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Everyone knows the tops are the best part of cornbread muffins, so Old Southern bakes only those. Genius!

I'm headed up to Old Southern BBQ for a light lunch: Brisket burger, tangy slaw, muffin top.

Why I get hungry on the job, reading stuff like this:

In the land of truffles and porcini, morels aren’t a traditional Italian ingredient. But they are in Seddon’s hands. She sautés them lightly in olive oil with salt and black pepper, then gives them a luxurious bath in a dreamy sauce made from cream, mushroom stock, vermouth and dry Marsala. Served with a spritz of lemon on griddled toast, these morels ($18) were just one of the highlights of a meal that kept wowing with seasonal wonder. A deep-green spring onion sformata, which is like a savory flan that tastes deeply of spring. A ball of mozzarella almost as runny as burrata, on crisp leafy lettuce. Pillows of gnocchi in a creamy lemon sauce with peas and asparagus. And chocolate nemesis, a rich dessert that looks like a cake but acts like a mousse.

AP excerpt

A newly released ad promoting Apple's new iPad Pro has struck quite a nerve online.

The ad, which was released by the tech giant Tuesday, shows a hydraulic press crushing just about every creative instrument artists and consumers have used over the years — from a piano and record player, to piles of paint, books, cameras and relics of arcade games. Resulting from the destruction? A pristine new iPad Pro.

''The most powerful iPad ever is also the thinnest,'' a narrator says at the end of the commercial.

Apple's intention seems straightforward: Look at all the things this new product can do. But critics have called it tone-deaf — with several marketing experts noting the campaign's execution didn't land.

''I had a really disturbing reaction to the ad,'' said Americus Reed II, professor of marketing at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. ''I understood conceptually what they were trying to do, but ... I think the way it came across is, here is technology crushing the life of that nostalgic sort of joy (from former times).''

The ad also arrives during a time many feel uncertain or fearful about seeing their work or everyday routines ''replaced'' by technological advances — particularly amid the rapid commercialization of generative artificial intelligence. And watching beloved items get smashed into oblivion doesn't help curb those fears, Reed and others note.

Several celebrities were also among the voices critical of Apple's ''Crush!'' commercial on social media this week.

''The destruction of the human experience. Courtesy of Silicon Valley,'' actor Hugh Grant wrote on the social media platform X, in a repost of Apple CEO Tim Cook's sharing of the ad.

Some found the ad to be a telling metaphor of the industry today — particularly concerns about big tech negatively impacting creatives. Filmmaker Justine Bateman wrote on X that the commercial ''crushes the arts."

Experts added that the commercial marked a notable difference to marketing seen from Apple in the past — which has often taken more positive or uplifting approaches.

''My initial thought was that Apple has become exactly what it never wanted to be,'' Vann Graves, executive director of the Virginia Commonwealth University's Brandcenter, said.

Graves pointed to Apple's famous 1984 ad introducing the Macintosh computer, which he said focused more on uplifting creativity and thinking outside of the box as a unique individual. In contrast, Graves added, ''this (new iPad) commercial says, 'No, we're going to take all the creativity in the world and use a hydraulic press to push it down into one device that everyone uses.'"

In a statement shared with Ad Age on Thursday, Apple apologized for the ad. The outlet also reported that Apple no longer plans to run the spot on TV.

''Creativity is in our DNA at Apple, and it's incredibly important to us to design products that empower creatives all over the world,'' Tor Myhren, the company's vice president of marketing communications, told Ad Age. ''Our goal is to always celebrate the myriad of ways users express themselves and bring their ideas to life through iPad. We missed the mark with this video, and we're sorry.''

Yes, 1 3/4, and it has a Marty-installed Highlander pickup, best in the cosmos if installed correctly, which it was, natch.

The late great Don Clark's Goodall Parlor, purchased at Podium, also has that woods combo.

The love of my guitar life, my Goodall Grand Concert, sits 6 feet away from me, cased and silent for years because of my hands being shot. They will not repair themselves (RA, no cartilage left in either thumb joint, and no left hand strength to speak of, due to my pinched ulnar nerve that I took too long to address).

It pains me greatly that this fabulous instrument is not being played, kind of like a classic Ferrari not being driven.

But I don't just want to sell it to some random player. If I did sell it, it would have to be someone I know locally, or to one of the Soundhole gang.

But I'm open to any suggestions you might have, other than "Send it to me, dude!" The notion of it being a Circulated Soundhole Treasure has occurred to me, wherein forumites, especially those who play gigs, could be caretakers for X months, maybe record performances and share vids with us, then move it along to the next recipient.

Other ideas? We gotta get this thing out in public, it's just too good, despite what Muriel Anderson had to say about it.

You mean like in "2001: A Space Odyssey"?