Category Archives: Blog

Amazon Spark, we hardly cared about knew you.

The shopping social network (a kinda gross concept to start with) disappeared from the internet and Amazon’s app some time in the past couple days, according to a report from TechCrunch.

Spark launched in July 2017, and was described by your friends at Mashable as “the grossest, purest thing on the internet.” It attempted to bridge online shopping and authentic socializing while also bringing in sweet, sweet cash for Amazon. 

The service allowed Prime users to post photos of their favorite products in an Instagram-like feed with an easy click-to-purchase option built in.  Read more…

More about Instagram, Amazon, Tech, and Big Tech Companies

The melting Arctic is on dramatic display.

At mid-June, Arctic sea ice is now at a record low for this time of year, and melted ice is especially notable both in and around Greenland — home to the second largest ice sheet on the planet. Steffen Olsen, a climate researcher at the Danish Meteorological Institute, snapped a photo on Thursday of Greenland sea ice that had melted into a large lake of aqua water, pooled atop the icy surface.

Olsen, along with local hunters, had to sled across the flooded ice to retrieve vulnerable weather and ocean monitoring equipment. Their sled dogs splashed through the icy water. Read more…

More about Science, Global Warming, Climate Change, Greenland, and Science

The cute-children-turned-post-pubescent-teens of Stranger Things proved they’re still the charming kids Netflix viewers flipped over when the show debuted in 2016. 

Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, and Sadie Sink squeezed onto The Tonight Show sofas to talk about the on-set antics they used to pass the time while shooting Season 3. The group even taught Jimmy Fallon the “Chicken Noodle Song,” a purposefully irritating tune created by McLaughlin (“Lucas” on the show) to annoy his costars. 

Stranger Things Season 3 debuts July 4 on Netflix.  Read more…

More about Stranger Things, Millie Bobby Brown, Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Entertainment, and Talk Show

Euphoria is a jarring exploration into the dark gamuts of growing up with addiction, depression, and immense peer pressure among other coming-of-age obstacles. HBO’s gritty teen drama pushes boundaries in its attempts to realistically display the how and why of high schoolers indulge in drugs and sex.

The show found its way into the news before its June 16 premiere when it was revealed that one of the actors quit while filming the pilot after feeling uncomfortable with explicit scenesIn an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, show creator Sam Levinson said, “There are going to be parents who are going to be totally fucking freaked out.”  Read more…

More about Entertainment, Hbo, Review, Euphoria, and Entertainment

This is One Good Thing, a weekly column where we tell you about one of the few nice things that happened this week.

Jake Gyllenhaal sleeps naked, folks. 

During the actor’s appearance on Ellen this week, Gyllenhaal answered all of Ellen Degeneres’ Burning Questions. The pair had a hilariously good time, pressing buttons and chatting about everything from his underwear preferences (briefs) to his favorite body part (the nape of a woman’s neck). 

When asked what he wears to bed, Gyllenhaal answers, “nothing,” to which the crowd loudly responds with whoops and cheers.

More about Youtube, Ellen Degeneres, Jake Gyllenhaal, One Good Thing, and Burning Questions

The Martian desert is rich in curiosities. 

And Star Trek symbolism, too. NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter — a satellite zipping around the red planet — captured a mass of ancient lava rock that looks strikingly like the Star Trek Starfleet insignia donned by the show’s galactic explorers. 

“Enterprising viewers will make the discovery that these features look conspicuously like a famous logo: and you’d be right, but it’s only a coincidence,” NASA scientists said. 

NASA’s planetary researchers, like they always do, had a realistic explanation for the geologic feature, calling it “a complex story of dunes, lava, and wind.” Read more…

More about Nasa, Mars, Star Trek, Science, and Movies Tv Shows

In many ways, Animal Crossing has always been a friendship simulator. 

Sure, over the years it also became about being the mayor of your own town, or crafting, or collectibles. But from the beginning, the true heart of this nearly two-decade old franchise came from developing long-term connections, whether with adorable talking animal NPCs or IRL friends who could visit your virtual utopia. 

“Since I became involved in development during the Nintendo 64 days, the core concept of the game was to try to bring as many people as possible together,” said Nintendo co-director Hisashi Nogami. “The way people communicate has continued to evolve throughout the series, with the latest version having both local play and online play.” Read more…

More about Entertainment, Nintendo, Video Games, E3 2019, and Animal Crossing New Horizons

More about Taylor Swift, Pride Month 2019, Entertainment, Identities, and Celebrities

Every day of Pride Month, Mashable will be sharing illuminating conversations with members of the LGBTQ community who are making history right now.

“Get up, look sickening, and make them eat it!” 

Latrice Royale, the “chunky, yet funky” queen of RuPaul’s Drag Race, has been offering those immortal words of confidence to fans for years. 

But in 2020, she’ll be taking them straight to the polls — voting not only as a beloved leader of the LGBTQ community, but also as a former inmate with newly restored rights. 

A drag queen, activist, and television personality, Royale first came into the national consciousness in 2012 as a cast member on RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 4. Snatching the title of Miss Congeniality and placing fourth overall in her season, Royale established a reputation of integrity, kindness, and talent early on in her public history, regularly using her primetime platform to advocate for a cause near and dear to her heart. Read more…

More about Lgbtq, Drag Queen, Lgbtq Rights, Voting Rights, and Pride Month 2019

Tesla owners, prepare to be entertained. 

Elon Musk made an appearance at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, known as E3, in Los Angeles Thursday and said in a conversation with game designer Todd Howard and video game journalist Geoff Keighley that entertainment options are expanding in Tesla vehicles.

“What can we do to make the car the most fun possible?” Musk mused on stage.

First up is the game Cuphead, which Tesla announced earlier this month as an addition to the gaming options already in the Tesla in-car screen. Then Bethesda Game Studios is working with Tesla to bring Fallout Shelter to the gaming selection. Read more…

More about Tesla, Streaming, Video Games, E3 2019, and Tech