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This article originally appeared on 12.06.16

When the attack on Pearl Harbor began, Doris “Dorie” Miller was working laundry duty on the USS West Virginia.

He’d enlisted in the Navy at age 19 to explore life outside of Waco, Texas, and to make some extra money for his family. But the Navy was segregated at the time, so Miller, an African-American, and other sailors of color like him weren’t allowed to serve in combat positions. Instead, they worked as cooks, stewards, cabin boys, and mess attendants. They received no weapons training and were prohibited from firing guns.

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As the first torpedoes fell, Dorie Miller had an impossible choice: follow the rules or help defend the ship?

For Miller, the choice was obvious.

First, he reportedly carried wounded sailors to safety, including his own captain. But there was more to be done.

In the heat of the aerial attack, Miller saw an abandoned Browning .50 caliber anti-aircraft machine gun on deck and immediately decided to fly in the face of segregation and military rules to help defend his ship and country.

Though he had no training, he manned the weapon and shot at the enemy aircraft until his gun ran out of ammunition, potentially downing as many as six Japanese planes. In the melee, even Miller himself didn’t know his effort was successful.

“It wasn’t hard,” he said after the battle. “I just pulled the trigger and she worked fine. I had watched the others with these guns. I guess I fired her for about 15 minutes. I think I got one of those [Japanese] planes. They were diving pretty close to us.”

Original newspaper reports heralded a hero “Negro messman” at Pearl Harbor, but no one knew who Miller was.

The Pittsburgh Courier, an African-American paper in wide circulation, sent a reporter to track down and identify the brave sailor, but it took months of digging to uncover the messman’s identity.

Eventually, Miller was identified. He was called a hero by Americans of all stripes and colors. He appeared on radio shows and became a celebrity in his own right.

Miller’s heroism and bravery didn’t go unnoticed in Washington, D.C., either.

In March 1942, Rep. John Dingell, a Democrat from Michigan, introduced a bill authorizing the president to present Miller with the Congressional Medal of Honor. Sen. James Mead introduced a similar measure in the Senate. While Miller did not receive the Congressional Medal of Honor, he became the first African-American sailor to receive the Navy Cross.

“This marks the first time in this conflict that such high tribute has been made in the Pacific Fleet to a member of his race, and I’m sure that the future will see others similarly honored for brave acts,” said Pacific Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz following Miller’s pinning ceremony.

Following a brief tour of the country, giving speeches and pushing war bonds, Miller returned to Navy life.

In May 1943, Miller reported for duty on the Liscome Bay, an escort carrier.

On Nov. 24, during Operation Galvanic, a Japanese torpedo struck the Liscome Bay, sinking the ship. 644 men were presumed dead. 272 survived. Miller did not.

On Dec. 7, 1943, two years after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Millers’ parents received word of their son’s death.

Doris “Dorie” Miller gave his life for a country that didn’t always love him back.

Miller posthumously received a Purple Heart, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, the American Defense Service Medal, Fleet Clasp, and the World War II Victory Medal. There is also a frigate and a neighborhood on the U.S. Naval Base in Pearl Harbor named in his honor.

Though his Navy Cross was never elevated to a Congressional Medal of Honor, as recently as 2014, the Congressional Black Caucus moved to waive the statute of limitations to make it possible.

While there are medals, movies, and statues celebrating Miller, it’s important to remember and honor the man himself — a 22-year-old black sailor who set aside the rules to do what’s right.

Poet Gwendolyn Brooks wrote a poem from Miller’s perspective, the conclusion of which perfectly captures the young hero’s courage in the face of bigotry and uncertainty:

Naturally, the important thing is, I helped to save them,
them and a part of their democracy,
Even if I had to kick their law into their teeth in order to do that for them.
And I am feeling well and settled in myself because I believe it was a good job,
Despite this possible horror: that they might prefer the
Preservation of their law in all its sick dignity and their knives
To the continuation of their creed
And their lives.

This article originally appeared on 03.01.19

Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody has been covered dozens of different ways. But you’ve never seen it performed like this.

As one of the most iconic songs in rock music, Bohemian Rhapsody is recognizable no matter how it’s done. As children, my brother and I used to belt out Galileos and Figaros in the backseat of our parents’ Volkswagon whenever the song came on (yes, just like in Wayne’s World). While other kids learned about Beelzebub in Sunday School, I learned about him from Queen’s perfect harmonies. If there were an anthem from my classic rock-filled childhood, it would be Bohemian Rhapsody.

It’s one of those songs that is hard to cover well, though it hasn’t stopped people from trying. I’ve enjoyed some renditions, but nothing has caught my attention or delight more than this kapa haka version from New Zealand.

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A Māori choir in native garb sang the song live in the Māori language, and it is something to see.

The group Hātea Kapa Haka performed the song on February 21 at New Zealand’s national kapa haka festival, Te Matatini, in Wellington. The festival brings 46 kapa haka (Māori performing arts) groups together to compete against one another.

Newshub reports that Hātea Kapa Haka collaborated with musical artist William Waiirua to create a “Bohemian Rhapsody” cover in the Māori language, both as a tribute to Freddie Mercury and to celebrate the Oscar-nominated movie about his life.

The group had previously created a music video for their cover, but seeing it performed live is something else. The voices, the harmony, the presentation—everything—is wonderful.

This kind of cultural mashup reminds us how small our world has become.

The contrast between Queen’s 1970s British rock and the Māori people’s traditional kapa haka could not be more striking. And yet, the melding of the two totally works. Music has the power to bring people together, and this performance is a great example of how it can bridge cultures with beautiful results.

Watch the live performance here:

And if you want more, check out the music video too:

William Waiirua x Queen x Hātea Kapa Haka – Te Reo Bohemian Rhapsody

William Waiirua got more help from Hātea Kapa Haka than he bargained for when his car broke down… For more Queen, check out this playlist: https://umusicNZ…

This article originally appeared on 08.31.18

“Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value.”

In October 2016, that was a quote from Albert Einstein that sat atop the Facebook page of Tim McMillan, a police officer in Georgia.

McMillan become a sensation after a post he wrote on his Facebook wall went viral in 2016. In his post, he explains how he pulled over a black teen for texting while driving:

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“I pulled a car over last night for texting and driving. When I went to talk to the driver, I found a young black male, who was looking at me like he was absolutely terrified with his hands up. He said, ‘What do you want me to do officer?’ His voice was quivering. He was genuinely scared,” McMillan wrote.

But McMillan said he wasn’t interested in harassing or arresting the young man, let alone inflicting violence upon him. Nonetheless, the teen’s emotional response hit McMillan like a punch to the gut.

“I just looked at him for a moment, because what I was seeing made me sad. I said, ‘I just don’t want you to get hurt.’ In which he replied, with his voice still shaking, ‘Do you want me to get out of the car.’ I said, ‘No, I don’t want you to text and drive. I don’t want you to get in a wreck. I want your mom to always have her baby boy. I want you to grow up and be somebody. I don’t even want to write you a ticket. Just please pay attention, and put the phone down. I just don’t want you to get hurt,'” he wrote.

McMillan said the interaction made him reflect on a deeply personal level about the national attention being paid to acts of police violence against black Americans, particularly young black men.

“I truly don’t even care who’s fault it is that young man was so scared to have a police officer at his window. Blame the media, blame bad cops, blame protestors, or Colin Kaepernick if you want. It doesn’t matter to me who’s to blame. I just wish somebody would fix it.”

This story originally appeared on GOOD.

This article originally appeared on 07.06.21

Have you ever seen anyone put an avocado pit in water to grow an avocado tree? I’ve seen lots of people try, but only a few succeed. My mom has a tiny avocado tree growing in her living room that she managed to grow from the pit of a Hass avocado she ate. It’s small but thriving, and I’ve often wondered if it will ever grow actual avocados.

As it turns out, it could—but they won’t be Hass avocados.

Wait, huh?

In a wow-that’s-an-interesting-factoid-I-never-knew-before video, an avocado tree grower explains in this YouTube video why a Hass avocado seed doesn’t grow into a Hass avocado tree. Avocados, apparently, are not “true to seed” plants, meaning if you plant the seed, you’ll end up with a different variety of the fruit the seed came from. Apples are the same—if you plant a Fuji apple seed, you will not get a Fuji apple tree. In fact, chances are really, really high that you’ll get an avocado or an apple that tastes terrible if you try to grow it from a seed of an existing fruit.

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The guy from Sleepy Lizard Avocado Farm explains how it all works using an analogy with candy flavors. This is the genetics lesson we all needed in school when we were trying to figure out Punnett squares, and he explains it all so clearly.

Incredible how nature works, and so amazing what human beings have been able to figure out over millennia of agricultural advancements.

Why a Hass Avocado Seed Does Not Give Us a Hass Avocado Tree

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So how do you get a Hass avocado tree if you can’t plant a Hass avocado seed to grow it? As he explains in the video, you can plant the pit and start to grow the tree, but if you want Hass avocados you have to graft a branch of a Hass avocado tree onto the stem of the tree you’re growing.

Or, you can just buy a baby Hass avocado tree that’s already been grafted, which is probably a heck of a lot easier than figuring out how to graft one yourself.

So go ahead and sprout that seed in water and grow yourself a pretty avocado plant if you’d like. Just don’t expect any yummy avocados from it, since your chances are about 1 in 10,000 that it’ll happen.

Thanks for the fascinating lesson, avocado guy!

At least a dozen former Yeezy staffers have made startling accusations against Kanye West, describing the company’s atmosphere as “intimidating and humiliating,” so much to the point, you could be abruptly fired for anything, even playing Drake music.

The former Yeezy employees told Rolling Stone that while the company was a “creative haven,” there were times when it felt like a cult that thrived on “chaos.”

“Everyone’s always on the verge of losing their job, so the dynamics are total chaos,” one employee who worked for Yeezy in 2020 told RS. “He doesn’t necessarily have people that he can trust around him.”

Along with working 12 to 15 hours days at West’s Calabasas office, the workers allege there were recurring delays when it came to receiving payment. Some of the former employees even claim there was a dress code they had to adhere to, complete with Yeezy-esque gear. One staffer told RS that after turning up to work with a Yellow sweater, they said they were told they needed to “dress for the palette or you dress in black.”

But one of the most shocking allegations comes from one former Yeezy employee who said there was an incident that occurred where West was asked to change the music — of course, he only plays his own music — and when the worker, who leaned more punk and rock than hip-hop, nervously replied with Drake they were fired the next day.

“I thought, ‘Oh, he’s a rapper, I should probably mention some rap,” the former staffer told RS. “Big mistake — the next day, I was fired,” the former staffer claims.

Along with a toxic and abusive work environment, there have also been allegations that West was interested in Nazism. The “Stronger” rapper has yet to respond to these allegations, but I’m not sure if anyone cares at this point.

Last month, a jury ruled that Alex Jones owed $965 million for spreading lies about the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting that killed 20 students and six faculty members. That figure is now over $1 billion, after a judge ordered that the chili-loving conspiracy theorist must scrap up another $473 million, bringing the total to $1.44 billion.

“The record clearly supports the plaintiffs’ argument that the defendants’ conduct was intentional and malicious, and certain to cause harm by virtue of their infrastructure, ability to spread content, and massive audience including the InfoWarriors,” Connecticut Judge Barabara Bellis wrote in a 45-page ruling. The punitive damages include $150 million for “violations of Connecticut’s Unfair Trade Practices Act, which bans deceptive business practices and unfair competition,” according to the Hollywood Reporter, “and about $323 million for the plaintiffs’ attorney fees and costs.”

Eight victims’ relatives and the FBI agent testified during a monthlong trial about being threatened and harassed for years by people who deny the shooting happened. Strangers showed up at some of their homes and confronted some of them in public. People hurled abusive comments at them on social media and in emails. And some received death and rape threats.

Jones reacted to the ruling on his show, calling it “ridiculous” and whining about how he won’t be able to pay it, no matter how much medically-dubious krill oil he sells. “Well, of course I’m laughing at it,” he ranted. “It’d be like if you sent me a bill for a billion dollars in the mail. Oh man, we got you. It’s all for psychological effect… when they know full well the bankruptcy going on and all the rest of it, that it’ll show what I’ve got and that’s it, and I have almost nothing.” No amount of begging will help him now.

(Via the Hollywood Reporter)

It’s been another incredible year for Sir Paul McCartney and for his fans around the world. He put on a legendary tour of the US and headlined the Glastonbury music festival in the UK, where he welcomed his friend Dave Grohl for the Foo Fighters singer’s first time on stage since the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins. McCartney has just generally been as steady of a presence as can be for music lovers everywhere. With each year that passes, his legacy as perhaps the greatest living musician grows stronger.

For his next trick, McCartney has unveiled a new box set of 7-inch singles, 80 of them to be exact, and it’s a definitive drop to say the least. Within the 80 7-inch records, are 163 total tracks spanning over ten hours of music, a vast majority of which have never been pressed on 7-inch records before and come with their original B-sides. The box comes in an alluring wooden art crate that makes it look like the box set was pulled right out of the bottom of the sea. There’s a 148-page book with a personal foreword from Macca, an essay by Rolling Stone’s Rob Sheffield, liner notes, unique artwork for each record, and more. In short, it’s awesome ephemera from The Beatles great.

Only 3,000 boxes have been made, but the set will also be available digitally. For the physical copy collectors, each box is unique, too, with a randomly chosen test pressing of one of the singles within. The affable McCartney said in a statement, “I hope the songs in this box set bring back fun memories for you, too. They do for me, and there will be more to come…”

Listen to a sampler of some of the singles and get a look at the set in the unboxing video above.

The Paul McCartney 7″ Singles is available on 12/2. Pre-order it here.

Thanks to the success of Yellowstone, series creator Taylor Sheridan has been gifted an ever-growing slate of projects that hope to capitalize on the mammoth viewership for his flagship western series. One such project is Tulsa King, a gangster series starring Sylvester Stallone that’s set to premiere on Paramount Plus later this month.

With several different irons in the fire, Sheridan has developed a reputation for isolating himself for days and churning out a prolific amount of writing. For Tulsa King, he reportedly pushed that skill to limit by crafting a pilot specifically tailored for Stallone in less than 24 hours. Via The Hollywood Reporter:

[Producing partner David] Glasser says that one Friday night in 2021, he casually mentioned to Sheridan that Sylvester Stallone had always wanted to play a gangster. “Taylor starts to spitball the idea of a fish out of water story for an hour,” Glasser recalls. “Then, Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m., he goes, ‘Check your inbox.’ There is a script he’s already written called Kansas City King and it’s incredible.”

According to Glasser, he and Sheridan pitched the series to Stallone that Monday and locked down former The Sopranos writer Terrence Winter to take over the show.

“Taylor said: “It’s your baby, I just have visitation rights,’” Winter told THR. According to the Tulsa King showrunner, that was the only meeting he had with Sheridan, who rode off to work on the rest of his rapidly expanding TV empire.

Tulsa King premieres November 13 on Paramount+.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

With more and more hip-hop artists embracing dance music styles — see: Megan Thee Stallion’s “Her,” Doechii’s “Persuasive,” and Leikeli47’s spring 2022 album Shape Up — it was only a matter of time until one tapped some of the harder-edged subgenres and paired them with grittier interpretations. Enter Newark, New Jersey’s Bandmanrill.

Combining his home state’s native club sound with the bubbling drill approach from neighboring New York, Bandmanrill has come up with a fascinating gumbo approach that’s made him a fan favorite among young listeners on social media. The single “Influence,” from his newly-released album, Club Godfather, is a prime example of his style, mashing up New Jersey Club influences (hence the title) with the grimy menace of some of Jersey’s more traditional rap stars like Joe Budden and Redman. It’s also reminiscent of Lil Uzi Vert’s “Just Wanna Rock,” which also takes the Jersey sound for a spin.

Dropping by Uproxx Studios, Bandmanrill delivers an appealing performance of “Influence” that demonstrates exactly why he’s been catching on with fans.

Watch Bandmanrill’s UPROXX Sessions performance of “Influence” above.

UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross, UPROXX Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.

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

Alex Lahey has been busy turning unfortunate events into relatable anthems. The Australian indie-rocker treated us to “Congratulations” in September, a sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek farewell. “Two of my exes got engaged within an improbably short space of time of one another,” Lahey said about the song. “What are the odds?”

With today’s (November 10) “Sh*t Talkin’,” Lahey is contemplating the odds that people are doing exactly that behind her back.

The melodic, uptempo single finds Lahey sizing up her social interactions with a healthy dose of cynicism and suspicion — weighing how much of herself to share with people just in case her vulnerability be used against her. “Maybe they’re just racking up / All the ways that I f*cked up,” she sings. “I bet you when you’re on their own / They’re sh*t talkin’ all the way home.” By the of the song, she’s still isn’t definitively sure if putting herself out there is worth it: “Next time maybe I’ll stay home / I do better on my own / Puts me in an awful mood / To test my social aptitude.”

Fittingly, Lahey celebrated the release of “Sh*t Talkin’” by posting Instagram selfies with her cats.

Listen to “Sh*t Talkin’” above.