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Dry Cleaning is back with the third single from their forthcoming album Stumpwork, namely the emotional rollercoaster titled “Gary Ashby.” The melodic pop record tells the story of a lost tortoise, showing how being so consumed by tension can allow something people really care about to fall through the cracks.

Stumpwork, preceded by the singles “Don’t Press Me,” “Anna Calls From The Arctic,” and the aforementioned “Gary Ashby,” is set to release on October 21. The LP arrives in the aftermath of two major losses for band members: bassist Lewis Maynard’s mother and guitarist Tom Dowse’s grandfather. “It’s of course devastating to lose close family members but their legacy in Dry Cleaning is wholly positive,” Dowse said about the losses. “The moments in the songs which are upbeat and joyful made me think of them both the most.”

Dry Cleaning is also preparing to embark on a worldwide headlining tour in conjunction with the album’s release, beginning on September 17 in Solana Beach, California, and finishing up in Antwerp, Belgium on April 1 in 2023. Tickets go on sale Wednesday, September 14, though there is a special fan presale beginning on Friday, September 9 for those subscribed to the Dry Cleaning mailing list.

Listen to “Gary Ashby” above. Below, find the Stumpwork cover art as well as Dry Cleaning’s upcoming tour dates.

09/17/2022 – Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up
09/18/2022 – Los Angeles, US @ Primavera Sound LA
09/20/2022 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel
09/21/2022 – San Jose, CA @ The Ritz
09/22/2022 – Big Sur, CA @ Henry Miller Memorial Library
11/08/2022 – Paris, FR @ Le Trabendo
11/09/2022 – Cologne, DE @ Club Volta
11/11/2022 – Utrecht, NL @ Le Guess Who? Festival
11/12/2022 – Kortrijk, BE @ Sonic City
11/30/2022 – Tokyo, JP @ Liquid Room
12/01/2022 – Osaka, JP @ Club Quattro
12/06/2022 – Auckland, NZ @ Tuning Fork
12/07/2022 – Wellington, NZ @ San Fran
12/09/2022 – Brisbane, AU @ The Brightside
12/10/2022 – Meredith, AU @ Meredith Festival
12/12/2022 – Melbourne, AU @ The Corner Hotel
12/13/2022 – Melbourne, AU @ The Corner Hotel
12/14/2022 – Sydney, AU @ Manning Bar
12/16/2022 – Perth, AU @ Rosemount Hotel
01/10/2023 – Montreal, QC @ La Tulipe
01/11/2023 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix
01/13/2023 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
01/14/2023 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line
01/17/2023 – Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw
01/18/2023 – Seattle, WA @ Neptune
01/19/2023 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
01/21/2023 – San Francisco, CA @ August Hall
01/23/2023 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
01/24/2023 – Tucson, AZ @ Congress Plaza
01/26/2023 – Dallas, TX @ Texas Theatre
01/27/2023 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk
01/28/2023 – New Orleans, LA @ Toulouse Theatre
01/29/2023 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
01/31/2023 – Washington, DC @ The Howard Theatre
02/01/2023 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
02/02/2023 – Brooklyn, NY @ Pioneers Works
02/14/2023 – Dublin, IE @ Vicar Street
02/15/2023 – Belfast, UK @ Mandela Hall
02/17/2023 – Glasgow, UK @ Barrowlands
02/18/2023 – Leeds, UK @ O2 Academy
02/20/2023 – Liverpool, UK @ Invisible Wind Factory
02/21/2023 – Nottingham, UK @ Rock City
02/22/2023 – Sheffield, UK @ O2 Academy
02/24/2023 – Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall
02/25/2023 – Birmingham, UK @ O2 Institute
02/26/2023 – Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy
02/28/2023 – Cardiff, UK @ Tramshed
03/01/2023 – Brighton, UK @ Chalk
03/03/2023 – London, UK @ O2 Academy Brixton
03/13/2023 – Copenhagen, DK @ VEGA
03/15/2023 – Stockholm, SE @ Debaser Strand
03/16/2023 – Oslo, NO @ Parkteatret
03/18/2023 – Hamburg, DE @ Knust
03/19/2023 – Groningen, NL @ Vera
03/20/2023 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
03/22/2023 – Offenbach, DE @ Hafen2
03/23/2023 – Munich, DE @ Strom
03/24/2023 – Vienna, AT @ Flex
03/25/2023 – Prague, CZ @ Futurum
03/27/2023 – Warsaw, PL @ Hybrydy
03/28/2023 – Leipzig, DE @ UT Connewitz
03/29/2023 – Berlin, DE @ Festsaal Kreuzberg
03/31/2023 – Rotterdam, NL @ Maassilo
04/01/2023 – Antwerp, BE @ Trix

Stumpwork is out 10/21 via 4AD. Pre-order it here.

For the second time in less than a year, CM Punk has been forced to vacate the AEW heavyweight championship, and less than a week after winning the inaugural trios championship, those belts have been vacated as well in the aftermath of Sunday’s All Out show.

Punk returned mere weeks ago for his first two matches since winning the AEW world championship over Adam “Hangman” Page at Double or Nothing in June. Days after his win over Page, he was forced to relinquish the belt after suffering a foot injury. Jon Moxley stepped in to his place to run the show as the “interim” champion, winning a tournament that culminated at Forbidden Door and eventually beating Punk for the undisputed belt.

Punk hit the post-show press conference after winning the belt and immediately launch into a tirade against the EVPs of the show amid allegations he was responsible for sending former friend Colt Cabana to Ring of Honor. Punk and his longtime friend Ace Steel then allegedly brawled with the Bucks and Omega backstage.

In the aftermath of the alleged explosive altercation on Sunday night backstage at AEW All Out, every person involved has reportedly been suspended, according to Justin Barrasso from Sports Illustrated. According to the report, by the end of Wednesday, current AEW heavyweight champion CM Punk and his longtime friend Ace Steel will either join Kenny Omega, Nick and Matt Jackson, Pat Buck, Christopher Daniels, Michal Nakazawa, and Brandon Cutler, in being suspended or they will no longer be with the company. This comes after Punk reportedly met with Tony Khan on Tuesday.

In their place, Death Triangle will face off against Best Friends and Orange Cassidy trios championship on Wednesday night. The episode of Dynamite also kicked off the AEW Grand Slam Tournament of Champions, with Hangman Page, Bryan Danielson, Sammy Guevara, Chris Jericho, Darby Allin, and Jon Moxley all competing to win the promotion’s top crown (with the bracket below).

That tournament will end in two weeks on Dynamite and answers the immediate questions about how AEW will proceed, but there are still plenty of questions about the incident and the future of those involved with the promotion.

Even though she was weirdly left off the list of acting nominees for her work on Only Murders In The Building, Selena Gomez will present at the 74th Emmy Awards on Monday evening. Only Murders is up for an absurd amount of nominations (absurd = 17), including Outstanding Comedy Series where Gomez and her fellow producers will have a chance at scoring a statuette. Will Arnett, Vanessa Bayer, and Taye Diggs are just a few of the people that might hand it to them.

According to Variety, Squid Game stars Lee Jung-jae and Jung Ho-yeon are also set to present awards. Both are up for acting awards among the 14 total nominations for the bleak social satire.

Keenan Thompson will host this year, navigating all the tony true crime, Korean murder games, and shows hosted by Jimmy Kimmel.

The full list of presenters is comprised mostly of nominees:

• Will Arnett (Murderville)
• Angela Bassett (9-1-1; American Horror Story)
• Vanessa Bayer (I Love That for You)
• Kelly Clarkson (The Kelly Clarkson Show)
• Ariana DeBose (Schmigadoon!; Westworld)
• Taye Diggs (All American; The Best Man: The Final Chapters)
• Hannah Einbinder (Hacks)
• Selena Gomez (Only Murders in the Building)
• Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit)
• Jung Ho-yeon (Squid Game)
• Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game)
• Jimmy Kimmel (Jimmy Kimmel Live!; Live in Front of a Studio Audience: ‘The Facts of Life’ and ‘Diff’rent Strokes’)
• Diego Luna (Andor; Narcos: Mexico)
• Christopher Meloni (Law & Order: Organized Crime)
• Seth Meyers (Late Night With Seth Meyers)
• Amy Poehler (Lucy and Desi; Making It)
• Molly Shannon (I Love That for You)
• Jean Smart (Hacks)
• Kerry Washington (Live in Front of a Studio Audience: ‘The Facts of Life’ and ‘Diff’rent Strokes’)
• Natalie Zea (La Brea; Justified)

(via Variety)

It’s been almost three years since Daniel Craig has been James Bond, having wrapped his last day of filming in October of 2019. But don’t worry, he locked in another franchise before he’d drank his last shaken martini. Knives Out, in which the actor played amateur (but good!) sleuth Benoit Blanc, hit theaters around the same time, and it was such a hit that Netflix — in the good old money-burning days — forked over a fortune for two more. But when does the first sequel come out?

The answer is complicated. Called Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, it’s due to hit Netflix on December 23, right in time for some family gatherings. However, Netflix has toyed with bestowing it with a theatrical release, although it’s not clear how wide it will go. (Lord knows they could stand to make some theatrical box office bucks.) It’s also unknown when it will hit theaters, if it does at all. On the same day? A bit before? That part, at least, is up in the air. Meanwhile, those attending the Toronto International Film Festival in early-to-mid September get to see it before anyone else.

Not much is known about the plot, although it involves Edward Norton as a tech billionaire, and it’s set (and was shot) in Greece. Since they’re mysteries, Glass Onion not only has a different title from the first but also a new cast, Craig excepted. Along with Norton, there’s also Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, Kate Hudson, and Dave Bautista. Being set in sunny Greece, it will likely not feature any killer sweaters.

Knives Out 2, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Seven months have passed since the Los Angeles Rams toppled the Cincinnati Bengals to win the Lombardi Trophy. On the eve of the 2022 NFL season, excitement is brimming amid 32 fan bases, and the football handicapping world is undoubtedly excited for the grind ahead. To that end, we’re back for another campaign of NFL against-the-spread selections in this space, and the last few years have treated us fairly well. The 2021 season ended with a solid 59-48-1 mark including the playoffs, and the ethos remains the same, often leaning on ugly-appearing sides and Unders on totals to get us home.

Before we dive into the Week 1 slate, let’s take a glance at the last group of selections from the Super Bowl and how the 2021 campaign went in full.

• Last Week (Super Bowl): 2-3
• 2021 Season: 59-48-1

Come get these winners.

SIX-POINT TEASER: Los Angeles Rams (+8.5) over Buffalo Bills AND Baltimore Ravens (-1) over New York Jets

Are we getting weird out of the gate? Yes, we are. Teasers are often poor value plays, but Wong Teasers (named after Stanford Wong) can be profitable if you are zooming through key numbers. Both legs of this teaser apply that principle, with the Rams shooting from +2.5 to +8.5 and the Ravens moving from -7 to -1. I’m tempted to simply give out the Rams +2.5 at home, and I do think that is the right side, but I could also see this game landing in the 3-7 range in favor of Buffalo in the opener. On the other side, I have a great deal of confidence in a John Harbaugh team with extra preparation, particularly when facing an old friend in Joe Flacco.

Pittsburgh Steelers (+6.5) over Cincinnati Bengals

A few things are in play here. For one, Mike Tomlin might be a wizard. He is the best underdog coach in the NFL historically, posting a 47-26-3 mark against the spread when getting points, and that jumps to 19-6-2 as an underdog against divisional opponents. I also think the Steelers (quietly) upgraded at quarterback in losing the 2021 version of Ben Roethlisberger and replacing him with Mitch Trubisky, and Pittsburgh’s defense should be stout. The Bengals are rightly favored at home, but this is a number I think should be 4 or 4.5 rather than 6.5 in the opener.

Houston Texans (+7.5) over Indianapolis Colts

I did warn you that we’d be hideous on a regular basis, and this is gross. Indianapolis projects to be improved behind Matt Ryan and what should be a more stable passing game, and the Texans are, well, the Texans. With that said, I’ll snag the home underdog of more than a touchdown here and the backdoor might be open down the stretch for Davis Mills.

Minnesota Vikings (+2) over Green Bay Packers

This won’t be fun either. Aaron Rodgers is the reigning MVP and there are mixed opinions of the Vikings. Still, Green Bay’s offensive talent is not as good as it was a year ago without Davante Adams, and this line gives a great deal of respect to the Packers and very little to the Vikings. Am I too high on Minnesota? Maybe, but we’ll find out soon enough.

Dallas Cowboys (+2.5) over Tampa Bay Buccaneers

These two teams met in the 2021 season opener and played a wild battle with two lead changes in the final two minutes. That result would be just fine again here, with the Cowboys entering as a home underdog. Tampa Bay is the better team on a neutral field, but the Buccaneers had an odd offseason that included a coaching change, Tom Brady taking some time off, offensive line issues, and an injury recovery for Chris Godwin. Dallas might not be able to run the ball here, but it’s the only side.

The ubiquity of hip-hop only grows over time and tends to reveal itself in some unconventional ways. Ukraine’s Ministry Of Defense posted a tweet on Wednesday, September 7, alluding to Russia’s combat losses from February to September ever since Vladimir Putin invaded the country. The tweet included lyrics from none other than Pusha T, and the rapper expressed his approval hours later.

“‘I put numbers on the boards.’ @Pusha_T,” stated the official Ukraine Defense account alongside a graphic detailing the number of eliminated personnel, tanks, armored combat vehicles, and more military equipment owned by Russia. The lyrics come from the Virginia rapper’s popular 2013 record “Numbers On The Boards.”

King Push quoted the tweet over 10 hours later, simply writing, “Great taste in music for the win…” This should not come as much of a shock, as the It’s Almost Dry artist has been very vocal about politics in the past, whether it be assisting Hillary Clinton in her presidential campaign back in 2016, his admiration for former President Barack Obama, advocating for prison reform, or publicly disagreeing with his longtime collaborator Kanye West over his support of Donald Trump.

Check out Ukraine’s Ministry Of Defense’s tweet above as well as Pusha T’s response.

For months and months and months, John Fetterman has largely conducted his congressional campaign online. There’s a good reason for that: In May, he suffered a stroke. But he’s proven he doesn’t need to hit the road to combat his opponent, Dr. Mehmet Oz: He’s been able to easily, relentlessly, and creatively troll him over social media. But it won’t be long before the two finally meet face-to-face.

“We’re absolutely going to debate Dr. Oz, and that was really always our intent to do that,” Fetterman told Politico. “It was just simply only ever been about addressing some of the lingering issues of the stroke, the auditory processing, and we’re going to be able to work that out.”

Though he and Oz hadn’t yet set a date, he estimates it will be “sometime in the middle to end of October,” and on a “major television station” in Pennsylvania. He also said he wants to use closed captioning, as he continues to recover from his health condition.

“I have every ability to talk about all of these issues and have a full debate,” he explained. “And that’s really just the one lingering issue of the stroke — that some of my hearing was damaged a little bit, but it’s continuing to get better and better and better every day.”

The online battles between Fetterman and Oz have regularly made news. Fetterman’s lobs have been inventive; he’s enlisted such fellow Jersey-ites as Snooki and Steven Van Zandt to summon Oz back to the Garden State, where he resided until only a couple years ago. Fetterman has struggled to fight back, at one point stooping so low as to mock his stroke. But at least Oz actually wants to do something that may only end in his further humiliation.

(Via Politico)

Naming the seven continents is one of the first things young kids learn in school. Despite the fact that we forget most of what we learn, I’d wager that most American adults can still rattle off North America, South America, Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia (or Oceania, depending on how old you are) and Antarctica like it’s nothing. Easy peasy.

Since knowing the continents appears to be a vital foundational part of our education, one might assume that there is a clear definition of what a continent actually is. Spoiler alert: There’s not.

In fact, there isn’t a single definition of “continent” that actually makes sense with what we teach as the continents, which is both fascinating and a little disturbing.

This fact is explored in a video by CGP Grey, an American-Irish YouTuber who brought us such informative delights as “Hexagons Are the Bestagons” and “The Better Boarding Method Airlines Won’t Use.”

In “What Are Continents?” Grey explains how the common definition of a continent for those of us in the English-speaking West—a large land mass separated from other land masses by a body of water—doesn’t hold up due to Europe and Asia being considered different continents. But even if you were to combine Europe and Asia into Eurasia, which some places in the world do, you run into the problem of North and South America technically being one land mass (at least prior to the Panama Canal going in). But if you were to combine both Americas into one big American continent, you’d technically have to add Africa to Eurasia because the human-made Suez Canal is the only thing separating those land masses.

As you can see, it quickly starts to get complicated when we try to apply any amount of consistency to how we define a continent. Grey explains how one could make a compelling case for there being just three continents or dozens of them, depending on what parameters are being used to define them.

Watch everything you think you know about continents get dismantled like Pangaea in less than four minutes:

Some stories are just too cute to keep to ourselves and this one about an escaped chimp is one of them. Ukraine has been locked in a battle with Russia for months now, which obviously decreases the foot traffic of civilians. But the traffic decrease at the zoo in Kharkiv, Ukraine, had Chichi, a 13-year-old chimpanzee, so bored that she escaped to wander around the city.

One could assume that she was looking for the people. After 13 years in a zoo where people come to you to tell you how pretty you are, a chimp is bound to miss the attention. Chichi escaped on September 5, certainly giving unsuspecting onlookers a shock. Thankfully, her escapades didn’t last too long, although if I personally ran into a chimpanzee while trying to grab a cup of coffee, 15 seconds would’ve been too long. Chichi was caught after about two hours in Kharkiv’s Freedom Square not far from the zoo, according to NBC.

Chichi had a nice day out and you may think the story ends there, but the way that they lured her back to the zoo is like something out of a “Curious George” book. In the viral video you see that the zookeeper, Victoria Kozyreva, brought her raincoat to Freedom Square and then sat and chatted with the chimp. After a few minutes of catching the zookeeper up on her fugitive shenanigans, the chimp slipped on the yellow raincoat before hitching a ride on a bicycle back to her enclosure.

u201c#Ukraine In Kharkiv, a chimpanzee escaped from a zoo. It was walking around the city while zoo employees tried to convince it to return. Suddenly it started to rain, and the ape ran to a zoo employee for a jacket and then agreed to return to the zoo.u201d

— Hanna Liubakova (@Hanna Liubakova)
1662449089

Kozyreva told NBC, “It wasn’t difficult to convince her, all that’s needed is negotiations. There was rain. I talked to her and invited with my jacket, helped to put it on and gave her a hug.” Chimpanzees are extremely intelligent animals; they’re able to solve puzzles and learn to communicate with sign language so it’s no surprise Chichi was able to escape her enclosure without much difficulty. According to NBC, Kozyreva has known the chimp since it was in childhood … or would that be chimphood? Either way, she’s known the chimp a long time, which could have played a part in it being willing to negotiate.

Surely Chichi has an amazing story to tell the other chimps at the zoo and hopefully none of them get the same idea from her adventures. The sight of a chimpanzee in a raincoat preparing for a ride on a bicycle will certainly bring a smile to just about anyone’s face. Whoever’s been reading the chimps “Curious George” books, keep it up because this is the cutest capture the internet has ever seen.

While the war continues in Ukraine, it’s easy to forget the animals caught in the middle of conflict and their caregivers possibly unable to access everything they need. If you’d like to help efforts to care for the zoo animals in Ukraine you can donate through the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums. If you’d like to help domestic animals in Ukraine you can reach out to the Humane Society International for ways to help.

In just two short weeks, the music community witnessed the rise and fall of A.I. rapper FN Meka. The virtual artist was signed to Capitol Records, only to be quickly dropped when listeners questioned who was involved in the making of an artificially created artist that would use the n-word. Now that the dust has settled, Anthony Martini,m the co-founder of Factory New, the company responsible for Meka, is speaking out about how rap fans should view the genre in general.

In a statement to The New York Times, Martini addressed how his company utilized a technology that researched popular themes and lyrics within hip-hop to generate lyrics that Meka would use in his songs. “If you’re mad about the lyrical content because it supposedly was A.I., why not be mad about the lyrical content in general?” he said. While true, it does not absolve the company for being shortsighted in their creation of an A.I. rapper that would exist within the hip-hop landscape.

Martini has reportedly distanced himself from FN Meka, in addition to leaving Factory New. “I joined the team in early 2020 because I am truly passionate about the future of digital media and felt my background could help fulfill Meka’s potential in the music industry,” he said. “It’s become apparent that I should have done more diligence before joining. In the past few days, I’ve learned of Kyle The Hooligan’s experience with Meka which is deeply at odds with my core values. I believe that artists must always be at the center of the creative process and must be compensated fairly.”

Despite the blunder, Martini remains optimistic about the future of virtual artists in this constantly technologically evolving world.

Check out Anthony Martini’s statement to New York Times above.