Category: Celebrities

Being the First Lady of the United States is a difficult job. If you don’t do anything, there will be critics, but if you try to get involved politically, there are likely going to be a lot of critics saying that you’re overstepping. 

It’s unfortunate, but there have been many First Ladies that have been roasted from both sides of the aisle. However, there have been many others that were almost universally beloved, even more so than their husbands running the country. Here are five First Ladies who won plaudits from across the aisle.

5. Barbara Bush

One of just two women to be First Lady while also the mother of a U.S. President. She was married to George H.W. Bush, and while he only served one term in the White House, Barbara proved to be a very popular First Lady. For eight years, Barbara served as the Second Lady and boosted literacy campaigns in the United States.

This would continue into her years as the First Lady and expand into other divisive topics. Bush was in favor of more rights for the LGBT community and even expanded abortion access, which went against the Republican standard. 

4. Betty Ford

There are certain presidents that didn’t really make a big impact one way or another, leaving the term of Gerald R. Ford rather unremarkable. However, his wife Betty had a lasting impact on the world. Betty Ford was in the White House with Gerald from 1974 until 1977 and set the standard for First Lady political involvement in the modern era.

Ford had struggled with alcoholism early in life and decided to open up a rehabilitation clinic called the Betty Ford Center and helped those with HIV and AIDS when the diseases were taboo. Ford was one of the most admired women of her time, and she received a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1991. She lived to be 93 years old, passing away in 2011.

3. Abigail Adams

The role of women in the government in the early days of the United States was minimal at best, but that wasn’t the case for trailblazer Abigail Adams. The wife of John Adams and mother of John Quincy Adams served as the second First Lady of the United States from 1797 until 1801 and was a mentor to her husband during his presidency.

Abigail didn’t remain silent on a lot of hot-button topics that included slavery and women’s rights. Adams was a staunch abolitionist and wanted it so that women could receive formal education past primary school while getting more rights. Her story has been portrayed in multiple films and television shows in more recent years, including the miniseries John Adams where she was portrayed by Laura Linney. 

2. Eleanor Roosevelt

Ever since 1945, no president has ever been able to serve more than two terms, with Franklin D. Roosevelt holding the office for a dozen years between 1933 and 1945. During that time, the United States was involved in World War II and needed strong leadership. The country got just that in the form of Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor.

Roosevelt was a champion of the Civil Rights Movement and was instrumental in the United States joining the United Nations. Roosevelt also helped to fight for women’s rights and was accessible to the nation through magazine and newspaper columns, as well as a weekly radio show. For most years between the White House and her death in 1962, she was one of the most admired women in the United States.

1. Jackie Kennedy

If you were to ask an American at random to name a First Lady that’s not currently in the White House, there’s a good chance that they’ll say Jackie Kennedy. That’s because Kennedy was one of the most popular both during and after her time in the White House with her husband John F. Kennedy.

Jackie was responsible for redesigning the White House and was a highly educated photographer when she met her husband. Kennedy was just 31 years old when she moved into the White House and her popularity went across both aisles. In fact, she was much more popular than John overall to those that opposed his politics.

“PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds” set the standard for battle royale games upon its release in late 2017 and instantly became a success. Known to most as PUBG, the game became the most-played video game in the industry’s history, with nearly 2 billion players during its lifetime and over $10 billion in revenue. 

Along the way, there have been a lot of notable streamers playing PUBG, especially when popularity peaked back in 2018. Here are the five streamers that owe a lot of their success to PUBG becoming a global phenomenon.

5. Tecnosh

Joseph ‘Technosh’ Touma started his streaming career by playing a wide range of games that included “League of Legends”, “World of Warcraft” and “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive”. Whoever, since 2019, much of Tecnosh’s time has been spent playing PUBG. That’s where most of his viewers come from, as well, as he nearly doubles his viewer count whenever he’s playing.

The Brazilian gamer ended up going professional in PUBG and joined the Three and a Gado Men team in 2018. He would finish as high as second place in international tournament play, doing so in 2018 at the Copa IGN Season 2 Group Stage. Whenever Tecnosh is online, you can expect tens of thousands of people to pop in and watch his streams.

4. ChocoTaco

Jake “ChocoTaco” Throop played PUBG as a hobby on the side while working a full-time career early on. Then, he began streaming his gameplay and his channel began to take off almost immediately. Between July 2017 and July 2018, ChocoTaco saw his average viewercount rise from less than 40 to about 4,000 per stream.

This allowed ChocoTaco to focus on gaming full-time, and he reached peak popularity in 2019 thanks to his PUBG streams. Unlike Technosh, though, ChocoTaco does tend to mix up his games a little bit and plays other shooters that include “Apex Legends”, “Valorant” and “Call of Duty Warzone”.

3. Ninja

Almost everyone knows Tyler Blevins as Ninja, the man who helped to put Fortnite on the map and became the most popular streamer in the world as a result. The Detroit native got his start in professional gaming by playing “Halo 3”, which he followed up by playing “H1Z1”. Then PUBG began increasing in popularity, Ninja made the jump over to the game and became one of the best in the world.

Ninja even won the Gamescom Invitational in 2017 and was on top of the PUBG world. In sort of an experiment of a new game, Ninja tried out “Fortnite” and helped increase his popularity to the next level. Ninja would abandon almost all other games at that point, including PUBG, but does come back from time to time to check out the community.

2. Shroud

Michael “Shroud” Grzesiak is known for being one of the best first-person shooter players in all of video game history. This includes games like “Counter-Strike” where he has won multiple tournaments on the world stage. After helping Cloud9 win the ESL Pro League, Shroud decided to step away from professional gaming on a full-time basis so he could concentrate on building a streaming community.

It ended up being the right move for Shroud as he instantly had a huge follower base, with many of his streams being based around PUBG. Shroud streamed the game for well over 2,500 hours before saying that he was done spending a bulk of his streaming time on the game. “I am still a firm believer that this game could be the number one game,” Shroud said of PUBG.

1. Dr. Disrespect

You can’t tell the story of video game streams without talking about Herschel Beahm IV, a.k.a. Dr. Disrespect. He launched his Twitch channel in 2011 portraying an exaggerated version of himself, and at the time was streaming only a few times here and there on “Call fo Duty”. After working for Sledgehammer Games and Justin.tv (the precursor to Twitch), Beahm decided to leave and focus on streaming full-time.

Thanks to his gameplay in the battle royale genre, Dr. Disrespect became one of the most followed streamers on the Twitch platform prior to his ban. He would join YouTube following the Twitch ban, and a bulk of his viewership numbers have come from his days of playing PUBG. Hopefully one day he returns to playing the game.

League of Legends may be one of the most played games in the world, but it still seems to have that “niche” type of feeling because you don’t really see it get that much mainstream attention. Games like Fortnite, FIFA, and Madden have had plenty of celebrities playing regularly that have helped put those games into the public eye to the point where even non-gamers know what they are.

As for League, though, it’s one of those games where you probably don’t know much about it unless you’re a pretty hardcore gamer. However, there have been several celebrities and other notable people that have gotten in on the fun, exposing millions more to League of Legends over the years. Here are five of the most surprising League players:

5. Gordon Hayward

Brownsburg, Indiana native Gordon Hayward is considered to be one of the best college basketball players of the 2000s, and his game translated into the NBA. Hayward was selected ninth overall in the 2010 NBA Draft and played for six seasons with the Utah Jazz before heading to Boston and eventually Charlotte.

Hayward is one of the biggest gamers in the NBA and has shown up at multiple major League of Legends tournaments. Hayward has streamed some of his gameplay but did negatively talk about the LoL community. He mentioned that League players were “so toxic” when compared to other NBA players.

4. Justin Bieber

Justin Bieber has been one of the biggest names in music since he was discovered on YouTube and thrust into the mainstream spotlight. Thanks to songs like “Baby”, “Sorry” and “Love Yourself”, Bieber is one of the best-selling artists of his generation. During the earlier parts of his career, Bieber was known for being a hardcore gamer.

One of the many games that Bieber got into playing was League of Legends. He tweeted about his newfound love for the game and said that Teemo was his favorite. The tweet got thousands of responses and even got #LeagueOfBieber trending on the social media platform. It’s unclear if Bieber ended up being a hardcore LoL player, but it was nice to see him talking about it to his young fans.

3. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

One of the more well-known representatives in the United States Congress, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez assumed office in January 2019 thanks to a grassroots campaign in the Bronx and Queens. Known to most as AOC, she gets more media coverage than most Congress members due to her youth and stances on several key issues.

Part of AOC’s ability to garner attention from younger voters is the fact that she understands the importance of live streaming. After playing games like “Among Us” on Twitch, AOC revealed that she’s an avid League player and made it to Silver III during the COVID-19 pandemic.

2. Claudio Castagnoli

One of the best technical professional wrestlers, Claudio Castagnoli has spent time with Ring of Honor, World Wrestling Entertainment, All Elite Wrestling, and many more. Known during his time in the WWE as Antonio Cesaro, he was part of the UpUpDownDown channel on YouTube and showed off his skills at League of Legends.

At first, Castagnoli had some trouble learning the ins-and-outs of the game, but eventually figured out how to make things work. He got up to a Silver III during his time in the WWE and said that he had no plans of stopping. He even streams on Twitch as ClaudiosCafe.

1. Dan Reynolds

Imagine Dragons has been among the most commercially successful bands of the 21st century, and it starts with lead singer Dan Reynolds. The Las Vegas native shot into stardom in the late 2000s as Imagine Dragons started to take off, and the band has been synonymous with League of Legends for many years.

Every member of the band is hardcore into LoL, and he has several favorite champions that he uses, including Lulu. At one point when waiting to enter a game from the queue, Reynolds belted out his hit song “Enemy” which was used in the animated series “Arcane” based on League of Legends.

Everyone has hobbies, even those that are known for their stardom on stage and screen. Warhammer is one of those hobbies that might not be quite as popular with entertainers, but there are still some devoted fans that have ended up becoming famous. Let’s take a look at five of those celebrities who are obsessed with Warhammer.

5. Ansel Elgort

While many of Hollywood’s most famous Warhammer players only dabble in the game, Ansel Elgort has a full-on obsession. Whenever there’s a chance to bring up his favorite game during an interview, Elgort makes sure to take full advantage. Even going on shows like “Conan”, Elgort has used his airtime to bring up his miniatures and Warhammer in general.

Elgort got his start in acting in 2013 when he had a role in the remake of “Carrie”, and has since become a big star thanks to his lead roles in films that include “Baby Driver”, “The Goldfinch” and “West Side Story”. Now with tons of money to spend from his acting career, Elgort’s Warhammer collection has only gotten more lavish.

4. Trey Parker

There isn’t a whole lot of downtime when you’re trying to produce a show from scratch that has to air in six days. However, in the little time that “South Park” co-creator Trey Parker does have, he spends a bit of it on Warhammer. There have been several shots of Parker playing with miniatures, including Warhammer, between his time writing dialogue or recording vocal tracks for the long running series.

Along with Matt Stone, Parker created “South park” in the early 1990s from an animated short, spawning a television series that began on Comedy Central in 1997. Since then, the series has become a staple of television and has now aired well over 300 episodes. Some of Parker’s side projects include “BASEketball”, “The Book of Mormon” and “Team America: World Police”.

3. Robin Williams

The late, great Robin Williams had a personality that was built for tabletop games, and he enjoyed the likes of Dungeons and Dragons and Warhammer. Playing alongside his daughter Zelda, Williams always had an interesting character and story whenever he was playing. He’d pop into small hobby stores to play Warhammer every now and then, as well.

One Reddit user photographed Williams in his store and said that Williams narrated the entire game with his usual flare for the dramatic. Another user from a different shop said that employees were hiding when Williams was shopping as they didn’t want to disturb him but he ended up approaching them and talking about Warhammer for over an hour.

2. Samoa Joe

In the world of professional wrestling, Samoa Joe is about as tough as they come. While there are some wrestlers that are slightly interested in Warhammer, Samoa Joe is a diehard fan. He has appeared at Warhammer World and has talked about his love for the game on social media constantly. A lot of people that didn’t know about his fandom, though, were surprised when he was walking around with a Mark VI Corvus mask in 2020.

Born Nuufolau Seanoa, Samoa Joe started wrestling in the late 1990s and became a champion with Ring of Honor, TNA, and eventually joined the WWE as part of the NXT brand. He made his main roster debut in WWE in 2017 and became a commentator prior to parting ways from the company.

1. Henry Cavill

Henry Cavill is one of the biggest stars in recent memory thanks to his leading roles in “The Witcher” and the Superman films during the Zack Snyder era of the DC Cinematic Universe. After learning that he wouldn’t be returning to either of the successful franchises, however, Cavill revealed that he’s working on a Warhammer project.

This allowed Cavill to talk about his history with Warhammer, and it apparently ran deeper than anyone could have ever thought. “I was that guy who bought all of the Warhammer fantasy armies, books, and all of the codexes and would just read them,” Cavill said. “I never had a chance to actually play with anyone, but I would get all the lore and learn all the rules.” Thankfully, Cavill now has a chance to play with others while also playing characters on-screen.

K-Pop has taken the world by storm and is now so cemented into pop culture that it has its own genre on the charts on a global scale. Throughout the years, there have been some certified K-Pop classics, but which ones would people consider to be the best of the best? Here are our picks for the 10 best K-Pop songs of all time.

Gangnam Style by Psy

Serving as the South Korean musician’s worldwide breakout hit, “Gangnam Style” took off and became the party tune of the year in 2012. The highly catchy song and fun music video, showcasing Psy’s interesting dance, made the song as memorable as ever even ten years after its release. 

Dynamite by BTS

One of the most popular hits by one of the most popular K-pop sensations to grace the earth is “Dynamite” by BTS. The song, released in 2020, started off extremely strong, making its way straight to #1 on the Billboard Top 100 and becoming an instant hit in America and South Korea as well. 

DDU-DU-DDU-DU by BLACKPINK

“DDU-DU-DDU-DU” by the popular South Korean pop group BLACKPINK was released in 2018 and quickly shot up in the charts, topping the Billboard K-pop Top 100. The video for the song became the most viewed K-pop music video on YouTube at the time, with over 1 billion views. 

Gentleman by Psy 

Another banger from our South Korean wonder Psy, “Gentleman” was the next of his hits to make its way to America in 2013. Up until recently, the music video for the song became the fastest and most viewed, with over 1.4 billion views on YouTube. 

DNA by BTS

“DNA” was the first major hit BTS graced the US n 2017. The song made it to #67 on the Billboard Top 100 as well as #1 on the Billboard K-pop Top 100. The song put BTS on the map in the United States and started the intense fandom surrounding the group. 

Fire by BTS

Another BTS song to make the list, “Fire” was released as part of the album “The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever”. “Fire” was actually about as popular in the United States as it was in Korea despite BTS not yet being a household name. “Fire” reached number seven on the Korean charts while reaching the top spot in US World Digital Song Sales.

Boombayah by BLACKPINK

BLACKPINK made their debut in a big way back in 2016 when they released their first single “Square One”, which was followed up on the same record with “Boombayah”. The song was an instant hit, and in fact became the first K-Pop debut music video to reach over 1 billion views worldwide on YouTube.

As If It’s Your Last by BLACKPINK

While most popular songs are part of a full album, “As If It’s Your Last” was released on its own in 2017 and was written by a trio of artists for Blackpink. The song streamed more than 100 million times in the first year of its release and even won Best Digital Song of the Year at the Golden Disc Awards.

Growl by EXO

Serving as the South Korean-Chinese boy band’s breakout hit, the R&B tune “Growl” by EXO was released in 2013 and became the 5th best-selling K-pop song in the US that year. “Growl” would end up winning the Best Song at the Seoul Music Awards and even the World’s Best Song at the World Music Awards in 2014. 

Peek-a-Boo by Red Velvet

Red Velvet is an all-girl band that formed in 2014 and quickly became one of the most popular groups in Korea thanks to their debut album “The Red” in 2015. Two years later, they released “Perfect Velvet” which contained the massive hit “Peek-a-Boo” that took the world by storm. “Peek-a-Boo” reached number two on both the US World Digital Song charts and the K-Pop Hot 100 in Korea.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have had one of the longest and most storied histories throughout all of the NHL franchises. There have been many Hall of Fame players that have been on a Leafs roster, with a big chunk of them acquired either through the NHL Draft or by being brought in via trade. Every now and then, though, there are players that come in via free agency.

Teams try not to let their best players hit free agency, but when it happens, Toronto is one of the premier destinations in the league. While not every free agent signing by the Leafs has been a hit, there have been some home runs. Here are the five best free agent signings in Toronto Maple Leafs history.

5. Alexander Mogilny

Russian native Alexander Mogilny came into the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres and ended up being one of the franchise’s greatest players, including a season in which he scored 76 goals and 127 points. The two-time All-Star then spent time with Vancouver and New Jersey before becoming a free agent in 2001.

Mogilny was 32 years old, but he certainly wasn’t out of his prime just yet. The Maple Leafs signed Mogilny in 2001 for four years and $22 million. Mogilny put up 166 points in 176 games, winning a Lady Byng Trophy in the process. Unfortunately, the Leafs didn’t get that fourth season from the contract due to the NHL lockout.

4. Ed Belfour

Goaltender Ed Belfour spent his 20s playing for the Chicago Blackhawks and was a three-time All-Star before heading to the San Jose Sharks for a handful of games and then the Dallas Stars. Balfour won a Stanley Cup with the Stars, then became a free agent at 37 years old after many thought he was over the hill.

After Curtis Joseph (more on him in a second) left the Maple Leafs, the team plugged the vacancy with Belfour hoping that he still had some good years left. On a two-year contract worth $13.5 million, Belfour didn’t disappoint and even stayed for a third year. Belfour put up a 93-61-15 record with a .912 save percentage, his best with any franchise.

3. Curtis Joseph

Getting back to Curtis Joseph, he had many fine years with the St. Louis Blues and Edmonton Oilers when he became a free agent following the 1997-98 season. The Maple Leafs went all-in on Joseph, signing him to a four-year deal worth $24 million. Joseph played the entirety of his contract, winning a Clancy Trophy, and was top-10 in the Vezina voting each year.

Joseph lived up to his contract, putting up a record of 133-89-27 and a save percentage of over .910. Joseph then left for the Detroit Red Wings and played briefly for Phoenix and Calgary before returning to Toronto in his final season, retiring at 41-years-old in 2009.

2. John Tavares

John Tavares was the first overall pick in 2009 by the New York Islanders and made his professional debut at just 19 years old and played with the team for nine seasons. Tavares scored 621 points in 669 games and became a free agent after the 2017-18 season. Most fans were furious after Tavares left the Islanders, and was quick to choose Toronto as he had been a childhood fan.

Tavares rejected all extension offers by New York and signed a seven-year deal worth $77 million with the Maple Leafs. In the first five seasons of his contract, Tavares continued to be a near-point-per-game scorer and made the Leafs into a contender.

1. Borje Salming

The late Borje Salming was one of the greatest defensemen in NHL history, and certainly one of the greatest Leafs players. No team drafted Salming while he was with Sweden, and it wasn’t until 1973 that he signed with Toronto after playing professionally in his home country for several years.

The original contract to bring him to Toronto was a bargain, too, with Salming signing for two years and $140,000. Salming played 16 of his 17 NHL seasons with the Maple Leafs, and the Hall of Famer was named to six All-Star Teams, scoring 768 points in 1,099 games. He would finish his career in the 1989-90 season playing as a free agent in Detroit.

No matter where you look across the United States, there have been people from every part of the country that have achieved fame. Eastern New Mexico is no exception, as there have been several notable people in the world of music, movies, and sports. Here’s a look at five of the most famous people who were either born or raised in the region.

5. Paul Brinegar

During the golden era of western films in Hollywood, there were many actors that got a ton of work. Among them was Paul Brinegar, who became a staple of long-running shows that included “Lancer”, “Rawhide” and “The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp”. Brinegar was born in Tucumcari on December 19, 1917 where his father was a farmer.

Throughout his childhood, Brinegar would move all around New Mexico before eventually ended up in Santa Fe where he attended high school. Brinegar would start acting at this time and made his way to Pasadena where he would begin his professional career. Throughout his career, Brinegar appeared in more than 100 productions with his television work being the most prominent.

4. Colt McCoy

Turning to the world of sports, there are few names that were as big in 2000s college football as Colt McCoy. McCoy was the oldest of three children born in his family, and he was born on September 5, 1986 in Hobbs, New Mexico. By the time that he reached high school, the McCoys would move to Tuscola, Texas where McCoy became a standout quarterback.

He chose to attend the University of Texas where he became the starting quarterback and won the Walter Camp Award in back-to-back years. After nearly winning a national championship with the Longhorns, McCoy was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in 2010. He remained there for three seasons, and spent much of his career as a backup for Washington.

3. Brian Urlacher

Colt McCoy isn’t the only famous football player from Eastern New Mexico. The best player in football history to come from the region is Brian Urlacher, who was actually born in Pasco, Washington on May 25, 1978. At a young age, Urlacher’s parents separated and he made his way down to Loving, New Mexico with his siblings.

Urlacher became a star football player in Lovington and helped the team win a state championship while playing several different positions. Urlacher stayed in-state for college and attended the University of New Mexico where he became an All-American. Urlacher was then selected ninth overall by the Chicago Bears in the 2000 NFL Draft. He played his entire NFL career with Chicago and became a five-time All-Pro and was selected for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018.

2. John Denver

John Denver may be synonymous with West Virginia and Colorado thanks to songs like “Take Me Home, Country Roads” and “Rocky Mountain High” (as well as his name), he Denver actually hails from New Mexico. Due to his father being in the U.S. Army Air Forces, the Deutschendorf (his real last name) family settled in Roswell during Denver’s childhood.

Denver wouldn’t remain in New Mexico for very long, however. His father’s military career took him to several bases around the United States prior to starting his music career. He would end up graduating high school in Texas then made his way to California to begin singing. Sadly, Denver would die in a plane crash while on his way to Santa Fe in 1989.

1. Demi Moore

John Denver may have been massively popular, but there’s someone even more famous from Roswell. Demi Moore was born as Demi Guynes in the city on November 11, 1962, and like Denver, had a father that was a member of the Air Force. Also like Denver, Moore had to move several times throughout her childhood. After leaving New Mexico, Moore would settle in Pennsylvania prior to her acting career.

Moore began her modeling career as a teenager and started to land acting roles in the early 1980s that included “General Hospital” and “St. Elmo’s Fire”. The early 1990s proved to be kind to Moore thanks to her starring roles in films including “Ghost” and “A Few Good Men”, becoming one of the biggest stars in Hollywood.