Kody Green (@schizophrenichippie) is one of the most popular schizophrenia advocates online, with 1.3 million followers on TikTok. Through his content, Green, who has schizophrenia himself, has helped tons of people recognize their symptoms and eventually receive a formal diagnosis.
“It became very clear, very early on, the impact I was making on social media,” he shared at South by Southwest (SXSW) on Sunday.
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder in which sufferers can experience auditory as well as visual hallucinations, paranoia, and delusions. It can affect a person’s ability to function on a day-to-day basis. Green grew up acting as a caregiver to a loved one who had the disorder, his mother, and it wasn’t until his adulthood that he realized he also had it.
But Green never intended to be an advocate for people with the disorder. He once thought TikTok was “stupid” and only downloaded it to watch the videos his wife sent him. Soon enough, the TikTok algorithm worked its magic, and he saw on his For You Page “content creators [he] really liked,” including mental health, mental illness, and comedy content creators. “So I decided I was going to start sharing my story as well,” Green said.
The first video he posted kicked off his “schizophrenic storytime” series—a series he continues to this day. At the time, he only had 300 followers. “I went to sleep, and I woke up the next day to 10,000 followers,” Green shared. "I have since turned off my notifications for TikTok."
Now with 1.3 million TikTok followers, educating people about schizophrenia has become his full-time job.
Green shares his various “coping mechanisms” on the platform. In one video that went particularly viral, Green’s service dog, Luna, lets him know he is experiencing a visual hallucination by refusing to greet the "person" he was seeing.
“I genuinely believe in that moment that I’m talking to another person, and so she’s trained to either greet the person on command, or if no one is there, she sits down and looks up at me, and then I know that person is a visual hallucination,” he explained at SXSW.
His phone is another tool he uses to find out if his visual hallucinations are real or not. Green looks at where the hallucination is happening through his phone’s camera because “they won’t show up on [his] phone.”
Such content has proven to be helpful for others; he said psychiatrists, after coming across his videos, let their patients in on some of his coping techniques.
“These different coping mechanisms, and using technology, has helped me to cope day-to-day. It’s helped me feel more comfortable being out in public, and it’s given me the ability to differentiate between what’s real and what’s not,” he said at SXSW.
Watch on TikTok
Green has also found success in some of his more humorous content. In one video, responding to a commenter curious about how people with schizophrenia drive, Green said he drives just fine, but then panned the camera over to an empty passenger seat and joked that his “passenger” may not.
“That video did so well," he said, adding that he gains followers through his comedic content, and then they stick around to view his more educational content.
Green said that, as a health creator, he deals with a lot of hate comments and that his username was actually inspired by his very first one. “Someone called me a schizophrenic hippie,” he said. “Four years later, it has stuck, and even if I wanted to change it, my followers have told me that that is not an option anymore.”
The positive comments mean much more for Green than the negative ones. Green said he gets about 20 messages a day from patients, caregivers, and family members—all of whom have had schizophrenia touch their lives in some way and want to thank Green for his content.
“Stuff like that is so surreal to me. There was a time where I felt so alone. A lot of people who get a diagnosis like schizophrenia—it feels like a death sentence. … I was so afraid. I felt so alone. … I essentially became the voice that I needed … when I was diagnosed,” he said.
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
The post ‘I genuinely believe in that moment that I’m talking to another person’: Man with schizophrenia shows how his service dog lets him know he’s hallucinating appeared first on The Daily Dot.
]]>
Kody Green (@schizophrenichippie) is one of the most popular schizophrenia advocates online, with 1.3 million followers on TikTok. Through his content, Green, who has schizophrenia himself, has helped tons of people recognize their symptoms and eventually receive a formal diagnosis.
“It became very clear, very early on, the impact I was making on social media,” he shared at South by Southwest (SXSW) on Sunday.
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder in which sufferers can experience auditory as well as visual hallucinations, paranoia, and delusions. It can affect a person’s ability to function on a day-to-day basis. Green grew up acting as a caregiver to a loved one who had the disorder, his mother, and it wasn’t until his adulthood that he realized he also had it.
But Green never intended to be an advocate for people with the disorder. He once thought TikTok was “stupid” and only downloaded it to watch the videos his wife sent him. Soon enough, the TikTok algorithm worked its magic, and he saw on his For You Page “content creators [he] really liked,” including mental health, mental illness, and comedy content creators. “So I decided I was going to start sharing my story as well,” Green said.
The first video he posted kicked off his “schizophrenic storytime” series—a series he continues to this day. At the time, he only had 300 followers. “I went to sleep, and I woke up the next day to 10,000 followers,” Green shared. "I have since turned off my notifications for TikTok."
Now with 1.3 million TikTok followers, educating people about schizophrenia has become his full-time job.
Green shares his various “coping mechanisms” on the platform. In one video that went particularly viral, Green’s service dog, Luna, lets him know he is experiencing a visual hallucination by refusing to greet the "person" he was seeing.
“I genuinely believe in that moment that I’m talking to another person, and so she’s trained to either greet the person on command, or if no one is there, she sits down and looks up at me, and then I know that person is a visual hallucination,” he explained at SXSW.
His phone is another tool he uses to find out if his visual hallucinations are real or not. Green looks at where the hallucination is happening through his phone’s camera because “they won’t show up on [his] phone.”
Such content has proven to be helpful for others; he said psychiatrists, after coming across his videos, let their patients in on some of his coping techniques.
“These different coping mechanisms, and using technology, has helped me to cope day-to-day. It’s helped me feel more comfortable being out in public, and it’s given me the ability to differentiate between what’s real and what’s not,” he said at SXSW.
Watch on TikTok
Green has also found success in some of his more humorous content. In one video, responding to a commenter curious about how people with schizophrenia drive, Green said he drives just fine, but then panned the camera over to an empty passenger seat and joked that his “passenger” may not.
“That video did so well," he said, adding that he gains followers through his comedic content, and then they stick around to view his more educational content.
Green said that, as a health creator, he deals with a lot of hate comments and that his username was actually inspired by his very first one. “Someone called me a schizophrenic hippie,” he said. “Four years later, it has stuck, and even if I wanted to change it, my followers have told me that that is not an option anymore.”
The positive comments mean much more for Green than the negative ones. Green said he gets about 20 messages a day from patients, caregivers, and family members—all of whom have had schizophrenia touch their lives in some way and want to thank Green for his content.
“Stuff like that is so surreal to me. There was a time where I felt so alone. A lot of people who get a diagnosis like schizophrenia—it feels like a death sentence. … I was so afraid. I felt so alone. … I essentially became the voice that I needed … when I was diagnosed,” he said.
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
The post ‘I genuinely believe in that moment that I’m talking to another person’: Man with schizophrenia shows how his service dog lets him know he’s hallucinating appeared first on The Daily Dot.
]]>
Speaking at South By Southwest on Sunday, Noah Kagan, CEO of AppSumo and author of Million Dollar Weekend, shared his secrets to success.
Kagan was the 30th employee to join Facebook, but his time at the company was short-lived. He was fired nine months after accepting the position. “If I didn’t get fired by Facebook 15 years ago, my life could’ve been good, but it definitely drove me to find my own story,” he said.
Kagan eventually found his own story in 2010. That year, Kagan started AppSumo, a product that acts as a marketplace for entrepreneurs. “I made zero dollars the first year, $40,000 the second year. It took me to year seven to finally make $1 million,” Kagan shared.
When Kagan started AppSumo, he still had a day job. “I don’t think you should quit your job to start your side hustle. Just use your day job as an investor.”
Kagan thinks everyone wanting to start a business should have a “freedom number”—how much money you need in order to quit your day job and solely focus on your business—in mind. For Kagan, that number was $3,000. After attaining his freedom number in three months, he quit his day job as a project management consultant to work on AppSumo.
Kagan encourages people who are coming up with a business idea to zero in on a problem and what they can create to help solve it. “What’s the problem?” He asked. “[People] care about the problems in their day-to-day life.”
“No one cares about the thing you’re doing. They care about themselves,” he later reiterated. “I was very excited about the problem of helping software creators get customers. … AppSumo was the fourth version of trying to solve that problem.”
Kagan also shared some sad news for fans of his first book, Million Dollar Weekend (one audience member said she read the book twice back-to-back and even associated Kagan’s work with Plato’s). Kagan shared that he has no plans to write a second one. “I’m trying to be a father. It takes a lot of energy away from that,” Kagan said. But for fans of his first book hoping for more guidance from the New York Times bestselling author, he shares how-to videos on how to start a successful business over on his TikTok channel, where he boasts over 226,000 followers.
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
The post ‘Use your day job’: Expert shares how to start successful side hustle appeared first on The Daily Dot.
]]>
Speaking at South By Southwest on Sunday, Noah Kagan, CEO of AppSumo and author of Million Dollar Weekend, shared his secrets to success.
Kagan was the 30th employee to join Facebook, but his time at the company was short-lived. He was fired nine months after accepting the position. “If I didn’t get fired by Facebook 15 years ago, my life could’ve been good, but it definitely drove me to find my own story,” he said.
Kagan eventually found his own story in 2010. That year, Kagan started AppSumo, a product that acts as a marketplace for entrepreneurs. “I made zero dollars the first year, $40,000 the second year. It took me to year seven to finally make $1 million,” Kagan shared.
When Kagan started AppSumo, he still had a day job. “I don’t think you should quit your job to start your side hustle. Just use your day job as an investor.”
Kagan thinks everyone wanting to start a business should have a “freedom number”—how much money you need in order to quit your day job and solely focus on your business—in mind. For Kagan, that number was $3,000. After attaining his freedom number in three months, he quit his day job as a project management consultant to work on AppSumo.
Kagan encourages people who are coming up with a business idea to zero in on a problem and what they can create to help solve it. “What’s the problem?” He asked. “[People] care about the problems in their day-to-day life.”
“No one cares about the thing you’re doing. They care about themselves,” he later reiterated. “I was very excited about the problem of helping software creators get customers. … AppSumo was the fourth version of trying to solve that problem.”
Kagan also shared some sad news for fans of his first book, Million Dollar Weekend (one audience member said she read the book twice back-to-back and even associated Kagan’s work with Plato’s). Kagan shared that he has no plans to write a second one. “I’m trying to be a father. It takes a lot of energy away from that,” Kagan said. But for fans of his first book hoping for more guidance from the New York Times bestselling author, he shares how-to videos on how to start a successful business over on his TikTok channel, where he boasts over 226,000 followers.
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
The post ‘Use your day job’: Expert shares how to start successful side hustle appeared first on The Daily Dot.
]]>
The future of the tech industry may not be as bleak as one would think, laid-off tech workers speaking at a South by Southwest (SXSW) panel on Saturday in Austin reassured their audience. A few of whom were tech workers who had been laid off themselves or fear being laid off soon and are curious about the road ahead.
Carmen Kiew was laid off from Twitter in 2022 in a pretty callous—albeit too familiar for many tech workers who experienced layoffs in recent years—way. Kiew recalled being “out and about” and trying to get into her email, only to find herself locked out of her account. She was one of the more than 6,000 Twitter employees to get laid off since Musk acquired Twitter in 2022.
Kiew touched on what the “vibes” were like after Musk took over Twitter, which she said she would never call X, as it’s now known. Kiew said half of her colleagues were enamored with Musk, fangirling over him during a “meet-and-greet”-esque event. Kiew said she, along with the other half of her workplace, knew it was "over" for them after seeing how he trivialized the job. Musk himself has called the layoffs “painful,” but his demeanor right before carrying them out showed otherwise.
Kiew herself witnessed the infamous moment Musk walked into Twitter’s headquarters with a sink in hand. She also recalled an all-hands in which Musk talked about aliens while someone made a sandwich for him in the background. She said Musk treated it like a “giant meme,” even though people’s livelihoods were on the line. “This guy does not care,” she revealed of her inner monologue at the time.
For Kiew, working at Twitter was a big part of her identity; she introduced herself to people as “Carmen Kiew from Twitter.” Now, she’s thankful she was laid off. “It’s weird that a layoff can build confidence, but it really did,” she shared.
Kiew is now director of strategy at Codeword Agency and said she's happier than she was at Twitter.
Alex Whedon, CEO and founder of Jenn AI, was laid off from Meta and similarly called the layoff a “blessing.”
Whedon turned to freelance work after being laid off and said he enjoyed it more than having a full-time job. Whedon said that, through freelancing, tech workers are able to diversify their portfolios by working with different companies, have the ability to specialize so much more, and can prioritize the priorities of the entire industry rather than the priorities of a singular company. Joe Lazer, head of marketing at A.Team, said tech workers feel more noncommittal than ever, with 73%, according to a survey, not wanting to have a singular employer due to past trauma their previous employers inflicted on them when parting ways.
Jon Swartz, a MarketWatch reporter, said Musk normalized the idea employers can slash their workforce and “can go to a barebones staff, which was followed by Meta and others.” Swartz said another reason for tech industry layoffs is that tech companies overstaffed themselves and now have to course-correct. Lastly, Swartz said the pivot to artificial intelligence also played a role in the layoffs.
But Lazer encourages highly skilled tech workers to use AI to their advantage. “You won’t be replaced by AI, but you will be replaced by someone who knows how to use AI,” Lazer said. He then told the story of a worker at his company who “played around” with AI out of curiosity and how it led to a promotion.
“There’s such an opportunity there that you shouldn’t be scared away from, even if you aren’t a coder,” Lazer said.
Lazer said workers who are using AI "are seeing their hourly rate increase by 16%." "They're extremely optimistic about what this technology will mean for their careers," Lazer added.
The panelists also shared advice for tech workers who think they are about to get laid off. "While you have this job, start looking on crafting your story," Whedon said, encouraging them to take up a side project that they can work on and talk about "at the next place."
"So many people in tech don't realize the upward mobility they do have," he added.
Whedon said he was able to triple his pay by jumping from job-to-job. "If you feel like you're at risk of getting laid off, and you could be doing more interesting things, you could be making more," he said, "start working toward that now. Don't waste your time."
The Daily Dot reached out to Musk's team via email.
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
The post ‘This was like a giant meme to him’: Elon Musk had sandwich made for him, talked about aliens during all-hands right before laying off workers appeared first on The Daily Dot.
]]>
The future of the tech industry may not be as bleak as one would think, laid-off tech workers speaking at a South by Southwest (SXSW) panel on Saturday in Austin reassured their audience. A few of whom were tech workers who had been laid off themselves or fear being laid off soon and are curious about the road ahead.
Carmen Kiew was laid off from Twitter in 2022 in a pretty callous—albeit too familiar for many tech workers who experienced layoffs in recent years—way. Kiew recalled being “out and about” and trying to get into her email, only to find herself locked out of her account. She was one of the more than 6,000 Twitter employees to get laid off since Musk acquired Twitter in 2022.
Kiew touched on what the “vibes” were like after Musk took over Twitter, which she said she would never call X, as it’s now known. Kiew said half of her colleagues were enamored with Musk, fangirling over him during a “meet-and-greet”-esque event. Kiew said she, along with the other half of her workplace, knew it was "over" for them after seeing how he trivialized the job. Musk himself has called the layoffs “painful,” but his demeanor right before carrying them out showed otherwise.
Kiew herself witnessed the infamous moment Musk walked into Twitter’s headquarters with a sink in hand. She also recalled an all-hands in which Musk talked about aliens while someone made a sandwich for him in the background. She said Musk treated it like a “giant meme,” even though people’s livelihoods were on the line. “This guy does not care,” she revealed of her inner monologue at the time.
For Kiew, working at Twitter was a big part of her identity; she introduced herself to people as “Carmen Kiew from Twitter.” Now, she’s thankful she was laid off. “It’s weird that a layoff can build confidence, but it really did,” she shared.
Kiew is now director of strategy at Codeword Agency and said she's happier than she was at Twitter.
Alex Whedon, CEO and founder of Jenn AI, was laid off from Meta and similarly called the layoff a “blessing.”
Whedon turned to freelance work after being laid off and said he enjoyed it more than having a full-time job. Whedon said that, through freelancing, tech workers are able to diversify their portfolios by working with different companies, have the ability to specialize so much more, and can prioritize the priorities of the entire industry rather than the priorities of a singular company. Joe Lazer, head of marketing at A.Team, said tech workers feel more noncommittal than ever, with 73%, according to a survey, not wanting to have a singular employer due to past trauma their previous employers inflicted on them when parting ways.
Jon Swartz, a MarketWatch reporter, said Musk normalized the idea employers can slash their workforce and “can go to a barebones staff, which was followed by Meta and others.” Swartz said another reason for tech industry layoffs is that tech companies overstaffed themselves and now have to course-correct. Lastly, Swartz said the pivot to artificial intelligence also played a role in the layoffs.
But Lazer encourages highly skilled tech workers to use AI to their advantage. “You won’t be replaced by AI, but you will be replaced by someone who knows how to use AI,” Lazer said. He then told the story of a worker at his company who “played around” with AI out of curiosity and how it led to a promotion.
“There’s such an opportunity there that you shouldn’t be scared away from, even if you aren’t a coder,” Lazer said.
Lazer said workers who are using AI "are seeing their hourly rate increase by 16%." "They're extremely optimistic about what this technology will mean for their careers," Lazer added.
The panelists also shared advice for tech workers who think they are about to get laid off. "While you have this job, start looking on crafting your story," Whedon said, encouraging them to take up a side project that they can work on and talk about "at the next place."
"So many people in tech don't realize the upward mobility they do have," he added.
Whedon said he was able to triple his pay by jumping from job-to-job. "If you feel like you're at risk of getting laid off, and you could be doing more interesting things, you could be making more," he said, "start working toward that now. Don't waste your time."
The Daily Dot reached out to Musk's team via email.
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
The post ‘This was like a giant meme to him’: Elon Musk had sandwich made for him, talked about aliens during all-hands right before laying off workers appeared first on The Daily Dot.
]]>
Eater declared casual dining chains like Olive Garden as “back” this year. If you have a TikTok, and scrolled through it at all in the past year (or are a reader of the Daily Dot), you’d probably have to agree. Just like its soup and salad, the viral moments involving the socio-economic melting pot—it’s reportedly one of the only places where the rich and the poor mix—have been endless. From customers purchasing cheese graters to take home with them to its never-ending pasta deal returning in full swing, these five stories will tell you all you need to know about the brand’s year—an “Olive Garden Wrapped,” if you will.
Olive Garden customer goes in for never-ending pasta and discovers you can take home a cheese grater
While popular TikToker Jordan Howlett (@jordan_the_stallion8) helped popularize the trend of purchasing cheese graters from Olive Garden, it was actually a TikToker named Bo (@bo_gjerness) who started it.
In October, Bo said she visited an Olive Garden to celebrate her birthday with never-ending pasta when she realized she could leave with one of the joint’s cheese graters.
“Do you guys sell the cheese graters?” Bo recalled asking the server, only to find out that “they do!”
Not only did Bo secure a cheese grater, but the workers also gave her a tub of cheese so that she could test her new gadget out (Bo called the complimentary cheese tub the “best part”). Bo’s video inspired countless others to try the hack out for themselves, leaving many Olive Gardens across the nation barren of cheese graters.
Read the story here.
Olive Garden customers say both server and manager yelled at them for sharing unlimited pasta
2023 was the year of never-ending deals at casual chain restaurants. Applebee’s had its moment when it offered unlimited wings, and Olive Garden followed suit with an all-you-can-eat deal of its own: never-ending pasta. While the deal started at only $13.99, a few TikTokers sneakily tried to get an even better bang for their buck.
That didn’t always go to plan, though. A group of customers learned this the hard way after getting caught and reprimanded for sharing one unlimited pasta deal among three people, dividing viewers into two camps: rule followers and those who felt Olive Garden’s policy was too strict.
For rule followers who want to maximize the deal, this TikToker broke down exactly how much pasta one would need to eat to make it worth it.
Read the story here.
Olive Garden customer gets pasta, breadsticks, side, and drink for $7 in kids’ meal hack
Everyone is a kid at heart—and at Olive Garden, perhaps?
With the cost of seemingly everything going up these days, it makes sense consumers need a break every now and again. One way to catch that break is to order a kids' meal, rather than a regular meal, at a restaurant because kids’ meals are known for being more affordable. The downside is that they are also a lot more exclusive, meaning you usually have to be in the 12 or under club to order them.
TikToker Courtney Danielle (@courtneydanielleyt) shared her workaround for successfully ordering a meal off the kids’ menu: Just order for pick-up. For $6.99, Danielle said she received fettuccine alfredo, spaghetti, a drink, two breadsticks, and a chicken breast.
Danielle also quelled the concerns of those who think they would not get enough food with a kids’ meal.
Her meal, she said, was enough to feed two people, making this hack one of the best we’ve seen on TikTok this year.
Read the story here.
Olive Garden worker complains about when tables of 6 or more all order never-ending soup and salad
You’re the worst if you order the never-ending soup and salad. You know that, right?
Just kidding.
Sort of.
Before there was unlimited pasta, there was Olive Garden’s never-ending soup and salad. The OG menu item costs around $7.99 at lunchtime and $9.99 during dinnertime, making it a go-to choice for customers.
One thing customers who order this may not take into account is the strain the order puts on the workers. A server brought attention to that in a video posted in May.
TikToker Emily Taplay (@emilyytap16) complained about a table of six all ordering the never-ending soup and salad. While Taplay didn’t detail why large tables ordering the never-ending soup and salad would be a problem, judging from other posts on social media, there are two primary reasons. The first is that it’s labor intensive, requiring servers to go back and forth from the kitchen to the table in order to refill the table’s unlimited breadsticks, salads, and soups. Secondly, it doesn’t bring in tips that match the effort the server will put in due to combo’s low cost.
At the end of the day, viewers agreed that it’s OK for customers to order this if they acknowledge the effort a server puts in and tip accordingly.
Read the story here.
Former Olive Garden worker shares way to try 3-4 different pasta dishes with ‘never-ending’ hack
With the never-ending pasta deal, a customer can try 20 different pasta combinations—there’s five sauces and four pastas to choose from.
And according to the Washington Post, the average stomach can hold roughly one liter before getting full. That’s a whole lot of pasta and not nearly enough stomach room.
Former Olive Garden worker @authorofmanymuses shared a hack that allows customers to try at least a few of these different pasta dishes without getting full too fast.
When partaking in the never-ending pasta deal, a customer will first be brought out a full-size serving of pasta, and each subsequent serving is a smaller, “refill-size” portion. The former Olive Garden worker revealed that servers have the ability to make the first portion the smaller size so that customers don’t get full too fast and can try out new dishes (you just have to ask nicely).
The TikToker who worked at Olive Garden for seven years was ahead of her time, too. She dropped this hack in July—two months before the never-ending pasta deal officially returned.
Read the story here.
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
The post The sauciest Olive Garden stories of 2023: Cheese graters, never-ending pasta fails, and a $6.99 meal for 2 hack appeared first on The Daily Dot.
]]>
Eater declared casual dining chains like Olive Garden as “back” this year. If you have a TikTok, and scrolled through it at all in the past year (or are a reader of the Daily Dot), you’d probably have to agree. Just like its soup and salad, the viral moments involving the socio-economic melting pot—it’s reportedly one of the only places where the rich and the poor mix—have been endless. From customers purchasing cheese graters to take home with them to its never-ending pasta deal returning in full swing, these five stories will tell you all you need to know about the brand’s year—an “Olive Garden Wrapped,” if you will.
Olive Garden customer goes in for never-ending pasta and discovers you can take home a cheese grater
While popular TikToker Jordan Howlett (@jordan_the_stallion8) helped popularize the trend of purchasing cheese graters from Olive Garden, it was actually a TikToker named Bo (@bo_gjerness) who started it.
In October, Bo said she visited an Olive Garden to celebrate her birthday with never-ending pasta when she realized she could leave with one of the joint’s cheese graters.
“Do you guys sell the cheese graters?” Bo recalled asking the server, only to find out that “they do!”
Not only did Bo secure a cheese grater, but the workers also gave her a tub of cheese so that she could test her new gadget out (Bo called the complimentary cheese tub the “best part”). Bo’s video inspired countless others to try the hack out for themselves, leaving many Olive Gardens across the nation barren of cheese graters.
Read the story here.
Olive Garden customers say both server and manager yelled at them for sharing unlimited pasta
2023 was the year of never-ending deals at casual chain restaurants. Applebee’s had its moment when it offered unlimited wings, and Olive Garden followed suit with an all-you-can-eat deal of its own: never-ending pasta. While the deal started at only $13.99, a few TikTokers sneakily tried to get an even better bang for their buck.
That didn’t always go to plan, though. A group of customers learned this the hard way after getting caught and reprimanded for sharing one unlimited pasta deal among three people, dividing viewers into two camps: rule followers and those who felt Olive Garden’s policy was too strict.
For rule followers who want to maximize the deal, this TikToker broke down exactly how much pasta one would need to eat to make it worth it.
Read the story here.
Olive Garden customer gets pasta, breadsticks, side, and drink for $7 in kids’ meal hack
Everyone is a kid at heart—and at Olive Garden, perhaps?
With the cost of seemingly everything going up these days, it makes sense consumers need a break every now and again. One way to catch that break is to order a kids' meal, rather than a regular meal, at a restaurant because kids’ meals are known for being more affordable. The downside is that they are also a lot more exclusive, meaning you usually have to be in the 12 or under club to order them.
TikToker Courtney Danielle (@courtneydanielleyt) shared her workaround for successfully ordering a meal off the kids’ menu: Just order for pick-up. For $6.99, Danielle said she received fettuccine alfredo, spaghetti, a drink, two breadsticks, and a chicken breast.
Danielle also quelled the concerns of those who think they would not get enough food with a kids’ meal.
Her meal, she said, was enough to feed two people, making this hack one of the best we’ve seen on TikTok this year.
Read the story here.
Olive Garden worker complains about when tables of 6 or more all order never-ending soup and salad
You’re the worst if you order the never-ending soup and salad. You know that, right?
Just kidding.
Sort of.
Before there was unlimited pasta, there was Olive Garden’s never-ending soup and salad. The OG menu item costs around $7.99 at lunchtime and $9.99 during dinnertime, making it a go-to choice for customers.
One thing customers who order this may not take into account is the strain the order puts on the workers. A server brought attention to that in a video posted in May.
TikToker Emily Taplay (@emilyytap16) complained about a table of six all ordering the never-ending soup and salad. While Taplay didn’t detail why large tables ordering the never-ending soup and salad would be a problem, judging from other posts on social media, there are two primary reasons. The first is that it’s labor intensive, requiring servers to go back and forth from the kitchen to the table in order to refill the table’s unlimited breadsticks, salads, and soups. Secondly, it doesn’t bring in tips that match the effort the server will put in due to combo’s low cost.
At the end of the day, viewers agreed that it’s OK for customers to order this if they acknowledge the effort a server puts in and tip accordingly.
Read the story here.
Former Olive Garden worker shares way to try 3-4 different pasta dishes with ‘never-ending’ hack
With the never-ending pasta deal, a customer can try 20 different pasta combinations—there’s five sauces and four pastas to choose from.
And according to the Washington Post, the average stomach can hold roughly one liter before getting full. That’s a whole lot of pasta and not nearly enough stomach room.
Former Olive Garden worker @authorofmanymuses shared a hack that allows customers to try at least a few of these different pasta dishes without getting full too fast.
When partaking in the never-ending pasta deal, a customer will first be brought out a full-size serving of pasta, and each subsequent serving is a smaller, “refill-size” portion. The former Olive Garden worker revealed that servers have the ability to make the first portion the smaller size so that customers don’t get full too fast and can try out new dishes (you just have to ask nicely).
The TikToker who worked at Olive Garden for seven years was ahead of her time, too. She dropped this hack in July—two months before the never-ending pasta deal officially returned.
Read the story here.
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
The post The sauciest Olive Garden stories of 2023: Cheese graters, never-ending pasta fails, and a $6.99 meal for 2 hack appeared first on The Daily Dot.
]]>
"Murder, sex, and music" is what SXSW festival-goers were promised if they attended the world premiere of Swarm.
Warning: This article contains some spoilers for Swarm.
The second TV series creation of multi-hyphenate Donald Glover kicked off the film and TV portion of the festival in Austin on March 10, and it ticked all three boxes.
March 17
Creators:
Donald Glover and Janine Nabers
Streaming:
Amazon Prime Video
The 'Swarm' pilot episode was inspired by a viral internet rumor, and the show's main character was inspired by a tweet.
The horror-thriller follows a young anti-hero named Dre (Dominique Fishback) who has an all-consuming obsession with a pop star named Ni’Jah, rumored to be inspired by Beyoncé, and who very well may be the very first on-screen female Black serial killer—something addressed by Swarm co-creator and showrunner Janine Nabers (who worked on HBO's Watchmen and with Glover on Atlanta) during the Q&A portion after the premiere.
“I think as Americans, we’re so conditioned to seeing white men be angry and giving them the space for violence on film and TV,” Nabers started, referencing Netflix’s Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, which she lauded as “one of the biggest shows that Netflix has ever done.”
She revealed Glover was encouraged to make Dre a serial killer after reading a tweet by a Black woman he follows. “He just loves her tweets. She was like, ‘Why does every Black woman on TV have to be a therapist, or a funny best friend, or someone looking for love, or a teacher? We can be crazy; we can be serial killers, too,’” Nabers said.
Dre reaches serial killer status (three or more kills) in just the two first episodes, both of which premiered at Paramount Theatre during SXSW. Dre kills her sister’s boyfriend (Damson Idris) with a lamp after he cheated on her sister, Marissa (Chlöe Bailey)—which caused her to die by suicide—before stuffing his body in her car’s trunk. Dre’s car later breaks down and ultimately leads to the murder of a man who fits the stereotype of a good samaritan being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He stops to help out but, to his detriment, fails to name Ni’Jah when Dre asks him who his favorite artist is.
SXSW attendees could get a closer look at the car used in the show at the Amazon Prime activation. Situated outside the Austin Motel-turned-a Texaco mini-mart featured in the show was Dre’s car, complete with a “body” wrapped in a black body bag hanging out of the trunk.
Dre’s third victim was the boyfriend of a woman who worked alongside Dre at a strip club.
While violence plays the loudest role in the first two episodes, there are also emerging underlying themes of sisterhood and connection.
“How Marissa internalizes her pain, she harms herself. And how Dre internalizes her pain, she harms others. It’s like they have this weird trauma bond, and the sisterhood, and how much they love each other—it’s almost to an obsessive point. But it’s so strong that nothing can really break it, and it’s like till death do them part,” Bailey explained of Dre and Marissa’s relationship.
While Dre seems stuck in the past and is emotionally stunted, Marissa has outgrown a lot about their adolescence. Marissa is still a Ni’Jah fan, but to a healthy degree. She’s ready to grow up, move in with her boyfriend, and even questions why Dre is still tweeting from an “old-ass” Ni’Jah stan account. When Marissa dies, Ni’Jah is the only person left who Dre feels she has a connection to, which likely explains why Dre’s violent behavior and obsession with Ni’Jah will escalate as the season goes on.
After the trailer dropped, fans pointed to everything from a reference to Ni’Jah’s sister to her aesthetic to speculate the series is inspired by Beyoncé and how her fanbase, also known as the Beyhive, act. The fact that Bailey, who is signed to Beyoncé’s label and mentored by the 32-time Grammy award winner along with her musical counterpart and sister, stars in the series as Marissa is also likely not a coincidence as Beyoncé is well-known for being very hands-on in any project she or her protégés are involved in.
During a Q&A after the premiere, it was all but confirmed Beyoncé was the inspiration for Ni’Jah’s character. Nabers said “a pop star who shall not be named” watched the show but refused to elaborate, also giving weight to the theory Bailey would never take on a role that the star didn’t know about or would partake in a project that would, in some way, be disrespectful to her mentor. However, Nabers later backtracked through a representative who told Variety that Nabers "had misspoken, and does not know who has seen the series and who hasn’t."
Nabers also revealed the first episode was inspired by a viral internet rumor. According to Inquisitor, a fake article claiming a 31-year-old Houstonian named Marissa Jackson, who was such a huge fan that she named her child “Jayonce”—a blend of Beyoncé and Jay Z—died by suicide at her apartment after watching Lemonade, Beyoncé’s sixth studio album and accompanying film that hinted at Jay Z’s alleged infidelity in 2016. While the story picked up traction on both Facebook and Twitter, it was eventually debunked.
“For two days we thought this was a real event, and it was dispelled later on Black Twitter. … When Donald pitched this idea of a Black woman who’s obsessed with a pop star, I said, ‘I know what the pilot is’ and ran with it,” Nabers recalled before revealing “every episode deals with real news stories, real events or internet rumors that have happened.”
The series also served as a chance for former first daughter Malia Obama, who graduated from Harvard in 2021, “to get her feet wet in TV” by being part of the writer’s room, Nabers told Vanity Fair in a January interview. Nabers said the 24-year-old could offer unique insight into the main characters of the show, who are also in their 20s. Bailey praised Obama at the premiere, saying, “Being on set with all these incredible Black women, Janine, and Dom, and even Malia, it was like we were all supporting each other through the art.”
According to Variety, this is the first time TV shows will premiere on both opening and closing nights during SXSW. Another dark comedy by showrunner Lee Sung Jin, Beef, is slated to close out the festival on March 18.
You can watch Swarm on Prime Video on March 17.
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
The post ‘Swarm’ review: A Beyoncé stan’s villain story originates at SXSW appeared first on The Daily Dot.
]]>
"Murder, sex, and music" is what SXSW festival-goers were promised if they attended the world premiere of Swarm.
Warning: This article contains some spoilers for Swarm.
The second TV series creation of multi-hyphenate Donald Glover kicked off the film and TV portion of the festival in Austin on March 10, and it ticked all three boxes.
Creators: Donald Glover and Janine Nabers
Streaming: Amazon Prime Video
The 'Swarm' pilot episode was inspired by a viral internet rumor, and the show's main character was inspired by a tweet.
The horror-thriller follows a young anti-hero named Dre (Dominique Fishback) who has an all-consuming obsession with a pop star named Ni’Jah, rumored to be inspired by Beyoncé, and who very well may be the very first on-screen female Black serial killer—something addressed by Swarm co-creator and showrunner Janine Nabers (who worked on HBO's Watchmen and with Glover on Atlanta) during the Q&A portion after the premiere.
“I think as Americans, we’re so conditioned to seeing white men be angry and giving them the space for violence on film and TV,” Nabers started, referencing Netflix’s Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, which she lauded as “one of the biggest shows that Netflix has ever done.”
She revealed Glover was encouraged to make Dre a serial killer after reading a tweet by a Black woman he follows. “He just loves her tweets. She was like, ‘Why does every Black woman on TV have to be a therapist, or a funny best friend, or someone looking for love, or a teacher? We can be crazy; we can be serial killers, too,’” Nabers said.
Dre reaches serial killer status (three or more kills) in just the two first episodes, both of which premiered at Paramount Theatre during SXSW. Dre kills her sister’s boyfriend (Damson Idris) with a lamp after he cheated on her sister, Marissa (Chlöe Bailey)—which caused her to die by suicide—before stuffing his body in her car’s trunk. Dre’s car later breaks down and ultimately leads to the murder of a man who fits the stereotype of a good samaritan being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He stops to help out but, to his detriment, fails to name Ni’Jah when Dre asks him who his favorite artist is.
SXSW attendees could get a closer look at the car used in the show at the Amazon Prime activation. Situated outside the Austin Motel-turned-a Texaco mini-mart featured in the show was Dre’s car, complete with a “body” wrapped in a black body bag hanging out of the trunk.
Dre’s third victim was the boyfriend of a woman who worked alongside Dre at a strip club.
While violence plays the loudest role in the first two episodes, there are also emerging underlying themes of sisterhood and connection.
“How Marissa internalizes her pain, she harms herself. And how Dre internalizes her pain, she harms others. It’s like they have this weird trauma bond, and the sisterhood, and how much they love each other—it’s almost to an obsessive point. But it’s so strong that nothing can really break it, and it’s like till death do them part,” Bailey explained of Dre and Marissa’s relationship.
While Dre seems stuck in the past and is emotionally stunted, Marissa has outgrown a lot about their adolescence. Marissa is still a Ni’Jah fan, but to a healthy degree. She’s ready to grow up, move in with her boyfriend, and even questions why Dre is still tweeting from an “old-ass” Ni’Jah stan account. When Marissa dies, Ni’Jah is the only person left who Dre feels she has a connection to, which likely explains why Dre’s violent behavior and obsession with Ni’Jah will escalate as the season goes on.
After the trailer dropped, fans pointed to everything from a reference to Ni’Jah’s sister to her aesthetic to speculate the series is inspired by Beyoncé and how her fanbase, also known as the Beyhive, act. The fact that Bailey, who is signed to Beyoncé’s label and mentored by the 32-time Grammy award winner along with her musical counterpart and sister, stars in the series as Marissa is also likely not a coincidence as Beyoncé is well-known for being very hands-on in any project she or her protégés are involved in.
During a Q&A after the premiere, it was all but confirmed Beyoncé was the inspiration for Ni’Jah’s character. Nabers said “a pop star who shall not be named” watched the show but refused to elaborate, also giving weight to the theory Bailey would never take on a role that the star didn’t know about or would partake in a project that would, in some way, be disrespectful to her mentor. However, Nabers later backtracked through a representative who told Variety that Nabers "had misspoken, and does not know who has seen the series and who hasn’t."
Nabers also revealed the first episode was inspired by a viral internet rumor. According to Inquisitor, a fake article claiming a 31-year-old Houstonian named Marissa Jackson, who was such a huge fan that she named her child “Jayonce”—a blend of Beyoncé and Jay Z—died by suicide at her apartment after watching Lemonade, Beyoncé’s sixth studio album and accompanying film that hinted at Jay Z’s alleged infidelity in 2016. While the story picked up traction on both Facebook and Twitter, it was eventually debunked.
“For two days we thought this was a real event, and it was dispelled later on Black Twitter. … When Donald pitched this idea of a Black woman who’s obsessed with a pop star, I said, ‘I know what the pilot is’ and ran with it,” Nabers recalled before revealing “every episode deals with real news stories, real events or internet rumors that have happened.”
The series also served as a chance for former first daughter Malia Obama, who graduated from Harvard in 2021, “to get her feet wet in TV” by being part of the writer’s room, Nabers told Vanity Fair in a January interview. Nabers said the 24-year-old could offer unique insight into the main characters of the show, who are also in their 20s. Bailey praised Obama at the premiere, saying, “Being on set with all these incredible Black women, Janine, and Dom, and even Malia, it was like we were all supporting each other through the art.”
According to Variety, this is the first time TV shows will premiere on both opening and closing nights during SXSW. Another dark comedy by showrunner Lee Sung Jin, Beef, is slated to close out the festival on March 18.
You can watch Swarm on Prime Video on March 17.
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
The post ‘Swarm’ review: A Beyoncé stan’s villain story originates at SXSW appeared first on The Daily Dot.
]]>
Returning for its long-awaited third season, Atlanta helped close out the 10-day-long South by South West (SXSW) festival in Austin on March 19.
.moviereviewtitle {font-style: italic; font-size:xx-large;}
.moviereviewinfotitle {font-size:large; color:#1fbdc3; text-transform:uppercase}
.moviereviewinfofield {font-size:large;}
.blurb {font-style: italic; font-size:large;}
March 24, 2022
Director:
Hiro Murai
Streaming:
FX on Hulu
Donald Glover’s popular FX series returns after being off-air for four years.
Donald Glover’s popular FX series has been off-air for roughly four years, as the pandemic delayed both the third as well as fourth and final season. Saturday night truly felt like a return to normalcy as the majority of SXSW was held in-person for the first time since the pandemic began, and as Atlanta, one of the 76 world premieres to be featured at the festival, made its return to the screen.
The first two episodes of season 3 premiered at SXSW, and they were followed by a Q&A with several of the show’s cast and creators. During the Q&A portion of the premiere, Glover addressed the show’s extended absence.
“There was a pandemic. I feel like everyone rushes to make the next season, and we were like, ‘Fuck that,’” he said. “We felt like if you make classic stuff, then time doesn’t touch it.”
This review contains spoilers for season 3.
Both the third and fourth seasons were jointly written and filmed. The third season is mostly set in Europe as characters Earn (Donald Glover), Alfred/Paper Boi (Brian Tyree Henry), Van (Zazie Beetz), and Darius (LaKeith Stanfield) are touring the continent.
The season 3 premiere, however, does not pick up where season 2 left off, instead opting for a standalone storyline. The episode was based on the Hart family murder-suicides. In 2018, Jennifer and Sarah Hart intentionally drove their six Black, adopted children off a cliff, killing them. Glover said he wanted to give the story a “better ending,” so all the children in the episode (there were four rather than six) escaped the car unscathed.
The episode follows a young boy named Loquareeous, who gets in trouble after breaking into a celebratory dance after learning his class is going to see Black Panther 2. A well-meaning white faculty member vows to save Loquareeous after his parents force him to Nae Nae and slap him three times as punishment (hence the episode’s title, “Three Slaps”). Loquareeous is essentially failed by the system, getting placed in a home with two white women who do things like make their four Black foster kids work in the garden and rename Loquareeous “Larry” since his actual name is hard to spell. The story ends when the women drive off a cliff, only to learn last-minute that the kids escaped from the car and that only they and their dog are going to die.
Glover admitted the decision to start the series this way was an unpopular one among the creators.
“No one liked that decision,” he said. “What can we do that other [shows] cannot do? Let’s show [viewers] how engaging we can be. That was it. We’ll just tell a good story. That episode is based on something that actually happened. And we were like, ‘What would happen if [the children didn’t die]. We thought it was a more enjoyable story.”
At the very end of the episode, viewers find out the storyline occurred in Earn’s dream, and the show returns to its ensemble cast in the second episode after he wakes up.
In that episode, Earn is helping prepare Alfred for a big show in Amsterdam in the midst of the holiday season, when many Dutch people wear blackface to portray a character called “Black Pete,” or Zwarte Piet, who supposedly got soot on his face after falling down a chimney while acting as Santa’s helper. “Sounds like Santa’s slave, but I respect the rebrand,” Earn says after learning the tale. After fans show up to Alfred’s concert in blackface, he refuses to perform, and Earn, while supportive of it, is left to deal with the fallout of this decision.
In the Q&A, Glover explained this is something they actually witnessed during filming.
“When we were there, we saw it. We were like, ‘Oh that’s kind of weird; that’s kind of strange.’ They weren’t throwing rocks at us and shit. They just thought it was part of their culture.”
Glover said that when they questioned locals about the tradition, they either had one of two reactions: “Some people were like, ‘No it’s a good thing’; other people were like, ‘Yeah, it’s kind of fucked up but [we do it for] the kids, the kids.’”
Stephen Glover, Atlanta writer and producer as well as Donald Glover’s brother, teased in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter that season 3 will “put some more women on the screen.” So far, the only female lead has been Zazie Beetz, who portrays Vanessa “Van” Keefer and has had one episode dedicated solely to her character’s storyline in the series’ first two seasons. Beetz has since gone on to star in The Joker and The Harder They Fall but returned for Atlanta’s third and fourth seasons. In the second episode, Van touches down in Amsterdam to join the rest of the group. But she seems to be having an identity crisis, describing herself as “aimless” at one point.
“What I really appreciated about her in this season, I do think is a reflection of anxiety and thoughts we’ve all had,” Beetz said during the Q&A portion of the event. “I do think she has a phenomenal arc in this season. … For her, her battle has often been finding her identity outside of being a mother, outside of just being Earn’s partner...Who is Van?”
In episode 2, "Sinterklaas is Coming to Town," Van finds an address in a coat while shopping, and, after being egged on by Darius, she follows it to a house, stumbling upon a group of people donning all white. They bring her to a celebration of sorts to help their supposedly dying Black friend pass on. Van comforts the man, telling him it’s OK to let go, without realizing that she is about to bear witness to his very public euthanasia via suffocation.
When asked during the Q&A what this scene was all about, Glover’s response was pretty straightforward. “We’re just fucked up people,” he said.
The closing night headliner was preceded by an activation, “The Trip: An Atlanta Café,” which saw Austin’s cocktail bar Higher Ground be transformed into an “immersive pop-up.” Fans of the show were encouraged to attend the event at 4:20pm to get the most out of the “psychedelic experience,” aimed at celebrating and previewing—through easter eggs—the show’s upcoming season. The activation was, in part, inspired by Amsterdam cafés, also known as “cannabis cafés.” Attendees were met with free drinks (most of the attendees at the press preview on March 11 opted for espresso martinis) and merch consisting of posters, coffee, and tote bags. Atlanta has never shied away from experimentation, going so far as to make Justin Bieber Black in season 1. Among the oddities seen throughout the event were a person dressed as a kinky Dalmatian behind the second-floor bar and a slew of misshapen cafe-like chairs and tables on each level. If the activation really did capture the essence of season 3 like it promised, it’s sure to be a trip.
Atlanta is slated to return March 24 at 9 p.m. CT on FX. The first two episodes will air consecutively and will be added to Hulu on March 25.
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
The post Review: Atlanta season 3 is sure to be a trip appeared first on The Daily Dot.
]]>
Returning for its long-awaited third season, Atlanta helped close out the 10-day-long South by South West (SXSW) festival in Austin on March 19.
.moviereviewtitle {font-style: italic; font-size:xx-large;} .moviereviewinfotitle {font-size:large; color:#1fbdc3; text-transform:uppercase} .moviereviewinfofield {font-size:large;} .blurb {font-style: italic; font-size:large;}Director: Hiro Murai
Streaming: FX on Hulu
Donald Glover’s popular FX series returns after being off-air for four years.
Donald Glover’s popular FX series has been off-air for roughly four years, as the pandemic delayed both the third as well as fourth and final season. Saturday night truly felt like a return to normalcy as the majority of SXSW was held in-person for the first time since the pandemic began, and as Atlanta, one of the 76 world premieres to be featured at the festival, made its return to the screen.
The first two episodes of season 3 premiered at SXSW, and they were followed by a Q&A with several of the show’s cast and creators. During the Q&A portion of the premiere, Glover addressed the show’s extended absence.
“There was a pandemic. I feel like everyone rushes to make the next season, and we were like, ‘Fuck that,’” he said. “We felt like if you make classic stuff, then time doesn’t touch it.”
This review contains spoilers for season 3.
Both the third and fourth seasons were jointly written and filmed. The third season is mostly set in Europe as characters Earn (Donald Glover), Alfred/Paper Boi (Brian Tyree Henry), Van (Zazie Beetz), and Darius (LaKeith Stanfield) are touring the continent.
The season 3 premiere, however, does not pick up where season 2 left off, instead opting for a standalone storyline. The episode was based on the Hart family murder-suicides. In 2018, Jennifer and Sarah Hart intentionally drove their six Black, adopted children off a cliff, killing them. Glover said he wanted to give the story a “better ending,” so all the children in the episode (there were four rather than six) escaped the car unscathed.
The episode follows a young boy named Loquareeous, who gets in trouble after breaking into a celebratory dance after learning his class is going to see Black Panther 2. A well-meaning white faculty member vows to save Loquareeous after his parents force him to Nae Nae and slap him three times as punishment (hence the episode’s title, “Three Slaps”). Loquareeous is essentially failed by the system, getting placed in a home with two white women who do things like make their four Black foster kids work in the garden and rename Loquareeous “Larry” since his actual name is hard to spell. The story ends when the women drive off a cliff, only to learn last-minute that the kids escaped from the car and that only they and their dog are going to die.
Glover admitted the decision to start the series this way was an unpopular one among the creators.
“No one liked that decision,” he said. “What can we do that other [shows] cannot do? Let’s show [viewers] how engaging we can be. That was it. We’ll just tell a good story. That episode is based on something that actually happened. And we were like, ‘What would happen if [the children didn’t die]. We thought it was a more enjoyable story.”
At the very end of the episode, viewers find out the storyline occurred in Earn’s dream, and the show returns to its ensemble cast in the second episode after he wakes up.
In that episode, Earn is helping prepare Alfred for a big show in Amsterdam in the midst of the holiday season, when many Dutch people wear blackface to portray a character called “Black Pete,” or Zwarte Piet, who supposedly got soot on his face after falling down a chimney while acting as Santa’s helper. “Sounds like Santa’s slave, but I respect the rebrand,” Earn says after learning the tale. After fans show up to Alfred’s concert in blackface, he refuses to perform, and Earn, while supportive of it, is left to deal with the fallout of this decision.
In the Q&A, Glover explained this is something they actually witnessed during filming.
“When we were there, we saw it. We were like, ‘Oh that’s kind of weird; that’s kind of strange.’ They weren’t throwing rocks at us and shit. They just thought it was part of their culture.”
Glover said that when they questioned locals about the tradition, they either had one of two reactions: “Some people were like, ‘No it’s a good thing’; other people were like, ‘Yeah, it’s kind of fucked up but [we do it for] the kids, the kids.’”
Stephen Glover, Atlanta writer and producer as well as Donald Glover’s brother, teased in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter that season 3 will “put some more women on the screen.” So far, the only female lead has been Zazie Beetz, who portrays Vanessa “Van” Keefer and has had one episode dedicated solely to her character’s storyline in the series’ first two seasons. Beetz has since gone on to star in The Joker and The Harder They Fall but returned for Atlanta’s third and fourth seasons. In the second episode, Van touches down in Amsterdam to join the rest of the group. But she seems to be having an identity crisis, describing herself as “aimless” at one point.
“What I really appreciated about her in this season, I do think is a reflection of anxiety and thoughts we’ve all had,” Beetz said during the Q&A portion of the event. “I do think she has a phenomenal arc in this season. … For her, her battle has often been finding her identity outside of being a mother, outside of just being Earn’s partner...Who is Van?”
In episode 2, "Sinterklaas is Coming to Town," Van finds an address in a coat while shopping, and, after being egged on by Darius, she follows it to a house, stumbling upon a group of people donning all white. They bring her to a celebration of sorts to help their supposedly dying Black friend pass on. Van comforts the man, telling him it’s OK to let go, without realizing that she is about to bear witness to his very public euthanasia via suffocation.
When asked during the Q&A what this scene was all about, Glover’s response was pretty straightforward. “We’re just fucked up people,” he said.
The closing night headliner was preceded by an activation, “The Trip: An Atlanta Café,” which saw Austin’s cocktail bar Higher Ground be transformed into an “immersive pop-up.” Fans of the show were encouraged to attend the event at 4:20pm to get the most out of the “psychedelic experience,” aimed at celebrating and previewing—through easter eggs—the show’s upcoming season. The activation was, in part, inspired by Amsterdam cafés, also known as “cannabis cafés.” Attendees were met with free drinks (most of the attendees at the press preview on March 11 opted for espresso martinis) and merch consisting of posters, coffee, and tote bags. Atlanta has never shied away from experimentation, going so far as to make Justin Bieber Black in season 1. Among the oddities seen throughout the event were a person dressed as a kinky Dalmatian behind the second-floor bar and a slew of misshapen cafe-like chairs and tables on each level. If the activation really did capture the essence of season 3 like it promised, it’s sure to be a trip.
Atlanta is slated to return March 24 at 9 p.m. CT on FX. The first two episodes will air consecutively and will be added to Hulu on March 25.
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
The post Review: Atlanta season 3 is sure to be a trip appeared first on The Daily Dot.
]]>
A woman posted TikTok videos about the death of her 3-year-old daughter before being convicted in her killing.
The 23-year-old U.K. woman, Nicola Priest, used the TikTok account to seemingly mourn her child, reportedly saying in one video that she "will never forget" her daughter, Kaylee-Jayde Priest, referring to Kaylee-Jayde as a "darling" and "angel."
"I should have done better, I'm sorry mom and dad," she seems to cry in another, partially lip-synching the words to the song "To My Parents" by Anna Clendening.
Priest was found guilty of child cruelty and manslaughter in her daughter’s Aug. 9, 2020, death, according to Business Insider. Priest, according to the BBC, was sentenced to 15 years in jail on Friday.
Before Kaylee-Jayde’s death, Nicola Priest reportedly posted videos of the two “dancing”—she, according to Daily Mail, grabbed Kaylee-Jayde like she was a puppet and moved her to the music. She is being accused of using Kaylee-Jayde as a “prop” for her TikTok account, @nikkip210, which boasts over 1,000 followers.
Priest’s most recent videos—from 2020—feature her dancing and showing off her makeup purchases. The majority of comments on Priest's videos allude to Kaylee-Jayde's killing and are critical. "Just in case anyone was wondering what real evil looks like," one viewer commented.
Priest’s 22-year-old ex-partner, Callum Redfern, was also found guilty of manslaughter in Kaylee-Jayde’s killing, according to the BBC. He was reportedly sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Justice David Andrew Foxton said during the duo’s sentencing on Friday that the two were trying to have sex on Aug. 8 when Kaylee-Jayde wanted to play rather than go to sleep. They reportedly beat her as a result, according to the BBC. The 3-year-old, reportedly according to a press release from the West Midlands Police Department, "suffered catastrophic abdominal and chest injuries, including fractured ribs" during what Prosecutor Andrew Smith described as a "sustained assault” when speaking to the jury. Neighbors testified in court that they witnessed Priest hit Kaylee-Jayde in the past.
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
The post ‘Just in case anyone was wondering what real evil looks like’: Woman makes dancing videos after killing 3-year-old daughter appeared first on The Daily Dot.
]]>
A woman posted TikTok videos about the death of her 3-year-old daughter before being convicted in her killing.
The 23-year-old U.K. woman, Nicola Priest, used the TikTok account to seemingly mourn her child, reportedly saying in one video that she "will never forget" her daughter, Kaylee-Jayde Priest, referring to Kaylee-Jayde as a "darling" and "angel."
"I should have done better, I'm sorry mom and dad," she seems to cry in another, partially lip-synching the words to the song "To My Parents" by Anna Clendening.
Priest was found guilty of child cruelty and manslaughter in her daughter’s Aug. 9, 2020, death, according to Business Insider. Priest, according to the BBC, was sentenced to 15 years in jail on Friday.
Before Kaylee-Jayde’s death, Nicola Priest reportedly posted videos of the two “dancing”—she, according to Daily Mail, grabbed Kaylee-Jayde like she was a puppet and moved her to the music. She is being accused of using Kaylee-Jayde as a “prop” for her TikTok account, @nikkip210, which boasts over 1,000 followers.
Priest’s most recent videos—from 2020—feature her dancing and showing off her makeup purchases. The majority of comments on Priest's videos allude to Kaylee-Jayde's killing and are critical. "Just in case anyone was wondering what real evil looks like," one viewer commented.
Priest’s 22-year-old ex-partner, Callum Redfern, was also found guilty of manslaughter in Kaylee-Jayde’s killing, according to the BBC. He was reportedly sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Justice David Andrew Foxton said during the duo’s sentencing on Friday that the two were trying to have sex on Aug. 8 when Kaylee-Jayde wanted to play rather than go to sleep. They reportedly beat her as a result, according to the BBC. The 3-year-old, reportedly according to a press release from the West Midlands Police Department, "suffered catastrophic abdominal and chest injuries, including fractured ribs" during what Prosecutor Andrew Smith described as a "sustained assault” when speaking to the jury. Neighbors testified in court that they witnessed Priest hit Kaylee-Jayde in the past.
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
The post ‘Just in case anyone was wondering what real evil looks like’: Woman makes dancing videos after killing 3-year-old daughter appeared first on The Daily Dot.
]]>
Some social media users are seeking “justice” for a 21-year-old popular TikToker who was sentenced to 24 years in prison for vehicular homicide.
In 2018, when Cameron Herrin was 18 years old, he hit 24-year-old Jessica Reisinger-Raubenolt and her 1-year-old daughter, Lillia, while participating in a street race, according to local news outlet FOX 13 Tampa Bay. Both the mother and daughter died.
Reisinger-Raubenolt was reportedly pushing Lillia in a stroller across the Florida street when they were struck. A report revealed that Herrin was driving up to "102 miles an hour before the driver began a hard braking, right before the crash."
Herrin was reportedly sentenced in April 2021. The judge on the case, according to FOX 13, pointed to Herrin’s alleged history of excessive speeding as part of the reason he sentenced the 21-year-old to 24 years in prison.
Some of Herrin’s fans who claim his 24-year sentence is too harsh—and that he’s too attractive to be in prison—started an online campaign with the intent to get Herrin released early.
A TikToker, who is known for creating news-related content on the platform and has over 500,000 followers, recently made a video about Herrin to explain to users why they’re seeing his “face all over TikTok.” Her video has been viewed over 2.2 million views since being posted on Aug. 4.
"People on the internet and on TikTok specifically think that this punishment is too harsh and that he deserves a second chance,” TikToker @hannahkosh says before reading some of the comments of support he is receiving. “Here are some of the comments: 'Poor boy, I hope they will forgive him, he looks innocent. He didn't do it on purpose,' and 'He doesn't deserve that. You're too cute.'"
@hannahkosh then points to the Change.org petition seeking "justice" for Herrin. The petition has garnered more than 28,000 signatures so far.
Many of the TikTok videos feature photos or clips of Herrin’s sentencing and time in court.
Some TikTokers are even comparing Herrin to other “criminals” dubbed attractive by people online, like Victoria Mendoza, who reportedly received a 16-to-life prison sentence after fatally stabbing her girlfriend, 21-year-old Tawnee Baird.
Charlie Puth responded to one such TikTok video in which his music was used, saying, “Don’t use my music for that shit.”
Herrin has over 2 million followers on his TikTok account, which was recently purged of all of its content, according to PopBuzz. It's unclear if Herrin gained his massive following before or after the incident. Court documents, reviewed by local TV station WTSP, reveal that Herrin is appealing the sentence.
H/T PopBuzz
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
The post ‘Too cute’: TikTokers are simping over man sentenced to 24 years in prison for killing a mom and daughter in street race appeared first on The Daily Dot.
]]>
Some social media users are seeking “justice” for a 21-year-old popular TikToker who was sentenced to 24 years in prison for vehicular homicide.
In 2018, when Cameron Herrin was 18 years old, he hit 24-year-old Jessica Reisinger-Raubenolt and her 1-year-old daughter, Lillia, while participating in a street race, according to local news outlet FOX 13 Tampa Bay. Both the mother and daughter died.
Reisinger-Raubenolt was reportedly pushing Lillia in a stroller across the Florida street when they were struck. A report revealed that Herrin was driving up to "102 miles an hour before the driver began a hard braking, right before the crash."
Herrin was reportedly sentenced in April 2021. The judge on the case, according to FOX 13, pointed to Herrin’s alleged history of excessive speeding as part of the reason he sentenced the 21-year-old to 24 years in prison.
Some of Herrin’s fans who claim his 24-year sentence is too harsh—and that he’s too attractive to be in prison—started an online campaign with the intent to get Herrin released early.
A TikToker, who is known for creating news-related content on the platform and has over 500,000 followers, recently made a video about Herrin to explain to users why they’re seeing his “face all over TikTok.” Her video has been viewed over 2.2 million views since being posted on Aug. 4.
"People on the internet and on TikTok specifically think that this punishment is too harsh and that he deserves a second chance,” TikToker @hannahkosh says before reading some of the comments of support he is receiving. “Here are some of the comments: 'Poor boy, I hope they will forgive him, he looks innocent. He didn't do it on purpose,' and 'He doesn't deserve that. You're too cute.'"
@hannahkosh then points to the Change.org petition seeking "justice" for Herrin. The petition has garnered more than 28,000 signatures so far.
Many of the TikTok videos feature photos or clips of Herrin’s sentencing and time in court.
Some TikTokers are even comparing Herrin to other “criminals” dubbed attractive by people online, like Victoria Mendoza, who reportedly received a 16-to-life prison sentence after fatally stabbing her girlfriend, 21-year-old Tawnee Baird.
Charlie Puth responded to one such TikTok video in which his music was used, saying, “Don’t use my music for that shit.”
Herrin has over 2 million followers on his TikTok account, which was recently purged of all of its content, according to PopBuzz. It's unclear if Herrin gained his massive following before or after the incident. Court documents, reviewed by local TV station WTSP, reveal that Herrin is appealing the sentence.
H/T PopBuzz
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
The post ‘Too cute’: TikTokers are simping over man sentenced to 24 years in prison for killing a mom and daughter in street race appeared first on The Daily Dot.
]]>
An apparent vigilante dragged a man around by a leash as punishment for allegedly abusing a dog in the same way.
While none of the alleged animal abuse occurs on camera, the pit bull’s face appears bloodied and scraped in the video—which features various clips from an Instagram Story stitched together—and a portion of it is captioned: “[N-word] wanna be abusing dogs.”
The video, which was reposted to Reddit, where it went viral, was tagged as NSFW content, presumably due to the state the pit bull was in. The video was initially posted by the Instagram account frenchiee.bandsome and shows a man dragging around another man who has a metal chain around his neck. The incident allegedly occurred in New York, according to the Sun. The Daily Dot has reached out to both the New York Police Department and frenchie.bandsome.
It’s unclear who owns the dog, though many viewers are speculating the man accused of animal abuse is also the dog’s owner. The man who dragged him around via a leash also slaps his face and kicks him in the torso at various points in the video. The man attempts to fight back, to no avail, and several bystanders can be heard shouting in support of the apparent vigilante.
Bystanders can be heard accusing the man of doing the same thing to the dog that is being done to him. In another clip featured in the video, one can be heard asking the man, "You like f*cking dragging dogs?"
The final clips featured in the video show the dog being petted while inside a house. The video reveals his name is “Prada” and notes that he’s in “good” condition and is soon going to the vet. The person currently taking care of Prada says they are going to buy a new leash for the pooch—a leash that’s “not choking his neck.”
H/T the Sun
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
The post ‘You like dragging dogs?’ Bystander drags man by leash after seeing him allegedly drag dog the same way appeared first on The Daily Dot.
]]>
An apparent vigilante dragged a man around by a leash as punishment for allegedly abusing a dog in the same way.
While none of the alleged animal abuse occurs on camera, the pit bull’s face appears bloodied and scraped in the video—which features various clips from an Instagram Story stitched together—and a portion of it is captioned: “[N-word] wanna be abusing dogs.”
The video, which was reposted to Reddit, where it went viral, was tagged as NSFW content, presumably due to the state the pit bull was in. The video was initially posted by the Instagram account frenchiee.bandsome and shows a man dragging around another man who has a metal chain around his neck. The incident allegedly occurred in New York, according to the Sun. The Daily Dot has reached out to both the New York Police Department and frenchie.bandsome.
It’s unclear who owns the dog, though many viewers are speculating the man accused of animal abuse is also the dog’s owner. The man who dragged him around via a leash also slaps his face and kicks him in the torso at various points in the video. The man attempts to fight back, to no avail, and several bystanders can be heard shouting in support of the apparent vigilante.
Bystanders can be heard accusing the man of doing the same thing to the dog that is being done to him. In another clip featured in the video, one can be heard asking the man, "You like f*cking dragging dogs?"
The final clips featured in the video show the dog being petted while inside a house. The video reveals his name is “Prada” and notes that he’s in “good” condition and is soon going to the vet. The person currently taking care of Prada says they are going to buy a new leash for the pooch—a leash that’s “not choking his neck.”
H/T the Sun
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
The post ‘You like dragging dogs?’ Bystander drags man by leash after seeing him allegedly drag dog the same way appeared first on The Daily Dot.
]]>
A fisherman was filmed “finding” a brand-new bottle of Fireball Whiskey inside a fish, sparking a debate on whether the video is staged and a conversation surrounding marine pollution.
In the video, the fishman can be seen filleting a large fish while on a boat with several others. When he goes to clean out the fish, he discovers a brand-new bottle of Fireball Whisky. He happily holds the bottle up to the camera and shouts, “Jackpot!”
His fellow fishermen cheer and laugh in response.
The video has been viewed nearly 6 million times since being posted to TikTok by user @behiban on Saturday.
Many were skeptical of the alleged finding, with one telling those who think the bottle was actually ingested by the fish: “Tell me you believe everything you see without telling me you believe everything you see.“
“Yeah, they stuffed it in before,” one assumed.
“Just very good video editing,” another speculated.
However, some took the opportunity to comment on marine pollution, because, regardless of whether the video is staged or not, it is not uncommon for man-made waste to wind up in sea creatures’ bodies. So much plastic waste reportedly gets dumped into the ocean each year that, at this rate, there will be more plastic than fish in the oceans by 2050. More than half of all fish species have reportedly ingested plastic so far.
“That’s just sad,” one said after watching the video.
Update 1:33pm CT, June 24: When reached for comment by the Daily Dot, @behiban refused to confirm whether or not the video was staged.
H/T Indy100
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
The post ‘That’s just sad’: Fisherman ‘finds’ brand-new bottle of Fireball in fish after cutting it open, sparking debate (updated) appeared first on The Daily Dot.
]]>
A fisherman was filmed “finding” a brand-new bottle of Fireball Whiskey inside a fish, sparking a debate on whether the video is staged and a conversation surrounding marine pollution.
In the video, the fishman can be seen filleting a large fish while on a boat with several others. When he goes to clean out the fish, he discovers a brand-new bottle of Fireball Whisky. He happily holds the bottle up to the camera and shouts, “Jackpot!”
His fellow fishermen cheer and laugh in response.
The video has been viewed nearly 6 million times since being posted to TikTok by user @behiban on Saturday.
Many were skeptical of the alleged finding, with one telling those who think the bottle was actually ingested by the fish: “Tell me you believe everything you see without telling me you believe everything you see.“
“Yeah, they stuffed it in before,” one assumed.
“Just very good video editing,” another speculated.
However, some took the opportunity to comment on marine pollution, because, regardless of whether the video is staged or not, it is not uncommon for man-made waste to wind up in sea creatures’ bodies. So much plastic waste reportedly gets dumped into the ocean each year that, at this rate, there will be more plastic than fish in the oceans by 2050. More than half of all fish species have reportedly ingested plastic so far.
“That’s just sad,” one said after watching the video.
Update 1:33pm CT, June 24: When reached for comment by the Daily Dot, @behiban refused to confirm whether or not the video was staged.
H/T Indy100
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
The post ‘That’s just sad’: Fisherman ‘finds’ brand-new bottle of Fireball in fish after cutting it open, sparking debate (updated) appeared first on The Daily Dot.
]]>