Month: July 2024

Sixteen months in, Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour is dominant as ever. Swift is currently making her way through Germany, and Coldplay’s Music Of The Spheres Tour is following closely behind.

On Saturday, July 20, Coldplay visited Merkur Spiel-Arena in Düsseldorf, Germany for the first of three concerts. Chris Martin jokingly dedicated “Everglow” to Swift, as seen in a fan-captured video posted on X (formerly Twitter).

“This is for Taylor Swift because she left town,” Martin said, interrupted by crowd cheers and his own laughter. “This is for all of you who feel sad today because Taylor had to go to the next city. So, we sing this love song — this heartbreak song — and send it to Taylor, wherever she is today.”

Swift will next bring The Eras Tour to Volksparkstadion in Hamburg, Germany on Tuesday, July 23, and Wednesday, July 24. Swift will then perform twice in Munich, Germany, three times in Warsaw, Poland, and three times in Vienna, Austria before returning to London’s Wembley Stadium for five shows from August 15 to 20 to conclude her international leg. The Eras Tour will draw to a close with a second, much shorter North American leg in November and December.

See all of Swift’s remaining The Eras Tour dates here.

Over the weekend, Joe Biden announced that he would no longer be running for re-election. The frontrunner to replace him is his vice president, Kamala Harris. Sound familiar? It should to anyone who watched Veep.

In a scene from the HBO Emmy-winning series, Selina Meyer, played by the incredible Julia Louis-Dreyfus, announces to her team that the show’s in-universe president is leaving and not running for a second term. “I’m gonna run. I’m gonna run for president!” she says. The clip, which you can watch below, went viral following Biden’s surprise statement, with many people calling Veep a “documentary” (although if Harris does become president, hopefully it happens in a different way than on the show).

“Veep writers called it holy sh*t,” one user wrote on X wrote, while another added, “There is no more accurate depiction of government than Veep.” Even the show’s creator, Armando Iannucci, responded to the similarities (although, again, Selina is not exactly an aspirational figure). After a follower gave him credit for “continuing to predict our political reality,” he replied, “Still working on the ending.” Iannucci had a few more locked and loaded.

Here are more reactions.

Veep is streaming on Max. Good show!

LeBron James is trying to win his third Olympic gold medal as part of the men’s basketball competition in Paris this summer. James, the Los Angeles Lakers star who is representing the United States for the fourth time in his career, is one of the veterans on the team, and as a result, it was announced on Monday that he will serve as the men’s flag bearer for Team USA.

James appeared to learn the news in a team meeting when Stephen Curry announced the news.

“It’s special in the fact that, to get an opportunity to represent your country in another fashion,” James said in a video posted by USA Basketball. “I understand how prestigious this moment is, and for someone to be the flag-bearer and wave the flag — not only for us as a men’s national team, but for all the Olympians — I hold that with the upmost honor. It’s definitely something that my family and my community and my friends, it will live on forever. Super appreciative, and super humbled by it.”

James is the first member of the men’s basketball team to serve as a flag bearer, while two members of the women’s squad — Sue Bird and Dawn Staley — have done this in the past. According to NBC, James will be joined by a female athlete who will be announced on Tuesday.

He was a (cowboy hat-wearing storm chaser) boy. She was a (by-the-books Brit playing an American) girl. Can I make it any more obvious? Well, for Steven Spielberg, it was a little too obvious.

Twisters, which debuted with a shocking $80.5 million at the box office, does not end the way you think it might: with Tyler Owens (Glen Powell) running through an airport to give Kate Cooper (Daisy Edgar-Jones) a big ol’ smooch. Instead, there’s no kiss. There originally was, but Spielberg, who produced the film through Amblin Entertainment, suggested it be removed.

“I think it’s a Spielberg note, wasn’t it?” Edgar-Jones told Collider. “I think it stops the film feeling too cliched, actually. I think there’s something really wonderful about it feeling like there’s a continuation. This isn’t the end of their story. They’re united by their shared passion for something.”

Powell added, “I feel like a kiss would be sort of unrepresentative of the right goal at the end of the movie. And it is a good Spielberg note. It’s why that kid is still in this game. It’s amazing.”

Director Lee Isaac Chung agreed with his two stars. “I feel like audiences are in a different place now in terms of wanting a kiss or not wanting a kiss. I actually tried the kiss, and it was very polarizing — and it’s not because of their performance of the kiss,” he explained to Entertainment Weekly. “This [no-kiss shot] was the other option that I had filmed on the day, and I got to say, I like it better. I think it’s a better ending.”

This just means Powell and Edgar-Jones need to star in another movie where they get to kiss. They have too much chemistry not to.

(Via Collider and Entertainment Weekly)

Urban Dictionary has two definitions of “moist” that sum up the current perception of the word well: “The word that if said properly can make many people uncomfortable,” and, “A word people pretend to hate because the internet told them to.”

Well, Billie Eilish isn’t hopping on the hate train.

She was just a guest on BBC Radio 1, and while chatting with host Greg James, they did a segment called “Unpopular Opinion.” It’s a recurring Radio 1 segment (here’s Lizzo doing it in 2021), during which James and his guest give their thoughts on listener-submitted unpopular opinions. This time, one of them, from listeners Ellie and Darren, was that the word “moist” is “actually great.”

Eilish responded, “Ugh… love you, Ellie and Darren.” She added, “I just don’t see the problem. I understand where it came from, it makes sense, but I don’t… I think it’s great. When cake is moist: Oh my god, amazing. […] I like the word. It’s a great word, it’s a great adjective. An amazing adjective.”

She didn’t agree with a different listener, though, who claimed that “baths are the worst thing ever.” Eilish also noted that she and brother/collaborator Finneas differ on that issue, as he’s not a fan of a hot bath “unless he’s sick.”

Eilish and James also played a round of ‘Sexy Or Not Sexy,’ so check out the video above.

House of the Dragon’s sixth episode is, as Marie Kondo would say, “mess.” One big gay mess. Luckily, this mess sparks joy, so you won’t find us complaining when two sexually frustrated women release a bit of tension while plotting a rebellion. Or when a spooky witch torments a deadbeat dad having the most poorly-timed mid-life crisis we’ve ever seen. Or when the realm’s biggest drama queen does a bit of workplace restructuring that leaves his own mother unemployed and his brother bedridden.

No, this is the kind of mess we don’t feel the need to clean up, but rather marvel at before wondering exactly how this season is going to wrap things up with only two episodes left. Here’s where everyone stands on HoTD’s leaderboard this week.

Mysaria

Just call her “Missus Steal Your Girl” because, while Mysaria seems committed to seeing Rhaenyra grace the Iron Throne, the woman clearly has other ideas of where the Realm’s Delight could sit. (Her face, you guys. We’re making Sapphic allusions here.) The pair have been getting cozy while plotting the downfall of their shared enemy, the Hightowers, for multiple episodes now and all that subterfuge and political machination has hornt up these warmongering baddies. Naturally, a bit of tongue-tango-ing is in order, but Mysaria proves she’s not just the queen’s newest side chick, she’s an expert strategist capable of weaponizing the hunger pains of a city for her ruler’s cause. Her tavern plants and gossip girl minions do their job well, spreading rumors of feasts at the Red Keep while the peasants are left to survive on fish scraps and she makes good on the manufactured outrage by organizing aid drops under Rhaenyra’s banner. It’s the most clear cut win Team Black has enjoyed all war and it came, not from the back of a dragon, but the mind of a determined woman who’s been underestimated her entire life.

Addam Velaryon

For a man who spent most of the episode whining that his deadbeat dad favored his brother, Addam Velaryon was a little too quick to flee in terror from a dragon who simply wanted to be his friend. You’re digging for clams and knotting ropes all day, bruh, maybe you should be a bit more open to the mystical opportunities around you. That said, it certainly looks like Seasmoke has chosen his new rider – our condolences to Ser Steffon Darklyn, who served as his own funeral pyre this week.

Rhaenyra Targaryen

Rhaenyra Targaryen is in her Brat Girl Summer era, backhanding the chauvinistic grandpas at her war council and feeding her Kingsguard to the flames of her first husband’s cranky old dragon. She might not know the scientific terminology for the handle thingy of a sword, or even how to properly wield one, but she’s learning to make the men around her quake in fear despite this. And she’s scored herself a friend-with-benefits who’s helping her forget all about her waste of space uncle-husband and while giving her a crash course in Machiavellian mind games. It feels really good to finally say this: Rhaenyra Targaryen is winning.

Alys Rivers

This week on “What in the hell is that Goth-girl getting up to at Harrenhal,” everyone’s favorite human barn owl is leading Daemon on a merry chase for his sanity and (maybe) orchestrating the deaths of key Riverlords. After all, it is Alys who stays Daemon’s hand this week, advising him to wait a few days before flying out to forcibly bring the Riverlands tribes to their knees. When he heeds her warning, he’s rewarded with the death of old Grover Tully, the liege lord who couldn’t control his bowel movements just a few episodes prior. With a child in his stead, Daemon will be able to manipulate House Tully into doing his bidding, meaning we might just see him leave the castle grounds before the season is through. But does Alys want that? Who knows? She seems to be having a grand ol’ time haunting his dreams and poisoning his peas. We just know she’d love the 1996 cult classic, The Craft if times were different.

Aemond Targaryen

The Red Keep’s resident homicidal twink is living out a DMX song, losing his mind and acting a fool at the absolute worst time. His bright idea to treat with the Triarchy in order to thwart the Sea Snake’s blockade is met with a healthy dose of skepticism by his advisors and old one-eye is not a fan of constructive criticism. He lashes out by threatening his Lannister allies, sending his best fighter (and a few thousand men) to certain death, and firing his own mother from the only fulfilling job she’s ever had. (That includes raising him and his siblings.) But that’s just his professional life, his personal life is imploding too, especially when Aegon begins to regain consciousness putting all of his carefully-laid, quickly-screwed-up plans in jeopardy. Instead of handling things subtly, Aemond goes full Kathy Bates on his brother’s incapacitated, decomposing ass. We’re all for soaking in the moment, but when your power-trip blinds you to the uprising happening right outside your gates, it might be time to step back and reflect.

Larys Strong

Larys Strong has traded ogling Alicent’s feet for playing nursemaid to her rotting corpse of a son. It’s not an improvement, but it is his only option considering Aemond is too shrewd to manipulate and Aegon’s mind is too addled to object. If his plan is to Weekend At Bernie’s his way to the throne, he’s got some work to do.

Criston Cole

Ser Criston Cole is basically sentenced to death this episode so, you know, maybe God is real?

Daemon Targaryen

The good news? Daemon doesn’t dreamfuck his mother this week. Instead, his nightmares feature his brother, Viserys, at his absolute lowest, when his wife and child died on the same day and Daemon was nowhere to be found. It’s clear this particular screw-up still haunts the throne-thirsty Targaryen, but at least he’s able to find some type of closure before Simon Strong gives him a jarring reality check. Speaking of, the bad news for Daemon this week is that he’s still at Harrenhal, he’s still being controlled by a malevolent witch, and he still isn’t answering his wife’s ravens. We know men find it difficult to apologize sometimes, but this is getting ridiculous.

Aegon Targaryen

Aegon is conscious again, which is a new development we can’t help but think Aegon is not happy about. If the drugs are wearing off it means the peeling skin and oozing sores, the scabbed-over eye and crushed leg, the internal bleeding and exposed foot sitting right next to Lary Strong… he’s too aware of all of it now. He’s also aware that his younger brother wants him dead and he’s pretty committed to seeing that life goal realized.

Alicent Hightower

Alicent has officially reached the “fuck around and find out” stage of this little story. She’s spent her life playing by the rules of men intent on keeping women shackled to archaic gender roles. She’s benefited from her complicity, wielding her femininity when it suited her, judging others who would do the same. She’s played stupid games and now she’s winning stupid prizes – the main one being a demotion from her seat on the council courtesy of her tyrannical manchild. (Not the slab of burnt bacon, the other one, with the mommy issues and the missing eye.) She’s been robbed of what little power she possessed, relegated to the same “domestic pursuits” she would condemn others to, and left to wonder if this entire mess – the fracturing of House Targaryen, the civil war in Westeros, the rioting smallfolk, the death of dragons, the emotionally stunted men positioned to rule – is all her fault. To that, we offer this wise council: Uh, yeah, you messed up girl.

(WARNING: Spoilers for HotD will be found below.)

Team Black and Team Green have the same issue in House of the Dragon: a dwindling supply of dragons paired with riders. Of course, Team Green is still “winning” that contest at the moment because Vhagar (ridden by Aemond) is an absolute unit, and Rhaenyra cannot exactly zoom away atop Syrax (although she does do so at the end of this episode) without risking the same fate as Aegon after his idiotic decision to end up crispy.

Before Rhaenyra does fly away with Syrax, though, she happens to engage in an intense kissing session with Mysaria/White Worm. Wait, what?

To back up several scenes: Rhaenyra aimed to enlist dragonseeds to ride unclaimed dragons, but her ex-husband’s former flying companion, Seasmoke, declined that option. This effort went much worse than when we saw Aemond claim Vhagar, and we saw a dragonseed promptly get torched after daring to tell Seasmoke to “dohaeris” (i.e., serve). This, of course, runs counter to a previous suggestion by Mysaria, who wondered if Seasmoke was lonely without a rider. However, Rhaenyra accepts blame for the Seasmoke debacle, and she continues to take Mysaria’s counsel for better (and there are benefits, like that planted gossip enraging the residents of King’s Landing) or worse.

Also, this partnership now sits on another level after an embrace led to impromptu necking between Queen Rhaenyra and the newest member of her court. This was a gasp-inducing move on several levels, including the memory that both Rhaenyra and Mysaria have been with Daemon.

Daemon, however, is busy being pouty and haunted by not only young Rhaenyra but also Viserys. And after viewers felt the sheer joy of watching Seasmoke choose another rider, Addam of Hull, distraction mode hit when Rhaenyra and Mysaria’s kissing commenced. Sorry, Daemon?

It’s almost penultimate episode time.

House of the Dragon airs on Sunday nights.

The main thing the EA Sports team really wanted to do with the return of the College Football video game franchise was make it feel like actual college football. Visually, that meant getting stadiums right, mapping out how bands lineup for run outs, and getting the presentation in line with what it looks and sounds like on TV, but it also meant making the gameplay, well, a bit chaotic.

College football players are far from perfect, and the developers wanted you to feel that. It is infuriating at times playing the game, but it’s true to the spirit of college football, where 19 year olds often make critical mistakes. The EA team has been fairly stingy with the ratings (in a good way) as there needs to be a real benefit to having stars who excel at a skill in a college football game. That’s how it works in real life too, as the variance from top to bottom is so much greater than at the pro level and that needs to be reflected. That means keeping high ratings to an exclusive group. For overall rating, only the top 100 earned 90+, and a 90+ is even more exclusive for some skills.

On offense, plenty of folks have pointed out how hard it is to throw the ball, especially throwing downfield, and having a QB with a strong arm is vital — as is having receivers with speed to create separation. However, defense is just as hard and while some of you may be like me and just toggle the ol’ “offense only” tab when playing Dynasty, folks are learning that the simply getting a guy to the ground is a bit harder than usual, in part because a lot of guys are not very good at tackling.

Tackling is among the most exclusive skill ratings, as only 49 players earned a rating of 90 or better in their tackling (and 20 of those are at 90). That bears out in playing, and having one of these guys that can consistently get guys to the ground is a huge boost for your defense.

99 Tackle

Jason Henderson (ROLB, Old Dominion)

98 Tackle

Jay Higgins (MLB, Iowa)

97 Tackle

Nick Martin (MLB, Oklahoma State)

96 Tackle

Jordan Phillips (DT, Maryland)
Matt Salopek (ROLB, Miami OH)
Bobbie Walker-Smith (MLB, Alabama)

95 Tackle

Walter Nolen (DT, Ole Miss)
Joshua Farmer (DT, Florida State)

94 Tackle

Danny Stutsman (MLB, Oklahoma)
Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy (DT, Texas A&M)

93 Tackle

Jack Kiser (LOLB, Notre Dame)
Nick Jakcson (ROLB, Iowa)
Gabe Powers (MLB, Ohio State)
Marlowe Wax (MLB, Syracuse)

92 Tackle

Bam Martin-Scott (ROLB, South Carolina)
DJ Hicks (DT, Texas A&M)
Kenneth Grant (DT, Michigan)
Jordan Bertagnole (DT, Wyoming)

91 Tackle

Ty Wise (MLB, Miami OH)
Jordan Burch (RE, Oregon)
Ben Roberts (MLB, Texas Tech)
Jacob Manu (ROLB, Arizona)
Derick Mourning Jr. (MLB, Texas State)
Darrell Jackson Jr. (DT, Florida State)
Colin Coates (DT, Charlotte)
D’Von Ellies (DT, Penn State)
Bryun Parham (MLB, Washington)
Zeke Cables (DT, LSU)
Stefon Thompson (MLB, Nebraska)

90 Tackle

Xander Mueller (MLB, Northwestern)
Nazir Stackhouse (DT, Georgia)
Ruben Hyppolite II (MLB, Maryland)
Debo Williams (MLB, South Carolina)
Smael Mondon Jr. (MLB, Georgia)
Jailen Richards (RE, Temple)
Adrian Williams (LE, Utah State)
Landon Jackson (LE, Arkansas)
Travion Ford (LE, Toledo)
Mohamed Toure (ROLB, Rutgers)
Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins (LE, Georgia)
Ernest Hausmann (ROLB, Michigan)
Damonic Williams (DT, Oklahoma)
Dontay Corleone (DT, Cincinnati)
Jhalyn Shuler (ROLB, USF)
Ali Saad (LE, Bowling Green)
Aliki Vimahi (DT, Utah)
Rayshaun Benny (DT, Michigan)
LaMarcus Fox (RE, Alabama)
Xavier McKoy (DT, Alabama)

Kendrick Lamar and Drake’s feud forced many of rap’s biggest names to choose a side. Despite the war of words officially concluded, as Kendrick’s diss record “Not Like Us” continues to top the charts, the online banter refuses to die out.

Yesterday (July 20), Lupe Fiasco found himself in the middle of a heated debate surrounding the war of words with a host of fans online. Continue below for a full run down of has users online in an uproar.

What Did Lupe Fiasco Say About Kendrick Lamar?

During an X (formerly Twitter) Space, Lupe Fiasco decided to share his thoughts on who can assume the role of gatekeeper to hip-hop culture. Many users took his statement to be a subtle jab at Kendrick Lamar. Read his remarks below.

If you want to start who is in and who is out, a process which I don’t agree with, and I think is bullsh*t, if you want to do that you should have a degree. You should have a PhD in hip-hop. If you ain’t got that, then I don’t think that you are qualified to and have the right to speak on of hip-hop. Just because you can rap, and you’ve sold a bunch of records, I don’t think at this point, and it’s to the point now that it is visceral, and it’s to the point where people are making decisions on it, and it’s hurting people and building up other people that it shouldn’t just be based on some n**** at a podcast… It should be stewarded by people who know what the f*ck they are talking about very very deeply and can write a book about it. But I’m being biased. I don’t agree with the process anyway. I don’t think we should be choosing who comes in and out and making decisions on that sh*t anyway… I think it is going to do more harm than good. And I think you are going to miss out on a lot of beautiful things because of it. I think you are going to ostracize people and like I said, there are going to be a group of motherf*ckers that you think you actually control and sh*t and its dudes doing 50 city tours who you ain’t never heard of. ‘Cause they like, ‘F*ck that dude. I’m finna do this because I love it.’ But now, they are the ‘out group,’ but they are selling more records than you and selling more tour dates than you. But you are the spokesperson for hip-hop? That don’t make no sense.

Later in the discussion, Lupe shut down rumors that he dislikes Kendrick. Listen below.

If you were taking a stroll through a quiet neighborhood and happened to catch a glance of this majestic sight, you might bat an eye. You might do a double take. If you were (somewhat understandably) concerned about this surprising roof-dog’s welfare, you might even approach the homeowners to tell them, “Uh, I’m not sure if you know…but there’s a…dog…on your ROOF.”

Well, the family inside is aware that there’s often a dog on their roof. It’s their pet Golden, Huckleberry, and he just sorta likes it up there.

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To put passersby at ease and ebb the parade of concerned parties knocking on their door, Huckleberry’s human put up a note explaining the whole weird scenario to those interested:

It reads:

“Huckleberry is living up to his name and learned how to jump onto our roof from the backyard. We never leave him in the backyard without someone being at home. He will not jump off unless you entice him with food or a ball!””

We appreciate your concern but please do not knock on our door… we know he’s up there! But please feel free to take pictures of him and share with the world! #hucktheroofdog.”

Of course, they ended it with a hashtag for photos shared on social media. Also, it seems a little strange that the owners mention that Huck is willing to jump 10 feet off a roof to chase food or a ball, but do nothing to suggest that people refrain from urging their dog to make that (seemingly dangerous) leap. Maybe Huck’s got the whole process down to the point it’s just not a concern.

This may seem like a pretty odd phenomenon, but not so odd that there isn’t a whole corner of Reddit devoted to dogs who just seem to really, really enjoy roofs. It’s called r/dogsonroofs, and boy does it ever deliver on that name.

This article originally appeared on 12.05.18