Madonna reminds angry fans: ‘A queen is never late’

Time waits for no one — except Madonna. Her fans, it seems, are less than thrilled with this arrangement. 

Angry concertgoers have been complaining about the start times for the pop star’s current Madame X tour, reporting that shows often start several hours after the time listed on their tickets. It’s gotten so bad that one fan is now suing the pop star over it, saying it amounts to a breach of contract, BuzzFeed News reported.

The class action lawsuit claims ticket seller Live Nation refused to refund more than $1,000 in tickets after the ticket seller pushed back the start time for a Miami show.  Read more…

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YouTube says it can delete your account if you’re not ‘commercially viable’

YouTube’s new terms of service has some users and content creators very worried that the company could delete their account.

In the section titled “Account Suspension & Termination” with the subheader “Terminations by YouTube for Service Changes,” the site’s new terms, which are set to take effect on Dec. 10, adds the following:

“YouTube may terminate your access, or your Google account’s access to all or part of the Service if YouTube believes, in its sole discretion, that provision of the Service to you is no longer commercially viable.”

In its most basic terms: if YouTube isn’t making money off you, the company can delete your account. The platform’s current terms of service do not include this language. Read more…

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Logan Paul loses YouTuber boxing rematch to KSI in controversial decision

YouTuber Logan Paul lost his big boxing rematch against fellow creator KSI in a fittingly controversial decision.

The professional boxing match, which took place Saturday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, went to a split decision after six rounds. Two judges handed the bout to the UK’s KSI, with a score of 57–54 and 56–55. The third judge scored the bout 56–55 for Logan Paul.

The controversy surrounding the decision is thanks to a moment in the fourth round where Paul was penalized two points, which cost him the fight. 

Paul and KSI exchange blows.

Paul and KSI exchange blows.

Image: Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images Read more…

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Sweet, little bird kisses and coos at a kid in this achingly precious video

Everyone say hello to Mai Mai the parrot.

Mai Mai has a big heart and, in this ridiculously cute video, a special, young friend to dote on. The video’s creator explains that the affectionate parrot “rushes to relatives when they arrive,” but adds “I have never seen [Mai Mai] do this before.”

Parrots are known for mimicking the behaviors of their human caretakers, and that’s probably what Mai Mai is doing here. The whole thing is too cute. Just watch. Read more…

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Apple Card being investigated by regulators for gender bias

Apple’s tech-oriented credit card is at the heart of a new investigation into alleged gender discrimination.

New York state regulators have announced an investigation into Goldman Sachs, the bank that issues the Apple Card, after a series of viral tweets from a consumer who shared the vastly different credit limits that were issued to him and his wife when they both applied for the card.

“The department will be conducting an investigation to determine whether New York law was violated and ensure all consumers are treated equally regardless of sex,” said a spokesman for the New York Department of Financial Services in a statement provided to Bloomberg. Read more…

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‘Rick and Morty’ Season 4 cements the show’s biggest, Rick-est power shift

For a while, Rick and Morty seemed like the kind of show that was almost too enamored of its horrible protagonist. Rick’s narcissistic assholery was the show’s calling card, and the idea of a self-destructive genius whose ultimate assessment of the universe is that nothing matters and everything sucks propelled him to destroy everyone who even attempted to get close to him.

As the show progressed over three seasons, however, the show’s view of Rick’s nihilistic genius dimmed in favor of recognizing the toxic brokenness his character exudes. Instead of equating cosmic genius with the realization that nothing matters, its plot and characters curved towards a different idea: that people have the agency to choose what matters, even if life is ultimately meaningless.  Read more…

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He redesigned Count Chocula. Now he creates emoji.

In the early 2000s, Pat Giles worked on MTV’s Daria. Then he redesigned Count Chocula.

These days, the 52-year-old animation vet works at a New York City start-up that creates animated emoji stickers.

On a Friday afternoon, Giles gathered seven millennial animators in a conference room tucked behind a ping-pong table. He presented sketches of small mice playing with food  — something he had drawn up earlier in the day for one of his latest projects as head of studio at Holler, which creates animated emoji for iMessage, Android, Viber, LinkedIn, and other apps. 

Pat Giles (right) discusses sticker sketches with his millennial coworkers during a writers' room session.

Pat Giles (right) discusses sticker sketches with his millennial coworkers during a writers’ room session.

Image: haidee chu/mashable Read more…

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Roku thinks your remote needs a remote. Say hi to its new Apple Watch app.

Why settle for just one Roku remote control, when you could have two?

That is the bold question posed by the latest addition to the Apple Watch ecosystem: the brand new Roku app. The app, which Roku writes became available for Apple’s wrist computer on Nov. 8, does all kinds of neat things — like, as we already mentioned, acting as a remote control. 

“Control your Roku device directly from Apple Watch,” explains the above-linked Roku blog post. “It’s the same easy to use remote from the mobile app – just sized for your wrist!”  

How fun! 

To get the app on your Apple Watch, all you need to do is download the Roku app on your iPhone (or, if you already have it, update to version 6.1.3) and you should be good to go.  Read more…

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NASA subjected its new Mars rover to harsh Mars-like environs

Nine months till blast-off.

NASA’s latest car-sized, six-wheeled Mars rover, currently dubbed the 2020 Rover, is in the final stages of testing before launching to the red desert planet. 

On Thursday, NASA released footage showing researchers transferring the rover into a vacuum testing chamber at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. There, NASA subjected the rover to a simulation of Mars’ frigid atmospheric conditions to ensure the rover’s antennas, ground-penetrating radar, cameras, and equipment work under such extreme, extraterrestrial environs. 

Our #Mars2020 rover was moved into a vaccuum chamber at @NASAJPL for testing in Mars-like environmental conditions. It’s set to launch in July 2020 and land in the Red Planet’s Jezero Crater in Feb. 2021. Is your name on board? ?️
Watch: https://t.co/lxUk5kZRFz pic.twitter.com/A5EMkTHsHt

— NASA (@NASA) November 7, 2019 Read more…

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Older smart TVs and Rokus won’t work on Netflix starting in December. Sorry.

Technological obsolescence isn’t any less annoying when it’s unplanned. 

Scores of smart TVs owner are about to find that out the hard way come Dec. 2, when Netflix will stop supporting their devicesAccording to Samsung, the streaming service will no longer work on “select” 2010 and 2011 smart TVs sold by the manufacturer in the U.S. and Canada. 

The stated reason, notes Samsung, is “due to technical limitations.” However, the company is quick to point out that “there are many other devices that can be connected to a Smart TV to continue enjoying the streaming service.”

You just, you know, have to buy some compatible stuff.  Read more…

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