In today’s weird but true news, Succession actor James Cromwell superglued his hand to a Starbucks in midtown Manhattan earlier this morning to protest the extra charge for non-dairy milk. The best part? It was all live-streamed on Facebook!
“When will you stop penalizing people for their ethnicity and their morals? The senseless upcharge hurts animals,” The Oscar-nominated actor said while his hand was glued to the Starbucks counter. He was also sporting a “free the animals” shirt.
Cromwell was joined by other activists from PETA, a notoriously controversial organization with strange marketing tactics. “Stop this practice of charging customers more for something that should be available to everybody, that saves the planet, that does not harm animals and will make a difference. Your understanding this and your support is essential,” Cromwell said. “We’re here to bring attention to the damage that charging extra money does for animals and the planet and the people living on the planet.”
The actor’s monologue was cut short by police, but not before Cromwell used a knife to detach his glued hand from the counter. The specifics of that extreme action are a little unclear, but he appeared unharmed. He then allegedly added lotion to his glued hands.
Last year, Starbucks famously dropped the upcharge at its UK stores, so the US might not be that far behind. Though we probably didn’t need James Cromwell to superglue his hand to a counter for this to work. Just send an angry tweet like a normal person!
Las Vegas has always been a destination for sports bettors, as thousands have flocked to the desert to watch and bet on big events for decades. However, the relationship between sports leagues and Las Vegas was once icy, as sports betting was considered taboo and a risk to the integrity of the game — despite European sports leagues having figured out long ago how to make it work in harmony.
That has all changed rapidly, as anyone who has watched a professional or college sporting event in the last five years can attest to. Every league and network partner has a deal with an official sportsbook (or a few), with betting lines scrolling across the screen, proudly displayed and updated in real-time, no longer requiring analysts to offer a wink like the Swami or a “closer than the experts think” like Lee Corso when they expect an underdog to cover the spread. As sports betting spreads across the country, with 34 states adopting legal sports gambling, the market has grown, but Las Vegas remains a destination like no other — and leagues are starting to embrace it like never before.
The NBA began the dalliance with Vegas years ago when they put Summer League in town (dipping the toe back in after the disaster that was the 2007 All-Star Game), which has grown from six teams to all 30, as fans now pack the Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion every July to watch top draft picks and journeymen alike vie for roster spots and try to make a name for themselves prior to training camp. Summer League’s success showed even young pros can handle Vegas just as well as any big city, and the town’s infrastructure for hosting thousands of visitors makes it a natural fit for leaguewide events.
Since then, the NHL, WNBA, and NFL have all come to town on a permanent basis, with the Golden Knights, Aces, and Raiders calling Las Vegas home now, and each of those leagues has brought its All-Star games to the city in the past two years. Most recently, the city played host to the 2022 NFL Draft, as more than 100,000 fans descended on the Strip for the three-day festivities at the end of April, with the NFL gleefully announcing it was “all-in” on Las Vegas.
The relationship between sports and Vegas has changed dramatically in recent years, and as the city tries to plant its flag as a premier sports destination, the various resorts and casinos in town are making investments to make their properties stand out to sports fans coming to town. The Draft was just the precursor to a monstrous year-plus coming up for Vegas sporting events, most notably including an NCAA Tournament Regional in March 2023, an F1 race in November 2023, and the Super Bowl in February 2024, as the new infrastructure of Allegiant Stadium and T-Mobile Arena, coupled with old favorites like the MGM Grand Garden Arena allow Vegas to play host to just about any sporting event of any size.
As a long time veteran of going to Vegas for sports reasons, having covered nine Summer Leagues and made dozens of pilgrimages to the Strip for NFL Playoffs, March Madness, Ryder Cups, and college football Saturdays, I’ve been somewhat unknowingly compiling a database of where to go (and when to get there) to best enjoy a sports weekend in the desert. After being invited out to take in Draft weekend by the LVCVA, I got to visit a few more places and also see how these big tentpole events go down in Vegas (because, with all due respect to Summer League, the Draft crowd dwarfs the number of people that come out in July).
Here, I’ll share my favorite sportsbooks, places to watch games, and golf courses to unwind on, as well as some advice for navigating a sports weekend with (and, more dangerously without) reservations and plans.
SPORTSBOOKS
A major sports weekend in Las Vegas typically starts and ends at the sportsbook — although less so for an event like the NFL Draft — and depending on your group’s size, you’ll need to plan ahead to be able to watch games together. Long gone are the days where most seats in the book are first-come, first-serve (especially on a big weekend), so know the policies of where you’re going ahead of time and if you can afford it, reservations will save you headaches and time on gamedays. A group of 6+ effectively requires you to book a fan cave or booth somewhere, but it’s worthwhile if you plan on spending your day posted up watching games. For just a few people, there are still places you can slip into without a reservation, but be sure to arrive early and stake your claim hours before the start of the biggest games that day. The best advice I can offer is to set up a mobile account when you arrive in town (whether at the book you’ll be watching from or a few so you can shop lines) so you aren’t beholden to the lines
Circa
The newest and biggest sportsbook in Las Vegas is worth the pilgrimage to downtown. The three-story screen is truly a sight to behold and with ample seating options (all seats require reservations for major events like the NFL Playoffs and March Madness, but stadium seating is open for non-premium game days) and a screen that puts every game within easy view for every seat, it makes it hard to beat for an immersive experience. One of the perks of the Circa book is that they built the casino around the sportsbook being the centerpiece, which means tables and virtual games are mere steps away, some still providing a view of the screen for when you want a little break from your spot. There is also Stadium Swim, which we’ll get to later which is its own, unique experience.
The longtime favorite for many, the SuperBook remains one of (if not the) best books in Las Vegas. It too boasts a monstrous screen that they shuffle games around on and the seats aren’t quite as plentiful, but are quite comfortable if you get there in time to snag one (for an NFL weekend, plan on at least two if not three hours before kickoff). Booths are available for reservations and for the biggest events, they’ll open up the theater with stadium seating to watch games projected on the big screen, with concessions down below. The updated food court area (RIP SuperBook Deli) provides a number of food options, although you’ll want to plan on a 30-45 minute wait on busy days and like just about everyone else, they have their own mobile app to allow for live betting without having to fight the lines.
The updated Caesars sportsbook is my vote for the best on the Strip, with a new screen that, while not as big, rivals that of Circa and the SuperBook for quality. There aren’t as many seats at Caesars as the other two, but for big events they’ll break out the risers and put seats behind the bar, as well as adding fan caves for March Madness and Super Bowl. Reserving a seat is a near must for any football weekend, much less a big event, but it’s as good of a centralized location as it gets on the Strip to watch games. It also has a leg up on the food scene around it, with a number of great restaurants and the Caesars food court a short walk away featuring a Bobby’s Burgers, Earl of Sandwich, Tiger Wok & Ramen (a personal favorite), and more that you can take back to your seat.
The Venetian book isn’t the most popular, but it’s one of my personal favorites for a few reasons. For one, every seat has a desk and outlets, which is a nice perk for a writer but also for anyone that will be on their phone a lot. They also have a quality screen and most seats, even for something like the NFL Playoffs, aren’t reserved — you still need to get there a couple hours early to claim them, but they’re there. Maybe the best thing going for the Venetian book are the food options. Black Tap is right behind it, Noodle Asia is next door and you can walk over and place a to-go order that’ll be ready in 20-30 minutes, and Yardbird is a two-minute walk and now features online ordering that you can pick up at the bar. For someone who wants to hunker down for a day and just watch games, Venetian’s hard to beat — also, they will sometimes open a pit of blackjack tables right behind it so you can light a little extra money on fire while watching the games.
Wynn
The Wynn book is a lovely place to watch games, with a big, bright wraparound screen and comfortable seating as one would expect from the high-end establishment. It’s similar in size to the Venetian book and they’re investing plenty into it as they launch WynnBet. There aren’t as many food options, but there is a sports bar-type spot in the book that’ll whip you up some delightful chicken tenders. As is the case with most places now, you’ll want to look into reserving a seat if you plan on being at the Wynn for games, but it’s as visually appealing a book as you’ll find on the Strip.
Reservations can be made via phone: (702) 770-3365
Mirage/Mandalay Bay
For as much promotion as they’ve put behind the BetMGM app, the physical MGM books on the Strip are somewhat surprisingly lagging behind in amenities. Mirage is, for now, the best, but with that property set to be closed and demolished to become the new Hard Rock in the coming months (the plan is this summer, but it could get pushed as these things can take time to complete transitions), the best MGM book resides at the far south end of the Strip at Mandalay Bay. It’s a large book, with lots of seats (not the most comfortable, but plenty of options), and it’s a favorite of locals for a reason. Not a ton of amenities, but if you want a place to watch games, Mandalay typically has a spot for you.
If you want to dig in with the locals, head out West to Red Rock, where you can slip in early and grab a seat in the first-come, first-serve book. As it becomes more difficult to find open seating for events like March Madness, arrive early enough and the Red Rock book will happily accommodate you. You also might bump into some Vegas royalty in the betting line, as I’ve found myself waiting for a window with Brent Musburger on a March Madness Thursday at 6:30 a.m. local. The food court has some solid options — no one would kick a Capriotti’s sub out of bed — and sometimes it can be nice to step away from the Strip.
Cosmopolitan
The smallest of the books on this list, but also one that I’ve found often has some seats because it’s just not a hot spot for sports betting. The Cosmo book has nice screens, even if not the biggest, and any book where you can jump upstairs and snag some Hattie B’s to-go earns some extra points with me. There’s also a pool table, some tabletop shuffleboard, and a pit of tables right there to help pass the time.
The sportsbook experience on game days isn’t for everyone, as it’s going to be either a big-time commitment to get there early to grab seats or a big financial commitment to get a booth or cave that can come with a hefty food and beverage minimum. Luckily, with the sports boom in Vegas, there’s an ever-increasing number of places you can go to watch games a bit more passively, while enjoying food, drinks, cigars, sun, and more.
Stadium Swim (Circa)
Stadium Swim is as unique an offering for sports fans as there is in Las Vegas right now, a true one-of-a-kind in a place where as soon as something gets popular, many more pop up. The giant screen (wisely placed on the west side of the pool to avoid afternoon glare) offers quite the view from the many pools (on multiple levels), daybeds, cabanas, and chairs. There are betting windows, bars, and a poolside casino for when you need to see some cards and step out of the sun. My best advice for Stadium Swim patrons is to bring plenty of sunscreen, that sandals are a must — the fake grass is somehow hotter than the concrete pool deck and will roast your feet — and to put food orders in well ahead of time, but the beef sliders are worth what can be an hour-plus wait.
Resorts World is the newest casino on the Strip, lying way up at the north end just past Wynn (and on the opposite side), but it is worth the trek. One of the jewels of Resorts World is Eight Lounge, a cigar bar located just past the casino floor that features some of the best vibes in Vegas for watching a game (or enjoying a nightcap after). It has all the perks of a cigar lounge without the heavy haze that typically floats through the room, thanks to a state of the art ventilation system that cycles all of the air in the entire place every four minutes, leaving it almost startlingly clear considering most everyone has a lit cigar.
During sports events, the lounge turns all the TVs to games and provides a laidback atmosphere to take in games while working a cigar from their extremely well-stocked humidor, with a staff that will help you get into the right stick for your tastes. They also feature a robust cocktail menu, as well as select food offerings from Brezza, the Italian restaurant next door. Eight also offers a good chance to spot some stars in your midst, as their 56 locker members include the likes of Charles Barkley, Mark Davis, Charles Woodson, and Marshawn Lynch (who might hop behind the bar and make drinks).
On the other end of the Strip is TopGolf at MGM Grand, where you can get a bay for up to six of your friends and watch games on the big screens located on the backside of the range (as well as a TV in your bay). At a peak of $95 for an hour on Friday/Saturday nights, it’s a pretty solid value if you have a sizable group and it’s hard to find that much space to stretch out anywhere in Vegas — while getting a chance to get some cuts in and work on your swing.
The best views of any sports bar in Las Vegas belong to the rooftop of Beer Park at Paris, where you overlook the Strip across the street from the Bellagio fountains. Beer Park also boasts its own betting windows, allowing even those without a mobile app to wager while enjoying the drinks, food, and views. The patio will, sometimes, be closed off in the north corner as it also doubles as an ESPN set (as it did for the NFL Draft), but there’s ample seating inside as well, with tons of TVs.
The nominal sportsbook at Resorts World features betting kiosks and some couches in one nook of the sports bar that is, otherwise, filled with hightop tables and bar seating. It’s a good place to watch a game, and tables can be reserved for a fairly small fee and a $25-50 food and beverage minimum per person. For a smaller group (3-4) it is a more economical option than some of the fan caves or booths at bigger books, with solid food and drink specials for game days.
One of the newest spots in Vegas is at Virgin (formerly the Hard Rock) off the Strip, and it takes some searching to find it but when you do it’s a pretty cool spot on the second floor of the hotel (past the cashier’s cage and up an escalator), with a patio that overlooks the pool and a large area of booths and couches inside a wall of TVs and a DJ booth, who spins during commercial breaks of big games. The food offerings come from chef Beau McMillan (for any fans of Food Network) and there are plenty of specialty drinks and cocktails.
Likewise tucked up an escalator, Walk-On’s is where the old Tobey Keith’s is in Harrah’s up on the second floor as you head out to the parking garage. The chain originally out of Louisiana has plenty of TVs, some unique food offerings like alligator alongside sports bar classics, and, maybe its best selling point is you likely won’t need a reservation to get a seat and hunker down for watching some games — the strawberry lemonade is also quite refreshing.
GOLF
Vegas is a top golf destination for a reason, with tons of highly rated courses and some that aren’t on Top 100 lists that still provide a fun experience. Here I’ll highlight a few of my favorites on the Strip, near it, and some that will require a bit a drive to reach that will help you pass the time when games aren’t happening.
Wynn Golf Course
Yes, it’s as spectacular as it looks, whether you’ve seen it out a hotel window or on TV for The Match. Yes, it’s going to cost a pretty penny, but if you have the means, it’s a worthwhile play, even just to check it off your list. After the late-September overseed, it reaches its peak, but I’ve played in July and it’s as pure a course as you’ll find anywhere, much less on the Las Vegas Strip. The caddies are knowledgeable and will help you get around — and also step in as a photographer from time to time — so be sure to budget the $50+ tip for their hard work on top of the greens fee.
Tee times can be made via phone: (702) 770-4653
Bali Hai
The other golf course on the Strip provides a different viewpoint, coming from just south of Mandalay Bay, and is more of a desert course, with a bit of rough and a lot of gravel to capture wayward shots. It’s always a fun course, but because it’s easier to get on (and cheaper) than the Wynn, you can bank on a 5-hour pace of play if you are playing during peak season.
Paiute Resort requires the longest drive of any of these from the Strip, but is a worthwhile experience. The Wolf Course is the gem, but all three present unique challenges and some truly stunning views from the very north edge of Las Vegas, sitting between mountains on both sides. The challenge at Paiute is, like most desert courses, the lack of forgiveness for missing fairways, compounded by high winds that can sweep through from the mountains and really wreck havoc — I have shot a 76 and 91 on the Wolf in successive days here, based purely off of wind.
On the value side of things, Las Vegas National is a lovely course just a few miles from the Strip that is almost always on my list when I’m out for Summer League because I don’t want to pay $200+ every single time I play. It’s kept in good shape, plays for a reasonable cost, and the staff is very accommodating to larger groups and folks who might just want to come out and get a cart to ride around and hang out. While it can get slow in the afternoon, it offers some cool views on the holes that venture back towards the Strip, but if you go for a twilight round, it’s not a lock you’ll get all 18 in.
Out towards Summerlin is Angel Creek, which also provides a good value option when you want to play but aren’t looking to spend a ton. The Mountain Course is my favorite, with a good test of your ball-striking but with a bit more forgiveness off the tee than some desert tracks, and they also have a par 3 (Cloud 9) that you can play under the lights as well.
It’s a Vegas golf list so I’m going to include the big two. Cascata, anyone can get on (for $450-$600 with dynamic pricing), but they do have a deal with Caesars if you’re staying at a Caesars property. To play Shadow Creek you must be staying at an MGM property and be ready for quite the greens fee, but they’re two of the top courses in the area for a reason, as they are always immaculate and present some stunning golf holes.
Cascata tee times can be made online here.
Shadow Creek package reservations can be made via phone: 1-866-260-0069
Reflection Bay
Out at Lake Las Vegas, Reflection Bay is a gorgeous course that feels different from most any other Vegas courses due to its position on the lake, meaning you’re more likely to lose a ball in water than you are gravely desert. It’s a bit of a trek from the Strip, but for a very different course than you typically play in that area, it’s worth a drive out.
This isn’t the TPC the PGA Tour calls home for the Shriner’s Open (that’d be TPC Summerlin, which is a private course), but TPC Las Vegas is a terrific desert track that will, once again, challenge you tremendously off the tee. It’s closed until September 2022 as they do some work on it, which means it ought to be in pristine condition later this fall and will have some new looks to it.
Uproxx was invited on a hosted trip to Las Vegas by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority for reporting on this piece. You can find out more about our policy on press trips/hostings here.
Since the mid-‘50s, for nearly seven full decades, James Hong has been an always welcome staple of film and television. Now 93, he has over 450 credits to his name, one of the most recent ones being Everything Everywhere All At Once, in which he plays Michelle Yeoh’s emotionally distant but maybe not-so-retrograde father. It’s one of the meatiest roles on an enormous CV largely filled with top shelf character actor work. And when Hong finally got the Hollywood Walk of Fame star he so richly deserved, he turned it into a full-fledged party.
As per Variety, Hong’s new star, which joins the over 2,700 such adornments along L.A.’s Hollywood Boulevard, honoring industry legends and even certain former presidents, is the result of crowdfunding campaign launched by one of his Everything directors, Daniel Dae Kim. Launched in 2020, the petition amassed the $55,000 necessary for the star. And they did it in four days, because everyone loves James Hong.
Hong has been seen in all manner of productions. He’s the main baddie in John Carpenter’s Big Trouble in Little China. He’s the impenetrable matire d’ on the Seinfeld episode “The Chinese Restaurant.” He’s memorable in Chinatown (and its sequel, The Two Jakes), Blade Runner, Wayne’s World 2, Airplane!, Missing Action, Tango & Cash, and the Kung Fu Panda films. His endless TV credits include Hawaii Five-0, Perry Mason, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Kung Fu, and too many more to list here.
Most Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremonies aren’t too exciting. Some bring out the stars. Hong’s did, too, including his Everything colleague Jamie Lee Curtis, who told the crowd, “It’s about f*cking time that we are here honoring James Hong with a star on the Hollywood Walk to Fame.” Director Daniel Dae Kim revealed that he’s “so gangsta” that he only writes e-mails in all-caps, because using lowercase is for the birds.
Nobody gets too excited about buying neutral cooking oil, even chefs. But extra virgin olive oil is different. It’s not just a liquid to fry food in, it’s a true ingredient — a flexible and reliable product that levels up your kitchen game and also a sauce of sorts, perfect for dipping bread or drizzling on salads.
You might prefer a grassy-tasting California-made product or a more peppery Mediterranean one — either way, this elixir inspires true passion. Just ask the million-or-so people who read my last ode to the ingredient.
Whether you have the cash to splurge or just need the best bottle your money can buy (without carving into your cookie budget), we’ve got you covered. These 10 EVOOs (priced from most affordable to most expensive) each offer a bouquet of flavors and aromas, from grassy and earthy to botanic, rich, or even buttery.
Let’s dive in!
$10 RANGE — Monini GranFrutatto Selezione Italiana
Monini is an Italian-based olive oil brand that dates back to 1920. The brand’s GranFrutatto Selezione Italian blend consists of oils exclusive sourced from Italian groves selected by Zefferino Monini, the founder’s grandson, and like the more expensive brands, claims it has a higher polyphenol count than typical blends.
Tasting Notes:
Very robust, almost loud in flavor. It hits you with a mix of floral and grassy notes with a blunt and slightly bitter aftertaste.
Why We Love The Price:
It’s not the best finishing oil, it’s not going to turn your bread mouthwatering or elevate your salad, but as a kitchen workhorse, it always pulls through. It’s a cut above other brands in this price range and is made with olives from a single source, providing a more focused, less “muddy” flavor.
An award-winning EVOO (Gold at the World Olive Oil Competition, silver at the London International Olive Oil Competition, and Athena International) Ellora farms is a single estate olive oil harvested and bottled at the Kolymvari Olive Estates on the island of Crete in Greece.
The oil is cold extracted from cold-pressed Koroneiki olives that are completely climate controlled since harvest and extracted the same day as being picked.
Tasting Notes:
Herbaceous and fruity with a pleasing bitter finish and a lingering peppery bite. Probably the best value in the whole EVOO ecosystem.
Why We Love The Price:
Comes very close to delivering what brands double the price provide you. Complex and full of shifting flavors. Sure, you’re only getting about a single cup of oil for $13.95, making cooking with this oil a total waste of money. But over a salad or a dip for a good loaf, you’re not going to find more flavor for the price.
$15 RANGE — California Olive Ranch Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Everyone has seen this brand, it sits alongside Bertolli at just about every supermarket nationwide so if you’ve never tried this stuff, you’ve at least thought about it. We’ve been paying a lot of attention to EVOOs sourced from the Mediterranean on this list but don’t sleep on California. While it doesn’t have the same history, California EVOO is some of the best on the market, and California Olive Ranch is a great representation of the quality oil that comes from the region.
California Olive Ranch is made using cold-pressed olives grown in California, producing a beautiful and appetizing emerald-colored oil.
Tasting Notes:
Light body with flavors of green olive, grass, and artichoke that tiptoe across your taste buds. One of the few oils on this list with a delicate, even floral finish.
Why We Love The Price:
It’s cheap and is good for damn near everything, from cooking to as a dressing. There is a reason you see this topping a lot of EVOO lists and rankings, for the price point and flavor it’s hard to find a more versatile oil. Use it for everything. Cooking, marinades, across a salad, and as a bread dip.
$18 RANGE — Oleavanti Qadisha Grove Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Oleavanti makes small-batch virgin olive oils made from Lebanese olives grown and harvested in valleys that have been home to olive trees for over a millennium. The brand’s limited edition Ehden Grove EVOO took first place in our blind olive oil tasting from last year, and this time around we’re giving a shout-out to the brand’s Qadisha Grove blend.
Tasting Notes:
Made from 100% Souri Olives from Zgharta, the Qadisha Grove olive oil is noticeably nutty and fruity, it truly stands apart from every other oil on this list. The body has heavily herbaceous notes with whispers of peach and plum and a sumptuous buttery finish.
Why We Love The Price:
It’s a real shame that the more flavorful and interesting EVOOs tend to sell in small batches, but if this were in a traditional 500ml bottle, it would probably cost nearly $50, making this big flavor oil easier to fit within your budget. Don’t cook with it though, the flavor is distinct enough here that you’re not going to want to lose any of it to heat.
Instead, use this one with your favorite balsamic vinegar as a fine bread dip, the flavors are an interesting bouquet of notes you won’t find in a lot of other more typical blends.
$20 RANGE — Oleamea Organic Premium Everyday Extra Virgil Olive Oil
Oleamea’s Premium Everyday oil is made using a single blend of Memecik olives that are cold-pressed just four hours after being hand-harvested in Turkey. Memecik olives are known for their green and grassy flavors and pungent aroma.
Tasting Notes:
Delicate, but not so light that it leaves you wanting. Green olive and almond notes dominate the flavor ending with a subtle buttery finish.
Why We Love The Price:
It’s on the more expensive side for a workhorse but there are few dishes this oil won’t serve greatly. If you have the means, use this oil on everything from stir fry to salads, to seared meats and toast.
$25 RANGE (Bulk Bottle) — Trader Joe’s President’s Reserve Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Trader Joe’s sells a handful of different Extra Virgin Olive Oils and frankly, they’re not all good, but the President’s Reserve, made from 100% Italian olives and cold-pressed, is far and above the best. Excelling as both a finishing and cooking oil, Trader Joe’s doesn’t boast the richest flavor and most distinct flavor, but it gets the job done and tastes leagues better than brands like Bertolli or Carapelli.
Tasting Notes:
Noticeably fruity with notes of green apple and fresh-cut grass on the nose and a rich peppery finish.
Why We Love The Price:
It’s a great finishing and cooking oil and given that the bottle only comes as a quart so you’re going to get a lot of mileage out of it. It never feels like $25 wasted.
Another California EVOO, Cut 1886 is a slight step above California Olive Ranch in both price and flavor. It just tastes a bit more robust and interesting. The oil is made from cold-pressed olives harvested from the sun-drenched Bel Lavern olive orchards in Santa Barbara. The oil is produced in small numbered batches displayed right on the bottle.
Tasting Notes:
Much grassier and more vegetal than California Olive Ranch, with a robust flavor that passes through notes of pear and cucumber through to more earthy notes like toasted almond and peppercorn.
Why We Love The Price:
It does what the $50 dollar brands do for literally half the price, so you won’t feel guilty about cooking with it. I love it on pasta, it brings a robust mouthwatering quality to anything that it’s drizzled on. It has a louder flavor than most brands.
$30 RANGE — Calivirgin Premium Unfiltered Olive Oil
Single source cold-pressed olive oil made from estate-grown Arbequina and Koroneiki olives grown and produced in Lodi California. The oil is housed in a white bottle, which protects it from degrading flavors due to sunlight. You’d think every olive oil would be housed in sun-proof bottles, but for whatever reason, it’s not common practice.
As far as high-quality olive oils go, it isn’t prohibitively expensive for what you get in flavor.
Tasting Notes:
Very aromatic, with heavy notes of ripe green olives. Fresh grassy notes greet the palate and settle into a lush fruity body with the lightest peppery finish. That peppery bite is barely there, so if you want an emphasis on the more vegetal qualities of EVOO, this is your blend.
Why We Love The Price:
Because this is California EVOO, we don’t have to deal with any added dollars from it being an imported product, which really makes it tastes like it’s punch way above its weight. It’s so good that this is going to be your go-to dipping oil. I’m sure it’ll pair well with anything that calls for a good finishing oil, but the way this tastes on a good loaf of sourdough is magical enough that you’ll consider making a whole meal out of solely dipping bread.
A gold-medal winning EVOO (it better be with that price), Pasolivo’s Tuscan Olive Oil is a bit misleading. While “Tuscan” is right in the name, the olives used to produce this oil are actually grown on Pasolivo’s ranch in California, it gets its regional name because the olives themselves are a Tuscan olive varietal.
So consider this Tuscan olive oil with a big asterisk, and that might actually matter… if this wasn’t so damn good.
Tasting Notes:
Grassy, extremely so with a warm and robust character and a floral finish with a lingering earthy after taste. There is a pronounced naturalness to this oil that brings out the deeper flavors of vegetables and seared meat, making everything it is used on taste just a bit more elevated.
Why We Love The Price:
It feels like you’re tasting something truly fantastic for the price. It’s pricey, but it packs a lot of flavors and doubles down on those grassy vegetal and floral notes. Really fragrant, it tastes way too nice to cook with, but I do it anyway.
$80 RANGE — Kosterina Original Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Harvested from Southern Greece and cold-pressed in small batches from early harvest Koroneiki olives, Kosterina boasts that their EVOO contains a higher polyphenol content than your ‘average extra virgin olive oil.’ Polyphenols are anti-inflammatory antioxidants and hardcore EVOO heads are obsessed with polyphenols, so if that’s you, this is probably your olive oil!
Do more antioxidants affect the flavor? Yes, actually.
Tasting Notes:
Very bold in flavor and herbaceous, with a rich earthy almost nutty body (I’m getting almonds and walnuts) with a floral pungent finish. Each time you taste it, it offers something new to discover. An absolute bouquet of flavors that is at times mouthwateringly sumptuous and fresh and vegetal.
Why We Love The Price:
We don’t. Kosterina is probably the most expensive olive oil on this list (though a more affordable 350ml bottle is available) but it is in a noticeably different class than most EVOOs you’ve likely tried in the past unless you’re an EVOO aficionado. Enough so that you absolutely will taste the difference. I keep this on the top shelf of my pantry and only bring it out when I’m trying to impress, either dinner guests or myself.
I’ve never had this on anything other than a nice fresh spring mix or on some sourdough with balsamic, to be honest. But the way this stuff pairs with arugula is a downright religious experience. Given the price, I kind of think it’s better as a gift than as a personal kitchen staple and as much as I love it, I can’t see myself actually buying another bottle. I will gladly accept it as a gift though!
Britney Spears has been making it a habit lately of posting provocative naked (albeit censored with emojis) photos of herself on her Instagram feed. Why not? It’s her body, she’s expressing herself, and clearly feeling empowered in doing so. Last night, Spears posted a new round of a dozen nude photos on Instagram. “Photo dump of the last time I was in Mexico BEFORE there was a baby inside me … why the heck do I look 10 years younger on vacation ???,” she commented on the first of three posts, which had heart emojis over her private parts.
Trouble is, people on the internet have been critical of her posts, citing her responsibilities as a mother, and that perhaps showing some skin on social media makes her a questionable mother. Or worse, commenters are claiming that these photos are proof that she needs to be back in the arresting conservatorship that she was just freed from. Look folks, this is just poppycock and classic internet entitlement. Heck, Hilary Duff’s Women’s Health naked cover dropped today, and she’s not dealing with the backlash that Spears is, proving once again, that people just won’t leave Britney alone.
On the flipside of this, fans have are defending Britney’s freedom of expression by comparing her to Kim Kardashian, and the contrasting responses that Kardashian — a mother of four herself — gets when she poses nude on social media. “So Kim Kardashian can do this, but Britney Spears can’t?” read one tweet laying out two very similar photos of each.
So Kim Kardashian can do this but Britney Spears can’t? And you all wanna call her crazy when she is doing the same thing all the other girls are doing? Make it make sense. #BritneySpearspic.twitter.com/j2ibNP6w5y
“Kim Kardashian have 4 kids and she posts naked/sexy photos and everyone loves her and applauds her, but Britney posts something like that and needs help or the conservatorship ??? .WHY IS THIS HAPPENING IN 2022 ????” one user posted.
Kim Kardashian have 4 kids and she posts naked/sexy photos and everyone loves her and applauds her, but Britney posts something like that and needs help or the conservatorship ??? .
A reply to the tweet from @BSpearspromo read “Because once people get it in their head that they know what your mental illness is, you’re never a person to them. Britney deserves so much better.”
Because once people get it in their head that they know what your mental illness is, you’re never a person to them. Britney deserves so much better.
In a new excerpt from Mark Esper’s book, A Sacred Oath, the former Secretary of Defense claims he had to talk Donald Trump out of attempting to court martial William McRaven, a Navy SEAL who led the raid on Osama bin Laden. McRaven’s crime? Criticizing Trump, of course. Along with U.S. Army General Stanley McChrystal, who was also a vocal anti-Trump critic, McRaven was on Trump’s radar, and the former president was adamant about hitting them both with a court martial
However, both men were already retired, so their military service would have to be reactivated. According to Esper’s book, he had to talk Trump off of the ledge by explaining to him that reactivating two retired servicemen just to hit them with a court martial for being “disloyal” would be a bad look all around.
“Doing this ‘will backfire on you, Mr. President,’” Esper said. He later detailed the right-wing news sources that were getting Trump all hot and bothered. Via Mediaite:
Esper claims Trump’s outrage was further fueled and “spun up” by stories from right-wing outlets like Breitbart highlighting public criticisms of Trump from McRaven and McChrystal. Both men have been vocal about their disapproval of Trump, with McRaven even writing multiple op-eds blasting the former president’s aggressive relationship with the media, calling his attacks on the media “the greatest threat to democracy.”
According to Esper, Trump calmed down after General Mark Milley promised to call McRaven and McChrystal and ask them to go easy on the former president. However, it appears that call never happened.
“There was no call I remember,” McChrystal told Talking Points Memo, “And I would have remembered that.”
Ever since Clive McCay published his landmark 1935 study that showed mice with severely restricted diets lived 33% longer, many have wondered whether caloric restriction could extend the human life span, too.
It makes for an interesting philosophical question: Would you trade the joy of eating for a longer life?
There are a few reasons why some say this type of caloric restriction could work to extend human life spans. First, larger animals tend to live longer than smaller ones because they have slower metabolic rates. When we consume fewer calories, we have less to metabolize.
Second, it’s speculated that caloric restriction reduces free radical damage in the body, slowing the aging process.
When it comes to dietary restriction, itu2019s not just calories that count. A study @ScienceMagazine shows that timing feedings to match active period of circadian cycle extended life span of mice more than three times as much as caloric restriction alone.https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/951907u00a0u2026
A new study out of UT Southwestern on mice has found that caloric restriction increases longevity, which isn’t exactly front-page news. However, the intriguing part is that this study found that the time of day the mice were fed had a big effect on their life spans.
Researchers found that restricting the calories mice ate by 30 to 40% increased their longevity by 10%. But mice that were fed the restrictive diet only while active at night lived 35% longer than those that ate whatever they wanted whenever they chose.
If this type of diet were adapted for a human’s biological rhythms, we’d eat low-calorie diets during the daytime. So if you’re the type that prefers breakfast over dinner, a long life could be in the cards. But if you love a four-course dinner, it may be hard to make the adjustment.
Bottom line: If the diet is found to work the same way in humans as it does for mice, when we eat will become almost as important as what we eat. It could also lead to changing the times we wake up and go to sleep. Who wants to stop eating at 3 p.m. and then go to bed hungry at 11 p.m.?
“It’s pretty clear that the timing of eating is important to get the most bang for your buck with calorie restriction,” Dr. Joseph Takahashi, Ph.D, one of the lead researchers on the study, said in a news release.
“We have discovered a new facet to caloric restriction that dramatically extends life span in our lab animals,” said Dr. Takahashi, the Loyd B. Sands Distinguished Chair in Neuroscience. “If these findings hold true in people, we might want to rethink whether we really want that midnight snack.”
The study also makes the interesting case that low body weight isn’t necessarily tied to longevity.
“This shows that at low body weight, this popular yardstick of health (body weight) is not a predictor of life span,” said Dr. Carla Green, Distinguished Scholar in Neuroscience at UT Southwestern.
Obviously, this study was performed on mice and there’s a long way to go before we can be sure that this type of drastic dieting will expand human life or doesn’t come with any dangerous side effects. But it is compelling to imagine that by simply adjusting what and when we eat we could live up to 35% longer.
That would push the life span of the average American male from 75 to 103 and female from 81 to 109.
On her 2019 debut album, Beware Of The Dogs, Australia’s Stella Donnelly established herself as one of the brightest emerging forces in indie. Now the singer-songwriter has announced her sophomore release, Flood, and the lead single, “Lungs,” is a beautiful paean.
On “Lungs,” Donnelly’s voice soars once again, but the production is markedly different from the folksy guitars of her debut. Donnelly wrote much of Flood on the piano and it’s a focal point of “Lungs” — albeit one that pairs handsomely with a full drum beat and electric guitar arrangement that makes the long notes she holds burst with life.
Donnelly spent much of the past few years on the move throughout Australia, including spending a good chunk of time in the rainforests of Bellingen. “I had so many opportunities to write things in strange places,” she said in a statement. The result, is an album about self-discovery and human dynamics, for a promising talent in Donnelly that is now on the rise once again.
Watch the video for Lungs” above. Check out the album artwork and tracklist for Flood below, as well as a listing of all of Stella Donnelly’s 2022 tour dates.
album artwork
1. “Lungs”
2. “How Was Your Day?”
3. “Restricted Account”
4. “Underwater”
5. “Medals”
6. “Move Me”
7. “Flood”
8. “This Week”
9. “Oh My My My”
10. “Morning Silence”
11. “Cold”
09/11 — San Diego, CA @ Casbah
09/12 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda
09/13 — San Francisco, CA @ Independent
09/15 — Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
09/16 — Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret
09/17 — Seattle, WA @ Neumos
09/21 — Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Music Cafe
09/22 — Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
09/23 — Detroit, MI @ Sanctuary
09/24 — Toronto, ON @ Longboat Hall
09/26 — Boston, MA @ Crystal Ballroom
09/28 — Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere
09/30 — Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live
10/01 — Washington, DC @ Songbyrd
11/01 — Leeds, UK @ Wardrobe
11/02 — Glasgow @ Mono
11/03 — Manchester @ Band On The Wall
11/04 — Dublin, IE @ Whelan’s
11/06 — Liverpool, UK @ Zanzibar
11/08 —Nottingham, UK @ Metronome
11/09 — Bristol, UK @ Thekla
11/10 — London, UK @ Electric Brixton
11/12 — Cardiff, UK @ The Gate
11/13 — Birmingham, UK @ Hare and Hounds
11/14 — Brighton, UK @ Komedia
11/16 — Paris, FR @ FMR
11/17 — Cologne, DE @ Artheatre
11/18 — Brussels, BE @ Rotonde — Botanique
11/19 — Amsterdam, NL @ Bitterzoet
11/21 — Hamburg, DE @ Molotow Skybar
11/22 — Copenhagen, DK @ Hotel Cecil
11/24 — Berlin, DE @ Badehaus
11/25 — Munich, DE @ Strom w/ Julia Jacklin
Flood comes out on 08/26 via Secretly Canadian. Pre-order it here.
Back on August 15, 2021, Lyon lost to Angers, 3-0, in a match in France’s top soccer league, Ligue 1. It ended up being the final game of Brazilian defender Marcelo’s game for the club, as he did not suit up for them again, had his contract terminated in January, and eventually inked a deal with Bordeaux.
It was a bit weird, because the 34-year-old Marcelo had played a ton in recent years and had his contract renewed in March of 2022. While he played poorly in the game, the scuttlebutt at the time was that Marcelo laughed while club captain Leo Dubois tried to address the team after. As it turns out, there is a bit more to this, because according to Julien Laurens of ESPN, Marcelo would not stop farting and laughing in the locker room after the team lost.
Marcelo was caught laughing during captain Leo Dubois’ speech to rally the troops following the game, which didn’t go down well with manager Peter Bosz and sporting director Juninho.
However, according to ESPN sources, Marcelo was also disciplined by the club for repeatedly farting among his teammates in the dressing room and laughing in the presence of Juninho and Bosz.
We’re all adults here, and know that farting is a natural thing that happens. Having said that, this is essentially repeatedly farting and laughing at it during a very serious work meeting, so, I think we’d all lose our jobs if that happened.
While the Billboard Music Awards’ announcement of Travis Scott’s return as a performer came as a shock to some, for others it signaled the next phase in his ongoing comeback after the Astroworld Festival disaster. However, as Travis and Live Nation are still entangled in a deluge of lawsuits stemming from the many, many injuries and ten deaths at Astroworld, it appears Travis needed an outside advocate to fight for him to perform at this year’s BBMAs.
Enter: Sean “Puff Daddy/P. Diddy/Brother Love” Combs. In a video posted to Instagram, the veteran hitmaker made it clear that he deserves the credit (or the blame, depending on where you stand) for Travis Scott’s impending redemption. It seems Diddy gave the show’s producers an ultimatum:” For the Billboard Music Awards this Sunday I made a request, I made a demand,” he said. “I said ‘My brother Travis Scott has to perform. I’m executive producing, he has to perform,’ and NBC said ‘yes.’”
Diddy continued to boast in a separate interview with REVOLT Black News (which, you may recall, he owns). “I am uncanceling the canceled,” he declared. “There will be no canceling on my watch. Love is about forgiveness… so that was why it was important for me to have Travis Scott perform. It’s going to be a great night.”
While forgiveness is an admirable goal, there are some who don’t feel it’s Diddy’s or anyone else’s place to offer that. Those people include Bernon and Tericia Blount, the grandparents of Ezra Blount, the youngest Astroworld victim at nine years old. The Blounts previously condemned one of Travis’ efforts to make amends, calling it a PR stunt, and nearly 3,000 victims have lawsuits against the rapper and Astroworld’s promotion company, Live Nation. Those suits have been combined into a single case, which has yet to be tried.
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