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Time's Up, Elon

On October 22, 2022, Elon Musk assumed his tyrannical reign over Twitter. Promising users that their voices matter - spoiler alert: they don’t. By urging them to decide Twitter's fate through polls, Elon’s TwitterVerse was decreed a “good thing.” However, it’s been anything but.

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CULTURE

Who Is The White Boy Of The Month?

The most coveted title on the internet

Aaron Taylor-Johnson at the Los Angeles premiere of 'Bullet Train' held at the Regency Village Theatre in Westwood, USA on August 1, 2022.

By Tinseltown / Shutterstock

A fresh month and a summer packed with blockbusters and obsession-worthy streaming titles mean only one thing: there’s a new White Boy of the Month.

For the less Online amongst us, the White-Boy-of-the-Month is now a cultural staple. It’s a coveted moniker that — Presto! — turns actors into verifiable heartthrobs.

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Film News

Please Make the Gabrielle Union and John Cho Romcom Happen

Gabrielle Union is stoking Twitter fires asking for a movie starring her and John Cho

John Cho and Gabrielle Union in Flash Forward

via ABC

Every few months, Twitter users become screenwriters and use the TL to concoct elaborate concepts of films they want to see and actors they want to cast, and every so often these pseudo-storyboard threads go viral.

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Culture News

Yeah, but Which Brand Has the Healthiest Chicken Sandwich?

Wendy's, Popeye's, Burger King...or Chick-fil-A?

Burger King's Ch'King sandwich

Photo by Devin Berko on Unsplash

The #ChickenSandwichTwitter war of 2019 embodied some prime late-stage capitalism in action.

Social media accounts for a bunch of fast-food brands are trying to get you to buy their lousy chicken sandwiches by memeing at each other, and it's working. Their "cool" marketing bullshit is absolutely going to make you want a chicken sandwich.

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Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

Ellie Kemper was trending recently on Twitter, but not because people were having a flare-up of nostalgia for The Office or Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

No, she was trending because news surfaced that Kemper had once been crowned Queen of Love and Beauty at the Veiled Prophet Ball — an exclusive St. Louis party hosted by an organization that has historically been accused of upholding racist power structures.

Yesterday, Kemper finally addressed her participation in the event in an Instagram post that is surprisingly well thought out as far as celebrity apologies go.

"When I was 19 years old, I decided to participate in a debutante ball in my hometown," she wrote. "The century-old organization that hosted the debutante ball had an unquestionably racist, sexist and elitist past. I was not aware of the history at the time, but ignorance is no excuse. I was old enough to have educated myself before getting involved. I unequivocally deplore, denounce, and reject white supremacy," she continued. "At the same time, I acknowledge that because of my race and my privilege, I am the beneficiary of a system that has dispensed unequal justice and unequal rewards."

Kemper added, "I believe strongly in the values of kindness, integrity and inclusiveness. I try to live my life in accordance with these values. If my experience is an indication that organizations and institutions with pasts that fall short of these beliefs should be held to account, then I have to see this experience in a positive light."

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The world is full of pain and horror.

Every day human beings inflict violence and cruelty on one another, and on the planet, for their own greedy purposes. And if you give it the chance, the dark weight of this reality can easily become overwhelming. Which is why it's so important to remind yourself of the points of brightness and joy that — though less dramatic — are far more common than the horror.

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