Author Archives: Carol Edwards

A brilliant Girl Scout knows her customers very well — what sells better than shirtless superheroes and clever puns?

Look, the free market is tough, and when every other kid in your school is also hawking their sugar-laden wares, you have to do whatever it takes to stand out. From setting up shop in front of cannabis dispensaries to getting the attention of Childish Gambino himself, few are more business savvy than Girl Scouts.

Fifth grader Charlotte Holmberg took her marketing strategy to a whole new level by slapping a very shirtless Jason Momoa onto the iconic Samoa boxes. Rebranding them as “Momoas,” Jason Momoa smolders back at you from behind the caramel-covered coconut-dusted cookies.  Read more…

More about Girl Scouts, Jason Momoa, Culture, and Web Culture

The founder of Chinese electronics giant Huawei said it doesn’t need the U.S. to survive. 

Ren Zhengfei spoke to the BBC in his first interview since the arrest of his daughter, Huawei CFO Wanzhou Meng, in Canada.

Huawei has been under considerable pressure from the U.S., which has been convincing allies in Australia, the UK, and New Zealand to not use the company’s 5G equipment due to security concerns.

“There’s no way the U.S. can crush us,” Zhengfei told the broadcaster. “The world needs us because we are more advanced. Even if they persuade more countries not to use us temporarily, we can always scale things down a bit.” Read more…

More about Tech, China, Cybersecurity, Huawei, and Big Tech Companies

One Direction may have disbanded three years ago, but their songs are still undeniable meme-worthy bops. 

You’ve probably stumbled across this bizarre meme in the past few days: A trio goes hard and dances in perfect sync to what sounds like the beginning of a sea shanty. 

That tune is a One Direction deep cut — in the 2014 song “Act My Age,” the five lads croon about how their romantic interests will keep them young at heart forever. But before they break into singing about being “fat and old,” the song opens with a jaunty melody. 

More about Twitter, Memes, One Direction, Culture, and Web Culture

Guys. Queen is performing at the Oscars this year. 

With Adult Goth/possible vampire Adam Lambert at its helm, Queen is set to dazzle us all during the awards show, which controversially tried to cut four categories from its broadcast in hopes of saving time.

The Academy tweeted a teaser on Sunday, with a mash-up of “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “We Will Rock You.” 

More about The Oscars, Queen, Culture, and Web Culture

Creators in the U.S. are earning more than ever on internet platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and Tumblr — nearly $7 billion, according to a new study.

The sprawling 97-page report by the Re:Create Coalition analyzes how many people in the U.S. are creating online content, where in the country they’re located, and how much they are earning. According to the study, nearly 17 million Americans earned an estimated $6.8 billion across nine internet platforms in 2017.

The Re:Create Coalition, a group which advocates for fair use and balanced copyright law, conducted the research in order to update its previous findings from 2016 on what it calls “America’s New Creative Economy.” The most recent report found a nearly $1 billion increase in earnings and more than 2.4 million additional creators over the one-year period between studies.  Read more…

More about Youtube, Instagram, Tumblr, Creators, and Tech

Congrats, it’s a parasitic alien! 

Gender reveal parties are exhaustingly overdone — from starting wildfires to nearly killing Grandpa, the heteronormative announcements can backfire beautifully. Twitter user @mskittenfish posted a video of a rare gender reveal done well. 

But there’s a twist: The baby is neither a girl nor a boy. It’s a genderless otherworldly predator!

Instead of revealing pink or blue filling, this party was interrupted when a toothy alien burst out of the cake. 

Despite the screams of the party guests, other Twitter users found the reveal party downright lovely. Read more…

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Good morning, everyone. Apparently we’re mad about towels. 

Scrolling through Twitter on Monday, you might have seen a feed full of people arguing over the amount of towels you’re supposed to own. The Great Towel Debate started when Twitter user @Advil asked followers to settle an argument between him and his girlfriend. 

“We have zero frame of reference on the appropriate amount of towels in a household of two,” he tweeted. 

More about Twitter, Memes, Towel, Culture, and Web Culture

Good news, Jedi. 

France’s fencing federation has recognized lightsaber dueling as a competitive sport, the Associated Press reports. 

Now you can channel your inner Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, or Qui-Gon Jinn (lol just kidding) with a French Fencing Federation judge watching you.

Here’s how it works:

Two fighters enter a circle marked in tape, much like the Jedi of old. Hit the head or body and you get five points. Smack a leg or arm and you get three points; hitting a hand is worth only one point. First one to 15 wins, or whoever has the highest score after 3 minutes.  Read more…

More about Star Wars, Jedi, Lightsaber, Entertainment, and Star Wars

Marvel’s The Punisher and Jessica Jones are getting axed.

Don’t freak out, Jessica Jones fans — the third season of the show will still be streamed. But the relationship between Netflix and Marvel looks like it’s over. The two struck a deal in 2013 that involved four series based on Marvel characters, as well as The Defenders. 

Confirming that The Punisher “will not return for a third season,” Netflix nodded to showrunner Steve Lightfoot and the crew in a statement to Deadline. “We are proud to showcase their work on Netflix for years to come.”  Read more…

More about Netflix, Marvel, Jessica Jones, The Punisher, and Entertainment

Google is about to close a loophole that many companies used to track how people were browsing their website in Chrome.

According to 9to5Google, Google is aware of a trick that web developers have been exploiting which enables them to detect if a user is visiting a website in Chrome’s Incognito mode. This loophole allows websites to block visitors from accessing the site’s content, forcing them to switch out of Incognito mode if they want to view the page. 

The workaround is fairly simple. Chrome disables the FileSystem API, which stores application files, when Incognito mode is being used. Websites looking to block private browsing in Chrome can just check for this API when a browser loads the page. Read more…

More about Google, Chrome, Incognito Mode, Tech, and Big Tech Companies