Trash Talk: The Trashiest Talk Ever Trashed
[NB: check the byline, thanks. /~Rayne]
I’m braced for the crabbing sure to come with this post: “But this is Trash Talk, it’s supposed to be about sports!”
Uh, it’s TRASH talk, which is talk about trash. Not all trash is exclusively about sports.
There are also more sports than those contained on a field or played with a ball, for that matter. Like the sport of celebrity watching — just ask Golf Magazine.
This week’s Trashiest Trash Talk covers the intersection between sports trash and celebrity trash — when popular performer in Entertainment Industry A meets popular performer in Entertainment Industry B and begins dating.
~ ~ ~
Travis Kelce, tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, has something going on with mega pop star Taylor Swift.
In case you have not been on the planet the past few weeks, here’s what’s been happening: Kelce, who plays for the Kansas City Chiefs, confessed awhile back to his brother Jason Kelce, who plays for the Philadelphia Eagles, that he had unsuccessfully tried to slide his digits to Swift via a friendship bracelet at the Kansas City stop of her “Eras” concert tour.
People became invested. Travis Kelce later said he “threw the ball in her court” and told Swift, “I’ve seen you rock the stage in Arrowhead. You might have to come see me rock the stage in Arrowhead and see which one’s a little more lit.”
Plot twist: Swift showed up at his game last Sunday and sat in a suite next to his mom. Swift and Kelce – now known as “Tayvis,” “Traylor,” “Swelce” or “K. Swift,” depending upon who you ask – even left the game via Kelce’s convertible. Photos have since surfaced of the two of them together looking quite chummy.
It’s not an unbelievable pairing. Both Kelce and Swift are 33 years old, Kelce being only a couple months older than Swift. They’re from neighboring Rust Belt states; Kelce is from Westlake, OH and Swift was from West Reading, PA. They both have established careers and aren’t hurting for money or attention though Swift’s income is far greater by a dizzying magnitude.
Unsurprisingly, the internet has gone bonkers about this couple. Kelce already had a good size fanbase because of his achievements on the field (“one of the greatest tight ends in NFL history (top five, to be exact). He’s also won two Super Bowls, has 825 receptions for 10,000+ yards, and 71 career touchdowns“) and appearances off the field (star of E! Entertainment’s Catching Kelce reality TV dating show as well as advertising appearances).
And then there are Swift’s Swifties — a legendary massive fandom who’ve followed her work as far back as 2004.
Will any of the buzz around this pair do anything for NFL football? Many football fans may find all the hoopla a distraction from the sport. But it’s possible a new audience and a new generation of football fans may emerge from this pop culture convergence.
There are already multiple articles with explainers about football aimed at Swifties.
Imagine what Swifties could do to ticket and merch sales this season given the size of Swift’s audiences like the one in Kansas City which set the “Tayvis” buzz in motion. Kelce himself could earn another $5-$10 million this year; his merchandise sales exploded by 400% last weekend thanks to the “Taylor Swift effect.”
Given Taylor’s has already met and been hanging with Kelce’s mom at the game last weekend, this is going to be this season’s personality angle to watch.
There’s just one problem — a rather ugly downside. If this couple doesn’t last, you can expect a crash spread across entertainment media and yet another mega hit record complete with breakup song about a tight end.
Swift is expected at MetLife Stadium tomorrow night to watch Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs against the New York Jets. Kickoff is at 8:20 p.m. ET.
The NFL has already been capitalizing on this in its promotions, of course. Can hardly wait for the breakup song swatting that kind of opportunism.
~ ~ ~
Speaking of Taylor Swift, the pop star deployed her own “Taylor Swift effect” for the benefit of democracy this week:
“…Just days after Swift urged Swifties to register to vote on National Voter Registration Day in an Instagram Story, shocker, they listened and signed up to do their civic duty in record numbers.
On Wednesday (Sept. 20), Vote.org’s communications director, Nick Morrow, wrote on X (fka Twitter) that Swift’s plea resulted in a tidal wave of new registrations. “Fun fact: after @taylorswift13 posted on Instagram today directing her followers to register to vote on @votedotorg, our site was averaging 13,000 users every 30 minutes. 13!” he revealed, noting the cosmic coincidence of the bump coalescing with the singer’s favorite number. …”
More of this kind of opportunism, please and thanks!
~ ~ ~
In other sports news —
• The 44th Ryder Cup’s Day 2 just wrapped. As a family member concisely put it after yesterday’s golf matches wrapped up, “Team USA got waxed!” Team Europe led the US as they teed off this morning at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club near Rome, Italy; they hung onto their lead through the end of play today. It’s not looking good for Team US this year.
• Green Bay Packers sent a message to their ticketholders encouraging them to resell their tickets to Packers’ fans after this Thursday night’s game when the Detroit Lions won 34–20, propelling a sea of blue jersey-wearing Lions fans onto Lambeau Field. Apparently the sight got Packers’ dander up more than the Lions’ holding the Pack to a mere total 27 yards rushing.
• As anticipated, MSU Spartan’s head coach Mel Tucker was fired this week for his “inappropriate and unprofessional conduct” relating to interaction with a sex abuse prevention activist. Tucker has indicated he’ll sue MSU for wrongful termination.
~ ~ ~
Bring your trash here; consider this an open thread.
I’m working on a playlist for folks who aren’t Swifties. Check this comment again shortly for a link.
UPDATE: This is a link to a YouTube playlist of Swift’s most popular songs — https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmiFHDDzvzeTZGhKB4WeiSIU4BRTZmTOJ
List here in order of popularity, most to least (they’re reversed on the YouTube playlist):
Anti-Hero
Blank Space
Shake It Off
Look What You Made Me Do
We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
All Too Well
Willow
Cardigan
Bad Blood
I can’t believe at least two of these videos racked up more than three billion views each! Imagine if the music industry paid its artists the way it used to before the advent of Napster and streaming reduced compensation to fractions of a cent.
I hope for Kelce’s sake he hasn’t already inspired a lyric like “Oh, my God, look at that face, You look like my next mistake.“
Along with the Detroit Motor City Kittehs, Taylor Swift is the best thing about this NFL season so far.
I was so ecstatic to learn about Taylor’s encouragement for voter registration! One Republican commented that Taylor’s popularity explains the decline of our society.
So, Keep on doing that, Taylor! Thank you!
No kidding! I know Swift is a pop star, which I rarely pay attention to, but she seems pretty cool and fun.
and smart, really smart and with incredible people skills as well.
Smart, yes. Thoughtful, too.
Since “Ohio,” Neil Young’s been a great standard-bearer for numerous good political causes, and I WAY prefer his music to Taylor Swift’s, but I can’t imagine many young folks are listening to him. Taylor Swift, on the other hand, has their rapt attention, so I hope she’ll continue to be a force for democracy and fairness long after Neil is gone. Ol’ Shakey is no stranger to the celebrity trash intersection—he and Daryl Hannah have been dating since ’14 and married since ’18.
Keep on Rocking in the Free World!
While Neil Young has “been a great standard-bearer for numerous good political causes” beginning when American men were drafted into an illegal war, a young woman like Swift gives voice to an audience Young didn’t represent.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqAJLh9wuZ0
The rapt attention you’re referring to is that of mostly women.
I should point out Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young did a cover of a feminist song writer’s work ‘Woodstock’ which she released on her album ‘Ladies of the Canyon’ in 1970. Funny how you laud Neil Young but not Joni Mitchell who is one of the artists on whose shoulders Swift stands.
Nothing wrong with Joni, Rayne—she’s one of the greatest songwriters of all time. Also a very influential guitarist—Joni’s alternate tunings really opened some ears & minds, including Neil Young’s. And undoubtedly, Joni has included political and human rights messages in her songwriting. As an artist, she’s every bit as good as Neil, and even better in some ways.
As a matter of musical taste, however, I prefer Neil Young’s music to Joni Mitchell’s.
I do like to see power couple Darneil (Neiryl? Hanyoung?) out there protesting vigorously, most recently in February of this year in BC at a rally to support old growth forests.
The Kid has decided that he doesn’t want to be a Chefs fan, as that feels too easy and simple. So before the first game of the season, he announced that he was rooting for the Kittehs.
Then in that first game, the Kittehs beat the Chefs.
Mrs Dr Peterr did not take it well.
I’m with The Kid. Go Kittehs!
The Chefs would be a great name for a football team.
Thank you, Rayne. I’ve been a bit miffed that all of the “explainers” have been toward the Swift fans. WTF? It feels like mansplaining at best and misogyny at worst.
OTOH, given Taylor’s huge pop culture presence maybe no one needs an explainer on who Taylor Swift is, what she does, how many hit records and sold out concert tours she’s had.
LOL Yeah, the mansplaining is much, but it’s yet another example of the opportunism chasing the “Taylor Swift effect.”
As for a Taylor Swift explainer: Welcome to the Swiftpedia, home of the Taylor Swift wiki.
Especially true outside the USA. The whole world knows who Taylor Swift is and what she does. I have no clue what a “tight end” is, had never heard of Travis Kelce, and only have the vaguest notion of who the Kansas City Chiefs might be.
Add Exile to that list? A+ songwriting, singing, lyrics, ambience and feel.
Didn’t make the Top Ten. Not my call.
RollingStone uses their own judgment when ranking Swift’s songs: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/taylor-swift-songs-ranked-rob-sheffield-201800/all-too-well-2012-2-204850/
With all due respect to Rob Sheffield, he’s a great writer but not a musician nor a song-writer.
“This Could Be The Start Of Something Big”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj5IAzbkVvw
I’ve heard about her forever, but never heard any music I knew was hers. Her GOTV efforts got my attention, and this after she took bull by the horns when Ticketmaster screwed up one of her shows.
YouTube search I chose first: You need to calm down. Think I watched it 10 times, really good (really good) and got my foot going. Also enjoyed watching her 2022 NYU Commencement Address.
Doing good things in the world, Living life to the fullest. Good for her!!!
Ahhh, really think “You Gotta Calm Down” needs to be on that play list, especially the video.
That one didn’t crack the Top Ten, sorry. It’s not my opinion but based on streaming and sales.
ADDER: should qualify the Top Ten I’ve put into the playlist are according to Billboard: https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/taylor-swift-all-hot-100-top-10-anti-hero-1235163664/
And let’s not forget, she started out in Country and crossed over to pop!
https://youtu.be/jYa1eI1hpDE
She’s still a bit too country for my tastes. I like the stuff she does which is more solidly indie pop — like Karma from her latest album Midnights. It’s a bit more exploratory.
A little bit of a flip, but back when he was hip and before being identified as an abuser by his then-wife (Mandy Moore), Ryan Adams covered Swift’s entire album, *1979*.
I bought it late and only heard it a cuppla times because of the crap above but I remember it being pretty, surprisingly cool.
He’s performing again, but I haven’t listened to him again.
I rarely watch tv and almost never listen to the radio. I had no idea Taylor Swift existed until the sexual assault case a few years back. I clicked on the link you provided and it was the first time I’ve ever heard her sing.
Having said that, her ability to get people to the polls makes me a fan. Even Hannity knows MAGA is causing themselves problems and wants them to back off. I hope they don’t and the Swifties show up in force at the polls next year.
From the “You learn something new every day department”: there is actually a sport call extreme ironing. I wonder what trash talk sounds like in that competition. Here is the article in Der Spiegel:
https://www.spiegel.de/panorama/extrembuegel-wm-bis-die-eisen-gluehen-a-214698.html
I think I cleaned the link properly. Apologies if I goofed
I believe in extreme ironing, trash talk is referred to as “steaming.”
Das is “dampfend” aur Deutch.
Pröst!
That is wild! Ironing while suspended on the side of a cliff? Ironing in a tree?
In “Halting State”, by Charlie Stross, there’s one called “extreme knitting”.
Is Madame Defarge in the Extreme Knitting Hall of Fame?
I don’t know. (I recommend that book. It’s funny. Two programmers get hired to investigate a bank robbery in a massive online game. By a bunch of orcs with a dragon for fire support.
Since we are talking trash, I will reveal that I have determined what TFG’s pronoun is-
MINE!
Makes me think of the seagulls — ye olde sky rats — in Disney’s Finding Nemo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4BNbHBcnDI
I fell out of love with seagulls when they tried to have Tippi Hedren and Rod Taylor for dinner.
It’s sad you didn’t flock back to them in the early 80’s.
I ran.
…looking for Jonathan Livingstone, I presume.
Yep! As you know, he never falters, never stalls.
Find out what you already know, Grasshopper.
Rod Taylor! I once helped restore an old car he drove in either a movie or TV. The Birds were hella nasty. Most movie theaters back then were not huge screens, but my mother and I saw it at the Palms, which had a HUGE screen and equal sound system. It was scary as hell. Can still picture it, and the abject fear.
Don’t go into the upstairs bedroom alone, without telling someone.
Nor even outside.
Unless you’re getting the Aston DB4 ready for a quick getaway. Pity it’s only a soft top.
I had a flower shop in 1990. It was supposed to be a business, but instead ended up being a very expensive hobby.
The highlight of that experience was that Tippi was one of my customers. She is a very lovely lady, still with us at age 93.
Here’s a trash acronym: IDJT. It’s the first four words Trump spoke at his 2017 Inauguration.
I want to talk trash about media coverage of the stopgap resolution votes and the substance of the bills in these votes. Does anyone have a scoop on a source that explains exactly when Ukraine aid will end if the House bill passes the Senate? I thought I read somewhere that even currently allocated money for Ukraine is frozen at 12:01 am tonight if the government shut down. Now that the House bill has passed without Ukraine aid and is in the Senate, I can’t find that story and internet searches are not being very helpful.
OK, this just posted at the Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/09/30/ukraine-aid-government-shutdown/
It doesn’t completely answer my questions, but it still does seem that as of 12:01 am, Ukraine is SOL for funds from the United States.
“‘If you’re telling the American people with a straight face you will shut down the American government over Ukraine, then shame on you,’ [Rep. Michael Lawler (R-N.Y.)] said.”
Shame on you, Rep. Lawler, for forcing that to be a choice.
Brought to you by the Grovelers Of Putin.
Sen. Bennet (D-CO) held up the Senate vote until he got a written promise to consider Ukraine funding at the earliest opportunity.
Rumor is that Andretti motorsport may have had their bid to field an F1 team approved.
Rodin motors alluded to it in announcing that their bid had been declined.
Yes, it is presumptively approved. Though the team will be run by Michael, who was such a bad driver that he could not even make it through one F1 season before being fired summarily.
They really really want the American market. A lot of the teams didn’t like the idea so there must have been some arm twisting going on. A lot of the resistance took the form of “Go away boorish American”. Dilution always was a straw man argument. I think the midfield teams didn’t want an entrant that could muster the resources of a Mercedes or Red Bull. As for teams like Haas, it was the realization that when you’re already sucking hind teat there is only one place left.
DC is acting like a dead city this week. I went to the passport office on Friday to get an expedited passport. No cars on the streets, got street parking right across from the agency entrance. No line–in and out in 25 minutes! Decided to go out for dinner last night — no one in the pubs, bars, etc. No waiting. Ended up at Rita, the new Ukrainian Restaurant in DC. Now that one was packed! But only had to wait 8 minutes. Great, great food. Authentic borscht, varenyky (pierogi), holubtsi (stuffed cabbage), derby (potato pancakes). Outstanding!
Years ago, in grad school in NYC, we would eat so cheaply at the Unkrainian Home on 2nd Ave & 10th Street. Really homemade meals for around $5. It was our default date place.
arghh — that’s RUTA, the Ukrainian restaurant in DC. Fantastic place, amazing food, great conversation.
I’m guessing that everyone in DC was either (a) working late to try to resolve the stalemate on The Hill or working late in other federal offices to wind things up before midnight tonight, or (b) not going out because they were looking to save their money in anticipation of not getting a paycheck for God knows how long.
Glad you were able to enjoy your Friday night!
Reports say the House passed a 45-day CR. No UKR money. Nothing yet on Senate action. Tick, tick, tick…
Thanks, Peter. Yes, I think everyone is in prepare status.
We’re headed to CZ for 2-3 weeks. I’m practicing konjugace sloves i skloňování.
When speaking of Kelce’s off-field work in entertainment, you left out his hosting SNL last winter. In TV Insider’s list of the best episodes of the season, here’s what they said about Kelce’s appearance:
One of the things that adds to the connection of Kelce and Swift is their separate connections to the Iggles. She has apparently been a big fan since forever, and more than a few folks here in KC thought that she’d have to ask Donna Kelce for one of those two-sided Chefs/Iggles jerseys that Donna wore at the
KelceSuper Bowl.That’s another thing that this relationship may have going for it. The Kelce clan understands celebrity. Whether it was watching Momma Kelce become the very down-to-earth off-field star of the Super Bowl, or simple existing as Patrick Mahomes #1 target on the field and watching Mahomes deal with his own massive celebrity status, Travis has seen and experienced what it means to be recognized wherever you go — and did that before his relationship with Taylor started. From Taylor’s POV, I can imagine that sitting next to Momma Kelce in the luxury box had to be fun, because of Donna’s recent star turn at the Super Bowl. Made me wonder how many mothers of her ex-boyfriends she ever met, and how much experience they may or may not have had with celebrity life.
Is there a Mr Kelce ? I don’t recall seeing him mentioned ?
There is, Ed, but he is much less in the spotlight.
SNL is replaying the Kelce episode tonight. (Central Time Zone here, so it hasn’t started yet for me.)
Thanks for the heads up. Sadly, it doesn’t look like it’s playing on NBC via YouTube TV. I had to break out the TV antenna and re-scan the local digital broadcast stations to locate the local NBC affiliate just now. Whew, at least it looks like it’ll be worth the hassle!
We’ll be headed over to watch our daughter sail this afternoon, then half a dozen sailors will be staying over here tonight. They’ll be happy as long as they beat the hosts. Speaking of which I should go check the standings.
I’m glad that Swift is turning her power to getting people registered to vote. If it makes conservative heads explode, so much the better.
She’s been doing this for years, but it is picking up more and more steam these days. Here’s a piece from 2018 about it.
MAGA may just try to Swift Boat her…
Two people would kill MAGA if they did: Swift and Beyonce. Which would make it pretty fun if they tried.
Now there’s a ticket I could really get behind!
Today is Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
Unfortunately, other commitments prevent me from attending public events but I don’t want to let the day pass without comment.
A friend recently reminded me that those who walk in privilege (which in our country is all whites of settler heritage, males even more so, and cis-gendered most especially, whether or not they realize/acknowledge it) have responsibility to use their power to intervene on behalf of the less powerful. Continuing to learn about the history (and continuing systemic racism and sexism) is also important.
Often the learning is painful and can inspire guilt and helplessness.
I want to offer some learning that I found joyful and inspiring: the amazing and little known contributions of indigenous musicians to popular music including blues, jazz, rock, metal and hip-hop.
Though I consider myself fairly educated on 20th century (American) music, I learned a lot!
I highly recommend the documentary ‘Rumble’ available on Netflix and perhaps y-tube.
Check it out! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumble:_The_Indians_Who_Rocked_the_World
Bonus tune from some favorite indigenous rockers; Buffy Sainte-Marie & Tanya Tagaq “You Got To Run (Spirit Of The Wind)”: https://youtu.be/o5zb0WTSLsY
Thanks! For some recent indigenous Canadian contributions to other kinds of music – check out Jeremy Dutcher (Wolastoq tenor, composer, … ) https://youtube.com/watch?v=7wtB-XN3pqI
and Cris Durksen (Cree cellist, singer-songwriter) https://youtube.com/watch?v=AGHhwM5X43k
October 3rd is Germany’s reunification anniversary, Unity Day, in connection with Canada’s Truth & Reconciliation Day.
It seems relevant that many countries have things to look at and and to continually re-evaluate.
That some attempt to do it more than we here in the US do is admirable.
Maybe some day our country will have a day of remembrance and setting records straight, of righting wrongs, and being truthful about our fulsome myths and legends of superiority.
Not sure if this is appropriate for a Trash Talk thread, but figured I’d ask anyway…
Seems to me, if we keep letting the GOP idly destroy all the people who believe in and support law-based governance, without making at least as concerted an effort to counter their efforts and support their victims, then us Dems aren’t meaningfully better. Discussing Lesley Wolf’s plight in the other thread reminded me of this, but didn’t feel “on-topic” for there, so doing it here instead.
What (if anything) is being done in national-scale terms about providing centralized aid, support, and security for the many, many casualties of the GOP Outrage Grift Complex? Is there any nationally-organized or at least -networked effort to help their victims push back against the security threats, push back against the destruction of their careers and livelihoods, perhaps even (eventually) give their antagonists cause to worry ahead of their actions that the means may bankrupt the ends? An obvious strategic plus is that doing so enables broad enumeration and tracking of GOP actors and proxies engaged in such efforts, providing support and intelligence for legal counters and law-enforcement actions.
Honestly asking, I don’t know of anything like a national-scoped or -networked effort along such lines, and such an organization/effort has seemed warranted since Gingrich days. De-fanging their threats, admittedly a long-term hope at best, would also be a very effective way to dissipate their leverage over others.
Even for those that can afford legal support for their cause, there’s still no guarantee they’ll ever receive any damages — witness the direction of the Freeman/Moss efforts.
It’d be wrong for me to imply Giuliani and his pals are hiding assets for the purpose of avoiding legal judgements against him, so I’ll just say I find it interesting how he’s allegedly destitute yet it doesn’t appear to impact his daily lifestyle much. There’s little reason to believe he’ll ever be held accountable for even a fraction of the harm he’s caused Freeman and Moss, particularly given his age and deterioration.
Meanwhile, Freeman’s and Moss’ prior lives and careers are harmed beyond recognition, their financial future direly uncertain, and their emotional trauma unending. I see no reason to think there aren’t a long line of extremist bad actors gleeful to worsen Freeman’s and Moss’ lives indefinitely. They deserve better, as do the many, many others in similar (or worse) positions.
We need it to become well-known that there are even more good people who will continue to help those on the receiving end of such harm, and ensure those causing that harm pay for their actions. Do that reliably enough, and it eventually neutralizes the fear and uncertainty the GOP extremists use as a weapon to silence so many.
“What (if anything) is being done in national-scale terms about providing centralized aid, support, and security for the many, many casualties of the GOP Outrage Grift Complex?”
There’s a panoply of nonprofits which fill the gaps left by the hollowing-out of government services and small businesses. One of the problems the left faces is a fragmentation of its attention and resources supporting this panoply, in part because these smaller entities encourage single-issue ideologies instead of a more systemic approach (see discussion in Crashing the Gates c. 2006)
The answer isn’t spinning wheels on trying to build a better nonprofit/NGO to provide aid to those damaged by the GOP’s cannibalistic fascism. The answer is concentrating all of our energy into removing the GOP from office everywhere and anywhere, because it’s government at local, state, and federal levels which should be the safety net to aid those the GOP’s spectacularly shitty policies delivered through its inability to govern. Better government is the correct response to the damage wreaked by the GOP Outrage Grift Complex — government which discourages and prosecutes fraud, restrains attacks on public servants, enforces the laws we already have including those supporting the right to vote.
But we’re not going to get that better, holistic government as long as we’re waiting for solutions someone else develops outside government while we sit on our hands. What are YOU doing to hold our existing government accountable for not protecting others from GOP’s fascistic ravaging? Everyone of us has a role and is needed. What are you doing?
This, this, 1000x this!
Me? In terms of pro-Dem (and pro-dem) political efforts, giving probably more than I can afford, and contributing more time/effort than probably healthy.
Anyway, message received, I’ll drop it.
I put my name in for an election worker slot. First time in NC. We may be facing chaotic scenarios per a pending, highly ugly GOP election boards bill. But I respect the current county election staff, so giving it a go.
Good for you!
Thank you very much for taking an active role in the democratic process.
I’m a football and tennis guy at heart. ButI gotta put in a brief good word for the glorious season the Orioles have put together, with the farm system peaking right alongside the Camden Yard crew. We’ll see whst kind of psyroll we csn support over the next few years, but that is for another day. Extra special since the Director of Player Development and his family live just a few doors down in my still-very-diverse rowhouse neighborhood near the Hopkins medical campus; I love their faith and investment in the city proper. Not sure about the Braves, but we really oughta be able to earn the first World Series games ever at the Yard.
…If only bittersweet since Brooks Robinson departed. R.I.P.
Hey, bmaz, are the Card-birds going to follow the SunDevils and succumb to another Bay Area team tomorrow ?
Probably.
Red Bull gives you wings. Or two. Or three.
Seriously, the man has become hazardous to anyone near him. I’ve heard online commentators calling him the mad bomber or Checo the terrorist.
Red Bull in Europe is better tasting than the Red Bull in America. Different recipe. The American version taste like chemicals, the European version tasted like fruit punch.
Just checked ingredients for Netherlands and US —
Netherlands — Ingredients: Carbonated water, sucrose, glucose, food acid (citric acid), taurine (0.4%), acidity regulator (sodium carbonates, magnesium carbonate), caffeine (0.03%), vitamins, aromas, coloring (caramel).
US (via Amazon) — Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Sucrose, Glucose, Citric Acid, Taurine, Sodium Citrate, Magnesium Carbonate, Caffeine, Inositol, Niacinamide, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine HCI, Vitamin B12, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Colors.
I think inositol is a possible difference. Rather a shame the EU label doesn’t require vitamin content to be spelled out or we’d know if inositol is missing in the EU version. Conversely, it’d be nice if US labeling required disclosing percentages of eac vitamin additive.
At one point Red Bull was banned in France because it contained taurine but that’s no longer the case IIRC. You might also keep in mind canning may also contribute differences to flavoring; no idea if EU has different specifications for canning.
So do I need to explain who “Apple Scruffs” are/were?
Thus ends the spectacular free-fall of the San Francisco Giants — with the firing of the manager who merely put into play the personnel he was given. While I was lukewarm about Gabe Kapler — it didn’t appear that the players were buying what he was selling — I believe he is the scapegoat for the poor performance of a team that was looking forward to their off season.
I wish I enjoyed football more — I hear the 9ers are supposed to hand the Cards their tuckuses tomorrow.
Come on in Tracy Lynn ! The Niner water is very warm and there is a terrific young quarterback to watch.
Yeah, Purdy is truly an exciting young QB, isn’t he? He arrived with no real hype but seems to be the real deal.
As predicted here on this fine blog back in 2018.
Whoa bmaz !! You did what 31 NFL teams were incapable of !! It also shows that the combine is of minimal use in actually finding players who can play, not just put up fancy statistics.
I think that Purdy’s success is going to remind NFL teams that there is not a good substitute for experience [see Aaron Rodgers behind Brett Favre].
He was legend here in high school. And had a fine career at Iowa State. Can’t believe he was not drafted before the last pick.
Props, bmaz, props! I remembered that entry once I reread it today. Terrific prognostication.
I like that Taylor re-recorded her first set of albums whose publishing rights were sold and she not in charge of. To combat that, she re-recorded the albums and owns THOSE rights.
Taylor Swift is in charge of her own destiny. Good for her.
I started to write this really long thing about Damian Lillard getting traded to the Bucks, but it was getting out of hand. There’s a lot of content out there on it in traditional sports media discussing the traditional drama between player, agents, and teams, but I’d point you to this piece which I think captures the complex emotional energy from the fan’s perspective:
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-commentary/damian-lillard-trade-portland-trail-blazers-milwaukee-bucks-giannis-antetokounmpo-1234834090/
The thing I do want to add though is that Blazer fans have been suffering through the ranting of insufferable Heat fans, bloggers, and local Miami sports radio personalities who insist that they are the victims of a villainous Portland front office that refuses to give them the superstar player they are entitled to receive.
Though we’re of course heartbroken over losing our franchise superstar after eleven years, a lot of fans are truly happy to see Dame go to the Bucks even if it wasn’t his first choice. There are a number of former and much loved Blazers who are part of the Bucks now. Dame and Giannis Antetokounmpo are two of the most famously “Nice Guys” of the league, and putting them together will provide Damian a real shot at winning a Championship that most fans feel he earned a long time ago.
Perhaps most importantly, in the pettiest way possible, is the schadenfreude. On Reddit, on ex-Twitter and in the Miami Heat blogosphere, Heat fans are apoplectic. The first four of the five stages of grief hit them all at once. Conspiracy theories compete with breathless insistence that they never really wanted him all that much anyway. They are, at least for now, immeasurably more bitter at losing the guy they never had than we are at this point. I know we’re not being our best selves but oh.. the delicious tears of the Miami fans.
Think a lot of folks here, well at least me, feel the same way about Ayton. It is sad, but he really needed a reset with a different franchise. Now he has that. I hope the folks in Portland give him that shot. But it was time.
LOL sounds like all the drama around Lillard would make a marvelous point of focus for a fan studies paper.
Speaking of said trade, The Boston Celtics just acquired Jrue Holiday from the Blazers. That didn’t take long.
With Anfernee Simons, Scoot Henderson, and Shaedon Sharpe, the guard minutes are all booked for guys 25-and-under. There was no chance we’d hang onto Jrue and he was left out of the “welcome new guys!” announcements. We didn’t know if he could get flipped so quickly but here we are.
Trade Damian (and parts) for Ayton, Jrue, and picks. Trade Jrue for Brogdon and picks. We fully expect Brogdon to get flipped as well, with the Clippers seeming like a likely destination (they almost traded for him last season).
The fanbase here is very divided on Ayton. There’s definitely a glass half-full/half-empty thing going. Monty Williams was an assistant here and has a lot of legacy respect so that leads people to be suspicious of Ayton’s attitude and motor. OTOH you look at his FIBA play this summer and it’s easy to see why he was taken #1. I think as long as he gets his diet of offensive touches that he’ll stay engaged, and I see no reason why he won’t.
I think you guys will be happy with Nurkic in spite of him not being the guy he was prior to his 2019 leg fracture. He sets monster screens, passes very well out of the high post, and is a better rebounder than Ayton.
I feel like some grad student at Portland Sate has already started working on this.
As is their won’t, after being spurned by the object of their desire, Reactionaries decided Taylor Swift is ugly and stupid, and her music sucks and they should probably kill her. Now, one of the Incel rightwing domestic terrorists might get the idea in their heads to try to kill her for helping get Swifties registered to Vote and for Kelce has helped give the DEATHJAB to so many babies.
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I can’t speak knowledgably about football.
When the Hunter Biden thing started, I found another American on the Burisma board of directors and he is J. Cofer Black, R-CIA, who’s also served as board chairman. Yet, I haven’t seen Black’s name mentioned nor if he’d been questioned about Hunter during their time on the board.
As board members of a foreign corporation, do members meet each other/sit for meetings in person? Do they get to know the other board members?
I’ve been deadly curious about J. Cofer Black.
Black is a very interesting board member, but the media won’t spend a lot of time on him because he’s not the son of a Democratic former VP/current POTUS.
It would be nice to know if there were any links to Erik Prince via Black and his Burisma board membership.
I also find it odd that WBUR did a piece on Black in October 2020. What odd timing; was it just because of a book tour for author Chris Whipple?
Black, apparently, was who introduced Joel Zamel to Erik Prince. And according to Zamel’s wiki, in addition to whatever work Zamel may or may not have done for the Trump campaign, his firms have done work for Deripaska and Dmitry Rybolovlev (the man who bought a Florida home from Trump for $95M.) Then there is all that suspicious stuff with the Saudis and UAE that we’ll never know for sure, as well as the Flynn, Bannon and George Nader activity.
It’s connections like these which make me wish the Notable Names Database (nndb.com) hadn’t become inert once Adobe Flash went end-of-life. What else would surface if known connections were all drawn into place?
Holy crap !! Black’s wiki is enough to make your hair curl.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cofer_Black
The WBUR piece just brought back my loathing of W with a flood of nausea. Again the question about him, ‘stupid or evil’ is answered with a Yes.
I should have also said that Condi Rice is right there with him.
Always, always, always.
There she is! Always right, that wonderful kid.
Thanks. I didn’t know that. I’m sure Mr. Black can’t wait to step onto the public podium and clear up this little misunderstanding. /s
“Yet, I haven’t seen Black’s name mentioned nor if he’d been questioned about Hunter during their time on the board.”
From the Wikipedia link that Molly Pitcher posted below about Cofer Black:
‘In February 2017, the Ukrainian oil and gas corporation Burisma announced the addition of Black to the company’s board of directors, leading the company’s security and strategic development efforts.
‘In the wake of the Hunter Biden email controversy, a report from The Wall Street Journal associated Black’s role at the firm with a group of “well-connected operatives in Washington to help persuade Ukrainian prosecutors to drop criminal cases against it.”
‘During the 2020 presidential election, the Trump campaign shared an article from a conservative opinion outlet advancing a conspiracy theory connecting Black’s work with Burisma and his connection to Mitt Romney’s presidential campaigns. The campaign used the article to attempt to tie Romney to the growing Hunter Biden email controversy and discredit his vote to convict Trump during his first impeachment trial as a product of corrupt collusion with the Bidens. Black was hired six months after Hunter Biden had departed the board. Romney associates described the claims as “an attempt at Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon”.’
Doesn’t sound like there’s any there there, despite Cofer Black seeming like a pretty nefarious dude.
Go Niners! I haven’t seen them play this season. And they are already getting into the territory where watching them will cause me too much anxiety.
I watched the opening ceremony of the Ryder Cup and wondered why the Americans didn’t bring their A team. And I could tell the Europeans would win when Luke Donald started his speech in fluent Italian. He must have a home in Chiantishire.
Instead of watching young men trying to catch footballs and avoid injuries or somewhat older men hitting balls and trying to avoid traps, I watched Hakeem Jeffries deliver a 55 minute tour de force of a speech in Congress. Feckless Kevin McCarthy delivered what he called a 70 page clean 45 day Continuing Resolution and wanted to hold a vote 15 minutes later. Democrats wanted time to read the bill to insure that it was clean. Hakeem Jeffries was given a minute to speak. As far as I could tell, he spoke for 55 minutes without notes and gave a rousing speech outlining the history of Republican perfidy with regard to government shut downs for the last 50 years.
Happy 99th Birthday to Jimmy Carter today!
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/01/jimmy-carter-tributes-president-99th-birthday
Did somebody mention a Kelce? I probably shouldn’t be trash talking about my Iggles being 3-0 right now, because they’re far from perfect. But, when not even playing our best, we’ll take a 3-0 start any time!
Let’s see if they can command the Commanders today, who are a decent team this year.
The gentler version of the horse head in the bed ?
Trump Campaign Leaves Actual Birdcage at Nikki Haley’s Hotel Door as Part of ‘Birdbrain’ Attack
https://themessenger.com/politics/trump-camp-steps-up-birdbrain-attacks-on-haley
In the Apple Not Far from the Tree Department: Sarah likes to spend taxpayer money and try to hide it. I especially like getting the legislature to pass a law to limit FOIA requests by getting her spending out of bounds. I also thought it especially delicious that it’s the GOP getting disgusted this time.
https://digbysblog.net/2023/10/01/a-trumpie-through-and-through/
Of note, and a sorry one it is, Forbes says the Chicago Bears are worth $6.1bn, up 9% last year. Let’s call that $500 million. Thank God they got rid of every high salary they had last year and now have the dream Bear team. A team of Grabowski’s. No cocky loud prima donna stars.
Ask yourself how much are the Chiefs paying Mahomes. Well it’s $50 million a year. Then ask yourself how much the Bears are paying Trubisky? The Bear pants the league on that one.
Are they still paying Trubisky? Or did you meant to say, Justin Fields.
Hag a little jam session today, turned on the Bears game with less than two minutes to go, saw an interception and then …
I watched a minute and a half and that was enough.
The contrasting video of Taylor and her pals happy and partying vs Aron Rogers all by himself looking sullen at times was interesting. Zach Wilson was solid and played an outstanding game. Aaron who?
Gavin Newsom appoints Laphonza Butler to fill the late Dianne Feinstein’s Senate seat for its unexpired term. The forty-four year-old, “Butler, a Democratic strategist and adviser to Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, will become the only Black woman serving in the US Senate.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/02/laphonza-butler-to-fill-dianne-feinsteins-vacant-senate-seat-newsom-office-says
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laphonza_Butler
Butler, currently living in Maryland and the head of Emily’s List, will also be the first openly LGBTQ+ Senator. She will move back to California and register to vote there before being sworn in.
This would be Butler’s first elected office, but she reportedly, “has a long track record in California politics. She served as a senior adviser to Harris’s 2020 presidential campaign while working at a political firm filled with strategists who have worked for Newsom and many other prominent state Democrats.”
Among the controversies her appointment will inspire are that Newsom apparently did not require her to commit not to run in the 2024 general election.
NFL legend Russ Francis, killed in aircraft crash. Dies at age 70. RIP
From Wikipedia: “On October 1, 2023, Francis was killed in an aircraft accident in Lake Placid, New York. Francis and AOPA Air Safety Institute vice president Richard McSpadden were flying a Cessna 177 out of Lake Placid Airport when the aircraft ‘experienced an emergency after takeoff.’ The aircraft attempted to return to the airport, but crashed in a ravine near the airport. Both Francis and McSpadden were killed.”