Lyft and Uber already operate in and around Boston, but students on MIT’s campus in Cambridge, MA also have a new, research-oriented option for on-demand ridesharing. Ford and MIT announced today a new project that will shuttle students around on bot…
Sports leagues have historically clamped down on online ticket sales, in part to prevent the rampant scalping you see in much of the entertainment industry. Major League Soccer, however, is trying the exact opposite: it’s throwing things wide open….
Back in the day, Gilmore Girls used to be one of the staples of TV and it’s easy to understand why as its lightheartedness made for some pretty easy watching. In fact there are some pretty big celebrities these days that used to have roles on the show back in the day, such as Melissa McCarthy from the new Ghostbusters and Jared Padalecki of Supernatural fame.
So we know that Netflix is planning a revival of the TV series and for those itching for additional content, it looks like the trailer has been released. It features both Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Rory (Alexis Bledel) sitting at a table and having a funny and very Gilmore Girls-like conversation. Along with the trailer, we also have an official release date which is set for the 25th of November, 2016.
We should point out that the revival of the TV series won’t be in your standard format. What this means is that instead of a bunch of 40 minute-ish episodes, the revival will be four episodes that run for 90 minutes each, which essentially makes it feel a bit like a mini movie of sorts. They will also be themed around the four different seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall.
In any case if you have a few minutes to spare, you can check out the trailer in the video above. Also for those with a Netflix subscription, the complete Gilmore Girls series is currently available for streaming on the platform if you’d like to play catchup. So, who else is excited for the show?
Netflix Debuts The ‘Gilmore Girls’ Revival Trailer , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
A report from the other day revealed some pretty telling details about the upcoming Nintendo NX console. According to the reports, the NX is said to be a console that focuses on portable gaming, although at the same time when players are at home, they can dock the console and play it on the big screen.
Now according to The Wall Street Journal, they have heard from a person familiar with the matter that more or less corroborates the earlier report, which is that the NX is a handheld console hybrid of sorts, and that it will apparently support Nintendo’s smartphone games. Getting into mobile games is something Nintendo has tried their hand at recently with the launch of the Miitomo.
The company does have plans to release more games in the near future, and for them to be compatible with the NX makes sense as it would allow gamers to keep gaming on the console instead of having to switch to their phone. However we suppose the question is, how many people would actually bother bringing their console out when their smartphones are just as capable?
In any case since this are all rumors at this point, they’re probably best taken with a grain of salt. However Nintendo is said to be sharing the details about the NX this coming fall ahead of the console’s release in 2017, so check back with us then for more details.
Nintendo NX Could Play Nice With The Company’s Smartphone Games , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
Key escrow — the process of keeping a set of keys for yourself “just in case” — has always been the U.S. government’s modus operandi when it comes to security. From the disastrous Clipper chip to today, the government has always wanted a back door into encryption and security. That plan backfired for the TSA.
The TSA, as you’ll remember, offers a set of… Read More
In a new interview with Daily Mail Australia, Heath Ledger’s father puts full responsibility on his son for his own tragic death.
Kim Ledger addressed Heath’s accidental overdose in 2008 at the age of 28.
“It was totally his fault. It was no one else’s. He reached for them. He put them in his system. You can’t blame anyone else in that situation,” Kim said. “That’s hard to accept because I loved him so much and was so proud of him.”
Ledger died in New York City after production wrapped on “The Dark Knight,” for which he later won a posthumous Oscar. The actor was filming “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” at the time of his death, and Kim said the pressures of fame and work greatly affected his son.
“There’s so much pressure on them to perform so even though your body is telling you that it’s not good and needs time, it’s like ‘just take these painkillers and keep going,’” he said. “That was the case with Heath. He had to be back on set to finish [the next day]. They were doing night shoots in the freezing cold and he had a weak chest anyway. He’d caught this [cough] and just couldn’t shake it but he thought he had to because he wanted to get the movie done.”
Kim said that Ledger’s sister had warned her brother about the dangers of painkillers and sleeping pills, which Kim said he received by just “pop[ping] in to a doctor.”
“In the case of someone with a higher profile it’s often a case of ‘what do you want’ instead of ‘what do you need,’” he added.
Ledger’s sister spoke to her brother the night before his death, urging him not to mix medications.
“His sister was on the phone to him the night before telling him not to take the prescription medications with the sleeping tablets,” explained Kim. “He said, ‘Katie, Katie, I’m fine. I know what I’m doing.’ He would have had no idea.”
Ledger is survived by his 10-year-old daughter, Matilda, with Michelle Williams.
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Ready to stop playing blind man’s bluff when it comes to finding love?
I’ve got a no nonsense, albeit, slightly crass, method that will help you figure out if you’re with the one or how to find the one. It’s called: The 3 H’s.
Buckle up.
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As fans everywhere looked to San Diego in mid-July during this city’s relished turn at hosting Major League Baseball’s annual All Star Game, three words that have nothing to do with America’s favorite pastime, but everything to do with America in 2016 permeated the air inside and outside Petco Park.
Those words, of course: “Black Lives Matter.”
Inside the ballpark, a group of Canadian tenors sang their country’s national anthem in honor of Canada’s contingent of big league teams and players. But one rogue tenor stunned the crowd and viewers at home by holding up a small sheet of paper with writing that read, “all lives matter” at the same time he modified lyrics of the Canadian national anthem to include the same phrase.
“All lives matter” is seen by many as a pugnacious campaign to dismiss assertions that, while black lives should matter as much as the lives of people who are not black in the context of interactions with law enforcement, some police officers don’t value black lives at all.
Outside the stadium at the start of the big game, about 50 demonstrators gathered to protest two separate killings by white police officers of two black men. Both killings were captured on video and spread via social media and cable news out to a horrified nation. So troubling are the video-recorded circumstances of the killings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, La. and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minn. that state and local officials in both places immediately called in federal authorities to investigate.
The frustration and horror of Sterling’s and Castile’s deaths-by-police-bullets a thousand miles from each other, but less than a day apart were followed by more horror when, in Dallas, a lone sniper killed five police officers at the tail-end of a protest march.
Four of the officers in Dallas were white, one Hispanic. The gunman was black. Barack Obama, America’s first black president, rushed home from Europe where he was tending to strategic foreign alliances, even as a former congressman appeared to threaten the start of a vast American race war.
In Dallas, a city whose police department had paradoxically been held up as an example of the kind of reforms other cities should implement to ameliorate racial tensions, President Obama sought to unite and heal a head-spun nation grappling with its age-old crucible: race relations.
Meanwhile in San Diego, a new Black Lives Matter chapter is seeking to rise up from the ashes of a predecessor group, which was dissolved as a result of internal bickering about whether or not LGBT people are sinners to be tolerated inside the movement, or to be cast aside altogether. For organizers of Black Lives Matter-San Diego, version 2.0, the All Star Game with its international audience watching was a cue to come out loud, strong and pro-LGBT.
(Foreground, L-R: New Black Lives Matter-San Diego cofounder, Nate Howard with San Diego LGBT Pride executive director, Stephen Whitburn)
“The primary point was to bring focus to the Black Lives Matter movement nationally, who earlier in the day had released their 10-point manifesto; and secondly, to show our face at a high-profile event so that we could bring attention to the San Diego chapter as an example of collaborating with police to stage a peaceful protest while also being sure our message is still being heard,” said protest organizer, Cassie Perando, 29, of San Diego.
While organizers of the demonstration came together under the Black Lives Matter banner, they did so without sanctioning from the national Black Lives Matter organization, such as it is. The now-defunct San Diego chapter was recently declared dissolved by its original founder, Mahnani Clay, because the group had allegedly become highjacked by leaders who were hostile to gender and sexual minorities, i.e. LGBT activists, among it ranks.
Homophobic Messages Marred Defunct BLM San Diego Chapter
“I think that there’s really a major divide in the black community overall,” said Mahnani Clay, cofounder of the now-suspended original Black Lives Matter San Diego Chapter during a recent phone interview. “And there’s pretty rampant homophobia among a lot of our elders. They grew up in a certain time and they have a certain way of thinking.”
Clay says some ultra-conservative Christians within the African-American community and even in some corners of Black Lives Matter harbor strong anti-equality feelings toward their lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender brethren.
Homophobia and transphobia inside any Black Lives Matter local chapter is beyond ironic, according to Cat Mendonca (31) of San Diego. She points out that the movement itself was founded by three people who identify as queer women of color.
“There’s a lack of understanding that the Black Lives Matter movement, which they say they believe in and claim to serve, is and always was a queer-inclusive, queer-affirming movement,” says Mendonca, referring to a small but forceful group of leaders of the old BLM-SD chapter. “It was really disappointing and distracting.”
Social media messages obtained by San Diego LGBT Weekly purportedly shared among leaders of the old, now-dissolved local Black Lives Matter San Diego chapter reveal that the group may indeed have been tainted by homophobia and transphobic sentiments from at least one leader.
(Just one of several messages that related non-straight sexual-orientation to pedophilia)
“The movement is supposed to be a safe space for all people regardless of their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender,” says Mendonca. She is not formally associated with the new chapter, which is seeking official recognition from the national organization. However, according to one of the new group’s leaders, they’d like to welcome her.
(Another example of fundamentalist homophobia that allegedly pervaded the shuttered BLM-San Diego Chapter)
“We’re working on building a relationship,” says Perando, referring to Mendonca. “She has that deep experience we need, and I’m hopeful she’ll join our chapter.”
In addition to having been early to the Black Lives Matter movement locally, Mendonca, who identifies as a queer woman of color, is also founder of United Against Police Terror San Diego (UAPTSD). She says she came to anti-brutality activism after having been the victim of a sexual assault at the hands of a police officer in Los Angeles.
“That experience changed my life forever,” she tells LGBT Weekly. “The way to end victimization by the state and by police is to take action and to give voice to victims.”
According to UAPTSD, there have been 593 deaths caused by police in San Diego County in the past three-and-a-half decades. Mendonca and many in the Black Lives Matter movement are dubious about police descriptions of the circumstances surrounding officer-involved shootings and other types of suspect-deaths.
Case in point, the July 8 shooting of Jose Armando Garcia (47) of Fallbrook. Mendonca points to the fact that the sheriff’s report acknowledges that Garcia was likely suicidal. Activists like Mendonca protest against what they see as a de facto position among law enforcement officials that gunning down mental health patients is a legitimate way to deal with suicidal behavior.
“How is filling someone with bullets acceptable as a way of dealing with a mental health issue?” Mendonca asks.
She, like many in the local civil liberties community, was particularly troubled by the fact that District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis vowed to keep secret police body camera footage of the police shooting-death — as many as 40 shots may have been fired — of Thongsoune Vilaysanesays in May of this year.
“In fall of last year, three black men were murdered [by law enforcement officers] in San Diego in one month,” says Mendonca, referring to the October, 2015 killings of Lamontez Jones (39), Anthony Ashford (29) and Rayshaun Cole (30). To be clear, none of those deaths have officially been deemed murders.
Mendonca was not at the All Star Game protest, but organized another demonstration the following Friday under the auspices of a project called Overpass Light Brigade. As the name implies, OLB uses southern California’s ubiquitous and high-traffic freeways — or, more accurately overpasses above them — as communication platforms aimed squarely at the region’s commuters and at ending what activists call police brutality.
(A previous version of this article appeared at LGBTweekly.com)
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As the nation’s two parties gather for their nominating conventions, we hear a lot of talk about homeland security, public safety, and economic opportunity. But what we don’t hear much about is the plight of homeless youth in America. Aren’t they entitled to be part of both parties’ visions for a better America? We believe that, given the opportunity, they can be among the brightest stars in our future.
We at Covenant House do know one thing from watching the conventions — the host cities sure do clean up well. Cleveland and Philadelphia put on their finery and pulled out all the stops to create an environment that allowed convention visitors to experience the best of what they had to offer. But where were our kids? Homeless adults were a bit in the spotlight during the ramp-up to both conventions. Their increasingly visible presence in downtown Philly has concerned some in the community.
Recent construction projects at the downtown LOVE Park and Benjamin Franklin Parkway have uprooted homeless adults who used to stay there. About 50 have been sleeping under the underpass of the Philadelphia Convention Center, in the heart of Center City, seven miles from the Wells Fargo Center, where the Democrats will be meeting, but very close to many hotels and restaurants.
The city recently agreed to provide an additional 100 temporary beds for homeless people, similar to beds that open up during freezing temperatures. Some observers believed the city was merely tidying up the streets for its expected 50,000 visitors.
“So it’s an emergency when it’s freezing and when we have company,” wrote Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Mike Newall.
Mayor Jim Kenney tried to dispel that view in May, when he announced new outreach workers to encourage people to leave the streets.
“I think we have an opportunity to utilize some of the clout the Democratic Party is bringing,” he said, “but it’s not getting ready for the Democratic Party.”
City officials have said they do not want to make the 100 beds permanent, because they want to focus on permanent supportive housing. But there’s not enough of any kind of bed to go around, with an estimated 700 homeless people in Philadelphia.
These discussions have left unsheltered young people behind, despite their greater vulnerability and invisibility.
“None of this is targeted for youth, who are being massively under-resourced,” said John Ducoff, executive director of Covenant House Pennsylvania, which last year served 512 homeless young people, but turned away 546 more. The city’s effort to provide 100 extra beds keeps the focus on the very visible adult homeless population, while homeless young people don’t cross the city’s radar enough.
“The city of brotherly love hasn’t yet shown that love to all of its homeless young people,” Mr. Ducoff said. “They’re moving from couch to couch to couch, from friend to friend to friend, until they run out of friends. They’re hiding in plain sight.”
Adult homeless people were in the news in preparation for the Republican National Convention last week. Cleveland had to reduce the size of its proposed 3.3-square-mile event zone, the largest ever, after a lawsuit by a coalition including the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless. Represented by an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer, the group argued that the zone, which included four homeless shelters and some homeless encampments, would result in homeless residents being searched and harassed unlawfully. In the zone people were prohibited from carrying canned food, coolers, tents, and umbrellas. As a result of the suit, the city also agreed to let a Parade to End Poverty finish up downtown instead of in an unpopulated neighborhood, as originally proposed.
Covenant House Pennsylvania has been part of an anti-trafficking awareness effort in anticipation of the convention. Large sporting events and conventions that attract many out-of-towners to a city have been known to attract pimps and trafficked young people as well. In some cities, Covenant House studies have shown that about a quarter of the homeless young people interviewed have been trafficked or otherwise commercially sexually exploited.
Before the convention, the DNC Human Trafficking Collaborative, which Covenant House Pennsylvania joined, distributed posters, set up an information table at the convention, and reached out to hotel personnel, offering trainings on how to recognize signs that a guest may be trafficked.
Let’s hope that homeless young people, who may have been hidden from view and from the narrative of the political conventions, get their rightful place, front and center in the national conversation about who will lead the country.
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Paradigm Shifters is a series of interviews with a select group of women and men from eclectic walks of life. It will highlight unspoken, real-life insights on how they have been able to turn weakness into strength. A naked soul point of view of how their breakdowns were really a preparation for breakthroughs. They are your quintessential paradigm shifters; internal shifts converted into genuine change.
Everything I have ever done has been focused on this underlying theme of shifting the paradigm because, “What we think determines what we feel and what we feel determines what we do.” Hence, why Empowered by You takes lingerie, which has traditionally been seen merely as a tool of seduction and redirected that energy as a tool of empowerment.
I hope from these stories you will look at your own situations, struggles and accomplishments through a different lens. At the very least you will be more equipped with real life tools to change your own paradigm. At the end of the day, we are our own Alchemist turning the silver we were born with into the gold we are destined to become.
Lizanne Kindler, Talbots, CEO
Best advice you’ve received?
It was from my parents. They remind me how best to use the hand you are dealt. They also instilled in me to not let anyone define you, you define yourself. They would tell me all the time “we don’t care what you do, you’re amazing just use your talent” and this gave me the confidence to be who I am. I’ve used that advice in my career and it has helped to open many doors for me which has encouraged me to want to do the same for others. If I can help someone “open the door” to an opportunity, it gives them the likelihood of a prospect and the rest is up to them.
Growing up both your parents were deaf. How did growing up in that circumstance mold or enhance your life?
My parents were my backbone growing up and I don’t think of their impairment as a disadvantage. They enjoy life to the fullest and never let a handicap constraint get in their way. They always want to reach out, travel, meet people. They’re so curious about people, about situations and extremely passionate about living life and having fun. It doesn’t matter what your circumstance is. Life is amazing and you make it the best it can be regardless of the hand you’re dealt. My parents taught me to not be afraid and if you are, don’t let that fear constrain you. If you fail, accept it and move on. Sometimes things don’t work out the way you want them to but you’re still a good person and capable of many things. My upbringing taught me so much about life. There were certain things my parents couldn’t do, like pick up the phone to buy plane tickets or fix their tax return, so I became the forefront of their communication. This helped shape my enjoyment of life and desire to connect with people. I learned very early that communicating with people is powerful, and that has been very prevalent in my career.
How does that lead into your leadership skills? What kind of leadership format do you impose with your colleagues?
Trust is the word that comes to mind for me. Having a deep appreciation that human beings are different and bring different things to the table is incredibly important. This is hard to do because you don’t always know what someone is capable of so it’s important to gain that trust and respect. Each person has their own individual strengths and it’s important to understand their leadership qualities. Once this is established, I instill my trust in them to grow as an individual and succeed in their career. I enjoy sitting with people and emphasizing their strengths, telling them to “feel” their talent being used. The magic is when you pull the talent out and bring people together.
Dress for success? Elaborate?
Talbots has always been a community based brand and connecting with people is at the forefront of what we do and I feel very fortunate to be a part of that. When I returned to Talbots, one of my goals was to find new ways to give back to the community and enrich the lives of others. Dress for Success was a natural fit for Talbots to achieve this goal by helping less fortunate women get back into the workforce with a new suit and renewed confidence. In addition, the collaboration with DFS resonated with our female customers, who genuinely cared about the DFS client and wanted to do their part to help them succeed in life both personally and professionally. I’ve been to many of the Dress for Success events and I am amazed by the strength of the women who have been through the program. They are driven to establish a better life for themselves and their families, and I am honored to be a part of their success.
Breakdown to breakthrough?
My experience at Talbots defines both the breakdown moment and the breakthrough moment.
When I was with Talbots the first time, my vision for the brand was not in alignment with the direction leadership was taking and I became increasingly frustrated and disillusioned. I remember a conversation with my husband about the inevitable downturn of the company and it made me sad because I believed in the brand and I felt helpless. So with the support of my family, I made the difficult decision to leave and took the role of EVP of Product Development at Kohl’s in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Ironically, Sycamore Partners then reached out asking me to come back to Talbots as President. As you can imagine, I had so many mixed emotions, as I truly loved the Talbots brand, and wanted it to succeed, but I also struggled with uprooting my family once again. Falling back on the advice my parents gave me as a child, and how to best use the hand you’re dealt, I made the decision to leave Kohl’s and return to Talbots. If I hadn’t gone through that challenging first experience, I would not have been as successful as I am right now. I came back to Talbots with a clear head and vision of success for the brand, and I can honestly say that I love my job and couldn’t be happier.
Legacy?
I’ve never thought of it as my “legacy” but what I would like people to think of when they think of me is my immense passion for everything I do in life, with my family and in my job. I bring passion to everything I do, and have a very optimistic view. I always tell my children do everything and anything with your whole heart.
If your life were a book, what would be the title of 2015 and 2016?
For 2015, I would say “The Power of Focus,” if I’m doing a serious title. If you want a more amusing title I would title it “Häagen-Dazs and Heels for the CEO.” I have this passion for Häagen-Dazs ice cream, which is well known around the office, it just really fuels me! For 2016, it’s obviously not fully written but I think a lot about maximizing opportunities. I live by minimizing risks and maximizing opportunities. 2016 is less about minimizing the risks, rather more concentrated on taking full advantage of the opportunities. So I guess it would be “Maximizing Opportunities.”
You know a leader when you meet one. She is humble yet real. She is determined yet gentle. She is invigorating yet with ease. Lizanne is a natural born leader and it shows more in her actions than I could ever put in words. She is proof that destiny ultimately takes its course.
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This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
