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The best albums of the week, from Rico Nasty, Drakeo the Ruler, and more

Nothing opens the spigot for angry music industry tweets quite like Spotify Wrapped season. The streaming service’s year-end recap seemed to generate more impassioned debates this year — one side vehemently arguing that you shouldn’t give free advertising to a tech company that’s hamstrung the entire industry by not paying artists a living wage. The other camp concedes that, well, that’s right, but there are larger capitalist boogeymen to square up on, and many music listeners are still supporting their favorite artists through other avenues. As is typically the case, there’s some truth in both of these arguments. But the far simpler reading — people just like to share what they’ve been listening to, and probably aren’t persuading any agnostic friends to sign up for Spotify — might also be a realistic takeaway.

Luckily, Friday presents an easy, clear-cut way to contribute to artists with the year’s final Bandcamp Friday,

Recreation

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December 4, 2020

L.A. County Could See New COVID-19 Lockdown “Early Next Week”; Record New Cases & Hospitalizations In Region

Mere minutes after California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a new regional stay-at-home order for the state to counter rising coronavirus cases, Los Angeles County health officials said Thursday that the looming shutdown could hit the battered region within days.

“The anticipation is that threshold might be reached sometime early next week,” Dr. Christina Ghaly declared today of the order that kicks in once ICU capacity falls below 15% in specific regions of the Golden State. “It would be the Southern California region that would reach that threshold, not L.A. County alone,” added the area’s Health Officer Dr. Muntu Davis in a clarification after Health Services Director Ghaly spoke.

Still, the wider scope doesn’t take any of the intensity out of the dire situation.

Right now, ICU beds are at 76% occupancy of the “roughly” 2,500 available in the county, Ghaly said at Thursday’s comparatively low-key briefing.

That ICU data should

Travel

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December 4, 2020

What to Cook This Week

Good morning. The eggnog’s flowing where I stay, garlands rising, Christmas music playing, all the markers of holiday cheer. It’s a little out of character. But we’re building a bulwark against the strangeness of 2020, maybe? We’re anyway re-nesting in a nest that’s been largely the same since March. It’s been nice. And with Thanksgiving behind us, we’re baking like mad.

I’ve got a black cake going. We’re assembling collections of stamped citrus shortbread cookies (above) and peppermint stripe cookies for gifts to mail, baking peanut butter-miso cookies to eat on the couch with mugs of chai. And have you seen this Yewande Komolafe recipe for lane cake? Oh, man. I think we might make that, too.

It’d be nice if there were room in the oven today for this caramelized onion galette. That and some leftover turkey would make for a fine dinner this evening. And when it’s done,

Hotel

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November 29, 2020

Is the Future of Luxury E-Commerce Big or Small? | This Week in Fashion, BoF Professional

Mytheresa is going public. Or at least that seems to be its intention after its Netherlands-based parent company said this week that it had filed paperwork for a proposed initial public offering with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

According to market reports, Mytheresa aims to IPO in early 2021 and is seeking a $1 billion to $1.5 billion valuation. This would generate a substantial return for owners Ares Management and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, which acquired the German e-tailer in 2014 via Neiman Marcus (which they then controlled) for about $253 million.

Mytheresa’s backers first began exploring strategic options for the business in April 2019, soon after an estimate by Goldman Sachs valued Mytheresa at $1 billion. But it’s not surprising the company is seizing the current moment to make a move.

Investor interest in online luxury players is riding high after a pandemic-driven e-commerce boom. Farfetch’s share

Adventure

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November 27, 2020

Watch Coast Film Festival Features Through Thanksgiving Week

The Week

I was wrong about Mitt Romney

The Donald Trump phenomenon is purported to have divided friendships, families, and even marriages. I can attest to this fact in my own suburban Washington household, for this perhaps peculiar professional reason: It has occasioned my wife, the longtime sufferer of all my hot takes, to ask approximately one-thousand times whether I finally feel bad about all the mean things I said about Mitt Romney.The short answer is, yes!Romney, now the junior senator of Utah, has displayed rare courage and integrity throughout this hell-year. Alone among Republican senators (indeed, alone among any senator in history), he crossed party lines to vote to convict President Trump on the charge of abusing his power by pressuring a foreign government to interfere in our election. And — not alone, exactly, but hardly in plentiful company — he has forthrightly condemned the president for stonewalling the

Adventure

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November 24, 2020

Six Flags’ drive-thru holiday light show to open next week

Six Flags Great Adventure’s first drive-thru holiday show will begin at the theme park in Jackson next week.

It will start Nov. 30, running Monday through Thursday evenings until Jan. 3 and feature more than a million lights, holiday themes and seasonal music, Six Flags revealed Monday.

Tickets are $14.99 per person and must be purchased ahead of time as reservations are required. Season pass holders will be admitted free but must still make an online reservation. Reservations will be accepted beginning at noon Wednesday.

“The popularity of our Wild Safari Drive-Thru Adventure showed us that families are craving ways to create special memories together that are safe and socially distant, and we are honored to welcome them into our theme park winter wonderland,” Six Flags president John Winkler said in a statement. “Plus, theme park enthusiasts won’t want to miss this extremely rare opportunity to drive through the park.”

Adventure

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November 23, 2020

Essential California Week in Review: Stay home, again

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It is Saturday, Nov. 21.

Here’s a look at the top stories of the last week:

New pandemic crackdowns. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a curfew starting Saturday throughout most of California to combat a surge in new coronavirus cases, days after the state rolled back reopenings. The new rules will apply to those living in counties in the most restrictive “purple” tier of the state’s reopening roadmap.

The third wave is the hardest. Experts say this wave of infections is particularly troubling because “we never got back down” to a low baseline number of cases, and now we’re fatigued and entering a season spent

Hotel

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November 21, 2020

Sweet Treat of the Week: A crunchy holiday brittle from Mackinac Island

There’s peanut brittle, and then there is Holiday Brittle from Original Murdick’s Fudge. A totally tricked-out version featuring Michigan-made ingredients, this brittle is a festive gift to give – or receive.

“This year we are featuring our Holiday Brittle,” said Bobby Benser Jr, owner and operator of Original Murdick’s Fudge. A heady, crunchy mixture of “pecans, cashews, peanuts, and we’re also including Traverse City cherries. It’s a new brittle for us, and it’s very, very good.”

Typically, Murdick’s Fudge is open through the end of October, and then they open their online holiday shop from Thanksgiving until Christmas. This year, you’ll have an even bigger window to order Murdick’s handmade, all-natural sweets, including both brittle and fudge.

For the first time, Original Murdick’s Fudge is going to have a location that will stay open year-round. Over the holiday season, they’ll be making fudge both on the island, and at the

Hotel

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November 20, 2020

International Week connects students and cultures

Every year, the Office of Global Engagement alongside International Club host International Week, a celebration and recognition of international students. This event is celebrated worldwide for all students who travel abroad to study.

This past week, Slippery Rock University hosted their International Week, with some adjustments in order to make many of the events online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

With over 110 international students from 34 different countries (with roughly half attending Slippery Rock University online), there are many different opportunities that are available to provide students with the International Week experience.

Most of the events for International Week were being held online in order to accommodate both social distancing guidelines as well as geographical guidelines. With an online format, students from all over the world can access the online events that the Office of Global Engagement and International Club were hosting.

Some of the events

Travel

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November 15, 2020

Your Horoscope This Week

We’ll start off the week on a hopeful note, as the moon begins a new cycle in strategic Scorpio. This transit is supported by lucky Jupiter’s conjunction with powerful Pluto, which encourages us to seek out success to build communities and support others. It’s a key time to set an intention to lift up others. Dramatic Venus forms a square with overbearing Pluto on Sunday as well, which could bring up power struggles in relationships. We’ll have to make an effort to talk things out as these planets clash. Seeking a broader perspective will help us better understand each other’s feelings.

On Monday, materialistic Venus creates a square with bountiful Jupiter, tempting us to splurge. But a little moderation will service us well. We’re feeling collectively flustered on Tuesday, as messenger Mercury opposes dynamic Uranus. The vibe is bright and active and favours flexible thinking. Finally, an excuse to multi-task:

Adventure

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November 15, 2020