Spectator Life

When the film version of To Kill a Mockingbird came out in 1962, America was captivated. In part it was because of the moral force of Harper Lee’s story about a lawyer who does what today’s Twitter progressives will not: think twice about whether a mere accusation is enough to convict a supposedly shitty man. But it was also because, to put it plainly, the hero Atticus Finch was played by Gregory Peck in a loosely fitting but perfectly tailored gray three-piece suit. And, well, Peck looked hot.   George Santos is not hot, but he is an icon. In the last year or so he has hit the headlines for his perfectly curated preppy fashion that make him look like an oversized prep school kid. The Washington Post described his look as "bland but utterly unforgettable.

“What the f—” “Don’t look directly at it. I’m serious, that thing is cursed.”  My childhood best friend Sofie has just scooped me up from the epicenter of weirdness that is Denver International Airport, one hand on the steering wheel, the other blocking my view of a thirty-five-foot, bright blue fiberglass horse rearing at nothing in particular. I’m sleep-deprived, but I’m not seeing things. “Why are its eyes burning red?” “Not sure. The man who built it died during construction. Blucifer fell on him and severed a main artery.” I’ve no energy left for questions. I’m fresh from nine hours in a tin can sitting next to an effusive new “friend,” insistent on sharing conspiracy theories linked to our destination.

Tomorrow is one of the best days of the year, Kentucky Derby Day. It means spring is really, finally, officially here, because whatever the weather, how can you not feel balmy and cheerful when you’re balancing assorted plumage on your head and have a fourth Mint Julep in your hand? This year’s Derby, however, is off to a dark start. Four horses have died this week at Churchill Downs; two sustained life-ending injuries and two others collapsed and died suddenly for unexplained reasons. The trainer of the latter two horses, Saffie Joseph Jr., was banished from the weekend after scratching all but one of his other entrants.

Harrisonburg, Virginia We're sitting at the lobby bar of a Hyatt eating snacks, killing time until Liz Wheeler's speech on transgenderism at James Madison University, which is slated for 6 pm. Liz's private security suggested we not wait on campus, given the death threats she and her family have received over the past couple of weeks since the event was announced. A young man takes a few steps through the lobby, looks at Liz, stops, and backtracks behind a wall. Liz whips her head to me. "Do you think he recognized me?" she asks. She's on edge until the man re-emerges behind the bar wearing a name tag. He works here. Sigh of relief.

A “Chinese puzzle” in its classic version is a game where you must fit a variety of ill-assorted boxes inside other boxes. The term came to mean any intricate problem, especially one in which what looks like the way forward leads only to new obstacles.   These days, in which we are warned not to use ethnonyms for fear of giving offense, it might be safer to say something like “brainteaser.” But the efforts of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to manipulate American society genuinely deserve the old term. The news this past week adds a few curious details to those efforts. Details first; explanations to follow.

Monday night marks the fashion calendar’s most overrated, overcovered event: the Met Gala. Each year it’s the same. The outfits are underwhelming (unless they’re worn Rihanna). The publicity stunts are boring. Its political outbursts are predictable and hypocritical. Most disappointing, the theme of this ultimate costume party is either uninteresting, completely ignored or both. But Monday promises something different, or at least above average. Its theme is “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty,” in tribute to the late fashion design icon, who revived Chanel and made it one of the greatest houses, and businesses, in Paris. An exhibition examining the work of Lagerfeld will run at the Met from May 5 to June 16.

Start your engines! Taylor Swift hasn’t wasted any time finding new material. Just a few weeks back news broke of Swift's split from actor Joe Alwyn. Now fans are convinced that the singer is secretly dating Formula 1 star Fernando Alonso.  After rumors surfaced last week, Alonso poured gasoline on the fire by posting a TikTok video earlier this week set to the tune of her hit song “Karma.” In the clip, he also scrolled on his phone before looking at the camera and winking.  https://www.tiktok.com/@fernandoalonso/video/7225564591818804506?lang=en The F1 driver also referenced Swift’s song “22” when he commented, “Feeling 33." Alonso captioned the video “Race week era😉,” referencing Swift’s ongoing Eras Tour.

Open Bryna Pomp’s wardrobe and you’ll find a uniform of near identical navy blue and black dresses. Yet squirreled away in dozens of boxes in her closet-cum-office are more than 500 pieces of contemporary jewelry: the bolder the better.  For the last thirteen years, Pomp has curated MAD About Jewelry, the Museum of Arts and Design’s popular annual pop-up that sees makers from across the globe travel to the Manhattan institution to show and sell their wares. In the process, she has built her own vast collection, ranging from brooches to earrings to necklaces.

Last week Stanford University students elected a new government led by a coalition calling itself “Fun Strikes Back.” You won’t have caught this development in the mainstream news, though it was noticed by the distinctly non-mainstream press — outlets such as Pirate Wires and OutKick. It is, however, a very significant event. One of the most important American universities that has spent a generation groaning under the dour, self-righteous domination of progressive virtue-signaling witnessed a rebellion. Students rose up and demanded a campus social life free from the onerous control of the university’s moralistic busybodies.

Pennsylvania experienced a heat wave last week, with temperatures soaring into the mid-80s. It was not to last. This morning it was a balmy 33°F, with that bone-chilling dampness and threat of snow showers that can only mean one thing: spring! When friends and family who live in warm places send me photos of the beach and brag about taking long walks in the sunshine, I block out their bragging with a defiant flip of my hood and insist that people who live in cold places are tougher. We have more character. True grit. And it turns out that may actually be true. "Cold temperature extends longevity and prevents disease-related protein aggregation," according to a new peer-reviewed study from Germany's University of Cologne. Longevity, i.e.

When it comes to using trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney to promote the iconic Bud Light brand — a favorite beer here in the backwoods — my first impulse was in line with that of Kid Rock, who used cases of the stuff for target practice. It’s a reaction many Americans, insulted by what they perceive to be an attack on their traditional values and gender stereotypes, are having to varying degrees as they boycott the beer giant, reportedly to the tune of billions of dollars. Progressives, meanwhile, can’t get enough of Mulvaney.

If you’re a professor at the University of Memphis, you are required to sit through a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training where you’ll learn that you should send polite emails and what basic words like “skills” and “motivation” mean. And taxpayers get to foot the bill!The taxpayer-funded school’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, or DEI, requirements, obtained in full by The Spectator, are expected to take twenty-six minutes. Professors learn about every kind of diversity (from diversity of “spiritual practice” to “public assistance status”) except political.

President Biden is being an American tourist in Ireland this week. In comments to the Irish Parliament in Dublin today, the president touted the merits of rugby, a sport in which Ireland is currently the top-ranked side in the world, over the American brand of football. "I'd rather have my children playing rugby now for health reasons than I would have them playing football," the president said. "Fewer people get hurt playing rugby." Biden is a rugby enthusiast, having played while at college at Syracuse. He made a point of video-calling the Ireland men's team after their historic defeat of New Zealand in Chicago in 2021. (In the video, Biden's brother James is sporting an Ireland hat and coat.

One of the few culture war tropes that has actually dimmed during the Biden era is the controversy over the championship sports team White House visit. This is in large part because the sensibilities of the big leagues, their corporate partners and the media that covers them skews left — meaning a pressure campaign to condemn visiting Joe Biden, for example, just won’t register in those circles. So it was kind of by accident that the women’s college basketball national championship game between Iowa and LSU became a tempest in a teapot.