Author Archives: Carol Edwards

Tear down the walls and you never know what you’ll find.

Alex and Jess Monney were in the middle of remodeling their bathroom when they discovered a note left by the previous homeowner, who upgraded the room in the summer of 1995.

“Hi! We’re the Shinsekis! We remodeled this bathroom summer 1995,” the note reads. “If you’re reading this, that means you’re remodeling the bathroom again. What’s wrong with the way we did it?”

More about Funny, Culture, and Web Culture

While Yelp will forever be a battleground of hot takes and battles between business owners and customers, the site won a legal skirmish that, for now, protects it from liability over negative reviews.

So sayeth the California Supreme Court, anyway, who ruled 4-3 this week in favor of the online review site, affirming that the site was free from liability when people who are Mad Online™ say mean things about a place of business. 

The case, reports the New York Times, stemmed from a San Francisco attorney who claimed a former client’s Yelp posts about his business were defamatory. A San Francisco Superior Court judge agreed and ordered the posts taken down. When the client didn’t delete the posts, the attorney got a court order for Yelp to delete them. But Yelp continued its fight through the legal system. Read more…

More about Yelp, Online Reviews, Tech, and Web Culture

It’s time to celebrate America. What better way to cheers to the old white men who created America than to honor the middle-aged white men who still control it?

Of course, in America today, some of our politicians don’t command much reverence or respect. Instead, we’ll look to our titans of industry as the larger-than-life figures charting the course of the American behemoth.

In few other industries does the cult of personality function so strong as in the technology world. Here we find the digital world’s founding fathers — and rest assured, it’s a list that comes complete with entitled attitude and problematic relationships with minorities and all. Read more…

More about July 4, Tech Ceos, Tech, Web Culture, and Big Tech Companies

Like many young women my age, I have come to fear my office air conditioner and all the pain and misery it brings.

It’s a familiar story. In 2015, scientists found that the math typically used to set the temperature in most office buildings was biased in favor of men. The formula uses the metabolic rate of a 40-year-old, 154-pound man, not women, to determine comfort levels, which is why many women are miserable all the time (plus the whole centuries of oppression thing).

Little has changed since the study was published. And because I can’t change culture alone, I’ve decided to accommodate, not fight for justice. Read more…

More about Watercooler, Gender Equality, Air Conditioning Units, Culture, and Work Life

Reigning hot dog eating champion Joey Chestnut defended his title on Wednesday and set a new world record at Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island, New York. No one even came close. 

Chestnut, described on ESPN as having the “the esophagus of a champion” and the “the stomach of a warlord” scoffed down 74 hot dogs and buns in just 10 minutes. This marks his 11th win in the last 12 years.

Following Chestnut, Carmen Cincotti shoved 63 hot dogs down his gullet, and Darron Breeden managed to devour 43 dogs. 

More about Hot Dogs, Competitive Eating, July 4, Nathans Hot Dog Easting Contest, and Culture

There are endless renditions of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” but let’s be real, America. The national anthem is best played on an electric guitar, with the gain cranked high enough for the amp to feedback.

Living up to the American tradition that bigger is better, patriot Cooper Carter performed a version of the national anthem on 25 electric guitars to celebrate the Fourth of July. 

Happy birthday, America. Turn your amps up to 11.  Read more…

More about Music, America, July 4, Culture, and Web Culture

Nothing quite says “America in 2018” quite like celebrating Independence Day on Twitter with a misspelled trending hashtag. 

Among those that have used the wrong hashtag on this patriotic holiday are the U.S. Air Force, the city of Boston, the Canadian Space Agency, and First Lady Melania Trump because of course. 

Credit where it’s due: Melania at least caught the mistake and replaced the tweet with the correct spelling.

More about Twitter, Hashtags, Independence Day, July 4, and Culture

Guy Pearce has spoken about his time working with Kevin Spacey, saying the actor was “handsy” on the set of L.A. Confidential.

The Australian actor vaguely spoke to his experience with his co-star, who has been accused of multiple instances of sexual misconduct and abuse, on Andrew Denton’s Interview on Tuesday. 

Pearce worked with Spacey on the Curtis Hanson-directed 1997 crime noir L.A. Confidential. When Denton brought up Spacey during the interview, Pearce said it was a “tough one to talk about at the moment,” but still responded. Read more…

More about Sexual Harassment, Kevin Spacey, Sexual Abuse, Metoo, and Kevin Spacey Sexual Misconduct

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson was rudely interrupted by Siri during his address to MPs in the UK Parliament’s House of Commons.

According to the BBC, Williamson was making a statement on the fight against Islamic State, when his iPhone smart assistant sprang into action, triggered by the word “Syria.”

Williams had to hold up for a second as Siri threw down some smug knowledge, something Speaker John Bercow called a “very rum business.” Yes, how very droll.

“It is very rare that you’re heckled by your own mobile phone,” said Williamson, after he shoved Siri back into his pocket. According to the news service, the defence secretary said he didn’t usually carry his phone during confidential parliamentary meetings, and that his Siri does not pose a security risk. Read more…

More about Siri, Culture, Consumer Tech, and Artificial Intelligence

It was a little over a year ago that Scarlett Johansson found herself embroiled in controversy over Ghost in the Shell, in which she plays a Japanese woman in a white woman’s (android) body.

Now she and Ghost in the Shell director Rupert Sanders are catching heat again, for a new project that will have Johansson playing a trans man. 

And if the actress’ reaction to the pushback is any indication, Johansson clearly learned nothing from the Ghost in the Shell dustup.

On Monday, The Hollywood Reporter and other trades broke the news that Johansson would be starring in Rub & Tug as Dante “Tex” Gill, a massage parlor owner in the 1970s and 1980s.  Read more…

More about Scarlett Johansson, Entertainment, Discrimination, and Movies Tv Shows