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I’m sure the Burning Man festival used to be counter-culture and cool but at this point it seems more like a version of Coachella for the Silicon Valley set. I say this because when I lived in the Bay Area, I used to meet men in bars or on dates who worked in tech who would brag about going to Burning Man. They thought it made them unique and cool, like they were the only software engineer from Oracle who had ever been there. But now it’s a cliche among those tech-y circles. Burning Man takes place in a remote corner of Northwest Nevada in a desert called a playa, a sunken dry lake bed. People camp and make art installations and there’s live music but there aren’t any headliners and it’s kind of chaotic. (Diplo and Chris Rock were in attendance this year…what an embarrassment of riches.) Since this is the summer of unprecedented weather, guess what–this part of Nevada got two months’ worth of rainfall in one day. Because the water can’t run off from the landscape, it just sinks into the dry lake bed. So people were stuck at Burning Man all weekend because all the roads have turned to mud. It’s even hard to walk because the mud is so cement-like it clings to people’s shoes. About 70,000 people are there. I dread to think what has become of the porta-potties.

70,000 people have been ordered to shelter in place:
Thousands of people remain trapped at the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert after heavy rains inundated the area and created thick, ankle-deep mud which sticks to campers’ shoes and vehicle tires. Attendees were told to shelter in place in the Black Rock Desert and conserve food, water and fuel after a rainstorm swamped the area, forcing officials to halt any entering or leaving of the festival. “A little over 70,000 people,” remained stranded Saturday, Sgt. Nathan Carmichael, with the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office, told CNN Sunday morning. Some people have left the site by walking out but “most of the RVs are stuck in place,” he said.

They haven’t been able to “burn” the “Man” because of the weather: Event organizers announced earlier Sunday plans to burn the Man – the huge totem set on fire at the festival’s culmination – on Sunday night if weather allowed. However, the burn was rescheduled for Monday night “due to rain and muddy conditions Sunday, and an inability to move heavy equipment and fire safety onsite,” organizers said.

The roads at the festival are closed indefinitely: “We do not currently have an estimated time for the roads to be dry enough for RVs or vehicles to navigate safely,” Burning Man organizers said in a Saturday evening statement. “Monday late in the day would be possible if weather conditions are in our favor. It could be sooner.” Organizers noted the rain falling on an already saturated playa overnight and Sunday “will affect the amount of time it takes for the playa to dry.”

For now, the gate and airport into Black Rock City remain closed and no driving is allowed into or out of the city except for emergency vehicles, the organizers said on social media. Black Rock City is a temporary metropolis erected annually for the festival and comes complete with emergency, safety and sanitary infrastructure.

Some people have tried to leave on foot but are getting stuck: “People who have tried to bike through it and have gotten stuck because it’s about ankle deep,” Burhorn said. The mud is so thick it “sticks to your shoes and makes it almost like a boot around your boot,” she added. It’s unclear exactly how many people are stranded at the festival, but typically more than 70,000 people attend the weeklong event. It’s being held from August 28 to September 4 this year.

[From CNN]

As I’m writing this the driving ban was just lifted but it was still taking about 7 hours for people to get out. I can tolerate camping but thick, gloopy mud up to my ankles? No thank you. There weren’t any injuries related to the mud as far as we know so I’m glad for that, although the article reports that a 40-year-old man died of causes unrelated to the rain. Anyway, at this point Mother Nature isn’t so much ringing the alarm bell as she is hitting us on the head with a frying pan. But we’ve brought it on ourselves. The world isn’t just getting hotter, the weather is getting weirder, and deluges of rain in the desert are just one of the weird things we’re going to see more and more often.

I’ll be honest, I do feel some Schadenfreude specifically for the tech bros who went to Burning Man to take mushrooms and wear assless chaps, only to be stranded in the mud and totally unprepared for it. I’m sure most attendees are well prepared but you have to figure as the event gets larger there are more people who won’t know what they’re doing. It’s a shame Elon Musk wasn’t there this time–he’s gone every year for almost two decades–it would have been hilarious to see him glooping around in the mud, looking miserable. I hope that mental image brings some of you as much joy as it did me.

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Do y’all want to hear the most hilariously stupid royal plot ever? Prince William and Kate, two desperate losers, are now scheduled to attend World Rugby Cup matches in France this coming weekend, the same weekend as the start of the Invictus Games. Prince Harry used to be the royal patron of English rugby, but it was taken away from him and given to Kate. Meanwhile, the whole-ass Football Association President was too lazy to attend the Women’s World Cup when England was in the final! But suddenly, William is very keen to go to France and watch rugby. Kensington Palace’s excuses for why William couldn’t fly to Australia for the World Cup: he can’t go anywhere before his father AND environmental concerns. Meanwhile, Peg and Buttons will be traveling to France before King Charles, and you know private planes are involved.

The Prince and Princess of Wales are to travel to France to cheer on England and Wales in the men’s Rugby World Cup, just weeks after the Prince faced a backlash for missing the Lionesses’ historic final. The couple’s brief sporting trip clashes with the start of the Duke of Sussex’s Invictus Games in Germany.

The Princess of Wales, who is patron of the Rugby Football Union, will attend a group stage match between England and Argentina at the Stade de Marseille on Saturday – the first weekend of the tournament. The Prince of Wales, patron of the Welsh Rugby Union, will watch Wales compete against Fiji in another opening-round match at the Stade de Bordeaux on Sunday.

The Duke of Sussex is travelling from the US, with the Duchess of Sussex joining him later in the week, for the duration of the Invictus tournament – his pride and joy which he founded as a Paralympic-style competition to help wounded and sick ex-military personnel. He will take to the stage in Dusseldorf at a grand opening ceremony on Saturday to kick off the eight-day event.

Later the same evening, the Princess will also be in continental Europe, in neighbouring France, while the Prince’s appearance on Sunday falls on the first day of Invictus’ competitive events. Kensington Palace said no further appearances are planned for the Prince and Princess while they are in France.

William and Kate’s excursion to support the two men’s sides in the first stage comes after the Prince was criticised for deciding not to attend the women’s England team’s World Cup football final against Spain in Sydney last month.

[From The Telegraph]

Again, it’s not like the Welsh team or English team are in the quarterfinals or semis or even the finals. They’re making a point of going to group-stage matches just to “compete” with Harry and the Invictus Games. They’re also making a point of showing that they don’t give a f–k about women athletes – William still hasn’t visited with the Lionesses or hosted a congratulatory event for the Lionesses at Windsor Castle or Kensington Palace. William will only show up for male athletes and he’ll only do it to compete with his brother. Desperate, pathetic, juvenile losers.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instar and Cover Images.

An underrated indicator that a couple is headed for divorce: when a tall wife stops caring about her shorter husband’s feelings and starts wearing high heels around him. I apologize to all of the short kings out there, but it’s true. In every photo of Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas in the past year, she’s wearing sky-high heels and towering over him in photos. The marriage was doomed! Sophie and Joe have been together since 2016 – she was 20 years old at the time and starring in one of the biggest shows in the world. Joe was a 27 year old pop star at the time. I honestly thought Sophie was way too young to jump into a serious relationship/marriage at that point, but they did get married (in 2019) and they had two children in 2020 and 2022. It sounds like the marriage kind of fell apart soon after they welcomed their second kid.

Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner are headed toward divorce … TMZ has learned. Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ … Joe had his people contact and consult with at least 2 L.A.-area divorce lawyers and he is on the cusp of filing divorce docs to end his marriage to Sophie.

Our sources say the couple has had “serious problems” for at least 6 months. We’re told over the last 3 months, Joe has been caring for their 2 young children “pretty much all of the time,” even as his band was touring. We’re told Joe currently has both kids, as the group plays around the U.S.

On the surface, it seems there’s been no outward signs of trouble. Joe and Sophie have attended events together. However, in recent weeks … Joe has been seen not wearing his ring. And they recently sold their Miami mansion. They bought that place just a year ago … and sold it fairly quickly, for a decent profit.

Joe and Sophie first linked up in 2016 … and got engaged a year later. In 2019, they were married — Vegas-style — and have been living the family life ever since … quickly welcoming their first kid in 2020 … and another in 2022. A lot has happened for them in 4 years.

Professionally, Joe and Sophie have been busy — mostly JJ, though. He’s gone on tour with his brothers recently and is scheduled to perform through the winter. Sophie’s done some TV/movie stuff in recent years — but isn’t nearly as active as she was during her ‘GoT’ days.

[From TMZ]

Sophie “isn’t nearly as active as she was during her ‘GoT’ days” – she gave birth to two children in three years, you f–king misogynists. This is TMZ trying to put some kind of “spin” on a man dumping his wife less than fourteen months after she gave birth to their second child. And why would it be a big deal for Joe to care for their children? Is Sophie filming on location or something? Is this just Joe throwing a tantrum that his young wife isn’t a stay-at-home mom?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images.

Prince Harry’s spokesperson announced his September schedule last week, confirming that Harry will make a breezy visit to England for the WellChild Awards on the 7th, and then he will travel to Dusseldorf for the Invictus Games, which start on September 9th. The Windsors started panic-briefing the royal reporters immediately about Harry’s trip and what he would say or do and wouldn’t anyone think of QEII’s death-anniversary?? The Panic At the Palace was mostly about how Harry has made it abundantly clear that he has no interest in seeing his family. He has not “reached out” to them, despite a national media’s attempts to villainize him, guilt-trip him or bring him to heel. So, some Hector Projector at the palace has decided that the best way to go is by pretending that Harry is somehow desperate to see Charles and William and they’re the ones rejecting Harry.

Neither the King nor the Prince of Wales will meet the Duke of Sussex when he visits Britain this week, The Mail on Sunday has learned. Prince Harry will travel to the UK to attend the annual WellChild Awards, a charity of which he has been patron for 15 years.

But a palace insider said the King had ‘no time in the diary’ to see his son, while his brother Prince William is not thought to have been in touch with Harry for months.

It is understood that an invitation to the Royal Family’s annual summer get-together at Balmoral was not extended to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex this year. Harry has handed back the keys to his grace-and-favour home of Frogmore Cottage in Windsor and last night it was unclear whether the Royal Family would offer him any other accommodation during his stay.

This year [Harry] will return to the WellChild Awards on Thursday – it will be a year since his grandmother passed on Friday – where he will spend time with the charity’s winners and their families. But it seems there is no plan for a reunion with his own family.

It is thought that Prince William has not had any contact with his younger brother since Harry released his autobiography, Spare, in January, in which he accused his older brother of pushing him to the ground, causing Harry to fall on a dog bowl.

[From The Daily Mail]

“In which he accused his older brother of pushing him to the ground, causing Harry to fall on a dog bowl.” Harry actually accused William of isolating him, verbally abusing his wife and assaulting him in a violent rage because Harry wouldn’t agree to divorce Meghan, but whatever. In any case, the Windsors continue to give off Big Loser Energy, trying to convince everyone that they’ve refused to see the prince who dumped them. Besides which, this is plainly a lie – Charles’s diary is not so packed . He’s just sitting around at Balmoral. He’s not going to France for another two weeks.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

People are mad at me for supporting Christine Baumgartner in her divorce drama with Kevin Costner! I get it, Christine comes across as somewhat ridiculous in much of the coverage. But I am on her side – it’s clear that Costner was financially abusing her for years, all to keep her entirely dependent on him. Now that she’s broken free, he’s doing what all abusers do: punishing her, humiliating her and nickel-and-diming her. You also have to remember that part of the reason why Christine looks ridiculous in the coverage is because Costner has a world-class PR team and crisis management team, because he learned from what happened during his first divorce. In any case, Christine and Kevin were in court last week for a child support hearing. Christine wanted the court to order Costner to pay roughly $168K a month in child support. He countered with an offer of $60K a month and he told Christine to get a job. The judge agreed with him. Christine is getting hosed by this judge, ISTG.

Kevin Costner just found out how big of a check he has to cut to his estranged wife Christine Baumgartner each month for child support … and he’s going to be happy. The judge in Kevin and Christine’s divorce ruled Friday that Kevin’s going to be forking over $63,209 — that’s exactly what he said was appropriate. $63k is less than half of what she was getting in temporary support — $129k. And remember, she originally asked for $248k a month.

During Friday’s hearing, Kevin took the stand and answered some questions from his lawyer, Disso Queen Laura Wasser, saying … “Somehow in this unusual world we didn’t make it and I’m sorry.” Kevin said his biggest concern going into the relationship with Christine was having kids and getting divorced … because he had 3 kids with his first wife and got divorced. Kevin and Christine ended up having 3 kids and getting divorced too.

Remember … Christine originally asked for $248,000 a month in child support, but Kevin claimed she was padding the bill simply because he could afford it … with Costner claiming the actual amount she needs for their kids is around $51k a month. In the end, the judge went closer to Kevin’s figure.

The actor’s testimony also featured Kevin saying he wanted to pass his properties down to his kids and he said, “I don’t hide money from my wife.”

[From TMZ]

“I don’t hide money from my wife.” I mean… maybe “hide” isn’t the right word, but Christine definitely didn’t have money for anything beyond the household needs and children’s needs. He was mad at her for buying a car before she filed for divorce, that’s how much he was controlling her financially. He’s mad that one of their friends let her borrow money, that’s how much he was controlling her financially. Anyway, I can guarantee that Christine isn’t going to get the prenup nullified either. So she’s going to have to “make do” with the $1 million she got from the prenup, plus the $63K a month in child support and that’s it. Ten bucks says this judge will tell her that she has to pay for her lawyers and Kevin’s lawyers too.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

As someone new to Instagram, you’re going to have an uphill battle as you attempt to get views and attention. Unfortunately, Instagram and other social networks can be rough for newcomers. Nevertheless, you’re adamant about becoming a popular Instagram influencer with a lot of pull with your followers. Which techniques can help you acquire more Instagram views quickly and conveniently?

Approaches like using Instagram hashtags correctly and engaging with other people will help, but you cannot ignore the possibility of purchasing IG views. When you use the latter technique, your Instagram views will soar with almost no effort required on your part.

Here are some of the other strategies to consider.

Improving Your Content

Sadly, many Instagram newbies have the habit of creating “ordinary” content. If you’re making this mistake, your content will likely never receive lots of views, likes, or shares since it won’t grab your viewers’ attention. You must take steps to make your Instagram videos and pictures better. Creating high-quality, original, and compelling Instagram content is crucial if you want people to be engaged with what you’ve created. Instagram content should be novel, insightful, or funny if you want people to spend more than a second or two with it.

Always Encourage Engagement

Whenever you’re creating an Instagram post, always focus on generating engagement from followers. Adding a simple question to your latest IG post can help because it will encourage folks to comment. Alternatively, you can respond to posts created by other IG users. Increased engagement on Instagram will improve your perceived importance to Instagram’s algorithms and help you acquire additional views.

This isn’t a surefire solution to get large numbers of extra views, but it can help.

Use Trends

If you’re browsing Instagram, you’ll quickly discover that certain topics are trending. This means that those subjects are hotly discussed on Instagram right now. You’ll have an opportunity to use this information to gain more IG views for your newest videos or pictures. When possible, create IG content using trending subjects and hashtags. Using this simple IG marketing technique will help you reach more people and get your views count up.

Publish With Consistency

Regularly publishing IG content, ideally on a predictable schedule, will help you acquire more views. If other Instagram users know when you’re going to post, they’ll always look forward to seeing your latest content on the app. Having an inactive IG account will only lead to decreased views and followers. Keep your Instagram active by posting unique, insightful content around the same time each day.

If you’re regularly interacting on Instagram and posting great content daily without satisfactory results, you should consider buying Instagram views to get across the finish line. The extra views provided by the service will be just what is needed to motivate you to work hard to become an Instagram influencer.

Purchasing Extra Views

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to acquire IG views without working so hard and spending so much time online? You may be surprised to learn that you can get thousands of Instagram views in a matter of minutes if you’re willing to buy them. In reality, buying Instagram views is an affordable, surefire method of quickly gaining more views on the picture or pictures of your choosing.

Purchasing views makes your videos look more popular to other users, but there’s a much more important reason to do it. It also makes your videos look more popular to the system’s algorithms, and they use popularity to determine which posts receive extra visibility. Once a large group of new users gets a chance to see your compelling content, your likes (and follows) will soar.

One caveat, though. The views you purchase must be “real” views that come from actual IG users with real accounts. The “fake” views sold by many websites are created by bots and disregarded by Instagram. They may even cause your account to be deactivated.

Reliable service providers can flood hundreds or thousands of real views to your IG videos or photos within minutes. You simply tell them which IG posts you want to boost and how many views are required. Once you complete your order, your selected posts will begin receiving dozens, hundreds, or thousands of views from real IG users. If you haven’t been able to get enough IG views organically, pay for them.

Overall

Buying IG views delivers near-instant results while bypassing the long, drawn-out traditional process of acquiring them one by one. The value of Instagram views can safely be compared to that of Instagram likes. Both hold significant weight when it comes to engagement and increased popularity and importance on the platform.

The post Leading 2023 Strategies To Increase IG Views first appeared on CelebrityBabyScoop.

Getting more likes on Instagram is key to becoming popular on the social network. Any influencer will agree that likes are one of the integral aspects of success, but they can be difficult to obtain. As a new IG user, the process will be even more difficult because your follower count will initially be small. Certain strategies can help increase the likelihood that you’ll receive more likes on your Instagram posts.

Giving something away and teaming up with influencers can be good strategies, but paying for likes may be a better option.

Giving Something Away

First, you may want to consider giving something away on your Instagram page. People are always eager to get something for free, especially when they’re surfing Instagram. If they see a post offering a freebie or a promotion, they’ll be eager to take advantage of it. Therefore, they’re going to do whatever your Instagram post says, including liking it. The problem here is that you must have something to give to your IG followers. If you don’t, you’ll have to buy something specifically for this marketing strategy.

Piggyback On Other Influencers

If possible, you should attempt to piggyback on other IG influencers. Usually, popular influencers on Instagram have millions of followers. Their post reach is immense meaning millions of people will see what they post. If you can collaborate with an IG influencer, you’ll be able to reach that user’s followers too. Doing so will likely help you get many likes from the influencer’s followers.

Post Compelling Content

Make sure that your IG content is compelling. Instagram users will ignore content that they consider boring, not insightful, or not touching or funny. They want to see genuinely entertaining content on their Instagram feeds. Therefore, posting compelling Instagram content is essential for boosting the likes on your videos and photos. It’ll increase the possibility that people will like the content you’re posting. Put lots of time and effort into your content creation, too. No one will like your posts if the videos or photos are difficult to watch or see.

Create Good Captions

While your Instagram content is vital, you cannot ignore the importance of your IG captions. They should identify the type of content you post, so others can find it (and like it) by searching on the platform. With thorough captions, your Instagram followers will spend time enjoying your content and then hitting the like button.

Perfect A Meme

Memes are immensely popular on IG and other social networks. You’ll notice that many of these posts are shared and liked by millions of Instagram users, with some copying the meme and others creating their own. If you’re creative, creating memes is a great way to attract likes and followers for your Instagram posts and account. Otherwise, you should at least revise a meme you’ve found elsewhere before claiming it as your own.

Buying Likes

The best option to grow your Instagram like count is to purchase likes for your recent videos and photos. That seems obvious at first, but there’s a bigger reason besides the obvious one.

So much content is posted to Instagram that most of it is never seen by a large audience because the system’s algorithms assign most of the available exposure to posts and accounts that are already popular. If you want to grow your IG presence, you need some of that audience so new people can watch your videos, like them, and follow you.

Buying likes helps accomplish that goal. When the algorithms see that your posts have lots of likes (that you’ve purchased), they’ll show your content to many more random users. That allows you to earn hundreds or thousands of organic likes for your posts and significantly boost your IG popularity and importance.

Your purchased likes arrive virtually immediately, and there’s nothing else for you to do as long as you keep posting compelling content. It’s simple and surprisingly inexpensive.

One caution, though. Be sure you only buy from a trustworthy service that sells “real” likes from real Insta users. The “fake” likes that many websites sell are ignored by Instagram because they’re not connected to real accounts. Your content’s exposure won’t increase – and you could find yourself banned from Instagram for violating the app’s rules.

Conclusion

IG likes are a necessity when it comes to social media presence. Growing likes for posts and videos is not as easy as it sounds. Try as you may, your effort may not pay off which is why users are buying Instagram likes. The process requires minimal effort, a small amount of money, and the results are remarkable.

Purchasing IG likes can easily attract attention as well as boost the popularity of any type of content. Cheap IG likes are accounts created by real people.

The post These 2023 Strategies Increase IG Likes To Boost Popularity first appeared on CelebrityBabyScoop.

Instagram is one of the most popular and reliable social media platforms globally. With over two billion users, this platform creates an audience that will consume your content and become fans (if you’re an individual) or transform them into ambassadors, influencers, and long-time customers (if you’re a business).

Furthermore, the Instagram platform has great potential, and this is why everyone who wants to become more popular should take every possible step to increase their followers. However, most individuals try to increase their IG followers to no avail. That’s our reason for creating this article. We will be revealing our 2023 strategies to increase IG followers. Let’s begin.

Strategies to Increase Your IG Followers

Put a Reason to Follow You In Your Profile

Why would I follow you on Instagram if you have nothing to offer? Rather than just insert a slogan into your IG profile, add your credentials or a value proposition. Let your potential followers have a very clear picture of what they should expect when they follow your Instagram page.

With this, people will be attracted to your page and want to follow you. Here are some examples:

• Follow for more online money-making tips
• Follow me if you wish to secure your financial future
• Follow me for more pet training tips

Focus on Gaining High-Quality Followers

Currently, there are more than 2.35 billion Instagram users. However, it doesn’t help very much to have disengaged followers who don’t contribute to a sense of community. Nor does anyone want followers who will quickly unfollow their account at the drop of a hat. Everyone wants followers who:

Drop comments, share, and like your posts

When followers drop comments, like your posts, and share your content, they are creating more popularity for your page. You’ll get more followers and this encourages you to produce more content.

Convert into customers

Many followers that engage with your account end up becoming fans or patronizing your business. Something attracted them to your page and they have been convinced of the value that your posts or company provide.

How do you accomplish this goal? By regularly posting high-quality, compelling content on your account. The more reasons you give followers to become and remain fans, the stronger your Instagram growth will be.

Buy Packages of IG followers from Reliable and Reputable services (The Best Strategy)

The best way to increase your Instagram followers is to purchase packages of real IG followers from reputable services.

The reason is simple. Instagram awards visibility to content based on an account’s popularity. When you buy followers, the system sees that you’re growing in importance and shows your videos and photos to a larger audience that can watch and like your vids and follow your account.

This is what you can expect when working with reputable services:

• You will get high-quality views and likes, as well as followers
• You’ll get a larger social presence
• Your organic popularity will increase rapidly

How does it work?

Finding the best service to buy your IG followers’ package isn’t an easy task. This is because you need to take your time and investigate each company before trusting them to handle this task. Most importantly, you have to be sure they deliver real followers with real Instagram accounts. “Fake” followers provided by scammy services won’t help with growth and can tank your account.

Once you have chosen a service to work with, let them know how many followers you want, and then give them your username. Work begins immediately and you will see the results in minutes or hours.

Why Buying Packages of Real IG Followers from a Reputable Service is the Best Strategy

Customer Satisfaction

You can feel good about buying from trustworthy providers because you’ll know your account will be safe and you’ll see results.  Delivery will be quick, and you’ll see your popularity and exposure increase substantially.

More Engagement

When you have more followers, you will get more engagement. This will let your posts become more popular and add to their visibility.

Helps to invite other followers

With one great follower come others. When you buy real followers and have much to offer on your Instagram page, your followers may invite others to follow your page. As your content is shared widely, your follower growth will increase even more.

Conclusion

We have given you some valuable information on the different strategies you can use to increase your IG followers. Most important of all is buying Instagram followers from reputable services, and always making sure that you generate compelling content on a regular basis. This will not only keep your followers happy but will attract many more.

The post 2023 Strategies to Increase IG Followers first appeared on CelebrityBabyScoop.

Mitch McConnell was cleared by a doctor (??) to return to work after his latest “freeze up” this week. Like… did Rand Paul clear him? Who is this doctor? [Just Jared]
Does Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn look good? [LaineyGossip]
Review of Bama Rush, the sorority documentary. [Pajiba]
Photos from Venice’s Opening Ceremony. [Go Fug Yourself]
What Dwayne Johnson & Oprah are doing to help Hawaii. [Socialite Life]
GOP donors are spooked by Tim Scott being unmarried. [Jezebel]
Olga Kurylenko wore Elie Saab in Venice. [RCFA]
Gene Wilder was in Bonnie & Clyde. [Seriously OMG]
Dua Lipa, so pretty but such weird style. [Egotastic]
What are the best & worst TV show finales? [Buzzfeed]
Gold Rush returns this month. [Starcasm]
Trace Cyrus sounds like such a douche. [OMG Blog]

Note by Kaiser: It’s Labor Day Weekend so we’ll be off unless some big gossip story breaks. We’ll be back to regular programming on Tuesday!

The Daily Beast’s Royalist column has a new exclusive all about Prince Harry, Heart of Invictus, the upcoming Dusseldorf Invictus Games, and Prince William and Kate’s obsessive neurosis with all things Sussex. Again, the timeline: on Thursday, September 7, Harry will be in the UK, attending the WellChild Awards, making a speech and meeting with families. We don’t know exactly when Harry will fly to Germany, but my guess is that he will be in the air on the 8th, the death-anniversary of QEII. Also on the 8th, William and Kate are heading to Wales to do some death-anniversary events, and they’ll be the only “working royals” seen on the day. The 8th will also be William and Kate’s first day of work since mid-July and since William was too contemptibly lazy to attend the Women’s World Cup. Basically, the gist of this piece is that Will and Kate are terribly worried that Harry will overshadow them by existing, all while King Charles is making a point of downplaying the negativity. It’s very interesting.

Nervous Peg & Buttons: A friend of William and Kate’s told The Daily Beast: “Harry is going to want people to watch the show. Of course that makes them nervous because William has seen how ruthless Harry has been about betraying his family to promote his projects so far. They just won’t want the dignity of the day to be overshadowed by another outburst.”

Harry will do interviews to promote Invictus: The Prince and Princess of Wales are likely to be the focal point of attention on Friday, as the only senior royals with a scheduled engagement, although details of exactly what they will be doing have still not been released. However it now seems likely that Harry will have media interviews running that day or the next to promote the Invictus Games, which start on Saturday 9 September in Dusseldorf, and run for a week, with Harry expected to be there for all of it and Meghan expected for the closing ceremony.

Charles is proud of Harry: A friend of the king and queen told The Daily Beast: “Charles was always incredibly proud of Harry for setting up Invictus, and remains so. I actually think he will love the new show if he gets a chance to watch any of it. The idea that Harry has used the series to attack Charles is a total exaggeration; he hasn’t.” Asked how they understood a passage of the film where Harry says he wasn’t given support as a child after his mother died, the friend said, “It’s a fleeting remark in five hours of TV which has been blown out of all proportion by the media. I think after what Charles has been through in the last fifty years, he’ll be able to handle it.”

The WellChild timing: A former staffer, who worked for both Charles and Camilla and William and Kate and knew Harry during their working career at the palace, told The Daily Beast that Harry could hardly be blamed for the fact that he is due to speak at the WellChild Awards on Thursday evening, the eve of the anniversary of the queen’s death. The former staffer said: “Harry has always done WellChild and he only missed it last year because the queen died on that day, so it would be a bit odd if he didn’t pay tribute to her or mention what happened last year. It’s an accident of timing, admittedly one which has worked out very nicely for Harry given he has a new show to promote. The issue really is what he says. I’m sure he will just say a few nice words about her, and it will be fine. But if he makes even the slightest veiled criticism of his father or brother or the institution, it will really annoy Charles and William. Charles is pushing for unity, unity, unity—so the last thing he needs is Harry being divisive.”

[From The Daily Beast]

“It’s a fleeting remark in five hours of TV which has been blown out of all proportion by the media.” At least someone in the royal camp said that. What’s weird is that the Heart of Invictus pseudo-controversy has once again shown that there are divisions between William and Charles with how they deal with Harry speaking about his life and experiences. It’s been clear that William went on a briefing spree – notably to Rebecca English at the Mail – about HoI and William wanting credit for suggesting that Harry get therapy. William is desperately trying to ride Harry’s Invictus coattails and it’s left the impression that William and the Windsors are too self-absorbed to watch the entire series and see what it’s really about in context.

As for William and Kate being “nervous” – Harry and Meghan live rent-free in their heads and it’s hilarious to watch. You know W&K are going to pull some big stunts during Invictus too, and they’ll go on another briefing spree, especially when Meghan pulls up to Dusseldorf looking happy and healthy.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.