Zoe’s story, “Removed,” has been seen by millions of people.

It was previously shared by my amazing Upworthy colleague Laura Willard. We got just a tiny taste of what it was like for kids in foster care, right after being removed. Specifically, a little girl named Zoe and her little brother Benaiah.

My wife and I, foster parents for the past year, even shared the original with our adoption worker, who passed it along to the entire agency and, then, it took off like wildfire among those people as well.

This is part 2 of that story, and it hits hard.

(Yes, the video’s on the long side at about 20 minutes. But it’s worth the watch to the end.)

She describes her life as a cycle, interrupted by a tornado. She’s a foster child. I don’t think I need to say any more.

So … let’s accompany that with 9 uncomfortable — but enlightening — facts below. There are only nine bolded, but within those headers, there are several more facts.

1. There are an estimated 400,000 kids in foster care right now.

Some are awaiting adoption. Some will go back to their parents. Others will age out or, sometimes, run away.

2. Foster kids can suffer from PTSD at almost two times the rate of returning veterans.

And PTSD can mimic a lot of other mental illnesses, and it can manifest as nightmares, flashbacks, fight-or-flee responses, anger outbursts, and hyper-vigilance (being on “red alert” at all times), among other symptoms.

3. The average age of a foster child is 9 years old.

They’re just on that edge of childhood, and chances are, it’s been a pretty messed up childhood at that. Trauma does that.

4. About half of all foster kids are in non-relative foster homes.

8% are in institutions, 6% are in group homes, and only 4% are in pre-adoptive homes. Read that again — only 4% are in pre-adoptive homes.

5. Some of foster children experience multiple placements. In some cases, eight or more.

That’s eight homes that they move into — and out of. And just consider … that means they lose not just adults and other kids with whom they are establishing a bond, but friends, schoolmates, pets.

6. The average foster child remains in the system for almost two years before being reunited with their biological parents, adopted, aging out, or other outcomes.

8% of them remain in foster care for over five years. Of the 238,000 foster kids who left the system in 2013, about half were reunited with parents or primary caregivers, 21% were adopted, 15% went to live with a relative or other guardian, and 10% were emancipated (aged out).

7. In 2013, more than 23,000 young people aged out of foster care with no permanent family to end up with.

And if you add that up, year after year, hundreds of thousands of foster youth will have aged out of the system. What does that look like? “You’re 18. You’ve got no place to live and no family. Good luck — buh-bye now!” One-quarter of former foster kids experience homelessness within four years of exiting the system.

8. Foster “alumni” (those who have been in foster homes and either adopted, returned to parents, or aged out) are likely to suffer serious mental health consequences.

They are four-five times more likely to be hospitalized for attempting suicide and five-eight times more likely to be hospitalized for serious psychiatric disorders in their teens.

Based on that set of statistics alone, it’s in the public’s interest (ignoring, for a second, the interests of those kids) to help them through their lot in life and spend resources making it all work much better for everybody before it gets to that point. Right?

So there’s a lot to be angry about in this whole messed up situation. But this next thing? My blood boils.

What’s one of the biggest risk factors in families whose children are placed in foster care?

Your guess?

Cruelty?

Drugs?

Sexual abuse?

Neglect?

The answer is …

9. Poverty

Together with homelessness and unemployment, it’s a main contributing factor. It happens all the time. The fact that it’s far easier for a parent to be accused and investigated for neglect or abuse because of simple things like lack of access to a vehicle, or a working refrigerator, or the ability to get a kid to a doctor’s appointment — that has a lot to do with this. Tie that to the link between drug abuse and poverty and between poverty and child abuse … well, you can see where this is going.

And in a country where one-third of children are living in poverty (hint: the good ol’ U.S. of A.), imagine how that affects the number of kids being removed and placed into foster care.

I’ll end this with a bit of hope through my story.

My kids went through something a lot like the kids in the clip above before they came to live with us. We’ve been through the ringer in ways that we’re going to have to talk about one day because it’s not just that the kids have been challenging — they have — it’s that the system itself has been more challenging.

The entire system — from agencies to government entities to social workers to even the schools — seems like it’s designed to fail these kids and the families who are attempting to help. It’s almost designed not to work. There, I said it.

But that doesn’t mean we won’t fight to make it better for everybody. We most definitely will.

As for us, we’re just a few weeks away from becoming the legal parents to these kids, and we’re extremely happy to be right here, making it happen. And they seem quite happy to be our kids. Along the way, we fell in love with them, and we can’t imagine life without them.

But to be totally honest … if we’d have known how hard it was going to be when we started this journey, and if we could somehow turn back the clock and NOT do it … well, would we have actually gone forward with the process?

I take that back. I won’t be totally honest here. I will simply let you decide.

Here are some places to help, if you’re so inclined.

• AdoptUsKids.org is a place to start if you’re considering fostering or adopting.
• My Stuff Bags is a really cool and inexpensive way to help foster kids by gifting them actual luggage, duffel bags, and more, so that they don’t travel from home to home with garbage bags for their belongings — or nothing at all.
• CASA for Children offers legal help and advocates for foster kids through a network of volunteers.

A breastfeeding mother’s experience at Vienna’s Schoenbrunn Zoo is touching people’s hearts—but not without a fair amount of controversy.

Gemma Copeland shared her story on Facebook, which was then picked up by the Facebook page Boobie Babies. Photos show the mom breastfeeding her baby next to the window of the zoo’s orangutan habitat, with a female orangutan sitting close to the glass, gazing at them.

“Today I got feeding support from the most unlikely of places, the most surreal moment of my life that had me in tears,” Copeland wrote.

“I visited Schoenbrunn zoo in Vienna whilst on a mini-break with my partner and son. We nipped in to see the orangutans at the end of our day who were happily playing in the enclosure, so I went to the window for a closer look and sat down by the window so my lb could see the orangutan who was roughly 5/6ft away. She then got up, carried a piece of cloth to the window and sat down with me. She looked directly into my eyes then placed her hand up as if to touch my son. I was in awe of this beautiful creature already.“

“My son wanted feeding and as it was quiet I fed him whilst I sat there. The way the orangutan reacted took my breath away she kept looking at me, then my son then back again,” she continued. “She sat with me for approximately half an hour, kept stroking the glass and lay down next to me as if to support and protect me.

I had to share this because my mind was blown. We may be a species apart but breastfeeding connected us today in a once in a lifetime moment that will stay with me forever. I’m also incredibly lucky that my partner caught all of this on video 💕”

The Facebook page added a story about a gorilla being taught to breastfeed by women from La Leche League, an organization dedicated to supporting breastfeeders:

“Did you know that women from La Leche League once taught a mother gorilla to breastfeed? The Mamma gorilla had been born and raised in captivity and didn’t know what to do with her firstborn, and her baby sadly died. When she next became pregnant, breastfeeding women volunteered to sit beside the gorilla’s enclosure and breastfeed their babies, showing the gorilla what to do. When the gorilla gave birth, a volunteer came over and breastfed her baby, showing Mamma gorilla what to do, step by step. Mamma gorilla watched, and then copied, and went on to successfully feed her baby “

The story has been shared more than 37,000 times, with many commenters stating how beautiful and moving it was. Others, while appreciating the beauty of the animal encounter, expressed sadness at seeing such a creature in captivity. As with practically every post about animals in zoos, debate broke out over whether or not zoos are helpful or harmful to the animals they house.

And like most debates, people’s opinions fall along a broad spectrum. Some feel that zoos are the best way for people to learn about animals first-hand, which leads them to care more about protecting them in the wild. Some acknowledge that captivity isn’t ideal, but that many animals die individually or go extinct as species without the work they do. Some feel that it’s always wrong to keep an animal in captivity, no matter what. Even animal experts don’t agree on this front.

And not all zoos are created equal. Many zoos have moved more toward a rehabilitation and conservation model, and there’s no question that many animals who have been raised in captivity would not survive if they were suddenly released into the wild. There’s also the issue of whether trying to limit natural breeding in captivity falls under the ethical treatment of animals, as breeding is a natural animal instinct. And what about the animals that have gone extinct in the wild and can only be found in zoos? There are a million questions with a million unclear answers when it comes to zoos.

However there is one thing most can agree on. Whether or not you think zoos are helpful or harmful, necessary or not, they largely exist today because of human activity mucking with nature. The same nature that compels this creature to connect with a human mother, despite her unnatural surroundings. The same nature that humans are destroying to get palm oil for our cookies and soaps, leading orangutans to the brink of extinction. The same nature that we are all responsible for protecting.

Whether we find this story sweet or sad or something in between, the reality for orangutans in the wild is worth our attention. Visit www.theorangutanproject.org/ to learn more about how to help.

This article originally appeared on 10.04.22

There are a lot of reasons to feel a twinge of nostalgia for the final days of the 20th century. Rampant inflation, the aftermath of a global pandemic and continued political unrest have created a sense of uneasiness about the future that has everyone feeling a bit down.

There’s also a feeling that the current state of pop culture is lacking as well. Nobody listens to new music anymore and unless you’re into superheroes, it seems like creativity is seriously missing from the silver screen.

But, you gotta admit, that TV is still pretty damn good.

A lot of folks feel Americans have become a lot harsher to one another due to political divides, which seem to be widening by the day due to the power of the internet and partisan media.

Given today’s feeling of malaise, there are a lot of people who miss the 1990s or, as some call it, “the best decade ever.” Why? The 1990s was economically prosperous, crime was on its way down after the violent ’70s and ’80s, and pop culture was soaring with indie films, grunge rock and hip-hop all in their golden eras.

The rest of the world was feeling hopeful as globalization brought prosperity and Communism fell in Europe and Asia.

The mood in America would swiftly change at the turn of the century when the dot-com bubble burst in 2000 and the 2001 9/11 attacks would lead to the never-ending “war on terror.”

A Reddit user by the name purplekat20 was clearly feeling some ’90s nostalgia on May 16 when they asked the online forum to share “What ’90s trend would you bring back?” A lot of people noted that it was a lot cheaper to get by in the ’90s, especially considering gas and rent prices. Others missed living in the real world instead of having one foot in reality and the other online.

Here are 17 things people would love to bring back from the 1990s.

1. 

“Inflatable furniture and transparent electronics.” — Dabbles-In-Irony

2.

“Hope.” — DeadOnBalllsaccurate

To which HowardMoo responded: “I hate this despair thing that’s all the rage these days. I miss optimism.”

3. 

“The ’90s web was the best web. People actually made their own home pages. Now it’s all social media.” — IBeTrippin

4. 

“Affordable housing.” — Amiramaha

5. 

“Ninety nine cent per gallon gas.” — Maxwyfe

6. 

“The ‘mean people suck’ statement everywhere. People seemed generally a lot happier and kinder back then. It was a nice reminder to be kind.” — simplyintentional

7. 

“Being detached. Not being attached to an electronic gadget every minute of every day.” — SuperArppis

8. 

“Calling fake-ass people ‘poser.’ The state of social media and ‘reality’ tv demands that this word be taken out of retirement.” — rumpusbutnotwild

9. 

“Grunge music.” — ofsquire

10. 

“I want movies to be the same caliber as ’90s.” — waqasnaseem07

Cremmitquada nailed it on the head with their response, “Everything has been redone. It’s all recycled ideas now.”

11. 

“Pants that didn’t have to be super-tight to be in style.” — chad-beer-316

12. 

“People really expressing themselves. Very few people take any risks with style anymore, or they do something ‘different’ that’s just enough to still conform. In the ’80s and ’90s there were people doing crazy things with hair and piercing and just didn’t give a fuck. I don’t think I’ll ever see that come back.” — FewWill

13. 

“Great animated TV. Spongebob started in the 90s (99 but it counts), Hey Arnold, X-Men, Batman, Justice League, Dexter’s Lab, Powerpuff Girls, Boomerang cartoons… the list goes on.” — Phreedom Phighter

14. 

“Fast food restaurant interiors.” — Glum-Leg-1886

Another fantastic photo of Taco Bell in the 1990s, before the disease of modernismpic.twitter.com/GIiAyNWxiu

— Jules (@Jules)
1590273071

15. 

“Hypercolor shirts and neon puff paint designs on t-shirts. But here in a few months, that’ll be changed to abortion and voting rights, probably.” — TheDoctorisen

16. 

“News that was news instead of rage bait.” — nmj95123

17. 

“We had a stable country with a vigorous economy. In fact, we drew a budget surplus some of those years.” — jeremyxt

This article originally appeared on 05.17.22

“How on earth can one person do it all?”

This is a question so many mothers ask themselves. Especially after giving birth, when life seems to expect them to take care of their newborn, get their body back, return to work and keep a clean house all at the same time.

It’s a question that had completely overwhelmed Monica Murphy, only one month into welcoming her third child, while still recovering from a C-section and taking care of her other children, who were also nursing, according to Today.com.

Luckily for Murphy, her mom had the perfect piece of advice to ease her troubled mind. And luckily for us, it was all caught on the family’s doorbell cam.

In a now-viral Instagram post, Murphy wrote her formidable to-do list, which included:

Working

Staying present on social media

Maintaining a clean home

Tandem breastfeeding

Being present with my kids

Eating a nutritious diet

Making time for my husband

Keeping in touch with friends

Making time for myself

Planning activities for kids

Frick decorate for Christmas

Followed by that burning question: “How on earth can one person do it all?”

Of course, Murphy hadn’t expressed any of these stresses to her mom, who had been visiting. But still, her mom knew something heavily weighed on her daughter’s mind.

So, as she was walking out, Murphy’s mom left her with these words of wisdom:

“They aren’t gonna remember a clean house, they are gonna remember how much you loved them and hung out with them.”

See on Instagram

Murphy told Today.com that she “broke down” crying after her mom had left, and was instantly inspired to share the video for other moms who needed similar encouragement.

Indeed, the message struck an emotional chord with thousands of viewers.

“The way I would’ve just bawled if she said that to me,” one person commented.

Another added, “I needed to hear this today.”

Some shared how it was a sentiment they sadly would never hear from their own mothers, and how they are now re-parenting themselves.

“My mom would just nag I’m lazy and how am I supposed to leave my house a mess. So I’m just easing my anxiety with gentle words from other people’s mothers. As I’ve been doing my whole life. Clean house was above happy children,” one person wrote.

It can be so easy for moms to lose themselves in the never ending cycle of responsibilities and, frankly, unrealistic societal expectations. But hopefully this sweet message can help moms everywhere go a bit easier on themselves, and actually enjoy the time they have with their kids. That’s part of what family is all about, after all.

This article originally appeared on 11.15.23

The best new hip-hop this week includes albums, videos, and songs from Channel Tres, Kendrick Lamar, Rapsody, and more.

Alright, let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way right now. Kendrick Lamar is whoopin’ Drake’s feet, just as he promised in the first of his two (TWO!) diss records this week, “Euphoria.” And hey, say what you want to about the “Euphoria” matchup with “Push Ups,” but once K. Dot followed up with “6:16 AM In LA,” he pretty much put the stake through the Canadian’s heart — like, the old-school fence post-style stakes Bram Stoker really meant when he wrote Dracula, not those dinky tent spikes from Buffy. With any luck, this is the last I’ll have to write about this “beef” (it’s a yawner for me, dawg, sorry, not sorry) and both rappers go back into respective hiding so some of the acts I write about EVERY WEEK can finally get some air.

Black Thought also teamed up with Madlib for “REEKYOD,” a prime example of the lyrics y’all claim y’all want so bad.

By the way, there’s another rapper from Compton who released new music this week, and it’s truly innovative and interesting and charismatic and futuristic. Channel Tres deserves some love for “Berghain.”

And in terms of songs that hip-hop fans have been waiting for a long time: Here’s Kevin Abstract, finally teaming up with Lil Nas X for “Tennessee.”

Meanwhile, Rapsody offered the perfect antidote to all the aggressive, toxic masculine energy (let’s be real… A lot of misogyny in those diss records) with “3:AM” featuring Erykah Badu.

Look, I promise I’m not trying to be salty. But there’s SO MUCH good music to listen to in hip-hop without feeding purely negative energy (although I will admit it’s a little thin on the albums front).

Here is the best of hip-hop this week ending May 3, 2024.

Albums/EPs/Mixtapes

Slum Village — F.U.N.

The Detroit indie-rap pioneers have gone through several lineup changes over the years, but since 2020, have settled into a duo consisting of original member T3 and frequent producer Young RJ. On F.U.N., they once again expand and evolve their sonic palette, evoking the broad span of their 2005 self-titled album (when the lineup was T3 and Elzhi). Employing styles ranging from jazz to spacey funk to the gritty underground sound the group pioneered with their beloved debut, T3 and RJ round out the vocal facets of the album with guest spots from both frequent collaborators like Karriem Riggins and Phat Kat and interesting additions to the Slum Vil universe like Cordae and Larry June.

Singles/Videos

Courtney Bell — “Issues” Feat. Mishon & Katt Rockell

Detroiter Courtney Bell unabashedly demurs from producing the type of music his hometown’s best known for, proudly putting himself in the “conscious” category many rappers run screaming from. But if offering a counterpart to descriptions of self-destruction is considered corny, Courtney refuses to back down, deftly detailing his world view with witty wordplay and a polished, laid-back delivery.

Ghostface Killah — “Scar Tissue” Feat. Nas

Look, if I have to sell you on this one, I don’t know why you’re reading a weekly column about the best new hip-hop. “Scar Tissue” comes from Ghost’s new album Set The Tone, which drops next Friday, May 10, and features a who’s-who of the greatest to ever pick up a mic, including Busta Rhymes, Fat Joe, Ja Rule, Jim Jones, and of course, Raekwon.

Maiya The Don — “Expensive” Feat. Flo Milli

I’ve been agitating for an Atlanta Bass revival on social media for the past several months. Here’s another brick in the wall. The “Telfy” rapper has some fun with it, bringing in another viral fave in Flo Milli — a perfect vocal foil — to celebrate her upscale taste over an upbeat track evoking summertime in the ’90s.

Mutant Academy — “Soda”

Did you know Fly Anakin has a larger crew (a la Beast Coast, Pro Era, etc.)? Mutant Academy isn’t a household name, but for fans of rap fraternities that burrow down in the studio and put the focus squarely on the music and their friendship, songs like “Soda” are just as refreshing as a glass of cold water. The song is the first from the group’s upcoming EP, Talk Soon, which drops on May 17.

Samara Cyn — “Moving Day”

This one wasn’t on my radar but popped up on my YouTube homepage while I was writing, and I found it charming. Storytelling in rap is slowly becoming something of a lost art, and the combination of the narrative lyrical approach, mellow beat, and Doja Cat reference piqued my interest and rewarded my curiosity. I’ve got my eye out for Samara Cyn.

$not — “Bully”

The Florida native has been laying low since releasing his last album, Ethereal, in 2022. “Bully” brings him back with a belligerent stance, returning to the antisocial themes of his early work as he rebuilds his buzz.

Over the years, many have questioned the meaning behind Jar Jar Binks, the divisive character from Star Wars, but real fans have always known that he was more than just a clumsy alien. He was the beginning of the future of movies.

Even though to most, Jar Jar represents an annoying comic relief side character, to Ahmed Best, the character paved the way for modern entertainment. Hear him out, this makes sense!!

Best told The New York Times that “Jar Jar represents the possibility that whatever you got in your head, creatively, we can invent a future where this thing exists,” he said. “Just because no one has done it before, doesn’t mean it can’t be done.” Jar Jar debuted in 1999, before using motion capture was very popular.

The actor, who faced years of bullying and harassment after his role in the films, says he is proud that he made an impact on modern cinema, even if the character was not a fan-favorite. “I’m in there,” Best said, adding that he paved the way for digital characters to interact with actual humans. “You can’t have Gollum without Jar Jar. You can’t have the Na’vi in Avatar without Jar Jar. You can’t have Thanos or the Hulk without Jar Jar. I was the signal for the rest of this art form, and I’m proud of Jar Jar for that, and I’m proud to be a part of that. I’m in there!”

This just proves that in 50 years, Jar Jar Binks will be in the history textbooks as the CGI pioneer. Nobody will even remember Kylo Ren.

(Via The New York Times)

The US leg of Foo Fighters’ upcoming Everything Or Nothing At All Tour doesn’t start until July, but for the next week or so, they’ll be on a mini-tour of sorts, playing festivals like Shaky Knees and Welcome To Rockville. That means fans have gotten an early look at what setlist they’ll be playing and about how long their upcoming shows will be.

Per data from setlist.fm, the band is expected to play a 24-song set peppered with songs from across their catalog (as well as a few covers). At Dos Equis Pavilion in Dallas, Texas, that took about two hours and 45 minutes. To see what songs they’ll be playing and when they’ll be coming to a venue near you.

Setlist:

1. “Bridge Burning”
2. “No Son Of Mine”
3. “Rescued”
4. “The Pretender”
5. “Times Like These”
6. “La Dee Da”
7. “Breakout”
8. “Medicine At Midnight”
9. “Walk”
10. guitar solo / “Sabotage” / keyboard solo / “Blitzkrieg Bop” / “The Outsider” / “Whip It” / “March Of The Pigs”
11. “My Hero”
12. “The Sky Is A Neighborhood”
13. “Learn To Fly”
14. “Arlandria”
15. “These Days”
16. “Shame Shame”
17. “All My Life”
18. “Nothing At All” (with “Blackbird” and “I’ll Stick Around” Snippets)
19. “The Glass”
20. “Monkey Wrench”
21. “Aurora
22. “Best Of You”
23. “The Teacher” (encore)
24. “Everlong ” (encore)

Tour Dates:

06/13/2024 — Manchester, England @ Emirates Old Trafford
06/15/2024 — Manchester, England @ Emirates Old Trafford
06/17/2024 — Glasgow, Scotland @ Hampden Park
06/20/2024 — London, England @ London Stadium
06/22/2024 — London, England @ London Stadium
06/25/2024 — Cardiff, Wales @ Principality Stadium
06/27/2024 — Birmingham, England @ Villa Park
07/17/2024 — Queens, NY @ Citi Field
07/19/2024 — Queens, NY @ Citi Field
07/21/2024 — Boston, MA @ Fenway Park
07/23/2024 — Hershey, PA @ Hersheypark Stadium
07/25/2024 — Cincinnati, OH @ Great American Ballpark
07/28/2024 — Minneapolis, MN @ Target Field
08/03/2024 — Denver, CO @ Empower Field at Mile High
08/07/2024 — San Diego, CA @ Petco Park
08/09/2024 — Los Angeles, CA @ BMO Stadium
08/11/2024 — Los Angeles, CA @ BMO Stadium
08/16/2024 — Portland, OR @ Providence Park Soccer Stadium
08/18/2024 — Seattle, WA @ T-Mobile Park

Unlike the Beavis and Butt-Head sketch, Heidi Gardner’s Kansas City Chiefs fandom is no laughing matter. The SNL cast member has been rooting for the team since she was a kid, long before Taylor Swift visited Arrowhead Stadium for the first time. So it was a thrill for her when tight end Travis Kelce hosted the show in 2023.

“I was very protective [of Kelce],” Gardner said on Friday’s episode of Today. I asked him questions, which also as a sports fan I’m just interested in, but I was like, ‘On game day what do you eat?’ And he was like, ‘Uncrustables. I’m just pounding Uncrustables.’ And so the Saturday of the show, I went to the store, I got Uncrustables. I was like, I want this to feel as much like home as it can.” Kelce’s favorite foods: “American Empanadas” and “chipolte.”

Gardner also apologized, jokingly so, to Swift for being in bed with Kelce during a sketch. “It was cool because right before dress rehearsal, we were in a scene where — sorry, Taylor — we were in bed together,” she said, “and he leaned over into me right before lights up on the scene and…”

What do you think Kelce told Gardner? If you guessed, “I’ve been eating Uncrustables all day,” you are correct. The man has a type (round sandwiches and world famous pop stars).

You can watch the interview above.

Netflix’s Narcos (and Narcos: Mexico) inspired streaming services to answer with comparable shows including Amazon’s ZeroZeroZero, and now Amazon MGM Studios Distribution will be instrumental in rolling out an upcoming MGM+ project, Hotel Cocaine.

The series stars Danny Pino (Mayans M.C., Law & Order: SVU), who knows a little something about portraying a non-caricature version of a figure who is neck-deep in illegal dealings. Let’s discuss what we can expect behind the glitz and glamour in this look at the 1970s/1980s Miami’s cocaine scene.

Plot

Hotel Cocaine is an 8-episode crime thriller story that revolves around the notorious Mutiny Hotel in Miami, Florida. Pino will step into view as Roman Compte, the hotel’s general manager and a Cuban exile, and accompanying him will be Yul Vasquez (Severance, The Outsider) as Roman’s brother, Nestor Cabal, who supplied an unknown number of cocaine buttloads to the partiers of Miami. Will we see some sort of Griselda Blanco appearance? There’s been no word yet on that front, but expect plenty of intervening parties to make their presences known including a shady customs agent or few.

The Mutiny Hotel was the real-life destination for a revolving door of rock ‘n’ roll musicians, sports stars, and (yes) narcos of many ranks. Part of the Al Pacino version of Scarface depicted the hotel, although the grounds were replicated elsewhere in the making of that film.

In short, this place has a reputation, and MGM+ has provided a synopsis about the “Casablanca on cocaine,” too:

Hotel Cocaine is the story of Roman Compte (Danny Pino), Cuban exile and general manager of the Mutiny Hotel, the glamorous epicenter of the Miami cocaine scene of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. The Mutiny Hotel was Casablanca on cocaine; a glitzy nightclub, restaurant, and hotel frequented by Florida businessmen and politicians, international narcos, CIA and FBI agents, models, sports stars, and musicians. At the center of it all was Compte, who was doing his best to keep it all going and fulfill his own American Dream.

Cast

The cast includes Don Mike (as Mutiny Club maitre’d Omar), Pedro Giunti (as a Nestor henchman), and Lola Claire and Candy Santana as prominent Mutiny Girls. Other roles shall be filled by Matthew Del Negro, Victor Oliveira, Robert Beck, and Sam Robards.

Release Date

Hotel Cocaine debuts on June 16 over at MGM+ and runs through August 9.

Trailer

Let the good times and 1970s bad fashion roll.

There’s a wide variety of summer camps out there with activities ranging from classics like bonfires and water balloon fights to the uber niche, ala putting on musicals or prepping for space adventures.

Still, even with the plentiful themes in existence, people are calling one mom’s unique but oh-so-practical camp idea pure genius.

Kaitlyn Rowe, mom of four and content creator in Utah, gave her kiddos a list of super basic, but very important life skills to learn at home throughout summer, in what she calls “How To Be A Person” camp.

The difficulty level of each task would be age dependent. Rowe’s 3-year-old son learned things like making the bed, safely using scissors and glue, introducing himself to a new friend and organizing his toys. Whereas Rowe’s eldest daughter, age 6, would learn slightly more complex things like scrambling an egg on the stove, blow-drying her hair and packing an overnight bag. There was also a list of skills the siblings would learn together, like putting away groceries, pool safety and talking on the phone.

See on Instagram

As Rowe shared in an interview with Good Morning America, she actually got the idea from fellow mom Emily Ley, who created this alternative camp during the peak days of COVID-19.

Overwhelmed with homeschooling, Ley thought if she could teach her kids “some age-appropriate independence,” it would take the load off of her as well. Rowe borrowed the idea and the “How To Be A Person” camp title as she compiled her own list of activities in lieu of sending her kids to an actual camp. So far, her kids have loved it. And with her post currently having over 54,000 views on Instagram, it seems other parents are in love with the idea as well.

It’s no secret that many of us reach adulthood having learned obscure academic subjects and somehow skimming over the things we would actually incorporate into everyday life. Nothing against algebra and trigonometry, but it sure would have been nice to have learned about doing taxes instead, you know what I’m saying?

Plus, it’s well documented that kids genuinely enjoy mimicking adults, so having them engage in grown-up duties is not only a rewarding activity in the moment, it potentially creates a positive relationship with household chores that they can hold onto throughout their life.

Another cool thing about the “How To Be A Person” camp idea is that it’s fully customizable. It can be a list that parents create, or it can be child-led. It can be 100% practical or silly. A healthy mix is probably the best of both worlds.

Per some suggestions in the comments, it seems that Rowe will be changing the name to “How To Do The Important Stuff” camp to be more inclusive towards those with special needs. Point being: this camp can be for every kid. And honestly, probably should be.

To see Rowe’s complete “How To Be A Person” camp list, go to Instagram.

This article originally appeared on 6.15.23