opening set), both nights' setlists, and attendee-taken video clips below.
BSS's Charles Spearin also has an NYC show tonight, with Shahzad and Annika and David Pedinotti, at The Owl.
Shop for Broken Social Scene vinyl in the BV store.
SETLIST: BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE @ WEBSTER HALL, 10/15/2022
KC Accidental
Stars and Sons
Almost Crimes
Looks Just Like the Sun
Pacific Theme
Cause = Time
7/4 (Shoreline)
Fire Eye'd Boy
Stay Happy
Late Nineties Bedroom Rock for the Missionaries
Shampoo Suicide
I'm Still Your Fag
Sweetest Kill
Lover's Spit
It's All Gonna Break
Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl
Ibi Dreams of Pavement (A Better Day)
SETLIST: BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE @ WEBSTER HALL, 10/16/2022
KC Accidental
Stars and Sons
Almost Crimes
Looks Just Like the Sun
Pacific Theme
Cause = Time
7/4 (Shoreline)
Stay Happy
Late Nineties Bedroom Rock for the Missionaries
Shampoo Suicide
I'm Still Your Fag
Sweetest Kill
Hug of Thunder
Lover's Spit
It's All Gonna Break
Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl
Ibi Dreams of Pavement (A Better Day)
“The music scene that Amherst represents is the music scene that needs to stay represented”
Kira Johnson/ Daily Collegian
From local house party shows to concerts at the Drake in downtown Amherst, a new student group on campus is behind many of these recent live music events in the UMass community.
Local Mojo, an independent student-run organization, was formed with the mission of supporting and promoting up-and-coming artists on campus. It coincided with rapid growth of the student music scene at the University of Massachusetts during the spring semester 2022.
The group was started by senior marketing major Charley Blacker and junior hospitality and tourism management major Cashel Davis. The organization grew from an idea for a music advertising group that Blacker had been developing since high school, and a desire to gain experience working in the music industry.
“We just let people do what they think that they can do best to better the club, like whether it’s journalism, video, social media, music,” said Emily Donovan, a junior communications major and Local Mojo’s social media director. “We are a club that’s not only bringing light to the Amherst music scene, but also we’re giving people the opportunity to do things that they’re interested in.”
Plenty of student artists have found themselves at a loss in handling the production side of music;Local Mojo stepped in to fill that gap. Since their start, they have collaborated with many popular musicians at UMass including The Baxbys, Track Meat and The Lights. Local Mojo has helped them book shows, record live sessions and create promotional content and music videos.
Local Mojo has no shortage of campus events, ranging from house parties to Dye Up for Jayden, a fundraiser for a 13-year-old boy recently diagnosed with cancer. Their Instagram, @localmojoumass, features event schedules, videos of live events and a community-ranked “UMass Top 25” playlist featuring a wide variety of songs from associated acts.
Peter Drakos, a junior biochemistry major, is the drummer for My Friend Tony, The Lights and Daniel Blair and the Forgottens. He was enthusiastic when Local Mojo reached out to him and asked to work with his bands.
“It was like a perfect win-win because they’re focusing on marketing the product that we’re making instead of us having to do everything ourselves in terms of booking our own gigs and giving our music promotion,” he said.
The presence of a single production group has also fostered a more connected local music scene.
“When the scene started, it was, like, three or four bands playing in basements, completely separate from each other, that only became interconnected because those two or three bands started to play shows together when they realized [the others] existed. Local Mojo came in and broadcasted us to the greater UMass population,” Drakos said.
The music scene here is nothing new. UMass’ campus is where The Pixies formed, and where bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Pearl Jam played on some of their first tours. Jordan Havens, a senior communications major and content creator for Local Mojo, noted the group hopes to continuethat legacy through building a live music community.
“I believe the music scene that Amherst represents is the music scene that needs to stay represented. It’s that kind of punk, indie, alternative genre that people just love to be able to vibe to, whether they don’t know any of the songs, [or] whether they know all the songs. They can still go out to a venue or a show one night and sit there and hang out and socialize and meet new people,” Havens said.
As an independent club on campus, Local Mojo also has the goal of expanding to other colleges and universities that have strong music scenes and students who are dedicated to the work that they do.
“We don’t want to go through the school because we want the freedom to just work on anything we want. And do a lot of off-campus things as well, because that’s where the music scene really is: off-campus,” Blacker said.
Local Mojo welcomes any student interested in getting involved and gaining experience with the production industry and holds meetings in Herter Hall every Thursday at 6 p.m.
Kami Nguyen can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @kamihnguyen.
Cristian Clewis can be reached at [email protected].
It's finally time for the Dance of the Dragons to begin—the brutal, bloody civil war between members of the Targaryen house in House of the Dragon.
In George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, the Dance of the Dragons is little more than a fable, a warning of how greed can bring down an empire from the inside out.
House of the Dragon's penultimate episode saw the first stone thrown, and a key moment featured Princess Rhaenys (Eve Best) and her dragon Meleys.
In the penultimate episode it's revealed that King Viserys I (Paddy Considine) has died, and his wife Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) decides to put their son Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) onto the Iron Throne and usurp his daughter, and chosen heir, Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) after misunderstanding a conversation with the late king.
To make sure this happens without any interruptions, the queen and her guards put those who could oppose it under lock and key. Rhaenys is one such person, though Alicent attempts to get her to back her son's claim to the throne.
At first it seems like Rhaenys' loyalties to Rhaenyra may falter, but one key scene puts an end to that idea.
Rhaenys is able to escape her confines thanks to the assistance of one of the Kingsguard who tries to aid her escape back to Rhaenyra. However, in the scrum of King's Landing the pair get separated, and Rhaenys is swept up with the crowd to the sept where Aegon is crowned Lord of the Seven Kingdoms.
During the ceremony, Rhaenys sneaks away and goes to get her dragon, Meleys. In an explosive scene, Rhaenys and Meleys burst through the floor of the Sept, destroying it and likely killing many of the people watching the coronation.
The princess and her dragon stand threateningly in front of Aegon II, Alicent, her children Daemon (Ewan Mitchell) and Helaena (Phia Saban), her father Otto (Rhys Ifans), and others, with the dragon roaring at them.
The threat is clear, Princess Rhaenys could kill them all in one fell swoop if she just gave Meleys the order, but after a good scare she flies away, likely traveling to Princess Rhaenyra to inform her of the betrayal.
It's a key moment in the show because it highlights the conflict between the Blacks (Rhaenyra's supporters) and the Greens (Alicent's supporters) both visually and narratively speaking in the story, with Rhaenys making her position more than clear to all involved: this means war, and she is on Rhaenyra's side.
With one episode left, the bloodshed may well only just begin to bubble to the surface in the finale, but it does set the stage for the Dance of the Dragons in future seasons of the HBO show.
House of the Dragon Season 1 ends on HBO and HBO Max on Sunday, October 23, at 9 p.m. ET.
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