Category Archives: Blog

Pakistan has reportedly blocked Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter amid a broader crackdown on protests. 

The blockages come after six people died and 200 others were injured after authorities attempted to clear Islamist protests from highways near the capital of Islamabad, according to the Associated Press. 

Pakistan also instituted a media blackout, with many of its major TV stations going off the air. 

More about Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Censorship, and Social Media

You’ve never heard of 2016’s I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House. But you should have. 

The lapse in coverage on it may come from Netflix’s inability to promote its Originals, with niche art house films like this one getting buried beneath the never-ending barrage of new content. Or maybe it’s because this ghost story is often categorized as a horror movie, but better suited to suspense lovers. Perhaps it’s the sentence-long title which, while intriguing, is not very search friendly.

For whatever reason, you’ve missed out on one of Netflix’s most daring experiments, and one of the most evocative atmospheric horror films exploring the female psyche since Polanksi’s Repulsion. Read more…

More about Entertainment, Film, Netflix, Horror, and Horror Movies

Did you buy something on Black Friday? You’re not alone! Unsurprisingly, the biggest retail day of the year delivered its promised spoils for customers and companies with over $5 billion spent, according to analysis from Adobe. 

According to Salesforce, digital sales rose 24 percent, with 60 percent of online traffic and 42 percent of sales coming from mobile devices.

The average Black Friday user spent $122, per Salesforce, and $135 according to Adobe. While the numbers are slightly different, it’s clear that digital is dominating and computers are slowly falling behind mobile internet devices.  Read more…

More about Business, Smartphones, Adobe, Commerce, and Report

Black Friday tends to be a great time for some local news coverage. Hundreds of eager shoppers lining up in early morning hours tend to make for great visuals and person-on-the-street interviews.

That’s what Joshua Short of WNDU in South Bend, Indiana, expected. He was sorely disappointed—and didn’t mince words when he gave his report on the scene at around 5:15 A.M. local time.

The segment caught fire online. Short and anchor Alex Wilcox appeared to enjoy the moment, if not get a caught off guard by just how fast it spread.

More about Media, Journalism, Local News, Business, and Media Industry

Binge yourself some Runaways and then spend December browsing the extensive depths of Hulu’s libraryApocalypse Now? Got it. The whole Rocky series? You bet. The inexplicable 2001 rom-com Kate and Leopold starring Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman? Hell yes – and much more.

Here’s what’s coming to Hulu in December.

Top pick: Legion Season 1

FX’s twisted take on the life of mutant David (Dan Stevens) in the X-Men universe visualizes the human mind and explores its strengths and weaknesses. David can be difficult and his love story a tad cloying, but the series strengthens as it progresses, and as you get to know more of Aubrey Plaza’s deliciously depraved Lenny. Read more…

More about Entertainment, Television, Movies, Hulu, and Entertainment

Jeff Bezo$ made out like Scrooge McDuck on Black Friday after rising Amazon share prices lifted his personal fortune to more than $100 billion. 

That’s billion, with a “b.” His 78.9 million shares of Amazon got a boost thanks to investor optimism over Black Friday sales. Basically, your desire to buy cheap stuff from your couch made the richest man in America even richer. 

Now, that $100 billion estimate only comes from Bloomberg; Forbes still has him at $99.6 billion. Either way, he is worth around 1.7 million times the median household income in the United States. Read more…

More about Amazon, Jeff Bezos, Black Friday, Business, and Big Tech Companies

Unless you repressed all memories of 2016 (and who could blame you), you’ll remember that Time named Donald Trump “Person of the Year.” Now, the president is claiming that the magazine asked him again this year but, like, urgh who can even be bothered?

In a tweet Friday, the president took time from his busy schedule of getting absolutely nothing from his agenda done to make a bold claim about rejecting the magazine’s honor for 2017. 

More about Watercooler, Donald Trump, Donald Trump Election 2016, Puerto Rico, and Time Magazine

We’ve been online with you all day, scouring the depths of the internet to source the best deals to send your way. But if you are feeling as overwhelmed as we are and your fingers are exhausted from all that swiping, rest your weary eyes on this final list.

Here is a collection of your Black Friday favorites. The deals you loved, the products you couldn’t live without and the cool stuff worth your dollars. 

Thanks for playing along. This post can ease you into Saturday. But make sure you rest up, as we will be back to do it all again on Cyber Monday.  Read more…

More about Amazon, Oculus Rift, Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, and Echo Dot 2

Model and proud Nintendo Switch super-player Christine Teigen made a mistake. And it’s gonna take a holiday miracle to fix it.

Like many of us, Teigen’s been obsessively playing (and posting amazing Twitter content about) Super Mario Odyssey since its release last month. 

But tragedy struck on Friday, Nov. 24, when she forgot the portable console in the Courtyard Marriott in Springfield, Ohio. Now, she needs her own blue overall-wearing hero to materialize from a green pipe because, “I need my moons back.”

More about Watercooler, Entertainment, Twitter, Gaming, and Chrissy Teigen

If Black Friday riot videos weren’t enough to convince you that America is a consumerist hell on Earth, then our president’s Black Friday promo surely will.

Trump took to one of his two Facebook pages (while the GOP took to Twitter) to promote a sale on some of his campaign merchandise. Just throw some festive #MAGA swag into your cart, enter the code “SATIRE2017” at checkout and, bam! You’ve got yourself a bargain on our democracy. (Literally!) 

Because, apparently, the best Black Friday deal this year is the cool 30 percent off POTUS is offering on the American soul. 

More about Watercooler, Politics, Thanksgiving, Donald Trump, and Democracy