Author Archives: Carol Edwards

According to my trusty calendar it’s 2019, but a Catholic school in Nashville, Tennessee, is over here banning Harry Potter books like it’s 2002 or something.

On Saturday, the Tennessean reported that the students of St. Edward Catholic School will no longer be allowed to check out books in the Harry Potter series from their school library on account of the “curses and spells” present within the J.K. Rowling texts.

The local publication states that Rev. Dan Reehil, a pastor at the school, explained the decision in an email to parents.

“These books present magic as both good and evil, which is not true, but in fact a clever deception,” he wrote. “The curses and spells used in the books are actual curses and spells; which when read by a human being risk conjuring evil spirits into the presence of the person reading the text.” Read more…

More about Books, Censorship, Harry Potter, Entertainment, and Books

For some people, the first day of fall arrives with the return of the Pumpkin Spice Latte. For others, the new season doesn’t start until the official “first day of autumn” date that their Google search reveals has arrived. 

I, however, feel it’s truly fall when the annual  SmokyMountains.com Foliage Predications Map is released. And baby? It’s here.

Every year the tourism site shares an interactive map that acts as a guide to the upcoming foliage in the United States through September, October, and November. It’s the perfect tool for planning fall outings, scenic road trips, and even seasonal Instagram photo shoots. Read more…

More about Fall, Map, Foliage, Culture, and Climate Environment

Some actors are more versatile than others. For scientific proof, please see the following meme.

After Reuters tweeted and deleted a post stating that Kirsten Dunst was “best known for her role as Spiderman’s girlfriend” (have they ever even heard of Bring It On?), a discussion about the truly versatile actors in our midst ramped up on Twitter. 

Soon, it became a full-fledged meme, with people saying their faves could role-swap with basically any famous part. “Rachel Weisz could do James Bond but Daniel Craig couldn’t do The Favourite,” reads one tweet from user @chastaen. Frankly, this is a great point. Read more…

More about Twitter, Memes, Social Media, Culture, and Movies Tv Shows

The internet’s number one crush of 2019, Keanu Reeves, is turning another year older, wiser, and hotter today and it’s time to celebrate.

As Reeves turns 55 years old on this #ManCrushMonday (55? Breathtaking!) Twitter users are celebrating their good-haired, personal space-respecting, slow-mo strutting king by fondly looking back his career.

If we’re being honest, the GIFs, threads, videos, and old photo collages of young Keanu are as much a gift to us all as they are to him, so please enjoy!

More about Twitter, Birthday, Keanu Reeves, Culture, and Web Culture

As part of its 25th anniversary Friends celebration, Warner Bros. plans to place a photo-ready replica of the Central Perk couch outside NYC’s actual Friends apartment. 

There’s just one problem: Monica, Chandler, Joey, and Rachel do not actually reside there — and some of the folks who do are not happy about their block being overrun with fans.

During the show’s run, the building at 90 Bedford St. in the West Village served as the apartment’s on-camera exterior, making it a popular tourist attraction alreadyAccording to the New York Post, locals fear that adding the iconic orange couch to the mix would draw more people than the block can handle. Read more…

More about Friends, Culture, and Movies Tv Shows

Hurricane Dorian is currently wreaking havoc on Grand Bahama Island and is expected to move towards Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia over the coming days.

The storm, which was originally forecast to make landfall along the Atlantic coast of Florida this weekend, edged farther east to slam the Bahamas. Dorian is now a Category 5 hurricane that’s gained winds of up to 165 mph, and is reportedly the strongest storm the world has seen in 2019.

More about Climate, Science, Hurricane Dorian, Social Good, and Climate Environment

When my best friend’s boyfriend broke up with her, his parting gift was a barrage of declined future Google Calendar events. 

“Give me cuddles”: declined. 

“One year anniversary”: deleted. 

Future together: permanently erased. 

When they were still an item, the pair would send each other dinner date calendar invites with jokes in the descriptions. Occasionally, he’d accept tentatively, which would make her laugh and pretend to be upset. Little did she know that one day these calendar invites would one day be a source of genuine upset. She described the feeling as “death by a thousand cuts, man.” Taylor Swift would probably agree. Read more…

More about Dating, Google Calendar, Dating And Relationships, Culture, and Sex Relationships

Beto O’Rourke’s presidential campaign is selling T-shirts that read “This is f*cked up” in the wake of Saturday’s mass shooting in West Texas.

The launch comes after O’Rourke made the same comment during a campaign event in Virginia on Saturday, just after he learned about the attack in his home state. 

After a predictable wave of right-wing handwringing calling his swearing “profane,” he defended his choice of words to MSNBC’s Joy Reid on Sunday: “What is profane is 40,000 gun violence deaths in this country [per year],” he said. “So let’s speak clearly and bluntly, and take decisive action.”  Read more…

More about Gun Control, Beto O Rourke, 2020 Election, Culture, and Politics

TL;DR: The stunning Hisense 43-Inch 4K UHD HDR Smart TV is on sale for £299, saving you 25% on list price. 

Genuinely good 4K TV deals are few and far between, but that just makes it more satisfying when you finally manage to bag a bargain. 

Good deals might be rare, but there’s no need for you to go looking for the best offers, because we have done that for you. We’ve tracked down the best 4K TV deals in the UK, to make sure you save big on your next purchase. You can save on all the top brands, including LG, Sony Bravia, Philips, Hisense, and more. 

These are the best 4K TV deals from the UK this week. Read more…

More about Tv, 4k Tv, Mashable Shopping, Shopping Uk, and Uk Deals

After the #hotgirlsummer comes the #hotgirlsemester.

Rapper Megan Thee Stallion put every college student to shame last Friday, tweeting about how she’s finishing her homework before she heads out for the night.

The 23-year-old Houston native studies health administration at Texas Southern University, according to Vibe. Clearly, hustle isn’t lacking in her back to school routine and it resonated.

More about Celebrities, Culture, and Celebrities