talk

Welcome to Bunker Talk. This is a weekend open discussion post for the best commenting crew on the net, in which we can chat about all the stuff that went on this week that we didn’t cover. We can also talk about the stuff we did or whatever else grabs your interest. In other words, it’s an off-topic thread.

This week’s caption reads:

U.S. Marines with 3d Reconnaissance Battalion, 3d Marine Division patrol through an underground tunnel in support of offensive operations during the Korean Marine Exercise Program 25.1 at Camp Stanley, South Korea, March 10, 2025. KMEP is a semi-annual exercise that provides iterative opportunities for Republic of Korea Marine Corps and U.S. Marine Corps units to train together, improving their combined capabilities to deter threats and maintain peace on the Korean Peninsula. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Kendrick Jackson) 

PRIME DIRECTIVES:

• If you want to talk politics, do so respectfully and know that there’s always somebody that isn’t going to agree with you. 
• If you have political differences, hash it out respectfully, stick to the facts, and no childish name-calling or personal attacks of any kind. If you can’t handle yourself in that manner, then please, discuss virtually anything else.
• No drive-by garbage political memes. No conspiracy theory rants. Links to crackpot sites will be axed, too. Trolling and shitposting will not be tolerated. No obsessive behavior about other users. Just don’t interact with folks you don’t like. 
• Do not be a sucker and feed trolls! That’s as much on you as on them. Use the mute button if you don’t like what you see.  
• So unless you have something of quality to say, know how to treat people with respect, understand that everyone isn’t going to subscribe to your exact same worldview, and have come to terms with the reality that there is no perfect solution when it comes to moderation of a community like this, it’s probably best to just move on. 
• Finally, as always, report offenders, please. This doesn’t mean reporting people who don’t share your political views, but we really need your help in this regard.

It seems time does have the power to heal all wounds — even between famously volatile exes.

Former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham has opened up about how he and Stevie Nicks were able to move past their longtime feud while working together on an upcoming documentary for the iconic band.

“Stevie and I are talking all the time now,” the musician told E! News at Variety’s Power of Young Hollywood event Thursday. While he remained mum on whether this reconciliation could lead to future tours or collaborations, he did tell the outlet that 2027 — which will mark the 50th anniversary of Fleetwood Mac’s acclaimed “Rumours” album — “should be a pretty interesting year … because I think quite a few things will reveal themselves.”

Buckingham believes making the forthcoming Apple TV documentary has not only helped mend the rift between he and Nicks, but also any remaining tensions with other Fleetwood Mac members.

“I think the process of making that has been a very circular healing process for all of us,” Buckingham said. “Because we had left things in 2019, maybe as far as I was concerned, not in a very good place for all the wrong reasons … No one was happy about it, and all of that has been healed and worked out.”

Buckingham first joined Fleetwood Mac with then-girlfriend and bandmate Nicks toward the end of 1974. He left the band to pursue his solo career in 1987 and rejoined years later. But in early 2018, ahead of a planned tour, Buckingham was fired from Fleetwood Mac after Nicks allegedly issued the band an ultimatum threatening to leave if he wasn’t cut. The singer-guitarist then sued the band for lost wages before settling the lawsuit later that year. Despite admitting that he’d like to be asked back to the band, bad blood lingered.

A Fleetwood Mac reunion has long seemed unlikely, especially following the death of singer-keyboardist Christine McVie in 2022. But perhaps Buckingham’s latest comments, along with last year’s reissue of he and Nicks’ pre-Fleetwood Mac album “Buckingham Nicks,” are signs that not all hope is lost.

CHICAGO — Dodgers third base coach Dino Ebel went directly to Shohei Ohtani’s competition for NL MVP with his gripe.

Ebel, who coached Cubs star center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong with Team USA in the World Baseball Classic this year, gave him grief for serving as the designated hitter on Wednesday. He couldn’t play center field every day?

Ohtani and Crow-Armstrong had just traded leadoff home runs, so Crow-Armstrong told reporters that he shot back with: “Well, it took your guy 10 pitches, it only took me one.”

He was exaggerating slightly. Ohtani’s leadoff homer came on the seventh pitch of the at-bat against Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga. And that, of course, wasn’t really how Crow-Armstrong felt.

“A [seven]-pitch at-bat to start the game and finish it off with a 110 [mph] ball at 20 degrees is pretty ridiculous,” Crow-Armstrong said.

The National League MVP race transformed into a head-to-head showdown between the frontrunners at Wrigley Field on Wednesday, as the Dodgers fell to the Cubs 7-6.

“Over the course of a season, there’s a lot of ups and downs,” Ohtani, a four-time MVP, said through interpreter Will Ireton. “It’s too early to think about that. So in a way for me it’s more important for the team to win and for me to contribute to that.”

Though Crow-Armstrong played along with the MVP talk, he came around to a similar sentiment.

“I would be crazy to say that I don’t want to win an MVP, but if we’re talking about having priorities straight, I think mine are pretty straight,” he said. “It’s not on the forefront of my mind. It’s fun to joke about and it’s fun to acknowledge and I think it’s absolutely OK to pay attention to. But it’s not following me up to the plate.

“If you guys want to talk about all this back and forth, like, I really should go get in the lab and start pitching. I really should.”

Ohtani was considered the runaway MVP favorite early in the year, while his pitching performance also put him in the Cy Young conversation. But his extended absence from the mound (left knee issue) and Crow-Armstrong’s contributions on offense and defense have made the race more interesting.

Crow-Armstrong entered Wednesday leading the majors in fWAR (7.5), followed by Ohtani (6.4).

Chicago Cubs designated hitter Pete Crow-Armstrong drops the bat after hitting his second home run against the Dodgers.

(Jessie Alcheh / Associated Press)

“Simply put, just having your name in the same conversation as someone as profound as [Ohtani] feels, it’s awesome and it’s a nice nod,” Crow-Armstrong said. “It’s cool. But … I would feel much more accomplished taking them (the Dodgers) down at some point. I want to see this group (the Cubs) in October because I think it’ll be a dangerous, dangerous group in the playoffs.”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts irked Cubs fans a week and a half ago when, asked to evaluate Ohtani’s season overall, he said he’ll still be the NL MVP.

“I haven’t followed the race,” Roberts said before the game Wednesday. “I have followed what Pete’s doing, and he’s figured some things out with the bat. “He’s having a heck of a year. And he has rightfully made it a lot closer than most people expected. He’s had a tremendous season.”

That continued in the finale of the three-game series, for Crow-Armstrong and Ohtani.

Ohtani, struck first, notching the 32nd leadoff homer of his career and 29th as a Dodger, breaking a tie with Davey Lopes for the second-most in franchise history, behind Mookie Betts (32).

In the bottom half of the inning, Crow-Armstrong matched Ohtani with a tying blast.

The next inning, he delivered a two-run double, and in the fourth, he mashed a two-run blast off the right-field scoreboard to put the Cubs up 5-1.

Not to be outdone, Ohtani led off the fifth inning with a single, but the Dodgers failed to score. Then in the eighth, he made it his first multi-homer game of the season, with a two-run shot that trimmed the Cubs’ lead to 7-6.

“He’s a great player,” Ohtani said of Crow-Armstrong. “But I’m really focused on myself on the hitting side of things right now, really working towards hopefully getting back on the mound and working on that side of the game as well.”

Ohtani’s timeline back to the mound is nebulous at this point. Roberts didn’t have a specific day circled to resume playing catch, and Ohtani didn’t provide one, either.

“It’s getting pretty good day by day,” Ohtani said of his knee. “It’s hard to tell at this point what the schedule is going to look like. First I need to do [weighted ply balls], then go into long toss, then go into a bullpen progression. Rather than rush the progression of this I would rather make sure we’re headed in the right direction. But making sure we’re taking the right steps.”

The Dodgers’ rotation depth means he doesn’t necessarily need to build up to a full starter’s workload by the end of the year. Ohtani said he’d leave the timing of his progression up to the front office.

“Any innings we get from him are bonuses, given he’s a two-way player,” Roberts said. “Whether it’s one inning, two innings, three innings, I’m not too concerned about the timeline. … I certainly see him as a starter, but how much he could give us, to then have somebody [piggybacking] behind him, that we don’t know yet.”

Freddie Freeman pulled

Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman left the game in the bottom of the fifth inning after a pitch hit his right hand. But X-rays came back negative, Roberts said.

“I obviously didn’t come out of that at-bat because I knew it hit my bat as well,” Freeman said. “It hit bat, then hand and pinched my hand onto the bat. Next pitch, I swung. I could swing, and I swung again. As the adrenaline wore off, pain got a little bit more.”

Freeman said he expects to be ready to return to the lineup by the Dodgers’ next game, against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday.

Welcome to Bunker Talk. This is a weekend open discussion post for the best commenting crew on the net, in which we can chat about all the stuff that went on this week that we didn’t cover. We can also talk about the stuff we did or whatever else grabs your interest. In other words, it’s an off-topic thread.

This week’s caption reads:

U.S. Air Force 2nd Lt. Garret Burgess, 490th Missile Squadron nuclear and missile operations officer, pulls a blast door inside a launch control center at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana, April 11, 2026. The blast door secures access to the underground Launch Control Center, where missileers maintain continuous command and control of assigned intercontinental ballistic missile forces. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Teniya Caldwell)

PRIME DIRECTIVES:

• If you want to talk politics, do so respectfully and know that there’s always somebody that isn’t going to agree with you. 
• If you have political differences, hash it out respectfully, stick to the facts, and no childish name-calling or personal attacks of any kind. If you can’t handle yourself in that manner, then please, discuss virtually anything else.
• No drive-by garbage political memes. No conspiracy theory rants. Links to crackpot sites will be axed, too. Trolling and shitposting will not be tolerated. No obsessive behavior about other users. Just don’t interact with folks you don’t like. 
• Do not be a sucker and feed trolls! That’s as much on you as on them. Use the mute button if you don’t like what you see.  
• So unless you have something of quality to say, know how to treat people with respect, understand that everyone isn’t going to subscribe to your exact same worldview, and have come to terms with the reality that there is no perfect solution when it comes to moderation of a community like this, it’s probably best to just move on. 
• Finally, as always, report offenders, please. This doesn’t mean reporting people who don’t share your political views, but we really need your help in this regard.

Welcome to Bunker Talk. This is a weekend open discussion post for the best commenting crew on the net, in which we can chat about all the stuff that went on this week that we didn’t cover. We can also talk about the stuff we did or whatever else grabs your interest. In other words, it’s an off-topic thread.

This week’s caption reads:

U.S. Soldiers assigned to 14th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 2-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 7th Infantry Division enter a cave to conduct Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) operations during Rotation 25-11 at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, Calif., Sep. 16, 2025. Rotations at the National Training Center ensure Army Brigade Combat Teams remain versatile, responsive, and consistently available for current and future contingencies. (U.S. Army photo by Cpl. Jeffrey Garland, Operations Group, National Training Center)

PRIME DIRECTIVES:

• If you want to talk politics, do so respectfully and know that there’s always somebody that isn’t going to agree with you. 
• If you have political differences, hash it out respectfully, stick to the facts, and no childish name-calling or personal attacks of any kind. If you can’t handle yourself in that manner, then please, discuss virtually anything else.
• No drive-by garbage political memes. No conspiracy theory rants. Links to crackpot sites will be axed, too. Trolling and shitposting will not be tolerated. No obsessive behavior about other users. Just don’t interact with folks you don’t like. 
• Do not be a sucker and feed trolls! That’s as much on you as on them. Use the mute button if you don’t like what you see.  
• So unless you have something of quality to say, know how to treat people with respect, understand that everyone isn’t going to subscribe to your exact same worldview, and have come to terms with the reality that there is no perfect solution when it comes to moderation of a community like this, it’s probably best to just move on. 
• Finally, as always, report offenders, please. This doesn’t mean reporting people who don’t share your political views, but we really need your help in this regard.

The ongoing saga of the Cinerama Dome, among the most iconic movie theaters in Los Angeles, took another twist Tuesday. Reports surfaced that Sony and Alamo Drafthouse, the theater chain owned by the company, have been in talks to take over operation of the venue.

The theater and the adjacent 14-screen ArcLight Hollywood multiplex have been closed since March 2020. In April 2021 it was announced that the venue would not be reopening and it has sat dormant ever since, becoming the focus of intense public interest.

The news of Sony and Alamo’s interest in the property was first reported by Deadline. Representatives for Sony did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A city hearing in May regarding alcohol sales at the site provided a rare opportunity for public comment on the property.

“I know that this has been hard and it has seemed like the citizens versus the ownership — that’s not what it is,” local preservation advocate Kim Cooper said. “People want to come together and help and bring this place back.”

The Dome has long been owned by the family of William R. Forman — the founder of Pacific Theatres — who opened the Dome in 1963. In an interview with The Times following the May meeting, Elizabeth Peterson-Gower, a land use consultant representing the venue’s owners, said the owners hoped to have a reopening time frame “in the near future.”

Sony purchased the Austin, Texas-based Alamo Drafthouse in 2024, with venues in major cities all across the U.S., including L.A. Though the Drafthouse chain was rooted in a fan-friendly ethos and a notoriously strict no-phones policy in its theaters, the company has recently come under fire for switching up the ordering system for its in-seat food service, forcing patrons to pull out their phones during a movie.

The Cinerama Dome news comes on the heels of a strong summer of moviegoing, as audiences have been flocking to theaters to see movies such as “The Odyssey,” “Toy Story 5,” “Backrooms” and “Obsession.” There has been a newfound attention on theatrical presentation and film formats, including the limited number of venues capable of projecting Imax 70mm or 70mm film, around the country.

Theatergoing in L.A. has been undergoing a renaissance of its own. The Alex Theatre in Glendale is showing a first-run movie with “The Odyssey” for the first time since 1991, while the American Cinematheque has relaunched the Village Theatre in Westwood under the new name the Directors Village to acknowledge the consortium of filmmakers who took over ownership.

Welcome to Bunker Talk. This is a weekend open discussion post for the best commenting crew on the net, in which we can chat about all the stuff that went on this week that we didn’t cover. We can also talk about the stuff we did or whatever else grabs your interest. In other words, it’s an off-topic thread.

This week’s caption reads:

Members of the Moroccan Groupement des Forces Spéciale clear tunnels used by opposition forces during a Joint Combined Exchange Training (JCET) at Tifnit Training Base, Morocco, May 13, 2026. JCETs bolster regional security and improve threat response by building shared readiness and fostering collaborative relationships. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Enrique Barcelo)

PRIME DIRECTIVES:

• If you want to talk politics, do so respectfully and know that there’s always somebody that isn’t going to agree with you. 
• If you have political differences, hash it out respectfully, stick to the facts, and no childish name-calling or personal attacks of any kind. If you can’t handle yourself in that manner, then please, discuss virtually anything else.
• No drive-by garbage political memes. No conspiracy theory rants. Links to crackpot sites will be axed, too. Trolling and shitposting will not be tolerated. No obsessive behavior about other users. Just don’t interact with folks you don’t like. 
• Do not be a sucker and feed trolls! That’s as much on you as on them. Use the mute button if you don’t like what you see.  
• So unless you have something of quality to say, know how to treat people with respect, understand that everyone isn’t going to subscribe to your exact same worldview, and have come to terms with the reality that there is no perfect solution when it comes to moderation of a community like this, it’s probably best to just move on. 
• Finally, as always, report offenders, please. This doesn’t mean reporting people who don’t share your political views, but we really need your help in this regard.

Welcome to Bunker Talk. This is a weekend open discussion post for the best commenting crew on the net, in which we can chat about all the stuff that went on this week that we didn’t cover. We can also talk about the stuff we did or whatever else grabs your interest. In other words, it’s an off-topic thread.

This week’s caption reads:

Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC) at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, provides command and control of air power throughout Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and 17 other nations. The CAOC is comprised of a joint and coalition team that executes day-to-day combined air and space operations and provides rapid reaction, positive control, coordination, and de-confliction of weapon systems. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Joshua Strang)

PRIME DIRECTIVES:

• If you want to talk politics, do so respectfully and know that there’s always somebody that isn’t going to agree with you. 
• If you have political differences, hash it out respectfully, stick to the facts, and no childish name-calling or personal attacks of any kind. If you can’t handle yourself in that manner, then please, discuss virtually anything else.
• No drive-by garbage political memes. No conspiracy theory rants. Links to crackpot sites will be axed, too. Trolling and shitposting will not be tolerated. No obsessive behavior about other users. Just don’t interact with folks you don’t like. 
• Do not be a sucker and feed trolls! That’s as much on you as on them. Use the mute button if you don’t like what you see.  
• So unless you have something of quality to say, know how to treat people with respect, understand that everyone isn’t going to subscribe to your exact same worldview, and have come to terms with the reality that there is no perfect solution when it comes to moderation of a community like this, it’s probably best to just move on. 
• Finally, as always, report offenders, please. This doesn’t mean reporting people who don’t share your political views, but we really need your help in this regard.

I hope all our American readers, have a great weekend enjoying the 250th birthday of the United States of America! Sit back, have a brew and a dog, smoke a cigar, enjoy the fireworks! And, above all else, watch tomorrow’s flyby!

Have a great weekend everyone and happy bday Lady Liberty!

This week’s caption reads:

A F-117 Stealth Fighter from the 49th Fighter Wing, based at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico, shows off its paint job during a March 12 refueling mission flown by the Columbus-based 121st Air Refueling Wing of the Ohio Air National Guard. (Photo/Senior Master Sgt. Kim Frey)

Prime Directives:

• If you want to talk politics, do so respectfully and know that there’s always somebody that isn’t going to agree with you. 
• If you have political differences, hash it out respectfully, stick to the facts, and no childish name-calling or personal attacks of any kind. If you can’t handle yourself in that manner, then please, discuss virtually anything else.
• No drive-by garbage political memes. No conspiracy theory rants. Links to crackpot sites will be axed, too. Trolling and shitposting will not be tolerated. No obsessive behavior about other users. Just don’t interact with folks you don’t like. 
• Do not be a sucker and feed trolls! That’s as much on you as on them. Use the mute button if you don’t like what you see.  
• So unless you have something of quality to say, know how to treat people with respect, understand that everyone isn’t going to subscribe to your exact same worldview, and have come to terms with the reality that there is no perfect solution when it comes to moderation of a community like this, it’s probably best to just move on. 
• Finally, as always, report offenders, please. This doesn’t mean reporting people who don’t share your political views, but we really need your help in this regard.

Welcome to Bunker Talk. This is a weekend open discussion post for the best commenting crew on the net, in which we can chat about all the stuff that went on this week that we didn’t cover. We can also talk about the stuff we did or whatever else grabs your interest. In other words, it’s an off-topic thread.

This week’s caption reads:

An officer walks past a Royal Air Force Harrier GR7 ground attack jet, from the 2nd/4th Wing RAF Cottesmore, parked inside a hardened shelter at a base in an undisclosed location in the Gulf 04 March 2003 AFP PHOTO/POOL/Chris Helgren (Photo by CHRIS HELGREN / REUTERS POOL / AFP) (Photo by CHRIS HELGREN/REUTERS POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

• If you want to talk politics, do so respectfully and know that there’s always somebody that isn’t going to agree with you. 
• If you have political differences, hash it out respectfully, stick to the facts, and no childish name-calling or personal attacks of any kind. If you can’t handle yourself in that manner, then please, discuss virtually anything else.
• No drive-by garbage political memes. No conspiracy theory rants. Links to crackpot sites will be axed, too. Trolling and shitposting will not be tolerated. No obsessive behavior about other users. Just don’t interact with folks you don’t like. 
• Do not be a sucker and feed trolls! That’s as much on you as on them. Use the mute button if you don’t like what you see.  
• So unless you have something of quality to say, know how to treat people with respect, understand that everyone isn’t going to subscribe to your exact same worldview, and have come to terms with the reality that there is no perfect solution when it comes to moderation of a community like this, it’s probably best to just move on. 
• Finally, as always, report offenders, please. This doesn’t mean reporting people who don’t share your political views, but we really need your help in this regard.

As 2026 reaches its halfway point, the editors of De Los are eager to talk about Latin artists to watch — and share their hottest music takes. Over the years, award-winning music journalist Suzy Exposito and Director of Latino Initiatives Fidel Martinez have documented the rise of genres like reggaeton and música Mexicana in mainstream culture.

In her work for Vogue, The Times and Rolling Stone, Exposito has interviewed influential artists like Shakira, Cardi B and Bad Bunny (the last of which made history as the first Rolling Stone cover story written by a Latina journalist).

Martinez has an impressive roster of his own, having interviewed many stars in the Mexican and Chicano music scenes, from Fuerza Regida to Natalia Lafourcade.

Reflecting on a landmark year for Latin music

On this week’s episode of “The De Los Podcast,” they weigh in on the explosive impact of 2025 on the genre: between Bad Bunny‘s Super Bowl halftime show and Karol G‘s Coachella headlining performance, last year was nothing short of a groundbreaking for Latin music.

“Being there, you could feel barriers coming down,” Martinez, who reported live from the Super Bowl in February, said. “It wasn’t Bad Bunny trying to validate us in front of others. It was him saying, ‘This is who we are, and we are proud of who we are.’”

According to the RIAA, 2025 was the first year that Latin music sales in the U.S. reached $1 billion, in its 10th consecutive year of growth. In 2016, American Latin music sales were at just below $150 million.

“It highlights how quickly and with what speed the genre has been taking off,” Martinez said.

However, as Exposito notes, at times, it came at the cost of originality.

A Latin music trend that De Los is leaving behind this year

“Our generation is too married to the past,” Exposito said. “How can we evolve musically if we keep trying to re-create our grandparents’ music?”

Nostalgia, De Los editors note, has driven the wide-ranging popularity of last year’s most successful Latin projects. As Exposito says, the artists “mine the past in their own ways.”

In Bad Bunny’s “DtMF” and Karol G’s “Tropicoqueta,” classic genres like salsa, plena and cumbia took center stage. “DtMF” samples El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico while in Fuerza Regida samples Mexican classics like Vicente Fernández.

While comforting and educational for younger generations, Martinez argues that artists relying on nostalgia could turn that effort into becoming more experimental with their sound.

Some artists, however, are resisting the nostalgia trend, making De Los’ best albums list of 2026 … so far.

De Los’ 2026 Latin albums you need to hear

Suzy’s picks:

Alvaro Díaz, “Omakase”

“He’s experimental … and taking bold swings, with producers like Tainy,” Exposito said.

“Omakase,” which the Puerto Rican star released in May, blends Latin trap elements with electronic, R&B and in one track, cumbia, for a diverse, thoughtful album that Diaz equates in his De Los story to the Japanese dish omakase, or a platter decided by the chef.

RaiNao, “Marcría”

With a worldplay title that blends the words “malcriada” (badly raised woman) and “cria por el mar” (born in the sea), RaiNao’s project promises earthly, intimate lyricism with experimental musicianship.

“The way she melds jazz with reggaeton and folkloric elements, I really enjoy,” Exposito said. “I really appreciate people (like RaiNao) who can remix but also introduce seemingly disparate elements, like saxophone and Caribbean music.”

Other picks include Ibeyi’s “Offering” and Diles Que No Me Maten’s “Escrito en Agua.”

Fidel’s picks:

Julieta Venegas, “Norteña”

Venegas, who De Los interviewed last month, wrote a memoir alongside this album, which delves into her Tijuana heritage with Mexican collaborators like Bronco, is what Martinez calls “a chef’s kiss.”

“She’s such a fascinating character because she started as an indie rocker,” Martinez said. “This album is a love letter to Tijuana. It’s just the perfect fusion of tradition and pop.”

Hermanos Espinoza, “Linaje”

Two brothers from the Rio Grande Valley, Hermanos Espinoza performed at De Los’ SXSW showcase and blew the audience away with their live energy and accordion work.

“Their project talks about lineage. This album certainly has a point of view,” Martinez said. “With this album, they said, música Mexicana can be like rock and roll.”

Also on the list are Tito Doble P’s “Acomodo” and Trio Asesino’s self-titled.

To hear more about 2026’s emerging artists and De Los’ music hot takes, check out “The De Los Podcast.”

Sitting in the control room of their home studio known as the Centre of Mental Arts (COMA for short), Long Beach husband-and-wife duo Scott Montoya and Julia Kugel smile as they discuss new music they recorded for their band Soft Palms. Their new album, titled “In Echo,” has been in the works for over five years. The 10-song album, out Friday on Everloving Records, was inspired by their frustration about how they feel the world has devolved since 2020.

“The first record I was like, ‘I want to give the world a hug,’” Kugel says. “And then this one I was like, f— this world.”

For Kugel and Montoya, the album serves as the latest chapter of their creative and personal journey. The pair met in 2012 at a music festival in Dallas (“The most romantic city,” Kugel quips), while playing in the Atlanta-based band the Coathangers and Orange County’s the Growlers, respectively. They bonded over a shared disgust at gladiator shoes, and soon thereafter, were in a relationship.

By 2017, they were married and settled in Long Beach. Despite Kugel’s role in the Coathangers at the time (Montoya left the Growlers in 2016), the couple wanted to form a band. Previously, they recorded a pair of songs that constituted Kugel’s second solo seven-inch single. That experience made them comfortable knowing they could balance their professional and personal lives.

“He’s super easy to work with,” Kugel says of Montoya, who sits beside her, trying to hide a smile. She looks at him and continues, “he’s very talented and very patient.”

“When we were in our other bands, we used to meet up on tour,” Montoya, who also produces and engineers for other artists, says. ”You see the absolute worst of people on tour … so this is nothing.”

To kickstart Soft Palms, Kugel drew from a batch of songs she had previously written that had no home. Being able to record in their own studio allowed the pair to craft songs without feeling any pressure to meet a deadline.

By late 2019, the pair put the finishing touches on their self-titled debut. When the record was released in July 2020, the pandemic was still in full force. The pair were disappointed and upset by the state of the world, and after a few years of stewing, Kugel and Montoya got started on a second album.

Don’t be fooled by its breezy ’60s-analog vintage pop sound. Soft Palms are angry, and that informs the spirit of “In Echo.”

The pair points to “Radio” as the album’s bellwether. First released in 2025, the song rails against how, over the past handful of years, people have fought for the sake of fighting, with no end in sight.

More strikingly, on the biting “Nervous as Hell,” Montoya points to Fox News as “infecting everyone’s parents.”

“I did some digging because I couldn’t believe something that hateful existed,” he says of the network, specifically its landmark $787-million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems. “It turned it from this horrible thing into this s— business that has taken advantage of the elderly and destroyed families.”

That anger continues on the angsty rocker “The Wedding Song.” Kugel points to attending a wedding where a family member married a “total raging maniac,” and how they dealt with the buildup of delicately balancing being cordial yet firm.

“He [the family member] goes, ‘I just want you to show up and shut up!” she says. “I was like, ‘Well, firstly, f— you. Then secondly, this is a song — you just handed me gold.”

Since settling in Long Beach, for the last 10 years Kugel and Montoya took it upon themselves to help foster a positive, artistic community. It’s that mindset that pushed them to found and operate their 501(c)(3) nonprofit called Studios for Schools with the goal of providing recording equipment to underprivileged schools.

Their DIY work ethic in entertainment was also the driving force behind Happy Sundays, a free Long Beach-based music festival. Running for 10 years, the fest created a block party in the city’s Zaferia neighborhood that eventually expanded into a full weekend of shows across stages set up at local businesses to host a diverse lineup of veteran and up-and-coming area bands. Though the event was paused this year so they can focus on the new album and book, the couple plan to bring it back in 2027.

“It was like a statement in that way of like f— these giant prices, VIP experiences and all of that stuff,” Kugel says. “It’s the anti-music festival and a celebration of community.”

Keeping with that spirit, and drawing from the experiences of their two-decade careers, last month the pair released a book titled “How to Be Self-Reliant in the Music Business.” The genesis of this self-published guidebook occurred when the pair realized they were not receiving a portion of a royalty stream they were owed. They knew that if they were in the dark on the issues they thought they knew, others likely were as well.

“We decided to turn it into a book because we realized there’s so much stuff that few artists know about on their own,” Montoya says. “I want people to understand the scope of what they’re actually getting into, and the reality of their situations.”

“It’s a very thorough overview,” Kugel adds.

The book includes information beyond what one would find in Donald S. Passman’s longstanding industry bible “All You Need to Know About the Music Business.” With assistance from a lawyer friend and a CPA family member, the pair addresses topics ranging from backstage etiquette to managing social media to dealing with record labels and publishing companies. They hope that it will provide a blueprint for bands old and new to better navigate music’s notoriously choppy waters. Their accessible, snack-size chapters move fluidly as they explain the realities artists face in 2026.

Battling through the disappointment of the first part of the decade allowed Kugel and Montoya to find their creative way. Armed with this infusion of activity across various disciplines, the couple is inspired to continue to shake their way out of the past. Though focused on their impending U.S. and European tour, the duo promise that the next Soft Palms album won’t take as long and are mulling over their next music-industry book project. For now.

“It’s a lot to keep up with all of these projects,” Montoya says. “We work all day, every day. And it’s been cool to see signs that it’s paying off.”

Welcome to Bunker Talk. This is a weekend open discussion post for the best commenting crew on the net, in which we can chat about all the stuff that went on this week that we didn’t cover. We can also talk about the stuff we did or whatever else grabs your interest. In other words, it’s an off-topic thread.

This week’s caption reads:

A scalar model for an atomic bomb proof hospital. Details show Geiger counters, decontamination chambers, oxygen wards, boiler room, power plant and huge hospital city below ground. The underground part would be insulated against radioactivity and poison gas by protective belts of earth, steel, and concrete. The underground hospital would accommodate 700 patients and a full hospital staff, in addition to an undetermined number of civilians. The three level subterranean hospital would be stocked with food, water and other supplies which would enable continuance of life for an almost indefinite period. (Bettmann/Getty Images)

Prime Directives:

• If you want to talk politics, do so respectfully and know that there’s always somebody that isn’t going to agree with you. 
• If you have political differences, hash it out respectfully, stick to the facts, and no childish name-calling or personal attacks of any kind. If you can’t handle yourself in that manner, then please, discuss virtually anything else.
• No drive-by garbage political memes. No conspiracy theory rants. Links to crackpot sites will be axed, too. Trolling and shitposting will not be tolerated. No obsessive behavior about other users. Just don’t interact with folks you don’t like. 
• Do not be a sucker and feed trolls! That’s as much on you as on them. Use the mute button if you don’t like what you see.  
• So unless you have something of quality to say, know how to treat people with respect, understand that everyone isn’t going to subscribe to your exact same worldview, and have come to terms with the reality that there is no perfect solution when it comes to moderation of a community like this, it’s probably best to just move on. 
• Finally, as always, report offenders, please. This doesn’t mean reporting people who don’t share your political views, but we really need your help in this regard.

AFTER quitting smoking years ago, Rachel Stevens was spotted in a rare relapse as she puffed on a cigarette on a recent trip to London.

While many a celeb has been caught giving in to their smoking urges, the image is a far cry from her “clean girl” Instagram aesthetic and carefully curated social media, and Insiders tell The Sun that the cheeky cig-break is only a glimpse of the real Rachel, who has hidden behind her S Club 7 persona for years.

One source close to the singer says: “People have always had this perception of Rachel as the ultimate girl-next-door. She’s sweet, wholesome, polite and completely drama-free, but the truth is she’s always been far more complex than that.”

“Rachel has spent years carrying the weight of an image that was created when she joined the band aged just 19, and while she appreciated the love from fans, there were times when she felt trapped by the expectations.”

Even now, at 48, Rachel’s online world remains extremely polished.

Just days ago, she was posting perfectly styled outfits, wellness content and carefully framed snapshots of her life.

Scroll through Rachel’s social media, and you’ll find plenty of evidence of the lifestyle she has built her brand around. One day she’s sharing a Pilates session, the next she’s posting from the gym lifting weights or promoting healthy meals and wellness products. Yoghurt bowls, workout routines and clean living have become as much a part of her image as the pop career that made her famous.

What she wasn’t posting about was arguably one of the biggest professional moments she has had in years.

This summer, S Club reunited to support Boyzone on the first night of their Final Farewell tour at London’s Emirates Stadium.

It marked one of the band’s most significant performances since October 2023.

Yet while many artists would have flooded their feeds with backstage snaps and promotional content, Rachel largely stayed quiet. There were a handful of Stories and a Reel, but little fanfare.

Though some fans were left questioning her excitement, for those close to Rachel, it’s entirely typical.

Our source said: “Rachel has always separated the public version of herself from her private life. She doesn’t feel the need to broadcast everything she’s doing. People assume they know her because she’s been famous for so long, but actually she’s one of the more private people in show business.”

That privacy perhaps explains why so much of Rachel’s personal life has unfolded away from public view.

For years, she was considered to be in one of show business’s most stable relationships. Her marriage to childhood sweetheart Alex Bourne appeared rock solid.

The couple had first met as teenagers before reconnecting later in life, eventually marrying and having two daughters together. Which is why their split in 2022 sent shockwaves through fans.

Following the breakdown of her marriage, Rachel began dating Dancing On Ice professional Brendyn Hatfield. They were together for three years, before calling it quits last summer.

The relationship attracted huge attention, with speculation swirling about timelines and cheating rumours that Rachel was ultimately forced to deny. According to those close to her, the experience was deeply uncomfortable.

A pal said: “Having private matters become public talking points was incredibly difficult for Rachel.

“She’s always preferred to keep her personal life out of the spotlight. The divorce came as a shock not just to fans but to people around her too because they genuinely thought the marriage would last forever.”

Yet relationship drama is far from the only challenge Rachel has faced.

Perhaps the most startling chapter of her life came years earlier when she found herself caught up in two terrifying incidents within weeks of each other. In 2009, Rachel was violently attacked during a robbery at her North London home.

The singer later recalled being ambushed by a man who grabbed her around the neck and covered her mouth.

Speaking in court years later, she admitted she was left “absolutely terrified”. Just weeks after that ordeal, she found herself caught up in another traumatic incident while having dinner with family in St John’s Wood when a gunman opened fire nearby during a gangland shooting.

The experiences left a lasting mark – Rachel later revealed she suffered PTSD, anxiety and fears around travelling alone with strangers.

The star admitted: “The two incidents that happened so close together definitely caused a lot of post-traumatic stress. After that, I felt scared to even leave my house, get out of my car, and I was just very fearful.”

It was a side of the pop star the public rarely saw. After all, while Rachel was being voted one of the sexiest women in Britain and appearing on magazine covers, privately she was battling fears few fans knew existed.

The source adds: “Everyone assumed she was confident because she was on TV and branded one of the sexiest celebrities in the world every week. But privately she could be incredibly anxious and hard on herself.”

Even Rachel’s driving ban became a talking point because it didn’t fit the image many people had of her.

The singer appeared in court after accumulating 21 penalty points from five speeding offences and attempted to avoid a ban by explaining how it would affect work commitments and family life.

Again, it surprised many because it felt so at odds with the Rachel the public thought they knew. But insiders insist that’s precisely the point.

Our source explained: “She’s made mistakes, faced challenges and dealt with consequences when things have gone wrong. The idea that she’s some squeaky-clean pop robot isn’t accurate. But neither is the suggestion that there’s some secret wild side waiting to be exposed.”

Indeed, those closest to Rachel say these photos will reveal a whole new authentic side to the pop star.

An insider added: “What people are seeing now is a woman who’s much more comfortable being herself. The smoking pictures might surprise some fans, but those who know Rachel aren’t shocked.

“She’s never claimed to be perfect, and she’s certainly never lived her life trying to be a saint.”

For years, Rachel Stevens was boxed into a role she never quite chose: the impossibly perfect girl next door. But behind the green juices has always been somebody far more human.

As one insider puts it: “The real Rachel sits somewhere in the middle. Warm, emotional, resilient, occasionally rebellious and a lot more human than the image people have projected onto her for the last 25 years.”

And if a cigarette outside a venue is finally enough to remind people of that, Rachel probably won’t lose too much sleep over it.

Welcome to Bunker Talk. This is a weekend open discussion post for the best commenting crew on the net, in which we can chat about all the stuff that went on this week that we didn’t cover. We can also talk about the stuff we did or whatever else grabs your interest. In other words, it’s an off-topic thread.

This week’s caption reads:

FEB 22 1981; Federal Emergency Management Agency (Underground Bunker At Den Fed CTR); (Photo By Dave Buresh/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

Prime Directives:

• If you want to talk politics, do so respectfully and know that there’s always somebody that isn’t going to agree with you. 
• If you have political differences, hash it out respectfully, stick to the facts, and no childish name-calling or personal attacks of any kind. If you can’t handle yourself in that manner, then please, discuss virtually anything else.
• No drive-by garbage political memes. No conspiracy theory rants. Links to crackpot sites will be axed, too. Trolling and shitposting will not be tolerated. No obsessive behavior about other users. Just don’t interact with folks you don’t like. 
• Do not be a sucker and feed trolls! That’s as much on you as on them. Use the mute button if you don’t like what you see.  
• So unless you have something of quality to say, know how to treat people with respect, understand that everyone isn’t going to subscribe to your exact same worldview, and have come to terms with the reality that there is no perfect solution when it comes to moderation of a community like this, it’s probably best to just move on. 
• Finally, as always, report offenders, please. This doesn’t mean reporting people who don’t share your political views, but we really need your help in this regard.

Welcome to Bunker Talk. This is a weekend open discussion post for the best commenting crew on the net, in which we can chat about all the stuff that went on this week that we didn’t cover. We can also talk about the stuff we did or whatever else grabs your interest. In other words, it’s an off-topic thread.

This week’s caption reads:

First Lt. Pamela Blanco-Coca, 319th Missile Squadron missile combat crew commander, and her deputy commander, 2nd Lt. John Anderson, simulate key turns of the Minuteman III Weapon System Feb. 9, 2016, in the E-01 Launch Control Center in the F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo., Missile Complex. A properly conducted key turn sends a “launch vote” to any of a number of Minuteman III ICBMs in a missileer’s flight area, and two launch votes from two separate LCCs will enable a real-world launch when directed by the U.S. president. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jason Wiese) 

Prime Directives:

• If you want to talk politics, do so respectfully and know that there’s always somebody that isn’t going to agree with you. 
• If you have political differences, hash it out respectfully, stick to the facts, and no childish name-calling or personal attacks of any kind. If you can’t handle yourself in that manner, then please, discuss virtually anything else.
• No drive-by garbage political memes. No conspiracy theory rants. Links to crackpot sites will be axed, too. Trolling and shitposting will not be tolerated. No obsessive behavior about other users. Just don’t interact with folks you don’t like. 
• Do not be a sucker and feed trolls! That’s as much on you as on them. Use the mute button if you don’t like what you see.  
• So unless you have something of quality to say, know how to treat people with respect, understand that everyone isn’t going to subscribe to your exact same worldview, and have come to terms with the reality that there is no perfect solution when it comes to moderation of a community like this, it’s probably best to just move on. 
• Finally, as always, report offenders, please. This doesn’t mean reporting people who don’t share your political views, but we really need your help in this regard.

At the state track and field championships, Jayden Rendon of Carson was in the lead of the 300 intermediate hurdles on Saturday when he struck the final hurdle and fell to the ground. So ended his opportunity to repeat as state champion.

Did he pout? Did he lose his composure? Did he blame something or someone?

Absolutely not.

“You live and learn,” he said. “It does no justice dwelling when I can do so much more.”

He’s headed to USC, and what a student athlete he will become. He was honored on Tuesday, receiving a $1,500 scholarship from the City Section for his academic and athletic commitment. He wrote an essay on how schools in the Southern Section were trying to convince him to leave Carson.

He said absolutely not.

“Growing up in the track world since I was 8 years old, I watched many of my friends and teammates make a decision to attend schools outside of their community,” he wrote. “Their reasoning was based around sports because they believed that the CIF Southern Section schools were more competitive and would give them more opportunities for success. When I was in middle school, my family moved to Long Beach from Carson, which made my home school Long Beach Poly. The majority of my youth team friends decided to attend LB Poly, and I was often questioned on why I chose to stay in Carson instead of following the crowd. My parents and I were told that I would never reach my full potential in the City Section.

“My decision to stay in Carson and compete for the City Section was not just about competition, but about connection. While preparing to compete in the multi-events at the Junior Olympics, when I was 10, I had to run the hurdles. Coach Jojo coached hurdles at Carson so my mom asked him if he would be willing to train me in the summer. I grew a bond with Coach Jojo and developed a love for the hurdles. Both my mother and grandmother went to Carson but it was Coach Jojo who showed me what it truly meant to be part of the Colt family. Besides my family, he was my biggest supporter, he believed in me and made me feel like I belonged to something bigger: a legacy. I didn’t care what anyone said, I knew that if I had Coach Jojo by my side and if I set my mind to it, I could be successful.

“I never would have believed that from the start of my freshman year, the sport that I love, would hit me with life: In January 2023, just a few months before my first high school track season began, I lost Coach Jojo to cancer. After being a pallbearer for my beloved Coach Jojo, I made a promise to him to finish what we started. The way I saw it, I had two choices, I could feel sorry for myself or I could push through the pain and stay focused on my goals of becoming a USC Trojan.”

Rendon fulfilled his promise to his coach and community.

“I wanted to stay in the City Section,” he said. “It was my roots. I wanted to be the hometown hero. I didn’t think I needed to move to be great.”

He was right again.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

Three Clausen brothers who were quarterbacks — Casey, Rick and Jimmy — have created a fall flag football league for boys and girls in an effort to help youth players learn the game. There also will be six Clausen children playing in the league.

Flag football continues to grow, with the Clausen brothers behind a fall league.

(Los Angeles Times)

Casey is a former head coach at Bishop Alemany. Rick is head coach at Westlake. And Jimmy is a former NFL quarterback.

Casey said the Rising Stars is a 7×7 league that will take place in the fall with focus on rising participation of girls playing. The breakdown of divisions for boys and girls ranges from third grade to eighth grade and will be played on Sundays beginning Aug. 16 at Agoura, Oak Park and Westlake.

Get ready for lots of Clausen cousins, brothers and sisters playing football in the coming years. The oldest is a sixth grader.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

As someone who has been covering high school baseball championship games in Southern California for six decades, the pitching performance seen on Friday night by Julian Garcia of St. John Bosco moves into the top five, if not a share for No. 1.

Garcia struck out 14, walked none and surrendered only a first-inning double to Codey Brown in a 2-0 victory over Norco in the Southern Section Division 1 final at Cal State Fullerton. His fastball was reaching 95 mph. He was blowing fastballs past top hitters all night.

Probably the No. 1 pitching performance continues to be Bret Saberhagen of Cleveland in the 1981 City Section championship game at Dodger Stadium when he threw a no-hitter against Palisades.

Others that come to mind:

No pitcher has been as overpowering as Garcia was under the lights. And he needed to be near perfect to beat Norco pitcher Jordan Ayala, who also was outstanding.

What a memory to add to Southern California’s great pitching moments in championship games.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

VENEZUELA Fury fumed at new husband Noah and ranted “I’m trying to talk” after he made a noisy interruption during her latest TikTok.

The Netflix star and newlywed, 16, was talking to her social media fans about how her glowing tan had started to fade when her spouse chipped in.

The teenage newlyweds have just returned from their £30k honeymoon and are settling into life as a married couple.

Though Noah’s love for playing live music, now the pair are back on home turf, appeared to have left her irked.

Venezuela was seen in a white top and glammed up with red lippie, speaking direct to the camera after one fan quipped: “They toned the tan down”.

The teen left her brunette locks in a poker straight style and accessorised with silver hoop earrings.

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She flaunted her glittering diamond ring and glam nail extensions for her clip, clearly eager to make some strong TikTok content.

The TV star told one of her online followers: “I know how pale I am, but you don’t understand how hard I work to get that colour”.

Noah can be heard in the background and he asked: “Who is that?” to which she replied: “I am making a video”.

Attempting to continue her clip, she said: “And the magazine made me look so pale”.

Noah then sat on the sofa and began to strum his guitar, prompting her to squeal: “I am trying to talk!”

She added: “Does anyone else get driven insane by a guitar?

“Go, sing!”

Noah then interjected: “Don’t delete it,” referring to the clip, and she retorted: “I’m not deleting it, I haven’t deleted it.

“Anyway I give up!

“Noah’s a great guitar player because I can’t talk,” before urging him to “sing then sing with confidence”.

Noah, mid flow, could then be heard in the background as he said: “Whose ringing my phone this time of day oh my God,” during an interruption to his performance.

Fans were quick to comment on the light-hearted lovers’ tiff.

One wrote: “Stop they obviously adore each other”.

A second posted: “You two are so cute he adores and loves you and ya picked a go one x” as a third joked: “Welcome to married life”.

A fan wrote: “That was the most chaotic video I understand with the random guitar noise tho,” as another noted: “I can see who is the boss in that house”.

One then referred to At Home With The Furys star’s role as the head of her six siblings and posted: “You being the oldest sibling has given you great patience”.

A user then quipped: “I can see who is the boss in that house”.

Following her lavish wedding earlier this month, Venezuela has traded her parents’ £8million mansion on the Isle of Man for a plush static home in East Riding of Yorkshire.

The young wife, who is the daughter of Tyson, 37, and Paris, 36, yesterday revealed her glam new wardrobe.

She also got a chance to show off her impressive tan from her luxury honeymoon.

Venezuela and Noah tied the knot on May 16, in a no expense spared wedding.

They then headed off on their lavish honeymoon to Marbella, as they continued to celebrate their marriage.

Onlookers said that the couple “couldn’t stop smiling” during their holiday.

One source told The Sun: “They looked completely smitten. Everyone in the restaurant noticed them straight away.”

Venezuela’s parents Tyson and Paris paid for their lavish honeymoon as a wedding present.

Meanwhile, before heading off on their romantic trip, Venezuela gave fans a tour of her and Noah’s marital home.

Along with their wedding and their expensive honeymoon, Venezuela’s parents also paid for the static home and gave her a cash lump sum.

A source previously revealed to us: “Tyson and Paris gave Venezuela and Noah a wedding present of £5million to kick-start their life, obviously, they were over the moon.

“Some family members thought it was a lot of money for a young couple so there were some mixed feelings – but it’s up to Tyson and Paris.

“Tyson also paid for the honeymoon and got them a traditional gypsy wagon as a sentimental gift. Tyson’s got one in his front yard.

Week by week, freshman left-handed pitcher Sheriff Hall of Loyola High has gotten better and better. It sets up for an intriguing Southern Section Division 2 baseball final on Saturday when Hall goes against Ganesha at 5:30 p.m. at the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes’ diamond.

He’s expected to face unbeaten left-handed pitcher Logan Schmidt after the Pomona Unified School District indicated that issues about top Ganesha players participating in an out-of-state camp have been resolved.

Whatever happens, Hall is ready. Coach Keith Ramsey has been preparing him for this moment. Hall is 7-3 with a 2.53 ERA while pitching mostly in the tough Mission League.

If Hall ever needs someone to put together a highlight tape, he knows whom to ask. His father, Jason, is a screenwriter and director who also played a recurring character in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”

Let’s see if Hall can be his own slayer on Saturday.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.