RESULTS

The 21st season of the Master Maserati driving courses begins, with a complete offering of sporty driving courses. In fact, this year the Master Maserati calendar includes a total of 7 events (with various formats) at the Varano de’ Melegari circuit in Northern Italy from July 3 to October 23, 2020. The Master Maserati driving courses have adopted specific preventive measures and special protocols to minimize any health risks during the activities and to enable customers to enjoy themselves in conditions of the greatest safety. Courses are run in partnership with the Scuderia de Adamich, whose pool of instructors has been further expanded this year to over 100 worldwide. Scuderia de Adamich has been a partner and coordinator of the Master Maserati driving courses since 1999, and thanks to this strong, enduring relationship, has been able to  refine various methodologies and multiple courses over time. Starting this year, Master Maserati driving courses offer no fewer than five different formats. Four types of courses focus on circuit driving at the “Riccardo Paletti” track at Varano de’ Melegari. They are tailored for varying levels of proficiency and take place under the watchful eye of fully qualified racing drivers. The 2020 edition sees the introduction of a special addition for companions, with packages of one or two days (depending on the chosen format) with a customized program at the nearby Fidenza Village luxury shopping centre located just outside Parma. Since 1999, a total of more than 550 Master Maserati driving courses have been held, with more than 700 days on the circuit. Over 7,000 clients from more than 50 different countries have taken the wheel of the different models, with a particularly large proportion (32%) of non-European Maserati fans, from Asian countries and the United States of America above all. The Varano de’ Melegari circuit is located in the Northern Italian Province of Parma within the Emilia-Romagna region approximately 110 kilometres (68 mi) west of Bologna and about 30 kilometres (19 mi) southwest of Parma. Over these twenty years, about 30 different Maserati models have been used, and for 2020, the high-performance 580 hp Levante Trofeo V8 will join the pool of vehicles being used. Click to view larger image > The 2020 Master Maserati program offers the following courses: PRACTICE The Master Maserati Practice Course lasts half a day and enables attendees to drive the sportiest models in the range and to savour the Brand's trademark power, performance and driving pleasure. The program includes sessions with an on board instructor, power oversteering on a low-grip surface, driving performance videos and an end-of-course awards ceremony. Dates: July 3, September 8 and October 12, 2020 Participants: up to a maximum of 30 Price: $871.00 plus tax and $110.00 plus tax for each non-driving guest. QUALIFYING The Qualifying Course is a full day, partnered by the latest, sportiest versions of the GranTurismo, Ghibli and Levante. The Qualifying programme is even more intense than the Practice course, with more fast-handling sessions, driver lap tables, video analysis and on board telemetry, allowing participants to perfect their style and fine-tune their driving talents. Dates: July 23 and September 15, 2020 Participants: up to a maximum of 30 Price: $2,149.00 plus tax and $110.00 plus tax for each non-driving guest. Accommodation package: $165.00 plus tax. RACE On the Master Maserati Race course, more advanced participants hone their skills still further and discover the true track performance of the Levante Trofeo, Levante S, Levante GTS, Ghibli S Q4, GranTurismo and GT4 during a full day spent at the track. The programme includes in-depth personalised sessions, quick laps, safety car and race procedures, as well as high-precision, high-performance track driving in the awesome GranTurismo MC GT4. Dates: October 8, 2020 Participants: up to a maximum of 12 Price: $4,298.00 plus tax and $110.00 plus tax for each non-driving guest. Accommodation package: $165.00 plus tax. MASTER The top level of driving experience, the Master Course comprises two full days, spent gaining in-depth knowledge of the GranTurismo, Ghibli and Levante in their sportiest versions, as well as the immensely powerful GranTurismo GT4. This course, just like a university Master’s degree, provides specialisation in driving techniques at the wheel of a proper track car, and includes exclusive elements such as a special driver’s kit, laps with four-time world GT champion, Andrea Bertolini, and access to Med-Ex physiotherapists to help with any stresses and strains from the G forces. At the end of Day 1, an exclusive dinner is arranged for all drivers. Dates: October 22 and 23 2020 Participants: up to a maximum of 12 Price: $ 5,455.00 plus tax and $220.00 plus tax for each non-driving guest. Accommodation package: $331.00 plus tax. INCENTIVE COURSES FOR CORPORATE EVENTS The Incentive courses, intended as corporate events, are specifically designed to bond a team together, through the fun and unique characteristics of a Master Maserati driving course. The package comprises a motivational program custom-designed to suit the interests and needs of any business, team or VIP client, with the ability to cater for groups of up to 100 for however many driving days are required. The Varano de' Melegari circuit nature reserve also features an off-road course that can be used for corporate events. This zone is equipped with artificial wooden obstacles in an off-road area to make the experience even more challenging, and enables participants to improve their techniques in driving across bridges, twists, banked stretches and test benches. Last but not least, the driving can also be combined with cultural activities, including a private visit to the Panini Motor Museum in Modena, local gastronomic experiences or a factory tour of the historic Maserati plant in Modena, completely refurbished to house production of the new Maserati MC20 supercar. Further information is available on the website: www.mastermaserati.com

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Toast Distillers, Inc., a Miami-based spirits conglomerate best-known for its ultra-premium vodka Toast™, donated 20 gallons and 500, 8-oz. bottles of its EZ Hand Sanitizer® to Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade’s summer camp. Dieuveny “DJ” Jean Louis, founder and CEO of Toast Distillers, Inc., and Alex Rodriguez-Roig, president of Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade, were present for the delivery of the EZ Hand Sanitizer on June 12. These donations, and all donations from Toast Distillers, Inc. and its subsidiary Miami Distilling Company go through the companies’ Toast First Response division, which has a mission to build a fund for natural disaster relief. Louis, who lived through the catastrophic 2010 Haiti earthquake, launched this corporate social responsibility arm of his companies to build funds to distribute food, diapers, and other necessary supplies with 18-wheelers in the event of a natural disaster. The company’s special Toast First Response edition white vodka bottles featuring a red logo circle include Louis’ story and the mission of this arm of the company. Toast Distillers, Inc., in partnership with the Cosmetic Corporation of America, has responded ― with production and shipment ― to meet the demand for hand sanitizers in South Florida and nationwide since COVID-19’s early stages. The demand is from diverse sectors including military, government, and traditional retail. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing efforts/CDC guidelines, Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade is offering a smaller, limited in-person summer camp and virtual summer camp this summer. The in-person camp is offered at four of the Clubs: Hank Kline, Northwest, Kendall and South Beach. During the Summer Programs, children participate in fun indoor activities such as arts and crafts, computer room, game room, table games, movie room, basketball and much more. Outdoor activities include organized group games. EZ Hand Sanitizer will be available via a new e-commerce site on Shopify at ezsanitizers.com and on Instagram at @EZsanitizers®. The gel hand sanitizer will be available in the following sizes: 2 oz., 4 oz., 8 oz., 16 oz., and 1 gallon. By ML Staff.

Mangusta announced today the sale of the Mangusta Oceano 43, also known as “Project Venezia”, to an undisclosed American client. This is the fifth 43-meter unit among the Mangusta Oceano displacement yachts – a line that stands out for its great habitability, sophisticated design, comfort, and impressively long rage. She will be the second displacement vessel based in Florida. “This sale once more confirms that our vessels perfectly meet the needs of our American clientele – says Overmarine Group’s Americas Area Manager Stefano Arlunno, adding that “Behind a successful sale always stands the harmonious combination of the right product, an Owner who has fallen in love with it, and passionate team work. In this specific case, our gratitude goes to Worth Avenue Yachts”. The Mangusta Ocean 43, the three-decker as interpreted by Overmarine, designed by Alberto Mancini, is a true villa, but one entirely surrounded by the sea. On board, the key-concept is light: natural light that shines in through the wide glazed surfaces and the skylights and lighting design, to brightly illuminate all interiors and exteriors. This model, in particular, can boast an infinity pool with a waterfall, located forward; a comfortable aft beach club, with the stern door opening onto the sea to create a 45 sq. m (484 sq. ft.) platform; a garage at the bow; a royal staircase on one side; and several al fresco living areas, to either spend time in good company or enjoy the utmost privacy. With her cruising speed of 11 knots and a transatlantic range of 4,500 miles, the Mangusta Oceano 43 can reach any destination the Owner wishes to set course for. Overmarine Group’s Interiors Department is already working with the Owner to define and customize the yacht’s layout and to choose furniture, furnishing and décor solutions tailored to the Owner’s taste. The yacht will be ready in November 2020. By ML Staff. Courtesy of Mangusta

The iconic and legendary band The Wailers just released their new song “One World, One Prayer." Produced & Written by 19x Grammy winner Emilio Estefan and recorded at Crescent Moon Studios in Miami, FL, "One World, One Prayer" mixes Jamaican reggae with the sounds of the urban Latin genre. The song is a powerful piece focused on unity, love and inclusion beyond cultural differences. The track, which puts every music lover on the lookout, demands the union of "one world" through "a prayer" in the current global situation, in collaboration with the international titan Farruko, the Jamaican superstar Shaggy and continuing the legacy of Bob Marley alongside Cedella Marley and her son Skip Marley, who recently had chart topping hits with Katy Perry & H.E.R. "When I wrote the song about 2 years ago, I wrote it thinking about how we, as human beings, have to love each other more, be kinder to each other and to nature," said Emilio Estefan, who also reaffirmed that we need a world with less separation of race, religion and politics. "Who would have thought that we would be living this current situation and that the message of" One World, One Prayer "would resonate so strongly? We need to appreciate the simple things in life and especially the love that begins with our families and extends to our community and beyond ... because in the end we are all One World, One Heart!” added Estefan. Bob Marley and the Wailers made history together between 1972 and 1981. It was Bob Marley himself who asked the Wailers to stay together. Aston Barrett Jr, son of Aston "Familyman" Barrett (bassist for Bob Marley & The Wailers), is the one in charge of keeping the flame of the band alive. And so he has! The Wailers have been touring the world far and wide, keeping an impressive agenda of over 150 shows a year. "The music of the Wailers represents peace, love and unity. That is what I want to keep alive," said Barret, and that is precisely the powerful message that starting today, can be heard on all digital platforms through "One World, One Prayer”, the exciting new single from the forthcoming album releasing august 2020, produced entirely by Emilio Estefan. Listen here! By Miami Living Staff

Sad news for beachgoers. Mayor Gimenez signed an emergency order closing all County beaches starting July 3 and restricting any gatherings, parades of more than 50 people and viewing of fireworks shows will be limited. Despite the sad news, especially for tourists, the measures are important and critical in controlling the spread of Covid-19. After consulting with our County’s public health experts, Mayor Gimenez signed an emergency order on Saturday to close all beaches in Miami-Dade County starting Friday, July 3, and ending Tuesday, July 7. The closure may be extended if conditions do not improve and people do not follow New Normal rules requiring masks to be worn always inside commercial establishments and outdoors when social distancing of at least 6 feet is not possible. WHAT DID THE MAYOR SAY? Mayor Gimenez published the following statement: "As we continue to see more COVID-19 positive test results among young adults and rising hospitalizations, I have decided that the only prudent thing to do to tamp down this recent uptick is to crack down on recreational activities that put our overall community at higher risk. Again, everyone should wear masks inside public establishments and outside if they cannot practice social distancing of at least 6 feet. I have been seeing too many businesses and people ignoring these lifesaving rules. If people are not going to be responsible and protect themselves and others from this pandemic, then the government is forced to step in and restore common sense to save lives. Following Centers for Disease Control recommendations, my order will also ban any gatherings — including parades — of more than 50 people throughout the County for whatever reason from July 3 to 7. In those situations, masks and social distancing are required and five groups of no more than 10 people will be allowed. All parks and beaches will be closed to the public in all cities and unincorporated areas of the County to public viewing of fireworks. Fireworks displays must be viewed from one’s home or parked vehicle. The Miami-Dade County Police Department will continue to be out in force this weekend to close establishments that are flaunting the social distancing and masks rules and capacity limits. Violators face a second-degree criminal penalty of up to $500 and 180 days in jail. We are also training SURGE (Strategic Urban Response to Guideline Education) Teams this weekend to reach out to residents in virus hotspots and give them testing information, masks and hand sanitizer. After all the success we have had tamping down the COVID-19 curve, we cannot turn back and overload our hospitals, putting our doctors and nurses at greater risk with more emergency room cases. Everyone must do their part and follow the rules. All cities should be enforcing the County’s orders. This new order will be targeting those who are being most irresponsible and endangering our community’s health and our economic recovery. " ML Staff. Courtesy of Miami-Dade. Image/gif courtesy of MapleStory M.

It’s a sunny Sunday morning in early July when Peter Facinllei and I meet. He arrives at The Gramercy Park Hotel with his girlfriend, actress Lily Anne Harrison, and his youngest daughter, Fiona —the three came in from Long Island where he was visiting family. New York is a brief respite before the actor returns to Canada to finish filming. Peter and I settle into a booth in the hotel restaurant, Maialino, which is abuzz with brunch diners. The New York native, who now resides in Los Angeles, is sporting an LAHH camo baseball cap, a black t-shirt with an unbuttoned blue button-up, light-colored jeans, and a five-o’clock shadow. “Thanks for having me in the magazine,” Peter starts off. Once our waitress finishes taking his order —an Americano and brioche toast with jelly— Peter tells me about his current project. “I’m filming a movie [The NXIVM Cult: A Mother’s Nightmare] about the cult, NXIVM —basically, a self-help program for women run by a man, Keith Raniere. It has been around for twenty years, actually, but in the last couple of years, Keith, who started this program, also started this underground division asking some of the women to be part of this sex slave cult thing,” he explains. The movie is based on actress Catherine Oxenberg and her daughter, India, who was one of NXIVM’s sex slaves, and Catherine’s fight to get India out of the cult and deprogram her. NXIVM and Smallville’s Allison Mack, NXIVM’s queen bee, made news headlines in early 2018. In June 2019, Keith was convicted on all charges brought against him, including sex trafficking, forced labor conspiracy, human trafficking and multiple counts of racketeering, including sexual exploitation of a child; he faces up to life in prison. “I can’t say I’m having fun at work, because it’s not fun to play this guy, it’s been a challenge though. No one walks around thinking they’re a bad person, so I have to find a reasoning behind why he does what he does. People joke about cults, but it’s out there. Brainwashing is a real thing,” Peter says solemnly. To prepare, Peter studied interviews Keith has given. “You try to focus more on the essence of them than parakeet how they move — things that you pick up, mannerisms and speech patterns.” Playing this “stomach-churning” role appealed to Peter as it is unlike any character he has portrayed. “You can’t always play the hero riding in on the horse, sometimes you play the other parts, too. That’s sometimes scary, because who wants to play somebody who has no redeeming qualities? Sometimes with bad guys, you can have fun with it and the audience loves to hate them, but it’s scarier to play characters that people just hate.” Peter also took this role so that he could bring some attention to this story. He thought it was important to highlight, since he has three daughters. “I felt like people should watch this so they can understand and recognize, ‘Oh, maybe what I’m in is a cult.’ Because there are signs to watch out for.” The following day, Peter was scheduled to wrap up filming on this movie, and then return home to finish the final cut of his film, Hour of Lead. Hour of Lead is a film that Peter wrote, directed, and acted in. Starring Thomas Jane, Anne Heche, and Jason Patric, Peter describes Hour of Lead as a whodunit, Hitchcock-like thriller. A family of three go to an RV park and while there, their daughter goes missing. Peter opted for a minor role —he plays Deputy Rakes— since he was busy directing the film. “I used to have an RV and I remember pulling up to an RV park and there was this prison two miles down the road. The guy who owned the RV park said, ‘If you hear one or two gunshots, that’s normal, but if you hear more than two, come to the front desk. Sometimes they do drills or tests, one or two gunshots is OK.’ So I started imagining: What would happen if a convict escaped? What happens if your daughter goes missing in the woods? It’s a parent’s worst nightmare. And then I wrote it and I was fortunate enough to make it.” This is the first feature film that Peter has both written and directed. Writing the screenplay came fairly easy to him, and only took three weeks. Getting the film made was a bigger challenge that took seven years. “I had it set up a couple of times and then money falls out. And then I get a movie, then I’d have to go shoot a movie. Then, it would fall apart. There were times where I wasn’t going to direct it, and another director was going to direct it. I was going to star in it. Then, there were times where I got busy and I was just going to have it made and someone was going to direct it with somebody else in it —I was just going to produce it. Finally, after I’d done my first feature [Breaking & Exiting], I thought, No, I think I should direct this one —so I did, and then the money came for it.” He takes a sip of his Americano. Peter never studied filmmaking; he learned everything he knows from working on sets as an actor for the last 25 years. “There’s stuff that I’ve learned through osmosis that I don’t even know that I know. On the day, I’m like, ‘Let’s do this, do this, this, and this.’ And it’s coming out of me — I didn’t even know I knew that— because you’re subconsciously picking it up after hundreds of movies and TV shows and you’re just on set all the time.” Though each day brought new challenges, Peter loved the whole experience. “I try to be really prepared as a director. Really know what I want to get. I always have a Plan A, Plan B, somewhat of a Plan C, and then I’m open. At that point, if none of those work, then you know you have enough knowledge to make something work.” For example, Peter didn’t have the equipment he needed his first day on the set of Hour of Lead and had to To think fast. “What do you do? You don’t have backup equipment that you need. Actors are staring at you. What do you do? Literally, my brain just goes into overdrive.... All of a sudden, I’m doing really creative blocking to make up for the camera not moving,” he explains passionately. What Peter enjoys most about directing is the collaborative process —as the director, he gets to work with all of the departments, more so than when he’s simply acting in a project. However, his desire to spend more time in the director’s chair, doesn’t mean he wants to give up acting. “I don’t think I’ll ever hang up my helmet [and be, like], ‘I don’t want to act anymore,’ because I love acting. But I do find directing, at this stage in my life, a bigger challenge. As an actor, you’re a small cog in a big wheel. A lot of times, the actor gets all the credit. I mean, the director is really picking every piece of music, every frame, every costume, every nuance —it’s all the director’s choice... I find film and television is more of a director’s medium than an actor’s medium. The stage of a play is an actor’s medium. A director can tell you all day long, ‘Play it this way,” and you get up on the stage and the audience is watching you and you’re going to play it whichever way you’re playing it that night and the audience is going to walk away with that. There’s nothing a director can do about it, except yell at you the next day.” Neither of these titles —actor and director— really suit Peter, he prefers “storyteller” as it encomposses acting, writing, producing, and directing. Acting remains one of Peter’s greatest passions. “I love being able to do the research on that character... There’s something really nice about just putting your life aside for a second and then being able to jump into someone’s life and get a feel for what it would be like to be that person just for a small amount of time.” Peter tells me that he was 10 when he realized that he wanted to be an actor when he grew up. One day, while watching Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, he thought that Paul Newman and Robert Redford looked like they were having the best time ever and decided then and there that he wanted to be just like them. “And then, I told my parents, and they laughed, so then I never mentioned it again. The next time my parents said, ‘What do you want to be?’ I said, a lawyer, because the first time I said, ‘an actor,’ they laughed at me. I said a lawyer the second time, they were like, ‘Wow! A lawyer.’ So I was like, They like that. I’ll keep saying that.” He smiles. “So, when anyone asked, ‘What do you want to be?’ ‘A lawyer.’ ‘Wow, a lawyer!’” Peter nods his head to emphasize their approval. Extremely shy in high school, Peter shares that he mostly kept to himself. “I was so shy in high school that I didn’t eat. I didn’t want to get in the lunch line because there was so many people. Imagine going to this giant auditorium, you’re this pimply-faced 15-year- old kid, there’s 3,500 people on line for a hamburger and I’d get so anxious that I’d drop something or that the whole auditorium would stare at me, that I would go to the opposite side and there was this old lady who sold pretzels and orange juice and I would just grab a pretzel and would sit down before everyone else and sneak by.” He laughs at the memory. “I was such a wallflower in high school, I don’t even think that people know I went to that school.” It wasn’t until college that Peter began to pursue acting. While attending St. John’s University, where he was studying pre-law, Peter took Acting 101 as an elective. “It was very freeing for me because I could be somebody else. I could do anything and wasn’t shy —there’s nothing to be shy about because it wasn’t me. I remember there was a kid there and he said, ‘Wow, this is really fun, but what are the chances of us ever making a living out of this?’ I got so mad that he said that. I was like, I’m going to make a living out of this.” After a year at St. John’s, Peter transferred to NYU to study theater, and told his parents the acting classes would ultimately help him as a lawyer. “‘You have to get up in front of jurors and I’m really shy, so these acting classes are going to help me be a better lawyer.’ And they didn’t know any better, so they said, ‘OK.’ Yeah, they’re still waiting for me to be a lawyer,” he adds with a smile. Peter has been making a living as an actor since 1995 — just as he planned. This fall, you can also catch him in the films, Running with the Devil and Countdown. The former is a crime drama that Peter stars in alongside Nicholas Cage and Laurence Fishburne. “You’re watching how this drug affects all these people as it moves into different hands. I play an officer [Number One], and he’s after The Cook [Nicholas] and The Man [Laurence]. That was fun,” he says about Running with the Devil. Countdown is a thriller / horror film, whose IMDb description reads: We follow three true stories from three diverse high school students as they struggle against unrealistic expectations, stress, and an uphill battle against time. “Sometimes you take a thing for different reasons. I like the director [Justin Dec] on Countdown. I thought the script was fun. I liked the company STX. It’s hard. You never know — is this going to be good? Nobody goes into a movie going, Hey, let’s make a terrible movie. Everybody tries to make a good movie, it’s not always easy,” Peter muses. You can have the best names in entertainment attached to a film, and this still doesn’t guarantee a blockbuster hit. It’s hard to predict whether a film or TV show will be a success or a flop. When Peter’s agents first mentioned Twilight (one of the largest film franchises he has starred in) to him, he initially declined. “They [his agents] said, ‘You want to do a vampire movie? I said, ‘no,’ they asked, ‘why?’ I was like, ‘I don’t want to do blood and guts.’ I was thinking some old guy in a cape somewhere with a stake through the heart. Y’know? Some B vampire movie.” His agents advised him to read Stephenie Meyer’s novel —as soon as he did, he had a change of heart. “It was fantastic. Vampire stuff is really the backdrop of this beautiful love story,” Peter explains. And when he found out that Catherine Hardwicke was directing, he was sold. The next day, he went in to audition and landed the role of Cullen family patriarch, Dr. Carlisle Cullen. Peter went on to shoot all five movies in The Twilight Saga film series. Is there a role that you would like to play and haven’t played yet? “I feel like I’ve done almost every genre now, so it’s a tough question. Because even in every genre, there’s different things to play.” Peter has portrayed three doctors —in Twilight, Nurse Jackie, and Countdown — yet, all have been completely different, he explains. He is always on the prowl for roles that aren’t familiar. “I always thought if you put all my characters in one room, it’d be a fun party.” He smiles and continues. “Like, if you take Mike Dexter from Can’t Hardly Wait, he’s hanging out with Carlisle Cullen. Carlisle Cullen is hanging out with Van Ray from Fastlane and that guy is hanging out with Dr. Cooper,” he muses about the diverse group. Who would you be hanging out with in that group? Like, who would you befriend? “I mean, they’re all so different to me... I like Coop from Nurse Jackie, just because he’s funny. I always laughed a lot. I like comedy, I don’t often play it. I try to find comedy in things, sometimes, when it’s not even funny, but I think that that’s the way life is. Even in the most dramatic times, there’s comedy.” Words by Vanessa Pascale. Photo by Jefferey Fountain. Grooming by Candice Birns. Styling by Veronica Graye. Follow Peter on IG, Twitter, and Facebook: @PeterFacinelli, and don’t miss Hour of Lead, Countdown, and Running with the Devil.

The ATP, in collaboration with the WTA, ITF, USTA and the FFT, has issued a revised provisional calendar that sets a pathway for the resumption of the Tour for the first time since the suspension of professional tennis in March due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The new-look ATP Tour calendar intends to resume on Friday 14 August with the Citi Open, the ATP 500 event in Washington, D.C., followed by the Western & Southern Open, the Cincinnati ATP Masters 1000 event, to be hosted at Flushing Meadows, in the lead up to the US Open (31 August – 13 September). Following New York, the Mutua Madrid Open and the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, ATP Masters 1000 events on clay in Madrid and Rome, respectively, will take place in September ahead of Roland Garros in Paris (27 September – 11 October), which will also feature a singles qualifying draw the week prior. The calendar is subject to change and continued assessments will be made relating to health & safety, international travel policies, and governmental approval of sporting events. All events will be held under strict guidelines related to health & safety, social distancing, reduced or no fans on-site. The ATP continues to explore all options for additional ATP 500 and 250 events to be added to the schedule, should circumstances allow. A further update on the intended schedule beyond Roland Garros, including a possible Asia swing ahead of the European indoor swing culminating with the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals in London, is expected in mid-July. “Our objective has been to reschedule as many tournaments as possible and salvage as much of the season as we can,” said Andrea Gaudenzi, ATP Chairman. “It has been a truly collaborative effort and we hope to add more events to the calendar as the situation evolves. I would like to recognise our tournaments’ efforts to operate during these challenging times, as well as our players who will be competing under different conditions. At every turn, ensuring that the resumption of the Tour takes place in a safe environment will be paramount.” The ATP Challenger Tour will also resume from the week of 17 August, in parallel with the ITF World Tennis Tour. TOURNAMENT SCHEDULING The revised calendar includes the Generali Open, an ATP 250 event in Kitzbühel, which coincides with the second week of the US Open. Top 10 singles players will not be eligible to compete in Kitzbühel unless they have played, and already lost, at the US Open. ATP 2020 and 2021 SCHEDULE ATP has released the following tennis calendar and schedule for the remaining of 2020 and a full schedule for 2021 (click below to download the PDF schedule): FEDEX ATP RANKINGS The FedEx ATP Rankings have been frozen since 16 March 2020. The ATP continues to monitor all global travel restrictions and general access to playing opportunities ahead of the resumption of the Tour. As the situation continues to evolve on a weekly basis, a determination will be made in the coming weeks with respect to the most appropriate and fair way for the rankings to resume in parallel with the resumption of the Tour. ML Staff. Courtesy of ATP.

Roger Federer announced on Wednesday that he recently underwent a "quick arthroscopic procedure" on his right knee, and he will not play until 2021. “A few weeks ago, having experienced a setback during my initial rehabilitation, I had to have an additional quick arthroscopic procedure on my right knee,” Federer tweeted. “Now, much like I did leading up to the 2017 season, I plan to take the necessary time to be 100 per cent ready to play at my highest level. I will be missing my fans and the tour dearly. But, I will look forward to seeing everyone back on tour at the start of the 2021 season.” Federer underwent surgery on the same knee in February. The Swiss' initial plan following that surgery was to return during the grass-court season. The 38-year-old's lone tournament of 2020 came at the Australian Open, where he reached the semi-finals. Eventual champion Novak Djokovic defeated him in straight sets. Courtesy of ATP Tour

With an acting career spanning four decades and multiple awards and nominations, Regina King has effortlessly embodied countless memorable characters across the big and small screens. From thought provoking films like Boyz n the Hood, Poetic Justice, Jerry Maguire and Ray; to lighter fare like the Legally Blonde and Miss Congeniality franchises, Regina King brings a special sparkle to every role she’s tackled. On the small screen, King’s presence in past television series like Southland, The Boondocks, The Leftovers, Shameless, and her Emmy- winning turn in American Crime, have highlighted some of the more significant social issues of our time, both with ironic humor and with poignant drama. Wherever art is imitating life in a significant way, Regina King has been tapped to play a pivotal role in the project. What audiences may not know is that King is also an accomplished television director, with a growing resume of credits including smash hit television shows from Scandal and Greenleaf to The Good Doctor and This Is Us. Her most recent Emmy-nominated performance as Latrice Butler, grieving mother of a teenage son who is the victim of a death by auto, hit and run by a group of Jersey City police officers, is a true tour de force and a defining role in a long and treasured career. Interview by Allison Kugel Allison Kugel: What drew you to playing Latrice Butler in Seven Seconds? Regina King: I was actually drawn to the role of [prosecutor] KJ Harper (played by Clare-Hope Ashitey), and [series creator] Veena Sud was sure that she wanted me for the role of Latrice. I liked the pilot script and decided to take that dive into the emotional pool. Allison Kugel: You play the mother of a teenage boy who is killed by a police officer. What was your creative process in tackling such an intense role? Regina King: Being a mother myself, and the mother of a black young man, there are certain fears you have that are unique to having a black child in America. You have fears as a parent when your kids are growing up, because you can’t control everything. But there are those experiences that are specific to black children that are not the same for others. You experience a bit of it, yourself, as a child growing up in America. Unfortunately, it’s our culture and something you grow up with. You then carry that perspective with you throughout your life. So, I had that going into this role. I also spoke to a mother whose son was murdered by a police officer. Hearing her pain up close and personal, and her feeling safe enough to share it with me, I would say that combination of things was how Latrice was birthed into Seven Seconds. Allison Kugel: Is the story a fictional account or based on true events? Regina King: It was based on the truth as far as the regard for black American kids and the law, and how they are regarded in America. That part of it is true, of course. So many examples have had similar outcomes to this story, but it was not taken from one specific person’s story. Allison Kugel: While you were shooting Seven Seconds, did you think about the parents of Trayvon Martin, Philando Castile, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice and so many young men who’ve lost their lives in similar circumstances? And did you feel a responsibility to reflect these parents’ pain in your performance? Regina King: There was a responsibility to accurately portray their pain, their lives, and their stories, absolutely. Allison Kugel: Do you think a series like Seven Seconds has the power to impact hearts and minds for change, or to simply reflect what is going on in society? Regina King: I think both. What’s reflective for me is not reflective for you. Seeing it in a television show or in a movie creates an opportunity for each of us to see the other’s perspective. I feel that the series American Crime (the ABC series for which King won an Emmy) was very similar in that way. Allison Kugel: Do you take a role like this home with you? Regina King: I tried not to take it home with me. But again, a bit of this lives with you. It is the narrative of a part of the fabric of what America is. Unfortunately, you are always living it. It took a lot out of me; I’ll be honest. It was the closest to an experiential role I’ve ever had. I’ve known people who have been victims of police brutality, but no one who was closer than a friend or a distant family member. Because it was a friend or a distant family member, I wasn’t with them in their day-to-day struggle of what that experience brings. You go through life hoping that you never personally have an experience like that, but you know that the odds are greater than not that you will, because of who you are. It’s crazy to even say this, but you feel blessed or lucky that your child has made it to twenty-two (King is referring to her 22-year-old son, Ian). Allison Kugel: What is so remarkably upsetting about your statement is that even if you are regarded by society as successful, you are thanking God that your son has made it to the age of twenty-two. Regina King: Made it to twenty-two without having a criminal record, and without having an experience with the police where you may not survive; you may not come home. Unfortunately, that is something you feel gratitude for. He has had an experience with the police pulling him over, and him having to sit down on the curb. He was let go after they ran his license plate and his ID. He was pulled over for being nineteen and driving his girlfriend home. That’s not a normal reason to be pulled over. Allison Kugel: Let’s talk about your most recent Emmy nomination for Seven Seconds. Now that you have an Emmy win from 2015’s American Crime, is the pressure off somewhat for this upcoming ceremony, or are the nervous butterflies still there? And what’s the feeling in your body when you’re sitting there listening to the names of the nominees being called out? Regina King: All three times being nominated felt different. But there is nothing like the first anything, right? It’s totally surreal. The second time is kind of like, “Nah-uh, really?! How did I find a hundred-dollar bill again in the exact same place?!” It’s one of those feelings. Not to be frivolous about it, but it’s like, what are the odds? Allison Kugel: I don’t think it’s a luck thing. You really are such a gifted actor, and your performance in Seven Seconds was a tour de force. Regina King: Well, I mean, what are the odds of walking by that same corner again and finding that same bill? Allison Kugel: Do you let that stuff, like awards and accolades, or critics, shape you at all? Do you ever find yourself being very conscious of, “What are the critics going to think?” “What are the nominating committees going to think?” Regina King: First and foremost, I’m focused on doing good work. I’m not thinking, “Ooh, this is gonna get me an Emmy!” (Laughs) Click to view larger image > Allison Kugel: (Laughs) There are people like that in your business. You know that, right? Regina King: I joke, but yes, I know! The first time, I wasn’t even in the Television Academy. Becoming a member of the Television Academy and knowing all that goes into voting, with all the material that’s out there, it’s a lot. Since my last name starts with a “K,” I fall right in the middle of all the names. When you’re voting, and you see all the titles of the shows and the people’s names, first it starts with the Z’s and then it goes all the way to the A’s. Then the next category starts with the A’s and goes all the way to the Z’s, in that same pattern. So, I don’t take it lightly that someone was able to get to “K” for King and get to “S” for Seven Seconds. I don’t take that lightly, that not only did they make it that far, but they made it that far and they watched and stayed. I don’t take that lightly because those are my peers. Allison Kugel: What do you see as your higher purpose in all that you do, from parenting your son to your work. And what spiritual philosophy do you subscribe to? Regina King: Overall, just trying to walk in my truth. I recently did a panel talk (Entertainment Weekly’s Women Who Kick Ass Comic Con Panel) and [actress] Chloe Bennet said something that I definitely subscribe to. She said, “At this moment in time I can feel a certain way and say a certain thing, and then in 2022 I might contradict that just because I’m in a different place at that point.” For me, I can only be in my truth right now, in this moment. If I am walking in that truth, if I share an opinion right now about something, in the year 2022 I will not say, “I didn’t say that in 2018.” I would know I said it, because in that moment it was true for me. Allison Kugel: Right. You would say, that was me then. I saw this beautiful tribute on your Instagram feed to actress Marla Gibbs. Marla gave you your first big job playing her daughter on the show 227, when you were fourteen years old. You thanked her for all that she did for you as a mentor. You say, among many other things, “She taught me how to be a professional.” I want to ask you about some other influential people you’ve worked with over the years, and what your takeaway was from working with these people. Let’s start with Tupac Shakur, who you worked with in 1993’s Poetic Justice. Regina King: I would say he’s a man that walked in his truth. Man, did he ever. That would be the biggest takeaway, in that he was just unapologetic, and it was beautiful. Allison Kugel: And working with Tom Cruise in 1996’s Jerry Maguire? Regina King: An example of a consummate professional. If you hear anybody say that they don’t like that guy, hmmm, I don’t know. I’d have to go back and look in the books on that person. He’s a good guy, and he is a professional. He is that same example of what Marla [Gibbs] was, and I saw from him that it exists when you’re on that mega level. Allison Kugel: And working with Jamie Foxx in 2004’s Ray? Regina King: Jamie is super talented. The first thing that came to my mind when you said “Jamie,” is that he’s a caring guy. He takes great care with things that he does, and with the people that he works with. That’s the reason why he’s so good at embodying a character, because he takes care with the details. Allison Kugel: I also came across a picture you posted with your son. You were waiting in line together to vote in the June primaries, and it was his first time voting. Finish this sentence for me: “I hope that in my son’s lifetime…” Regina King: The first thing that came to my mind is that he wants to have children, but he goes back and forth between asking if it’s irresponsible to bring children into this world. And I see where he is coming from with that. Allison Kugel: Tell him that you have great faith in the next generation to lift the consciousness of this planet. Regina King: Oh, I tell him that all the time, that I have great faith in him and his generation. Literally, from year to year with the conversations that we have, it goes from, “When I have kids,” to, “Man, I don’t know if I want to bring a kid into all this.” Just because of certain things that happen in the world. It’s the same reason you don’t want to turn on the news half the time. Allison Kugel: If there’s one thing the kids from Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida showed me, it’s that with the younger generations coming up there is a different level of consciousness, and it gives me great hope. Regina King: What I love is that they’re able to articulate their passion in a way that is open. Whereas, I feel like a lot of our generation, we weren’t able to articulate our anger as effectively. There is a maturity present with the younger generation, but they still have that passion. It makes me more confident in what they can accomplish. Catch Regina King’s Emmy-nominated performance in the limited series, Seven Seconds, streaming now on Netflix. Follow her on Instagram @iamreginaking and on Twitter @reginaking. Allison Kugel is a syndicated entertainment columnist, and author of the book, Journaling Fame: A memoir of a life unhinged and on the record. Follow her on Instagram @theallisonkugel and at AllisonKugel.com.

This single family home is for sale and has 14 bedrooms, 15 full baths, 5 partial baths and was built in 1970. Priced at $45M, this single family home is listed on the Christie's International Real Estate website and it boasts 15,000 Sq.Ft. of interior space. PROPERTY DETAILS Serendip Cove is a magical home tucked into the corner of Clifton Bay, Lyford Cay (Bahamas) with 361 feet of private beachfront; this estate encompasses over 3.4 acres and is filled with character and charm. Purchased in the early 1970s by the legendary Henryk de Kwiatkowski, Serendip Cove was considered the jewel of the self-made millionaire sportsman’s real estate holdings. A polo-playing society figure and owner of the prestigious horse-breeding estate Calumet Farms in Kentucky. Henryk enjoyed entertaining, notable guests at Serendip Cove have included Prince Philip, Lord Louis Mountbatten, Margaret Thatcher, Mick Jagger, the Millers and the von Furstenbergs. Henryk de Kwiatkowski served under the Viceroy of India, Lord Louis Mountbatten, during the partition of India. They were very close friends and Lord Louis Mountbatten often spent Christmas with the de Kwiatkowskis. He studied humanities in a Himalayan monastery, where his teacher urged him to travel the world. In compliance with that advice, de Kwiatkowski eventually came to know many countries and their cultures firsthand. He spoke 12 languages and met numerous dignitaries and business leaders, forging many relationships that would last for decades. He flew for the Royal Air Force during of World War II. This is one of the reasons for him going into aviation. He designed helicopters with Igor Sikorsky, and made his first fortune by brokering the sale of an unprecedented number of commercial airplanes while playing backgammon with the Shah of Iran. During the next phase of his life, de Kwiatkowski took up the sport of polo and played with the Maharajah of Jaipur atop elephants and discussed equestrian bloodlines with the Queen of England. Click to view larger image > Nothing compares to this magnificent beachfront estate. The grandest of its kind, Serendip Cove is filled with character and charm. Decorated by famed interior designer Sister Parish, the estate is located on one of the most pristine beaches of New Providence. The property incorporates fourteen bedrooms and sits in the most tranquil spot on Clifton Bay. The beautifully decorated main house has a large living room with marble fireplace, large dining room which can sit up to 30 persons, gourmet kitchen, indoor and outdoor sitting areas, television room, library, spacious porch, six bedrooms with private bathrooms, bar, separate staff quarters and garages. The pool cottages, next to the pool and ocean, have eight private bedrooms, each with its own bathroom. More casual in style than the main house, the pool cottages have a well equipped kitchen, family room with fireplace, and an out-door covered dining porch. This jewel also boasts a large seafront swimming pool, jacuzzi, grotto and stunning sunsets. The splendor of the tropical gardens combined with this elegant estate provides the finest traditions of island living enhanced by its proximity to world class clubs such as the Lyford Cay Club, Old Fort Bay and Albany. For more inqueries please visit Christie's By ML Staff. Images courtesy of Christie's

The Miami Dolphins selected Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa with the fifth overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Like all top prospects, Tagovailoa had been subjected to months of evaluation, with teams’ scouting departments measuring his athletic abilities, interviewing his college coaches and researching his personal life. He also took the Wonderlic Personnel Test, which, for about 50 years, teams have administered to prospects. This 12-minute intelligence test consists of 50 multiple choice questions measuring cognitive ability, with the score reflecting the number of correct answers. While all prospects take the test, the scores of quarterbacks – due to the belief that the position requires more brainpower – tend to generate the most media interest. The scores are nominally private, but every year they’re leaked and publicly reported on online databases. Tagovailoa scored a 19out of 50. Should that have been a cause for concern? Clearly, the Dolphins didn’t think so, and fans, analysts, players and pundits have long debated the test’s usefulness as an evaluation tool. But there’s very little actual research on its effectiveness. So my colleague, Brent Evans, and I recently conducteda studyexamining the relationship between a quarterback’s Wonderlic score and his NFL success. The great debate During World War II, the United States Navy famously used the Wonderlic test, which was developed in 1936 by psychologist Eldon F. Wonderlic, to select fighter pilots. Scores were seen as a good indicator of how pilots would perform under pressure. Like pilots, NFL quarterbacks must routinely make quick decisions under pressure. They also need to relay complex play calls, read opponents’ defenses and, in response, adjust offensive formations. That’s why quarterbacks are often referred to as “field generals.” For these reasons, Dallas Cowboys Hall of Fame coach Tom Landry was drawn to the Wonderlic. Widely credited with introducing the test as an evaluation tool for NFL prospects, Landry won two Super Bowls and appeared in three others in the 1970s. During that same period, the league, following Landry’s lead, began administering the test at the NFL Combine, which is a nine-day annual event in Indianapolis that gives teams the chance to scout over 300 potential draftees. Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry pioneered the use of the Wonderlic Test on NFL prospects. AP Photo Yet even though the test continues to be given today, many argue that a quarterback’s score doesn’t reveal much about his likelihood of NFL success. Even Eldon F. Wonderlic’s daughter holds this view. Those who believe the Wonderlic test is a poor assessment tool for NFL quarterbacks often point to players like Dan Marino, who only scored a 15 on the test but went on to become a Hall of Famer. Then there’s Ryan Fitzpatrick, who scored a 48 on the test but has spent his career bouncing from team to team as a journeyman quarterback. “We’re here to tell you what a growing number of NFL executives already know – the Wonderlic is totally worthless,” Joseph Stromberg wrote in Vox. In 2015 commentator NFL analyst Mike Florio described the Wonderlic test as “an outdated, irrelevant intelligence exam to which the league clings.” Nonetheless, the test has its evangelists. Clay Travis, founder and lead writer of Outkick the Coverage, has maintained that Wonderlic scores matter a great deal. He points out that the New England Patriots – the NFL’s most successful team of the 21st century – consistently draft players that score highly on the Wonderlic test. Travis also notes that many star quarterbacks, from Tom Brady to Aaron Rodgers, received excellent scores. Digging into the data So which camp is correct? Using a statistical tool known as regression analysis, we were able to control for a large number of variables that might influence a quarterback’s performance in the NFL, from his college football statistics, to whether his college coach had experience as an NFL coach, to whether he was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, the annual award given to the most outstanding player in college football. We also controlled for a player’s Wonderlic score. To quantify NFL success, we considered several measures, including – but not limited to – career passing yards, wins and games started in the NFL. Of all the variables included in our regression models, only two were significantly and consistently associated with a quarterback’s NFL success: whether he was a Heisman Trophy finalist and his Wonderlic score. This is overwhelming evidence that, all else equal, quarterbacks with better Wonderlic scores enjoy more successful careers in the NFL. Interestingly, we found that a quarterback’s Wonderlic score doesn’t have a significant impact on his draft position. This indicates that – despite the fact that test scores are a good predictor of NFL success and receive a fair amount of media attention – teams, by and large, don’t give them a lot of weight when deciding whether to draft a quarterback. Rather, our research indicates that teams mostly focus on variables such as a quarterback’s completion percentage in college, and physical attributes such as his body mass index, height and speed. This doesn’t mean that teams should automatically draft quarterbacks with higher Wonderlic scores ahead of quarterbacks with lower ones. The “all else equal” element of the analysis is key. In other words, if two quarterbacks are extremely similar in most aspects, but one has a higher Wonderlic score, our research does suggest that the quarterback with the higher score will enjoy more success in the NFL. This might sound obvious. But with everything else being equal, other measures you would think might forecast NFL success, such as the quarterback’s college statistics and his university’s reputation for producing successful NFL quarterbacks, don’t have the same predictive abilities about his future NFL success. To further cement the importance of the Wonderlic, after holding other factors constant, a quarterback’s actual draft position is not significantly related to his NFL success. But his Wonderlic score is. So teams looking for a slight edge on draft day should take their cues from Tom Landry, the Patriots and Clay Travis. A quarterback’s Wonderlic score is revealing something important, and the stakes are high: Over half of all Super Bowl MVPs have been quarterbacks, and choosing correctly can set a team up for years of success. On the other hand, given quarterbacks’ astronomical salaries, drafting a dud in the first round is a mistake most teams can’t afford to make. Words by Joshua D. Pitts Associate Professor of Sport Management and Economics, Kennesaw State University. Conversation for this story. You can support the independent network which provides news by donating today.

Since Little Richard died on May 9, he’s been rightly celebrated as one of the most exciting and influential performers in the canon of American popular music. But in most tributes, the full story of his artistic development has been slighted. This is a pity, because Little Richard’s music is deeply rooted in an underground tradition of queer black performance that’s also worthy of celebration. Indeed, when I have lectured on Little Richard’s work to my students, they’re often surprised and delighted to learn about the subculture that contributed so much to his artistic persona. His hairstyle, makeup and lyrics were inspired by fellow performers such as Billy Wright and Eskew Reeder. The better their influence is understood, the more the gleefully subversive energy that suffuses Richard’s own work can be appreciated. The Wright stuff Little Richard – born Richard Penniman – honed his craft as a teenage drag queen in touring minstrel tent-shows and vaudeville revues, as well as in an extended network of clubs and bars in the southern and eastern United States known as the “chitlin’ circuit.” In a 1967 interview, singer Lou Rawls offered his own memories of playing the circuit: These clubs were very small, very tight, very crowded and very loud. Everything was loud but the entertainment. The only way to establish communication was by telling a story that would lead into the song, that would catch people’s attention.” African American studies scholars L. H. Stallings and Mark Anthony Neal have both observed that, while it wasn’t explicitly identified with sexual outlaws, the chitlin’ circuit nevertheless provided a space for queer black artists to flourish. It was within one of these spaces in the city of Atlanta – either the Royal Peacock or Bailey’s 81 Theatre – that Little Richard first met Billy Wright. Wright had also started out as a female impersonator but had more recently established himself as a singer. He would score four top 10 hits on the R&B charts from 1949 to 1951. Little Richard admired Wright enormously. In Little Richard’s words, Wright wore “very loud-colored clothin’ and shoethin’ to match his clothin’,” which Little Richard began to imitate. He also copied Wright’s pompadour hairstyle and even began using the same brand of pancake makeup. Billy was equally fond of Little Richard, helping to secure his first recording session with RCA in 1951 – using the very same musicians that had backed up Wright on his own records. A 1952 portrait of Little Richard in Atlanta, where he met Billy Wright. Michael Ochs Archives via Getty Images Both men were creditable R&B artists, but their recordings from this period offer no hint of the spectacular flamboyance that they apparently projected in person. The queer style that had brought them together was too outré to even consider trying to capture on tape. Hurricane Esquerita A year or so later, Little Richard met another young black queer performer named Eskew Reeder at a bus station in Macon, Georgia. As Little Richard told the story, he picked Reeder up and took him home, where Reeder played him a version of “One Mint Julep” by The Clovers on the piano. Little Richard was bowled over, immediately asking for lessons, and thereafter adopting aspects of Reeder’s style – playing blues licks in theuppermost register of the keyboardwith the right hand, while supplying a pounding, rhythmic accompaniment with the left. Reeder later suggested that Little Richard’s trademark falsetto whoop was also inspired by his own approach to vocalization. Eskew Reeder would eventually adopt the stage name of “Esquerita.” It was a phonetic pun on his own name in which we can also hear a winking homoerotic suggestion: “Esquire Eater”; a scatological joke: “Excreter”; and perhaps even a prescient tribute to queer theory: “Askew Reader.” Esquerita could make Little Richard look tame by comparison. Michael Ochs Archives via Getty Images Esquerita didn’t release any recordings until 1958, more than three years after Little Richard achieved national stardom with “Tutti Frutti”; but Little Richard always acknowledged the original direction of influence. Esquerita’s 1958 sessions convey a flamboyant wildness that exceeds even Richard’s most exuberant recordings. The almost indescribable B-side, “Esquerita and the Voola,” is a case in point – a strange mixture of pseudo-classical piano riffing set to a booming floor-tom rhythm, over which Esquerita warbles like a pop-opera Valkyrie. Today, “Esquerita and the Voola” stands as the missing link between barrelhouse boogie-woogie and Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” – a vinyl slice of queer black cabaret that must have left most record company executives and radio DJs utterly baffled. ‘Esquerita and the Voola.’ Bald-headed Sally In my view, it’s inconceivable that Little Richard would have recorded “Tutti Frutti” if not for these prior encounters. The song draws its manic energy from the queerest stops on the chitlin’ circuit. In fact, the original lyrics were a paean to the pleasures of anal sex: Tutti Frutti, good booty, If it don’t fit, don’t force it, You can grease it, make it easy ... Although Little Richard loved incorporating the song into his live shows – according to him, it used to “crack the crowds up” – he never imagined it could be a hit. But one day in 1955, he found himself in New Orleans at a recording session for Specialty Records with producer Bumps Blackwell. Blackwell hadn’t yet heard anything that excited him when they called it a day and headed across the street for dinner and drinks at The Dew Drop Inn. Liberated from the confines of the studio, Little Richard began to play the barroom piano in the uninhibited style of the clubs. Blackwell’s ears pricked up: This obscene, irresistibly driving number was just what he was looking for. Pat Boone’s success with a bland cover of “Tutti Frutti” is emblematic of the racial inequities of the 1950s music industry. But once you know the origins of the song, the Christian crooner’s clinical and clueless take on Little Richard’s swingingly queer hymn becomes ironically piquant. A similar frisson energizes the sublimely joyous “Long Tall Sally.” This time, Little Richard and Blackwell didn’t even feel the need to change the words. When Richard hollers in the second verse – Saw Uncle John With bald-headed Sally, He saw Aunt Mary comin’ And he jumped back in the alley ... – even the most naïve listener must know that Uncle John is up to the best kind of no good. But as the scholar W. T. Lhamon Jr. observes in his underappreciated cultural history of the 1950s, “Deliberate Speed,” in the drag shows of Little Richard’s apprenticeship, “baldheadedness was preparation for one’s wigs.” So Long Tall Sally – one of the original rock ‘n’ roll bad girls – may also be a bit of a bad boy, while Uncle John may be working both sides of that alley. Today, we might even describe Sally as a seductively nonbinary object of queer desire. Little Richard’s rock ‘n’ roll brought the margins to the center, and that was one reason why it mattered so much. It’s also another reason to mourn his loss – and to play his music loud. Words by Ben Saunders Professor of English, University of Oregon. Special thanks to The Conversation for this story. You can support the independent network which provides news by donating today.