Like Born on the Fourth of July, Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Fortunate Son is up there with most misunderstood songs of all time. Why or how Fortunate Son, about a draft dodger, ended up on Trump’s parade playlist is a new height for irony.
Author: Patrick
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The Great Egg Heist
It’s got the makings of a screwball caper, how a freight truck with 280,000 eggs were stolen.
…shipment headed from Maryland to Florida: 280,000 brown eggs, sizes large and extra large.
They belonged to Cal-Maine Foods, which boasts being “number one in the pecking order” of egg supply. About 1 of every 5 eggs sold in America are laid by a Cal-Maine hen. They line the refrigerated shelves of Walmarts, Costcos and other supermarkets, labeled Eggland’s Best, Land O’Lakes and various generic brands.
By gobbling up its competitors,Cal-Maine built an egg empire without most egg eaters knowing the company’s name. But by the April afternoon when the 280,000 eggs left the farm, that was beginning to change.
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Halt and Catch Fire syllabus
Halt and Catch Fire was four seasons of TV perfection, telling a slightly alternate history of late 80s and 90s tech industry. Ashley Blewer created a supplemental website with readings, episode summaries, and discussion questions.
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Maybe the whales are communicating with us
If the movie Arrival suggests anything, it’s that communication with other species will have a different language. Whales may be communicating with humans.
Researchers at the SETI Institute and UC Davis have documented a striking new behavior in humpback whales. These whales, some weighing over 30 tons, are seen producing nearly perfect rings of bubbles that spiral to the surface. These aren’t random puffs. The whales often blow them during close encounters with humans and they seem to be watching what we do next.
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The Atomic Lucy
My friend Gabrielle is a playwright, and she submitted an audio story, The Atomic Lucy, to the Atlanta Fringe Festival using some of my music as the soundtrack,
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Dancers in Penn Station
The lower level of Penn Station is perfect for dancing and serving as a makeshift dance studio.
Penn Station, the transit hub for hurrying commuters and Amtrak riders, has a side gig. Its wide, lower level corridor — specifically the passageway leading to the Moynihan Train Hall from Track 7 to Track 16 of the Long Island Rail Road — is an unlikely dance studio.
Officially called the West End Concourse, the corridor has a lot going for it: It’s easily accessible, the floors are spacious and smooth, and there are public restrooms, a rarity in New York City.
It’s a ready-made stage for all sorts of group and partnered dance, including hip-hop, K-pop and salsa. Reflective glass windows overlooking the tracks double as mirrors. Rows of blue lights overhead make for pleasing visuals when filmed. The biggest draw? It’s free.
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AI can’t have my em dash
A supposed tell that something was written with AI is the use of the em dash—signifying a pause for a related thought. But really, it’s proof of what AI was trained on.
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US drug deaths down
A promising trend: drug deaths are declining. Why?
Theories include the wider distribution of Narcan, or naloxone; a trend of weaker, less deadly fentanyl being sold by dealers; more readily available addiction healthcare; and also the loss of so many vulnerable young people who have already died.
Many researchers believe another key factor may be less risky drug and alcohol use among teens and twenty-somethings, a pattern that emerged during the years of the COVID epidemic. One study by a team at the University of Michigan found the number of teens abstaining from substance grew to its highest level in 2024.
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Gen Z parents don’t read to their kids
I’ll never be a parent, but it makes me sad when a parent doesn’t read to their kids. Signs are pointing to a decrease in Gen Z parents reading to their children.
If parents are reading out loud to their children less, US educators can tell. Russell, who offers courses to teach literacy skills to kids as young as 18 months, regularly gets inquiries from parents of older children – some as old as 14 – who still struggle to crack open a book.There are other tell-tale signs. “We see children who can sit still and focus for hours on YouTube or Miss Rachel, but when you sit them down with a book, they move, wiggle, or scream and run away,” said Russell, who lives in Houston.
Gen Z parents inherited an economy racked by inequity and instability that makes child rearing all the more stressful. The cost of childcare in the US – roughly $11,000 a year on average – has soared since the 90s. It’s no wonder they might be too tired or stressed to read to their kids at night, even if they realize it’s important to do so.
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Olivia Rodrigo and David Byrne – Burning Down the House
Olivia Rodrigo and David Byrne combine for an energetic, infectious performance of Burning Down the House.