Category: Worldwide

It’s been a while since we’ve checked in on Martha Stewart. What’s she up to?

Oh my.

All the Martha and Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party host wanted to do was talk about her mostly chlorine-free East Hampton pool (“I made it extra deep for diving and with no protruding steps so we could really race the length without worrying about obstacles. After all these years, It is a fun place to swim!!!”). Instead, she learned about thirst traps, a term she was blissfully unfamiliar with until ET‘s Nischelle Turner informed her on the definition. In that case, Stewart said, “that’s definitely a thirst trap”:

This one came about because Stewart “thought I looked great coming out of the pool. My camera came on backwards, selfie mode, and I looked so nice. The sun was on my face. I thought, ‘Oh, that looks pretty,’ so I took the picture. It looked good.”

The internet agrees: since posting the pool selfie, Stewart has been proposed to 14 times, “I don’t know what for, but they’re proposals,” she told E! Online. “I haven’t checked lately, that was the first day.” The photo was also replicated by comedian Chelsea Handler, who wrote, “I’m here to take @marthastewart48’s swimming lesson. If I look this good at 78 I better still have a pool to show myself off in.”

The key to looking youthful at 78: drunk hoverboarding, obviously.

(Via BuzzFeed)

When hip-hop fans make lists of the best rappers ever, Eminem usually finds his way near the top. However, Snoop Dogg doesn’t think the Detroit rapper is one of the ten best to ever do it.

During a recent Breakfast Club interview, Snoop explained his position, saying:

“Eminem! The Great White Hope! White rappers had zero respect in rap. Let’s keep that one thou wow. [Dr. Dre] has probably put Eminem in the position where he could be labeled as one of the top ten rappers ever. I don’t think so, but the game thinks that he’s top ten lyricists and all that that comes with it. That’s just because he’s with Dr. Dre and Dr. Dre helped him find the best Eminem that he could find.”

He was then asked why Em didn’t make the cut, and he responded, “There’s just some n****s in the ’80s that he can’t f*ck with. Like Rakim, like Big Daddy Kane, like KRS-One, like LL Cool J… shall I go on? Like Ice Cube.”

As that conversation indicated, Eminem is widely esteemed and considered one of the best rappers ever. Naturally, then, there were plenty of hip-hop fans on Twitter who had thoughts about Snoop keeping Eminem out of his top list.

Some people didn’t agree with Snoop:

Some fans think, however, that even Eminem himself would side with Snoop:

One fan argues that Snoop received the same career perks from which Snoop claimed Eminem benefited:

Another person suspects Snoop may have left Eminem off his list after he didn’t make Eminem’s recent list:

Then there are those who think this whole thing is a bit silly:

Whatever the case may be, both rappers are staying busy: Snoop is fresh off a Verzuz battle and Eminem just released a collaborative single with Kid Cudi.

With the pandemic raging in many corners of the U.S. and full-on lockdowns on the verge of returning, it’s pretty safe to say no one is going to have a “normal” August. Even when talking about camping, we have to be very careful with how we go out and enjoy nature. Your safety is not yours alone. We need to pull together to ensure the safety of one another.

In the practical sense, that means no indoor dining, wear a freaking mask, no parties/ concerts/ public gatherings, and no flights unless your need to travel supersedes the risk (if you have to ask, it probably doesn’t). But you can still have whiskey and you can still get outside. See? It’s not all bad!

If you choose to go camping this summer, find a spot far away from other campers (BLM land!), shop and fuel up beforehand, bring hand sanitizer, pack extra masks, and don’t forget the whiskey. Drink it straight, on the rocks, or in your go-to cocktail, and let it help you forget about how long it took you to put the tent up.

To find the perfect whiskey for your “no contact” summer trip, we asked some of our bartender pals for their favorite tentside bottles.

High West Campfire

John Marchetti, bartender at Dr. BBQ in St. Petersburg, Florida

High West Campfire truly is the world’s only blend of bourbon, rye, and scotch. Best sipped with a splash or two of water, this complex, blended whiskey is best enjoyed with old friends. I don’t know where to start on the notes because there are so many. Think vanilla, honey, toffee, chai spices, nutmeg, cinnamon, and orange zest.

This blended whiskey finishes long, sweet, spicy, and — best of all — smoky.

Blackened Whiskey

Karl Steuck, bartender at Spirit & Spoon in Los Angeles

I’ve really been digging on Blackened Whiskey. It’s a rad blend of bourbons and ryes, hand-selected by the late and great acclaimed Dave Pickerell. Predominantly bourbon, the sweetness of the juice works perfectly with the rye’s savory spice. Definite notes of honey, cinnamon, and allspice all combine with an unexpected smooth apricot note lingering underneath.

Blackened is an unexpected-yet-ultimately-crowd-pleasing dram, appealing to many discerning palates — especially in the summer around a campfire. In my opinion, it’s perfect as a neat sipper, on the rocks, in an old fashioned, mixed with soda water, or in a mule.

Lagavulin 12

Nazar Hrab, beverage director at The Pineapple Club in New York City

Camping deserves something smokey — definitely a peaty Scotch. I would say Lagavulin 12. Drinking smoky spirits like this next to the campfire is absolutely magical.

Joseph Magnus’ Murray Hill Club

Melissa Reigle, beverage manager and head bartender at Byblos in Miami

Camping is for stories and bourbon is for long, winding stories. And if you want a long rich bourbon with a phenomenal story, Joseph Magnus’ Murray Hill Club is for you. Almost a century after prohibition, the Magnus family found a single bottle of Murray Hill. They approached Nancy Fraley — a professional whiskey “noser” — and she was so impressed that she helped the family replicate the recipe.

These days, the family has a rich cache of memorabilia and stories, as well as an award-winning bourbon.

Pinhook Rye’d On

Steve Livigni, food and beverage partner at Hotel June in Los Angeles

I really like the whiskeys this brand is putting out. The newest release ‘Rye’d On’ is delicious, very flavorful at 97 proof, but not palate charring. The packaging is great too.

Bulleit Rye

Hayden Miller, head bartender at Bodega Taqueria y Tequila in Miami

The smokiness of a campfire on a camping trip and the spiciness of this rye mash come together for a full sensory experience.

Uncle Nearest 1884

Jorge Centeno, chief spirits officer at the Deer Path Inn in Lake Forest, Illinois

Uncle Nearest 1884 is the perfect camping companion. It’s full-bodied with notes of oak, a clean finish, and it goes well with s’mores.

Bulleit Bourbon

Frantjasko Laonora, head mixologist at Curaçao Marriott Beach Resort in Curaçao

Smoke with smoke doesn’t go too well together. My feeling is that you want something that is lighter on the palate. This sip starts you off with smooth tones of maple, oak, and nutmeg then finishes off with a light toffee flavor — making it perfect to sip around a bonfire.

WRITER’S PICKS:

Baker’s Bourbon

One of Jim Beam’s small batch collection, Baker’s is aged for seven years and sits at a potent 107 proof. It’s full of rich vanilla, sweet honey, and subtle spice, making it a breeze for summer sipping after a long day of hiking.

Laphroaig 10

After an afternoon spent swimming in a lake, you’re probably going to want to relax in a comfortable chair while you warm yourself on a campfire. A smoky fire deserves an equally smoky whisky. Laphroaig 10 is the perfect juice for the job because it’s full of robust peat smoke, sweet caramel, and subtle ocean brine.

An effort she has teased for the past month, Beyonce, in partnership with Disney+, is preparing to release her upcoming visual film Black Is King exclusively on the streaming platform. As revealed when the film was originally announced, the film will present a second look at the lessons learned in last year’s The Lion King remake, which Beyonce co-starred and for which she produced the soundtrack. In taking this second look, Black Is King will aim to help “today’s young kinds and queens in search of their own crowns.” After a pair of trailers that gave viewers a look into the film, Beyonce returned with a third and final look before the film’s premiere.

Sharing it to her Instagram page, Beyonce delivered the Black Is King trailer, one that featured a narration from herself. “To live with no reflection for so long,” she began seconds into the new trailer. “Might make you wonder if you truly even exist.” Following this narration, the trailer would go on to preview the first song from Beyonce set to appear on the upcoming visual album. The latest preview follows last week’s star-studded trailer, one that saw appearances from Jay-Z, Kelly Rowland, Naomi Campbell, Tina Knowles-Lawson, and more.

The latest trailer serves as the latest piece of content from Beyonce aimed at highlighting and celebrating Black lives at a higher level. Prior to the initial Black Is King, Beyonce celebrated Juneteenth with a new track “Black Parade.”

Watch the final trailer for Black Is King above.

Sabrina Ionescu is the expected future of the WNBA, as the 2020 first overall pick by the New York Liberty had a record-breaking college career at Oregon and has been considered the consensus top WNBA prospect for two seasons, after deciding in 2019 to return to school for her senior season.

The WNBA schedule did her few favors for her debut appearance, as the Liberty had to face the 2018 champs in the Seattle Storm in Breanna Stewart and Sue Bird’s first games back after missing last season with injuries. The Storm blitzed Ionescu from the start and applied tremendous pressure to her, giving her few easy looks and trying to force the ball out of her hands. While there were flashes of her immense talent, it was a tough first game, but on Wednesday night she bounced back in a major way against the Dallas Wings with 33 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists.

The Liberty lost, 93-80, despite Ionescu’s efforts, which is expected to happen a good bit this season as the Liberty try to rebuild with an extremely young team around Sabrina. Still, it was great to see Ionescu show all the facets of her game that made her such a start at Oregon and the presumptive next face of the WNBA. She got it going from three-point range, hitting 6-of-10 from distance, and was 11-of-20 from the field overall, while also showing off her tremendous vision to set up her teammates.

Getting the rest of the team going will be the challenge for the Liberty, as Layshia Clarendon was the only other member of the Liberty to score in double figures with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting as New York shot just 42.5 percent from the field as a team.

For the young Wings, it was Arike Ogunbowale who led the way with 20 points, along with 13 from Moriah Jefferson, and 12 each from Katie Lou Samuelson and Ionescu’s former Oregon teammate Satou Sabally.

The game featured 10 rookies in total, a record for a WNBA game, as some of the league’s bright future was on display in Bradenton. Dallas was able to pick up its first win of the season and even their record at 1-1, and while New York will enter Friday’s game against Atlanta at 0-2, Ionescu offered a reminder of her tremendous talents and why there’s plenty of reason for optimism with the Liberty’s future around her.

As the NBA prepares to embark on its eight-game seeding restart in the Disney bubble on Thursday night, players continue to try and keep attention on the fight for social justice and the need to address systemic racism throughout American society.

The league is working on various initiatives to use its resources to help address those problems, most notably discussions with the NBPA on a foundation that will be funded with a reported $300 million to go to various areas of need (with the NBPA being a part of deciding where funding goes). While that is yet to be finalized, players continue to use their platform of post-game press conferences to emphasize the need for justice for Breonna Taylor, calling on the Kentucky attorney general to file charges against the officers who shot her while she was sleeping, and also offering other messages to the community.

Jaylen Brown has been a prominent voice throughout his career on social issues, and was part of organizing a protest march in his hometown of Atlanta after the murder of George Floyd by police sparked nationwide protests against police brutality. On Wednesday, Brown opened his availability with a two-minute statement, again calling for justice for Breonna Taylor and also issuing a plea for people to get out and vote — while also addressing one of the major reasons people in the Black community sometimes feel like voting doesn’t matter.

“I want to continue to demand justice for Breonna Taylor. I want that to continue to be reiterated while I’m down here. Also, I want to encourage people in my community to get out and vote. Not just for presidential elections, but state representatives, elected officials, etc. I think there’s a lot of power in coming together and voting. Especially in the Black community, politicians have made empty promises to the Black community year after year after year, and they think it’s OK and acceptable, and it’s not. So, I want to emphasize that we gotta continue to vote. We gotta come together and use our power and utilize it in the right manner. I want to inspire people in Georgia, where I’m from, Marietta, Gwinnett county, Boston, Massachusetts, Dorchester, Roxbury, Oakland, East Oakland, West Oakland, wherever my influence reaches I want people to vote. There’s a lot of power in exercising that and we gotta use it. So I want to continue to emphasize that, cause we’ve got to get some of these guys out of office who don’t care or don’t think it’s appropriate that we are trying to end systemic racism.

“I want to make voting a strength. I want to use my platform. I want to have people come together and talk about it. I understand the apprehension from the African-American community. Politicians have been making empty promises as well as people feeling like why would I participate in a political system that hasn’t necessarily participated with me. But I believe in small victories, and getting those guys [out] and the right people into office, I think a lot of that is voting. Let’s continue to express that. Let’s continue to lead in that direction and I want to use my platform to inspire people to use their influence, whatever color, whatever race, it’s always important, especially in the Black community, let’s exercise our power and get out and vote.”

Brown points out a problem that often leads to voter apathy, particularly within the Black community and other minority communities, which is how there can be no candidates on the ballot who are directly engaging with those communities and speaking on the issues that are most important to them. It’s something he understands, and needs to be addressed at a party level with bringing in more diverse candidates who are willing to engage in conversations and issues that impact these communities.

There are far more reasons why voter turnout can be low, including various voter suppression tactics that can cause tremendous wait times at polling places in minority communities to policies like Florida’s law that forces ex-felons to pay any fines still owed to the state before being allowed to vote. The latter issue is something LeBron James’ “More Than A Vote” campaign is looking to address, raising funds to pay off those debts and rid that hurdle for voters.

Brown’s other point of emphasizing the need to vote at a local level is important as well, because while national politics dominate news coverage, it is the local elections that often dictate the policies that most impact these communities and is also the beginning of the path to introducing more diverse candidates to the experience that can get them to larger positions.

Ask any group of women if they’ve ever been touched inappropriately by a stranger, and most will have a story to tell. While there is some gray area when it comes to occasional bumps or grazes in public, there are some situations that are so blatantly gropey, there can be no question as to what’s happening.

Some men (and yes, some women) simply cannot seem to keep their hands to themselves, and some will go out of their way to get their creepy fingers on someone else’s body. Gross, but true.

A thread on Reddit highlighted this fact when a woman who goes by the handle “thestashattacked” described what happened to her when she was swimming laps at the pool.

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“So I’m lap swimming, and we have 7 swim lanes. 7. That is a ridiculous number of lanes. And, as per usual at this time in the morning, they’re all occupied. Now, usually, you share lanes under these circumstances. Not a problem.

Except this time I’m somehow the only woman swimming, in the crappy shallow lane.

Man comes in, and wants to swim. That’s fine. He has to share a lane (which is risky due to COVID anyway), but he won’t share with any of the men in the good lanes.

No, he absolutely has to share with the only woman in the pool. And of course, every time we pass he has to graze his hand across my ass.

Eventually, I told him if he couldn’t keep his hands to himself, I’d either start hitting, or he could move to another lane. I was here first, and the only reason he came into this lane is that there’s a woman here. Seriously, this is the worst lane.

(Yes, the lifeguard told him to get out after I yelled at him. Apparently he’s way more obvious about the groping when you can see it from outside the water.)”

Choosing the crappiest lane because it’s the only one with a woman in it is no accident. When you’re swimming in the same lane as someone, it’s natural that you may accidentally bump or graze them, but groping someone’s butt every time you pass is also no accident. It’s sexual assault. It doesn’t matter how quick it was, whether he “grabbed” or “grazed,” or whether it was one second or three. Repeatedly putting your hands on a woman’s behind as she swims by is sexual assault. Full stop.

This woman’s story inspired others to share their own experiences with similar Gropy McGropertons, and they’re all just as infuriating.

Cyssane wrote:

“I had this shit happen to me when I was just 14 years old. I was hanging around at a local mall by myself (I’d done this plenty of times before without incident). I was looking at clothing on a rack and some older guy walked past me and grazed my ass.

I’m a young kid, so I thought it was accidental at first, but every time I went somewhere else this creep would follow me around the mall. It was about equal parts infuriating and scary.

Finally I found a group of girls around my age and quickly explained what was happening. They were so great — they immediately grasped the situation and formed a wall around me for the rest of the day. They’d ask where I wanted to go next and then we all went there in a group. Several of them pulled out small items that could be used as weapons in case the creep tried to get too close to us — keys held between the fingers, metal nail files, things like that. Creepy guy didn’t dare to approach after that, and he finally left us alone.

I’ll always be grateful to those girls. They were amazing.”

Creepy stalker dudes are familiar to most women at some point in their lives. Good for that group of girls for sticking together and protecting her. But seriously, that should not have to happen.

The_Thugmuffin wrote:

“When I was about eleven/twelve I was at a swimming pool party in a indoor place you could rent out. Bunch of kids there and we were all having fun. Myself and my cousin went to the super deep end to play that game where you toss items to the bottom and pick them up.

Anyways, this older dude decided he wanted to play with us and my cousin and I thought that was cool that an adult wanted to play a game.

We dive once, old dude rubs up on top of me at the bottom. His crotch was aggressively shoved against my butt, his full weight pushed me to the bottom of the pool. I think that’s weird, but that he was just really into the game and was trying to grab the ring. We dive a second time. Same thing. Third and fourth time this dude keeps rubbing on me. Full body rub too, he got better about it as we dove more.

Finally I decide to test it to see if he is just into the game or if he is actually molesting me. So when we count down for the dive I wait and give my cousin a head start then dive again. Dude waited and rubbed on me again. I finally just had enough and got out of the pool and refused to play again. Stopped swimming the whole day and never went back to that place again.

Place was FULL of parents and other adults and lifeguards. Not a single person noticed this guy feeling me up because it was the pool. Because I was young and didn’t know better I didn’t tell anyone.

I wish I had screamed at that guy and called the cops. Good on you.

Edit: I was in fifth grade”

Fifth grade. That’s around age 10. Disgusting.

dkettlecorn added:

“Yup it’s weird. When I was on my club team one boy grazed my crotch during backstroke not one or two but THREE TIMES and when I called him out for it the guys just shrugged it off giving some bs excuse. Got fully credit carded once and another time a boy actually somehow stuck his hand in my suit (touched my belly) from the next lane. Like touching someone’s feet is an accident, flip turning and head butting someone is an accident, but I’ve never groped anyone especially by “accident” during a practice.”

Three crotch grazes? No. Not an accident.

kendall_black, another swimmer, shared her story:

“OH MY GOD.

THIS SO MUCH.

I” was a competitive swimmer throughout school, and this was always so bad. Well, ok it was worst on my high school swim team, not so much on my year-round team. But anyways, fuck those guys, and fuck that guy. I had this one guy on my high school team who was the worst perpetrator. He would be standing at the wall while everyone else was swimming and when I’d do my flip-turn, he’d always touch me somehow trying to grope me. I finally yelled loud enough for the ENTIRE POOL to hear, ‘If you touch me again, or if you are still standing on the wall in the way of everyone swimming, I WILL flip-turn ON TOP OF YOU and kick you as hard as I can.’ The next swimmeet, that same guy stuck his hand INSIDE MY SWIMSUIT FROM THE BACK AND CARESSED MY STOMACH. WHILE I WAS TALKING TO MY PARENTS ON THE BALCONY.”

What the heck. What did this guy go on to do after high school?

“Keep your hands to yourself” is basic kindergarten etiquette that anyone should be able to follow. We should not have to have awareness campaigns to keep women’s bodies from being fondled without their permission. Yes, men’s bodies too. It’s not that hard to not be a creep, regardless of your sex or gender.

Hands. To. Yourself. Everyone.

Verzuz‘s livestream “battles” have served as the core of hip-hop entertainment for the last two months, and on top of letting rappers face of against each other, they’ve also given them an excuse to look back on their careers. After his battle with DMX, Snoop Dogg sat down with the folks at The Breakfast Club to share another gem from his lengthy career.

After being asked whether he preferred to write his songs himself or to have others do it for him, Snoop shared a surprising tidbit from one of his classic records. He said he and Dr. Dre spent days struggling to write the song. Finally Dre flew someone in from New York to the Los Angeles studio. It only took this guest 30 minutes to write the song, which Snoop deemed “flawless.” And that person? No less than Jay-Z.

Jay-Z was credited for his work on the song, but to the surprise of The Breakfast Club hosts, they were unaware that he actually wrote it all. Snoop then said that Jay-Z’s ability to pen a west coast hit as an east coast act came from his love of Dr. Dre.

“Jay-Z is a great writer to begin with for himself, so imagine him striking it for someone he truly loves and appreciates,” Snoop said. “He loves Dr. Dre and that’s what his pen showed you, that I can’t write for you if I don’t love you.”

You can see a clip from Snoop’s interview with The Breakfast Club in the tweet above.

The NBA’s relationship with China has come under fire in the past year, beginning with the Chinese response to Rockets GM Daryl Morey’s tweet in support of Hong Kong protesters, which began a discussion of the ethical concerns regarding the league’s partnership with China.

The issues go well beyond Hong Kong’s protests, where citizens call for a full democracy after beginning as protests against an extradition bill that would have brought some criminal cases to mainland China, which many believed would lead to unfair trials and put journalists and others who have been critical of the Chinese government at risk. China is also under increased scrutiny by many as the country commits human rights atrocities in the Xinjiang region where thousands of Uighur Muslims are being detained in concentration camps.

The NBA, which operates a multi-billion dollar enterprise in China, has found itself as the public face of the ethical dilemma of U.S. companies — particularly those that have taken strong social justice stances — doing business in a country that actively suppresses its people. Morey’s tweet, which happened while the Lakers and Nets were in China preparing for exhibition games, and the subsequent response of the Chinese government, brought these issues to the national discourse. It also sparked an ESPN investigation into NBA China, particularly into its academies, one of which had operated in the Xinjiang region but the league says was closed in 2019.

According to the ESPN report that came out on Wednesday, a number of American coaches at these academies reported instances of players being physically abused by Chinese coaches and, in the Xinjiang academy where many players were Uighur Muslims, players being housed improperly and not being provided the education that was promised by the academy. The problem is that the league’s academies were in partnership with the Chinese government, which meant the NBA had minimal oversight into the operations of the academies and in being able to ensure they were operating as the league saw fit.

In an interview with ESPN about its findings, NBA deputy commissioner and chief operating officer Mark Tatum, who oversees international operations, said the NBA is “reevaluating” and “considering other opportunities” for the academy program, which operates out of sports facilities run by the Chinese government. Last week, the league acknowledged for the first time it had closed the Xinjiang academy, but, when pressed, Tatum declined to say whether human rights were a factor.

“We were somewhat humbled,” Tatum said of the academy project in China. “One of the lessons that we’ve learned here is that we do need to have more direct oversight and the ability to make staffing changes when appropriate.”

The recollection of coaches in the ESPN report include seeing coaches throw basketballs at players heads and “kick [a player] in the gut.” The story notes that there are cultural differences in how corporal punishment is viewed in China compared to the U.S., but for the NBA that only furthers the issues with agreeing to allow their name on these academies without having the ability to set ground rules for coaches on what is an is not appropriate within them.

The report offers a number of instances of physical abuse towards players and how a mixed response in terms of success in ending that abuse when those issues were formally reported to NBA China. The league operates a number of NBA Academies in various countries, including Mexico and Australia, and their stated goal is to provide a holistic experience for players, focusing on education as much as basketball. However, in China, the academies were operated in existing facilities as a partnership with the Chinese government, which of course severely limits the impact the league itself is able to have on how things run.

As such, the league now finds itself in a difficult situation where they are now understanding the serious problems that have arisen within the academies while trying to thread the needle of not seeing their multi-billion enterprise crumble by further upsetting the Chinese government — a problem they can only look at themselves for creating by agreeing to such a partnership.

Young Thug is always creating, and it’s easy to come to that conclusion: The Atlanta trap star is constantly delivering Instagram previews of his work as he works in the studio. After a few previews hit social media over the past few months, fans began to wonder if a new project was on the way. Shortly after Thug’s sister teased a surprise for fans from Thug, one set to arrive in August, the rapper tweeted, then deleted, some news that confirmed exactly what that surprise was.

The quickly-deleted tweet revealed the release date for his upcoming project, Slime Language 2, namely on August 16, which is also his 29th birthday. The project will serve as the successor to the 2018 compilation effort Thug released alongside a number of YSL Record artists, among them Lil Duke and Gunna as well as other notable names like Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Keed, Jacquees, and more. It’s safe to assume that Slime Language 2 will be a reunion of YSL artists and with guest appearances from other names.

The announcement arrives after Thug was involved in a social media spat with Pusha T after Thug criticized his choice to diss Drake on their leaked Pop Smoke single. New music featuring Young Thug was premiered on a July 20 episode of Travis Scott and Chase B’s .WAV Radio Beats 1 show.

Lil Uzi Vert is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.