Month: May 2024

A forensics student named Alex recently shared vital information on TikTok that all women should know. She detailed the specific signs male predators are looking for when they choose a victim.

Her video is based on a 2013 study entitled “Psychopathy and Victim Selection: The Use of Gait as a Cue to Vulnerability.” For the study, researchers interviewed violent criminals in prison and asked them the type of women they’d be most likely to victimize.

The study found that the criminals all agreed that how the woman walked was a deciding factor.

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“What the selected women all had in common was the way that they walked and how they generally held themselves in public,” Alex says in the video she later deleted but has been shared broadly across the platform.

@gatita_bunee

How to walk for your safety! #women #safety #tips #walking #kidnapping #murder #attacks #fyp

“The selected women all had a similar ‘awkwardness’ to the way that they walked and carried themselves,” she continued. “The first part of the woman had a gait that was a little bit too small for their body, which resulted in smaller steps, slower speed and their arms more typically to their sides, or crossed, as well as their heads being down and not really taking in their general surroundings, which indicated three different things to these potential attackers.”

The woman’s body language signaled to attackers that she was fearful and anxious and because her head was down, she’d be easier to surprise. Alex then described the second type of woman the criminals said they’d target.

“On the other hand, the other part of the women that were selected had a gait that seemed a bit too big for their body and their arms tended to flail to the sides and seemed just overly awkward,” Alex continued.

The woman with the bigger gait signaled to potential attackers that she may be clumsy and won’t put up a good fight. “Because their arms were out and flailing to the side, it left the lower body open to, again, come around and grab them,” she said.

​The video was helpful because Alex also discussed the types of women the attackers wouldn’t pursue. Alex says these women “walked with a gait that tended to be more natural to their body.” She adds they moved at the same pace as those in the immediate area, with their shoulders back and chins up and asserting a general sense of confidence.

“Essentially, the women that were not selected gave off an energy that said, ‘Don’t mess with me. I will put up a good fight.’ And that’s why they weren’t selected,” Alex said. “I know that it sounds silly, but something as simple as the way you walk or the way that you carry yourself in public could determine the likelihood that you become a target of a predator.”

Alex concluded her video by sharing an acronym that can help prevent women from being victimized while in public: STAAR.

S(tride) — Walk with a natural stride to your body and not too far apart or short.

T(all) — Stand tall. Keep your shoulders back and your chin up. Assert a natural confidence and dominance to those around you.

A(rms)—Swing your arms naturally by your sides, avoiding keeping them too close to your body or flailing out of your natural range of motion.

A(wareness) — Stay aware of your surroundings. Take notice if something feels or looks off.

R(elax): Stay cool, calm, and collected and don’t indicate to a potential attacker that you feel or see something is wrong.

Mother’s Day is coming up quickly and people may be trying to figure out what to get their moms or partners for the special day. Most of the time, if you listen close enough throughout the year, you can pick up on things here and there that just might do the trick. But in case nothing is coming to mind, one mom took to the internet to release “Another Mom Anthem,” that just might contain some clues on what to do for the moms in your life.

Lauren Berty, who goes by That Twin Mom on Instagram, posted one of the most relatable anthems about motherhood to the tune of Cardi B’s “I Like it Like that.” It’s so much of a bop that moms are asking if there’s a way to download it on Spotify or to make it their ringtone.

The video starts off with the mom holding her twins on either hip appearing distressed while her older child plays a handheld video game. Berty changes scenes multiple times throughout the video but the theme is clear.

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“I like peace, I like quiet. I like some grapes in my diet,” the mom says as she holds up a glass of wine. “I like the house all to myself, with no kids, with no crying. I like drinking fancy coffee, especially if it’s still hot.”

The song continues in a similar fashion, laying out all of the things a mom could want on any given day, really, but especially on Mother’s Day. Other moms are in agreement.

“Say it louder for the father’s in the back,” one mom says.

“This is the best thing I’ve ever seen. Truly a masterpiece,” another writes.

“GIRL!!!! LOUDER! You deserve a Grammy for this!!! lol,” someone declares.

“How can i download this song and add it as a ringtone,” another commenter asks.

Someone get this mom in the booth—she’s going places and not just in the laundry room. Who knows, this song could find itself being the official mom anthem. Give it a listen below and if you figure out how to download it to blast it while running errands. don’t keep it a secret—inquiring moms want to know.

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Britney Spears is setting the record straight. Earlier today (May 2), TMZ reported that Spears had gotten into an altercation with her boyfriend Paul Soliz at the Chateau Marmont Hotel in Hollywood this past Wednesday.

Authorities had reportedly received a call that Spears was causing a disturbance among the hotel staff and guests, however, when they arrived to the scene, cops reportedly found no such disturbance. Spears and Soliz were said to have returned to their room, where they allegedly got into an argument that turned physical.

Spears has since taken to Instagram, where she denied getting into said rumored altercation. She said that paramedics had shown up to her hotel room after she sustained an injury.

“Just to let people know … the news is fake!!!,” Spears said in a post. “I would like respect at this time for people to understand I am getting stronger everyday!!! Truth sucks so can someone teach me how to lie ??? Goddesses out there, l’m reaching my higher power and furthermore, I hope you guys are too!!!! need a new toothbrush right now PS … I need an espresso !!! PSS …Not sure why I feel the need to share this…I guess I’m just a girl and I’m on my period so l’m b*tchy… sh*t!!! I also twisted my ankle last night and paramedics showed up at my door illegally. They never came in my room but I felt completly harassed. I’m moving to Boston !!! Peace.”

Earlier this week, Spears settled her conservatorship with her father, Jamie. Her divorce from Sam Asghari was also finalized.

Musical theater isn’t exactly for the hobbyist singer in general, but certain showtunes require so much skill that even the greats would shy away from them. “Defying Gravity,” from lyricist Stephen Schwartz and librettist Winnie Holzman’s “Wicked,” certainly falls into that category.

The iconic song, made famous by Idina Menzel, is a rollercoaster of key changes, dynamic shifts in tempo and volume, agile riffs and of course, that thrilling high belt at the end…all while being suspended in the air, mind you. It’s something that even the best of the best have to train for years to be able to do.

And yet, an 11-year-old made it look effortless.

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Back in May of 2023, Olivia Lynes stepped onto the stage for “Britain’s Got Talent,” sporting a little pink dress with ruby red shoes.

As she tells the judges “hellooooo” in the most adorable accent ever, you’d never get the sense that this sweet, polite young girl was mere seconds away from blowing the roof off the place.

But then she opens her mouth to sing, leaving everybody floored from the very first note.

Watch:

Holy moly, was that incredible, or was that incredible?

Olivia would go on to channel Menzel a few more times, singing “Let It Go”and “Into The Unknown” from Disney’s “Frozen” and “Frozen 2,” rightfully getting dubbed “the new, undisputed Disney princess” by judge Bruno Tonioli.

As if Olivia weren’t enough living proof, science does tell us that it is entirely possible to be born a gifted singer. After all, our anatomy plays a huge role in our singing abilities—facial structure, vocal folds, nasal cavities, etc. And our genetics influence our anatomy. So it makes sense that some people come into this world with inherent advantages.

However, just like with any athletic endeavor (which singing most certainly is) our skill level can improve with practice and training. Still, we can marvel at those natural born Olympians who seem fated for greatness.

The concept of the fourth dimension seems beyond human comprehension. As three-dimensional beings, we are unable to see beyond a physical object’s height, width and depth. What else could there be?

Enter Carl Sagan, revered as one of the greatest science communicators of his time. He possessed a unique gift for demystifying complex scientific concepts, making them accessible and thrilling for the general public. In 1980, on Episode 10 of the groundbreaking PBS show “Cosmos,” Sagan embarked on a mission to explain the seemingly impossible fourth dimension.

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What’s excellent about Sagan’s explanation is that he uses simple and relatable objects: an apple and a Tesseract, or a hypercube.

Sagan began by discussing how a two-dimensional being living in a flat world would perceive a three-dimensional object like an apple.

“Imagine we live in this ‘flatland’/2-D plane with no concept of ‘up’ or ‘down.’ Then along comes a 3-D object like an apple. We do not even notice it until it crosses our plane of existence — and even then, we have no idea what the apple is,” Sagan explains. “We see only a fragment as it passes through our plane. There is no way we can comprehend the 3-D quality/dimension of the apple, because it is more than we can understand. We only have the evidence of what has passed through our plane.”

Sagan then related this two-dimensional experience of the third dimension to how we might try to understand the fourth. To do so, he used the Tesseract, a four-dimensional cube, to demonstrate how difficult it is for us to perceive or visualize dimensions beyond our own three. At this point, Sagan is asking the viewer to expand their minds to understand the fourth dimension metaphorically.

Sagan’s demonstration of the fourth dimension isn’t just a wonderful explanation of a scientific idea that many of us find difficult to comprehend; it’s also a great example of how to teach complex ideas by combining clear explanations with thought-provoking visuals.

Every generation has their version of words and phrases they’ve deemed cool, but it’s often fun to find out what previous generations used as slang. In the 70s they said things like “jive turkey,” and “dynamite” while in the 80s they thought phrases like “bite me,” or “chill pill” were interesting enough to toss into a sentence.

Recently a Gen Zer asked if people in the 90s really did say, “all that and a bag of chips.” It’s unclear if the person understood the context in which that phrase would’ve been used, nonetheless, a millennial answered the Bat Signal to blow their mind. Darren Brand decided to not only confirm the use of the familiar phrase, but to include multiple classic phrases in the video response he shared on Instagram.

“For me, some was good for then, some you could still use today and some we gotta let go. That’s not the only one, okay,” Brand responds before dropping some 90s gems.

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“We got, ‘talk to the hand.’ Classic. “‘As if’—’Clueless,’ classic,” the man says. Brand continues to rattle off some other phrases popular in the 90s bringing back memories for millennials who happened upon his video. This nostalgia resulted in people adding the slang words and phrases they recalled in the comments. Talk about a trip down memory lane.

The comments started off strong with this oldie someone leaves, “What’s crack-a-lackin!”

Not to be out done, someone drops, “Save the drama for yo mama.”

One person shows that words never go out of style, “Dope. Things are still dope for me.”

People clearly had a problem with minding their business, or at least it would seem from what another commenters shares, “all in the koolaid and don’t know the flavor!”

Someone else reminded people of the ultimate attitude checking statement, “you better check yourself before you wreck yourself.”

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Now that everyone has taken a time machine back to the 1900s to revel in their teenage language, it’s time to come back to mortgages and kids. Who knows, maybe some of these phrases will slip back into modern slang phrases since everything seems to eventually be recycled from previous generations. Now that would be cool beans.

Television is in an undeniable golden age. The experience overall, both for creators and consumers, is unprecedentedly flexible, and as a result, there’s a staggering variety when it comes to shows that dominate the cultural landscape. There’s more demand than ever, so streamers and studios aren’t scared to look anywhere for the supply.

Particularly in recent years, Hollywood has leaned into the world of video games and adapted the some of the medium’s best narratives with stunning results. The latest success stories in that arena, like The Last Of Us and Fallout, aren’t great video game TV shows: They’re just great TV shows, flat out.

Games are officially a reliable pipeline for worlds and narratives that can power some of the most esteemed television being made. With that in mind, here’s a fun question to ponder: What other games would be well-suited to adaptations, to join the ranks of The Last Of Us and Fallout? Let’s run through a few possibilities.

God Of War

This one is actually happening, as the show was announced in late 2022. In a statement shared at the time, Vernon Sanders, head of global television at Amazon Studios, called God Of War “a compelling, character-driven franchise” featuring “expansive and immersive worlds” and “rich storytelling.” He’s right, and given that the series launched on the Playstation 2 in 2005 and has released many sequels since then, there’s a thorough, established universe here to depict and expand on.

Series protagonist Kratos has a visually distinct look that has made him one of the most recognizable video game characters of the past two decades. This gives the show an already-identifiable entry point for viewers who are maybe only roughly familiar with the source material.

As for when we can expect to see Kratos hit Amazon’s Prime Video, there’s no release yet, but Sony indicated at CES 2024 earlier this year that writing for the series is underway.

BioShock

BioShock is another IP that has been around for a while, as the first game hit PC and Xbox 360 in 2007. This debut entry establishes quite the story: Jack discovers Rapture, an underwater city built by a wealthy businessman to serve as his own idyllic, isolated world. The situation starts going downhill, though, following the discovery of a genetic substance that allows people to modify their bodies. This causes wild times and prompts Jack’s journey of escape and discovery.

Netflix snapped this one up and a movie is on the way. Francis Lawrence, director of movies like I Am Legend and The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes, is at the helm here. In a 2022 interview, he expressed reverence for the game’s original story and declared his intention to not get in the way of the narrative and world that has been built already. So, when the movie arrives, it should transport players to the dystopian universe they already love.

Metroid

Nintendo redeemed itself after the widely panned 1993 Super Mario Bros. movie with the major hit that was last year’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Narratively, though, Mario is ultimately surface-level stuff: princess kidnapped, save princess (although the new Mario movie did a nice job at making Peach more than the helpless damsel she often is in the games). Still, the film’s success indicates that the famously protective Nintendo is open to adaptations, so why not a Metroid series?

Sadly, there isn’t anything in the works here, but the franchise ticks so many boxes: Sci-fi space world, strong female protagonist, cool villains. As this Screen Rant feature from 2021 explores, there’s even a Metroid manga that provides a bunch of compelling context about Samus and the rest of the games’ universe. It’s also not even the only Metroid manga, so there’s plenty of lore to mine for a TV series.

Nintendo has a reputation (an earned one) for releasing sanitary, polished, and bright games, but that also ignores the grittier worlds they’ve created, like that of Metroid. Even if Metroid isn’t exactly Nintendo’s tentpole franchise, Samus could absolutely make a compelling protagonist for a more serious TV series and expand Nintendo’s public perception if given the chance. Let’s make it happen, Miyamoto.

When word surfaced around three years ago that Zoë Kravitz would be overseeing Channing Tatum in her directorial debut, the working title of the film attracted plenty of attention. That was the case because it only seemed natural that the Magic Mike trilogy star would be starring in a movie called P***y Island. Yet eventually, the working title gave way to a real one, Blink Twice, which is now approaching its time in theaters.

Whew. Let’s just say that this film’s trailer looks slightly stressful — “so, everybody’s dead” is not a line of dialogue that bodes well — and has inspired YouTube comments including “If Saltburn was Midsommar” and “…or the lovechild of Get Out and Glass Onion.” What can we expect from Blink Twice?

Plot

Beyond movies that highlight his dance moves, Channing Tatum mainly dabbles in comedy and action with occasional dark moments, including his antagonistic turn in The Hateful Eight. In Blink Twice, he apparently careens into evil to portray billionaire Slater King, who runs an island that appears to be fueled by some of the scandalous vibes where IRL famous people are later exposed as patrons. Yet let’s not get political and, instead, let’s move this discussion away from any resemblances to reality for this thriller.

Kravitz, who wrote the film with E.T. Feigenbaum, previously told Deadline that the original title of the movie was “a nod” (albeit a somewhat “playful” nod) “to this time and place we claim to not be in anymore, in terms of sexual politics.” She added, “People are evolving and changing but there is still a bad taste in a lot of people’s mouths from past behavior.” Clearly, Slater King’s island is not the paradise that he sells it to be, and yes, this looks like shades of a story that we’ve seen before but with additional twists:

“[T]ech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum) meets cocktail waitress Frida (Naomi Ackie) at his fundraising gala, and sparks fly. He invites her to join him and his friends on a dream vacation on his private island. It’s paradise. Wild nights blend into sun-soaked days and everyone’s having a great time. No one wants this trip to end, but as strange things start to happen, Frida begins to question her reality. There is something wrong with this place. She’ll have to uncover the truth if she wants to make it out of this party alive.”

Cast

The Blink Twice cast includes not only Tatum but also Naomi Ackie, Christian Slater, Adria Arjona, Haley Joel Osment, and Alia Shawkat.

Release Date

Blink Twice arrives in theaters on August 23 courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios.

Trailer

Behold Channing Tatum enjoying this dastardly role.

The future of Inside the NBA rests in the hands of David Zaslav and Warner Bros. Discovery being willing to meet NBC’s offer to the NBA for the third piece of the league’s next rights package alongside ESPN and Amazon.

Earlier this week Charles Barkley confirmed he built an opt-out into his new 10-year deal with WBD that would allow him to go to a new network if TNT loses the NBA. That led to many fans hoping that the whole Inside crew would simply move to one of the league’s new homes if TNT lost rights, but that sounds like it would not be the case.

According to Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal, host Ernie Johnson would stick with WBD Sports even if they lose NBA rights. Johnson also does MLB play-by-play and hosts March Madness studio coverage, and would be unlikely to look to move to a different network. Friend also notes sources indicated skepticism the ever-busy Shaq would look to find another TV home if TNT loses rights.

As of now, NBC is considered a frontrunner for the third piece of the puzzle, but WBD gets the chance to make the final decision matching that offer to keep what would be a smaller piece of the pie than they have now — Amazon is expected to get part of the playoff package in their deal. If they do, then Inside will continue on for the foreseeable future. If not, the greatest sports studio show ever will be coming to an end soon.

Mild spoilers ahead!

In the past year, we’ve gotten a bunch of “consumer product origin story”-type movies, such as Air, BlackBerry, Flamin’ Hot, and even Tetris (the funniest name I’ve seen for this subgenre is “buy-opic”). On May 3, the latest entry to this ongoing phenomenon arrives to Netflix — the Jerry Seinfeld-directed Unfrosted purports itself to be the origin story of Pop-Tarts. But if you’re expecting a slightly dramatized “true story,” you may end up getting something else entirely.

The star-packed ensemble comedy, which features roles and cameos from a murderer’s row of comic talents including Melissa McCarthy, Amy Schumer, Sarah Cooper, Aparna Nancherla, Bill Burr, Jim Gaffigan, Dan Levy, Jim Gaffigan, and many, many more — is more of a parody of the slew of buy-opics we’ve received over the past 12 months than anything. While the film does do the usual timeline shuffling and character condenscing we’ve all come to expect, it also has zany subplots like a milkman mafia, and has Kellogg’s recruiting astronauts, fitness gurus, and even other food companies’ mascots in its quest to beat rival breakfast Post to the store shelves with its toaster-friendly pastry.

Fortunately, it has a pretty good reason for just how silly the re-telling is: A framing device in which Seinfeld’s Bob Cabana (a stand-in for the real-life Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts inventor Bill Post) recounts how he invented the product to a runaway boy at a diner (it’s adorable; he’s got a bindle full of toys and everything) to keep the kid occupied until his parents can catch up. It’s exactly the goofy sort of invention you’d do for an under-ten-year-old, which makes all its cartoonish twists seem almost logical, and turns it into a family-friendly version of a now-familiar filmmaking style.

Unfrosted is streaming on Netflix on May 3.