These devices and practices featured throughout ‘Seinfeld’ are a thing of the past.

Golden Bachelor ? #comedy #standupcomedy

This story was originally published by After Babel on Substack. You can find it here.Introduction from Jon Haidt and Zach Rausch:It has been true for hundreds of years: older generations worry about whatever new technology young people are using, and whatever new media they are consuming. This is why some people believe that the current wave of concern about social media and smartphones is overblown, like earlier concerns about violence in comic books and music lyrics. These skeptics say that no new norms or laws are needed.But during all previous waves, most young people liked the things they were doing (as far as we know).1 They were grateful to have access to radios, TV shows, comic books, and rap music. They did not create organizations to fight back against these industries for harming kids.How do members of Gen Z feel about smartphones and social media? Are they grateful to have gotten them in middle school? As we (and several others) have shown using surveys, the answer is no. Many members of Gen Z have deep regrets about growing up attached to these products. They see the damage done, and there is a growing movement to push back.But surveys just convey numbers. To understand more deeply, and to better empathize, we need to hear members of Gen Z in their own words. We have featured several such writers here at After Babel: Freya India, Gabriela Nguyen, Rikki Schlott, and Eli George.Today we bring you one of the most powerful Gen Z writers we’ve encountered: Kori Jane Spaulding. A poet from Houston, Texas, Kori is just 21 years old and has already published three books of poems and one novel (all listed at the bottom of this post). She also performs her poems and posts the videos on Instagram and TikTok, with a style that is haunting.We reached out to Kori to ask if we could share her work with the After Babel community. She uploaded a video of the poem that first caught our attention, and provided a transcript as well. We encourage you to watch the video first, then read the transcript below — and afterward, take a moment to explore more of her work.We’re grateful to Kori Jane for giving voice to so many in her generation, and for the path to empathy that she gives us all.– Jon and Zach - YouTube www.youtube.com Below is a transcription of the spoken word poem shared in the video. A slightly different version of the poem can be found in two of Kori’s books: Books Close (pg. 92-93), and Ajar (pg. 270-271).It Was the Damn PhonesBy Kori Jane SpauldingI think our parents were right.It was the damn phones.We laughed as children, hearing, “It’s that Snapgram and Instachat and Facetok”.They didn’t understand. They couldn’t even say it right. We thought we knew better than them.They didn’t know what it was like, having the world at the tip of our fingers.We scroll through the trash so much, we have news headlines tattooed on our skin.Wires for veins. AI for a brain. And they may not have understood. But they were right.It was the damn phones.I prided myself on sobriety, on being drunk with only propriety. I was above addiction.A hypocritical notion. For am I not addicted to my own anxiety?Brought on by a need for constant stimulation. A drug in our pockets.But who can blame us? We were but children when they were given.We didn’t know how to stop it. If I added up all the hours I spent on a screen,existential dread and regret would creep in. So I ignore this fact by opening my phone.And it’s not like I can throw it away. It’s how we communicate. It’s how we relate.It’s a medicine that is surely making our souls die.I used to say I was born in the wrong generation, but I was mistaken.For I do everything I say I hate. Exchanging hobbies for Hinge,truth with TikTok, intimacy with Instagram, sanity with Snapchat.I have become self-aware. Almost worse than being naive. I know it’s poison, but I drink away.The character behind the phone screen has become self-aware.We used to be scared of robots gaining consciousness, a lie by the media companies.To keep us distracted enough, so not to become conscious of the mess they created.We are the robots. We are the product. And so I sit and I scroll and I rot on repeat.Sit and scroll and rot.Until my thoughts are what is being fed to me on TV,until my feelings are wrapped up in celebrities,until my body is a tool of my political identity.I sit and I scroll and I rot.And I post on the internet how the internet has failed usso that I may not fail my internet presence. I think our parents were right.It was the damn phones.More about Kori JaneKori Jane’s homepage and Amazon pageLinks to her three books of poetry:Books CloseOpen WoundsAjarFollow Kori on TikTok at Korijanes and on Instagram at Kori.janesThe jacket copy of her new book — a novel: Behind The Picket Fence.In a time when mental health awareness is at its peak, mental health issues are higher than ever. This ironic dichotomy inspired Kori’s novel, Behind The Picket Fence, where she dives into the complexities of the mental illness crisis facing this generation. Social media and technology have birthed a culture focused on material consumption, constant stimulation, and an obsession with self. This book explores the virtue of stepping into others’ shoes and how doing so may even save one’s soul. Mallory, despite a seemingly perfect life, finds herself on the brink of suicide the same day she’s nominated for prom queen. In this modern-day coming-of-age novel, the reader joins Mallory as she steps into the shoes of her loved ones, reliving the same day through seven unique perspectives. People growing up in this age are hungry for something to blame. This book ignores the question Why me? and poses the question What now?. What do we do when this Western dream turns into a nightmare?Notes:1. The evidence against the “moral panic” thesis is not just that so many members of Gen Z say that they have been harmed. There is also mounting empirical evidence of harm, including confessions from the companies themselves.

No one likes the feeling of hunger. It's why babies cry their shrill, eardrum-piercing wail. Hunger can be why fully grown adults get irritated and snippy when they're normally pleasant. Eating is a biological need to keep all humans alive, and our uncomfortable, growling bellies are a reminder that our bodies need food. Unfortunately, food is not something everyone has access to for multiple reasons. Sometimes it's a matter of where you were born for some, while for others it's due to a medical emergency, job loss, or a government shutdown impacting income and food security. But when it comes to hunger, children and their empty bellies don't care what is impacting the food budget; they just want something filling. After growing up in poverty myself, I've learned how to stretch a dollar while still feeling full. Usually, when people think of cheap meals, they think of things like packs of ramen, cans of ravioli, or a box of mac and cheese. Those things are cheap and will get the job done, but you'll likely be hungry again within a couple of hours—if you get to feel satiated at all. So, keep those on hand for when you're between checks and have eaten everything else, but take note of these easy-to-make, extremely affordable, filling meals. Cooking with love: A joyful kitchen moment.Photo credit: Canva1. Beef stroganoffThis sounds more expensive than it actually is, but before I tell you what's in it, remember that we are looking for filling and affordable. If you have the items on hand, you can certainly make it properly with a brown gravy roux made from the juices of your sirloin steak tips. But, if you have limited funds, grab yourself some egg noodles, a tall jar or two cans of beef gravy, and some ground beef. You can add a drained can of peas for color and to get in some needed vitamins. The recipe is fairly straightforward: season the beef (you can use ground turkey and turkey gravy as ground turkey is often cheaper) and cook until done while the egg noodles are boiling. Drain the cooked noodles, add the cooked beef, pour in the gravy and peas, mix it all together, and season to taste. That's it. The entire meal will cost around $12 and feed a family of six. Mother and daughter cooking together in the kitchen.Photo credit: Canva2. Butter noodlesMy stepdad would make this when we didn't have gravy. It's exactly the same as beef stroganoff, except you melt a stick of butter into the cooked noodles. It was one of my favorite things to eat as a kid, and I had no idea we were eating it because we were poor. I saw it as a special meal because it was something we had sometimes, not weekly. There were times when there was no meat to put in the noodles, so we just ate seasoned butter noodles and made garlic bread to go on the side. 3. Obviously, spaghetti. Lots of spaghetti.This version of spaghetti might make all of Italy shake its head, but when you've got kids to feed while trying to turn pocket lint into acceptable currency, you have to work with what you have. A one-pound roll of ground beef (the rolls are cheapest for some reason), a box of store-brand spaghetti noodles, and a jar of store-brand spaghetti pasta sauce are all you need. Boil the noodles, brown the beef, and drain them both. Then pour the pasta sauce into the ground beef, or throw it all together into one pot and mix. Twirl of spaghetti perfection. ?Photo credit: CanvaVoilà! Dinner is ready and only costs you around $9 or less, depending on where you bought your ingredients. There will probably be leftovers you can stick in a freezer bag (squeeze out all of the air) and freeze them for another food emergency. To reheat the frozen pasta, just run it under some hot water while still in the bag, then plop the contents into a pot with a little bit of water on low heat. 4. SuccotashIs this succotash? I honestly don't know, but it's what my mom called it. As a child, it appeared that she was throwing every canned vegetable into a pot and making up a word for the concoction. I've since learned that my mother's version was made to stretch, as we were a family of 7. She took a box of Kraft macaroni and cheese, cooked it as instructed, then added a few cans of mixed vegetables. If we didn't have mixed vegetables left, then she'd take whatever vegetables were left and add one can of each, usually corn, green beans, lima beans, peas, and cooked carrots. That was it. Baking fun: family enjoys messy dough time together!Photo credit: Canva5. Pinto beans and riceThis was also one of my favorites as a child. As an adult, I can see how cheap it was to make and how filling it was for a large family. A bag of dry pinto beans is a whole dollar or less, and so is a bag of rice, depending on the store. I remember smelling the pinto beans simmering all day long as I ran in and out of the house playing until dinner was ready. To add to the flavor, she would cook the beans with a neck bone or ham hock, which can be found with the pork products in the meat section. It's a very Southern meal, and it's delicious. Once the beans are tender and the water you were cooking them in has started to thicken, you can start the rice. But you should know, this meal isn't complete without cornbread. Mmm. I prefer to make cornbread muffins because they're easy to pick up and toss on the side of your bowl. Once the rice is done, grab a bowl, make a bed of rice on the bottom, and ladle in a few scoops of pinto beans. Grab your cornbread, and enjoy a meal that won't empty your pockets. Delicious rice and beans in a rustic bowl.Photo credit: Canva6. Breakfast for dinnerBreakfast foods are notoriously cheap, but one staple my mom used to cook in a pinch is pancakes. A box of pancake mix goes a long way, and it's only a couple of bucks. They're filling to boot, and you don't always have to use syrup. You can spread jam on top, peanut butter, or anything spreadable. They're also quick to make and there's usually no need for a special trip to the store to get pancake mix because it's in most people's pantries already. 7. Bag of soup and a roll of French breadIf they had bags of soup when I was a kid, no one in my house knew it existed. I personally buy this soup because of its ease more than the price point, but it being under $4 doesn't hurt. Bear Creek soup is a dried soup that you add to eight cups of boiling water. They have all sorts of hearty flavors like creamy potato, broccoli and cheddar, and vegetable beef. A lot of grocery stores sell fresh French bread for $1 near the bakery. Slice the bread and serve it as a side to the soup to help fill the belly. Creamy broccoli cheddar soup in a cozy bowl. Perfect for chilly days!Photo credit: CanvaMost of these meals are made from things people already have in their homes. When people head to the grocery store, it's not usually because they're out of food, but because they're out of the foods they prefer and fresh produce. Cabinets and pantries often still contain canned foods, pasta noodles of different varieties, and more. While these meals may not be the healthiest option for people to eat, they will stretch the money and food you already have until things are a bit more stable. If you or your family need help locating food banks in your area, please visit findfood.hungerfreeamerica.org or call 1-866-3-HUNGRY to speak with someone who can help you find local meal resources. If you need assistance with food and beyond, you can visit 211.org or call 211 to locate resources that fit your needs.

Even though your voice is one of the defining aspects of your personality, acclaimed vocal coach Dr. Morton Cooper says most people are not speaking in their natural voices. They either altered their tone to sound more like someone they admire or developed their tone to oppose someone they don’t like.Even though the vocal changes are mostly subconscious, over time speaking in the wrong register can cause burnout and leave someone exhausted after a long day. Timothy Daigle is going viral on TikTok for a video in which he admits that since puberty, he hasn’t been speaking in his natural voice. What’s interesting about the clip is that he begins the video speaking in his conversational voice and then reveals his actual speaking voice at the end. @timmaydgl This was… an uncomfortable realization at first. Now, it’s just a fascinating piece of my personal history that I will DEFINITELY bring up in therapy one day when talking about how aggressively I will accomodate the people around me no matter how ridiculous their problem with me is. Daigle reveals his real speaking voice “What you’re hearing right now is what people would call my speaking voice,” Daigle said. “This is the voice that I have spoken to my children, my partners, my family with since I was maybe 14—15 years old. This voice does not bother me, but this voice is the voice I speak with for a reason.”Daigle said that he began speaking in a higher register after his mom repeatedly criticized him for mumbling as a teenager. “That word ‘mumbling’ came out of her mouth at me in every conversation for years when I hit about 11, 12, 13 years old. So I would speak up. I would squeeze my voice,” he said.After his wife asked him to speak in his natural voice, he relaxed his throat, “and let noise come out of my face,” and spoke in his “unaffected” voice, which was much deeper and smoother.Folks in the comments thought his authentic voice sounded a lot more relaxed and natural than when he spoke in a higher register. “Your higher voice, actually gave me anxiety, your natural voice is so calming. I feel like you’re higher voice kinda almost put you on 10, so it put me on 10," Carlise wrote. “Sir, I almost choked on my lunch when that silk came out,” Sloan wrote.How to find your natural speaking voice - YouTube www.youtube.com To find your natural speech pitch, Ronja Petersen, a singing teacher on Singgeek, suggests starting by humming. "Most people, when they hum, when they're just like walking around your house, taking care of business, being happy, and most will actually hum right there on their natural speech pitch. If you start speaking around that pitch, you should find your natural speaking voice," Petersen said.In a similar exercise, Dr. Morton Cooper says that we can find our natural speaking voice by responding to a question with a natural, "Mmm-hmmm." With lips closed, respond to the following statement with a spontaneous "mmm-hmmm." "Dinner is my favorite meal of the day."It’s heartbreaking to consider that Daigle has spent all of his adult life speaking in a voice that isn’t natural, but his story also opens the door for the rest of us to think about the parts of our personality that are genuine and which ones were put on to please someone at some point in the past. We are all holding on to vestigial character and personality traits. My, how wonderful it would be if we could shed them and be one step closer to living a life of pure authenticity.

There’s a bizarre paradox in American life where some of the most shameless people claim that they are devout followers of God. You see it all the time with shady politicians and even in the pulpit, where it seems like every few months, some famous preacher is getting caught up in a scandal motivated by greed or sex.There are also those people you meet in church who claim to be the most Godly on Sunday, but seem to forget His teachings during the week. What gives? Why is it that people who claim to be the most religious are often self-centered, arrogant narcissists? A popular TikToker who goes by Johnny and posts about politics and American culture says it’s because narcissists have a special love for religion. After all, it perfectly complements their toxic personality.“Have you guys ever noticed that it seems like narcissists seem to love Christianity? And it's not because they're genuinely spiritual, but because it gives them everything that they want: Admiration, forgiveness, and zero accountability,” Johnny opens his video. @happytimes503 #religion #psychology #christianity #narcissism #accountability “They wanna do whatever they want and still be seen as good. Then there's the image side of it, of course. You know, churches reward the appearance of virtue —being godly, family-oriented, moral. It's a stage narcissists thrive on,” Johnny continued. "They get to stand up, talk about values, saving the kids, while living the opposite in private.”What is a narcissist?Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental health condition where people have a grandiose sense of self-importance. They are known to excessively brag about their achievements and fantasize about success, power, beauty, intelligence, and love. They have an intense need for admiration due to their fragile self-esteem and are preoccupied with how others feel about them. People should be wary around them because they are known to take advantage of others deliberately and can fake humility to protect their sense of self-importance.Richard Ramos, founder of Parents on a Mission, a faith-based organization to help at-risk youth and families, says that churches are often positioned to be exploited by narcissists. “Many religious spaces value obedience, emotional vulnerability, and moral certainty, and of course, narcissists can exploit this to elevate themselves while hiding behind righteousness,” Ramos told Upworthy. How to identify a narcissist in a religious settingWhen do you know that someone in your house of worship is a narcissist? “You need to be aware of leaders or members who constantly put themselves front and center, discourage questioning, and confuse charisma with character,” Ramos told Upworthy. The Parents on a Mission founder believes that when combating narcissists in a religious setting, it’s best to enlist the entire community.“If you’ve begun to sense narcissistic patterns in your faith community’s leadership, trust that instinct, and don’t carry the weight alone,” Ramos said. “Reach out to trusted voices, whether inside or outside your faith circle. You are not being ‘divisive’ by protecting your peace. You are discerning. Set clear boundaries and remember, spiritual leadership should never shrink your soul. True faith brings freedom, not fear. Confidence, not confusion. Worth, not shame.”

What happens when a volunteer-run, non-profit coffee shop offers free breakfast to people whose food assistance is about to be halted due to a government shutdown and political stalemate? The world shows up to help in a big way. Heretic Coffee is a unique coffee shop and roasting company in southeast Portland, Oregon. The community-oriented shop aims to be a counter to the often-exploitative coffee industry, which means it pays its suppliers the best possible wage and provides top-notch brewing training to the volunteer baristas who help the shop run. And now that generosity of spirit has spread far beyond Portland after owner Josh White put out an offer to provide breakfast to anyone who is losing their SNAP benefits when the U.S. government halts benefits on November 1. See on Instagram On October 26th, 2025, the coffee shop wrote on Instagram, "Starting November 1st: If you are losing your SNAP benefits and are unsure how to feed your family, then breakfast is on us. No proof needed. No questions asked. Just ask us for the 'Snap breakfast' and our baristas will know what to do, and will take care of you. Come in each day until your SNAP is back." People who saw the post began asking if there was a place they could donate to help out with the generous offer. Heretic set up a donation link and put it in shop's Instagram bio, and soon the donations started pouring in. Within two days, over 2,000 people had donated, raising more than $72,000. In another two days, the total had climbed to over $184,000. As of October 30, that total had risen to over $280,000. See on Instagram To say White was surprised is an understatement. "I legitimately thought we would get a couple hundred dollars,” he told The Oregonian.What's perhaps most remarkable is the global nature of the donations. People from Australia to West Africa have sent breakfast funds, and as of October 30, more than 10,000 people had donated from around the world. One donation was just $1.17—all the person had to donate. “This is a now a global movement of humanity making sure Americans are fed, White wrote on the shop's Instagram page. “Literally, thank you to the world for feeding people. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: when the system fails us, it’s on us to take care of each other.”White has partnered with Equitable Giving Circle to ensure that every dollar of the flood of donations is put to the best use to help individuals and families in the Portland area get the aid they need. See on Instagram People from Portland and elsewhere shared praise for the initiative and people's response to it:"That’s an average donation of $26 each - let’s please remember this next time we are tempted to think 'but I’m just one person, what can I do?.""When you eat primarily rice, beans, tuna, pasta, and are able to go into a regular coffee shop for a fresh meal — so much dignity is restored in that little act ??????.""This is incredible!!! I love how people are showing up and giving what they can!! What a beautiful way to bring some healing to our divided nation.""The way this rolling tide of generosity and love has made every day this week infinitely more tolerable ❤️? None of us should have been driven to the point that this needed to be the answer but I am so damn grateful that humanity has shown up in this incredible way at this moment when my faith in all that’s good was beaten and dragged and shrinking every day."""Restoring faith in humanity when we need it. Thank you!" See on Instagram Heretic says that their first step with the flood of funds is to feed people with their SNAP breakfast initiative. "This is in effect right now and will be until SNAP is reinstated or until we go broke," the shop shared on Instagram. The next step is to use the attention "to bring awareness to the mutual aid orgs & communities here in Portland who have been doing this for years, and using your financial support to feed as many people as possible." "Again, from the bottom of my heart: thank you," White wrote. "Thank you to everyone who has waited for their latte, to the grandmother in Ireland who emailed me and said she’d cook me dinner if I were ever in her city, and to the thousands of you who have given your money for this cause."Portland, please come eat. The world has you."Indeed it does. Find more information about the SNAP breakfast initiative on Heretic Coffee's Instagram page.

Film lovers and historians have long marveled at the hypnotic faces of the silent era: ghost-white skin, black lips, those hypnotically hollow eyes. But as one viral explainer from Hollywood history buff Swofford revealed, this wasn’t so much an aesthetic choice as it was about chemistry, physics, and creativity blending together in a really cool way.In the earliest days of cinema, filmmaking was as much a science experiment as an art form. Directors, actors, and makeup artists were learning, frame by frame, how to make human faces readable on camera. And what they discovered would lay the groundwork for movie makeup as we know it.As Swofford explained, early silent films were shot on orthochromatic film, from the Greek ortho (“correct”) and chroma (“color”). Ironically, the “correct color” film was terrible with warm tones and “did not give AF” about them, Swofford quipped.Buster Keaton Hat GIFfrom Buster Keaton GIFs This meant that red lipstick looked black, rosy cheeks turned ashen, and natural skin tones vanished into murky gray. Meanwhile, blue tones, which the film stock was sensitive to, appeared shockingly bright or ghostly white.Pioneering filmmakers took their cues from theater—where thespians had already learned to combat harsh gaslight with greasepaint—and then reengineered those tricks for the even harsher glare of studio lamps and film stock.Foundations came in pale yellows, whites, or faint pinks, applied in streaks and topped heavily with powder to reduce shine from the scorching studio lights (dear god, I’m breaking out just thinking about this). Contours were rouged in red for dimension, and blue, counterintuitively, was used as a highlighter. Eyes and brows were lined in dark brown or black to emphasize expression. Theda Bara upload.wikimedia.org The idea was to make “the whites of the eyes shine as brilliantly as possible," said Swofford. Lips, meanwhile, were painted in cool pinks or muted browns—reds would turn black on film. And while rumor has it that 1920s actresses wore green lipstick, Swofford clarified that was a later invention for early color television testing, not the silent screen.Under normal light, this makeup looked downright alien. But under orthochromatic film, it was pure magic: dreamy, sculpted, expressive. To prove it, Swofford even applied authentic 1920s makeup to his own face on camera. Lo and behold, it looked downright bizarre in color, but when he adjusted the light settings, it was uncanny. He suddenly transformed into a vintage film idol, like we’ve stepped into a Buster Keaton reel. - YouTube www.youtube.com Once panchromatic film arrived—film that could capture the full color spectrum—this strange alchemy was no longer necessary, Swofford noted. And with the dawn of Technicolor, the entire aesthetic changed again.This video is an amazing reminder that cinema has always been an evolving collaboration between art and experimentation. The faces of the silent era may look ghostly now, but in their time, they were pure innovation. It also goes to show that the earliest stars weren’t just performers, but the founders of a new visual language.Be sure to give Swofford a follow on Instagram and YouTube for even more educational and entertaining videos just like this one.

Everything changed. The post The “insane” performance that made Jeff Buckley want to be a musician first appeared on Far Out Magazine.

If you've ever wondered what each state's famous snack might be, this list is for you. By the end, you might crave a road trip to try America's favorite snacks.