Latest news with #BrownBear
South Wales Argus
3 days ago
- Business
- South Wales Argus
Brown Bear Games turns Pokémon cards into positivity
In an area with better transport links than their prior Barry store, dedicated customers to the cult trading card game Pokémon can indulge in anything and everything associated with the hobby within the shop's walls. The colourful and eye-catching shop floor is just the beginning, as upstairs houses an exclusive gaming area that sees frequent use from players across Newport and competitors from the rest of the UK. Brown Bear's competitive Pokémon team is through to the world championships in California and, as one of a small minority of teams in South Wales that are sponsored by a store, they are spreading the Brown Bear name not just in the UK but across the world. Members of Brown Bear's tournament team see consistent success (Image: Supplied)For a business owner, the team isn't a financial decision. Instead, it's a positive force for people of all ages to get out and socialise. Team members are aged between 14 and 40, showing the clear resurgence of the hobby for the younger generations in recent years and the dedication of those who pioneered it. Owner Richard Smith said: 'There's a massive sense of camaraderie, particularly among the older players who joined because they wanted a hobby and to enjoy themselves. 'They hold a lot of pride for themselves and their teammates, even win they don't win, because they feel as though they've contributed to their teammate's win.' This business is so much more than just the packs on the shelves, teaching that what many judge as a reclusive hobby is in fact a way for all generations to get out of their homes to enjoy themselves as part of a group of like-minded individuals. It sees a varied customer base every single day, from collectors and hobbyists to streamers and people who make a living from Pokémon cards. Like most things, the Pokémon hobby dips in and out of popularity but Brown Bear is there with a quick gesture to the customers who stay loyal throughout. When the latest set of Pokémon cards was released at the tail end of last month, a queue of around 100 people had formed outside the store. As a thank you to all those who had waited in the hours long queue to buy products from Brown Bear, Richard cracked 3 booster boxes of the new release for customers to open while they waited in line – for those not up to date on their Pokémon, that's 108 packs or over £450 worth of stock. Richard said: 'We always make sure that our customers who come in here week after week, who's names we know, are looked after. 'This business is a long-term venture, so acts like that keep people coming back and remembering us.'
New York Times
21-05-2025
- Health
- New York Times
Dodgers' Evan Phillips gets ‘full circle' moment with emotional return to children's hospital
LOS ANGELES — The scene was enough to inspire flashbacks for Evan Phillips. The winding, maze-like hallways. The same color of paint on the walls. The memories flooded back as Phillips and his wife, Liz, walked back into the Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children's Hospital. The last time they were here, the Los Angeles Dodgers reliever was coming to take his son, Beau, home after a 15-day stay when he was born seven weeks premature. Advertisement Now, with Beau healthy, the parents returned to visit and bring books, baseball cards and raise funds for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. It was just past two years to the day that they were able to take Beau home on May 5, 2023. As they walked through the halls, Liz squeezed her husband's hand. 'Heart's beating fast,' she said. Nerves turned into tears, and then smiles. As the couple toured the facilities Monday morning, they reminisced while talking to parents whose kids were in the unit. Because they knew this place so well, they knew exactly what to bring. Liz recalled picking up a book at check-in to read to Beau when he was first admitted into the unit. The book, 'I Am So Brave,' remains in their collection to this day. 'It kind of normalized him as a kid, right?' Liz said of the ritual that came out of the book. 'He was a baby. You can still read him books. And he is so brave.' 'That kind of routine,' Evan said, 'I think we really built a strong connection that was kind of formed here.' So the couple brought books of their own to gift to the families they met. For Evan, it was the first book he read aloud each night to Beau, 'Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?' From Liz, it was her preferred book to read to her son, 'You're My Little Sunshine.' Memories awaited them at every turn. First, in walking the halls. Then they passed by the exact bed where Beau spent his two weeks. As the two posed for a photo by bed No. 6, Liz took a deep breath. 'That made the butterflies flutter,' she said. The parents reunited with hospital personnel, from security guards to the nurses who helped take care of their son. 'Being in the NICU, it's not talked about a lot – parents are going through all the traumatic experience they're having here, too,' said Su Ntwe, an NICU nurse who was part of the staff taking care of Beau. 'So I think it's good to let them know that, if Evan went through this, then anyone can go through this too, and it's really common. Their babies will turn out OK and be cared for here.' Advertisement When they hugged, their eyes were red with emotion. 'They're happy tears,' Ntwe said. This was a chance for the Phillips family to pay things forward and hear stories like theirs. Daniel Salazar first entered the unit weighing 1 pound, 11 ounces and is in his fifth month in the NICU after being born at 23 weeks. His father, Daniel, recalled Phillips' story and has thought of it when showing Dodgers games on his phone with his now nearly 14-pound son. The baby sported a Dodgers onesie and cap, along with Dodgers-branded sneakers that Phillips made sure to sign. 'It's a lot,' Salazar said of Phillips. 'To see him do that and to see his son grow and watch ours be here and hopefully one day ours will be growing just as much as his and doing stuff like him. It's great.' As part of their visit to the adjoining children's hospital, Evan and Liz met with 10-year-old Pablo Escobar, a diehard Dodgers fan who has undergone two kidney transplants after a diagnosis with Burkitt lymphoma, an aggressive form of cancer. Escobar's room was littered with Dodgers cups, shoes and hats as the Dodgers right-hander sat down and opened baseball cards with him. When Beau was discharged from the hospital, Phillips started collecting baseball cards and memorabilia to share with him one day. Now, he wanted to do it with a kid in a similar position. They shared amazement when they managed to open Topps cards for both Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. and his brother, Mets infielder Luisangel Acuña. 'Books and baseball cards,' Evan said. 'It's really simple, but to just have that kind of access and shed some light on our experience was important to us.' The visit also represented a chance at closure. Beau Phillips watched his first baseball game from this very same NICU, with Ntwe by Liz's side as they streamed the game. It was Phillips' first outing since becoming a father, pitching on the road in Pittsburgh as he tried to remain in touch with Liz on their newborn son's progress. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts intentionally pitched Phillips in the sixth inning to keep him out of a high-leverage spot – Phillips delivered a scoreless, 10-pitch inning. That night, Evan and Liz wept on the phone. Advertisement 'It was just a lot,' Liz said. The two settled into a routine at home for two weeks once Phillips returned from the road trip. They'd get up and spend hours at Cedars-Sinai by Beau's side before Phillips made the 9-mile drive directly to Dodger Stadium to continue a breakout season where he'd lead the team with 24 saves. Whenever the doctors would check in on Beau's progress, Phillips joined via FaceTime. 'You're so focused on your child and what's going on that you lose track of time,' Evan said of those days. 'You lose track of your sleep.' When Beau was set to go home, Phillips hung back. The Dodgers were set to begin a three-game set at Petco Park against the San Diego Padres, but Phillips stayed in Los Angeles to help bring his son home. The moment was memorable, if fleeting, as Phillips took a car service an hour later to join the team in San Diego. 'It was the longest drive to San Diego I've ever had,' Evan said. The Phillips family chose to make their story public and speak openly about Beau's journey. They were surprised by the reception. A Dodgers season-ticket holder gifted them a blanket that remains in Beau's room. A fan gave Phillips a book to read to his son. Another fan greeted Liz with a Mother's Day card in the weeks after Beau came home for the first time. Other parents reached out over social media and flooded them with messages of support and encouragement. 'Baseball does this thing where you feel connected to a community in a way that you can't really put into words,' Liz said. 'That was one of those times. … I'd never met these people and they didn't owe me anything, but it felt special because baseball's a job and it's a sport and you didn't have to think about it like that. In that moment, it was some kind of family that I didn't know was out there, but it is out there.' So they've decided to pay it forward. That started Monday, and will continue through the couple's fundraising efforts to help support the hospital and the NICU unit, in particular. It's a 'full-circle' moment, Evan said, particularly with a happy and healthy Beau at home. A post shared by Evan Phillips (@evan_phillips33) Beau is 2 years old and has hit every checkpoint put in front of him. Glimpses of his personality are coming through. He has a toy trash truck that never leaves his side, even when he's sleeping. He went from cautiously walking to running overnight. The Phillips family is watching their son grow. He's taken to baseball, too. He often has a toy baseball bat on his shoulder. Watching a game on TV this weekend, he was quick to yell out, 'Safe!' when a runner slid into a base. Advertisement 'Apple doesn't fall far from the tree,' Liz said. 'He's a carbon copy of Evan.' This is a chapter of their story they're fully embracing. '(You) see the end of the story almost,' Phillips said. 'To know that you made it through that phase. That was subtly the message we tried to share with parents, that there is some light at the end of the tunnel and you just keep making progress. Getting the gauge of the parents and how they're feeling, and you can see the weight of it on everybody. But to know that ultimately this is the best place for them to be gave us a lot of peace. Just reminding parents of that fact, it's really the best you can do.' (Top photo of Evan and Liz with Daniel Salazar, who entered the unit weighing 1 pound, 11 ounces: All photos by Fabian Ardaya / The Athletic)
Forbes
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Universal CityWalk LINE FRIENDS SQUARE Opens With K-Pop Focus
Line Friends Square, Universal CityWalk Despite the dip in album sales globally, K-pop doesn't seem to be slowing down, especially when it comes to merchandising power within the fandom. Universal CityWalk Hollywood's LINE FRIENDS SQUARE, which opened this past weekend, was aware of the K-pop craze and heavily fitted their store with BTS' popular animated line, BT21, and Zerobaseone's Zeroni line. They also included NewJeans' Buninis, LINE FRIENDS original characters Brown Bear and Cony, and a few NBCUniversal properties, such as Felix the Cat, Casper the Friendly Ghost, Trolls, and Woody Woodpecker, for their COLLER line. With two other stores in the United States – New York City and Hollywood, Universal CityWalk becomes the third LINE FRIENDS SQUARE. Rebekah Lee, Senior Manager of E-Commerce & Marketing, says the company wanted to remain in the Los Angeles area, with opportunities for events, concerts, and showcases. 'Universal CityWalk Hollywood is such a great partner to work with in opening a new store in their mall,' says Lee. 'We thought we could start here and then hopefully expand to other locations in the future. Here is a destination for any character-related events or experiences. It's a great location to have friends, family, or anyone who may not even be into K-pop come visit the store and have a great experience altogether.' At their grand opening on Friday, K-pop fans lined up since 6 a.m. for a chance to obtain their favorite character merch, especially several exclusive BT21 items sold only at the Universal CityWalk store. Though BT21 heavily filled the store, it was the Zeroni line that garnered the most attention. Immediately following the ribbon-cutting ceremony, another group of fans in line waited in a separate line inside the store, specifically for Zeroni items. One Zerobaseone fan, who was second in line, was hoping to buy the consistently sold-out Zeroni plush keychains. '[Zerobaseone] is my favorite group,' says the fan. 'I like collecting all the characters. Today, I got all the last items I needed for my collection. I needed all nine members.' Line Friends Square, Universal CityWalk Many lined up early in hopes of securing free goodie bags, which were given to the first 30 guests, and the event continues next weekend (May 3 & 4). Every visitor is also eligible to participate in a 'lucky draw,' where everyone's a winner. Universal CityWalk is also offering those who purchase between April 25 and May 4 a chance to win one of two pairs of general admission tickets to Universal Studios Hollywood. BTS fans can also look forward to seeing their favorite BT21 mascots making daily appearances from 11 a.m. til 6 p.m. Jay Ahn, Vice President of LINE FRIENDS America, says K-pop was the biggest draw for Universal, telling us that the NBC Universal team reached out to them for their K-pop characters. 'Of course, we love our original characters like Brown Bear, but K-pop IPs draw the most fans,' says Ahn. 'If we have a bigger space, we would definitely bring more original IP as well. We are targeting to open one in Orlando, which will have more space for our original characters and K-pop line.' Ahn says the opportunities of having the store in CityWalk are endless, as they hope to bring some performances on the main stage and large-scale events. He hinted at looking forward to even more collaborations with popular K-pop stars in the future. NBC Universal owns and shares the rights to many intellectual properties, including Minions, The Secret Life of Pets, Felix the Cat, Jurassic Park, Back to the Future, Jaws, Super Mario Bros., Harry Potter, and more. Universal Studios Hollywood heavily showcases these with themed sections, rides, food, and merchandise. With events like Universal Fan Fest, which have brought other IPs into the park, such as One Piece and Star Trek, fans may one day see Brown Bear or BT21's Chimmy walking around the theme park. Lee hopes one day it can happen. 'That's a hope and goal that it would be part of that experience,' she says. 'Of course, IP is very strict on how that works. If LINE FRIENDS are able to be part of the theme park inside, that would be a great opportunity, and it would be really fun and exciting for everyone.'
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Pauline Road Fire in San Jacinto County triggers evacuation orders. See Texas wildfire map
A wildfire has engulfed several acres in San Jacinto County, close to the Montgomery County border. This situation has resulted in evacuations and the closure of a local school district. Strong winds and low humidity have contributed to the rapid spread of the fire. According to the Texas A&M Forest Service, the Pauline Road Fire grew to 2,000 acres early Thursday morning and is currently only 10% contained. It is located between Conroe and Cleveland. The fire tracker provides a map with pinpoint locations of each fire and also shows where red flag warnings are in effect, among other information. You can also click on each point to see detailed information on the fire in that area. Approximately 900 homes have been impacted by evacuation orders, according to Montgomery County officials. At around midnight, the Montgomery County OEM issued new evacuations for people in the following locations: Holstein Dr. Hereford Way Cross Cut Rock Pigeon Boar's Run Grey Goose Brown Bear Duroc Ct. Big Beaver Blue Teal Grant Lake Circle N. Duck Creek north of Blue Teal As of 8:15 p.m., there were evacuations in place for the following roads in San Jacinto County: Pauline Road Lee Turner Road Kirby Road Big Buck Road Hereford Way Blue Teal Road A Fire Weather Watch or Red Flag Warning is issued when the combination of dry fuels and weather conditions supports extreme fire danger, according to the National Weather Service. Each NWS office creates local criteria for fire weather watches and red flag warnings. The key differences are that: A Fire Weather Watch is issued up to 72 hours before the above conditions are expected to occur. A Red Flag Warning is issued when the conditions above are expected to occur or are occurring within the next 24 hours. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Pauline Road Fire in San Jacinto County grows. See Texas wildfire map
