All posts tagged: Buddy

Kiwibit’s AI-powered bird feeder is my new backyard buddy

Kiwibit’s AI-powered bird feeder is my new backyard buddy

Published by skeptic

Earlier this month, I got my hands on the Kiwibit Bird Feeder Pro 4K AI Camera, and it has become my favorite backyard accessory.  Setting it up is pretty straightforward. Multiple mounting options allow you to place the feeder on a pole, window ledge, or tree. Its dual seed compartments are designed for easy refills and cleaning. The solar panel on top ensures you don’t have to worry about batteries running low. Durability and camera quality are also strong points. Other specs include support for 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, cloud storage, built-in two-way audio with a microphone and speaker, and a 130-degree wide-angle lens. Image Credits:Kiwibit As soon as I installed it in the backyard, I connected the feeder to the companion Kiwibit app on my phone. This is where you can be notified when a bird stops by, watch recordings, and track all the visits. A few weeks into testing is when the real fun started. My phone buzzed with a notification every time a new visitor showed up, and I found myself eagerly waiting for updates. …

Contributor: Why the 38 million Americans who live alone need a ‘buddy system’

Contributor: Why the 38 million Americans who live alone need a ‘buddy system’

Published by Sam Flores

About a year ago my friend John died, alone in his house. John was a 62-year-old divorced doctor. At a spring party the day before his death, he mentioned to some friends that he hadn’t been feeling quite right — some dizziness, some forgetfulness. One friend asked if he had seen a doctor, and his answer was, “Yes. Myself.” After a chuckle, someone asked what the doctor’s diagnosis had been. John joked that he’d been prescribed a good night’s sleep. Ultimately, John went and lay down in a guest room for half of the party, drove himself home and died within the next 12 hours from a brain aneurysm. All sudden deaths are shocking. But the thing that makes John’s death an even greater tragedy is the fact that he lay in his bed for three days before anyone found him. John wasn’t a loner; he had a great group of friends, men and women, who socialized together regularly. We had cookouts, New Year’s Eve parties, enjoyed outings to nice restaurants. The group even had …

Owner of Buddy, Canine Star of ‘Air Bud,’ Was 63

Owner of Buddy, Canine Star of ‘Air Bud,’ Was 63

Published by Daniella Wilson

Kevin DiCicco, who as the owner of the basketball-playing golden retriever named Buddy helped tip off the lucrative, long-running Air Bud franchise, has died. He was 63. DiCicco, who suffered from respiratory issues and had a recent bout with homelessness, died Saturday in hospice care in San Diego, his brother Mark told TMZ. DiCicco adopted Buddy after finding him near his Sierra Nevada cabin in 1989. He trained the dog to play basketball, baseball, football, soccer, etc., and they appeared on America’s Funniest Home Videos and on installments of David Letterman’s “Stupid Pet Tricks.” “My obsession with sport, and his obsession with ball playing, the combination of the two, created this tremendous canine athlete,” DiCicco said of Buddy in a 2024 interview. He launched Air Bud Productions, and the first film, 1997’s Air Bud, directed by Charles Martin Smith, features Buddy as a circus dog who escapes his cruel clown master (Michael Jeter) and leads Josh Framm’s (Kevin Zegers) school basketball team to a championship. The family-friendly movie, from Keystone Entertainment and Disney’s Miramax label, …

Ashley Park and Leighton Meester in Fizzy Buddy Comedy

Ashley Park and Leighton Meester in Fizzy Buddy Comedy

Published by Daniella Wilson

There are two types of people in the world: Those who’ll admit to looking up their partner’s exes on social media and those who are lying. Basic, Chelsea Devantez’s expansion of her own 2020 short, builds itself around this embarrassing but universal truth. Following a brokenhearted woman whose obsession with her ex’s ex comes to a head one lemon-drop-fueled night, the comedy serves tragically relatable laughs all the way into some genuine (if hardly groundbreaking) wisdom. In Ingrid Goes West fashion, our early introduction to Gloria (Ashley Park) is of her lying in the dark, furiously scrolling through Instagram posts by the impeccably dressed Kailynn (Leighton Meester), apparently a model-pretty influencer clad in flashy dresses or tiny bikinis. Emphasis on furiously: Gloria’s internal monologue swings between imagining Kailynn’s perspective in the most mocking tone she can muster and bitterly picking her apart for being vain, vapid and, above all, basic. Basic The Bottom Line Hardly basic. Venue: SXSW Film Festival (Narrative Spotlight)Cast: Ashley Park, Leighton Meester, Taylor John Smith, Nelson Franklin, Kandy Muse, Ashley Nicole …

Buddy Guy and Miles Caton’s ‘Sinners’ Tiny Desk Concert is pure blues magic

Buddy Guy and Miles Caton’s ‘Sinners’ Tiny Desk Concert is pure blues magic

Published by skeptic

Legendary musician Buddy Guy brought the blues to NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series, with a guest appearance from Sinners actor Miles Caton. SEE ALSO: ‘Sinners’ review: Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan deliver a vampire movie for the ages The pair co-star in Ryan Coogler’s Academy Award-nominated smash hit. Caton plays gifted blues singer Sammie “Preacher Boy” Moore, whose music is so brilliant it transcends time (and lures a crew of vampires right to him). Guy plays Sammie 60 years on, when he’s deep into a successful blues career. Guy kicks off his Tiny Desk Concert with his 1991 track “Damn Right, I’ve Got the Blues” before shifting to his cover of Muddy Waters’ “Hoochie Coochie Man.” After these classic blues songs, Guy invites Caton to join him for two songs from the Sinners soundtrack. First up is “Travelin,’” which Sammie sings while driving around with Stack (Michael B. Jordan). Then, Guy and Caton launch into “I Lied to You,” the song that brings the house down in Smoke (also Jordan) and Stack’s juke joint. …

Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh Team Up for Buddy Comedy ‘Mayday’

Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh Team Up for Buddy Comedy ‘Mayday’

Published by Daniella Wilson

Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh are teaming up for Mayday, with Apple TV releasing a first-look image from the new film during its press day in Santa Monica on Tuesday. The movie, which premieres Sept. 4 on the streamer, is described as a genre-bending, action-packed buddy comedy that flips the spy thriller on its head. When hot shot U.S. Navy pilot Lieutenant Troy “Assassin” Kelly (Reynolds) is sent on a top-secret mission into Russian territory at the height of the Cold War, the operation implodes, leaving him stranded behind enemy lines. Discovered by Nikolai Ustinov (Branagh), a gruff ex-KGB agent with a penchant for American culture, Troy thinks he’s toast — but could an unlikely alliance between the two lead to Troy’s rescue, and a bond neither saw coming? Marcin Dorocinski, Maria Bakalova and David Morse round out the ensemble cast. An Apple original hailing from David Ellison’s Skydance Media, Mayday is written, directed and produced by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (who most recently helmed Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves). The project …

‘Mayday’: Everything we know about Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh’s buddy comedy

‘Mayday’: Everything we know about Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh’s buddy comedy

Published by skeptic

In the mood for an odd couple comedy? Then might I interest you in Mayday starring Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh? Apple TV’s action-heavy buddy comedy movie brings this surprising pair together for a story of American and Soviet camaraderie. From the release date to the plot, here’s what you should know about Mayday. SEE ALSO: 2026 movie preview: All the films you need to know about right now What’s Mayday about? Mayday aims to put a twist on spy thrillers. Reynolds plays hotshot U.S. Navy pilot Lieutenant Troy “Assassin” Kelly, who goes behind Soviet lines during the height of the Cold War. When his mission implodes, he’s trapped in enemy territory. This is where he runs into Nikolai Ustinov (Branagh), an ex-KGB agent who loves American culture. Together, these two unlikely friends develop a deeper bond than they could have ever thought possible. Who’s in Mayday? In addition to Reynolds and Branagh, Mayday stars Marcin Dorocinski, Maria Bakalova, and David Morse. Mashable Top Stories The film was written, directed, and produced by John Francis …