During a recent episode of his podcast, Joe Rogan was speaking to comedian Tony Hinchcliffe and remarked that the Democrat lawfare campaign against Trump is ‘scary’ in that so many Democrats are fine…

These musicians were quite honest about "borrowing" from other acts. Continue reading…

Singer says his quote came in “moment where the brain and lips don’t connect” and made him seem arrogant. Continue reading…

"It was one of the worst moments in my life." Continue reading…

Most disturbingly, Hale discloses her fantasies involving her stuffed animals...

In the afternoons, when Reasons to be Cheerful’s editors head home for the evening — by subway, by bike or on foot, like most New Yorkers — here’s what we often see: a stagnant river of gridlocked cars stretching down every avenue and street, their drivers trying in vain to get out of the city and leaning on their horns in the meantime. This is the transportation crisis that New York’s congestion pricing plan was designed to confront. Its primary mechanism — a $15 charge for driving into Manhattan below 60th Street — would have reduced traffic by an estimated 17 percent while funneling $1 billion in annual revenues to the city’s transit system, which is desperate for cash for maintenance and upgrades. When New York’s governor suddenly shelved the plan this week, the state lost a generational chance to finally implement meaningful fixes to both its subways and its streets. And we at Reasons to be Cheerful nearly lost something, too: A special series we’d been working on about smart ways cities are solving the problems caused by cars. The plan was to publish the series in a few weeks, when New York’s congestion pricing went into effect. Alas, that moment is now “indefinitely” (many fear permanently) postponed. Become a sustaining member today! Join the Reasons to be Cheerful community by supporting our nonprofit publication and giving what you can. Join But we didn’t want the death of one great idea to cause the demise of another. So we’re running our series anyway, repurposed to show New Yorkers the good ideas that could have been. Today, we’re publishing a story by Eric Krebs on how congestion pricing, and the benefits it has spawned, has won the hearts of the cities that have embraced it, from Stockholm to Singapore. On Monday, we’ll publish a piece by Peter Yeung about how London has used some simple techniques to create “low-traffic” neighborhoods, where cars are discouraged and walking and cycling rates have since surged. And on Tuesday, we’ll publish a story by Kaja Seruga about how some European cities are slowing down drivers, making their streets safer and their neighborhoods more livable. These stories are a reminder that, while New York’s transportation woes may be one step further from being solved, workable, evidence-based solutions are out there. To set them in motion, all a city needs is the willingness to give them a try — and then, to give them a chance to work before pulling the plug. The post The Dream of a Car-Free City Lives On appeared first on Reasons to be Cheerful.

The newly-uncovered blue room at Pompeii Archaeological Park. Source: Italian Ministry of Culture.   The discovery of a rare “blue room” at Pompeii Archaeological Park was announced this week. Boasting bright blue walls—a very unusual, and thus significant, color choice in the ancient Roman city—the residential space most likely functioned as a shrine.   Blue Room Was An Ancient Roman Shrine Excavations of the blue room at Pompeii. Source: Italian Ministry of Culture.   Experts believe the newly-discovered, highly decorative blue room was an ancient Roman shrine known as a sacrarium. The Italian Cultural Ministry noted that the room’s blue wall color is a particularly rare find in Pompeii, signifying the space was functionally and aesthetically important. The 86-square-foot space was recently uncovered in Regio IX of central Pompeii, a residential area that is one of the park’s most active excavation sites.   Pompeiians most likely would have used the blue room primarily for ritual activities and the storage of sacred objects. Its use was not necessarily confined to religious practice, however—just before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, which buried Pompeii beneath layers of ash in 79 A.D.E., the room functioned as a warehouse for ceramic storage vessels called amphorae.   Archaeologists Found Fresco Figures and Construction Materials A female allegorical figure painted on the wall of the Blue Room. Source: Italian Ministry of Culture.   The vivid walls of Pompeii’s newly-discovered blue room feature decorative fresco paintings of female figures holding various symbolic objects. On the room’s central wall, two allegorical figures depict agriculture and shepherding, wielding a plow and a short stick commonly used by shepherds. In the room’s side niches, four additional female figures—known as Horens in Greek mythology—represent the four seasons.   In addition to the fifteen transportable amphorae stored in the blue room at the time of its burial, archaeologists found two bronze jugs and two oil lamps in the area. Building materials used in renovations were also found at the site, including the remains of oyster shells, which would have been crushed and added to plaster and mortar mixes.   Pompeii is an Archaeological “Treasure Chest” The Blue Room. Source: Italian Cultural Ministry.   Archaeologists at Pompeii have made several notable discoveries in recent months, including children’s surprisingly violent wall drawings—unveiled just last week—and a pristinely preserved banquet hall with vibrant mythological fresco paintings. These impressive finds are part of an ongoing project to secure a perimeter between the excavated and non-excavated areas of Pompeii Archaeological Park. Over 13,000 rooms have been fully excavated at the park thus far. According to the Italian Cultural Ministry, this project also aims to improve the infrastructure of the excavation area to help make the “protection of the vast Pompeiian heritage…more effective and sustainable.”   Gennaro Sangiuliano, the Italian Minister of Culture, reaffirmed the significance of ongoing archaeological work at Pompeii, saying, “Pompeii is truly a treasure chest that never ceases to surprise us and arouse amazement because, every time we dig, we find something beautiful and significant.”

A Southwest Airlines flight made an emergency landing at Denver International Airport after one of its tires failed during takeoff. Southwest Flight 225, bound for Phoenix Sky Harbor International Monday evening, had to return to Denver after the tire burst. The Boeing 737-700 carried 137 passengers. Southwest Airlines passenger: 'A lot of tears' after emergency landing at DIA https://t.co/nZS73fDlVA pic.twitter.com/AxG66k2KmO — FOX31 Denver KDVR (@KDVR) June 5, 2024 KDVR reports: FlightAware shows the plane took off from DIA at 6:31 p.m. on Monday, however, shortly after, Southwest said one of the tires failed. The plane landed back at DIA at 7:12 p.m. Southwest said the flight landed “without incident and taxied off the runway.” The passengers were able to board a separate aircraft for their flight to Phoenix. FlightAware said the plane left DIA again at 10:26 p.m. and arrived in Arizona at 11:07 p.m. — nearly three hours and 45 minutes after the scheduled arrival. Several users on Reddit posted about what they called a “scary situation.” However, a majority of the commenters praised the pilot and flight crew for staying calm and keeping the cabin informed on how to stay safe. 'Crying and screaming' as plane made emergency landing in Denver, Southwest passenger says https://t.co/rxDT5FpOR8 pic.twitter.com/HE9qsKWBw5 — WOWK 13 News (@WOWK13News) June 6, 2024 From 9 News: “It was like a loud pop, which we later found out was the tire blowing out. But at the time, we kind of had no idea like, did we run over something?” said Julianna Donadio, a passenger on the flight heading to visit her mother in Phoenix. Southwest Airlines confirmed that the tire had failed, leading the pilots to declare an emergency landing. Audio obtained by 9NEWS from Live Air Traffic reveals the pilot informed air traffic control about the uncertain extent of the damage and requesting firetrucks on the runway, prompting an emergency declaration. Donadio described the ensuing chaos in the cabin, explaining that the tire blowout had compromised the hydraulic system. “All of a sudden, we saw the flight attendants run… turning all the lights on inside the plane and them saying we might have an emergency landing and we have to brace for a crash,” she said this is the moment she keeps reliving in her head. Flight attendants, unsure if the plane might catch fire upon landing, began prepping the exit rows and ensuring passengers were ready to deploy the slides if necessary. “A lot of passengers were crying and screaming… There was definitely a moment I was like, OK, I may die on this flight, and I know fellow passengers around me felt the same way,” Donadio said. Relief came when the pilot addressed the passengers over the intercom. WATCH:

National treasure Shaun Ryder thinks the music industry isn't what it once was