Since Bruce Dickinson joined Iron Maiden in the early 1980s, he became one of the most important Heavy Metal singers of all time. Replacing Paul Di’Anno, he took the band to another level in terms of songwriting and vocal possibilities. Iron Maiden was a direct influence on most of the Heavy Metal bands that emerged in the following decades. As the genre evolved, Bruce Dickinson always paid attention to what was happening and has given his opinion on many newer bands, including System of a Down. What is Bruce Dickinson's opinion on System of a Down Although System of a Down isn’t exactly the kind of music Bruce Dickinson is into, he said that he “kind of liked” the band, especially because it was something different that managed to become mainstream when it normally wouldn’t have. “You'd got like, the extremities. I mean, because Punk didn't really change it that much. Punk just borrowed the aggressive guitar, like Marshall types tones. But now you got some Metal bands, look at the grandaddies of everything, Slayer, and a band like Sepultura: just big, fat slabs of angry ‘Grrrrr!’” "Which your blues rockers just went, ‘Ugh, we hate that! What's that all about?' And it’s like, well, you have to get in the headspace of why they’re writing stuff like that. Because, if they’re young kids, which they were when they were doing it, they’re going, ‘We don’t wanna be like my grandad, who plays really proficient blues guitar. It’s going nowhere, because I can never be as good as him. And, even if I was as good as him, people would say, 'You’re not as good as him.' So I’m gonna do something different.’” "So you've got that palette, that then diversified into Rage Against the Machine and System of a Down. Those kinds of things that started doing really kind of the things that were a little bit more out there. I kind of liked System Of A Down, simply because of the fact that it was that eccentric. I’m not sure where it came from. I mean, if it was like Armenian or weird Anatolian goat music or whatever the hell was his inspiration to it." Bruce Dickinson continued: "I love the fact that it did get mainstream exposure. I think it’s great when stuff like that breaks through. I’m not sure what I could take from it, for my purposes. But, nevertheless, it’s great that it’s out there,” Bruce Dickinson told Loudwire in 2024. The Iron Maiden vocalist mentioned Armenia because all the members of System of a Down are of Armenian descent. Serj Tankian (vocals) and Daron Malakian (guitar) were both born in Los Angeles, California, but their parents were born in Armenia. Drummer John Dolmayan’s parents were Armenian as well, but he was born in Beirut, Lebanon, where they were living at the time, and later moved to California during the Lebanese Civil War. Bassist Shavo Odadjian is the only member who was actually born in Armenia. He was born in Yerevan, when the country was still called the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. He and his parents moved to Los Angeles when he was 5 years old. Serj Tankian said seeing Iron Maiden live was one of the most impactful moments of his life https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iywaBOMvYLI&list=RDiywaBOMvYLI&start_radio=1&pp=ygUIdG94aWNpdHmgBwE%3D The members of System of a Down are fans of Iron Maiden, especially the band’s vocalist Serj Tankian. The first concert he ever attended was an Iron Maiden show in 1984. Interestingly, he wasn’t even a big rock fan at the time, but his girlfriend was a huge Maiden fan, so he went along with her. He immediately became a fan himself and later said it was one of the most impactful moments of his life. "The first one that I ever saw, my first rock show I ever saw was Iron Maiden in 1984. I'd like to say — 1984, maybe. My girlfriend at the time was a huge Maiden fan. I, at the time, didn't even listen to much Rock music. I hadn't even smoked pot. It was the first time I started smelling pot outside. I was a 4.0 good kid in school. So that was impactful for me because of the timing more than anything. And you'll hear those kind of horses galloping within System's music that's influenced by Maiden as well. Everyone in Rock has been influenced by Maiden," he told Monsters, Madness And Magic in 2024. In the previous decade, he talked about that show in an interview with A.V. Club, saying he first didn't get it and his first impression was that a really loud kind of music. "I thought it was one of the craziest things I'd ever seen. (Laughs) I'm, like, 'This is madness! What is this? Everyone, hide!'" He continued: "At the time, I wasn't actually a metal fan at all. I thought, 'Wow, this is really noisy music, I don't get it.' To be completely honest, I wasn't in love with it. And now I'm a huge Iron Maiden fan, and I know Bruce Dickinson and see the guys on tour and whatnot. But time changes. It's interesting. But at the time, I wasn't a metal or even a rock fan, to be honest." System of a Down was formed in Glendale, California, in 1994, a year after Bruce Dickinson left Iron Maiden. Their debut album came out in 1998, and since then they have released three more, the most recent being Mezmerize and Hypnotize, both in 2005. The band broke up the following year but reunited in 2010 and has remained active since, although they haven’t released any new albums.The post Bruce Dickinson’s opinion on System of a Down appeared first on Rock and Roll Garage.

President Donald Trump, embattled by America’s growing affordability problems, has once again floated a unique solution: Sending Americans rebate checks for the tariffs that his administration has collected. “People that are against Tariffs are FOOLS!” Trump posted on Truth Social Sunday. “A dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone.” It’s a bold promise with several significant complications...

President Trump announced on Sunday that most Americans will receive “at least” $2,000 from the tariff revenue collected by the Trump administration. Trump’s statement, made early Sunday on his Truth Social platform, comes after the White House defended his sweeping use of tariffs before the Supreme Court this past week, where the justices appeared skeptical of the president’s broad use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Trump’s public musing about Americans pocketing $2,000 from his tariff revenue also comes after Democrats emerged victorious in races across the country in last week’s elections.

President Donald Trump said Monday that he plans to use tariff revenue to issue $2,000 payments to low- and middle-income Americans, with any remaining funds directed toward paying down the nation’s massive debt. Over the weekend, Trump called those who oppose tariffs "fools" and defended his proposal, saying revenue from the duties would deliver direct payments to Americans. "All money left over from the $2000 payments made to low and middle income USA Citizens, from the massive Tariff Income pouring into our Country from foreign countries, which will be substantial, will be used to SUBSTANTIALLY PAY DOWN NATIONAL DEBT," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post...

When it comes to intergenerational conflict, you tend to have you major nemeses. Gen Zers take aim at Gen Xers, while baby boomers and millennials are notoriously at odds and just can’t get on the same page.Maybe it’s because millennials were raised during the technological revolution and have to help their boomer parents log into Netflix. There’s also a political divide: Millennials are a reliable liberal voting bloc, whereas boomers are the target demographic for Fox News. Both generations also have differing views on parenting, with boomers favoring an authoritative style over the millennials' gentler approach.Why these stories resonate across generationsA Redditor asked Xennials, older millennials, and younger Gen Xers born between 1977 and 1983 to share some quirks of their boomer parents, and they created a fun list of habits that can be both endearing and frustrating. The users shared that millennials are frustrated with their parents' abilities to use technology, but are touched when they send them a greeting card.Of course, it is reductive to reduce generations into a series of stereotypes, whether it’s millennials or baby boomers. But, for many, hearing that they aren’t the only person who gets frustrated with their boomer parents can be pretty cathartic and make them feel less alone.Here are 15 boomer parent quirks that millennials often struggle to understand.1. They save everything An image of stacked boxesPhoto credit: Canva"They save EVERYTHING (containers, jars, boxes, etc.) just in case they might be able to use it for something later. I feel like this habit was handed down from our grandparents' Great Depression upbringing.""Absolutely! Shopping bags, empty yogurt containers, boxes that some product came in…..although I love me a 'good box!' I have all my iPhone boxes for no reason."2. Scary texts Another text from the mom that cried wolf. Photo credit: Canva"Will text something foreboding like 'we need to talk;' then turns out she forgot a recipe.""My dad will text me 'You need to call me right now' when it’s nothing. And not tell me major life events until well after the fact. Like my aunt had a heart attack and I found out a week later from her son. (And my dad did know.)"3. Stranger death toll"My mom is ALWAYS telling me about dead people I’ve never met. I really do not care. I know that sounds awful, but I don’t have it in me to be sad for everyone on the planet when they pass."“You remember my friend Carol? Her aunt had that above-ground swimming pool in her backyard. We swam in it a couple times one summer when you were about 9. Anyway, Carol’s mom just lost her brother-in-law. They were very close. Thought you’d want to know.”4. They don't travel A photo of stacked travel trunksPhoto credit: Canva"They act jealous of us traveling but refuse to go anywhere.""Ooh good one. Mine act jealous of anything we do/buy that they can't solely because they can't get out of their own way and actually make things happen."5. They print everything If it's on paper, I guess you can't lose it. Photo credit: Canva"My Boomer FIL prints out EVERYTHING from his computer. I understand printing out instructions or recipes to help remember but do you really need a file cabinet full of forwarded emails from friends and sale adverts from 5 years ago? Oh well, at least he keeps it organized. Also, both TVs in the house run 24/7 playing reruns of 'CSI: Who Gives a Sh*t Anymore?'""I'm not on Facebook, but my dad is. Last year, he made a celebratory post on my birthday and all his church friends liked and commented on it. He printed up the post and all of the comments, stapled it into a little book, and MAILED me the printed Facebook comments..."6. 'From, dad' texts @kaitlinm222 The text signature has returned. Signed, MY ROGUE #boomers #momhumor #fyp #greenscreen ♬ original sound - Kaitlin | NJ "My dad sends text messages with, 'From, Dad' at the end of them. It cracks me up every time. He also states who he is every time he calls me."7. Irrational fears Fire is a real fear, worrying about financial ruin maybe not so much. Photo credit: Canva"One quirk my dad had was that he was deathly afraid of the house burning down. Not from the standpoint of the danger of fire but when he was growing up, if your house burnt down, you were basically homeless and destitute. My mom is much more level headed about it. She always told my dad, that is why we have homeowners insurance."8. Expired food"My mother-in-law doesn't throw out expired food. She has food in her pantry that is several years past their expiration dates. Same with condiments in her fridge. You just can't trust any of the food she has on hand because more than likely than not it's way expired. When we have brought this up, that she needs to throw some stuff out, she insists it's absolutely fine. It's not. ""My grandmother is the same way. Once, she opened her refrigerator, and there was a jar of pickles with mold floating on the surface of the liquid. I pointed it out, and she said it was still good. She would just scoop the mold out at a later time. She has an incredibly strong stomach and immune system."9. Smartphone addiction It isn't just the teens that get lost in the scroll. Photo credit: Canva"You always hear a kids 'these kids always on their damn phones.' But when it comes to phone addiction, boomers are far worse.""My mom drives five hours to see us, then spends the whole time texting people from her church or looking at Facebook.""I once sat in their living room for over an hour before they decided to put their phones down and speak to me, only to phub me and pick them right back up."10. Rigid gender roles @dirtyhistorian These barriers, however, ignited a growing desire for equality, eventually propelling movements that would transform future generations. ♬ Chopin Nocturne No. 2 Piano Mono - moshimo sound design "My dad still clings to the traditional division of 'men's/women's work.' He'll fix a car, do any outside work, clean out a clogged drain. Cooking? If it's any more complicated than making coffee or calling in a pizza, he can't/won't. I don't think he even grills anymore. Laundry? Hell no. Taking care of small children? He'll play with them but that's it."11. The TV is constantly on The TV is always on. Photo credit: Canva"In-laws leave the TV on for all waking hours. And FIL gets irritated if someone talks over the episode of MASH or Walker, Texas Ranger, that he's already seen 50 times. Like clenching his teeth and stomping the floor.""TV on 24/7. Constantly flipping between some version of Law and Order, HGTV, and Guy Fieri. Asking me 'did you see that commercial where…' No mom. I don’t have cable. I don’t see commercials. All of the time."12. They are always right"My dad...he's has to be right about everything and doesn't know what to do if you beat him to the point on something. He once was giving me a recipe that required cinnamon, cardamon, and clove and told me just to use Pumpkin Pie Spice! It's the greatest thing! 'Dad, I don't need to. I have all those spices on hand (I bake)' But...no! You have to use this. 'No, I don't. I don't need to buy something that I already have" It happens all the time.""My parents are always right and they are not impressed about anything."13. Obsessed with the weather "It's a nice day!"Photo credit: Canva"Yes, my dad should have been a meteorologist. He used to have a weather alert radio that would sound off in the middle of the night and he would watch the weather channel constantly. We all had to quiet down when your local weather forecast on the 8's came on. He gets really excited about severe weather like when we might get thunderstorms or a tornado."14. One more thing"Without fail, every time I'm leaving my mother's house and backing down the driveway, she comes back out of her house and stops me to say something else, even though we'd just spoken."15. Mail stress"My mom has an anxiety attack during the entire journey of a package or piece of mail she dispatched to me. No, she doesn’t know how to track. She will not rest until she knows that a package has arrived or a nominal check has been cashed. She calls when she is thinking about sending something, when she sent it, when it’s en route, and when it’s expected to arrive. God forbid it’s late. And if I don’t issue a prompt thank you, she will guilt me."It's about the intentThese quirks are less about proving who is right and more about how families show care in different ways. We text fast, they send cards. We track packages on our phones, they call to make sure it arrived. If we meet each other with a little patience and a sense of humor, the gap starts to feel smaller.This story originally appeared earlier this year.

You're probably familiar with the literary classic Moby-Dick by the great Herman Melville. But in case you're not, here's the gist: first published in 1851, Moby Dick is about an enraged sea captain in pursuit of a huge, ancient albino sperm whale, Moby-Dick. There sea captain is called Captain Ahab, and he really really hates the whale. In fact, he goes absolutely bonkers in his quest to hunt and kill it, and then everything is awful and we all die unsatisfied with our shared sad existence and—oops, spoilers!OK, technically, the narrator, Ishmael, survives, so there's somewhat of a happy ending. We also learn a lot of lessons in the end about life, chowder (clam or cod? It's a metaphor), and co-existing on this planet with our fellow animals. It's one of the most famous (and most referenced) works of literature in history (As evidenced below. Oh, Homer...). - YouTube youtu.be Essentially, the book is about revenge and obsession. It's also chock-full of beautiful passages and dense symbolism and deep thematic resonance, and all those good things that earned it a top spot in the musty canon of important literature. There's also a lot of mundane descriptions about the whaling trade as well (like, a lot). That's because it came out back when commercial whaling was still a thing. Illustration from an early edition of Moby-Dick via Wikimedia Commons In fact, humans used to hunt more than 50,000 whales each year to use for oil, meat, baleen, and more oil. Then, in 1946, the International Whaling Commission stepped in and said, "Hey, wait a minute, guys. There's only a few handful of these majestic creatures left in the entire world, so maybe we should try to not kill them anymore?"And even then, commercial whaling was still legal in some parts of the world until as recently as 1986.And yet, by some miracle, there are whales who were born before Moby-Dick was published that are still alive todayWhat are the odds of that? Honestly, it's hard to calculate since we can't exactly swim up to a bowhead and say, "Hey, how old are you?" and expect a response. (Also, that's a rude question—jeez.)Thanks to some thoughtful collaboration between researchers and traditional Inupiat whalers (who are still allowed to hunt for survival) over the decades, scientists have used amino acids in the eyes of whales and harpoon fragments lodged in their carcasses to determine the age of these enormous animals. In 2006, they found at least three bowhead whales who were living prior to 1850. Granted those are bowheads, not sperm whales like the fictional Moby Dick, (and none of them are albino, I think), but still. Pretty amazing, huh?Bowhead whales reach an average length of 35 to 45 feet, and they are believed to live over 200 years. One of the big reasons for their longevity is that they have genes that may allow for the repair of damaged DNA. Researchers believe that the bowhead is the whale with the longest lifespan. Baleen whales have been found to live longer than toothed cetaceans such as the sperm whale or orca. A bowhead whale. ia Wikimedia Commons This is a particularly remarkable feat considering that the entire species was dwindling near extinctionBarring these few centenarian leviathans, most of the whales still kickin' it today are between 20 and 70 years old. That's because most whale populations were reduced to 10% or less of their numbers between the 18th and 20th centuries, thanks to a few over-eager hunters (and by a few, I mean all of them).Today, sperm whales are considered one of the most populous species of massive marine mammals. Bowheads, on the other hand, are still in trouble despite a 20% increase in population since the mid-1980s. Makes those few elderly bowheads that much more impressive, huh? A bowhead whale skeleton. via Emoke Denes/Wikimedia Commons Unfortunately, just as things are looking up, these wonderful whales are in trouble once againWe might not need to worry about real-life Captain Ahabs anymore, but our big aquatic buddies are still being threatened by industrialization—namely, from oil drilling in the Arctic and the Great Australian Bight, though efforts are being made to ban oil drilling in these and other areas. In the off-chance that companies like Shell and BP manage not to spill millions of gallons of harmful crude oil into the water, the act of drilling alone is likely to maim or kill millions of animals, and the supposedly-safer sonic blasting will blow out their eardrums or worse.This influx of industrialization also affects their migratory patterns—threatening not only the humans who depend on them, but also the entire marine ecosystem. This bowhead is presumably in adolescence, given its apparent underwater moping. GIF via National Geographic. Whales might be large and have remarkable longevity, but they still need our help to surviveIf you want another whale to make it to his two-hundredth birthday and beyond (which you should because I hear they throw great parties), then sign these petitions via Change.org to protect our oceans from oil drilling, ship strikes, and other other industrial threats.I guarantee Moby Dick will appreciate it.This article originally appeared ten years ago. It has been updated.

9-year-old Sydney Smoot had a bone to pick with the Hernando County School Board. The issue? The Florida Standards Assessment Test, or FSA for short. On March 17, 2015, Sydney bravely stood up at her local school board meeting to share how she felt about the test and why she believes it's failing students and teachers.The video struck a nerve, racking up over 2 million views on YouTube. Though not an official record, we're betting Sydney's speech made this one of the most watched local school board meetings of all time."This testing looks at me as a number," she said, craning her neck to speak into the mic, but speaking with no shortage of ferocity. "One test defines me as either a failure or a success through a numbered rubric. One test at the end of the year that the teacher or myself will not even see the grade until after the school year is already over. I do not feel that all this FSA testing is accurate to tell how successful I am. It doesn't take in account all of my knowledge and abilities, just a small percentage."Can we give this little girl a medal? She was speaking right to our souls with that speech! - YouTube www.youtube.com Here's the full transcript of her remarks:“Fellow members of the school board, today I will express my concerns about the FSA testing. I consider myself a well-educated young lady. However, with FSA tests my five years of school… do not matter. This testing looks at me as a number. One test defines me as either a failure or a success through a numbered rubric. One test at the end of the year that the teacher or myself will not see the grade [for] until after the school year is already over.I do not feel that all of this FSA testing is accurate to tell how successful I am. It doesn’t take into account all of my knowledge and abilities, just a small percentage. Here are my concerns. First of all, I do not feel good signing a form in the FSA ensuring that you can’t even discuss the test with your parents. I am not comfortable signing something like this I have the right to talk to my parents about any and everything related to school and my education. Second, why am I being forced to take a test that hasn’t even been testing on students here in Florida, so how can it be accurate and valid on what I know? Why are we taking most of the year stressing and prepping for one test at the end of the year when we should be taking tests throughout the year that really measure our abilities?My opinion is that we should take a test at the beginning of the year, middle, and end of the school year to accurately measure what we know. The pressure this puts on me and I’m sure most students is not healthy. Why should we have so much stress about one test when we should be learning and having fun in school? With all of this testing in school, more fun things such as recess are being eliminated because of training for the test! So, ladies and gentlemen of the school board, I urge you to put a stop to high-stakes testing today. It’s not fair to the schools, teachers, and students. Parents and students, contact your governor to put a stop to all the standardized testing. Thank you so much for your time.” High-stakes testing takes a real toll on students. Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash Since the FSA was first implemented, it came under intense criticism. Critics said it takes critical funds away from students and does not do as good of a job as national testing standards in helping to prepare young students for higher education or careers after their K-12 school is complete. In fact, more recent research shows that class grades are a far better predictor of success than the SAT, ACT, or any standardized testing results:"That’s because standardized tests have a major blind spot," writes Edutopia. "The exams fail to capture the 'soft skills' that reflect a student’s ability to develop good study habits, take academic risks, and persist through challenges, for example. High school grades, on the other hand, appear to do a better job mapping the area where resilience and knowledge meet. Arguably, that’s the place where potential is translated into real achievement."The stress of these tests also takes a very real toll on students, especially ones who may be experiencing hardship outside of school.In 2022, about seven years after Sydney spoke in front of the board, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis officially did away with the FSA program. "Today we come, not to praise the FSA, but to bury it," DeSantis said at the time.The FSA was replaced with a progress monitoring system that was meant to reduce testing times and give students more updated progress goals as their education continues throughout the academic year."Instead of having one major test at the end of the year which provided no feedback to students before the summer came, we would do progress monitoring that would monitor progress throughout the school year," DeSantis added. "It would be shorter, it would be more individualized, and it would provide good feedback for students, for teachers, and for parents."The new system is called FAST assessments — Florida Assessment of Student Thinking — and is still rolling out across the state. - YouTube www.youtube.com That's the kind of statement a young Sydney Smoot could get behind. In fact, the new system isn't all that different from what Sydney herself proposed in her address to the board. But many other states still follow antiquated standardized testing practices — often remnants of the No Child Left Behind era — and that's why Sydney's words still resonate so powerfully nearly a decade later.Today, Smoot is a Marine Sciences student at Oregon State University. Indeed, a simple one-size-fits-all rubric would have never been able to measure her aptitude and likelihood for success. She was right about that all along.This article originally appeared 10 years ago. It has been updated.