Zach Top is, without a doubt, changing the country music landscape for the better. The Washington state native is turning back the clock and transporting listeners back to the thick of the '90s, bringing back the sound of artists like Keith Whitley, Alan Jackson, and George Strait. While the internet took inspiration from his sound too far, creating a conspiracy theory that he is Alan Jackson's son, there's no denying that the two mustached men share many similarities sound-wise. While some say that Top's sound is a dead ringer for Jackson, Top has always said that he never wanted to be a '90 gimmick, but his sound was heavily influenced by what he grew up listening to. https://www.instagram.com/p/DElEBU2yOTp/ In a recent Billboard interview, Top noted that he is honored to be compared to the legends of the past and is happy to spearhead the movement back to that sound. "Obviously, I've got sonically, a reminiscent sort of thing going on from the '90s stuff. But I kind of...I feel like I cut my teeth on the same kind of stuff the '90s guys cut theirs on. For one thing, I'm honored that people see me as sort of a spearhead or a leader back towards traditional country music or country music the way that I feel in love with it and, you know, still love. It's a fun spot to be in, and I think it's a lot of just the right place at the right time sort of thing."  Similar to Ashley McBryde's statement about moving away from the touchstones of country music and how if we move too far away from them, the genre is in trouble, Zach Top feels the genre has a natural tendency to continually return to those roots or touchstones. Zach Top agrees that when a "new and a little edgy" sound comes along, people get excited and embrace it for a while. However, the craving for traditional country grows as time passes, and the genre returns to its classic sound. "We've got our bread and butter, the roots, the traditions where we came from, and then something new and a little edgy comes along, and everybody gets excited about that, for good reason. And (they) kind of run with that for a little while until people are like, 'Yeah, but this is where we came from. Let's get back to it a little bit.' So I think I came along at the right time for that."  I think Zach Top would be a hit no matter what his breakout timing was, but his rapid launch into stardom was a part of the timing. Many country music listeners were getting tired of hearing the same pop country songs, and as we moved out of bro country, soulful artists like Chris Stapleton were taking off. Still, no one with that neo-traditional twang, a true '90s throwback, was in the mainstream limelight... until Zach Top was discovered. Zach Top appeals to multiple generations, which is heavily in his favor. He will keep getting bigger, and I am here for it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut_k2_xdjUc

Sounds like HARDY is cooking up some new tunes. Yesterday, he shared a heartfelt post on social media about a song on his "next record" called "Buck On The Wall," which was inspired by his late grandfather who passed away last year. In addition to sharing the big buck he harvested this week, Hardy explained that his grandpa built a hunting cabin for his family back in 1989 that is now filled with 30-40 bucks on the wall that various family members have gotten over the decades. He elaborated, saying it's been a hard fall and winter season without him as he's been sorely missing his grandpa while hunting without him, though he's "damn proud" to keep the family tradition alive and plans to continue putting "bucks on the walls that he built": "I’ve got a song on my next record called 'Buck On The Wall' that perfectly describes this deer and the story behind it. Some of you know, but my grandfather passed away a year ago. In 1989 he built our family a little cabin which we have used as our deer camp for the last 35 years, where there are 30-40 bucks mounted on the wall. This fall/winter season is the first one he hasn’t been a part of, and I wish so bad he could’ve seen this deer, but I’m damn proud to keep our family tradition alive and keep putting bucks on the walls that he built. So this one’s for him. Slide 2 is my grandmother, his wife. Love you Pop." I can't wait to hear it, and I'm sure it will be an emotional and heartfelt tribute to some of his most special and cherished memories of his grandpa. You can see the photo with his sweet grandma on the second slide: https://www.instagram.com/p/DExa4y_OFMT/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=27b24d98-958c-4d37-ac66-9bb3739c1154 Hardy most recently released his fully rock album QUIT!! in July, which is of course the follow up to last year’s the mockingbird & THE CROW, a half country, half rock album. He also worked with superstar Post Malone for his first full-length country album F-1 Trillion, recording a song called "Hide My Gun." On an episode of the Zach Sang Show podcast, Hardy discussed what it was like to work with Posty and how he came to Nashville and “fully immersed himself” in the culture of Music City and the way most country artists go about making music, which is pretty different than almost any other genre. Hardy noted that other than the fact that they started writing and worked well into the night when they had meetings, sometimes working into the next morning, Post did it the full Nashville way and he respected that: “Well that’s what I love about what he did. Other than the time frame, like instead of starting at 11 we started at night, but he came to Nashville and he sat and he listened. He didn’t… and I don’t mean that like, he is a great writer, great writer, and he can write country lyrics, everything about it, but what I mean is he came to Nashville and said, ‘I wanna do this the way you guys do it.’ And he had songwriters that the world has never heard of, but in Nashville they’ve written tons of hit songs. He didn’t just want me and Ernest, Morgan and Brad Paisley, and Erich Church and Tim McGraw.” Maybe they'll record another song together for Hardy's next album, too... "Hide My Gun" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEl5q2bbWh4

Groundhogs aren't the only creatures with the powers of prognostication. From badgers to woolly bear caterpillars, these other animals are said to predict the weather.

The game of familiar faces has surprising connections to Anne Frank and fidget toys.

A 42-year-old mother wondered whether she did the right thing by disciplining her 18-year-old daughter, Abby, who disinvited a friend from vacation because of her weight. The mother asked people on Reddit for their opinion. For some background, Abby had struggled with her weight for many years, so she went to her mother for help. The two set up a program where Abby was given a reward for every milestone she achieved.“Four months ago, she asked that I don't get her any more rewards and add it up to her birthday gift, and for her gift she wants a vacation I will pay for, for her and her friends instead of the huge party I had promised for her 18th. I said OK,” the mother wrote. So, instead of a series of small gifts, Abbey wanted one large one, a vacation with two of her friends. The vacation would also celebrate Abby’s 18th birthday. The mother agreed and booked the trip for the 3 girls.“Fast forward to last weekend, we started preparing for her vacation,” the mother wrote. “I called the other two girls' parents to confirm the girls would be and learned Abby's best friend Betty isn't going. Betty loves traveling and was looking forward to the vacation, so I asked why. Apparently, Abby uninvited her because ‘she is too chubby to look good in pictures.’”When the mother approached Abby about the situation, she doubled down on her comments to Betty. “I calmly talked to Abby and reminded her how Betty would feel being left out for such a reason, and she went off with, 'I didn't work so hard for this vacation so my pictures will be ruined,'" the mother wrote.Abby then asked Betty to contact her mom and say that she decided not to go on the trip because she wasn’t feeling well. Betty refused to lie, and Abby sent her a “ton of hateful texts and body-shaming insults.” Betty shared screenshots of the texts to the mother, and she promptly canceled the entire vacation. Now, Abby’s father, who shares 50-50 custody with the mother, is livid, and Abby won’t speak to the mother. The mom asked the Reddit AITA forum to see if she was in the wrong, and the commenters overwhelmingly said she did the right thing. "Some of my friends agree on my approach, while others think I should have put my daughter first,” the mother said. The most popular commenter was short and to the point. "Teaching your daughter to not be a horrible human being IS putting her first," Due_Laugh_3851 wrote. "I commend your strength and parenting skills. This was the right thing to do and would've been hard to do. Well done, you deserve to go on the holiday yourself," Loud_Wallaby737 added. "... uninviting someone because you only want skinny people in your pictures is a disgusting attitude frankly. Sorry, I just don't find a nicer word for it. I am totally with you that this needs to have consequences, and while I'm very much against breaking promises, I do believe this is an exception. Like you said, your daughter knows what it feels like. She (but anyone really) should be supportive of friends wanting to lose weight if that is the case and if it isn't they she should just mind her own business body," SensitiveSires wrote. One of the few people who thought she was in the wrong believed that the mother set her daughter up for failure."[You're wrong] for giving your daughter who is a child rewards for weight loss. Her behavior of value based on weight shows she likely has developed disordered eating patterns and attitudes and this will cause her a lifetime of pain," tamtheprogram wrote.The silver lining to the story is that many people who commented said that even though her daughter did something very hurtful, she’s still a teenager and there’s a chance she’ll realize the error of her ways."The daughter is just a teenager, she still has a lot of time to learn and grow up. Writing off her entire future as a mean girl when it’s very rare to be the same exact person you were at 18 as you grow up is a lot," Stephapeaz wrote.This article originally appeared on 9.18.23

If there is a God and it's the one from the Abrahamic religions then He is the all-knowing Creator of the universe who made us in His image. So, he obviously knows that humanity has a lot of questions for Him that weren’t adequately answered in any of his holy books or haven’t been sufficiently addressed by the folks who claim to speak on his behalf on Earth.(Note: I am referring to God as a "He" because of how He's represented in the literature. However, I'd assume that God would be more of a they because beings that exist beyond space and time haven't much need for a gender.)Personally, if I made it to heaven and was given an audience with Mr. Almighty, then there's a whole host of questions that I'd need to have answered. Here are my top 5:What was in Marsellus Wallace's briefcase in “Pulp Fiction”?Can I have my dog Murray back now?Where’s John Lennon and is there a bar in this place where we can have a few beers?Who made you?If you’ve been healing people all this time, why is it always something internal that we can’t see? You’ve allegedly healed all types of internal diseases but not once has an amputee had a limb grow back. Please explain.A Reddit user by the name of GeometryThing recently asked the AskReddit subforum “You can ask God any one question, what do you ask him?” and the answers ranged from the philosophical to the heart-wrenching to the hilarious. One of the big questions was why is there so much suffering on Earth if he loves us? While others wondered what He thought about some of his most ardent believers with questionable ethics.Here are 17 of the best questions that people would ask God if they could.1.“Damn bro what did i do?” — vltraviolet_2."Why?" — Katie_Emm3."How is my mom?" — Noodlepotdreams4.​"What the fuck is up with the kids getting cancer?" — GrinAndBeerIt5."I wanna know who committed all the big unsolved murders. Madeleine McCann, Jon Bennet Ramsay, TuPac & Biggie, Black Dahlia, JFK etc." — StarsByMoonlight6."How is it possible that you know all things that will ever happen AND I have free will? So if I kill a man that means that you already knew it would happen. At that point why would I ask for forgiveness? You already knew what would happen since I can't change your will and doesn't that kinda cancel out free will also?" — Fancy_Carr7."You say you have a purpose for everyone, but if a baby dies immediately after it was born, what was its purpose? How about all those homeless people that die on the streets unnoticed? I'm actually curious what his answer would be." — KeepRunningFromMom8."What will the next Powerball numbers be?" — Temmere9."Why do you need to be worshipped? You claim to be the most powerful, omniscient yet caring and loving being that created this entire universe. But despite all that you still need worship? Are you just narcissistic or does your power depend on how we, nothing but mere dust in your eyes, worship you?" — ppjysn10."When was the exact date that he noped out and said fuck the whole planet?" — BluMagik_LoD11."Can you just come over and straighten some people out? Some of your creations are wack." — ThinkingAboutStuf12."Now that I know for sure there is a god, I would ask which religion is CLOSEST to being right, because otherwise, he might say none are perfect." — Mister_E_The_Third13.​"Who is your daddy and what does he do?" — saiyaniam14.​"Got any pro tips and tricks for living as a human?” — Vampire_Sloth15."How do magnets work?" — CatSk8Scratch16."Why don't you tell your nastiest followers that they're doing it wrong?" — BubbhaJebus17."Why did you put the testicles on the outside???" — Additional-Winner-45This article originally appeared three years ago.

Raising kids is tough, but there's a lot of laughs along the way. Comedy writer James Breakwell has four daughters under the age of eight and shares their hilarious conversations on Twitter. And, from Breakwell's tweets, it looks like his five year old has a future in comedy. Here's a sampling of some Breakwell's funniest kid-inspired tweets.1. Me: What did you do at school today?\n\n5-year-old: Learned about dragons.\n\nMe: Your class learned about dragons?\n\n5: I learned about dragons. I don't know what everybody else was doing. — James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn) 1524164098 2. 5-year-old: *stares off into space*\n\nMe: What's wrong?\n\n5: What happens if a kangaroo jumps on a trampoline?\n\nMe: *stares off into space, too* — James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn) 1512655067 3. 5-year-old daughter: Why does Mom wear makeup?\n\nMe: To look pretty.\n\n5: But she's already pretty.\n\nMe: Aww.\n\n5: Dad, you should wear makeup. — James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn) 1434719335 4. 3-year-old: Do boys like Frozen?\n\n5-year-old: Nobody cares what boys like. — James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn) 1522195727 5. 5-year-old: I wish we all had infinity dollars\n\nMe: That\u2019d wreck the economy\n\n5: I just-\n\nMe: Go to your room until you understand inflation — James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn) 1441628973 6. 5-year-old daughter: I think a boy likes me. He drew me a dinosaur.\n\nMe: That could mean anything.\n\n5: The dinosaur had a hat.\n\nOh shit. — James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn) 1435237545 7. [watching a guy on TV do CPR]\n\n5-year-old daughter: Why is he kissing her?\n\nMe: He's not. He's saving her life.\n\n5: I'd rather die. — James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn) 1458752016 8. Me: Who ate all the cookies?\n\n5-year-old: Ninjas.\n\nMe: I didn\u2019t see them.\n\n5-year-old: No one ever does.\n\nCheckmate. — James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn) 1433627847 9. 5 y.o.: Why do people congratulate you when Mom is the one making the baby?\n\nMe: I helped\n\n5: How?\n\nMe:\n\n5:\n\nMe: I read her the instructions — James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn) 1446746149 10. Me: You can't like Kylo Ren. He killed his dad.\n\n5-year-old: Maybe he deserved it.\n\nI'm never sleeping again. — James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn) 1460388284 11. Me: What happened on the coffee table?\n\n5-year-old daughter: Elsa killed all the stormtroopers.pic.twitter.com/36hCfd1z5s — James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn) 1432591871 12.13. 5-year-old: I'm writing a book.\n\nMe: What's it called?\n\n5: I Ate Too Many Cupcakes.\n\nMe: Oh.\n\n5: It's just pretend because you can never eat too many cupcakes. — James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn) 1523975066 14. 5-year-old: *eats a cupcake for breakfast*\n\nMe: Cupcakes aren't a breakfast food.\n\n5: I know. They're an all-day food. — James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn) 1523364754 15. Me: It snowed last night.\n\n5-year-old: *flops on the floor* We already did winter. — James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn) 1523279528 16. Me: You're still in your pajamas.\n\n5-year-old: I'll get dressed soon.\n\nMe: It's 4 in the afternoon.\n\n5: Don't rush me. — James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn) 1523131531 17. [spring break]\n\n5-year-old: When do we have to go back to school?\n\nMe: Monday.\n\n5: *slides me a penny* When now? — James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn) 1522870699 18. Me: Wake up. Time to get dressed.\n\n5-year-old: Not again. — James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn) 1522158012 19. 5-year-old: *won't get out of bed*\n\nMe: I don't want to fight you every morning.\n\n5: Then let me win. — James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn) 1522847748 20. Me: Why are you being mean?\n\n5-year-old: I ran out of nice.\n\nIt's going to be a long night. — James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn) 1522786515 21. [lightning strike super close to our house]\n\n5-year-old: Missed me. — James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn) 1522762976 22. 5-year-old: Can we have pizza?\n\nMe: We just had pizza yesterday.\n\n5: The pizza doesn't know that. — James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn) 1522096312 23. Me: Hurry.\n\n5-year-old: I am.\n\nMe: You're still in bed.\n\n5: I'm sleeping faster. — James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn) 1521811809 24. 5-year-old: Leprechauns are fairies.\n\nMe: They are?\n\n5: I thought you went to college. — James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn) 1521326336 25. 5-year-old: Do I have to change my name if I get married?\n\nMe: Only if you want to.\n\n5: Call me Shredder. — James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn) 1521585950 His 5-year-old isn't the only (often unintentionally) hilarious child in the house; the 7-year-old and 3-year-old turn up from time to time. There's also a 2-year-old, but she hasn't been the subject of many tweets yet.26. Me: *gets burned by bacon grease* Ow!\n\n7-year-old: Love hurts. — James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn) 1512230800 27. Me: What are you doing?\n\n7-year-old: Counting the presents under the tree.\n\nMe: There aren't any presents under the tree.\n\n7: I know.\n\nPassive aggressive level 9000. — James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn) 1511896968 28. 3-year-old: *holds up a baby doll* What's her name?\n\nMe: She doesn't have one. You can name her.\n\n3: *kissing baby* I love you, Stupid Face.\n\nShe'll make a great mother. — James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn) 1511877311 29. 7-year-old: I'm glad I'm not a boy.\n\nMe: Why?\n\n7: I like being smart. — James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn) 1512136729 30. 3-year-old: Mommy married you.\n\nMe: Yeah.\n\n3: Why?\n\nWife: Nobody knows. — James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn) 1522527335 31. 2-year-old: *touches my beard* It's soft like a kitty.\n\nMe: You mean rugged and manly.\n\n2: Purrrr. — James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn) 1493775467 32. 4-year-old: What happens when you die?\n\nMe: You go to heaven.\n\n4: No, I mean when you die, do I get your stuff? — James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn) 1412245842 33. 4-year-old: Why do you go to work?\n\nMe: They pay me a salary.\n\n4-year-old:\n\nMe:\n\n4-year-old: I don\u2019t even like celery. — James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn) 1425155143 34. 3-year-old daughter: Will I have a baby in my belly someday?\n\nMe: If you want to.\n\n3: No thanks. That's where I put my candy. — James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn) 1459859421 35. 7-year-old: Why do we have to dress up?\n\nMe: It's Easter.\n\n7: Jesus just wore robes. — James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn) 1522592817 36. Me: Do you know why they call it Good Friday?\n\n7-year-old: There's no school. — James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn) 1522427812 37. 7-year-old: Why does my teacher keep testing what I know?\n\nMe: What should she do?\n\n7: Trust me. — James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn) 1522246883 38. 7-year-old: You should let me eat more candy.\n\nMe: Why?\n\n7: Then you won't eat it.\n\nShe's my new diet plan. — James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn) 1522092561 This article originally appeared four years ago.