This is the weirdest flex, but OK.

Beauty guru YouTube needs to take a seat — TikTok users are showing off their makeup skills by dolling up potatoes in the delightfully weird #potatoportrait challenge. 

The trend stared when @elona_balasyan pulled out a beauty blender and gave an ordinary potato a glam makeover worthy of a teen romcom montage. She adds sharp eyebrows, expertly blended eyeshadow, and plump lips. It’s beautiful. 

As the video spread, jumping to other platforms like Twitter and Instagram, other TikTok users began imitating it, creating gorgeous potato beauty gurus who could compete with any influencer. Read more…

More about Memes, Potato, Tiktok, Culture, and Web Culture

Mama’s got a new set o’ wheels.

Cities with Lime and Lyft scooter share programs will soon see some new models scootin’ around the city. The companies are rolling out new designs in the coming weeks, which they will integrate into their fleets over time. Both of the models emphasize sturdier designs and company branding.

Lyft’s new scooters are Segway-Ninebot’s Shared Scooter Model Max, which are specifically designed for share scooter programs. They debuted at CES 2019, and Lyft will be the first company to employ the new model — Bird and other competitors also use Segway-Ninebot.  Read more…

More about Lyft, Lime, E Scooter, Tech, and Transportation

I’m a Virgo, so apparently that means I’m bound to be anal about things. Forgive me while I whine.

It’s been clear for a while that astrology has moved successfully into the mainstream. For millions of people searching for some kind of spiritual grounding in their life (or just something to do while they’re bored on the train), astrology has been a life-saver. It gives them guidance. It fills their time.

Recently, saavy dating app Bumble took notice of the phenomenon, and decided to allow their users to filter potential matches by their zodiac signs.

I’m sure this is what the users wanted. It just may not be what most of us need. Read more…

More about Watercooler, Bumble, Astrology, Culture, and Web Culture

Nothing brings out a perfectly workshopped diss like a little cross-industry promotional opportunism. 

We were reminded of this fact on Jan. 10, when, in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the show The Sopranos, the HBO Twitter account announced it would dish out Sopranos-inspired nicknames. And you better believe that Twitter CEO and “conversational health” guru Jack Dorsey wanted in on the fun. 

“In honor of the 20th anniversary of The Sopranos, I’m handing out Soprano nicknames today,” read the tweet from HBO’s main account. “Who wants one? FYI if you tell me your first name, this is way easier for me.” Read more…

More about Twitter, Hbo, Jack Dorsey, The Sopranos, and Tech

If the National Enquirer is to be believed (idk!), Jeff Bezos sent some pretty gnarly sexts to news anchor Lauren Sanchez. And by “gnarly,” we mean so boring and bad. Jeff Bezos might be good at shaving his head and collecting an enormous amount of your personal data, but he is bad at sexting.

Perhaps the worst line in these alleged sexts is Bezos referring to Sanchez as “alive girl.” “I love you, alive girl,” he reportedly wrote. “I will show you with my body, and my lips and my eyes, very soon.”

There are loads of questions to be asked here, but it’s hard to focus on anything but the word “alive.” Why did Jeff B need to specify Sanchez was alive? Was it an autocorrect error, or is he really that inept? MacKenzie, get your money! Read more…

More about Twitter, Memes, Jeff Bezos, Social Media, and Sexting

The free, ad-supported streaming video market is getting extremely competitive.

IMDb, the movie and TV website owned by Amazon, launched a free streaming channel on Thursday. Called IMDb Freedive, it’s available to U.S. viewers on the IMDb website and Amazon Fire TV devices. 

IMDb Freedive offers a variety of content, spanning film and television, at no cost. There is no IMDb or Amazon Prime subscription required, as the service is supported by advertisements. Viewers simply need to create a free IMDb account to begin watching.

Older movies like The Illusionist, Memento, and The Last Samurai are currently available to watch on the serviceFringe, Heroes, Without a Trace, and The Bachelor make up some of Freedive’s current television offerings. (There are multiple categories on the service, including drama, comedies, horror, action, family, and so on.) The streaming service also boasts of a few IMDb original series’ that take a look at the movie and TV industry. Read more…

More about Youtube, Amazon, Roku, Streaming Services, and Imdb

Donald Trump really did it, folks. Against all odds he found a way to distract the world from the 19 day government shut down — if only for a few minutes.

On Thursday, Trump took a trip down to the Mexican border to discuss the immigration crisis with border patrol agents, and guess who stood next to him: Senator Ted Cruz. But more importantly, Ted Cruz’s weird new beard.

Because it’s Texas (and Cruz likes to kiss ass) the Senator stopped by to support Trump, but it’s his beard that wound up stealing the spotlight. Seriously. The internet couldn’t look away.

More about Politics, Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Texas, and Web Culture

Bungie and Activision are no longer working together.

In a joint statement from both Bungie and Activision, the two companies announced Thursday that will be cutting ties with each other. All publishing rights of the Bungie-developed series Destiny will be handed over to bungie by Activision at an unspecified date.

This means that Bungie will be taking control of all rights for Destiny and Destiny 2, the latter of which released in 2017 and continues to be updated today. Read more…

More about Bungie, Activision, Blizzard Entertainment, Destiny 2, and Entertainment

When your most depraved tweets come back to bite you, just pull a Lady Gaga and deny everything. 

During the Golden Globes on Sunday, Lady Gaga graced the red carpet in a lavender gown similar to the one Judy Garland wore in the 1954 version of A Star Is Born. She said that the look wasn’t an intentional tribute, and in a clip that became a glorious meme, seemed to deny ever saying she was trying to copy Garland. 

“You know what, I … We didn’t say that,” she told ET. “No, but it looks an awful lot like that, doesn’t it?” Read more…

More about Memes, Meme, Lady Gaga, A Star Is Born, and Culture

Everyone talks about how CES has become the main auto show of the year, pushing the Detroit Auto Show from its long-running time in January to June starting in 2020. But it’s not just cars or what goes in them on display at the tech show in Las Vegas.

Hold on tight for some of the funkier, over-the-top concepts, prototypes, and even real production vehicles that vie for the spotlight at the massive tech trade show. Here’s a collection of electric flying vehicles, electric motorcycles, three-wheeled scooters, and much more. And, as always, we can’t forget the e-scooters.

More about Electric Vehicles, Motorcycle, Concept Cars, Flying Car, and Flying Taxi