The week of April 17, 2021 was regrowing our brains; falling in love with these whales; celebrating San Francisco finally becoming a real city; yes, THAT popcorn salad; and going up with the titos and manongs. 

Mash-Ups In The News

Why This Keeps Happening In Minneapolis

Minneapolis organizer Toussaint Morrison has been leading marches and protests in the Twin Cities since George Floyd’s murder. They continue in the wake of Daunte Wright’s. Why does this keep happening, what is happening now, what needs to happen next?

via Slate

Flights From Central America = Fried Chicken

These travelers bring an aromatic carry-on: lots and lots of deep-fried chicken. The airport locations of Pollo Campero are open, and Operation Chicken Airlift is back on! 

via Los Angeles Times

The U.S. Faces A Boba Shortage That May Last Months

Not a drill…a massive shipping backlog is causing an unavailable boba crisis. Please! Use this as an opportunity to broaden your tea topping tastes with coconut jelly, red bean, or (the most superior) cheese foam. 

via Market Watch

‘Crash’ Has Influenced A Generation Of Stories About Race

We love to clown on “Crash,” but as the 2006 Best Picture winner ages worse each year, its worst faults have stayed as relevant as ever. 

via The Ringer

National Parks Should Belong To Native Americans

“For Native Americans, there can be no better remedy for the theft of land than land. And for us, no lands are as spiritually significant as the national parks.” 

via The Atlantic

This Pen Pal Program Is Reminding Disabled Girls Of Their Power

Whether you’re six years old or 31, the Disability EmpowHer Network works to connect disabled girls with successful older counterparts, providing them with a mentor and example of a thriving disabled adult. 

via Teen Vogue

A 23-Year-Old Coder Kept QAnon Online When No One Else Would

WE’RE ASHAMED OF THIS MASH-UP!!!!

Plus, this journalistic gem: “We are one foot away from 1984.” After a moment, though, he offers a sizable qualifier: “I never actually read the book, so I don’t know all the themes of the book.”

via Bloomberg

The Unlikely Rise Of The French Tacos

It’s not just baguettes and escargot — French cuisine changes like any other, epitomized by the cheese-sauced panini, kebab, burrito mash-up that is French Tacos. 

via New Yorker

Changing Language: On Pronouns And Grammar

The case for embracing neo-pronouns and other “made up” words into our ever-evolving language.

NFT, SPAC, And The Future Of Money

via Affinity Mag

Non-fungible, memeified, cryptodenominated, and degenerate. The finance world has been particularly weird lately, right? Spoiler: The economy has always been weird, because humans have always been weirder. 

via New York Mag

Do The Golden Arches Bend Toward Justice? 

This episode of Code Switch: Explore the surprising link between Black capitalism and McDonald’s. 

via NPR

Border Patrol Is Leaving Migrants In Small Arizona Towns

Large groups of asylum-seekers are being dropped in tiny rural towns that lack the resources to support the new community members. Here’s how Border Patrol policies are straining human aid networks in one of the deadliest areas along the border.

via Intercept