“Sources say that despite the love and respect the singers have for one another, they have both agreed to end their engagement,” the publication relayed.
Meanwhile, unverified allegations that Alejandro was unfaithful to Rosalía have begun circulating. Alejandro addressed the situation with a lengthy Instagram Story on Wednesday, July 26, explaining that he would prefer not to speak publicly on such a private matter but felt compelled to dismiss any false rumors of infidelity “out of respect” for Rosalía, their families, and all they’d been through together.
Translated roughly from Spanish to English, Alejandro confirmed his and Rosalía’s engagement ended “a few months ago” and acknowledged “there are thousands of problems that can cause a breakup, but in our case, it was not because of third parties or infidelity.”
Rosalía has yet to publicly comment.
You can read Alejandro’s full statement in the screengrab below.
In 1992, Sinéad O’Connor ignited outrage during her musical act performance on “Saturday Night Live”, when she boldly tore up a photo of the Pope to call for justice against the child sexual abuse epidemic within the Catholic Church, all while singing an acapella version of Bob Marley’s “War.”
The protest angered the network, “SNL” viewers, and even the Vatican, which risked O’Connor’s entire career. But having experienced abuse as a child at the hands of the Catholic Church, she knew she was fighting for something bigger than reputation.
“Everyone wants a pop star, see? But I am a protest singer. I just had stuff to get off my chest. I had no desire for fame,” she wrote in her 2021 memoir titled “Rememberings.”
A little over a week after the “SNL” incident, the “Nothing Compares” singer got relentlessly booed at a Bob Dylan tribute. She stood in stoic silence, taking in jeers and name-calling from the crowd.
Finally, she waved for the pianist to stop playing, then doubled down with an even more raw, more haunting rendition of “War.”
Watch the powerful moment below:
Despite the backlash, America and the rest of the world would later come to see that O’Connor was completely founded in her accusation.
Forever a “protest singer” first and a pop idol second, O’Connor would go on to lead a life full of activism, speaking out on issues related to child abuse, mental health, human rights, anti-racism, organized religion, and women’s rights.
Now that the beloved non-conformist has died at the age of 56, she will be forever remembered as a courageous champion of truth, who led with integrity above all else.
In an exclusive interview with People, actor Dennis Quaid shared how his faith led him towards the path of sobriety, and it’s a great example of the major role that spirituality—that is, the feeling of connection to something greater to yourself, not necessarily in the form of religion—plays in addiction recovery.
Quaid broke into Hollywood in 1979’s “Breaking Away,” and over the next 10 years would become a household name. But at the height of his success, a profound moment caused him to check into a rehab center.
“I remember going home and having kind of a white light experience that I saw myself either dead or in jail or losing everything I had, and I didn’t want that,” he recalled to the outlet.
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While addiction is complex and multi-faceted, many former addicts note a sense of spiritual emptiness being a contributing factor, leading to feelings of isolation, a lack of purpose and depression, which individuals then attempt to use alcohol or drugs to fill the emotional void.
Quaid’s insights seem to reflect this concept.
“It’s a struggle,” he told People. “We’re all looking for the joy of life, and drugs and alcohol and whatever give that to you really quick…That’s really what we’re looking for, the joy of life, which is our gift, actually, the relationship with God that we all have. It’s at the bottom of it, the joy of being alive.”
For Quaid, and for many others who have gone through recovery, sobriety meant “getting back to that.”
Going back to his Christian roots, Quaid began rereading not only the Bible but other religious texts like the Bhagavad Gita and the Quran. Though he grew up as a Christian, the actor noted that only through his recovery process did he develop a “personal relationship” with his faith.
Most recovery programs do have a spiritual component involved, encouraging practices that connect individuals to a “Higher Power,” such as meditation, prayer or simply making gratitude lists.
The concept of spirituality might feel alienating to those battling addiction who equate it with religion and feel like they don’t fit into a religious framework—which could cause them to avoid seeking help at all.
However, the two are not the same. Psychiatrist Dr. Maya Spencer defines spirituality as “the recognition of a feeling or sense or belief that there is something greater than myself, something more to being human than sensory experience, and that the greater whole of which we are part is cosmic or divine in nature.”
Spirituality is a deeply personal process, which is partially why most recovery programs use the general term “Higher Power” so that anyone can assign their own meaning, be it God, the Universe, Oneness, etc. In this case, Quaid might have found peace through what he calls “God,” but others have found it in recovery using different names.
And truly, addiction recovery aside, it is awe-inspiring to think about how tapping into that mysterious, cosmic force can rewire even our most deeply ingrained beliefs in an instant. Only a month ago, on June 22, 2023, a white supremacist reported changing his entire worldview after taking part in an MDMA study and feeling a divine sense of “connection.”
All this to say—we might never be able to agree on what we’re a part of, exactly, but believing we are a part of something often helps us not take this miraculous existence for granted.
Watch Dennis Quaid’s full cover interview with People below:
After TMZexclusively reported the other day that Tori Kelly was hospitalized and in “really serious” condition due to blood clots in her legs and lungs, any update is welcome. Luckily, there’s some good news: André Murillo, the “Missin U” singer’s husband since 2018, revealed that she’s slowly on the mend.
“Tori is smiling again and feeling stronger,” Murillo wrote to his Instagram Story on Wednesday, July 26. “Not fully out of the woods but we see the sun. Just waiting on a few more answers. Your love and kindness has been overwhelming. Thank you so so much! [Red heart emoji]”
TMZ‘s original July 24 report relayed that Kelly had been at dinner with friends in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday, July 23, “when her heart started beating really fast.”
“We’re told Tori passed out, and was ‘out for a while,’” the outlet wrote, noting her friends drove her to Cedars-Sinai to ensure she’d get the best care. The report continued, “We’re told Tori’s getting care in the ICU, doctors have discovered clots in Tori’s legs and her lungs … and are still working to determine if any clots are around her heart. The singer’s been in and out of consciousness during her hospitalization.”
Kelly’s EP, Tori, is slated for release on Friday, July 28, and the two-time Grammy winner was scheduled to celebrate its arrival with a performance at The Roxy in LA that night.
Warning: This post contains a fairly mild spoiler for the movie Barbie — nothing big, but you never know who you’re going to make mad, so just be careful reading this, ya know?
Barbie is a big, silly, aggressively pink blockbuster in which Ryan Gosling gets to be funny onscreen for the first time since his 2017 stint on SNL. It’s also pretty blatantly feminist. Ben Shapiro’s brain probably melted during his now-infamous hatewatch when he heard the big speech America Ferrera’s character delivers before the triumphant third act kicks in. Others have cheered, even weapt. That’s what happened with cast and crew while they were filming it.
Director/co-writer Greta Gerwig spoke with The New York Times (in a bit caught by Insider) after her film’s ridiculously huge opening weekend (and its continued dominance into the weekdays), and she was asked about that speech, which concerns the tightrope women have to walk to make it in society. She said they tailored the speech to Ferrera, talking to her about her life so that they “really embroidered it with her own specificity.”
When they finally filmed it, Gerwig recalled that “three takes in, I was crying. Then I looked around, and everyone was crying — even the men were tearing up.”
Then something hit her: “I suddenly thought that this tightrope she’s explaining is something that is present for women in the way that she’s describing it, but it’s also present for everybody.”
Gerwig continued:
“Everybody is afraid they’re going to put a foot wrong and it’s all going to come crashing down, and in that moment of doing that monologue, she was giving people permission to step off that tightrope. I don’t think I realized until then that’s what that moment was for. [Ferrera] had a piece of the puzzle in her as an actor and collaborator and artist that explained it back to me.”
NYT also asked Gerwig about the GOP elephant in the room, namely all the rightwing hate from not only Ben Shapiro, but also Ted Cruz, Elon Musk, even Matt Gaetz’s wife. Gerwig was diplomatic, saying she hadn’t expected the furor, even inviting them to give it a chance.
“My hope for the movie is that it’s an invitation for everybody to be part of the party and let go of the things that aren’t necessarily serving us as either women or men,” She said. “I hope that in all of that passion, if they see it or engage with it, it can give them some of the relief that it gave other people.”
Barbie is now in theaters, where it will probably be playing for quite a long time. Ditto Oppenheimer.
It didn’t take long after releasing their debut album for Best Coast to become an indie music staple in the 2010s. Crunchy guitars and dreamy chords that floated over lyrics about love and lazing in the sun underscored everything from PBR-filled house parties to long walks accompanied by an iPod shuffle. As a band, Best Coast achieved some pretty incredible feats, including sets at top festivals, an appearance on the The Daily Show, and even smoking weed with Wiz Khalifa. But in the years since their 2010 debut album, a lot has changed in the indie world. And so has vocalist Bethany Cosentino.
The Best Coast bandleader recently announced her decision to release music as a solo artist, putting her beloved project with friend and collaborator Bobb Bruno indefinitely on ice. “My identity as a human being, and as an artist, has been so wrapped up in Best Coast for over a decade,” she said in a statement about her decision to pivot to solo music. “I am excited about being just Bethany Cosentino for a while and figuring out who I am outside of the ‘Bethany from Best Coast’ box I’ve lived in for such a long time,” she added.
Now, Cosentino is stepping out of that box and onto center stage with her solo debut Natural Disaster, which drops Friday. The 12-track project moves away from sun-kissed surf rock to a more folsky, Americana-inspired sound that fits in seamlessly with Cosentino’s textured vocals. The album shows off her mature and confident side while managing to keep the glistening, power-pop edge that made so many fall in love with Best Coast. Overall, Natural Disaster is a catchy and confident adventure into Cosentino’s solo career
Ahead of the release of Natural Disaster, Cosentino sits down with Uproxx to talk Rilo Kiley, thoughtful gestures, and scatting in our latest Q&A.
What are four words you would use to describe your music?
Honest. Intentional. Reflective. And my personal fav — LilithCore.
It’s 2050 and the world hasn’t ended and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?
Assuming the year 2050 is a dystopian nightmare of some sort — I would hope people could find joy in my music. Nostalgia for a simpler time in the world. Reminders that love and magic are everywhere if you are paying attention.
What’s your favorite city in the world to perform?
Chicago or LA are my favorite places to play in the states. Tokyo is my favorite place outside of the US.
Who is the person who has most inspired your work, and why?
I don’t think it’s possible to narrow it down to just one person honestly. I have been inspired by so many different people throughout my life and career. Each chapter is inspired by something new too — I sort of gravitate toward whatever the thing is that is meant to inspire me in that moment. I will start obsessively listening to an artist or band, or reading works by a certain writer and before I know it, I’m creating a thing influenced by them. It’s synchronistic for sure. My favorite voice in all of the world though is by far Linda Ronstadt.
Where did you eat the best meal of your life?
Rome. Best Coast played there back in 2011 and the promoter of our show’s family owned a restaurant in town. They closed it down and had a private dinner for us and basically brought one of everything on the menu to our table. There was so much incredible fresh fish, pasta, vegetables, wine — it was incredible.
What album do you know every word to?
Not to brag but … many. I study lyrics and melody as if I’m studying for the SATs haha. The albums from my formative years stuck with me most though — Tragic Kingdom by No Doubt. Dude Ranch by Blink-182. The Execution Of All Things by Rilo Kiley.
What was the best concert you’ve ever attended?
Fleetwood Mac at The Forum in LA in 2014. First tour with Christine McVie + the full band in many years. I sobbed the entire time.
What is the best outfit for performing and why?
Something comfortable that you can move around in and something that you’re not going to feel insecure wearing in front of a bunch of people. There is nothing worse than being on stage and obsessing over whether or not your top is gonna fall off!
Who’s your favorite person to follow on Twitter and/or Instagram?
Twitter is this meme account about my favorite mall in Glendale called @americanamemes. They only follow 7 accounts which are all related to the city of Glendale – and I am one of them – so it is truly an honor. Instagram is @Michaelstipe. His account is truly iconic. He posts the most random things and every single post brings me joy. I love him.
What’s your most frequently played song in the van on tour?
Best Coast was always obsessed with playing Metallica.
What’s the last thing you Googled?
“TikTok watermark remover” — I am a working girl, babe.
What album makes for the perfect gift?
Depends who it’s for. I love gift giving and like to curate gifts for people based on their specific taste and interests – so I would try and find the perfect album for whoever it was for.
Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever crashed while on tour?
I’ve slept on plenty of floors, but I’ve been lucky enough to not really have any horror stories of tour in this way.
What’s the story behind your first or favorite tattoo?
My first tattoo is on my wrist — it says “all you need is love” with a little heart (lol) but the tattoo artist didn’t do a very good job and the ink fell out almost immediately, so now it’s just a weird blur on my wrist. I was 16 when I got it, so I just found the first person who would tattoo me underage and, yeah, it didn’t work out so well haha.
What artists keep you from flipping the channel on the radio?
I really only listen to a station on Sirius radio called The Bridge — it’s all smooth classic rock from the 60s and 70s. Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell — all my favorites.
What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?
For me it’s just simple things like someone remembering that I said I wanted some really specific gift and they go out of their way to get it for me. I love when people pay attention and remember things. Or just like, when my partner does things around the house or loads stuff into my car without me even asking him to. I’m a simple girl!! Small, thoughtful gestures mean a lot to me.
What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?
Don’t worry so much about what other people think about you, and no, you will never be able to “fix him.”
What’s the last show you went to?
Jason Isbell at The Greek Theatre in LA.
What movie can you not resist watching when it’s on TV?
You’ve Got Mail.
What’s one of your hidden talents?
I can sing the scatting breakdown part in “Freak On A Leash” by KoRn 100 perfect perfectly. There’s even a TikTok of me doing it if you need proof.
Natural Disaster is out 7/28 via Concord Records. Find more information here.
A misconception of blanco tequila is that it’s only for mixing and nothing else. Sure, a lot of it is only tolerable when it’s paired with bold cocktail add-ons, but that’s not always the case. Plenty of blanco tequila is downright sippable. Well-made blanco tequilas can have a variety of aromas and flavors. This includes the vegetal notes of cooked agave as well as cracked black pepper, citrus peels, green peppers, herbs, fruit, honey, and more.
The best part? You can find myriad blanco tequilas priced reasonably. In this case, I mean under $25. That’s not much of a price to pay for a decent mixing (and sometimes even sipping!) tequila. I selected eight bargain blanco tequilas (all under $25). I blindly tasted and ranked each to find which bottles are worth trying and which ones should remain on the shelf, collecting dust.
Today’s Lineup:
Pueblo Viejo Blanco Tequila
Lunazul Blanco Tequila
Familia Camarena Silver Tequila
Cimarron Blanco Tequila
Bribón Blanco Tequila
El Jimador Silver Tequila
Sauza Silver Tequila
Jose Cuervo Especial Silver Tequila
Part 1: Bargain Blanco Tequilas Blind Tasting
Taste 1
Christopher Osburn
Tasting Notes:
Aromas of cracked black pepper, grass, and vegetal agave can be found on the nose. That is if you really try hard to find them. Overall, the nose is fairly muted. The palate is a little more exciting with notes of toffee, vanilla, cooked agave, an herbal flavor, and light spices. This is a surprisingly complex, bargain tequila.
Taste 2
Christopher Osburn
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, I found a lot of herbal, grassy, agave aroma as well as some citrus peel and tropical fruit. The palate is gently spicy and sweet with roasted agave, vanilla, orange zest, and cracked black pepper. It’s surprisingly complex for a blanco tequila and one that you may even want to sip neat.
Taste 3
Christopher Osburn
Tasting Notes:
The nose is lightly spicy, sweet, and floral. All in all, not overly exciting though. The palate has a little more flavor with vanilla bean, vegetal sweetness, and pepper making an appearance. It’s not harsh, but it’s kind of boring overall.
Taste 4
Christopher Osburn
Tasting Notes:
The smell is fairly harsh right off the bat. It smells of rubbing alcohol. Then there’s a bit of fruity and herbal aroma, but really nothing else discernable. The palate has some vanilla, grass, and pepper, but overall tastes kind of generic and almost like someone was intending to make a bland tequila. It’s weirdly sweet as well.
Taste 5
Christopher Osburn
Tasting Notes:
Orchard fruits, vanilla, agave, and herbal aromas make for an inviting nose. Drinking it reveals notes of ripe fruits, roasted agave, light pepper, butterscotch, and grassy, floral flavors. It’s dry, warming, and surprisingly smooth. It’s okay for a sipper but shines in cocktails.
Taste 6
Christopher Osburn
Tasting Notes:
A nose of roasted agave, orchard fruits, and light spice greets you before your first sip. The palate is sweet, lightly spicy, and has hints of roasted agave, vanilla, toffee, green apple, and peppery spice. The finish is a nice mix of agave sweetness and spice.
Taste 7
Christopher Osburn
Tasting Notes:
This is a very fruit tequila, especially on the nose. There are notable aromas of roasted agave, ripe pineapple, grass, and wildflowers. The palate is highlighted by more roasted agave, light vanilla, and a ton of herbal, earthy, lightly spiced flavors. It’s fruity, spicy, and highly mixable.
Taste 8
Christopher Osburn
Tasting Notes:
The nose on this tequila is really floral. There’s also a bit of roasted agave and citrus on the nose. The palate is orange peels, vanilla, wildflowers, and roasted agave. Not a bad plate for a blanco tequila, still not one I’d prefer to drink neat often.
This is a mixto tequila. For those unaware, this means it’s not made from 100% Blue Weber agave. This blend of blanco tequilas comes from Jose Cuervo’s Destilería La Rojeña. It’s not known as a sipping tequila by any degree, but a decent inexpensive choice for mixing.
Bottom Line:
This is a really cheap tequila and it’s not intended to be enjoyed neat. That would be a big mistake to make. Mix it with a ton of flavors or leave it on the shelf.
This award-winning, 100% Blue Weber Agave-based tequila is surprisingly well-priced at under $25. Even though it’s a blanco tequila, it still carries a ton of aromas and flavors including roasted agave, citrus peels, and peppery spices.
Bottom Line:
For the price, Lunazul is a decent blanco tequila. It works well as a mixer, but I wouldn’t suggest sipping it. It’s a bit underwhelming.
Another award-winning blanco tequila, Familia Camarena Tequila Silver is a 100% Blue Weber agave tequila. The agave comes from the Los Altos Highlands region in Jalisco, Mexico and the juice is distilled at Casa Camarena. It’s known for its mellow, mixable flavor profile.
Bottom Line:
As blanco tequilas go, this isn’t a bad one. It has a decent nose and palate. It’s all just a little muted for my liking.
Sauza is a big name in the bargain tequila world. Its silver tequila is surprisingly inexpensive for a well-made, sippable, mixable tequila. Double distilled in copper pot stills, this tequila is bursting with agave, fruits, and citrus.
Bottom Line:
If you’re looking for a more herbal, earthy blanco tequila, Sauza is the choice for you. It’s a great base for a margarita or other tequila-based drinks.
Bribón means “rogue” in Spanish. This rogue mentality has helped this brand meld contemporary and traditional techniques in the crafting of its tequila. Agave is cooked for eighteen hours before being shredded and the juice is fermented before being double distilled in pot and column stills.
Bottom Line:
When it comes to emergency sipping blanco tequilas and decent mixers, you can do much worse than Bribón Blanco Tequila.
This award-winning silver tequila is made with 100% Blue Weber agave. It’s hand-harvested before being distilled twice before resting for only forty days. It’s then bottled and ready for you to sip or mix with. The result is an agave and citrus-forward tequila you’ll want to keep in your liquor cabinet or home bar cart.
Bottom Line:
If you’re looking for a value blanco tequila that works well for both sipping neat and mixing into a paloma or margarita, this is a great choice for the price.
Produced at San Matias, one of the oldest distilleries in Mexico, Pablo Viejo Blanco is made from 100% Blue Weber agave. It’s known for its herbal, fruity, agave-forward flavor profile. It’s sweet, lightly spicy, and well-suited for mixing.
Bottom Line:
It’s difficult to find complex, balanced blanco tequilas. Especially under $25. This one definitely fits that bill well.
This unique blanco tequila is produced in Atotonilco, Jalisco, Mexico. Its agave grows on sprawling hillsides at more than 4,500 feet of elevation. It’s slowly roasted using low pressure to ensure a complex flavor profile. This agave and citrus-centric tequila is surprisingly well-suited for sipping as well as mixing.
Bottom Line:
While this blanco tequila isn’t bursting with a wide range of flavors, what aromas and flavors it does have work in perfect unison.
Part 3: Final Thoughts
It’s not easy to rank un-aged spirits. You’re sipping something neat that was typically built to be mixed with. But the higher-ranked` blanco tequilas were a little more complex and/or balanced than the others. Also, the winners leaned more mellow than harsh.
The Washington Wizards have been the most active team in the NBA this offseason, as their new front office has gone to work taking things apart in the team’s first real rebuilding effort in more than a decade.
While you can question how successful they’ve been (we’ll get to that momentarily), what has to be applauded is that they have finally picked a direction for this franchise. This is a team that has not won 50 games since the late 1970s and while they enjoyed some success early in the John Wall-Bradley Beal era, things had deteriorated recently to where they were the poster child for mediocrity in the NBA. What the future holds for Washington could very well be determined by lottery balls, but for now the Wizards at least seem to have a long-term plan in place. This offseason has been a wild ride, but they do come into the 2023 season with an interesting roster. It isn’t a full teardown to the studs in Washington, but more an aggressive remodel (that likely takes them towards the bottom of the East) with some mild swings on young players they hope just need a change of scenery to thrive.
Here, we’ll grade out the Wizards’ effort this summer in the Draft, free agency, and on the trade market.
Draft: B
The Wizards took one of the bigger swings of the lottery when they moved up a pick with the Pacers in order to take Bilal Coulibaly, who flew up draft boards as teams got a look at him while watching Victor Wembanyama. Coulibaly is a defender first, with a ton of length and athleticism on the wing. On a team with some strong offensive players, adding a strong defender makes sense even with it being a high risk-reward pick, as our Brad Rowland explained on Draft night giving Washington a B for the selection.
This is an aggressive move and choice from Washington. While this range of the draft is perceived as relatively flat, Coulibaly was seen as a fringe first-round pick only a few weeks and months ago before a meteoric rise. His athletic and physical tools are outstanding, and Coulibaly could be a tremendous defender as a result. The questions come more on offense, where he has operated in a very small overall role playing with Metropolitans 92.
Free Agency/Contract Extensions: B
The Wizards made most of their moves on the trade market, which we’ll get to momentarily, but they did make one major signing, bringing Kyle Kuzma back on a 4-year, $102 million deal. It was a great deal for Kuzma, who got a nine-figure deal in one of the flattest free agent markets we’ve seen in some time. I also think it was a perfectly solid deal for the Wizards, who can pair Kuzma with Jordan Poole and Tyus Jones for something approaching a functional young core — albeit, time will tell if they stick together. Kuzma has steadily grown into being a very solid starting wing and should they spin the tires the next few years and not take the strides forward Washington wants, that contract will be very movable in the final couple years. I don’t think this was some steal for the Wizards, but it was solid work both in the short- and long-term.
Trades: C-
It’s certainly been an active trade summer for the Wizards, and this grade is less a reflection on the work this new front office has done and more with the position the old regime put them in. Giving Bradley Beal the only true no-trade clause in the NBA was malpractice, as they weren’t bidding against anyone else when signing him to the supermax (a contract only they could offer him). By allowing him to dictate where he was traded, they cratered his trade value (which was already questionable on a deal that big as is) and the result was only being able to extract Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, six second round picks, and some first round pick swaps from the Suns — which includes the 2024 pick that I have to assume is worthless for the Wizards to have). Again, that’s the best this front office could do under the circumstances, but it’s far below the value Bradley Beal should have in a trade.
Then they traded Kristaps Porzingis to the Boston Celtics, ending up with Tyus Jones from the Grizzlies as the centerpiece of the deal. I actually liked this deal pretty well for all three teams involved, as Jones will give the Wizards a very solid point guard who has proven he can run a young team in his time with Memphis where he’s filled in admirably in Ja Morant’s various absences. They’ll get a chance to find out if Jones can be a high-quality starter in the NBA or if he’s better served as a very good sixth man, but that’s a worthwhile swing for a team trying to figure out what their core will be in the future. Not being able to get a single first round pick for Beal or Porzingis is rather jarring, but more a matter of circumstance than anything — and it’s clear they valued still putting a somewhat decent product on the floor, just one that’s considerably younger.
The final major trade was flipping Chris Paul into Jordan Poole, Ryan Rollins, a future second, and a protected first rounder in 2030 from the Warriors. While I’m not particularly high on Poole, I do think this is the exact kind of move the Wizards should be making. I’m not sure a player has needed a fresh start more than Poole, considering he literally got punched in the face by a teammate and then the team chose the guy that punched him in the face over him (which, to be clear, I also understand why the Warriors made that choice). Poole has shown considerable upside as a scorer, but did have a dreadful shooting year last season. His contract is very large, but in a starring role, placed between a solid point guard in Jones and a good wing in Kuzma, this is Poole’s best chance to prove he’s worth that. He has obviously wanted a larger role than he had with the Warriors, and now he should be motivated to prove Golden State wrong for moving him. It’s a high-upside swing on a young player, which is exactly what the Wizards should be doing with their money right now. If it doesn’t work out and he continues to struggle with efficiency, his deal isn’t so unwieldy it’ll block them from making moves down the road, but if he does pop, they’ll be accelerating their rebuild with him already in position.
Flipping Monte Morris into a future second was also definitely a trade that happened. Overall, the Wizards offseason has been very active and not every deal has looked particularly good, but given the circumstances the former regime put them in, I think this new front office has done a perfectly fine job. The hard part of the rebuild is still to come and they weren’t able to fully stock up on draft assets, but you can pretty easily explain why they made all the moves they did. Whether they work out in the way they want is an entirely different question.
There’s no doubt that pink is the official color of the summer of 2023. Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie,” starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, has people dressing up in the iconic doll’s favorite color to attend screenings across the country and sharing their fabulous snaps on social media.
Andrew Liptak, author of the new book “Cosplay: A History,” says it’s all about having fun and expressing yourself. “By dressing up,” Liptak told Yahoo Entertainment, “you’re able to bring that story to life a little bit.”
“It’s a form of play, and it’s a form of entertainment, and I think that… we sort of overlook the importance of play and to have fun and to relax and just enjoy ourselves,” Liptak continues. “And this is an outlet to do that.”
Eleazar Rodríguez Hernández, a dad in Mexico, is making fans across the world after going viral for a hilarious picture of him dressed up to see “Barbie” in a pink leotard and tutu combo, complete with a cowboy hat and boots. The photos were taken at the Cinépolis cinema in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, México, on Friday, July 2023.
He says it was all because of his daughter.
“My daughter said, ‘Daddy take me to the premiere of ‘Barbie,’ but wear something pink or are you too embarrassed?” he wrote on Facebook. “I think the one who’s going to be embarrassed is her!” he joked.
In another photo of Hernández and his daughter, the two stand at the ticket counter, and he accompanied the post with a mock conversation.
“’What movie do you want to see?”
“The Super Mario Bros Movie, idiot!’
“Barbie” is a big hit at the Mexican box office. It pulled in $23 million in the first four days of its release, more than five times more than second-place “Oppenheimer.” Needless to say, “Barbenheimer” isn’t quite the phenomenon in Mexico as it is in the U.S.
Hernández wasn’t a bit ashamed to proudly wear his tutu into the movie that Alicia Gilstorf from Eulalie Magazine calls “a healing cinema experience that explores the psyche of not being enough while delivering an infectious performance that makes us feel like we could do anything.”
“Believe me, wearing pink clothes and a tutu does not make you any less of a man,” he wrote on Facebook.
Hernández’s posts have received a lot of love, if not for his fashion sense but for his bravery and commitment to his daughter.
“Respect to my buddy Eleazar Rodriguez Hernandez. You are exemplary, and the best of all is that you love your princess. You have all my respect and admiration,” Jorge E. Sanchez wrote in response to the post.
“What a beautiful memory. Your daughter will value it very much in the future. He is a dad worth millions,” Enit Fabiola Solis added.
But in the end, it was all about a father’s love for his daughter. “I made these posts without wanting to highlight myself. I just did what my daughter wanted,” Hernández said. “I would do anything for her. She was so happy.”
On Saturday night, while most people were out and about, Elon Musk was announcing yet another major change to Twitter: It would soon rebrand as something called “X.” Was it a decision he made impulsively? Maybe not, but the move has been anything but smooth. Musk failed to make certain basic preparations before the shift. That includes checking on whether or not it violated a major rule in a certain country.
As per The Daily Beast, on Tuesday Twitter (or whatever it’s called now) was suddenly banned in Indonesia. Why? Because it’s new domain, X.com, used to belong to a site devoted to adult content. The nation has very strict anti-porn laws, which meant that the 24 million citizens who use Twitter were suddenly locked out.
That probably won’t be permanent. The Indonesian government reportedly reached out to Elon Musk to clarify that X.com will be used for tweeting, not disseminating hardcore material. One reason for the law is that Indonesia has the largest Muslim population on the planet.
Twitter/X isn’t the only major online service to have run afoul of Indonesia’s strict laws. Last year authorities threatened Netflix, Facebook, Google, and Instagram if they didn’t detail what content appeared on their sites. Twitter was also part of the same round-up. Each site managed to comply by their rules.
In the meantime, it could be worse for those currently Twitter-less in the southeast Asian country. They could work at the social media service’s headquarters, where conference rooms have been cringingly renamed to reflect the name change, with such examples as “eXposure” and “s3xy.”
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