We're back at not war with Iran
And we're not not losing.
I’ve started playing tennis again recently, by which I mean going to city 12 dollar courts with my friend Jill and hitting for an hour with no rules whatsoever. We run all over the court, we let it bounce two or three times, we talk through it (as much as I can hear her from the other side of the net, so I’m getting about 60% of it) and then 56 minutes later when I am huffing and puffing and slightly sunkissed I am reminded that we don’t have to optimize every free second of our lives on treadmills in weighted vests while listening to a podcast on 1.25 speed and answering emails. What if summer—yes, even adult summer—was for playing games outside with your friends and then jumping into the pool to cool off and then eating watermelon and ice cream bars and then yapping til the sun sets at 8:30? What if every time Mark Zuckerberg talked about the “interestingness” of AI we just went to the beach with our pals and played volleyball and didn’t post a picture of it on Instagram and ate hot dogs without thinking too much about what was in them? Because maybe the way we win back our lives from all these uggo billionaires is actually just with a 26 dollar tennis racket.
In politics: Just days after Donny T assured us a deal was nigh—again—the US is back at bombing Iran. Maybe I missed that day of ceasefire school but that does feel like definitively non-ceasefire behavior? And to be clear, we are not just hitting military targets—Pete Hegseth is taking breaks from grapevining too close to the sun to hit water facilities that 20,000 people rely on for drinking with precision-guided munitions. A war crime, and Dick Cheney isn’t even alive to see it, sad! Meanwhile, Iran is hitting US assets across the region, the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, and the guy in charge is napping at the NBA finals. But at least we can buy a $12k commemorative White House cage match coin, just like the founding fathers dreamed!!!
California has finally landed on its gubernatorial candidates, with voters set to choose in November between Democrat Xavier Becerra and pale dry crumpet that wished to be a real boy Steve Hilton. Of course, that leaves out billionaire Tom Steyer, who shelled out more than $200 million of his own fortune this go around, after spending $300 million to run for president in 2020. And I thought my Erewhon spending habits were bad. Truly, have any of these guys ever considered starting with city council? Oh and by the way—
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In bad business: With her tenure at CBS News already going off without a single hitch (more like 85 hitches and counting) Bari Weiss may be poised to also run CNN after Paramount’s WBD acquisition, but potential salvation from that Bill Maher wet dream could be coming from across the pond. The UK’s antitrust authority—aka the Competition and Markets Authority—has formally launched an investigation into the merger, while the EU is probing the Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds used to make the deal happen. It’s all further evidence that European things (The Other Bennet Sister, croissants, willingness to fight fascist takeovers of historic companies in the name of press freedom, etc.) are better. I will honor them by eating my way through Rome and Paris later this month.
In good marketing: As a general rule, I am anti iPhone-as-Big-Brother, but I am a fan of the new iOS feature that will show flight information when you’re on the phone with an airline—or more realistically, screaming “representative!!!” at a robot who insists they can help. I am already a longtime ILIA skin tint girlie, but a new HAIM x ILIA collab really seals the deal pour moi. And Serena is back on the court (Hot tip: she won in doubles Wednesday with Victoria Mboko) which she announced with Nike last week.
Winners, winners: Schmigadoon! for Best New Musical at the Tony Awards. 19-year-old Mirra Andreeva at the French Open. The New York Knicks last night, by 1 point, after pulling off the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history. And all of us, watching Nancy Mace get last place in the South Carolina primary election.
Hot Tip’s June read is KIN by Tayari Jones. Sign up here to join le book club.
FYC: I haven’t had the chance to try it yet, but there’s a new Jewish-style deli in Mid-City LA called Mish that based on the menu alone is calling my name, pastrami siren-style. And yet another opportunity to ride the D this summer!!!!
Previously on Hot Tip:
