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To encourage discussions about race relations in the United States, Starbucks has asked its baristas to write #RaceTogether on coffee cups and engage in serious conversations with customers.

Turns out that’s the last thing people a bunch of disgruntled people want first thing in the morning while waiting for their first jolt of caffeine.

CEO Howard Schultz describes the initiative as “an opportunity to begin to re-examine how we can create a more empathetic and inclusive society – one conversation at a time.”

He organized an internal meeting back in December in which employees shared stories and discussed all the recent shootings and events which inspired protests and riots from Ferguson to New York.

The company held similar forums around the country over the past few months, and now they’ve decided to extend this initiative out to their customers through the “Race Together” initiative.

Despite all the good intentions behind the campaign, it has turned into somewhat of a joke on Twitter.

After the backlash, Starbucks’ senior vice president of communications, Corey duBrowa, eventually deleted his Twitter account, which is not a good sign.

“I was personally attacked through my Twitter account around midnight last night and the tweets represented a distraction from the respectful conversation we are trying to start around Race Together,” he told Business Insider.

Here are some of the responses on Twitter that Starbucks likely did not see coming:

Spirit Airlines’ marketing department is run by teenage boys.

A recent promo on their website has gotten some people all hot and bothered with its blatant sexual innuendoes.

The ad, which expired on March 17, was for $69 round trip flights to celebrate the addition of its 69th plane.

From the promo:

We’ve been waiting to hit 69 planes for years. It’s our favorite number – ever since we were twelve and found that magazine under our brother’s bed (the one with the fantastic articles). #69 is perfect: just the right size, with a cockpit that’s in your face (because it’s bright yellow). Use your mouth to spread the word: Spirit is in an even better position to get you where you’re going. We’re popping an epic Bare Fare in celebration! $69.00* round trip!

And yes it’s very real.

“The goal with our marketing is to provide information about our low fares to our customers, in a unconventional manner, without the ads costing so much that we need to increase fares to cover those costs,” the company told Fox 9 in a statement.

Their “bare fare” policy is to charge less for a ticket, but not included typical perks that other airlines have like free beverages or carry-on bags. As a result of all the hidden fees, Spirit has become the most complained about airline in the U.S.

As the Huffington Post points out, the airline also launched – and were subsequently ridiculed for – a promotion last year that tied into the celebrity nude photo scandal.

While Spirit was clearly just trying to get some attention with their $69 stunt, they should have gone all-in and at least included a simple mockup like this to get their point across. Next time.

Via: Fox 9

The post Promo of the Day: Spirit Airlines Gets Sexual with $69 Round Trip Deal appeared first on The Daily What.

       

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Though the people who bought a whole bunch of illegal fireworks never got to see it happen, their ill-gotten products have gone BOOM! in the end, anyway: Officials in Texas recently destroyed about 20,000 pounds worth of confiscated fireworks, bringing them to the end they were always destined to meet.

According to the Midland Texas Police Department’s post on Facebook, the department’s bomb squad assisted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in “the disposal” (translation: fiery destruction) of around 20,000 pounds of seized fireworks, over three days.

And yes, if you were wondering, officials only blew up the fireworks during the daytime, as “it was not meant to be a fireworks show.” The lesson being: If you buy illegal fireworks, you don’t deserve a show.

It wasn’t just about having fun watching stuff blow up, however — the MPD says the exercise was an informative one for its bomb techs.

If you've have a standing desk, your legs may get tired and you may wish to sit. But when you sit, it's either in some sort of awkward stool, or you have to lower your standing desk so you can take a seat and hunch back over your computer screen.

A three-year-old startup, Focal Upright, thinks it's found a solution. One of its executives, Josh Kerst, told us at South by Southwest that Google is one of Focal Upright's many clients.

Focal Upright sells three products ranging from $99 to $800. Its Mobis leaner, which comes in Google colors, retails for $500-600. 

There's a cheaper option that seems less stable but surprisingly isn't: the Mogo, which retails for $99. "I'm buying all of them!" one woman proclaimed as I tested out the Mogo skeptically, wiggling around to test my balance.And even though I'm a bit clumsy by nature, I never felt like I'd fall off it.The bottom of it can unhook and be turned around to reveal spikes, which make the leaner stable on grass during outdoor events like tailgates.Here are two Focal Upright people, having a normal conversation on their pricey leaners.The most expensive leaner, the Locus, retails for $700-800.

Google never responded to a request for comment about the Focal Upright leaners. But if you are tempted to try one, Business Insider's Jillian D'Onfro gave it a good review here.

Join the conversation about this story »

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Is your child a Satanist centaur who can’t dress himself?

Well you’re in luck.

A clever prankster has sabotaged a local bookstore in LA’s West Hollywood by placing a few new titles on the shelves.

Among them, a guide to getting dressed, how to deal with your half-horse son and some tips on performing a human sacrifice.

This is just the latest stunt by Tumblr/Redditor ObviousPlant, who has also switched out the labels on wine racks and recategorized some bookshelves to things like “Animals I Want to Wrestle” and “Dudes Who Lost Their Shirts,” and messed with a chiropractor using images of a raptor.

Check out some of the images from his new books below, and you can view the full images of the book jackets on Imgur.

Via: ObviousPlant

The post Prank of the Day: Man Plants Hilarious Fake Self-Help Books in L.A. Bookstore appeared first on The Daily What.

        

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New York City continues its path towards becoming rich people Disneyland as there are now more Uber cabs in the city than actual yellow cabs.

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Sling TV was just the first step . Now, Sony's PlayStation Vue is taking internet TV to the next level. Starting at $50 a month for some 50 channels, you'll still be paying cable prices for what you get, and there'll be channels you'll miss—but trust me, you've never seen TV quite like this.

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World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) events are without doubt the most popular combat-based content available today.

These enterprises are big business. WWE had revenues in excess of half a billion dollars in 2014 and while UFC parent Zuffa is rather more tight-lipped about its financial position, the company is believed to be worth several billion dollars.

Both companies’ revenues rely heavily on TV-focused content. In 2013, UFC-parent company Zuffa’s revenues were split roughly 58% for PPV events and ticket sales with the remaining 42% derived from TV, sponsorships and various distribution agreements.

Predictably the company has a track record of reacting furiously to its content being uploaded to the Internet and has active programs to remove links and prosecute individuals, mainly in the United States. Today police in the UK have been doing the organization’s work for them.

This morning officers from the UK’s Police Intellectual Property Unit arrested an individual said to be one of the world’s most prolific uploaders of both UFC and WWE content.

Traveling hundreds of miles north to the tiny market town of Coalville in Leicestershire, officers descended on the home of the 55-year-old man.

According to police the man is “believed to be one of the internet’s biggest offenders” when it comes to uploading wrestling and mixed martial arts content to both peer-to-peer and user-generated content sites.

The man’s home was searched and several computers were seized. He was then taken to a local police station for questioning.

Upload monitoring by TorrentFreak reveals there are only a limited number of players in the combat sports release game who act alone. There are fewer still who are relatively easy to identify and are located in the UK. We gave PIPCU a name and asked if that person had been arrested this morning.

“We do not release the name or identity of suspects at arrest stage. This information is only released once an individual has been charged,” a PIPCU spokesperson said.

In any event, PIPCU are throwing some big numbers around. The unit claims that the individual is responsible for uploading more than 3.2 terabytes of data, which is the equivalent of more than 3,000 videos.

Of course, that’s just his uploading. When it comes to total videos distributed things get much, much worse. PIPCU estimates that the files uploaded generated in excess of two million downloads at a cost to the industry of several million pounds.

“Today’s operation serves as a clear warning to anyone thinking of uploading copyrighted material to pirate sites. This is not a victimless crime as copyright infringement is costing our creative industries hundreds of millions of pounds,” said PIPCU chief DCI Danny Medlycott.

“Our team is dedicated to combating criminals ripping off other’s intellectual property and so those who are thinking of taking this path should think twice, as it might result in a knock on the door from our officers.”

Jim Langham, WWE Senior Vice President & Assistant General Counsel expressed thanks for PIPCU’s action this morning.

“WWE provides many options for our fans to watch our content lawfully – on television, pay-per-view, and digitally via YouTube and the WWE Network. We will continue to protect our intellectual property aggressively and combat piracy in any form,” Langham said.

UFC Chief Legal Officer Kirk Hendrick said that he hoped that this morning’s arrest would lead to a “significant decrease” in the unlawful online distribution of UFC events.

“We take online piracy very seriously and will continue to work with law enforcement officials around the world to prevent illegal sharing of UFC content,” Hendrick said.

If the individual does indeed turn out to be the person we believe he is, a significant “brand name” will now disappear from the UFC and WWE uploads scene during the coming week. That will no doubt disorient some downloaders, but plenty more uploaders exist.

At least 10 different groups uploaded last weekend’s UFC 185 PPV event, with the majority capturing the event from non-UK sources. Viewers in the UK are able to view events relatively cheaply via the subscription channel BT Sport, but illegal captures from this source are now likely to disappear, at least in the short term.

Update: Still no confirmation from any official source, but multiple lines of investigation across multiple torrent and other communities all lead to the almost inevitable conclusion that the person arrested this morning is known online as ‘Sir Paul’.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and anonymous VPN services.

It's April, so that means there are plenty of new additions on Netflix.

What's in store? Darren Aronofsky's "Noah," the newest season of "Sons of Anarchy," and the long-awaited Netflix original, "Daredevil."

If you're a fan of the "Leprechaun" series, there are a few installments from the franchise. 

We'll continue to update the list throughout the month.

Let's get to it!

Here's what you should check out on Netflix in April:

TV

"Daredevil" (available 4/10)

The first season of Netflix's anticipated reboot will prove whether Marvel can make fans fall in love with the blind, crime-fighting lawyer Ben Affleck tried to bring to screen in 2003's critically-panned film.

"Halt and Catch Fire" (available 4/8)

The first season of AMC's series about the rise of the computer.

"Sons of Anarchy" (available 4/25)

The seventh and final season of FX's crime drama starring Charlie Hunnam. 

Movies

"The Babadook" (available 4/14)

The indie film, which brings a character to life from a story "Mister Babadook," is one of the creepiest films we saw last year.

"Hot Fuzz" (available 4/16)

Simon Pegg's British comedy which sees his London cop heading to a quiet town that isn't what it appears to be.

"Noah" (available 4/18)

If you skipped out on Darren Aronofsky's adaptation of the biblical story starring Russell Crowe and Emma Watson, here's your chance to see it.

Here's the full list of April releases:

Available 4/1

"And Now ... Ladies and Gentlemen ..." (2002)
"Bandolero" (2000)
"Barnyard" (2006)
"The Beautician and the Beast" (1997)
"Bound" (1996)
"Buffalo Soldiers" (2001)
"The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course" (2002)
"Down to Earth" (2001)
"Leprechaun 3" (1995)
"Leprechaun 4: In Space" (1997)
"Leprechaun 6: Back 2 tha Hood" (2003)
"Suicide Kings" (1997)
"Sunset Strip" (2000)
"Underworld" (2003)
"Whiteboyz" (1999)
"Wrong Turn at Tahoe" (2009)

Available 4/2

"Life Partners" (2014)
"Sinbad: The Fifth Voyage" (2014)

Available 4/3

"All Hail King Julien" (Season 1) Five new episodes
"Derek" Netflix original special
"Starry Eyes" (2014)
"The Quiet Ones" (2014)

Available 4/4

"Delta Farce" (2007)

Available 4/7

"Preservation" (2014)
"Wilfred" (Season 4)

Available 4/8

"Halt and Catch Fire" (Season 1)

Available 4/9

"Crank" (2006)
"Pioneer" (2013)

Available 4/10

"The Awakening" (2013)
"Broken" (2013)
"Burning Bridges" (2014)
"Confusion Na Wa" (2013)
"Finding Mercy" (2012)
"Finding Mercy 2" (2014)
"Flower Girl" (2013)
"Forgetting June" (2013)
"Knocking on Heaven's Door" (2014)
"Lagos Cougars" (2013)
"Lies Men Tell" (2013)
"Mad Couple" (2014)
"Mad Couple 2" (2014)
"Marvel's Daredevil" (Season 1) Netflix Original 
"Matters Arising" (2014)
"October 1" (2014)
"Onye Ozi" (2013)
"Ties that Bind" (2011)

Available 4/12

"The Identical" (2014)

Available 4/13

"Video Game High School" (Season 3)

Available 4/14

"The Babadook" (2014)
"Goodbye to Language" (2014)
"Kink" (2013)

Available 4/16

"Hot Fuzz" (2007)

Available 4/17

"Baby Daddy" (Season 4)
"Chris D'Elia: Incorrigible" Stand-up 
"They Came Together" (2014)

Available 4/18

"Noah" (2014)

Available 4/21

"A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night" (2014)

Available 4/25

"Sons of Anarchy" (Season 7)

Available 4/26

"The Nutty Professor 2: Facing the Fear" (2008)

Available 4/27

"National Treasure" (2004)

SEE ALSO: Everything leaving Netflix in April

Join the conversation about this story »

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These Star Wars squirrels are not Photoshopped: they’re a product of Teeters’ Taxidermy Studio in Halifax, Pennsylvania. And this particular piece is up for sale at eBay. When they’re not doing jobs for clients, taxidermists Corin Teeters and Ryan Hoffman make all kinds of works from dead squirrels.   

As a smaller shop, Teeters said they’re free to think outside the box.

“We get to do a little more artsy stuff and have fun with it,” he said.

The squirrel projects tend to take 10 to 12 weeks to complete, Teeters said, and the shop has done about 30 so far.

“Pretty much, if you can think it up, we can do it,” he said.

See squirrel ballerinas, hockey players, bikers, and more from Teeters at Buzzfeed.