Nutty Flavor Blog

A few years ago, I bought a pair of Jennifer Lopez sunglasses, without really intending to. I tried on the glasses, liked them, bought them, and didn't realize until I came home that I had purchased celebrity-branded merchandise. The sunglasses were well-made, and I wore them until I lost them, the usual fate of sunglasses, umbrellas, and gloves. I had (and have) no opinion one way or another on Jennifer Lopez, or on Jessica Simpson, whose merchandise I have also inadvertently bought for family members. That said, both stars have solid fan bases - Lopez proudly represents Latinas of a certain generation, and at her peak Simpson had a country-western following plus a large reality TV audience. People like or liked them, and want or wanted to be like them. Which takes us to the Sussex merchandising concept. Who wants to be like Meghan and Harry? Working their way back in the news After a quiet period, Meghan and Harry are working their way back into the news. Meghan's...

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been rather quiet over the past week, and no man could be happier about this than Boris Johnson. In addition to having to supervise negotiations over the Sussexes' security costs abroad - surely if security were cut back and an incident occurred, Johnson's government would be blamed - Boris has to worry about Meghan's determination to "use her voice" when it comes to politics. Having just put his signature on Brexit, Boris badly needs a trade deal with the Americans. And for that, he must remain friendly with Donald Trump. Meghan doesn't like Donald Trump, and she will probably be saying so soon, possibly as soon as her first post-Megxit TV appearance. Overestimates her influence Meghan, like most celebrities, probably overestimates her political influence. Even Taylor Swift, who has a large and devoted fanbase, struck out with her very first political endorsement in 2018 - she put her name behind a (male) Democrat...

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex's insistence that she is being hounded by paps in her Canadian hideaway looks a lot like her 2016 claim that she was being hounded by paps in Toronto. In both cases, it seems likely that Meghan conspired with the photographers, both to obtain publicity and a percentage of the profits from selling the photographs to media outlets. (Meg's mother Doria, father Thomas, and ex-husband Trevor all appear to have done something similar.) Now the Sussexes have issued a legal warning  via their lawyers, Schillings, saying "this type of continual harassment...obviously raises serious safety and security concerns and is causing them considerable distress." So what is Meg playing at? Does she think that the public can't figure out she's using the paps to boost her profile and merch her yoga pants, baby carrier, beanies, and dog leashes? Or is she trying to create an incident in order to make the case that the British taxpayers shoul...

Two hundred and twenty four years after George Washington made his 1796  Farewell Address , it is still remembered as an example of great statesmanship and a noble farewell to a lifetime of service. Harry, Duke of Sussex, made his farewell speech to the British people yesterday evening. As the Spectator UK put it, "the Captain General of the Royal Marines is resigning his post in order to spend more time on Instagram." What do you think of Harry's farewell address ? How will it be remembered? Last-minute conversations Harry had two significant meetings before his departure to Canada. What do you think Harry and Boris Johnson had to say to one another? What about Harry and William?

According to a settlement with the British Royal Family, Harry and Meghan will no longer use their HRH titles and will repay 2.4 million pounds of public cash spent on Frogmore Cottage. They will no longer formally represent the Queen, and receive no more public money in return for Royal duties. The Queen's Statement was as follows: Statement from HM The Queen  Following many months of conversations and more recent discussions, I am pleased that together we have found a constructive and supportive way forward for my grandson and his family. Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved members of my family. I recognise the challenges they have experienced as a result of intense scrutiny over the last two years and support their wish for a more independent life. I want to thank them for all their dedicated work across this country, the Commonwealth and beyond, and am particularly proud of how Meghan has so quickly become one of the family.  It is my whole family’s hope...

If you're a Beatles fan, you'll know that in the fifty years since the group went its separate ways, almost everyone involved with them has sold his or her story. Only one major figure has not: Jane Asher , who was Paul McCartney's girlfriend for five years during the heyday of the group, and accompanied him on the famous trip to India in 1968. An actress, Jane went on to become a TV personality and famous cake-baker. She has never spoken about her time with McCartney and dislikes being asked. Until recently, the Sussex saga had included a similar figure: Trevor Engelson, Meghan Markle's ex-husband.  Trevor has never spoken about Meg. But he has done well for himself: he married a wealthy woman , continues to work as a producer , and seems to have a loyal (and multi-racial!) circle of friends , unlike some people we know.  He appeared to have excused himself from the whole soggy mess.  Until yesterday, when he was papped. Driving his black Porsch...

"This is only hearsay, but in London a Brit socialite who knew her way around money, Europe, royalty told me - and my companion, so I wasn't alone in hearing this - that Meghan was known in the old days. 'She was around the famous playgrounds Europeans visit...and known to be shopping for a rich husband.'" That's a quote from Cindy Adams in yesterday's New York Post . Cindy is old - so old that she interviewed the original Duchess of Windsor. "Who was also American,"  writes Cindy.   "She was not happy afterward. She was tough. I interviewed her. She was constantly looking to negotiate some sort of financial betterment." So, when does the dirt start coming out? How about now. Who will drop the information? We've had more than 1200 comments since the Sussex summit on Monday, so please allow me to repeat part of my answer to a question hidden somewhere within that forest of text. A regular commenter asked for my input ...

Today Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry will meet at Sandringham to discuss the future relationship between the Royal Family and Harry, Meghan, and Archie. Let's discuss here as developments emerge.

Although numerous polls of the British people suggest they'd like to see the Duke and Duchess of Sussex lose their HRH titles and funding from the Duchy of Cornwall, cutting the Sussexes off entirely is impossible, and the Royal Family knows it.  It's impossible because Harry is vulnerable and could end up in a gutter - quite literally - without the support of his family.  (As the Prince William character says of his family on the TV comedy series The Windsors , "These people are like budgies. Let them out of their cage and they'll be eaten by the first animal they see.")  And it's impossible because social media makes it impossible to control information that might be released about the Royal Family by Duchess Meghan.  True information, false information, it doesn't matter. Meg can just make it up, release it on social media, and someone will believe it.  Since the bananas Social media has been a key player during Meghan Markle...

There's almost too much news to handle right now about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's decision to remove themselves from Royal life. Will they be able to take their titles with them as they live part time in the UK and part time in North America? Will they be able to take the Duchy of Cornwall's money with them? And since Meg has departed for Canada and left Harry behind in the UK (and has been photograped not wearing her wedding rings) is the marriage finished? And what about Archie? Let's discuss in this second open post.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have announced that they are stepping down as senior Royals . Supposedly the announcement, which was made on Instagram , went ahead without informing the Queen in advance. There are already many comments discussing the Sussex announcement on the previous post , but let's continue the discussion here.

Whatever Meg learned from her time in Canada, it did not include wearing socks. She stepped out of her Royal vehicle at Canada House today wearing velvet (velvet being a winter fabric) shoes, a long satin skirt (satin is also generally a winter fabric), and improbably bare legs. London weather for January 7: 51 degrees Farenheit, 11 degrees Celsius. Check out how the people in the background are dressed. Meg's 7+ weeks off - counting from her last official appearance on Rememberance Day, November 17 - have left her looking much the same as she did when she left. Her hair (or wig) is still unstyled and her coat too short for the dress and rather wrinkled. (Wouldn't it be an idea to slip on the coat just moments before exiting the car, to avoid having long horizontal folds across the back of a garment you know you will be photographed?) When she emerged from the engagement, there were visible sweat stains on the armpit area of her brown turtleneck sweater, and ill-fitti...

Apparently Photoshop is not required when releasing photographs of Royal children. Prince George appeared today in a historic image of four heirs to the British throne - Elizabeth, Charles, William, and George - and both his blue-piped white shirt and Black Watch long trousers were hopelessly wrinkled. That's an easy Photoshop fix - the white shirt is, at least. But the Royal family seems more interested in authenticity than perfection. They don't have to be Kardashian-smooth. They have the security of old money and it shows. Meg and her Photoshop By contrast photos of Meg and Harry's son Archificial, whomever he is and wherever he comes from, are tweaked within an inch of their lives. Backgrounds don't match, faces are imposed, and sometimes the whole thing is reduced to black and white to make the tampering less obvious. Archie does not have a title, even though he is technically 7th in line to the throne. (And I have my doubts about that.)  He doesn...