Category: News

In the mid-2000s, people were so eager to adopt smartphone technology that we never had time to create any etiquette for using it. Now, two decades later, it’s acceptable for people to stare at their phones when others are around, even in social situations. It’s also fine to take any event and turn it into little more than an excuse to create social media content.

But in 2022, the constant notifications can feel a lot more like an annoyance than a blessing. Further, these tiny interruptions take us out of the moment and prevent us from paying attention to our friends, a good meal or a show.

Studies show that having a cellphone in your pocket can make you feel more stressed, but when we don’t have our phone on us we experience a sense of anxiety as well. Smartphones, can’t live with ’em, can’t live without ’em.

Smartphones have become such an interruption that some concert venues and comedy clubs have adopted a new system that locks phones in a pouch and they can only be opened in case of an emergency or when the show is over.

The system is great because it prevents others from being distracted by the guy in front who wants to film every moment and also allows you to enjoy the show instead of feeling pressured to take photos or text your friends.

Tim Love, a chef who owns several restaurants in the Fort Worth area, thinks it’s time we enjoy smartphone-free dining, too. According to a report by NBC Dallas-Fort Worth, customers at his new Italian restaurant, Caterina’s in Fort Worth, will be required to pack their phones away into small bags while they eat.

“The hostess gives each guest a pouch to put their phone in and the pouch stays with the guest the whole dinner,” Love told Paper City.

“We’re going to kindly ask them to put their phone in the bag,” Love said. “We’ve already had that happen. Some people forget. They just have their phone in their pocket. We give them the bag. They put their phone in the bag. It’s not a big deal.”

The idea is to create a place where people can disconnect and pay attention to their friends, fellow diners, the ambiance and food without being distracted by technology.

“If you can’t possibly deal without your phone for two hours, this is not the place for you,” Love told NBC. “I mean, people go to movies, they don’t get on their phone.”

u201cWhy chef Tim Love banned cell phones in Caterinau2019s https://t.co/DpwoGcyqnbu201d

— Eater Dallas (@Eater Dallas)
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The restaurant has a swanky ’40s and ’50s vibe and, to keep things classy, men are required to wear sport coats. Love has made the restaurant’s old-school bright-red rotary landline available to anyone who needs to be reachable during their dinner. If a diner receives a call, the staff will walk over to their table with the phone.

The meals are served at a slower pace to help people relax. “At Caterina’s guests will be treated to a multi-course meal,” Love told Paper City. “It’s slow dining, or what I like to call analog dining where the entire experience encourages you to slow down. There will be lots of little surprises throughout the meal.”

Bud Kennedy from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram says the smartphone-free restaurant encourages people to socialize.

“Tables talking to tables—[patrons] making new friends—the vibe is so great,” Kennedy said.

We rushed into the new world of smartphones so quickly that we didn’t have a chance to figure out how far we should go. Now that we’ve had smartphones in our pockets for 15-plus years, many of us are starting to realize what we’ve lost due to the change in technology.

Kudos to Love for creating an environment that fosters human connection. Hopefully, others will run with the idea and we can start to find a better balance between digital technology and our natural environment.

After lighting the box office on fire with Top Gun: Maverick, and delivering a much-needed win to theaters, Tom Cruise can pretty much do whatever he wants now, and apparently, what he wants to do is more Les Grossman. As Cruise and writer/director Christopher McQuarrie get ready to bring the Mission: Impossible franchise in for a landing, the duo are reportedly hard at work on the next phase in Cruise’s career. They’ve narrowed the sights down to three targets, and one of them involves Cruise returning to his fan-favorite comedy role from 2008’s Tropic Thunder.

Oh, and also, he’d kind of like to do another musical. Via Deadline:

One is an original song and dance-style musical they’ll craft as a star vehicle for Cruise. They are also setting up another original action film with franchise potential, and they are also fixated on Les Grossman. The latter is the gruff, dance-happy studio executive Cruise played in cameo for Tropic Thunder. It’s unclear if they will create a whole movie around Grossman, or borrow him for inclusion in either of the other vehicles.

Even though the film is over 14 years old, Cruise has repeatedly talked about getting into the Les Grossman prosthetics again. In fact, he got his wish a few years back when he busted out his old dance moves for Conan O’Brien at Comic-Con 2019. Sure, Cruise loves riding motorcycles off of cliffs and jumping out of helicopters, but it really seems like the guy’s true passion is wearing a fat suit while dancing to Ludacris. Who are we to stop him?

(Via Deadline)

Once upon a time, it seemed as though Kanye West and Kid Cudi were, if not the best of friends, then at the very least close colleagues as a result of the mentor/protege relationship they shared when Cudi first rose to prominence after writing on Kanye’s 808s And Heartbreaks. The two remained close collaborators for the next decade, even joining forces in 2018 for the joint album Kids See Ghosts, which was one of the better projects to come out of their GOOD Summer release schedule. So how did they go from that to Cudi catching a stray on Kanye’s Instagram post trolling Pete Davidson after he broke up with Kim Kardashian?

Well, Pete Davidson might be the linchpin to the whole falling out between them, as Davidson and Cudi have shared their own friendship over the years stemming from Cudi’s many appearances on Saturday Night Live, on which Pete was a regular cast member since 2014. In addition to bonding over their love of comedy, both men have been open about their struggles with mental health, with Pete even going as far as crediting Cudi’s music with saving his life. “I would have killed myself if I didn’t have Kid Cudi,” he told The Breakfast Club in 2016. All three celebrated Cudi’s 35th birthday at Nobu with Kardashian and Timothee Chalamet in 2019.

Kanye’s issues with Cudi likely came to a head after he and Kim filed for divorce in 2021 and Kim began dating Pete late that year. Kanye, sensitive soul that he is, took issue with his wife moving on while he wanted to reconcile, viewing Pete as the biggest obstacle to their reunion. After Kanye launched several social media attacks on his rival earlier this year, it’s clear that he wanted Cudi to side with him. And while Cudi never publicly sided with Pete, an increasingly paranoid Kanye began taking even neutrality as a sign of betrayal.

In one Instagram post, he wrote, “I just wanted my friend to have my back the knife just goes in deeper.” He also declared that Kid Cudi was disinvited from his album Donda 2 (honestly, no big loss for Cudi there, all things considered), prompting Cudi to call him a “dinosaur” in the comments of the post. Two months later, both featured on Pusha T’s album, but Kid Cudi minced zero words when talking about their proximity. “I am not cool w that man,” he told his Twitter followers. “He’s not my friend and I only cleared the song for Pusha cuz that’s my guy. This is the last song u will hear me on w Kanye.”

Pusha’s response to that? “It f*cking sucks,” he told Vulture.

Following the tragic news that actress and Grammy award-winning singer Olivia Newton-John has passed away at the age of 73, her Grease co-star and longtime friend John Travolta kicked off an outpouring of social media tributes from the entertainment world.

“My dearest Olivia, you made all of our lives so much better,” Travolta wrote on Instagram. “Your impact was incredible. I love you so much. We will see you down the road and we will all be together again. Yours from the first moment I saw you and forever! Your Danny, your John!”

Following Travolta’s tribute, more and more of Hollywood took to Twitter to mourn the loss of Newton-John, who was iconic presence for generations.

“I am SO saddened at the news of the passing of Olivia Newton John,” tweeted Marlee Matlin. “I remember being so star struck when I met her at my first Hollywood gathering for Paramount. She was the sweetest and brightest light and I loved getting to know her on “It’s My Party.” RIP dear, sweet Olivia.”

“My heart is broken. Rest now, sweet friend. You were as kind and loving a person as there’s ever been,” Richard Marx wrote. “I’ll miss you every day.”

“‘Grease’ is my #1 movie of all time and made me a lifelong Olivia Newton John fan,” Gabrielle Union tweeted. “Me and my sister watched Xanadu more times than I could count. Sending so much love and prayers to a real gift of a woman and talent.”

“Very sad that lovely, talented, brave Olivia Newton- John has died,” wrote Mia Farrow. “I never got to meet her, but everyone says she was wonderful- always kind.”

You can see more tributes to Newton-John below, which are pouring in by the droves:

(Via John Travolta on Instagram)

The Phoenix Mercury’s push for one of the final playoff spots in the WNBA amid a tumultuous season got even more difficult on Monday. The team announced a hardship signing of Yvonne “Vonnie” Turner after an injury to Diana Taurasi, somewhat burying the lede that Taurasi’s quad strain that had caused her to miss the last two games would officially end her season.

Taurasi has averaged 16.7 points, 3.8 assists, and 3.4 rebounds per game this season in 31 games with the Mercury, playing in all but two contests so far. Her 16.7 points per game is the second-most on the current roster behind All-Star Skylar Diggins-Smith, whose status as the Mercury’s primary option will only increase in Taurasi’s absence. For a team that is currently tied for 7th in the WNBA standings with the Atlanta Dream at 14-19, this is a considerable loss and will only make their efforts to hold onto a playoff spot tougher.

Phoenix is just a half-game up on the ninth-place New York Liberty (13-19) and one game up on the Los Angeles Sparks and Minnesota Lynx, both of whom are 13-20, with three games remaining (four for New York). Phoenix close the season with three straight home games against the Lynx on Wednesday, where a Minnesota win would draw them even with the Mercury in the standings, and then the 6th place Dallas Wings and the Chicago Sky, who own the league’s best record.

You’d think MSNBC frontwoman Rachel Maddow would absolutely loathe Fox News poster boy Tucker Carlson. One is a progressive journalist who presents fact-based, heavily-researched news segments intent on educating viewers, the other just suggested on national TV that we rename Monkeypox “Schlong Covid.” Clearly, these two TV personalities are not the same.

But, surprisingly, Maddow has nothing but nice things to say about her former boss who used to have his own show on MSNBC before he jumped ship to spew nonsense about the benefits of “testicle tanning” to throngs of Trump supporters. In fact, in a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Maddow complemented her political rival on his show’s ratings success.

“Tucker’s doing great right now,” Maddow told the magazine. “Look at Tucker’s career. The first show I worked on was his 11 o’clock show on MSNBC that nobody remembers. But he was always kicking around the business and has always been talented. It just — this turned out to be his moment.”

Maddow doesn’t mention how Tucker decided to blame women for the rise in mass shootings committed by men. Maddow went on to praise Carlson’s ability to stand out in a crowded news landscape, comparing watching him host to watching a *checks notes* professional baseball player … baseball?

“It doesn’t mean you don’t appreciate whatever they’re doing in terms of, you know, where they put their shortstop in order to give them a better defense. There’s a sort of, like, respecting the game, in terms of people who are doing well and people who are good at it,” she continued.

Of course, she also took a second to recognize how dangerous Carlson’s rhetoric is, but even then, she found a way to compliment him When Vanity Fair quizzed Maddow on a New York Times piece that investigated his style of “reporting,” Maddow seemed to brush over the effects that Carlson’s devoted airtime to ridiculous conspiracy theories have on his viewers.

“More than the issue of, you know, how dangerous are Tucker’s ideas, and how do they interact with the growth of the authoritarian right in the Republican Party — more so than that question, which is obviously what the central thrust of the reporting was about, I was interested in how they deconstructed why it works.”

It’s a take, alright.

(Via Vanity Fair)

Ever since Top Gun: Maverick singlehandedly saved the movie industry (a slight exaggeration) and secured its spot on the highest-grossing movie list, Paramount has been looking for more ways to get fans involved (and to buy more tickets because why not?).

For their Top Gun Fan Appreciation Weekend, fans are encouraged to see Tom Cruise fly through the skies once more in theaters, with exclusive content and behind-the-scenes footage airing before the movie at participating theaters. The movie also features Miles Teller, Val Kilmer, John Hamm, Glen Powell, and that one Lady Gaga song.

Fans can head to theaters this weekend to see the long-awaited sequel (again). As per the official press release:

“This Friday, August 12th, marks the return of Top Gun: Maverick to some of the most immersive cinema formats at participating theatres. From Friday through Sunday, August 14th, before the movie presentation begins at all participating theatres, attending fans will experience exclusive content featuring a behind-the-scenes look at shooting onboard the USS Roosevelt with Tom Cruise and the cast to see what it takes to operate, film, and live on an active warship.”

But wait! There’s more: a Top Gun: Maverick collectors print will also be available at select theaters while supplies last. While they did not release any images, it’s probably a large poster of Tom Cruise and a plane. Just a hunch! Check out movie times and participating locations at the official Top Gun website here.

Ready for the most pawsitive story of all time? Have we got some uplifting mews for you.

The video game Stray (released by game company Annapurna Interactive in July 2022) is unsurprisingly mega popular among feline fans. What cat lover wouldn’t love the thought of traipsing through an abandoned post-apocalyptic city as a scrappy orange tabby, unlocking clues and scratching up carpets?

Stray – State of Play June 2022 Trailer | PS5 & PS4 Games

www.youtube.com

Turns out, the indie video game taking over the internet with memes and general stray cat fandom is doing much more than providing kitty-centric entertainment to humans—it’s doing some real good for cats IRL. AP News announced that Annapurna Interactive used livestreams of the game on Twitch to raise money for multiple animal shelters and cat-related charities.

Cat people are a different breed, no question. It’s never a passing interest, only an all-consuming adoration, bordering on obsession. So it’s no wonder really that Stray became the fourth “most watched and broadcast game” on the Twitch platform the day it launched.

In addition to setting up charity livestreams, Annapurna Interactive also offered copies of the game to Nebraska Humane Society as part of a raffle. Participants needed to pay only $5 for a chance to win the normally $30 game.

We’re teaching these kittens how to turn on a PlayStation so they can play Stray, the new cat adventure game from @HKdevblog and @A_i! 🎮

Wanna play with them? Donate $5 to the shelter and you’ll be entered to win a code for the game! Donate here: https://t.co/FGJhY9HNae pic.twitter.com/BFLZJCxslX

— Nebraska Humane Cats (@NHSCats) July 15, 2022

Marketing specialist Brendan Gepson told AP that within a week, the organization was able to raise $7,000 because of the giveaway, which he added was especially notable because the vast majority of those donations were from people who had never donated before.

Though the drawing has already been made, you can still donate to the Nebraska Humane Society campaign here.

New Yorkers truly got the ultimate experience, when Annapurna Interactive partnered with NYC cat cafe and adoption agency Meow Parlour for a weekend. Visitors got to play the game for free for 20 minutes, all while being surrounded by the cafe’s adorable kitty residents and maybe even go home with one! This is the stuff dreams are made of, people.

The @A_i cat cafe Stray Meow Parlour pop-up was amazing and every games industry event should be held in a room full of kittens, no exceptions. pic.twitter.com/xhh5DrBAi0

— Jules Engel (@ghoulsengel) July 24, 2022

This extra support comes at a particularly crucial time for our feline friends—”kitten season.” According to the ASPCA, “kitten season” typically takes place between March and October, though it varies across the country. Of the millions of cats that enter shelters each year, a huge majority are at-risk kittens that come in during this time period and approximately 860,000 are euthanized.

Unsurprisingly, the creators of Stray are notably cat people. The game’s website states the development team is “mostly made up of cats and a handful of humans,” and the beloved orange tabby protagonist is based on an actual adopted stray named Murtaugh. Murtaugh is so famous he even got his own interview. What a legend.

However, it’s one thing to have feline fondness. Annapurna Interactive came up with a truly purrfect way to put love into productive action. Never thought I’d see the day where playing a video game could help save thousands of cats nationwide, but here we are. What a time to be alive.

Be responsible, folks. Consider adopting from a shelter, be sure to spay/neuter your cat and of course, go play Stray.

Apparently, Monday is Classic Edition Jersey day throughout the Pacific Division. The Golden State Warriors unveiled their Run TMC Era look Monday morning and the Los Angeles Lakers have followed suit with their own retro announcement Monday afternoon.

Do I get considerable UCLA vibes from these? Yes. Shout-out former Bruin and current Laker, Russell Westbrook. Do I think these are a slam dunk (ha, get it?) and find myself delighted by them? More importantly: also, yes.

The white backdrop complemented by sky blue and golden-rod yellow trim is a great trio of colors. The old-school Nike logo is a splendid touch. It’s clean. It’s simple. It’s gorgeous. When I was a freshman and sophomore in college, I developed a passion for retro basketball jerseys and amassed an extensive collection. Transport me back to that era of my life and I’d be quickly shelling out my next pay check to snag one.

A lot of the retro jerseys debuting the past few years throughout the NBA have rocked. I like these ones a lot. The Houston Rockets’ navy blue pinstripe kits whip. The Memphis Grizzlies’ Vancouver jerseys are top-tier. The Minnesota Timberwolves’ royal blue look last year, a nod to the Kevin Garnett Era, was superb. There’s a lot to like out there these days. Hopefully, Nike and the NBA keep delivering.