The Strange States series will take you on a virtual tour of America to uncover the unusual people, places, things, and events that make this country such a unique place to call home.

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Andy Rourke, best known for being the bassist of British band The Smiths, has passed away aged 59, from pancreatic cancer. The passing was announced this morning from former band member Johnny Marr. Marr, renounced as one of the best guitarists in music, wrote in a tweet: "Andy will be remembered as a kind and beautiful soul by those who knew him and as a supremely gifted musician by music fans." Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Many have shared their respects and love of Rourke. John, who has been a fan of The Smiths since the beginning of the band’s career, shared how ‘awful’ and ‘tragic’ the passing of the bassist was. Others shared the first time they discovered The Smiths and Rourke’s incredible talent. But it’s not just those who grew up listening and attending concerts of The Smiths that are devastated. Rourke’s passing has beautifully highlighted how, despite the band breaking up in 1987, The Smiths continues to be loved by all ages. The use of The Smiths’ music in pop culture, from Ferris Buller’s Day Off to (500) Days of Summer means the band is perpetually being discovered by younger audiences. As well as those who knew of the band from growing up listening to their parent’s music, as some shared. Teenagers took to TikTok to mourn the loss of Rourke in the same way that fans in their 50s and 60s were. With some saying how they found out at school with their classmates, who were all shocked and saddened by the passing. @mollieluvscats rest in peace, thank you for your wonderful music, you were an incredible inspiration Those who knew and worked with Rourke also shared their memories and paid tributes to the bassist. New Order paid tribute to ‘one of the founder members of a great Manchester band.’ Billy Bragg also shared on Twitter that he has ‘great memories of him playing with Johnny Marr and myself on the Red Wedge tour.’ Mike Joyce, The Smiths’ drummer, also paid his respects. He wrote ‘not only the most talented bass player I’ve ever had the privilege to play with but the sweetest, funniest lad I’ve ever met.” He added, “his musical legacy is perpetual.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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One of the most famous lines in Oppenheimer is when J. Robert Oppenheimer, the protagonist, thinks of the Hindu holy book Bhagavad Gita when the first bomb is detonated during tests. Oppenheimer’s line “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds,” is, apparently, true to real life. It also appeared in the Bhagavad Gita when the god Vishnu is trying to persuade Prince Arjuna that he should do his duty and to impress him, takes on his multi-armed form and says the same words. Now, it turns out some members of the Hindu community in India are upset about how this quote is first brought into the movie – when he is having sex with Florence Pugh’s character, Jean Tatlock. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter While in bed, she gets up and goes to his bookshelf, taking a book written in a language she doesn’t know. Presumably, we can interpret this to be the Bhagavad Gita. Then, she asks him to read it while they continue having sex, feeding the scientist’s ego and further inflating the god complex he has over his own intelligence. Perhaps unsurprisingly, some on social media aren’t too happy about their holy book being read during a sex scene. Uday Mahurkar, an Indian journalist and founder of the Save Culture Save India Foundation, called it a “direct assault on religious beliefs of a billion tolerant Hindus” in an open letter addressed to Nolan. The post argues that Hollywood is deliberately “very sensitive” about Islam and asks why “the same courtesy” can’t be shown to Hindus. It adds that if Nolan does not remove the scene from the film, it will be interpreted as a “deliberate assault on Indian civilization”. News outlet Variety reports that Oppenheimer got a “U/A Certificate” from India’s board of film certification, which is roughly equivalent to a 12A rating in the UK. The publication also reports that Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut originally contained a song on the soundtrack with a line from the Bhagavad Gita during an orgy scene. Warner Bros. later removed the scene and issued a public apology. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Jake Paul is all set to make his acting debut in a sports combat drama backed by Mandalay Pictures and Wonder Street

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