An exhibition at Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture has sparked a heated conversation about the real-life use of the slang term “un-alived,” which was spotted on a MoPOP placard that says Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain “un-alived himself at 27.”

Cobain died by suicide at age 27, on April 8, 1994. The Seattle museum shared this fact on an information card about the “27 Club” (a grouping of artists who all tragically passed away at the young age of 27), various patrons have reported.

But in place of “died by suicide,” MoPOP printed the internet slang “un-alived,” with the exhibition placard reading, “Kurt Cobain un-alived himself at 27.” The museum additionally put up a placard about the social context of the term’s usage in the digital age, also noting that “the Guest Curator has chosen to utilize the term as a gesture of respect towards those who have tragically lost their lives due to mental health struggles.”

On Saturday (Aug. 10), Stereogum pointed out many on social media were likening saying the word “un-alived” in real-life discussions regarding mental health — rather than using it only to circumvent censorship from algorithms on internet platforms like TikTok — to the dystopian world of George Orwell’s 1984, despite the museum’s explanation.

Orwell wrote of “Newspeak,” a simplified, government-directed language intended to limit critical thinking, in the novel. One element of the fictional Newspeak grammar included tagging the simple prefix “un” onto words, instead of developing an expanded vocabulary.

“this is what george orwell was warning us about with 1984,” read one comment on X (formerly Twitter) posted Friday about the museum exhibit material using the word “un-alived.”

“That moment when it wasn’t the government but youtube and social media which caused newspeak from 1984 to become a real thing lmfao,” another person on X added. “And people still say that ‘these are private companies, they don’t have to allow speech they don’t want!’ Yes they do, they are the town square now.”

Meanwhile, another user on the platform offered a different perspective: “It’s MOPop who cares. Their exhibits talk in internet lingo all the time because it’s about pop culture. It’s basically a glorified collection showcase. Twitter people saw the word ‘museum’ and lost their s—.”

Meanwhile, someone else quipped, “This will help them [the museum] go viral on tiktok.”

By Sunday evening, the conversation thread had a new reply with an updated photo — one that showed the wording on the placard has apparently been changed, with “un-alived” being edited to “died by suicide.”

The Seattle Mariners are taking on the New York Mets on Sunday night in the first ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ game in Seattle since 2004.

And that game just got a whole lot more interesting, as reports indicate that M’s star Julio Rodriguez will be unexpectedly activated from the injured list prior to the start of the contest.

Per Buster Olney of ESPN, who broke the news:

Mariners All-Star Julio Rodriguez is expected to be activated and back in the Seattle lineup Sunday, serving as the designated hitter. Seattle is set to play the Mets on Sunday Night Baseball.
Rodriguez suffered a high ankle sprain on July 21st, while making a play against the center field fence, and has been out since that time. Rodriguez has been making consistent progress in his recovery, and in recent days, he has been testing the ankle by running. It’s unclear when he will return to center field, but his presence in the lineup could give the Mariners a boost at a time when they are fighting the Houston Astros for AL West supremacy.
Rodriguez had started very slowly this season, but in his last nine games before his injury, Rodriguez batted .438 with a 1.281 OPS, with three homers.

High-ankle sprains are notoriously tough, and the ability to return is always dependent on the grade of sprain. Mitch Haniger, for example, suffered a high-ankle sprain in 2022 and was given a 10-12 week timeframe. This is less than four for Rodriguez.

There’s certainly some risk in doing this for Seattle. Rodriguez likely won’t be able to hit top-end speed as a runner and likely won’t be stealing many bases for a while, but his bat can certainly provide the jolt that Olney mentions.

Furthermore, his presence will take away at-bats from the slumping Mitch Garver, which is better for the offense as a whole. It will also push down slumping pieces like Jorge Polanco, lengthening the lineup at the bottom.

As Olney mentions, Rodriguez has struggled this season, but he is a two-time All-Star and a two-time Silver Slugger. This will be his first game with Randy Arozarena, who was acquired at the trade deadline, and the energy around the team should continue to improve.

The M’s are 62-56 and will take on the Mets at 4:10 p.m. PT.

NEW PODCAST IS OUT: The latest episode of the “Refuse to Lose” podcast is out as Brady Farkas talks about the series loss against the Detroit Tigers, Mitch Haniger’s final at-bat and the continued conversation about the future of Scott Servais. Patrick Dubuque, the leader of Baseball Prospectus, joins the show as well. CLICK HERE:

GRIFFEY HISTORY: It was during this week in 2001 that Mariners legend Ken Griffey Jr. became the youngest player in baseball history to reach 450 career home runs.

PITCHING PROWESS: The Mariners have shut out the Mets in back-to-back games. Just how rare is that? CLICK HERE:

Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on “X” @Teren_Kowatsch and @wdevradiobrady. You can subscribe to the “Refuse to Lose” podcast by clicking HERE:

Seattle Mariners starter Logan Gilbert did much of the heavy lifting Saturday night, tossing seven scoreless innings of three-hit ball in a 4-0 win over the New York Mets. But Gilbert and Seattle’s bullpen also received some pretty spectacular assists from their defense.

Mariners call up reliever prospect from Double-A Arkansas

The most jaw-dropping web gem came on a double play in the first inning. With a runner on first and one out, Mets slugger J.D. Martinez hit a hard grounder up the middle. Mariners second baseman Jorge Polanco made a diving stop and then flipped the ball straight from his glove toward shortstop Leo Rivas, who was running toward the bag. The flip was a tad high, but that was no problem for Rivas. All in one motion, Rivas snagged the ball with his bare hand, tapped the bag with his foot, twisted his body and made a leaping throw to first that beat Martinez by a whisker.

The next highlight-reel play came in the fourth inning, when center fielder Víctor Robles made a full-extension diving catch on a line drive hit directly at him off the bat of Francisco Lindor.

Polanco then made another impressive play at second base in the eighth inning. Mets slugger Francisco Alvarez, who got jammed on a pitch from reliever Yimi García, sent a soft blooper to Polanco’s left. Polanco sprinted to reach the ball, but ended up slightly over-running it due to how much the ball was spinning. While moving to his left, Polanco reached back with his bare hand, grabbed the ball and fired to first for the out.

Who needs a glove?? pic.twitter.com/ylBm5906Gz

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) August 11, 2024

More on the Seattle Mariners

• Could Mariners’ huge walkoff win end up being the jolt they need?
• Do Mariners have a way to get Julio back from injury faster?
• Watch: Each of Mitch Haniger’s Mariners-record 8 walkoffs
• Mariners Roster Moves: OF Dominic Canzone activated from IL
• The story behind Seattle Mariners’ Andrés Muñoz taking his cat on road trips

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