The Chinese government has started a new social-media crackdown, this time targeting conspicuous displays of wealth. In April, the country's internet regulator announced a campaign against influencers who “create a ‘wealth-flaunting’ persona, deliberately showcasing a luxurious life built on money, in order to attract followers and traffic.” Wealth-flaunters are now being removed from platforms like Douyin, the equivalent of TikTok. The move comes as China is experiencing an economic slowdown. Here's more from NBC.
In 2019, a content creator and model named Belle Delphine went viral for selling jars of her bathwater. The stunt earned her $90K in profits, but PayPal then closed her account so she never saw a dime of the money until she wrote about it on X earlier this month. Here's more from @theverge.
Graceland is up for sale — or is it? A foreclosure sale of Elvis Presley's compound in Memphis, Tennessee, has been advertised for this Thursday, but Riley Keough, Presley's actress granddaughter, filed a claim to say that the suit on the creditor's paperwork for a $3.8 million loan is fraudulent. Here's more from NBC.
New instance, new #introduction: Here to find fun & interesting things, share some of my own probably less fun & interesting things - it'll be things like #maker projects, ideas, tips, cosplay etc., technology, photography, science stuff, from outer space to deep oceans, the massive to the microscopic, also movies, music, comics, #PopCulture in general...
but truth be told I'll pro'lly be posting far too much politics for my own (or anyone's) good.
The oldest entry on IndieWire's list of the best teen dramas was first broadcast in 1979, but the majority of shows that made the cut are from after 2000, when there was a huge boom in the genre. Here's the magazine's ranking of 42 shows. Which do you think came in at No. 1? Take a look at the list after you've voted and tell us if you think they got it right.
Every Cabbage Patch Kid is "born" in Babyland General Hospital, Cleveland Ga. Thrillist's Joshua Rigsby took his family there, persuaded by his two daughters who saw billboards advertising the hospital. "We were not prepared for what was next," he writes.
Five years ago, the CEO of Razer, which makes gaming gear, laptops, bags and chairs, said the brand would make a toaster. As part of the campaign to get the product made, several Facebook users got tattoos of Razer toasters. Now, there's no toaster and the company says it will not be regularly updating its community due to inappropriate social media comments, including death threats. Tom's Hardware caught up with nine of the 12 folk who got tattooed to find out how they feel, and if they still believe.
WHEW it’s finally published!! New paper out led by the ever incredible Dr Anna-Sophie Jürgens, all about using #TextualAnalysis methods to study #science representations in #popculture 👩🔬✨🧐 We explore and describe ways of finding hidden meanings in images, comics, films etc. with scientific themes 🕵️♀️🔭 It’s a great intro guide for students & researchers interested in using these methods. https://jcom.sissa.it/article/pubid/JCOM_2303_2024_Y01/
According to Vox, it's impossible to be neutral on Taylor Swift because the discourse surrounding her is so pervasive. We've added to the chatter by curating a @Flipboard Storyboard about the arrival of her 11th studio album, "Tortured Poets Department," and we also want to know: How do you feel about Swift?
The Russian republic of Chechnya has banned music that goes above or below a certain tempo. Minister of Culture Musa Dadayev said that this to ensure music will “conform to the Chechen mentality.” Semafor has more detail on the Chechen government's ongoing campaign against civil liberties, and which songs will make the cut: "Texas Hold 'Em" is fine, but the Russian national anthem is out.
Our #science in #popculture#podcast - @sci_burst - has just hit 1K listens!!! 🎉🎉👏👏💕💕 thank you everyone for your continual support 🫶🫶 @theEllamo and I are super grateful for all the love and feedback over the past year and a bit 🥹🩷 Exciting things and Season 2 coming soon! (no really, like really soon 👀)
Why do kids love dinosaurs? Science writer and amateur paleontologist Riley Black writes for Atmos about dinomania — her own, and society's, which she traces back to the 1914 animated short "Gertie the Dinosaur." "The fact that they are extinct makes them safe and child-appropriate — the logic goes — and so dinosaurs can do no harm," she writes. "If dinosaurs are so safe, though, why do we spend so much time imagining them chasing us down and eating us?"
Zoinks! Digital Trends has compiled a list of 10 TV shows that they say are overrated, from "Parks and Recreation" ("overly hopeful") to "The Bear" ("a great dramedy, but award shows and audiences keep treating it as Christ’s second coming, which it most certainly isn’t."). Here's the full list. We want to know: Which of these do you think are overhyped, or just don't stand the test of time (choose as many as you like)? Tell us in the comments if there's another show that's critically adored but that you just can't see the appeal of.