The week of April 16, 2016 was FREEDOM for Inky the Octopus; asking Siri about Jon Snow; and the zombie apocalypse. We’re heading out for groceries, you need anything?

Oh, and the greatest game ever. Who Said It: Drake, or Anne of Green Gables?

Mash-Ups in the News:

Gardens Don’t Tend to Themselves: Portraits of the People Behind Our Luxury

Ramiro Gomez paints scenes from LA — beautiful modernist homes and lush gardens — but he always includes the laborers who care for those homes. The son of Mexican immigrants is making beautiful portraits of people who are otherwise considered invisible.

via NPR

Conan Goes to Korea

We are just loving Conan’s travel — Cuba, Armenia and now South Korea. It’s so mashy, smart, curious and fun. And, of course, seeing him get in a snowball fight with a Korean monk is beyond.

via Angry Asian Man

Why Revolutionaries Love Spicy Food

“The food of the true revolutionary is the red pepper, and he who cannot endure red peppers is also unable to fight.”
 Mao Zedong. Read this history of peppers and how they got in all of our food.

via Nautilus

Ecuador’s Larons and The Possible Secret of Long LIfe

Long, fascinating read about Ecuadorians who are descendants of Sephardic conversos and who have genes that make them fat but totally healthy. Don’t mind us as we start fasting once a month.

via Quartz

Important Passover News! You Can Now Eat Rice and Beans!

As a reminder that rules are meant to be broken — ahem, we mean rules are meant to evolve over time — after 800 years the Conservative movement of Judaism has declared it’s okay to eat legumes and rice during Passover. Now we don’t have to feel guilty about doing it anyways!

via Forward

Leah Chase Is First Black Woman to Receive James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award

At 93 years old, the Queen of Creole cooking has won a James Beard Award and damn it’s about time. Let’s all head to NOLA for Leah’s gumbo please!

via New Yorker

Recognizing Gifted Latino Students

Lots of good stuff this week about how to make sure all gifted students get opportunities. Many Latino students start school as English language learners, and therefore are treated as slow and never considered potentially gifted. A school district in Paradise Valley, Ariz., has changed the way they test for gifted kids and so many wonderful students are thriving.

via NPR

Caribbean People Eat Each Other’s Desserts

You know what, a Jamaican-Dominican dessert spot would be DOPE. And remember, in the Middle East, the peeps dig sesame in their sweets.

via Buzzfeed

Cry of the Week: Janitor Puts Fifth Child Through the College He Cleans

We love this guy for putting his five kids through Boston College while he worked as a janitor in the theater. This is a beautiful American story.

via Boston Globe

Rachel Dolezal Got A Book Deal

Remember Rachel from last year? Our NAACP head in Spokane who claimed she was Black and kinda wore blackface? Well she got a book deal! And this is how we feel about it.

via The Guardian