Shared posts

01 Dec 18:54

Ivanka Trump's Proposal to Speak Out On Climate Change Makes No Sense in About Five Different Ways

by Joanna Rothkopf on The Slot, shared by Anna Merlan to Jezebel
IKEA Monkey

Doesn't her dad deny climate change is even real

On Thursday, Politico reported that incoming first daughter Ivanka Trump— who is currently in the position to be the most powerful first daughter in modern history—is currently figuring out a way to use her platform to speak out about a pet issue of hers: climate change. As we’re all aware, there are a few issues with…

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01 Dec 18:34

'Populist' Trump fills Cabinet with billionaires and Wall Street tycoons

by Paul Waldman
IKEA Monkey

Drain that swamp! Also, holy shit, this guy Mnuchin was the guy who bought IndyMac. IndyMac used to be a client of mine when I worked in the background check industry. They were super shady. They hired ANYBODY and I mean ANYBODY. We had a whole system with the BI firm I worked for. You did a BI check, and it passed with either a green flag (good to hire), yellow flag (needs review) or red flag (do not recommend hiring). We set these metrics up according to a company's OWN CRITERIA, NOT OURS (this is important.)

Anyway, IndyMac set criteria and then did everything they could to get around it. They wanted zero red flags. Like literally that is what they told me once, "We don't want any red flags unless absolutely necessary" - meaning, like, as long as you weren't currently murdering someone, you didn't get a "red flag".

When working in financial industries, its very important to have trustworthy people managing your money. Our background checks were part of the hiring process and were really good at flagging candidates that probably weren't a good fit for that role (not to say they were bad people or didn't deserve jobs; they just probably shouldn't have been in charge of giving out loans.)

Anyway, IndyMac hired and hired and hired. They gave out loan after shady loan. And then they were directly indicted for tanking the economy because of it. And this guy - Mnuchin - was at the head of the beast.

Drain that swamp.

Donald Trump has named Steve Mnuchin — a Goldman Sachs alum and hedge fund manager — to be his secretary of the Treasury, in keeping with his repeated promise to take on Wall Street and the powers-that-be on behalf of the little guy.

So can we stop pretending that Trump's campaign "populism" was...

01 Dec 18:25

Trump Voters Tell CNN They’re Sure ‘Millions of Illegals Voted’ Because They Saw It on Facebook

by Gabrielle Bluestone on The Slot, shared by Joanna Rothkopf to Jezebel
IKEA Monkey

holy shit

This morning CNN anchor Alisyn Camerota hosted a panel discussion with five Trump supporters, who calmly explained to her that evidence of voter fraud was everywhere “in the media” and could be found on Google or Facebook if she was willing to look. It’s a fascinating albeit sobering look at the thought processes…

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01 Dec 18:15

Prince Harry Met Rihanna and They Took an HIV Test Together 

by Kelly Faircloth
IKEA Monkey

OMG he is so pumped to meet her

Prince Harry’s tour of the Caribbean has continued with a stop in Barbados, and he lived everybody’s dream trip to the island when he met Rihanna.

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01 Dec 17:40

Newswire: Vegan wrath rains down upon Britain’s new £5 note

by Randall Colburn
IKEA Monkey

Let's re-write the headline! How about, "Vegans have beef with meaty new money"

Animal fat is a versatile thing. You can use it to make soap, candles, or even an industrial lubricant. So when the Bank of England decided to introduce a new £5 note made of thin, waterproof plastic, they thought it couldn’t hurt to use a bit of tallow to ensure a smooth feed through ATMs and the like.

They were wrong. After confirming the use of “a trace of tallow” in a tweet on Monday, The Washington Post reported on the immediate backlash from vegetarians and animal rights activists.

“I go to a lot of trouble to avoid animal products,” one user tweeted. “Going to start refusing them.” A spokeswoman for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals chimed ...

01 Dec 16:29

Everything bagel, chives cream cheese, sliced cucumbers, capers...

IKEA Monkey

I can't wait to go to NYC later this month. I'm gonna go to Russ & Daughters and PIG. OUT.



Everything bagel, chives cream cheese, sliced cucumbers, capers and smoked lox. 📷: @ibitefood /📍: Sadelle’s, NYC #forkyeah http://ift.tt/2gJSSs0

01 Dec 16:22

My World Of Flops: Canceled right off the bat? You betcha! case file #75: Sarah Palin’s Alaska

by Nathan Rabin
IKEA Monkey

when Nathan Rabin is bitchy, he is BITCHY.

My World Of Flops is Nathan Rabin’s survey of books, television shows, musical releases, or other forms of entertainment that were financial flops, critical failures, or lack a substantial cult following.

Throughout his utterly singular, awful campaign, pundits speculated as to what Donald Trump’s endgame in running for presidency might be. It never occurred to the vast majority of the media that Trump’s endgame in running for president involved actually serving as president. That was just too too far-fetched. Donald Trump as president of the United States? What’s next, the Cubs winning the World Series?

A popular and plausible theory was that Trump was laying the groundwork for an all-news channel to the right of Fox News. Trump spent the campaign loudly decrying the dishonesty and bias of the media everywhere he went. At the same time, he was cozying up to Breitbart, the house organ ...

01 Dec 15:22

Mariah Carey Eats Two Things, and Only Two Things

by Bobby Finger
IKEA Monkey

Spoiler alert: Her "diet" is "Norweigan salmon and capers".

This is a short one, buds, but definitely worthy of being today’s top story. In an interview with E!, the network that will soon be airing her reality show, the elusive and newly single Mariah Carey revealed her current diet. “It’s really hard,” she told the E!’s Zuri Hall. “My diet, you would hate it. All you eat…

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01 Dec 12:31

Reddit Is Tearing Itself Apart

by Bryan Menegus on Gizmodo, shared by Kate Dries to Jezebel
IKEA Monkey

Reddit is a cesspool. Wrestle with pigs, you end up covered in shit and the pig actually likes it.

For the past 11 years, an eternity in internet time, Reddit has touted itself—repeatedly, and loudly—as the place to have “authentic conversations” online. For a variety of reasons, that sentiment has always rang hollow. Now, Reddit, in its goal to be a laissez-faire haven of (relatively) free expression, has been…

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01 Dec 01:44

Newswire: Belle And Sebastian want you for the cover of a new EP

by Sam Barsanti
IKEA Monkey

I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE

Being on the cover of Nirvana’s Nevermind has turned into a pretty good gig for that one baby, who can now check in with the media every few years to show what he looks like and prove he hasn’t died, and now Belle And Sebastian is looking for 50 volunteers to get the same sort of treatment for a new series of vinyl EPs. There’s no guarantee these EPs will be as culturally important as Nevermind, but it’s not like that baby had any idea that photo of him being naked in a pool would become as iconic as it is. You never know what might happen.

Anyway, this comes from Pitchfork, which reports that the band has set up an open casting call on its website for fans to submit headshots. Frontman Stuart Murdoch wants 50 volunteers who are “a representation of the population,” and ...

01 Dec 01:42

Dry aged steaks with award winning St Agur cheese. 📷: @jasoneats...

IKEA Monkey

Cheese on good steak like this - yay or nay? I kind of say nay. I like a good steak to stand on its own.



Dry aged steaks with award winning St Agur cheese. 📷: @jasoneats #forkyeah http://ift.tt/2fK0LsV

30 Nov 23:35

All the Shit You Have to Deal with Walking Alone as a Woman

by VICE Staff
IKEA Monkey

Amazing how many women are like "yeah, a guy attacked me, or groped me" but their attitude is more weary resignation than outrage and anger. Its just so, so common.

Image by Flickr user Transformer18via

As a woman walking around the city alone at night, it often feels like there's not much you can do if some creep decides to follow you around and harass you. But many women try to find a way to deal with feeling unsafe—to project an aura that will stop the harassment from happening. A brisk and confident step, eyes on the pavement, and a hand in the pocket of your coat, clutching your phone.

To see how women from different countries in Europe deal with street harassment, VICE offices across the continent asked women from 13 cities if and where they feel unsafe alone at night, and how they deal with that feeling.

PARIS, FRANCE

Marie, 26, student

VICE: Are there places in Paris where you don't feel safe alone at night?
Marie: Mostly in the wealthier Parisian neighborhoods, actually, because the streets are mostly empty at that time and no one will notice if you're attacked. But I have to say taking the tube at night is probably the worst.

Why is that?
Aside from all the general discomfort of being in a closed carriage underground with loads of other people, I've also had some particularly nasty experiences there. One time, while I was waiting on the platform, some guy tried to push me on the tracks. I've had a few pervs on the subway masturbating in front of me, and another time this maniac with a razor blade in his bloody hands followed me around.

So how do you deal with that?
I just leave the station when I don't feel safe. It's an ordeal to walk alone at night as a girl. There's always some asshole who makes a comment. Especially if you're wearing heels—the noise they make when you walk attracts creeps.

MILAN, ITALY

Lidia, 25, accountant

VICE: Are there any streets or areas in Milan you're afraid to go by yourself at night?
Lidia: I generally don't feel unsafe, but I'm more cautious when I'm in a rougher neighborhood or an isolated suburb where there aren't many people around. Ironically, I've experienced the most harassment in more central and busier areas of the city.

What kind of things happened?
Just a couple of months ago on the train home, a man sitting across from me unzipped his trousers and popped his dick out. That wasn't the first time that happened to me—it was the fourth time, actually. So it didn't exactly shock me, but I did change seats.

Do you think you've become a bit desensitized?
I don't think the fear of something bad happening will ever stop me from walking around at night. But it's very unsettling that so many women go through this on a daily basis—that getting harassed is basically the norm.

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM

Pria, 29, nail technician

VICE: Do you feel safe walking around London on your own at night?
Pria: Usually I do, yeah. I live in East Ham, where it can be a little bit dodgy. So it's sometimes a bit scary—especially at night.

Is there anything you do to make yourself feel safer?
I purposely don't have my headphones on and don't make eye contact. If I'm alone and I see someone coming who makes me uncomfortable, I put my phone away and cross the road.

Has anything in particular ever happened to you that put you off walking around alone at night?
I've never had something really bad happen to me in that sense, which is why I'm kind of OK walking around alone. I'm from Derbyshire, and I generally feel safer in the little town I'm from, but there's still dodgy people. I sometimes feel safer in London because the streets are busier—if anything does happen, there are more people around.

BERLIN, GERMANY

Gisa, 28, shop owner

VICE: Do you feel unsafe in Berlin?
Gisa: I've never seriously feared for my safety. But Berlin does have plenty of areas where I can feel a bit unsafe. I'm often out at strange hours, which means I cross paths with strange people.

Where does that happen?
At Hermannplatz in Neukölln, for example. Some guy followed me around in broad daylight there, spewing sexist shit at me. I think he wasn't quite right in the head.

But that doesn't affect your general feeling of safety?
No, I generally feel safe, especially when I'm riding my bike. I think people should stop being so scared—Berlin isn't as bad as everyone thinks.

BUCHAREST, ROMANIA

Elena, 30, co-founder NGO

VICE: Is there any particular area in Bucharest where you feel unsafe at night?
Elena: I feel unsafe at Saint George's Square at night, which is in the heart of Bucharest. It's weird there, with a lot of abandoned houses and squatters. And something happened there last summer.

What happened?
I was walking to my car there around 5 PM when some guy jumped me from behind. He grabbed my breasts and my mouth, and he violently pulled me back. A guy who was supervising the parking lot came to help me and scared my assailant off. He didn't seem homeless or confused, and if he had just wanted to rob me, he would have grabbed my purse instead of my body.

Do you think Bucharest is particularly unsafe for women alone at night?
Well, you frequently have to deal with verbal harassment, but there's also the cultural notion that's like, "What was she doing alone outside at that hour, and why was she wearing a skirt?" And next to that, there's this Romanian idea of, "I just slapped her, it's not like I killed her." So street harassment isn't a big thing for people who think like that.

BARCELONA, SPAIN

Uda, 22, flyerer

VICE: Do you sometimes feel unsafe while walking home alone at night?
Uda: A lot of the time, not just at night. Men have catcalled me, asked for my number, harassed me.

Is there a particular place in Barcelona where you'd rather not go by yourself?
It's actually worse in places a bit outside of the city of Barcelona—in Badalona or Mataró , for example. There are so many guys living there who have no jobs, nothing to do all day, and just hang around pestering girls who happen to pass by.

Why do you think Spain can be an unsafe place for women alone at night?
It's probably related to machismo culture, which is still very present in Spain. But it depends on the guy, of course. I'm Muslim, and I find that there is still a lot of gender inequality among my community. I don't think that has anything to do with religion—it's a cultural issue, a question of upbringing. My father doesn't have a macho mindset at all, but my boyfriend does. He doesn't like seeing me go out on my own or with friends.

BELGRADE, SERBIA

Sofija, 19, student

VICE: Do you avoid walking around alone at night in certain areas in the city?
Sofija: Yes, I avoid any street that isn't in the center, ones that have no street lights or people in them. Basically any streets that aren't main roads. I suppose we all try to prevent anything bad happening to us.

So how do you get home at night?
I never walk home alone. Either I take a taxi, or I sleep over at a friend's or my sister's.

Why?
It can be scary alone if it's dark, and I don't want anything to happen to me. I've heard a lot of stories. I live in the suburbs, but I study in Belgrade, and I heard that this girl who always took the same way home as me was raped.

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN

Ida, 24, travels around

VICE: Is there a particular street in Stockholm you won't go by yourself at night?
Ida: Not really. I don't feel very safe near the Central Station. There's more police there now, but generally a lot of stuff happens there.

Have you experienced anything particularly threatening when you've been out alone at night?
Not really. I've felt pretty vulnerable when I'm on the tube, and there aren't many people there. But I usually wear a hoodie, and my style is pretty gender neutral, so I'm sometimes mistaken for a dude. I've experienced a lot of aggression by men who assume I'm a guy and want to pick a fight with me.

How do you think you could feel safer?
Being a man would help. Anybody can get jumped or robbed, but there is another dimension of fear that I don't think cis men can ever understand or experience in the same way. And more education on the subject would be a good start, too.

VIENNA, AUSTRIA

Anna*, 20, student

VICE: Is there an area in Vienna you're uncomfortable being by yourself at night?
Anna*: I live in the suburbs, and on Mondays, I'm never home before 9 PM. My stop on the railway is usually quite deserted at that time of day—aside from older men, who have been total creeps to me there in the past.

What did they do?
They asked me what I was doing there all by myself, made some crude and inappropriate comments, or sometimes just asked me to come home with them.

What do you do when that happens?
I try to shake them off by walking fast and confidently. If that doesn't work, I tell them I don't have time for a chat and am going home alone. Luckily that has always done the trick so far.

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND

Carmela, 42, full-time mom

VICE: Is there an area in Zurich you try to avoid when you're by yourself at night?
Carmela: I don't like walking down Langstrasse in Zurich's party and red light district at night. I even feel unsafe there during the day. If anything would happen to you in Zurich, it would be there. And I've heard about a lot of things happening in suburbs like Schwamendingen. That just makes me instinctively avoid the area.

Have you experienced anything particularly bad that makes you feel unsafe now?
I've never been involved in a particular incident, no. I've lived in Zurich for 16 years, and luckily nothing traumatic ever happened. I guess that's also because I've always lived in areas that are generally pretty safe.

AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS

Natasja, 29, student

VICE: Are there places or neighborhoods you tend to avoid when you're alone at night?
No, I developed thick skin growing up in Amsterdam. Once, on the train at night, a man sat next to me and started touching me where his hands didn't belong. I yelled at him, and he ran to the next carriage. For a little while I sat next to women on the train if I had the choice, but I don't carry the experience around with me anymore.

What do you do to avoid being harassed?
Well, one very superficial thing is consider the way you dress. Today I'm dressed pretty boyish and not much happens on the street. That changes when I'm wearing something more feminine.

WARSAW, POLAND

Carolina, 22, student

VICE: Is there a place or a street in Warsaw you're not comfortable walking around alone at night?
When I first arrived in Poland, I lived in Żoliborz, in the newer part of . I had to pass a lot of unlit construction sites there, and I often felt like someone was watching or following me.

Why do you think women feel unsafe walking alone?
Women are perceived as being weaker than men. It might be easier to rob or harass a woman because you think she won't fight back. There's a greater chance a man will. After I played a concert in a club with my band once, I was packing up the instruments, and, as I lifted one of the cases, the club owner asked me: "Isn't that too heavy for a woman?"

ATHENS, GREECE

Sofia, 18, student

VICE: Is there any street in Athens you're afraid to walk down alone at night?Sofia: Nothing ever happened to me, but I'm afraid to walk by myself. Even when I'm at a friend's, I call my brother and ask him to pick me up. It's not a particular street I'm afraid of—just dark, narrow alleys. I never used to go out alone. If I needed to go, let's say, from Ilion to Peristeri, I had to be with someone. It's gotten better now, though.

Where does that come from?
I don't know. You hear things on TV, your parents warn you. My father always tells me not to walk home by myself but call my brother or him. It's how I was raised.

30 Nov 17:40

Mitt Romney Had Dinner With Donald Trump and Everything's Fine With Them Now 

by Megan Reynolds
IKEA Monkey

This is the most uncomfortable picture ever. Trump is just using this presidency to go after everyone who spoke out against them and to dangle them off a ledge until they tell him what he wants to hear. Humiliating and embarrassing. Sad!

Exceedingly polite hypocrite Mitt Romney sat down for a meal with orange idiot Donald Trump and Reince Priebus Tuesday night. God knows what transpired during that meal, but reports from the press pool immediately after the dinner confirm that ol’ Mittens now has “increasing hope” that a Trump presidency could steer…

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30 Nov 17:02

Aged beef cheeseburger topped with a mountain of chopped pork....

IKEA Monkey

I can tell i'm getting old because the first thing I thought of was "oye, the sodium. I'd be able to feel my pulse in my hands."



Aged beef cheeseburger topped with a mountain of chopped pork. Would you? 📷: @toms_big_eats /📍: @7boneburgerco #forkyeah http://ift.tt/2fAbP0x

30 Nov 01:33

Tom Price: 'Not One' Woman Struggled to Afford Birth Control

by Olga Khazan
IKEA Monkey

Just what the birth control "argument" needs - more opinions from a man who will literally never need to worry about birth control

President-elect Donald Trump announced his pick to head the Health and Human Services Department on Tuesday: House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price, a Republican from Georgia and a fierce opponent of abortion, the Affordable Care Act, and the law’s birth-control mandate.

Perhaps Price opposes the provision, which covers birth control without a copay, because he believes it to be unnecessary. In 2012, he made comments suggesting all women can afford birth control:

At the 2012 Conservative Political Action Conference, Think Progress reporter Scott Keyes asked Price, “One of the main sticking points is whether or not contraceptive coverage is going to be covered under health insurance plans and at hospitals and whether they’re going to be able to pay for it, especially low-income women … where do we leave these women if this rule is rescinded?”

“Bring me one woman who has been left behind. Bring me one. There’s not one,” Price replied. “The fact of the matter is this is a trampling on religious freedom and religious liberty in this country.”

Price’s stated reason, that the mandate infringes on religious liberties, is a common one among conservatives. It's worth noting, however, that Obamacare doesn’t require anyone to buy or use birth control.

Actually, before contraceptives were added as a mandatory benefit under Obamacare, millions of women had trouble affording it. A survey commissioned by the Planned Parenthood Action Fund in 2010, before the mandate went into effect, found that a third of women struggled with the cost of prescription birth control— their co-pays ranged from $15 to $50 a month. Earlier surveys found poor women were more likely to use less-costly, and less-effective, methods of birth control, such as withdrawal or the rhythm method, rather than IUDs and the pill. The rapid decline in the teen pregnancy rate in recent years is largely thought to be due to the proliferation of free long-term reversible contraceptives, which can cost hundreds of dollars if not covered by insurance.

What’s more, even now that birth control is supposedly covered without cost, not all women are eligible for the discount, including millions of women who are uninsured or in the Medicaid coverage gap.

After the release of the clip in 2012, news sites quickly rounded up scores of women who said they had trouble affording birth control.

“Right after college when I got kicked off my parents' insurance, I couldn't afford it and had to stop taking it,” a 26-year-old named Lucille told Good magazine at the time. “As a result, I had a few unnecessary ‘scares’ that wouldn't have been ‘scares’ at all if I had the pill."

If Price helps Trump to achieve his goal of repealing and replacing Obamacare—without the contraceptive mandate—there may be many women like Lucille who have to stop taking their newly-expensive birth control.

29 Nov 14:05

Brazilian soccer team's plane crashes in Colombia; 71 dead

by Tribune news services
IKEA Monkey

Oh how sad :(

Colombia's worst air crash in two decades snuffed out a storybook run by a Brazilian soccer team, and authorities are digging in trying to figure out why a chartered jetliner crashed in the Andes, killing all but six of the 77 people aboard.

The country's aviation agency said Tuesday that the British...

29 Nov 03:46

11 Twisted Facts About ‘The Far Side’

by Mark Mancini
IKEA Monkey

I love the Stegosaurus fact

Offbeat, macabre, and sometimes controversial.

29 Nov 02:13

Lupita Nyong’o Performs Gross-Out Standup Routines for Pedestrians Who’ve Been Intimidated By Billy Eichner

by Moze Halperin
IKEA Monkey

I know its not everyone's kind of humor but I fucking love BIllly Eichner and Lupita is so, so game for anything. The last guy is hilarious though.

Lupita Nyong’o is the guest on this week’s Billy on the Street, and as usual, the titular Billy had an amusing and mildly embarrassing task for her for his “lightning round.” Nyong’o’s prompt is to perform standup comedy for pedestrians — who, again as usual, had been intimidated into listening by Billy Eichner’s yelling/height.

Eichner is great at playing off the media’s/public’s perceptions of celebrities — as was seen in Julianne Moore’s segment where she wanders around the city slipping between her extremely varied past characters on the spot. Here, he and Nyong’o seemingly toy with the way the Academy Award winning actress is so often described as the picture of elegance and poise in media coverage, with the selection of (mostly quite bad) scatological or other-kind-of-gross bodily jokes she recites — quite unconvincingly.

The first unsuspecting victim (but, really, also, very lucky person) of Billy on the Street participation is a woman who got to hear Nyong’o recite Bob Saget’s routine begging people to “please, please, never fuck a goat.” The second passersby are presented with a hilariously flat recitation of a Louis C.K. routine that begins, “I love to shit.” From there, she moves on to a couple of, erm, gems from Andrew Dice Clay, regaling two women with joke about a uterus falling out.

Watch (and catch the episode tomorrow night on TruTV at 10:30 p.m.):

29 Nov 00:39

Study: Depression Up Among Teenage Girls Able To Perceive Any...

IKEA Monkey

Too real



Study: Depression Up Among Teenage Girls Able To Perceive Any Part Of World Around Them

WALTHAM, MA—Calling it nothing short of a mental health crisis for the group, a study published Monday in The New England Journal Of Medicine found that depression was up sharply among teenage girls able to perceive any part of the world around them. “Our research has shown a significant increase in anxiety and depression among 13- to 19-year-old girls who are capable of taking in stimuli from their surroundings and processing them into an understanding of the outside world,” said study author Natalie Ogilvy, adding that an ability to observe day-to-day existence, comprehend media, or register any of their own personal experiences were among some of the strongest predictors of emotional difficulties for teenage girls­. “In addition, we noticed even more pronounced depressive symptoms among female adolescents who not only can perceive their environment, but who also have the capacity to retain memories of what they have witnessed. Teenage girls who are able to imagine themselves even seconds into their future circumstances were the most vulnerable of them all.” While depression peaked among teenage girls able to perceive the world around them, the researchers also found that it manifested itself in early childhood or even infancy, particularly among newborn girls able to open their eyes.

28 Nov 22:24

Amazon's Kicking Off Cyber Monday With a 40" Sony 1080p TV For $150

by Shep McAllister on Deals, shared by Shep McAllister to Lifehacker
IKEA Monkey

If it ain't 4K I don't want it anywhere near me

A 40" TV might be a little small for your home theater, but it could be perfect for a bedroom, kitchen, or garage, and Amazon’s kicking off Cyber Monday with a 1080p Sony for a paltry $150.

Read more...

28 Nov 17:59

Reminder: If A Retailer Sends You Something You Didn’t Order, You Can Keep It

by Mary Beth Quirk
IKEA Monkey

One time I ordered flowers for my mom from 1-800-FLOWERS. The special deal was 20 tulips for $20 and with a promo code I got another 20 tulips for free, so 40 tulips for $20. I'm still not exactly sure what happened, but 1800FLOWERS sent my mom 80 tulips and only charged me $20. I called to make sure they hadn't double-charged me and they were like "oops our bad, enjoy the flowers!"

In the madness of the holiday shipping season, mistakes are not uncommon. Sometimes, lucky shoppers find themselves on the winning end of those mistakes, like when you get 99 extra knives or when a retailer sends four iPods instead of one. So what’s an honest consumer to do?

To put it simply: you can keep it. According to the Federal Trade Commission, you have a legal right to keep unordered merchandise and consider it a free gift. That’s because federal law prohibits mailing unordered merchandise to consumers and then demanding payment.

This question came up recently for Consumerist reader M., who says she ordered an iPad for her mother during Target.com’s Black Friday promotions. Her mom ended up with two iPads instead of one, and she asked Consumerist what she should do — how could she trust that the returned item would be put back into Target’s inventory if she brought it to a store? Would she get an accidental refund on the item if she initiated the return process online?

We reached out to Target for answers to her questions, and will update this post when we hear back.

In the meantime, though you’re not legally obligated to tell the seller, if your conscience is pushing you in that direction, the FTC suggests that you notify the seller and offer to return the merchandise, so long as the seller is the one who will pay for all of the return shipping.

“Give the seller a specific and reasonable amount of time (say 30 days) to pick up the merchandise or arrange to have it returned at no expense to you,” reads the FTC’s FAQ on this topic. “Tell the seller that you reserve the right to keep the merchandise or dispose of it after the specified time has passed.”

Consumerist reader M. is far from alone in receiving merchandise she never asked — or paid — for:

• There was the time Williams Sonoma sent a customer 99 knives though he only wanted one;

• The Consumerist reader who received an Amazon package that was intended for a person who previously lived at his address;

• The Lululemon customer who received 19 extra running hats in the mail and was told to keep them all;

• The shopper who ordered one iPod Touch from Walmart and instead, got five devices in the mail;

• And then there was the year Best Buy seemed intent on sending folks five iPads instead of only one — not once, but at least twice, to two different shoppers.

Was this helpful? We’re a non-profit! You can get more stories like this in our twice weekly ad-free newsletter! Click here to sign up.

28 Nov 04:45

TV Club: Insecure dedicates itself to black female friendships in a strong finale

by Ashley Ray-Harris
IKEA Monkey

I binged-watched this over the weekend and I really, really loved it.

“Broken As Fuck” is a declarative end for Insecure’s first season. While the show has been picked up for a second season, the finale brings some relationships to definitive conclusions. Issa may be a character plagued by her inability to make decisions, but Insecure’s first season has made it clear that her circumstances are entirely different from when we first saw her in the pilot. It would’ve been easy for the show to fall back on the safety of its lightheartedness and reunite both Issa and Lawrence and Issa and Molly, but “Broken As Fuck” isn’t playing any games. Issa and Lawrence are done.

The episode picks up almost exactly where “Real As Fuck” left off. Issa is incredibly depressed, her apartment is a mess and she hasn’t stopped calling Lawrence to apologize. Until Issa shows up at Lawrence’s office, I thought there was ...

28 Nov 04:06

Cavatelli Gratin: Baked pasta, fresh ricotta, Gruyére, panko,...

IKEA Monkey

Cavatelli/Cavatappi is the best mac and cheese pasta



Cavatelli Gratin: Baked pasta, fresh ricotta, Gruyére, panko, jalapeño. Not your average mac & cheese. 📍: @nickelanddiner, NYC #forkyeah http://ift.tt/2gzZlmN

26 Nov 20:06

Dirty Birds: Thanksgiving Food Porn, Literally

by Lazy Mom
IKEA Monkey

sure, ok.

We asked LAZY MOM, a food-centric art duo, to create a Thanksgiving-themed photo essay for us, based on the simple prompt: "Give us some DIRTY BIRDS!" This is what they sent us...

This holiday season, it isn't just the turkey that needs stuffing. While some mothers are preparing wholesome feasts for their families, LAZY MOM is working out her sexual frustration in the kitchen.

It's been a while, and intimate contact with the raw meat is unexpectedly cathartic. She binds and tenderizes it, becoming more and more aroused. Although untraditional, she feels compelled to incorporate long, pink hot dogs into the meal—no fancy stuffings here.

For dessert, she just can't resist the smell—or touch—of the cherry pie fresh out of the oven. Society will judge her and call her a bad mother, but she really doesn't care. She's got a turkey to punish.





For more of Lazy Mom's work, visit their website here and follow them on Instagram and Twitter.

26 Nov 19:32

Remember when pizza parties were a thing? Can we bring those...

IKEA Monkey

2017: Bring pizza parties back



Remember when pizza parties were a thing? Can we bring those back? 📷: @pizza_jew #forkyeah http://ift.tt/2gvLDBu

25 Nov 06:14

For one Uptown couple, this Thanksgiving means family

by Leonor Vivanco
IKEA Monkey

*crying*

This Thanksgiving will be particularly special for Roger Farquharson and Joe Grissom, who are spending their first Thanksgiving as the adoptive parents of 3-year-old Kiel and his 5-year-old sister, Asia.

Although the Uptown couple have considered themselves parents since the day newborn Kiel arrived...

25 Nov 03:50

Newswire: OK Go conquers time in its latest music video

by Caroline Siede
IKEA Monkey

This is so cool.

The members of OK Go have been trying to top themselves with increasingly elaborate music videos ever since their one-take treadmill video for “Here It Goes” became a viral hit in 2005. And considering their most recent video took them to the final frontier of space (or at least a zero-g environment), that seemed like an especially difficult task this time around. But having mastered space, Damian Kulash, Tim Nordwind, Dan Konopka, and Andy Ross decided to conquer time as well. Their new video for “The One Moment” features some colorful, chaotic explosions that unfold over the course of a few seconds in real time. Slowed down, however, the chaos syncs up perfectly with the band’s song.

Kulash, who also directed the video, talks about the inspiration and process on the band’s website, calling it “a celebration of (and a prayer for) those moments in life when we ...

24 Nov 21:20

Sage, Ink: Trumpsgiving

by Sage Stossel
IKEA Monkey

If only for one day.

24 Nov 21:05

There's Never Been a Better Time to Buy an Instant Pot Pressure Cooker

by Shep McAllister on Deals, shared by Shep McAllister to Lifehacker
IKEA Monkey

holy shit

If you don’t own a pressure cooker, today’s a great day to fix that. Amazon’s knocked the highly-rated Instant Pot IP-LUX60 all the way down to $58, the best price Amazon’s ever listed.

Read more...

23 Nov 19:30

Oral History: “It smelled like death”: An oral history of the Double Dare obstacle course

by Marah Eakin
IKEA Monkey

This article is disgusting, and fascinating, and makes me feel very old

When Double Dare premiered in 1986, it became an instant kid-friendly sensation. Hosted by Marc Summers, the gak-soaked Nickelodeon game show aired in some form or another on the network until 1993. Although the show would return years later as Double Dare 2000 with host Jason Harris, the Summers years were the show’s glory days, a bacchanal of gloppy intensity and genial after-school gaming, something that former viewers, now in their 30s or middle-aged, have come to remember with increasing fondness as the years have gone by.

This Wednesday night, Nickelodeon will air a special commemorative episode of Double Dare celebrating the show’s 30th anniversary year. Summers will return, along with announcer John Harvey and production assistant Robin Russo. In the spirit of that super sloppy reunion, The A.V. Club set out to discover the origins of the obstacle course, the show’s most memorable and popular ...