Every offseason, a certain type of online atmosphere develops around NFL quarterbacks, and this year it centered on Caleb Williams. AI-generated pictures of the Bears’ young quarterback purportedly carrying fifty extra pounds started making the rounds sometime between OTAs and the initial preseason rumors. It’s the kind of joke that goes viral because it’s so blatantly false, yet people continue to spread it. As evidence that absurdity spreads more quickly than nuance, trolls are creating AI versions of Caleb Williams at OTAs with noticeable weight gain. The posts have received hundreds of likes on Instagram and X. Observing this development,…
Author: Michael Martinez
A player whose last name already carries a certain amount of attention, Kiyan Anthony has been in the spotlight since before he ever set foot on a college court. As his sophomore offseason progresses, it’s difficult to ignore how much the focus has shifted from potential to physical preparedness. On paper, the figures are fairly straightforward: 172 pounds a year ago, 195 pounds now. However, statistics seldom provide a complete picture, and this one seems to be in the process of being written. The trainer who worked with Carmelo Anthony for years near the end of his career, Chris Brickley,…
Since Amanda Batula has been on reality TV for more than ten years, very little about her appearance goes unnoticed. In late February, she shared a video of herself brushing her teeth and mentioning her new aligners, but it was short-lived. In a matter of hours, it developed into a much more extensive and disorganized discussion that has been simmering on the internet for months: what precisely has Amanda Batula done? Here, timing was crucial, and Batula appeared to understand that. Only a few weeks after announcing her divorce from her four-year husband, Kyle Cooke, she made the Invisalign announcement.…
Depending on which part of the internet you trust, Anna Faris appeared either exactly like herself or noticeably different when she attended the Scary Movie 6 premiere at the Paramount Theatre in Los Angeles earlier this month. Jack, her son, wore a black suit and walked the carpet next to her. Along with his daughter Margot, her husband, cinematographer Michael Barrett, also attended. Most accounts describe it as a cozy family moment. Additionally, it rekindled a dialogue that has followed Faris for years and that she has never made a significant effort to end. The topic of discussion is whether…
A certain point appears in your early thirties, usually following the second relationship that ended with the same worn-out accusation or the third situationship that ended in failure. This is what you always do. At midnight, you find yourself scrolling through a podcast transcript or a therapist’s blog post while nodding along because, well, it seems like you’re “anxious attachment,” or “avoidant.” It has a name at last, regardless of the label. It’s a relief. Seldom is it. Therapists who have witnessed the explosion of attachment-style conversations on TikTok, Instagram, and self-help blogs over the past few years say that’s…
Once the boxes are packed and the other half of the closet is empty, a certain kind of silence descends upon the house. It’s not overly dramatic. It’s simply silent. And for many individuals entering their 40s and 50s, therapy truly begins to make sense during that period of silence—not as a means of preventing harm but rather as something more akin to an opportunity. It sounds almost inverted. After 40, divorce is meant to be a setback that you overcome rather than an opportunity. However, if you speak with enough therapists who focus on this shift, a pattern begins…
Actresses who simply age in public are subject to a certain level of scrutiny, which Joan Cusack encountered this past week. It had been eleven years since she had walked a red carpet. Then, on a Thursday night in London, she wore a high-waisted black pencil skirt and a clean white button-up to the Toy Story 5 premiere. Her hair was cropped short with wispy bangs, and she wore thick-framed glasses that sat low on her nose. People gazed. At first, some people didn’t recognize her. That’s the peculiar math of celebrity following a protracted absence. Cusack hasn’t exactly been…
Many men between the ages of 33 and 34 have a certain appearance. It’s not a panic. It’s more akin to wearing a work shirt while exhausted. Men’s mental health therapists report seeing it frequently these days, frequently coinciding with a promotion, the birth of a second child, or the filing for divorce. That expression remained unattended for a considerable amount of time, written off as a rough patch. Something was altered. In fact, more men in their 30s are entering therapy offices—sometimes for the first time in their lives—and they’re not always sure why it took so long. Strangely…