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Chris Pine's secret diary is now on Tumblr—sort of

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“What a strange, sad day it’s been.”

So reads movie star Chris Pine’s diary—according to an entirely unsubstantiated fandom anecdote, that is.

The story originates from the least reliable source ever: a Tumblr askbox message. Not that it matters. The idea of Chris Pine thoughtfully writing his daily musings in a Moleskine notebook is too deliciously plausible to resist. After all, this is the guy who got an English degree from Berkeley and has an ongoing competition with Star Trek co-star Zachary Quinto to see who can use the most egregious SAT vocabulary words during their joint press tours. He’s everyone’s favorite unexpectedly sensitive hipster.

Excerpts from Chris Pine’s Moleskine provides us with the Chris Pine diary updates we never knew we needed. It only updates once every few months, but what this Tumblr blog lacks in quantity, it makes up for in quality. Painting a picture of a forlorn, Zoolander-like superstar, the apocryphal “What a strange, sad day it’s been” somehow expanded into multiple, beautiful diary entries.

“Went to Build-A-Bear Workshop today. My therapist said it’d be good for me, to get me out of the rut I’m in, called it an 'exercise in creation.' I held the limp carcass of the bear in my hands for what felt like hours. What was I doing? Who was this bear? Why was it here?”

You’re so deep, Chris. 

There’s even some poetry:

“Objectify me once: shame on you

Objectify me twice: shame on you

Objectify me thrice:

payday”

It’s hard out there for a multimillionaire A-list movie star. 

Inevitably, there are some people who managed to stumble upon Excerpts... and somehow believed that Chris Pine’s private diary had been stolen and posted onto Tumblr.

“Exploiting his personal thoughts is wrong,” explains one earnest fan.

The best is someone who seems to be fighting fantasy with yet more fantasy, claiming that they’ve been in touch with Chris Pine’s agent and that Chris is upset about the whole thing. The official reply from Excerpts?

Yes, quite.

Photo via 幽龍/Flickr


Justin Timberlake's NSFW "Tunnel Vision" is back on YouTube

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When Robin Thicke released his catchy summer hit (and NSFW video) "Blurred Lines," people joked that it was the song Justin Timberlake wished he'd written. JT's new single, "Tunnel Vision," looks like an answer to the haters. And despite all the blatant nudity, it's still on YouTubereinstated, now with an age warning. 

Unlike its predecessor, this one has yet to face YouTube's banhammer. 

In "Tunnel Vision," Timberlake is the good twin to Thicke's evil. The "Blurred Lines" video featured Thicke, Pharrell, and T.I. prancing around a minimalist stage with three models in nude thongs and no tops. After a few days, the video was removed from YouTube and replaced with a safe-for-work version in which the girls wear plastic outfits:

YouTube bans videos with nudity unless it's deemed artistic, but the site's standards are often arbitrary. With so many videos being uploaded, it's hard for YouTube to really scrub itself of any X-rated content. 

Timberlake's "Tunnel Vision" is not that different from "Blurred Lines." Both videos feature three topless women in nude thongs, dancing. In "Tunnel Vision," Timberlake and rapper Timbaland remain clothed. Both feature questionably nonconsensual lyrics like Thicke's "I know you want it" and Timberlake's "I know you like it." Timberlake splashes that lyric big across the back wall of his video while Thicke's background features the far more subtle "Robin Thicke has a big dick." 

The move perfectly encapsulates the randomness of a YouTube ban. Timberlake's video is arguably even more sexual; the models rub their hands over their bodies and roll around in ecstasy. In Thicke's, the nudity is playful and strange. There's nothing really sexual about it. It's just there. The models walk around, dance, act silly, and make faces. They're not really trying to be sexy—they just happen to be beautiful and naked. 

What does it say that Timberlake's video was allowed and Thicke's remains banned? YouTube probably isn't thinking about it that much. Timberlake's nude women have serious, sexy faces; Thicke's are smiling. That's the only real difference that exists.

The videos are so bizarrely similar. Ban both or ban neither. YouTube looks ridiculous here.

Gary Numan is live-tweeting his family’s summer vacation

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Gary Numan is perhaps best known for his song “Cars” and this spectacular rendition of “Down in the Park,” from the 1982 documentary Urgh! A Music War. Even before his ‘80s solo career, he was adding a bit of gothic glamour to British punk with Tubeway Army. More recently, he’s been the opening act for Nine Inch Nails, and he’s releasing a new album, Splinter, in October.

But Numan’s just a normal guy who loves his family and takes them on fun summer vacations. Proof is on his official Twitter account, where he has been live-tweeting his extensive drive through the wilds of California in an RV with his wife, Gemma, and three young daughters, Raven, Persia, and Echo. There’s also a slobbering dog named Wilbur.

His tweet-narrative is certainly entertaining and often poetic, filled with all the highs and lows of a summer vacation. There are intimate family moments:

There are reflective moments with their giant dog, whom Numan often refers to as “Wilbur the Talking Dog”:

There are beginning-of-a-horror-movie moments:

And there is this old-timey saloon photo:

Also, you may have noticed Numan signs most of his tweets with his initials, “GN,” like your dad does. He’s currently on day 18, in the redwoods of Northern California.

Photo by Man Alive!/Flickr

11 game-changing features of Grand Theft Auto V

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"Rockstar just reimagined the Sistine Chapel, except with more murder and sodomy."

That comment, by Reddit user Beansforhomerclese, is perhaps the perfect description of  the latest YouTube trailer for the upcoming Grand Theft Auto V (GTA V). The game, which is due out on Sept. 17, combines the stunning textures of Red Dead Redemption, Max Payne’s smooth gunplay, and the free-wheeling fun from Grand Theft Auto III.

Since the Britain-based game developer Rockstar North released a trailer of GTA V in November 2011, the Internet has devoured every detail surrounding the fifth installment of the popular series. This was the case early Tuesday morning when Rockstar released a 4:41-long video showing off GTA V. The video has been stuck at 301+ views on YouTube all morning, a sign that it is collecting way more views that Google can keep up with.

"Game of the year? Hell no," critcalkingz99 commented on YouTube. "It will be game of the century."

Aside from its stunning graphics, what truly sets GTA V apart from any other game on the market is its varied gameplay. Since Grand Theft Auto III was released in 2001, Rockstar has stocked the series with hundreds of unique features, from controlling remote-controlled cars to picking up hookers in an alleyway.

It’s no different with GTA V. Here are 11 gameplay features we can't wait to experience.

1) Base jump

2) Do your best Lance Armstrong impression

3) Get new digs

4) Ace nine holes

5) Go hunting

6) Play the stock market and work in real estate

7) Fly planes

8) Get inked

9) Scuba dive

9) Practice your forehand return

11) Buy new rims

Photo via Rockstar/YouTube | GIFs by Fernando Alfonso III

CollegeHumor serves up "Coffee Town"

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CollegeHumor is ready to move beyond one-off sketches and goofy comedy series. The popular website has released its first feature film, Coffee Town, which is now available from iTunes and Amazon.

Coffee Town is a slice-of-life comedy about a man who works from a coffee shop and the unusual characters with whom he must band together in order to save their collective home when it is marked for replacement. Glenn Howerton (of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia fame) takes on the leading role, with Steve LittleBen SchwartzAdrianne Palicki, and Josh Groban in supporting roles. The film’s setting, as well as its main character’s unconventional workplace, calls out to the younger generation, who will also be reasonably enticed by the unique, online-only distribution model.

CollegeHumor first purchased the script for Coffee Town back in January 2012 and hired former Arrested Development writer Brad Copeland as director. “We think that there are some movies that need to buy a lot of TV ads and be in 3,000 theaters to be successful,” said CollegeHumor co-founder Ricky Van Veen. “But something like Coffee Town we believe can find an audience without those bells and whistles.”

CollegeHumor will hope Coffee Town is more positively received than iSteve, the first feature film distributed by Funny or DieiSteve, which is now only available on DVD, made the case that the online video comedy space was not ready to serve as a platform for feature films. CollegeHumor believes Coffee Town, with its resonant plot and Mike Judge-like stylings, has what it takes to make a better impression.

 

10 must-watch summer webseries

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Summertime's here, and with it the interminable boredom that comes from being in-between seasons of all your favorite shows. And it's not just television series that have gone on hiatus: Many of the most popular webseries need time to recoup during the summer months, whether it's to plan and write upcoming seasons, or to find a way to finance more episodes.

So while you're lamenting the wait for new episodes of The Most Popular Girls in School or for cool projects like The Incident to actually start, what's going to keep you occupied? Here are some tips for the best summer series you don't want to miss.

1) East Los High

This teen drama is Hulu's first exclusive webseries to feature an all-Latino cast. We were immediately drawn to the realistic and relatable characters from this inner-city high school community in Los Angeles. 90210 this isn't. And that's fabulous.

2) The Unwritten Rules

This popular series follows the adventures of Racey as she struggles to make sense of society's everyday rules for navigating her career and her professional office environment, all while coping with society's everyday racism. Caustic and biting, this series delivers a storyline we love along with excellent satire—and the occasional punch in the gut.

3) LoveFail

Billed as a series about awkward online dating, LoveFail should be all too familiar to anyone who's ever tried to establish a real-life connection with someone they've met online. A brand-new webseries that manages to satirize gender relations, this is one we hope will stay this fresh and funny.

LoveFail is sitting awkwardly at the figurative bar counter of our dreams, nestled somewhere between Wigs and Awkward Black Girl and waiting for its audience. Hopefully we look as good as our profile pics.

4) Codefellas

The best thing about Wired's hilarious National Security Agency spoof?  It was in production before the NSA scandal broke. This is the kind of laughter that hurts.

5) Summer Session with Mike Steidly

We're cheating with this one, but let's face it: Sometimes we don't want a good story. Sometimes we just want to watch an amazing all-terrain biker boulder-hop on a majestic coastline while inspiring music plays in the background. Get your zen fix with this series in which professional stunt biker Steidly treats us to scenic vistas and gut-swooping jumps.

6) Buffering

We love meta with our comedy, so a low-budget webseries about a washed-up actor trying to make a low-budget webseries is prime fodder for our amusement. It started in April, but this webseries seems to be taking it slow, which gives you plenty of time to catch up on episodes and follow the series this summer.

7) How Men Become Dogs

One of several smart summer offerings from Awkward Black Girl's Issa Rae, How Men Become Dogs is a darkly satiric look at three spurned nice guys who embark on a quest to give women what they think they really want—at any cost. Will they learn what it means to be real men? Or will they morph into dogs?

8) Squaresville

It's no secret that we love to “stay L7,” as they say on SquaresvilleMatt Enlow's award-winning bored teen dramedy just keeps on delivering the awesome with everything from social commentary to fabulous geek parodies like the one in this week's episode:

Bonus: Two shows you missed

These shows recently wrapped their series finales, but on YouTube, it's never too late to catch up and find out what all the hype's about!

1) Easy Abby

This popular webseries about a girl struggling to just do casual in her dating relationships is a little wittier, a little racier, and a lot snarkier than most of what seems to be YouTube's glut of queer dating webseries. You had me at "we made out in the port-a-potty line."

2) ZHON: The Alien Interviews

This quirky sci-fi series about a friendly alien who turns himself into the U.S. government for research purposes just wrapped, but it's making an appearance at GenCon in August. Just enough time for you to watch it ahead of all your fellow geeks!

Screengrab via Hulu

8 pieces of advice John Malkovich gave Reddit

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Though he claimed he didn't want to give anyone advice, famous and acclaimed weirdo actor John Malkovich was full of it when he came to Reddit for an AMA session Wednesday. Though the Being John Malkovich and Con Air star claimed he didn't have any advice to give, he weighed in on proper procedure for a whole host of topics. Also, he waxed sadly on having never seen Helen Mirren's breasts. Also recorded a voicemail greeting for a redditor named Benjamin.

But most importantly, he gave redditors eight very important life lessons:

How to get a bat out of your apartment

i had one in my house once. i think i just opened all the windows and kind of gently broomed it out. just make sure it's in your apartment and not in your head.

How to have bad pot-smoking etiquette

sometimes my best friend russ makes me smoke ganja, but i become a bit insane and normally eat a couple hundred dollars worth of say, ice cream sandwiches or dilly bars or what have you. even worse, i won't share any of it.

How to consider privacy in this day and age

i think, sadly, that privacy is finished. no such thing. if you're a known person, you learned to live without it long ago. that's very,very unfortunate, but such is life. i think there's no going back as that particular horse has left the barn. i have at times spoken with my peers and the head of the actors union about why we're not paid when we appear in say a tmz production, but there seems to be no real interest in combatting it. for the nsa, i've always assumed they listen to everything and read everything and see everything. france, where i've also lived for a number of years is exactly the same-possibly worse. i think it's too late.

How to deal with going bald

it's ok. michael jordan made it stylish. don't worry, life goes on.

How to pick up Mary-Louise Parker

marie louise is my hero. sharp, sad, funny, extremely gifted and quick. i love to be around her and i adore working with her. we had a beautiful vomiting in tandem on the car windshield scene in red 2, ungratefully removed by the powers that be. for the pick up line, i'm not to sure. i would counsel the direct approach. i wouldn't use the schwarzenegger pick up line "baby your bangability is very high tonight." on 2nd thought, if you have a good styrian acccent, maybe it would be perfect.

How to politely decline a terrible script

one night, a woman came in to our yard in france around 2:00 am. i was outside on the phone talking to my producing partners in los angeles. she gave me a script called elle tue,(she kills!) which was about the lead character killing a movie star. it was written like it had been done with a butcher knife in red ink. also, it wasn't very good.

How to decline an offer to go to space

don't you have to go to the bathroom in your space suit and everything? i'm just not sure i could do that?

How to lose weight eating nothing but Jell-O

i lost seventy pounds eating nothing but jello for 4 months. but of course there is great variety in the colors! i think, if i remember correctly it's 230 calories for a whole bowl. maybe 270? in the 5th month i added fruit.

Photo via Imgur

It's no TARDIS, but you can own the Doctor's first car

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Doctor Who actor Matt Smith is auctioning his 2000 Vauxhall Corsa on eBay for the Starlight Children's Foundation, which provides entertainment to seriously and terminally ill children.

Smith first bought the car after getting his driver's license at 18, and it's in fairly decent shape despite its age, with only 60,000 miles on it. It also has one or two strategically placed bumps and scratches and a "wing mirror held on with gaffer tape," a feature Smith is particularly proud.

"As my first ever car, it has seen lots of adventures, not to mention a fair few mishaps (hence the dents). I’ll be very sad to see it go but I understand my parents want their driveway back!”

So far, only 19 bids have been placed on the car, and it's running at £590 (about $891.84 U.S.), although the car's been viewed by over 6,000 times. So far, Smith's name isn't raising the price quickly.

There are still over six days left to place your bid on the car, but if you want to donate to the charity there's an easier way to do it.

H/T BuzzFeed | Photo via eBay


Pharrell's Twitter account is the best self-help calendar ever

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BY ERIC SUNDERMANN

Pharrell has been making somewhat of a “comeback." Comeback is quoted there because it’s hard to really say a guy who produced tracks for arguably the two hottest acts of last year (Kendrick Lamar and Frank Ocean) is on a “comeback," but nevertheless, here we are. It’s probably because his voice has found itself soundtracking the #songofsummer and he’s got trendy 23-year-olds in Brooklyn putting “Get Lucky" on when they, well, want to get lucky.

Pharrell is often painted by the press as a smart, inquisitive, and insightful guy. In a recent New York magazine profile, he shows that one of the main reasons he’s such a fine producer and musician is because he understands people and how they respond to certain things, whether its artwork or music or fashion or whatever. “It’s the way of a person that’s their personality," he says at one point. “It’s not that he’s a ‘happy’ person—there are a lot of happy people—but his way of being happy, his way of wearing a shirt, his way of speaking to her; that’s what makes her love him."

That’s pretty sweet, right? And what seems to be so great about this dude is that it’s not coming from a pretentious or overtly precious place. Everything he says is genuine and earnest, and because he is so freaking cool, it doesn’t even seem corny.

Until you discover his Twitter account.

You know how when you go over to your grandma’s house and in her bathroom is one of those tear-a-way self-help calendars with the inspirational quotes about daily life, typically by someone whose name you recognize as important but can’t actually remember why they are important (unless it’s like George Washington or something)? Pharrell’s Twitter account is pretty much just like one of those.

Let’s take a look.

Read the full story on Noisey

"Pixar Theory" connects all your favorite movies in 1 universe

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Jon Negroni took a year of his life to connect the dots. If his brain were a character from a spy thriller, it would have photos, maps, and documents strewn across a wall connected by red string. His target? The Pixar Universe.

Negroni, a 22-year-old living in Virginia, posted his fully formed thesis to his Wordpress blog yesterday, explaining just how every single Pixar movie takes place in one universe, throughout time and space. Since then, the idea has been going viral, prompting awe and debate among Pixar fans. In an interview with the Daily Dot, Negroni said he got the idea from commenting on a video on Cracked with similar themes but less depth than his theory.

“They laughed it off because the rest of the Pixar movies didn't seem to fit,” he said. “I commented on the video with some of the general stuff you see in my article, and it actually became one of the top comments.”

From there, he fleshed the idea out with friends over the next year.

“I started writing my ideas down and re-watching the movies over and over again,” he said. “Actually, some of the biggest revelations in the article are recent discoveries that prompted me to finalizing the theory in the first place.”

You can read the full Pixar theory here, and you should read it in its entirety because it’s fascinating. Negroni has thought of anything you could question, and answers it fully.

Basically, Negroni argues that the timelines for the films are not what they seem. The first in the timeline is Brave and the last, which actually takes place in a dystopian future, is A Bug’s Life. In between, animals are growing more and more human, and humans are disappearing from Earth.

There are two progressions: the progression of the animals and the progression of artificial intelligence. The events of the following movies set up a power struggle between humans, animals, and machines. The stage for all-out war in regards to animals is set by RatatouilleFinding Nemo, and Up, in that order. Notice I left out A Bug’s Life, but I’ll explain why later.

Oh, and he does. And it is crazy-go-nuts. The hardest part of his theory, he said in an interview, was rationalizing the world of Monsters, Inc.

“I couldn't rationalize where these monsters really fit in, since the idea of ‘other dimensions’ wasn't something we'd seen in other Pixar movies,” he said. “I only recently figured out that they are mutated animals travelling back in time.”

Is your mind blown?

So far, he says he hasn’t been contacted by anyone at Pixar, though a few commenters have said they would bring it up with animator friends, or Pixar director and screenwriter Jon Lasseter.

“I don't really expect to contacted,” Negroni said, “but that would be something.”

Photo via Loren Javier/Flickr

Classic Criterion Collection covers come alive on Vine

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For many cineastes, Criterion is an important distributor of important films, a reliable source of high-quality disc transfers and comprehensive information about each title. 

One enthusiast decided to recreate and animate some of the striking Criterion Collection DVD and Blu-Ray covers with Vine.

“Using the social media application, Vine, I wanted to pay honor to Criterion and the essential films in their collection, in turn yearning to become an active participant in the legacy of filmmaking," Zach Goldberg wrote on Tumblr. "I challenged my production team and myself to recreate pieces of the acclaimed Criterion cover art as six second, in-motion videos.”

Filmmaker Goldberg opted to rehash the covers for Terrence Malick’s Badlands, Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times, and Robert Bresson’s A Man Escaped. He said he chose those covers because of the distinctive filmmaking styles he was able to emulate while recreating them. 

"Note the camera movement of the Badlands clip, the animation of the Modern Times clip, and the minimalism and use of off-screen sound of the A Man Escaped clip," he said, while noting each vine includes sound.

The clips are faithful recreations of the Criterion covers and Goldberg says it was a fun experiment.

We'd love to see him take on the awesome internal packaging for the Godzilla Blu-ray or the covers for The 39 Steps, Brazil, and Walkabout. However, maybe getting a young man to stand perfectly still on the roof of a burning car in perfect natural light wouldn't be as straightforward as rotating the eyes on a papier mache head.

 

H/T BuzzFeed | Photo via Zachary Goldberg/Vine

Arnold Schwarzenegger proves he'd be the best Reddit moderator ever

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If movie producers haven't selected a title for the next installment of the Terminator series, they should consider "T5: The Moderator."

Early Thursday afternoon former governor of California, actor, and Reddit personal trainer Arnold Schwarzenegger hopped into a thread on the r/fitness forum—a place he's frequented since his popular AMA in January—to fire back against haters bashing a post promoting a cardio routine featured on schwarzenegger.com.

Over the past seven months, Schwarzenegger has become a regular fixture around Reddit. Using his official account, u/GovSchwarzenegger, the 65-year-old has weighed in on dieting and how to motivate yourself to work out. He's also confirmed a story in r/TIL ("today I learned") of going to dinner with Andre the Giant in 1983. When Schwarzenegger tried to pay for his meal, Andre picked up the former Mr. Universe and placed him back in his seat.

"It is missing Wilt Chamberlain's involvement, which was never paying and then acting like he had planned to pay this time, and helping Andre carry me all the way outside to drop me on a car," Schwarzenegger commented two months ago.

The thread featuring Schwarzenegger's latest comment has collected more than 1,500 responses and has been featured on Reddit's r/BestOf. Schwarzenegger's response was so positively received, it even garnered a pseudo-serious job offer from Reddit CEO Yishan Wong.


Photo by starcadet/Flickr

The Morning GIF: Michael Jackson's patented anti-gravity lean

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Here at the Daily Dot, we swap GIF images with each other every morning. Now we’re looping you in. In the Morning GIF, we feature a popular—or just plain cool—GIF we found on Reddit, Tumblr, or elsewhere on the Internet.

During the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, three months after the death of Michael Jackson, a group of dancers paid tribute to the King of Pop through performances of his greatest hits, including "Smooth Criminal."

When it came time for the group to perform Jackson's famous "anti-gravity lean," three of them were just not able to pull it off.

Their failure could be chalked up to a variety of reasons, but the most obvious was their inability to execute Jackson's patented shoe design properly. 

Patent No. 5,255,452 for Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" shoes was granted in 1993. It details a shoe system in which a slot in the heel is used to slide into a peg on stage so Jackson could "lean past his center of gravity without toppling," USA Today reported a week after his death.

The following GIF of the patent in action was taken from a CBS program. It piqued the curiosity of Reddit's r/GIFs community this past weekend, collecting 619 comments. 

"This information still does not help me to utilize this maneuver at the club," mattnificent commented. "Thanks for nothing."

"I feel like I just found out that Santa isn't real," kindfulness added

H/T Reddit | Photo by Abi Skipp/Flickr

The anonymous tweet that unmasked J.K. Rowling

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An anonymous tweet unmasked beloved Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling as “first-time novelist” Robert Galbraith, author of The Cuckoo’s Calling.

Rowling’s first book for adults, The Casual Vacancy, came out in September 2012. It was saddled with pre-release excitement and high expectations; it garnered mixed reviews. Meanwhile, Galbraith's book was so well-reviewed, many people did not believe it could have been written by a novice. 

It wasn’t.

The whole story came to light when a journalist at the Sunday Times tweeted that she enjoyed The Cuckoo’s Calling but had a hard time believing it was written by a first-time author. Around midnight, according to the New York Times, she received a tweet back from an anonymous account saying the book was written by Rowling. 

When asked for proof, the account wrote back, “I just know.” The account was then deactivated. The user deleted all traces of his or her presence online. Richard Brooks, the Times' arts editor, investigated. Comparing the two books, the Times wrote:

Both books shared the same agent, publisher and editor in Britain, for example. It seemed particularly odd, he said, that the editor, David Shelley, would be in charge of both someone as important as J. K. Rowling — a very big job, indeed — and someone as seemingly unimportant as Robert Galbraith. … [H]e sent copies of “The Cuckoo’s Calling,” “The Casual Vacancy” and the last Harry Potter novel, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” to a pair of computer linguistic experts, who found significant similarities among them.

Rowling confessed in a statement:

I had hoped to keep this secret a little longer, because being Robert Galbraith has been such a liberating experience. It has been wonderful to publish without hype or expectation, and pure pleasure to get feedback under a different name.

From there, the publisher confirmed that Galbraith was Rowling. But who sent that initial tweet? The publisher, hoping to turn a flop into a bestseller? Rowling herself? One Mr. Harry Potter, not actually fictional? The mystery continues.

H/T New York Times | Image via Daniel Ogden/Flickr

Radiohead's Thom Yorke stages Spotify rebellion

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Between his lyrics, interviews, and independent distribution models, it’s hardly a secret that Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke is no fan of late-stage capitalism. The latest target of his disgust is the streaming music service Spotify, from which he has removed a substantial amount of his work.

The news came through a tweet from producer Nigel Godrich, a frequent collaborator sometimes referred to as the “sixth member” of Radiohead. Godrich is also in the Yorke-fronted band Atoms For Peace.

Yorke retweeted this and several of Godrich’s follow-up comments as all of his solo music and Atoms For Peace tracks disappeared from Spotify. He eventually offered his own take:

It’s true, by the way, that artists get a fraction of a penny for every track played on Spotify.

How meaningless a rebellion this is remains to be seen. Spotify has added plenty of “classic” content this year, from Pink Floyd to the Eagles catalogue, but Yorke and Godrich may have considerable influence in the matter of how emerging bands choose to reach listeners.

Spotify responded to Yorke’s actions with a familiar line: “Right now we’re still in the early stages of a long-term project that’s already having a hugely positive effect on artists and new music.”

Meanwhile, you can still stream any Radiohead song you like. We suggest “Dollars & Cents.”

Photo by radiodeath/Flickr


"Dexter" fans want their hero to kill George Zimmerman

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Fictional worlds can overlap the real one in surprising ways, as this weekend demonstrated. 

On Saturday, a Florida jury acquitted George Zimmerman of second-degree murder in the death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. On Sunday, Showtime aired the third episode of the eighth and final season of Dexter, a series about a Miami psychopath who hunts and kills other killers, especially those who slip through the cracks of the criminal justice system.

Fans were quick to connect the dots, and a photoshopped image making the rounds on Twitter spelled out what they were thinking:


 

Some people saw the opportunity for a TV crossover:

Others came closer to lamenting Florida’s lack of a real-life Dexter (played with deadpan wit by actor Michael C. Hall) to dispense bloody judgment:

There was some disagreement, however, as to whether Zimmerman fits “The Code,” Dexter’s own (mostly) inflexible criteria for homicide—the origins and constraints of which are a frequent topic on the show, especially in the last handful of episodes.

It’s a dilemma Dexter would probably struggle with himself. 

The possibility of vigilante action, of course, is hardly limited to TV screens—the prosecution indeed painted Zimmerman himself as a racist vigilante in its closing, and Mark O’Mara, the lead on Zimmerman’s defense, suggested over and over that his client will live in fear of violent reprisals going forward.

O’Mara has mentioned that Zimmerman wears a bulletproof vest in public and urged his wife to do so as well. Commenting on the revelation that, following the verdict, Zimmerman will have his gun returned, he said, “Even more reason now, isn't there?” 

As many have noted, the end result of Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law in this case seems to be that murder is legal, so long as there are no witnesses to dispute your claim that the victim attacked first. So will Zimmerman have to “defend” himself with deadly force once again, now that a troubling precedent has been set?

It’s less far-fetched than your average Dexter storyline: plenty of people on Twitter have expressed a desire or plan to kill Zimmerman themselves, even posing for photos with their weapons. Dexter or no, Zimmerman may want to say goodbye for good to the Sunshine State.

Photo by dexterpodcast/Flickr

"Chasing New Jersey" is the Garden State's answer to TMZ

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Last Monday, a new show, Chasing New Jersey, debuted on New Jersey station WWOR-TV. It replaced the station’s traditional 10pm nightly news broadcast with something a little more youthful and energetic: Instead of anchors behind a desk reading from teleprompters, reporters sit in a group and recount the day’s big stories. They are led by a host, Bill Spadea, a sleeves-rolled-up political analyst who was once a Republican nominee for Congress. His informal banter mirrors that of TMZ host Harvey Levin.

And TMZ is exactly what Chasing New Jersey is attempting to emulate, from the brightly colored sets to the bold onscreen fonts to the rapid-fire discourse. But instead of stalking celebrities around L.A., they’re “chasing” important local stories, Spadea prompting them with a “Whaddya got?” They’ve looked into New Jersey’s disappearing weed supply: 

New Jersey’s gun laws:

Trenton’s ATV epidemic:

The day after it debuted, the Fox-owned station’s license was placed under review, to determine whether they are “adequately serving New Jersey.” Still, the response to the show hasn’t been completely negative. Over on their Facebook page, viewers have left comments, asking them to cover certain stories. Their “chasers” are also very interactive on Twitter, which makes them more accessible to New Jersey residents with tips. And while there is an emphasis on reporters physically “chasing” stories, the show incorporates virtual tactics, like using Google Hangouts to interview the President of the New Jersey Second Amendment Society. 

The TMZ-style approach to hard news might seem like devolution to some, but this shift could actually work. It might actually be necessary. For all its troubling celebrity worship, TMZ has managed to get scoops major news outlets have missed. Chasing New Jersey is hoping to turn that formula into political and civic success, and engage their viewers in a more direct way. Trademarks filings for other “Chasing” shows have been discovered for Texas and Florida as well, which could mark a bigger shift for local news. 

Screengrab via Chasing Paul/YouTube

This video game review was brought to you by hot-pepper torture

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What makes a video game review good? 

A lack of bias? A nuanced understanding of the medium? Some insight into the development process?

How about a blazing-hot chili pepper?

Jared Rosen, host of "Hot Pepper Game Reviews," is a pioneer in the seldom-explored realm of video game reviews powered by the effects of a hot pepper. In his debut video, he reviews the game Deadpool, from High Moon Studios—but not before chomping down on a habanero.

After swallowing the entire pepper with incredible difficulty, Rosen proceeds to the review. Unfortunately, the special effects that bring Deadpool to life are no match for the habanero inflaming Rosen's inner workings. He spends the remainder of the video painfully sputtering out a rather solid opinion of the game.

Although the video has been up for less than a week, Rosen already has his fans. Several YouTube users were quick to comment on his unique take on video game reviews. They were also quick to point out the host's close resemblance to both Harry Potter and Frodo.

"This is the stupidest combination for a video. Subscribed," said iGyman.

"Why do I tend to trust a man more because he's applying three degree burns to the inside of his face," said CheckmateWithPawn.

"Harry potter and the hot pepper game review," said 956miggz.

The video naturally exploded on Reddit, earning Rosen even more praise--and criticism.

"Its funny now, but. I feel like if you try to do this with every video it'll lose its novelty very quickly," redditor duodecillian said.

"I can't wait for season 2. Icy*Hot on the balls movie reviews," redditor tadayo said.

What's more, redditor thumb22 revealed himself as the brains behind the combination, mentioning that the pepper Rosen consumed was his first-ever introduction to the food.

"We actually had a blast filming it and since this one seems to be doing well on the internets I think we're gonna do more," he said.

Might we see a jalapeño pepper-fueled opinion of Diablo 3 in the near future?

Screencap via HotPepperGaming/YouTube

This redditor knows who's going to win every WWE match

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It's no secret pro wrestling is predetermined.

A creative team lays out each show's matches and events, deciding in advance who gets to walk away the winner. Each month, the WWE's storylines culminate with massive pay-per-view events (PPVs). The company plays its cards close to the chest, trying to keep the scripts as secret as possible. And for the most part, it’s worked for years.

But the WWE has a whistleblower on its hands. 

One redditor has gotten the WWE PPV results spot on for months. Since February, Dolphins1925 has gone 38 for 38 in getting the results matches right across five PPVs, including this week's Money in the Bank show. This is no mere coincidence. The member of Reddit's r/squaredcircle section claims to have an inside source at the company.

Deadspin notes Dolphins1925 typically posts predictions a few minutes before each PPV begins. The user claims to have "information from a source who has VERY credible inside information regarding the outcomes of the matches themselves." 

Dolphins1925 actually wants to expose leaks in the company's management structure and stop spoilers from being leaked ahead of time.

"I feel that WWE owes the fans," Dolphins1925 wrote. "They need to be more protective of the actual results as a fellow Redditor had stated in the thread. It is hurting the integrity of the product, and I should not have access to this information."

The WWE shares scripts on a need-to-know basis, with writers withholding creative plans until the last minute from wrestlers. That hasn't, according to Deadspin, stopped writers from leaking information themselves over the years, especially when there's a storyline they dislike and want to indirectly veto it through a fan backlash.

For decades, insider newsletters and websites (or "dirt sheets") have attempted to take fans closer to the action by publishing apparent behind-the-scenes information, often relating to upcoming storylines. Much of the time, the dirtsheets are off on their reports, due to inaccurate information or the WWE creative team changing plans.

Former WWE star Matt Hardy joked about placing bets after the Deadspin report.

WWE employees have been aware of the user's accurate predictions for at least the last month, according to wrestling news site ProWrestling.net. At the very least, redditors who believe they've caught the attention of company management are jokingly offering their suggestions for storylines.

It seems likely further measures will be installed to stop results of matches being leaked ahead of time.

"We may have a modern day Nostradamus on our hands," the company said in a tongue-in-cheek statement to Deadspin. "We might have to monitor these posts in advance of our next pay-per-view to see how good he or she really is."

The biggest secret is pro wrestling right now is not whether John Cena will be WWE Champion after Summerslam, but the identity of the person predicting outcomes Reddit's pro wrestling hub.

Photo via damagecase2185/Reddit

The only "Breaking Bad" refresher you need to see

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Every evening, the Daily Dot delivers a selection of links worth clicking from around the Web, along with the day's must-see image or video. We call it Dotted Lines.

Screengrab via YouTube

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