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Let's Watch an Old Bootleg of Prince Just Shredding Through a Cover of "Honky Tonk Woman"

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Prince’s unreleased catalog is nearly as expansive as his official discography, and for years, fans have traded bootlegs with the same fervor as Phish Heads. One of my favorites is “The Undertaker,” an unreleased EP-length project recorded “live” (in one take with no overdubs) in 1993 by Prince and two core members of The New Power Generation, drummer Michael Bland and bassist Sonny T.

Prince intended to release it packaged with an issue of Guitar World magazine, and, as you might imagine from that distribution plan, all seven rock-inflected songs feature plenty of Prince’s dextrous soloing. His war with Warner Brothers got in the way, and the CD was blocked from release. But, oddly, Warner Brothers did release the promotional VHS intended to accompany the album.

Above, from that video, is “Honky Tonk Women.” You can find the rest of the album online if you know where to look, but please remember that Prince would have wanted U 2 respect his copyright.

OK, fine, here’s one more: A remake of Prince’s own“Bambi.”


David Geffen Gives More Money to the Charity of Glorifying David Geffen

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David Geffen Gives More Money to the Charity of Glorifying David Geffen
Photo: AP

Billionaire Hollywood mogul David Geffen, whose ability to use charity donations to embody the principle of selfishness is truly astounding, made—spoiler alert!!!—another gaudy, wasteful, self-aggrandizing charity donation today.

http://gawker.com/david-geffen-a...

Among Geffen’s most inane and self-serving recent donations have been $100 million to help UCLA attract more prestigious faculty by building a private school for their kids named after David Geffen, and a $100 million donation to Lincoln Center on the condition that Avery Fisher Hall be renamed for David Geffen. He loves to see his own name on things and will pay any price to do so! Starving children in Africa simply cannot offer the same ability to carry the name of David Geffen.

Today, the Museum of Modern Art in New York announced that it too has gotten a $100 million donation from David Geffen for its expansion. And? “MoMA said three floors of new galleries created as part of the expansion will be named the David Geffen Wing. The fourth-floor suites of galleries in the current museum building will be named the David Geffen Galleries this spring. The naming rights for Geffen will exist in perpetuity, according to the museum.”

Charities that actually save human lives and help the poor did not report any $100 million donations from David Geffen today. (And you can be sure that he didn’t give them anonymously!)

David Geffen, you’re a real prick, no matter what the people you are giving money to tell you. You hear me? A real first-class prick.

Fox News Anchor Greta van Susteren Has an Idea: Put Harriet Tubman on a New $25 Bill

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Greta van Susteren, the Fox News anchor and remarkably productive blogger, had some thoughts last night about the U.S. Treasury’s decision to substitute the visage of American abolitionist Harriet Tubman for the current one of President Andrew Jackson on the $20 bank note. Greta, take it away:

Let’s all go off-the-record. Don’t you wonder why some people don’t just use their heads? Well, the Obama administration did it again! Went stupid! And went stupid for no reason!

Here’s what’s happening. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew is creating a fight—a 100% completely unnecessary fight by booting President Andrew Jackson from the $20 bill and replacing him with a woman, abolitionist Harriet Tubman. You all know I’m a feminist, love to see women acknowledged for the great things they do to contribute to our nation—and Harriet Tubman did, and she deserves it. But what I don’t get is this: Rather than dividing the country between those who happen to like the tradition of our currency and want President Andrew Jackson to stay put and those who want to put a woman on the bill, it’s so easy keep everyone happy. We could put a woman on a bill! Tubman—acknowledge her courage, and not stir up the country. But give Tubman her own bill! Like a $25 bill! We could use a $25 bill! Put her picture on that and we could all celebrate!

That’s the smart and easy thing to do. But, nooooooo, some people don’t think, would rather gratuitously stir up trouble in the nation. That is so awful. And yes, dumb. And that’s my Off the Record comment tonight.

A new $25 bill. Fantastic idea. Greta—thank you. In 2150, maybe we’ll see a certain Fox News anchor’s face on a $35 bill. ;-)

There Will Never Be a World Without Prince

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There Will Never Be a World Without Prince
Photo: AP

Prince Rogers Nelson spent years changing the world. Today, he left it. Even casual music listeners should mourn the void he leaves.

http://gawker.com/prince-has-die...

At his artistic and commercial peak—the stretch of albums spanning 1980’s Dirty Mind and 1988’s Lovesexy—he was simply the greatest pop star on the planet, a virtuoso multi-instrumentalist, ingenious singer, mind-bogglingly prolific songwriter, provocateur, sexual libertine, unapologetic gender-fucker, genre-bender, master of the then-nascent medium of music video, and visionary sonic craftsman. For a while there, he seemed to innovate as a matter of course.

There are so many tangible and oft-discussed instances of his brilliance in the realm of pop music that they’re practically clichés at this point. Here is a man who sent a creepily minimal song in a minor key without a bass line, “When Doves Cry,” to No. 1 in the United States for five weeks in a row. He pulled a Beyoncé when Beyoncé was barely out of diapers, releasing 1985’s Around the World in a Day—his low-key followup to the multimedia pop cultural sensation Purple Rain—without promotional interviews or so much as a preceding single. He had piles of music at one point that went unreleased—envisioned albums called Dream Factory, Crystal Ball, and Camille, a full-length recorded under the guise of his female alter-ego—and instead of a disastrous mess, what emerged from those efforts was arguably the finest full-length of his career, 1987’s socially conscious double-album Sign o’ the Times.

It’s beautiful to look back on the way that Prince resonated with the masses while producing music that at times verged on the alien—listen to the skeletal “Kiss” and find me a weirder sounding song that went to No. 1 in the United States. (“When Doves Cry” is one of a handful of serious contenders to that title in the history of pop music.) He thrived when the world was receptive to individuality, before everyone got so scared and samey, before radical self-expression, when it has been so bold as to announce itself as such, started coming packaged in a postmodern game of spot-the-reference (cf. Lady Gaga). Even when he walked around in the mid-‘90s with “SLAVE” scrawled on his cheek, Prince seemed like the freest person on the planet.

There Will Never Be a World Without Prince
Photo: AP

He was funny as shit, too. Supposedly, the “6” in the name of his protégé girl group Vanity 6 derived from the number of nipples in the band. There’s a part in Sign o’ the Times’s gushing “Adore,” a regular contender in the ever-changing cycle of what I consider to be my favorite Prince song, where he breaks for a second or two, interrupting his litany of ways that he loves his object of desire: “This condition I got is crucial, crucial baby / You could say that I’m a terminal case / You could burn up my clothes / Smash up my ride—well maybe not the ride / But I got to have your face.” His hammy performance in Under the Cherry Moon lives on through memes and gifs that flooded the internet over 20 years after its release.

There Will Never Be a World Without Prince

Prince was often called “enigmatic,” but his inscrutability—the backward messages in his songs and videos, temporarily changing his name to a symbol, all this talk about living 2 see the dawn—brought a sense of puzzling fun to pop. He refused to let journalists record him, sometimes to the point of not letting them take notes during interviews. He would brazenly lie (about, say, his association with the 3rdEyeGirl Twitter account, only to eventually reveal that 3rdEyeGirl was the name of his new band), and never look back or apologize. There’s so little mystique left in pop music these days, when everything is instantly available and artists seek to collapse any sense of distance between fan and act, but Prince always seemed distant, unknowable, magical.

I could go on and on about his unfathomable stage prowess, his unabashed femininity, his gleeful wordless yelps, his recent obstinacy about access to his back catalog (see: many of the janky embeds in this post), how devotion to religion—he was a Jehovah’s Witness—had him in the early 2000’s renouncing much of what made him such a brazen pioneer not 20 years earlier.

I could just name names—“If I Was Your Girlfriend,” “17 Days,” “Gett Off,” “Controversy,” “Insatiable,” “Do Me Baby,” “Crucial,” “Alphabet Street,” “A Love Bizarre,” “Sexy Dancer,” “Little Red Corvette,” “How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore,” “1999,” “Nothing Compares 2 U,” “Erotic City,” “I Would Die 4 U,” “The Beautiful Ones,” fucking “Purple Rain.”

Prince gave us so much. Even if his post-’90s material didn’t hold a candle to his ’80s creative peak, it didn’t matter. There’s never been a time in my life when Prince hasn’t been relevant. Since my teens, I’ve been cycling through weeks-long periods of intense love of Prince’s catalog. When I come back to him after just a few months away, his music sounds so fresh that it demands compulsive listening. Even though Prince is gone, even though there’s never been a world without Prince to me (he released his debut album, For You, on April 7, 1978, some seven months before I was born) and today is as earth-shattering as it gets when it comes to celebrity deaths, I know these Prince-centric cycles will continue throughout my life. I never had to contemplate a world without Prince, and I won’t. Right now, I feel more grateful than sad.

Prince used to bless us, his kingdom: “May u live 2 see the dawn.” Through him we did, and that was nothing short of an honor.

Prince Was the G.O.A.T. in Every Medium

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Prince Was the G.O.A.T. in Every Medium

Anything anyone tried to do, Prince probably did better. This was true from beginning to end.

Music? Well! When he was 19, Prince played 20-something instruments on his self-produced debut full-length, and that was merely the preface to one the most prolific and thrilling discographies in the history of recorded sound. Words—mine, at least—cannot do his music justice. So little needs to be said.

And anyway, music could not tame him.

In 1984, he would branch into film with Purple Rain, a perfectly idiosyncratic musical odyssey that stands as, if not the greatest film with a non-actor musician in the lead role, than probably the most enduring. (The album and song of the same name don’t hurt, of course.) A few years after that he would once again dip his toe into film by recording the soundtrack for the 1989 film Batman. It’s far from his best album, obviously, but in the grand scheme of soundtracks it’s pretty great, and, really, few things are cooler than getting Prince to write an entire set of new music for your movie.

One of the things cooler than Prince doing your soundtrack is Prince doing your football halftime show in the pouring rain with a set piece that made his guitar look like a massive boner in silhouette.

And maybe cooler than even that is Prince doing your stupid awards show in yellow lace bodysuit with the ass removed.

http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/princes-1991-m...

Prince’s essential Princeness shone through no matter the medium, and no matter how the world—in its sensibilities or technology—changed around him. The greatest stories of all time are about Prince. The one from ?uestlove’s book is probably the most ridiculous and amazing story imaginable. Via Slate:

Prince was carrying a big briefcase in his hand, and he was acting all mysterious, like it contained the glowing substance from Pulp Fic­tion or something. He made like he was going to open it, then stopped, then started again. Then he walked toward me.

“Where’s your phone?”

“What?” I said.

“Yeah, right, what?” he said. “I know you have it, Ahmir. Where is it?”

I thought maybe he wanted to make a phone call. I admit now that’s not a plausible reading of the situation, but it was all so surreal. “It’s here,” I said.

He took it from me and turned it over in his hand. “Your coat is in coat check?”

“Yeah.”

“Put this with it.”

“Why? You think I’m going to record something?”

“Check the phone.”

“What about him?” I pointed at Eddie. “You’re not going to take his phone? He’ll tell everyone.”

Eddie put up his hands. “Hey, man, I don’t know what you’re talk­ing about. My phone’s in the car.”

I put the phone in coat check. Prince was asking me. I was being asked by Prince. It was Prince who was asking me. And fine, maybe I didn’t understand any part of what was happening, but sometimes you just have to launch yourself out into the river of an evening.

When I got back, Prince had the briefcase out on the floor. He clicked the lock and opened it, and took out the strangest, most singu­lar pair of roller skates I had ever seen. They were clear skates that lit up, and the wheels sent a multicolored spark trail into your path.

He took them out and did a big lap around the rink.

His very way of being inspired one of the most hilarious comedy sketches of a generation, in which a lip-glossed Dave Chappelle reverse-jams home a game-ending dunk—“Game. Blouses.”—and then serves some pancakes.

Prince loved the skit so much that he turned it into one of the only memorable single covers of the digital music era.

Prince Was the G.O.A.T. in Every Medium

When, in 1994, Prince changed his name to a symbol he invented, he mailed journalists what has to stand as the greatest floppy disk to ever grace the Earth.

There are kids, probably, who know very little about Prince’s music, but know him because he is the source some of the most ubiquitous .gifs of all time.

You could bury me with this Vine.

He was even incredible at Twitter. RIP.

Vice Media editorial staffers have officially ratified their first union contract, which gives them

Today's Best Deals: Simplehuman, French Press, Cheap VR, and More

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Today's Best Deals: Simplehuman, French Press, Cheap VR, and More

Cheap VR headsets, simplehuman trash cans, and Celestron telescopes lead off today’s best deals.

Bookmark Kinja Deals and follow us on Twitter to never miss a deal. Commerce Content is independent of Editorial and Advertising, and if you buy something through our posts, we may get a small share of the sale. Click here to learn more, and don’t forget to sign up for our email newsletter.

Top Deals

Today's Best Deals: Simplehuman, French Press, Cheap VR, and More
HooToo 3D VR Headset, $22

If you want to experience Google Cardboard VR without strapping a shipping box to your face, this plastic headset is a slightly upscale alternative for most Android handsets and iPhones, and it can be yours for just $22 today as part of a Gold Box deal.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B018JZQWIQ/...

The major caveat here is that it lacks a button to interact with the phone while it’s inside, but for watching 360 videos or looking around 3D scenes, it should be just fine. You could also buy a cheap Bluetooth remote like this one to function as the Cardboard button.

http://www.amazon.com/CreateGreat-Bl...

If you want a similar product with a button built in, this View-Master VR headset is also marked down to $18, though you’ll have to hold it to your face, since it doesn’t include a head strap.

http://www.amazon.com/View-Master-Vi...


Today's Best Deals: Simplehuman, French Press, Cheap VR, and More
Decen French Press Coffee Maker, $14 with code VID2IO58

If you can’t start your day without a morning cup of coffee, but you’re still using an electric drip coffee maker, or even (gasp) a Keurig, you might want to try out a flavor-extracting french press. This inexpensive model looks nearly identical to the excellent Bodum Chambord, but is significantly cheaper at $14 with code VID2IO58.

If you’re not convinced, know that french press took the #1 spot in Lifehacker’s coffee-making Hive Five, and many coffee aficionados swear by it. And with no disposable filters or pods to buy, this machine could pay for itself over time.

http://lifehacker.com/most-popular-c...

Today’s Amazon deal is the best price we’ve ever seen this model, but we don’t know how long it will last, so perk up and lock in your order while you can.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B019Q20D6S/...


Today's Best Deals: Simplehuman, French Press, Cheap VR, and More
Rubbermaid Custom Closet Kit, $84

If you have a closet with at least one 4'-8' wall, this Rubbermaid custom shelving kit will add a ton of extra storage space. The configuration is totally up to you, so you can add more shelves, hanging rods, or any combination thereof. Today’s $84 deal on Amazon is within a few bucks of an all-time low, so be sure to lock in your order before it sells out.

http://www.amazon.com/Rubbermaid-Con...


Today's Best Deals: Simplehuman, French Press, Cheap VR, and More
PlayStation Plus, $40

In case you missed out last week, you can once again snag an extra year of PlayStation Plus for $40. I know it seems like we’re seeing this deal every week right now, but these gift card deals tend to be feast or famine; it wouldn’t surprise me a bit if the deal disappeared for three months.


Today's Best Deals: Simplehuman, French Press, Cheap VR, and More
Miracle-Gro AeroGarden Sprout, $70 | Miracle-Gro AeroGarden Harvest, $100

You don’t need a yard, or even any gardening skills to grow your own food at home; you just need Miracle-Gro’s Aerogarden line. These fully-integrated, soil-free indoor gardens can grow herbs, vegetables, and salad greens up to five times faster than regular soil, and you can choose from two great deals today.

The smaller Sprout Plus LED model is marked down to $70, and can grow up to three pods at once, while the larger Harvest can accommodate six pods for just $30 more. Both come with a starter pack of pods to get started, but Amazon has a ton of extra options on sale to fit your tastes.

http://www.amazon.com/Miracle-Gro-Ae...

http://www.amazon.com/Miracle-Gro-Ae...


Today's Best Deals: Simplehuman, French Press, Cheap VR, and More

Simplehuman dominated the nominations in our recent kitchen trash cans Kinja Co-Op, and Amazon’s running rare discounts on several different models today, plus a handful of soap dispensers and kitchen accessories to match.

http://co-op.kinja.com/your-favorite-...

Simplehuman sales are pretty rare, so if you’ve had one of these on your wishlist, I wouldn’t hesistate.

http://www.amazon.com/simplehuman-Se...

http://www.amazon.com/simplehuman-Bu...

http://www.amazon.com/simplehuman-Re...

http://www.amazon.com/simplehuman-Re...

http://www.amazon.com/simplehuman-Bu...

http://www.amazon.com/simplehuman-Re...

http://www.amazon.com/simplehuman-Re...


Today's Best Deals: Simplehuman, French Press, Cheap VR, and More
20% off Dresses, Promo code 20DRESSES

For a limited time, Amazon’s taking an extra 20% off dozens of dresses from multiple designers. Just find the ones you want, and enter code 20DRESSES at checkout to get the discount.


Today's Best Deals: Simplehuman, French Press, Cheap VR, and More
TP-Link AC1200 Router, $50

It isn’t the fastest or most powerful router on the market, but if you’re on the hunt for an 802.11ac router, and you’re on a budget, this well-reviewed TP-Link model is marked down to $50 today on Amazon. That’s about $20 less than normal, an all-time low, and one of the best prices we’ve ever seen on a reputable 802.11ac router.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0168G0KZY


Today's Best Deals: Simplehuman, French Press, Cheap VR, and More
Timex Weekender Watches, extra 20% off with code WEEKENDER

They won’t track your steps or show you notifications, but Timex’s simple Weekender Watches are still some of the most popular watches ever listed. They’re extremely versatile and come in a variety of colors, and today several models are marked down to the $30 range, plus an additional 20% off with code WEEKENDER. Just note that the code will only work on watches shipped and sold by Amazon.com directly; no third party sellers.


Today's Best Deals: Simplehuman, French Press, Cheap VR, and More
Refurb Pebble Time Round, $117 with code SALE3 | Refurb Pebble Time, $90 with code SALE3

The excellent Pebble Time Round smart watch sells for $200 new, but you can get a refurb today for just $117, easily the best price we’ve ever seen. Just be sure to use code SALE3 at checkout.

http://gizmodo.com/pebble-time-ro...

Note: The same code will bring the square Pebble Time watches down to $90 as well; just select one from the dropdown menu on the same product page.


Today's Best Deals: Simplehuman, French Press, Cheap VR, and More
Moto X Pure, extra $50 off at checkout

The Moto X Pure “does Android better than Google,” and Amazon is taking $50 off at checkout on every model they sell today.

http://reviews.gizmodo.com/moto-x-pure-ed...

While the discount is valid for all colors and capacities, your best bet is the 32GB white/bamboo model, which is listed at $50 off before the additional savings at checkout. The resulting $325 final price is the best we’ve ever seen on a 32GB Moto X Pure, which is particularly notable since the bamboo model usually carries a $25 price premium.


Today's Best Deals: Simplehuman, French Press, Cheap VR, and More
Celestron Gold Box

Want to pick up a new hobby? It’s easy to get into stargazing with today’s Gold Box deal. Inside, you’ll find several Celstron telescopes and a pair of binoculars marked down to all-time low prices. The telescopes even feature integrated computers with over 40,000 pre-programmed celestial objects for easy, automatic alignment and tracking.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...

Want some inspiration? Go check out the amateur astrophotography subreddit.

Here’s a note from our deal researcher, Corey:

I own both the Skymaster binoculars and the Nexstar 8 SE featured today. If you’ve ever stopped for even a moment to look up at the stars in wonder, you owe it to yourself to buy these binoculars, grab a blanket, and lie on your back stargazing for a few hours. And while the 8 SE takes some dedication and spend (though this is $100 cheaper than I’ve ever seen it,) it’s well worth it for any hobbyist (or wannabe) astronomer.


Today's Best Deals: Simplehuman, French Press, Cheap VR, and More
Sony MDRV6 Headphones, $79

Sony’s MDRV6 Studio Monitor Headphones are some of the oldest (24 years old!) still-relevant headphones on the market, and have always been one of the best values in the space. Their step-up model, the Sony MDR7506 Professional Large Diaphragm Headphone, were the runner-up for Best Headphones on Kinja Co-Op and a contender on Lifehacker’s 2012 Hive Five.

If you’re in the market, Amazon’s marked the MDRV6 down to $79 today. That’s not an all-time low price by any means, but it is the best price we’ve seen in 2016.


Today's Best Deals: Simplehuman, French Press, Cheap VR, and More
Nespresso Prodigio, $169 with code SMARTCUP100

Nespresso’s the easiest way to make good espresso, and the smartphone-connected Nespresso Prodigio is marked down to $169 on BuyDig today, by far the best price we’ve ever seen. The Bluetooth-connected smartphone app allows you to “manage your capsule stock, schedule a brew time, brew remotely, get machine assistance alerts and seamlessly register your machine into the Nespresso Club.” Just be sure to use promo code SMARTCUP100 to save $100 at checkout.

http://gear.kinja.com/buying-guide-n...


Today's Best Deals: Simplehuman, French Press, Cheap VR, and More
Origami Collapsible Shelf, $85

This $85 shelving system arrives fully assembled, and can even collapse for easy transport. I’m not sure why you’d need to regularly move shelves from place to place, but regardless, this looks great for a garage or shed.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0048WPWB8/...


Today's Best Deals: Simplehuman, French Press, Cheap VR, and More
iPhone Battery Cases, $10 with code JPRA8LHY

Update: The iPhone 6 model has sold out.

Not happy with your iPhone’s battery life? Mpow’s selling battery cases today for just $10 each, with versions available for both the iPhone 6/6s and the iPhone 5/5s/SE.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RB7XTJE?...


Today's Best Deals: Simplehuman, French Press, Cheap VR, and More
Mpow 360 Magnetic CD Slot Mount, $10 with code UU3R3DNJ

Vent-mounted magnets might be the hot new thing in smartphone car holders, but if your CD slot is lying dormant, or if you just don’t want to block a vent, this would also be a great option.

http://bestsellers.kinja.com/bestsellers-mp...

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01933Q120?...


Today's Best Deals: Simplehuman, French Press, Cheap VR, and More
Anchor Hocking 10-Piece Glass Set, $17 | Rubbermaid 18-Piece Easy Find Lid Storage Set, $8

If you’ve ever spent more than 5 seconds sorting through your mismatched food containers to find the right lid, it’s time to throw them all out and upgrade to this 18-piece Rubbermaid system for just $8.

Update: Sold out

If you prefer your bowls to be oven safe, this glass storage set from Anchor Hocking is also on sale today.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002MW3IE4/...


Today's Best Deals: Simplehuman, French Press, Cheap VR, and More
LG ChromeBase, $229

LG’s ChromeBase is basically a garden variety Chromebook, but packed into an all-in-one desktop PC with a 22" 1080p display. If that sounds like something you need, today’s price on Amazon is an all-time low, and over $70 less than usual.

http://www.amazon.com/LG-ChromeBase-...


Today's Best Deals: Simplehuman, French Press, Cheap VR, and More
Seneo Wireless Touchpad Keyboard, $16 with code TXTW9VSQ

If you use a home theater PC, or even just occasionally plug a laptop into your TV to watch something from across the room, this handheld wireless keyboard and trackpad can give you full control without taking up too much room on your coffee table.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DWOAKRS/...


Today's Best Deals: Simplehuman, French Press, Cheap VR, and More
Etekcity Laser Distance Measurer, $41 with code BANAWREZ

Do you still use a tape measure, like some kind of caveman? This laser distance measurer takes instant distance readings of up to 164’, and includes several built-in calculation functions, in case your middle school geometry skills are a little rusty.

http://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Layou...


Today's Best Deals: Simplehuman, French Press, Cheap VR, and More
Game of Thrones: Season 1 | Season 2, $20

Game of Thrones returns to TV this weekend, but if you need to get caught up, the first two seasons are both marked down to $20 on Blu-ray right now, an all-time low. You don’t need to be a Lannister to afford those prices.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BGU5ULQ/...

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BGU5UH0/...


Today's Best Deals: Simplehuman, French Press, Cheap VR, and More

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate is one of the best entries in the series in years (not to mention one of the 12 best games you can own for PS4 or Xbox One) and you can pick up a copy for just $18-$29 today on Amazon.

http://kotaku.com/assassins-cree...

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00X87O5T4/...

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00X87BLK0/...

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00X87MH0I/...


Today's Best Deals: Simplehuman, French Press, Cheap VR, and More
ExOfficio Men’s Give-N-Go Boxer Briefs, $14-$15

ExOfficio’s Give-N-Go boxer briefs were a finalist in our recent best men’s underwear Co-Op, and $14-$15 is one of the best deals we’ve seen on them. That’s still pricey for a single pair of underwear, but reviewers say it’s worth it.

Note: I’m seeing the price on black and white, so if your size is out of stock in one color, check the other.

http://www.amazon.com/ExOfficio-Give...

Today's Best Deals: Simplehuman, French Press, Cheap VR, and More

http://co-op.kinja.com/four-best-mens...


Today's Best Deals: Simplehuman, French Press, Cheap VR, and More
SKLZ Accelerator Pro Golf Putting Mat, $40

Does anyone have Ernie Els’ address? We want to send this to him.

http://deadspin.com/ernie-els-star...

http://www.amazon.com/SKLZ-Accelerat...


Today's Best Deals: Simplehuman, French Press, Cheap VR, and More
DBPower Jump Starters, $27-$63 with code TA9A92XK

We see deals on car-starting battery packs just about every week, but even by our standards, $27 is a really fantastic starting price (with code TA9A92XK) for a 300A model. And for owners of larger cars, 400A and 600A versions are also on sale. No matter which one you choose, they all include a DC charger to juice it back up inside your car, and they’re all small enough to fit in your glove box.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YE5Q0Q0?...

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YE5Q182?...

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B013UJ2JDS?...


Today's Best Deals: Simplehuman, French Press, Cheap VR, and More
Menu Winebreather Carafe, $29

Not only does this decanter serve as a classy vessel for serving wine, it also aerates it on the way in. Just press it onto the top of a bottle, and turn it upside down to aerate the wine. If you want to keep it in the bottle, just turn it back over, and the newly aerated wine will pour straight back in. If you enjoy red wine, today’s deal is the best price Amazon’s ever offered, so treat yourself.

http://www.amazon.com/Menu-4680069-W...


Today's Best Deals: Simplehuman, French Press, Cheap VR, and More
Open Box Moto 360, $90

Curious about Android Wear, but don’t want to invest a ton of money on a wearable? You can score an open-box original Moto 360 today for just $90 on eBay, in multiple styles.

http://gizmodo.com/moto-360-smart...


Today's Best Deals: Simplehuman, French Press, Cheap VR, and More
A Song of Ice and Fire Leather-Bound Box Set, $40

We’re probably never going to get another A Song of Ice and Fire book, so you might as well invest in a collectible set of the first five. This collection is leather-bound, comes in its own box, and will look great on any shelf. It’s been cheaper before, but this is the best deal Amazon’s listed in a few months.

http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/i-have-pages-g...

http://www.amazon.com/George-Martins...


Today's Best Deals: Simplehuman, French Press, Cheap VR, and More
Omaker M4 Splash-Proof Bluetooth Speaker, $19 with code C6AWRZLS

We’ve seen our fair share of sub-$20 Bluetooth speakers, but not many of them can join you in the shower. The Omaker M4 can do just that thanks to its IP54-rated splash resistance, and still deliver up to 12 hours of playtime on a single charge. That’s perfect if you like to sing in the shower, or just need to catch up on your podcast backlog.

http://www.amazon.com/Bluetooth-Omak...


Today's Best Deals: Simplehuman, French Press, Cheap VR, and More
Pyrex 8-Piece Glass Storage Set, $15

No kitchen is complete without a substantial Pyrex aresenal, and this 4-container set (it’s technically 8-pieces, but that includes lids) is down to under $15 on Amazon right now. If you aren’t familiar, these magical vessels are super strong, and also freezer, oven, and even microwave safe.

http://www.amazon.com/Pyrex-8-Piece-...


Today's Best Deals: Simplehuman, French Press, Cheap VR, and More
International Leisure Giant Swan, $24

A giant inflatable pool swan might be the silliest deal we’ve ever posted, but hey, it’s never been cheaper. Just don’t end up like Johnny Football.

http://deadspin.com/johnny-manziel...

http://www.amazon.com/International-...

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Here Is A Chrome Extension That Turns All Text In2 Prince Text

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Here Is A Chrome Extension That Turns All Text In2 Prince Text

Prince may be gone, but at least every website can now look like Prince wrote it. “Prince is here 4 U” is a Chrome browser extension by Gawker Media Director of Editorial Labs Adam Pash that transforms the web’s normal, unfunky text in2 Prince-speak.

Here it is in action:

Here Is A Chrome Extension That Turns All Text In2 Prince Text
Here Is A Chrome Extension That Turns All Text In2 Prince Text
Here Is A Chrome Extension That Turns All Text In2 Prince Text
Here Is A Chrome Extension That Turns All Text In2 Prince Text
Here Is A Chrome Extension That Turns All Text In2 Prince Text
Here Is A Chrome Extension That Turns All Text In2 Prince Text

Monopoly Finally Made Something Worse Than Monopoly

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Monopoly Finally Made Something Worse Than Monopoly

With the launch of Facebook Live, brands everywhere are scrambling to figure out how to navigate this latest way of connecting with fans. In Monopoly’s case, this meant livestreaming the composite of all your childhood nightmares.

For reasons we cannot fathom, Monopoly decided to pit Mr. Monopoly, Mr. Potato Head, and Mrs. Potatohead against one another in a wholly silent game of Hungry Hungry Hippos.

No one is having a good time, myself in particular. At one point, the Potato family appears to forfeit in the middle of the game only to be forced back into banging their plastic hippo under the withering eye of a crazed billionaire. Mr. Monopoly then throws money directly into both of Mrs. Potatohead’s eyes.

The road to the future of content is paved with the bodies of the Potatohead family.

Jack Mehoff Endorses Donald Trump

The FBI Paid at Least $1 Million to Get Inside the San Bernardino Shooter's iPhone

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The FBI Paid at Least $1 Million to Get Inside the San Bernardino Shooter's iPhone

After weeks of a very public back and forth with Apple over opening the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone, the FBI opted for plan B and possibly asked an Israeli security firm or some other shady hacker group to crack the device. And they paid a premium.

FBI director Comey told a crowd in London today that the bureau paid “a lot” to finally get inside Syed Farook’s iPhone. When asked to clarify, he said the US government shelled out more money than Comey would make for the remainder of his seven years and four months as FBI director. Multiplying that number along with Comey’s publicly known income ($183,300), you get $1.34 million.

It appears the FBI haven’t yet found anything on the phone. According to The Guardian, anything approaching seven figures is “extremely expensive” and Reuters reports it would be the largest ever paid for a hacking exploit, though transactions for these services are rarely publicly recorded. Regardless, Comey doesn’t seem too concerned even saying “It was, in my view, worth it.”

Whether that’s a reference to the data found or just simply avoiding a court battle with the most valuable company on the planet, who knows.

[The Guardian via Popular Mechanics]

Rahm Emanuel Announces 'Immediate' Reforms to Chicago Police After Scathing Report

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Rahm Emanuel Announces 'Immediate' Reforms to Chicago Police After Scathing Report
Photo: AP

One week after an accountability task force concluded Chicago cops have “no regard for the sanctity of life when it comes to people of color,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel promised to institute immediate changes to the city’s police force, The New York Times reports.

http://gawker.com/report-chicago...

“As a city, we cannot rest until we fully address the systemic issues facing the Chicago Police Department, and the steps announced today build on our road to reform,” said Emanuel in a statement. “As we look toward the future, our city will be better off because we faced up to these challenges and confronted them head on.”

The mayor’s press release boasts that “nearly a third” of the task force’s recommendations—including a strengthened internal affairs department and increased officer training—will be implemented. This, of course, leaves over two-thirds of their recommendations unimplemented.

Crucially, this includes one of the accountability panel’s boldest proposals: Replacing the city’s “badly broken” Independent Police Review Authority with a truly independent civilian police monitoring agency. From the Chicago Sun-Times:

The mayor didn’t rule out abolishing IPRA, but hinted his decision will wait until he consults with the Justice Department, which is investigating the Chicago Police Department’s “patterns and practices.” On Nov. 24, the city released a video of an officer fatally shooting a knife-wielding teen, Laquan McDonald, triggering the federal probe.

“If you’re going to make changes, you don’t want the Justice Department coming and saying, ‘You got that wrong. Now, do it again.’ These are big, heavy lifts. . . . Nothing can be worse than trying to do this twice.”

“I don’t want to just move furniture around,” Emanuel told the Sun-Times. “I want to spend as much political capital as I have to get this right.”

If New York Mayor Bill de Blasio Can't Go Car-Free for One Day I'm Moving to Canada

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If New York Mayor Bill de Blasio Can't Go Car-Free for One Day I'm Moving to Canada
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio enters the subway station Tuesday, March 22, 2016. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, Pool)

April 22 is Car Free Day in New York City, which is kind of like having a day that celebrates breathing. In a place where 54 percent of the city commutes using public transit and about half of the residents don’t have cars at all, you’d think it would be pretty easy for anyone to give up cars for a single day. Mayor Bill de Blasio said he’s going to try his best.

According to de Blasio’s office, he’ll give it a go, but no promises, okay?

Excuse me. As much as possible? Whenever feasible?

Mayor de Blasio, with all due respect, you live in New York fucking City.

If New York Mayor Bill de Blasio Can't Go Car-Free for One Day I'm Moving to Canada
According to Walkscore, New York City is the most walkable and transit-friendly city in the US

Now I understand the specific demands of a mayor might require gallivanting across town to slice through ribbons using oversized scissors. Today, for example, he had to go all the way up to the South Bronx! But there’s no reason he wouldn’t be able to take the subway to all of his appointments, and carve out enough time to walk from the station to his destination. As the mayor of New York City, he should be making this same promise every day. But he certainly can do it for FOR ONE DAY.

The bigger problem is that now he’s publicly said that he’s going to try to go car-free. And if he doesn’t, it just makes New York City look stupid. For National Walk to Work Day, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti walked FIVE MILES to work—HE WALKED TO CITY HALL, he didn’t even TAKE THE SUBWAY—in Los Angeles, a place where it’s a known fact that sidewalks are covered in venomous snakes and molten lava. And he Instagrammed the entire time. Like certain presidential candidates who are trying to prove their street cred by riding the subway, de Blasio should prove to that he, too, is a true New Yorker. de Blasio definitely rides it, but his predecessor, Michael Bloomberg, regularly took the subway to work, which de Blasio does not.

The New York City mayor’s office has shared de Blasio’s schedule so we can help him to plan his car-free day. He only has three scheduled events, in bold—two of them related to the Paris Climate Agreement, what better reason to not get in a car at all!—and afterwards let’s assume he will have to get back to City Hall. Here’s the itinerary that I came up with. Since it is supposed to be a car-free day, I say no cars—no taxis, no Ubers—and in my opinion, it would be fantastic if it included at least one Citi Bike segment (I included two). Let’s all tell him just how feasible it is. One day without cars, Mr. Mayor, you can do it! Do it for New York!

PUBLIC SCHEDULE FOR MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO FOR FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2016

8:45 am: That Second Avenue Subway would be sweet right about now, but until it’s finished, you gotta take the bus like everyone else does over here. Walk from Gracie Mansion to 2nd Avenue and 88th Street to catch the M15 bus. Get off at 2nd Avenue and 42nd Street and walk to UN Headquarters at 760 United Nations Plaza. (42 minutes on the bus; walking the whole way is just 10 minutes longer.)

9:30 am­: Mayor de Blasio will attend the signature ceremony for the Paris Climate Agreement.

10:15: There’s a bit of a time crunch here, but this is one of those trips where a bike will be faster than the subway or a car. Walk from UN Headquarters at 760 United Nations Plaza to Citi Bike station at 1st Avenue and 44th Street, ride to Citi Bike station at Mac Dougal & Prince, walk to WNYC at 160 Varick Street. (21 minutes on a bike, adding a few minutes on either end to check in/out bike.)

10:40 am: Mayor de Blasio will appear live on WNYC’s Brian Lehrer Show to discuss affordable housing, Earth Day and Rikers Island. WNYC’s “Brian Lehrer Show.”

12:30 pm: Time to go underground. Walk from WNYC at 160 Varick Street to the 1 at Houston Street and switch to the 7 at Times Square. Get off at Grand Central and walk to UN Headquarters at 760 United Nations Plaza. (29 minutes on the subway, with plenty of time to prep for remarks.)

1:35 pm: Mayor de Blasio will deliver remarks at the Paris Climate Agreement luncheon.

4:00 pm: Hey, it’s going to be a beautiful day. You just saved the planet. Why not grab that Citi Bike again outside UN Headquarters at 760 United Nations Plaza and ride the East River Bikeway all the way back to City Hall? It will only take about 30 minutes. But if you’re looking to out-do LA? You should just walk the whole way. (25 minutes a bike, walking is 80 minutes.)

Please share your proposed itineraries, transit tips, and ideas for how to go car-free (for one day) with the mayor!

New Ted Cruz Ad Asks: What If Hillary Was Mute and Looked Weird?

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Ted Cruz—a man whose* idea of comedy is literally doing terrible Simpsons impressions—released an allegedly humorous new anti-Trump ad on Thursday starring, of course, Hillary Clinton.

In the ad, strategists present Clinton with “the plan” to get Trump nominated, effectively clinching a Democratic victory in November. Lacking a convincing Hillary look- or sound-alike, the video’s humor mostly comes from the sight of a blonde woman in old lady makeup scowling.

New Ted Cruz Ad Asks: What If Hillary Was Mute and Looked Weird?
Photo: YouTube/Ted Cruz

Naturally, conservatives sites are already hailing the gut-bustin’ goof ‘em up as hilarious.

“[But] how do we stop Ted Cruz?” demands a furious Huma Abedin stand-in near the end of the video.

“I don’t think we can,” answers a shaken Clinton operative, presumably knowing that, as Isaac Newton observed 300 years ago, an object at rest tends to stay at rest.

http://gawker.com/ted-cruzs-nigh...

U.S. Capitol to Replace Mississippi State Flag With Confederacy-Free State Quarter

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U.S. Capitol to Replace Mississippi State Flag With Confederacy-Free State Quarter
Photo: AP

On Thursday, a House committee offered a novel solution to the continued controversy over Mississippi’s starred and barred banner: Replace the state flags (which are bad and everyone hates) with the state quarters (which are good and everyone loves).

http://gawker.com/ole-miss-final...

According to The Washington Post, the plan comes 10 months after Mississippi’s flag was removed from a subway tunnel connecting the U.S. Capitol to a congressional office building in the wake of last year’s racially-motivated Charleston massacre:

Rep. Candice Miller (R-Mich.), chairman of the Committee on House Administration, said Thursday that the flag — along with the flags of the 49 other states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories — would not return following a renovation. Replacing them, she said, will be “a reproduction of the commemorative quarters issued by the U.S. Mint.”

Mississippi’s state quarter, issued in 2002, depicts a pair of magnolia blossoms.

“Given the controversy surrounding confederate imagery, I decided to install a new display,” said Miller in a statement. “I am well aware of how many Americans negatively view the confederate flag, and, personally, I am very sympathetic to these views.”

U.S. Capitol to Replace Mississippi State Flag With Confederacy-Free State Quarter

Fortunately for secession-loving sightseers, Mississippi’s flag will not completely disappear from the building the Civil War transformed into an army barracks 150 years ago. The Post reports the flag still hangs on the Senate side of the complex and the compromise “will not prevent members of the Mississippi House delegation from displaying the state’s flag outside their offices.”


199 Days and a Wake Up

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199 Days and a Wake Up
Ted Cruz stands in front of a very sad man. That man is us. Image: AP

Jalopnik This Time Crashing The Truck Was Actually The Better Option | Lifehacker Google Engineer Wa

Peggy Noonan Is Having a Breakdown of Some Sort

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Peggy Noonan Is Having a Breakdown of Some Sort
Photo: Getty

Peggy. Dear Peggy. Peggy—are you okay?

Peggy Noonan, a writer. More importantly, an American. More importantly, the owner of a life-sized—and lifelike—Ronald Reagan “real doll” (we presume). This year has been hard on her. This election—nasty business, is it not? This Trump. An uncultured man. A man lacking in Reagan’s easy charm, and grace, and magnetic sexual attraction.

Peggy’s column today is a weighty meditation on the harsh toll that this most objectionable year is having on Peggy and her friends. The good Republicans.

A friend I’ll call Bill, a political veteran from the 1980s and ’90s, also had his Moment with his child, a 14-year-old daughter who is a budding history buff. He had never taken her to the Reagan Library, so last month they went. As she stood watching a video of Reagan speaking, he thought of Reagan and FDR, of JFK and Martin Luther King. His daughter, he realized, would probably never see political leaders of such stature and grace, though she deserved to. Her first, indelible political memories were of lower, grubbier folk. “Leaders with Reaganesque potential no longer go into politics—and why would they, with all the posturing and plasticity that it requires?”

This child shall never see a leader like Reagan. She is stuck with leaders like Barack Obama—a lowly sort, lacking a Hollywood pedigree and a gel of hair. Tragic, it is.

I was offended that those curiously quick to write essays about who broke the party were usually those who’d backed the policies that broke it. Lately conservative thinkers and journalists had taken to making clear their disdain for the white working class. I had actually not known they looked down on them. I deeply resented it and it pained me.

A writer less humble and respectful of the American working class than Peggy Noonan might say: Ronald Reagan is the one who created the policies that broke the working class. This is neither here nor there. This is positively rude. This is a symptom of the rudeness and utter incivility of this loathsome election cycle. Let us forget it. Let us move on.

Peggy is overcome.

Then for no reason—this is true, it just doesn’t sound it—I thought of an old Paul Simon song that had been crossing my mind, “The Boy in the Bubble.” I muted the TV, found the song on YouTube, and listened as I stared at the soundless mile of cars and the soundless demonstrators. As the lyrics came—“The way we look to a distant constellation / That’s dying in a corner of the sky / . . . Don’t cry baby / Don’t cry”—my eyes filled with tears. And a sob welled up and I literally put my hands to my face and sobbed, silently, for I suppose a minute.

Because my country is in trouble.

Because I felt anguish at all the estrangements.

Because some things that shouldn’t have changed have changed.

Because too much is being lost. Because the great choice in a nation of 320 million may come down to Crazy Man versus Criminal.

And yes, I know this is all personal, and not column-ish.

But that was my Moment.

Can someone go check on her? I would but I have work.

Watch An Adult Eat Cheesecake For the First Time

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National Spelling Bee to Stop Coddling Youth With Easy-Ass Words Like Scherenschnitte

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National Spelling Bee to Stop Coddling Youth With Easy-Ass Words Like Scherenschnitte
Image: Getty

The Scripps National Spelling Bee, once a symbol of pride for our nation’s youth, has deteriorated in recent years into a feeble-minded joke, with so-called “champions” claiming their victories with simple words like “cymotrichous” an “knaidel.” Thankfully, that’s all about to change.

Before the last two bees, there hadn’t been a tie among the alarmingly intense child spellers in over 50 years. One speller alleged to the AP that the championship words “tend to be a little easier” but she doesn’t “really know why.” Which is both not particularly helpful and also a brag.

But now, instead of having a set list of 25 pre-selected championship words, organizers can include as many as 75 words in the final rounds. And if our little spellers aren’t having trouble knocking those out, the judges can pick even harder words at their whim.

As spelling bee executive director Paige Kimble told the Associated Press, “As difficult as those words offered those co-champions were, we had a more difficult section in our word list, but we couldn’t go to them because our rules bound us to stick to that 25-word championship word section.”

My personal recommendation: use the word “omelet,” which is to blame for my own devastating loss in third grade.

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