OMM (On My Mind)
~ May 2023 #1 ~
::: Music :::
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The new album by The National is not bad but it’s not super exciting either.
That being said, collaboration might just be the future.
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How much have you listened to The 1975? Possibly not enough.
As an aside: Taylor Swift has been rumored to have gone on dates with The 1975’s Matt Healy. Apparently they also went on some dates back in 2014. How ‘bout that, eh?
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Music as we know listening to it is not over… but it has changed.
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::: Literary & Arts Community News :::
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Prompt:
Items left behind in Ubers in 2023.
Also provides a reminder of “what we forget when”
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Obscure words to help you better express yourself to yourself.
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A reminder that American exceptionalism includes significantly more safety compared to other places around the world.
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::: Emmitt Till :::
It’s staggering that the woman who accused Emmitt Till of flirting with her just died. I’m not that young and I read about this in K-12 history class. In 2017, Bryant admitted to a historian that she had fabricated her testimony in 1955. Carolyn Bryant outlived Till by 74 years.
We all know this is not “history”—this is still happening today. It might look a little different but it amounts to the same. Racism finds excuses to take lives. Guns help racist people take lives.
Violence towards Black people and minorities is a large part of the story of America. Let’s hope the generations to come put in the work to change the narrative.
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::: Small Explorations & Deep Dives :::
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What’s more rare than a diamond? A diamond within a diamond.
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Smoking has declined in the U.S.
Now only 1 in 9 people say they smoke cigarettes.
Unfortunately, overall, the use of vapes has increased. It’ll be a while before we know for sure if this is the lesser of two evils.
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A brief history of fat shaming… millennial style.
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Keeping the bugs away. Accept DEET works.
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[on] Food Engineering, Restaurant Test Kitchens, and the “Magic” of Taco Bell
“People apparently like a chip that snaps with about four pounds of pressure per square inch.”
One reason not to fear “lab meat” is that a lot of us have essentially already been eating it. Or, if not meat, then ingredients that have meticulously finessed in a lab.
“The Crunchwrap Supreme, Lois Carson’s magnum opus, is a tortilla-wrapped parcel of seasoned ground beef, nacho-cheese sauce, crunchy tostada shell, lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream. It is 1.25 inches tall, six inches wide, and 6.25 ounces. When it débuted, in 2005, it sold fifty-one million units in the first six weeks. The food critic Adam Richman suggested that Carson should be nominated for a Nobel Prize.”
“It obeyed Taco Bell’s sacrosanct Distinctiveness Rule: “You can change either the taste or the form” of a beloved food item, Creed said. “But you can’t change the taste and the form.”
“A successful chicken potpie is like a society that functions at a highly efficient level.”
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More AI fears
This time from Seth Godin
Is pop as we know it over?
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Do you have the chops to be an “AI Whisperer”?
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America vs. The Spotted Lanternfly
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No retirement savings? Not unusual.
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Menopause remains poorly understood.
A new finding suggests the brain is involved. A real shocker.
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A house in the hills remains… insanely expensive.
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“Quick, turn into a table.” Ok, so those who don’t know that reference are spared.
But McDonald’s wants you to turn this new item into a table.
…and speaking of McDonald’s… they need to stop putting children to work.
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Always be ready…for bears.
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Sneakerhead news feat. Virgil Abloh & Futura
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People, even artists, give rich people stuff for free.
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