Month: February 2023

While it’s hard to choose the single wildest moment from Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, one thing we can all agree on — regardless of political affiliation — is that Marjorie Taylor Greene’s outfit was the sartorial personification of “white trash.” And Seth Meyers couldn’t wait to talk about it.

On Wednesday night, Meyers discussed Greene’s white fur monstrosity during his “A Closer Look” segment, in which he talked about the “blowback” Republicans are facing for their sheer inability to simply sit in a room while the president is speaking “and listen and not be insane.” As Meyers explained:

Unfortunately, it seems like some of them skipped their electroshock therapy, because they spent heckling and yelling incoherently from the back rows. Like Marjorie Taylor Greene, who was seen screaming and pointing fingers in a white fur coat like a Long Island dance mom about to get her final warning…

Why is she wearing a white fur coat to the State of the Union address? She looks like an old rapper’s first wife.

That wasn’t the only shot Meyers took at Greene; he also compared her to a “Real Housewife who wasn’t allowed into a reunion show.”

But Meyers was the first to admit that no one should have been surprised by Greene’s decision to “act like an obnoxious weirdo” during President Biden’s speech, given that she had posted a video of herself carrying a white balloon around — one she presumably wanted to bring with her to the speech — just a few hours earlier. While she may have meant it as a knock against Biden’s handling of the alleged “Chinese spy balloon,” Meyers thought she looked more like a teenager who “threw herself a Sweet 16 party and no one showed up.”

You can watch the full clip above.

Rihanna will make her long-awaited return to live music this weekend at Super Bowl LVII. This is a thrilling development to 99.999 percent of the 110-plus million people who are expected to watch the game. The other 0.0001 percent is made up of Stephen A. Smith and Texas congressman Ronny Jackson, a Trump-loving Republican who took to Twitter to complain about Sunday’s halftime show performer.

“Rihanna spray painted “F*** Donald Trump” on a car at the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo. She’s made a career of spewing degenerate filth while badmouthing America every chance she gets. Why is the NFL showcasing this crap? Rihanna SHOULD NOT be the halftime performer!!” the former-White House doctor tweeted. In 2020, the “Born Again” singer wrote “f*ck Trump” in spray paint at the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas.

Visitors at the iconic Cadillac Ranch are encouraged to paint designs and messages on the 10 Cadillacs buried in the ground. Rihanna’s message was later painted over… Rihanna wrote “81 days” in her Instagram photo, letting her followers know how many days there were until the presidential election.

Rihanna also shared the image on Instagram.

Jackson’s tweet is going over about as well as you think.

And Jackson has the gall to question Biden’s cognitive health?

Depeche Mode suffered the loss of keyboardist Andy Fletcher last May, but founding members Dave Gahan and Martin Gore are forging on in his memory. Memento Mori, their new album, and the corresponding Memento Mori World Tour were announced in October.

“We started work on this project early in the pandemic, and its themes were directly inspired by that time,” Gore said in a statement then. “After Fletch’s passing, we decided to continue as we’re sure this is what he would have wanted, and that has really given the project an extra level of meaning.”

Today, February 9, Depeche Mode dropped the album’s first single, “Ghosts Again” — a contemplation of the brevity of life and inevitability of death with poignant lines such as “Heaven’s dreaming / Thoughtless thoughts, my friends / We know we’ll be ghosts again.”

In the black-and-white Anton Corbijn-directed video, Depeche Mode are engaged in an intense chess match on a rooftop while donning ominous black cloaks. They also visit a cemetery — even crawl around at one point — where ghosts dancing in the sky.

“To me, ‘Ghosts Again’ just captures this perfect balance of melancholy and joy,” Gahan said, per press release, with Gore adding, “It’s not often that we record a song that I just don’t get sick of listening to. I’m excited to be able to share it.”

Watch the “Ghosts Again” video above.

Memento Mori is out 3/24 via Columbia Records. Pre-order it here.

Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (that doesn’t actually have Spider-Man in it) is reportedly developing a new live-action series centered on Spider-Man Noir. As part of a previously announced arrangement, the series will premiere on Amazon and MGM+ which are now the official streaming home for Sony Spider-Man TV projects that don’t actually have Spider-Man in them. Not sure if we mentioned that.

The Spider-Man Noir character made his first appearance in 2009 as part of Marvel Comics’ Noir universe where the iconic character is reimagined as a hard-boiled 1920s detective with powers granted to him by a spider-god. He’s since popped up in various projects, notably the animated tour-de-force Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse where he was voiced by Nicolas Cage. The Amazon series will be the first live-action version of the character. However, unlike the comics, Spider-Man Noir will not be Peter Parker because, again, these things can’t have the actual Spider-Man in them thanks to Sony’s current arrangement with Marvel Studios.

Via Variety:

Oren Uziel will serve as writer and executive producer on the Spider-Man Noir show. Uziel developed the show along with “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and former Sony boss Amy Pascal, who all executive produce. Pascal executive produces via Pascal Pictures. Sony Pictures Television is the studio, with Lord and Miller currently under an overall deal there.

The untiled Spider-Man Noir series is now the second live-action series headed for Amazon. Silk: Spider Society is already in the works and will introduce Cindy Moon (a.k.a. Silk) to the burgeoning Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. That show, and stop us if you’ve heard this before, will also not have Spider-Man in it.

(Via Variety)

Earlier this week, it was reported that Ivy Park, the co-branded clothing line from Beyoncé and Adidas, was underperforming. A lot.

Projected to make $200 million last year, internal documents seen by The Wall Street Journal confirmed that the collection had only pulled in $40 million, despite customers reporting sellouts and difficulty purchasing products online.

Obviously, when Adidas hooked up with Beyoncé in 2019 (after Ivy Park’s partnership with TopShop was ended over accusations of improper conduct by cofounder Philip Green), the expectation was for Beyoncé’s incomparable celebrity to do most of the heavy lifting in terms of sales.

Unfortunately, that’s not how things panned out; while Adidas’ similar partnership with Kanye West yielded nearly $2 billion in sales until Ye himself torpedoed that profitable alliance with his deplorable views, Adidas is reportedly figuring out how to revamp the Ivy Park deal.

Now, I’m no fashion expert, but I’ve made some observations using fan feedback on social media that might explain why the collection fell short of expectations. It’s no fun to look at the “why” without also offering some solutions, so that’s what we’re going to do here. The thing is, I want Beyoncé to win, both because I like success stories more than failure ones, and because I know that when Black folks fail, it makes the people in charge hesitant to extend future opportunities.

Here are five things that Adidas and Beyoncé can do to save Ivy Park.

Pick A Side

While the most recent drop focused on outdoorsy aesthetics like parkas and camouflage, prior collections have been a rather confusing jumble of athleisure and couture. Designs that wouldn’t be out of place on a runway fight for space with workout gear that looks more flashy than functional. The time has come to decide just what kind of brand Ivy Park really is.

As a prime example; my girlfriend has two Ivy Park trenchcoats in her closet at the moment. Both are beautiful in their way, but they are also big, ungainly things that don’t really do much to keep her warm and take up a lot of space when we try to go out (they’re both made of mesh, so rain goes right through them). By contrast, the TopShop collection included staples like yoga pants and sports bras — stuff people actually wear.

Given the line is a partnership with Adidas, moving in a more sportswear-inspired direction could provide some much-needed focus. Bey’s attempts at high fashion could be spun off to another label, or even a separate division, like Adidas’ own luxury Y-3 line. I’m sure there are tons of Beyoncé fans who’d love to run their errands in their Ivy Park sweatpants or hit spin class in some bike shorts with a touch of Beyoncé style. Give them that!

Get Back To Basics

While Adidas reported that nearly half of the produced items weren’t selling, fans said the coveted items they wanted were gone before they could grab them. What gives?

Well, considering fans also spent a fair amount of time each drop making fun of items like denim chaps, the problem seems pretty clear to me. Longtime Beyoncé fans probably aren’t surprised by some of the funkier designs. She had similar issues with her first clothing line, House of Dereon, in the early ’00s. But, honestly, how many music fans ride horses on the regular? Dropping the gimmicky items could save a lot of time and effort and allow Adidas to stick to what it’s great at: comfy sportswear.

The foundations of most clothing brands are basics that customers can mix and match, dress up or down, and that won’t break the bank. Pointing to some of Adidas’ competitors, Champion and Nike do steady business with sweatsuits, T-shirts, and even underwear and socks. I think Ivy Park can offer those things and if they need a little more pizzazz, just remember: it’s all in the details. Keep it simple!

Stop Doing Drops

One of the main complaints about the most recent Ivy Park drop is its timing. With the Renaissance World Tour just months away, the BeyHive is already smashing its collective piggy banks for tickets. Why make them make a choice?

Relatedly, this drop is very woodsy, with parkas and cargo pants, but spring is right around the corner! Who wants to buy fall/winter stuff in February, knowing they might even receive their orders until March?

It’s understandable why Adidas (or Bey) went with the streetwear model; it’s worked for brands like Telfar, and of course, Yeezy products did gangbusters.

But it’s also important to understand the differences in their respective strategies and fan bases. Telfar does do drops, but it also does plentiful restocks and has a few reliable base models it always comes back to, allowing fans who missed out multiple chances.

And Beyoncé fans aren’t hypebeasts, although they display similar behavior sometimes. They want to support their fave, but they aren’t the type to line up outside a sneaker store overnight for a release. Moving away from streetwear drops to just having a consistently available clothing line might make all the difference.

Make It Easier To Buy The Clothes

Speaking of sneaker stores, one of the more common complaints I’ve seen about Ivy Park on social media is how hard it is to get. It’s only available in select brick-and-mortar retailers, so once the bots clean out the website, fans are left hunting down the nearest Adidas outlet and hoping they get there before the bones are picked over.

If they can find the style and size they want, the price is often a lot higher than many are excited about paying. Regular folks’ disposable income has become more precious than ever as rent, gas, food, childcare, and other expenses pile up. And if it comes down to the decision between a new Ivy Park hoodie and the Renaissance vinyl box set… fans will stick with what Beyoncé herself is best at.

So, lower the price and put it in more stores. This kills the “exclusivity” aspect, sure, but since when was liking Beyoncé supposed to be exclusive?

Open Up

The final point spins off that “what Beyoncé is best at” line above. Although many of her performance lewks are iconic, Beyoncé herself is kind of a recluse. One of the major selling points of Yeezy is that you always saw Kanye outside, wearing his own clothes, making the desirability for those clothes — however goofy they might have been — go up.

The Journal reported that this was kind of a sticking point in the partnership, as well. Beyoncé is a notoriously private person. She doesn’t leave the house unless it’s to go to the studio, rehearsal, or on tour. But she may need to get over that reticence and start to open up. With social media, she still doesn’t need to actually go outside, but her curated professional-shot timeline just isn’t gonna cut it.

We’re in the era where stars like Cardi B, Doja Cat, Lizzo, and Megan Thee Stallion do livestreams just hanging out at home listening to music and talking to fans. They do silly TikToks lip-syncing and dancing and trying out food trends. Beyoncé comes from a different era, but that doesn’t mean she can’t adapt. One of the main reasons she has a Hive is because people want to hang out with her. Let them. And if you’re rocking an Ivy Park T-shirt while you do it, don’t be surprised when they become an even hotter commodity than ever.

No matter how old we get, there’s a part of us that revels in the magical wonder of childhood. One toy designer-turned-acorn artist has tapped straight into that wonder with the worlds he creates for his “Becorns” and the creatures who stumble upon them.

Becorns are David Bird’s name for the tiny characters he creates out of acorns and sticks. He has made over 100 of them, all with different personalities and names (such as Bing, Cooper, Big Boone and Vildegarde), and they are absolutely precious.

Meet Dink, for instance:

Dink may be having a solo moment of awe here, but Becorns aren’t usually on their own when Bird captures them in photos. After setting up a scene and waiting patiently, Bird might catch one of his Becorn friends examining an insect, bathing with a bird or sparring with a squirrel.

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And the end result is something straight out of a fairy tale.

“Kind of the essence of Becorns is this wonder about the natural world and sort of experiencing nature and the wonder of nature in kind of a pure way,” Bird told PBS. “And a lot of people have said, ‘I haven’t felt that since I was a kid.'”

“There’s a wide variety of personalities in the Becorn world,” he shared. “They tend to be gentle, they’re almost always curious and up to something. There are warriors that are defending against squirrels. They definitely are nurturers—they feed the wildlife and care for them.”

The idea for creating Becorns came to Bird when he was sweeping debris off his mom’s driveway and saw the acorns and sticks scattered on the ground. Bird had worked as a toy designer at LEGO in Denmark for almost five years and his work on Bionicles served as the foundation for piecing together his Becorn friends.

“I kind of realized,—Oh my God, everything I did at LEGO I can do with these sticks and acorns and kind of create a whole world with them,” he told PBS.

And that’s exactly what he’s done.

Bird sells prints of his photographs on his website and gallery shows and he shares them on social media as well. He recently shared a video montage of his favorite Becorn scenes from 2022.

“People love Becorns because on the one hand, it’s all so familiar, like we all know acorns and sticks and chipmunks in our backyard, and we see it all the time,” Bird told CBS. “But on the other hand, it seems like this whole other world.”

Watch Bird share his process for creating a Becorn scene with CBS Sunday Morning:

Find more Becorn delights on Bird’s website here, and follow him on Facebook or Instagram.

Few delicacies are as controversial as the rich, buttery, cream-like spread made from fattened goose or duck liver, better known as foie gras.

The process of making foie gras is considered extremely cruel, requiring the liver to become abnormally enlarged from a disease called hepatic steatosis. This is caused by gavaging, a process in which the bird is force-fed exorbitant amounts of food through a long metal tube being shoved down its throat, pumping in so much food that the liver swells up to ten times its normal size. Hence why the food item is so expensive, priced at $40-$80 per pound, and banned in both New York and California as well as a handful of countries.

However, one farmer in Spain makes foie gras using no gavaging and no force-feeding. He doesn’t even use cages. His foie gras costs twice as much at a little over $200 for a 180-gram jar. But here’s why it’s worth every penny.

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Eduardo Sousa, aka the “Goose Whisperer,” uses a simple system that’s been in his family since the early 1800s and dates all the way back to ancient Egypt.

It works like this: Tamed wild geese roam as they please. The farm is located on a natural migration path, so in the cold winter months, wild geese join the tamed geese on the farm where they feast on grass, acorns, olives, figs and different seeds, which naturally fattens up their liver. Geese particularly love acorns, which Sousa says makes the livers tastier and have a more yellow color.

Even the slaughter is done humanely, using a traditional technique that “hypnotizes” the geese. During the coldest part of winter on a moonless night, Sousa uses a high-powered LED light to stun the geese, which makes catching them easier so they don’t suffer. He says he makes sure they have “a sweet death.”

The livers are then put into a jar and cooked in a wood oven. And voila—delicious, colorful, creamy foie gras with zero cruelty. Plus, Sousa makes sure to also use every other part of the goose to eliminate waste.

This entire process only takes place once a year, and yields no more than 2,000 batches, which (despite their hefty price tag) always sell out. And it’s not just because the foie gras is made ethically. Its flavor is the stuff of legend, winning the highly prestigious Coup de Couer in France. It received its own Ted Talk, for crying out loud.

Despite his foie gras fame, Sousa doesn’t make much of a profit. Instead, it goes back to maintaining the land for the geese. But this is all part of his passion. He hopes to teach others this humane method and to encourage a way of enjoying luxury in a way that is respectful to nature.

“We always say that foie gras is something that should be consumed once in a lifetime. We do not want it to be abused. No matter how much money a person has, they should not abuse consumption. It is something you have to try, enjoy it on a very, very, very special occasion,” he said.

What a beautiful philosophy.

Who’s a good dog? That’s a question dog owners ask often just because their dogs merely exist. Of course, the answer will always and forever be, “You are!” to whatever dog you’re speaking to. But some dogs take their status of good girl or good boy to a whole new dimension, elevating them from just a good dog to the goodest dog.

Yes, I know goodest isn’t a word, but dogs don’t know that. Dogs don’t speak our language and certainly don’t understand the rules of grammar, but that doesn’t stop them from being the best full-body-wagging companions there are, and it doesn’t stop them from claiming their “goodest dog” title.

Today that title goes to Caipirinha, the rescue dog who saved her blind sister after she fell into the pool.

Luna is a 14-year-old blind dog who recently started to become disoriented according to her owner, Dustin. While the family was inside the house, Luna lost her orientation and fell into the pool. If you’ve never had a blind dog, it may be surprising to know that they can get around pretty well so long as you don’t change the layout of your home or backyard set up often.

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When my senior dog went blind, I was shocked to see him still able to get around just fine without bumping into things, but just like Luna, as he got older he started to become disoriented and often needed to be led around by my other dog. (Sort of like a seeing-eye dog for a dog.) Thankfully, Luna also had a four-legged sister looking out for her when she lost her bearings and took an unexpected swim.

Caipirinha immediately knew her big sister was in trouble and worked tirelessly to get her to the steps of the pool so she could get out.

“And then when Luna gets close to the edge, Caipirinha nudges her towards the stairs, knowing that that’s going to be the only way she could get out,” Dustin is heard saying in the video shared by Sassy on Facebook. Caipirinha goes as far as to pull on Luna’s collar once she’s on the steps to help her the rest of the way out of the pool.

After the terrifying incident, Luna and Caipirinha’s dad installed a barrier to prevent the elderly dog from falling into the pool again. But it should be officially stated that Caipirinha wins the goodest dog award. What a good girl.

The entire rescue was caught on surveillance. Watch it below:

Dogs really are man’s best friend and a police officer in Deer Park, Texas went through a literal tornado to prove it. Recently a tornado tore through the Texas town destroying buildings and whipping debris around making the outdoors a hostile environment. But when officer Joel Nitchman realized the tornado was barreling down while his K-9 partner was still in the car, he jumped into action.

Nitchman told KHOU that the two had just came back from training when the wind began picking up and he knew he needed to get to his dog, “the thought of debris or the car flipping over. I couldn’t do that to him. I couldn’t have him out there during that.” The officer’s K-9, Roni has been in several situations where he put himself in danger to help Nitchman according to the officer, this time his human returned the favor.

The entire thing was caught on surveillance cameras and it’s quite the sight. At one point in the video you can’t even see the police car because the wind and rain is so strong. In fact, the winds are so intense that Roni refused to come out of the car.

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“I could barely open the door. When I did…he’s a smart dog. He saw what was going on outside and he’s like, ‘I’m not coming out,'” Nitchman told KHOU. But there wasn’t time for negotiations with a scared pup. The partners had to get inside to safety before the tornado picked up and the two became the next Dorothy and Toto.

Luckily for Roni, his human partner was able to coax him out of the car and the duo fought the intense winds to get inside the building.

Watch the amazing video below:

Some of basketball’s biggest stars aren’t just making moves on the basketball court. Some of them are doing it on the runway as well.

Fashion has been an integral part of professional basketball from the very beginning, but just like the game itself, fashion trends move fast, which is why it’s vital to keep an eye on the trendsetters who always seem to be at the forefront.

In this episode of Dime Breakdowns, we’re going to do exactly that with a look at some of basketball culture’s boldest style stars. From Kelly Oubre with his Dope$oul brand to the NBA’s Style Player of the Year (and newly minted Kevin Durant running mate) Devin Booker, to on and off-court icon Russell Westbrook with his Honor the Gift clothing line, Kyle Kuzma and his amazing combo outfits, and Jordan Clarkson with his love for vintage looks., this lineup is unstoppable when it comes to tunnel style and making a grand entrance.

We only wish we had a time machine to include Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Astro Boy shoes. See? Fashion moves faster than you think.

Check out the latest Dime Breakdowns and then let the style inspo guide you as you look to keep your wardrobe in a constant state of freshness.