Carbs. Deep-fried food. Sugar. Whether justified or not, all of these are under attack in our modern society. But today is a day when we punch a hole in health advice and toss such petty concerns into the circular file. It's National Donut Day. It's also National Doughnut Day. When it comes to fried dough coated with a firm, smooth, glossy, sugary icing, spelling doesn't count. And calorie counting doesn't count either. We're celebrating the glory associated with the humans who reinvented the wheel (and covered it with glaze and sprinkles).To get the hole story on Donut Day, we have to take a trip back to front lines during WWI. But I don't want to see your eyes glaze over. This is short and pretty interesting. "In 1917, the Salvation Army sent a group of woman to France, known as the The Salvation Army's Donut Lassies, to establish bases near the front lines. They would bake sweet circular treats, drawing soldiers to makeshift huts by the thousands." And it didn't stop there. The doughnut followed US troops from World War I to D-Day and Beyond.
+ Thanks to the UK's new food display rules, there's a new front associated with donuts. Wired: The Doughnut Wars Are Here. "The new rules, which came into force in October 2022, ban the sale of certain foods high in fat, sugar, and salt near supermarket entrances, on the ends of aisles, or near checkouts. An ocean of prime supermarket real estate awaited anyone who could make a doughnut that avoided certain thresholds for fat, sugar, and salt. With a stroke of a legislator’s pen, the stage for the new doughnut wars was set." (In my house, the donut wars were settled a long time ago. Bagels won.)
"Fitch Ratings on Friday said it is keeping the United States on rating watch negative and plans to make a decision on a potential downgrade by the end of September. Although the resolution to the debt ceiling fight is a 'positive,' Fitch expressed deep concern about the recurring brinksmanship and worsening polarization in Washington. Fitch argued on Friday there has been a 'steady deterioration in governance over the last 15 years.'" Again, the debt ceiling should have been raised with no negotiation or deal-making required. That said, it's nice to end the week with a bill that passed the House and Senate. Biden plans to address the nation tonight. Here's the latest.
"In May, after Ye moved forward with his Yeezy Season 10 fashion collection, Gulden told analysts and investors that the company would sell at least some part of its remaining Yeezy inventory, offsetting any potential reputational risk by donating some of the proceeds to organizations representing groups that 'have been hurt by Kanye’s statements.' With the first batch of leftover Yeezy stock that went on sale on May 31, Ye should receive 11 percent royalties for each product sold, according to a recent Bloomberg feature, which could translate, the article estimates, to Adidas owing Ye roughly $150 million." GQ: How Adidas Uncanceled Yeezy. Yeezy Come, Yeezy Go. (Maybe the bigger story here is that there was little, if any, drop-off in demand.)
What to Watch: Dysopian futures are all the rage in pop culture these days. Silo on AppleTV is a good entry into the genre. It almost never happens that all the members of my nuclear family sit down and watch the same show at the same time, but we're watching Silo.
+ What to Book: I'm reading Dennis Lehane's latest novel, Small Mercies. "Set against the hot, tumultuous months when the Boston's desegregation of its public schools exploded in violence, Small Mercies is a superb thriller, a brutal depiction of criminality and power, and an unflinching portrait of the dark heart of American racism." In other words, it's about the past but it's also timely.
+ What to Read: "Let him live oh my god. Everyone loves property rights until some guy does something cool." NYT (Gift Article): When the Neighbors Don’t Share Your Vision (and That Vision Involves ‘Transformers’ Statues).
Jeffrey Epilogue: "The documents also provide a fresh window into Epstein’s behavior during his 36 days in jail, including his previously unreported attempt to connect by mail with another high-profile pedophile: Larry Nassar, the U.S. gymnastics team doctor convicted of sexually abusing scores of athletes." New details of Jeffrey Epstein’s death and the frantic aftermath revealed in records obtained by AP. (I have a feeling we'll be learning more and more about the life and times of Jeffrey Epstein - and those who lived it with him.)
+ Ja Rules: "We've uncovered a fair amount of additional information. We probably could have brought it to a head now, but we've made the decision that it would be unfair to these players and these teams to announce that decision in the middle of this series." NBA Commissioner Adam Silver says the Ja Morant Investigation Verdict Will Come After 2023 NBA Finals. Of course, because of the hint that Silver dropped, the issue will dominate sports talk throughout the finals. (If shooting up schools with AR-15s doesn't lead to sane gun laws, why should Ja Morant be penalized for waving around a handgun? In today's America, that's basically waving the flag.)
+ The Planned Slam Slugger: Many mega deals and tech startups were birthed in a woodside restaurant called Bucks. The latest entrant to the trillion dollar club was born in a Denny's. Nvidia was born in the booth of a bullet-ridden Denny’s—now it’s worth $1 trillion.
+ Play Bawl: "The simplest explanation for rising rates of childhood loneliness is that kids are spending less time with each other. But, while social media does not help, waning participation in organized social activities is a far bigger deal." The Decline of Youth Sports is Making Teen Loneliness Worse.
+ Gov and Marriage: "Jordan’s crown prince married the scion of a prominent Saudi family on Thursday in a palace ceremony attended by royals and other VIPs from around the world, as massive crowds gathered across the kingdom to celebrate the region’s newest power couple."
+ Cable Nonsense Network: "CEO Chris Licht felt he was on a mission to restore the network’s reputation for serious journalism. How did it all go wrong?" The Atlantic: Inside the Meltdown at CNN. (You can't restore CNN with panels and townhalls. You can only restore it with actual news coverage.)
+ Stage Dive: Joe Biden suffered a fall before his graduation speech at the Air Force Academy.
"Shah's winning word was 'psammophile,' a noun that is used to describe animals and plants that prefer to live in sandy soil environments." A 14-year-old from Florida wins the National Spelling Bee.
+ Baltimore couple team up to save life of fellow passenger on Southwest flight. (My wife and I teamed up to watch the latest season of Yellowstone.)
+ Their high school canceled an LGBTQ play. These teens put it on anyway.
+ To mark Pride Month (during this age of book banning and anti-gay movements), my friend Jessi Hempel is looking to increase distribution of The Family Outing. I supported the effort and you should, too.
+ Amanda Gorman’s Book Sales Hit A New Peak After A Florida School Banned ‘The Hill We Climb’.
+ Nepali sherpa saves Malaysian climber in rare Everest 'death zone' rescue.
+ Memorial Day air travel exceeded pre-pandemic levels. Yes, that means more crowds and more travel stress. But it also mean more normalcy. Let's never again take normal for granted.
