Craig Boehman

SXSW sponsored another Edward Snowden call-in this year. But, unlike the much-publicized SXSW conference call in 2014, Snowden opted for a low-key, invitation-only affair at SXSW in 2015. According to The Verge, around two-dozen members from the technology and policy world attended the SXSW question-and-answer conference. Golden Frog president and attendee, Sunday Yokubaitis, described the […]

“Beware the ides of March,” the soothsayer warns Julius Caesar in Shakespeare’s classic play. In real life, Plutarch wrote that Caesar had been warned by a seer that harm would come to the ruler no later than the ides of March. When Caesar had scoffed that the ides of March had come, the seer replied, […]

Fans of Pi Day will have an extra special reason to celebrate the mathematical constant this year on March 14, 2015. This year’s date correlates to the first five digits of pi. Die-hard pi fans will recognize the precise time of 9:26:53 as carrying out pi to 10 digits. Or 3.141592653. The Times of India […]

A Costa Rica volcano erupted Thursday about 44 miles east of San Jose, the nation’s capitol. Reuters reported the Costa Rica volcano, Turrialba, sent plumes of gas and ash up 3,280 feet in what amounted to the most powerful eruption of the Costa Rica volcano in two decades. The eruption of the Costa Rica volcano […]

The moralists, the concerned, the party-goers and the government watchdogs all have something to say about powdered alcohol. The mania began last year when the first U.S. company seeking to saturate the powdered alcohol market was ultimately shot-down by the FDA after the agency initially approved the substance in error. That company was Palcohol. In […]

Nearly 2,000 students in Madison took to the state capitol building on Monday to protest the fatal shooting of black teenager, Tony Robinson, 19, by a white police officer in Madison, Wisconsin. Robinson’s cousin, Justice Muse, 14, told the Guardian he appreciated the efforts of protesters. “It was great what they’re doing for him,” Muse […]

Costa Rica has been a hidden gem for tourists and ex-pats throughout the years. Known for its laid-back atmosphere and activities aplenty scattered among its many diverse geographical regions, Costa Rica is making it easier for Americans to visit in 2015, with expanded flight service and a host of familiar American chains opening up shop. […]

The Occupy Wall Street movement made economic inequality and Wall Street two of its primary focuses in the fall of 2011. Since then, Wall Street has been prominently featured in the public discourse since the failure of the political system to address the dismal outcomes of the 2007-8 recession. Public criticism stubbornly persists in 2015 […]

Egyptian blogger, Alaa Abd El Fattah, was sentenced to five years in prison for protesting against the military-backed Egyptian government. Abd El Fattah was accompanied by 20 other defendants, all of whom were sentenced three years for protesting and other crimes. Four defendants were sentenced to 15 years in absentia. Blogger Abd El Fattah, 33, […]

Instagram’s social media presence is increasingly influencing how travel brands market their products to customers. Thanks to Instagram’s rapidly growing popularity, strategists are rushing to develop new ways to incorporate Instagram into their marketing and PR efforts. The goal is to utilize their customers’ Instagram accounts to create the visual buzz that oftentimes come from […]

Costa Rica’s rich abundance of biodiversity and natural beauty soon drains a travel writer’s pool of adjectives to describe its numerous microclimates. Fortunately for the Costa Rica visitor, there’s no shortage of verbs to squander on just about any outdoor activity imaginable. For a country roughly the size of West Virginia, it’s home to nearly […]

Travel deals to Malta are gaining popularity thanks to the dollar making recent gains against the Euro. Europe is now more affordable than ever for Americans in search of great travel deals. Not since September 2003 has the dollar been so strong, according to the Associated Press. Hovering around 1.13 dollars to the Euro, it’s […]

A Gutenberg Bible is perhaps the crown jewel in a cache of rare books donated to Princeton University by the late William H. Scheide. The Bible is part of the Scheide Library, which has been showcased at Princeton’s Firestone Library since 1959, and contains a collector’s dream of important, rare books and manuscripts. The collection […]

Famed science fiction writer Iain M. Banks (known as Iain Banks for non-SF works) will have his poetry published in time for what would have been the author’s 61st birthday this month. The collection will include poetry by his long-time friend, Ken Macleod. Banks’ website announced the publication on Monday. Macleod edited the collection. Both […]

On Sunday, Pizza Hut allegedly botched an online order and received the worst kind of customer feedback. New Rochelle, NY, police arrested a woman who vented her frustration by crashing her car into the Pizza Hut at the 80 Huguenot St. location. According to the Lower Hudson News, police say that 31-year-old Deisy Manzo backed […]

Gwen Pearson’s latest piece in Wired entitled, “50 Shades of WRONG: Disturbing Insect Sex,” explores the disturbing sexual exploits of insects. The Purdue Department of Entomology doctorate and Outreach Coordinator makes it clear in “50 Shades of WRONG” that humans have nothing on insects when it comes to rough and freaky sex. According to Pearson, […]

Research from the University of Waterloo has found that the 50 Shades of Grey franchise has inspired women to consume porn in greater volume and variety. The 50 Shades of Grey book became the focal point for lead researcher Diana Parry, associate professor of Recreation and Leisure Studies. According to Salon, Parry and her collaborator, […]

The Interview’s last hope for comedic redemption dangles in hydrogen balloons high in the air space over North Korea, where many of the 100,000 DVD and USB copies of The Interview will likely be blown to pieces by anti-aircraft fire when they blissfully float across the Koreas’ North-South border without proper documentation and diplomatic clearance. […]

The Kickass Torrents site went down Monday when its Kickass.so domain was banned by the “.so” Somalian registry officials. Down, but not out. Kickass resurfaced later in familiar waters under its old “.to” domain and appears to be fully functional. Wired UK reported the Kickass take-down via domain seizure, but later updated the status at […]

Powerball officials announced the winning numbers for the February 7 drawing on Saturday night for one of the largest lottery jackpots of all time. The numbers are 5, 10, 21, 34, 58. The red Powerball is 33. If no one selected the winning numbers, the Powerball jackpot could surpass $450 million for the next drawing […]

George R.R. Martin set the record straight surrounding speculation in the media that the sixth book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series won’t be published in 2015 – by not confirming anything but his desire not to see his books scheduled before completion. The facts got muddled when Time picked up a […]

INXS band manager Chris Murphy confirmed that guitarist Tim Farriss had badly injured his left hand in a boating accident last month resulting in the loss of his left ring finger. Farriss has undergone two surgeries to re-attach his finger, but permanent damage has been sustained. The BBC reported that Farriss emailed his INXS bandmates […]

A Baylor University study found cell phone addiction to be a “realistic possibility” among students responding to an online survey. While many claimed they weren’t addicted – despite a high number of hours spent on their devices – 60 percent of the 164 respondents admitted to be addicted to their cell phones. Women spent more […]

A new Einstein documentary entitled Einstein in the Holy Land is set for production based on the scientist’s trip to pre-state Israel in 1923. The film will be produced by Micha Shagrir and directed by Noa Ben Hagai. Einstein made the journey by train with his second wife, Elsa. He kept a travel diary during […]

Einstein may be known for his theory of relativity, but his fans may be surprised to learn that the legendary scientist married twice, the second time being to his first cousin, Elsa Löwenthal. The couple began their affair in 1912 while Einstein was still married to his first wife. In 1919, the divorce was finalized […]

Music icon David Bowie received a 50-year animated GIF makeover by illustrator Helen Green in honor of the performer’s 68th birthday. The GIF is comprised of 29 illustrations of Bowie ranging from his humble beginnings as David Jones in 1964 and spans throughout his superstar career as David Bowie, ending with a recent portrait derived […]

Kayak began listing limited flights and hotel details on its travel website on Thursday, becoming the first major online service to do so. But travelers looking to book flights and hotels through the Kayak.com website will have to wait until lawmakers and the travel industry finalize the details. Newsweek reported that people interested in travel […]

The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is tracking millions of Americans using automatic license plate readers, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) revealed this week. While the DEA states its intention is to seize cars and assets of those involved in drug trafficking, the program has also swept up hundreds of millions of records of motorists […]

Taken 3 has done extremely well at the box office. This despite the film’s producers striking out with a trifecta of sub-par performances in Taken 3’s writing, directing, and acting departments. Read any sane review of the movie out there for the depressing details. The Manila Standard Today reported that Taken 3 is number one […]

American Express announced that it plans to start operating in Cuba in the wake of the Obama administration lifting bans on U.S. financial institutions doing business there. American Express said that its business activities would fall within the new rules drafted by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. The Miami Herald reported that […]

Angela Ahrendts has out-earned Apple boss Tim Cook, or so it would seem. Barring Cook’s $154 million vested stock windfall in 2014, Ahrendts took in more than any other executive at Apple. According to an SEC filing, the Guarding reported that Ahrendts earned $73.4 million in 2014 based on a $1 million dollar salary. As […]

iPhones have been getting a lot of heat from privacy advocates for years. It’s likely that privacy concerns will continue to be a public relations nightmare for Apple iPhones despite company efforts to include encryption features in its mobile operating system iOS8. Recent comments from Edward Snowden’s lawyer reveal that the NSA whistleblower doesn’t use […]

Coffee is the go-to drink for many tens of millions of morning risers around the globe. But the Canadian team behind Counting Sheep coffee hope to change the habits of coffee drinkers in a big way. They want you to take their coffee to bed. Company founder and “Sheep Executive Officer” Deland Jessop got the […]

Wall Street kicked off its 2015 bonus season with less fanfare this year due to lackluster fourth quarter profits. But that hasn’t stopped Wall Street elites from purchasing luxury homes at a time when most Americans are struggling to make a living wage and keep a roof over their heads. The New York Times reported […]

A Family Guy episode helped break the ice between Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor after they were both drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in 2010. Then first-year head coach Pete Carroll paired the two together as roommates for the duration of training camp with the aim of building personal bonds on and off the field. […]