And while it's not complete, it is more than a mere fragment.
We had a very high tide yesterday, and we didn't even attempt the beach. Then we had three thunderstorms overnight, which dumped 2.4 inches of rain, mostly in a few minutes.
One day you wash up on the beach, wet and naked. Another day you wash back out. In between, the scenery changes constantly.
Thirty years ago, an edgy new pop star looked set to take over the world. With her peroxide blonde hair, camo trousers and rebellious spirit, No Doubt frontwoman Gwen Stefani seemed like a breath of cigarette-smoke-tinged air: cooler and sexier than Britney Spears, but not quite as chaotic as Courtney Love; an artist who appealed to both rock and pop fans.From Althouse, "But a recent tragedy-exploiting television series about John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette features a character using my name and presents her as me." Writes Daryl Hannah, in the NYT.
No Doubt’s third album, Tragic Kingdom (1995), sold more than 16 million copies, earned the band two Grammy nominations (for best new artist and best rock album) and spawned the colossal hit single Don’t Speak. Stefani’s decision to go solo in 2004 catapulted her to the A-list, with number one singles, sold-out tours and countless magazine front covers. She was the US’s favourite cool girl, whose empowering songs formed the soundtrack of millennial adolescence. Until she wasn’t. Two decades later, Stefani has found herself with a very different identifier: enemy of liberals everywhere.
The choice to portray her as irritating, self-absorbed, whiny and inappropriate was no accident. In discussing the show, “Love Story,” one of its producers explained: “Given how much we’re rooting for John and Carolyn, Daryl Hannah occupies a space where she’s an adversary to what you want narratively in the story.” Storytelling requires tension. It often requires an obstacle. But a real, living person is not a narrative device.I could live quite handily without ever thinking of these people again. Brad Slager at RedState looks at Hollywood’s Crazy Economics: Impending Crash of 'Supergirl' to Affect Dozens of Partnering Companies.
There is also a gendered dimension to this thinking. Popular culture has long elevated certain women by portraying others as rivals, obstacles or villains. Isn’t it textbook misogyny to tear down one woman in order to build up another?...
As Brandon Morse has been following here for the past few weeks, the lead actress in this DC-Warners feature, Milly Alcock, has been serving up audience-repelling comments on the regular, and the film’s fortunes are foundering as a result. This is not only sure to tank the profitability of the movie itself, but the future of the DC superhero universe, as helmed by James Gunn, is threatened.
Initial tracking for this title had it pegged to perform better its opening weekend than the “Mandalorian” entry, at around $80 million. In early June, those numbers were revised down to a more modest $55 million debut weekend. Contrasted with “Superman’s" bow last year at $125 million, this is a woeful prospect, and the projections have only turned more dismal.
New York Post @nypost, "Brian Austin Green admits his marriage to ex Megan Fox was led by ‘physical attraction’ https://trib.al/GP5uFqw," Really?Right now, some of you are rolling your eyes and saying "There she goes again, showing off her magnificent rack" and I just want you to know that I am not seeing the problem https://t.co/Y1XmjpeXFT
— Physics Geek (@physicsgeek) July 17, 2026
When she's right, she's right. Chris Queen at PJM thinks CNN’s Ella Langley Blind Spot Exposes Its Coastal BubbleMadonna shows love to Kylie Minogue in new Graham Norton interview:
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) June 27, 2026
“I was actually a little bit jealous of you…she’s so cute. I think my ex-husband at the time had a crush on her. I was like, ‘I’ll never be as beautiful as Kylie.’” pic.twitter.com/uCZixsykdH
CNN’s Zoe Sottle writes:John Sexton at Hat Hair thinks Ariana Grande Is Obviously Not Well, She needs to eat donuts, not spit on them.“Choosin’ Texas,” Ella Langley’s languid heartbreak anthem about losing her cowboy sweetheart to a girl from Texas, which Rolling Stone has declared the song of the summer, is everywhere and nowhere at the same time.“What’s really happening is there’s hits in what we call subcultures,” NYU music professor Clayton Durant tells Sottle. I guess national fandom and massive radio and retail success across multiple genres is a subculture?
It depends on who you ask and, more importantly, what their algorithm serves them up.
The song – cowritten by Miranda Lambert in one mark of Langley’s country bona fides – is an undisputed hit, if charts are how you define such things. It’s spent 15 weeks at Billboard’s No. 1, making Langley just one of three women to earn that honor as solo artists and breaking the records previously held by Whitney Houston for “I Will Always Love You” and Mariah Carey for “We Belong Together.” She’s leading Taylor Swift and Drake in the charts.
So, why does it feel like people don’t know her face or name? Call it the baffling reality of music in 2026.
Grande’s cheeks appear to be sunken. Her clavicles and upper rib cage protrude. Her arms seem to be entirely lacking fat or muscle and instead to be sinew on bone. Her legs, what we can see of them, are spindly. Online, a dietitian I follow posted a hesitant video explaining that while she generally refrains from publicly commenting on other people’s bodies, she was going to use Grande’s video to educate viewers on the signs she looks for when diagnosing malnutrition at an anorexia/bulimia treatment program. The dietitian then dispassionately pointed out that Grande’s body, at least the parts that were visible, fit nearly every criterion.
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Matt Margolis at PJM,
Here's How Team Trump Got Ariana Grande to Have a Complete Meltdown
On Thursday, the Team Trump TikTok account, which has 14 million followers and has been running since before the 2024 election, posted a video of Trump walking to a rally podium set to Grande's 2024 song "We Can't Be Friends (Wait For Your Love)." Text overlaid on the video read, "Me and my truth we sit in silence...Men can't have babies and should never compete in women's sports." The caption made the point even plainer: "This shouldn't be controversial! #trump #arianagrande #maga."
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Of course, Grande did not see any of that as up for debate. She commented on the Team Trump post, demanding that the account stop using her music and pushing back against the claims made in the video. "Never use my music again," Grande wrote. "Also, your truth is false."
I hope she finds the help she needs. We don't need any more Karen Carpenters.
And the pickens are kinda slim. And I'm OK with that.
From Twitchy, Hypocrite 'Eat the Rich' DSA Leader Caught Lying and Living Off Mom & Dad’s Manhattan Money. The Manhattan Contrarian is outrages Democratic Socialists Commemorate Fidel Castro's 100th Birthday. The Free Bacon reports the El-Sayed Campaign Gets a $175,000 Boost From CAIR, Whose Leader Was 'Happy' About Oct. 7, After Alleging Primary Opponent's AIPAC Support Constituted 'Foreign' Intervention in Election. At the JPo, Mohammed El-Kurd laments not being allowed to hijack planes in protest "Last month, El-Kurd called on pro-Palestinian supporters to 'Normalize the massacres as the status quo' at a rally in London.." Mohammed El-Kurd @m7mdkurd, "You can’t protest peacefully. You can’t boycott. You can’t hunger strike. You can’t hijack planes. You can’t block traffic. You can’t throw Molotovs. You can’t self-immolate. You can’t heckle politicians. You can’t march. You can’t riot. You can’t dissent. You just can’t be." NYPo Opines on Why the DSA’s Medicare-for-All dream threatens us with a real-life nightmare. At Althouse, "The rollout could’ve been better. Absolutely, I said the rollout has to be cleaned up and fixed." "Said Governor Kathy Hochul, quoted in "How New York’s Second-Home Tax Turned Into a Headache for Mamdani/The bumpy rollout of the tax created an opportunity for Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s opponents to fight him in court and in the City Council" (NYT gift link)." "I did finally watch the whole minute. From the transcript: "This pied-a-terre tax is specifically designed for the richest of the rich, those who store their wealth in New York City real estate, but who don't actually live here.... This is a fundamentally unfair system that hurts working New Yorkers." What's "fundamentally unfair"? It's a child's reasoning: If someone has something that he's not using, it should be mine."
Hat Hair's Beege Welborn, sees Desperate Measures for Desperate Times: Dem Primaries Magically Become a Blue Wave. Democrats @TheDemocrats, "The blue wave is here—and these wins prove it." Queen Velvet @TMIWITW, "Democrats won Democrat primaries. Are democrats voters actually this stupid or do you just treat them as if they are?"
Joe Chalfant at TownHall rejoices that Elon Musk Just Gave Republicans Unbelievable News Heading Into the Midterms. "Elon Musk, who briefly became the world’s first trillionaire after SpaceX went public in June, is expected to spend up to $200 million on boosting the electoral prospects of Republicans across the country." He just looked between the cushions on the couches.
Tweets that didn't age well: Dr. Richard Harambe @Richard_Harambe, "Happy two year anniversary of Joe Biden challenging Trump to a debate for those who celebrate." Quote Joe Biden @JoeBiden, "Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020. Since then, he hasn’t shown up for a debate. Now he’s acting like he wants to debate me again."
From Breitbart Bus Dig, The Sky Isn't Falling in the U.S. Treasury Market. News Wax notices Newsom Touts Trump Accounts for California Families. Matt Vespa at TownHall heard Trump Went Nuclear on Some Familiar Names Last Night. Here's What He Said. "President Trump seems to have had it with Tucker Carlson, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Thomas Massie."
ZitoSalena @ZitoSalena, "It's impossible to have a nuanced, conversation about data power centers on social media; the politics right now is to demonize them, call them predators rather than show there are also examples of good industry stewards. Few have the courage to raise the consequences of that. Except Fetterman." Quote U.S. Senator John Fetterman @SenFettermanPA, "AI supremacy and energy dominance underpins our national security. China continues to fuel and benefit from our overreaction. I reject the political pandering and hyperbole over data centers or AI." Steve Moore at Hat Hair, Net Zero Is Dead and Gone. "Much of this never made sense given that AI and data center energy needs will double or triple our electric power demands over the next two decades. That will require an all-of-the above approach to meet those needs and to keep power affordable for our businesses and families."Sophie Cunningham is once again the only player on the court to put her hand above her heart for the singing of the US national anthem pic.twitter.com/c6grxtZMzm
— Wesley Yang (@wesyang) August 22, 2026
With Devon Windsor:
City officials said 15 palm trees in the Circle of Palms at 124 S. Market St., are dead or dying, while the rest are in declining health, raising the risk of falling trees, according to a media advisory from the city of San Jose. Crews began the removal Thursday and will keep the area barricaded for the next nine days as they finish the work, the city said.
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Colin Heyne, a spokesperson for the city’s Department of Transportation, told SFGATE that the city was aware that some of the trees were browning and dropping fronds, but they began deteriorating more quickly than expected — a July arborist report confirmed nearly half of the trees were dead or dying, he said. Officials are examining tissue samples of the trees at a lab and haven’t determined the official cause of death, Heyne said.
Atlantic menhaden management could face another major discussion this fall, this time over how the coastwide catch is divided among East Coast states.The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) is expected to consider in November whether to begin a process to reallocate state menhaden quotas, according to the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP), which is pushing for changes to a system based largely on historical landings.
TRCP argues the current allocations no longer reflect where menhaden are being found or how fishermen use the resource today. Virginia receives more than 75 percent of the state allocation, supporting the East Coast's only remaining large-scale menhaden reduction fishery, operated by Omega Protein and supplied by Ocean Harvesters. Farther north, menhaden are an important bait source for lobster, crab and other commercial fisheries, with states relying in part on set-asides and quota transfers to meet demand.
"More balanced state allocations would strengthen bait supply, reduce dependence on temporary quota transfers, and better distribute the economic benefits of this resource along the Atlantic," said Jaclyn Lunaas, forage fish program manager for TRCP.
The organization points to increasing concentrations of menhaden in New England waters as another reason to reconsider allocations. Menhaden, also known as bunker or pogies, are also an important forage species for striped bass, bluefish, tuna, marine mammals and seabirds. The potential reallocation discussion comes as ASMFC is already considering other changes to menhaden management, particularly in the Chesapeake Bay.
It's certainly true that we're not seeing the large schools of adult menhaden that we used to in the Maryland portion of the Bay. It was pretty easy to blame Omega's giant, airplane assisted purse seining in the Virginia waters, but it well could be that Menhaden changed their migration patterns for some as yet undetermined reason, and many fewer have come this way.
WaPoo opines This little fish anchors the East Coast food web. A fight over it is brewing.
No doubt liberals are gnashing there teeth. Susie Moore at RedState says SCOTUS Cuts In on Ballroom Battle, Lets Construction Proceed - for Now. Beege Welborn at Hat Hair hears SCOTUS to Trump: Build, Baby, Build. Sundance at CTH, Chief Justice Roberts Stays DC Appellate Court Ruling – White House Construction of Ballroom Can Continue. Althouse likes her NYT, "The Supreme Court on Friday temporarily allowed President Trump to continue construction of a luxury White House ballroom to replace the East Wing he demolished last fall." "The NYT reports. In a one-sentence order, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., acting on his own, issued a place holder that gives all nine justices additional time to more fully consider whether construction of the planned 90,000-square-foot ballroom can proceed. The chief justice’s order did not provide a timeline for when the court would act next, stating only that a lower-court ruling against the Trump administration was paused “pending further order of the undersigned or of the court.”" So, the suit against Trump is on hold pending a decision from the whole court, but the presumption is that Robert feels the whole court is likely to agree. Besides, the ballroom is more than half complete (Trump doesn't waste time), and by the time the court gets around to it, it will be fait accompli.
Speaking of building, NYPo opines Trump is right to put his neck on the line for data centers. Scott Pinsker at PJM notes Republicans Are Pandering to Data Center Hysteria — and Helping China Win the AI War. It's always easy to gin up opposition to something new. Zarathustra @zarathustra5150, "It’s very much an out-group phenomenon. Over the last decade, Big Tech has managed, in different ways, to deeply alienate both the political right & political left, and most of the American public to boot. Much of it returns to the same enduring problem: techies are tragically inept at understanding people, politics, persuasion & culture; while cocooning themselves away from the rest of society inside an extremely tiny, insular, out-of-touch milieu that leaves them unable to grasp the consequences of their own behavior, particularly just how thoroughly they have made themselves disliked by nearly everyone else in America at this point. And I say this as a long-time friend of techies & tech, and someone who loves AI & is generally supportive of data centers. Y’all have a truly massive PR problem, and much worse: you don’t even seem to realize it." Sonny Bunch @SonnyBunch, "Free messaging tip: instead of saying data center opponents are Chinese dupes, scare them with horror stories about how their Netflix streams will degrade to 480p or, gasp, occasionally crash entirely if we don’t have capacity. Americans will not stand for mild inconvenience."
JT Yung at Am Spec, thinks Republicans Can’t Win Telling Only Half the Story. "The GOP’s strongest case isn’t just what it accomplished. It’s the Democrat agenda it prevented."
Four from sundance at CTH, JD Vance Delivers Remarks on Jobs and the Economy from His Hometown in Middletown, Ohio, President Trump Lifts Tariff Quota on Imported Beef for 90 Days to Relieve Price Stress, Talks Collapse – Tariffs Begin Now – A Direct and Confrontational U.S-Canada Trade War is Now a Reality and President Trump and Former Antagonist Michael Cohen Have a Conversation.
Dave Manney at PJM observes The Left Suddenly Loves the Troops, As Long As It Hurts Trump. In his HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK, Don Surber observes "The New York Times quoted the mother of a sailor who said, “They Didn’t Sign Up to Be on a Ship in the Middle of the Ocean.” Hegseth should add a question to the application to join the Navy, “Is your mother an idiot?”" Hat Hair's John Sexton hears Russia Is Out of Gasoline, but Complaining Is Not an Option and Germany Finds a Stash of Weapons in a Forest. "While Alexander Dobrindt, the interior minister, was careful not to point a finger at any nation, the news came amid increased fear of destabilizing “hybrid” attacks that European governments have blamed, publicly and privately, on Russia." I think Putin wants NATO to rescue him from the Ukraine quagmire.
Cathy Salgado at PJM hears Democrat Voter and Rabbi Will Not Vote for El-Sayed, Says He’ll Support Republican. Too soon old, too late smart. At Hat Hair, Capt. Ed worries 'America, We Have Lost This City': The Battle for Dearbornistan. Vick Nava at NYPo takes note that Members of Mamdani’s DSA pledge to ‘support’ and ‘defend’ China: ‘Survival of Chinese socialism is a crucial matter.’ Beege Welborn, PSA: There Will Be No Sympathy Note From the Mayor If You're Killed BY an Illegal Alien in His City, and probably many more cities. Homeland Security @DHSgov, "This illegal alien KILLED a 27-year-old MOTHER and her BABY. Manuel Hernandez, from El Salvador, was illegally piloting a boat when he capsized the overloaded vessel in New York Harbor. Thanks to the hard work of the men and women of @ICEgov, this criminal is off our streets and out of our waterways - and he will be DEPORTED after he faces justice." "Mamdani has restricted the NYPD from working with ICE to find these guys. A Coast Guard investigation discovered the truth and, when Hernandez was released on $50,000 bail, ICE was there to snatch him up." Eyal Yakoby @EYakoby, "BREAKING: A new report completely exposes what everyone has known for a long time. More extreme candidates, specifically linked to the DSA, are getting massively boosted by non-Americans on X." Spencer Pratt @spencerpratt, "It’s not hypocrisy, it’s hierarchy. Spoiled rich kids become socialists because they hate themselves for not being as successful and worthy as their parents, so they seize the power they couldn’t obtain. It’s all just self-loathing being projected onto society. Scammers." Quote New York Post @nypost, "Gustavo Gordillo, NYC DSA's phony union champion, is doing $1.4M in repairs on home - and permits reveal hypocrisy."
From the Crimson Hub, AOC says lockdowns made ‘Woke 1’ insane. Her old tweets show she got an early and eager start. Hat Hair's Dave Strom says No, Ro, You Won't Outflank AOC to Snag the Democratic Nomination for President. Amy Curtis at TownHall sees Ro Khanna Gets Roasted for His Lies About What 'Medicare for All' Would Do. From Reason, Universal Healthcare Sounds Great. Here's What's Happening in Countries That Have It. "With calls for “free healthcare” growing louder in America, countries with universal systems offer a warning: long waits, rationed care, and unmet medical needs." In a Larry vid at Hat Hair, AARP's John Hishta Reveals the Michigan Polling Data Both Parties Are Watching Right Now. From Da Signal, Backlash Against Ossoff Continues to Grow After Trump Aide Remarks, Collins Increases in Poll. Remember, for some odd reason, polls favor Democrats in summer, and tighten considerably towards the election. I suspect enemy action. The Guardian notes the Website behind widely shared fake election polls run by 21-year-old, "Exclusive: Rahil Prakash tells the Guardian: ‘I wanted to see if fake polls could penetrate the ecosystem that easily’" Yes, it could.
Stacy McCain looks at Democrat bloviation on What ‘Our Democracy’ Really Means. Susie Crabtree at RCP thinks Florida Democrats Hand Republicans a November Gift. At PM, Islamic advocacy group demands James O’Keefe be prosecuted after team dressed as Muslims to expose Minnesota elections. "They claim "Using fake Muslim identities, accents and religious stereotypes as part of a political stunt is not a harmless prank or political stunt" and don't seem to be concerned with 1A protections." Matt Vespa at TownHall sees Lisa Murkowski Was Not Amused by James O'Keefe's Latest Video "O’Keefe was voting in the state under Murkowski’s brother, who now lives in Texas. When he said he left his wallet in the car, they allowed him to obtain Brian Murkowski’s ballot. He now lives in Texas, but his name is still on the rolls, and election workers here said it wasn’t a problem that O’Keefe had no identification." Eric Daugherty @EricLDaugh, "BREAKING UPDATE: Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)'s team is FURIOUS, indicating that James O'Keefe should face PROSECUTION because he simply exposed Alaska's voter vulnerability Poll workers were going to let O'Keefe vote as Murkowski's BROTHER, Brian. MURKOWSKI'S OFFICE: "Voter impersonation is a crime and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law." She opposes the SAVE America Act And now is ATTACKING the journalist exposing why we need it. OVER TARGET, @JamesOKeefeIII."
Capt. Ed has Today's Deeeeeep Question: Did Trump Slip Biden a Mickey at the Debate? "When I say "Deeeeeep," I of course mean deeeeeeply stupid." Ace hears a Leftwing Podcaster Suggests That Joe Biden Had Been Rufied for the Presidential Debate; Jill Biden Agrees It's Possible, Saying "Who Knows?" "I wonder if Noted Reporter of Things We All Knew Ten Years Ago Jake Tapper will fact-check Jill Biden and call her a liar, which is what he does for every Republican who shades the truth (or tells the truth that the leftwing cult denies). Actually I don't wonder that. I was just bein' silly." Don Surber wonders (rhetorically) Does Swalwell still say believe all women? "He needs a lawyer familiar with celebrities accused of spiking drinks and rape. Is Bill Cosby’s legal team available?"
Leslie Eastman at LI looks at A Suspected Arsonist, a Wildfire, and California’s Failure to Protect the Public, "Suspected arsonist Brandon Glasgo is homeless with a history of arrests and mental health problems." Calling all Rushbabes sees *More evidence that Washington State is encouraging forest fires, rather than preventing them.
Mike Benz @MikeBenzCyber, "The irony of The Russiagaters being foreign-funded themselves and pleading the Fifth when asked about it." Quote Eric Daugherty @EricLDaugh, "BREAKING: ActBlue cofounder Matt DeBergalis just PANICKED and PLEADED THE 5TH in a closed-door deposition with House committee investigators — Fox News This comes after ActBlue is accused of allowing FOREIGN DONATIONS INFILTRATE US politics for Democrats, without proper measures to stop it. Here's the shocking exchange between Rep. Jim Jordan and an ActBlue official when they also pleaded the 5th. SHUT IT DOWN." Steve @SteveLovesAmmo, "2021: Riots 2022: Riots 2023: Riots 2024: Riots 2025: Riots 2026: SPLC indicted, Act Blue under investigation, USAID defunded — no riots." From Ace, Paul Sperry: Federal Prosecutors Reveal Evidence That James Comey Knew Full Well That "86" Was Code for "Murder," and Actually Wrote a Whole "Novel" Whose Plot Revolved Around Stirring Up Public Passions to Get Someone to Assassinate a Politician. Sundance is still beating that horse, Why Does James Comey Matter?an American fashion model, best known for her work with Victoria's Secret, having walked in their annual fashion show from 2013 to 2018.
Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, Windsor began her modeling career at the age of 14 after being discovered by a local photographer. She gained prominence in the fashion industry after signing with IMG Models and walking for high-profile designers such as Prada, Chanel, and Versace. Windsor has appeared in numerous international editions of Vogue, Elle, and Harper's Bazaar, and has been featured in campaigns for brands like Michael Kors, Balmain, and H&M.
In 2019, she launched her own swimwear line, Devon Windso. Outside of modeling, Windsor has ventured into television, appearing on shows like Model Squad and Master Chef Celebrity Showdown, and made her film debut in Brawl in Cell Block 99 (2017). She married businessman Jonathan Barbara in 2019, and the couple has two children.