upworthy

pop culture

Pop Culture

Macaulay Culkin recalls John Candy flagging his dad's 'monster' behavior before anyone else

"I remember John caring when not a lot of people did."

Fandom.com

Macaulay Culkin and John Candy in 'Uncle Buck'

Comedy legend John Candy was honored in the emotional new documentary John Candy: I Like Me, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on Thursday.

In it, a slew of famous folks that once shared the screen with Candy—including Dan Aykroyd, Tom Hanks, Macaulay Culkin, Martin Short, Steve Martin, Catherine O’Hara, and Andrea Martin—shared touching memories that further solidify the late actor as not only a once-in-a-generation talent, but a truly good human being as well.

One standout story comes from Culkin, who recalled Candy having a “paternal” instinct for the former child actor while working together on John Hughes’ Uncle Buck in 1989—especially when it came to protecting Culkin from his estranged father, Christopher "Kit" Culkin.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

"I think [Candy] always had that really great instinct. I think he saw. Listen, even before the wave crested and the Home Alone stuff was happening, it was not hard to see how difficult my father was. It was no secret. He was already a monster," Culkin said in the documentary, as reported by People.

"All of a sudden, the fame and the money came, and he became an infamous monster," Culkin said. "He was already not a good guy. I think John was looking a little side-eyed, like, 'Is everything alright over there? You doing good? Good day? Everything's alright? Everything good at home? Alright.'"

Culkin commended that behavior as "a testament to the kind of man he was," noting that “it doesn't happen that often. It actually happened less as time went on.”

- YouTube www.youtube.com

"I wish I got more of that in my life. It's important that I remember that," Culkin said. "I remember John caring when not a lot of people did.”

Culkin also recalled that Candy displayed a lot of respect for the former child star and his on-screen sister, Gaby Hoffmann.

“When you're eight years old, you don't really get respect, whether it's in a workplace or just from adults and grown-ups in general. You felt invited in [by Candy]," he shared.

While Uncle Buck didn’t go on to achieve great critical acclaim, Candy's portrayal of the titular character is beloved by fans and is often celebrated for its comedic and heartwarming elements—helping turn him into a bona fide star of the 80s.

Colin Hanks, who created the documentary, met Candy as a kid. In 1984, his father, Tom Hanks, starred with Candy in the romantic comedy Splash. Similar to Culkin, Colin recalled Candy having a special way with kids.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

“He just really made you feel unique,” he told People. “He made you feel heard and that's a special thing for a little kid to feel like you actually matter and your opinion matters.”

John Candy: I Like Me debuts Friday, Oct. 10 on Prime Video.

From Your Site Articles
movies
Pop CultureCelebrity
Joy

Audiobook narrator's NSFW meltdown accidentally made it into the book and people are loving it

"My niece has been telling me for months to post my work on TikTok but I don’t think this is what she meant."

@kateburns75/TikTok

Audiobook narrators. They're just like us.

We’ve all had meltdowns. Thanks to 24/7 access to camera phones, many of us have had a meltdown we thought was private end up being public entertainment. But audiobook narrator Kate Burns’ world class "crashed out" over a technology glitch stands firmly in its own category.

Burns, whose niche is narrating suspense thrillers, had been recording a chapter for Blake Pierce’s "Girl, Haunted" and accidentally kept in a nearly minute long, expletive-littered, rage-filled rant against her recording software—which had apparently been giving her quite the headache.

One reader noticed the…bonus content, if you will…and quickly posted it to social media, where it became a viral sensation. (A bit of an f-bomb warning for those with swear sensitive ears. But anyone who’s ever dealt with technology in their lives can certainly empathize with all the big feelings Burns was having at that moment.)

@arletta.james

Just the audiobook narrator having a complete uncut meltdown 👀👀👀 #oops #psychologicalthrillerreaders #blakepierce #girlhaunted #kateburns #booktok

Perhaps even more delightful than the video itself is the hilarious and oh-so supportive comments it elicited.

“Whatever she’s talking about, it’s 100% valid. I get it. This is me every time I try using a printer tbh.”

“They should hide easter eggs like these in every audiobook.”

“Blake Pierce is about to be wondering why her book randomly hit the NYT bestseller list.”

“ I will take this over AI narrating 100% of the time.”

“Buying this audiobook solely to support her crash out.”

The video even made its way to Burns herself, thanks to her niece—who saw the video and immediately went to tell her “self proclaimed Luddite” aunt to start a TikTok.

Burns, clearly with a great sense of humor about all this, commented, "Kate here 👋my niece has been telling me for months to post my work on TikTok but I don’t think this is what she meant. The comments are funny. Thanks for being nice about it.”

Burns did, in fact, create a TikTok, which currently has only one video where she playfully fesses up to her snafu. In it, she revealed that her crash out was the result of her recording software not playing back her audio—which does sound like this antithesis of something helpful for a voiceover artist.

@kateburns75

I woke up this morning to learn there’s an audiobook blooper of me crashing out because I’m technologically challenged and my recording software was giving me a hard time. To the half a million of you who heard that, thank you for giving me some grace. I apologize and it definitely won’t happen again. Thank you to the person who let me know, as well as the person who originally posted it — mortifying, but gives me the opportunity to fix something that obviously needs to be fixed.

She also thanked audiences for giving her “leeway to be human and screw up.”

In an interview with Today, Burns shared that she had been "terrified" to learn that her blip had gone viral, but that quickly changed once she realized that people were actually on her side.

“I was so nervous and so absolutely mortified, but I did read a bunch of the comments people wrote, and I thought that is so nice, nobody’s saying, ‘You’re awful,” she said. “Everyone’s like ‘We get it.’”

Not only did people get it, but people shared their genuine appreciation for Burns. One fan even wrote, “your voice carried me through many of my hardest days. Thank you for being the voice of the books that have helped me stay.”

Just goes to show that moments of pure vulnerability—be they tech crash outs or something else entirely—are not nearly as ostracizing as we fear they’ll be. Instead, they end up inspiring connections in magical, hilarious ways.

Be sure to give Kate Burns a follow on TikTok and Audible.

From Your Site Articles
pop culture
JoyHumor
Pop Culture

Guy with a metal detector astonished to find a ring that belonged to the Sheriff of Nottingham

It was authenticated by experts from the British Museum.

via Unsplash

English metal detector hobbyist finds a real treasure near Nottingham.

A retired merchant navy engineer in England has found a treasure that would have made his country’s most popular folk hero proud. Graham Harrison, a 64-year-old metal detector enthusiast, discovered a gold signet ring that once belonged to the Sheriff of Nottingham.

The discovery was made on a farm in Rushcliffe, Nottinghamshire, 26.9 miles from Sherwood Forest. The forest is known worldwide for being the mythological home of Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men. A central road that traversed the forest was notorious in Medieval times for being an easy place for bandits to rob travelers going to and from London.

Today, the forest is a designated National Nature Reserve. It contains ancient oaks that date back thousands of years, making it an important conservation area.

“It was the first big dig after lockdown on a glorious day. We were searching two fields. Other detectorists kept finding hammered coins but I'd found nothing,” Harrison said according to the Daily Mail. “Then I suddenly got a signal. I dug up a clod of earth but couldn't see anything. I kept breaking up the clod and, on the last break, a gold ring was shining at me. I broke out into a gold dance.”

Harrison sent the ring to the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme to have it authenticated.

After doing some research they found that it was once owned by Sir Matthew Jenison, who was the Sheriff of Nottingham between 1683 and 1684.

The first accounts of Robin Hood, then known as Robyn Hode, first appear in the 12th century, a few hundred years before Sir Matthew served as sheriff.

But there’s no doubt that the archer and leader of Merry Men would have been delighted to know that an everyday guy came into possession of the Sheriff of Nottingham’s ring.

Sir Matthew was knighted in 1683 and acted as a commissioner to examine decaying trees in Sherwood Forest. He was later elected to Parliament in 1701. However, a series of lawsuits over shady land dealings would eventually be his ruin and he’d die in prison in 1734.

The gold signet ring bears the coat of arms of the Jenison family, who were known for getting rich off a treasure trove of valuables left for safekeeping during the English Civil War. 

The valuables were never claimed, so the Jenisons took them for themselves.

Harrison decided that he would sell the ring to someone who appreciates its importance.

“There can't be many people who've found anything like that. I'm only selling it because it's been stuck in a drawer,” Harrison said. “I hope it will go to someone who will appreciate its historical value.” It was sold at auction by Hansons Auctions for £8,500 ($11,115).


Let’s hope that the man who sold the ring does what Robin Hood would have done with a piece of jewelry that adorned the hand of a nobleman whose family came into money by taking other people’s loot. Surely, he’d take the proceeds from the auction and give them to the poor.


This article originally appeared three years ago.

From Your Site Articles
pop culture
Pop CultureMovies
Culture

Gen X is the 'most stressed' generation but studies show they're also the toughest

The 'Coolest Generation' is dealing with the rigors of middle age with their trademark adaptability.

via Wikimedia Commons

Gen X is the most stressed generation, but also the best equipped to deal with it.

It's official: People are more stressed out than ever. Technology, a wildly unpredictable economy, political division, and changing family dynamics have us all on edge, and it's doing a number on our mental health. But there is one group that, for at least the past decade, seems to be taking on more than their fair share of the stress.

Generation X, people born between 1965 and 1979, are America's goofy middle children sandwiched between the much larger Baby Boomer and Millennial generations — both of whom get a lot more press. Gen X prides itself on being individualistic, nonconformists committed to a D.I.Y. ethic whether that means writing a punk 'zine or launching a tech start-up.

(If you just asked yourself "What's a 'zine?" you're clearly not a member ofGen X.) It's a generation marked by an aloof cool where any personal slight can be written off with a "whatever" and one that's deathly afraid of taking anything too seriously. It's a generation that was so put off by the corporate, commercial culture of the '80s it rebelled by wearing second-hand clothes and ironically embracing low-brow '70s culture.

gen x, gen z, millennials, generations, generational differences, culture, 1980s, 1970s, 1990s, childhood, adulthood Gen Xers are a particularly proud generation. Giphy

It's the generation of hip-hop, Tiger Woods, Quentin Tarrantino, the re-birth of punk rock, John Cusak movies, and Atari. Not a bad resume at all!

A big reason Gen X is so self-reliant is that it's the generation hardest hit by divorce. According to a 2004 marketing study it "went through its all-important, formative years as one of the least parented, least nurtured generations in U.S. history."

Gen X was the first generation that experienced both parents working outside the home. But, unfortunately, at the same time, childcare centers and afterschool programs had not yet emerged to a significant extent. That's why you hear so much folklore about 80s kids being allowed to run feral throughout the neighborhood or even the whole time. This is the "come home when the streetlights come on" generation, and it shows.

Now, the "Coolest Generation" finds itself somewhere between 42 and 56 and is hitting middle age. Unfortunately, that means it's now the most stressed generation in America.

Although, in true Gen X fashion, many refuse to let anyone see they're stressed.

An extensive study by Penn State showed that stress began to hit Gen X sometime in the last decade. The 2012 study discovered that Gen X had an average stress level of 5.8 (out of ten) while Millennials (3.4) and Baby Boomers (4.4) were a lot calmer.

gen x, gen z, millennials, generations, generational differences, culture, 1980s, 1970s, 1990s, childhood, adulthood For such a chill group of people, Gen X has to deal with a lot.Eric Nopanen/Unsplash

It's not just the anxieties of hitting middle age. An even more recent study shows that the trend hasn't changed in the last decade as all of the generations have aged. In 2021, 22% of Gen Xers admitted to daily struggles with stress followed by Millennials (17%), Gen Z (14%), and Baby Boomers (8%).

The APA's Stress in America Report from 2023 indicates that Gen Z may be coming for the throne soon, though, with major financial and loneliness issues weighing them down.

gen x, gen z, millennials, generations, generational differences, culture, 1980s, 1970s, 1990s, childhood, adulthood Watch and learn, Gen Z. Giphy

A big reason for the stress is having to take care of multiple generations. Many Gen Xers have to care for their aging parents as well as their children who are just starting to make their way in a world that's become much harder to afford. And that's to say nothing of Gen X's own money worries. Even though they're starting to reach retirement age, many members of the generation are woefully far away from having enough money saved up. One estimate says the average Gen Xer is about $400,000 short of what they'd need to comfortably retire. Talk about a stressor!

Gen X may have aged its way into the most stressful part of its life, but things could be a lot worse. There's no group of people better equipped to deal with stress.

When executives at Nike studied Gen X it found the generation's hallmarks are "flexibility," "innovation," and "adaptability." "They have developed strong survival skills and the ability to handle anything that comes their way," the study says.

Gen Xers may think that's just a bunch of corporate B.S. However, it's true. Gen X grew up during the AIDS epidemic, the end of the Cold War, the Challenger disaster, the late '80s and early '90s crime wave, 9/11, the Great Recession, COVID-19, and managed to survive after "My So-Called Life" was canceled.

gen x, gen z, millennials, generations, generational differences, culture, 1980s, 1970s, 1990s, childhood, adulthood It was a very sad day when "My So-Called Life" was pulled off the air. Giphy

We've survived tough times and we'll make it through these as well. Just got to follow the advice of Gen X's poet laureate, Tupac Shakur: "And it's crazy, it seems it'll never let up, but please, you got to keep your head up."

We can also look forward to grabbing a big box of popcorn and enjoying the massive Millennial meltdown that happens when they hit middle age. It's not going to be pretty.

This article originally appeared four years ago. It has been updated.

From Your Site Articles
gen x
CultureJoy
Trending Stories