Just 30 Random Products We Really Love

A fancy espresso machine, adjustable face mask, collapsible travel cup, and other products we (the BuzzFeed Shopping team) truly adore.

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Source: https://www.buzzfeed.com/kaylaboyd/random-products-we-really-love

The Clippers Beat The Nuggets To Secure The No. 2 Seed In The West

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The Clippers went into their Wednesday night showdown with the Nuggets with a chance to secure the No. 2 seed in the West, and they did just that with a 124-111 victory, setting them on a collision course with the Dallas Mavericks in the opening round of the playoffs starting next week.

They did it behind big games from their two main stars, with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George finishing with 26 points and 27 points respectively, leading all scorers on the night despite some spotty shooing stretches from each of them.

Nikola Jokic was his usual MVP-level self in the loss, finishing with 17 points, 13 assists, and seven rebounds on the night, but it was Jerami Grant who led the way for Denver with a 25-point outburst on 9-of-14 shooting, including 4-of-7 from three-point territory.

As if we needed reminding, Jokic showed again in the first half why he’s one of the best passing big men in the game today with this full-court bomb to Michael Porter Jr. for the layup. It was one of six assists for Joker in the first half, to go along with 15 points, as he led Denver to a 58-50 lead at the break.

Bol Bol continued his solid play in the first half, putting up seven points on 3-of-4 shooting and throwing down a highlight-reel dunk on the break.

Kawhi had 14 points in the first half and came out firing in the third quarter, and the Clippers were able to close the gap and take a 70-63 lead, thanks to a 13-0 run midway through the period.

George had a rough shooting start, going 3-of-13, and 1-of-5 from behind the arc in the first half, but he hit back-to-back threes in the third quarter to help build the Clippers’ lead.

But Grant came up big for the Nuggets during that stretch, scoring 13 points in the quarter, and he capped it off by throwing down a huge jam with the clock winding down to give Denver a 92-90 advantage heading into the final frame.

Lou Williams was his usual self, dropping 22 points in just over 24 minutes of action off the bench Wednesday as he continues to work his way back into a rhythm.

The Clippers took their largest lead of the game midway through the fourth quarter, 108-99, thanks in part to George, who came alive after a slow start, scoring 19 points in the second half, including several big shots down the stretch to keep the game out of reach.

For Denver, the loss locks them into a first round matchup with 6-seeded Utah (after OKC locked down the 5-seed with a win over Miami) that figures to be very interesting, as neither team is currently at full strength and will have to continue adapting to new rotations in the playoffs. The full Western Conference playoff bracket is now set aside from the wild chase for the play-in series and a date with the Lakers.

1. Los Angeles Lakers v. 8. Blazers/Grizzlies/Suns/Spurs
4. Houston Rockets v. 5. Oklahoma City Thunder

2. Los Angeles Clippers v. 7. Dallas Mavericks
3. Denver Nuggets v. 6. Utah Jazz

Source: https://uproxx.com/dimemag/clippers-beat-nuggets-clinch-two-seed-west-playoff-picture-bracket/

Jimmy Butler On Chris Paul Throwing The Ball Off Duncan Robinson: ‘You Gotta Deal With Me’

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The Heat and Thunder met on Wednesday night in a battle between mid-seeds in the East and West, with Oklahoma City able to sew up the 5-seed out West with a win and secure a matchup with the Houston Rockets in the first round.

Miami, which is locked into a matchup already with Indiana after the Pacers win earlier in the day, came out aggressive and ever and the game lived up its billing as a showdown between two of the league’s most pleasant surprises this season — and edgiest squads. That edge for both comes from their star players and leaders in Chris Paul and Jimmy Butler, and unsurprisingly those two had a bit of a spat in the late second quarter.

Paul stripped Duncan Robinson in the corner and then had plenty to say to the young sharpshooter, and then after stealing the inbounds pass from Butler to Robinson, pelted Robinson in the back with the ball to avoid being trapped in the corner and give OKC possession.

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It is an incredibly Chris Paul sequence, and on the next trip down the floor, Butler made sure to send Paul a message on behalf of his teammate, dipping his shoulder into Paul’s chest and knocking him to the floor.

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After the game, Butler was asked about the brief back-and-forth and made it clear that he won’t tolerate anyone, even a friend like CP3, going after his young teammates.

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We likely won’t to see any further payoff of a Butler-CP3 pester-off in the bubble, but it’s clear that both stars are looking to set a tone for their teams going into the playoffs. Paul, in a game that was meaningful but not absolutely critical for OKC, was continuing to give it all on the defensive end and do anything he could to win his team extra possessions, while Butler sticks up for his guys and only continues to assert himself as a leader on the Heat who will do what’s necessary for his teammates.

Source: https://uproxx.com/dimemag/chris-paul-duncan-robinson-jimmy-butler-ball-throw-video-reaction/

The Weeknd Donates $300,000 To Help Victims Of The Beirut Explosion

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On August 4, the port city of Beirut in Lebanon suffered a pair of devasting explosions, the latter of which has been labeled as one of the most powerful non-nuclear explosions in history. In the end, at least 220 were killed, 7,000 injured, 300,000 were left homeless, and a total of $10-15 billion worth of property was damaged. As the country looks to rebuild and heal, a process that has become much more difficult thanks to the resignation of many government leaders, including the prime minister, The Weeknd offers his contribution to victims in the relief process.

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In an announcement made by The Weeknd’s manager, Wassim “Sal” Slaiby, whose wife Rima Fakih has been working with relief efforts for Lebanon, he revealed that The Weeknd made a donation of $300,000 to Global Aid for Lebanon to aid with relief efforts. “I am so honored and humbled to work with artist’s who have such deep care for the world and right now for our brothers & sisters of Lebanon who are in pain and need our collective help,” Slaiby wrote in his statement. “I want to thank my brother @theweeknd for his generous and class act of donating $300,000 to the Global Aid for Lebanon campaign.”

The Weeknd’s donation is just his latest in recent contributions for a better cause. At the end of June, the singer donated $1 million to pandemic relief with half a million going to Scarborough Health Network (SHN) and the other half a million going to MusiCares.

Check out Slaiby’s Instagram post about The Weeknd’s donation above.

Source: https://uproxx.com/music/the-weeknd-donates-help-victims-beirut-explosion/

Has Demon-Centric Shonen Series ‘Noragami’ Ended Yet?

Noragami follows a middle school student named Hiyori Iki, who ends up in a bus accident one day while trying to protect a stranger. As a result, her soul begins to leave her body at seemingly random intervals. During one of these incidents, she becomes familiar with the Near Shore, a world where humans and strange creatures live, as well as the Far Shore, where demons and humans live. Through her dalliances there, she meets a nameless god without his own shrine: Yato. 

Yato will accept and make any wish come true for just five yen, so Hiyori naturally asks him to fix the peculiar issue she has with her soul. This begins a partnership between the pair as they enjoy several adventures together while dealing with others with similar problems to Hiyori’s. The last season left off on a cliffhanger, but as we won’t spoil anything here, just know it’s highly likely a new season will continue the tale. 

In the meantime, be sure to catch up with the first two seasons and read up on the manga so you’re ready to go whenever the third season is announced. By then, it might have been quite a while since you’ll have hung out with Yato and crew, so it’s good to bone up on your knowledge about the series while it’s away. 

Source : https://www.distractify.com/p/is-noragami-over

Why Did Blockbuster Go out of Business? Only One Store Remains

The way people watched movies was vastly different a few decades ago, which was a step up from how they were watched a decade before that. First, to see a movie, people would have to go to the theater and would wish the entertainment could be brought to the comfort of our own homes. As technology improved, so did the comfort. 

Before we knew it, having TVs and VCRs in the home was pretty standard, and movie rental businesses were born. They evolved with the times, switching from the then outdated VCR to the new DVD format, then Blu-rays. This rental business was dominated by Blockbuster who seemingly had a store on every corner all over the U.S. and Canada. So, why did Blockbuster go out of business the following decade? Let’s take a look. 

Blockbuster used to run the video rental game.

According to History.com, the very first Blockbuster video-rental store opened up in Dallas, Texas, on Oct. 19, 1985. The franchise was the first to be able to scale up quickly in terms of video rentals — opening up three stores within the year. 

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“At a time when most video stores were small-scale operations featuring a limited selection of titles, Blockbuster opened with some 8,000 tapes displayed on shelves around the store and a computerized check-out process,” the site reported. 

The franchise scaled up really fast and the demand for video rental stores were in high demand. By 1988, Blockbuster was the leading chain and had 400 stores. By the early 1990s, it expanded even more and had impressively launched its 1000th store — and went overseas.

All seemed to be going really well for the company — until it wasn’t anymore. 

Why did Blockbuster go out of business then?

According to a 2014 Forbes article, the reason for Blockbuster going out of business can be summed up in one word: Netflix. In 1997, Netflix was launched — not as we know it today because it initially started as an online DVD rental service. Also, at the same time, Amazon dipped its hands into video and DVDs. 

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Source: iStock

To compound this hit to Blockbuster even more, pay-per-view also gained more popularity at the time which allowed people to rent and view movies right at home, without needing to leave the house. This route eliminated the “rented out” issue with the newly released movies. 

In response to all this, in 1997 Blockbuster tried to compete with Netflix and launched its own online DVD rental service — and it got rid of late fees, which likely was a good portion of the revenue. Given the fact that most of us don’t even remember Blockbuster tried its hand at online rentals, it tells us everything we need to know: The venture was not successful. 

The company tried to stay afloat, but as Netflix’s popularity grew and then launched into streaming, it was all over for the now outdated Blockbuster. 

On Sept. 23, 2010, Blockbuster found itself in $900 million in debt and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. At first the store was hopeful to be able to keep its then 300 stores open, but by 2014, all but one Blockbuster had closed. 

As of Aug. 2020, there’s still one Blockbuster store open — owned by Ken and Debbie Tisher under a franchise agreement by Blockbuster owner Dish Network. The store is located in Bend, Ore., and it was recently put on Airbnb as a temporary measure during the COVID-19 pandemic to generate some income and give people the ultimate nostalgic sleepover experience. 

Source : https://www.distractify.com/p/why-did-blockbuster-go-out-of-business

Strongest Women VS Strongest Fish

Strongest Women VS Strongest Fish
In this episode of BlacktipH, I go fishing with three of the strongest women in the world, and they attempt to battle one of the strongest fish in the ocean! My guests included: Stephanie Cohen (one of the strongest female powerlifters in history), Sarah Backman (8x world champion arm wrestler), and Kristen Nun (fitness and social media celebrity). Our goal was to catch monster Goliath Groupers using stand-up tackle. All three ladies discovered very quickly how powerful these sea monsters truly are!

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BlacktipH Fishing brings you some of the most exciting fishing videos on the web. Our host, Josh Jorgensen, is an extreme angler who has an adrenaline seeking appetite for monster fish! Whether it’s catching monster fish from the beach, from a kayak or from a boat, Josh pushes the limits of big game fishing. Our content has been featured on Discovery, National Geographic, Today Show and many more!

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○ BlacktipH Surf Fishing Shark Rigs → http://bit.ly/blacktiph-surf-shark-rig
○ BlacktipH Monster Shark Rigs → http://bit.ly/blacktiph-monster-shark-rig
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○ MAIN CAMERA SETUP:
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*The above links are from Amazon Associates*

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