Happy Friday, friends! If you’re a sports lover, enjoy this weekend, because we’ve got loads of play-off baseball and tons of football of the professional AND collegiate sort. Also, if you need a new sweater, we’ve got you.
This is an excellent piece at the LA Times: Iranian women at home and abroad cut their hair to protest Mahsa Amini’s death.
Oooh boy, this is real bad re: Brad Pitt. Very interesting, from Lainey: “This has been the focus of my coverage on the Brad vs Angelina situation – how Brad has weaponized the media against Angelina, positioning himself as the defender when in the courtroom he’s actually been the aggressor. Once again, I repeat, because there are people who still aren’t getting the full picture of this: he brought the lawsuit against her first.” I don’t think I knew that myself, actually. (I mean, I must have read it but it didn’t really sink in. I assumed this whole thing was actually more of a mutual legal contretemps.)
Also very interesting (and lighter) at Lainey is this take on the Tom and Gisele breakup.
Now there’s an IRISH DANCING SCANDAL? Tell me more. [The Irish Independent, via Jezebel]
“Boy, I Hope the Oregon Trail Movie Musical Has a Song About Dysentery.” WE ALL DO. [Esquire]
At the Daily Beast: The NBA Made a Fortune Off Jeremy Lin—and Then Kicked Him to the Curb. I remember being in New York for Linsanity, because it overlapped with February Fashion Week that year. As a sports fan, it was REALLY fun. (That was a weird Fashion Week, though; Whitney Houston died the same week. The vibes were all over the place.) This is an excellent interview.
AGREED: Why the TikTok butter board trend is totally disgusting. Someone I follow on Twitter was like, “I keep thinking about everyone’s hot breath on that butter” and those words keep popping into my head. [LA Times]
This is nice news! Hilary Swank, 48, announces that she’s pregnant with twins. Mazel tov to the Swanks! [Celebitchy]
This is fun to argue about: The NFL has returned alternate helmets in 2022: Ranking all 13 from best to worst. [USA Today]
The chess DRAMA continues! At the WSJ: Chess Investigation Finds That U.S. Grandmaster ‘Likely Cheated’ More Than 100 Times. Ooooh, when Chess.com gets mad at you….
People keep stealing parrots!!! I hope they know a parrot will live forever and you are STUCK WITH THEM. [The Atlantic]
Remember When Elton John Made a Flop Broadway Musical of The Vampire Chronicles? NO I DO NOT?????? [Pajiba]
Fun, at Texas Monthly: The Great Hard-shell Taco Debate. (I, for one, welcome tacos of all shells.)
So interesting: The National Gallery thought this painting was a Vermeer. Now? Not so much. [WaPo]
Perfect for Spooky Season: The 21 Best Witch Movies of All Time. [Vulture]
Speaking of witches, at NPR: The ‘Hocus Pocus’ cottage is now welcoming visitors on Airbnb.
Distantly related and very delightful: I’m in My Costume Era. [Elle]
Oh NO, I want this extremely dramatic coat at Boden. I don’t technically NEED it, but……….look at it. (That’s an affiliate link.)
Well! I don’t know about this! Have any of you visited the Starkenberger Beer Pools? [Atlas Obscura]
Let’s go inside Rita Ora’s London house!
