Category Archives: Blog

Netflix has released the official trailer for When They See Us, the four-part miniseries from Ava DuVernay that tells the story of the Central Park Five, five young black men wrongly convicted of rape  in New York City in 1989. 

According to Netflix, the series will cover the entire 25 years between the April 19, 1989 assault of Trisha Meili and the 2014 settlement between New York City and the five men — Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise — who spent years in jail for crimes they didn’t commit. 

The Hollywood Reporter notes the series will show the events from the perspective of those five young men. And, in the clip above, you’ll even catch a flash of the infamous full-page ad taken out by Donald Trump in May 1989, calling for the execution of the five boys.  Read more…

More about Netflix, Trailers, Ava Duvernay, When They See Us, and Central Park Five

Netflix is testing out a “random” viewing option, giving viewers the opportunity to jump into a random episode of certain “popular” TV shows in an effort to give you a spicier viewing experience. 

First reported by the site Android Police and later confirmed by Netflix to Mashable, the option lets you jump into into a random episode of popular shows on the streaming service, like hitting shuffle on The Office or Arrested Development.

According to the site, the above option for getting a random episode appeared on an Android user’s app, “specifically v7.6.0 build 19 34157.”  Read more…

More about Entertainment, Netflix, Streaming, Random Episodes, and Tech

Google is taking a big step to fight phishing attempts on its users.

In a post on the company’s security blog, Google’s Product Manager of Account Security Jonathan Skelker announced that the search giant will begin to block account sign-ins from embedded browsers within applications.

The problem with embedded browsers, as Skelker lays out, is that it leaves Google’s users susceptible to phishing attacks from bad actors. 

Previously, third-party developers could add web browser instances, like the Chromium Embedded Framework, to their apps. This allowed users to log into a service with their existing Google account without having to sign-up for a fresh account on a brand new platform. Read more…

More about Google, Apps, Cybersecurity, Phishing, and Web Browsers

During an early morning TV appearance on Friday, CNN White House reporter Abby Phillip got a surprise guest in the form of a lizard that snuck up to say hello.

Besides appearing startled for a moment, you have to hand it to Phillip for largely keeping her composure and not running away screaming like I would have done. Of course, Phillip has faced down far larger lizards so it’s not a surprise she handled this incident well. 

And she played the whole thing with a laugh even when viewers started chiming in. Read more…

More about Cnn, Lizard, Abby Phillip, Culture, and Web Culture

Two teenage YouTubers were the subject of concern this week after they announced they were expecting a baby and had gotten “married” in Las Vegas. After dragging their followers through a four-part, monetized series, they revealed that it was just a “prank” and issued a very YouTuber non-apology for coming off as insensitive.  

Danielle Cohn, who goes by Dani, is 15 years old. Her boyfriend and fellow influencer, Mikey Tua, is 16. After dropping cryptic hints throughout the weekend, Mikey posted a hidden camera video of the couple telling their families that Dani was pregnant. 

They raised eyebrows when the two posted a later video of their “wedding” in Las Vegas — which Dani’s mother clarified in a statement to BuzzFeed as only the two making a “promise” since Dani is too young to be legally married, even with parental consent. In the third installment, they visited a questionable doctor’s office for an “ultrasound” to find out the sex of the hypothetical baby and listen to Mikey’s father lecture them on responsibilities.  Read more…

More about Influencers, Culture, and Web Culture

Elon Musk has explained to Tesla owners why they shouldn’t charge their Tesla batteries to 100% even if they are concerned about range. Read more…

More about Tech, Technology, Cars, Transportation, and Mashable Video

Bob and Proma discuss who is “rightful heir” to the throne with Grey Worm, Lord Qyburn and Lady Mormont. Read more…

More about Funny, Game Of Thrones, Mashable Video, Comedy, and Arts Culture And Entertainment

Nothing goes together like “fact checking” and “Tucker Carlson,” right?

Facebook has a new fact-checking partner, Axios first reported Thursday: CheckYourFact.com, the fact-checking arm of The Daily Caller, a right-wing website founded by conspiracy theorist peddler Tucker Carlson.

CheckYourFact.com describes itself as “editorially independent” from The Daily Caller. Its funding comes from The Daily Caller’s operating budget, ad revenue, and from a grant that’s ultimately funded by conservative political groups, according to Media Matters, a watchdog organization of conservative media.  Read more…

More about Facebook, Fake News, Fact Check, Tucker Carlson, and Tech

Instagram might be changing up one of the most fundamental parts of its service: likes.

New screenshots suggest the company is testing a way to hide like counts in Instagram posts. Images uncovered by researcher Jane Manchun Wong reveal Instagram feed posts that no longer show exact like counts. Instead, you see that a post was liked by a few named handles “and others.”

“We want your followers to focus on what you share, not how many likes your posts get,” Instagram says in an in-app message explaining the change. “During this test, only the person who shared a post will see the total number of likes it gets.” Read more…

More about Tech, Facebook, Instagram, Tech, and Social Media Companies

Once you’ve binge-watched enough Netflix shows, you start to see a pattern in the characters you get invested in. You might even notice that certain types of romances have you hitting the “Next Episode” button faster than you can say “I ship it.” 

Even if you don’t actually read fanfiction in which romantic tropes are clearly defined and amped up to 11 (just check any of the tags on AO3.org or Fanfiction.net), there’s at least one fictional dynamic that hits ya right in the feels, every time. 

Enter the latest meme going around Twitter, which has artists drawing visual depictions of their favorite ships. Would you like a scoop of some unspoken mutual pining? How about a helping of rivals who actually admire each other? Or, my personal favorite, a cup of punlord versus someone who pretends to hate their puns but secretly loves them?   Read more…

More about Twitter, Memes, Art, Culture, and Culture