Katy Perry and Taylor Swift are never, ever, ever getting back together as friends. The two have been embroiled in one of the lowest-stakes celebrity beefs for a couple of years now, using the drama as source material in their pop songs.
All has been quiet on the beef’s front this year, until Perry fired a shady salvo on ABC’s yes-they-really-did-reboot-it reboot of “American Idol”. On Sunday night’s episode, judge Luke Bryan asked a contestant if there was anyone he “looks up to as an artist.”
The contestant, a sweet-looking, slightly nerdy boy, looked nervously at Perry. “I’m sorry for this, Katy,” he said, as the music cut out. “Taylor Swift. I love Taylor Swift.”
Perry knows a shade opportunity when she sees it and, with great aplomb, told the young man he didn’t need to apologize. “Oh, you don’t have to be sorry,” she said. “I love her as a songwriter as—as well!”
Welcome to the Royal Family, where unborn members get their own websites before they’re old enough to scroll. While we’re all over here fumbling with Square Space, Royal Baby Number Three has Buckingham Palace at their mercy.
The arrival of Prince William and the Duchess Kate’s third child is about a month away — she’s due April 23 — and the couple already has a new webpage dedicated to the newest bundle of joy, set up on the royal family’s official website. The baby’s website, according to Hello! Magazine, promises to share updates about the new arrival as soon as they become available, in addition to the Kensington Palace Twitter account (not to be confused with the Royal Family Twitter account).
It was officially announced last September that Will and Kate were expecting their third child. The statement released from Kensington Palace read: “The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to announce that The Duchess of Cambridge is expecting their third child. The Queen and members of both families are delighted with the news.”
It’s no secret that Kate has been suffering through some serious morning sickness, a condition called Hyperemesis Gravidarum. She went through the same thing with Prince George and Princess Charlotte.
As Kate nears her due date, the sex of the baby is still under wraps. Many believe it’s a girl, because Kate keeps wearing pink outfits. Plus, the way she’s carrying her baby (low and wide) suggests that she may be expecting another little princess, if you believe old wives tales.
The Mirrorreports that when it comes to playing the odds, Mary is the favorite name for the new Royal, followed by Alice and Victoria. And if it’s a boy? Albert and Arthur are the top bets.
Although craft beer has experienced explosive market growth over the past 25 years, the vast majority of Americans still don’t drink it.
Only about one in eight beers sold in America is a craft beer. For the first time, the three best-selling beers in America are light beers: Bud Light, Coors Light and Miller Lite. Bud Light alone has a greater market share than all craft beers combined.
So while the selection has broadened dramatically, most people’s tastes have not. Even craft beer companies are adjusting to this reality: A recent Chicago Tribune article noted that craft breweries are releasing beers that are “less hoppy and in-your-face” in order to appeal to the majority of Americans who prefer “big corporate lagers.”
In other words, they’re brewing blander beers.
How did Americans come to prefer such bland beer? As an economic historian, I’ve extensively researched the political economy of alcohol prohibition, and the unique history of the US temperance movement might bear some responsibility for country’s exceptionally bland beer.
The ‘Lager Bier Craze’ Clashes With Teetotalers
Unlike European countries with beer preferences and styles that have evolved over centuries, America lacks a homegrown brewing tradition.
The classic American beer is an “adjunct pilsner,” which means that some of the malted barley is replaced with corn or rice. The effect is a beer that’s lighter, clearer and less hoppy than its counterparts in countries like England, Germany and Belgium.
In colonial America, English-style beers and ales predominated, but rum and then whiskey were the drink of choice. Cider, easier to make at home, overtook beer by the early 19th century.
However, the American beer market grew during the great mid-19th century wave of German immigration. German lagers were an immediate hit, partially because the German brewing method of bottom fermentation – which involves a relatively long fermentation period and cold storage – made for a more consistent, storable product than top-fermented ales. The lagers were also mellower, though they were dark and hearty compared to what would become popular later.
But the “lager bier craze” dovetailed with another big trend: the temperance movement, which at various times sought to reduce problem drinking, reduce drinking more generally and eradicate alcohol consumption completely. From 1830 to 1845, the temperance movement gained momentum as more and more Americans were taking voluntary “temperance pledges” and giving up spirits and cider.
A print from the 1800s promotes ‘lager bier’ as a ‘healthy drink’ and a ‘family drink.’ Library of Congress
German brewers always maintained that beer was a “temperance beverage,” unlike ardent spirits such as whiskey. And indeed, European temperance movements did tend to regard beer as relatively harmless.
But activists in the American temperance movement – which by then had become more about abstinence and intertwined with evangelical Protestantism – didn’t buy the argument. The 1850s saw the first big push for state-level prohibition laws, which ended up being passed in a handful of states. Those laws didn’t last for a variety of reasons (including the Civil War), but they did serve notice to the brewers that they needed to work harder to convince the public that beer was a temperance beverage.
Perfect For A Midday Drink
In the 1870s, American beer would become mellower still with the advent of a new type of lager: the Bohemian pilsner. Clearer, lighter and blander than the Bavarian lagers that had previously dominated the market, pilsners looked cleaner, healthier, more stable and less intoxicating.
As an 1878 issue of the trade publication Western Brewer noted, Americans “want a clear beer of light color, mild and not too bitter taste.”
Brewers and drinkers who wanted to avert the temperance movement’s gaze naturally chose light pilsners over dark lagers. But lighter beer also was a good fit for the long hours of American factory workers, many of whom ate at saloons between shifts. Coming back to work drunk could get you fired, so if you wanted a beer or two with the salty saloon fare, the weakest beers were the best bet.
Pragmatism and personal taste soon became intertwined. Anheuser-Busch introduced Budweiser in 1876 – whose rice adjuncts produced an even milder beer – to great success. Pabst Blue Ribbon, with its corn adjuncts, became a national sensation as well.
In 1916, Gustave Pabst, the son of Pabst Blue Ribbon’s founder Frederick Pabst, told the United States Brewers Association that “the discrimination in favor of light beers (is strongest) in those countries where the anti-alcohol sentiment is strongest.”
Nonetheless, the drumbeat of the temperance movement started getting louder.
Prohibition Leaves Its Mark
By the late 19th and early 20th century, the temperance movement had returned in force. Efficient organizing campaigns by the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union and the Anti-Saloon League led to a new wave of state and local prohibitions and, finally, a push for national prohibition.
National constitutional prohibition, as decreed by the 18th Amendment and the Volstead Act, was devastating to the beer industry in the short term. But in the long term, it further laid the groundwork for a nation of bland beer drinkers.
Careful estimates by economist Clark Warburton found that alcohol consumption during Prohibition may have actually risen for wine and spirits but fell by two-thirds for beer, which was harder to conceal. Although Prohibition may have introduced a generation of young people to cocktails, they had hardly any exposure to beer – and certainly hadn’t acquired the taste for hearty beer.
In March 1933, eight months before the 21st Amendment repealed Prohibition, Congress modified the Volstead Act to allow the production of “non-intoxicating,” low-alcohol beer and wine, with a maximum of 4 percent alcohol by volume.
The new, watered-down beer was a huge hit with the public, which hadn’t tasted a full-strength legal beer since 1917. Dark beers and ales had accounted for some 15 percent of the market before World War I. But in 1936 their share was just 2 to 3 percent. In 1947, researchers at Schwarz Laboratories analyzed the alcohol, hop and malt content of American beers in the 1930s and 1940s and remarked that many of these early post-repeal beers were “too hoppy,” “too heavy and too filling” for consumers’ tastes. The report noted “a corrective trend” in which brewers sharply reduced their hop and malt content.
More adventurous brewers and drinkers were also stymied by post-Prohibition laws. State and federal policies effectively banned homebrewing, and most states required a “three-tier” system of brewers, distributors and retailers that made it more difficult to make and market specialty beers.
The blandification of American beer continued for another 70 years. During World War II, American troops got 4 percent alcohol beer in their rations, exposing yet another generation to the joys of weak beer. The hop and malt content of beer fell sharply and steadily over this period. Hop content fell by half from 1948 to 1969, and the rise of “lite” beer in the 1970s accelerated the trend. Hop content fell 35 percent from 1970 to 2004.
Despite the phenomenal rise of craft beer, light beers are still dominant. The craft beer explosion is a remarkable story, but perhaps we should stop calling it a revolution.
Apple is known for producing a variety of products that are used by tons of different people who tend to be pretty loyal to the company. Odds are, if you own an iPhone, your laptop is probably a Mac. And if you’re into tech, then you probably own an Apple Watch.
Apple’s never been a company to produce its own parts; for example, the company purchases its screens from Samsung and its cameras from Sony.
While that business model has worked for them in the past, rumors surrounding the company claim that Apple is now interested in developing its own parts, so that they can get the upper hand in the competition. Last year, Apple reportedly invested millions of dollars on the development of LG screens; now, according to Bloomberg, the company is secretly developing its own technology for better displays.
The screens Apple’s developing are MicroLED screens, which use different lights than OLED screens—the displays that are mostly used on other smartphones. These MicroLED screens promise to make smartphones much slimmer, brighter, and with longer battery life, but they’re also much more difficult to develop than traditional OLED displays.
While the development of these screens is still at an early stage, it would really hurt the competition if Apple were to achieve this; iPhone screens would all of the sudden outperform Samsung’s screens, which have always had the edge. In the meantime, you can expect Apple to stick with OLED screens for at least a couple of more years.
It’s not every day you see a grown man dressed as a Disney character pushing a police car in the snow. But that’s what happened earlier this week when 37-year-old Jordan Tipplet, who was dressed as Elsa from the movie Frozen, was seen giving a helping hand as he left a bar in Boston.
Fortunately, someone grabbed their phone and recorded Tipplet as he tried to unstick a police vehicle stuck in the snow.
Elsa hiked up his skirt and got down to business, as people from the inside of the bar recorded him and cheered him on, shouting “go Elsa!” “Let him gooo,” and that he was “the hero we deserve.”
The video has achieved around a million views on Facebook and has created a bit of fame for Tipplet. According to Huffington Post, Tipplet won’t let fame get to his head, claiming that everyone will be over the video by noon.
John Salley, the four-time NBA champion who played for the “Bad Boy” Detroit Pistons, doesn’t look like he’s aged a day since his basketball career ended with the Los Angeles Lakers. Salley is a noted vegan and healthy-lifestyle nut, which is why it surprised some when he started smoking marijuana at the age of 36, following his retirement.
But if there’s one recent trend in cannabis over the past year, it’s that many people are adding cannabis as part of their wellness and lifestyle routines. That motivation inspired Salley to begin a family cannabis company called Deuces22 (Salley’s jersey number), where his daughter Tyla serves as CEO.
This February, GreenSpace Labs announced it was partnering with Salley and his company to detect pesticides and ensure an organic product. The Greenlite Screener is a mobile app that can “detect pesticides and toxic metals in cannabis from the field, for extraction companies, and for independent testing laboratories,” writes PR Newswire.
“I got involved with GreenSpace because I believe in the importance of clean cannabis, same as I believe in the importance of clean food,” Salley told Benzinga. “I always saw on movies that every drug was tested for purity. So why not test cannabis?”
His daughter Tyla shares her father’s drive to produce organic cannabis. She also believes clean cannabis will soon separate itself from the rest of the luxury brand marketplace.
“Maybe people you hang out with won’t, but people who want to smoke weed and feel healthy and feel good are going to love that we give them all flower. No sticks, no stems, no rice paper,” Tyla told Benzinga.
“I was really adamant on these details,” she said. “There are a lot of cannabis brands all over the industry now, popping up and shutting down. But I wanted to make sure our brand was organic and, at the same time, luxury. I wanted people to know they can trust us, that we are not going to give them anything that can hurt them, but also that all the cannabis we provide is top shelf in every aspect, every time—and maintain this consistency over time.”
Salley also made recent headlines when he urged NBA commissioner Adam Silver to “come blaze witcha boy,” after former commish David Stern came out in support of removing marijuana from the banned substances list for NBA players. Salley urged Silver to do just that in a TMZ video, stating he believed it’d be better for the health of the NBA.
“I don’t know too many guys with D-U-highs,” Salley said. “It’s a safer, better, cleaner alternative for your health.”
The Lifetime channel got into trouble for wanting to draw the most possible views, smartly scheduling the release of their movie, Harry & Meghan: A Royal Romance, days before May 19, when the real royal wedding will take place.
The Daily Express reports that the release and trailer of the film violates the couple’s common decency, especially because there’s a 20-second clip of a scene where Harry and Meghan are in bed together. Without shirts on.
The scene showing the couple naked in bed is the ultimate appeal to those who are drawn in by such filth and perversion.
Well, that’s a little dramatic. It’s doubtful people who are looking for “filth and perversion” are going to get their fix from a movie produced by the Lifetime channel. Harry & Meghan: A Royal Affair is probably pretty tame in the sex department, but that’s just a guess.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle haven’t made a statement regarding the trailer, or the Lifetime movie in general, but we’re pretty sure they don’t care. Except for maybe some of those god awful bits of dialogue that these actors are gritting through their teeth while trying to maintain a straight face. You can check out the full trailer below.
There are a lot of types of headaches to be had, from the headache you got when your boss asked you to come in on Saturday to the throbbing head crunchers to horrific cluster headaches. Many will have heard of micro-dosing on LSD for the latter, but if its a tension headache you’re dealing with, cannabis can be key in easing your pain.
As the name implies, tension headaches are caused by just that, tension. They can arise from stressful experiences that leave a lasting impact, a “terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day” (Not the book itself, of course!) or any sort of situation that has your neck and shoulders bunched up and tense for a long enough time to affect your headspace.
Cannabis Indica is a known stress reliever and has centuries of documented use as a tension reliever. From easing tension at home or especially in the bedroom, marijuana works wonders. It doesn’t just mask the pain so that your headache seeps back into existence, it permeates your cannabinoid system and gets rid of stress and negativity that likely led to the headache to begin with.
Indicas, because of their sometimes sleepy properties, may not be ideal for getting work done or day to day functioning, which most of us have to keep going at, headache or no. While a sativa will help, if too potent or stimulating, it could cause anxiety instead of relieving it. Most likely a hybrid between the two is your best bet.
Talking to your local dispensary about strains is a very good idea, as budtenders are well schooled in what each strain they carry is best for what. You want to go for a relaxing, but functioning strain, something that will melt away tension while keeping the creative juices flowing. Strains such as these abound, all you have to do is ask.
Another benefit to using cannabis to alleviate tension headaches is that you don’t have to take over the counter or even prescription medication. Instead, you ingest your cannabis in your favorite way and let the herbal remedy do its job.
One last note about the strain you pick, make sure that if your preferred method is smoking that the strain isn’t “harsh.” A coughing fit is the last thing someone with a headache needs or wants and has the potential to exacerbate the condition. Imbibe the best possible cannabis you can find and let those muscles relax and rest so you can tackle the day like you haven’t a worry in the world.
If you are new to cannabis, you have heard about it – but what is dabbing?
Dabbing has been around for about a decade, but it is slowly becoming more prevalent among casual marijuana consumers in recent years. Sensational headlines have called dabbing “the crack of cannabis” or the “meth of marijuana.”
Essentially, what a dab is a small dose of highly concentrated cannabis that is heated on a hot surface and then inhaled. So you ask, what’s the deal with dabbing and should you try, will hear is what to know.
What Is Dabbing
Dabs are concentrated doses — typically about the size of a Tic-Tac breath mint — of marijuana. Dabs are manufactured by extracting THC, most commonly by using a solvent such as butane. The end product is a potent oil often referred to as wax, honey, shatter, budder, crumble or butane hash oil (BHO).
The THC levels in most concentrates can reach 70-90 percent THC. For context, a typical marijuana joint contains about 15 percent THC. Using a blowtorch (think creme brulee torch), the user heats the oil on a “dab rig”. The user then inhales the vapor, producing a that hits quickly and forcefully. This is NOT advised for those unfamiliar with marijuana.
Is It Dangerous
The simple answer is yes. No doubt you have read scary headlines about houses exploding or garages catching fire because of dabbing. But let’s be clear: That danger is from the manufacturing of the concentrate, not the actual smoking of it.
The extraction process involves using butane, a highly flammable gas that requires a lot of ventilation. Do-it-yourself amateurs attempting to make concentrates at home are responsible for the headlines.
NOTE: Do NOT make it yourself. Even if you fancy yourself as a chemist, it is illegal in nearly every jurisdiction. Instead, purchase professionally produced concentrates. Period. Store-bought concentrates are lab tested and are safe for consumption.
Actually inhaling the dab is not necessarily dangerous, but it is much more potent than smoking a joint. Remember, this is cannabis in a concentrated form. A little goes a long way. The danger is in doing too much in a short timeframe.
The safe way to do it is in moderation. Take a small hit and wait. Sit down. Be mindful of your surroundings. Think of it as taking a shot of tequila instead of sipping a beer.
Who Is Doing It
Dabbing became popular in Southern California about a decade ago mostly among younger cannabis tokers because of its potency. And the typical stereotype is the dabbing culture is younger, more urban and edgier. Over the years, older, more experienced cannabis consumers have started dabbing because it is a more cost-effective, quicker method of reaching a desired intoxicated state.
Although not many doctors would consider dabbing an appropriate medicinal method, there are many medical marijuana patients who have gone this route because it is more affordable, faster to relieve pain and longer lasting. For those dealing with severe or chronic pain or intense nausea may find dabbing effective.
What Are The Side Effects
If you are new to the experience, be prepared for a much more intense high. It is recommended that you stay seated when dabbing because fainting is possible. Other possible side effects include a rapid heartbeat, paranoia and hallucinations.
If you feel any of these symptoms, hydrate, lay down and close your eyes.
Remember, you can’t suffer a fatal overdose from cannabis — and that includes dabbing. But you can harm yourself if you should fall down. It is intense, but not deadly.
One thing that is almost guaranteed to happen: You will cough. Dabber’s cough is common.
Should You Do It
It is not recommended for newcomers to marijuana. If you have an understanding of how your body reacts to cannabis, give it a try. It’s a different experience than smoking or vaping dried herb.
Paul Armentano, the deputy director of NORML, cautions that it is riskier than smoking a joint. “When a product is more potent, and when the route of administration is conducive to people experiencing a very strong high very quickly, then one can argue that the risk of abuse goes up,” he said.
I’ve made my living for the better part of seven years in the liquor space. With that said, I’ve noticed some real changes in that traditional world of intoxicants over the past year or so. After being tolerated for a few years, the large liquor companies are having serious misgivings about being too friendly with the cannabis family. Perhaps this is because the ongoing stigma that hovers just over the periphery in every illicit transaction outside of the “three tier system.” You see, the liquor industry has been permitted to print their own tickets since Prohibition, under the watchful gaze of the government. Taxation is a powerful determinate with broad reaching implications.
The venerable Wall Street firm Cowen and Company has been assessing financial risk for over a century in the traditional financial space. Is it no surprise that they now have a metric to do “deep-dives” on the implication of cannabis sales, in the legal arena, against craft beer sales? Yes, they do. So the major drivers of industry are paying attention too, because if they don’t, they have no one to blame but themselves. The up swell appears to be too strong.
From a flavor prospective, agile companies are developing new flavors and ways to use these ingredients in a safe and non-antagonistic way. Smoking leaves an odor that can be irresponsible in public, especially in places that are less than legal or tolerated.
I wrote a book named Cannabis Cocktails. It’s the first book on the topic of making a concoction that is, well, quite a bit less than legal. But as long as you prepare it in the confines and safety of your own home, that is ok. I don’t advocate selling it in a bar, nor do I recommend a dosage beyond what I would take myself. I have a medical reason, others do too. We require a larger amount. What’s the big deal? I give very specific instructions on what to do if you take too much. A fact ignored by the distractions.
I believe that mixing cannabis with a responsible amount of alcohol can be a wonderfully pleasant experience. And if I do take a bit too much, I’m man enough to be able to drink some lemon juice, chew a peppercorn or two and I know that I’ll be better. I’ve never met any mythical creatures or dead family members crawling up my leg- while enjoying edibles. It’s important to note that scare tactics are no way to change the world.
We can do that by being responsible and offering alternative methods that, at first, may seem obtuse and unacceptable, but travel across the Atlantic Ocean was once deemed to be insane as well.
Cannabis is still misunderstood as a medicinal substance. I didn’t write the book to hurt anyone. My technique is simple and I truly wanted to share my passion for flavor and folk (holistic) healing.
It just happens to be that my favorite toast is: “Here’s to what ails ye!” This is true in many more ways than you would have expected it, especially in the Cannabis space. I always hope to make no wake- it helps me become better at being me instead of trying to re-work the wheel.
Louis Armstrong’s Way Fizzy
(makes 2 drinks and a bit more)
4 oz. Clement Rhum Agricole “Canne Bleue”
½ oz. Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
1 oz. Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice
1 oz. Fruitations Soda and Cocktail Syrup- Tangerine
½ lime cut into chunks
4 oz. Ginger Beer Soda (sugar cane based, never corn syrup based)
Angostura
To a Boston Shaker: Fill ¾ with ice. Add the Rhum Agricole and the Fresh juices. Add the Fruitations Syrup. Cap and shake hard until frosty. Muddle the lime in a rocks glass or two. Add a couple cubes of ice. Pour over the contents of the Boston Shaker. Finish with about 2 oz. of the Ginger Beer Soda over the top of each glass. Stir. Dot with Angostura. Serve.
For now, bland beers are still king.
