Tracee Ellis Ross on the Joy and Loneliness of Solo Travel
The host of a new travel show, Ms. Ross, the star of 'Black-ish' and other well known sitcoms like 'Girlfriends,' has been called 'the definition of the rich Black auntie.' As the daughter Diana Ross raised in the fashion world, she knows not everyone can travel as lavishly as she does, and her goal isn't necessarily to be relatable. Instead, she aims to be 'transparent,' she said in a recent interview, about what she feels and looks like when traveling alone.
'Solo Traveling With Tracee Ellis Ross,' now available for free on The Roku Channel, premieres at a time when solo travel is growing ever more popular, despite criticisms that it can be scary, boring or unsatisfying. Black women in particular, who are actively prioritizing their well-being, are encouraging one another in Reddit threads and in the comments section of travel enthusiasts' social media accounts. Within these spaces, women are swapping notes on issues like safety, racism, sexism and loneliness — all of which Ms. Ross discusses during her travels to Spain, Mexico and Morocco.
The following interview with Ms. Ross has been edited and condensed for clarity.
I don't believe in advice. I offer experience and hope. And this is my version. My transparency is about how I can give you a jumping-off point.
I say this in the Mexico episode: There's got to be something between cat ladies and Joan of Arc. You know what I mean?
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Fox News
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- Fox News
Tourists face dangerous 'crush-and-grab' pickpocket schemes in major city
When it comes to traveling abroad, some people may be worried about their safety and want to keep their guard up. In the "r/ParisTravelGuide" forum on Reddit, a traveler asked others for advice on pickpockets. "My family will be traveling to Paris next month," the person wrote. "It will be our first time visiting Europe, and we are very excited — but also a bit nervous." The user added, "We tend to look quite innocent, and we're worried we might be easy targets for pickpockets. We won't have a tour guide and will be managing everything on our own." Others on the platform took to the comments section to share advice and their own experiences. "Just know they target tourists," wrote one person. "They only hang out in tourist areas and by your clothing it will be obvious you are not Parisian. They never bother me and I've never been robbed nor has a single person I know." Another user shared, "In the last 2 years, I've stopped two pickpockets in the subway. In one case, they were reaching into someone's backpack and in the other for a phone in a loose back pocket. The strategy is to keep [your] items in places that are difficult to access." Said a different person, "Stay alert in touristy areas, keep your bag in front of you on the Metro, and avoid engaging with strangers who approach you (anyone)." One person wrote, "Be mindful. Carry bags that close, wear a cross-body bag, keep all zippers closed, don't flash cash or jewelry. And if a stranger approaches you to hold something or offers to take your photo, walk away." Said yet another person, "I'm staggered how many tourists I see on the Metro with a backpack on. Makes it so easy for pickpockets to steal from them." A Redditor wrote, "The [number] of people I watched on their phones by the doors of the trains was staggering and does present an opportunistic grab-and-run scenario. Don't do that." Each year some 2,000 Americans report their passports stolen or lost in Paris, according to the U.S. Embassy in France. The Embassy and Consulate in France have a whole page dedicated to "Pickpockets in Paris." Travelers are advised not to bring along more than $50 to $60 in cash. Says the site, "The first rule of thumb is don't have anything more in your wallet than you are willing to lose." The embassy also advises bringing only one credit card or ATM card along and only one piece of identification. Travelers are also advised not to bring along more than $50 to $60 in cash. Tourist spots such as the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and the Champs-Elysées are areas where visitors are most likely to be pickpocketed, according to the embassy. "Americans in Paris should be particularly alert to thieves who commonly work near tourist attractions such as museums, monuments, restaurants, hotels, beaches, trains, train stations, airports, subways and target vehicles with non-local license plates," the embassy cautions. The embassy also discusses the different tactics pickpocketers use, whether on the street or on public transportation. "Two or more people will approach you and ask for directions." If riding the Metro, the embassy says that "the most popular is the crush-and-grab. You will be swarmed by several people all trying to get on or off." "While they are pushing you, they are also picking your pockets," notes the advisory. "Another trick is to grab the purse of someone sitting right by the door and to hop off just as the doors are closing." Pickpocketers most frequently use a distraction technique on the streets. "Two or more people will approach you and ask for directions, try to sell you stuff or just crowd you. While you are occupied with one person, another is picking your pocket," the embassy says. Travelers should also watch out for something getting spilled or thrown on them, as a criminal may offer to help clean up while another person picks your pocket. The Consular Section of the Embassy has information on how to replace certain items which have been stolen or lost.
Tom's Guide
2 hours ago
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Roku's new ad-free streaming service Howdy costs $3 — but I'm still scratching my head
Roku just announced Howdy, a new streaming service that's the company's latest foray into the streaming landscape. The service will cost $2.99 a month and is a subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) streaming service, a la Netflix or HBO Max. It aims to offer "ad-free, high-quality entertainment" for "less than a cup of coffee," as Roku founder and CEO Anthony Wood put it in today's announcement. But that wasn't all Wood had to say. "Howdy is ad-free," he continued, "and designed to complement, not compete with, premium services.' After reading through the press release, I agree with Wood — this can't compete with premium services. However, I'm still scratching my head because I'm not sure it can compete with free streaming services either. Currently, there are two types of streaming services focused on delivering you thousands of hours of shows and movies. First, there are services like Netflix and HBO Max, which charge anywhere from $7 to $20+ a month and offer original shows and movies, live sports and deep libraries of content. Then there are free streaming services like Tubi and Pluto TV, which offer deep libraries of shows and movies for free, but instead of charging you a monthly subscription, they make you watch ads. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Howdy appears to sit somewhere in the middle. It charges you money, like Netflix, but it doesn't offer the same variety of content. It offers older, licensed content from partners like Lionsgate, Warner Bros. Discovery and FilmRise, such as 'Mad Max: Fury Road,' 'The Blind Side,' 'Weeds' and 'Kids in the Hall.' There's also mention of some Roku Original titles, which largely consist of reality and unscripted programming. That content mix is on par with what you get with a free streaming service. In fact, Roku already offers a free streaming service that offers most (if not all) of this content: The Roku Channel. As far as I can tell, that makes Howdy just The Roku Channel without ads, which begs the question: Who would pay $3 a month to remove ads from The Roku Channel? The answer I keep coming back to is, nobody. I can't think of anyone who would do this. However ... Amazon does offer similar tiers for its Prime Video streaming service. While you can subscribe to Prime Video a la carte, most people get it included with their Amazon Prime subscription. So, for this argument, let's say it's "free." But it comes with ads. If you want to remove ads, there's a $2.99 fee you can pay to remove ads. Maybe this is Roku's calculus. People do pay to remove ads on Prime Video. Lots of people. So maybe Roku thinks $2.99 is the magic number people will pay to remove ads. If that is the streaming company's calculus, though, I think they've made a grave error. Prime Video offers movies fresh out of theaters, original shows, etc. Think "Reacher" and "The Summer I Turned Pretty." Prime Video is one of those "premium services' that Wood says Howdy is designed to complement, rather than compete with. But it's precisely those premium offerings that convince people to pay to remove ads. At present, there's nothing I've seen that should convince people to say hello to Howdy and add it to their streaming services budget. I certainly won't be paying for it. Malcolm has been with Tom's Guide since 2022, and has been covering the latest in streaming shows and movies since 2023. He's not one to shy away from a hot take, including that "John Wick" is one of the four greatest films ever made. Here's what he's been watching lately:
Cosmopolitan
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How Wednesday's Emma Myers fell in love with work and bonded with Jenna Ortega on season 2 of the Netflix show
It's the eve of Wednesday season 2's release, a marquee event for the Netflix juggernaut nearly three years in the making, and 23-year-old actress Emma Myers - who plays Enid, the sunshiny best friend to Jenna Ortega's grumpy Wednesday - is emphatically telling me she is not actually a famous person. "I know I'm in some really cool things," she grants, punctuating her point with her hands. "And I know maybe people look at my Instagram like, 'Wow, she has a lot of followers.' But I can go anywhere and nobody really bothers me. If you saw me walking down the street, you wouldn't think twice." This might be convincing if not for the obvious moment looming; Wednesday season 1 broadcast Myers' face to the masses as Netflix's #1 English show of all time with 252.1 million views, enough for every human being in the United Kingdom to watch Myers play a bubbly bestie werewolf three and a half times over. With season 2 part 1 out on August 6, there may quickly be a world in which the actor is stopped on the street more often, especially as she rapidly scales her resume outside the Tim Burton 1 -verse. 1. Being part of the Tim Burton-verse has its perks. Among them? Check-ins and pool parties. "He threw us a pool party when we got to Romania for season one, just to say hi to all of us," Emma says. "I remember when I first got to Romania, I got a call from Tim and I was like, "Oh boym what's going on?" I answered the phone and he was like, "Yeah, I just want to check on you, see you're doing." Crazy to get a checkup call from Tim Burton. When she's not wolfing out as Enid, Myers leads Netflix's adaptation of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder as pragmatic teen sleuth Pip Fitz-Amobi - she's right in the middle of filming season 2 now, firing off a text to her co-star/friend Asha Banks right before our interview - which she followed by playing responsible big sis Natalie in the near-billion-dollar hit A Minecraft Movie. "I had 9,000 followers on Instagram when Wednesday came out," Myers says, finally conceding to a little fame, albeit the digital variety. "And then I had something like 5 million in three days. It was crazy. Right now, I don't really feel any different than I used to, though. I'm still pretty me." "Pretty Emma" looks a lot like it did before people knew her name and made Reddit boards dedicated to documenting snippets of her life. While Enid in Wednesday is a gregarious optimist dressed in rainbow, Myers herself is more introspective. "She couldn't be further from Enid in real life," Jenna Ortega agrees, hitting pause on her packed production schedule to tell Cosmopolitan about her on-and-off-screen friend. "But there's the same underlying sweetness. Emma is a bit more mild mannered and enigmatic that way." Mild manners don't mean a lack of enthusiasm, either; Myers has that in spades - for her family (she has three close sisters), for her characters (she makes them all playlists to get into their headspaces), and for her interests (she's loving The Last of Us, d4vd, and of course Minecraft) - but she channels it all cooly, almost like she's letting you in on a secret. "I think Enid is so far removed from myself that it's easier for me to watch the character back," Myers says. "I like my quiet time, I like to be by myself. But it doesn't mean I'm socially anxious and shaking when I get in public and try to talk to people. I am adaptable. I can be whatever the situation needs me to be." Right now - sitting cross-legged in her Georgia bedroom surrounded by childhood stuffed animals - , the situation needs her to be open about her life, from her past as a self-proclaimed "pathological liar," to her dating deal breakers, to coping with the realities of a life in the public eye, even if she's not ready to call herself famous just yet. Being Emma Myers, she delivers. Do you think opposites attract or do you prefer spending time with people who have similar interests? There's quality in either. At the end of the day, I don't think interest is what matters or what brings people closer. It's more about whether you get along and can find common ground. Interest is just one half of it. How do you think your on-screen characters, whether Enid or Pip or Natalie, would handle being in love compared to you? I get so invested. I'm much more of a deep lover than casual. Enid's definitely more casual with it all. She's like, "Yeah, whatever happens, happens. I'm interested in this guy, and I'm going to do all this fun stuff with him, but it's not the end of the world if things don't work out." Whereas I am like, "This is it or nothing." Pip is more like me, I think she is more of a serious relationship person. If we're together, it's serious, not casual. And Natalie has got too much to worry about, honestly. She does not have time. She's in Minecraft!2 I don't think she needs anything else piling up in her life. 2. Joining Minecraft was both a dream and an anxiety for Emma, who avidly plays the game in her own free time, "I was like, 'Oh this can be either good or bad," she says. "And I hope it's good.'" Considering the film just made the list of the 75 highest-grossing movies of all time, I think we can agree it went well! As a more serious relationship person, would you say you're a romantic at heart? I'm definitely a romantic at heart, but I'm probably one of those people that doesn't show it. I feel it but in reality I'm like, "Yeah, okay bro." I'm playing it cool, but in my head I'm like, "ahhh!" Who was the first crush that sparked an "ahhh!"feeling for you, whether fictional or real? I was in love with Anakin Skywalker. I was in love with him. Hayden Christensen was my on-screen crush since I was little. I just loved all the Skywalkers, loved Luke Skywalker, loved Anakin, and was huge into Star Wars. Also, Legolas and Aragorn from Lord of the Rings! They were my first crushes growing up. There's still just something about Legolas... There's just something about the mute, only-speaks-when-necessary mysterious guy. Has having a career in the public eye had an impact on dating for you? Is dating part of your life right now? I'm not dating so much right at the minute because I'm really busy, but it's ever changing. You don't meet very many people besides people you work with, so it's hard in that sense. And distance is always really hard if you're away working. But when you find somebody who understands what you're working on and what you're doing, it doesn't have a negative impact as much as you think it would. You just have to find the right person. What is a relationship dealbreaker for you? You can always tell when a guy has grown up with sisters or respects women. If I hear a guy say something disrespectful to a girl, instantly I'm like, "Okay, I don't care if this girl was really mean to you. I don't care. Let's not talk like that." That's a turnoff for me. It's a deal-breaker because my life is full of women. I've got three sisters, I love every single woman in my life. If I hear somebody speaking about a woman disrespectfully? No. People tell on themselves. If that's how they're talking about other women to you, it gives you a sense of how they might be talking about you. Literally. It's a tell. It makes me think about them so differently and wonder "how are you going to speak about me?" It's definitely one of those things you have to take into consideration. Slim pickings these days. In moments of "slim pickings," it's nice to focus on other kinds of relationships, like friendships. On screen of course, Enid and Wednesday are the true blue besties. What is Jenna Ortega like as a friend in real life? I love her so much. We have such a fun time together. And she's producing this next season so she had a lot more creative input and was always telling me, "If there's something you don't like or something you're not comfortable with, let me know and I'll be your person." She definitely was looking out for the cast in that sense, but she's also just such a great friend. You can confide in her. Our friendship was a natural progression but I instantly felt really close to her because she's so cool, so open, and such a lovely person. It mirrors your characters, in a way. How would you say Enid and Wednesday's friendship has evolved from season 1 to season 2? They both have a deep understanding of one another. I think their respect for each others' needs is really lovely. Even though all Enid wants to do is be touchy and hug, she still respects Wednesday's need for space and alone time. And Wednesday respects what Enid likes and what Enid needs. Their friendship is really beautiful. Even though Enid's got boys chasing after her, she could care less. She's got her priorities straight. She knows who her best friend is. Exactly. Sisters before misters. Along with more Enid and Wednesday moments, I'm hoping we see more of Wednesday's mischievous prankster side in season 2, too, given it's what got her sent to Nevermore in the first place. Are you a prankster? Have you ever been pranked? I definitely was a pranker, but more in an evil sense. An evil sense? I was a pathological liar as a kid. For no reason I would just make up the most random scenarios and tell people that they actually happened to me. And I would get in a lot of trouble for it all the time. I just couldn't help myself for some reason. Now to make up for it, I'm overly truthful. I think I just really wanted to be an actor, so I would just lie all the time about everything. What kind of lies? Like little ones? No, no, no. Like I would go around telling random people huge family secrets that were not real, and they'd believe me. And then I'd have to go and apologize and be like, "Yeah, I lied about that. I'm sorry." Insane stuff. But I definitely have been pranked before. I'm mostly the one doing the pranking though, because I find it amusing. A flair for the dramatic arts, even at a young age! Yeah, just for practice. So you've left your prankster era behind. What would you call this period of your own life? Honestly, it's just my work era. Maybe I will also give myself the fun and freedom title too, because it's true. I'm having fun and I'm free. What is your relationship like to work? It's always flopping back and forth. Some days, I question why I decided to do this. But then on the really good days, I know why I decided to do it. I genuinely love acting. I love meeting new people, I love the people I work with, and I love telling stories and getting to play different characters. So at the end of the day, even if I have hard days and want to quit, it never lasts for that long. It's refreshing to hear you say that, honestly. No matter how much you love what you do, there are going to be challenging moments, that's so normal. It's always a mixed bag, and it can be hard. People are going to have opinions on what your life looks like and will assume things that may not be accurate. Everybody's going to have something to say about what you're wearing3, what you look like, and what you're doing, and you just have to let it go. At the end of the day, these people really don't know you. You have to let go and ignore it. 3. What are Emma's fashion favourites? A good pair of jorts, baggy jeans, sweatshirts and her five pairs of Pokemon pajamas featuring Snorlax and Charizard. What is the oddest rumor you've ever heard about yourself? Any time I post one of my friends, people will say we're fake friends and I'm doing it for PR. It's so strange to see me actually genuinely loving somebody and posting them on Instagram and everybody saying I'm "posting pictures for PR reasons." Very strange. But I've also seen a rumor that my older sister is estranged from our family because she's not in any pictures with us, and that's because she's been in law school and doesn't live with us because she's off being smart, being a lawyer. I don't have any recent pictures with her because of that but everybody seems to think that she's estranged and doesn't speak to us, which is not true. I love my older sister. That's a wild assumption to make about anyone, especially someone you do not know. I know. People want to have opinions about every single relationship you have. It's just how it goes, I guess. You learn to ignore it. Like, guys, I love my sister! And I will only post people on my Instagram if I actually do like them! I also feel like having a fake friendship would actually be more work than just being friends with someone. Yeah, and I'm definitely not posting my friends on my Instagram if I don't like them. I don't even think I would bother to keep up the facade of having a fake friendship, to be honest. How do you decide what to share on social media 4? I used to post way more, but I got uncomfortable with the lines that people were crossing in my comments and in my DMs. Now, it's more spur of the moment. 4. One thing you won't see on Emma's Instagram often? Selfies. "I could never really figure out how to do it as a kid, and I think I was just like, "Oh it's not for me," Emma says, There is one exception from her teen years, though: "Most of my pictures of me at 14 are with that stupid dog filter. I literally cannot find a photo of me at 14 without the dog Snapchat filter on. It's awful. What are some fan interactions that have stayed with you over time in a more positive sense? One time, I met a girl at a convention and she had somehow gotten together a bunch of fans for my birthday and made me this huge picture book. Every single fan had written out a handwritten note and they made a playlist of songs they thought I would like, a collage of all of my interests, movies I should watch, all sorts of stuff. I have it in my room because it's so heartwarming. I was like, "Why would you sit there and make this for me?? That's crazy." And they were like, "Oh, we just really wanted to do it because we love you." I still have that book. Including recommendations based on your taste is such a wow. Did you actually take the recs? I went through and listened to every song, yes. Clearly your fans are proud of you. Of all the scenes you've filmed in your career thus far, which makes you the proudest of yourself? I'm really proud of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder because I didn't have long to train for it. I did a British accent, and it's not halfway bad! I wasn't going to take the job initially because I was so scared about doing the accent and not having time to perfect it. But I was like, 'You know what? There's no better way to learn than just throwing yourself right into it.' So I did it and I'm pretty proud. It was great. I remember looking up whether you were British or not after watching. No way! You made me question it, I had to fact check. That's perfect. The fandoms of your projects are delightfully active. Would you say you're part of any fandoms yourself right now? What do you give attention to when you're having your quiet time? I wouldn't say I'm part of any fandoms right now, but I do love The Last of Us. Do you know d4vd? He's got a great album that just came out. And honestly, I've just been playing a lot of Minecraft. It's great Minecraft cast an actor who genuinely plays the game. Did you anticipate the wild reception that movie would get when you signed on5 ? I was a bit scared because Minecraft's so beloved. I was like, "Oh, this could go either really good or really, really bad," and it went really, really good! It went well because the movie and the marketing doesn't take itself too seriously. We're all here to have fun. It's a goofy movie. The point of it is to go see it and laugh and have fun. 5. Another thing Emma didn't anticipate? Her reaction to stepping onto set the first time. "The first set I saw was our forest set and it was so cool because I played so much as a kid. Getting to see that in front of me, it really made me feel like I was actually in the game." What is the last thing that made you laugh? How would you describe your sense of humor? Nostalgia gets to me. My sisters and I have been saving lots of memes of where we grew up in Florida and they're so accurate that I can't help but cackle at them. That sort of stuff gets me, but also just dumb humor. My younger sister has got the stupidest sense of humor but it's so funny. I laugh a lot. It doesn't take much to get me to laugh. It's nice to be a person who laughs a lot. What's the biggest lesson you've learned about relationships in your life so far that helps keep you laughing loud and often? Try and understand other people. Although you might come from different backgrounds, might have different opinions, different beliefs, different views, or different careers, nobody else's life has less value than yours. If you're able to be quiet and see things from another perspective, it gives you understanding. That's definitely something that I've learned. Wednesday season 2 starts on Netflix on Wednesday 6th August
