Author Archives: Carol Edwards

When you’re hailing a ride, you probably flip between the Uber and Lyft apps to see which one will give you the best deal. But what if one of them offered you rewards in exchange for your loyalty?

Lyft is banking on that idea with its forthcoming rewards program. 

The company will soon let users earn points for all the money they spend in the app on Lyft rides. Once a user has earned enough points, they can redeem them for Lyft Rewards, such as a ride in a more luxurious car or discounts on future rides. Points will be tracked in the app as part of a user’s profile.

More about Uber, Lyft, Ride Hailing Apps, Rewards Programs, and Tech

Someone really though a millennial version of Monopoly might be a fun idea.

The very bitter people behind the board game known for tearing apart friend groups and getting children written out of wills released an especially cursed version of the game titled Monopoly For Millennials. 

In this version of the game, players don’t buy up properties — because what IRL millennial can afford to buy houses when they’re too busy spending their money on avocado toast, right? Instead the game employs tired stereotypes of younger generations, as players buy “experiences” like going to the Vegan Bistro or crashing on their Friend’s Couch. Skip the Boardwalk in favor of a Week-Long Meditation Retreat!  Read more…

More about Games, Culture, Millennials, Culture, and Web Culture

In another instance of a Hollywood figure finding words they apparently never said printed in a feature, iconic Italian composer Ennio Morricone has denied talking trash about director Quentin Tarantino in an interview.

The lauded Hollywood composer has issued a statement to The Hollywood Reporter denying that he gave the interview to the German edition of Playboy, and that he harshly criticised The Hateful Eight director in said interview.

The Playboy feature has Morricone not only dismissing events like the Oscars, but calling Tarantino names and accusing the director of borrowing ideas. Read more…

More about Hollywood, Quentin Tarantino, Playboy, Entertainment, and Celebrities

The private space race is heating up.

U.S. and New Zealand spaceflight company Rocket Lab successfully completed its first commercial launch called “It’s Business Time” on Sunday, sending seven payloads to orbit.

Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Māhia Peninsula at 4:50 p.m., shortly reaching orbit afterward.

More about Space, Private Spaceflight, New Zealand, Rocket Lab, and Science

Fans of the Philadelphia Eagles were spotted on the morning of Nov. 11 transporting what appeared to be an actual coffin decked out with stickers commemorating the Dallas Cowboys, the Eagles’ opponents in the Sunday night game. 

The message was clear: we will bury you. 

The funny (if slightly morbid) gesture was captured by Steven Fisher, an NBC news reporter on assignment at Lincoln Financial Field. 

More about Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, Eagles Cowboys Game, Philly Fans, and Entertainment

At an excavation of a pharaoh’s 4,500-year-old pyramid complex, Egyptian archaeologists discovered dozens of mummified cats — in addition to 100 ornate cat statues. 

Egyptian Minister of Antiquities Dr. Khaled El-Enany announced the ancient cat artifacts on Nov. 10, and the Ministry took to Twitter to share images of the long-deceased felines, wrapped in ribbons of cloth.

Ancient Egyptians may not have worshiped their cats, but there’s ample evidence that they viewed the small mammals as divine. 

More about Science, Cats, Egypt, Archaeology, and Mummies

When Donald Trump didn’t like a press pool question from CNN’s Jim Acosta, he sent in a White House intern to yank his microphone away. 

On Saturday Night Live‘s Weekend Update, the “intern” (Cecily Strong) paid a visit to hosts Colin Jost and Michael Che and did what she does best: try to yank things out of people’s hands while staring into the middle distance for instructions. Read more…

More about Snl, Weekend Update, Snl White House Intern, Entertainment, and Movies Tv Shows

You like booty? Great, but Saturday Night Live‘s “Permission” video is here to remind you that butts have boundaries. Future, Lil’ Wayne, Kenan Thompson, Chris Redd, and Pete Davidson in character as someone called “Uncle Butt” spit bars about respecting women’s space, donating to civil rights causes, and generally keeping the club a safe environment for all to enjoy. 

Standout line: “Treat that booty right, ’cause we allies in this bitch.” Read more…

More about Snl, Future, Lil Wayne, Snl Permission, and Snl Music Videos

The California fire season should be winding down by autumn, but it’s alive and well. The Camp Fire largely turned Paradise — a town of over 26,000 — to ash while burning fleeing victims alive in their cars. On the other side of the state, in palm tree-laden Malibu, the city posted an urgent, ominous message on Nov. 9 as the Woosley Fire approached: 

“Fire is burning out of control, heading into populated areas of Malibu. All residents evacuate now.”

These late-season fall fires — stoked by weather but enhanced by global warming — have taken at least 23 lives. Below are 3 reputable, vetted ways to help those who have fled or are combating the nation’s latest environmental catastrophe.  Read more…

More about Science, Social Good, Climate Change, California Wildfires, and Charity Relief

George RR Martin may not be writing any of the Game of Thrones prequel series, but he certainly has insider knowledge about the stories they’ll tell.

And he just spilled the beans on two of them.

While Martin had hinted on his blog that one of the not-yet-greenlit series has something to do with the Targaryens, he revealed in an interview with The Guardian that “at least two of them are solidly based on material in Fire and Blood. Those haven’t been greenlit yet.”

Fire and Blood is a canon history of the Targaryen conquest, which is what happened when Daenerys and Jon’s great-great-super-great grandparents rained, well…fire and blood on the continent of Westeros. Read more…

More about Game Of Thrones, The Winds Of Winter, George Rr Martin, Fire And Blood, and Game Of Thrones Prequels