The Bright Side: Wild Flamingos Return, Gen Z Discovers Beethoven, And FOMO Finally Dies
This article is part of Upstream, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
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Welcome to the Bright Side, a weekly roundup of all the good news and ideas you might have missed from the past week.
The beauty of trying something new
Horse trainer Cherie DeVaux is famous after Golden Tempo’s win at the Kentucky Derby last Saturday. But I loved this behind-the-scenes profile of DeVaux on Derby day. Wearing custom Golden Goose sneaks, she sang the near-indistinguishable lyrics to “Chop Suey!” by System Of A Down surprisingly well … y’know, for someone dressed in a suit jacket at a champagne-circuit sporting event.
EXCLUSIVE: Step inside Cherie DeVaux’s historic Kentucky Derby day with never-before-seen footage. ????????
Filmed & produced by America’s Best Racing. @reredevaux pic.twitter.com/RVtqXm2jMK
— America’sBestRacing (@ABRLive) May 4, 2026
She was the first female trainer to win the Derby, but after her nearly 300 career victories, she clarified, “I consider myself a horse trainer, and I just happen to be a female.”
“You only get one chance at your first Kentucky Derby,” DeVaux said. Maybe that novelty played a part in her success. Shaking up the daily grind “wakes up” our flexible thinking, which improves adaptability to shifting circumstances. Even if it’s not your first rodeo, cultivating a beginner’s mind means you’re always open to the “new” in whatever you do.
The nonchalant banana routine you didn’t know you needed
Bana Valley’s one-a-day banana packaging in South Korea ensures ripe fruit every day — no emergency banana bread-baking required. Fingers crossed this essential innovation comes to the States, and that they come up with a version for avocados.
ROMO saves us from FOMO
ROMO, or “Relief of missing out,” is an evolved state of mind. Unlike FOMO (fear of missing out), ROMO is all about not stressing if someone’s doing something without you. Ahh … That’s the sound of not worrying about it.
Actor Cillian Murphy broached the topic on “Colbert” last year, but the concept is now going viral. Glad that he wasn’t cast in “The Odyssey” by director Christopher Nolan, with whom he had shot six prior projects (including “Oppenheimer”), Murphy said, “It’s a real gift to go and see Chris’s films and watch them without having the terrible burden of looking at my own stupid head.”
With any luck, ROMO turns into JOMO (joy of missing out), where checking out brings a deeper sense of satisfaction and pleasure. As psychologist Susan Albers described it, “The meaning of JOMO is really embracing the idea of just finding joy and contentment, of opting out or missing out on activities, and prioritizing your self-care.”
Movie collabs with more style than the Met Gala
I wrote about the hot mess on the Met Gala red carpet on Monday, but if you’re seeing “The Devil Wears Prada 2” this weekend, as Upstream Editor Madeline Fry Schultz did, you can step out in merch that turns popcorn buckets and fanny packs into high fashion. Gotta love a collab that’s also a snack.
Preorder the Regal Cinemas Popcorn Handbag Bucket (also available through AMC and Cinemark) so you no longer have to wonder about what’s in the bottom of your purse, because it’s more popcorn. Cerulean blue M&Ms might be sold out, but you can still snap up a Front Row Espresso cocktail at AMC.
Entertainment writer Amanda Harding broke the tragic news that McDonald’s is stripping us of our soda fountain privileges, but you can still enjoy a crispy Coke “fridge cigarette” via Coca-Cola’s TDWP2 “canny pack.” Unsnapping a cold Diet Coke right on your hip is the number one way to “gird your loins” this season.
Florida’s wild flamingos are back after 100 years
Did you miss the part where wild flamingos disappeared from the Florida Everglades 100 years ago? Same. But the fuchsia flamboyance has returned to the Sunshine State. (They’re probably wondering what all these tacky plastic ones are doing in everyone’s yards.)
They were hunted for their feathers in the early 1900s, but Hurricane Idalia reportedly “blew” a few flamingos back to Florida 2023. From there, monogamous flamingo couples tag-teamed their nests, securing the Florida flamingo forecast as fabulous.
Local officials are even attempting to swap the iconic flamingo in for the current state bird, the mockingbird. Florida Rep. Jim Mooney said, “The mockingbird has been around for 97 years. I saw one in Pennsylvania. I thought it was lost.”
Gen Z eats up classical music like popcorn
Don’t call it a comeback; classical music has been here for years — make that centuries. But according to a global study by the music lovers behind Candlelight Concerts, Gen Z goes to more classical performances than any other generation. Maybe a 15-second cat video can’t hold their attention, but once they discover classical orchestrations or performers on TikTok, they have no problem sitting through three hours of Mozart in person.
Offering the antidote to social media brain rot, Professor Dr. Michael Trimble from the University College London Institute of Neurology says, “The actual response that we have to music is almost transcendental.” Electrify your mind with scientifically proven, anxiety-reducing, gratitude-boosting feels you only get from listening to the really oldies. Just check out violin virtuoso Ray Chen shredding bow hair on Tchaikovsky, backed by the Boston Symphony. Next year’s Coachella headliner: Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf dropping “Sinfonia No.1 in C Major” like it’s hot.
It’s Mother’s Day weekend, but Saturday is National Dog Mom’s Day
Promise I’m not making this up just to make my dog Lemmy “place my order” on everything I have saved in my Amazon cart. (Need a last minute gift idea for moms? Our Daily Wire moms shared their favorites!) Happy Mother’s Day!
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A post shared by Lauren Bair | Editor, Writer, Really Good Stories (@ilikelauren)
If you’d like to share your own moment of levity this week, or have a hack for my brown bananas, tell us all about it by leaving a comment (you can email me too). Thank you so much for spreading the joy! —Lauren
Originally Published at Daily Wire, Daily Signal, or The Blaze
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