Category Archives: Blog

Actor Jason Momoa is known for two things: his hair and his muscles. So it only makes sense that he loses both in this Rocket Mortgage Super Bowl commercial, right?

In the ad, Momoa makes himself comfortable in his gorgeous mortgaged home. As he walks through the house, he first removes his shoes. But then he also removes his huge muscles. Biceps? Off. Abs? Off, revealing a skinny body underneath. As if that was not enough, he finally removes his gorgeous head of hair — apparently a wig — and proceeds to play an acoustic slide guitar with his frail body and bald head. 

The final moments of the commercial are arguably the best: Momoa struggled to bench press the 45-pound bar, with his wife Lisa Bonet spotting him. I have a sneaking suspicion applying for a mortgage would be a lot more fun if Momoa and Bonet were in my future home.  Read more…

More about Ads, Super Bowl, Jason Momoa, Culture, and Sports

Black Widow may be most beloved as an Avenger — but as she reminds us in the first trailer for her eponymous standalone movie, they’re not the first team she’s had.

Marvel’s Black Widow Super Bowl spot drops intriguing hints about her past, showing glimpses of Scarlett Johansson in action alongside Florence Pugh, Rachel Weisz, and David Harbour.

“You don’t know everything about me,” she says, and it’s true. Hopefully we’ll get to know her better once Black Widow opens May 1. Read more…

More about Super Bowl, Black Widow, Entertainment, and Movies Tv Shows

Mulan is coming back to theaters this spring — but this isn’t the cute cartoon version you remember from the ’90s.

This live-action version looks much more majestic and action-packed than you probably remember, with Yifei Liu playing the famed warrior. Plus, there’s a witch this time, played by Gong Li. 

Donnie Yen, Jason Scott Lee, Yoson An, and Jet Li also starMulan hits theaters March 27. Read more…

More about Super Bowl, Mulan, Entertainment, and Movies Tv Shows

Give back with cuddles!

On Tuesday, Cotton Branch Farm Sanctuary, a South Carolina-based volunteer organization dedicated to helping animals in need, put out an open call for volunteers. Specifically, the group is seeking participants eager to rub noses with pigs in need of socialization. 

Once properly cuddled, the pigs will be one step closer to finding their forever families through adoption. According to the sanctuary’s website, pot belly/mini pigs are the most in need of placement. 

Sound like the dream gig? Well, Twitter thought so. Although the original post received limited likes and retweets, one look at the volunteer calendar and you’ll see all of the “Pig Socialization” slots are full until March — and even those are going fast.  Read more…

More about Pig, Volunteer, Cuddle, Animal Adoption, and Social Good

After a wave of bad press involving police partnerships, hacking, and other privacy violations, Amazon’s Ring doorbell has released an update. 

On Friday, the smart device’s mobile app rolled out a new control center that grants users more authority over their privacy and security settings. You’ll now be able to add and remove shared users on an account, restrict third-party access, view two-factor authentication settings, and (perhaps, most importantly) opt out of all video request notifications from law enforcement.

Uncovered in reporting by Motherboard and Gizmodo in 2019, the scale of Amazon’s Neighbor Portal program is much larger than originally believed — and its various affiliations with law enforcement has raised alarming ethical questions.  Read more…

More about Amazon, Ring, Ring Home Security, Ring Doorbell, and Tech

It’s time to re-purpose Nintendo’s old “Now you’re playing with power!” tagline.

There’s a new custom-made add-on for the Xbox Adaptive Controller that allows people to use their power wheelchair controls to play games. This so-called “Freedom Wing Adapter” came out of a partnership between the AbleGamers charity organization and ATMakers.

That latter group, founded by a man named Bill Binko, describes itself as “an experiment in solving problems in Assistive Technology using the skills and tools of the Maker community.” AbleGamers, meanwhile, has been working since 2004 to make games more accessible for people with disabilities. Read more…

More about Entertainment, Social Good, Accessibility, Xbox Adaptive Controller, and Entertainment

It’s the song taking over the Tri-State Area.

On Friday, a Phineas and Ferb fan shared video of show co-creator Dan Povenmire belting out Billie Eilish’s smash hit “Bad Guy” for Twitter. 

Povenmire, who voices series villain Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz, rewrote the song to fit his character’s treacherous ways and later performed it at the Disney Channel Holiday Party. Fans just catching on to Doofenshmirtz’s burgeoning music career were elated.

Take a listen:

The lyrics, as Povenmire has written them, are: 

Lab coat, now red my bloody nose
When you visit we come to blows
But first I get caught up in prose
I’m too vociferous.   Read more…

More about Billie Eilish, Phineas And Ferb, Bad Guy, Entertainment, and Music

The other shoe is about to drop for wireless carriers that violated customer privacy. 

On Friday, the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission Ajit Pai, a Donald Trump appointee, informed the House of Representatives that an investigation into the unauthorized sale of users’ real-time location data had concluded. The inquiry, which began in early 2019 following numerous investigative reports into the matter, found at least one carrier broke federal law.

“Following our longstanding calls to take action, the FCC finally informed the Committee today that one or more wireless carriers apparently violated federal privacy protections by turning a blind eye to the widespread disclosure of consumers’ real-time location data,” said Representative Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Chairman to the Energy and Commerce Committee, in a statement. Read more…

More about Fcc, Location Data, Tech, Smartphones, and Consumer Tech

The Fugitive is back with a modern twist. Though the trailer for Quibi’s upcoming series looks like a present-day reboot of the Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones movie (and the 1960s TV series that inspired it), stars Boyd Holbrook and Kiefer Sutherland will play all-new characters engaged in a similar game of cat-and-mouse… with a 21st century twist.

Holbrook plays Mike, a father and husband suspected of bombing the Los Angeles subway system who then has to fight for his life, family, and innocence while evading capture by Detective Clay Bryce (Sutherland). 

But the real villain in Quibi’s adaptation might be more nefarious: Social media. A Dec. 2019 report from Deadline suggests that the chase at the heart of the show is fueled by social media misinformation and sloppy reporting. Read more…

More about Entertainment, Television, Kiefer Sutherland, Quibi, and The Fugitive

Voters struggling to get to the polls can look to Lyft.

On Friday, the ride share service announced that it would be expanding its free and discounted ride program throughout the primary calendar and general election. Part of the company’s LyftUp initiative — a charitable effort that helps in-need riders of all kinds — the Voting Access Program will start with the Iowa caucus on Monday. 

“Every citizen who wants to exercise their fundamental right to vote should have reliable, affordable access to the polls — regardless of income, age, zip code, or political affiliation,” Lyft said in a statement on their company blog. “Yet in the last presidential election, it’s estimated that more than 15 million eligible voters didn’t go to the polls in large part because they lacked a way to get there.” Read more…

More about Lyft, Primaries, 2020 Presidential Election, Tech, and Transportation