CHILL OUT

Actor Tom Hardy Wins Martial Arts Championship

Hollywood actor Tom Hardy is no stranger to combat sports, having played “Tommy Conlon” in the mixed martial arts (MMA) movie Warrior. Hardy recently proved his grappling mettle — by winning a medal — at the UMAC Milton Keynes BJJ Open 2022 last weekend in Buckinghamshire, England. Hardy’s participation was kept under wraps until the “Venom” actor took the mats, likely to keep the event from turning into a media circus. The 45-year-old Hardy blew through the competition and eventually won gold with a slick armbar submission over local ham-and-egger Andy Leatherland.

Avatar 2 Will Be ‘More Emotional’ Than The Original

Director James Cameron spoke about the Avatar sequel - “Avatar: The Way of Water,” which will debut in theatres in December, and said it is different from the original. “I think it’s very emotional,” Cameron said of the sequel. “I think it’s more emotional than the first film. I think it focuses more on character and relationship dynamics than the first film did, but it definitely delivers on the spectacle.” “Avatar” is the highest-grossing film of all time, having raked in more than $2.8 billion at the box office. Entertainment industry observers are watching closely to see if Cameron’s sequel can draw people back to Pandora -- and into theatres -- once again.

Facebook Whistleblower Launches Nonprofit To Make Social Media Healthier

Former Facebook employee-turned-whistleblower Frances Haugen announced a new nonprofit with the goal of making “social media healthier”. The new group appears to build on the solutions she’s proposed to lawmakers and social media companies themselves about how to make platforms safer, based in part on her experience as a former product manager on Facebook’s civic misinformation team. Haugen has become a well-known figure since leaking tens of thousands of pages of internal documents and later revealing her identity on “60 Minutes” last year. She also testified before Congress.

David Bowie Honoured With An ‘Icon’ Stone On London’s Music Walk Of Fame

David Bowie was posthumously honoured with a paving stone on the London Music Walk of Fame on Thursday. The pioneering musician joins the likes of The Who, Amy Winehouse, Madness and Soul II Soul on the cultural attraction trail in the city’s famed Camden Town area. The stone, depicting a music record with the word ‘icon’ on it, was unveiled at a ceremony where David’s hits were played. Woody Woodmansey – the drummer from Bowie’s band The Spiders from Mars – led the proceedings. Speaking to Reuters he said: ‘It’s another landmark for his legacy basically music, the films, the videos, and everything he did for the culture.

Formula 1 On The Streets Of Belgrade

David Coulthard drove a Red Bull car through the central streets of Belgrade and reminded us of 1939 when the Belgrade Grand Prix was held, even though the Second World War had started. The retired Coulthard was now part of the spectacle that once again attracted a large number of Formula 1 fans. On the stretch from Student Park to Terazi, Belgraders enjoyed the speed and sound of the Red Bull with which Sebastian Vettel became champion in 2011.

Google CEO Tells Employees Not To ‘Equate Fun With Money’

At a companywide all-hands meeting this week, Sundar Pichai was faced with tough questions from employees related to cuts to travel and entertainment budgets, managing productivity, and potential layoffs, according to audio obtained by CNBC. Pichai was asked, in a question that was highly rated by staffers on Google’s internal Dory system, why the company is “nickel-and-diming employees” by slashing travel and swag budgets at a time when “Google has record profits and huge cash reserves,” as it did coming out of the Covid pandemic. “I remember when Google was small and scrappy,” he said. “Fun didn’t always — we shouldn’t always equate fun with money. I think you can walk into a hard-working startup and people may be having fun and it shouldn’t always equate to money.”