#exit festival 2017

[w2soneshots]

Over the years -W2S

warnings: mentions of pregnancy.

summary: your and Harry’s relationship each year from twenty-sixteen to now through instagram posts.

notes: hello lovelies! For once this isn’t a request, thought of it all busy myself🙂‍↕️. I used Bella Hadid for the face claim (I usually don’t use just one person but it made sense for this)🫶🏼. Also, omfg did this take ages… one thousand photos and a week later I’m finally finished! Don’t forget to reblog and enjoy💞✨

2016... the year you became boyfriend and girlfriend

Liked by miniminter, zerkaa and others

y/username: love youuu @wroetoshaw

-comments-

wroetoshaw: love you more

-> y/username: 😋❤️

tobjizzle: ay! happy for u 2!

-> y/username: ty Tobes!!

y/nfanpage21: cuteeeee oh my gosh🫂

user: my two worlds colliding

y/username posted a new story!

2017... your first big holiday as a couple

wroetoshaw posted a new story!

Liked by wroetoshaw, freyanightingale and others

y/username: Italy🍝✨🇮🇹

-comments-

callux: looks sick, hope you had a great time!

-> y/username: we diddd! best pizza ever😌

y/nfanpage21: this is adorable💞

user: Harry in the unicorn floaty lol

2018... festival season

Liked by calfreezy, behzingagram and others

y/username: drunk, covered in glitter and hot, but ready for some bangin music!🤸‍♂️☀️🍺

-comments-

wroetoshaw: definitely hot😉🔥

-> y/username: lmao smooth

reevhd: vibes = immaculate

y/nfanpage21: outfit on FLEEK🤭

user: she's so perfect for Harry omg

y/username posted a new story!

2019... London and the boys

wroetoshaw posted a new story!

Liked by tobjizzle, mollymae and others

y/username: 19 you've been good to me, see you all next year!!🎆

-comments-

wroetoshaw: ⛷️

taliamar: gorggg!💓

-> y/username: mwah😚

y/nfanpage21: I live for y/n with the sidemen boys

user: she's the original icon⭐️

2020... the virus

Liked by ksi, wroetoshaw and others

y/username: haven't posted in awhile, here's a few very uninteresting photos from my week🥞🤍 stay safe everyone and please STAY INSIDE!

-comments-

calfreezy: daily runs entered the chat

-> y/username: running buddy 4 life🏃‍♀️

y/nfanpage21: ahh we've missed you girly!!😭

user: Harry and his biohazard bag against the world

y/username posted a new story!

2021... new beginnings

Liked by behzingagram, taliamar and others

y/username: a random dog turned up on our front step today (he has been safely returned to his owner dw🐶), pleaseee can someone convince @wroetoshaw that this is a sign we should get a puppy😫🙏

-comments-

wroetoshaw: brilliant, now my dm's are filled with people asking if your pregnant (also no puppy)

-> y/username: omg shit, forgot to specify that that's my FOOD baby vs Faiths ACTUAL baby🤣 (we're getting a puppy)

faithlouisak: love u wifey

-> y/username: 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩

y/nfanpage21: she's so unserious lmao the first and second pic

y/username posted a new story!

2022... the year he finally popped the question

Liked by sidemen, joeweller and others

y/username: we're engaged!! enjoy this dump from our week away, where I had NO idea I was going to become a fiancé hehehe💍💓

-comments-

wroetoshaw: only took me 7 years

-> y/username: not bad for you tbf babes😌🫶

tobjizzle: congrats again guys❤️

freyanightingale: AHHH! unbelievably happy for you y/n🥹💝

y/nfanpage21: our fav couples growing up

user: HE'S DONE IT!!!!

y/username posted a new story!

2023... bride and groom

Liked by chrismd10, wroetoshaw and others

y/username: random photos from my week + wedding prep commences!💫💝

-comments-

faithlouisak: SHE'S GETTING FUCKING MARRIED!!!🥳

-> y/username: hehe thank you once again for the cake girl, smashed the brief

callux: exiting stuff😯

y/nfanpage21: makeup... ate. hair... ate. cake... they ate it.

user: I can't WAIT to see what dress she picks

y/username posted a new story!

2024... the year you became mummy and daddy

Liked by wroetoshaw, dualipa and others

y/username: counting down the days until we meet baby girl...🎀🌟

-comments-

ksi: can't wait to spoil her😁

-> y/username: uncle JJ incoming...

faithlouisak: your GLOWING mama💕

y/nfanpage21: the book🥺

user: two youngest sidemen having a kid before the others lol💁‍♀️

y/username posted a new story!

2025... the life you've always dreamed of

y/username posted a new story!

Liked by zerkaa, faithlouisak and others

y/username: right where I want to be💌

-comments-

wroetoshaw: my beautiful girls

-> y/username: love u💞

taliamar: brill, got Mushu trying to eat my strawberry😂

-> y/username: he stood there for a good ten minutes, bless him. maybe next time buddy🥲🐕

y/nfanpage21: oh... to have her life

user: fun fact: this was posted exactly nine years from their first couple post, how cute❤️‍🩹

[black-arcana]

BUTCHER BABIES Part Ways With Singer CARLA HARVEY

BUTCHER BABIES have parted ways with singer Carla Harvey.

The band announced Harvey's exit in a social media post earlier today (Saturday, July 20). BUTCHER BABIES wrote: "As you may have already guessed, it is confirmed that Carla Harvey and BUTCHER BABIES have officially parted ways.

"Carla has been an integral part of our journey, bringing her unique talent, passion, and energy to the band. We are grateful for the incredible memories we've made together and the impact she has had on our music and our fans. We will miss her greatly and we wish her all the best in her future endeavors.

"We deeply appreciate your support over the past 15 years," BUTCHER BABIES added. "We feel incredibly fortunate to keep making and playing music as our career, and we are excited for this new era of BUTCHER BABIES!

"See you on the road."

Carla added in a separate post: "Over the last 6 months You may have noticed my absence from BUTCHER BABIES posts. After 15 years of dedication, I wanted to let you know that I will not be rejoining the band for any future endeavors.

"I am super proud of my work with BUTCHER BABIES…2 EPS, 5 Full lengths albums and countless tours with our metal heroes! To all of our incredible BUTCHER BABIES friends and fans…you have provided me with some of the greatest experiences of my life! I have loved every second of writing and performing all over the world for you! I have loved meeting you. WOW. I still can't believe this kid from Detroit got so lucky.

"I am not done making music and performing. I WILL see you soon".

Last fall, BUTCHER BABIES completed a European tour without Carla, who sat out the trek in order to undergo emergency surgery on her left eye.

Harvey shared the news of her absence from the tour on October 26, 2023 in a social media post. The 47-year-old singer, who co-founded BUTCHER BABIES in 2010 with fellow vocalist Heidi Shepherd, posted a photo of her performing with her bandmates, and she included the following message: "Here's a picture of a girl in her happy place; unfortunately i won't be in that happy place on the upcoming @butcherbabies Euro run. Love you all but i have to sit this one out!

"I have a history of problematic vision and I had to have a major surgery about 10 years ago in my right eye for a retinal detachment. On our summer tour the telltale symptoms repeated themselves in my left eye. I've been hoping to avoid major surgery but it is clear that it must be done. My emergency surgery will include a healing process of laying face down for a number of days with a gas bubble in my eye."

Carla added: "This is the first time in fifteen years i won't be able to join my friends on stage but right now my health and sight take precedence for me. While I am gutted that I cannot make the tour the risk of me waiting till after a tour to do such a surgery is too great and includes permanent vision loss. The beauty of having two vocalists is that Heidi can cover for me until i'm better!

"Hoping to make it out for part of this euro run…go to the shows, have a blast and support my bandmates for me! I'll see you soon!"

In the comments section, Shepherd voiced her support for her then-bandmate, writing: "Sending all the love and healing. We'll hold down the fort while you heal. We need those beautiful eyes to work!!! Love you!"

BUTCHER BABIES are scheduled to kick off a three-week European tour on July 27 at the Stonehenge festival in The Netherlands.

This past January, Harvey and ANTHRAX and PANTERA drummer Charlie Benante announced that they were officially engaged.

BUTCHER BABIES released a double album "Eye For An Eye…" and "…'Til The World's Blind", in July 2023. The double album celebrates the tenth anniversary of BUTCHER BABIES' critically acclaimed debut, "Goliath", released on July 9, 2013 via Century Media Records.

BUTCHER BABIES' previous album, 2017's "Lilith" was produced by Steve Evetts (THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, SEPULTURA, SUICIDE SILENCE) and marked the band's recording debut with drummer Chase Brickenden, who replaced Chris Warner in 2016.

In July 2019, longtime BUTCHER BABIES bassist Jason Klein announced his departure from the band. He has since been replaced by Ricky Bonazza.

[blogger360ncislarules]

It was May 17, 2017. The Plaza Hotel’s Food Hall and adjacent spaces over multiple floors were packed with people for CBS‘ annual upfront party — an opulent display in the final years of broadcast dominance. Having won the lottery — beating the daunting odds of pilot season where hundreds of scripts vie for 20 so pilot spots and ultimately a handful of series pickups by a major network — the teams behind the new CBS shows were beaming. Except for the producers of military drama SEAL Team, who were not in a festive mood.

The reason was an effort by CBS brass to replace the female lead opposite star David Boreanaz in the pilot, Jessica Paré. There was already a red flag for eagle-eyed attendees at the network’s upfront presentation at Carnegie Hall earlier that afternoon when the cast of SEAL Team walked onstage sans Paré. The absence spoke volumes as it was a broadcast ritual — if your pilot gets picked up, you are going to the upfronts — except if you get a call that you are being recast.

There was nothing official at the time, but the SEAL Team producers were very worried — word was that then-CBS CEO Les Moonves himself had suggested that Paré be replaced. A former actor himself, Moonves had remained closely involved in casting decisions, and he had the ultimate say on everything, determining the fate of shows and actors. (Moonves stepped down in fall 2018 following a string of sexual misconduct allegations.)

Knowing they were facing long odds because what Moonves said went, the SEAL Team creative and producing team including star/executive producer Boreanaz, made an impassioned plea and kept at it until Paré was safe. She remained a series regular for three seasons on the drama, about an elite unit of U.S. Navy SEALs, until her character surprisingly left the unit after returning from its latest mission in Afghanistan in the December 2020 Season 4 premiere at the height of the pandemic.

Paré subsequently returned and has been recurring on the show, which is ending its run on Paramount+ this weekend after seven seasons across CBS and the streamer — a rare series that has done three or more seasons each on two different platforms.

A few months after Pare’s exit, SEAL Team faced another challenge in May 2021: it was forced to leave CBS to make room for spinoffs of crime franchises, NCIS: Hawai’i, CSI: Vegas and FBI: International, as well as medical drama Good Sam. Ironically, SEAL Team outlived three of the four series, with NCIS: Hawai’i and CSI: Vegas canceled earlier this year to make room for another NCIS spinoff, NCIS: Origins, along with other new shows.

While NCIS: Hawai’i and CSI: Vegas didn’t have options, SEAL Team moved to Paramount+ after four seasons on CBS. It’s not surprising that so few broadcast series have been able to do that successfully as it is not an easy transition, requiring major adjustments of the business framework, including budgets and salaries, as well as production logistics.

But, after a four-episode sendoff on CBS in fall 2021, the CBS Studios-produced SEAL Team migrated to the streamer, where it went on for three more seasons, with the cast and showrunner Spencer Hudnut ready for more as Season 7 had not been envisioned as a final chapter until word came last November that it would be the end.

SEAL Team‘s 2021 broadcast goodbye was not permanent: two years later, the series was summoned back, with episodes from the original run on Paramount+ used as fresh broadcast fare in fall 2023 when film and TV production was delayed by the Hollywood strikes.

Helped by a loyal fan following and wide support among veterans, SEAL Team ran for seven seasons, a very respectable lifespan in this day and age, despite the show’s high cost and limited international sale potential given its focus on American military versus the more easily translatable crime, medical and legal genres.

It is a rare series that has done well on linear and digital — it was the highest-rated CBS series to depart in May 2021, averaging 6.5 million that season. Just months later, It made Paramount+’s year-end list as the most watched original drama series on the platform for 2021.

Fittingly, SEAL Team hit another milestone before its pending end, finally cracking Nielsen’s Top 10 of streaming originals in August with its two-episode Season 7 premiere.

SEAL Team also brought into the CBS/CBS Studios fold Max Thieriot. An original cast member on the show, he went on to pitch the studio a firefighter drama based on his experience growing up in Occidental, CA. That became CBS’ hit Fire Country, co-created, exec produced and starring Thieriot, which has become the network’s newest drama franchise; offshoot Sheriff Country, headlined bv Morena Baccarin, is set for a 2025-26 launch, and another spinoff, starring Jared Padalecki, is being eyed.

After a bumpy start and a challenging run, the Benjamin Cavell-created SEAL Team comes to an end Sunday as one of few series that bridged broadcast’s heyday and the streaming era. And who knows, it may beat the odds again and come back for that stand-alone movie, which was announced in 2022 but never heard of again.

[qnewsau]

Daniel Craig tries to pick up at a bar in first clip from Queer

New Post has been published on https://qnews.com.au/daniel-craig-tries-to-pick-up-at-a-bar-in-first-clip-from-queer/

Daniel Craig tries to pick up at a bar in first clip from Queer

Actor Daniel Craig’s character flirts with a man at a bar in the first clip from Luca Guadagnino’s highly anticipated gay period drama Queer.

Queer, which is based on the 1985 novel by William S Burroughs, had its world premiere last week at the Venice International Film Festival.

But for the rest of us, we’ve had very few stills or footage to give us a taste of the new film.

In a one-minute clip released after the premiere, Daniel Craig’s character William Lee enters a bar, where he spots Drew Starkey’s Eugene Allerton sitting alone, legs crossed in the corner.

After the pair share some glances, William stands up and curtsies in Eugene’s direction, in front of everyone in the bar.

But Eugene, a discharged Navy serviceman, is joined by an unidentified woman, leaving William to throw back a shot and leave.

Queer picked up by A24

In Queer, William Lee – a stand-in for author William S Burroughs himself – is lost in Mexico City, fighting drug addiction.

There, he becomes madly infatuated with Allerton, who is battling demons of his own. Allerton toys with Lee, making the gay man even more obsessed with him. The two men later go travelling together.

Director Luca Guadagnino is known for his 2017 gay romance Call Me by Your Name as well as 2024’s very horny tennis drama Challengers.

Over in the US, prestige distributor A24 has picked up Queer but the movie has no release dates anywhere yet.

Talking to Variety about Queer, Drew Starkey said “everyone’s starstruck when Daniel walks into the room.”

“But then of course, within five minutes that sheds away and you’re like, ‘Oh, right,’” Drew said.

“He’s an incredibly kind, goofy, beautiful person and a very giving actor and a good friend. He’s all of it.

“Daniel always kept it light. I would have imploded on that set if Daniel wasn’t there just to keep it moving. He’s the best.”

Image: A24

In Queer, Daniel Craig has sex scenes with Drew Starkey as well as co-star Omar Apollo, making his acting debut in the movie.

Of the sex scenes, Drew said, “You treat it like you would any other thing. Obviously, you’re more precious with it and you communicate more on the day about people’s comfort levels.

“But Daniel and I were just game for anything. We just were like, ‘Let’s go for it, let’s have fun.’ So he was a great partner to have.”

Read more:

Jacob Elordi and Diego Calva have steamy sex scenes in On Swift Horses

New Farm Queer Film Festival unveils 2024 movie lineup

Joaquin Phoenix’s cryptic response after exit from ‘explicit’ gay film

Omar Apollo has sex scene with Daniel Craig in Queer

For the latest LGBTIQA+ Sister Girl and Brother Boy news, entertainment, community stories in Australia, visit qnews.com.au. Check out our latest magazines or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

[beardedmrbean]

Attacks on police posts, churches and a synagogue in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Dagestan have left 20 people dead, most of them police officers. Five gunmen were also killed.

At least 46 people were taken to hospital with injuries after the Sunday evening attack.

Three days of mourning have been declared in Dagestan, a predominantly Muslim republic in southern Russia which neighbours Chechnya.

The apparently coordinated attacks targeted the cities of Derbent and Makhachkala on the Orthodox festival of Pentecost, with an Orthodox priest among those killed.

He was later identified as Father Nikolai Kotelnikov, who had served in Derbent for more than 40 years.

Russian media reported that around 18:00 (15:00 GMT) local time on Sunday, gunmen opened fire with automatic weapons on an Orthodox church and a synagogue in Derbent, which is home to an ancient Jewish community. Two gunmen were said to have then retreated into a nearby building, where police later said they were killed. The Kele-Numaz synagogue was severely damaged by fire.

At around the same time, in the city of Makhachkala, two gunmen ran into an Orthodox church, tried to set fire to its main icon and then opened fire, Izvestia newspaper said. Videos on social media showed heavy shooting also taking place outside the church when gunmen dressed in black took aim at passing police cars with automatic weapons.

A police post near the Makhachkala synagogue was also attacked.

All exits from the city were closed for some time as the interior ministry stated that it was possible the militants' accomplices were preparing to escape the city.

In the nearby village of Sergokala, a police officer was injured a few hours later when a police car was attacked.

Later, the head of the republic of Dagestan, Sergei Melikov, said at least 15 police officers were killed in total.

Dagestan has in the past been the scene of Islamist attacks.

Although the assailants have not been officially identified, Russian media widely reported that among the gunmen were two sons of the head of the Sergokala district, Magomed Omarov, who was detained by police.

However, in a video posted on Telegram, Mr Melikov implied Ukraine had been involved in the attack and that Dagestan was now directly involved in Russia's war in Ukraine.

"The war is coming to our homes," Mr Melikov said.

"We understand who is behind the organisation of the terrorist attacks and what goal they pursued," he said.

On Monday, Mr Melikov said authorities were continuing to hunt for members of "sleeper cells" who had prepared the attacks, including with assistance from abroad.

The head of the Russian State Duma's international affairs committee, Leonid Slutsky, put forward similar claims, saying that the Dagestan attacks and a missile strike which killed four in Russia-occupied Sevastopol on Sunday "could not be a coincidence".

"These tragic events, I am sure, were orchestrated from abroad and are aimed at sowing panic and dividing the Russian people," Mr Slutsky said.

But a leading Russian nationalist in occupied Ukraine, Dmitry Rogozin, warned that if every attack was blamed on "the machinations of Ukraine and Nato, this pink mist will lead us to big problems".

An attack on the Crocus City Hall venue near Moscow in March which left 147 dead was blamed by Russian authorities on Ukraine and the West, even though the Islamic State group claimed it.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia's President Vladimir Putin offered his condolences to those who lost loved ones in the attacks on Crimea and Dagestan.

Russian news agencies reported on Monday morning that the counter-terrorism operation launched after the attacks had now come to an end.

Between 2007 and 2017, a jihadist organisation called the Caucasus Emirate, and later the Islamic Emirate of the Caucasus, staged attacks in Dagestan and the neighbouring Russian republics of Chechnya, Ingushetia and Kabardino-Balkaria.

Following the Crocus City Hall attack in Moscow, President Vladimir Putin had insisted that "Russia cannot be the target of terrorist attacks by Islamic fundamentalists” because it “demonstrates a unique example of interfaith harmony and inter-religious and inter-ethnic unity”.

However, three months ago Russia’s domestic security service, the FSB, reported that it had thwarted an IS plot to attack a Moscow synagogue.

[buzzblend]

Widow loses life savings after ‘firetrap’ developer fails to repay €150k loan

A controversial developer who asked to borrow the life savings of an 81-year-old widow has failed to repay the money after half a decade of broken promises.

In 2017, the widow gave €160,000 in cash to developer Paddy Byrne, who built the Millfield Manor estate in Co. Kildare where six houses burnt to the ground in under 30 minutes in 2015.

The cash was for a penthouse apartment in Dublin she planned to move into.

The development was built by Victoria Homes, a company that was established by Mr Byrne’s sister Joan just before Mr Byrne was precluded from acting as a company director in Ireland for five years.

After viewing plans for the €630,000 property, in a development called Greygates in Mount Merrion, the pensioner withdrew the cash from her bank and gave it to Mr Byrne.

Some €10,000 of this was a deposit, with the remaining €150,000 provided on the advice of a third party who was known to Mr Byrne and the widow, who said the cash would secure a good price.

According to a handwritten receipt, signed by Mr Byrne, the money was provided on May 29, 2017.

But in November 2017 the widow, a retired primary school teacher, found a more suitable home and asked for her money back.

Mr Byrne agreed to this, saying he would have no problem selling the penthouse and promptly refunded the €10,000 deposit.

However, he asked that the remaining €150,000 be treated as a 14-month loan and promised to pay a 10% annual interest rate.

This effectively turned the widow into an unwitting creditor of Victoria Homes.

According to a handwritten agreement, signed by Mr Byrne, the loan was to be ‘paid back from the sales proceeds’ of the penthouse at his Greygates development.

More than half a decade later, the loan remains unpaid – even after the widow made a criminal complaint to gardaí and took legal action to secure a judgement.

As it is a civil matter, the Garda investigation faltered. And because various other unpaid creditors had previously secured judgements against Victoria Homes, the widow is now unlikely to get her savings back. During the Celtic Tiger years, Paddy Byrne was renowned for his €2.4m Sikorsky helicopter and sponsorship of the Irish National Hunt festival.

But in 2011 his then-firm, Barrack Homes, went bust and Mr Byrne declared bankruptcy in Britain with debts of €100m.

He was banned from acting as a UK director for 10 years in 2012.

This ban was scheduled to end in 2022 – and ran the full course – but it only applied in the UK and Wales.

According to the UK insolvency register today, Mr Byrne’s discharge from UK bankruptcy is ‘suspended indefinitely’ until the fulfilment of conditions made in a 2012 court order.

Separately, in Ireland, he was also restricted from acting as a director for a period of five years – which ended in January 2018.

Mr Byrne is also known for building the Millfield Manor estate in Newbridge, Co. Kildare, where half a dozen houses were razed to the ground within 30 minutes in 2015.

A report into the blaze found ‘major and life-threatening serious shortfalls and discrepancies and deviations from the minimum requirements of the national mandatory building regulations’ at Mr Byrne’s development.

Today, having exited bankruptcy, Mr Byrne is best known as the figurehead behind Victoria Homes and associated businesses, which was set up by his sister and her husband in December 2012, while he was bankrupt.

Mr Byrne was not a director or owner of Victoria Homes during the period of his bankruptcy. But, in 2017, Mr Byrne’s sister and her husband stepped back from Victoria Homes, transferring their shares to an offshore entity in Belize city called Victoria Holdings.

In November 2022, the main lenders to Victoria Homes – the Lotus Development Group – forced the firm into receivership for the second time.

In 2020, Lotus had forced a previous short-lived receivership before agreeing a deal that saw Victoria Homes begin trading normally once more.

Today, Mr Byrne appears to have left Victoria Homes behind and seems to be focusing on a new firm instead.

Set up in the summer of 2020, Branach Developments is entirely owned by Mr Byrne and is not encumbered by any bank debt or mortgages as Victoria Homes was.

According to the latest filed accounts, for the year ended 2021, Branach Developments held ‘tangible assets’ of €210,000 and ‘stocks’ of €600,000.

The accounts also show that, in 2021, Mr Byrne provided the company with an interest-free loan of €1,024,438.

Just last week Mr Byrne’s new firm was one of the winners at the National Property Awards sponsored by the Business Post and Deloitte, among others.

At the award ceremony, Branach Developments took home the prize for best sustainability initiative of the year.

However, Mr Byrne, who shuns publicity and is rarely photographed, does not appear to have attended the ceremony and the award was accepted by a colleague.

This week the Irish Mail on Sunday sent queries to Mr Byrne via his mobile phone, his email at Victoria Homes and his email at Branach Developments, without response.

Queries to his solicitor and the separate accountancy firms representing Victoria Homes and Branach Developments also went unanswered as did calls to the numbers on the websites of these firms.

Mr Byrne also previously declined to respond to questions from the MoS relating to the establishment of Victoria Homes during the period of his bankruptcy.

At the time, Mr Byrne appeared to be living at Ballinrahin House, close to Rathangan on the border of Offaly and Kildare.

The home is a luxury build on 26 acres of stud-railed paddocks with six stables and a 1.3km tree-lined avenue behind electric gates.

The property was on sale for €2.8m in 2009, but land registry records confirm that, in November 2014, it was sold to Victoria Homes for a knockdown price of €484,000.

Ownership of Ballinrahin House was transferred offshore to Victoria Holdings in Belize on April 10, 2018, just weeks before Mr Byrne was due to repay the €150,000 back to the widow.

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 7.10

Holidays

Armed Forces Day (Mauritania)

Army Day (Albania)

Battle of Britain Anniversary Day

Battle of Poltava Day (Russia)

Beatles Day (Liverpool, Hamburg)

Capybara Appreciation Day

Chronic Disease Awareness Day

Clerihew Day

Cumin Day (French Republic)

Don't Step On A Bee Day (UK)

Flag Day (Mongolia)

Global Energy Independence Day

Gospel Day (Kiribati)

His Masters Voice Day

International Glut1 Awareness Day

International Safewords Day

Lá Cuimhneacháin Náisiúnta (National Day of Commemoration; Ireland)

Lady Godiva Day

London Bridge Falling Down Day

Merchant’s Festival (Elder Scrolls)

Minion Day

Naadam Day (Mongolia)

National All American Pet Photo Day

National Caleb Day

National Contour Day

National Fish Farmers Day (India)

National Kitten Day

National Lineworker Appreciation Day (Canada)

National Stella Day

National Transplant Financial Coordinator Day

Natto Day (Japan)

Nikola Tesla Day

Oils and Concentrates Day

Police Radio Day

Protogeneia Asteroid Day

Rhodes Day (Rhodesia)

710 Day

Silence Day (Meher Baba)

Srebrenica Memorial Day

Stay Away From Bees Day

Teddy Bear's Picnic Day

Telstar Day

Uniwaine (Senior Citizens’ Day; Kiribati)

U.S. Energy Independence Day

World Airway Disorders Day

World Miniature Golf Day

World Shuvit Cancer Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Beer Distributors Day

National Piña Colada Day

National Pizza Day (Brazil)

Pick Blueberries Day

Independence & Related Days

Bahamas (from UK, 1973)

Federal Republic of New Potato Land (Declared; 2017) [unrecognized]

Wyoming Statehood Day (#44; 1890)

2nd Wednesday in July

National Day of Prayer and Thanksgiving (Montserrat) [2nd Wednesday]

Weekly Holidays beginning July 10 (2nd Week of July)

Sweetheart Days Festival (Minnesota) [2nd Wednesday; thru Friday]

Festivals Beginning July 10, 2024

American Cheese Society Annual Conference (Buffalo, New York) [thru 7.13]

European Balloon Festival (Igualada, Spain) [thru 7.14]

EXIT (Novi Sad, Serbia) [thru 7.14]

Love International Festival (Tins, Croatia) [thru 7.16]

Mad Cool Festival (Madrid, Spain) [thru 7.13]

Ossipee Valley Fair (South Hiram, Maine) [thru 7.14]

Riddu Riđđu (Manndalen, Norway) [thru 7.13]

Sandcastle Contest (Belmar, New Jersey)

Tangomarkkinat (Seinäjoki, Finland) [thru 7.14]

Vegan Summerfest (Johnstown, Pennsylvania) [thru 7.14]

Winona County Fair (St. Charles, Minnesota) [thru 7.14]

Woody Guthrie Folk Festival (Okemah, Oklahoma) [thru 7.14]

Feast Days

Alice Munro (Writerism)

Amalberga of Maubeuge (Christian; Saint & Widow)

Amalburga (Christian; Saint & Virgin)

Antony and Theodosius Pechersky (Christian; Saints)

St. Bathilda (Positivist; Saint)

Camille Pissarro (Artology)

Canute IV of Denmark (Christian; Saint)

David Teniers III (Artology)

Day of Holda (Goddess of the Underworld; Anglo-Saxon, Norse)

Feast Day of Knut the Reaper, Hela, Holda and Skadi (Norse)

Feast of Translation of Saint Maclovius, Bishop of Saint-Malo (Christian; Confessor)

Feast of The Seven Brothers (Januarius, Felix, Philip, Silvanus, Alexander, Vitalis, and Martialis; Christian; Martyrs)

Felicitas of Rome (Christian; Martyr)

The First Sermon of Lord Buddha (Buddhism; Bhutan)

Giorgio de Chirico (Artology)

Hela’s Day (Pagan)

Joe Shuster (Artology)

Kanute IV, King of Denmark (Christian; Martyr)

Knut the Reaper's Day (Norse; Scotland)

Marcel Proust (Writerism)

Mel Blanc Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Millennial Fairy Olympics, Day 5 (Shamanism)

New Robe for Athena Day (Ancient Greece)

Otto Freundlich (Artology)

Pina Colada Day (Pastafarian)

Reach Out and Touch a Green Leaf Day (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Reg Smythe (Artology)

Ronnie Cutrone (Artology)

Rufina and Secunda (Christian; Martyrs & Virgins)

Rusty (Muppetism)

Septic Bralu Diena (Ancient Latvia)

Seth Godin (Writerism)

Seven Brothers (Christian; Martyrs)

Sixto Rodriguez (Humanism,)

Tita or Tatata Ita (Muppetism)

U Festinu (a.k.a. Feast of St. Rosalia; Palermo, Italy) [thru 7.15]

Viaticum of Llefoed Wynebglawr (Celtic Book of Days)

Victoria, Anatolia, and Audax (Christian; Saints)

Wickerwork Giants Parade & Festival (Douai, France)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Butsumetsu (仏滅 Japan) [Unlucky all day.]

Fatal Day (Pagan) [13 of 24]

Prime Number Day: 191 [43 of 72]

Unfortunate Day (Pagan) [39 of 57]

Premieres

Ball Four, by Jim Bouton (Sports Memoir; 1970)

The Brave Little Toaster (Animated Film; 1987)

Cocky Cock Roach (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1932)

Cool World (Animated Film; 1992)

The Day of the Triffids, by John Wyndham (Novel; 1951)

Do Way Diddy Diddy, by Manfred Mann (Song; 1964)

Escape from New York (Film; 1981)

The Fox and the Hound (Animated Disney Film; 1981)

Greyhound (Film; 2020)

A Hard Day’s Night, by The Beatles (Album; 1964)

Heat Wave, by Martha and the Vandellas (Song; 1963)

Homesteader Droopy (Tex Avery MGM Cartoon; 1954)

The Hot Spell, featuring Farmer Al Falfa (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1936)

Lethal Weapon 4 (Film; 1998)

I Got You Babe, by Sonny and Cher (Song; 1965)

I Love You Beth Cooper (Film; 2009)

In Search of Lost Time, by Marcel Proust (Novel; 1927)

In the Midnight Hour, by Wilson Pickett (Song; 1965)

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (Film; 1985)

Minions (Animated Film; 2015)

Moon (Film; 2009)

Mother Necessity (America Rock Cartoon; Schoolhouse Rock; 1976)

New Maps of Hell, by Bad Religion (Album; 2007)

Ode to Billie Joe, by Bobbie Gentry (Song; 1967)

The Oily American (WB MM Cartoon; 1954)

The Old Guard (Film; 2020)

Once Upon a Mouse (Disney Cartoon Documentary; 1981)

The Outpost (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1942)

Palm Springs (Film; 2020)

Parachutes, by Coldplay (Album; 2000)

Pi (Film; 1998)

Pink Valiant (Pink Panther Cartoon; 1968)

She Wolf, by Shakira (Album; 2009)

Small Soldiers (Animated Film; 1998)

Smoke Signal (Animated Film; 2018)

Son of Schmilsson, by Harry Nilsson (Album; 1972)

Summertime, recorded by Ella Fitzgerald (Song; 1936)

Tempted, by Squeeze (Song; 1981)

Trouble with Lichen, by John Wyndham (Novel; 1960)

Unnatural Death, by Dorothy L. Sayers (Novel; 1927) [Peter Wimsey #3]

Up N’ Atom (Color Rhapsody Cartoon; 1947)

The Wayward Pups (Happy Harmonies Cartoon; 1937)

We Are the Champions/We Will Rock You, by Queen (UK Song; 1977)

Your Hit Parade (TV Series; 1950)

Today’s Name Days

Engelbert, Knud, Raphael (Austria)

Feliks, Srećko, Viktorija (Croatia)

Amálie, Libuše (Czech Republic)

Knud (Denmark)

Saima, Saime, Saimi (Estonia)

Saima, Saimi (Finland)

Ulrich (France)

Knud, Engelbert, Raphael, Sascha (Germany)

Amália (Greece)

Amália (Hungary)

Armando, Marziale, Pietro, Rufina (Italy)

Lielvardis, Lija, Olīvija, Uve (Latvia)

Amalija, Eirimė, Gilvainas (Lithuania)

Anita, Anja (Norway)

Aleksander, Amelia, Aniela, Filip, January, Radziwoj, Rufina, Samson, Sylwan, Sylwana, Witalis (Poland)

Amália (Slovakia)

Cristóbal (Spain)

André, Andrea, Anund (Sweden)

Anthony (Ukraine)

Emanuel, Emmanuel, Gage, Immanuel, Manuel, Manuela (USA)

Emanuel, Immanuel, Maos, Manuela, Ulla, Ulrich, Ulrika, Ulrike (Universal)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 192 of 2024; 174 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 3 of week 28 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Tinne (Holly) [Day 4 of 28]

Chinese: Month 6 (Xin-Wei), Day 5 (Yi-Hai)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 4 Tammuz 5784

Islamic: 3 Muharram 1446

J Cal: 12 Red; Foursday [12 of 30]

Julian: 27 June 2024

Moon: 21%: Waxing Crescent

Positivist: 23 Charlemagne (7th Month) [St. Bathilda]

Runic Half Month: Ur (Primal Strength) [Day 2 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 21 of 94)

Week: 2nd Week of July

Zodiac: Cancer (Day 20 of 31)

[asterlizard]

Dublin Trip 2025 (Part 1)

Considering all the times I've been to the UK in my life, I'm very surprised we never visited Ireland before, especially since it's just across the water from our hometown!

So I was very excited at the opportunity to finally visit!

We left early in the morning to go to Stansted Airport for our flight (also a first, though it was a slightly more intimidating airport compared to Heathrow, way more crowded and not as tidy)

Nevertheless, we got through without a problem, thanks to our last minute prep last night (though we were confused that fellow RyanAir passengers got accepted with larger carry-on luggage than us... whatever) Passing through the scanner though, I did get beeped, but they only told me to remove my shoes... idk why (I'm not aware of any metal in them)

The flight also went smoothly. Yet another notoriously sneaky thing RyanAir does is place members of a group in completely separate seats of the plane (compared to the other bits of grief you could encounter using this airline, I felt 'whatever' about it, as long as we weren't halted for some nonsense reason)

We did have to enter outside using the stairs (which I always call 'Beatles style') rather than a jet bridge, which I'm more used to. They put us into two queues depending on whether our seat was towards the front or the back of the plane.

Dublin Airport was pretty nice! There was even someone playing the Maple Leaf Rag on the piano by the exit, which was a nice welcome.

We then caught the bus to take us to the centre of Dublin, passing by all kinds of homes and shops. I saw a sign for an Irish Japanese film festival happening that month (which was tempting!) We also passed by this one tattoo place called Banjaxed Ink, and already knowing what 'banjax' meant, I felt hesitant to recommend the place 😂

Cute!

Once we were dropped off, we made our way to Hotel Marion, where we were staying at for the whole visit. After unpacking, resting for a bit, and then planning what we wanted to do that day, we went for a wee walk.

One of the first stops on my itinerary was seeing the Hungry Tree, which was an easy walk from our hotel. Of course, this wasn't the first time I've personally seen trees eating things: [link] [link]

We then walked down Church St. down to the River Liffey.

Cool piece of street art (been there since at least 2017 according to Street View)

A seagull must have been here haha

Dublin has a different vibe due to the tragedies they've had to endure in fairly recent history. I think it's important to at least brush up on some of it before coming here.

Difficult to see, but there were swans on the river!

We then stopped by a pub for a bit before we continued our walk.

The daylight deceived us into not realizing it was already time for dinner! We didn't really have a plan for where to eat, so we went for a wander back in the direction of our hotel, before coming across an Italian restaurant on Capel St, called Ristorante Romano, which I did notice during my research earlier.

When we arrived, all the tables were full, so we had to decide whether to wait or move on to another restaurant. We chose to wait a few more minutes, and luckily a table opened up.

I chose the tagliatelle with mushrooms, which was very delicious! Mum, still being sick, decided to have some comforting soup, which she also enjoyed.

There's a bit of a bicycle theme in the restaurant, because the owner rode in the Wicklow 200 a while back. He even has some newspaper clippings with photos of himself on the walls. He's very proud of the fact!

The people and the atmosphere were very pleasant. At one point one of the people there (a customer?) sang loudly to Bright Eyes which was playing on the speakers, and most of the customers turned to see where it was coming from. One of the owners made a wee comment to us about it being the restaurant entertainment 😂

Once we were finished, we walked back to our hotel and wrapped up our day.

Next time, our first proper day in Dublin, and thus more sightseeing: [link]

[cleverhottubmiracle]

200 Glenn Martens’ First Maison Margiela Collection Will Debut At Haute Couture Week! Haute Couture Week’s Fall 2025 shows will feature an exciting addition: Glenn Martens! The newly named creative director of Maison Margiela will show his first collection for the French house’s Maison Margiela Artisanal line at the event, according to Hypebeast. Set between July 7 to 10, Haute Couture Week will feature intricately crafted collections from the world’s most exquisite brands. Though there’s no word on the schedule yet, we’re keeping our eyes peeled to see where Martens lands—and it’s clear the fashion world is too, after John Galliano‘s viral exit from the brand in December. Glenn Martens (Courtesy of Diesel) BAFTA TV Awards Celebrate 2025’s Top Small-Screen Performances  Over the weekend, the BAFTA TV Awards took over London’s Royal Festival Hall for its annual celebration of British television’s top productions and performances. Hosted by Alan Cumming, the ceremony’s major winners included Lennie James (Leading Actor), Marisa Abela (Leading Actress), Jessica Gunning (Supporting Actress), and Ariyon Bakare (Supporting Actor), with additional honors given to The Paris 2024 Olympics, Alma’s Not Normal, Mr Bates vs the Post Office, The Jury: Murder Trial, and more. The elegant event also included starry appearances by Nicola Coughlan, Luke Newton, David Tennant, Graham Norton, Russell Tovey, Anthony Boyle, Katherine Devlin, and more. Cannes Film Festival ‘s New Dress Code: No Nudity, Voluminous Trains, & More Ahead of the  Cannes Film Festival from May 13 to 24, the event has released a strict (and amusing) dress code within its Festival-goer’s Charter. The new code prohibits attendees from wearing outfits featuring nudity or voluminous elements—specifically “those with a large train, that hinder the proper flow of traffic of guests and complicate seating in the theater.” During nighttime screenings for the Grand Théâtre Lumière gala each evening, guests are required to don eveningwear, with suggested options including little black dresses, cocktail dresses, dark-colored pantsuits, formal tops and black pants, black or navy suits with ties, and “elegant” heeled or flat shoes. Any attendees who don’t respect these fashion guidelines will not be allowed to access the red carpet by the Festival’s welcoming teams—so, plan your looks accordingly! Kendall Jenner at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. (Shutterstock) Tommy Hilfiger Taps IVE’s Jang Won Young As Tommy Jeans’ New Face  Tommy Jeans has found its latest star in Jang Won-Young. Won-Young, a member of popular South Korean girl group IVE, is front and center in a fresh new campaign for Tommy Hilfiger‘s denim label. New shots by photographer Mok Jung-Wook find the musician outfitted in the brand’s newest jeans, shirts, dresses, and separates, inspired by confidence and self-expression through fashion. The range is complete with sweet accessories including ballet flats, low-top sneakers, and shoulder bags ideal for the summer months. Those wanting to buy Won-Young’s outfits for their own summer wardrobes can find them now at Tommy Hilfiger stores, wholesale partners, and Tommy.com. The moment marks Hilfiger’s latest star appointment this year, following 2025 collection launches with Sofia Richie Grainge, Jisoo, T-Wave’s Pond, Phuwin, Gemini, and Fourth, and more. “It’s an honor to join the Tommy family—this is a brand with a long history of celebrating inspiring women who lead with confidence and creativity,” Won-Young said in a statement. “This campaign is about expressing your true self, and I hope together we can inspire the next generation to embrace what makes them unique and find joy in every moment.” All images: Mok Jung-Wook Natalie Portman Opens Up On Paris, Parenting, & More For PORTER‘s May Issue Natalie Portman is PORTER‘s latest covergirl. The actress’ fronts the publication’s May issue in a lacy Chloé number, later posing in a variety of chic trenches, bodysuits, knits, and separates by Alaïa, Loewe, Stella McCartney, Leset, Tove, and Toteme for her accompanying editorial. It’s certainly a nod to Portman’s new home base of Paris, where she went viral last year while interacting with Rihanna outside of Dior’s Spring 2024 haute couture show—which she discusses in her accompanying interview with Monica Ainley. Additional highlights include the Oscar winner’s reflections on her 32 years in the spotlight, raising her three children while living in France, filming Guy Ritchie’s new adventure film Fountain of Youth,  and more—plus finding balance between motherhood and her busy career. “My cousin and I always say that Ali Wong quote back to each other: ‘I don’t wanna lean in, I wanna lie down! You gotta lie down, you gotta take away everything you don’t have to do and then do nice things for yourself. Whether that means taking a nap—like, literally—or whatever it is. So much of being a woman who’s trying to do it all is just being tired and overwhelmed and not having any time to yourself. So, you have to demand it for yourself—and you have to give it to yourself.” All images: Alexandra Nataf Gold House Honors AAPI Stars’ Impact & Accomplishments At The Fourth Annual Gold House Gala  Gold House held its fourth Gold House Gala at Los Angeles’ Music Center this weekend, celebrating the cultural influence and impact of Asian Pacific and multicultural leaders across fields including film, television, music, media, philanthropy, and more. The night also honored the year’s 100 most impactful Asian Pacific leaders, commemorated in the organization’s 2025 A100 List. This year’s ceremony included awards for Ang Lee (Gold Legend Honor), Tsunekazu Ishihara (Gold Legend Honor), Megan Thee Stallion (One House Honor), Min Jin Lee (Gold Legend Honor), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon‘s cast Zhang Ziyi (Gold Generation Award), Moana 2‘s cast—including Auli’i Cravalho, Dana Ledoux Miller, and Dave Derrick Jr. (Gold Ensemble Honor), Laufey (Billboard Gold Music Honor), Anderson .Paak (Gold Mogul Honor), Jon M. Chu (A1 in Entertainment and Media), Aravind Srinivas (A1 in Business and Technology) Sabyasachi Mukherjee (A1 in Fashion, Lifestyle, and Fine Arts), Suni Lee, Lee Kiefer, Chuck Aoki, and Torri Huske (A1 in Sports and Gaming), and the LA Wildfire Heroes (A1 in Social Impact), represented by CORE’s Ann Lee and CAA Foundation’s Natalie Tran. The special evening also included a sketch by Liza Koshy and sneak peeks at Apple TV+’s Apple Original series Chief of War, Atsuko Okatsuka’s Hulu comedy special Father, and Amazon MGM Studios documentary Lee Soo Man: King of K-Pop. The night’s star-studded guest list included Mindy Kaling, Daniel Dae Kim, H.E.R., John Legend, Chrissy Teigen, Brenda Song, Tan France, Allyson Felix, Jordan Chiles, Kelly Marie Tran, Ming-Na Wen, James Sweeney, Nisha Ganatra, Andrew Ahn, Samantha Quan, Hayley Kiyoko, James Roh, Kevin Nishimura, Naomi Watanabe, Prabal Gurung, Sandra Oh, Jonnie “Dumbfoundead” Park, Harry Shum Jr., Lee Isaac Chung, Dominic Ng, Janet Yang, Amy Homma, Asif Ali, Saagar Shaikh, Poorna Jagannathan, Mike Van, Kogonada, Barbara Peng, Mamoon Hamid, Eric Feng, Luciane Buchanan,  and more. All images: Getty Images Is The Real Housewives of New York Canceled?  Could The Real Housewives of New York City go off the air for good? That’s the Internet’s latest debate, following an exclusive Page Six article on Friday that alleged the show will be canceled from Bravo’s reality TV lineup. However, that same day, a Bravo spokesperson told People that RHONY hasn’t been canceled, though no word is official yet on the show’s next season. The news also came as a surprise to the program’s cast members, with Sai De Silva taking to Instagram Stories and stating RHONY‘s cancellation is “just fake news.” In 2023,  De Silva previously joined RHONY’s brand-new season 14 cast that included Jenna Lyons, Jessel Taank, Erin Lichy, Brynn Whitfield, and Ubah Hassan. Last year, the group also returned for season 15, alongside new co-stars Rebecca Minkoff and Racquel Chevremont.   Subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date on all the latest fashion news and juicy industry gossip. // Allow detecting when fb api is loaded. function Deferred() var self = this; this.promise = new Promise( function( resolve, reject ) self.reject = reject; self.resolve = resolve; ); window.fbLoaded = new Deferred(); window.fbAsyncInit = function() FB.init( appId : '374762726405868', autoLogAppEvents : true, xfbml : true, version : 'v3.0' ); window.fbLoaded.resolve(); ; (function(d, s, id) var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = " fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); (document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); Source link

[norajworld]

200 Glenn Martens’ First Maison Margiela Collection Will Debut At Haute Couture Week! Haute Couture Week’s Fall 2025 shows will feature an exciting addition: Glenn Martens! The newly named creative director of Maison Margiela will show his first collection for the French house’s Maison Margiela Artisanal line at the event, according to Hypebeast. Set between July 7 to 10, Haute Couture Week will feature intricately crafted collections from the world’s most exquisite brands. Though there’s no word on the schedule yet, we’re keeping our eyes peeled to see where Martens lands—and it’s clear the fashion world is too, after John Galliano‘s viral exit from the brand in December. Glenn Martens (Courtesy of Diesel) BAFTA TV Awards Celebrate 2025’s Top Small-Screen Performances  Over the weekend, the BAFTA TV Awards took over London’s Royal Festival Hall for its annual celebration of British television’s top productions and performances. Hosted by Alan Cumming, the ceremony’s major winners included Lennie James (Leading Actor), Marisa Abela (Leading Actress), Jessica Gunning (Supporting Actress), and Ariyon Bakare (Supporting Actor), with additional honors given to The Paris 2024 Olympics, Alma’s Not Normal, Mr Bates vs the Post Office, The Jury: Murder Trial, and more. The elegant event also included starry appearances by Nicola Coughlan, Luke Newton, David Tennant, Graham Norton, Russell Tovey, Anthony Boyle, Katherine Devlin, and more. Cannes Film Festival ‘s New Dress Code: No Nudity, Voluminous Trains, & More Ahead of the  Cannes Film Festival from May 13 to 24, the event has released a strict (and amusing) dress code within its Festival-goer’s Charter. The new code prohibits attendees from wearing outfits featuring nudity or voluminous elements—specifically “those with a large train, that hinder the proper flow of traffic of guests and complicate seating in the theater.” During nighttime screenings for the Grand Théâtre Lumière gala each evening, guests are required to don eveningwear, with suggested options including little black dresses, cocktail dresses, dark-colored pantsuits, formal tops and black pants, black or navy suits with ties, and “elegant” heeled or flat shoes. Any attendees who don’t respect these fashion guidelines will not be allowed to access the red carpet by the Festival’s welcoming teams—so, plan your looks accordingly! Kendall Jenner at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. (Shutterstock) Tommy Hilfiger Taps IVE’s Jang Won Young As Tommy Jeans’ New Face  Tommy Jeans has found its latest star in Jang Won-Young. Won-Young, a member of popular South Korean girl group IVE, is front and center in a fresh new campaign for Tommy Hilfiger‘s denim label. New shots by photographer Mok Jung-Wook find the musician outfitted in the brand’s newest jeans, shirts, dresses, and separates, inspired by confidence and self-expression through fashion. The range is complete with sweet accessories including ballet flats, low-top sneakers, and shoulder bags ideal for the summer months. Those wanting to buy Won-Young’s outfits for their own summer wardrobes can find them now at Tommy Hilfiger stores, wholesale partners, and Tommy.com. The moment marks Hilfiger’s latest star appointment this year, following 2025 collection launches with Sofia Richie Grainge, Jisoo, T-Wave’s Pond, Phuwin, Gemini, and Fourth, and more. “It’s an honor to join the Tommy family—this is a brand with a long history of celebrating inspiring women who lead with confidence and creativity,” Won-Young said in a statement. “This campaign is about expressing your true self, and I hope together we can inspire the next generation to embrace what makes them unique and find joy in every moment.” All images: Mok Jung-Wook Natalie Portman Opens Up On Paris, Parenting, & More For PORTER‘s May Issue Natalie Portman is PORTER‘s latest covergirl. The actress’ fronts the publication’s May issue in a lacy Chloé number, later posing in a variety of chic trenches, bodysuits, knits, and separates by Alaïa, Loewe, Stella McCartney, Leset, Tove, and Toteme for her accompanying editorial. It’s certainly a nod to Portman’s new home base of Paris, where she went viral last year while interacting with Rihanna outside of Dior’s Spring 2024 haute couture show—which she discusses in her accompanying interview with Monica Ainley. Additional highlights include the Oscar winner’s reflections on her 32 years in the spotlight, raising her three children while living in France, filming Guy Ritchie’s new adventure film Fountain of Youth,  and more—plus finding balance between motherhood and her busy career. “My cousin and I always say that Ali Wong quote back to each other: ‘I don’t wanna lean in, I wanna lie down! You gotta lie down, you gotta take away everything you don’t have to do and then do nice things for yourself. Whether that means taking a nap—like, literally—or whatever it is. So much of being a woman who’s trying to do it all is just being tired and overwhelmed and not having any time to yourself. So, you have to demand it for yourself—and you have to give it to yourself.” All images: Alexandra Nataf Gold House Honors AAPI Stars’ Impact & Accomplishments At The Fourth Annual Gold House Gala  Gold House held its fourth Gold House Gala at Los Angeles’ Music Center this weekend, celebrating the cultural influence and impact of Asian Pacific and multicultural leaders across fields including film, television, music, media, philanthropy, and more. The night also honored the year’s 100 most impactful Asian Pacific leaders, commemorated in the organization’s 2025 A100 List. This year’s ceremony included awards for Ang Lee (Gold Legend Honor), Tsunekazu Ishihara (Gold Legend Honor), Megan Thee Stallion (One House Honor), Min Jin Lee (Gold Legend Honor), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon‘s cast Zhang Ziyi (Gold Generation Award), Moana 2‘s cast—including Auli’i Cravalho, Dana Ledoux Miller, and Dave Derrick Jr. (Gold Ensemble Honor), Laufey (Billboard Gold Music Honor), Anderson .Paak (Gold Mogul Honor), Jon M. Chu (A1 in Entertainment and Media), Aravind Srinivas (A1 in Business and Technology) Sabyasachi Mukherjee (A1 in Fashion, Lifestyle, and Fine Arts), Suni Lee, Lee Kiefer, Chuck Aoki, and Torri Huske (A1 in Sports and Gaming), and the LA Wildfire Heroes (A1 in Social Impact), represented by CORE’s Ann Lee and CAA Foundation’s Natalie Tran. The special evening also included a sketch by Liza Koshy and sneak peeks at Apple TV+’s Apple Original series Chief of War, Atsuko Okatsuka’s Hulu comedy special Father, and Amazon MGM Studios documentary Lee Soo Man: King of K-Pop. The night’s star-studded guest list included Mindy Kaling, Daniel Dae Kim, H.E.R., John Legend, Chrissy Teigen, Brenda Song, Tan France, Allyson Felix, Jordan Chiles, Kelly Marie Tran, Ming-Na Wen, James Sweeney, Nisha Ganatra, Andrew Ahn, Samantha Quan, Hayley Kiyoko, James Roh, Kevin Nishimura, Naomi Watanabe, Prabal Gurung, Sandra Oh, Jonnie “Dumbfoundead” Park, Harry Shum Jr., Lee Isaac Chung, Dominic Ng, Janet Yang, Amy Homma, Asif Ali, Saagar Shaikh, Poorna Jagannathan, Mike Van, Kogonada, Barbara Peng, Mamoon Hamid, Eric Feng, Luciane Buchanan,  and more. All images: Getty Images Is The Real Housewives of New York Canceled?  Could The Real Housewives of New York City go off the air for good? That’s the Internet’s latest debate, following an exclusive Page Six article on Friday that alleged the show will be canceled from Bravo’s reality TV lineup. However, that same day, a Bravo spokesperson told People that RHONY hasn’t been canceled, though no word is official yet on the show’s next season. The news also came as a surprise to the program’s cast members, with Sai De Silva taking to Instagram Stories and stating RHONY‘s cancellation is “just fake news.” In 2023,  De Silva previously joined RHONY’s brand-new season 14 cast that included Jenna Lyons, Jessel Taank, Erin Lichy, Brynn Whitfield, and Ubah Hassan. Last year, the group also returned for season 15, alongside new co-stars Rebecca Minkoff and Racquel Chevremont.   Subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date on all the latest fashion news and juicy industry gossip. // Allow detecting when fb api is loaded. function Deferred() var self = this; this.promise = new Promise( function( resolve, reject ) self.reject = reject; self.resolve = resolve; ); window.fbLoaded = new Deferred(); window.fbAsyncInit = function() FB.init( appId : '374762726405868', autoLogAppEvents : true, xfbml : true, version : 'v3.0' ); window.fbLoaded.resolve(); ; (function(d, s, id) var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = " fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); (document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); Source link

[rainydawgradioblog]

Coming of Age with Foster the People

Torches, Supermodel, and the occasional Sacred Hearts Club song will always be the backdrop to my teenage years. I give way to nostalgia and lend myself to Foster the People as I transcend time.

It’s spring of 2017 again. I’m 13, acne-prone, and my hair post-pixie cut is an awkward length, but at least my music taste is good. My dad made sure of this, finding any opportunity to show me Blondie’s and Björk’s music videos. He loves watching YouTube videos. Ironically, that’s how he found Foster the People: through a University of Virginia campus tour, with “Pumped Up Kicks” in the background (weird origin story, I know).

We sit cross-legged on the grass at Chetzemoka Park, studying the lyrics to “Best Friend.” 

Feelings sleeping in the field again / But I can feel, I can feel, I can feel it's beginning to end

Yeah, premonitions smiling in the dark / Well, I can see, I can see, I can see the story's starting to arc

We hover over that last phrase. 

I focus on my father’s words, drowning out Mark Foster’s voice. He tells me I am witty enough to write television scripts one day. A rare compliment. Usually, he makes fun of me for talking like a “Gilmore Girls” character, oscillating between parallels of Jess’s sarcastic quips and Lorelai’s tantrums. I prefer to draw a comparison with music-obsessed Lane.

Whereas Dad likes “Fire Escape,” I’ve always been partial to “Coming of Age”—probably because throughout my time listening to their discography, I’ve borne witness to my own coming of age. Two years after picking at the Chetzemoka grass, “Imagination” is on repeat as I work my first job cleaning houses. Two Julys later, Dad and I drive through the Berkeley hills blasting “Are You What You Want to Be?” (not yet) through the speakers of his ‘92 Volkswagen Rabbit convertible. The top is down and my hair, well past my shoulders now, is blowing hazardously over my eyes. 

I blink and my teenhood is fleeting. It’s spring of 2023 now, and I’m on a suspiciously perfect first date. The sun relentlessly beams down on us as we curl up on a picnic blanket overlooking Lake Union. “Time to Get Closer” starts playing, and perhaps feeling inspired, I lean into him. He kisses me until I pull away gently, giggling. 

Farfetched dreams conceptualized in the grass. California joyrides. My first kiss. Foster the People was the soundtrack for these sweet, formative moments I tether myself to. 

…

The Album

At 21, I’m more of a music junkie than ever. My taste spans over 8,600 songs clustered together in a comprehensive Spotify playlist I add to daily. I’ve transformed the process of finding and listening to music into an active experience as I pause in grocery stores to Shazam tunes and seek out live shows. If I cheat and count individual artist performances at THING Festival, I have been to 57 concerts. My highest concert streak is three back-to-back weekends. I’ve seen shows in my backyard, 50 feet from where I graduated high school. I’ve hopped around Seattle venues, from Barboza to The Showbox to Tractor Tavern.

Foster the People’s Paradise State of Mind tour at The Paramount stands alone.

When the new album came out—the first one in seven years, aside from the Torches deluxe album in 2021—I was nervous I wouldn’t resonate with their music in the way I had as a teen. 

Yet I suppose it would be naive to expect perfect uninterruptedness. After a pandemic and the departure of two band members, it was inevitable that Foster the People would pivot. I should show the band more grace instead of clinging to what was; I, too, have had characters enter and exit my life, though luckily without it making headlines.

While I didn’t connect with Paradise State of Mind as a whole, “Take Me Back” and “Chasing Low Vibrations” reminded me of the existing continuity between current and past versions of Foster the People. These songs have the same layered neo-psychedelic sound and fusion of indie rock and alternative genres as the earlier albums, forming smile lines on my cheeks and coursing adrenaline in my body.

Foster the People’s music awakens something deeply human in me—raw, visceral, and alive. I knew that if I ever had the chance, I had to experience that energy in its truest form—live.

…

The Concert: Good Neighbours

January 25th was a day I’d blocked out in my calendar months before I acquired a concert ticket, just in case. Good Neighbours were on at 8, but doors opened at 7. When I arrived at The Paramount at quarter to 7—the only time I’m ever early is if I’m attending a concert—the lines were divided into VIP seating and regular entry, wrapping around opposite sides of the building. Visibly ecstatic, we all flowed in at once, filling the balcony and barricade alike in minutes.

This was only my second solo show, the first being Temples at Neumos. I’d tried to convince my dad to come up for the night, but those plans never came to fruition. Although I longingly cast looks at couples and friend groups swaying together to “Sit Next to Me,” I was ultimately glad to experience the concert alone. After all, my resonance with Foster the People’s music is rooted in my memories and sense of self.

Good Neighbours assumed the blue-lit stage right on time. Decked out in dress pants and a t-shirt tucked into a blazer, lead singer Oli Fox strutted and danced as he sang “Keep It Up,” establishing an upbeat, infectious stage presence the group maintained throughout their 45-minute set. 

Hailing from East London, Good Neighbours is an indie rock duo composed of Fox and Scott Verrill. In an interview, the band explained they were next-door neighbors in the same studio who made music separately until one day in 2023, they decided to collaborate. “That’s cute,” Fox joked in the interview about the way they met. He explained that their goal for 2025 is to continue working on their debut album.

Without realizing it, I’d heard “Home” and “Daisies” before watching Good Neighbours perform. The chorus of “Home” went viral on the internet before the song was released in January of 2024, and was often used as the backdrop for montages and other nostalgic compilations. 

Of their 11-song setlist, there was an even split between released and unreleased tracks. “Ripple” was unique. Dropped the night before their Seattle show—the tour’s opening stop—my city was the first to hear it live after its streaming debut. Of their unreleased songs, “Starry Eyed” was my favorite. It was catchy, romantic, and a perfect complement to Foster the People’s “Best Friend,” with layered harmonies and the intimate chorus line:

Look at you, look at me / Don’t you know that we could be starry eyed

By the time Good Neighbours wrapped up their set with “Daisies,” I, along with the other photographers, had been ushered out of the pit. I lingered as close to the barricade as I could, beaming with pride for knowing the song before tonight.

Halfway through “Daisies,” the girl standing next to me whispered a question. I later learned her name was Marissa and she’s been listening to Foster the People for about half her life, like me. She found out about them through her older sister, and “Houdini” is one of her favorite songs, though she’s a longtime lover of the entire Torches album.

“Are you the singer’s girlfriend?” Marissa asked.

“What??” I exclaimed, genuinely not hearing her.

“I said, are you dating the singer?”

Oh my God. There’s no way she just asked me that. “Girl, no, I’m just a journalist,” I laughed. “I wish I knew him like that.”

“Oh! I saw you in the pit and thought maybe you were with him.”

“I wish I could say that!”

Our interaction reminded me of Richy Mitch and the Coal Miners, who performed at THING Festival in 2023. My friends and I stood at the barricade, listening as a proud girlfriend’s dad hyped up the band—“the boys,” as he called them—explaining how they practiced in his basement and how he never realized they were this good. Moments like these unravel the context behind the music. Who are the important characters involved? What are they writing about? Whose basement do they practice in? What an honor for me to be mistaken for such an important character in Good Neighbours’ narrative.

The Concert: Foster the People

At 9:18 pm, the lights dimmed and the crowd erupted into cheer. The moment had arrived: Mark Foster was about to breathe the same air as us, bind strangers together and address us as a collective, serenade us in this liminal space with songs he released a few months ago and others he penned a decade ago.

Foster the People opened with “Feed Me,” a track from Paradise State of Mind that I wasn’t familiar with enough to immediately recognize. But when the unmistakable synths of “Helena Beat” hit, I screamed for a solid five seconds. The lights cast Foster in red as he turned his back to the audience, raising his arm in the air, then facing us again to sing. The crowd mirrored his movements, swinging their hands and belting the chorus in unison.

The band’s intricate instrumentation made it surreal to witness them play—strumming their guitars, pounding the drums, and tapping their feet in rhythm with the very music they’d created. In "Pseudologia Fantastica," the fusion of electronic and organic elements struck a chord within me, capturing the tension between illusion and reality. It was as if the music itself embodied the battle between fantasy and truth. I danced, feeling that push and pull within the rhythm.

I was relieved and excited to hear mostly older songs throughout the set. I didn’t need to do my usual “concert homework” with these tracks—they were embedded in my memory, and every note felt like a reunion with my younger self.

Between "Afterlife" and "Call It What You Want," Foster spoke to the crowd in a more serious tone. “I’m sick of all the fear and all the tension and everything that’s going on,” he confided to the 3,000 of us in the venue. “That’s why we play music: to express that stuff.” His words hung in the air as he prepared to express “that stuff” again.

“Houdini,” “Imagination,” and “A Beginner’s Guide to Destroying the Moon” tugged at my senses, unraveling memories of bus rides and walks and other in-betweens from when I first encountered these songs. My dream came true at 9:50 pm, with the opening notes to “Coming of Age.”

Someone told me once that half the excitement at a show is wondering if your favorite song will be played. There’s a euphoric rush when a song you love but didn’t expect to hear makes the setlist. “Coming of Age” was both. It’s not one of their biggest hits, but then again, neither was “Time to Get Closer,” which was also performed (and, naturally, made me think of that first date).

Yet surprisingly, as “Coming of Age” unfolded, I was not stirred by the past. I was an active participant in the moment, fixating on the warm-toned stage lights dancing in perfect sync with the chorus drums. Strangers on the balcony swayed their bodies, perhaps simultaneously reminiscing on and partaking in their own coming of age. Foster ignited a truly magical moment when he led a clap for the final chorus, only slightly interrupted by a devoted fan in front of me screaming even louder—and longer—than I was when Foster walked over to us. 

This performance was my coming of age—a decade of memories converging in a single night, stitched together by the songs that underscored every phase of my life. Foster the People knew this. They understood the weight of nostalgia embedded in the very existence of this concert. They were aware of exactly what we had come for: the oldies we never thought we’d hear live, the soundtrack of our past reclaimed tonight. And they delivered.

Of course, the obligatory encore ended with “Pumped Up Kicks” as a rewind and reference to the band’s coming of age. Foster blew a kiss and thanked us for the privilege of performing tonight in this iconic theater. After the show, I lingered, waiting for the magic to settle. I scored a set list and quickly realized each song was abbreviated: “Pumped Up Kicks” was reduced to “Kicks.” A casual shorthand memento.

The fragments of the night had already begun to slip into memory. 

[juliaanevillee]

Coming of Age with Foster the People

Torches, Supermodel, and the occasional Sacred Hearts Club song will always be the backdrop to my teenage years. I give way to nostalgia and lend myself to Foster the People as I transcend time.

It’s spring of 2017 again. I’m 13, acne-prone, and my hair post-pixie cut is an awkward length, but at least my music taste is good. My dad made sure of this, finding any opportunity to show me Blondie’s and Björk’s music videos. He loves watching YouTube videos. Ironically, that’s how he found Foster the People: through a University of Virginia campus tour, with “Pumped Up Kicks” in the background (weird origin story, I know).

We sit cross-legged on the grass at Chetzemoka Park, studying the lyrics to “Best Friend.” 

Feelings sleeping in the field again / But I can feel, I can feel, I can feel it's beginning to end

Yeah, premonitions smiling in the dark / Well, I can see, I can see, I can see the story's starting to arc

We hover over that last phrase. 

I focus on my father’s words, drowning out Mark Foster’s voice. He tells me I am witty enough to write television scripts one day. A rare compliment. Usually, he makes fun of me for talking like a “Gilmore Girls” character, oscillating between parallels of Jess’s sarcastic quips and Lorelai’s tantrums. I prefer to draw a comparison with music-obsessed Lane.

Whereas Dad likes “Fire Escape,” I’ve always been partial to “Coming of Age”—probably because throughout my time listening to their discography, I’ve borne witness to my own coming of age. Two years after picking at the Chetzemoka grass, “Imagination” is on repeat as I work my first job cleaning houses. Two Julys later, Dad and I drive through the Berkeley hills blasting “Are You What You Want to Be?” (not yet) through the speakers of his ‘92 Volkswagen Rabbit convertible. The top is down and my hair, well past my shoulders now, is blowing hazardously over my eyes. 

I blink and my teenhood is fleeting. It’s spring of 2023 now, and I’m on a first date. The sun relentlessly beams down on us as we curl up on a picnic blanket overlooking Lake Union. “Time to Get Closer” starts playing, and perhaps feeling inspired, I lean into him. He kisses me until I pull away gently, giggling. 

Farfetched dreams conceptualized in the grass. California joyrides. My first kiss. Foster the People was the soundtrack for these sweet, formative moments I tether myself to. 

…

The Album

At 21, I’m more of a music junkie than ever. My taste spans over 8,600 songs clustered together in a comprehensive Spotify playlist I add to daily. I’ve transformed the process of finding and listening to music into an active experience as I pause in grocery stores to Shazam tunes and seek out live shows. If I cheat and count individual artist performances at THING Festival, I have been to 57 concerts. My highest concert streak is three back-to-back weekends. I’ve seen shows in my backyard, 50 feet from where I graduated high school. I’ve hopped around Seattle venues, from Barboza to The Showbox to Tractor Tavern.

Foster the People’s Paradise State of Mind tour at The Paramount stands alone.

When the new album came out—the first one in seven years, aside from the Torches deluxe album in 2021—I was nervous I wouldn’t resonate with their music in the way I had as a teen. 

Yet I suppose it would be naive to expect perfect uninterruptedness. After a pandemic and the departure of two band members, it was inevitable that Foster the People would pivot. I should show the band more grace instead of clinging to what was; I, too, have had characters enter and exit my life, though luckily without it making headlines.

While I didn’t connect with Paradise State of Mind as a whole, “Take Me Back” and “Chasing Low Vibrations” reminded me of the existing continuity between current and past versions of myself. These songs have the same layered neo-psychedelic sound and fusion of indie rock and alternative genres as the earlier albums, forming smile lines on my cheeks and coursing adrenaline in my body.

Foster the People’s music awakens something deeply human in me—raw, visceral, and alive. I knew that if I ever had the chance, I had to experience that energy in its truest form: live.

…

The Concert: Good Neighbours

January 25th was a day I’d blocked out in my calendar months before I acquired a concert ticket, just in case. Good Neighbours were on at 8, but doors opened at 7. When I arrived at The Paramount at quarter to 7—the only time I’m ever early is if I’m attending a concert—the lines were divided into VIP seating and regular entry, wrapping around opposite sides of the building. Visibly ecstatic, we all flowed in at once, filling the balcony and barricade alike in minutes.

This was only my second solo show, the first being Temples at Neumos. I’d tried to convince my dad to come up for the night, but those plans never came to fruition. Although I longingly cast looks at couples and friend groups swaying together to “Sit Next to Me,” I was ultimately glad to experience the concert alone. After all, my resonance with Foster the People’s music is rooted in my relationship with myself.

Good Neighbours assumed the blue-lit stage right on time. Decked out in dress pants and a t-shirt tucked into a blazer, lead singer Oli Fox strutted and danced as he sang “Keep It Up,” establishing an upbeat, infectious stage presence the group maintained throughout their 45-minute set. 

Hailing from East London, Good Neighbours is an indie rock duo composed of Fox and Scott Verrill. In an interview, the band explained they were next-door neighbors in the same studio who made music separately until one day in 2023, they decided to collaborate. “That’s cute,” Fox joked in the interview about the way they met. He explained that their goal for 2025 is to continue working on their debut album.

Without realizing it, I’d heard “Home” and “Daisies” before watching Good Neighbours perform. The chorus of “Home” went viral on the internet before the song was released in January of 2024, and was often used as the backdrop for montages and other nostalgic compilations. 

Of their 11-song setlist, there was an even split between released and unreleased tracks. “Ripple” was unique—dropped the night before their Seattle show, the tour’s opening stop, making my city the first to hear it live after its streaming debut. Of their unreleased songs, “Starry Eyed” was my favorite. It was catchy, romantic, and a perfect complement to Foster the People’s “Best Friend,” with layered harmonies and the intimate chorus line:

Look at you, look at me / Don’t you know that we could be starry eyed

By the time Good Neighbours wrapped up their set with 'Daisies,' I, along with the other photographers, had been ushered out of the pit. I lingered as close to the barricade as I could, beaming with pride for knowing the song before tonight.

Halfway through “Daisies,” the girl standing next to me whispered a question. I later learned her name was Marissa and she’s been listening to Foster the People for about half her life, like me. She found out about them through her older sister, and “Houdini” is one of her favorite songs, though she’s a longtime lover of the entire Torches album.

“Are you the singer’s girlfriend?” Marissa asked.

“What?” I said, genuinely not hearing her.

“I said, are you dating the singer?”

Oh my God. There’s no way she just asked me that. “Girl, no, I’m just a journalist,” I laughed. “I wish I knew him like that.”

“Oh! I saw you in the pit and thought maybe you were with him.”

“I wish I could say that!”

Our interaction reminded me of Richy Mitch and the Coal Miners, who performed at THING Festival in 2023. My friends and I stood at the barricade, listening as a proud girlfriend’s dad hyped up the band—“the boys,” as he called them—explaining how they practiced in his basement and how he never realized they were this good.

Moments like these unravel the context behind the music. Who are the important characters involved? What are they writing about? Whose basement do they practice in? What an honor for me to be mistaken for such an important character in Good Neighbours’ narrative. 

…

The Concert: Foster the People

At 9:18 pm, the lights dimmed and the crowd erupted into cheer. The moment had arrived: Mark Foster was about to breathe the same air as us, bind strangers together and address us as a collective, serenade us in this liminal space with songs he wrote a few months ago and others he penned a decade ago.

Foster the People opened with “Feed Me,” a track from Paradise State of Mind that I wasn’t familiar with enough to immediately recognize. But when the unmistakable synths of “Helena Beat” hit, I screamed for a solid five seconds. The lights cast Foster in red as he turned his back to the audience, raising his arm in the air, then facing us again to sing. The crowd mirrored his movements, swinging their hands and belting the chorus in unison.

The band’s intricate instrumentation made it surreal to witness them play—strumming their guitars, pounding the drums, and tapping their feet in rhythm with the very music they’d created. In "Pseudologia Fantastica," the fusion of electronic and organic elements struck a chord within me, capturing the tension between illusion and reality. It was as if the music itself embodied the battle between fantasy and truth. I danced, feeling that push and pull within the rhythm.

I was relieved and excited to hear mostly older songs throughout the set. I didn’t need to do my usual “concert homework” with these tracks—they were embedded in my memory, and every note felt like a reunion with my younger self.

Between "Afterlife" and "Call It What You Want," Foster spoke to the crowd in a more serious tone. “I’m sick of all the fear and all the tension and everything that’s going on,” he confided to the 3,000 of us in the venue. “That’s why we play music: to express that stuff.” His words hung in the air as he prepared to express that stuff again.

“Houdini,” “Imagination,” and “A Beginner’s Guide to Destroying the Moon” tugged at my senses, unraveling memories of bus rides and walks and other in-betweens from when I first encountered these songs. My dream came true at 9:50 pm, with the opening notes to “Coming of Age.”

Someone told me once that half the excitement at a show is wondering if your favorite song will be played. There’s a euphoric rush when a song you love but didn’t expect to hear makes the setlist. “Coming of Age” was both. It’s not one of their biggest hits, but then again, neither was “Time to Get Closer,” which was also performed (and, naturally, made me think of that flawless first date).

Yet surprisingly, as “Coming of Age” unfolded, I was not stirred by the past. I was an active participant in the moment, fixating on the warm-toned stage lights dancing in perfect sync with the chorus drums. Strangers on the balcony swayed their bodies, perhaps simultaneously reminiscing on and partaking in their own coming of age. Foster ignited a truly magical moment when he led a clap for the final chorus, only slightly interrupted by a fan in front of me screaming even louder than I was when Foster walked over to us. 

This performance was my coming of age—a decade of memories converging in a single night, stitched together by the songs that underscored every phase of my life. Foster the People knew this. They understood the weight of nostalgia embedded in the very existence of this concert. They were aware of exactly what we had come for: the oldies we never thought we’d hear live, the soundtrack of our past reclaimed tonight. And they delivered.

Of course, the obligatory encore ended with “Pumped Up Kicks” as a rewind and reference to the band’s coming of age. Foster blew a kiss and thanked us for the privilege of performing tonight in this iconic theater. After the show, I lingered, waiting for the magic to settle. I scored a set list and quickly realized each song was abbreviated: “Pumped Up Kicks” was reduced to “Kicks.” Very fitting.

The fragments of the night had already begun to slip into memory.  

By Julia Neville

[mermaidinthecity]

Golden Exits Premiere during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah - January 22, 2017

[boyletimes]

Widow loses life savings after ‘firetrap’ developer fails to repay €150k loan

A controversial developer who asked to borrow the life savings of an 81-year-old widow has failed to repay the money after half a decade of broken promises.

In 2017, the widow gave €160,000 in cash to developer Paddy Byrne, who built the Millfield Manor estate in Co. Kildare where six houses burnt to the ground in under 30 minutes in 2015.

The cash was for a penthouse apartment in Dublin she planned to move into.

The development was built by Victoria Homes, a company that was established by Mr Byrne’s sister Joan just before Mr Byrne was precluded from acting as a company director in Ireland for five years.

After viewing plans for the €630,000 property, in a development called Greygates in Mount Merrion, the pensioner withdrew the cash from her bank and gave it to Mr Byrne.

Some €10,000 of this was a deposit, with the remaining €150,000 provided on the advice of a third party who was known to Mr Byrne and the widow, who said the cash would secure a good price.

But in November 2017 the widow, a retired primary school teacher, found a more suitable home and asked for her  money back.

Mr Byrne agreed to this, saying he would have no problem selling the penthouse and promptly refunded the €10,000 deposit.

However, he asked that the remaining €150,000 be treated as a 14-month loan and promised to pay a 10% annual interest rate.

This effectively turned the widow into an unwitting creditor of Victoria Homes.

According to a handwritten agreement, signed by Mr Byrne, the loan was to be ‘paid back from the sales proceeds’ of the penthouse at his Greygates development.

More than half a decade later, the loan remains unpaid – even after the widow made a criminal complaint to gardaí and took legal action to secure a judgement.

As it is a civil matter, the Garda investigation faltered. And because various other unpaid creditors had previously secured judgements against Victoria Homes, the widow is now unlikely to get her savings back. During the Celtic Tiger years, Paddy Byrne was renowned for his €2.4m Sikorsky helicopter and sponsorship of the Irish National Hunt festival.

But in 2011 his then-firm, Barrack Homes, went bust and Mr Byrne declared bankruptcy in Britain with debts of €100m.

He was banned from acting as a UK director for 10 years in 2012.

This ban was scheduled to end in 2022 – and ran the full course – but it only applied in the UK and Wales.

According to the UK insolvency register today, Mr Byrne’s discharge from UK bankruptcy is ‘suspended indefinitely’ until the fulfilment of conditions made in a 2012 court order.

Separately, in Ireland, he was also restricted from acting as a director for a period of five years – which ended in January 2018.

Mr Byrne is also known for building the Millfield Manor estate in Newbridge, Co. Kildare, where half a dozen houses were razed to the ground within 30 minutes in 2015.

A report into the blaze found ‘major and life-threatening serious shortfalls and discrepancies and deviations from the minimum requirements of the national mandatory building regulations’ at Mr Byrne’s development.

Today, having exited bankruptcy, Mr Byrne is best known as the figurehead behind Victoria Homes and associated businesses, which was set up by his sister and her husband in December 2012, while he was bankrupt.

Mr Byrne was not a director or owner of Victoria Homes during the period of his bankruptcy. But, in 2017, Mr Byrne’s sister and her husband stepped back from Victoria Homes, transferring their shares to an offshore entity in Belize city called Victoria Holdings.

In November 2022, the main lenders to Victoria Homes – the Lotus Development Group – forced the firm into receivership for the second time.

In 2020, Lotus had forced a previous short-lived receivership before agreeing a deal that saw Victoria Homes begin trading normally once more.

Today, Mr Byrne appears to have left Victoria Homes behind and seems to be focusing on a new firm instead.

Set up in the summer of 2020, Branach Developments is entirely owned by Mr Byrne and is not encumbered by any bank debt or mortgages as Victoria Homes was.

According to the latest filed accounts, for the year ended 2021, Branach Developments held ‘tangible assets’ of €210,000 and ‘stocks’ of €600,000.

The accounts also show that, in 2021, Mr Byrne provided the company with an interest-free loan of €1,024,438.

Just last week Mr Byrne’s new firm was one of the winners at the National Property Awards sponsored by the Business Post and Deloitte, among others.

At the award ceremony, Branach Developments took home the prize for best sustainability initiative of the year.

However, Mr Byrne, who shuns publicity and is rarely photographed, does not appear to have attended the ceremony and the award was accepted by a colleague.

This week the Irish Mail on Sunday sent queries to Mr Byrne via his mobile phone, his email at Victoria Homes and his email at Branach Developments, without response.

Queries to his solicitor and the separate accountancy firms representing Victoria Homes and Branach Developments also went unanswered as did calls to the numbers on the websites of these firms.

Mr Byrne also previously declined to respond to questions from the MoS relating to the establishment of Victoria Homes during the period of his bankruptcy.

At the time, Mr Byrne appeared to be living at Ballinrahin House, close to Rathangan on the border of Offaly and Kildare.

The home is a luxury build on 26 acres of stud-railed paddocks with six stables and a 1.3km tree-lined avenue behind electric gates.

The property was on sale for €2.8m in 2009, but land registry records confirm that, in November 2014, it was sold to Victoria Homes for a knockdown price of €484,000.

Ownership of Ballinrahin House was transferred offshore to Victoria Holdings in Belize on April 10, 2018, just weeks before Mr Byrne was due to repay the €150,000 back to the widow.

Gisela Boulware

[brookston]

Holidays 7.10

Holidays

Armed Forces Day (Mauritania)

Army Day (Albania)

Battle of Britain Anniversary Day

Battle of Poltava Day (Russia)

Beatles Day (Liverpool, Hamburg)

Capybara Appreciation Day

Chronic Disease Awareness Day

Clerihew Day

Cumin Day (French Republic)

Don't Step On A Bee Day (UK)

Flag Day (Mongolia)

Global Energy Independence Day

Gospel Day (Kiribati)

His Masters Voice Day

International Glut1 Awareness Day

International Safewords Day

Lá Cuimhneacháin Náisiúnta (National Day of Commemoration; Ireland)

Lady Godiva Day

London Bridge Falling Down Day

Merchant’s Festival (Elder Scrolls)

Minion Day

Naadam Day (Mongolia)

National All American Pet Photo Day

National Caleb Day

National Contour Day

National Fish Farmers Day (India)

National Kitten Day

National Lineworker Appreciation Day (Canada)

National Stella Day

National Transplant Financial Coordinator Day

Natto Day (Japan)

Nikola Tesla Day

Oils and Concentrates Day

Police Radio Day

Protogeneia Asteroid Day

Rhodes Day (Rhodesia)

710 Day

Silence Day (Meher Baba)

Srebrenica Memorial Day

Stay Away From Bees Day

Teddy Bear's Picnic Day

Telstar Day

Uniwaine (Senior Citizens’ Day; Kiribati)

U.S. Energy Independence Day

World Airway Disorders Day

World Miniature Golf Day

World Shuvit Cancer Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Beer Distributors Day

National Piña Colada Day

National Pizza Day (Brazil)

Pick Blueberries Day

Independence & Related Days

Bahamas (from UK, 1973)

Federal Republic of New Potato Land (Declared; 2017) [unrecognized]

Wyoming Statehood Day (#44; 1890)

2nd Wednesday in July

National Day of Prayer and Thanksgiving (Montserrat) [2nd Wednesday]

Weekly Holidays beginning July 10 (2nd Week of July)

Sweetheart Days Festival (Minnesota) [2nd Wednesday; thru Friday]

Festivals Beginning July 10, 2024

American Cheese Society Annual Conference (Buffalo, New York) [thru 7.13]

European Balloon Festival (Igualada, Spain) [thru 7.14]

EXIT (Novi Sad, Serbia) [thru 7.14]

Love International Festival (Tins, Croatia) [thru 7.16]

Mad Cool Festival (Madrid, Spain) [thru 7.13]

Ossipee Valley Fair (South Hiram, Maine) [thru 7.14]

Riddu Riđđu (Manndalen, Norway) [thru 7.13]

Sandcastle Contest (Belmar, New Jersey)

Tangomarkkinat (Seinäjoki, Finland) [thru 7.14]

Vegan Summerfest (Johnstown, Pennsylvania) [thru 7.14]

Winona County Fair (St. Charles, Minnesota) [thru 7.14]

Woody Guthrie Folk Festival (Okemah, Oklahoma) [thru 7.14]

Feast Days

Alice Munro (Writerism)

Amalberga of Maubeuge (Christian; Saint & Widow)

Amalburga (Christian; Saint & Virgin)

Antony and Theodosius Pechersky (Christian; Saints)

St. Bathilda (Positivist; Saint)

Camille Pissarro (Artology)

Canute IV of Denmark (Christian; Saint)

David Teniers III (Artology)

Day of Holda (Goddess of the Underworld; Anglo-Saxon, Norse)

Feast Day of Knut the Reaper, Hela, Holda and Skadi (Norse)

Feast of Translation of Saint Maclovius, Bishop of Saint-Malo (Christian; Confessor)

Feast of The Seven Brothers (Januarius, Felix, Philip, Silvanus, Alexander, Vitalis, and Martialis; Christian; Martyrs)

Felicitas of Rome (Christian; Martyr)

The First Sermon of Lord Buddha (Buddhism; Bhutan)

Giorgio de Chirico (Artology)

Hela’s Day (Pagan)

Joe Shuster (Artology)

Kanute IV, King of Denmark (Christian; Martyr)

Knut the Reaper's Day (Norse; Scotland)

Marcel Proust (Writerism)

Mel Blanc Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Millennial Fairy Olympics, Day 5 (Shamanism)

New Robe for Athena Day (Ancient Greece)

Otto Freundlich (Artology)

Pina Colada Day (Pastafarian)

Reach Out and Touch a Green Leaf Day (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Reg Smythe (Artology)

Ronnie Cutrone (Artology)

Rufina and Secunda (Christian; Martyrs & Virgins)

Rusty (Muppetism)

Septic Bralu Diena (Ancient Latvia)

Seth Godin (Writerism)

Seven Brothers (Christian; Martyrs)

Sixto Rodriguez (Humanism,)

Tita or Tatata Ita (Muppetism)

U Festinu (a.k.a. Feast of St. Rosalia; Palermo, Italy) [thru 7.15]

Viaticum of Llefoed Wynebglawr (Celtic Book of Days)

Victoria, Anatolia, and Audax (Christian; Saints)

Wickerwork Giants Parade & Festival (Douai, France)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Butsumetsu (仏滅 Japan) [Unlucky all day.]

Fatal Day (Pagan) [13 of 24]

Prime Number Day: 191 [43 of 72]

Unfortunate Day (Pagan) [39 of 57]

Premieres

Ball Four, by Jim Bouton (Sports Memoir; 1970)

The Brave Little Toaster (Animated Film; 1987)

Cocky Cock Roach (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1932)

Cool World (Animated Film; 1992)

The Day of the Triffids, by John Wyndham (Novel; 1951)

Do Way Diddy Diddy, by Manfred Mann (Song; 1964)

Escape from New York (Film; 1981)

The Fox and the Hound (Animated Disney Film; 1981)

Greyhound (Film; 2020)

A Hard Day’s Night, by The Beatles (Album; 1964)

Heat Wave, by Martha and the Vandellas (Song; 1963)

Homesteader Droopy (Tex Avery MGM Cartoon; 1954)

The Hot Spell, featuring Farmer Al Falfa (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1936)

Lethal Weapon 4 (Film; 1998)

I Got You Babe, by Sonny and Cher (Song; 1965)

I Love You Beth Cooper (Film; 2009)

In Search of Lost Time, by Marcel Proust (Novel; 1927)

In the Midnight Hour, by Wilson Pickett (Song; 1965)

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (Film; 1985)

Minions (Animated Film; 2015)

Moon (Film; 2009)

Mother Necessity (America Rock Cartoon; Schoolhouse Rock; 1976)

New Maps of Hell, by Bad Religion (Album; 2007)

Ode to Billie Joe, by Bobbie Gentry (Song; 1967)

The Oily American (WB MM Cartoon; 1954)

The Old Guard (Film; 2020)

Once Upon a Mouse (Disney Cartoon Documentary; 1981)

The Outpost (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1942)

Palm Springs (Film; 2020)

Parachutes, by Coldplay (Album; 2000)

Pi (Film; 1998)

Pink Valiant (Pink Panther Cartoon; 1968)

She Wolf, by Shakira (Album; 2009)

Small Soldiers (Animated Film; 1998)

Smoke Signal (Animated Film; 2018)

Son of Schmilsson, by Harry Nilsson (Album; 1972)

Summertime, recorded by Ella Fitzgerald (Song; 1936)

Tempted, by Squeeze (Song; 1981)

Trouble with Lichen, by John Wyndham (Novel; 1960)

Unnatural Death, by Dorothy L. Sayers (Novel; 1927) [Peter Wimsey #3]

Up N’ Atom (Color Rhapsody Cartoon; 1947)

The Wayward Pups (Happy Harmonies Cartoon; 1937)

We Are the Champions/We Will Rock You, by Queen (UK Song; 1977)

Your Hit Parade (TV Series; 1950)

Today’s Name Days

Engelbert, Knud, Raphael (Austria)

Feliks, Srećko, Viktorija (Croatia)

Amálie, Libuše (Czech Republic)

Knud (Denmark)

Saima, Saime, Saimi (Estonia)

Saima, Saimi (Finland)

Ulrich (France)

Knud, Engelbert, Raphael, Sascha (Germany)

Amália (Greece)

Amália (Hungary)

Armando, Marziale, Pietro, Rufina (Italy)

Lielvardis, Lija, Olīvija, Uve (Latvia)

Amalija, Eirimė, Gilvainas (Lithuania)

Anita, Anja (Norway)

Aleksander, Amelia, Aniela, Filip, January, Radziwoj, Rufina, Samson, Sylwan, Sylwana, Witalis (Poland)

Amália (Slovakia)

Cristóbal (Spain)

André, Andrea, Anund (Sweden)

Anthony (Ukraine)

Emanuel, Emmanuel, Gage, Immanuel, Manuel, Manuela (USA)

Emanuel, Immanuel, Maos, Manuela, Ulla, Ulrich, Ulrika, Ulrike (Universal)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 192 of 2024; 174 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 3 of week 28 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Tinne (Holly) [Day 4 of 28]

Chinese: Month 6 (Xin-Wei), Day 5 (Yi-Hai)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 4 Tammuz 5784

Islamic: 3 Muharram 1446

J Cal: 12 Red; Foursday [12 of 30]

Julian: 27 June 2024

Moon: 21%: Waxing Crescent

Positivist: 23 Charlemagne (7th Month) [St. Bathilda]

Runic Half Month: Ur (Primal Strength) [Day 2 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 21 of 94)

Week: 2nd Week of July

Zodiac: Cancer (Day 20 of 31)

[moochilatv]

Cornelius presents: "Too Much Love for Sauna (Falling Deep)"

Post-Modern Pop artists Cornelius releases bewitching New Single and Vide.  

Forthcoming Ambient LP Ethereal Essence Out June 26

Stream/Order Ethereal Essence here

“Too Much Love for Sauna” unfurls like a fractal melody from an otherworldly music box, layering delicate tones and textures organically, enveloping audiences in a sublime experience. The piece also has a fun story behind it. 

“This song was written for the TV drama, SADO, and has been used as the opening theme since 2019,” Cornelius says. “In the past few years, there has been an unprecedented sauna boom in Japan, and the original manga was the spark that ignited it. I was a fan of the artist and decided to take charge of the project. The single we are distributing this time is a newly arranged version that expresses the psychedelic ecstasy of the sauna more deeply.”

A noticeable shift in direction from his famed hopscotch pop style to a more meditative and abstract approach, Ethereal Essence marks Cornelius’ first full-length album since the critically acclaimed Dream in Dream (2023), and Mellow Waves (2017) LPs. Dream in Dream’s singles and videos – "Change and Vanish”, “Sparks” and "All Things Must Pass" – were received adoringly throughout 2023. 

Reflecting on the evolution of his sound, Cornelius explains, “I gathered songs that have an ethereal feel from the various purposes for which they have been produced over the past few years and I decided to make one album. With the current strange situation in the world and the stressful social life, I feel comfortable with something that fits into the introspection and spiritual world. Last year, I exhibited my work at Ambient Kyoto in Kyoto with Ryuichi Sakamoto and others.” In addition to Sakamoto and Cornelius (whose collaboration wowed audiences and critics), the prestigious festival also included Shiro Takatani, Buffalo Daughter, and Seiichi Yamamoto, a noteworthy lineup overflowing with genius highlighting Kyoto’s significance in the world of music and art. 

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Cornelius’ current focus is nothing new. The songwriter, producer, and performer has been a fan of ambient music his whole life and includes Raymond Scott’s “Soothing Sounds for Baby,” Hiroshi Yoshimura’s Music for Nine Postcards, Jonny Nash’s Exit Strategies, The Sweet Enough’s Marshmallow, and Steve Hiett’s Down on the Road by the Beach among his favorite ambient albums of all time. 

The upcoming 30th anniversary Dream in Dream World Tour features Cornelius’ 20-year compatriots Hirohisa Horie on keyboards (also a support member for Yukihiro Takahashi’s Yellow Magic Orchestra) and Yuko Araki on drums (also a member of Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band along with Cornelius); and Buffalo Daughter’s Yumiko Ohno on Moog and bass, who joined Cornelius in 2016 on his indelible Fantasma World Tour. Cornelius and his band will be playing songs from his five previous albums since 1992, beginning with the landmark LP Fantasma. He encourages old fans and new to experience this next wave in sound in person. “We are grateful to everyone who has supported our activities. Please come and see us.”

U.S. West Coast Tour Dates

9/21/24 - Music Box - San Diego, CA

9/22/24 - Pappy & Harriets - Pioneertown, CA

9/24/24 - Fonda Theatre - Los Angeles, CA

9/25/24 - UC Theatre - Berkeley, CA

9/27/24 - Crystal Ballroom - Portland, OR

9/29/24 - Neptune Theatre - Seattle, WA

World Tour Dates 

8/29/24 - End of the Road Festival - Salisbury, England 

9/3/24 - Paradiso - Amsterdam, Netherlands 

9/6/2024 - Barbican - London, England

Ethereal Essence Track List:

1. Quantum Ghost

2. Sketch For Spring

3. Heaven Is Waiting

4. Too Much Love For Sauna (Falling Deep)

5. Xanadu

6. Koko

7. Step Into Exovera

8. Forbidden Apple

9. Melting Moment

10. Mind Matrix

11. Windmills Of My Mind

12. Thatness and Thereness - Cornelius Remodel (Ryuichi Sakamoto 2023 tribute cover

Follow Cornelius:

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