The US Centers for Disease Control has released a sobering new study detailing the birth defect rates among pregnant American women infected by the Zika virus. It’s as bad as we feared.
You might not know this, but we’re in the midst of an insect shape-studying renaissance. MicroCT technology—basically a lab version of the CAT scanners found at hospitals—is increasingly allowing scientists to produce detailed three-dimensional images without destroying samples. So naturally, if we’re scanning…
The developers at Microsoft have successfully created another distraction to our everyday massacre of a modern life with an app called Sprinkles. With the app, users will be able to see how old the machine thinks they are – though that’s not a strictly new trick from Microsoft, it’s still wonderful to be able to do, if you look young. … Continue reading
Starbucks has updated its iPhone app to version 4.3.4, adding multiple changes including the addition of a new iMessage gift card option. Those who use iMessage can now send their friends or family members a Starbucks gift card directly within the app, eliminating the need to toggle between apps or purchase a card in-store. Joining this are improvements to Mobile … Continue reading
Zero Motorcycles may not be the first electric vehicle company that comes to mind when you think of California transportation start-ups, but there’s more to the firm than just Tesla on two wheels. Founded back in 2006 in Santa Cruz, CA, the trajectory from passion project to internationally respected bike company has been a rapid one. With a new CEO … Continue reading
In an ideal world, none of us would have to work and we could just watch Nicolas Cage movies all day. Sadly, we don’t live in that world so we’ll just have to settle for the next best thing.
Enter The Cage Cage, “a VR simulation of what it’s like to be trapped in a cage and forced to watch Nic Cage movies.”
Once you’ve passed that main page, it looks something like this:
Incredible, no?
The Cage Cage is meant to be viewed with a VR headset, but even on desktop, it is a masterpiece. We’re extremely unsure how we ever lived in a world without this.
This deliciously wonderful ode to Nicolas Cage was made by Mike Lacher, a writer and developer, and Chris Baker, who defines himself as a maker of “things on the internet that people like to talk about.” The co-collaborators are “big Cage fans” who “love watching clips of him at his cagiest.”
“When Chris suggested we make a cage where you’re surrounded by Nic Cage movies, we had no choice but to see it to completion. Watching one Nic Cage movie is great, but watching four simultaneously while locked in a cage is even better,” Lacher told The Huffington Post.
“I hacked it together in a few hours and just posted it today.”
The Cage Cage features clips from classic Cage flicks like “Adaptation,” “The Wicker Man,” “Face/Off,” “Wild At Heart,” and many others.
We didn’t spot any inclusion of “National Treasure” or “Moonstruck” ― clearly, two of Cage’s best films ― but perhaps if you stay in the cage long enough, either of those will appear.
(Though, if you’re like us, you have them on DVD and VHS so it doesn’t much matter anyway.)
Lacher and Baker hope that the use of virtual reality will “give the world a whole new appreciation of Nicolas Cage’s work.”
We couldn’t hope for more from this gorgeous piece of art ourselves. The world could use a little more Nicolas Cage in it.
We asked Lacher and Baker what their favorite Nic Cage movies are ― a choice that is arguably harder than Sophie’s ― and Lacher said “Face/Off.”
“But if I had to pick one single Cage moment, it might be in Bangkok Dangerous when he’s eating the spicy soup and keeps talking about how spicy it is,” he said.
That is solid Cage, Lacher. Solid.
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Not everyone gets the opportunity to attend college, much less any Ivy League school they want. But that’s exactly the case for New Jersey high school senior Ifeoma White-Thorpe.
The Morris Hills High School AP student and student government president applied to all eight Ivy League schools: Harvard, Yale, Columbia, UPenn, Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth and Princeton. She also applied to Stanford, another top-tier school. She was accepted to all nine.
The only predicament she faces now is which school to go to ― a decision that comes down to what the schools have to offer White-Thorpe financially.
“At this point none of the school’s I’ve applied to said they give merit scholarships,” she told ABC7 Eyewitness News. “So I’m praying that they give me some more financial aid or some money ― shout out to all of those schools; please give me something.”
Although White-Thorpe is skilled in writing and poetry, she plans to study global health and biology, according to The Associated Press.
“So many of them had great research facilities that I was just like, ‘I might as well shoot my shot and apply,’” she said.
White-Thorpe graduates in June, and we plan to see more black girl slay from her when the new school year begins.
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Sarah Michelle Gellar loves “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” as much as we do. She’s proud to have been a part of such a culturally impactful show ― she just really, really doesn’t want to revive those supernatural beings, people.
During an interview with The Huffington Post on Build Series Monday, Gellar joked that nostalgic television fans want reboots and reunions until they’re actually greenlighted and released.
“They want it until they see it and don’t like it, and then they’re like, ‘Why did you do that?! You ruined my favorite show!’ And then it all comes back down on you,” Gellar said, smiling.
Although she believes revivals like “Gilmore Girls” are successful due to progressing storylines, the actress and author just thinks “Buffy” is one of those shows that wouldn’t work as well now that the cast is older.
“We have to remember it was about the horrors of adolescence and how those manifest into the monsters that were the actual monsters in our show, and I don’t know necessarily what that translates to into today,” she explained. “I also think that you can’t please everyone and we had seven amazing seasons. And it still lives on in fan fiction and comic books and graphic novels, and I think that’s really cool that it can live on in that immortal way. Because James [Marsters], David [Boreanaz], myself ― none of us are immortal.”
Boreanaz echoed Gellar’s sentiments during a previous interview with HuffPost, admitting, “[Angel] is just the type of character that’s youthfully oriented. I’m getting a little older, so … It’s one of those things [where] I loved what I did, but just kind of move on from there.”
“He’s very adamant,” Gellar said of Boreanaz’s comments, throwing in the fact that she’s, also, no longer in her 20s.
“This body, I don’t think could put up … I would break every bone in my body,” she joked. “I’m just not sure how the horrors of adolescence translate into a very tired girl over here that really doesn’t want to work all night in a graveyard. If the show still works and people are enjoying it, don’t mess with it. If it ain’t broke, I’m not fixing it! I feel like there’s other ways to keep it going and honor what we created.”
Despite all that, Gellar is so thankful for everything the role of Buffy Summers has given her, calling the fandom “incredible.”
“As an actor, all you hope is that you do something that means something to someone, that makes an impact, that stands the test of time,” she said. “So, it’s awesome.”
And although a reboot may be forever dead, the 20th anniversary reunion hosted by Entertainment Weekly was just as special for fans as it was for Gellar.
“Very rarely, maybe at a college reunion, do you sit back and reminisce a little bit. But you don’t really get to think about the impact on both you and on the culture, and it was nice to sort of be able to take that walk.”
Sarah Michelle Gellar’s new cookbook, Stirring Up Fun with Food, is out now. Watch her full Build Series interview below.
Hit Backspace for a regular dose of pop culture nostalgia.
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The recent public outcry around the USDA‘s removal of animal welfare violation records from its website reinforces a clear truth: Americans are united in their opposition to animal cruelty, and they want more – not less – information on how animals are protected in our society.
But when it comes to farm animals, the blocking of vital information – whether on the USDA website or in the form of anti-whistleblower state “ag-gag” bills across the country – doesn’t just happen through government. It also happens in local supermarkets, where information about the treatment of farm animals raised for meat, milk and egg products is actively hidden behind misleading and meaningless food labels.
Consumers Care About Welfare
A recent national survey, commissioned by the ASPCA, found that more than three in four consumers are concerned about the welfare of animals raised for food. Seventy-four percent are paying more attention to the labels that indicate how farm animals were treated than they were just five years ago. Unfortunately, these labels don’t meet consumers’ common sense expectations.
For example, sixty-five percent of consumers we surveyed believe the term “free-range” ensures that the animal spent most of its time in a pasture when, in reality, there is no legal definition of that term for pork, beef or dairy products. For poultry products, the size, duration, and quality of birds’ outdoor experiences on “free range” farms is not defined. In some facilities, these “free-range” chickens spend most of their lives indoors.
More than two-thirds of these consumers also believe the label “cage-free” on a package of chicken or turkey meat means the bird had a “better than average” quality of life. But such a label is pointless because only egg-laying chickens are routinely raised in cages; chickens or turkeys raised for meat are not. Large food companies exploit these labeling loopholes at the expense of animal welfare and consumer awareness.
There are also no federal or state inspectors checking on farm animals’ welfare, despite public assumptions about federal oversight of their treatment. This lack of supervision leaves the vast majority of farm animals living in unacceptable conditions, while farmers raising animals more humanely struggle to stay afloat.
Getting to the Truth
How do we combat these government, regulatory, and public awareness challenges?
Let’s start with consumers, who are ready and willing to become educated on the most meaningful welfare certifications (those backed by rigorous standards, on-farm audits, and strong enforcement), as well as brands, farms, products, and retailers that match their desire for more humanely-raised food products. The ASPCA launched its Shop with Your Heart campaign to help consumers make these connections and voice their demand for better lives for farm animals. The growth of organic and allergy-aware food products show that the consumer voice can be a transformative tool.
Changes must also be made at all points of the supply chain to improve on-farm conditions. This effort takes shape one company at a time, but the cumulative effect can ultimately have an industry-wide impact. In the last six months, we helped guide commitments to higher animal welfare and certification from national restaurant chain Panera, leading meat brand Applegate, and regional distributor Happy Valley Meat Company.
Farms are the front line of this effort, so we’re providing user-friendly resources for farmers who want to transition to higher welfare practices and pursue substantive welfare certifications. In January, in collaboration with Vermont Law School’s Center for Agriculture and Food Systems (CAFS), we released the ASPCA/CAFS Farm Animal Welfare Certification Guide, a comprehensive guide for farmers seeking to better understand or obtain animal welfare certification.
Sustaining the Momentum
Clearly, there’s momentum in the farm animal welfare cause, and we hope it keeps advancing. As I expressed here in January, we hope President Trump’s pick for Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, will create and improve standards that protect the over nine billion animals raised for food in the U.S. each year.
That kind of action matches the public’s strong support of animal welfare, makes smart economic sense for food companies and farms, and reinforces compassion as a bona fide American value, though one that is continuously put to the test.
Matthew Bershadker is President and CEO of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).
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California’s drought may have ended but there is still work to be done. With the EPA running the risk of a full defunding under President Trump, research around water conservation is at risk. This is a critical moment for the people of California to save the valuable natural resource and create a more sustainable water ecosystem.
Californians waste too much water and the toll is being felt statewide. Water conservation may seem daunting but the process is rather simple. Reduce, reuse, and recycle water. If that doesn’t make sense, YouTuber and activist Rob Greenfield’s new video will break down just how easy it is.
Meet Brian Blum, a busy dad who uses water wisely by harvesting rainwater, and reuses it by sending the water from his washing machine and sinks to his garden. His house is run 100% by the solar panels on his roof, and he composts everything he can to increase the fertility of his land and keep waste from the landfill.
Brian wants a world where his daughter grows up experiencing the same beauty he did. His sustainable best practices are simple and routine but they ensure a happy, healthier earth.
Follow Brian’s example by making some small sustainable changes around your home. Save water. Reuse water. Look into solar panels. The earth will thank you for it.
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