The season opener, “Who Shot Mr. Burns? Part Two” (S7, E1) gets us off to a great start. We’re told Mr. Burns was rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. However, he’s then taken to a better hospital where his condition is upgraded to living. Chief Wiggum investigates several suspects. Guest star Tito Puente vowed revenge on Mr. Burns, but he didn’t intend to shoot him, just write a slanderous mambo titled “Señor Burns”. A great musical number. Principle Skinner has an alibi in the form of Superintendent Chalmers, however, he accidentally put on his mother’s make-up when Chalmers saw him, so he tells the chief that Chalmers is his alibi, but anything else he says is a lie. Wiggum hooks the bartender Moe up to a lie detector. Moe says he doesn’t deserve this shabby treatment, but the machine goes off, so he’s apparently lying about that. Great stuff.
Continue readingMonth: September 2025
Good News Friday
- Over the past decade, nearly 100 million fewer children are living in extreme poverty. World Bank.
- 80 million more children now supported by national school meal programs worldwide than in 2020. World Food Programme.
- Helsinki achieves zero road deaths in 12 months. Roadpol.
- Japan sets record of nearly 100,000 people aged over 100. BBC.
- 73% of adults worldwide said they feel safe walking alone at night in their city or area. This is the highest level recorded since 2006 when Gallup began asking the question. Gallup.
- The Chicago River is now safe enough to swim in for the first time since 1927. New York Times.
For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.
You Did Nothing Wrong by C.G. Drews
A recent transplant from Australia, Elodie has just moved to Virginia with her new husband Bren who is renovating his parent’s old house. As the story opens, they’re in the honeymoon phase of their relationship, madly in love with each other.
Elodie is only 22 and Bren is only 23, although they act older than this due to the weight of the world landing more heavily on them than most. (Bren’s parents died when he was 10 and Elodie’s brother died when she was 8.)
Continue readingGood News Friday
- Global maternal mortality rates have fallen by almost 60% since 1985. Our World in Data.
- Boston is transforming abandoned office space into affordable homes for 1,000+ residents. Good Good Good.
- New Mexico set to become first US state to guarantee free child care. KOB4.
- Wind and solar power fuel over one-third of Brazil’s electricity for first time. AP.
- Apple introduces AirPods Pro 3 with live translation feature. Ars Technica.
For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.
Utah Indie Bookshop Crawl
The Utah Indie Bookshop Crawl is kicked off on the last Saturday of April every year to coincide with Independent Bookstore Day. Participants have a year to get stamps from participating bookstores across Utah to earn a prize. Apparently, it’s been happening a few years, but I only learned about it this year (probably because I don’t spend much time on social media). You can get a map of the stores to put your stamps on if you go to one of the participating bookstores on Independent Bookstore Day. I missed this, so I printed out my own map.
Continue readingGood News Friday
- America’s prison population has declined to its lowest level since 1992, with around 1.2 million people behind bars, down from a 2009 peak of 1.6 million. The Atlantic.
- What happens when you trade doomscrolling for hopescrolling. Zocalo Public Square.
- MrBeast and others YouTubers surpass $40M goal in global clean water fundraiser. Good Good Good.
- St. John’s Lutheran Church in Madison, Wisconsin to demolish existing worship space to create 110 units of affordable housing. Good Good Good.
- In July 2025, 99.7% of new capacity in the US came from clean energy and storage projects. Cleanview.
- Global solar installations surge 64% in first half of 2025 compared with last year. Ember.
- In Austraila, the ampurta, a rat-sized marsupial micro-predator, is no longer endangered. Science Direct.
- Solar-powered electric plane unofficially sets new altitude record during five hour flight. New Atlas.
- AI stethoscope can detect three heart conditions in 15 seconds. British Heart Foundation.
For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.
The X Files Season 1
I loved The X Files back when it was on the air. It was a super-popular show, getting much higher ratings than streaming shows do today due to the fact The X Files didn’t have as much competition back in the pre-streaming era. It asked the question: What if all the conspiracy theories are true? This had the unfortunate side effect of popularizing obscure conspiracy theories like vaccines containing tracking devices which lead to the modern anti-vax movement of today. But for those of us who recognized that it was a work of fiction, it was a lot of fun. I’d joke with my friends about it being the “flashlight show” since nearly every episode features a scene of Mulder and Scully walking around in the dark with only the light from their flashlights to guide them.
Continue readingGood News Friday
- Scientists whose innovations saved millions of lives. Our World in Data.
- Between 2015 and 2024, humanity recorded one of the fastest expansions of basic welfare of all time: 961 million people gained safe drinking water, 1.2 billion gained safe sanitation, and 1.5 billion gained access to basic hygiene services, while the number of unserved fell by nearly 900 million. WHO.
- Global childhood leukemia deaths have fallen by 59% since 1990. BMC.
- Giving pregnant women $1,000 cut infant deaths by 48% in rural Kenya. NBER.
- Rubella eliminated as a public health problem in Nepal. United Nations.
- Solar panel imports into Africa jumped 60% in the 12 months through June 2025, setting a record that could reshape electricity systems in many countries. electrek.
- In the first half of 2025, wind and solar delivered just over 20% of U.S. electricity, overtaking coal and nuclear for the first time. electrek.
- Global EV sales up 27% in 2025. Clean Technica.
- The snub-nosed monkey population in China has more than tripled since the 1980s. BBC.
- Dusky gopher frogs rebound after near-extinction in Mississippi. The New York Times.
- Japan has opened its first osmotic power plant. The Guardian.
For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.
Mania Delight 