Category: Pop Culture

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Enjoy Ice-T’s Totally Honest Twitter Film Reviews

Ice-T does it all. Rapper, actor, reality TV star, and now, film reviewer.

That’s right, the man himself offers simple, honest, to-the-point film reviews on Twitter and you should probably get on this train.

I’ve been a fan of Ice-T’s since my older brother gave me a copy of his album Power when I was only 10 years old. Boy, was that an eye-opener.

Here are some of his best film reviews.

1. Once Upon A Time…in Hollywood

2. The Town

3. Intruder

4. 50 Shades of Grey

5. Ma

6. Get Out

7. Black Panther

8. The Purge: Election Day

9. John Wick

10. Don’t Breathe

11. Baby Driver

12. Venom

13. Poltergeist

14. It Comes at Night

15. The Magnificent 7

Can’t wait to see what Ice-T does next!

The post Enjoy Ice-T’s Totally Honest Twitter Film Reviews appeared first on UberFacts.

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Enjoy Ice-T’s Totally Honest Twitter Film Reviews

Ice-T does it all. Rapper, actor, reality TV star, and now, film reviewer.

That’s right, the man himself offers simple, honest, to-the-point film reviews on Twitter and you should probably get on this train.

I’ve been a fan of Ice-T’s since my older brother gave me a copy of his album Power when I was only 10 years old. Boy, was that an eye-opener.

Here are some of his best film reviews.

1. Once Upon A Time…in Hollywood

2. The Town

3. Intruder

4. 50 Shades of Grey

5. Ma

6. Get Out

7. Black Panther

8. The Purge: Election Day

9. John Wick

10. Don’t Breathe

11. Baby Driver

12. Venom

13. Poltergeist

14. It Comes at Night

15. The Magnificent 7

Can’t wait to see what Ice-T does next!

The post Enjoy Ice-T’s Totally Honest Twitter Film Reviews appeared first on UberFacts.

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Scientists Are Starting to Understand the Real Dangers of Vaping

It’s hard, even in places that have banned cigarettes, to make it through a meal or a movie without a fruity-smelling cloud emanating from somewhere in the room. Have you noticed that?

And it’s very hard to convince anyone who loves vaping (or is addicted) that they should be more cautious with a technology that’s too new to have been thoroughly studied by health professionals in the field.

Smoking during the teen years is especially harmful to a still-growing brain – studies have previously shown that if a person can hold off smoking until they’re in their 20s, the chances of getting addicted reduce drastically. And while fewer teens than ever are trying traditional cigarettes, a disturbingly high – and growing – number of kids are vaping.

“Nicotine mimics the chemicals that brain cells use to communicate with each other and causes the brain to reconfigure itself. The nicotine molecule is shaped a lot like acetylcholine, which the nervous system uses to communicate, so it fakes out and overstimulates the nervous system. This rewiring of the brain is bad for adults, but it’s especially bad for young people because until around age 26, the brain is still developing. When you start messing up normal communication between nerves as the system is still being built, the adaptations are a lot more permanent.”

21% of high schoolers report using e-cigarettes. In 2011, that number was only 1.5%.

4.9% of middle schoolers are vaping, up from just .6% in 2011.

So, the problem is not only growing at an alarming rate, but levels of kids who are addicted to nicotine are reaching levels that should concern everyone, says Dr. Stanton Glantz.

“Our understanding of e-cigarettes is still accumulating, but at this point, we are pretty confident that e-cigarettes are at least two-thirds to three-fourths as bad as cigarettes. And remember, cigarettes are pretty horrible. Vaping is like, instead of jumping out the 40th story of a building, you’re jumping out of the 30th story.”

We’re starting to see evidence of this showing up in the news from around the country, too.

This summer, 8 Wisconsin teens were hospitalized with serious lung damage – some of whom found themselves on ventilators in the ICU – due to their vaping habits. A few weeks later, 4 Minnesota kids spent weeks in the hospital battling vaping-related lung troubles, after which the state’s public health department issued an official warning against the use of e-cigs.

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Then, an 18-year-old Florida student’s lung collapsed after regular JUUL use, and the FDA reports that they’ve received 127 reports of seizures and other neurological symptoms also related to vaping over the past 10 years. And there has now officially been a death caused by lung illness linked to vaping.

None of these types of issues were seen with traditional cigarettes – so what’s different about vaporized nicotine?

Cigarettes contain 69 known carcinogens, but the juice needed to get a nicotine buzz from an e-cig isn’t harmless – it also contains an assortment of chemicals that go straight into your lungs (and then into the air) that scientists are starting to realize can be as harmful (if not more).

The fact that kids are getting “nic sick” – experiencing nausea, headaches, lightheadedness, and vomiting, none of which was a side effect of traditional cigarettes – seems to point to the fact that the nicotine in e-cigs is ultra concentrated.

Stantz explains how and why these findings are possible – and super concerning.

“Free-base nicotine, which you get in a cigarette and an older-generation e-cigarette, is very alkaline and hard to inhale, so it triggers a gag reflex, which limits the amount of nicotine per puff. Juul transitioned to nicotine salt and added some acid to the e-liquid to make it less alkaline, as well as adding flavors. When you put all that together, it is much easier to inhale, so Juul devices deliver a much higher dose per puff.”

Setting aside the increased nicotine content there are more reasons that, even though they contain fewer known carcinogens than regular cigs, the e-cig vapor is just as dangerous.

“It consists of ultrafine particles that are about 100 times smaller than a human hair. These particles include acrolein and formaldehyde, as well as diacetyl, cinnamaldehyde, and other flavorants that are fine to eat but not to inhale as fine particles.”

In fact, Harvard researchers have discovered that diacetyl and its chemical cousin 2,3-pentanedione – found in 90 percent of e-cigarettes tested – do damage to the cilia lining the lungs and airways, which increases the risks of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

“E-cigarettes also include heavy metals like lead and silica. Their wicks often have silica, and when they wear out, you can get little particles of silica in the lungs, which is very harmful. Additionally, e-cigarettes disable normal functioning of macrophages, cells within the lungs that gobble up bacteria and other infectious agents we breathe in. When you disable them, you are more prone to infections.”

Like smoking old-school cigarettes, vaping also puts people at risk for cardiovascular issues, like heart disease, heart attacks, and strokes.

So, even though Glantz estimated that e-cigs are around 75% as harmful as smoking regular cigs, even he doesn’t think that number will stay the same as more research surfaces.

“With the data we should have about 3 or 4 years from now, I think we’ll find that e-cigarettes are equally as bad or worse in terms of overall health risks.”

Just say no, y’all, and if your kids are vaping or think it’s cool, please step in. It’s not harmless, and as with everything this big, bad world throws at your teen, it’s your job to help them mitigate as many risks as possible.

And vaping is a big one.

The post Scientists Are Starting to Understand the Real Dangers of Vaping appeared first on UberFacts.

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Enjoy These Magical Twitter Clapbacks from Harry Potter Author J.K. Rowling

When you’ve written a series of books that will live into eternity, there’s not much to lose – and not much random people can say on the internet that can bring you down.

For her part, J.K. Rowling has been out of f*cks to give for quite a while, and her responses to these 28 tweets proves my point.

28. Perfection.

27. He’s certainly being mean enough.

26. Oh, man.

25. All shouty and everything!

24. Tried and failed to not spit out my coffee.

23. Laterz.

22. A mantle worn with pride.

21. Is pasty bad?

20. That’s quite a mental picture.

19. Savage.

18. What a deal!

17. Rookie mistake.

16. “Anonymous hate frogs.” HAHAHA.

15. The sarcasm is strong.

14. Never going to happen.

13. When even Voldemort doesn’t want to be associated with you.

12. Quite possibly.

11. Standard author nightmare.

10. As if there was ever any doubt.

9. *spitake*

8. There it is.

7. That’s funny, I don’t care who you are.

6. Burrrnn.

5. She’s got an answer for everything.

4. Very reliable.

3. I mean that’s helpful.

2. A calling, really.

1. Savage

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Here’s Another Reason to Embrace Being Lazy: It’s Good for the Earth

Now this is good news!

In 2019, it’s not so unusual to have days where you only have to leave the sofa for pee breaks because entertainment, food, and social interaction all come to us via the internet. There are downsides to the new normal for many, but there’s also one big upside: it’s reducing our energy usage.

A new study by University of Texas researchers and published in Joule examined Bureau of Labor Statistics’ data and found that, between 2003 and 2012, people started to spend more time at home than time traveling to and from stores, restaurants, and work.

That means people weren’t burning fossil fuels tootling around town. And if they were working from home, office buildings were using less energy several days a year, too – in total, around 1.8% less energy in 2012 than in 2003 due to Americans embracing a more home-centric lifestyle.

Considering they used data from 2012, and all of the companies that have jumped on board for home delivery since then, those numbers have likely increased even more.

Only time will tell whether the gas required to deliver all of the essentials (and no-so-essential) goodies to your door causes fewer carbon emissions than everyone driving around getting goods themselves. Right now there isn’t enough data to say, though one study suggested whether you live in an urban or rural environment definitely plays a role.

We do know, though, that delivery trucks and ride-sharing apps are taking a toll on infrastructure, as they have added so many vehicles onto the road that cities are scrambling to keep pace. Drone delivery still presents an interesting alternative to using traditional fuels and existing roads, so perhaps if that idea comes to fruition, the scales will tip fully toward living the life of the hermit.

For now, maybe a good balance is the answer. After all, you still need sunlight and exercise, so you’ll have to go out occasionally.

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Here Are Some Tweets About Spiderman Leaving the Marvel Cinematic Universe

You were probably as shell-shocked as the rest of us were to learn that Disney’s rift with Sony meant that Tom Holland’s Spiderman (arguably the best iteration) would be getting the boot.

In order to make everyone laugh (to keep from crying), the internet has come through with some pitch-perfect tweets and memes.

13. Meme perfection.

12. Basically.

11. A common enemy is a powerful thing.

10. It’s extra rough when you can’t even drink.

9. The web-rope isn’t that strong.

8. I mean, if Stan Lee said it…

7. Chump change.

6. Just do it.

5. You’d think they’d learn.

4. I can see it.

3. Kids, man.

2. I can’t.

1. This made me laugh so hard.

It doesn’t take the hurt away, but it does help a little bit!

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Velcro Wants People to Stop Using the Term “Velcro” so They Dropped a Music Video

Velcro was invented in the early 1940s, but after losing its patent in the 1970s, the market was flooded with other “hook and loop” fasteners that, while not Velcro brand, were quickly labeled as such by the public.

Basically, anything that sticks together without adhesive is Velcro, right? Maybe, but once a term becomes “genericized” in that manner, the original company loses its trademark. Legal resource UpCounsel refers to this process as Genericide, because the original company – Velcro, in this instance – would lose not only their trademark, but their ability to stop other companies from using trademarked branding on non-Velcro products. And, thus, they’ll probably lose a whole lot of sales.

In a last-ditch and hilariously original attempt to hold onto their trademark, Velcro has released a music video pretty much begging the public to help them out by saying “hook and loop” instead of their company name.

While the word f*ck isn’t bleeped in the video, the other brand names are, and the people at Velcro are quick to say that they’re not only doing this for themselves, but for every former brand name that fell victim to being so ubiquitous and popular that it eventually spelled their financial death.

“I know that bleeped stuff is more fun to say, but if you keep saying it, our trademark goes away.”

The video is entertaining, catchy, and quite smart – so please, enjoy.

And you know, maybe we could give them a break? Because if nothing else, this whole thing is sort of depressing in its desperation, is it not?

Is it too late? Are people ever going to abandon the word “velcro” for “hook and loop?”

If the people at Velcro have anything to say about it…still probably no, but at least they can say they didn’t go down without a (musical) fight.

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5 Fan Theories About Harry Potter That Hit the Nail on the Head

Surprisingly, there was a time when the mysteries in Harry Potter were actually mysteries, and those of us reading (and then watching) along had to actually guess what was what and who was who.

Needless to say, in the end most of us were wrong.

But thanks to hindsight and the fact that J.K. Rowling is pretty available for questions (and sometimes answers) on Twitter, we know that these 5 people’s mystery-solving games were totally on point.

5. Magic is genetic. Usually.

Let’s take a little historical tour of J.K. Rowling’s comments on how one might or might not come to expect a Hogwarts letter on their 11th birthday, shall we?

In 1999, she said that “Nobody knows where magic comes from. It is like any other talent. Sometimes it seems to be inherited, but others are the only ones in their family who have the ability.”

Fans, however, picked up on the obsession some wizards had with “pure blood families,” leaving them to speculate that there had to be some genetic component to the talent.

Then, in 2012, Rowling addressed the issue of Squibs (non-magical people born to magical parents), stating that they’re rare in her world because “magic is a dominant and resilient gene.”

One biology major wrote a six-page paper on how magical ability could be attributed to “a single autosomal dominant gene if it is caused by an expansion of trinucleotide repeats with non-Mendelian ratios of inheritance,” and she’s joined by Duke University professor Eric Spana, who explained Muggle-borns like Lily and Hermione by way of de novo mutations (a genetic lottery).

4. There was more to Harry’s Invisibility Cloak that he knew at first.

Harry loved his invisibility cloak from the start, given that it was a hand-me-down from his deceased father, but at first he – and fans – had no reason to suspect that “exceedingly rare” meant “one-of-a-kind.”

But fans began suspecting there was more to the mysterious garment long before Ron recognized it as a Ignotus Peverell’s Cloak of Invisibility – and one of the Deathly Hallows – in the final book.

3. Harry and Ginny had a good reason for not naming their children after Remus Lupin.

Harry and Ginny’s children’s names honored a number of late and living loved ones, but fans immediately noticed that Remus Lupin was missing. Most were upset, but a few deep thinkers believed that perhaps they were saving Lupin’s name for someone else.

A fact Rowling affirmed, saying on Twitter that “Harry left Remus’s name for Teddy to use for his own son.”

2. The romantic relationship between Grindelwald and Dumbledore.

While most fans’ “ships” (relationships) don’t ever come to fruition on the page or on screen, the teen romance between Grindelwald and Dumbledore didn’t disappoint.

In 2007, Rowling revealed that Dumbledore was both gay and “in love with Grindelwald,” a plot point that has made an appearance-ish in the latest Fantastic Beasts movie.

Oh happy day!

1. That Harry would both die AND live.

One of the most enduring questions of the series became this: would Harry earn the title of The Boy Who Lived a second time, or would he die in order to save the world from Voldemort’s rebirth? The prophecy that stated “either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives” certainly made sacrifice seem unavoidable, but some fans guessed early on that there might be a third option.

Harry does die and cross into the afterlife, but he also returns. The best of both worlds? Maybe!

 

We nailed it guys, good work all around.

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Meet the Real People Behind 5 Iconic Company Logos

There are images you’ve seen throughout your life repeatedly, but you probably haven’t given them any thought, right? The Gerber baby. The person on the POW/MIA flag.

These are all based on real people, so let’s meet the people behind the icons.

1. The Gerber baby

For a long time, nobody knew the identity of the Gerber baby. It turned out that the adorable little face belongs to Ann Turner Cook, a mystery novelist who is now 92 years old. Cook’s neighbor was artist Dorothy Hope Smith, who sketched her for Gerber.

2. POW/MIA flags

You’ve no doubt seen this flag countless times. Artist Newt Heisley used his son Jeffrey, who was 24 years old at the time, as his model. Jeffrey was home on leave from the Marine Corps officer candidate program and was suffering from hepatitis at the time. His father thought that with his close haircut and gaunt look he would make a good model for the iconic flag.

3. Columbia Pictures logo

28 year old Jenny Joseph modeling for Columbia Pictures’ logo. @doctorow Cool find. The artist who painted her was…

Posted by Boing Boing on Saturday, May 28, 2016

In 1992, Columbia hired Michael Deas to paint the company’s famous logo. Deas interviewed all kinds of models but couldn’t settle on one that he liked. A friend suggested Jenny Joseph, who wasn’t a model, but who instead worked as a graphic artist at The Times-Picayune of New Orleans. Deas found his muse, and it was the first and last time that Jenny Joseph ever modeled.

4. The NBA logo

Who could it be? My first guess was John Stockton, for some reason. But no, it’s actually Jerry West, known as “Mr. Clutch”, who played in the NBA for the Lakers from 1960-1974.

5. KFC

That lovable Colonel Sanders that we all recognize was actually a real person. Colonel Harland David Sanders (1890-1980) sold fried chicken out of his roadside restaurant in Kentucky during the Great Depression. He opened the first KFC franchise in Utah in 1952, and I think you know the rest of the story.

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10 Facts About Sophie Turner You Should Check out

Sophie Turner is HUGE right now. The 23-year-old actress became a household name on the HBO blockbuster Game of Thrones and since then she’s hit the big screen in X-Men: Apocalypse and X-Men Dark Phoenix, playing Jean Grey.

She’s also married to singer Joe Jonas, and her profile is bigger than ever right now. But there’s still a lot you probably don’t know about the woman who brought the unforgettable character of Sansa Stark to life.

Here are 10 facts about her.

1. Working-class roots

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On #WorldChildrensDay it’s exciting for me to announce my collaboration with #LVforUNICEF to design a friendship bracelet. I want to explain the significance of the colors and also the charm that I designed. As we know, LV is known for being a brand all about travel and so the brands identity itself is important when collaborating with a charity that is prevalent all over the world. It’s all about bringing people together. I wanted my bracelet to hold luck for all the children whom the proceeds from this bracelet go to. So I wanted to integrate the idea of luck and also inclusion of many countries and cultures. I wanted to have the braids made of two colours; red and white. Red is considered a lucky colour in China. And the white coincides with my idea for having the little circular charm on the bracelet, a rabbit. A. Because WHITE rabbits are considered very lucky in the UK and a rabbit foot is considered lucky in many parts of Europe, China, Africa, North and South America. It also has a little bit of me on there because I have the same rabbit designed tattooed on my arm by @curtmontgomerytattoos #MAKEAPROMISE ? ✈ ?

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Although Turner is now a huge Hollywood star, she comes from a working-class family in Chesterton, Warwickshire, England. Her mother was a teacher and her father worked for a company that delivered pallets to warehouses.

2. In the mud

She was well-prepared for all the mud and muck on the set of Game of Thrones. Turner said, “My childhood was pretty fun. We had pigsties, barns, and a paddock, and used to muck around in the mud.”

3. Big screen jump

Her big-screen debut was in 2013 with the independent thriller Another Me. Her co-stars included Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Claire Forlani, and Rhys Ifans.

4. Competition

In order to land the role of Jean Grey in the X-Men movies, Turner had to beat out many other actresses who were considered for the role, including Elle Fanning, Hailee Steinfeld, Saoirse Ronan, and Margot Robbie.

5. That’s strange…

Posted by Sophie Turner on Saturday, June 15, 2019

Turner takes over the Jean Grey role from actress Famke Janssen, and the two surprisingly have a few things in common. Neither are natural redheads and they’re both exactly one inch taller than the actor who plays their love interest, Cyclops.

Tye Sheridan is 5’8” and Sophie Turner is 5’9”. James Marsden is 5’10”, while Janssen is 5’11”

6. Inked

Turner and her Game of Thrones co-star Maisie Williams are very close offscreen. So much so that they have matching tattoos. They both have “07.08.09” tattoos, which is the date they both learned they were cast on the hit show.

7. Furry friend

No, direwolves don’t really exist – but during the filming of GOT, Turner fell so in love with the Northern Inuit dog playing her direwolf on the show that she ended up adopting the pup, whose name is Zunni.

8. Slide into my DMs

It’s hard to get away from social media these days, and that even applies to big Hollywood stars. Turner and Joe Jonas had a few friends on Instagram and Jonas decided to direct message her for a chat one evening. And the rest is history…

9. Take some time off

The final season of GOT received mixed reviews from fans and critics, and Turner took the negative criticism very personally. She took it so hard that she revealed it had caused her major depression and in the spring of 2019 she would take a break from acting.

10. A young star

Turner has been interested in acting from a very young age. She joined a well-known children’s theater company when she was only 3-years-old.

She’s a lifer!

The post 10 Facts About Sophie Turner You Should Check out appeared first on UberFacts.