No Eggman shenanigans in sight, time for a chili dog break! Nendoroid Sonic & Tails kick back in Green Hill Zone on their way to grab a tasty snack. Thank you for this wonderful pic, undefeated_toy on IG! #Nendography# for a chance to be featured! #SonicTheHedgehog# #goodsmile#

Why Teal Became the Color of the 1990s? Teal did not sneak into the 1990s. It arrived loud, unusual, and then everywhere: on basketball courts, hockey ice, football sidelines, baseball diamonds, living-room computers, and the sweaters hanging in malls. One of the strongest explanations for that sudden takeover begins not in a corporate branding meeting, but with a Chapel Hill designer who already treated teal and purple as a personal signature. Alexander Julian was an unusual figure in American menswear. He was not a Paris import. He was a North Carolinian who, as early as a 1973 GQ feature, was already pushing bright, unexpected colors against the polyester earth-tone mood of that decade. His later line, Colours by Alexander Julian, made teal and purple a house look: vertical knits, sweater vests, graphic crewnecks that looked expensive even when someone wearing them was wiping their nose. Julian later said teal worked because it was fresh, and because it looked good on every skin tone. Purple did the same job beside it. That combination was already on racks years before the NBA noticed. When Charlotte received an NBA franchise for the 1988–89 season, owner George Shinn knew the team would lose for a while. The Hornets needed an identity that sold before the wins arrived. He hired a fashion designer to do the uniforms — something the league had not really done. Julian was the North Carolina choice. Arena architects had floated Carolina blue, white, teal, and even pink. Julian rejected the architect’s “teal,” which he called mallard, and insisted on his teal plus purple. He added pinstripes borrowed from his knit shirts and, unusually for basketball, pleated shorts. The team was mediocre. The clothes were not. Replica jerseys and the split-color Starter jacket became playground status objects. In 1995, during the Chicago Bulls’ championship run, Hornets merchandise was still among the league’s hottest. A story Julian liked to tell: Shinn once saw a boy on a plane in China wearing a Hornets hat. Asked if he liked the team, the boy said no — he liked the colors. Sports executives noticed. Licensed apparel was exploding. Expansion teams needed to look new on day one. Of the 22 new or renamed clubs across the four major North American leagues in the 1990s, about half launched with teal, purple, or both. The Vancouver Grizzlies arrived in 1995 in a loud teal that tried to read as Pacific Northwest. The San Jose Sharks hit the ice in 1991 in teal, black, and silver. Disney’s Mighty Ducks of Anaheim doubled down in 1993 with purple, teal, and a cartoon mask that looked like a Saturday-morning cartoon that had been given an NHL schedule. Jacksonville’s Jaguars brought teal to the NFL in 1995. Florida’s Marlins put teal pinstripes on baseball in 1993. Arizona’s Diamondbacks later piled teal and purple together until the look became a parody of the era. Established clubs piled on too: Seattle’s “Northwest Green” Mariners caps, teal experiments in Detroit and Philadelphia, even a brief New York Islanders “fisherman” era. The Miami Dolphins had worn a teal-adjacent shade since the 1960s. That did not start a national fad. The Hornets uniforms did, because they arrived at the exact moment sports merch became fashion and expansion teams needed a shortcut to looking modern. Open a PC in 1995 and the first thing many people saw was a solid field of teal — Windows 95’s default desktop, roughly hex #008080# / #018281#, a holdover from VGA-era palette limits that somehow became the unofficial color of home computing. Nintendo sold a teal Game Boy Color. Crayola’s later marker sets put teal next to burgundy and plum. Windbreakers, hiking shells, Taco Bell’s purple-and-teal years, even the wild-berry Poptart aisle of memory sit in the same palette. The 1990s shade leaned bluer than a lot of the greener “teal” sold today. That is why period photos still look like a specific year, not a generic tropical accent.

2026, day 235 Good morning from Asia. ‘Iran’s Top Politicians Urge an End to the War’ (WSJ); ‘Tehran says US sanctions ‘declaration of war' on all nations’ (AJ); ‘Iran says any country joining new US sanctions would be ‘considered an enemy’’ (AFP); ‘Iranian hackers shut down UK power plant’ (Telegraph); ‘Iran grants permission for a number of Iraqi oil tankers to pass through Hormuz’ (Reuters); ‘Saudis Shuttle Oil North On Tankers To Evade Houthis’ (BBG); ‘Israel must stop Erdogan's military expansion before Turkey reaches its borders - opinion’ (JPost); ‘Katz says Israel directly warned 'highest levels' of Syrian regime before giving IDF green light to strike air base’ (ToI); ‘US envoy suggests Israeli strike in Syria was election ploy aimed at 'baiting' Turkey into clash’ (ToI); ‘Time to question Israel’s warnings of a new Sunni axis’ (Ynet); ‘On anniversary of gas attack, Syria asks to join anti-chemical weapons partnership’ (ToI); ‘Putin says Ukraine opened 'Pandora's box' with strikes on economic targets’ (Reuters); ‘Germany plans a €12B missile program to deter Putin’ (Politico); ‘Macron pledges air defence as 13 killed in Russia, Ukraine strikes’ (Euractiv); ‘Spain rejects Morocco's call for talks on Ceuta and Melilla sovereignty’ (Euronews); ‘Chinese research centre near MoD site is ‘enormous concern’, says ex-spy chief’ (Telegraph); ‘How Pacific nations walk a tightrope between Western security and Chinese trade’ (SCMP); ‘Mainland Chinese research ship spotted near Taiwan’s largest naval base’ (SCMP); ‘Why China may have little to lose as ‘weakened’ Trump seeks North Korea talks’ (SCMP); ‘North Korea says record-high Japan defense budget would risk ‘turmoil’’ (AFP); ‘China's rise lays bare the aging of the U.S.-Japan alliance’ (Nikkei Asia) - “Partnership approaching 75th year faces challenges in military capacity, strategic focus”; ‘Lula turns to Donald Trump as unlikely ally in Brazil’s clash with Marco Rubio’ (FT); ‘Hit by Trump tariffs, Quebec loses appetite for quick separation from Canada’ (Reuters); ‘U.S.-sanctioned ICC head warns against ‘demise of international rule of law’’ (AFP); In geoeconomics, ‘Global oil inventories on the decline again amid Hormuz stalemate’ (Nikkei Asia); ‘China's NewNew Shipping Line Pushes Deeper Into Arctic With First Murmansk Container Run’ (gCaptain); ‘Panama Canal Draught Restrictions Set to Add to Congestion Chaos’ (The Loadstar); ‘US Sanctions Fishing Fleet Accused of Shipping Cocaine to Mexico’ (BBG); ‘U.S. Imposes 50% Tariffs on Some Canadian Goods After Last-Ditch Talks Fail’ (WSJ); 'Mark Carney says Canada is now ‘at war’ with US over trade’ (FT); ‘Threat to Quebec's French language, identity key reason Carney ends trade talks with Trump’ (Montreal Gazette); ‘U.S. Economy Could Feel the Sting From Trade War With Canada’ (NYT); ‘Canada sets retaliatory tariffs in response to 50% U.S. levies as trade talks fail’ (WaPo); ‘As premiers rally behind Carney in trade dispute, Alberta’s Smith questions retaliation plan’ (Globe and Mail); ‘Things are about to get verrrrrry ugly: The pain will be felt on both sides of the border’ (National Post); ‘Nvidia Is Spending $6 Billion to Build a Powerful U.S. Alternative to Chinese AI’ (WSJ); In politics, ‘Rising data center backlash shakes up midterm races’ (The Hill); ‘Federal judge rules against Trump’s 75-country visa ban’ (The Hill); ‘Trump: I’ll be impeached if I lose the midterms’ (Telegraph) - “US president warns Republicans they will ‘lose everything’ if Democrats take control of Congress”; ‘Burnham to send ‘mansion tax police’ to assess home values’ (Telegraph); ‘Fedorov decries corruption in Defense Ministry, doubles down on calls for elections’ (Kyiv Independent); In markets, ‘Oil markets are tuning out Trump's "truths"’ (Axios); ‘The Bank of England is costing the taxpayer billions. It must stop’ (Telegraph)

2026, day 234 Good morning from Asia. ‘Is America Still Capable of Enforcing the World Order?’ (WSJ); ‘Army Secretary eyes exit around end of year amid Hegseth tensions’ (The Hill); ‘US allies in Asia wary as Trump moves military assets for Iran war’ (AJ); ‘Trump insists South Korea pay more for its defence as tariff deadline looms: ‘It’s very unfair’’ (Independent); ‘S. Korea, US wrap up drills early, day after NK missile barrage’ (Korea Times); ‘Why Chinese foreign minister’s trip to South Korea ‘dealt a low blow’ to Seoul’ (SCMP) - “Seoul didn’t win Beijing support for its latest peace initiative”; ‘Iran threatens military response to US sanctions’ (Reuters);  ‘Trump says Iran not ready to make ‘right deal,’ boasts of ‘total control’ over Hormuz’ (ToI); ‘Iran, Oman discuss resuming talks, Strait of Hormuz navigation’ (Reuters); ‘NATO members discuss Strait of Hormuz options without alliance involvement’ (Reuters); ‘US, Kuwait agree to deepen military cooperation and integration, Pentagon says’ (Al Arabiya); ‘Bulgarian president faces pressure over response to Iran threat’ (Euractiv); ‘Treasury Increases Sanctions on Hizballah and Targets Network Smuggling Millions in Cash’; ‘Pakistani military says security forces killed 49 militants’ (AP); ‘India seeks role in France’s sixth-generation fighter program’ (Defense News); ‘Turkey issues ‘genocide’ warrant for Israel’s Netanyahu’ (AFP); ‘Israel PM calls Turkey’s Erdogan ‘antisemitic dictator’’ (AFP); ‘Israel's new Syria dilemma: Netanyahu's Russia playbook faces "Turkey test'’ (JPost); ‘US stresses opposition to Israeli West Bank annexation but avoids condemning E1 plan’ (ToI); ‘Ukraine and Israel are fighting different wars, but face the same dangerous reality’ (JPost); ‘Zelenskyy bets on special forces general to steady defense ministry’ (Politico); ‘Ukraine braces for combined salvos of up to 200 missiles as overnight attack kills 15 in Kyiv’ (Defense News); ‘Russian expert warns of impending social crisis as Ukraine death toll rises’ (AJ); ‘Smith says Alberta could have a binding referendum on secession in early 2027’ (Globe & Mail); In geoeconomics, ‘U.S. trade chief calls trying to change China's economy "crazy"’ (Axios) - “The world's ability to absorb China's excess production "is approaching a breaking point”; ‘US-Canada trade deal goes down to the wire’ (FT); ‘U.S.-Canada trade deal would introduce steel quota with lower 25% tariff, sources say’ (Globe & Mail); ‘Carney tried to 'out-tough' Trump in trade negotiations, Vance says’ (Globe & Mail); ‘Canadian tech experts warn that trade talks may concede sovereignty over digital policy’ (Globe & Mail); ‘Auto tariffs of 15% would erase profitabilty and spur industry's decline’ (Globe & Mail); ‘US-Canada Trade Draft Pressures Mexico to Match Terms’ (BBG); ‘US Oil Refiners Face Import Squeeze From Biggest Foreign Seller’ (BBG); ‘‘Betrayal’: US ranchers lash out at Donald Trump’s plan to cut tax on beef imports’ (FT); ‘China’s trade grip tightens in Europe as clock ticks towards October deadline’ (SCMP); ‘How Greek farmers milked EU funds from imaginary cows’ (Politico); ‘Sangdong mine eyes role in securing tungsten for chip industry’ (Korea Times); ‘Who bears environmental cost of push for rare earths beyond China?’ (Nikkei Asia) - “Australia aims for responsible approach, but cleaner production may mean higher prices”; In politics, ‘Democrats Are Gearing Up for a Wave of Investigations Into Trump & His Allies’ (WSJ); ‘US Postal Service issues rules to tighten mail-in voting if court gives OK’ (The Hill); In markets, ‘The bond scare and the balance of power’ (FT) - “After the dreamworld of the 2010s, the link between power and fiscal capacity is back”; ‘The Wild Week When Scott Bessent Was Schooled by the Bond Market’ (WSJ); ‘Bitcoin and gold surge as Bessent’s bond market intervention weighs on dollar’ (FT); ‘Reconsidering the role of money in monetary policy’ (Centralbanking);