Boo birds come after viral Orioles national anthem singer
Article content
Baltimore-based artist Dan Deacon performed a controversial auto-tune version of the U.S. national anthem prior to the first game of Thursday's doubleheader between the host Orioles and New York Mets at Camden Yards.
Article content
The song seemed to serve as a good-luck charm to the struggling Orioles, who went on to win both games and claim the series, but it wasn't without a few eyebrows being raised.
Article content
Article content
The musician was decked out in a Hawaiian Orioles top with a T-shirt featuring Baltimore's mascot, The Oriole Bird, when he took the field on Thursday afternoon.
Article content
One photo showed Deacon and the bird mascot in front of a computer and what appeared to be a synthesizer behind home plate.
Article content
The musician started his performance by moving his left arm while hitting his notes. He didn't drag out the performance – his version clocked in at about 75 seconds.
Article content
I think the Orioles have officially hit rock bottom pic.twitter.com/r4Tn7ZtbcW
— Ryan O'Hearn Supremacy (@Os_Supremacy) July 10, 2025
Article content
Article content
'I think the Orioles have officially hit rock bottom,' one X user commented.
Article content
'Is this considered a disgrace to the National Anthem??' another asked.
Article content
Dan Deacon is an American hero around these parts 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/k2rCI04KlS
— CONSEQUENCE (@consequence) July 10, 2025
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Edmonton Journal
9 hours ago
- Edmonton Journal
'It's a weird place to be': Mt. Joy on the rise even if if feels like their country is 'in decay'
Article content While only a few months old, one of the tracks from Mt. Joy's fourth album, Hope We Have Fun, has become an unlikely fan favourite on the band's recent tour. Article content On the softly shuffling God Loves Weirdos, the narrator shifts from optimism to acknowledging a darker reality. Article content On the hushed choruses, vocalist Matt Quinn sings about love, joy and intimate connection with a partner, offering the tender scene of a couple laughing at a gas station at 4 a.m. about a 'God Loves Weirdos' T-shirt. 'Damn, I'm still in love with you,' he sings. But elsewhere, he accepts that 'the world looks insane as it circles the drain.' Article content Article content The Philadelphia-born, Los Angeles-based band did not write overtly political tunes for this album, nor are they always directly autobiographical. But the song can be seen as a metaphor for a band on the rise during troubled times in its country. In the past couple of years, the act has graduated to stadiums as its fanbase continues to grow. They have received attention from Rolling Stone and the New York Times. They have earned one billion streams around the world and sold out iconic venues such as Madison Square Garden, Red Rocks and The Greek Theatre. They played Bonaroo in June and the Newport Folk Festival last week. Article content Article content 'All this great stuff is happening for us, but the backdrop we are in as citizens feels like it's in decay,' says Quinn, in a phone interview with Postmedia. 'It's a weird place to be, obviously, as people first, but also as artists. We're always trying to bring people joy. Our purpose feels grounded in people having a good time and a respite from their difficult lives: Come and have fun at a Mt. Joy show. We're always aware of what is going on in the world, but where does Mt. Joy fit into that? Is that becoming something that we need to address? It's something we've thought about a lot. I don't know the right answer to that. I wish I did.' Article content Article content It's not as if the band, which will play Calgary's Saddledome on Aug. 9, hasn't been more politically overt in the past. They still play the 2018 song Sheep, a soulful folk tune that Quinn says is about 'Americans becoming sheep and blindly following the ideology of Donald Trump.' Mt. Joy was even more on the nose with 2020's New President, a pre-election song that proposed America was in desperate need of fresh leadership after Trump's first term and has Quinn singing the less-than-subtle battle cry 'we're gonna march down right now. We're gonna tear down these fascist clowns' against a deceptively soft groove. Article content 'Things have changed here,' says Quinn. 'Somebody asked me in an interview if I thought that I would be allowed to make statements like that. I guess I hadn't fully thought about that, but it's a fair question. I don't know what the rules are. They seem to be changing very quickly. It's scary times. As a band, Mt. Joy, we're still trying to figure out how best to lend our voice to that.'
Winnipeg Free Press
10 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Now playing in movie theaters: 73 minutes of cat videos, for a good cause
The best of the internet's cat videos are coming to the big screen this weekend. Cat Video Fest is a 73-minute, G-rated selection of all things feline —silly, cuddly, sentimental and comedic—that's playing in more than 500 independent theaters in the U.S. and Canada. A portion of ticket proceeds benefit cat-focused charities, shelters and animal welfare organization. Since 2019, it's raised over $1 million. The videos are curated by Will Braden, the Seattle-based creator of the comedically existential shorts, Henri, le Chat Noir. His business cards read: 'I watch cat videos.' And it's not a joke or an exaggeration. Braden watches thousands of hours of internet videos to make the annual compilation. 'I want to show how broad the idea of a cat video can be so there's animated things, music videos, little mini documentaries,' Braden said. 'It isn't all just, what I call, 'America's Funniest Home Cat Videos.' It's not all cats falling into a bathtub. That would get exhausting.' Now in its eighth year, Cat Video Fest is bigger than ever, with a global presence that's already extended to the UK and Denmark, and, for the first time, to France, Spain, Japan and Brazil. Last year, the screenings made over $1 million at the box office. In the early days, it was a bit of a process trying to convince independent movie theaters to program Cat Video Fest. But Braden, and indie distributor Oscilloscope Laboratories, have found that one year is all it takes to get past that hurdle. Wednesdays What's next in arts, life and pop culture. 'Everywhere that does it wants to do it again,' Braden said. Current theatrical partners include Alamo Drafthouse, IFC Center, Nitehawk, Vidiots, Laemmle and Music Box. The screenings attract all variety of audiences, from kids and cat ladies to hipsters and grandparents and everyone in between. 'It's one of the only things, maybe besides a Pixar movie or Taylor Swift concert, that just appeals to everybody,' Braden said. And the plan is to keep going. 'We're not going to run out of cat videos and we're not going to run out of people who want to see it,' Braden said. 'All I have to do is make sure that it's really funny and entertaining every year.'
Toronto Sun
10 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
High-profile athletes join Trump at White House for revival of U.S. Presidential Fitness Test
Published Aug 01, 2025 • 4 minute read (From left) U.S. President Donald Trump speaks, flanked by golfer Bryson DeChambeau, Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butkerand and WWE CCO Triple H, prior to signing an executive order restarting the Presidential Fitness Test. Getty Images President Donald Trump on Thursday reestablished the Presidential Fitness Test for American children, a fixture of public schools for decades that gauged young people's health and athleticism with 1-mile runs, sit-ups and stretching exercises. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account 'This is a wonderful tradition, and we're bringing it back,' Trump said of the fitness test that began in 1966 but was phased out during the Obama administration. An executive order he signed Thursday also reinvigorates a national sports council that the president stocked with former and current athletes and other figures from the sports world. Several prominent athletes joined Trump and top administration officials, including allies such as friend and pro golfer Bryson DeChambeau; and others who've attracted controversy such as former New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor, a registered sex offender. It's the latest athletics-related push from Trump, an avid golfer who remains enthralled with the world of sports. He played baseball in high school and plays golf almost every weekend. Much of the domestic travel he has done this year that is not related to weekend golf games at his clubs in Florida, New Jersey and Virginia was built around attending sporting events, including the Super Bowl, Daytona 500 and UFC matches. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. "Thank you so much for allowing me to be here." Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker joins other pro athletes and extends his gratitude to President Trump during a White House event for the President's Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition. — Fox News (@FoxNews) July 31, 2025 'I was always a person that loved playing sports. I was good at sports,' Trump said. 'When you are really focused on sports, you've thought about nothing else. To an extent, this is one of the reasons I like golf. You get away for a couple of hours.' The announcement also came as Trump readies the United States to host the 2025 Ryder Cup, 2026 FIFA World Cup games and the 2028 Summer Olympics. He also signed a different executive order earlier this month mandating that federal authorities clarify whether college athletes can be considered employees of the schools they play for. Trump on Thursday said the council, known formally as the President's Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition, will also deal with various issues on college athletics, such as the transfer portal that has more easily allowed athletes to switch from school to school. The council, which will have up to 30 members, will also develop criteria for a Presidential Fitness Award. The fitness test will be administered by his health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In the test, children had to run and perform situps, pullups or pushups and a sit-and-reach test, but the program changed in 2012. It evolved into the Youth Fitness Program, which the government said 'moved away from recognizing athletic performance to providing a barometer on student's health.' Then-first lady Michelle Obama also promoted her 'Let's Move' initiative focused on reducing childhood obesity through diet and exercise. The Youth Fitness Test, according to a Health and Human Services Department website last updated in 2023 but still online Thursday, 'minimizes comparisons between children and instead supports students as they pursue personal fitness goals for lifelong health.' Among those who joined Trump on Thursday, in addition to DeChambeau and Taylor, were Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker; Swedish golfer Annika Sorenstam; and WWE chief content officer Paul 'Triple H' Levesque, the son-in-law of Trump's education secretary, Linda McMahon. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Taylor, who has appeared on stage with Trump at campaign rallies, pleaded guilty in New York in 2011 to misdemeanor criminal charges of sexual misconduct. He was sentenced to six years of probation and ordered to register as a sex offender. He was arrested in 2021 in Broward County, Florida, and charged with failing to report a change of residence as a sex offender. He later pleaded no contest to an amended charge, was ordered to pay $261 in court fees, and the case was closed, court records show. 'I'm just proud to be on this team,' Taylor said as he briefly took the microphone at the signing. 'I don't know why, I don't know what we're supposed to be doing, but I'm here to serve. And I'm here to serve you.' The NFL distanced itself from comments Butker made last year during a commencement address at a Kansas college, when he said most of the women receiving degrees were probably more excited about getting married and having children than entering the workforce and that some Catholic leaders were 'pushing dangerous gender ideologies onto the youth of America.' Butker also assailed Pride Month and railed against Democratic President Joe Biden's stance on abortion. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Butker later formed a political action committee designed to encourage Christians to vote for what the PAC describes as 'traditional values.' Sorenstam faced backlash for accepting the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Trump on Jan. 7, 2021, the day after rioters spurred by Trump's false claims about his election loss to Biden stormed the Capitol in Washington. Other well-known figures in athletics are on the council but did not attend the event Thursday. They include retired golfers Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, hockey legend Wayne Gretzky and Roger Goodell, commissioner of the National Football League. The return of the exam brought mixed reactions from some who study exercise. Trump is putting a welcome focus on physical activity, but a test alone won't make America's children healthier, said Laura Richardson, a kinesiology professor at the University of Michigan. The exam is only a starting point that should be paired with lessons to help all students improve, she said. 'It's not just, you get a score and you're doomed,' said Richardson, whose teaching focuses on obesity. 'But you get a score, and we can figure out a program that really helps the improvement.' Toronto & GTA Columnists Canada World Sunshine Girls
