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Now that Elon Musk has turned a nightmare into reality by actually purchasing the social media platform Twitter, he is running it like a Westerosi king in that his narcissism and ignorance are leading to absolute chaos. One of the many changes Mr. Musk has implemented since his purchase of the site includes the verification system as part of his little passion project, Twitter Blue.

Once meant for public figures including celebrities, journalists, companies, and politicians, being verified on Twitter (aka having a “blue check”) meant that the user has verified their identity and is, in fact, the real person they claim to be on Twitter. Identities online can easily be impersonated, so this clears that up, especially when it comes to public figures. In order to get verified, users were required to prove their identity with verification such as a driver’s license, along with reasons why they should be verified. Per NPR, the verified check mark has existed since 2009. The site launched in 2007.

Musk decided to throw all that out the window with Twitter Blue, which allows any user to get the blue check by paying a measly, pathetic $7.99 per month. This option launched on November 9. This means, essentially, that anyone who has a blue check mark gets to keep it, but anyone who wants one can get one, for a price. For a brief period on Tuesday, November 8, some verified users were double verified, which meant that they had “Official” badges on their profile indicating that . . . they are more verified than other people, apparently? The badges were killed after three hours. In addition to a (kind of fake?) blue check mark, Twitter Blue comes with access to an edit button. For already verified users such as Doja Cat, there is a catch. While they get to keep their verification badge, they cannot change their display names, meaning Doja Cat might forever be known as “christmas.”

“Far too many legacy ‘verified’ checkmarks were handed out, often arbitrarily, so in reality they are *not* verified,” Musk wrote on Twitter on November 5 with absolutely no evidence to justify the claim. “You can buy as many as you want right now with a Google search. Piggybacking off payment system plus Apple/Android is a much better way to ensure verification.” As Nathan Fielder would say, “Okay.”

Twitter Blue is, predictably, already going not according to Musk’s plan. Accounts can easily pretend to be people they are not, which is exactly what the existing verification process successfully prevented. Here are some amusing examples:

pic.twitter.com/90GyPyHW6g

— Andrew Male (@Andr6wMale) November 10, 2022

Millie Bobby Brown is promoting her new Netflix movie, Enola Holmes 2, which naturally, is going to involve some questions about her other prominent role at the streaming giant. The actress took part in one of Vanity Fair‘s lie detector test features, which had some unfortunate results for her Stranger Things co-star Finn Wolfhard.

On the hit Netflix series, Wolfhard and Brown play Mike and Eleven, who’ve had a romance that charts all the way back to the very first season when Stranger Things became a pop culture juggernaut. That romance has involved plenty of on-screen kisses, which apparently are not the best experience for Brown. Our apologies to Wolfhard for what comes next.

Via The Wrap:

“You exclaimed ‘kissing sucks’ after your first kiss with Finn Wolfhard,” Millie’s inquisitor began around five minutes into the segment. “Is Finn just a lousy kisser?”

“He is,” Brown answered, pretty straight-faced.

The technician confirmed that she told the truth.

“So he hasn’t gotten better,” the questioner prompted matter-of-factly, to which Brown responded, “Not with me. No.”

Oof. That’s gotta sting. After realizing she threw Wolfhard under the bus, Brown tried her best to defend co-star Noah Schnapp’s bowl cut, but it didn’t work. When asked if the bowl cut looks good, Brown replied, “I love him. Yes, I do,” but the technician flagged her response. Realizing she was made, Brown humorously declared, “Get the picture out of here.”

Welp, it sure sounds like it’ll be a neat and totally not awkward reunion on the Stranger Things 5 set. You kids have fun.

(Via Vanity Fair)

Last month, when Chris Rock stopped in London on his stand-up tour, he addressed the thing from earlier this year that you all probably know about but tried oh so hard to forget. “People expect me to talk about the bullsh*t, I’m not going to talk about it right now,” he said, adding “I’ll get to it eventually, on Netflix.” As it turns out, he was not just spewing things for the heck of it, he really is running to Netflix to be the first comedian to be live-streamed on the app.

Even though Netflix won’t be trying out any weekly release schedules (yet) they are dipping their toes into the big wide world of live streaming. The streamer announced that early next year, Rock will be the first comedian to perform live on Netflix. This will be his second stand-up special on the site, behind his 2018 special and 2021 extended cut (all, famously, before The Big Thing).

As we know from the dangerous world of HBO, live content can be a big challenge for streamers, especially when there are a lot of viewers tuning in, as they probably will be once the general public gets word that they can once again debate The Event. Hopefully, Netflix will have figured that out by then because we truly cannot afford another live television confrontation. The celebrities just won’t make it through that again.

In a statement, Robbie Praw, Netflix VP of Stand-up and Comedy Formats said, “Chris Rock is one of the most iconic and important comedic voices of our generation. We’re thrilled the entire world will be able to experience a live Chris Rock comedy event and be a part of Netflix history. This will be an unforgettable moment and we’re so honored that Chris is carrying this torch.” Maybe mentioning Chris Rock and a weapon in the same sentence is a bad thought! This man has been traumatized! He won’t let us forget it!

(Via Deadline)

This article originally appeared on 12.06.16

When the attack on Pearl Harbor began, Doris “Dorie” Miller was working laundry duty on the USS West Virginia.

He’d enlisted in the Navy at age 19 to explore life outside of Waco, Texas, and to make some extra money for his family. But the Navy was segregated at the time, so Miller, an African-American, and other sailors of color like him weren’t allowed to serve in combat positions. Instead, they worked as cooks, stewards, cabin boys, and mess attendants. They received no weapons training and were prohibited from firing guns.

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As the first torpedoes fell, Dorie Miller had an impossible choice: follow the rules or help defend the ship?

For Miller, the choice was obvious.

First, he reportedly carried wounded sailors to safety, including his own captain. But there was more to be done.

In the heat of the aerial attack, Miller saw an abandoned Browning .50 caliber anti-aircraft machine gun on deck and immediately decided to fly in the face of segregation and military rules to help defend his ship and country.

Though he had no training, he manned the weapon and shot at the enemy aircraft until his gun ran out of ammunition, potentially downing as many as six Japanese planes. In the melee, even Miller himself didn’t know his effort was successful.

“It wasn’t hard,” he said after the battle. “I just pulled the trigger and she worked fine. I had watched the others with these guns. I guess I fired her for about 15 minutes. I think I got one of those [Japanese] planes. They were diving pretty close to us.”

Original newspaper reports heralded a hero “Negro messman” at Pearl Harbor, but no one knew who Miller was.

The Pittsburgh Courier, an African-American paper in wide circulation, sent a reporter to track down and identify the brave sailor, but it took months of digging to uncover the messman’s identity.

Eventually, Miller was identified. He was called a hero by Americans of all stripes and colors. He appeared on radio shows and became a celebrity in his own right.

Miller’s heroism and bravery didn’t go unnoticed in Washington, D.C., either.

In March 1942, Rep. John Dingell, a Democrat from Michigan, introduced a bill authorizing the president to present Miller with the Congressional Medal of Honor. Sen. James Mead introduced a similar measure in the Senate. While Miller did not receive the Congressional Medal of Honor, he became the first African-American sailor to receive the Navy Cross.

“This marks the first time in this conflict that such high tribute has been made in the Pacific Fleet to a member of his race, and I’m sure that the future will see others similarly honored for brave acts,” said Pacific Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz following Miller’s pinning ceremony.

Following a brief tour of the country, giving speeches and pushing war bonds, Miller returned to Navy life.

In May 1943, Miller reported for duty on the Liscome Bay, an escort carrier.

On Nov. 24, during Operation Galvanic, a Japanese torpedo struck the Liscome Bay, sinking the ship. 644 men were presumed dead. 272 survived. Miller did not.

On Dec. 7, 1943, two years after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Millers’ parents received word of their son’s death.

Doris “Dorie” Miller gave his life for a country that didn’t always love him back.

Miller posthumously received a Purple Heart, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, the American Defense Service Medal, Fleet Clasp, and the World War II Victory Medal. There is also a frigate and a neighborhood on the U.S. Naval Base in Pearl Harbor named in his honor.

Though his Navy Cross was never elevated to a Congressional Medal of Honor, as recently as 2014, the Congressional Black Caucus moved to waive the statute of limitations to make it possible.

While there are medals, movies, and statues celebrating Miller, it’s important to remember and honor the man himself — a 22-year-old black sailor who set aside the rules to do what’s right.

Poet Gwendolyn Brooks wrote a poem from Miller’s perspective, the conclusion of which perfectly captures the young hero’s courage in the face of bigotry and uncertainty:

Naturally, the important thing is, I helped to save them,
them and a part of their democracy,
Even if I had to kick their law into their teeth in order to do that for them.
And I am feeling well and settled in myself because I believe it was a good job,
Despite this possible horror: that they might prefer the
Preservation of their law in all its sick dignity and their knives
To the continuation of their creed
And their lives.

This article originally appeared on 03.01.19

Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody has been covered dozens of different ways. But you’ve never seen it performed like this.

As one of the most iconic songs in rock music, Bohemian Rhapsody is recognizable no matter how it’s done. As children, my brother and I used to belt out Galileos and Figaros in the backseat of our parents’ Volkswagon whenever the song came on (yes, just like in Wayne’s World). While other kids learned about Beelzebub in Sunday School, I learned about him from Queen’s perfect harmonies. If there were an anthem from my classic rock-filled childhood, it would be Bohemian Rhapsody.

It’s one of those songs that is hard to cover well, though it hasn’t stopped people from trying. I’ve enjoyed some renditions, but nothing has caught my attention or delight more than this kapa haka version from New Zealand.

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A Māori choir in native garb sang the song live in the Māori language, and it is something to see.

The group Hātea Kapa Haka performed the song on February 21 at New Zealand’s national kapa haka festival, Te Matatini, in Wellington. The festival brings 46 kapa haka (Māori performing arts) groups together to compete against one another.

Newshub reports that Hātea Kapa Haka collaborated with musical artist William Waiirua to create a “Bohemian Rhapsody” cover in the Māori language, both as a tribute to Freddie Mercury and to celebrate the Oscar-nominated movie about his life.

The group had previously created a music video for their cover, but seeing it performed live is something else. The voices, the harmony, the presentation—everything—is wonderful.

This kind of cultural mashup reminds us how small our world has become.

The contrast between Queen’s 1970s British rock and the Māori people’s traditional kapa haka could not be more striking. And yet, the melding of the two totally works. Music has the power to bring people together, and this performance is a great example of how it can bridge cultures with beautiful results.

Watch the live performance here:

And if you want more, check out the music video too:

William Waiirua x Queen x Hātea Kapa Haka – Te Reo Bohemian Rhapsody

William Waiirua got more help from Hātea Kapa Haka than he bargained for when his car broke down… For more Queen, check out this playlist: https://umusicNZ…

This article originally appeared on 08.31.18

“Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value.”

In October 2016, that was a quote from Albert Einstein that sat atop the Facebook page of Tim McMillan, a police officer in Georgia.

McMillan become a sensation after a post he wrote on his Facebook wall went viral in 2016. In his post, he explains how he pulled over a black teen for texting while driving:

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“I pulled a car over last night for texting and driving. When I went to talk to the driver, I found a young black male, who was looking at me like he was absolutely terrified with his hands up. He said, ‘What do you want me to do officer?’ His voice was quivering. He was genuinely scared,” McMillan wrote.

But McMillan said he wasn’t interested in harassing or arresting the young man, let alone inflicting violence upon him. Nonetheless, the teen’s emotional response hit McMillan like a punch to the gut.

“I just looked at him for a moment, because what I was seeing made me sad. I said, ‘I just don’t want you to get hurt.’ In which he replied, with his voice still shaking, ‘Do you want me to get out of the car.’ I said, ‘No, I don’t want you to text and drive. I don’t want you to get in a wreck. I want your mom to always have her baby boy. I want you to grow up and be somebody. I don’t even want to write you a ticket. Just please pay attention, and put the phone down. I just don’t want you to get hurt,'” he wrote.

McMillan said the interaction made him reflect on a deeply personal level about the national attention being paid to acts of police violence against black Americans, particularly young black men.

“I truly don’t even care who’s fault it is that young man was so scared to have a police officer at his window. Blame the media, blame bad cops, blame protestors, or Colin Kaepernick if you want. It doesn’t matter to me who’s to blame. I just wish somebody would fix it.”

This story originally appeared on GOOD.

This article originally appeared on 07.06.21

Have you ever seen anyone put an avocado pit in water to grow an avocado tree? I’ve seen lots of people try, but only a few succeed. My mom has a tiny avocado tree growing in her living room that she managed to grow from the pit of a Hass avocado she ate. It’s small but thriving, and I’ve often wondered if it will ever grow actual avocados.

As it turns out, it could—but they won’t be Hass avocados.

Wait, huh?

In a wow-that’s-an-interesting-factoid-I-never-knew-before video, an avocado tree grower explains in this YouTube video why a Hass avocado seed doesn’t grow into a Hass avocado tree. Avocados, apparently, are not “true to seed” plants, meaning if you plant the seed, you’ll end up with a different variety of the fruit the seed came from. Apples are the same—if you plant a Fuji apple seed, you will not get a Fuji apple tree. In fact, chances are really, really high that you’ll get an avocado or an apple that tastes terrible if you try to grow it from a seed of an existing fruit.

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The guy from Sleepy Lizard Avocado Farm explains how it all works using an analogy with candy flavors. This is the genetics lesson we all needed in school when we were trying to figure out Punnett squares, and he explains it all so clearly.

Incredible how nature works, and so amazing what human beings have been able to figure out over millennia of agricultural advancements.

Why a Hass Avocado Seed Does Not Give Us a Hass Avocado Tree

youtu.be

So how do you get a Hass avocado tree if you can’t plant a Hass avocado seed to grow it? As he explains in the video, you can plant the pit and start to grow the tree, but if you want Hass avocados you have to graft a branch of a Hass avocado tree onto the stem of the tree you’re growing.

Or, you can just buy a baby Hass avocado tree that’s already been grafted, which is probably a heck of a lot easier than figuring out how to graft one yourself.

So go ahead and sprout that seed in water and grow yourself a pretty avocado plant if you’d like. Just don’t expect any yummy avocados from it, since your chances are about 1 in 10,000 that it’ll happen.

Thanks for the fascinating lesson, avocado guy!

At least a dozen former Yeezy staffers have made startling accusations against Kanye West, describing the company’s atmosphere as “intimidating and humiliating,” so much to the point, you could be abruptly fired for anything, even playing Drake music.

The former Yeezy employees told Rolling Stone that while the company was a “creative haven,” there were times when it felt like a cult that thrived on “chaos.”

“Everyone’s always on the verge of losing their job, so the dynamics are total chaos,” one employee who worked for Yeezy in 2020 told RS. “He doesn’t necessarily have people that he can trust around him.”

Along with working 12 to 15 hours days at West’s Calabasas office, the workers allege there were recurring delays when it came to receiving payment. Some of the former employees even claim there was a dress code they had to adhere to, complete with Yeezy-esque gear. One staffer told RS that after turning up to work with a Yellow sweater, they said they were told they needed to “dress for the palette or you dress in black.”

But one of the most shocking allegations comes from one former Yeezy employee who said there was an incident that occurred where West was asked to change the music — of course, he only plays his own music — and when the worker, who leaned more punk and rock than hip-hop, nervously replied with Drake they were fired the next day.

“I thought, ‘Oh, he’s a rapper, I should probably mention some rap,” the former staffer told RS. “Big mistake — the next day, I was fired,” the former staffer claims.

Along with a toxic and abusive work environment, there have also been allegations that West was interested in Nazism. The “Stronger” rapper has yet to respond to these allegations, but I’m not sure if anyone cares at this point.

Last month, a jury ruled that Alex Jones owed $965 million for spreading lies about the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting that killed 20 students and six faculty members. That figure is now over $1 billion, after a judge ordered that the chili-loving conspiracy theorist must scrap up another $473 million, bringing the total to $1.44 billion.

“The record clearly supports the plaintiffs’ argument that the defendants’ conduct was intentional and malicious, and certain to cause harm by virtue of their infrastructure, ability to spread content, and massive audience including the InfoWarriors,” Connecticut Judge Barabara Bellis wrote in a 45-page ruling. The punitive damages include $150 million for “violations of Connecticut’s Unfair Trade Practices Act, which bans deceptive business practices and unfair competition,” according to the Hollywood Reporter, “and about $323 million for the plaintiffs’ attorney fees and costs.”

Eight victims’ relatives and the FBI agent testified during a monthlong trial about being threatened and harassed for years by people who deny the shooting happened. Strangers showed up at some of their homes and confronted some of them in public. People hurled abusive comments at them on social media and in emails. And some received death and rape threats.

Jones reacted to the ruling on his show, calling it “ridiculous” and whining about how he won’t be able to pay it, no matter how much medically-dubious krill oil he sells. “Well, of course I’m laughing at it,” he ranted. “It’d be like if you sent me a bill for a billion dollars in the mail. Oh man, we got you. It’s all for psychological effect… when they know full well the bankruptcy going on and all the rest of it, that it’ll show what I’ve got and that’s it, and I have almost nothing.” No amount of begging will help him now.

(Via the Hollywood Reporter)

It’s been another incredible year for Sir Paul McCartney and for his fans around the world. He put on a legendary tour of the US and headlined the Glastonbury music festival in the UK, where he welcomed his friend Dave Grohl for the Foo Fighters singer’s first time on stage since the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins. McCartney has just generally been as steady of a presence as can be for music lovers everywhere. With each year that passes, his legacy as perhaps the greatest living musician grows stronger.

For his next trick, McCartney has unveiled a new box set of 7-inch singles, 80 of them to be exact, and it’s a definitive drop to say the least. Within the 80 7-inch records, are 163 total tracks spanning over ten hours of music, a vast majority of which have never been pressed on 7-inch records before and come with their original B-sides. The box comes in an alluring wooden art crate that makes it look like the box set was pulled right out of the bottom of the sea. There’s a 148-page book with a personal foreword from Macca, an essay by Rolling Stone’s Rob Sheffield, liner notes, unique artwork for each record, and more. In short, it’s awesome ephemera from The Beatles great.

Only 3,000 boxes have been made, but the set will also be available digitally. For the physical copy collectors, each box is unique, too, with a randomly chosen test pressing of one of the singles within. The affable McCartney said in a statement, “I hope the songs in this box set bring back fun memories for you, too. They do for me, and there will be more to come…”

Listen to a sampler of some of the singles and get a look at the set in the unboxing video above.

The Paul McCartney 7″ Singles is available on 12/2. Pre-order it here.