GoneTrending

In March, Lil Nas X joined James Corden for one of the last-ever installments of “Carpool Karaoke,” and he appears to have planted Easter eggs. At the beginning of the video, Corden complimented Lil Nas X’s shirt with a humongous bedazzled cross on it. “Oh, this?” Lil Nas X responded, coyly. “You know, I’m having my ‘woman of God’ moment. Like, mmm, Christian era.” While Lil Nas X is known for his witty sense of humor, this was not a joke.

On Wednesday night, November 29, Lil Nas X posted a 75-second video to X (formerly known as Twitter) featuring an unreleased song. “Y’all mind if I enter my Christian era?” he wrote. Two-ish hours later, he posted again: “Making Christian music does not mean I can’t suck d*ck no more. The two are not mutually exclusive. I am allowed to get on my knees for multiple reasons.” There’s the Lil Nas X we know and love!

The song is an acoustic ballad. In the video, he lip-syncs to himself while seated in a car and dancing in an empty intersection. He sings, “Father, stretch my hands / The lonely road seems to last the longest / Help me with my plans / Everything seems to go to nowhere / Oh, free me from worry and wanting pity / Free me from all this envy in me / I, I don’t want these feelings / I, I don’t want these feelings / I call on angels.”

If and when Lil Nas X officially releases this song, it seems likely that it will kickstart an album rollout, which would be his first since his debut studio album, Montero, in September 2021. In related news, the devil-adjacent elements of the “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” video caused quite the stir.

Lil Nas X has never bitten his tongue, so why start now? He did (seemingly) dress as a used tampon for Halloween, after all. But while Lil Nas X has kept us fed with his entertaining stream of consciousness, he has been relatively quiet musically since the release of his debut studio album, Montero, in September 2021. That might be changing soon, as we got the best of both worlds — hilarious online posting and musical teasing — on Wednesday night, November 29.

“Y’all mind if I enter my Christian era?” Lil Nas X posted to X (formerly known as Twitter) alongside a 75-second video of an unreleased song. In the video, Lil Nas X is sitting in a stopped car and dancing around a deserted intersection, lip-syncing to himself.

“Father, stretch my hands,” he sings in the acoustic ballad. “The lonely road seems to last the longest / Help me with my plans / Everything seems to go to nowhere / Oh, free me from worry and wanting pity / Free me from all this envy in me / I don’t want these feelings / I don’t want these feelings / I call on angels / I’m trying hard to face my pain, yeah / Give me hope when I feel / Give me hope when I feel less.”

The song is beautiful, but the biggest development was Lil Nas X’s next post roughly two hours later. “Making Christian music does not mean I can’t suck d*ck no more,” he wrote. “The two are not mutually exclusive. I am allowed to get on my knees for multiple reasons.”

See both posts below.

Lil Nas X has never bitten his tongue, so why start now? He did (seemingly) dress as a used tampon for Halloween, after all. But while Lil Nas X has kept us fed with his entertaining stream of consciousness, he has been relatively quiet musically since the release of his debut studio album, Montero, in September 2021. That might be changing soon, as we got the best of both worlds — hilarious online posting and musical teasing — on Wednesday night, November 29.

“Y’all mind if I enter my Christian era?” Lil Nas X posted to X (formerly known as Twitter) alongside a 75-second video of an unreleased song. In the video, Lil Nas X is sitting in a stopped car and dancing around a deserted intersection, lip-syncing to himself.

“Father, stretch my hands,” he sings in the acoustic ballad. “The lonely road seems to last the longest / Help me with my plans / Everything seems to go to nowhere / Oh, free me from worry and wanting pity / Free me from all this envy in me / I don’t want these feelings / I don’t want these feelings / I call on angels / I’m trying hard to face my pain, yeah / Give me hope when I feel / Give me hope when I feel less.”

The song is beautiful, but the biggest development was Lil Nas X’s next post roughly two hours later. “Making Christian music does not mean I can’t suck d*ck no more,” he wrote. “The two are not mutually exclusive. I am allowed to get on my knees for multiple reasons.”

See both posts below.

Elon Musk is going to get the biopic treatment, but maybe that’s a touch premature? Walter Isaacson’s big, newish bio of the Tesla/Space X/X (née Twitter) guy came out shortly before his life got even weirder still. Musk is in the midst of another advertiser exodus, this one more severe. After all, they’re splitting because he amplified an anti-Semitic post, and so soon after getting into a fight with the Anti-Defamation League. But he has an idea on how to lure them back.

Per Mediaite, Musk was interviewed at The New York Times Dealbook Summit, which also saw fellow villainous media honcho David Zaslav defend his cancelling completed films. When asked about fleeing advertisers, Musk claimed not to care.

“I hope they stop,” Musk said. “Don’t advertise.”

When asked what he meant, “If someone’s going to try and blackmail me with advertising? Blackmail me with money? Go f*ck yourself.” Awkward silence followed, so Musk made it more awkward, repeating, slowly this time, “Go. F*ck. Yourself. Is that clear?”

Musk even taunted Bob Iger, who he speculated was in attendance, saying, “Hi, Bob.” (Also sitting in the audience: Twitter/X’s newish CEO Linda Yaccarino, who was hired in part to lure advertisers back.)

Tough talk aside, Musk made clear that losing advertisers is not good and he probably needs them. “What this advertising boycott is going to do is, it is going to kill the company,” Musk declaimed. “And the whole world will know that those advertisers killed the company.”

Musk did admit that responding positively to an anti-Semitic tweet was “one of the most foolish, if not the most foolish, thing I’ve done.”

He added, “I should in retrospect not have replied to that one person and should have written in greater length what I meant. But those clarifications were ignored by the media and essentially I handed a loaded gun to those who hate me and arguably to those who are anti-Semitic. And for that I’m quite sorry, that was not my intention.”

So to recap: Musk apologized for what he did, admits losing advertisers is detrimental to the company he bought a year-and-change ago, and also those advertisers should eat sh*t.

(Via Mediaite)

Festivals tend to announce dates for the following year in the thick of holiday season, which is a bummer because bank accounts are already crying from holiday shopping. On Wednesday, November 29, Sol Blume confirmed it will stage its 2024 edition from May 3 to May 5, 2024 at Discovery Park in Sacramento, California. The hip-hop and R&B festival also kindly relayed information about tickets. Below is what we know so far.

How Much Are Tickets For Sol Blume 2024?

Relatively speaking, Sol Blume tickets won’t put you out too much. According to the official website, general admission tickets are available in three tiers: Tier 1 ($249 plus fees), Tier 2 ($279 plus fees), and Tier 3 ($299 plus fees). General admission will grant access to performances all three days at Discovery Park as well as concessions, free water stations, merch, and various food options. Three-day general admission+ tickets start at $349 before fees, and three-day VIP starts at $449 before fees.

When Will Tickets For Sol Blume 2024 Come Out?

“A limited number of discount-priced blind presale festival passes will go on sale to the general public next Friday, December 8 at 10:00 a.m. PST via SolBlume.com, which includes three-day GA and VIP wristbands as well as with the introduction of the GA+ ticket type,” a press release reported. “Fans are encouraged to act fast as pricing will increase as the festival date approaches.”

On Instagram, Sol Blume emphasized that “these will be the lowest prices before the general on sale.” Payment plans will be made available.

What Is The Lineup For Sol Blume 2024?

The 2024 lineup has not been announced as of this writing. For reference, the 2023 lineup was announced in January, so keep an eye out at the beginning of the new year. You can sign up for real-time updates here.

Festivals tend to announce dates for the following year in the thick of holiday season, which is a bummer because bank accounts are already crying from holiday shopping. On Wednesday, November 29, Sol Blume confirmed it will stage its 2024 edition from May 3 to May 5, 2024 at Discovery Park in Sacramento, California. The hip-hop and R&B festival also kindly relayed information about tickets. Below is what we know so far.

How Much Are Tickets For Sol Blume 2024?

Relatively speaking, Sol Blume tickets won’t put you out too much. According to the official website, general admission tickets are available in three tiers: Tier 1 ($249 plus fees), Tier 2 ($279 plus fees), and Tier 3 ($299 plus fees). General admission will grant access to performances all three days at Discovery Park as well as concessions, free water stations, merch, and various food options. Three-day general admission+ tickets start at $349 before fees, and three-day VIP starts at $449 before fees.

When Will Tickets For Sol Blume 2024 Come Out?

“A limited number of discount-priced blind presale festival passes will go on sale to the general public next Friday, December 8 at 10:00 a.m. PST via SolBlume.com, which includes three-day GA and VIP wristbands as well as with the introduction of the GA+ ticket type,” a press release reported. “Fans are encouraged to act fast as pricing will increase as the festival date approaches.”

On Instagram, Sol Blume emphasized that “these will be the lowest prices before the general on sale.” Payment plans will be made available.

What Is The Lineup For Sol Blume 2024?

The 2024 lineup has not been announced as of this writing. For reference, the 2023 lineup was announced in January, so keep an eye out at the beginning of the new year. You can sign up for real-time updates here.

Henry Kissinger spent a full century, plus a few months more for bad behavior, on this planet, but he left his mark. As Secretary of State under two Republican presidents, he helped topple Chile’s democratically elected president, Salvador Allende. He approved of the secret carpet bombing of Cambodia, killing at least 50,000 civilians. He and Richard Nixon aided Pakistan of massacring 300,000 in what is now Bangladesh. He and Gerald Ford secretly approved Indonesia’s invasion of East Timor, leading to more than 100,000 killed or starved to death. Millions of innocents are dead because of his actions.

He was, in the eyes of many, an unpunished war criminal. His reward was a long life and decades of fealty from the Republican Party. Into his 90s and beyond, even Donald Trump knew to kiss his ring, though Kissinger was left predictably unimpressed.

But now he’s dead.

His passing was unceremoniously announced by his consulting firm. They gave no cause of death.

Though the GOP ensured Kissinger lived a comfortable life of swanky speaking engagements, his name was verboten in other circles. Where most presidents would at least coddle him, including the current one, Barack Obama wasn’t a fan. As The New York Times notes:

Mr. Obama noted toward the end of his presidency that he had spent much of his tenure trying to repair the world that Mr. Kissinger left. He saw Mr. Kissinger’s failures as a cautionary tale.

“We dropped more ordnance on Cambodia and Laos than on Europe in World War II,” Mr. Obama said in an interview with The Atlantic in 2016, “and yet, ultimately, Nixon withdrew, Kissinger went to Paris, and all we left behind was chaos, slaughter and authoritarian governments that finally, over time, have emerged from that hell.”

Mr. Obama noted that while in office he was still trying to help countries “remove bombs that are still blowing off the legs of little kids.”

It’s not right to gloat about the passing of anyone. But Kissinger, many on Twitter were quick to note, is a rare exception.

People shared messages from his more prominent haters.

Including the late Anthony Bourdain.

There were jokes.

There were calls not to hold back out of respect for the dead.

Some shared unflattering moments.

Some, though, lamented that Kissinger never had to face the consequences of his actions.

Or maybe he secretly died horribly and embarrassingly.

(Via NYT)

Henry Kissinger spent a full century, plus a few months more for bad behavior, on this planet, but he left his mark. As Secretary of State under two Republican presidents, he helped topple Chile’s democratically elected president, Salvador Allende. He approved of the secret carpet bombing of Cambodia, killing at least 50,000 civilians. He and Richard Nixon aided Pakistan of massacring 300,000 in what is now Bangladesh. He and Gerald Ford secretly approved Indonesia’s invasion of East Timor, leading to more than 100,000 killed or starved to death. Millions of innocents are dead because of his actions.

He was, in the eyes of many, an unpunished war criminal. His reward was a long life and decades of fealty from the Republican Party. Into his 90s and beyond, even Donald Trump knew to kiss his ring, though Kissinger was left predictably unimpressed.

But now he’s dead.

His passing was unceremoniously announced by his consulting firm. They gave no cause of death.

Though the GOP ensured Kissinger lived a comfortable life of swanky speaking engagements, his name was verboten in other circles. Where most presidents would at least coddle him, including the current one, Barack Obama wasn’t a fan. As The New York Times notes:

Mr. Obama noted toward the end of his presidency that he had spent much of his tenure trying to repair the world that Mr. Kissinger left. He saw Mr. Kissinger’s failures as a cautionary tale.

“We dropped more ordnance on Cambodia and Laos than on Europe in World War II,” Mr. Obama said in an interview with The Atlantic in 2016, “and yet, ultimately, Nixon withdrew, Kissinger went to Paris, and all we left behind was chaos, slaughter and authoritarian governments that finally, over time, have emerged from that hell.”

Mr. Obama noted that while in office he was still trying to help countries “remove bombs that are still blowing off the legs of little kids.”

It’s not right to gloat about the passing of anyone. But Kissinger, many on Twitter were quick to note, is a rare exception.

People shared messages from his more prominent haters.

Including the late Anthony Bourdain.

There were jokes.

There were calls not to hold back out of respect for the dead.

Some shared unflattering moments.

Some, though, lamented that Kissinger never had to face the consequences of his actions.

Or maybe he secretly died horribly and embarrassingly.

(Via NYT)

The Orlando Magic have been one of the best stories during the early portion of the NBA season. The team entered Wednesday night’s slate of games with a 12-5 record, good for third place in the Eastern Conference and only a game and a half behind the No. 1 seed Boston Celtics. For a franchise that has been stuck in the NBA’s wilderness for years, it’s an extremely exciting development, as Orlando legitimately looks like they have as bright a future as anyone in the East.

Two players prominently involved in their success this year have been Cole Anthony, who has provided a major scoring punch in his role off the bench, and Jalen Suggs, whose ability to just make winning plays has helped him secure a spot in the starting lineup. The two linked up for one hell of a highlight on Wednesday against the Washington Wizards, as Suggs jumped a passing lane, took off in transition, and threw a lob up to Anthony, who reeled it in with one hand and dunked.

It’s very easy to compare this to something that LeBron James and Dwyane Wade did as members of the Miami Heat, because, well, look at this.

Orlando went on to beat Washington, 139-120.

As the cost of living in large cities continues to rise, more and more people are realizing that the value of a dollar in the United States is a very relative concept. For decades, cost of living indices have sought to address and benchmark the inconsistencies in what money will buy, but they are often so specific as to prevent a holistic picture or the ability to “browse” the data based on geographic location.

The Tax Foundation addressed many of these shortcomings using the most recent (2015) Bureau of Economic Analysis data to provide a familiar map of the United States overlaid with the relative value of what $100 is “worth” in each state. Granted, going state-by-state still introduces a fair amount of “smoothing” into the process — $100 will go farther in Los Angeles than in Fresno, for instance — but it does provide insight into where the value lies.

---

The map may not subvert one’s intuitive assumptions, but it nonetheless quantities and presents the cost of living by geography in a brilliantly simple way. For instance, if you’re looking for a beach lifestyle but don’t want to pay California prices, try Florida, which is about as close to “average” — in terms of purchasing power, anyway — as any state in the Union. If you happen to find yourself in a “Brewster’s Millions”-type situation, head to Hawaii, D.C., or New York. You’ll burn through your money in no time.

If you’re quite fond of your cash and would prefer to keep it, get to Mississippi, which boasts a 16.1% premium on your cash from the national average.

The Tax Foundation notes that if you’re using this map for a practical purpose, bear in mind that incomes also tend to rise in similar fashion, so one could safely assume that wages in these states are roughly inverse to the purchasing power $100 represents.

This article originally appeared on 08.17.17