There seems to be a constant war between children’s clothing retailers who want to push the boundaries of modesty and parents who push back, saying they are sexualizing children. On top of that, when young girls believe they are supposed to wear clothes that are tight-fitting and revealing, it’s very damaging to their self-esteem and body image.
“I think it’s one thing that the girls’ clothes are very fitted and small, and it’s another that they’re in such direct contrast to what you find on the boys’ side, and those two things send a pretty strong message about what they’re supposed to look like, dressed to be slim and to be fit,” Sharon Choksi, a mom of two and founder of the clothing line, Girls Will Be, told CNN.
The topic came up again recently when Meghan Mayer, a mother of 2 and a 7th-grade school teacher, posted a video on TikTok about a dress she saw at Target that received over 1.6 million views.
Meghan was reacting to a smock-style patterned dress with balloon sleeves that appeared modest at first glance. But after closer examination, it has holes on the waist on both sides, revealing the girl’s midriff and possibly more.
“My oldest daughter and I are at Target and there’s some cute spring stuff,” Mayer started the video. “I am a little bit more conservative when it comes to my kids’ clothing, so maybe I’m overreacting, but let me know what you think of these dresses.”
She added that the dress may be okay for a 12-year-old but was inappropriate in her opinion for a 6-or 7-year-old.
Mayor asked her followers what they thought of the dress. “Like I said, I know I’m a little bit more conservative. I don’t usually even let my girls wear bikinis, but maybe I’m overreacting, I don’t know. Thoughts?”
For reference, she then showed the sizes of the dresses to show they were for kids and then revealed the holes in the sides. “Look at these little slits on the sides of these dresses, right at the hips on all these dresses,” she said.
Most people commenting on the video thought the dress was a bit much for such a young girl to wear.
“You’re not overreacting. You’re parenting properly,” Paper Bound Greetings wrote. “No, no. There is no reason for those holes to be there. They should have pockets! Not holes!” Anna wrote. “I think retailers are trying to mature our kids too fast. I agree with mom!” HollyMoore730 commented.
But some people thought that that dress was acceptable and Mayer was overreacting.
“Unpopular opinion, I think they’re cute,” Dr. Robinson wrote. “When I was a kid in the ‘70s I wore halter tops and tube tops; they were not seen as big deals. I don’t think this is scandalous,” Kimberly Falkowsi added. “Overreacting. Both my girls have the blue and white, you can’t even tell much. It’s not that big of a hole. The dresses are so cute,” LolitaKHalessi commented.
Some commenters told Mayer that she should buy the dress and have her daughter wear a shirt beneath it so it doesn’t show skin. But Mayer believes that would be supporting Target for making questionable kids’ clothing.
“No, I’m not going to buy it and have them wear a tank top with it, because then that’s showing Target that it’s OK,” she told Today.com. “And over time, the cutout will get bigger and bigger.”
J Balvin is celebrating the ladies. Today (February 29), J Balvin has shared his new single, “Triple S,” which stands for “Suelta, Soltera, Sin Nadie Que La Joda” — which when loosely translated to English means “Single, Strong and Not to Be Messed With.”
On “Triple S,” Balvin teams up with De La Ghetto and Jowell & Randy, tapping into his reggaeton roots. Over a rhythmic, percussive beat, Balvin and crew champion strong women, celebrating their determination and strength.
In the song’s accompanying video, Balvin, De La Ghetto, and Jowell & Randy carry out a master plan for a brilliant woman mafia leader. The video, which takes place at Charles Sieger’s luxurious estate Chateau Artisan, contains a twist, ultimately leading this woman to the top.
For this new era of his illustrious music career, Balvin is pulling out all the stops. This April, Balvin will perform at Coachella on the main stage. And then soon after, he will embark on the Que Bueno Volver A Verte International Tour, during which, he will visit 20 European cities.
Pure Project/Hopworks/Jack’s Abby/Phase Three/istock/Uproxx
While every month of the year has plenty of positives regarding the beer you can get, there are few as unique as March. First, because it’s the month that bridges the gap between winter and spring (in terms of seasons and beer styles). Second, because it’s when the biggest drinking day of the year occurs. St. Patrick’s Day is a celebration of Irish culture that features corned beef, bangers and mash, and a ton of Irish whiskey.
It’s also a day loaded to the gills with beer (green and otherwise).
Not surprisingly. there are a ton of choices when it comes to March beers. If you prefer, you can still imbibe dark, bolder beers (like the St. Patrick’s Day staple Irish dry stout or dark lagers) or you can sip on something with a little spring zing. We’re talking about pale ales, sour ales, bocks, and lighter lagers.
We won’t make you find these March gems yourself, though. To help you get the most out of the month, we picked eight great beers for you. Keep scrolling to see all the flavorful, memorable beers to drink in March.
Sipping a Pure Project I Choose Yuzu is a unique, refreshing way to dive right into March beers. In the simplest terms, it’s a sessionable, 5% ABV rice lager that’s flavored with yuzu. The result is a crisp, sweet, refreshing, citrus-filled beer that’s guaranteed to get you feeling like spring is right around the corner.
Tasting Notes:
A nose of candied orange peel, lemon zest, yuzu, sweet rice, and floral, earth hops greets you before your first sip. There’s more of the same in the best way possible with ripe grapefruit, tangerine, lime, yuzu, rice, cereal grains, and floral hops taking center stage. It’s extremely refreshing and balanced.
Bottom Line:
It’s an easy-drinking, sweet, citrus-filled beer that’s so refreshing and flavorful you’ll immediately want to crack open another one.
We suspect you’ll find time this month to enjoy a nice pint of Guinness. But after you enjoy the pride of Dublin, why not sip on an American take? Phase three The Claddagh is as authentic as American Irish dry stouts come. This creamy, chocolate, dry stout is brewed with pale malt, flaked oats, and roasted barley.
Tasting Notes:
This classic take on the Irish dry stout begins with a nose of dark chocolate, coffee beans, dried fruits, licorice, roasted barley, and a hint of floral, earthy hops. It’s creamy and sweet and filled with flavors of espresso beans, cocoa powder, raisins, treacle, bitter chocolate, roasted barley, and floral hops.
Bottom Line:
If you want an American take on the Irish dry stout that won’t leave you shaking your head, Phase Three The Claddagh is the beer for you.
Bell’s Oberon
Bell’s
ABV: 5.8%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
It’s not spring until Bell’s releases its iconic Oberon wheat beer. It won’t even be available until March 25th. Simply brewed with house ale yeast, hops, water, and wheat malts, it’s known for its orange hue and citrus-filled, sweet wheat, thirst-quenching flavor profile.
Tasting Notes:
A lot is going on with this beer’s nose. There are scents of sweet wheat, yeasty bread, orange peels, grass, hay, and floral hops. The palate follows suit with a ton of sweet wheat flavor followed by yeasty, freshly baked bread, candied orange peels, like wintry spices, and a finish of gently bitter floral hops. Wheat, sweet, citrus. What’s not to love?
Bottom Line:
Bell’s Oberon is an annual favorite for a reason. It’s a perfectly balanced banger of a beer that you’ll want to drink from now until the end of summer (or until your go-to store runs out).
You might be wondering what an XPA is. Well, so were we. But Firestone Walker XPA is a crushable, sessionable, hoppy pale ale brewed with Rahr Craft 2-row malt, Great Western white wheat, and Briess Carapils malt. It gets its snappy, floral, hoppy presence from Hallertau Tradition, Mosaic, Citra, and Nelson Sauvin hops.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a ton of citrus on this beer’s nose. There’s also a heap of grass, hay, and dank, floral hops. It’s evened out with cracker-like and sweet, caramel malts. On the palate, you’ll find stone fruit, berries, mango, ripe pineapple, tangerine, grapefruit, caramel malts, and dank, resinous hops. The finish is spicy, bitter, and memorable.
Bottom Line:
This will be your new go-to pale ale with its mix of citrus, caramel malts, and dank, bitter hops.
Hopworks POG Tropical Sour
Hopworks
ABV: 5.6%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
You might not think that a tropical sour ale belongs in your rotation for the end of winter. But, if you’re anything like us, you need a break from the cold air outside. Luckily, the folks at Hopworks recently released its popular POG Tropical Sour. It’s tart, sour, sweet, and filled with tangerine, mango, guava, and passionfruit flavors.
Tasting Notes:
Before your sip, you’re greeted by s symphony of tropical fruit aromas like passionfruit, caramelized pineapple, mango, guava, and light floral, herbal, earthy hops. Drinking it only adds to the vacation in your mouth with more passionfruit, honeydew melon, berries, guava, mango, ripe peach, and light, floral hops. It’s tart, sweet, and pleasantly sour.
Bottom Line:
It’s as fresh and full of tropical fruit flavors as tart and sour. It’s a very memorable beer you’ll want to seek out every time it’s re-released.
We all know the late winter and early spring is a time for bock beers. But did you know that it’s also time for Icelandic-style bocks? Well, specifically Jack’s Abby Nordic Frost. This unique bock beer is decoction mashed and brewed with Caramunich and North American malts. The result is a complex, malty, sweet, rich, warming beer perfect for the end of winter.
Tasting Notes:
A lot is going on with this beer’s nose. There are aromas of freshly baked bread, caramel, honey, and floral, earthy, spicy hops. The palate is a mix of bready malts, caramel, sweet honey, candied orange peel, tree nuts, dried fruits, and earthy, herbal, floral, grassy hops. The finish is a mixture of sweet malts and bitter, floral hops.
Bottom Line:
This is a unique, well-rounded wintry bock beer. It’s malt-forward and finishes with floral, bitter hops that leave you craving more.
Created to taste like an Irish cream cocktail, this unique stout is brewed with a 2-row pale base, caramel 60, and debittered black malts, as well as barley flakes. It’s hopped with Chinook and Cascade hops and gets its memorable flavor from the addition of milk sugar and Irish cream flavor.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a ton of sweetness on this beer’s nose. This includes aromas of vanilla, toffee, Irish cream, coffee beans, chocolate, and roasted barley. Drinking it reveals a very complex beer with notes of molasses cookies, caramel candy, vanilla beans, freshly brewed coffee, roasted malts, and more memorable Irish cream. The finish is a nice mix of sweetness and bitterness.
Bottom Line:
If you’re a fan of adding a little Irish cream to your coffee from time to time, you’re going to love this exceptional seasonal beer.
You can probably guess that based on its name, this is an IPA for the last waning winter days. First released in 2020 and brewed with Amarilla and Strata hops, this beer is available from the fall through March. It’s known for its hazy appearance and hoppy, citrusy, piney, refreshing aroma and flavor.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll find notes of grapefruit, ripe pineapple, tangerine, light malts, and resinous, piney hops. The palate continues this trend with lemon, tangerine, grapefruit, honeydew melon, caramelized pineapple, sweet malts, and dank, pine all making an appearance.
Bottom Line:
If you’re an IPA drinker and you’re looking for a beer that’s flavorful enough to stand up to the last chilly days of winter, this is your brew.
There are a great many things that Patrick Mahomes is extremely good at. The best quarterback of his generation and one of the greatest of all time, Mahomes’ ability to make magic happen on the football field is second to none, as evidenced by the fact that he won his third Super Bowl earlier this month.
Despite this, Mahomes is not especially fast. While he’s not Tom Brady or anything, Mahomes ran a 4.80 second 40-yard dash when he attended the NFL Draft Combine back in 2017, which pops up every year when NFL Network wants to compare guys to him for one reason or another. Heading into this year’s edition of the event, Mahomes had a simple request for the network: please stop.
As the combine starts this week! All i ask is that @nflnetwork doesn’t use my 40 overlay anymore
The 2024 Combine started with the defensive tackles, a position that is not known for being, uh, fast. Unfortunately for Mahomes, his request was immediately ignored, as NFL Network used his 40 as a point of comparison for Braden Fiske (who ran the fastest among his position) and T’Vondre Sweat (who ran the slowest). And to add insult to injury, they quote tweeted him as they did it.
Good on Mahomes for having a sense of humor about the entire thing, at least. Anyway, my hunch is that this is going to pop up on NFL Network a few more times in the coming days, and Mahomes will simply have to sit there with his three Lombardi Trophies and not let it ruin his weekend.
Heading to Phoenix? Take a travel writer’s word for it and skip Arizona’s heavily populated capital city for its nearby little sister — Mesa. Just 25 minutes outside of the Phoenix metro area is an oasis of nostalgic lodging, epic hikes amongst endless cacti, wild horses, and so much more.
The downtown Mesa strip is significantly less chaotic than Phoenix’s city center and is quickly becoming a leader in the craft beverage scene. Better still, Mesa is now home to a surf park — yup, you can catch waves in the middle of the desert — making it an awesome spring destination.
Here’s how to spend 36 hours in the desert town.
CHECK-IN TO AN OLD-SCHOOL RANCH
Saguaro Lake Ranch
While Mesa is lacking in trendy boutique hotels, you could choose to rack up some points at the (slightly lackluster, TBH) Courtyard by Marriott Mesa at Wrigleyville West (rooms start at $349 a night) or DoubleTree Hotel Phoenix-Mesa (rooms start at $257 a night). If rewards points aren’t your focus and you want a truly Southwest experience, stay at the storied Saguaro Lake Guest Ranch (rooms start at $353 a night).
In the 1920s the ranch housed the workers who built the nearby Stewart Mountain Dam before becoming a family-owned guest ranch in the ’40s. Much of the old-timey paraphernalia remains as adornments around the property, including the saloon with ancient bottles of whiskey. The 20 rustic cabins have panoramic views of the majestic Bulldog Cliffs and are decorated in typical Southwestern-Mexican flare.
You won’t find a TV in your cabin. Instead, you can enjoy the heated pool, and fire pit, and take a short stroll down to the Salt River along the saguaro cactus-studded trails.
If you’re arriving in the afternoon borrow a paddle board or kayak (guided trips start at $51) from the lobby and get out on the Salt River in the Tonto National Forest, the sixth largest National Forest in the States. You’ll float past saguaros, cottonwood trees, and rolling mountains. At dusk, keep an eye out for Mesa’s mystical-feeling wild horses. The incredible creatures tend to hang out along the Salt River’s edge. Over 500 mustangs reside in the area and are presumed to be descendants of Spanish Colonial or Iberian horses brought to the Southwest by colonizers in the 16th century. The wild horses are protected by the Salt River Wild Horse Management Group. The ranch also has an on-site horse stable and can organize a horseback ride through the cactus-studded wilderness guided by local wranglers.
If water activities aren’t your thing, lace up your hiking boots and head out for a short stroll from the ranch. It’s kept a bit hush-hush to preserve a sacred site but there’s an easy trail that leads to ancient petroglyphs of spirals, birds, and lizards. En route, you’ll stroll through an old-growth area of the Sonoran Desert and catch a birds-eye view of the aforementioned Dam.
HEAD TO GILBERT FOR DINNER AND DRINKS
Vist Mesa
Nothing hits quite as good after a day of travel as a flavorful, spicy, Asian-inspired meal. Grab a table at the chic Belly Kitchen & Bar and order small plates to share of Vietnamese, Thai, and Japanese dishes. Don’t skip the green papaya salad or seared mushroom bao bun (shared starters start at $5, main courses $14). Get the evening started with a few rounds of handcrafted cocktails ($13-$18 per cocktail). My favorite was the “Yuzu & Miso” — a gin cocktail that instantly transported me back to Japan. Or take things up a notch with a round of $8 “Belly Shots” for the group — after all, lemongrass is good for you. Other classic Asian drinks are also available, including Korean Soju ($16) and Lao Lager ($13).
After dinner head next door for a one-of-a-kind experience — a tiki bar in the desert! Brave the plank at Undertow and stick around for the wicked thunderstorm. The award-winning immersive cocktail bar transports patrons into the belly of a spice trader’s Clipper ship. Grab a seat by the portholes and watch as the sea gets more and more tormented as the storm approaches.
Hold on tight to your Scorpion Punch Bowl or Lei Lani Volcano cocktail as the ship braves the massive waves! Cocktails start at $16.
CATCH A MORNING WAVE
Visit Mesa
After enjoying breakfast at the lodge, start your day off with a surf sesh. That’s right — surfing in the desert.
This Spring Mesa is set to open a 3.3-acre surf lagoon — Cannon Beach Revel Surf Park. It’s the first surf park in the world with both a large traveling wave and a stationary rapid surf wave. Here you can ride a consistently perfect year-round wave.
Want to double up on thrills? At Cannon Beach, you can also go cliff jumping, skateboarding on a pump track, or just chill out at the beachside pool.
HIT THE CIDERY FOR LUNCH
Lola Méndez
After riding waves to your heart’s content, head to Downtown Mesa for pizza and cider to refuel. Named the third-best cidery in the States, Cider Corps is a veteran-owned cidery proving that cider is for everyone to enjoy. These aren’t your run-of-the-mill alcoholic apple ciders. The selection on the grenade-looking taps rotates through seasonal flavors including a prickly pear sangria and POG (pomegranate, orange, and guava), and start at $8 a pour.
Have handmade pizzas from Myke’s Pizza, which shares the space with the cidery, for lunch. My rec is to order the pineapple pizza made with pork roll and aged gouda ($21). Get the side of Brussels sprouts ($8.50) that are made with Cider Corps’ Semper Vera cider.
CHEERS TO CRAFT BEVERAGES
Stay Downtown Mesa for a self-guided late afternoon pub crawl. The quaint Historic Downtown Mesa strip on Main Street may seem like a wholesome small-town hangout but it’s leading the Arizona craft beverage scene with the most craft beverage locales in one square mile. No driving is necessary making Main Street the perfect destination for a DIY bar crawl.
Stop into the “2022 Brewery of the Year” — Oro Brewing Company. This locally-owned and operated small-batch brewery and taproom has an array of award-winning handcrafted ales and lagers on tap. Hit up Phantom Fox Beer Co. for a hazy IPA made with stone fruit or the neighboring drinking hole Chupacabra Taproom which serves hard seltzer ($6.75).
For dinner, stay local and go to Worth Takeaway for classic American sandwiches and fries that are anything but boring. Sandwiches range from $12-$17 and are made with local Arizona seasonal ingredients, including cheeses from nearby Danzeisen Dairy, produce from Crooked Sky Farms, and Mesa’s own Proof Bread. After a day of tasting the best of Mesa’s craft beverage scene, you can’t go wrong with a buffalo chicken sandwich or a hot ham and cheese on sourdough.
Keep the craft beverage crawl going by heading over to the Mesa Riverview. The taproom at Papago Brewing Co. has a rotating selection of 60 freshly-crafted draft beers including the famous Papago Orange Blossom and top local beers from Arizona that are $7 for 16 ounces. Order rustic soft pretzels with beer cheese ($10.90) and a sausage board ($17.90) to enjoy while you try Papago’s beers.
From there, let the night carry you onward or head back to your cozy bed at the ranch.
GO FOR A MORNING WALK AMONGST THE CACTI
Lola Méndez
You simply can’t visit the Southwest without enjoying the great outdoors. In the morning before you leave Mesa go out for a hike in the magnificent Usery Mountain Regional Park. The lower Sonoran Desert park is home to elusive flora and fauna. You’ll see several types of cacti, including the saguaro cactus which is indigenous to the area, and if you’re lucky you may spot cardinals, owls, and hummingbirds.
There are various trails to choose from and all offer incredible views of the desert surroundings. Park entry fees start at $3 per person.
Sunday’s game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Ohio State Buckeyes at Carver-Hawkeye Arena will hold a little extra significance for the home team, as it will mark the last time that the greatest player in program history plays a regular season game on her home floor. In a statement posted to her Twitter account on Thursday afternoon, Iowa star Caitlin Clark announced that she will forgo her final year of eligibility and enter the 2024 WNBA Draft.
It’s not an especially big surprise that Clark, a two-time unanimous first-team All-American and the reigning National Player of the Year, is headed to the WNBA after this season. She’s presumed to be the overwhelming favorite to go with the No. 1 overall pick, which would mean she joins the Indiana Fever. This marks the second year in a row that the Fever have the top pick in the WNBA Draft, and last year, the team used the selection to acquire Aliyah Boston out of South Carolina — Boston would go on to make the All-Star Game and get named the WNBA Rookie of the Year.
Despite having one more year of eligibility that she can use, Clark has already broken Kelsey Plum’s career Division I women’s scoring record. The all-time Division I record, which is currently held by Pete Maravich, is only 18 points away, and it is presumed that she will eclipse it during the game against the Buckeyes.
There’s no shame in romance for Dende. The Texas singer has a knack for letting his heart bleed on records nor letting a teardrop or two fall if the moment pushes him to that level of emotion. Whether love is at his doorstep or on the other side of the world, Dende years for it in a way that few in today’s R&B landscape do. His music recalls when singers begged and pleaded in the rain – something Dende has done through his music (see “Better Than Him”).
Dende’s impressive run, which dates back to last year’s ’95 Civic and Before We Crash projects, continues with his latest EP, Wish You Were Here. Through three songs, Dende recalls the moments of longing during a trip to the UK that separated him from a lover. His irrefutable feelings about his partner on “Your Intro,” the sultry invitation for romance to fulfill a burning passion on “Slide” with J Warner, and the celebration of flawless chemistry on “Jigsaw” all make for a soul-stirring display of love at its peak.
Along with the release of Wish You Were Here, Uproxx also caught up with Dende to discuss his start in music, his love for Usher, and his commitment to defending Arby’s at all costs.
What is your earliest memory of music?
My earliest memory of music is sitting at the lunch table in elementary school. This girl, Danielle, and I had a sing-off. People around the table were judging it. I don’t remember what song she sang, but she could not sing for real, and I sang “You Don’t Have to Call” by Usher. They voted for her, and I went and cried in the hall.
Who inspired you to take music seriously?
Funny enough, the person who inspired me to take music seriously was Chance The Rapper. Senior year of high school I begged my parents to let me go to his concert. They were kind of strict, and Acid Rap had just come out. I was obsessed, and at the time, he was just preaching independence and working really hard at making music.
Do you know how to play an instrument? If so, which one? If not, which instrument do you want to learn how to play?
I actually know how to play a couple of instruments. I know how to play piano, guitar, & drums. I was in drumline all through high school and some of college. The instrument that I wanna learn how to play is the saxophone.
What was your first job?
My first job was at Kroger, a grocery store in Texas. I was a — I don’t know my official title, I think it was a cart getter? I’d go get the carts. Eventually, I became a bagger, and then I became a cashier.
What is your most prized possession?
My most prized possession is my grandpa‘s rocking chair. It’s really not comfortable at all, but I love it. My dad gave it to me after his dad passed.
What is your biggest fear?
My biggest fear is probably not reaching the potential that I know that I have. I’d hate to not live up to the standards I hold myself to.
Who is on your R&B/rap/afrobeats Mt. Rushmore?
My R&B, Mount Rushmore, is as follows: BOOM! We got Usher, we got Luther Vandross, we got Brandy… I don’t know how many heads are on Mount Rushmore.
You get 24 hours to yourself to do anything you want, with unlimited resources: What are you doing? And spare no details!
Aight, I have 24 hours and unlimited resources let’s get it. First, I wake up, I look over to my left, and all I see is this nightstand and a lamp, and one of those old-school alarm clocks. The ones you still got a hit, but they were brown and they looked weird, but everybody’s grandma had them in their house, but that’s what I have. Then I look to the right, and all I see are those trays that people have bed-and-breakfast breakfast on. I have one of those and on that tray is just a mimosa and a cigar, it’s already lit, but it was just lit, and there’s nobody there.
So I sit there, I’m drinking this mimosa, I’m smoking a cigar in bed, and then the alarm goes off, and I smack the alarm, and I get out of bed. I get in my car, and in this timeline, I have a McLaren, and I drive that McLaren up to Six Flags, and I have a fast pass. I get on every ride five times. I return to my McLaren and drive to the movie theater. I love watching movies in the movie theater. I feel like it’s a dying art, and we need to appreciate it more. I watch every single one of the Harry Potter movies on the big screen in order, then I go home. When I get home I walk in, and there’s another mimosa and another cigar ready for me to go to bed. That’s what I’m doing for my 24 hours.
What are your three most used emojis?
.
What’s a feature you need to secure before you die?
Usher. I could die a happy man.
If you could appear in a future season of a current TV show, which one would it be and why?
It would be That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime! I love anime, and it’s basically all I watch. I’d love to see myself animated.
Which celebrity do you admire or respect for their personality and why?
The celebrity who I admire for their personality is probably gonna be Tyler, The Creator. I feel like he’s always just wanted to be himself authentically, and I pride myself on doing the exact same thing.
Share your opinion on something no one could ever change your mind about.
To be honest with you, I will never let the internet or anyone else convince me that Arby’s isn’t good because I feel like we’ve all been conditioned by Twitter to make this running joke that Arby’s is terrible. But every time I ask someone if they’ve ever eaten Arby’s or when the last time they ate it they either have never eaten it or they ate it when they were like eight years old. So I challenge everyone to go to your nearest Arby’s, go get a buffalo chicken slider and the curly fries and then shut the hell up.
What is the best song you’ve ever heard in your life and what do you love about it?
The best song I’ve ever heard is “Almost Doesn’t Count” by Brandy. That song is amazing. My favorite thing about it is that the first verse feels like a hook. It’s crazy, but it’s amazing. It’s such a well-written song, I love it.
What’s your favorite city in the world to perform, and what’s a city you’re excited to perform in for the first time?
My favorite city to perform in so far is Atlanta because I love seeing all the black faces in the crowd, that makes me super happy. A city that I’m really excited to perform, and I have to do two of them, is gonna be DC and Toronto.
You are throwing a music festival. Give us the dream lineup of 5 artists that will perform with you and the location where it would be held.
So BOOM, my dream lineup, including myself, is going to be Lucky Daye, Usher, Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, and Avril Lavigne. This sounds like it doesn’t make any sense, but that’s because it doesn’t, and that’s OK and we’re gonna do this in Malibu on the beach.
What would you be doing now if it weren’t for music?
To be honest with you, I’d probably still be doing AC work. I got my HVAC license and it pays pretty well.
If you could see five years into the future or go five years into the past, which one would you pick and why?
I would see five years into the future simply because I don’t think living in the past leads to anything productive.
What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?
I would tell my 18-year-old self to accept help quicker.
It’s 2050. The world hasn’t ended, and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?
I’d like my music to be remembered as an impactful period in people’s lives. I remember what I was going through or where I was when I heard specific albums. I just wanna be able to be that for other people.
Wish You Were Here is out now via CXR. Find out more information here.
As we all do, I find myself comfort-watching, reading, or listening to the work of a dead celebrity near immediately after hearing of their passing. Last night, I chased the news of Richard Lewis’ death by watching his Magical Misery Tour comedy special from 1997. In the special, Lewis is younger but still middle-aged, clad in black, darting across the stage with his magnificent hair flowing (though with less va-va-voom energy than it had in the ’70s and ‘80s when it was an absolute lion’s mane). His hands are gesturing wildly. On the surface, he is a man in turmoil with himself about, well, himself.
It has been 20+ years since I last saw this special. I had forgotten how much energy Lewis brought to stand up. It was like crossing Uncut Gems with a therapy session played for laughs. The special is on Amazon and Tubi. You should give it a watch. It really holds up, but more importantly, it really speaks to something about comedy and culture now.
For whatever reason, Magical Misery Tour was Lewis’ last traditional special. There was an album in 2001 (Live From Hell), stand-up gigs, a couple of books, and pop-ins on TV shows (including as a late night guest, which he always excelled at). But for the last quarter century, Lewis’ comedy was largely defined by his fantastic work on Curb Your Enthusiasm playing an exaggerated version of himself. To be sure, that version of Lewis still mined his angst for laughs, but it’s Larry David’s show, and so the comedy in the scenes they shared has always been more about a dance of annoyance between two old friends and less a pure solo showcase for the “Prince Of Pain” persona that made Lewis a stand-up legend. That’s why watching the special and seeing him in his stand-up element is as recommended as it is revelatory and informative of his on-stage talents. Also his guts.
This is going to take a weird turn but hang in. I’ve been watching a lot of Chef Reactions TikToks where people get dragged for putting 19 cheeseburgers, a tub of cream cheese, and some craisins into a casserole dish to slow-kill their families. Part of the magic comes from seeing how weirdly overconfident these people are in their culinary skills. “This is so good, y’all,” they fib. “My kids can’t get enough,” they outright lie.
In Taylor Tomlinson’s tremendous new comedy special, Have It All (Netflix) she jokes about abundantly confident teens wanting millions of people to see their dance videos and how alien that feels to millennials who would have wanted to die if anyone saw us lip-synching in front of the mirror when we were younger. We’re also watching a court-affirmed con man on the run of a lifetime talking his way into another shot at the White House.
In case you couldn’t tell, I find the power of confidence to be bewildering, dangerous, and fascinating. When someone says they are the GOAT or wears a shirt with their own face on it, I have that thing like people have when they see something that’s supposed to seem human but isn’t: the unconfident valley.
I don’t want to theorize how we got to this place of abundant, exhausting, and reckless overconfidence. Really, I don’t. I just want to note the phenomena and pay my respects to its counter: self-deprecating comedy, an art form that just lost one of its most skilled practitioners, Richard Lewis.
There are, I am sure, all sorts of psychological theories on self-deprecating humor, what inspires it, and what mental health issues it masks. I’m going to ignore all of that and focus on the universal truth of the thing: it’s funny when people fall down and make themselves the point of the bit. Always has been. When I was a kid I used to make kids clap by slamming my head into a table during lunch. This is a base example of the theory that may also explain the scattered nature of this article. There are better, more refined ways to build on this idea and endear yourself to an audience, is what I’m saying.
In the hands of someone like Richard Lewis, “falling down” often looked more like a sprint through his own fears and pain. This brilliantly doubled as a device used to comment on things like addiction, self-image, self-worth, dating, sex, family, religion, and anxiety as an ever-present boot on the neck. Lewis made it personal for us by making it personal for himself, doing it with gusto, creativity, and an allergy to bullshit. It’s why he’s one of the greats, but that kind of comedy and candor scares the hell out of some people. Which makes sense, since our relationship to those kinds of emotions and that kind of comedy is tied to our bent relationship with masculinity and vulnerability and the backward notion that to be open is to be weak and to be strong is to never shut the fuck up about it.
Richard Lewis wasn’t the first comic to get highly personal or channel his insecurities on stage, but he perfected it. There’s a whole wing of comedy dedicated to that kind of thing now, influenced directly or indirectly by Lewis. And thank goodness for it. The term comedic courage is usually defined as telling truth to power, but it’s also having the power to tell your truth and be really seen.
From all accounts, Lewis was loved, lovely, and someone who was grateful for his life and the embrace of his community. I’m sure his memory will be a blessing, as will the lesson he taught us all about not taking ourselves or our problems so seriously that we can’t try to find the funny. Because if you’re not laughing at yourself and your shortcomings, you’re crying. Or you’re a tremendous asshole.
Daniel Suarez won Sunday’s Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the third-closest finish in NASCAR history. Suarez edged out Ryan Blaney by .003 seconds and Kyle Busch by .007 seconds in a wild three-wide drag race to the checkered flag.
The catalyst for the crazy finish was Busch, as he was the one who pushed it three-wide down the back stretch. Though he’s shifting his attention to his home race in Las Vegas this coming Sunday, he walked us through that final lap in Atlanta from his perspective in the No. 8 car.
“I thought, obviously, it was an exciting last lap. It was great for the fans. They really got a treat towards the end of that one,” Busch said over the phone on Thursday. “For us though, with our Cheddar’s Camaro, I felt like we had a fast car all day. We kept ourselves in the right positions, we stayed out of trouble, and we had that opportunity there at the end. So, I had a big push down the front stretch from Bubba Wallace and was able to get back up alongside the 99 car getting into one and two, and coming off of two, I knew I needed another push down the back stretch in order to kind of accelerate me through one more row, which would put me up alongside the 12. So, the 23 got to my back bumper off of two, gave me that push down the back stretch, and the 12 was in my lane, so I was like, ‘Well, hell, where am I gonna go?’ And fortunately, there was a pathway between he and the 99. So I was able to stick it three-wide on the entry to turn three, get alongside.”
However, the run Busch got down the back stretch and through turns three and four was too good, as he explained. As they exited four, Busch was in the lead position he was trying to avoid.
“And I kept telling myself during the caution before that last restart, I was like the only thing you can’t do is you can’t be ahead going into turn three. It will never work. You’ll never win if you’re ahead going into turn three,” Busch explained. “So, I get to turn three and I got a run and I’m not ahead of the 12, but I’m ahead of the 99. And then we get towards the exit of turn four and I am the one ahead, I’m too far ahead. And so both of those guys, the 12 on my inside and the 99 on my outside, were side drafting off of me, because I was furthest ahead.
“So, any time you were able to be side by side with somebody, the car ahead get some backwards from the draft, and so that was me [laughs] off of turn four and just didn’t come to the line with enough speed and enough nose length to be able to take the checkered flag,” he continued. “But great finish nonetheless, a lot happening and 185-90 miles an hour, and glad we we finished straight. No crash, no nothing. We just were able to put on a whale of a photo finish.”
I asked Busch whether there’s anything he would do differently in that spot if he had a chance to do it all over again, or if you just have to go with the run you’ve got. Overall, Busch wouldn’t change the move he made to jump to the middle of the track when Blaney blocked him, noting when you have a run like that, you can’t expect to get it again. However, once there, he would probably look to take a bit of a gamble to hold back and try to get the side draft to his advantage coming down the front stretch.
“One thing to try would have been just dragging a little bit of brake when I was alongside the two of them to pull me further behind through the middle of turns three and four, and get myself to where I was a nose behind coming out of turn four,” Busch said. “So, when we got straight on the front stretch, then I was able to power through the middle of them and use my car as the side draft on the each of them to pull myself through the middle, so that would have been the only other thing to try. I’m not sure if it would work, but that would have been the thought that I should have done.”
The finish in Atlanta was the type of racing NASCAR was hoping for when they re-profiled Atlanta Motor Speedway three years ago, resurfacing the old asphalt that chewed up tires and raising the banking to 28 degrees — the highest of any track on the circuit — to facilitate more pack racing similar to what we see at superspeedways like Daytona and Talladega. That decision was a bit controversial in the garage, as drivers preferred the old surface even though it was hard on tires because it required a bit more tact and skill to navigate your way around the track for 400 miles.
Busch falls into that group that preferred the old track, but with the way Sunday’s race panned out, he knows it delivered on what NASCAR was hoping for — and was glad it wasn’t just a crash-fest.
“I would definitely say I liked the old Atlanta better, just more racy for the driver, more opportunity for the driver to control his own outcome, if you will,” Busch said. “But this package here with the restrictor plate package, with the drafting package at Atlanta with the higher banking and the speeds and stuff that we carry, it puts on a good show. Overall, I felt like the race was a good race. The fans should have enjoyed it. There was a little bit of crashing, there was one huge big pile up. Some of the cars came out of that and still raced on for the day. Some of them were done for the day, which is tough for the guys that were involved in that. A couple single car crashes later in the day, some issues of guys getting into pit road, so you kind of saw a little bit of everything. And then obviously at the end there, you saw great finish, too. So, pretty exciting stuff from my standpoint, I don’t know how it could get better.”
As he shifts his attention to Las Vegas, Busch admits he’s put a little too much pressure on himself at his home track before, pushing for wins and putting himself in some bad spots. Recently, he’s tried to be a bit more patient and let the race come to him, noting that’s how he won it in 2009, and that’s allowed him to pick up back-to-back third place finishes in Vegas. As they head out to the desert, he notes those are “good, solid days,” but he’s hoping for a bit more this time around.
It’ll be his second time around at his home track driving for Richard Childress Racing, as he made the move from his longtime home in the No. 18 with Joe Gibbs Racing to the No. 8 Chevy in 2023. He’s enjoyed the opportunity of getting to work with another team and learning a new operation after 14 years with JGR, as they once again are off to a hot start, holding a one-point edge over William Byron in the early Cup Series points standings.
“I’ve had fun being able to learn the system and get to work with Richard and Austin [Dillon] and my team guys, Randall [Burnett] and everybody,” Busch said. “So, we obviously had a really good start to the season last year. We came out of the gate ready to go and then we kind of fell off and tapered off as the year went, so we want to change that, fix that, and make sure that we’re ready to go the whole year and we can be just as strong at the end as we are in the beginning, and here we are doing the same things. You know, we finished second at the Clash. We had a shot to win Daytona, I felt like I put myself in the wrong row on a restart and instead of going forwards I went backwards and that hurt us for the finish there. But then, at Atlanta, was able to obviously come out close on top there, .007 behind with our Cheddar’s Camaro. Just ready to go to Vegas and if we can run like we did the last time we were in Vegas, which was a top three finish, that’ll be a great day and it’ll help our points lead that we have and we can carry on some more good momentum.”
As Busch noted, a year ago he won three times in the first half of the year, but struggled to find the same results in the back half of the year, falling back to finish 14th in the final standings. This year, the message for the No. 8 team is to be more consistent over the full season to compete for a championship, which is a responsibility that gets shared from top to bottom on the team.
“It’s not just one thing,” Busch said. “I think there’s a bunch of little things that kind of have to add up in order to get you to where you need to be for that. So yeah, I mean, we’ve been talking about that. We’ve been working on that. I think some of it has to do with the car prep at the shop. I think some of it has to do with NASCAR kind of changing their procedures throughout the year and us just not keeping up with that. And also the competition. The competition is always looking at you and what you’re doing and how you’re doing it and how they can do it and how they can be better and making themselves out-do you. So, you just got to be ready for all of that.”
For a supposed billionaire, Donald Trump sure is having a hard time paying all the civil judgments against him. On the heels of reports that Trump can’t cover the cash bond from his New York City fraud cause, E. Jean Carroll‘s lawyers are slamming the former president for attempting to delay payment of the $83.3 million Trump owes her after repeatedly defaming her and being found liable for sexual assault.
According to Carroll’s lawyers, Trump has “no basis” for delaying the payment, particularly while offering no timeframe or explaining how he’ll cover the judgment. More damningly, Carroll’s lawyers note that the delay raises serious questions about Trump’s liquidity and how much money the supposed real estate tycoon actually has, if any at all.
“The reasoning Trump offers in seeking this extraordinary relief boils down to nothing more than ‘trust me’. He doesn’t offer any information about his finances or the nature and location of his assets. He doesn’t specify what percentage of his assets are liquid or explain how Carroll might go about collecting,” reads the 36-page opposition document.
“He simply asks the Court to ‘trust me’ and offers, in a case with an $83.3 million judgment against him, the court filing equivalent of a paper napkin; signed by the least trustworthy of borrowers,” the document continues.
The rebuke from Carroll’s lawyers arrives shortly after Trump’s legal team revealed that the former president will need to sell assets to cover the bond in his Manhattan fraud case because the alleged billionaire doesn’t have $450 million on hand.
Gold toilets? Oh, sure. But actual cash? He’ll have to get back to you. Let him crunch a few numbers, we’ll talk soon.
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