“Teamwork makes the dream work” sounds cheesy and it is, but it can be very true and I like a good quip. So I was surprised to find out it wasn’t some from, say, the 70s or 80s but a creation of the 2000s. The phrase was first coined in *2002 by John C. Maxwell in a book of the same name. Maxwell is an American author, speaker, and man of the cloth who has written bestselling books on leadership. That doesn’t always mean he makes good decisions as he was charged with possession of a concealed weapon while attempting to board an airplane in 2009 and called Guatemalan Attorney General, Maria Consuelo Porras, “a rockstar” and a “leader of leaders” despite heavy criticism towards her role in “dismantling anti-corruption efforts and judicial independence, including through the ‘persecution’ of key anti-impunity prosecutors and judges.” And he’s an evangelist so there’s that too.
Maybe I should stop using a quote from a guy like this. Fortunately, my son has a better version. When I taught him the quote, he misheard me and said the following:
After verifying the number is real and not resultant of a glitch, NASA president Bill Nelson held an impromptu press conference.
“Billions of dollars, and decades of research just to be beaten by some kid on Box Office Mojo!” exclaimed Nelson, tears streaming down his face. “This is unfair! I’ve dedicated my entire life to finding signs of extraterrestrial life, and he’s handed evidence on a silver platter? I can’t believe such a cruel world exists. But I won’t give up. Tomorrow, I am embarking on a solo cosmic mission to uncover the truth behind this phenomenon. Mark my words, the name Bill Nelson will be forever etched in history, and that Thurman kid will be forgotten.”
Red Bull hosted their annual Terminal Takeover event at the abandoned New Orleans airport for a third consecutive year. The event saw ten teams of skaters from across the country, skateboarding through three newly built areas in the MSY terminal.
Like a scene out of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, the skate areas included the standard metal rails, ledges in the baggage claim area, mini obstacles, benches on the concourse, and a whole lot more to keep the skaters on their toes.
Each team brought their own photographers and videographers to film and edit their best clips for fans to vote on. The team with the most fan votes wins $5,000 for their chosen organisation.
I had no idea that Knuckles was getting a spin-off series and I’m so happy that it’s live action and Idris Elba will reprise his role, as will Adam Pally as Wade Whipple.
How René Magritte Became the Grudging Father of Pop Art – Magritte took issue less with the undeniable visual link between Pop and his own paintings—disjunctive, saturated (sur)realities—than with what he considered to be the movement’s “sugar-coated” recycling of Dadaist principles.
The hundred dollar bill is a denomination of US currency. It features a portrait of US President Benjamin Franklin on the obverse (another word for the front of a coin, medal, or paper-note) and Independence Hall on the reverse. Because of this, hundred dollar bills are colloquially known as “Benjamins” and “Franklins”.
Over the last decade, hundred dollar bills have grown in circulation, with figures of 77% of all US currency as of June 2012, and Federal Reserve data from 2017 showing that $100 bills exceeded that of $1 bills. Reasons for these rises include $100s being used by banks as reserve currency and as the note of choice by criminals (briefcase not included).
Despite this abundance in circulation, the hundred-dollar bill still symbolises wealth and prestige and has featured in a variety of songs including:
Gabriel Garzón-Montano’s Agüita – “Put the bag by piano – Aretha – don’t play with my Franklins”
Diddy’s It’s All About the Benjamins (feat. The Notorious B.I.G., Lil’ Kim & The Lox) (Remix) – “Swimmin’ in women wit they own condominiums / Five plus fives, who drive millenniums / It’s all about the Benjamins, what? / I get a fifty-pound bag of ooh for the mutts”
I can count the number of times I’ve been to a McDonald’s in the last 10 years on two hands (it would have been one had I not had a child in that time period). Even if I don’t eat any of their burgers anymore, I remember my joy as a kid, getting my Happy Meal and that one time my dad let me have a Big Mac and how enormous it was at the time. Two patties?!
It all came flooding back when I saw Jason Kottke blog on early McDonald’s menus. I forgot that they used to sell root beer (more restaurants should sell root beer) and those early prices. Of course, inflation means that they wouldn’t be so cheap now but the thought of paying a few cents for a meal or drink boggles my mind.
Steamed Hams Forever: An Unlimited Steam highlight reel
UnlimitedSteam is an ongoing Twitch stream that shows AI-generated versions of the Steamed Hams scene from The Simpsons. The episodes use OpenAI’s GPT-3, Unreal Engine 5, and some Python packages to get things working. According to its creator, episodes can anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour to generate and they all run for 3 minutes. You’ll get some repeats but, hey, this is Steamed Hams!
I kinda expected it to be called Streamed Hams but whatever. It’s weird and wonderful and showcases the longevity of an iconic Simpsons meme.
