Convicted AT&T website hacker Andrew “Weev” Auernheimer has been placed in “administrative segregation,” also known as solitary confinement, after he was caught tweeting to a personal account from prison.

While Auernheimer did not have direct access to a computer he relayed messages to a third party who then transmitted those messages via Twitter by way of Auernheimer’s personal Twitter account.

The solitary confinement appears to be working as Weev’s account has been silent since April 8, 2013.

The team at the Daily Dot acquired a hand written letter from the hacker which reads:

Auernheimer is serving 41 months in prison after he scraped AT&T user data from an unencrypted AT&T website. Weev shared his findings with the website Gawker.

Since the lockdown Weev’s attorney Tor Ekeland has had no contact with his client.

Do you think the hacker deserves to be in solitary based on his attempts to tweet from behind bars?

Andrew ‘Weev’ Auernheimer Placed In ‘Solitary’ After Tweeting From Prison is a post from: The Inquisitr

President Obama has selected a Twitter lawyer for office.

Nicole Wong has more than a decade of experience as an attorney for Silicon Valley covering copyright and privacy, and all this behind the scenes of a site you might use all the time. Nicole Wong has worked for Google and Twitter, making her a formidable proponent for internet privacy law.

Nicole Wong previously was a vice president and deputy general counsel at Google at its Mountain View, California headquarters. Nicole Wong helped review privacy, copyright, and removal requests, and ultimately gave the thumbs up or down on things that could make or break the company. She was nicknamed “The Decider” for her work with a team of lawyers who reviewed Google’s products, according to the New York Times.

After eight years with Google as part of the Perkins Coie law firm, Nicole Wong moved on to Twitter. With Wong at the helm, Twitter won several accolades for privacy practices. The Electronic Frontier Foundation gave Twitter the full 6 stars in a recent survey of tech companies, titled “Who Has Your Back?” Twitter has also backed a coalition lobbying for three years to have Federal privacy laws rewritten to require search warrants for remote server data.

President Obama selected Nicole Wong as a senior adviser to the chief technology officer, focusing on internet privacy. The current chief technology officer Todd Park took over for Aneesh Chopra, who was the first one appointed to the job and left the company at the beginning of 2012.

Some may find President Obama‘s selection an odd choice after recent hacking from the Syrian Electronic Army had taken over several news site Twitter accounts, an obvious violation of privacy and security. It is also a reversal of previous picks for senior privacy officers, as in the past they have usually been selected from the Library of Congress.

Nicole Wong of Twitter being selected as privacy officer was a controversial move on the part of President Obama, but nowhere near his first.

Do you think President Obama’s selection of a Twitter privacy officer was a good choice?

Twitter Lawyer Selected For Office By President Obama is a post from: The Inquisitr

In light of the Delaware Senate passing a gay marriage measure, professional wrestler Jay Briscoe shares his graphic, anti-gay thoughts on Twitter, resulting in criticism from several media outlets.

After the gay marriage measure’s passage, Briscoe tweeted: “The Delaware Senate passed a bill yesterday that allows same sex couples to get married. If that makes you happy, then congratulations!!!!!”

Well, that’s not so bad.

“… try and teach my kids that there’s nothing wrong with that and I’ll f—ing shoot you.”

Alright, that’s bad.

Though it’s normally our editorial practice to embed tweets so you can see them for yourselves, it appears as though Briscoe’s Twitter account has been deactivated, either after he was flagged for the tweets or of his own volition and due to heavy backlash.

His tweets were re-printed by Opposing Views and CageSideSeats, the latter of which opined that Briscoe’s comments “should not only embarrass ROH management, but also the whole wrestling industry.”

“It’s one thing to politely disagree with gay marriage, quite another to say that you would commit acts of violence on anyone who teaches your children that it’s OK,” writes Keith Harris.

Briscoe currently wrestles on the Ring of Honor circuit, far from the wide public exposure of companies like the WWE.

This isn’t the first time Briscoe has used Twitter to express his anti-gay views. Two years ago, he tweeted “Damn there’s a lot of fags out in New York today #WhatTheF–k.” It’s unclear whether ROH execs punished him for his comments, but since he just did it again, we doubt it.

What do you think of Jay Briscoe’s comments? Should celebrities at all levels of fame be more careful about what they say? Sound off!

[Image via: daysofthundr46 / Wikimedia Commons]

Pro Wrestler Threatens To Kill In Anti-Gay Tweets is a post from: The Inquisitr

Kim Kardashian is pregnant, and with pregnancy comes a litany of unpleasant symptoms. While she apparently dodged the morning sickness and nausea bullet, Kim is suffering from one fairly common pregnant lady problem: Swollen feet.

Kim K took to Twitter and Instagram over the weekend to share a photo of her swollen feet, which look pretty garish from where we’re sitting. Garish and painful.

On her left foot, she appears to be wearing a Givenchy heel with some kind of cross-strap overlay (sue me, I’m not a fashionista). The flesh of her foot appears to be painfully bulging between the straps, evident by her right foot which is bare. The right foot shows the shoe pattern, and boy does it make us cringe.

We have to give Kim some serious props for posting the picture, though. It’s pretty bold to throw out something potentially embarrassing like that, but use it as an opportunity to laugh at yourself.

“Swollen feet or a new Givenchy tattoo?” she writes with the photo.

The pic is also notable since the 32-year-old mom-to-be has been judged practically non-stop for her maternity style. Contrasting her idol, Duchess Kate, Kim chooses to wear tight dresses and heels over fashionable frocks and flats. In short, she dresses like she isn’t pregnant.

But she’s just trying things out, she tells Extra TV.

“It’s pretty ridiculous. I love fashion, I love experimenting with fashion so for me to try all of these new things, pregnant or not pregnant, it’s been fun for me, whether they like it or not.

“It’s so funny because people would say, ‘Take a cue from Kourtney, she looked so good pregnant!’ So, I would borrow her clothes and that’s when I would get dogged out the most. We have such different bodies and the things that would look great on her, didn’t look great on me.”

Swollen feet or a new Givenchy tattoo? instagram.com/p/Y5v7XsuS0z/

— Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) May 4, 2013

What do you think of Kim Kardashian’s swollen feet pic? Brave? Slightly disturbing? Funny? Sound off!

[Image via: lee james cox, Shutterstock]

Kim Kardashian Tweets Swollen Feet Pic, Apparently Refuses To Buy New Shoes is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Onion‘s Twitter feed has been hacked.

You might remember a while back when The Onion posted one of the most insensitive articles they had ever written, resulting in a mass of unfollowings. This time they mis-tweeted again, but it’s not their fault. It’s apparently the Syrian Electronic Army that’s making them look bad for this round. In case you decided to look for the tweets, they have since been deleted.

The Onion has always been a parody news site dedicated to making you laugh with its cutting wit and sometimes grossly irrelevant headlines. An example of the kind of headlines they might come up with would be, “Local man could swear he left garbage can by driveway”. Yes it’s ridiculous, and yes, it makes us laugh.

Recent tweets were much more Syrian in nature, leading to conclusions that the Syrian Electronic Army is at it again:

“UN retracts report of Syrian chemical weapon use: ‘Lab tests confirm it is Jihadi body odor’”.

“BREAKING: #TheOnion readership mass confusion as Syrian Electronic Army takes over. All demand a permanent column.” This one included a Twitpic or similar image and had been retweeted.

“The #Onion CEO: ‘We regret taking Zionist money to defame Syria, now the hackers are up our ass.’ This one included a link to a page on The Onion.

“NASA: 9th planet discovered and identified as the Qatari Emir Amad Bin Khalifa.” This one included two links.

Some Twitter postings were not included above, as they were too racist, and all of them were screen captured and posted on Slate.com.

This is not the first time a Twitter news account has been hacked by the Syrian Electronic Army. Recent hacks affected Associated Press, the BBC, NPR, and Reuters News. Unlike previous attacks, this one did bring a few chuckles.

If you ever find your Twitter account hacked, be sure to immediately change your password.

What do you think of the recent hacking of The Onion on Twitter?

The Onion Twitter Feed Hacked is a post from: The Inquisitr

COMMENTARY | Former CBS journalist Katie Couric is investigating the link between violence in real life and violent video games (there isn’t one, but we’ll get to that), and a recent report on her program Katie incensed the gaming community for being way too one-sided about the issue.

Couric then extended her olive branch to gamers on Twitter, tweeting:

“Passionate gamers upset [with conversation about] whether violent video games can contribute to [violent] behavior. Tweet the positive side of violent [violent] games? Thanx!”

She also vaguely promised to use the tweets on an upcoming episode of her show.

The original report, which aired Monday, was titled “Are Video Games Ruining Your Life?” and featured individuals with no personal responsibility for whom violent video games had done just that.

It was mostly a testimonial program (you can check it out here) with a few experts on hand to confirm the program’s pre-determined conclusions.

Couric’s Twitter feed pretty clearly shows what the gaming community thought of her report.

.@katiecouric I’d take your piece under deeper consideration if it wasn’t done in May sweeps and didn’t prey on people’s fears.

— Chelsea Stark (@chelseabot) May 3, 2013

@katiecouric Games, violent or not, are something my son and can share. We have just as much fun w/ Gears of War as we do w/ Wii Sports. — Jennifer Amlie (@jenniferamlie) May 3, 2013

@katiecouric It’s not about games having a positive side. It’s about there being no correlation at all between violent games and violence. — Bartholomew Cubbins (@treehuggertl) May 3, 2013

@katiecouric hi. Here’s my video response to your tweet. Enjoy! youtube.com/watch?v=QlZuwp…

— Michael Hogman(@Hogmanlolz) May 3, 2013

@katiecouric – Can’t fit that in 140 characters, nor is that equal time. The BS side of this “debate” got airtime. Positive side should, too

— P Scott Patterson (@OriginalPSP) May 3, 2013

And that’s pretty much what got gamers really going about Couric’s report. A great rebuttal written by Britton Peele over at the Dallas News summarizes it well:

“What this episode of Katie did, unfortunately, was go in with a clear villain in mind (video games), and stuck to that gun throughout the discussion, only briefly touching on other factors and only offhandedly mentioning that video games aren’t the only cause of tragedy.”

The media narrative against violent video games is indeed strange, especially when there’s no real link between violence in video games and violence in real life (I promised we’d get back to it).

The funny thing is, unlike Couric, those in the video game industry are very willing to have a rigorous and scientific debate on the issue.

For that, you can check out this piece at Kotaku, or watch the Gamespot video below on the supposed links between real-life and video game violence. But let us know what you think: Do you agree with Katie Couric, that violent video games are a problem, or is there not a persuasive link?

[Image via: PeterPhoto123, Shutterstock.com]

Katie Couric’s Risky, Misguided Beef With Video Game Violence is a post from: The Inquisitr

Warren Buffett has joined Twitter.

The 82-year-old Berkshire Hathaway CEO made his social media debut on Thursday, posting his very first tweet at 9:20 a.m. PT.

The Nebraska-based investment guru is easily America’s wealthiest technophobe, but he doesn’t have a computer in his office and has famously joked that he doesn’t even know how to check his voicemail. Still, Buffett chose to join social media Thursday morning during a conversation with Fortune senior editor-at-large Pattie Sellers.

He participated in a live-streamed video chat, called his “first social interview,” regarding an essay he wrote about women in leadership roles. The chat pulled questions from Twitter observing the hashtage #FortuneBuffett.

In the chat, Buffett said that it was an ethical imperative to see more women in leadership roles, but also noted that such promotions affect the bottom line, as well. “Fellow males, get onboard,” he wrote. “The closer that America comes to fully employing the talents of all its citizens, the greater its output of goods and services will be.”

At one point, Sellers prompted Buffett to go on Twitter, “in the spirit of this being your first social interview.”

“That’s pretty daring, but I’ll try,” laughed Buffett.

Sellers then presented a device with a Twitter handle already set up under Buffett’s name. Recognizing the historic moment, Sellers noted that Buffett’s first tweet “better be interesting,” and that “it better be entertaining” before handing him the reins and telling him to “tweet away.”

That “entertaining” and “interesting” tweet?

Warren is in the house.

— Warren Buffett (@WarrenBuffett) May 2, 2013

Nice!

So far, that is Buffett’s only tweet, and it’s not even clear whether he’ll use the account or keep it at all. He has already amassed about 100,000 followers as of this writing, though.

Are you following Warren Buffett on Twitter?

[Image via: Alice Schroeder, Wikimedia Commons]

Warren Buffett Joins Twitter, Quickly Gains Thousands Of Followers is a post from: The Inquisitr

On-field Twitter hashtags have been banned by the NCAAA as a prohibited form of advertising. URLs are also out of bounds.

The college football hashtag ban came in the form of a new NCAA Rules Committee announcement. Among the permissible items include the NCAA logo, the conference logo, the school name/team name and logo, and (of course) two mentions of the name of the company that bought the event’s naming rights. Separate rules apply to post-season matchups. “All other items, including social media designations such as URL’s and hashtags, are prohibited,” the NCAA declared.

Note that the NCAA apparently needs some grammatical instruction in the proper use of the apostrophe.

The Mississippi State Bulldogs reportedly got the ball rolling as it were with Twitter hashtags: “Mississippi State added a hashtag last fall to commemorate the 2000 ‘Snow Bowl’ with Texas A&M. Michigan painted #goblue at each of its 25-yard lines, and Arkansas added #GOHOGS to its field. But most schools have been slow to take advantage of such social media tools. No matter — these endeavors have now been nipped in the bud by the NCAA.”

The new rules also detail permissible marking on pylons, among other things, and believe it or not specify the allowed-for size of team towels.

Some observers feel the NCAA social media police are overreacting to the Twitter hashtag issue: “The reason for this? Perhaps a hashtag falls under the category of advertising, which, according to the bulletin, is also prohibited on a team’s field unless otherwise designated. But it’s still interesting the NCAA would find it necessary to crack down on such a minor issue. #dumb.”

Given the burgeoning growth of social media, plus all the scandals in colleges sports in connection with corrupt practices by coaches, boosters, and so-called student-athletes, do you think that an NCAA Twitter hashtag ban is necessary or even reasonable?

[Image credit: Ianmccor]

Twitter Hashtags Banned By NCAA On Football Fields is a post from: The Inquisitr

David Price is not known as a hot head. In fact, the Tampa Rays pitcher is usually considered one of those guys who just goes out and does his job.

He did his job on Sunday, striking out nine in an 8-3 win over the Chicago Whitesox. That victory was the first of the season for the newly anointed ace of the staff.

After the game, the All-Star hurler took to Twitter to voice his displeasure with umpire Tom Hallion.

Hallion had ejected Rays’ pitcher Jeremy Hellickson in today’s game for what the ump said was arguing calls from the bench. David Price claims that the situation was a bit more … blue than the umpire’s report.

The situation began when the Tampa pitcher thought he had stuck out DeWayne Wise looking. Hallion called it a ball and the pitcher expressed his surprise.

At some point, he claims that the umpire yelled, ‘Throw the ball over the [expletive] plate.” The Rays’ star said that the entire bench heard it, and that’s when they starting going crazy.

This is apparently also when Hellickson was ejected from the game. After the game, a reporter told Hallion what was claimed and he responded that it was a lie.

The umpire’s comments about lying is apparently what started the Twitter barrage.

1. I am not a liar 2. I would not make that stuff up 3. My own dad doesn’t speak to me that way 4. Again I am not a liar #accountability

— David Price (@DAVIDprice14) April 28, 2013

The situation only seems to have escalated once a Tampa beat reporter was actually able to get some inflammatory comments from the ump onto the social media site.

Umpire Tom Hallion, to pool reporter, on #Rays @davidprice14‘s laim he cursed him: “I’ll come right out bluntly and say he’s a liar,’

— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) April 28, 2013

At this point, other Rays jumped into the discussion, and it was no longer a he said-he said situation.

There’s only one person lying about all this and his name starts with a T and rhymes with pom

— Jeremy Hellickson(@JHell58) April 28, 2013

Lies! lies i tell you! RT @tbtimes_rays: Umpire Hallion said to Price:”I said, “Just throw the ball.” That’s all I said to him’

— Matt Moore(@MattyMoe55) April 28, 2013

In the end, the smoke isn’t likely to really clear in this situation. We likely won’t ever know the entire story.

David Price will likely get himself a nice suspension for his part of this situation.

David Price Gets Into Twitter War With Umpire Tom Hallion is a post from: The Inquisitr

Underwood, an animal rights activist, is upset that the bill would require journalists and other organizations to report all cases of animal abuse within 48-hours. Opponents of the bill claim that reporters will not have enough time to effectively gather evidence and document it correctly.

The Ag-Gag bill was recently passed by Tennessee’s House and Senate and is now just awaiting the signature of state Governor Bill Haslam.

When Carrie Underwood learned of the bills passing vote she tweeted:

“Shame on TN lawmakers for passing the Ag-Gag bill … If Gov. Haslam signs this, he needs to expect me at his front door. Who’s with me?”

After her comment Tennessee representative, Andy Holt responded with the following tweet:

“I think Carrie should stick to singing country music and I’ll stick to lawmaking.”

Following that message, Underwood continued on the offensive, tweeting the following message:

I should stick to singing? Wow…sorry, I’m just a tax paying citizen concerned for the safety of my family. #NoAgGag wsmv.com/story/22027811…

— Carrie Underwood (@carrieunderwood) April 20, 2013

Following along with her threat, Representative Holt tweeted a response by noting, “I work for the people of Tennessee and Carrie Underwood, being an individual who lives in the state of Tennessee, I work for her as well.”

Carrie Underwood is passionate about her hatred for the Ag-Gag bill. This is likely not the last we have heard from her on the issue.

Where do you stand on the Ag-Gag issue? Are you with Carrier Underwood or Tennessee state lawmakers?

Carrie Underwood Stays On The Offensive Over Tennessee Ag-Gag Bill is a post from: The Inquisitr

France’s National Assembly voted to allow gay marriage on Tuesday, and, in response to that vote, a disturbing Twitter hashtag began to trend. The actual hashtag reads ‘Il Faut Tuer Les Homosexuels.’ Loosely translated, the hashtag stands for “homosexuals must be killed.”

Users on Twitter began tweeting the hashtag after it was reportedly started by the user Mamadou Neutron.

Mamadou deleted the original hashtag tweet after he was publicly called out; however, he continues to post homophobic messages on his Twitter account.

While some anti-gay Twitter users retweeted the original message, other users took the hate filled tweet further. For example, one user added “Kill them all,” and another added “For a better world…”

As expected, various gay rights organizations quickly attacked the Twitter trend. The group SOS Homophobie is asking users to screenshot the tweet attacks and send them along to the organization. SOS Homophobie has not revealed what they plan to do with the tweets once received.

Supporters of gay marriage quickly turned the “Homosexuals Must Be Killed” hashtag around, posting Tweets in support of gay marriage. A favorite support methodology used by Twitter users has been to post tweets along with hacked photos. Here’s an example form the Twitter user  @maee52:

#IlFautTuerLesHomosexuels twitter.com/maee52/status/…

— cheyenne (@maee52) April 22, 2013

Gay marriage is a heated topic in many parts of the world including the United States where the battle against Proposition 8 continues to rage on. In the meantime, Twitter users who start such hateful threads continue to remove their messages after they are called out by members of the media.

Do you think Twitter users need to think more about the consequences of their actions before they post hashtags such as “Homosexuals must be killed”?

‘Homosexuals Must Be Killed’ Hashtag Is Trending On Twitter is a post from: The Inquisitr

Comedy Central is going to be staging a five-day comedy “festival” that will truly be recognized as one of a kind. The network is planning on putting on this festival using social media supersite Twitter as the platform.

This particular endeavor isn’t going to some small time affair either. Among the comedians who are gearing up to participate are some of the most well known funny men and women in the business.

Old timers like Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner will be showing their stuff alongside young guns like Amy Schumer and Paul Feig. The performers won’t just be firing off text based one liners either.

Comedy Central and Twitter are teaming up in a way that really shows off how social media is changing from a place where people talk almost exclusively through print.Twitter has already rolled out their music app as a way for people to do more than simply fire off the latest thoughts that occurred to them.

Comedians who choose to participate will be using the social network’s popular Vine video service in order to record their little jokes and segments. Those who want to make longer videos can also do so and post them to their Twitter accounts.

Using the hashtag, #ComedyFest comedians will be able to post their acts for the entire Twitterverse to see. There will apparently also be at least one live event and a panel in which Judd Apatow and a few other young guns try to convince some of the older hands to actually join the social networking site.

While there hasn’t been an official start dated announced, the festival is rumored to be starting up later this week and users will have to just keep an eye out for the first tweets.

What do you think of Comedy Central’s collaboration with Twitter?

[Image via Shutterstock]

Comedy Central Staging Twitter Based Comedy Festival is a post from: The Inquisitr

Hackers on Twitter posted bogus stories from CBS accounts.

Hackers sent tweets from 60 Minutes and CBS Denver Twitter accounts today accusing the US of working with terrorists. Barely a day after the only surviving suspect of Boston’s marathon bombing was apprehended and the hackers are already at their worst, spreading lies about our great nation.

Earlier today, a series of tweets from CBS news agencies posted the following messages, alongside links to what was probably malware.

CBS news account @60minutes tweeted, “Exclusive: Terror is striking the #USA and #Obama is Shamelessly in Bed with Al-Qaeda.”

The @CBSDenver news account posted, “New Evidence of CIA Arming Al Qaeda Terrorists in #Syria,” and “WMDs Provided by NATO to Al-Qaeda for a False Flag Operation in #Syria”

Both Twitter accounts have since posted rebuttals, stating that the accounts were compromised, “We have experienced problems on Twitter accounts of #60Minutes & @48Hours; We apologize for the inconvenience; Twitter is resolving issues.”

Another tweet stated, “PLEASE NOTE: Our Twitter account was compromised earlier today. We are working with Twitter to resolve.”

PLEASE NOTE: A message that was posted earlier to this account was not written or sent by @60minutes or its staff.

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) April 20, 2013

This is not the first time a Twitter news account has been hacked into, as last month the BBC had its Twitter account compromised by the Syrian Electronic Army, a supporter of Syria‘s President Bashar Assad. Last year, Reuters saw its website compromised as it falsely posted news concerning the Middle East. So how can we know what to believe from news sources? Look for a second opinion, or go to the news site itself through a search engine and look from there. And if the Twitter hackers have shown us anything, look into anything having to do with Syria, but never click on a link you’re not sure of.

’60 Minutes,’ ’48 Hours’ Twitter Accounts Hacked j.mp/Zc9g4N

— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) April 20, 2013

Also, if you ever find your Twitter account hacked, as in making bogus posts without your knowledge, contact Twitter immediately and change your password. And then do your followers a favor, like CBS News did, and post an announcement that your Twitter account has been compromised and that you are looking into it.

How do you feel about Twitter news accounts being hacked?

Twitter Hackers Post Bogus News From ’60 Minutes’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of the two Boston Marathon bombing suspects, was reportedly on campus at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth after the Monday attack.

The Associated Press reports that several of Tsarnaev’s classmates spotted him on campus between the attack and his eventual capture this week. Though a UMass-Dartmouth spokesman for the university wouldn’t comment beyond merely confirming that Tsarnaev was registered as a student there, several of his fellow students say that they did at least see him on campus after the Monday bombing.

One student who lives on the same dormitory floor as Tsarnaev says that he spotted him in the hallway after the bombings occurred.

“He was regular, he was calm,” the student said, though confessed that he hadn’t interacted with Tsarnaev much.

Another student who is enrolled in a philosophy class with Tsarnaev says that she saw him on campus as well, though he wasn’t in class. ”He was laid back. I would never expect this at all from him,” she said.

School officials evacuated the UMass-Dartmouth campus on Friday after it was revealed that Tsarnaev was a suspect, and that he was still enrolled at the university. An official statement gave the evacuation reason as ”out of an abundance of caution,” during the Friday manhunt.

These reports add to an abundance of evidence that seems to indicate that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev at least attempted to keep up a facade of his normal life after the Boston Marathon bombing Monday.

He continued tweeting in the days after the bombing, as well. His tweets just one day after the bombing seem pretty mundane – nothing really out of the ordinary for an average college-age student.

His final tweet, two days after the bombing, read:

I’m a stress free kind of guy

— Jahar (@J_tsar) April 17, 2013

What do you think? Are you surprised that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was apparently able to pick up his life right where it left off after the Boston Marathon bombing?

Did Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Return To Class After Boston Bombing? [Report] is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Boston “cowering liberals” tweet from Arkansas State Representative Nate Bell, a Republican, has sparked outrage and apologies from House Speaker Davy Carter, also a Republican.

The tweet was made at 8:25 am, and stated the following: “I wonder how many Boston liberals spent the night cowering in their homes wishing they had an AR-15 with a hi-capacity magazine?”

Carter released a statement, reported by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, apologizing for the remarks.

“On behalf of the Arkansas House of Representatives and the state of Arkansas, I want to extend my deepest apologies to the people of the City of Boston and the state of Massachusetts for the inappropriate and insensitive comment made this morning by an Arkansas House member.”

Carter continued: “I can assure the people of Boston and the people of Massachusetts that Arkansans have them in their thoughts and prayers during this tragic time.”

The newspaper noted that the message had been re-tweeted 900 times by noon.

At the time of this posting, Bell had responded via Facebook with the following message:

“I would like to apologize to the people of Boston & Massachusetts for the poor timing of my tweet earlier this morning. As a staunch and unwavering supporter of the individual right to self defense, I expressed my point of view without thinking of its effect on those still in time of crisis.”

Bell continued: “In hindsight, given the ongoing tragedy that is still unfolding, I regret the poor choice of timing. Please know that my thoughts and prayers were with the people of Boston overnight and will continue as they recover from this tragedy.”

The Boston “cowering liberals” response has been understandably hostile:

“Go f*** yourself, buddy! Come visit us in Boston and we’ll kick your ass for ya!” said Facebook commenter Malik Haddadi.

Martin Burns added: “Hey, Nate – how ’bout you come up to Boston, and say that to our faces? Bear in mind: we gave birth to America, and we didn’t do it by cowering. We fight when it matters — deeds, not words.”

And Juliet Bowler: “In the past few days, I have seen friends running *towards* danger, amazing heroics the likes of which someone like you could not possibly fathom. People refusing to live in fear, loving and supporting their hometown, refusing to give in to the fear that people like this attempt to force on us – terrorize us. Funny how an ELECTED official of the United States of America, too stupid, jingoistic and brain-washed by this false attack on the Second Amendment – something that is decidedly NOT occurring – actually used this moment in time when a city comes together to find the people who attacked us and rejects the fear those people tried to perpetrate, you picked that moment to slander, insult and yes, terrorize us, too. You sir, are a coward, an embarrassment and a large part of the problem. Congratulations using this moment for political gain. You, sir, are anathema to what it means to be a proud American.”

We’re not sure what “political gain” Bowler might be referring to as Bell’s party has outright rejected the remark and the outraged Facebook comments have already scaled into the thousands.

As for the Boston “cowering liberals” remark, here’s just one example of the “cowering” that the city is doing:

At 1:54 pm, Bell had not removed the original tweet.

(Apparently, no one has shown him the delete button Twitter provides. Of course, by now the screenshots are out there, so there’s little point.)

For more positive takes than the Boston “cowering liberals” comment, here’s how the world has responded as well as our own Tayla Holman’s first-person account.

Do you think Rep. Nate Bell should resign for his Boston “cowering liberals” comment?

Boston ‘Cowering Liberals’ Tweet From Arkansas Rep Sparks Outrage, Apologies is a post from: The Inquisitr

Dick Van Dyke had to cancel an appearance at a YMCA ceremony in New York City. He was supposed to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award for “Bettering Humanity through Comedy” next week but cancelled because of a “yet-to-be diagnosed neurological disorder.”

Van Dyke took to Twitter to crowdsource a diagnosis. He tweeted, “My head bangs every time I lay down. I’ve had every test come back that I’m perfectly healthy. Anybody got any ideas?”

Several fans replied with suggestions about what might be wrong and multiple Twitter followers advised the actor to consult a neurologist.

“It has been going on for 7 years. I’ve had every test you can think of (CAT Scan, MRI, Spinal tap etc),” Van Dyke replied in response to questions. “Any advice?”

David Riley asked, “Is it like your heartbeat / pulse throbbing in your head?” Dick replied with an emphatic, “YES!!” He also told his followers he has very low blood pressure.

A few followers suggested that Dick make an appointment with a chiropractor, and he tweeted, “I don’t believe in them.”

Later Van Dyke tweeted to thank everyone for the advice.

A representative for Van Dyke told Entertainment Tonight that he was canceling commitments requiring air travel due to medical advice.

Last month, Marc Maron interviewed Dick Van Dyke on the popular podcast, WTF. Dick sounded completely on top of his game. He talked about growing up in Danville, Illinois and how he got into show business while serving in the military:

“It was kind of fate,” Van Dyke said. “I had been on the track team. I went for my sophomore year to get the doctor’s thing. He said, ‘you have a heart murmur  I don’t want you doing track anymore.’”

A couple years later, the draft board didn’t find any evidence of a heart murmur. Dick joined the Air Force, but by then the war was winding down. They put him in entertainment where he did a radio show and performed for the USO.

That was 69 years ago. Dick Van Dyke has been in show business ever sense. He is 87-year-old and recently married his 40-year-old girlfriend.

Dick Van Dyke Has A Neurological Disorder is a post from: The Inquisitr

Many celebrities have taken to Twitter or released statements reacting to the Boston Marathon bombing on Monday. Actor Mark Wahlberg, director Ben Affleck, and the cast of the upcoming Star Trek Into Darkness have all taken a break from their schedules to grieve with the nation.

Early Monday afternoon, two bombs went off near the finish line at the Boston Marathon. Three people were killed and 150 or more have been injured. Authorities believe that the bombing was intentional, but they do not have anyone in custody or any persons of interest so far.

At the New York premiere of his film Pain & Gain, Mark Wahlberg, a Boston native, wasn’t in the mood to do red carpet rounds after hearing news earlier in the day.

“I really didn’t even want to come tonight. I hadn’t really heard much – I spoke to my mom, and most of my family seems to be OK. It’s such a big event, there’s so many people there. It’s horrible man. It’s f–king disgusting, man. I just – I’m very upset,” he said.

Hours after the Boston Marathon bombing, the cast of Star Trek Into Darkness took to CinemaCon in Las Vegas to promote the upcoming sequel. Even they seemed a bit unenthusiastic.

“We were all on the way out here just talking (about how) it is hard to go and pimp your movie on a day like this, when the nation is sort of coming together,” said writer and producers Damon Lindelof.

“This is part of the job for us,” cast member John Cho explained. “(But) it was a weird feeling. I’m just going to say that. It’s so sobering.”

“I was horrified. It’s just unfathomable,” remarked Zachary Quinto. “It’s an amazing city and I know it’s stronger than one tragedy like this. But it is certainly enough to set everybody back in an unfortunate and profound way.”

Actor and director Ben Affleck, who grew up in the Boston area and has shot and directed many films in the city, expressed his sorrow over the Boston Marathon bombing on Facebook.

“Such a senseless and tragic day. My family and I send our love to our beloved and resilient Boston,” Affleck posted.

Many other celebrities took to Twitter to express their grief and condolences after the Boston Marathon attack:

My thoughts and prayers are with everyone in the city of Boston and all of those affected by this terrible incident.

— Justin Timberlake(@jtimberlake) April 15, 2013

There was an explosion by the finish line about 5 minutes after I finished- I’m ok but I’m sure there are many hurt.

— Joey McIntyre (@joeymcintyre) April 15, 2013

My heart is breaking for everyone effected or injured in the explosion at the Boston Marathon. God bless you all! My prayers are with you!

— Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) April 15, 2013

Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by the explosions in Boston.

‘F–king Disgusting’: Celebrities React To Boston Marathon Bombing is a post from: The Inquisitr

Facebook and Twitter are messing with DUI checkpoints.

Police have a difficult job. They are expected to obey the law they uphold in spite of a society that increasingly thinks they’re out to get us. Some are crooked, of course, using their authority to bully the average citizen if they’re just feeling mean. However, the general rule is that if you’re doing what you should, they’re on your side.

That doesn’t stop some people from circumventing their efforts to curb drunk driving by posting the whereabouts of DUI checkpoints on Facebook and Twitter. It is part of their job as law enforcement to stop people from breaking the law, and DUI checkpoints are meant to put a cramp in the illegal social habit. However, some people are known to look for these checkpoints and post them on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, and then anyone who thinks it’s okay to drive drunk will simply pick another route.

The police can only do so much, and so far their best ideas have involved setting up DUI checkpoints on Friday and Saturday nights as well as New Years Eve, when people are most likely to drink and drive. Sometimes they set one up outside a driveway to a brewery or barrel tasting event.

The police are now planning to circumvent the social media sites with a new strategy, involving larger DUI checkpoints and setting them up on less traveled roads, ensnaring the unwary who think they’re being clever. After all, who’s going to take the major roads when they’re trying to avoid a DUI checkpoint?

Be aware, if you’re posting DUI checkpoint locations on Facebook and Twitter, that the police are being forced to use sneakier tactics to catch drunk drivers, and they may not stick to major roads any more. In fact, they’re starting to set them up during the day and in the middle of the week.

How do you feel about Facebook and Twitter being used to mess with DUI checkpoints?

Facebook, Twitter Messing With DUI Checkpoints is a post from: The Inquisitr

Twitter has been rumored to be rolling out its own music application and it appears that the company is on the cusp of finally rolling it out to the public. The application is being rolled out to “influencers” at the moment but music.twitter.com is expected to be made available to the general public sometime next week.

The social media giant has made itself one of the true kings of the hill and is an influencer itself right along the lines of Facebook. The site has been looking for ways to truly separate itself from its social competitors and has landed on services like promoted trends.

Last year the site took a big step forward when it comes to breaking new ground with its first ever television commercial. None of those moves would be as big as this particular music service if the social site does it up right.

Twitter is giving the first look at the music discovery site to celebrities in order to better get the word out about the application before it goes live to everyone. Tweets from Ryan Seacrest have already been popping up and more celebs should start tweeting about the app in the next few days.

There isn’t a whole lot known about everything that application can do just yet, but one of the tweets hinted that there would be a way to see what artists are trending as well as seeing some up and coming musicians.

Some investigation into what this music service is all about showed that there will be “tweeting” and “following” features. There is also apparent integration with other music apps such as Rdio, iTunes, Soundcloud and Vevo.

Other features apparently include being able to read artist biographies, charts and upcoming shows. There will also be a way to purchase music.

Are you excited about Twitter’s impending release of their music application?

Twitter Readying Release Of Music App is a post from: The Inquisitr

Justin Bieber’s reign as the most followed person on Twitter has come to a swift and deplorably unceremonious end.

The 19-year-old’s 37 million plus followers on the social media site have been brutally slashed without warning, even though his account still reads the same.

As it turns out, Socialbakers, a company that studies and analyzes social media metrics, has estimated that almost half of Bieber’s Twitter followers are either fake (around 16.7 million) or inactive (2.6 million).

Taking out the ‘egg’ accounts, spam tweeters, the rarely or never tweeted users, and the “Boyfriend” singer is left with 17.8 million “good” and true ‘beliebers.’

This, of course, now means former record holder Lady Gaga monsters back to her Queen of Twitter position with 19 million “real” followers.

As yet, there’s no been public announcement from Bieber on the terrible news and there may not be any, what with his newly adopted ‘Jay-Z silent stance‘ on responding to speculation.

For that matter has anyone actually tested Socialbaker’s analysis? And do we even know if Twitter plan on revising the singer’s account? We need answers!

But there’s no getting around it, this is not a good ‘look’ for the Biebs. Try as one might, there’s no spin or Pollyanna-ism that can make the bitter pill of Twitter demotion easier to swallow.

Oh, wait here’s a couple. No-one’s (yet) suggesting that the pop star knew any of his followers were fake, and a quick scan of timelines doesn’t reveal any undue concern by ‘Beliebers’ about their relegation. So there is that.

An interesting perspective on Bieber’s follower culling came via a Canadian outlet, who wrote:

“When compared to his two closest Twitter number rivals (Lady Gaga, Katy Perry), Bieber has achieved so little commercial success that the mere fact that he even has  17.8 million ‘real’ followers mean he’s already won the popularity war … or to put in the parlance of the kids, he’s got more Swag than the POTUS.”

But jesting aside. The teen phenom remains one of the world’s first social media superstar’s to show just how far connecting with fans can be taken, and lets face it, 17.8 million is fantastic numbers.

Who knows, Bieber could be planning his Twitter coup even now? Never say never.

[Image via Featureflash / Shutterstock.com ]

Justin Bieber Ousted As Twitter Overlord, ‘As Long As (Half of You) Follow Me?’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

Dawn Siff, an out of work journalist, decided that Twitter’s Vine platform would be a great way to find a job. Shortly after she came up with her new plan, she launched a six-second resume.

The Vine resume landed Siff a job with the Economist Group’s commercial unit as a project manager.

Siff came up with the idea to create the Vine resume after she searched for a job the traditional way for six months.

During her job search, Dawn Siff took 64 hours worth of continuing education classes, attended six networking events, and went on 12 information interviews and nine job interviews.

We are sure that a publication as large as the Economist didn’t simply hire Dawn because of her six-second Vine clip. However, the clip does show that in a crowded job market the ability to stand out can sometimes create a life changing moment, especially if the job candidate is doing something very creative in an industry that applauds creativity as the basis of its success.

Here is the Vine that was placed by Siff:

h/t & love to dear friends @meghanscibona @monkeyprime @smixel for helping w/ my #TwitterResume vine.co/v/b6wxtwrwP7P #HireDawnSiff

— Dawn Siff (@dawnsiff) February 20, 2013

How could you not want to hire a “deadline Jedi” who also happens to be a journalist and strategist.

It has been a big week for creative online resumes. Check out our recent story about the Chicago All-In-One Adman ad we also recently discovered.

Do you think the Twitter Vine resume will catch on, or will copycats find it harder to grab the type of attention Dawn Siff received for her quick thinking six-second resume?

Vine Resume Lands A Job For This Creative Women is a post from: The Inquisitr

Miley Cyrus recorded a duet with Snoop Lion, the artist formerly known as Snoop Dogg. You can listen to “Ashtrays & Heartbreaks” down below in the Soundcoud window and tell us what you think about the duet down below that in a comment.

The song, produced by Major Lazer and Ariel Rechtshaid, is called “Ashtrays & Heartbreaks.” Lazer and Rechtshaid produced the song and the album in Jamaica as Snoop Lion shot a documentary about his evolution as an artist and dad.

Snoop Dogg changed his name to Snoop Lion after a religious transformation. A Rastafarian priest asked him his name. Snoop said, “Snoop Dogg,” and the priest said, “No more. You are the light; you are the lion.”

The song is from Snoop Lion’s soon to be released album, “Reincarnated.” The new album, along with the new name mark a self reinvention of the artist from a gangster rapper into a pop-reggae singer.

“Ashtrays & Hearbreaks” was released by Major Lazer on his Soundcloud account. After getting the go ahead to spread the word on Twitter Miley tweeted a link to the song twice and then a photo of herself listening in her car.

Miley fans seem to like it. She’s gotten responses from Twitter followers saying, “It’s perfect,” “amazing as always,” and requests to buy the song on iTunes.

Released four-hours ago, “Ashtrays & Heartbreaks” has been played 139,990 times so far.

Snoop Lion followed up Miley’s tweets with in invitation to pre-order the record:

Listen to Miley Cyrus Duet with Snoop Lion’s ‘Ashtrays & Heartbreaks’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

Actor Jim Carrey has been fighting off critics over an anti-gun lobby video he made recently titled “Cold Dead Hand,” produced with Funny or Die. His latest target is right-leaning cable news channel Fox News, which he called a “media colostomy bag that has begun to burst at the seams.”

Carrey’s anti-gun lobby video mocked Charlton Heston and the Second Amendment, and set off a firestorm of criticism from the pro-gun crowd. Some protested the actor by putting (allegedly) autographed head-shots of him up for auction on eBay, promising that the proceeds from the sale would go toward buying a gun.

The 51-year-old actor’s video was also attacked recently by Fox News‘ Greg Gutfeld, who said:

“He is probably the most pathetic tool on the face of the earth and I hope his career is dead and I hope he ends up sleeping in a car. [...] This video made me want to go out and buy a gun. He thinks this is biting satire going after rural America and a dead man… He’s a dirty, stinking coward… He’s such a pathetic, sad, little freak. He’s a gibbering mess. He’s a modern bigot.”

That was apparently the blurb that caught Carrey’s attention, causing him to respond on Twitter:

I’d like to respond to all the conservative bundits out there personally but I’m far too busy NOT stumping for the g… say.ly/uaP5rh8

— Jim Carrey (@JimCarrey) March 24, 2013

Carrey’s full statement against Fox News is as follows:

“Since I released my ‘Cold Dead Hand’ video on Funny or Die this week, I have watched Fux News rant, rave, bare its fangs and viciously slander me because of my stand against large magazines and assault rifles. I would take them to task legally if I felt they were worth my time or that anyone with a brain in their head could actually fall for such irresponsible buffoonery. That would gain them far too much attention which is all they really care about. “I’ll just say this: in my opinion Fux News is a last resort for kinda-sorta-almost-journalists whose options have been severely limited by their extreme and intolerant views; a media colostomy bag that has begun to burst at the seams and should be emptied before it becomes a public health issue. “I sincerely believe that in time, good people will lose patience with the petty and poisonous behavior of these bullies and Fux News will be remembered as nothing more than a giant culture fart that no amount of Garlique could cure. “I wish them all the luck that accompanies such malevolence.”

Whatever criticism Carrey may be getting, “Cold Dead Hand” has been a success, which is the part the actor is focused on:

‘COLD DEAD HAND’ A HUGE HIT on Funny Or Die! 1.8 million views in 3days! Forcing intolerent goons everywhere to show… say.ly/Vug5tbt

— Jim Carrey (@JimCarrey) March 28, 2013

Are you a fan of Jim Carrey?

[Image via: Tom Sorensen, Wikimedia Commons]

Jim Carrey Criticizes Fox News For Response To Anti-Gun Video is a post from: The Inquisitr

Is David Hayter returning to voice Snake in Metal Gear Solid 5?

So we now know that The Phantom Pain and Metal Gear: Ground Zeroes are both actually just Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. We only have one other question. Okay, we have dozens of questions, but one immediate one. Is David Hayter returning to voice Snake/Big Boss, a role he’s held (in some variation) since 1998?

Sadly, no.

Today’s Metal Gear Solid 5 trailer didn’t have a lot of talking from Snake, but what little of the voice we did hear sounded less like Snake and more like … Kiefer Sutherland. Hold on, the “Ishmael” character who helps him out sounds like Kiefer Sutherland too. So many questions.

But one that seems to have a definitive “no” answer is the question of Hayter’s return to the series.

Hayter first sparked speculation that he wouldn’t be returning to the Metal Gear franchise earlier in March when he asked fans how they’d feel if he dropped out on his Twitter account. After the new MGS5 footage debuted today, Hayter’s tweets seemed to indicate that he wouldn’t be returning after all, and that he wasn’t even asked to.

Well look,At least I had a good run.

— David Hayter (@DavidBHayter) March 27, 2013

@karelhering Nope.

— David Hayter (@DavidBHayter) March 27, 2013

Now Hideo Kojima, the man behind the Metal Gear franchise, is a huge fan of misdirection and red-herrings. Phantom Pain/Joakim Mogren/Moby Dick Studios, anyone? So maybe Hayter wasn’t even asked because it’s just understood that he’s the voice of Snake and Big Boss.

Also, the game is probably still too early in development for casting to be decided anyway. They have to dub the whole thing in Japanese and English, you know. But why wouldn’t they call Hayter to do a quick dub for the trailer footage?

It is kind of disturbing for Metal Gear fans.

What do you think? Can you imagine Snake or Big Boss without the voice of David Hayter? Maybe fans will start a campaign to get him in the game. Send us your theories on Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain below.

If it’s true, and David Hayter isn’t returning, I think Metal Gear fans should all let out a respectful “SNAAAAAKE!”

MGS5 Loses David Hayter? Snake Voice Actor Says He ‘Wasn’t Asked’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

No one knows why. But darn it if it doesn’t make you smile.

The Great Sir Patrick Stewart, Everyone is a post from: The Inquisitr

Gameloft has put out a tweet that seems to be hinting at an Iron Man 3 game coming to the iPad. On Twitter earlier today the company issued a tweet that simply shows two, glowing rectangular eyes and the date of March 27. It is pretty clear that the eyes are those that you would see on Iron Man’s mask.

While we will know for certain tomorrow it seems more than likely that this is a tie-in to the Iron Man 3 movie that is coming out in a couple of months.

The mobile gaming company certainly likes to tease their new games like this and at this point we know its a pretty safe bet that such a move is indeed pointing to something big tomorrow.

The icing on the cake is that the background of the glowing eyes and the date is what appears to be an iPad. Of course it really could be any tablet, as most now have the camera at the top.

There definitely appears to be  a lean towards the iOS in the picture at the very least. Gameloft does tend to release their games for both the iOS and Android platforms at the same time, rather than releasing one version and another, months later.

While we won’t know what kind of game this teased title is until its actually released, the company has a long and proud history of putting together decent brawlers when they build games built on Super Heroes.

The tweet is certainly short on details, but it stands to reason that at some point, gamers will be taking on Mandarin, just like Tony Stark does in the movie. Will the Iron Patriot be included in this game?

Warming up main core… twitter.com/Gameloft_UK/st…

— Gameloft UK (@Gameloft_UK) March 25, 2013

Will Pepper Potts get her own armor in this as well? And how much will Gameloft tease the actual movie with the release of this game?

Gameloft Teases Possible ‘Iron Man 3′ Mobile Game is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Office is ending soon, with just seven episodes left until the series finale. So what should we expect from the nearly decade-old show’s ending? Cast and crew promise a “big” and “emotional” finale, which will make longtime fans “laugh and cry.”

At the show’s finale party, series star Angela Kinsey told TVLine that the cast got very emotional while reading the script for the final episode.

“I think the fans are going to be very happy,” Kinsey said. “When we read the finale … I was laughing and crying, and I think that’s all you can hope for, to laugh and cry. I actually think there’s a lot of laughs.”

Rainn Wilson praised the finale’s script, telling the outlet: “Greg Daniels, our showrunner … has a really deft touch with dealing with real, deep and truthful emotion and just absurd wackiness. He balanced both of those very well in this final episode.”

“Erin has a spectacular end that I can’t really tell you about,” actress Ellie Kemper said. “It involves some amazing people that I also can’t tell you about, but I’m really happy with how we see her in the last episode. … Basically my wishes for her send-off came true.”

Jenna Fischer said that she was “very happy with how the entire show wrapped up” and was especially happy with the conclusion to the Jim and Pam relationship.

“I think this year we really portrayed them as a real married couple with real obstacles,” Fischer said. “People often don’t really deal with change well and Pam didn’t deal with the idea of Jim changing and his job changing. So I’m really proud of us for tackling some of those things in a realistic way and not a soap-opera way.”

Showrunner and creator Daniels promised a “big” finale, and said that he was willing to “beg NBC” to let him make the final episode as big as possible to satisfy longtime fans of The Office.

“There are so many great characters that we all really cared about, so the biggest task was finding a story structure where they could have stories inside of it that would pay off and fit it all into the time frame,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “These characters have been in my head taking up room for 10 years … so it was personally important to me that I figure out what their end and closure was.”

Though the show wrapped up production for good last week, Ed Helms isn’t saying goodbye to the friends he’s made through the experience.

“We hang out as it is, so there will be much more of that,” Helms said. “These are my dearest friends and family.”

Check out some of The Office cast’s farewell tweets below. Are you looking forward to the series finale?

Thinking of the cast, crew, writers, et al of “The Office” on your final day of filming. Love you.

— Steve Carell (@SteveCarell) March 17, 2013

The last hour is here…

— Angela Kinsey (@AngelaKinsey) March 17, 2013

Struggling today. Last night we partied like we were on SNL in the 80s. Special people. Great time. Night I will never forget.

— Brian Baumgartner (@BBBaumgartner) March 18, 2013

Getting ready to go to work at Dunder Mifflin for the very last time. It’s a sad day for comedy. And paper.

— RainnWilson (@rainnwilson) March 16, 2013

There is truly nothing any of us can say that could be enough.But to each and every fan of our show we simply say… We love you.

— John Krasinski (@johnkrasinski) March 17, 2013

That’s a wrap.

— Jenna Fischer (@jennafischer) March 17, 2013

‘The Office’ Promises ‘Big’ And ‘Emotional’ Finale is a post from: The Inquisitr

There are two Amanda Bynes in your memory. There’s the Amanda Bynes that was. The All That Amanda Bynes. The What I Like About You Amanda Bynes. Then there’s the real Amanda Bynes, Amanda Bynes 2.0, who insists everything is on the up-and-up while tweeting things like:

I want @drake to murder my vagina

— Amanda Bynes (@AmandaBynes) March 22, 2013

If you’ve always had sort of a crush on Ms. Bynes, I imagine a tweet like that makes you immediately and painfully aware of how old you are. Nothing throws cold water onto childhood/young adult nostalgia like that kind of tweet.

But Amanda Bynes is a 26-year-old single woman now. She’s allowed to have a celebrity crush, we’re just not sure it’s healthy for anyone to bottle it up for so long that it comes spilling out like that.

Needless to say, the tweet has shocked the Internet from Gawker to The Huffington Post.

But if you’ve been paying attention, this is probably the most normal and human (even funny) thing that Bynes has done in a long while.

Her increasingly strange and erratic behavior is being picked up all over despite her attempts to keep a lid on her new life. Her driving troubles and odd gym behavior are a thing of the past, but she has reportedly gone full-on Howard Hughes in other ways. The crazy is nowhere more apparent than on her own Twitter account, where all she talks about anymore is Drake, “twerking out,” and what she’s eating.

I created the phrase Ily & lololol.*proud*

— Amanda Bynes (@AmandaBynes) March 17, 2013

WorkOut flow I feel dizzy — Amanda Bynes (@AmandaBynes) March 18, 2013

Baby corn & fried tofu — Amanda Bynes (@AmandaBynes) March 17, 2013

Are you beginning to see why tweeting this:

I want @drake to murder my vagina

— Amanda Bynes (@AmandaBynes) March 22, 2013

… is a pretty normal thing to do, all things considered? Even sort of a funny thing to do?

E! Online thinks Amanda Bynes was hacked. The Huffington Post thinks she’s crazy. Gawker doesn’t have much to say about it at all.

I think Amanda Bynes is just being Amanda Bynes.

Amanda Bynes’ Twitter Was Either Hacked Or She’s Just Being Amanda Bynes is a post from: The Inquisitr

Twitter’s Vine service is still relatively new, but that doesn’t mean artists are not finding fun and unique ways to take advantage of the video-based service.

Twenty-seven-year-old Nick Mastodon took to the service this week to remix Disney classics in a new and inventive way.

Mastodon has been busily posting about five new vines per day, some of which take the unpaid artist upwards of an hour to complete.

Nick painstakingly takes the time to match up his Vines perfectly with the audio of his choosing, thus ensuring a good user experience.

We have to hand it to the Vine artist: We never would have though to attach Cruella DeVille to Macklemore’s ”Thrift Shop,” yet despite the odd pairing it actually works.

It was the Thrift Shop Vine posting that brought Mastodon attention after it reached the app’s Popular section.

Over the last several weeks, Mastodon has continued to rack up thousands of followers while creating his Vines.

With Jay-Z’s “99 Problems” sung by Quazi Modo, how could users not fall in love with the artists’ quick clips.

Here are a few examples of Nick Mastodon’s Vine work:

Pocahontas #favthings #loop #music #lol #disney vine.co/v/bdYqJdiIwjH

— Nick Mastodon (@nickmastodon) March 16, 2013

Make it rain #favthings #disney #loop #music #dance #cute #lol vine.co/v/bdPZx36KYZ2

— Nick Mastodon (@nickmastodon) March 16, 2013

And one last Vine creation for your viewing pleasure:

Untouched #favthings #loop #music vine.co/v/bdqXmBpAUm3

— Nick Mastodon (@nickmastodon) March 13, 2013

Okay, admittedly that last one is just Nick dressed as a teletubbie. He has also dressed as a lobster for Vine videos. It looks like, if this whole Disney thing doesn’t work out, he can still find work holding a sign outside of a tax refund office.

Have you been paying attention to the whole Twitter Vine movement? What creative Vines have you found since the service launched?

Vine Artist Turns Disney Classics Into Something New is a post from: The Inquisitr

Facebook has added ex-Mozilla engineer Mike Schroepfer as their CTO.

The latest change from Facebook isn’t on the social media website. It’s in their staff. Facebook has promoted Mike Schroepfer, an ex-Mozilla engineer, as their Chief Technology Officer.

Mozilla is the company behind the popular web browser Firefox, which up until recently, has been the browser of choice for anyone who wants to do something more with their internet. Mozilla also hosts the email application Thunderbird, which hasn’t made many waves in the internet world.

Facebook has undergone several changes over the last few months, including the graph search and their mobile-side messenger upgrades. The latest change to the social media website is a revamped news feed.

Mike Schroepfer is replacing previous CTOs Cory Ondrejka and Mike Vernal, and it is yet uncertain what Facebook has in mind for them. In the current economy, one could speculate that their employment could be in jeopardy.

Facebook believes that with Mike Schroepfer’s impressive experience and expertise, he will be able to improve upon many important aspects of the company’s main money makers. Schroepfer will most likely be able to improve the mobile advertising aspects of Facebook as well as mine data from user information for more effective ads on the main website.

You know those hashtags that get brought over by Twitter tie-in applications? Facebook is looking into using those more effectively in the future, so hashtags won’t be just an annoying waste of space in your news feed any more.

Speaking of Twitter, it seems Facebook is mirroring their efforts in promotion, as Twitter recently promoted Adam Messinger, previously the Vice President of Application Development, to CTO. Twitter is known for being a popular way of promoting a business of any kind, and Facebook seems to be banking on that fact.

Facebook seems to be on its way to a more profitable existence.

What do you think of Facebook promoting an ex-Mozilla engineer to CTO?

How To Make Money From Facebook: Facebook promotes ex-Mozilla engineer to CTO – SlashGear dlvr.it/35P3j0

— linksab.com (@linksabdotcom) March 16, 2013

Facebook Adds Mozilla Engineer To Staff is a post from: The Inquisitr

Kim Kardashian might not be as famous as we all think she is. Poison singer Bret Michaels tweeted a picture of himself standing with Kardashian … and wished Eva Longoria a happy birthday.

Fun fact: Michaels and actress Longoria share a birthday (March 15), with Michaels turning 50 and Longoria turning 38 on Friday. To celebrate, Michaels tweeted “Wishing a #HappyBirthday to @EvaLongoria. Hope your day rocks!” with a picture of the singer standing with reality TV starlet Kim Kardashian.

Oops.

Michaels very quickly realized his mistake and deleted the tweet, but like we say over and over again, this is the Internet, and nothing ever goes away for good.

Another user managed to retweet the photo with a rather surprised “Huh????”

The photo of Michaels standing with Kardashian is actually as old as March 2011, when the two hung out on his tour bus after he headlined a charity concert in Orlando. The two didn’t do much but converse for a short time, with Michaels recalling for Us Weekly:

“We talked about how she was doing. We talked a little bit about my health. Talked about the concert. It was very cool. She was very, very polite. I mean that. Very sexy, very cool, very together. I admire her beauty. She’s got one of the prettiest faces ever. Sometimes you see someone, and then you see them in person and it’s not quite the same. She was very beautiful in person.”

So maybe Michaels just uploaded the photo by mistake. Either way, it was a pretty funny social faux pas.

Here’s an image of the retweet:

Do you think Bret Michaels made an honest mistake? Does Kim Kardashian kind of look like Eva Longoria?

Bret Michaels Mistakes Kim Kardashian For Eva Longoria In Birthday Tweet is a post from: The Inquisitr

Daniel Cudmore will reprise his role of “Colossus” for Bryan Singer’s upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past, the director revealed Friday night.

Singer, who directed X-Men and X2: X-Men United before leaving the series for Superman Returns, tweeted a photo of a handful of actor head-shots tacked onto a wall. Most of these photos belong to actors already announced to join (or return to) Days of Future Past.

The photo reveals a head-shot of actor Daniel Cudmore, who played the mutant Colossus in X2 and X3: The Last Stand.

Cudmore’s Colossus only appeared for a cameo in X2, but his scene was easily one of the most memorable of the entire film. X3: The Last Stand saw his role expanded, but barely. He finally got to don an X-Men uniform, and was present in many fight scenes, but I honestly don’t remember him doing anything except fastball special-ing Wolverine once or twice.

In the Days of Future Past comic book storyline, Colossus plays an important role, and it is revealed that he has married Kitty Pryde (played be Ellen Page, also returning from X3 to Days). Pryde is the central character in the comic books, as the future version visits the past to warn the X-Men of a disastrous event that pretty much cinches it for mutant-kind and leads to the dystopian future.

I’m hoping Cudmore gets a fairer shake this time around, but he’s got a lot of returning actors from two X-Men franchises to contend with.

The massive star-studded cast combines First Class and X-Men trilogy vets, including: Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellan, Anna Paquin, Nicholas Hoult, Shawn Ashmore and James McAvoy. Joining them is X-Men newcomer Peter Dinklage as the unnamed villain.

3 #Oscars, 6 #GoldenGlobes, 1 #BAFTA, 2 #Emmys, 2 #Tonys, 5 #Oliviers, 1 #Ceaser – Now let’s blow s**t up! #XMEN twitter.com/BryanSinger/st…

— Bryan Singer (@BryanSinger) March 15, 2013

Are you excited for X-Men: Days of Future Past? Are you glad they got Daniel Cudmore to sign on as Colossus? Sound off!

‘X-Men: Days Of Future Past’ Adds Daniel Cudmore’s Colossus is a post from: The Inquisitr

In all fairness to the Catholic Church … it is Satan talking.

Satan Sounds Off On The New Pope is a post from: The Inquisitr

Well played, sir. Also, BIEBERCONDA?! WHERE IS YOUR MOTHER??

Drake Bell Picks A Twitter Fight With The Beliebers is a post from: The Inquisitr

Shaquille O’Neal, interviewed by Bloomberg TV at SXSW, came out of the closet as as a geek.

“I’m a nerd. I’m a techie. I’m a geek,” the super-sized former NBA player said. “All those terms that we thought were funny are now in.”

Shaq told Jon Erlichman he always likes being at the forefront of everything. He thought one great way to get there would be if he could be the first person in the world to get an iPhone. Before iPhone went on sale, Shaq made his way through his address book until someone was able to connect him directly to “the great Steve Jobs” so he could have the “ultimate bragging rights.”

Shaq called the venerable founder of Apple a few times to try and convince Steve to give him an iPhone in advance. He told Steve he really, really wanted to be the first to get one. Steve didn’t budge and Shaq didn’t get iPhone early.

It’s his first time to attend SXSW in Austin, Texas, and he told Bloomberg all the new technology there makes him feel like a kid in a candy store. In particular Shaq, like Mark Zuckerberg, can’t wait to get his eyes behind Google Glass. He called Google Glass 2056 technology in a tweet:

When asked about Twitter, Shaq says he found Twitter by accident. After being misquoted by a reporter and confronting the reporter about the misquote, Shaq learned someone was using his name and pretending to be him on Twitter. He got control of the account and has a formula for tweeting now. It’s “60 percent to make you laugh, 30 percent to inspire you, and then ten percent … I like to promote myself.”

When Shaq retired, he used the social video service Tout to make the announcement. He said he wanted to control the message and didn’t want anyone to have an exclusive.

Shaq is attending SXSW to hear interesting technology and business ideas that he can match with investors:

“In this world, there’s enough tech … enough dream space for everyone to survive.”

Shaq Begged Steve Jobs To Give Him iPhone Before Release [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Munhall, PA – A teacher has been fired for a comment he made online, but administrators won’t tell him what he said to lose his job or even which social network he said it on.

Alan Francis was a full-time substitute teacher for Steel Valley High School in Pennsylvania before receiving a virtual pink slip from school administrators over something he posted on social media. He has worked for the district for seven years and was fired for a comment he made to a female student on either Facebook or Twitter.

According to Francis, a parent complained about his comment, but he was never told exactly what he had said. The school district told him that his comment was neither vulgar nor inappropriate, though it was an apparent compliment he paid to the female student which made a parent uncomfortable.

“Supposedly a mother had come forward. They said I made a comment to her daughter on Facebook or Twitter, I guess,” he said.

Francis says that he’s very careful about what he puts on social media since comments are public. He said that he’s just confused about the whole situation and wants an explanation.

“They haven’t told me what was said or even if I was the one who said it,” Francis said. “They said it was not vulgar, explicit or sexual in nature.”

Francis said that if the situation is just a misunderstanding and is eventually cleared up, he would take his job back if it was offered to him.

“It hurts to get let go this way after seven great years,” Francis said. “I love the kids there. I love the students. I love the people there.”

The school district refused to comment on the situation. Steel Valley Superintendent Ed Wehrer told local news outlet Channel 11: “I appreciate your diligence in gathering as much information as possible about a story before you broadcast it.  Our policy is not to discuss personnel issues in public, so I have no comment.”

Teacher Fired For Online Comment, Doesn’t Know What He Said is a post from: The Inquisitr

Chipper Jones to the Yankees probably was never going to happen, but General Manager Brian Cashman needed Twitter to get in touch with the retired Atlanta Braves star.

The New York Yankees GM admitted to reporters that he inexplicably didn’t have a phone number for Chipper Jones’ agent, so he asked media members to send out a tweet. “Get it out there,” Cashman said in encouraging the baseball press to use social media to alert the agent of his interest in Jones. “I would sign him in a heartbeat. He can play third base, first base, D.H. He would be perfect.”

Cashman acknowledged it was out of the [batter's] box thinking, and Chipper Jones, the future Hall of Famer, is indeed staying retired.

Given the injuries to first baseman Mark Teixeira and outfielder Curtis Granderson, the Yankees roster is in need of an extreme makeover, at least temporarily. Cashman is also reaching out to slugger Derrek Lee. Casham apparently already had Lee’s cell  number.

In explaining his reliance on Twitter to contact Chipper Jones or his agent, Cashman added that “I figured that is the quickest line of communication — Twitter. I already know the answer, but I figured I might as well throw it out there.”

Sure enough, Chipper Jones’ agent B.B. Abbot found out about the Yankees interest in his client via Twitter, and said thanks, but no thanks. Jones appreciated the Yankees interest in his services,  Abbot noted, but he’s not coming out of retirement. Abbot said that Jones was “was part amused, part flattered,” by Cashman’s interest and that the Yankees would be on the short list of any team for which he would theoretically unretire. Chipper Jones reaffirmed that he is a Brave for life, and he himself went on Twitter to make it clear that he has no plans to unretire. The good news perhaps is that Cashman now has Abbot’s cell phone number.

The Yankees, a.k.a. the Evil Empire, have a fat checkbook to sign free agents but for now the most likely scenario is that the Yankees will use Juan Rivera to replace Teixeira at first base. What the outfield looks like on Opening Day is another matter.

Would you have liked it if Chipper Jones to the Yankees actually happened in the 2013 MLB season?

Enough with the rumors! While I am flattered about the speculation of being enticed out of retirement, I’m happy with life as a bad golfer!

— Chipper Jones (@RealCJ10) March 11, 2013

Chipper Jones To The Yankees Required Twitter Intervention is a post from: The Inquisitr

TweetDeck, the mobile Twitter application, is almost dead.

The people behind Twitter, one of the simplest social networks for the moment, have announced that they will no longer support TweetDeck after May 2013. Twitter wants to focus more on its desktop web side.

So this makes us wonder, what do we do now if we solely use Twitter on our phones due to its simplicity?

CNet gives us a few options to look into in the absence of the much-favored TweetDeck.

Tweetbot is a popular (if not free) alternative to TweetDeck, with its well-designed interface, gesture-based controls, and all the tools you need to browse and interact with the site. Absent are the swipable columns of TweetDeck. However, the buttons at the bottom can be easily used to navigate between your timeline, direct messages, and mentions. You also get two more “soft” buttons which activate customizable pop-up menus to assign your most-used actions.

HootSuite gives you a lot more than you had with TweetDeck. One application window lets you sign in to your Twitter, Facebook, and Foursquare accounts, so you can browse and post messages and statuses from all three social-networking services. HootSuite‘s beauty really lies in its multitasking. The “Compose message” screen allows you to post to multiple accounts, attach pictures, and shorten links. HootSuite even gives you the option to schedule posts for later.

Plume is another free alternative to TweetDeck. It doesn’t look as pretty as others, but it holds its own. The multiple columns thing is here as well, giving you the ability to organize your contacts and Facebook if you so desire. Compared to Carbon and Falcon Pro, Plume may be the ugly duckling, but it handles like a swan.

TweetLine gives you a simpler interface, but it’s clean and intuitive, and even lets you see trending topics, which TweetDeck didn’t.

With these alternatives, what do you think about the death of TweetDeck?

RIP TweetDeck. Try these alternatives! cnet.co/Zvg1vF

— CNET (@CNET) March 10, 2013

TweetDeck Is Almost Dead is a post from: The Inquisitr

After Kelly Osbourne collapsed and had a seizure on the set of Fashion Police, co-hosts Joan and Melissa Rivers immediately rushed to the side of their friend before anyone else could.

Recalling Thursday’s surprising and terrifying events, Joan and Melissa said that they didn’t hesitate to intervene when Osbourne collapsed. Melissa told Entertainment Tonight that she realized quickly that Osbourne was showing signs of a seizure, her instincts kicked in, and alongside mother Joan, she practiced the proper procedures until an ambulance arrived.

“More than anything it was just scary,” Melissa recalls. “I just laid on the ground holding on to her until the paramedics came.”

Melissa said that keeping Osbourne calm was the hardest thing she and her mother had to do.

“I just laid on the ground with her until we got the seizure to stop,” she recalls. “She was disoriented and I just laid on the ground with her to keep her down because she kept trying to stand up.”

Melissa continues, “I made her look at me. I said, ‘I’m here, stay with me, it’s all fine.’ I explained where we were.”

After Osbourne’s seizure ended, she wanted to continue taping, but Joan insisted that she go to the hospital. She was taken out on a gurney with a sheet over her head to shield her from the press.

Kelly gave her fans the all-clear herself via Twitter Thursday night, thanking them for their concern and support.

Thank U all 4 UR beautiful well wishes yes I did have a seizure they are just trying to figure out why? twitter.com/MissKellyO/sta…

— Kelly Osbourne (@MissKellyO) March 8, 2013

The cause of Kelly Osbourne’s seizure is still unknown as of this writing, but we here at The Inquisitr wish her a safe and speedy recovery.

Melissa Rivers Talks About Kelly Osbourne’s Seizure is a post from: The Inquisitr

Remember the story about Kate Upton’s doppelganger? Someone got a hold of her and asked her a few questions about the cleavage-heavy photo that got her a ton of unwanted attention.

The story went that this Russian girl named Ania tweeted a photo of herself mimicking Kate Upton’s famous Sports Illustrated cover shot. You know. The one with the winter coats. And the boobs.

Anyway, the photo actually caught the attention of Kate Upton herself, who retweeted it to her 800,000 followers. After that, a ton of people who suddenly realized that they’ll never have a shot with Kate Upton, but might have one with her not-famous full-body doppelganger, started following Ania on Twitter and sending her romantic propositions.

Her Twitter describes her as a “mail order bride in training,” which some folks apparently took very seriously.

Anyway, SwimDaily tracked Ania down for a quick Q&A. Turns out, she’s just a normal 22-year-old student who happens to look exactly like Kate Upton (less in the face, more in the … well, you know). Ania wasn’t looking for fame or Internet proposals … She just saw the 2013 Sports Illustrated issue featuring the lovely Ms. Upton and realized, “Hey, I have that exact same coat in my closet.”

“I’ve been told I look like her in the past, but when the SI issue came out and she was wearing the same jacket that is hanging in my closet, I knew it had to be done.”

Ania admits that she was surprised by all of the attention she’s gotten, and that she “didn’t think anyone except my friends would ever see it.” She also said that it took her a few minutes to realize what had happened and why she went from 78 followers to 2,600.

Additionally, Ania has been a Kate Upton fan for some time.

“I’ve been a fan for a while; it’s relieving to see  someone challenge the stereotype of rail-thin models,” she said.

Here’s a picture of Ania. What do you think? Does she still look like Kate Upton’s doppelganger?

Kate Upton’s Doppelganger Speaks is a post from: The Inquisitr

Poor Emma Watson.

Air Snape Screws Up Emma Watson’s Travel Plans is a post from: The Inquisitr

Hey guys, what’s better than Kate Upton? If you answered “two Kate Uptons,” then this article is for you!

That’s right. A Kate Upton Doppelganger, clone, twin, etc. has been discovered by none other than the voluptuous Sports Illustrated cover girl herself.

Twitter user @Huliganjetta is a Russian woman named Ania, who describes herself as a “mail order bride in training” on her microblog. Ania bears an uncanny resemblance to supermodel Kate Upton, and took a picture of herself mimicking Upton’s famous Sports Illustrated cover with flowing blonde locks and an open winter coat revealing some massive cleavage.

Kate Upton spotted the doppelganger’s post and retweeted the picture with a simple “amazing!”

Once again, celebrities need to be careful who they retweet. Remember the story from this past weekend, when Justin Bieber retweeted a British teen’s post regarding his latest acoustic album? She mentioned that she was not really a fan of the Biebs, but really enjoyed Believe Acoustic anyway.

Hours later, Beliebers threatened suicide en masse, unable to cope with the attention the Canadian pop sensation gave to an admitted fair-weather fan.

Soon after that, death threats and other vulgar language began pouring in for the British teen, with many Beliebers demanding she take her own life, calling her a “whore,” and spreading a rumor that she is currently pregnant with Bieber’s child.

Yikes.

Upton’s retweet didn’t result in death threats for her doppelganger. But thousands of people flocked to Ania’s page and started following her, with some propositioning her (apparently taking that whole “mail order bride” thing pretty seriously).

Now, Kate Upton’s doppelganger has set her profile to “private,” and her tweets are protected, a clear signal that she has officially been scared away by the Internet.

Good job, pervs.

“@huliganjettaa: Me as Kate Upton. @kateupton #doppleganger twitter.com/Huliganjettaa/…”amazing!

— Kate Upton (@KateUpton) March 3, 2013

If you missed it, we’ve embedded the picture of Kate Upton’s doppelganger below, next to the Sports Illustrated cover she’s mimicking. Let us know what you think. The resemblance is uncanny, no?

Kate Upton Doppelganger Scared Off By Twitter [Photo] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Justin Bieber ought to be more careful who he retweets. The Canadian pop sensation caused death threats to pour in for a British teen after he retweeted her praise for his new album.

Unfortunate British 15-year-old Courtney Barrasford recently tweeted a gushing review of Bieber’s latest album, Believe Acoustic, reports MSN.

She said, simply, “Not really a fan of Justin Bieber but his acoustic album is really good!” and was stunned when the 19-year-old singer retweeted her message for his 34 million followers. But she wasn’t the only one who was shocked.

Bieber’s most rabid fans, known as “Beliebers,” were outraged that someone who plainly admits to “not really [being] a fan” would get such attention from the Biebs.

Of course, their jealously is plain from the tweets they mad-thumbed into existence.

“I am a Belieber of him since 2009 and he didn’t notice me. And you’re not even a f***ing fan. You get noticed. OMG,” wrote one broken-hearted fan.

“U notice her n she’s not even a fan. I am but you won’t notice me Can anyone hear me crying? :’(” wrote another.

And Barrasford, for the sin of being noticed while not really being a fan, was inundated with death threats and hate messages, many calling for her to commit suicide, and others alleging that she was pregnant with Bieber’s child.

The Sun reports that Barrasford was stunned and shock by the backlash she received.

“I came back from a drama class where everyone had been going on about how good Justin Bieber’s acoustic album was. So I went on to YouTube to listen to it and then put my comment up on the internet. About 10 minutes later my friend sent me a message to say she noticed something on Twitter.

“It wasn’t too bad at first. Some people were saying I was lucky I was retweeted by him and some were jealous. But then it started to get worse as more people found out. I had things like ’you’re not a fan, go kill yourself’.”

While Barrasford thought the response was in poor taste, it hadn’t gotten to her personally.

“It was getting completely out of hand. So far things hadn’t got to me. But then they started saying I was pregnant with his child, and that my child would be a prostitute.”

And interestingly, Barrasford is treating her critics with a dose of grace and understanding.

“I don’t think these people would say it face-to-face. But it’s still not nice to hear. I would say to people to ignore it and stop using the site for a while. Don’t reply to these people because they will only hate you more.”

Well, at least someone in this situation is thinking sensibly. Good for you, Courtney Barrasford. And shame on you, Beliebers! Bullying is not cool.

Justin Bieber Retweet Results In Death Threats For ‘Non Fan’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

Comedian Ricky Gervais will be reviving his David Brent character from the UK version of The Office for Comic Relief.

Gervais created the original Office series, and his Wernham Hogg paper company boss was the basis for Steve Carell’s “Michael Scott” in the successful US adaptation of the show.

He will reprise the David Brent role in The Office Revisited, for Red Nose Day on March 15, reports BBC.

“I thought it was time to revisit my most famous comedy creation to find out what he’s been up to for the last decade,” Gervais told The Sun.

Though the Brent character appeared in two episodes of the American version of The Office, he hasn’t been seen on British TV since the two-part Christmas special in 2003.

Brent will be starting a new career as a talent manager in the music industry, trying to help urban solo artist Dom Johnson score a big break.

“He is passing on his wisdom to younger would-be rock stars now. Well, really he is trying to worm his way back into rock and roll,” said Gervais.

Gervais also tweeted a promotional image for a new protest song written by Brent called “Equality Street.” Gervais noted that the song is “horrendous.”

RT if you’d like to see the finished video of David Brent’s political reggae song “Equality Street.” twitter.com/rickygervais/s…

— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) February 28, 2013

“Fans of The Office will be excited to know we finally get to hear the whole of The Serpent Who Guards the Gates of Hell,” Gervais added.

You can watch a trailer for the mini episode here. Are you excited for the return of David Brent?

Ricky Gervais Brings Back David Brent Character From ‘The Office’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

Noted birther Donald Trump has lambasted Django Unchained for being racist (without a hint of irony considering his years-long pursuit to prove the Hawaiian born president was actually born in Kenya), and the Apprentice “boss” has explained where he was coming from with the heated criticism.

As we reported earlier, Donald Trump lashed out at Django Unchained on Twitter, complaining the critically acclaimed flick “sucked” and that it was the “most racist movie [he has] ever seen!”

The Donald had more to say on the issue of Django, explaining at length how he felt about the film and — while not really giving information about the claim — again saying the Tarantino work was racist.

Trump said to Billy Bush:

“I thought it was totally racist. I thought it wasn’t a good movie. I’ve never seen so many people get hit by a bullet and explode. It was like they got hit by bombs.”

Yahoo adds that the real estate mogul suggests viewings of Django could spark violence as he expounded:

“Certainly if somebody goes and sees this movie and their (sic) not 100 percent [in the head], this movie is not very good for people to watch … I thought it was not a very good movie and very racist.”

But, Trump says, not all Tarantino movies suck, just Django. In his opinion. He said:

” … I love some of his movies. I just didn’t like this one. I wanted to leave a little early. I didn’t do that, but I was bored by it. I got tired of watching people blow up … Pulp Fiction, to me, is one of the greatest movies ever. I like him, I just didn’t particularly like this movie.”

Did you find Django Unchained racist, or did you feel historically few filmmakers have approached slavery from the perspective of the slaves? And does it seem slightly more racist to stalk a black President and insist he had to have been born in Africa?

Donald Trump Says ‘Django Unchained’ Was Racist, Without Irony is a post from: The Inquisitr

Around $85 billion in budget cuts are scheduled to occur this Friday unless Congress can come to an agreement on how to further reduce the deficit. This sequestration is taking place as a result of the Budget Control Act of 2011, passed as a solution to that summer’s debt-ceiling crisis. The clash taking place in Congress is the latest in which conversation centers around the false dichotomy between raising taxes and cutting spending.

Economists are split on what the outcome of Friday’s budget cuts will be. 60 percent of economists surveyed in a report produced by the National Association for Business Economics this month believe that sequestration will occur in either partial or full form, but many do not see the US sinking into a recession as a result. This survey of 49 economists presents a picture that is not as dire as the “fiscal cliff” that was largely avoided at the beginning of this year.

The White House views the situation with the utmost concern. Even if the country does not dip back into recession, the budget cuts will severely hamper many of President Obama’s second term plans. The President gave a speech last week about the jobs that would be lost as a result of these cuts, during which he was flanked by emergency responders whose jobs may be at risk. Regardless of whether the economy dips back into a recession, hundreds of thousands of jobs will be lost.

Republicans have sought to place the blame for the upcoming sequester on the President. They are pushing the #obamaquester hashtag on Twitter, insisting that the current crisis is entirely the result of Democratic refusal to cut spending and reduce waste.

The White House has again taken to Twitter to get its message out. Tweets have been coming in rapidly, sometimes only a minute apart.

President Obama: “In 4 days, Congress is poised to allow a series of arbitrary, automatic budget cuts to kick in that will slow our economy”

— The White House (@whitehouse) February 25, 2013

Two minutes later:

President Obama: “Here’s the thing: these cuts don’t have to happen. Congress can turn them off anytime with just a little compromise.”

— The White House (@whitehouse) February 25, 2013

Followed by:

President Obama: “We’ve got to make the tough, smart choices to cut what we don’t need so that we can invest the things we do need.”

— The White House (@whitehouse) February 25, 2013

Republicans in Congress are not phased by the President’s remarks. Speaker of the House John Boehner tweeted earlier this morning:

Instead of campaigning, Pres Obama should call on his Dem-led Senate to pass a plan to avert sequester that can pass both Houses of Congress

— Speaker John Boehner (@SpeakerBoehner) February 25, 2013

And House Majority Leader Eric Cantor:

RT if you think Washington has a spending problem.

— Eric Cantor (@GOPLeader) February 25, 2013

If Washington’s track record is anything to go by, social media staffers may just have the safest jobs on the government payroll when the sequestration budget cuts take place.

With ‘Sequestration’ Budget Cuts Fast Approaching, Debate Reaches Twitter is a post from: The Inquisitr

The ever-entertaining Donald Trump didn’t seem to care much for the 2013 Oscars.

During a call to Fox & Friends Monday morning, Trump lambasted pretty much every single nominee and winner from the 85th Academy Awards, and said that he was “not impressed” with the “boring” event.

Trump called the Oscars this year a “very average” event, opining that the whole affair was “okay at best.”

Trump also took issue with some of the nominees, particularly Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained (which picked up a handful of nominations and the Best Original Screenplay Oscar). In Trump’s opinion, Django Unchained was “probably one of the most racist movies I’ve ever seen.”

“I thought the set was terrible,” Trump said of the Oscar stage. “I mean, talk about the word tacky.”

Trump even had negative opinions of Daniel Day-Lewis, who made Academy history by becoming the first actor to win three Best Actor Oscars.

“First of all, he’s not from this country,” Trump said of the Lincoln star. “He had an accent that I could detect…I don’t think Lincoln had an English accent, to the best of my knowledge.”

Further, “I just don’t think that Lincoln behaved like that.”

Though Trump had plenty of negativity about the Oscars on Fox & Friends, a look at his Twitter reveals that he had eyes last night for at least one Academy favorite: Actress Anne Hathaway.

Anne Hathaway is a good winner!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 25, 2013

For more of Trump’s “Oscar live-blog,” you can check out his Twitter account. Otherwise, watch him shred the Oscars on Fox & Friends below, via Mediaite:

Donald Trump Thought The Oscars Sucked (But He Loved Anne Hathaway) is a post from: The Inquisitr

Marco Rubio’s awkward water bottle grab is making the Florida senator’s political action committee a small fortune.

Rubio’s water grab pretty much drowned out anything substantive he had to say during the Republican response to President Obama’s State of the Union address, but the GOP rising star’s PAC has at least figured out how to turn the meme-worthy moment into dollar signs.

They’ve started shelling out signature “Rubio” water bottles, which have brought in a cool $125,000 since Wednesday, reports NBC Latino.

Rubio’s PAC, Reclaim America, debuted the water bottles after the senator’s post-SOTU lunge for a tiny Poland Spring bottle, and have done pretty well with it so far.

“So far we’ve sold over 4,200 water bottles in the last five days, bringing in over $125,000,” a PAC spokesperson said.

Donors can contribute to Reclaim America with a minimum of $25, but people who really want to see a Republican in the president’s seat in 2016 can donate up to $250 for a red or white “Rubio” water bottle.

If nothing else, Rubio et al are handling the awkward water grab with good humor. Instead of complaining about the loss of message (read: Media suicide) or just ignoring it (read: Less-risky media suicide), they’re brushing off all of the attention and laughing along with us for the most part.

Rubio himself tweeted an image of a water bottle as a joke shortly after his SOTU rebuttal:

#GOPResponse #SOTU #gop #tcot twitter.com/marcorubio/sta…

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) February 13, 2013

Additionally, he seems thrilled with all of the attention he’s getting:

Picked up over 13,000 new followers on #twitter since last night! Im going to start drinking #water in the middle of all of my speeches!

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) February 13, 2013

“Send the liberal detractors a message that not only does Marco Rubio inspire you…he hydrates you too,” Rubio’s PAC website jokingly says.

Quench your thirst for conservative leadership? Order a bottle now bit.ly/X9fPjX twitter.com/OnBackground/s…#tcot #SOTU #gop

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) February 14, 2013

Are you a fan of Marco Rubio? What do you think about how he’s handling his awkward water grab?

Marco Rubio Water Bottles Are Making His PAC A Small Fortune is a post from: The Inquisitr

Twitter has reduced tweet length for tweets that contain links in changes that come into effect this Wednesday.

Twitter first made the announcement that they would be reducing the length of tweets with links last December. Mashable reported any tweet that contained an https link would have a shorter 117 character limit while any tweet containing a URL would be limited to 118 characters.

What this means for the average Twitter user is that any tweet that contains a link will now have less space for a customized comment or accompanying title.

Techglimpse explains the reason for the switch is due to a change in the Twitter link shortening wrapper, t.co, which has been extended by two characters. In the new t.co configurations non-https URLs will be extended from 20 to 22 characters, and https links will increase from 21 to 23 characters.

According to The Blog Herald, Twitter announced the changes to their link system early to allow third party developers sufficient time to adapt their applications to recognize the changes allowed for automatically embedded Tweets and other tweet sharing applications.

Comments from users around the blogosphere are demonstrating a generally negative response to the shortened tweet length, with many people concerned the shortening will hamper Twitter conversations built around social link sharing.

What do you expect to see from the new changes? Will the reduced tweet length change the way you tweet?

Twitter Reduces Tweet Length: Some Now 117 Characters is a post from: The Inquisitr

A live-tweeted c-section is scheduled for Wednesday, February 20 at 7:30 am CST. The tweeted surgery will take placed at Women’s Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, Texas.

Houston’s Memorial Hermann hospital system has become a stomping ground for live-tweeted firsts. In February 2012, the hospital was the first to live-tweet an open-heart surgery. The hospital followed their first live-Twitter event with a live-tweeted brain operation.

The c-section is being performed by Obstetrician Anne Gonzalez. Dr. Gonzalez will be assisted by Dr. Amelia Chu, who will wear a GoPro head camera, which will stream a surgeon’s point-of-view to viewers.

Also participating in the live-tweeted c-section will be obstetrician and gynecologist Sherri Levin. Dr. Levin will answer questions that are sent in from viewers.

You can follow the live-tweeted c-section via the Twitter account @houstonhospital and through the hashtag #MHBaby.

Doctors will also be providing photos and videos from the c-section via Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, and Storify.

The procedure is being live-Tweeted courtesy of a 39-year-old mom-to-be who has asked to remain anonymous.

Speaking about the live-tweeted c-section Dr Gonzalez said:

“It will allow us to pull back the curtain on the most common surgery that many women need to have in order to deliver their baby. It also will help families to prepare for their own deliveries and show them what to expect. It is an amazing honor to be involved in the most important event in this family’s life and we are thankful they are sharing their story with the public.”

Will you be watching the live-tweeted c-section on Twitter?

Live Twitter C-Section Will Be A First, Plans To Educate Viewers is a post from: The Inquisitr