There was a time, not all that long ago, when the question "is Prince Harry awesome?" might have actually provoked some honest conversation. After all, he was kind of a do-nothing party boy, content to piss away his Lucky Sperm Club membership boozing his face off and dressing up like a Nazi like some kind of ginger Brandon Davis. That was then, however, and now as he wraps up his first ever solo tour on behalf of the British Crown (where, in case you forgot, he already raced the world's fastest man) it seems like there's no question at all of his awesomeness. But if you for some reason need more proof, here he is in Brazil, playing polo in the Sentebale Royal Salute Polo Cup and planting a big wet kiss on a Brazilian supermodel. Thumbs up! More»

Being a member of the British Royal Family is, shockingly, not without its perks. You can play with the Queen's Welsh Corgis all day. You probably get access to some really, really delicious tea. You can get attention just for wearing a ridiculously silly hat. And, in the event that your grandmother is celebrating her 60th year on the throne and you get sent to the Caribbean on a diplomatic mission, you might get to race the fastest man in the world. MORE>>

What, exactly, is a Diamond Jubilee? Since we're not a country with any sort of royal family (sorry, Kris Jenner), you could be forgiven for thinking that it's some kind of ice cream based dessert explosion from Applebee's, but you're thinking of the Triple Chocolate Meltdown®. The Diamond Jubilee is a year-long celebration of a monarch's– in this case Queen Elizabeth II's– reign on the throne of England, and part of that celebration apparently involves sending your Royal progeny off to your various former colonies. So where did World's Most Powerful Ginger Prince Harry have to go? Sudan? Burma? Nope, how 'bout Jamaica, to race Usain Bolt? Well, why the heck not? More»

Sunset Junction or no Sunset Junction, the Summer of Live Music rolls on. But with nothing happening in Silver Lake and Hurricane Irene bearing down on the East Coast, you might have to really get out of town to have some fun. So why not cash in your frequent flier miles and jet over to Leeds, about 200 miles north of London, where one half of the annual Leeds & Reading Festivals (two coordinated, simultaneous music festivals in separate cities) is currently raging. I'll warn you now, the weather sucks over there too, but as these photos from the Festival's official Flickr prove, the show goes on.

[Barack Obama Queen Elizabeth II, Michelle Obama, Prince Philip, via] The last time I went to London, I stayed in a charming little village by the airport called West Drayton. It had everything you'd expect from a small English hamlet: shirtless Chavs beating their children in public, a main square made exclusively of Indian food and off-track betting, and a giant bar for and by middle-aged lesbians. In fact, I found it to be so traditionally British that I wrote to the President to suggest it as the logical place to stay the next time they went to England. Apparently, they didn't get my letter. More»

• The Salahis are still waiting for Barack Obama to apologize. For what, we don't know. [WaPo]
• Ed Balls has the balls to run for Labour leadership position, endure a million punny headlines. [Bloomberg]
• Tea Party parties on. [NYT]
• Campbell Brown leaving CNN, allowing more people to watch Nancy Grace. [Politico]
• White House prepares for Mexican-themed second state dinner. Salahis invest in sombreros. [NYT]

• 14th Street is so hot it's radioactive. [Grieve]
• Solange Knowles discovers, loves website that gleefully mocks Solange Knowles. [SoundoftheCity]
• Dual Marilyn Monroe movies duke it out at Cannes. [Deadline]
• McDonald's tells England what New York is all about, in hamburger form. [Metropolis]
• Michael Musto gives Will Forte the stylish gay stamp of approval. [DailyMusto]
• Economists say NYC is the next Greece. Diner owners rejoice. [CityRoom]

• Obama's SCOTUS pick likely coming early next week... [NYT]
• ...And Elena Kagan looks to have the edge. [Playbook]
• Steeplechase clotheshorses ready for their big race. [WaPo]
• Britain's elections just as messy, confused as ours. [Wonkette]
• The Cult of Palin criticizes its leader. Earth spins off axis. [HuffPo]
• People are working again! [TPM]