So much stuff; so little space. Try picking out the five most meaningful things you read or heard last week. The Curator is not complaining, mind you, but it’s not an easy job. Really!

I was tempted to ignore the news of the days, for it is uniformly awful, at every turn. War, shootings, arguments about why arresting a terrorist represents something negative. Blah, blah, blah!

And then, I heard a piece I couldn’t ignore. News it isn’t, for this man claims he traffics in “fake journalism.” Yes, it’s Comedy Central time. Here’s the Daily Show’s Mess O’Potamia – Now that’s What I Call Being F**king Wrong about Iraq (June 15) for your viewing pleasure. Please pay special attention to the “guest appearance” by Senator John “Bomb, bomb, bomb” McCain (Rep.-AZ). Boy howdy, it’s easy to have lots of wars when you’re not the president, and you don’t have to explain how you’ll pay for them.

Now, on to more interesting matters. Here’s a really interesting piece about Tesla from The Atlantic, written by Tanya Basu and published on June 13. It’s titled Why Tesla Gave Up on Patents, and it’s really, deep down, about playing for the long run. (Here’s a second story, from the New Yorker on the same day, written by Nicholas Thompson:  Who Shared the Electric Car?)

Alright, so I can’t totally stay away from the news. Here’s a hopeful story in Salon, written by Elias Isquith and also posted on June 13 about the National Rifle Association. Hopeful, you say? The headline—NRA’s “Really Big Problem:” Why it’s Dependent on a Dwindling Fringe—says it all.

Maria Konnikova, writing for the New York Times on, yet again, June 13, offers some thoughts about time in No Money, No Time. An interesting and, I think, important column.

For food, I’ve got two offerings. First, if you’re NY-centric, you know about Shake Shack. Danny Meyer, founder of Union Square Hospitality Group—which started and owns Shake Shack, along with Union Square Café, Gramercy Tavern, and several other great restaurants—and one of my heroes, gets interviewed (along with Shake Shack CEO Randy Garutti) in Bon Appétit, in As Shake Shack Turns 10, We Ask:  What Menu Items Didn’t Work Out? And, second, here’s a terrific story I heard on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition on June 17. The story, In Yabbies and Cappuccino, A Culinary Lifeline For Aboriginal Youth, was produced by the Kitchen Sisters, Davia Nelson and Nikki Sikva. The ladies are not on my Top 5 list, but this is a great story about an amazing woman and a great project!