the Data Lounge - Gay Celebrity Gossip, Gay Politics, Gay News and Pointless Bitchery since 1995. (2024)

Actor Josh Hartnett has revealed why he chose to turn down two superhero movie roles at a time when he seemed destined for superstardom.

Hartnett, who stars in M Night Shyamalan’s forthcoming psychological thriller, Trap, told the UK’s Guardian newspaper that the amount of attention he was receiving had a part to play in his decision to walk away from Hollywood at the peak of his popularity. He said:

“People’s attention to me at the time was borderline unhealthy. There were incidents. People showed up at my house. People that were stalking me.” At one point, he revealed, “a guy showed up at one of my premieres with a gun, claiming to be my father. He ended up in prison.”

“There were lots of things. It was a weird time. And I wasn’t going to be grist for the mill.”

Hartnett revealed that, as well as twice turning down the role of Superman, he engaged in chats with director Christopher Nolan about Batman, a role that eventually went to Christian Bale:

“I just didn’t want my life to be swallowed up by my work. And there was a notion at that time you just kind of give it all up. And you saw what happened to some people back then. They got obliterated by it. I didn’t want that for myself.”

Hartnett revealed his regret that he didn’t work with Nolan at the time, something he rectified with his appearance as a nuclear scientist in Nolan’s Oscar winner Oppenheimer. He said:

“I recognise the missed opportunity to work with a guy like Chris. And I’ve figured out that as much as you’re worried about curating your career to things you’re interested in, I don’t believe that’s the most important thing any more. It’s about finding people who you really trust.”

JD Vance briskly marched up to Air Force 2, Kamala Harris’ plane, planning to give political reporters a show as he confronted the vice president uninvited on Wednesday. His power-play dreams, like most of his chaotic veep run, were immediately thwarted once he realized Harris was not present.

“I just wanted to check out my future plane,” Vance told campaign reporters gathered on the tarmac in Wisconsin.

He didn’t get the chance to face Harris but said that he “wanted to go say hello to the vice president and ask her why does she refuse to answer questions.”

It’s unclear what questions Vance was referring to, as Harris has repeatedly pressed for Donald Trump to attend a September 10 debate that he already agreed to appear at when he was running against President Joe Biden.

Vance told a Philadelphia rally on Tuesday that he would “absolutely” want to debate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, if given the chance.

Roughly 40 minutes after the Ohio senator stormed over to confront his invisible opponent, the Harris campaign released a video set to a popular TikTok audio seemingly intended to make fun of him.

“Now I want to sit back and relax and enjoy my evening, when all of the sudden I hear this agitating, grating voice,” the voiceover says, before panning from Harris and Walz in front of their plane to the Trump-Vance plane taking off.

We're well into the second week - track and field is in full swing, swimming and gymnastics are finally over.

Plenty more treats and intrigue in store:

Will Noah Lyles do the double in the men's sprints? Will Karsten Warholm and Jakob Ingebrigtsen save NORWEGIAN's Olympics or will he be forced to suffer Swedish scorn for the next 4 years? The host France, are having their best Olympics for decades, but can they keep up the momentum and finish on the medals podium when the dust finally settles at the end of the games?

Carry on with the crazy talk here.

Cycling in the velodrome kicked off today, so this part's Eye Candy is a triple header - hopefully something for everyone: The Netherlands' Harrie Levraysen, Italy's Stefano Morros, and Poland's Mateuz Rudyk.

Her whole account shows a mess of camel, cream, beige...

This is why nobody can take Australian fashion seriously.

The discussion continues

prior thread:

It looks like NASA officials might be seeing the writing on the wall for the very troubled Boeing Starliner, which has marooned two astronauts up in space for almost two months due to technical issues.

An unnamed "informed" source told Ars Technica that there's a greater than 50 percent probability that the stranded astronauts will end up leaving the International Space Station on a SpaceX Dragon capsule, with another unnamed person telling the news outlet that the scenario is highly likely.

NASA officials are more cagey about what's happening on the record, a marked contrast from previous weeks when they expressed confidence in the Starliner's ability to safely bring back the astronauts.

"NASA is evaluating all options for the return of agency astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams from the International Space Station as safely as possible," NASA spokesperson Josh Finch told Ars. "No decisions have been made and the agency will continue to provide updates on its planning."

The Starliner project has been cursed from the beginning, with delays and hardware issues during the development and production of the capsule, which has seen Boeing eating something like $1.6 billion in losses.

Despite technical troubles before the launch, NASA went ahead with Starliner's first crewed mission in June. While on approach towards the space station, Starliner experienced helium leaks and issues with its thrusters, forcing NASA and Boeing to delay its return back home with the astronauts so that engineers back on the ground could troubleshoot the problems.

Many signs are now pointing towards SpaceX rescuing the stranded astronauts, according to Ars. These signs include the space agency giving more than a quarter million dollars to SpaceX for a "SPECIAL STUDY FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE," and SpaceX actively training for the likely situation of the company sending a Dragon capsule to the space station to bring the astronauts home.

If SpaceX does get the green light, expect the Starliner project to be shoved into the proverbial dumpster, according to Ars' analysis.

It would be a bad look all around, because it would mean the American government had funneled a total of $5.8 billion into malfunctioning junk.

In this case, I’ll make an exception.

[quote] This is the first time in my life Im getting serious racist insults for being brown from white people in the UK. Not a good look. — Andrew Tate

New series from Brian Jordan Alvarez about a gay high school teacher. DL's gonna love this one, I can tell already.

Starts September 2nd.

Is Sheila really dead?

When will Steffy and Liam get back together?

When will Hope tell Douglas to hit the road?

Are Ridge and Brooke ever going to be an interesting couple again?

Continue your discussion of the show here.

The duch*ess of Sussex has spoken about her struggles with mental health and suicidal thoughts as she and her husband launched an initiative to tackle child safety online. Meghan, who revealed in an interview with Oprah Winfrey three years ago that she thought of taking her own life while a working royal, said she hoped by speaking out she could help others.

“When you’ve been through any level of pain or trauma, I believe part of our healing journey – certainly part of mine – is being able to be really open about it,” she said on Sunday in a joint interview with Prince Harry on the US network CBS. “And you know, I haven’t really scraped the surface on my experience. But I do think that I would never want someone else to feel that way. And I would never want someone else to be making those sort of plans. And I would never want someone else to not be believed.

45 years with the GOP and none of them knew, of course. Like lambs!

"Ray Holmberg, once a powerful state legislator, admitted in federal court Thursday he took multiple trips to Europe with the intent to pay for sexual contact with children.

“The boys rent at around $60 (sex is extra),” Holmberg wrote in an email to a friend using the alias Sean Evans, according to prosecutors..."

Lucky Spencer, Holly Sutton and Ric Lansing are all on their way back to town. Looking forward to seeing them again.

As that is happening, our resident mumbling mobster continues his mental breakdown, but seems to have forgiven hitman hero Jason for his seeming betrayal.

Likewise we are all grieving the loss of Kristina and TJ's baby, errrr, Molly and TJ's baby at the hands of Ava Jerome.

Meanwhile, how will Carly and Brennan become a couple? When will we finally get a Lulu recast? And is Valentin gone for good?

A thread for...𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙚

I'll start with...

From the old thread re: Simon Winder, I liked Germania and Danuba, but found Lotharingia a weak afterthought.

Finished [italic]Sub Rosa[/italic], which I can recommend if you're a fan of Roman-era fiction such as the Falco series. I know ... a woman writing MM, ugh! Here, I think she did okay, although a bit awkward at times. Audio narrator has very pronounced "gay voice" which I think is his own, not for effect.

Finishing up a second book by Vendela Vita. Didn't like it any more than the other one, reads like a self-published un-edited work. I'm left wondering if she's published because she's married to successful Dave Eggers?

Let’s meet the houseguests…

Kimo looks to be the gay one.

My partner and I will probably have the chance to go to a Broadway play sometime in the next couple of months. The exact dates of our trip aren't set as of yet. We know we'll be staying in a fairly new Bronx hotel for five nights, Sunday through Thursday, and that we'll be right near the subway.

I've always wanted to see a Broadway play. (I've played in the pit band for a couple of musicals that ended up travelling to theatres here, but here ain't Broadway.) We don't really mind which play we see; it's the experience of being there that we're really after. Anything more, like seeing a well-thought-of play or performer, would just be an exciting bonus. We hope someone here from New York or who's attended a play there might have the answers to a couple of questions:

- Do you have to book way in advance, or can you sometimes find something available (if you're not fussy about which play or which seats) close to performance day?

- Do you take your coats, umbrellas, etc. with you to your seat or is there a coat check?

- Are you allowed to take a small backpack in (I'd normally carry one since we'll be sightseeing in Manhattan all day beforehand)? How about a small handbag/purse?

- What about phones? (I know they have to be set to silent, at least, and I assume you can't take photos, but are you allowed to have your phone with you?)

- Do most people still dress up quite formally or is casual dress acceptable (we're assuming that jeans and sneakers would be out, but would nice slacks and sweater be appropriate)?

Thanks for your help!

Hitchco*ck inspired

Directed by Baz Lurhman

Megyn Kelly seemed to channel her Gretchen Wieners on Wednesday ― except instead of trying to make “fetch” happen, she tried to turn “Tampon Tim” into a trending term.

The appellation for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) is meant to be an insulting reference to his decision last year to sign a bill requiring schools in the state to provide free menstrual products in all public school bathrooms.

"Imagine being upset that someone didn’t want kids leaking menstrual blood onto their clothes," one OB-GYN wrote in response to the former Fox News host.

Hosted by Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist, the program features in-depth and informed discussions that help drive the day's current political conversation. The show attracts a wide variety of guests, including top newsmakers, Washington insiders, journalists, and cultural influencers, representing a diverse set of voices and opinions that provide keen insight and analysis around the day's biggest stories. Since its debut in 2007, the show has also covered major political events from the heart of the action, including presidential conventions and inaugurations.

Network: MSNBC

Executive producer: Alex Korson

Release: April 9, 2007 –; present

At around 1 a.m. on June 13, John Randal Tyson, the slim and boyish 34-year-old scion of the Tyson Foods empire, tried to level with the Fayetteville, Ark., police officer who just pulled him over for suspected drunk driving. “Can I ask you a genuine preference?” Tyson says in a bodycam video, one hand to his chest, perhaps in an effort to convey sincerity. “Which is, like, if I get in trouble tonight, my life will be ruined.”

The statement is not a question or a preference, and it sounds like the hyperbolic ramblings of a guy who has had too many Miller Lites (which Tyson says he was drinking that night, according to the police report obtained by Fortune). But it’s easy to understand why, in that moment, he felt doomed.

At the time, Tyson was CFO and chief sustainability officer at Tyson Foods, a $21 billion company founded by his great-grandfather and headquartered in adjacent Springdale, Ark. And his arrest in June was the second time he’d been collared for an alcohol-related crime since becoming Tyson’s chief financial officer, and the youngest CFO in the Fortune 500, in 2022.

In November of that year, just six weeks after he started the job, it was widely reported that Tyson was found sleeping in a stranger’s bed and charged with trespassing and public intoxication. (He eventually pleaded guilty and paid $440 in fines.) He was thought to be in line to become Tyson Foods’ CEO, but his two arrests in 19 months have now thrust his future at the meat processing giant into doubt.

“My life is over, man,” Tyson says in the video published online by an account called Arkansas Police Activity and labeled as University of Arkansas Police Department footage, as he awaits a breathalyzer test at the station. He tells the officer that he doesn’t hold the arrest against him: “It’s on me.” He eventually blows a .191, more than double the legal limit for blood alcohol content while driving, a detail that also matches the arrest report. “F**k!” he says, after signing a form to decline a second test.

He was able to keep his corporate job last time around, but this time Tyson Foods suspended the young executive that day and named Curt Calaway, an 18-year Tyson veteran, interim CFO, without indicating whether John Randal Tyson would return. They need a strong CFO on the job: Over the past two years, Tyson Foods has shuttered several meat-packing plants and laid off thousands of people.

The cuts are part of a so-far successful bid to return to profitability in its chicken division and to offset losses in its beef business, its largest by revenue, as it deals with inflation. It has also recently begun to call itself a protein company—producing meat, but also frozen breakfast sandwiches, deli meats, and plant-based burgers, sausages, and nuggets under various labels. Two years ago it took a minority stake in Protix, an innovative Dutch firm making insect meal used in animal feed.

But John R. Tyson’s problematic behavior raises serious questions about leadership inside his family’s Fortune 100 company, which processes an estimated one-fifth of all chicken, pork, or beef consumed in the U.S. At a time when nepotism and corporate “nepo babies” are squarely in the cultural crosshairs, how did the family justify putting a 32-year-old into the CFO job; why did it keep him there after his first arrest; and what happens next?

Expectations for billionaires have changed, says a lifelong Fayetteville resident who has ties to the Tysons but asked to remain anonymous because of the family’s influence in the region. It used to be that people reliably looked the other way when local business titans misbehaved, because families like the Tysons pour so much money into the community, he says. But people expect accountability now, he continues, and “[t]hey’re not averting their eyes.”

Probably a pet the owners couldn't handle, so they let it loose in the lake.

Why are people so f*cking stupid?

Now that I know all your disgusting habits I feel like we're friends and now you can tell me the dumb sh*t you've done recently.

I am on vacation this week. I normally take a piece of an edible before I go to bed. Last night the edible I pulled out of the container had already been partially eaten (by me) and I thought 'yes, this is about 30-50 percent bigger than I normally have but that's for sleep. I could definitely get a bit high, that would be enjoyable. what could go wrong?'

Well kids, 2 hours later I got the weed shakes. Never had them before. Freezing cold, shaking so hard my bed was moving across the room, tripping balls. Shaking like I was handling an electric fence. I had to cling to the walls to get ice water and hydroxyzine hcl (because it borderline felt like a panic attack).

Took the hydroxyzine, felt a bit better, didn't want to chance falling asleep right away but once I stopped shaking it was tough not to sleep. I made it an hour and slept like a a baby.

When I got up I was still high as sh*t. 24 hours later, stll kind of high hung over and realized that I have to go to bed soon. I am going to take just a little bit and hope I learned my lesson to never say 'what's the worst that can happen?' ever again. Stupid stupid girl.

Eric & Nicole left the Salem buildings scene for the French city of romance.

Now that the double wedding sank big time = Alex, Xander & Sarah are back to their dull selves.

Co-conspirator Andrew congratulated NuTheresa for turning herself in for her crimes.

Boring drunk Brady found another boring drunk in ancient Fiona (who is possibly based on Mumm-Ra the Ever Living).

Rafe has been laid up for over a week now as the show easily marches on without him.

The writers ramp up this great big "Body & Soul" arc.

Discuss.

She’s Missouri’s Secretary of State.

They aren’t even hiding their hate anymore.

I can't believe it has been two years since ONJ passed away. It seems like yesterday when we heard the news.

Did Australia ever hold the funeral for her that they said they would ? I lost track - they kept postponing it so many times. Does anyone know if she was cremated or buried ?

Idiot JD Vance fails to recognize a softball question designed to help him -

REPORTER: Little bit different here. You have been criticized as being a little too serious, a little angry sometimes. What makes you smile? What makes you happy?

SEN. JD VANCE: Well, I smile at a lot of things, including bogus questions from the media, Dan. A-HAHA-Heh-heh.

What are example of this that surprised you?

Recently I was very surprised to see Steve-O, of Jackass fame, say that he was a graduate of The American School in London, one of the most expensive day schools in Britain. He said that 90% of his graduating class went to Ivy League schools.

Turns out his father was a top-level executive for Pepsi and ran the South American division for years. His family lived an international life, moving from South America to Britain to the U.S. for years.

Clay Aiken's look-alike son Parker is all grown up.

The 15-year-old joined his dad and other family members on Tuesday's episode of "Celebrity Family Feud" on ABC.

As Aiken introduced each of his family members on the show, he said of his son, "This is my son Parker making his TV debut."

Aiken and his family -- which also included his mom, brother and Parker's mom -- faced off against music producer David Foster and his wife Katharine McPhee.

Both Aiken and McPhee are past runners-up on "American Idol," Aiken on season 2 of the hit singing competition show and McPhee on season 5.

Aiken also revealed a closer connection between the two families when he introduced his own on the show.

Parker's mom, Jaymes Foster, is David Foster's sister, according to Aiken.

"David's sister Jaymes is on the right team. She wanted to win tonight," he said, with a laugh.

Others competing on the Foster family team included Amy Foster, Adriana McPhee and Brandon Jenner.

Aiken told E! News in May that despite Parker's musical genes, he so far has not shown interest in pursuing a career in the music industry.

"He's chosen a different path," Aiken said. "He has something else he wants to do with his life. And I'm excited for him."

Aiken added that he plans to support Parker in whatever path he chooses for himself, saying, "I think you have to do your best not to make plans for them, because they will always do something different."

"The all-American working man demeanor of Tim Walz—Kamala Harris’s new running mate—looks like it’s not just an act.

Financial disclosures show Tim Walz barely has any assets to his name. No stocks, bonds, or even property to call his own. Together with his wife, Gwen, his net worth is $330,000, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal citing financial disclosures from 2019, the year after he became Minnesota governor."

How refreshing!

He does so much for the party and yet, once again, he's passed over at the most important moments.

It breaks my heart!

Then she takes him and runs away with the dog before the cops come.

Somebody identify the bitch!!!

She needs to be arrested and sent to jail.

And the dog needs to be destroyed.

A family is pleading for answers in the search for a University of Missouri student who has been missing since Friday after he left a bar in Nashville, Tennessee.

Riley Strain, 22, a senior, was last seen Friday night by friends at a bar in Nashville’s bustling Broadway area, known for nightlife, Nashville police said.

He was visiting town with his Delta Chi fraternity brothers for their spring formal, the St. Louis-Post Dispatch reported, but they got separated after he was asked to leave country singer Luke Bryan's bar, Luke’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink, his family told NBC affiliate WSMV of Nashville.

“At approximately 9:45 p.m., he was asked to leave Luke Bryan’s bar,” Strain’s stepfather, Chris Whiteid, told the station. “They got separated. The boys called him, and he said, 'I’m walking back to my hotel.' They didn’t think anything about it.”

When his friends returned to Tempo Hotel, about a half-mile away, they saw Strain’s room key but no sign of him. When they tried to call him, his phone was dead.

The young men went out to search for him, checked his Snapchat locations, and they went through the other fraternity brothers’ rooms but did not find him, so they called his parents.

Whiteid, along with his wife, Michelle Whiteid, traveled from Springfield, Missouri, to Nashville to search for him.

“We talk every day, multiple times a day,” Michelle Whiteid said. “This is the longest I’ve ever gone without talking to him.”

“We’re in a bad dream. Can we wake up? Please, just let us wake up,” her husband told WSMV.

Chris Whiteid told the Post-Dispatch that according to security video, it appeared that Strain was heading back to the hotel but took a wrong turn. It's not clear where the video was from.

Searches took place Monday, including a helicopter search of Gay Street, the area where Strain was last seen, the riverbank and a ground search, “but to no avail,” police said.

On Tuesday, police shared security video showing Strain, wearing a two-tone shirt, crossing 1st Avenue North to Gay Street at 9:47 p.m. Friday. That cross-section is about 0.7 miles from the bar he was at earlier.

TC Restaurant Group, the operator and owner of Luke’s 32 Bridge, said it, too, was working with police to provide security camera video and other potentially helpful information to aid in the search.

Strain is described as 6-foot-5 with a thin build, blue eyes and light brown hair.

I remember when HE was the Vice-Presidential candidate Tim who was "Americas Dad". It has to hurt hearing that about the commanding and charismatic Walz.

Tim wasn't a good choice for Hillary - he came across as too soft and gentle (i.e. gay) and really fumbled in his debate with calculated, icy Pence . But he is a good man and solid Democratic senator, who is working very hard to get reelected in red Virginia.

DUN DUN DUN DUN! DUN DUN DUN DA DA!

I know there have been several past threads but most are closed. Posting this one as there's a big reunion in a few weeks.....in Burbank, not Santa Barbara. (SB the actual city likely too expensive for organizers.)

Quite a list of attendees!

America is so over MAGAdonians whining. Bye bye, bitches!

"In Philadelphia, thousands cheered for Tim Walz, while Trump's running mate spoke to a small, aggrieved group"

The New Jersey-born Italian American actor began his career with Mel Brooks' The Twelve Chairs, but his big break came in 1977 when he starred in the Broadway revival of Dracula, leading to a major film adaptation that established him as a sex symbol. In 2006, he experienced a career resurgence with his portrayal of Richard Nixon in Frost/Nixon, opposite Michael Sheen.

Throughout his career, he became a reliable character actor, appearing in films such as Masters of the Universe, Dave, Lolita, Superman Returns, 5 to 7, and The Trial of the Chicago 7. In theatre, he garnered seven Tony nominations, winning four. He also authored a seductively witty memoir.

At the age of 84, his resilient career came to an abrupt end on the set of The Fall of the House of Usher over claims of sexual harassment.

"My friends... this is the war of our lifetime now. We, the people of this nation, are in trouble if this nation picks Kamala Harris.

We must stop this crime that is happening. It's a WAR CRIME that Obama is directing and Kamala Harris will be the cackling hyena that just listens and repeats. If we do not stop this horror, you, my friends, will have the biggest horror that you will not know how to end. We must all see this truth - become one with this understanding that God will guide us with words of wisdom that we may understand that Donald Trump will make any sacrifice to save America. We, the people, are in danger and we must vote for President Trump because he will save this nation.

And the left are all afraid of his strength because he is only for the people. He's not for the power, the greed, the lies or wanting to destroy one's hard earned earnings.. We must stop this madness now. Our children are in danger. The left is trying to take away your children and turn them into non-binaries"...

Video posted August 6th, 2024.

I shampooed my carpets last night and was SHOCKED over how dirty they were! I usually shampoo my carpets every 6 months but vacuum every 2 days until shampooing. I was so stunned by how black the water was and all the effort I had to put in to get them clean (or, so I thought) that I took a moment to Google: "What color should the water be after shampooing carpet cleaning?" The answer...

[quote]Only when the water runs clear can you be sure that your carpet has been deep-cleaned effectively. To reduce this dirt, never walk on carpets with shoes that you have worn outside, and ensure you vacuum regularly – at least once per week.

WHAT?

Wouldn't that damage the carpet?

Okay... no shoes are worn in my house. I have wood floors and area carpets thus my surprise over how dirty the carpeting was. I mean... I did them in May for Spring cleaning. But to run the machine over and over and over and over... the carpet until the water runs clear just seems as if it would ruin the fibers of the carpeting. Greg... or anyone, please chime in! By the way, it's been 24 hours, and the carpets are still wet because of all the water and solution I used to get them to the point of what I thought was clean.

How do you clean your carpets?

Why aren’t we discussing this fascinating case? Harvard Lawyer shot and killed in driveway by hit men hired by periodontist ex brother in law (just found guilty), and just arrested mother in law, and potentially his ex wife (also a lawyer).

Do we think Wendi Adelson will be charged?

Preferably from one of the more known shows. (Does anyone really watch Potomac?) Ladies of London does not count because it technically was not a Real Housewives show, and this thread would already be over because of poor Annabelle. Please let's keep it to the women. Husbands/significant others and "friends of" don't count. If they did, my money is sadly on Eddie, with Ken Todd a close second.

I was considering making it a rule that they have to be a current cast member, but then I realised that shrinks the pool too much. You can choose to guess from one past cast member as well as one current, or just one past or current. You can explain, or just throw out a name.

My guess, Kim Zolciak. She's had health problems (a stroke) continues to smoke (she said she quit but I don't buy it) and drinks quite a bit. But what I think it's all of the plastic surgery that will finally do her in.

The deans were put on leave earlier in the summer after sending messages that disparaged Jewish panelists. A fourth dean, who is tenured, will remain at the university.

[quote] In a sign of the university’s challenges, pro-Palestinian vandals attacked the Brooklyn Heights apartment building of the university’s chief operating officer, Cas Holloway, early Thursday morning, splashing red paint on the floor and releasing insects into the lobby, the police said. Before fleeing after 3 a.m., four people plastered posters outside of the building showing Mr. Holloway with devil ears and behind bars. Another poster said, “You signed off on police brutality. Now you want to expel us?” A glass door pane was also shattered, and upside-down red triangles, a symbol of the Palestinian resistance, were painted around the door.

Help me DL, you’re my only hope!

Seriously though, recommendations needed from my wise fellow travelers. Visiting in September and looking at staying in possibly two areas out of these Santa Monica/Venice Beach/WeHo/Beverley Hills.

Open to hotel/locale thoughts.

Thank you 🙏🏻

If I had f*ck-you money and the time, this would be a great redevelopment opportunity.

The adjacent neighborhood abuts a billion-dollar neighborhood rejuvenation project.

I’m somewhat amazed it’s actually on the market and has not been snapped up prior to listing.

Worst-case scenario is the interior has been ravaged by termites, but I’d still keep and restore the facade…and rebuild the rest.

Thoughts?

Can someone please translate??

You can't really see much.

Random musings:

Do we think Albee really meant the story to actually be about a pair of embittered old gays? I kind of do!

Some interesting facts about the movie:

1) The first choice for stars was Bette Davis and James Mason.

2) It was shot in black and white on purpose, despite having the budget for color. In those days, color was seen as unserious, so heavy hitting storytelling was done in black and white. It was analogous to color being comic books and black and white being novels.

3) Another reason Nichols pushed back on color was, his female star had to have the makeup applied with a trowel so she’d look like an old harridan rather than a 33 year old, and the idea of seeing that on the big screen frightened him.

4) in order to get good performances out of Burton and Taylor, Nichols was an utter c*nt to them on set, and Taylor often retired to her dressing room in tears. But the next day she was on set and ready to go! (It’s sort of amazing that a first time director treated the biggest actress in the world at the time that way.)

Ok, what do you think about WAOVW, datalounge?

In a series of posts shared on X, formerly Twitter, Yiannopoulos, a former controversial far-right political influencer, claimed that he witnessed Ye get exploited by dentist Thomas Connelly while he worked with the multi-hyphenate in 2022 through to early 2024. Yiannopolous, who no longer works for Ye, made some serious allegations against Connelly and shared a sworn affidavit discussing his claims.

"There is reason Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, is no longer capable of successfully releasing music or clothing," wrote Yiannopoulos, who claimed in 2021 that he's an "ex-gay" and would fundraise for gay conversion therapy going forward. "In fact, there are several reasons. But the most serious and the most recent is his dentist, Thomas Connelly. Connelly got Ye hooked on nitrous—laughing gas. It is my belief that Connelly sought to diminish Ye’s mental faculties so that Connelly and his business associates could extract millions of dollars from him."

Yiannopoulos said that he "uncovered the fraud and intervened" earlier this year, which resulted in Ye dissolving their working relationship. Ye allegedly proposed coming up with a fake reason for his resignation, and he settled on the announcement of his plans to launch an adult entertainment division at Yeezy.

Dudley is quite good looking here. He seems to be slightly repulsed by Mama Cass- awww.

Nice duo or trio of Sugar Sugar

Is she an Aspie, Autistic, Neuro-Divergent, or all of the above?

I've known people like her in high school, and they were always in the "special" classes.

How did she even get hired by Spirit???

EGOT winner Whoopi Goldberg will play Miss Hannigan in the New York City engagement of the upcoming tour of the Tony-winning musical Annie.

Produced by Carolyn Rossi Copeland Productions Inc. and Crossroads Live North America, the tour of the family-friendly musical will play The Chicago Theatre November 12–December 1 before arriving at Manhattan's The Theater at Madison Square Garden December 4, 2024–January 5, 2025. (Goldberg will begin performances December 11 and continue through the end of the New York City run only.)

The tour will subsequently continue to more than 25 cities across North America in 2025, including Baltimore, Indianapolis, Costa Mesa, Milwaukee, Austin, Birmingham, and more. For a complete list of tour dates, visit AnnieTour.com.

Additional casting will be announced at a later date.

A Russian chess player is under investigation after allegedly being caught on camera spraying her opponent’s board with what authorities said was a substance containing mercury as part of an attempted poisoning ahead of a match last week.

Amina Abakarova faces a possible lifetime ban and potential criminal proceedings, Russian authorities said, after the incident during a tournament in the Caucasus republic of Dagestan.

The Russian Chess Federation issued a statement Wednesday on what it said was “an attempt to poison a participant in the championship of the Republic of Dagestan in Makhachkala,” referring to Dagestan’s capital.

It said Abakarova has been temporarily suspended from all competitions under the authority of the national federation, pending the conclusion of a criminal investigation.

The statement linked out to a video of the incident shared by Baza, a Telegram news channel.

The 34-second surveillance video purports to show Abakarova walking around what looks like a room with chessboards set up for a tournament and appearing to rub something on one of the boards, before looking around and walking away.

Baza reported that the incident took place last Friday during a competition at the Chess House in Makhachkala. One of the participants who sat at the table with a board that was smeared fell ill during the tournament, Baza reported citing eyewitnesses, adding that organizers called police after reviewing surveillance video that evening.

The channel identified the woman who fell ill as Umaiganat Osmanova.

It seems like every day there are more and stranger stories of Republicans going off the rails.

Let's compile them here

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to celebrate the death of the Trump/Vance ticket. Or maybe the just Trump ticket, give it a few more days for dough boy. No one will mourn, no one will cry (except for Vance’s hillbilly relatives. Moonshine all around!). May you rot in political purgatory for eternity. Or at least in prison. Donations in their memory may be made to Kamala Harris for President.

Rev. Jack Smith, Esq.

Previous thread below

Our world is falling apart and no one seems to making well informed decisions.

Maybe I am too nostalgic, but the country used to be ran by intelligent people who the people trusted. Bill Perry, Warren Christopher, Colin Powell....

Why does someone now have to be an outsider and social media influencer to run for office?

What happened?

Inspired by an archived DL thread.

I'm the goldfish in the plastic bag that your bratty kid just won at a ring toss game. I'll be dead in two hours.

Antony Blinken is really good Secretary of State.

Intelligent, well mannered, and a passion for music, he has held the world together while DC crumbles. Why is he not getting enough praise?

Vice presidential candidates typically receive a ratings bump after their party's convention, but JD Vance is bucking the tradition.

On the heels of last week's Republican National Convention, the Ohio senator is the least-liked vice presidential candidate since 1980, according to a polling analysis by CNN, which noted the data applies to non-incumbents.

Since 2000, vice presidential candidates typically have a net positive rating immediately following the convention, at plus 19 points. Vance, however, is polling at minus six points just one week after accepting the vice presidential nomination and officially embarking on the campaign, according to the network.

The freshman lawmaker's lower-than-normal approval ratings are not an anomaly, as Vance has long polled behind other Republicans.

Vance heavily underperformed in his 2022 Ohio Senate race, at least compared to how other Republicans performed in the state that year. Vance only defeated his opponent, then-Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan, by six percentage points. In comparison, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine crushed his Democratic opponent, former Dayton mayor Nan Whaley, by 25 percentage points in that same cycle.

"The JD Vance pick makes no sense from a statistical polling perspective," CNN political data reporter Harry Enten said.

Harris' team sent out a press release gloating about the numbers.

"We'd like to be the first to congratulate JD Vance on making history as the least popular VP pick, well…ever," it reads.

The press release goes on to list some of Vance's policies, with the first one being his previous support for a nationwide abortion ban.

Ever since President Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to become the Democratic presidential nominee, some members of Trumpworld have reportedly questioned whether Vance remains a wise vice presidential running mate. Former President Donald Trump faltered with suburban voters in 2020, and Vance's selection was widely seen as an appeal to base voters instead of one geared toward attracting more swing voters.

Piece Of sh*t was finally executed this morning for the 1998 stabbing/slashing of his girlfriend's mother in 1998. He threatened to kill the whole family but he only managed to murder Claudia Marie Benn, 49.

He slashed her throat open so deep the knife made contact with her cervical (neck) vertebrae. He then stabbed her in the anus and vagin*.

He's being literally spit roasted in Hell at the moment. Good f*cking riddance to a former walking shouldda-been abortion.

How are you spending your summer days in Genoa City?

Enjoying the Chancellor-Winters escapades?

Waiting for Diane and Kyle to get into a full scale war?

Savoring Victor's impending revenge against Jack?

Counting the days until Jordan escapes prison and returns to get revenge on Nikki and the Newmans?

I've been playing Wordl since before it was a NY Times game and I've guessed the world correctly on the second try only 5 times. Looking at the bot's analysis, consistently there's tens of thousands of people who guess it on the second word. What is their starting guess? Is there a way to find out?

As we'll come to find out when they destroy the world, the bot is not your friend.

Time for the annual (?), monthly (?), hourly (?) collection of the little grievances that, yes, are sweating the small stuff.

It drives me nuts when we have to sit and wait for some numpty to back into their parking spot instead of just pulling in. Time's a wasting. We're not getting any younger.

The tap machine. Just put the wi-fi connection in the same place on every unit.

The damn Jump to the Recipe link. Just don't write so goddamn much.

Minor (and, I do mean MINOR) instagay from the 2010s. Cute guy who was dating the actor/writer Jeffrey Self before Jeffrey had some mainstream success.

Then, a few years ago, Patrick, clearly high out of his mind, started appearing in gang bang p*rn videos as a bottom and, I think entered rehab. You know... the classic story.

I randomly got served an image from his Instagram tonight and I couldn't believe what he looks like now. I feel like he's gone to Zac Effron's surgeon. What exactly has he done? Is it a combination of human growth hormone and ugly and aggressive surgery + fillers? He looks like a Tom of Finland character come to life. Is this... body dysmorphia? Wow.

BEFORE (when he still looked like a normal person, on the left), AFTER (on the right)

Longtime Democratic strategist James Carville mocked former President Donald Trump for dodging a scheduled debate with his 2024 election rival, Vice President Kamala Harris.

The GOP nominee is “scared to debate a girl,” Carville taunted Trump on his “Politicon” show. Trump is “sh*tting in his pants because, as we pointed out before, all he does is sh*t and fart in his pants, and the whole thing is deteriorating, going to nothing,” Carville added.

Trump over the weekend bailed on ABC News’ Sept. 10 debate, which he’d originally agreed to participate in with President Joe Biden. Trump said he wants to go head-to-head with Harris on Fox News instead. Harris’ campaign hasn’t responded to the demand.

Carville later urged Harris to actually accept Trump’s Fox News debate plea and suggested it be held in New York City on Sept. 18.

“I think we should be gracious to former President Trump. He’s old, and he’s kind of losing it, but I happen to know he’s going to be in Manhattan on Sept. 18,” he explained. “Well, James, how do you know that? Because that’s the day they sentence his fat ass.” Trump will be sentenced that day after being found guilty on all 34 counts in his hush money trial.

“So, tell Fox you’ll be glad,” he urged Harris’ campaign. “You’ll show up in Manhattan. They got a studio there. I’ve been in it before, and we’ll have the debate on Fox on the night of Sept. 18. That’s what we should do. I’ll be checking back with you.”

A new book has shed light on a particularly heated exchange that occurred between Meghan Markle and Prince William.

According to a royal author, a disagreement between Meghan and Kate Middleton escalated into a confrontation with William after the duch*ess of Sussex allegedly made a remark about the Princess of Wales having "baby brain."

The incident reportedly saw Meghan Markle tell Prince William to "get your finger out of my face" as he attempted to intervene in the dispute.

Once speculated to be the new face of the royal family as the Fab Four, Harry and Meghan's relationship with William and Kate failed to live up to the hype, and the couple fell out of each other's good books.

The duke and duch*ess stepped back from their royal duties in 2020 to live in the US and further stifled relationships with William and Kate when they made several bombshell allegations against them in an interview with Oprah Winfrey and in Harry's memoir, "Spare."

According to the Mirror, in the new book, "Catherine, The Princess of Wales: The Biography," author Robert Jobson weighs in on the broken ties between the two couples and recounts a particular incident in which the former "Suits" star talked back at William.

At the time, Meghan allegedly made remarks about Kate's hormones and having a "baby brain" just after she gave birth to Prince Louis.

When the four of them sat down to clear the air, the Princess of Wales reportedly demanded an apology, stating that she and Meghan were "not close enough for you to talk about my hormones."

Not liking her behavior, William accused Meghan of being "rude" for her comments, which allegedly caused Meghan to snap at the future king, saying, "Take your finger out of my face."

The report in Jobson's book is strikingly similar to Harry's account in "Spare," in which he wrote that Meghan and her sister-in-law, Kate, didn't get along.

He noted that when they sat down to iron out their differences, Kate demanded an apology from Meghan, to which she did apologize, saying that it was the way she spoke with her friends.

However, everything turned sour when William chimed in and "pointed a finger at Meg" before allegedly saying, "Well, it's rude, Meghan. These things are not done here."

Harry noted that Meghan responded, "If you don't mind, keep your finger out of my face."

I’m not terribly surprised. He had done that stupid Purple Hearts movie and he started getting tons of followers, and he kept posting updates of how his followers were going up. He thinks very highly of himself. Here’s the thing, and wish someone had told him this before he did this:

(Channeling inner Shirley Maclaine)

He is not special enough to be a straight actor. He is not a Star. He does not have the talent or charisma to make this worthwhile. He shows up to the Met Gala wearing a black tux. He is self serious and interviews poorly. His body veers toward doughiess, his features are pronouncedly feminine.

He is the Diversity Hire. That was his ticket into Hollywood. He could not do this, after doing so many queer roles, which he was only getting because it was more or less assumed he would eventually come out publicly. He is not anybody you would cast in any straight role unless the actor needs to register nonthreatening softness. He could not play Jonathan Bailey’s role in Bridgerton.

Jonathan Bailey is going up and up and up. Not because he is a gay actor. But because he is a Star. Andrew Scott is going up because he is exceptionally talented. Nicholas Galitzine is neither of those. He started rising at a very curious time in Hollywood in which the burden on gay actors of gay actordom is beginning to go away, but at the same time actors are expected to be gay if they take a lot of gay roles. It would have behooved him to cling to this like driftwood, because now, when it comes down to it, if I am in casting and I have to choose between him and a straight actor for a straight role, I am going to choose the one that does not pout his lips like Queen Nefertiti.

After Gus Kenworthy came out, his ex cruelly taunted him (bad breakup) and wrote online:

“…you were not fooling anyone. Any man who knows the entire soundtrack to the Broadway musical “wicked” is not bringing in the ladies, unless it’s for a themed dinner party.”

Nicholas Galitzine was already typecast as “man who knows the song score to Wicked.” This was highly self-defeating, unnecessary, makes the people who cast him in queer roles look like idiots, and establishes him as a professional nincompoop. He will never get the straight roles that he really wants, and now the gay roles will be offered to someone else. He should have just said nothing.

God I hate actors.

Movie available on YouTube IF you sign in and you’re above 18 years old.

Sexy and horrifying.

Hot men all around.

From Mar-a-lago.

What will he announce?

Dropping JD?

Leaving the US?

Bitcoin tokens to fleece his followers?

Crew Morrow's first appearance is on Thursday, August 1st.

Will he have the same hotness factor as his father did at that age?

The tandem of Korte/Mulcahey as co-captains of this ship proved to be unsuccessful.

Will Korte be able to successfully steer this ship through the troubled waters of Port Charles' Harbor solo?

Or will another co-captain come along to help steer the ship, possibly Chris Van Etten, or someone new to help navigate through uncharted waters?

Is it possible that this ship has actually sailed? Or is it a sinking ship, reminiscent of the SS TRACY?

AS KAMALA HARRIS BEGAN WINDING DOWN her search for a running mate, Donald Trump’s team knew one thing clearly: It didn’t want her to pick Josh Shapiro, the popular governor of swing-state Pennsylvania whose more moderate record made him a formidable opponent.

So the Trump campaign and its allies moved to quietly kneecap Shapiro. It did so by forging a de facto alliance with the enemy of its enemy, the progressive left, which opposed Shapiro—the only Jewish candidate on Harris’s shortlist—largely because of his pro-Israel stances. The result was a swelling of progressive opposition (some of it organic, some artificially fed) that, among other things, saw Shapiro’s online critics dub him “Genocide Josh.”

Alison Sweeney is always “thrilled” to return to Days of Our Lives for an episode arc — and come 2025, fans will get to see her back in action.

“I love playing Sami and I am always happy for the chance to come back,” Sweeney, 47, told TVInsider on Tuesday, August 6, confirming that she has started to film new episodes as Sami Brady. “We always have to figure out scheduling and such, but, if at all possible, I’m so glad to make it happen.” (Her episodes will begin streaming on Peaco*ck next year.)

The actress made her Days of Our Lives debut in 1987 as a young Adrienne Johnson in a flashback. It wasn’t until 1993 that she began portraying Sami on the soap opera. Sweeney exited the show in 2014 after 21 years, but she has continued to make cameos on the series, the latest being in December 2022.

I went looking for a non-sanctioned baseball cap (yes, I know I'm not only evil, I'm cheap), and guess what new slogan I saw?

[bold]LET'S GO BRENDA![/bold]

I love it!

President Biden said he is "not confident at all" that there will be a peaceful transfer of power in January 2025 if former President Donald Trump is defeated.

"He means what he says. We don't take him seriously. He means it. All the stuff about 'If we lose, there'll be a bloodbath, it'll have been a stolen election,'" Mr. Biden told CBS News chief election and campaign correspondent Robert Costa in his first sit-down interview since announcing he was dropping out of the 2024 presidential race and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic nomination. The interview will air on "CBS News Sunday Morning" on Sunday, Aug. 11.

"Look what they're trying to do now in the local election districts where people count the votes," said Mr. Biden. Repeating a familiar maxim about elections and democracy, the president said, "You can't love your country only when you win."

Trump's "bloodbath" comments at an Ohio campaign rally in March caused controversy, with Biden's campaign and other Democrats expressing alarm while Trump and his allies said he was referring to the economic fallout of U.S. trade policy.

At the time, Biden campaign spokesman James Singer said it showed Trump "wants another January 6, but the American people are going to give him another electoral defeat this November because they continue to reject his extremism, his affection for violence, and his thirst for revenge."

But the Trump campaign said that was "spin" on his words, and Trump took to social media saying the media "pretended to be shocked at my use of the word BLOODBATH, even though they fully understood that I was simply referring to [auto] imports."

When asked during their June debate whether he would accept the outcome of November's election, Trump said he would accept the results "if it's a fair and legal and good election," adding that there's "nothing [he'd] rather do." The former president then continued to falsely claim the "fraud and everything else was ridiculous" in the 2020 election.

"I tell you what, I doubt you'll accept it because you're such a whiner," Mr. Biden responded in their only debate. "The idea if you lose again, you accepting anything, you can't stand the loss, something snapped in you when you lost the last time."

KNOTS LANDING is coming to streaming Aug 13 on the new Primetime Soaps by WB channel.

The 24/7 ad-supported channel is live now on @Plex w/ FALCON CREST. Eps stream in order, not on-demand.

Watch on streaming devices w/ the Plex app or online: watch.plex.tv/live-tv/channe…#SoapOpera

Years ago, Dallas and Boy Steele (Dallas's then and current boyfriend) were persuaded to move from Texas to California by Sugar Daddy. Sugar Daddy fell for Dallas, wanted to marry Dallas, and wanted to dismiss Boy Steele. Dallas, ever loyal, insisted on a 3-way relationship and so Dallas Steele and Boy Steele moved to Palm Springs to live with Sugar Daddy.

By text message in late 2023, Sugar Daddy announced that he wanted to end the relationship and that he wanted the Steeles - Dallas and Boy - to vacate the home. For reasons that are not explained, the unhappy trio still observed the holidays , with at least one party featuring a very bitchy Dallas. Shortly after, Dallas and Boy found housing, possibly subsidized. Dallas and Boy were reduced to having one car. And Dallas tells the sad tale of driving Boy to the bus stop in Palm Springs so that Boy could commute to his job at Walmart, some distance away. This all followed devastating events earlier in 2023, including Dallas's dramatic personal bankruptcy and a devastating shoulder (?) injury. Also, living up to his name, Dale Savage cruelly savaged Dallas, who had complained about not being invited to appear at Hustlaball.

I'm still waiting for the musical version of these events, all of which are made completely public in Dallas's Facebook posts-cum-serial autobiography.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Your Persnickety, Picky p*rn Preferences 🧐

What are some super-niche, super picky, ridiculously particular preferences that really bother you? I don't mean something most people will agree on like (I don't like it when the guys aren't into it or when one of them doesn't cum etc.)

I have what I think is an odd one: I don't quite know why, but I find it kind of a turn-off when I see a scene with two unmistakably white guys and one of them has their natural skin tone (whether that's pale as a ghost or bordering on olive) and one of them is tanned within an inch of his life -- you know what I mean, you can practically smell the bronzer coming off the screen, or, he's definitely spent the past two weeks just lying in the sun in Mexico.

And, NO, I am not talking about interracial scenes. Interracial scenes are hot, guys with melanin are hot. Latino, Asian, Black, Arab, Indian, Australasian, Mediterranean guys are all hot. I'm just talking about obviously white guys who are overly tanned.

Although I don't have a preference for it, I don't even mind it if both of the white guys are similarly tanned, but if one of them looks like it's the middle of winter in Minnesota and the other looks like he's been bronzing on a balcony in Cabo in June my brain gets scrambled. The paler guy ends up looking sickly (even though he isn't) and the tanned guy looks unnatural.

I told you this was persnickety! Okay, let's hear 'em.

I’m so energized by this election that I’m thinking about buying a yard sign or a T shirt or at least a coffee mug. It’s all so playful and positive, reflecting the elevated mood of Democrats these days.

Haven’t been this enthused about an election nor put up a yard sign since Obama in 2008.

But I'm beginning to suspect he's neither French nor a twunk. He's very handsome, and hung, and a top into daddies. He hasn't asked for cash. But he's cagey about his family and hometown. His French is inconsistent. He seems to have references beyond his years.

I think he might be a Romanian charlatan in his mid 30s.

Again, assuming Trump loses (which is beginning to look increasingly likely)...,

Bannon is almost certainly facing at least a four-year jail term for fraud in NYS.

Rudy appears to be ruined beyond any hope of salvation, politically or financially.

I assume Laura Loomer will either commit suicide or try to kill someone and be shot to death by either her target or the police.

Milo is on his way towards suicide as we speak.

But what about the others?

Any chance that Roger Stone, for example, will see the inside of a jail?

All the same tired bitches are back.

Doesn't look like Teresa and Melissa are interacting at all, but it does appear the big focus is on psycho Luis and his pissing away Teresa's money, which should be fun.

It also appears Dolores' overly inflated Irish boyfriend is still married. Oops! And Marge's marriage may be on the rocks.

Other than that, same ol' boiler plate drunken antics and bitching.

Elon Musk's trans kid HATES him

Laura Ingraham's gay brother is constantly dragging her on twitter

Who are some non-famous people with famous relatives they loathe?

The use of the word "weird" to describe Trump in Harris' press release. I thought it seemed immature. Instead it was a game-changer.

Whoever made up the sofa-f*cking gag about Vance.

After eight years of insults and lies from the right, this teeny insult and absurd lie appear to be their undoing.

Whooda thunk.

Posted mainly for the f*ck yeah headline.

[quote]In a new poll released Tuesday night, Kamala Harris has taken an enormous lead on Donald Trump among independent voters. Harris is up nine points with that group (53%-44%) after being down 14 points with them when she launched her campaign just two weeks ago. In early July, Trump was beating Joe Biden by four points with independents.

[quote]Overall, Harris has built a 51%-48% lead over Trump. That’s a four-point improvement for Harris, who maintains a three-point lead (48%-45%) when third-party choices are included. She leads by 13 points with women (55%-42%), but is losing men by nine points (54%-45%).

Sunderland? Manchester? Where else?

And is this all to do with the murders of those girls?

The Duke and duch*ess of Sussex's Archewell Foundation is launching a new initiative, The Parents Network, to support parents whose children have been victimized by online bullying.

"Sunday Morning" anchor Jane Pauley talks with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle about the dangers of social media and suicide ideation; and with parents in the foundation's pilot program, who open up about how it has helped in their healing process after their child took their own life.

There is so much out there, and I don't want to live in an echo chamber.

I read the Wall Street Journal, Barron's, and The Hill. I watch PBS Newshour, Frontline, and Firing Line. As far as podcasts, I like Free Expression and We the People.

Any other recommendations?

WASHINGTON — The competitive, divisive primary that many Democrats long wanted to avoid has arrived anyway — playing out largely behind closed doors in a fight over the bottom of the ticket.

The final stage of the campaign to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate reached something of an ugly phase in recent days as donors, interest groups and political rivals from the party’s moderate and progressive wings lobbied for their preferred candidates and passed around memos debating the contenders’ political weaknesses with key demographics.

They turned most sharply on one of the favorites to join the ticket, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who has drawn opposition from progressives and even a senator in his home state.

Sign up for The Morning newsletter from the New York Times

The fissures among Democrats emerged as three leading contenders — Shapiro, Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — met with Harris at her residence in Washington on Sunday, before a decision that her campaign said would be announced by Tuesday.

Kevin Munoz, a spokesperson for the Harris campaign, declined to comment on the meetings.

Harris is set to hit the campaign trail with her running mate this week, kicking off a five-day, seven-state tour with a Tuesday night rally in Philadelphia, where Shapiro is expected to be in attendance, whether he is her pick or not.

Progressive groups have trained their criticisms on Shapiro and Kelly, whom they accuse of being too conservative on key issues. Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers, said during a Sunday interview on CBS that Kelly had “not really” assuaged the union’s concerns about his commitment to pro-labor legislation and that the organization had “bigger issues” with Shapiro’s support for school vouchers.

Major Democratic donors have signaled that they would be fine with any of the candidates on Harris’ list of finalists, but there are divisions among the biggest Democratic givers. A vigorous debate has been waged on an email group for the Democracy Alliance, where left-wing donors have expressed concerns about Shapiro.

Another group of progressive activists, communicating through an email group called Gamechanger Salon, has come out against Shapiro and pushed its members to highlight his stances on the Israel-Hamas war. The debate grew heated during a discussion about whether using the phrase “Genocide Josh” to describe Shapiro, who is an observant Jew, was antisemitic. An organizer called for calm and rebranded the email chain, “Why Josh Shapiro should not be the VP.” Some of the emails also called for members to push for Walz, who has become a favorite of the party’s most liberal contributors, about 60 of whom he addressed Friday.

One message, written by Billy Wimsatt, an executive director of a liberal donor group known as the Movement Voter Project, said Shapiro could cause a drop in turnout among progressive voters who are concerned about the war. “He risks significantly depressing enthusiasm for the Harris ticket among key constituencies of young voters, Arab and Muslim voters, and to some degree labor,” he wrote in an email thread, which was shared with The New York Times. “Tim Walz is the perfect Harris VP unicorn for this moment.”

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who has long clashed with Shapiro, has also expressed displeasure at the prospect of the governor being elevated to a national ticket, according to two people who have spoken with him. One of his advisers called the Harris campaign to object to Shapiro, a development first reported by Politico.

Manuel Bonder, a spokesperson for Shapiro, declined to comment on the vice presidential selection process.

Two Republican political experts agree: The U.S. economy slowing combined with recent world events means this is former President Donald Trump's election to lose. And both experts seemed to wonder aloud, "What is Trump doing?"

Erick Erickson, the founder of Red State, questioned Trump's actions on the social media site X on Monday night.

"We've gone from Democrats screaming about the polls to Republicans," he said. "The reality is this is Trump's race to win or lose."

Trump has a "broader path" to victory than Harris as of now, he said. And the wind is at his back.

"The economy and world events favor him. But he needs to define Harris," he added.

GOP strategist Mike Madrid, who served as California's GOP political director before co-founding the group of current and former anti-Trump Republicans known as the Lincoln Project, agreed.

"Erick is right," he replied on the app. "The most valuable commodity in a campaign is time. Remarkable how Republicans are squandering the opportunity to define Harris. At a certain point the attacks will fail to stick. We're getting close to that point with VP pick & convention coming up."

Several users on X honed in on the experts' take that Trump needs to define Harris.

"She's been VP for almost four years. She's defined," replied @Maggiemarbles.

"I think the time has passed to define her in their perspective," wrote @DanielNy92. "With the vp pick and convention it will blunt any criticism."

"Ya, but even if Trump defines Harris, she has the money to keep him off of tv and social media entirely by buying up ad space," wrote "@TampaBayAndrew.

"She has defined herself on so many topics (thankfully). but I think highlighting her dubious stances is important. but that’s already happening," replied @olivia_p_walker.

Hollywood let us know who the 10 new A-List talents who will lead the next generation of films are earlier this year. Well, they have officially added an 11th person, Daisy Edgar-Jones, and they even predict she will be the next Julia Roberts!

She is in the company of Timmy, Glen Powell, Jacob Elordi, Zendaya, Jenna Ortega, Sydney Sweeney etc.

Welcome to the club A-List sis.

One space, or two, between sentences?

Is it pronounced “gif” soft g like giraffe or with a hard g like get?

Length or girth? Or the motion of the ocean?

Pasta or tacos, which is better?

What are other burning questions?

I enjoyed "Kate's Secret" so much that I'll probably rewatch Meredith chew the scenery in the Betty Broderick movies.

What are some other old TV movies that are fun to watch on YouTube or Tubi? Bonus if you include where they can be found.

Strictly has just celebrated its 20th anniversary and the after much speculation it has been widely reported that Giovanni has SENSATIONALLY QUIT.

There's speculation about legal action from Amanda Abbington who felt bullied after pulling out and creating a DANCE DISASTER and Ranvir Singh and Laura Whitmore also had unhappy experiences on the show with Giovanni. There were also stories about his behaviour towards Faye Tozer and Michelle Visage.

There's a fine line between demanding excellence and just being an abusive twat and Giovanni has apparently crossed the line.

I wonder if Rose Ayling Ellis was different because she was always paired with a chaperone to translate?

Anyway if Giovanni does quit will the gurning ginger guy replace him or will they get a new pro in?

Celebrity wise it's Olympic year so expect a few Olympians. Tom Daley is a long standing target (just imagine Dustin's waxy face as he rubs crotches with Gorka) and the producers would be desperate for Laura Kenny although she's happy just being at home with her kids now. Maybe non lesbian lioness Steph Houghton who is retiring this summer?

Sara and Keren from Bananarama must have turned it down countless times as they'd not be up for all that work but Siobhan might be up for it. And Susan Ann Sulley from The Human League would do a great paso.

It's pretty good. Most interesting regarding the AIDS battles, of course.

Some very informative stuff about the Trump administration. Trump has the intelligence of a 15 year old, maybe.

Also, this photo of young Tony....rowr.

WOW!

I feel bad for whoever is cleaning the ketchup off the walls tonight 😭

Suddenly, Trump is in big trouble.

When someone decides to become a social media influencer, they should first consider who they are trying to influence. For 35-year-old Brit Peachy Boy, that was fitness fanatics at first, but it eventually turned into something far more profitable. With his blonde hair, cyan eyes and perfectly sculpted body, he looks like he just fell off the Ken doll delivery truck. However, he has one thing that Ken doesn't have, which is suggested in his online handle.

Here is the video that started it all. Doing some home improvement to his kitchen, Peachy assesses the length of the counter by bending over, thus proving the meaning behind his juicy name. Clad in green leggings and holding a measuring tape, the shapely model gets a bit cheeky in his efforts. Last year this video captured the attention of British news and entertainment site the Daily Star in which the awkwardly worded headline reads, "Lad's 'peachy' bum breaks internet as women moan he's got better booty than them."

My company won't shut up about AI - especially generative AI - and how it will be transformative. We are paying armies of consultants fortunes to help us in that "transformative" work.

So far, the only successful thing I've seen us actually do is use generative AI to summarize meetings on Microsoft Teams. But then you have to review the summary to see if it's actually correct. And we're told that we can't necessarily trust the result of generative AI. Which means we have to keep our own meeting summaries as well to compare to the generative AI summary, which doesn't really save us any work.

I really would like for generative AI to work, if it could save us time in doing our jobs.

So far, though, it's just more work on top of other work.

...to give his speech and hand it off to Kamala.

I'll be bawling my eyes out.

How long will the STANDING OVATION last?

Dear lord, get rid of that vicious beast!!

Why would you ever keep a dog that behaves like that??

Take it back to the pound, Debbie!

My gayling self bought it every month -- remember in school they'd have those monthly book order forms and you could buy it and other things to read?

I think the Hardy Boys issue was the first thing I remember masturbating to.

Gen Z: "What's a magazine?"

My gayling self bought it every month -- remember in school they'd have those monthly book order forms and you could buy it and other things to read?

I think the Hardy Boys issue was the first thing I remember masturbating to.

Gen Z: "What's a magazine?"

Races and Primary dates Inside,

where Abortion Rights and Global Boiling are on the ballot:

Hot blond Australian Vlogger.

He's so gorgeous.

I'm looking to book an apartment for a month or so in a euro city to just immerse myself.

Any tips?

Did you do the K. Sessums garret and a hot plate? Etc etc?

I just binge-watched the first season again in preparation for the new one, and it's much better than I remembered. The acting is absolutely first rate, especially Emma d"Arcy (as the adult Rhaenyra), Eve Best (as Rhaenys), and Olivia Cooke as the conflicted adult Queen Alicent. The men are excellent too, although Matt Smith is playing the same basic role as the bratty Daemon as he did as the bratty young Prince Philip (only he's slu*ttier and more murderous in this). Both Steve Toussaint (as the Sea Snake) and Fabien Frankel (as Ser Criston Cole) are very hot and do fine jobs. (We do need more male nudity, however).

The biggest problems for me are the younger actors: Alicent's children and Rhaenyra's children are not played by very good nor attractive young actors. But they will become more and more the stars of the show as it goes on, alongside their mothers. I hope they get replaced by better adult actors as they age.

The season premiere episode is entitled "A Son for a Son," which is bad news for Alicent since her son Aedmond killed Rhaenyra's son Luke at the very end of last season.

Great bunch, the Norwegians, but you wouldn’t like them when they’re angry. If the clues were not there from the interviews of Erling Haaland in his most petulant Borussia Dortmund days or the surprisingly cutting lyrics of mid-period A-ha, then how the nation’s newspapers have greeted the result of the men’s 1500 metre Olympic final has confirmed it. Try to avoid getting on the wrong side of anyone from Oslo.

It was billed as a two-horse race between Great Britain’s Josh Kerr and Olympic record holder Jakob Ingebrigtsen which overlooked the threat of an accomplished challenging pack. Kerr seemed to have done enough when rounding his great rival on the final bend at the Stade de France but both had reckoned without the American Cole Hocker, who snuck around Ingebrigtsen’s other shoulder and bested the despairing Kerr to clinch an unlikely gold.

Kerr brave-faced it afterwards, as is the expectation for a silver medallist, but it was harder to spin the result for Ingebrigtsen. He led the way for almost the entire race but faded so severely at the end that he did not even manage a place on the podium, being beaten into fourth.

Norway have only one bronze so far in Paris and rated Ingebrigtsen as one of their leading hopes for a medal. So, no surprise that his defeat has been greeted with disappointment, but the seething fury is unexpected. “The fact that Ingebrigtsen came fourth in an Olympic final he was supposed to win can best be summed up in three words,” wrote Aftenposten, one of the country’s largest newspapers. “Den totale ydmykelsen” (the total humiliation). Blimey.

“The biggest shock: too apple handsome,” was the headline in tabloid VG, an expression for when somebody has been overly co*cky. “With Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s sky-high level of ambition, this is of course a complete failure,” wrote Leif Welhaven, criticising Ingebrigsten’s tactical decision to go out so strongly from the front.

The satisfyingly-named Dagbladet went with “Avsløring etter fiasko” - disclosure after failure, to tee up Ingebrigtsen’s reaction. It was both sympathetic yet deeply cutting in its analysis of the race: “This was the night where he was in brilliant form. The body was light as a feather, the competitors dropped in on the last lap and then there was him; the very best, which still fell short.”

And “Idiotisk drittslenging” roared VG which translates as “idiotic bulls- - -”. This seemed especially punchy although it should be clarified that it came in the context of an extract from a Guardian liveblog criticising the trash talk between the two rivals, within VG’s overseas press round-up. An overseas press round-up much like the one you are currently reading. Who says the media is eating itself?

“It didn’t go according to plan,” Ingebrigtsen told the BBC. “I felt very strong the first couple of laps. I had difficulty telling the pace because it was quite fast. It was difficult to slow down and reduce myself. I saw I was getting a gap so kept pushing. But it was 100 metres too long today. The guys who finished in front of me did a great race. I felt strong. It wasn’t the result I wanted but yeah.”

“Of course, it’s not what I was hoping for. I can only blame myself. It’s not as fun if I’m not able to get the results I want.”

What are your pet peeves on the road?

Tell us here!

It's almost time for the 73rd annual Miss USA pageant.

On Sunday, August 4, 51 contestants will gather in Los Angeles to see who will be crowned the new Miss USA.

It's been a tumultuous and scandalous year for the pageant, with Miss USA Noelia Voigt stepping down as queen in May.

First runner-up Savannah Gankiewicz of Hawaii took over the title, and she will crown the new Miss USA on Sunday.

The pageant will air live on The CW at 8 p.m. ET, but before the competition, take a sneak peek at the contestants vying for the crown.

In the rain.

The night before the Olympics, at 3:00 a.m.

I was never a big fan, but this is pretty cool.

I am vers and when I am topping I love to edge and then immidiately cum on bottom's taint or stomach. And when I am bottoming I love when a top does the same. Also the sight of guy pulling out and spraying his cum all over me is so hot to witness.

I don't wanna say that internals are gross or something but the sight of cum dripping out of hole is kinda off putting (especially when cum is yellow [vomit]).

Also having a load inside feels like diarrhea. And constant sh*tting out (literally) the load is straining ur ass causing hemmoroids in a long run.

Continuing our discussion.

Voice of the Night's prior thread:

"The Trump campaign can't figure out what to do. Trump cannot fathom a campaign or any leaders who are not about themselves. The Harris-Walz isn't about them, it's about you."

Send Pete everywhere!

Costco knows you’re using your friend’s membership card. To save you the embarrassment of telling you off when you’re in the checkout line, now Costco will try to catch membership moochers before they even get in the door.

The retailer is implementing stricter policies and cracking down on non-members using other people’s cards by requiring shoppers to scan their membership cards to enter stores.

Colin Farrell opens up for the first time about life with his 20-year-old son, James, who has a rare debilitating disorder called Angelman syndrome and why he's starting a foundation to help adult children with similar disabilities prepare for greater independence.

The Colin Farrell Foundation will provide support for adult children who have intellectual disability through advocacy, education and innovative programs.

I see «bifteck de bavette» all the time in French language recipes. I know “bavette” means skirt, but English language recipes seem to use bavette interchangeably with terms like skirt steak, flap steak, flank steak, and even steak tips(?). Is it just skirt steak, or is there some secret fancy morsel of beef that I’m unaware of?

I know those are all parts of the cow and that everything connects. But I’d love it if any DL epicures could imbue some light on the topic and limn this beefy question for me.

It's apparently a common thing in LA.

There's an entire thread on Reddit dedicated to this drugged-out mess. I don't usually do Reddit but this is a good thread.

He's a big drunken fondler of straight men.

Continuation of the Hail to the Queen, but I didn't want to piss off Beyoncé.

And we don't elect Queens in America, sorry Ms. Lindz, ya ain't a Queen queen.

You know.....they still butter your biscuit, put dew on your lily....turn you on!

Who would be on that list? Anyone?

Current international-level player -45 caps for the Czech Republic - and still playing at the top level (at Sparta Prague.

Oh yeah, he's also cute.

GOOD FOR HIM.

Matt Damon and Casey Affleck go way back — over four decades back, in fact.

“We have this 43-year shared history,” Damon, 53, says of Casey, 48, and his brother Ben Affleck in this week’s issue of PEOPLE. “We grew up together.”

The Boston, Mass. natives’ “shared experience and relationship and trust and love,” as Damon puts it, is what makes collaborating on movies like The Instigators (currently in theaters and on Apple TV+ Aug. 9) such a natural process. “There's an underlying understanding of who we are,” he says.

“In our business, there's a whole language that gets created around trying to protect people's feelings because people's egos are involved,” adds Damon. He and Casey “don't waste any time on diplomacy, which I love.”

Damon’s memories of pursuing Hollywood dreams alongside the Affleck brothers in the years leading up to the Oscar-winning success of 1997’s Good Will Hunting included not being “afraid to be vulnerable with each other as young men” in Boston.

“Part of being an actor and putting yourself in those positions and getting rejected constantly — knowing that somebody else is living that same life and making those same sacrifices, that shared sense of experience, that's why we would clump up and hang out together and talk about it,” recalls Damon.

Maybe some queens more attuned to fashion can comment, but I've noticed she rarely varies from the same look: monochromatic pantsuit, no patterns, medium heels, very little jewelry. She always looks polished and put-together but also comfortable. The few times I've seen her in T-shirt and jeans or athletic wear she also looks great.

And maybe it's not style per se, but I love Tim Walz's "dad running to Home Depot for a few things" vibe.

Can anyone recommend a good book about that crime?

TIA!

I would pick “Light of a Clear Blue Morning”.

But I bet “I will always love you. “will go right to number one as soon as she dies.

…reduced to a casino shill for $.

Step right up, folks.

[quote]A light rain fell at the Zurich airport one Sunday morning in January 2023 as Sarah Kate Ellis made her way from a seat in Delta’s most exclusive cabin to a waiting Mercedes. It was there to chauffeur her to the Swiss Alps, where she and her colleagues would stay at the Tivoli Lodge, a seven-bedroom chalet that cost nearly half a million dollars to rent for the week.

[quote]Ms. Ellis, who was en route to the World Economic Forum in Davos, doesn’t run a Wall Street bank or a high-flying tech start-up. She is the chief executive of the nonprofit organization GLAAD, one of the country’s leading L.G.B.T.Q. advocacy groups.

[quote]The group, which has an annual budget of roughly $30 million, paid for Ms. Ellis’s trip, as well as a day of skiing, according to internal documents reviewed by The New York Times and interviews with current and former employees and others with knowledge of GLAAD’s operations.

[quote]When Ms. Ellis traveled for work, there were first-class flights, stays at the Waldorf Astoria and other luxury hotels and expensive car services. Not to mention a Cape Cod summer rental and nearly $20,000 to remodel her home office, which was outfitted with a chandelier, among other accouterments.

It’s unfinished.

It will never be finished.

No one will ever live here.

🧺

Misha was using it as a way to transcribe notes for his one-man show, so he read words to ChatGPT so that it would write it up for him.

He said it was working out fine, but then ChatGPT started doing its own thing, and started writing FAN FICTION, using his story.

Misha then questioned ChatGPT about it, especially since he said that Fan Fiction isn't allowed on ChatGPT since the original material is copywrite protected.

ChatGPT just made up some excuses, and then apologized to him for the "confusion."

Lol. They're taking over!!

She looks and sounds odd.

And she's barely understandable.

Did Mary Lou spend all her GoFundMe money?

...yes at least I have a job.

Am I the most pathetic gay here?

Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., suffered a bruising defeat in her St. Louis district on Tuesday night, becoming the second member of the progressive group of House lawmakers known as “the Squad” to lose a Democratic primary to a more moderate opponent this year.

Bush, a second-term lawmaker, was bested in the Democratic race for Missouri’s 1st District by St. Louis prosecuting attorney Wesley Bell, who was backed by a major pro-Israel group. The race was the second most expensive House primary in U.S. history, taking a back seat only to the contest earlier this year for Rep. Jamaal Bowman’s Bronx-area seat, according to the group ad impact.

Bell sought to frame Bush as out of touch with her constituents throughout the monthslong race and highlighted the multiple investigations into her campaign finances. But Bush’s criticism of the Israeli government, more than any other factor, came to define the campaign.

A registered nurse and activist, Bush was the first member of Congress to call for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, nine days after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Since then, she has remained a steadfast critic of Israel’s handling of the war and accused Israeli officials of committing genocide.

The United Democracy Project, a super PAC aligned with The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, poured more than $8 million into the contest to boost Bell’s campaign to replace Bush in the halls of Congress. Justice Democrats, a PAC that has knocked U.S. aid to Israel, meanwhile, said it spent more than $2 million in support of Bush.

The St. Louis primary isn’t the first race where AIPAC has played a role in 2024. The group has put its weight behind an array of candidates challenging some of the most vocal Democratic lawmakers criticizing Israel’s handling of the war in Gaza.

In July, Bowman, Bush’s fellow Squad member, lost the Democratic primary in his district to a more moderate candidate whose campaign was aided by outside funding. The United Democracy Project spent more than $7 million in that race.

Bowman during a fundraising call Monday night told Bush that he knew exactly what she was experiencing and said she was a "powerful truth teller."

Several other members of the Squad – the group of progressive lawmakers who came to prominence during former President Donald Trump's term – have managed to fend off similar challenges this year. Among them: Rep. Summer Lee, D-Penn. and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.

Others in the group still have a difficult race ahead this year. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., faces a tough primary challenge from former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels next week.

With the presidential tickets now set for 2024, Americans can expect to spend the next three months until Election Day hearing the repeated slogans and messaging that former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris hope will resonate with voters.

For Trump, “Make America great again,” the message that spawned a movement and propelled him to victory in 2016 but proved less potent in 2020, remains in place. Inherent in that phrase that adorns red ball caps, bumper stickers and T-shirts is the nostalgic belief that America has fallen from the heights of a bygone era (if only three and a half years ago) and that only Trump can restore it to its rightful condition.

“Our Country is failing, but we will turn it around, quickly, and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump wrote in an Aug. 1 post on Truth Social.

For Harris, “Not going back” has been the most repeated tagline at campaign rallies since President Biden exited the race on July 21. At Tuesday’s rally in Philadelphia, where Harris introduced Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, she used it to highlight Republican efforts to ban abortion.

“Tim and I have a message for Trump and others who want to turn back the clock on our fundamental freedoms: We’re not going back. We’re not going back,” a line that sparked the crowd to chant “Not going back.”

While nearly every presidential election is in some way about change, especially if a president or a vice president is running to continue governing, the 2024 contest is unusual in two big ways. First, a former president is looking to return to the White House after being defeated in the previous contest. Second, a sitting vice president has assumed the top of a ticket after a late withdrawal from a reelection campaign by the president.

For Trump, the case for change is motivated by all that he considers wrong with the way Biden and Harris have governed.

“It’s time for a change. This administration can’t come close to solving the problems,” Trump said in his speech at the Republican National Convention last month, which focused largely on the surge of immigration during the Biden administration.

For Harris, change is making sure that the country doesn’t backslide to the policies Trump enacted during his time in office.

“This campaign is not just about us versus Donald Trump. Truly, this campaign is about two very different visions for our nation: one focused on the future, the other focused on the past,” she said at her rally in Atlanta on July 31.

The entertainment world celebrated Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez reuniting and getting married a few years ago, but it seems like the couple’s love story could be ending, again.

Suge Knight believes that their rumored-to-be impending divorce is a result of the FBI giving the Daredevil actor footage of the “Jenny From The Block” singer engaging in illicit activity that they recovered from raiding Diddy’s homes a few months ago.

Knight gave the full breakdown of his theory on the most recent episode of his Collect Calls With Suge Knight podcast. “They go raid Puffy’s house and they get all these videos of J. Lo doing this and J. Lo doing that,” he said, also recalling her involvement in the 1999 nightclub shooting where Shyne took the fall for the mogul. “And they know the fact that J. Lo lied and said that the gun was Shyne’s or whatever and sent that man to prison, destroyed his life and she knew it was Puffy’s.”

The former Death Row Records CEO claims that the FBI gave the footage to Affleck as a “solid” so he could be privy to what was going on before the videos potentially went public, especially given the impact that the footage of the Bad Boy founder assaulting Cassie had. “It’s a white man who got respect in the white world,” he said. “I’m quite sure they said, ‘We want to show you some things about your wife.’”

Suge Knight believed that, upon Affleck seeing the footage, he would not be able to look at Jennifer Lopez the same. “I’m quite sure they headed for divorce because that’s a man who had a good life,” he said. “Great parents don’t spend a lot of money. Ain’t tripping off paparazzi, he’s living his life. He got his own team. She done brought all that extra sh*t out and now that motherf**ker. He want out.”

These claims gain a new level of depth when considering Diddy and J. Lo’s romantic history. They dated from 1999 to 2001, and Rolling Stone recently reported that he attempted to get her back after they broke up. Over the last several months, the Making The Band star has been accused of sexual assault and other crimes which allegedly took place around that time.

Homeland Security raided the “I Need A Girl” artist’s Los Angeles and Miami homes in March of this year. Just under two months later, the footage of him assaulting Cassie in 2016 was shared online. Knight gave Puff an ominous warning earlier this year, though it was unclear whether he was referring to this footage or something else. “Your life’s in danger ‘cause you know the secrets, who’s involved in that little secret room you guys are participating in,” he said. “So, you know they’re going to get you if they can.”

Health officials in Contra Costa County are recommending the use of face masks in crowded indoor settings as a summer wave of COVID-19 cases sweeps through the Bay Area.

On Tuesday, county health authorities renewed their advice for residents, especially those at high risk of severe illness, to use masks as a protective measure.

This recommendation aligns with state guidelines and San Francisco’s recent advisory that masks remain an effective tool to limit the coronavirus’ spread.

Dr. Ori Tzvieli, the Contra Costa County health officer, pointed to the emergence of highly transmissible coronavirus variants, referred to as FLiRT, which have led to a notable increase in infections and emergency room visits throughout the summer.

Since early May, coronavirus levels in the county’s wastewater have more than quadrupled, though they have recently leveled off near their plateau.

“Face masks are an effective tool to reduce the spread of the virus, particularly for those who are at risk for serious illness when there is evidence of elevated COVID-19 activity in the community,” Tzvieli said. “This is one of those times. Our health system is not seriously impacted by COVID currently, and our goal is to keep it that way.”

Several factors contribute to summer COVID-19 waves.

By midsummer to late summer, immunity from previous vaccinations or infections typically diminishes. This, combined with the emergence of new variants, increases the likelihood of infection.

Human behavior also plays a crucial role; as temperatures rise, people spend more time in air-conditioned indoor spaces, where the virus spreads more easily.

Summer travel additionally contributes to coronavirus transmission. Mild symptoms often mistaken for jet lag, such as tiredness, headache or sore throat, can actually be due to an infection. Without testing, travelers may inadvertently spread the virus.

However, coronavirus rates in the Bay Area are so high that people are struggling to find tests at pharmacy chains such as CVS and Walgreens. Those looking to get vaccinated ahead of the updated fall shots are also facing difficulties.

Could Will Ferrell play him?

Or, maybe Darrell Hammond as a makeup prize for Tina Fey backstabbing him years before when she suggested Baldwin play Trump on SNL?

Three upcoming Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna have been cancelled following a possible security threat.

The shows had been due to take place on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at the Ernst Happel Stadium. On Wednesday, two people were arrested on suspicion of planning Islamist attacks on large events in the area around the Austrian capital.

A statement from the organisers said: "Due to confirmation by government officials of a planned terrorist attack at the Ernst Happel Stadium, we have no choice but to cancel the three planned shows for everyone's safety."

The statement added: "All tickets will be automatically refunded within the next 10 working days." Earlier, Austria’s General Director for Public Security, Franz Ruf, said a 19-year-old Austrian citizen was arrested on Wednesday morning in Ternitz in the province of Lower Austria.

He said a second arrest took place in Vienna in the afternoon, but gave no further details about the suspect. “According to the current status of the investigation, the two suspects became radicalised via the internet,” Mr Ruf said. He said the 19-year-old made “an oath of allegiance” to so-called Islamic State at the beginning of July.

A large police operation took place in Ternitz, where the 19-year-old lived. A number of houses nearby were evacuated while his home was searched.

Mr Ruf said chemical substances had been found and were being examined.

The head of police in Vienna, Gerhard Pürstl, said 65,000 people per day had been expected to attend the concerts, as well as 22,000 fans outside the venue.

Investigations are continuing.

I don’t think they (Trumpies) have good coms people

Blue is associated with trust and bold sans serif fonts are associated with strength (Jeep, FedEx)

This makes her look cool as hell

He's kind of abrasive and it is bringing up all the crime in Minneapolis.

Back to focusing on the lady of the hour now.

I work in a nursing home and the majority of my coworkers are between mid-40s to late 50s. To me, they seem frumpy and old, even the ones who make an effort with their appearance. They're not ugly or overweight or anything like that, but it's obvious they're well into middle age.

However, when I look at female celebrities that age like Kate Moss, Cameron Diaz and Shakira, they still seem young and vibrant. It's not just plastic surgery, it's the overall vibe.

Angelina Jolie is at her wits' end after son Pax Jolie-Pitt suffered a near-death motorbike crash, and sources exclusively tell In Touch it's made her even more determined to relocate the brood from Los Angeles as she frets like never before.

"Angelina's so grateful he survived and is doing her best to put up a brave front, but she's absolutely devastated that this has happened," says a source. "She's horrified that Pax wasn't wearing a helmet but right now her focus is just on getting him well and then doing what she can going forward to protect all the kids more."

That includes some strict guidelines moving forward. According to the source, the 49-year-old Maleficent star is "drawing a whole new list of rules and regulations for the family," adding, "She doesn't care if it comes across as being overprotective, she wants them to be taking way more precautions. If it means upping security so they have constant supervision, then so be it."

The situation with Pax has only made matters worse between Angelina and ex Brad Pitt, who have been locked in a bitter feud since they split in 2016.

"Of course, Brad is very sympathetic, he still loves Pax dearly and was equally distraught when he found out he'd been rushed to the hospital," says the source. "But from Angelina's point of view, that's not making her feel much better. She believes the crap she has to go through as a single parent is totally underappreciated by him, and it's all his fault she's in this situation in the first place because he ruined the family they had with his carelessness."

The insider reveals that the mom of six considers Brad, 60, "to be a complete deadbeat," adding, "People have no idea what she's been through and continues to go through raising six young adults on her own while all he does is spend millions trying to destroy her in court."

The incident with Pax has "also strengthened her hate of Los Angeles," says the source. "She thinks it's just a dangerous place at the best of times."

Angelina has been recently spending plenty of time in New York City, given that she is a producer on the Tony Award-winning musical The Outsiders, and a source told In Touch in April that she may make the Big Apple her permanent home.

"Angelina's been in New York for most of this year, and her plan is to make a full-time move there as soon as possible, because she's so sick and tired of L.A.," said the insider. "But she must wait until she wraps things up with her ex Brad Pitt as far as custody and visitation rights go — and it's taking forever."

A 17 year old man took a taxi to the community centre hosting a Taylor Swift themed fun day and started stabbing little girls and the women looking after them.

3 girls are dead, aged 6, 7 and 9, and multiple other children are being treated in hospital.

Immediately after the attack rumours started on Twitter about the attacker, amplified by far right accounts with a false name and identity of the attacked shared with a "THE MEDIA ARE LYING TO YOU" narrative.

Absolutely dreadful.

While it's not "terror related" it should be treated as a hate crime in that he deliberately targeted females.

So many Gen Z'ers or millennials have sort of higher voices or bad vocal fry.....I'm always surprised when I encounter a younger guy n his 20s or early 30s with a very deep voice.

On a few occasions hearing a deep voice from a hot younger guy made me rock hard.

I really thought he would have died within a month of Rosalynn.

Not our best president, but by far our best ex-president.

I’ll start:

Jennifer Aniston v. Reese Witherspoon

He used one black woman to bash the democrats as being weak on crime. Then uses another black woman to say Kamla was tough on crime and thus destroyed the black family. Which one is it?

I point this out because a lot of people get their news on facebook. That’s why the election remains so close even with the momentum and Kamala’s uptick in the polls and will continue to remain close unless the democrats point out this hypocrisy and talk about these dinner table conversations as they relate to violence and inflation.

“America’s Hitler” In 2016, Vance sent a message to his law school roommate in which he wrote that he went “back and forth between thinking Trump is a cynical asshole…or that he’s America’s Hitler,” according to a screenshot shared by the former roommate in 2022.

A villain and a douche In February 2016, Vance liked a tweet featuring a photo of Trump and O.J. Simpson that read, “Here is an old picture of one of USA’s most hated, villainous, douchey celebs. Also in picture: OJ Simpson.”

“Unfit” to be president In an April 2016 op-ed for The New York Times, Vance wrote: “Mr. Trump is unfit for our nation’s highest office.”

A total fraud During a 2016 interview, Kentucky radio host Matt Jones told Vance: “I cannot stand Trump because I think he’s a fraud…I think he’s a total fraud that is exploiting these people.” Vance responded: “I do too…I don’t think he actually cares about folks.”

Stomach-churning, “noxious” Speaking to NPR’s Terry Gross in August 2016, Vance said: “I think that I’m going to vote third party because I can’t stomach Trump. I think that he’s noxious and is leading the white working class to a very dark place.”

“Never Trump,” “never liked him” “I’m a ‘Never Trump’ guy. I never liked him,” Vance told Charlie Rose in October 2016.

“Reprehensible” That same month, Vance wrote on Twitter: “Trump makes people I care about afraid. Immigrants, Muslims, etc. Because of this I find him reprehensible. God wants better of us.”

An “idiot” “My God what an idiot,” Vance wrote on Twitter, also in 2016, in reference to Trump.

“A moral disaster” In 2017, Vance sent a message to a friend from law school discussing his opposition to the American Health Care Act, the legislation Republicans want to replace Obamacare. Discussing a possible future career as a senator, Vance wrote: “Can you imagine running as an anti-AHCA populist who thinks Trump is a moral disaster. Where’s my constituency?”

Serial sexual assault After the Access Hollywood tape came out, Vance liked a tweet that read, “Maybe the Central Park 5 could take out a full-page ad to condemn the coddling of thug real estate barons who commit serial sexual assault.” (Trump famously took out full-page ads in four New York City newspapers, calling for the death penalty to be adopted in the state, following the 1989 rape of a jogger in Central Park; he never directly name-checked the group of young men dubbed the Central Park Five, who were later exonerated, but many believe he was quite obviously referring to them.)

I have an experience to share with a question at the end, hoping someone can explain what I'm missing...

At the new job I started three months ago, there are two other workers who are also relatively new hires. One is Marla, whose family is originally from Guatemala, but she was born in Florida and eventually moved to Mass. when she was 2. The other new hire is KiKi, w always said she was from NH and eventually she moved to MA for college, got married and started her own family. Both women are in their early 30s.

Today we were having lunch, and KiKi decided to go deeper into her childhood / life to share with us. She said her parents are from Trinidad, and moved to NYC in the mid-80s to start a new life as restaurant owners - featuring food from Trinidad. They had her and her brothers while in NYC, the restaurant was a success, but they didn't want to raise their family in NYC. They sold their business, and moved to NH when KiKi was 3. (Her twin brothers - who are handsome - are 15 months older than she). They had enough money from the business and investments where they didn't have to work for a few years, while she and her brothers were 'young'. She went to elementary school in NH, and just when she started 6th grade, 9-11 happened. She said within a week, her family packed up and moved back to Trinidad.

She then gave each of us a 'knowing look' and said, 'Well, we couldn't stay in America...you understand'. Marla nodded, and said 'Oh that's right - how awful', and I just nodded but really didn't understand.

She then continued that the family was able to sell their NH house, she stayed in Trinidad for the next 6 years, and then went to college in MA where she met her husband, they got married, and now live in MA with her three year old daughter. Her husband is from Israel, and she converted to Judaism.

I honestly don't understand why the family had to leave America and move to Trinidad after 9-11 ? I didn't want to ask her directly, but I couldn't figure out why they had to leave ? What did originally being from Trinidad have to do with 9-11 ? (She mentioned nothing about citizenship, but I'm assuming her parents must've done everything properly if they owned a business and then owned a house in NH and had investments).

Can anyone help me on this one ? (Honest answers only would be appreciated - I'm ignoring all others and snide remarks / insults). Thanks !

A podcaster said President Joe Biden was “dying or possibly already dead.” A host on Newsmax requested “proof of life.” And a former Republican member of Congress simply asked: “Anyone else think Biden is dead?”

When Biden appeared again late last month after a brief isolation from COVID-19 — still very much alive — many didn’t backtrack or correct their false implications.

NewsGuard, a company that monitors online misinformation, identified 19 prominent accounts on the social platform X that in July shared the idea that Biden was potentially dead or close to death. The New York Times followed those accounts to see how they handled news that Biden was alive and found that most ignored it or stoked more conspiracy theories. Only a few admitted they had gotten it wrong.

The frenzied conversation over Biden’s health offered a glimpse, however brief, into how outlandish speculation and conspiracy theories can come and go in a flash — and how even those that are shown to be false are rarely recanted.

Conversation about Biden on X that featured the word “dead” or “died” received nearly half a million mentions and more than 4 million interactions over a one-week period last month, according to NewsGuard. Two of the most popular posts advancing the conspiracy theory together received more than 85 million views.

The Times reached out to all 19 accounts for comment. Terrence K. Williams, a comedian on NewsGuard’s list, still believes that “Joe Biden is dying,” he said. Laura Loomer, a right-wing influencer, said in an interview that “I stand by my reporting” and clarified that when she wrote that Biden was “terminally ill,” she meant he had “a year or less” to live. A spokesperson for Charlie Kirk, a podcaster, said that Kirk’s post was based on police speculation and that “Charlie assumed he was very much alive.” Stew Peters, an influencer and radio host, said in a statement that Biden’s administration still had not provided “legitimate proof of life.” The other 15 people did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ten accounts sowed additional doubts.

Several of the 19 accounts continued to sow doubts about Biden even after his public appearances, suggesting that he was terminally ill or that his handlers were using a body double. Mentions of the term “body double” on X from July 23-25 jumped 74% from the two previous days, according to Sarah Komar and Jack Brewster, a reporter and an editor at NewsGuard, who produced the report.

Kirk, a right-wing personality whose podcast consistently ranks among the most popular in the United States, was among the first to popularize the idea on X that Biden was dead or dying after sharing a convoluted story in a post on July 22 viewed more than 24 million times.

After Biden’s national address on July 24, Kirk stoked some doubts again, suggesting that the president had left much unsaid and asked: “Why did Biden bow out?”

All the accounts tracked by the Times and NewsGuard increased their follower counts since July 22, with some generating large spikes after their posts went viral.

He was always one of my favorites.

I wish that there was more information and updates on him.

Nurse Alyssa Ogawa, trusted aid to Dr. Beverly Crusher!

Yasutake died of a rare form of T-cell lymphoma on August 5, 2024 at the age of 70 at the UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center.

The stock market in Japan had its biggest one day fall by percentage in over 35 years.

Rush to gold, whor*s!

Zac Efron says he’s “healthy” after a swimming pool incident in Spain left him hospitalized — and now more details have emerged about what went down.

The Family Affair star, 36, was at a villa in Ibiza on Aug. 2 when he had a “minor swimming incident” and was hospitalized overnight for “precautionary measures,” his spokesperson told People. He was released the morning of Aug. 3 with his rep saying, “He is fine."

TMZ, the first outlet to report the hospitalization, said the actor “was found inside the swimming pool by two people working at the villa who pulled him out of the water.” Efron’s rep declined to provide further details to the outlet on what led to the incident.

Amid continued speculation, the same two outlets reported on Aug. 5 and 6 that the accident stemmed from Efron, who was swimming with friends, diving too deeply into the pool. Unidentified sources said his chest hit the bottom of the pool and he ingested lots of water into his lungs. Security at the villa pulled him out of the pool after he showed signs of distress.

Efron was said to have been dazed momentarily as it played out, so he was taken to the hospital to get checked out. He had X-rays on his chest to make sure there was no water in his lungs and he was medically cleared within hours. He didn't leave the hospital immediately, however, because he was trying to evade paparazzi outside.

A rep for Efron has not yet responded to Yahoo’s request for comment.

On Aug. 4, the High School Musical alum used Instagram to thank those expressing “well wishes” amid his hospitalization. He shared a workout photo of himself, shirtless and lifting weights atop an exercise ball, and also wrote that he is “happy and healthy” on his Instagram Stories.

Strangers- What strangers? Laurie Hendler the NERDY sister from Gimme A Break and the girl who has a major crush on Jack Tripper on Three's Company plus Mara Hobel just before she did Mommie Dearest and Danny Aiello.

The older sister was a total BITCH.

My hair is really thinning and I'm considering it.

Any experiences, Dataloungers?

Oh, honey.

When I saw the headline I assumed he was the cute one.

Perhaps Q? But Ben Whishaw’s already done that.

Far-left Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) trails her Democratic primary challenger in Missouri, according to a new poll which months ago accurately predicted fellow “Squad” member Rep. Jamaal Bowman’s (D-NY) crushing defeat.

The Mellman Group survey of 400 voters in Missouri’s 1st Congressional District, released Wednesday, has Bush 1 point behind St. Louis County prosecuting attorney Wesley Bell ahead of the Aug. 6 primary.

Bush has 42% support compared to Bell’s 43% backing.

Bell also holds advantages over Bush in terms of his job rating and the strength of his support.

Thirty-nine percent of voters responded that their support of the prosecutor was “strong” compared to 33% for Bush. Bell’s job performance rating was measured at 61% positive, 34 points higher than the congresswoman’s 49% positive rating.

Among 1st District residents that voted in the last three primaries, Bell’s lead expands to 10 points (49%-39%).

The poll, conducted for Democratic Majority for Israel advocacy group between June 18-22, shows 11% of voters are still undecided, but support for Bell surging.

In January, the pollster found Bell garnering only 29% support, 16 points behind Bush’s 45% backing.

“Bell’s vote and margin increased across every major demographic — among whites and Blacks, among men and women, among those over and under 50 years old, and both inside and outside the city of St. Louis,” the poll noted.

“This primary race is essentially tied but clearly moving in Wesley Bell’s direction,” it added.

The 47-year-old congresswoman was one of only two House lawmakers – along with Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) – to vote against a measure in February seeking to ban the Hamas terrorists involved in last October’s attack on Israel from ever entering the US.

Last year, Bush was one of nine House Democrats opposed to a resolution condemning Hamas for the attack that left 1,400 people dead.

Tori Spelling went to Charlie Sheen’s home only once when they lived in the same building — and it was a night to remember.

“The door opens, and Charlie is standing there in a button up — I want to say Hawaiian shirt — I don't even know what it was,” Spelling, 51, shared during her “MisSpelling” podcast episode, released on Tuesday, August 6. “He hands me something, he goes, ‘Hot crack pipe.’ I was like, “Nope, no thanks.’”

Spelling made it clear that she “didn’t see the condo” because “it was very dark” inside. Her guest on Tuesday’s podcast, Denise Richards — and Sheen’s ex-wife — agreed that it was “very dark” inside the apartment.

“I mean, literally all the lights were off,” Spelling continued. “And the only lights were, like, people smoking or like doing, I don't know what was going on, but we went.”

Spelling did tell Richards, 53, that Sheen, 58, was “always very nice” when they crossed paths. “He's very charming and sweet,” Richards agreed.

“He brings me into the kitchen and he's like, ‘Well, anything else?’ I was terrified to take anything else. I didn't know,” Spelling continued. “There were so many people there and they were all like, ‘Oh yeah, Charlie, we have this, we have that.’ And I was like, ‘I'm good.’”

The Beverly Hills, 90210 star eventually asked for a soda.

“He took us around, I believe there were some ladies of the night there,” Spelling shared. Richards added, “Probably, I wouldn't be surprised.”

Spelling explained that her then-roommate, Kevin, was close with Sheen — which is how she got to his condo. “He and Charlie had a lot of … he would go MIA for days,” she recalled.

The gay “Terrace House” has arrived! Let’s chat about the Netflix summer dating show populated with a bunch of shy Asian boys as they run a coffee truck and find romance!

So far no one drop dead gorgeous but we can hope! The thumbnail photo in the article below looks promising.

Name your favorite actors who draw you in. They can be in a bad film, but for whatever reason you want to watch them. Even in bad films, they’re interesting to watch.

Charlotte Rampling

Jim Broadbent

Patricia Clarkson

Gabriel Byrne

Parker Posey

[quote]The Crown Princess of Norway’s eldest son has been arrested for an alleged assault forcing his mother to cancel an appearance at the Paris Olympics. Marius Borg Høiby, 27, is suspected of attacking a woman in her twenties “psychologically and physically” in an Oslo apartment on Sunday. She was discharged from hospital the next day.

[quote]Trond Norén Isaksen, a historian, said it was the first time a member of the Norwegian royal family has been charged with a crime.

Jamie-Lynn Sigler is sharing a health update for her son Beau.

The Sopranos actress, 43, revealed on Instagram that her 10-year-old son was recently diagnosed with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM), a rare and severe inflammatory autoimmune disorder affecting the central nervous system, per the National Institute of Health.

“4 weeks ago, what seemed like a normal virus for our son, turned into a nightmare,” Sigler wrote alongside a photo of the mother-son duo smiling at the camera. “Beau has what we believe to be, ADEM.”

“To say this has been hard, is an understatement, and I’ve never felt more broken…,” she added.

ADEM causes inflammation in a person’s central nervous system, which leads to symptoms like headache, confusion, weakness and numbness, per the Cleveland Clinic. According to the health center, research suggests ADEM triggers when a person’s immune system responds to a viral or bacterial threat “abnormally.”

Sigler shared that she and her son “are still very much in it” and she has been left with “so many questions and uncertainty” about the condition. She went on to tell her Instagram followers that if they had “experience with ADEM” she “would love to hear” from them.

“The doctors, nurses, and [therapists] have been INCREDIBLE here, and we have the highest of hopes for our son that he makes a full recovery, but we also know that whatever life turns into, we have a f— army around us, and we will be ok,” she said.

While she has been dealing with her son’s condition, the actress said she has been getting support from “friends and family” who have “come to our rescue during this terrible time,” and that she has “never felt more love” from them.

“The power of love, community and prayer is so real,” she shared, before turning to thank her husband Cutter Dykstra and son Jack, 6.

“Your patience and strength during this has been unparalleled and to our other son Jack, while you are only 6, the way you just 'got it' and turned into a care taker [sic] for your brother with each hospital visit reminds me of the beauty in this world. ❤️,” she concluded the post. “Thank you for letting me share, even if I’m super ‘messy’ about it."

Hot or not?

I think he's hot.

He is quite hyper and talkative, but his animals are adorable, and he really takes good care of them.

He has hawks, owls, ducks, kittens, possums, beavers, foxes, coyotes, deer, racoons, and even capybaras.

Did I mention the muscles?

Eighty years ago on this day, Anne Frank and the seven other people who were hiding in her father’s warehouse, were discovered by the Nazis and arrested.

I can’t believe that they still don’t know who betrayed them. They have ideas but nothing concrete.

Do you think that had Anne survived that she would’ve been a famous writer like she wanted to be? Would she have married someone and raised a family? She truly represents the tragedy of lost possibilities.

It dawned on me while watching Walz speak about his family; they named their daughter Hope after trying for years to have a child.

HOPE was the campaign message for Obama's first Presidential run.

And Bill Clinton came from little town in Arkansas named HOPE.

Hand-drawn, no AI.

Some questionable directorial choices but otherwise a remarkable achievement.

I think he is and I also think she is probably sick of him but the publicity is too good for her so she can’t give him up yet.

The relationship with Alwyn seems like the kind she would prefer - someone very quiet, extremely private, and who stays in the background.

"HR apparently overwhelmed by attempt to sack 12.5K people in one day"

question: do HR people ever get the big kick?

According to Politico, Shapiro bombed his in-person interview with Kamala and then tried to spin it like he didn't want the position to begin with. I have to laugh.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, another finalist, avoided the green-room circuit and instead touted Harris and his own record at a series of events throughout the state. A pro-Harris event in Philadelphia turned into a Shapiro-for-VP party.

His style was seen by at least some in Harris’ world as showboating. One senior Democrat in touch with Harris’ team called it “counterproductive.”

And there was a sense within Shapiro’s team that, unlike Walz, his interview with Harris did not go as well as it could have. There was “not a great feeling” coming out of it, according to a person in touch with his advisers. After their meeting on Sunday, Shapiro called Harris’ team and made clear that he was “struggling with the decision to leave his current job as governor of Pennsylvania, in order to seek the vice presidency,” according to a person familiar with the selection process.

Daisy Ridley is opening up about her health, revealing in a new interview that she was diagnosed with Graves’ disease in September 2023.

The actress, 32, discussed her experience with the autoimmune disorder in the cover story for the September/October issue of Women's Health, which dropped on Tuesday, Aug. 6.

"It’s the first time I’ve shared that [Graves’]," said Ridley, who had previously shared her struggle with endometriosis and polycystic ovaries.

Graves' disease is an immune system condition that affects the thyroid gland, according to Mayo Clinic. It causes the body to make too much thyroid hormone.

Ridley's road to learning she had Graves' disease began when she met with her general practitioner for bouts of hot flashes and fatigue after wrapping the filming of her psychological thriller Magpie. "I thought, Well, I’ve just played a really stressful role; presumably that’s why I feel poorly," she said.

She was then encouraged to see an endocrinologist, who noted that her symptoms — which included hand tremors, a racing heart rate and weight loss — are often dubbed as "tired but wired."

That struck a chord. "It was funny, I was like, ‘Oh, I just thought I was annoyed at the world,’ but turns out everything is functioning so quickly, you can’t chill out," Ridley said.

There is no cure for Graves' disease, but treatments can reduce the risk of complications and help manage symptoms.

For Ridley, that's included adapting what Women's Health called "a routine pattern of daily medication and a more mindful diet," including going gluten-free, which is said to help with inflammation.

“I am not super strict about it, but generally cutting down on gluten makes me feel better,” says Ridley, who has also been vegan for year.

She's also been slowing down more and practicing self-care, including regular exercise. “It’s an hour just for me, and it’s my time to do what I need to do to make myself feel good," she said.

Acupuncture, massages, infrared saunas and cryotherapy have all been integrated into her routine. "I’ve always been health conscious, and now I’m trying to be more well-being conscious," Ridley continued.

"I didn’t realize how bad I felt before," she said, looking back after implementing those lifestyle changes. "Then I looked back and thought, 'How did I do that?' "

This has to be one of the funniest shows of all time! The series follows Hyacinth Bucket, pronounced "Bouquet," as she demonstrates her social superiority to her family, her acquaintances, and her village.

The show was created and written by Roy Clarke

Starring PATRICIA ROUTLEDGE, with the mere repertory players consisting of Josephine Tewson, Geoffrey Hughes, Judy Cornwell, Mary Millar/Shirley Stelfox, David Griffin, and Clive Swift as Richard.

What are your favorite scenes? Characters? Episodes?

Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan could make history for Native American women in the US.

Now that Vice President Kamala Harris has chosen Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to run alongside her for the 2024 presidential campaign, Walz could have to step down as governor in the near future.

If Harris and Walz win in November, or Walz steps down to focus on campaigning, his second in charge, Flanagan, would take charge, per Minnesota's constitution.

In doing so, Flanagan would make history as the first woman governor of Minnesota and the first Native American woman to assume the role of governor in any state.

According to Flanagan's official biography, she is a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe and the highest-ranking Native woman elected to an executive office.

Flanagan began her political career in 2002 working for former US Sen. Paul Wellstone's campaign, per the MinnPost.

Later, between 2005 and 2009, she became the first Native American on the board of the Minneapolis Board of Education, MinnPost reported.

Following a handful of jobs, including working at a nonprofit that trained future organizers and politicians — including Walz himself — Flanagan ran unopposed for the Minnesota House representatives in 2015 and won.

Then, in 2017, Walz picked her to run alongside him for his 2018 Gubernatorial campaign. The pair defeated Donald Trump-endorsed candidate Jeff Johnson with 54% of the vote.

In an interview with Teen Vogue following her election win, she explained why running for public office was important to her.

"I care tremendously about politics, I care tremendously about social justice and organizing work, and making sure that our democracy accurately reflects the people it seeks to represent," she told the publication. "I think that this is just a natural extension, this is an opportunity for me to serve. That's how I see my role and no matter where I am, I think that my job is to make sure that people feel seen, heard, and valued. That's my vocation."

Gov. Tim Walz had well-established, pro-gun bona fides: a military veteran, a hunter, a gun owner with an A rating from the NRA. But that is also what made his insistence on popular gun safety reform more authoritative.

Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost joins MSNBC's Jen Psaki to discuss how Walz evolved on the issue of guns.

In rural Minnesota.

In 1999.

8:00 ET

Anyone attending? Lineup includes Kathy Griffin, Cecily Strong, Ben Stiller, Jon Hamm, Jason Bateman, and more.

He's such a ditzy Twink!

I'm fascinated by him because he's independent, he lives in an RV, he's fairly handy, and he seems really nice.

But he's so ditzy!

He has a mouse infestation in his camper, he doesn't really know how to drive, he can't cook for sh*t, and he's so clumsy!

Ethan also thinks that wet wipes constitute "taking a bath," and he's constantly breaking things in his camper.

I think he also has a few OCD type of phobias, which he hasn't really explained fully.

Nevertheless, I think he's adorable. And at least he has a boyfriend to keep him company.

And oh yeah, the boyfriend won't show his face on camera. Lol.

RIP

I remember well how Datalounge outed him in the 1990s after some journalist bragged about how he’d just had sex with an MLB player.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — FBI agents executed a search warrant late last week on Tennessee Congressman Andy Ogles as the first-term Republican faces continuing scrutiny over fraudulent campaign financial reports that he filed, NewsChannel 5 has confirmed.

Reached by telephone Tuesday, Ogles’ attorney declined to comment, although he did not deny that his client had been targeted for a search by federal authorities.

“I’m not going to confirm or deny that there was a search warrant issued,” the attorney, G. Kline Preston IV, told NewsChannel 5 Investigates in a brief conversation.

Details of exactly what areas were authorized to be searched remain murky, although individuals familiar with such investigations suggested the warrant may have been limited to Ogles’ electronic devices.

A spokesperson for the FBI declined to comment, referring questions about Ogles to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee.

“Pursuant to department policy, we have no comment,” U.S. Attorney spokesperson Mark Wildasin said in an email to NewsChannel 5.

Law enforcement sources in Maury County, where Ogles’ home is located, were not notified about any searches, although one source was told that the FBI had executed a search warrant somewhere in the county in recent days.

Neighbors in the sparsely populated rural area told NewsChannel 5 Investigates that they had not seen any unusual activity around the congressman’s home.

Execution of the search warrant came immediately after Ogles defeated Courtney Johnston in the Republican primary as he seeks a second term in the U.S. Congress. Department of Justice guidelines generally prohibit law enforcement from taking any overt actions in investigations of a political candidate in the 60 days before an election.

Back in May, Ogles filed a series of amended campaign financial reports, admitting he had not personally loaned his campaign $320,000 as he had reported back in 2022.

Other amendments to his campaign financial reports resulted in Ogles retracting claims regarding thousands of dollars in campaign contributions and expenditures that he had previously reported to the Federal Election Commission.

More at link below:

This blue (Prussian Blue) is also the color of the jacket Harris wore at today’s rally

Very striking choices, modern and sophisticated. Very San Francisco.

She's so pretty. You'd think a nice republican would have snapped her up long ago.

She even adopted 3 children by herself. What gives.

What a happy coincidence for Geordie.

He’s “swarthy.”

While promoting his new book, the Supreme Court justice spoke about some contentious court rulings and joked about his colleague's flag controversy.

“Too little law and we’re not safe, and our liberties aren’t protected,” Gorsuch told The Associated Press in an interview in his Supreme Court office. “But too much law and you actually impair those same things.”

“Over Ruled: The Human Toll of Too Much Law” is being published Tuesday by Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Gorsuch has received a $500,000 advance for the book, according to his annual financial disclosure reports.

Prince Harry shared his fears of bringing Meghan Markle back to the U.K.

The Duke of Sussex, 39, spoke about his safety concerns for his family during a new interview for ITV's documentary Tabloids on Trial, which premiered on July 25. When asked if his high-profile lawsuits against the press are bringing more attention to himself, he laughed and replied, "There is more than enough attention on me and my wife anyway."

"They pushed me too far," he continued. "It got to a point where you're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't. But I don't think there's anybody in the world better suited and placed to be able to see this through than myself."

"It's still dangerous, and all it takes is one lone actor, one person who reads this stuff to act on what they have read. And whether it's a knife or acid, whatever it is, and these are things that are of genuine concern for me. It's one of the reasons why I won’t bring my wife back to this country."

Prince Harry previously said he "felt forced" to step back from his royal role and leave the U.K., citing security concerns for his family. Soon after the couple announced their decision to step back as senior working royals, the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (RAVEC) removed their automatic right to U.K. police security. Although the Duke of Sussex offered to cover the costs of security, the bid was rejected, and earlier this year, High Court judge Peter Lane upheld the decision to downgrade his security.

Prince Harry plans to appeal the decision. "The Duke is not asking for preferential treatment, but for a fair and lawful application of RAVEC’s own rules, ensuring that he receives the same consideration as others in accordance with RAVEC’s own written policy," a legal spokesperson said.

In a statement to the High Court in London at the time, Prince Harry said that he needed police security for his two children — Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3 — "to feel at home" in his native country.

"The U.K. is my home. The U.K. is central to the heritage of my children and a place I want them to feel at home as much as where they live at the moment in the United States," Harry said. "That cannot happen if there is no possibility to keep them safe when they are on U.K. soil."

"I can't put my wife in danger like that, and given my experiences in life, I'm reluctant to unnecessarily put myself in harm's way too," he added.

Premiers on HBO Max on August 3rd

Official Trailer:

I’ll start:

🎵 “Uhuh that’s my sh*t…” please shoot me

Now with Kit Harrington and Sarah Goldberg.

August 11th on Max.

Describe its scent.

Write a haiku about it!

Former Donald Trump 2020 campaign lawyer Jenna Ellis has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in the Arizona election subversion case, the state’s attorney general announced Monday, and charges against her will be dropped.

Ellis is expected to cooperate with prosecutors and testify against other defendants in the criminal case as part of her deal. She was originally charged with multiple felony counts in Arizona related to her alleged role in the effort to put forward fake slates of electors as part of a broader conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election results on Trump’s behalf.

Posts it on X.

Dear world,

We have an Elon Problem.

He’s very rich. And powerful. Unprecedented amounts of both are concentrated in his hands alone. He owns and controls a media empire of paid rightwing propagandists. And a battery car and remote driving company. And a brain implant company. And a satellite company. And a spaceship company. And an AI company. And an infrastructure company. Those pieces connect in alarming ways potentially.

He’s basically too rich and powerful to be subjected to normal oversight or even the rule of law possibly. He has politicians lining up to kiss his ass and curry his favor and get him to move to their state or mine their land. He really is kind of like an Avenger in the sense that he’s unconstrained by any one nation and is his own nation-state effectively and capable of great good or serious damage.

And according to him he’s on a crusade against what he sees as progressive forces aligned against him (and going to Mars) and he’s really mad at “woke.” He doesn’t always play well with others and doesn’t always take no for an answer. He has some deep emotional issues. He can be unpredictable and rash and has been known to hold some grudges. He has reportedly estranged some of his loved ones. He’s sired 11 kids but doesn’t seem to live with any of them. And he has basically declared a culture war on the mainstream press and the current political leadership in much of the world.

He’s presently taking over Western politics and trying to install as America’s president a man who attacked the US Capitol and was previously aided and abetted in taking power by a hostile foreign enemy of the world and dictator. That man Elon wants to put in the White House is also on trial for and has been convicted of various crimes. And his campaign is being propped up financially by Elon and a handful of other billionaires he will owe his power to should Elon’s push to help install him works.

Elon’s also embroiled in various lawsuits and legal battles with some of his competitors and those he believes are are trying to impede him in some way.

There’s one of two endings here: Elon gets everything he wants and rules the world and maybe he’s nice about it. Or he doesn’t and we remain not ruled by an oligarch-prince crusading against “woke” in a suicidal quest to Mars to save the world he’s taken over.

I wish none of this was true but it’s happening and too many people are ignoring it. Or jockeying for position in the New Elon World. I like current world and I’m happy to be sharing it with Elon and the many wonderful contributions he’s made to it. But I don’t think we should just give it to him or anyone else entirely.

Good luck. God bless.

I like this little number far more than the stale These Boots Are Made For Walking.

The woman behind like like men pretending to be woman dressed like men.

And so it begins. Shortly after Elon back tracked saying he was not giving any money directly to Trump and just to his political PAC, it turns out he found a more subversive way to help him win with the use of X.

In a nutshell, after running one of their America PAC ads, they claim they can help you register to vote. But here is the dirty part, after you enter your zip code, if you come from a known solid blue state like California or NY, or red state, you get directed to back to the states website to register to vote. But if your zip code is in a battleground state, the same is not true, you get prompted to enter more personal data which is harvested by his political PAC and just says thank you, it does not tell them they still need to register to vote, it does not link them back to their state. This gives him the ability to leverage huge amounts of targeted ads across all social media directly to swing voters with pro-Trump ads without anyone knowing the wiser.

Long story short, he hooked up with a girl when he was 16.

She got pregnant, and when the baby was 4 months old she took him to Australia, and wouldn't let the dad see their kid.

The dad tried to go to court to get parental rights, but because the mother took the baby to Australia and the dad was in New Zealand, I guess nothing could be done.

Fast forward, the dad is now 31 living in Europe, and his 14 year old son reaches out to him on Facebook, after the dad's YouTube channel is recommended to him by some crazy coincidence.

This video shows their reunion.

Plot twist? I may be wrong, but I think the dad is gay.

Those tickets weren’t cheap or refundable.

Also seriously the park is already decorated for Halloween on August. 5? Halloween season starting after Labor Day wasn’t good enough?

I'm enjoying their food vicariously. I lost a lot of weight -48 pounds as of late and I want to keep it off. This is a low cal way to have my cake and not eat it too, besides- Thin tastes better.

The husbear is kinda doable. She looks and sounds like that Marge character from Roseanne ca. 1993 that Dan fantasizes about.

Did he do a few bumps of co*ke before this interview?

That old lady interviewer didn't seem to know what to make of him.

Every interview Jenna Ortega gives makes it sound like she hated the experience. Is she trying to get out of the show?

Of her recent work: Scream, X, etc, Wednesday was my least favorite. But it's MASSIVELY popular.

It sounds ridiculously expensive.

I can't imagine anything justifying their outrageous prices.

Nothing is worth paying that much for groceries.

What a total ripoff.

Apparently a revival was being discussed and one of the "girls" threw the others under the bus......

Looks like the hivemind thinks it's Kim Fields.

Of course, when one thinks of Spring, one thinks of Paris.....and when one thinks of Paris, the gem that IS Adrian Leeds comes to mind!

Anyhoo.....more HGTV talk here.

And she's young enough to be his granddaughter!

[quote]Has Tom Cruise found a new flame?

[quote]The “Mission: Impossible” actor, 62, has sparked romance rumors with Spanish singer Victoria Canal whom he met at Glastonbury festival in England earlier this year.

[quote]Canal, 25, joined Coldplay onstage for their electric headlining set in June as Cruise was spotted watching from the VIP area.

Justice Clarence Thomas took several more trips on the private plane of GOP megadonor Harlan Crow than were previously known, a top Senate Democrat revealed Thursday.

According to information obtained by Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin, Thomas traveled on Crow’s private jet during trips in 2017, 2019 and 2021 between various US states, as well as on a previously known 2019 trip to Indonesia, during which Thomas also stayed on Crow’s mega-yacht.

Clarence Thomas is open for BRIBES!

What is this commercial saying?

You’re an absolute waste of space, but I need to get laid?

Alright. Jesus is supposed to be Santa Clause for adults.

Parents take their kids to have photos taken with men dressed up like Santa

Think of the communion with bread and wine being the literal flesh and blood of Christ.

What stop there? Why not have a man dressed up like Jesus who is literally Jesus for the purpose of that ceremony? A Jesus for people to take photos with, too?

Perhaps that will point out to adults just how absurd the Jesus story actually is.

It looks idyllic.

I'm happy to see this younger generation still enjoying nature, and the "simple things."

They look like they had a blast.

Nice way to spend a Summer.

She was convinced she could see the young lady’s “private parts”…. meanwhile, teen says she was wearing underwear and shorts under skirt.

This could be a setback in the Karen Tyranny Movement.

Kamala is going to pick Tim Walz to be her running mate, later today.

I'm not thrilled about him because he seems boring. He won't really excite anyone the way that Pete would have done.

Harris/Buttigieg would have been the winning ticket. I guarantee it.

Harris/Walz, I'm not so sure about. It reminds me of Clinton/Kaine. BO-RING. And we know what happened in 2016.

We needed someone to light the race on fire. Someone ground breaking and exciting. That's Pete Buttigieg.

But of course, she's going with the "safe" choice. More of the same old, same old.

Oh well. If he's good enough for David Hogg, he's good enough for me.

A lot of other Democrats see something in him, as well. Personally, I don't know anything about him.

So I guess it's time to learn a little about him.

Is it O.K. to leave it for the employees to deal with it, or should you try to handle* the issue yourself?

*by "handle" I mean going on an early weekday morning goose chase for a plunger, cleaning supplies, etc.

“It felt too important not to [speak up] and I love the Olympic Games, I love them. My husband [Val Bure] is a two-time Olympic medalist, so is my brother-in-law, and my father-in-law is a three-time Olympic medalist,” Cameron Bure, 48, said in a Sunday, July 28, Instagram video. “I have many friends that have competed in Games over the years and it’s something as a kid I have always loved … the Olympic Games have always brought me so much joy.”

She continued, “It’s the best of the best athletes in the world competing for the title, so to watch such an incredible event that’s going to take place over the next two weeks and see the opening ceremonies complexly blasphemed and mock the Christian faith with their interpretation of the Last Supper was disgusting.”

For Cameron Bure, she was disheartened to see the dancers allegedly “mock” her religion.

“It made me so sad and someone said, ‘You shouldn’t be sad. You should be mad about it,’” the Full House alum added. “I’m like, ‘Trust me, it makes me mad, but I’m more sad because I’m sad for souls.’ I pray for my heart to break over what breaks God’s heart and I just think about all the people that have rejected the gospel of Jesus Christ or don’t know the gospel of Jesus Christ. In the Bible, in Galatians, it says, ‘God is not mocked for whatever a person sows he will also reap because the one who sows … will reap destruction from the flesh.’”

When Frank Sinatra sang about “a city that never sleeps”, he probably wasn’t thinking about the economic boost that busy nightlife can provide to a metropolis.

Yet a growing number of cities around the world are increasingly homing in on ways to strengthen their night-time economy.

Around 100 cities now have some form of “night mayor” or “night tsar” in place, to spur this work.

But most of those cities, including London, Sydney, and Sinatra’s beloved New York, are not up all night. In other words, they don’t allow bars and nightclubs to remain open, and serve alcohol, 24 hours a day.

Nonetheless, later this year, Montreal - Canada’s second-largest city - is planning to take the leap into 24-hour nightlife.

Following in the footsteps of Berlin and Tokyo, venues in a new all-night district in Montreal's city centre will be licensed to remain open, and serve alcohol, throughout the night.

City officials say the move will bring in hundreds of millions of dollars in additional revenue. Currently bars and clubs in the city have to close by 3am.

Montreal will become the first city in Canada to allow 24-hour drinking. In Toronto venues have to close by 2am, and it is 3am in Vancouver.

In the US, Las Vegas and New Orleans have long allowed bars and clubs to stay open all night. While in New York the cut off time is 4am, and in Los Angeles it is 2am.

On the other side of the Atlantic, pubs in London still typically close at 11pm. The city does, however, have a handful of nightclubs and bars that stay open all night, thanks to flexible licensing laws.

On a warm Friday evening in July, the centre of Montreal is bustling; busy bars and restaurants line the wide, pedestrianised streets.

“This is an opportunity for economic growth,” says Ericka Alneus, the city councillor behind the 24-hour plan.

“But it’s also to present, and reinforce, the cultural scene.”

It's time for an LGBT to be in one of the top positions of government.

We can't be a diverse country run completely by heterosexuals

I have been listening to Violator a lot lately

What are some other good ones

As someone who hated the Bret Easton Ellis book, I am one of the few who liked the film more.

This film has a similar issue as “The Shining”, where the film strays far away from the source material, upsetting the books author. Ellis loathed this film and sh*t all over it for years, especially Andrew McCarthy and Jami Gertz. He felt they were both miscast and particularly hated Gertz in the film, feeling she gave a terrible performance. 20 years later he actually admitted he finally warmed up to the film and appreciates it, and can finally sit and watch it and enjoys it for what it is. He still feels McCarthy and Gertz were miscast but he feels the bad performance from Gertz feels less bad 20 years later than it did upon its initial release. He always loved RDJ and James Spader in the film and praises their performances to this day. He also says the film is beautiful looking with amazing ambiance (I agree).

Critics also were mixed on it. There were some who liked it and some who hated it, rarely in between. Those who hated it seemed to hate how watered down the film is from the book, but even those who hated it praised Robert Downey Jr’s performance. Most critics sang his praises, along with Spader.

There was also all the behind the scenes drama with the studio, with them hiring and letting go numerous writers as well as Directors. First, they needed someone to write a “coherent” story because they felt the book was incoherent, plus the book was way too dark and tragic to ever be sold as a mainstream film. They needed someone to tone it down to be able to commercialize it. The first writer wrote three different versions before he was fired because his scripts, despite being watered down greatly, were still too dark for the studio heads. He even took away main character Clay’s bisexuality and drug abuse and they still were not happy because he had Clay do drugs in one scene. The studio also wanted Clay to not be amoral and not be passive like he is in the books. So that was changed too.

They then hired the person who did Risky Business but they still were not happy then went with someone else who also wrote three drafts, changing the tone from dark and degrading to a story about warmth and hope and sentiment. Clay was no longer amoral and passive. McCarthy was cast as lead in hopes to bank off his new popularity with teenage girls due to Pretty in Pink. The studio felt he appeals to teenage girls but isn’t a presence who alienates older audiences so he works.

After filming was done it was tested with young people aged 15-24 and RDJ character failed with young people. His character was irredeemable originally, so they rushed to do reshoots to make RDK and Gertz’s characters more repentant as they were initially not repentant of their drug use originally, with Clay playing the straight man to their addictions. They also shot and added the opening scene where they graduate HS to lighten the mood from the start.

What’s the real reason?

Elon don’t care about trannies.

He's constantly being corrected by the locals when he tries to speak their dialect.

This guy is utterly lost, but then again he knows it.

A for effort, I guess. It is cringeworthy to watch, though.

You can feel it in the zeitgeist. You can see it in the way the press is starting to cover him. You can study it in the immediate and overwhelming reaction to Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee.

The MAGATs will ride that bus until the wheels come off, don't get me wrong. But the MAGATs do not have enough votes to get him over the finish line by themselves. They need a certain number of people from the political center -- and yes, it is the ones who happen to reside in a purple state who matter the most -- to come down on his side in order to win.

And it looks like the only thing those people ever wanted was an actual choice.

Now that they have one, it is as clear as f*cking day that Trump is going to lose. Everyone is starting to laugh at him, and that is never a good sign.

I'm 45 and it's been a struggle for the past couple of years. My mental health is failing. I just don't want to do it anymore. I've been considering going on disability until I reach retirement age.

How old were you when you had enough?

A very good copy of this obscurity has cropped up on YouTube and, to quote Stefon, this movie has EVERYTHING.

Wooden John Phillip Law as the titled "love machine"! Dyan Cannon setting fire to a bed and then catfighting two nellie gay men using an Oscar as a bludgeon! "Introducing Jodi Wexler" as the one-named supermodel Amanda ("I'm Amanda. Just Amanda." "Well, that's all you need.") Poor Jodie left right after being introduced and did not become the new Sharon Tate (she never made another movie).

Hideous Seventies interiors! Mincing, scheming hom*osexuals! Shecky f*cking GREENE!

My favorite character is Ethel Evans, the pushy, aging (she's got to be 35!) nympho publicity woman for the IBS network (whose character is introduced with a toilet flush and her breezing out of a stall).

Dionne "Warwicke" sings the love theme ("He's Movin' On") and there's a show with "the fashions of tomorrow" modeled by Amanda and Anitra Ford. Oh, and Jackie appears as a newscaster next to Walter Cronkite. A complete mess and great fun.

I realize that much of his enduring appeal has to do with the fact that he says things no one else dares say that economically disadvantaged white voters are thinking, and that he gives voice to the frustration of those voters who bemoan that there are fewer and fewer of them and so they are demographically on the downturn.

What I don't get is how that can appeal to so MANY people. it's still a very close race, and yet I would think that the number of non-white voters and women voters and gay voters whom his campaign targets and mocks would be enough to overcome that. I also don't understand how many people are okay with the likely chance he would become a dictator in his second term. Don't they understand what that means? or do they just think he's teasing when he makes comments about it?

I can understand how several millions people might find him attractive because of the frustration he represents, but I just don't understand how 44% of likely American voters can feel that way.

I’m generally attracted to hot young white guys. However, one thing that’s a big turn off for me, if the music they predominantly like is hip-hop (50 Cent, Future, Kendrick Lamar, etc).

I’m sorry, but if you enjoy that, you’re trash and have no class or taste. I don’t think we’d have much in common.

Does anyone else feel this way?

I never went to see this when it hit theaters in the Spring of 1982, and only saw part of it when it aired endlessly on HBO throughout the 1980s. I finally recorded this on TCM a few weeks ago and watched it last night - and it was pretty good. It was very well-cast (never knew James Garner could be such a sexy leading man) and well-acted. I don't think it hit the comedy as well as it could have (it was more chuckles than hearty-laughs) . It's been billed as one of the last MGM 'musicals' yet it really isn't a musical (in which at least two characters sing to each other), so it's more like a 'film with music' (such as Streisand's 'A Star Is Born' and 'Yentl'). The movie was first conceived my husband and wife team Blake Edwards and Julie Andrews in 1978, yet took four years to bring to the screen (one reason was Peter Sellers, originally cast as 'Toddy' passed away).

It was nominated for many Oscars, and won one (I think 'best original music'). What do DLrs think ? Has it aged well over 40 years ? Did anyone see the Broadway musical which got mixed reviews in 1995 ?

Here are a few:

Leslie Jones

Gilbert Gottfried

Victoria Jackson

Pete Davidson

Molly Kearney

Jay Mohr

Ever since President Biden ended his reelection bid Sunday, there’s been little doubt about who’s likely to replace him atop the Democratic ticket: Vice President Kamala Harris.

But one mystery remains: Who will Harris recruit as her running mate?

Welcome to the veepstakes. It’s a time-honored Washington tradition. Speculation swirls. Names emerge. Pundits pontificate. Vetting begins. Ultimately, a new political partnership is born.

According to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll, which was conducted from July 19 to 22, Democrats don’t have a clear favorite for the job — yet. When shown a list of potential Harris running mates and asked to “select all” they would “approve of,” a plurality of voters who identify as Democrats or Democratic-leaning independents answered “not sure” (30%) or “none of the above” (6%).

The next-highest finishers were California Gov. Gavin Newsom (30%), Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg (25%) and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (24%) — the most familiar names on the list.

Less prominent — but potentially more realistic — Democratic contenders such as Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (24%), Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly (18%), Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (15%) and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (11%) brought up the rear.

NGL the orderliness is a vibe

Also Breyer’s makes mango?!

Drivers with lead foots, passing on the right. Weaving in and out, right and left. Stopping on main roads to contemplate if the turn into the more forested road is the correct one. Etc.

I've watched and every red light is run by at least one driver and often several.

Is this regional? Is all American road culture like this?

Many people schlep through the strip-plazas on the commercial strips, in zombie like states. To cash out, you have to pass through a winding lane with towering shelves filled with crap and food tempting you to last minute buys. This seems to be in all kinds of stores.

On the up side, workers in the retail and service economy are ostentatiously cheerful and helpful. I ran through Marshalls, TJ Max and Sierra at one plaza and every worker was far, far more polite and helpful than workers were in the 1980s and 90s.

An Indian American 50 or 60 yo woman with heavily accented but perfect English working at the dressing room at Marshalls was so elaborately and genuinely courteous you'd think she was working Evening Dresses at Harvey Nichols! Are they all eating gummies everyday?

What's your highway strip and retail culture like where you live?

For whatever reason, the makeup people flattened the bump in his nose and built up his brow

‘Let’s get Henry Cavill for a cameo and cover him in prosthetics’ is an odd flex

Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, said on Saturday that he had an extramarital affair during his first marriage, years before he met Ms. Harris.

The acknowledgment, which was released in a statement, came hours after a British tabloid reported that Mr. Emhoff had a previously undisclosed relationship with a teacher who worked at the elementary school his children attended in Culver City, Calif., approximately 15 years ago.

At the time, Mr. Emhoff, an entertainment lawyer, was married to Kerstin Emhoff, a film producer, with whom he had two children. The couple filed for divorce in 2009. Mr. Emhoff met Ms. Harris in 2013, and they married the following year.

“During my first marriage, Kerstin and I went through some tough times on account of my actions,” Mr. Emhoff said in the statement. “I took responsibility, and in the years since, we worked through things as a family and have come out stronger on the other side.”

The Biden campaign was aware of the affair before it decided to tap Ms. Harris as vice president in 2020, according to a person familiar with the vetting process, who spoke on condition of anonymity. In addition, this person said that Ms. Harris knew of the affair before she married Mr. Emhoff in 2014.

According to an article published by The Daily Mail on Saturday, Mr. Emhoff had the relationship with a woman who at the time worked as a teacher at The Willows Community School, a private school in west Los Angeles.

The woman, who now lives on Long Island, did not respond to messages seeking comment.

In the years since their divorce, Mr. Emhoff and his ex-wife have frequently referred to each other as friends, and they have said they have worked to raise their children with Ms. Harris, whom they call a “co-parent.”

Ms. Emhoff also has lately defended Ms. Harris. After Senator JD Vance, Republican of Ohio, was named the vice-presidential nominee, critics began resurfacing remarks he made in 2021 claiming the country was run by “childless cat ladies,” including Ms. Harris. Ms. Emhoff called the attacks “baseless” and praised the vice president’s role in her family.

The former couple’s two children, now both adults, have also defended the vice president’s role in their upbringing. Ella Emhoff, in a social media post last week, wrote “how can you be ‘childless’ when you have cutie pie kids like Cole and I,” referring to herself and her brother.

In another statement on Saturday, Ms. Emhoff also addressed her husband’s affair, but stopped short of blaming it for their divorce.

“Doug and I decided to end our marriage for a variety of reasons, many years ago,” Ms. Emhoff said. “He is a great father to our kids, continues to be a great friend to me and I am really proud of the warm and supportive blended family Doug, Kamala and I have built together.”

Mr. Emhoff, who left his law practice when Ms. Harris was elected as President Biden’s vice president, has become an integral and prominent part of Ms. Harris’s political operation. On Friday he co-hosted a fund-raiser on Fire Island for the campaign, along with Chasten Buttigieg, the husband of Pete Buttigieg, the transportation secretary, which the Democratic National Committee said had raised $321,000.

Alexis Ohanian has multiple titles — Serena Williams' husband, Olympia and Adira's dad, founder of Reddit. And now he can add a new one: Serena Williams' "umbrella holder"!

As the couple, along with Olympia, 6, walked along the red carpet at the opening ceremony for the 2024 Paris Olympics, Ohanian dutifully stood behind his wife carrying an umbrella to protect Williams from the pouring rain.

As he walked behind her, a commentator for Eurosport deemed Ohanian her "umbrella holder," not realizing he was Williams' husband.

"She [Serena] looks absolutely incredible. She's got someone just behind us holding an umbrella," commentator Laura Woods said.

"Those are the levels you aspire to. To have an actual umbrella holder behind you."

Woods's mix-up led to hilarious reactions on X, including from Ohanian — who happily reposted one post about the incident from the Tennis Letter.

Idaho's public libraries are causing a stir with a new rule that bans kids from entering. This drastic step comes after conservative lawmakers passed a law targeting "obscene" books.

Now, libraries must either isolate these books or face legal actions from parents.

Idaho libraries now require under-30s to show ID, sparking an online backlash.

...

If a library received a written complaint about a book, the library is forced to relocate a book to an adults-only section within 60 days. The complaint does not have to come from someone living in Idaho. If the library refuses to relocate the materials in question, the complainant could sue in civil court for a fine of at least $250.

The event was held at a mid-Century split level in Connecticut. The guys were all hot and looked decades younger than their age.

The host made a tomato aspic and pineapple salad, which was delicious.

The most important endorsem*nt EVER from Tinseltown’s reigning queen of untruths has finally arrived!

Could a cabinet pick be far behind for our Sharon? 🤔

We enter the second week of the Paris Olympics. We say a sad farewell to the swimming pool and the gymnasium, with track and field taking centre stage in the second half of the games.

The track in the Stade De France is fast - with a World Record for Team USA on the first day in the Mixed 4 X 400 relay heats - so many more may follow.

Lots of potentially fantastic finals - the men's and women's 100: the US Vs Jamaica in both, the 400m flat and hurdles, the men's 1500, and women's pole vault could be standouts. What

Plenty more action taking place across the City of Light, and beyond - cycling in the velodrome and wrestling promise to be eye-catching events.

Continue to celebrate this festival of athletic excess and flesh here!

Your eye candy for this Part. - German Pole Vaulter, Bo Kanda Lira Baehre

Tom Ripley is 31 in Highsmith's 1955 Novel, The Talented Mr. Ripley.

There are five Ripley novels and some have been made into movies with actors of different ages.

Andrew Scott is 47, which pushes some viewers' panties into a moist, acrid bunch.

Matt Damon was 29 and Alain Delon was about 25.

Moving on...

How are you enjoying this series?

Either recorded as she was on the way out of Motown, or more likely at the beginning of her RCA years.

She did this medley in concert during the 80's, including at Central Park.

Has anyone seen this kooky black comedy? Thoughts?

Terry Gilliam has an imagine and it shows in 1985's Brazil. At least the cast is good; Jonathan Pryce, Robert De Niro, Ian Holm, Katherine Helmond, Bob Hoskins, Sir Ian Richardson, Kim Greist, Pater Vaughan, Jim Broadbent, and Michael Palin

What celebs do you think will die in 2024?

Place your guesses in this thread!

My Choices: Henry Fonda And Warren Beatty....They matured into pretty handsome men

My Choices who did not: Tyrone Power and Laurence Olivier. Their pretty boy looks hit the wall by the time they were 40.

If so, tell me...

- Likes

- Dislikes

- Things you wish you'd known before owning it

- Model year and trim

- Turbo vs. non-turbo engine

- What other cars you were looking at when shopping around

With COVID-19 numbers in California spiking this summer, experts are warning the new strains driving the spread could be around for some time.

The latest COVID summertime surge is being fueled by what have collectively been dubbed the FLiRT subvariants — a collection of highly transmissible sibling strains that have muscled their way to prominence both in California and nationwide. In doing so, they've supplanted last winter’s dominant strain, JN.1, and are presenting new challenges to immune systems not yet primed to keep them at bay.

“It does seem like we are spitting out more and more variants a lot more quickly, and that’s probably to be expected,” said Dr. Elizabeth Hudson, regional chief of infectious disease at Kaiser Permanente Southern California. “This virus is still very, very new to humans, and the virus wants to live, and the way that it lives is by evading immunity” — circumventing people’s defenses by evolving in a way to keep the chain of infection going.

And data show the collective FLiRT family is making itself known in a major way.

There are quite a few FLiRT variants, which are descendants of last winter's dominant strain, JN.1. Toward the end of spring, around Memorial Day weekend, that moniker largely applied to just a trio of distinct strains — officially designated KP.1.1, KP.2 and KP.3.

KP.3.1.1 “has really taken off,” Hudson said.

By contrast, the older KP.3 has stagnated. Its share of coronavirus samples was estimated to be 32.9% for the two-week period that ended July 20, down slightly from 33.7% over the prior two-week period.

Those latest CDC estimates mean it's possible that KP.3.1.1 could be "taking over for the next two or three weeks," Hudson said Friday. "So, unfortunately, I think we are going to see a lot more cases."

The coronavirus that causes COVID — officially known as SARS-CoV-2 — is still very new to humans and hasn't settled into the more predictable pattern that public health officials might be aware of for other infectious diseases, such as the flu.

Since emerging in late 2019, the coronavirus has continually evolved in ways meant to evade immune protection. The strains best positioned to infect as many people as possible eventually rise to prominence, a trend that has played out previously in the pandemic with the rise of the Delta and Omicron variants, both of which triggered devastating surges.

As humans gain protection against any particular variant — such as through an updated vaccination or surviving an infection — the virus will seek to evolve in a way to keep the chain of infection going.

"And it may be that this particular summer, we have just seen a lot more of a faster churn of some of the variants, and they've just been a little bit more infective," Hudson said.

It's also true that, with this being the fifth summer of the COVID era, many people have thrown caution to the wind, and many sick people are continuing to go about their lives without masking or other precautions — allowing the virus to more efficiently spread.

[quote]New Yorkers may not all agree on which urban critter is the more fitting symbol for their city — the resilient rat, the nuke-proof co*ckroach or the scrappy pigeon — but the latter may soon have an edge in the form of a 16ft-tall monument perched atop the High Line elevated park on the city’s west side.

Hey, why not?

Michigan’s Alma Cooper, a US Army officer, was named Miss USA on Sunday, becoming the third person to hold the title this year following the shock resignation of 2023’s winner.

“As the daughter of a migrant worker, a proud Afro Latina woman and an officer of the United States Army, I am living the American dream,” she had told judges during a Q&A session at Sunday’s finale. “If there’s anything that my life and my mother have taught me, it’s that your circ*mstances never define your destiny: You can make success accessible through demanding excellence.”

May 29, 2024

Jenna Ellis, a former Trump lawyer who pleaded guilty to charges in the Georgia election interference case, has been barred from practicing law in Colorado for the next three years.

A Colorado judge on Tuesday approved a deal between Ellis and the state's Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel for the suspension of her law license. (Ellis, a Colorado native, was admitted to the state bar in 2011 and had occasionally practiced there.) She initially faced the possibility of disbarment, but the state agency noted in the stipulation that Ellis had recognized the harm she caused and expressed remorse for her actions, and that she acted "as an accessory, not as a principal" in the efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.

In a letter written as part of the agreement, Ellis said that she "genuinely believed that the election challenges were made in good faith" but that she was "overly zealous" in accepting claims of election fraud.

"Had I done my duty in investigating these alleged facts before promoting them as the truth, I do not believe I would be here," Ellis added. "I turned a blind eye to the possibility that senior lawyers for the Trump Campaign were embracing claims they knew or should have known were false. I just went along with it. I was wrong."

Ellis was one of 19 co-defendants, including former President Donald Trump, indicted in the Georgia election interference case. (Trump has pleaded not guilty.) In October, Ellis pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting false statements and writings.

She now joins the ranks of other former Trump lawyers who have faced professional consequences for their involvement in the various 2020 election fraud schemes. Included on that list is John Eastman, whose law license has been suspended as he fights disbarment in California, and Rudy Giuliani, whose New York law license was suspended in 2021 and who now faces potential disbarment in Washington, D.C.

He won his second straight Olympic gold medal in record-breaking style.

Watch the video--it was a thrilling pole vault! And apparently, he has a smaller penis than Anthony Ammirati of France.

A helpful clue is the "AMOR" tattoo. I was asked to help ID it, but I have no idea. I figured someone here might know.

NSFW, of course.

Artistic swimming, known as synchronized swimming before a name change in 2017, has a long and complicated history when it comes to male participation.

One American swimmer, 45-year-old Bill May, had hoped his Olympic dream would finally be realized in Paris, but he was not ultimately selected for the Team USA squad announced in June.

However, male competitors were later seen to be at odds with the sport due to certain physical characteristics: They were heavier, less flexible – finding leg extensions more difficult – and less buoyant than their female counterparts.

“Blows,” get it? Har har.

Hey, does anyone know where DJT Junior is today?

I know that Celine's performance was covered in the previous Olympic thread. However, for those who have not seen Celine perform, it's mind-blowing.

Take a moment to see this powerhouse performance of Edith Piaf’s 'Hymne à L’amour' (Hymn to Love).

Celine, welcome back to the world stage! C'est Magnifique!

Keep f–ing moving. I’m not joking around!” a family heard after a rich, white woman decided the area of the beach they were lounging in was part of her property and proceeded to rope off the public area while shouting and hurling insults.

This latest example of “Karen” behavior was captured on a TikTok clip and uploaded on July 19, 2024, garnering close to 50,000 likes and 4,000 comments at the time of writing.

The TikTok video of the incident gained nearly 50,000 likes and 4,000 comments, sparking outrage and discussion about beach ownership laws.

In California, everything below the mean high tide line is public, meaning the homeowner was wrong in claiming the area as private.

“We were never on her property at all,” affirmed uploader Rosie, confirming that the incident took place in Laguna Beach, California, a state where all beaches are public waterward of the mean high tide line.

After noticing the family lounging in what the “Karen” believes is part of her property, she bursts out of her home with a spool of thick, white string in her hands, intending to ward off the area and get the “intruders” off her land.

She then throws the item toward the sand while screaming insults and ordering the family to leave.

“You’re on my property. Get moving now. Now you’re in my property line. Move it!” she shouts, prompting the family to respond. “Ma’am, we’re walking,” to which the homeowner replied, “Pretty f–ing slow.”

Alongside the outrage caused by the woman’s rude attitude, the TikTok clip also generated discussion about who actually owns that area of the beach.

Apparently, he didn’t die when Harrison shot him (?)

Watch Michael C. Hall try to contain his excitement and not say “I need the money.”