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Hey there, millennials! Welcome to the “Holy crapoly, I have real-life memories from 20 years ago!” club. It’s a strangely disorienting milestone to reach when you find yourself starting sentences with “When I was young…” or “Back in my day…” isn’t it?

Your Gen X elders have been here for a while, but even we have moments of incredulously calculating how the heck we’ve arrived at this place. Time is a tricky little jokester, isn’t he?

To highlight how much has changed for middle-aged folks since we were young, a user on Reddit asked people born before 1990 what useless skills they possess that nobody has a need for anymore. It’s both a hilarious trip down memory lane and a time capsule of life pre-Y2K. (Do kids these days even know what Y2K was? Gracious.)

If you’re down for some good-old-days nostalgia, check out people’s responses:

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Ask Reddit Question: People born before 1990, what trivial skill do you possess that no one uses anymore?

Making brown paper bag book covers

“I can cover a textbook with a brown paper bag.” — sourwaterbug

Oh goodness yes. And there was always that one girl in class who had the art of the brown paper bag book cover perfected. (They’re probably Pinterest influencers now.)

Folding a map—and knowing where to find a map

“I can re-fold a map correctly.” —JungleZac

“Man remember actually using maps…I had an atlas with the road system in my car to navigate other states during road trips. Crazy.” – jagua_haku

How did we ever figure out how to get anywhere before GPS and Google Maps? (Two-inch thick road atlases in our car and stopping at gas stations to buy local maps while traveling, that’s how. Positively primitive.)

Memorizing phone numbers and answering the house phone

For real, though, kids these days don’t even know.

“Remembering phone numbers.” — greatmilliondog

“Not only that, having to speak to your friend’s parents for a few minutes when you call their house.” — Logical_Area_5552

“How to take a message when the person they want to talk to isn’t there.” — Amoori_A_Splooge

How about dialing on a rotary phone, using a pay phone and making (or taking) a collect call?

The skillful phone shoulder hold

“Using your shoulder to hold a telephone up to your ear while doing multiple other things at once. Now, the phones are so damned small I drop them.” – Regular_Sample_5197

“100 ft phone cords 🤣” – mrch1ck3nn

“I got in sooooo much trouble for stretching the phone cord into the bathroom for some privacy. Accidentally clotheslined Grandma 😬 She laughed about it but Mom was pissed!” – AffectionateBite3827

Knowing the exact name of every Crayola color because we only had so many

“I know what the color “goldenrod” is.” — ImAmazedBaybee

“That and burnt sienna were the crayolas of choice.” — Signiference

“Cornflower would like a word.” — cps12345

The art of the mixed tape—especially from the radio

I don’t think kids these days fully grasp how revolutionary Spotify and the like are for those of us who spent hours in front of the radio with our cassette tape recorder queued up at just the right spot waiting for the song we wanted to record to come one. And they will never, ever know the frustration of the DJ yapping right up until the lyrics start.

“Record to tape from the radio. Trying to make sure to not get the DJ/presenter talking sh-t or an ad” – Gankstajam

“‘Shut up, shut up, shut up!!! I’m trying to record my song!!!'” – tearsonurcheek

“Haha yeah and trying to tell others so they don’t make random noise or knock on the door.

How about making cassette-based mix tapes, trying to figure out to the second, how many and which types of songs in which order, that would still fit perfectly on the length of tape per side.

People who make digital recordings do not have to worry about ‘running out of tape.’

Having the first side be tempting enough that they’d flip the other side to continue listening. That’s before continual playback machines existed. Had to flip the cassette.” – CrunchyTeaTime

And there were many more, from rewinding a cassette tape with a pencil to writing in cursive to tearing the sides off of printer paper without tearing the paper itself. (Oh and of course the ability to count out change and understand what you’re supposed to do if something costs $9.91 and someone hands you $10.01.)

Gotta love it when the things that used to be totally normal now sound like historic artifacts found in a museum. Kind of makes you wonder what normal things from today we’ll be laughing about in another 20 or 30 years.

A story by Rachel Nuwer published by the BBC shows how even the most hardcore white nationalist has the power to experience change. It all happened to a 31-year-old man named Brendan, whose life was in a hate-fueled freefall until he happened to take MDMA, known recreationally as ecstasy or Molly.

Nuwer is a freelance science journalist and the author of “I Feel Love: MDMA and the Quest for Connection in a Fractured World.” She hopes that by exposing people to the benefits of MDMA, the world can be changed through empathy.

“If people can use MDMA as a therapy to help get over their trauma and have more bandwidth to care about things in the world, maybe we could have a better place for wildlife and nature,” she told Publishers Weekly.

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Back in 2017, it seemed like there wasn’t much help for Brendan. He was a member of Identity Evropa and attended the infamous Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where three people died and dozens were injured.

Can MDMA help to dispel bigoted beliefs? This excerpt from my book, I Feel Love, delves into the possibilities and limitations of using the drug for this purpose, through the story of a disgraced white supremacist who unwittingly took MDMA. https://t.co/jvana0rjd8 @BBC_Future

— Rachel Nuwer (@RachelNuwer) June 16, 2023

Identity Evropa, now known as American Identity Movement, is a white supremacist group that the Southern Poverty Law Center refers to as a “campus-based organization [that] focuses on raising white racial consciousness, building community based on shared racial identity and intellectualizing white supremacist ideology.”

Brendan rose in the ranks of Identity Evropa, eventually becoming the coordinator for the entire Midwest. But all that changed in 2019 after an anti-fascist group doxxed Brendan and 100 of his fellow Identity Evropa members. After his identity became public, he lost his job and many of his closest relationships.

A few months later, Brendan signed up for an experiment at the University of Chicago on whether MDMA increased “the pleasantness of social touch in healthy volunteers.” Thirty minutes after taking 110 mg of MDMA, Brendan had a revelation. “Wait a second – why am I doing this? Why am I thinking this way?” he thought to himself. “Why did I ever think it was okay to jeopardize relationships with just about everyone in my life?”

After a researcher put him into an MRI, he was tickled with a brush. “I noticed it was making me happier – the experience of the touch,” Brendan told the BBC. “I started progressively rating it higher and higher.” One word popped into his mind: connection.

Brendan’s experience with MDMA is commonly felt by people who take the drug recreationally. MDMA triggers the release of neurotransmitters that make people feel euphoric, relaxed, and friendly, with a heightened feeling of security.

During the session, Brendan developed an understanding of humanity that was more like a revelation someone would have at a rave or in the desert during the Coachella festival. He realized that all humanity was “one” and that interpersonal connections were all that mattered.

“I realized I’d been fixated on stuff that doesn’t really matter, and is just so messed up, and that I’d been totally missing the point. I hadn’t been soaking up the joy that life has to offer,” he said. The experience completely changed the direction of Brendan’s life. He began meditating, attending therapy and working with a diversity, equality, and inclusion consultant to help him grow past his old ways. But there is still work to be done.

​“There are moments when I have racist or antisemitic thoughts, definitely,” he said. “But now I can recognize that those kinds of thought patterns are harming me more than anyone else.”

Researchers believe many prejudiced views are hardwired into people at a young age and can be hard to change, especially with an unwilling participant. So the notion that someone can be transformed by taking a drug in a therapeutic environment provides another avenue for change.

Of course, we won’t be able to drug our way to a new world without hate, but Brendan’s story shows that when people are starved for real human connection, a small amount can be incredibly transformative.

Donald Trump isn’t the energetic rabble rouser he once was. His brain has been off for years, but the guy running for office a third time — while fending off multiple legal woes and knowing he could very well wind up in jail — has a lot lower energy than he did when he first took over the GOP. For instance, did he really think “milquetoast” was spelled “milktoast”? And what on earth is up with this video?

On Wednesday night, apropos of nothing, the Trump War Room Twitter account posted a video with the caption “YOU HAVE TO PUT THEM IN THEIR PLACE!” In it, the big guy addressed one of the traits that most endears him to his base: his love of childish name-calling.

“Many say, ‘Don’t punch down when talking about people like Chris Sununu or Sloppy Chris Christie or “Ada” Hutchinson’ — I call him ‘Ada,’ not ‘Asa,’ because, for certain reasons,” Trump began, in fine form. “But sometimes it’s necessary to talk badly about those that, for no reason, other than politics, speak badly about you. Otherwise the people that love you don’t know whether or not they’re for real. Are they saying the truth? They’re not.

“So sometimes you have to punch down,” he continued, “and sometimes you have to say what’s happening. Otherwise they won’t understand it’s not fair to them.”

Trump’s voice then got incredibly, unnecessarily loud. “You have to put them in proper perspective, these bad people,” he declared. “You have to put them in their place. People like this are very destructive. And you have to tell the voters what it’s all about. Otherwise why should they be able to understand it?

Why would Trump feel compelled to defend something he’s been doing pretty much his whole life — that has arguably helped get him elected in the first place? Did someone on his team think the guy who pelts one of his former employees with racist taunts finally need to soften a bit? Who knows.

Meanwhile, he still hasn’t figured out a good dumb nickname for his closest rival, Meatball Ron.

Last Friday, June 16, Asake released his album Work Of Art. Uproxx‘s Wongo Okon lauded it as among the best R&B offerings of the week, writing, “With amapiano-driven production and his trademark spirituality by his side, Asake proves that he is far from a one-album wonder.”

On Wednesday, June 21, Asake expanded the range displayed thus far through Work Of Art singles “Yoga” and “Amapiano” featuring Olamide by adding the luxurious “Basquiat” video to the bunch.

Directed by Joshua Valle and Edgar Esteves, the lively video sets an opulent tone in the first scene, finding Asake lounging with beautiful women on a yacht. Later, he launches off of the boat into the depths of the ocean. Everything is muted for a moment — except for Asake’s spirit, as he beams underwater to reveal his teeth covered in icy grills.

Immediately after his uninhibited dive, Asake is posing in a colorful two-piece between two painters in an art studio. The resulting artwork is as striking as Asake’s performative presence. It all merges when Asake begins throwing paint against a blank canvas — even painting his face. By the video’s end, there is no discernible gap between the artist and his art.

Asake will bring his infectious panache to the 2023 Broccoli City Festival next month.

Watch the “Basquiat” video above.

The beef between Cardi B and Tasha K was settled. Literally. In court.

Cardi B filed and won a libel lawsuit against the YouTube personality for posting videos online in 2018 and 2019 alleging Cardi had worked as a prostitute and contracted STDs. In early 2022, Cardi testified that Tasha’s videos left her feeling suicidal. It was ruled in April 2022 that Tasha K must delete her posts in question, and by that October, a judge additionally ruled that Tasha K pay Cardi B $4 million for defamation (as reported by Billboard at the time).

On Wednesday, June 21, Tasha K poked the bear by seemingly weighing in on Cardi B’s reaction to the ongoing mystery around the missing Titanic submersible. (Cardi took issue with the son of a missing passenger, Brian Szasz, attending a Blink-182 concert, sparking a back-and-forth with him this week.)

The Neighborhood Talk captured Cardi and Szasz’s exchange on Instagram, and Tasha K commented, “Wasn’t she posting guns right after Takeoff died? And on the internet, cutting up not long after his sudden takeoff? I’m just asking…Everyone grieves diff…”

Cardi B understandably did not take kindly to Tasha K mentioning Takeoff, who was fatally shot on November 1, 2022.

“And Tasha K with your despicable ass.. to bring up Takeoff to prove a fake ass point is disgusting. I lost weight, I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep, me and my man STILL dealing wit that to to this day,” Cardi B tweeted, referencing her husband, Offset, Takeoff’s former Migos groupmate.

Cardi continued, “I’m a rapper, we targeted all the time so of course I have guns for protection. But since you wanna be funny for comments, ima make sure your kid don’t go to college. You think my lawyers don’t know you hiding money in Africa? Ima make sure I get every red cent of my 4 mill. DONT EVER PUT TAKEOFF NAME IN YA MOUTH.”

Cardi also commented on The Neighborhood Talk’s Instagram post about her tweet, clarifying, “Y’all saying I’m talking about people kids.. I’m talkin about how her mouth is going to affect financials for YEARS all because she can’t stop talking but I’m wrong for saying that but it’s cool for her to bring up my family we lost less than a year ago? Yall saw me waving a gun after take passed or literally months later on put it on the floor music video? But let me guess I’m wrong as always.”

Billboard reported on May 30 that Tasha K had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Florida federal court, listing $58,595 in total assets.

Geraldo Rivera is a Republican and a Fox News correspondent-at-large, but for the last few years he hasn’t towed the party line. He’s regularly spoken out against his longtime pal Donald Trump, decrying his voter fraud nonsense early and often. (He still thinks Biden should pardon him just as Gerald Ford did to Nixon.) His sometimes liberal-ish views have gotten him into on-air clashes, including with his sometime The Five colleague Greg Gutfeld. Well, it looks like those spats are a thing of the past.

As per The Daily Beast, Rivera announced on Twitter Wednesday that he was “off” the exceedingly popular late afternoon Fox News discussion show. “My last scheduled show appearances are Thursday and Friday June 29th and 30th,” he wrote. “It’s been a great run and I appreciate having had the opportunity. Being odd man out isn’t always easy.” He assured his fans that he’s “still Correspondent at Large” at Fox.

It’s not the first time Rivera has claimed his future with The Five was in jeopardy. In May he claimed he’d been “cancelled” from the show as his appearances dried up. He later announced he’d been asked back after all. Perhaps something similar will happen here.

The reason for Rivera’s alleged exit from The Five’s revolving door roster is unknown, though sources have claimed one possibility is his on-air spats with Gutfeld, who’s also the apparent king of late night TV. Wherever the truth lies, Rivera hasn’t been on the show since May 24.

Rivera joined the program earlier this year after the departure of Juan Williams, who it’s alleged also didn’t get along with Gutfeld. Williams was replaced by a rotating threesome of token “liberal” voices, namely Rivera, Jessica Tarlov, and Harold Ford Jr. Rivera, as already mentioned earlier in this article, is a Republican.

(Via The Daily Beast)

Wednesday, June 21, is officially the first day of summer. Beck and Phoenix released their single “Odyssey” right on time: It’s an empowered, shimmering anthem begging to be blared with the windows down and sure to be a fixture during their upcoming co-headlining Summer Odyssey Tour.

Summery imagery is laced throughout the song’s lyrics, with verses like, “Somewhere / We’ll fall into the ocean / I’ll be there / On an odyssey in the sun.” Beck and Phoenix’s Tommy Mars handle lead vocals, blending seamlessly to create an utterly pleasant sonic palette.

An accompanying press release accurately describes “Odyssey” as “the spontaneous and perfect theme song” for the Summer Odyssey Tour, which was announced in January and is set to begin on August 1 at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington. Produced by Live Nation, the tour will hit 19 cities, including back-to-back shows at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado on August 15-16 and a September 9 date at New York City’s iconic Madison Square Garden.

The alternating openers for the Summer Odyssey Tour are Jenny Lewis, Japanese Breakfast, Weyes Blood, and Sir Chloe. Find all of the dates here.

Before “Odyssey,” Beck dropped “Thinking About You,” his first solo original track since 2019. Phoenix dropped their latest album, Alpha Zulu, last fall.

Listen to “Odyssey” above.

Geraldo Rivera is a Republican and a Fox News correspondent-at-large, but for the last few years he hasn’t towed the party line. He’s regularly spoken out against his longtime pal Donald Trump, decrying his voter fraud nonsense early and often. (He still thinks Biden should pardon him just as Gerald Ford did to Nixon.) His sometimes liberal-ish views have gotten him into on-air clashes, including with his sometime The Five colleague Greg Gutfeld. Well, it looks like those spats are a thing of the past.

As per The Daily Beast, Rivera announced on Twitter Wednesday that he was “off” the exceedingly popular late afternoon Fox News discussion show. “My last scheduled show appearances are Thursday and Friday June 29th and 30th,” he wrote. “It’s been a great run and I appreciate having had the opportunity. Being odd man out isn’t always easy.” He assured his fans that he’s “still Correspondent at Large” at Fox.

It’s not the first time Rivera has claimed his future with The Five was in jeopardy. In May he claimed he’d been “cancelled” from the show as his appearances dried up. He later announced he’d been asked back after all. Perhaps something similar will happen here.

The reason for Rivera’s alleged exit from The Five’s revolving door roster is unknown, though sources have claimed one possibility is his on-air spats with Gutfeld, who’s also the apparent king of late night TV. Wherever the truth lies, Rivera hasn’t been on the show since May 24.

Rivera joined the program earlier this year after the departure of Juan Williams, who it’s alleged also didn’t get along with Gutfeld. Williams was replaced by a rotating threesome of token “liberal” voices, namely Rivera, Jessica Tarlov, and Harold Ford Jr. Rivera, as already mentioned earlier in this article, is a Republican.

(Via The Daily Beast)

Wednesday, June 21, is officially the first day of summer. Beck and Phoenix released their single “Odyssey” right on time: It’s an empowered, shimmering anthem begging to be blared with the windows down and sure to be a fixture during their upcoming co-headlining Summer Odyssey Tour.

Summery imagery is laced throughout the song’s lyrics, with verses like, “Somewhere / We’ll fall into the ocean / I’ll be there / On an odyssey in the sun.” Beck and Phoenix’s Tommy Mars handle lead vocals, blending seamlessly to create an utterly pleasant sonic palette.

An accompanying press release accurately describes “Odyssey” as “the spontaneous and perfect theme song” for the Summer Odyssey Tour, which was announced in January and is set to begin on August 1 at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington. Produced by Live Nation, the tour will hit 19 cities, including back-to-back shows at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado on August 15-16 and a September 9 date at New York City’s iconic Madison Square Garden.

The alternating openers for the Summer Odyssey Tour are Jenny Lewis, Japanese Breakfast, Weyes Blood, and Sir Chloe. Find all of the dates here.

Before “Odyssey,” Beck dropped “Thinking About You,” his first solo original track since 2019. Phoenix dropped their latest album, Alpha Zulu, last fall.

Listen to “Odyssey” above.

It would appear that all is well for Hayley Kiyoko. The pop star’s May debut novel, Girls Like Girls, recently hit No. 1 on The New York Times Best Sellers list. She also participated in Can’t Cancel Pride 2023 last week.

But Kiyoko’s newest single, “Somewhere Between The Sand And The Stardust,” has brought attention to a more difficult part of her life, much like the bravely honest and self-aware single “Greenlight” did last month.

“A dear friend of mine recently passed away after a long struggle with mental health,” Kiyoko said in a statement. “It’s been difficult to balance my grief while also knowing that he is finally at peace. I wrote ‘Somewhere Between The Sand And The Stardust’ to remind those dealing with a loved one taking their own life that they are not alone — that all the complicated emotions they’re feeling are valid.”

She continued, “For me, it was a lot of anger, confusion, and what-ifs in that process. We must continue to care for those struggling with mental health issues as well as the people they rely on for support. This song is a tribute to loving the people who choose to stay and embracing and finding peace with the memory of those who don’t.”

In the powerful song, an ethereal beat swirls around Kiyoko’s poignant lyricism and evocative vocals. “I asked you to stay, but / You couldn’t wait anymore,” she sings. “I wish I was stronger, wish I convinced you / You said that it’s over, couldn’t continue / I love you forever / And I forgive you.”

Kiyoko also shared a throwback photo earlier this week with the late fashion designer Joshua Van Leader along with the caption, “This one is for you.”

Van Leader died by suicide last fall. Kiyoko posted an Instagram tribute to him on November 9, 2022. See it below, and listen to “Somewhere Between The Sand And The Stardust” above.

Hayley Kiyoko is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.