On August 20, 2021, Lorde released Solar Power, so tomorrow marks the album’s one-year anniversary. In celebration of that, Lorde has shared the final video from the album, for “Oceanic Feeling.”
In an email newsletter sent to fans today, Lorde wrote:
“Can you believe the album came out a year ago today?!!! What a beautiful blur. I can honestly say I don’t think I’ve ever grown so much in a single year. In honour of its first trip round the sun, I wanted to share the final (!!!!!!!!!!!!![sad emojis]) video with you, for OCEANIC FEELING.
It’s bittersweet to be coming to the end of this video journey, but amazing too, because this one is possibly my FAVOURITE video I’ve ever, ever made. Who you see in this video is who I truly am, or who I want to be— open, laid bare, water glittering on my skin, speaking directly to you, nothing to hide or prove, just me.
The person with me is my other half and best mate, my brother Angelo. Born on the same day five years apart, we’ve always shared a super close bond. I knew by putting him in the video, I’d be showing myself exactly as I am. Can’t be anyone else when that kid’s around.”
She concluded, “The end is super special too, an end to the video story as much as to this chapter — my community of loved ones gathered to see me off, a moment of ceremony. It was an honour to wear Simone Rocha’s raffia dresses for this. I kept thinking on the afternoon we shot it that I was marrying myself. Sounds crazy but that’s how it felt. Punctuating this period of intense self reflection with an image that pretty much splits me apart. It’s sort of the story of my life: I never know where I’m going, just that I have to go there. I’m eternally grateful to you for sticking around to see where I end up.”
Kevin Hart has a tequila! Is that even surprising anymore at this point? Celebrities f*cking love tequila, they can’t get enough of it. Nick Jonas has a brand, Michael Jordan, Rita Ora, Guy Fieri, LeBron James, George Clooney (he sold it), Kendall Jenner, tequila is the hot vanity project for the Hollywood crowd and we haven’t even named half of the celebrity tequila owners. Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul get a shout-out for drawing outside of the lines and doing mezcal, and doing it well. Respect.
Among the legions of famous tequila-brand owners, probably most importantly to Kevin Hart is that his longtime friend, The Rock, has a tequila (and it’s pretty solid). So if you were Kevin Hart and you had a whole bunch of time and endless disposable income, wouldn’t you want one too?
Enter Gran Coramino, a reposado cristalino tequila. To Harts’ credit, he went all out. He choose a relatively new, but popular, expression and focused his efforts on perfecting that rather than dropping a full line, scored an awesome swirling bottle design, did the wistful contemplative photo shoot in Mexico that celebrities love to do — on the website is a photo where Hart, back turned to the camera, inspects a glass of Gran Coramino in an agave field lit by the setting sun — and he teamed up with an absolute heavyweight in the tequila industry, Juan Domingo Beckman, to put it all together.
Gran Coramino
Beckman is an 11th-generation tequila maker and the current CEO of Jose Cuervo. Hart enlisted the family who essentially created the tequila industry, and while Jose Cuervo isn’t exactly the most beloved brand by tequila snobs (it’s only the best-selling brand in the world), it is as legit as legit gets, and the brand is responsible for many a great bottle of tequila in its more high-end offerings.
So where does Gran Coramino stand, does it join the illustrious ranks of bottles like the Reserva de Familia Line, or hit the bottom shelf with the Especial Series and more middling offerings? We tasted a bottle to find out.
Gran Coramino doesn’t cut any corners when it comes to process. The tequila is made from blue agave piñas harvested at peak maturity (the brand doesn’t specify what this means, are we talking 7, 8, 9, or 10 years?) from Beckmann’s family farms, roasted in traditional stone ovens, extracted using roller mill extraction and double-distilled in copper pot stills. Gran Coramino hails from NOM 1122, Casa Cuervo, home of 1800, Gran Centenario and Maestro Dobel, the brand that this tequila reminds me most of.
The tequila is rested in Eastern European oak barrels, Gran Coramino doesn’t disclose approximately how long the tequila is rested for but considering it’s a Reposado it would need to be anywhere between two and twelve months. As a final touch, the tequila is finished in Cabernet Sauvignon casks from Napa Valley and slow-filtered to remove the color and get into that ultra smooth crystal clear Cristalino state.
Tasting Notes:
Dane Rivera
On the nose, I’m getting strong wafts of vanilla and cracked black pepper jumping from the glass. Once this tequila hits the palate it’s even less subtle, hitting you with a heavily perfumed flavor with notes of earthy caramelized honey and cooked agave. On the backend is a pronounced oak flavor with a slight dark berry finish and it leaves you with a noticeable burn on the tongue and throat. This cristalino isn’t so much smooth, as it is sweet.
The big draw of cristalino is that it’s so smooth it’s almost dangerously easy to drink, Gran Coramino doesn’t get that across, instead using sweetness to invite you in. It works, kind of… but it also feels like a trick. According to the website, Hart’s favorite pour is in a glass over rocks so I gave that a try and it did a lot to corral the flavors together more harmoniously, and water down the burning sensation. This is the way we suggest you drink it, or even in a Cadillac Margarita.
The Bottom Line:
You’re going to have to be a pretty big Kevin Hart fan to seek this tequila out. It’s not nearly as luxurious as it would like to be, lacking that smooth supple mouthfeel that cristalino needs in order to justify its inflated price tag. Maybe Gran Coramino can remedy that simply by letting this one age in the barrel a little longer (maybe even to an añejo state?). To compare it to other Cuervo products, it’s way above the Especial and Tradicional series, but not close to the level of the fantastic Familia de Reserva line.
Overall, it’s neither bad. It’s fine, if a little overpriced. All in all, I would say it’s better than the Rock’s brand. And maybe that was the end goal all along.
Donald Trump revealed that he tested positive for COVID on October 2, 2020, but it was later reported that he may contracted the virus a week prior and still went through his scheduled presidential debate with Joe Biden. Either way, he was airlifted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after tweeting the news (ah, the bad ol’ days). Trump was discharged after only three nights in the hospital, even though he supposedly nearly died, but not before ordering from his favorite restaurant: McDonald’s.
That’s the moment Jared Kushner knew Trump would survive, according to an except from his upcoming memoir published by the New York Post.
The 45th president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, reveals in his forthcoming White House memoir that he knew Trump was recovering from his nasty bout of COVID in the fall of 2020 “when he requested one of his favorite meals.”
Trump’s order? “McDonald’s Big Mac, Filet-o-Fish, fries and a vanilla shake.” That’s what I would get, too, except replace the Big Mac with a Quarter Pounder with Cheese, swap the McD’s fries with Five Guys fries, and, well, the vanilla shake can stay. As for the Filet-o-Fish, I don’t know what that is. I only know it by its real name: the Fish Delight.
Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, and Pete Davidson have been mixed up in a messy love triangle of sorts, and many people had opinions on it. Trevor Noah in particular spoke on the matter regarding Ye’s harassment of Kim K, and Ye had words for him in response in the form of racial slurs. In a recent conversation with Variety, Noah opened up on why he even said anything in the first place.
“I said counsel Kanye, not cancel,” the comedian said. “It’s easy to stand on the sidelines, see a train crash coming and say nothing about it. And then after the train crashes off the tracks, we say, ‘Oh, I saw that coming!’ Well, then why didn’t you say anything? Especially if you have some sort of platform, you have some sort of obligation to speak a truth. You know, see something and say something.”
Noah later spoke on his desire for everyone to feel comfortable addressing people they care for as opposed to just pushing them to the side. “I think we have gotten very comfortable discarding human beings, immediately tossing them away and making them irredeemable characters,” he said before continuing, “When in fact I think all of us should be afforded the opportunity to redeem ourselves. All of us should have an opportunity at redemption.”
While the drama is fun to focus on, Noah is clearly more concerned about rehabilitation and accountability.
Shirts, sweatpants, thongs, trucker hats, socks — you name it and it’s on the site. The designs are colorful and full of personality as one can only expect from someone as provocative as the “Woman” singer. Check out the website at this link.
After receiving comments about her decision to shave her head, Doja took to Twitter to express frustration. “I won a grammy and traveled the f*cking globe i’ve had a #1 and i went platinum,” she wrote. “I make hit after hit after hit and you all want me to look f*ckable for you so that you can go home and jerk your c*cks all day long while you live in your mothers basement. Go f*ck yourselves.” When a Twitter user responded calling her ungrateful, she replied, “you’re so miserable that you have to label yourself as a ‘we’. You aren’t part of any collective. You’re just another asshole that doesn’t know how to read a room.”
During a recent interview on Morning Joe, Conway rolled out his theory on Trump’s motives that would fit right at home outside of Satriale’s. Via Mediaite:
“First of all, they themselves would like to see the affidavit because, you know, Tony Soprano wants to know if Pussy Bonpensiero is the rat,” Conway began referencing the popular HBO show about a New Jersey mob boss.
“And they want to they want to see who was finking on them,” Conway added. The Guardian reported this week that top Trump aides believe that a Trump family member informed the FBI as to where to find key documents given the FBI’s intimate knowledge of where they were in Trump’s home.
Conway’s thoughts jibe with reports since the raid that Trump is obsessed (and paranoid) about who in his inner circle might have sold him out. He’s reportedly accused people of “wearing a wire,” and as Mediaite noted, there have been several theories that his own children and/or Jared Kushner turned against him to avoid prosecution.
On top of a potential “rat” in his midst, Trump has also been struggling to find legal representation due to his mercurial reputation and a penchant for not paying his bills. Other than that, it’s going pretty well.
Earlier this year, there was a report that Barbie-approved icon Margot Robbie would be starring in and producing a new movie from the Ocean’s Eleven universe with director Jay Roach attached to lead the project. Now it seems like a second Barbie-approved actor is joining the movie!
Ryan Gosling, who just wrapped up filming as Ken opposite Robbie’s Barbie, is reportedly joining the Oceans movie, according to Puck. The site reports that the deal is underway as Warner Bros Discovery aims to prioritize movies that will draw in a massive fan base, and we all know that Gosling sure can bring a crowd.
The Oceans franchise has featured a slew of Hollywood icons since the first movie was released in 1960, featuring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford. The 2001 remake featured an ensemble cast with every early aughts movie star you can imagine, including Geroge Clooney, Brad Pitt, Mat Damon, and Julia Roberts.
After the 2018 all-female reboot, it seems like Robbie’s upcoming installment will go back to the basics and take place in Europe in the 1960s. Roach and Robbie had previously worked together on 2019’s Bombshell, which secured Robbie’s second Oscar nomination.
The project is rumored to begin filming in the spring of 2023. So right before Margot Robbie begins The Summer Of Barbie. Hopefully, they will both dress like this in the intense heist movie!
The only major piece of the puzzle remaining has been when the song is actually coming out. There were rumors it would be released today (August 19), but the song is not out yet. Now, we know when the song truly is set to surface: Today, John revealed it’s going to drop next Friday, August 26. John’s announcement also included what may be the official single art, which features childhood photos of him and Spears.
Now that this info is out there, another piece of the puzzle yet to be uncovered is what the tune sounds like. It will still be a few days before we definitively know that, but Spears pal Paris Hilton had some laudatory words about the song, saying in a recent interview, “It’s going to be iconic. I just heard it a couple days ago in Ibiza and it is… it’s insane.”
I would be lying if I said I was super intrigued by the concept of Beast. It seemed to be a movie about Idris Elba fighting a big CGI lion, and “Idris Elba fights a CGI lion” doesn’t exactly scream “cinema.” But by the same token, Jaws is a movie about Roy Scheider fighting a mechanical shark and Jaws is arguably the first modern blockbuster. So maybe there was reason to give Beast, directed by Baltasar Kormákur (2 Guns, Adrift), the benefit of the doubt.
I briefly had my hopes up when Idris Elba, as American Dr. Nate Samuels, stepped off a small plane onto the South African veldt with his two daughters in tow. At the very least, rural South Africa makes for a picturesque setting. At a basic level, isn’t a change of scenery all we really want out of any movie?
“Where are we?” Dr. Samuels’ older daughter “Mir” (Iyana Halley) asks. “We’re the bush!” exults a smiling Samuels.
Meanwhile, his younger daughter, Norah (Leah Jeffries) complains about the heat. “My head is hot. My hair is hot. My spleen is hot,” Norah riffs.
When she says this, Norah is wearing long pants and at least three layers of clothing, including a turtleneck topped by a jean jacket (her sister has a black hoodie with the hood up). Now, every thriller walks a fine line between the characters acting stupid enough to imperil themselves enough to keep the movie going, and characters acting so stupid that it feels manipulative, so stupid that you can’t put up with any more of their bullshit. It certainly feels like a harbinger of the latter when a thriller opens with a character complaining about the heat while wearing a turtleneck and jean jacket and not one other character in the scene thinks to suggest “Hey, maybe take off your jacket.”
Perhaps it’s overly nitpicky to focus on this one throwaway scene. Fine. Speaking more generally, the thing that Jaws has that Beast lacks (beyond fully-fleshed characters and compelling dialogue) is style. I can accept that the movie is about Idris Elba fighting a lion. If I try a little harder, I can even accept that Beast‘s characters aren’t smart enough to take off their jackets when it’s hot. But I can’t accept that the whole thing just looks kind of drab, cramped, and ugly.
Kormákur shoots most of the action following his subjects with a steadicam focused tightly on the backs of their necks. I don’t know if this was meant to create tension, but mostly it just induces boredom. Virtually every action sequence in Beast, which involves a “rogue lion” taking revenge on all humanity after his pride is murdered by poachers, lacks any real sense of spatial awareness. Action occurring within a recognizable space is what actually creates tension and makes the action compelling — that sense of anticipation, of potential energy building and then releasing. Most of Beast‘s action consists of characters shot in closeup while a lion attacks their land rover while our perspective shakes and tumbles like we’re inside a washing machine. There’s no movie magic, just the kind of “trick” that communicates nothing beyond “I’M DOING A TRICK!” The space between trailer and movie has been annihilated. We’re now merely meant to watch a series of advertisements for feelings.
Dr. Samuels and his daughters have come to South Africa, where he first met his now-dead wife (what would thrillers and Nicholas Sparks movies be without dead moms??) to meet up with his old friend, a game warden played by Sharlto Copley. There is some brief family drama, with Samuels’ older daughter blaming him for abandoning their mom while she was sick, but none of it really connects to the trip to Africa. They’ve apparently come for your basic safari, like any other tourists. The interpersonal dynamics add nothing to the drama and even Copley’s South Africanness feels watered down.
The only character with an intriguing perspective is the lion. He wants to decimate humanity because poachers murdered his family? I would like to subscribe to his newsletter. But Beast mostly treats him like your standard CGI baddie. One of the locals calls the lion “the devil,” and Beast is weighed down by this inability to decide whether the lion is rational or supernatural. Idris Elba’s eventual battle strategy has the most tacked-on, thinnest veneer of having to understand the lion’s mindset in order to defeat it, to the point that it feels like an apology.
Judging by a skim of his IMDB page, Kormákur‘s career seems to have a general “one for them, one for us” feel to it, of making one studio schlock picture and following it with something more personal. And who could blame any director for that? But Beast feels slapdash and detached to the point of being disdainful. It offers the barest idea of a movie about Idris Elba fighting a lion and nothing more.
‘Beast’ opens nationwide August 19th. Vince Mancini is onTwitter. You can access his archive of reviewshere.
When I first saw the headline that the IRS was raising the tax deduction limit for teachers buying classroom supplies with their own money—you know, the necessary items to do their jobs well—I was thrilled. The previous deduction of $250 was laughable, a virtual slap in the face to professionals who regularly spend two, three or four times that amount per year buying supplies for their students out of their own pocket.
But when I saw the amount the deduction was raised to, I rage laughed. $300? Are you kidding me?
It sounds great to say, “We’re raising the tax deduction for teachers by 20%” until you realize that the teacher deduction hasn’t been raised since 2002 and that 20% increase is a measly $50.
Fifty bucks spread over 20 years is $2.50 a year. Whoop dee frickin’ do. That doesn’t even come close to keeping up with inflation, for the love. Just to keep up with inflation, that $250 deduction from two decades ago should be over $400 now.
And again, even that amount wouldn’t be close to enough. An AdoptaClassroom survey of 5,400 PreK-12 teachers at public, private and charter schools across the U.S. found that teachers spent an average of $750 out of their own pockets for school supplies during the 2020-21 school year. About 30% spent more than $1,000.
In the face of that reality, raising the deduction limit from $250 to $300 is ridiculous, gross, rude, disrespectful and insulting. Teachers are professionals who are already paid less than what they’re worth. The fact that they have to buy supplies out of their own pockets at all is a travesty. The least we can do is let them deduct whatever they spend out of their taxes.
I’ve been a teacher and I’ve also been a business owner. The number of things a business owner can legally deduct is bonkers. You can deduct so many things from your business income that you pay zero taxes on it, and we’re putting this painfully low limit on out-of-pocket teacher supplies? Why? Who wins here?
u201c@Logically_JC My teacher friend tonight told me she had spent $1200 setting up her classroom.u201d
Honestly, why do we even have a deduction limit for teachers at all? It feels like whoever makes these decisions either doesn’t fully trust teachers or thinks they aren’t deserving of reasonable compensation. I mean, how much do they really think teachers are going to be able to deduct here even if there were no limit? Newsflash: Teachers aren’t rolling in extra dough. They’re not looking for ways to game the tax system to avoid tax liability. They’re literally spending their own money on their jobs—which is ridiculous—and hoping to get some back from the very same government that employs and pays them.
In recent years, some teachers have shared that they’re simply refusing to buy classroom supplies out of their own pocket anymore, pointing out that it doesn’t solve the problem, but masks it. It’s also simply not doable for many. The teaching profession tends to draw people who are willing to make sacrifices for kids, which is admirable, but financial sacrifice should not be an expectation inherent in the job.
When I say teachers aren’t paid what they are worth, I mean it literally. People who haven’t worked in a classroom have no idea. The energy it entails, the responsibility it requires, the emotional toll it takes and the time outside of school hours dedicated to the work are beyond any other job I’ve ever had. Yes, the work can be rewarding, but a lot of times it isn’t. In no other profession do we expect people to do so much for so little.
It’s not just that teachers deserve to be paid well. (Not merely adequately, but well.) Our kids also deserve teachers who are valued by everyone around them. They deserve teachers who have all the resources they need to educate to the best of their ability. They deserve beautiful learning environments and classrooms full of learning materials that their teachers didn’t have to dip into their wallets to pay for. They deserve to live in a society that prioritizes education above everything else, a society that understands quality education is the root of solutions to most problems.
Teachers are quitting in droves and many of those who are staying are barely hanging on. We can’t afford to keep losing good teachers. Money isn’t the only reason teachers are quitting, but it doesn’t help. Let’s drop the tax deduction limit altogether. It’s quite literally the least we can do.
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