Month: May 2024

The numbers are stacked against young men when it comes to finding love on dating apps. They outnumber women 2 to 1 on the platforms, making the competition pretty tough. A new study finds that they’ll make things even harder for themselves if they admit to listening to the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast in their profiles.

A new poll by Change Research surveyed 1,033 registered voters between 18 and 34 to ask about their political leanings and dating preferences. It discovered that women’s biggest red flag when looking for a relationship is a date revealing they’re a MAGA Republican, with 76% of women saying it’s a turnoff. The second biggest red flag for women is people who “have no hobbies” (66%), and the third is those who say “All Lives Matter” (60%).

Fifty-five percent of women say it’s a big turnoff for potential partners to listen to the Rogan podcast. They also have a problem with people who “refuse” to see the “Barbie” movie (53%).

When it comes to men between the ages of 18 and 34, the biggest turn-off is people who identify as “communist” (64%), and they also have problems with those who have no hobbies (60%) as well as MAGA Republicans (59%).

Other turnoffs for men include being interested in astrology (41%) and saying “All Lives Matter” (41%).

Interestingly, people with no hobbies are a big red flag to people of both men and women. The common assumption is that people with no real hobbies or interests will rely on their partners to bring fun into their lives. Also, a lack of hobbies can mean a person lacks passion and may not have many personal goals.

When it comes to having too many hobbies, both men and women agree that it isn’t a big problem. The poll found that only 8% of women believe that having too many hobbies is a red flag and 6% of men agreed.

When it comes to green flags in a relationship, both men and women overwhelmingly agreed that they are very interested in potential partners who read. Ninety-five percent of women and 91% of men saw reading as a green flag. So, if you’re crafting an online dating profile, you may want to show some photos of you reading a book or list some of the books you’ve read recently.

They also agree that they are interested in people who research the best deals and rates before buying things. Eighty-eight percent of women listed being a smart consumer as a green flag, and men were close behind at 85%. Men (63%) and women (51%) also agreed it’s a green flag when someone looks better in person than in photos online.

Those of you looking to be in the dating pool during the upcoming presidential election should know there is a discrepancy between the genders regarding political affiliation among the 18 to 34 crowd. Although most people in this age range are moderate to liberal politically, there is a significant difference between genders.

This article originally appeared on 9.14.23

A woman named Jackie pulled a move straight out of a romantic comedy recently, and it has the internet rallying around her potential love interest. Jackie met a guy at a bar and liked him so much that she gave him her phone number. Well, 80% of her number, that is.

The world heard about it on January 17 when Twitter user Henpecked Hal shared a picture of the napkin with her partial phone number written on it. “My 22-year-old cousin met his dream girl at a bar and it’s going pretty well,” Hal wrote in the tweet.

“Call me! 512-3*1-2*04,” the message read, along with “I’m worth it.” The 512 is an area code in Austin, Texas.

After congratulating his cousin on meeting his “dream girl,” he asked: “Did you get her number.” The cousin replied, “most of it.” The Tweet also attached a photo of a list of phone numbers the cousin called to try and get in touch with the elusive Jackie.

u201cMy 22 year old cousin met his dream girl at a bar and it’s going pretty wellu201d

— Henpecked Hal (@Henpecked Hal)
1673980495

The tweet has gone insanely viral, racking up nearly 60,000 retweets, 85.6 million views and 776,000 likes.

The next day, Hal revealed that the woman reached out to him. In the screenshot of her message, she wrote: “Heeeyyy, so you likely won’t see this but I’m Jackie from the tweet!”

“Tell your cousin that next time I see him I’m going to…” she continued, but Hal blurred out the rest of the message to conceal her identity.

“I just talked to him! WHAT’S YOUR NUMBER????” Hal replied. “He said he’s halfway through the list, which means he’s actually like 10 per cent of the way through it.”

Update 1/3: WE FUCKING DID IT! pic.twitter.com/ccQ1puS8OJ

— Henpecked Hal (@HenpeckedHal) January 18, 2023

“He may not be as clever as he thinks,” Jackie responded, “give me HIS number, I’m taking over this operation.”

A lot of people in the comments said they thought Jackie was cold or arrogant for playing hard to get and making poor Hal’s cousin try 100 different numbers to find out which one was her. But Hal says that it’s all an extension of the conversation the two had at the bar.

“For the people saying she’s arrogant, high maintenance or whatever: these kids talked for an hour about a shared interest in true crime, mysteries, etc,” Hal tweeted. “My cousin bragged that he always solves the case before the show ends (editor’s note: not this time). I think she’s awesome.”

So, all Jackie did was give him another mystery to solve. If he’s such a great amateur detective then he should be able to reach her, right?

Some people in the comments have suggested that the story is fake. One person noted that the notebook page with the phone numbers on it had an indentation at the top which could be the “5” in Jackie’s phone number from the napkin. The implication is that Hal wrote on the napkin while it was on top of the notebook, leaving an indentation. But other people pointed out that the writing didn’t match.

Yikes! Forgot to take your napkin off your notepad first… pic.twitter.com/0gCKeSxz12

— Tommy Balloons (@franchise193747) January 18, 2023

Through everything, Hal has received a ton of support from people on Twitter trying to help his cousin’s love life.

The cousin could use ChatGPT to create a Python script that could automate much of this 😂

There are only 100 permutations here (10^2), so it’s not that bad. pic.twitter.com/Wl2drylf1F

— Amir Salihefendić (@amix3k) January 18, 2023

“The programmers who sent scripts and code, the excel junkies who sent me docs to share with my cousin, y’all are wild,” Hal tweeted. “I couldn’t come close to getting back to everyone, but I appreciate it.”

Nearly 90 million people have followed the story of Hal’s cousin and Jackie. Let’s hope there’s a happy ending or at least they get to meet up and see each other again to talk about the mystery that brought them both together.

This article originally appeared on 1.21.23

Are you having a hard time falling asleep? Dr. Andrew Weil has shared the “most powerful” relaxation technique he knows, and it doesn’t require any equipment or cost a dime. It’s known as the 4-7-8 method and it’s backed up by science.

Dr. Weil is an expert in integrative medicine and the founder and director of the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona.

The technique is simple:

1. Breathe in through your nose while you count to 4.
2. Hold your breath while you count to 7.
3. Exhale while you count to 8.

Dr. Weil says the method creates a “very pleasant, altered state of consciousness” that you may not experience the first time but will come as a “reward” of regular practice. Dr. Weil insists that the 4-7-8 technique is a practice, and you must do four breath cycles at least twice a day to get the benefits. “After a month, you can increase to 8 breath cycles if you’re comfortable with it,” adding that’s the “absolute maximum.”

Dr. Weil says that 4 to 6 weeks of doing the practice can lower heart rate, improve blood pressure, digestion and circulation and can promote sleep. A study published in Physiological Reports agrees, saying that practicing the 4-7-8 technique reduces heart rate and blood pressure for several minutes.

It’s also an easy way to help you fall asleep. “If you get up in the middle of the night for any reason, it is the most effective anti-anxiety technique that I’ve found,” Dr. Weil says.

This article originally appeared on 1.3.24

On May 21, often-controversial conservative commentator Candace Owens tweeted, “Ban pornography. It is a psychological weapon intended to weaken our men.” Given that seven of April’s 50 most-visited websites are adult destinations, though, that’s a take that’s sure to spark backlash. Cardi B, for one, didn’t agree.

In the comments of an Instagram post sharing Owens’ tweets (more on the rest of them in a second), Cardi wrote (via TMZ), “Ommmggg why yall so against porn ? Is it that bad for yall ? I enjoy it but I don’t know I guess is like a 6 time a year thing .I personally don’t feel no connection or addiction to it just a little quick one two ….NOTHING LIKE REAL INTIMACY!”

In another comment, she added, “How ? It should actually teach men how to please a woman.”

Meanwhile, in a follow-up tweet, Owens added, “Pornography was created as a tool of enslavement, not freedom. It was created by the most depraved among our human race to psychologcally introduce homosexuality, pedophilia and incest–religious sacraments to satanists
BAN IT & stigmatize every person who defends or profits from it.” She wrote in another, “I also want to say to the men that struggle with pornography– you were the intended victims of it. Don’t feel ashamed talking about it. Knowing that it’s wrong is a great first step.”

While it may not be surprising that Cardi and Owens don’t agree on this issue, what might be a bigger shock is that they’ve been on the same side before.

Find Owens’ tweets below.

For years, there have been calls for the Oklahoma City Thunder to make a major swing on the trade market. Those calls got even louder in the early portion of this season, when it was clear the Thunder were a special team and aren’t that far away from making the NBA Finals. But instead of really dipping into their stash of draft picks and pool of young talent, Sam Presti opted to make a smaller trade at the deadline to bring veteran forward Gordon Hayward to Oklahoma City.

The move didn’t work, as Hayward wasn’t particularly effective for the Thunder and fell out of the rotation entirely at the end of their second round series against the Dallas Mavericks — he received DNP-CDs in each of the final three games of the series, which the Mavs went on to win. Presti was asked to reflect on the decision to acquire the former All-Star while he met with the media on Tuesday, and gave a rather blunt answer about the deal and how it was a learning experience.

“I missed on that, that’s on me,” Presti said. “But I’m learning, I’m trying to learn this team, I’m trying to learn the pace of the team a little bit, and just trying to be a great observer of the team as it’s going through these paces, knowing that it’s really gonna change on its own in and of itself. Our team, the last 20 games, was significantly different than the first 20 games. This is the same players, but significantly different, and every time someone changes or develops or we stumble onto something, it changes the rest of the team and how they can perform.

“I think it’s pretty nuanced and texturized,” he continued. “But I don’t think I read that one perfect, and I’m learning from that, in terms of bringing somebody midseason, especially early on in the process for our team.”

Hayward had previously said that his time with the Thunder was “not what I thought it would be.” It’s worth wondering if the lesson for Presti here revolved around bringing in somebody midseason, or whether Hayward specifically just didn’t work out for some reason. Still, this is an unusually refreshing answer from an executive about team building and how making the right move (or standing still) is more important making a move that could end up backfiring.

South Park has famously avoided guest stars as much as possible over its 26-seasons-and-counting run on Comedy Central (with certain exceptions), but that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been a celebrity presence on the show.

Creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have skewered hundreds of famous folks, with Tom Cruise, Barbara Streisand, and Sally Struthers getting it among the worst. But what about the celebs who got off (so to speak) easy?

That question was recently posted on the South Park subreddit. The top response, from user takaoshige, makes the case for R. Kelly. “They could’ve/should’ve torn him apart instead of the Scientology episode,” the comment reads. Other contenders include KoRn (“Their episode was funny and Scooby Doo inspired), Cesar “Dog Whisperer” Millan (“They made him the hero of the episode”), and Tom Brady (“All he did was drink butters creamy goo, take baby laxative, and was solicited for his poop”).

Here’s more:

No one f*cks with Robert Smith.

Brian Boitano

Morgan Freeman got it relatively easy I think

Elon. Especially when you take into account what kind of treatment other billionaire CEOs (like Gates, Bezos or Zuck) got from them.

Lorde ya ya ya

Andrew Tate? There was so much more they could’ve done with him.

Radiohead did their own voices too though and they got a little more insulted (still got off easy though and their appearance was funny as well)

Lizzo. When I seen she was in the new special, I felt sure they’d mention how she treats people like sh*t, the SA accusations. Fair enough, people were defecating from their ears when the listened to too much of her, but I felt they went timid with her representation on the show.

Lizzo herself has some thoughts on that one.

(Via Reddit)

The Welcome to Wrexhamn hosts can’t seem to do anything without each other these days. They recently showed interest in expanding their team roster, used each other to help promote other projects, and even had couples’ colonoscopies. It only makes sense that they appear alongside one another on the big screen.

On a recent episode of their sports docuseries Welcome To Wrexham, Ryan Reynolds was in the middle of filming the upcoming Deadpool installment when he and Rob McElhenney needed to work on some Wrexham stuff together. The camera crew followed the two on the very top-secret set.

Reynolds explained, “Because of my busy schedule, I had to invite my co-chair, Rob McElhenney, to the set of Deadpool in London to discuss all things that are Wrexham,” Reynolds explained in the episode, which you can preview here. “And, yes, I did have to promise him a role in the upcoming Deadpool film.”

A short scene follows the meeting with the duo, and revealed that McElhenney was able to film a quick cameo on set. “For confidentiality reasons, nobody can see or hear any of this stuff,” Reynolds said, followed by a clip of Deadpool Censored Material. “Now, I can’t necessarily tell you which character Rob plays in Deadpool for fear of being shot down by the Marvel drone that follows me and my kids around.”

Reynolds is then shown explaining the scene to McElhenney, though it’s all bleeped out. Maybe Taylor Swift was on set in the background?! We may never know….at least until Deadpool & Wolverine opens in theaters on July 26.

Avril Lavigne has quite the library of hits, featuring “Complicated,” “Sk8er Boi,” “I’m With You,” “Happy Ending,” and “Girlfriend.” Well, we’re now about a week into Lavigne’s The Greatest Hits Tour and those songs and others have made it into the setlist so far. If you’re heading to an upcoming concert, here’s a look at what you can expect.

Looking at her latest concert — on May 26 at RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheaterin Ridgefield, Washington, via setlist.fm — Lavigne played all the aforementioned hits, opening with “Girlfriend,” closing the main set with “Sk8er Boi,” and going with “Head Above Water” and “I’m With You” for the encore.

All Time Low also joined Lavigne for their Lavigne collaboration “Fake As Hell.” Guests like this are often a one-off thing when both artists happened to be in the same city at the same time, but All Time Low is one of Lavigne’s openers on this tour, and they’ve joined her to play the song on ever Greatest Hits Tour date so far.

Check out the Ridgefield setlist below.

Avril Lavigne’s The Greatest Hits Tour Setlist

1. “Girlfriend”
2. “What The Hell”
3. “Complicated”
4. “Smile”
5. “Here’s To Never Growing Up”
6. “Hot”
7. “My Happy Ending”
8. “He Wasn’t”
9. “Don’t Tell Me”
10. “Losing Grip”
11. “When You’re Gone”
12. “Fake As Hell” (with All Time Low)
13. “Bite Me”
14. “Love It When You Hate Me”
15. “Sk8er Boi”
16. “Head Above Water” (encore)
17. “I’m With You” (encore)

Claiming that a rapper didn’t write their own song, especially when it’s personal in nature or regularly cited as among their best work, is a serious accusation in the hip-hop world. Drake is facing such an allegation right now, about his 2018 Scorpion highlight “Mob Ties.”

Did Drake Write “Mob Ties” From Scorpion?

According to Complex, Akademiks said he had heard that it was actually Vory who wrote the song. Vory, by the way, is actually credited as a co-writer on the released song.

Now, what is supposedly a leaked “Mob Ties” reference track by Vory has leaked, adding credence to Akademiks’ claim. The reference track is largely the same as the version that appears on Scorpion, but it does contain some differences.

Since the apparent reference track surfaced, folks on social media have been debating the impact of the situation. One X (formerly Twitter) user wrote, “This doesn’t prove anything other than they worked on the song together. The lyrics in Drake’s version are completely different and way better if we’re being honest. Thank God this was Drake’s song and not Vory’s.”

Somebody else wrote, “That’s my point … If Drake didn’t write those timestamp raps we having a whole different discussion…. Them songs Yatchy and Vory making ain’t putting Drake in no top nothing convos ….”

Of course, given how convincing AI technology has become, it’s also possible that this reference track is fabricated and not legitimate. Whatever the case, people are talking.

Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers might be a titillating tennis adventure, but while everyone was focused on Zendaya taking such good care of her “little white boys,” others wondered: how the heck did they get some of these first-person tennis shots?

After the short clip made the rounds on the internet that features a shot from the POV of the tennis ball, VFX supervisor Brian Drewes posted a detailed breakdown of the scene. Surprisingly, it did not involve the Bee Movie method.

Drewes posted a video showing the creation of the final scene, which took over five hours to shoot. Drewes told IndieWire that he and Guadaginao had to map out the tricky scene with the help of Zero VF, a Massachusetts-bsed special effects company. “Before shooting, we broke the previs down into 23 discrete segments, all which needed to line up with each other. It definitely hurt my brain,” he explained. “To keep track, the vfx team at Zero had an editor on set to keep an up to date edit of what we were shooting, combined with the previs. This allowed me to know with confidence we were good to move on. The camera team did an especially awesome job on this film.”

For inspiration, the director told Drewes to channel the energy from the film into the action. shots. “In our very first meeting Luca described it super clearly: The audience needs to ‘BE THE BALL!!” he said, adding, “From that conversation I learned how kinetic he needed it to feel as an experience — it really was all in his mind’s eye quite early. This is absolutely what makes my job fun.”

Here is a visual break down of the moment:

And here are more details posted by Drewes:

•Started with a previs pass, animated to the timing of an actual tennis volley, which was approved by Luca prior to filming.
•Filming was overseen by the VFX team including VFX editorial support on set to confirm cut points were working as filming occurred.
•Filmed during a 5 hour window with an Arri Alexa LF on a 30′ technocrane.
•23 !!! individual shots were stitched together to create the final 24 second shot seen in the film.
•Highly detailed LiDar and photogrammetry scans of the tennis court environment were captured to help create the final models. 100+ actors and background extras were also photoscanned to populate the stands of our CG environment.
Full CG takeovers were done to smooth camera motion and correct time of day changes.

Stunt double faces were replaced with a combination of full CG heads and additional photography.

This advanced technology will come in hand when Bee Movie 2 is eventually green lit.

Challengers is currently in theaters and available for rent on demand.