Time Warner Inc is seeking to sell its publishing unit Time Inc and has met with at least one serious buyer, Fortune magazine said, citing unnamed sources.

A meeting with a potential buyer is scheduled for today, the report said, adding that talks are still in formative stages.

A Time Warner spokesman said the company does not comment on speculation.

Time Inc is the publisher of magazine titles like People, Sports Illustrated, Fortune and its namesake newsweekly.

In one possible outcome, the buyer would get most of Time Inc’s titles while Time Warner would retain three magazines: Time, Sports Illustrated and Fortune, the report said.

Magazines and newspapers are dealing with declining advertising revenue and readers who are increasingly choosing digital products over print.

In 2012, revenue at Time Inc dropped 7 percent to $3.4 billion on declines in advertising and subscription revenue. Operating income fell 25 percent for the same period.

Time Inc announced in January it planned to cut about 500 jobs, or about 6 percent of its workforce.

The post Report: Time Warner seeking buyers for its magazines appeared first on Metro.us.

A shocking report from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute found that cats kill far more animals than was previously believed – a potentially genocidal four billion birds and 20 billion mammals a year in the US alone.

We spoke to lead researcher Dr. Scott Lost.

Metro: Which cats are the biggest killers and why?

Lost: We estimate that un-owned cats including barn cats, stray cats, cats in subsidized colonies, and cats that are completely feral are responsible for 69% of bird mortality and 89% of mammal mortality. The predation rates by this group average three times greater than rates for owned cats.

How many kills might a pet cat make in a year?

The best available data suggests that owned cats kill between 4 and 18 birds and 11 and 30 mammals per year. This is before accounting for prey items that cat owners and researchers are unable to detect, so the numbers are probably higher. Un-owned cats – because they spend 100% of their time outdoors – kill far more animals: 23-46 birds and 140-330 mammals per year, on average.

But we know cats are predators – why should we worry?

In the United States there are no native predators that are comparable to domestic cats; thus, cats represent a novel predator and threat to wildlife. The data suggests that native bird and mammal species – as opposed to ‘pests’ – make up the majority of the species preyed upon by cats. More research is needed to determine which species are most vulnerable to cats, but these should be a wildlife management priority.

What steps could/should be taken to reduce the killing?

We hope that the large amount of wildlife mortality indicated by our research alerts policy makers, wildlife managers, and scientists to the large magnitude of this problem.

The post Is your cat a mass murderer? appeared first on Metro.us.

Have you ever been honked at by an angry cab driver after you started crossing the street against the signal because you were sending a text?

Do you automatically pull up your emails when your date excuses herself to the restroom — or while she is still sitting across from you at the table?

We’re all guilty of being tech-dependent, at least more than we were just six or seven years ago. A Tumblr that puts our society into a jarring perspective is making the rounds today. We Never Look Up features a collage of images of people staring down at their cell phones, seemingly detached from their surroundings.

The blog’s creator, a researcher who lives in Helsinki, Finland, snapped all of the photos himself. He didn’t want to share his identity, but told Metro in an email, “For a while now, I have noticed this behavior when commuting to work and back. At one point I even myself was guilty of it.”

He added, “Having read a lot of statistics and reports about the amount of smart phones/cellphones in the world I started to think that it would be great to somehow make this concrete. That’s when I got the idea for a photo project.”

He stopped short of criticizing those who are glued to their smartphones and clarified that the blog is really meant to make people more aware of their tech use.

“I’m not saying it is a negative thing, when done safely. It’s just that we need to be aware of that times change, and behavior as well,” he said. “But in social context, with friends, etc., it’s kind of rude to finger on your mobile the whole time. My message is not to judge, just to make this behavior concrete.”

Look familiar?

(Images via We Never Look Up)

The post We Never Look Up: New Tumblr illustrates our tech-dependent society appeared first on Metro.us.

Why can’t we stop eagerly staring at photoshopped pictures of this beloved movie nanny and this sassy British songstress combined to create one hilarious, jolly character?

What is it that makes each photo more entertaining than the last — and why is this even a real thing?

We’re not entirely sure, but we know we want more of it — and we’re not alone. The brand new blog has already garnered an impressive following.  Why, you ask?

You can’t understand, until you see it for yourself:

(Photos via Tumblr)

The post PHOTOS: Why we love Adele as ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ appeared first on Metro.us.

Find some of the book’s best pics below.

The post PHOTOS: New book ‘Sign Language 2′ features hilariously translated signs appeared first on Metro.us.

Some background: An audience member asked the candidates a question about gender equality. Republican candidate Mitt Romney said when he was looking to fill his cabinet as governor, he was presented with “binders full of women” by women’s groups.

And just like that, a viral Internet meme was born. The Web was set a-blaze with tweets, Facebook status updates, and even a Tumblr account called Binders Full of Women. A Twitter account called @RomneyBinders has more than 33,000 followers. The hashtag #bindersfullofwomen was trending for much of the day. Critics are calling the remark sexist, while others are just getting a good laugh out of it.

For political educational purposes, we’ve compiled a roundup of today’s best “binders full of women” memes.

(Images via Binders Full of Women)

[View the story "Binders Full of Women" on Storify]

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The shirt in question features images of Firefly, Posey, and Applejack — characters from the classic 80s cartoon popular among girls, “My Little Pony.” So why would something like this offend thousands of teenage or 20-something men?

Meet the Bronies — a predominantly adult male fan base that avidly follows “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,” a 2010 re-launch of the “My Little Pony” series.

The Walmart t-shirt reads “I love Bronies” and features ponies from the 80s version of the cartoon, not the more modern series and its new characters, which are responsible for igniting the Bronies fandom.

“This is the biggest fail in history,” one Brony said of the shirt in a comment thread on Equestria Daily, a website entirely dedicated to Bronies.

To understand this anger, one must first understand what it means to be a Brony. The rapidly-growing subculture baffles those on the outside and is often labeled as creepy. Bronies consistently battle stereotypes that they are gay, perverted or immature virgins who live in their parents’ basements and dedicate their lives to a little girl’s cartoon.

“I think it’s sad people think that,” Adam Atlas, a 22-year-old student at Fullerton College in California, told Metro. “Admittedly, I thought it was weird and stupid when I first heard about it, but I pretty much did a complete 180-degree turn on that.”

That’s a common theme among countless fans who never expected they’d too become Bronies after watching their first episode.

“I thought, ‘Hey this is pretty good. I will watch another episode.’ And then I thought, ‘Hey that’s pretty good, too.’ So then I watched another, and another,” Atlas said.   

What is it about this show that converts young men (and some women) into wildly loyal fans? For Atlas, and most other Bronies, it’s the captivating animation, the appealing characters and the creative story-telling in teaching viewers simple life lessons, like don’t judge a book by its cover.

“It’s quality that you don’t see in a lot of shows these days, like in reality TV crap,” Atlas explained. “What do you get from that?”

Atlas predicts the Bronies will become more accepted as the following, which already numbers in the hundreds of thousands, garners even more fans.

“It’s kind of like what ‘Star Trek’ went through back in the 70s, but now people are perfectly fine with it,” Atlas said. “It’s kind of like growing pains.”

Atlas ranks being a Brony as his third favorite fandom after ‘Star Trek’ and ‘Phantom of the Opera’, but before ‘Harry Potter’ and Disney. He spends at least a half hour each day looking at Brony sites like Ponychan. He likes to browse the thousands of pony artworks created by other Bronies or watch fan-based music videos. Though he said it’s not always easy to find other fans to hang out with because many are “closet Bronies,” he does plan to attend a Brony convention in L.A. in the coming weeks.    

Atlas, a Brony since February, doesn’t fully understand the fuss amongst Bronies over the Walmart shirt.

“It’s a pretty big screw up on [Walmart's] part, but also, it’s just a shirt — get over it,” he said.

While he made light of that particular situation, it was clear that Atlas takes his role in the Brony community extremely seriously in other respects — like the possibility of “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” someday going off the air.

“That would be a loss to society,” he said.

Follow Cassandra Garrison on Twitter at @CassieAtMetro

The post Walmart flubs ‘Bronies’ shirt, ‘My Little Pony’ fan explains meaning of ‘Brony’ appeared first on Metro.us.

With hidden camera rolling, Pilot Ryan Thompson took his girlfriend, 28-year-old Carlie Kennedy, for a joyride in a tiny plane above Chicago. As seen in the clip, the couple is enjoying the scenery from above until the plane begins to jerk and the look on Kennedy’s face quickly turns to one of doom.

Thompson tells Kennedy that the flight controls aren’t responding and asks her to remain calm, fully knowing that the plane is perfectly fine the whole time.

He then asks her to read from a list of emergency instructions.

She then reads through the list’s “ring engagement procedure.” The paper instructs her to determine whether the pilot in command is a “good mate.”

Still not quite catching on, she then reads, “Note: He will always love and honor you.”

Just as Thompson reaches for a ring, Kennedy reads the final item on the procedure list: “Will you marry me?”

Rejoiced, and far less angry than we would be, Kennedy laughs and cries at the same time and says “yes.”

Spoiler Alert: They didn’t crash.

The post VIDEO: Pilot Ryan Thompson fakes plane trouble before proposing to girlfriend appeared first on Metro.us.

After his recent trip to Vegas, racy photos of the Prince — who apparently lost in a game of strip billiards — surfaced online showing him completely naked in the company of at least one topless woman in a hotel room. Now, rumors are circulating that there is also a video being shopped around that shows much, much more of the prince’s nude adventures in Vegas.

While his father, Prince Charles, brother, Prince William, and grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, are reportedly furious with Harry over the scandal, he has garnered quite the following of Facebook fans who are showing support by taking his lead — and stripping down.

The Facebook page “Support Prince Harry with a naked salute!” calls on people to, well, salute — nakedly:

If you have served or are serving in the military I want to see a naked salute in support of Prince Harry uploaded on this group at some stage this bank holiday weekend *NOW OPEN TO ANYONE WHO WANTS TO SHOW SUPPORT*, please cover your crown jewels, tag yourself in your photo as proof of your support to the nations favourite Royal!

Hundreds of people obliged, uploading photos of themselves saluting in the buff, along with messages of support for Prince Harry, who is undoubtedly snickering about the page, sprawled out on a leather couch behind a laptop somewhere.

Here are some of his loyal supporters:

(Photos via Facebook)

(via Daily Dot)

The post PHOTOS: Facebook fans pay homage to Prince Harry’s wild romps with naked salutes appeared first on Metro.us.

Lauren, a 32-year-old marketing professional has tried the online route with no success: “I don’t believe you get that spark that makes the beginning of a relationship exciting if you know you’re both looking for a relationship at the same time and planning to merge your lives.” Lauren tried several websites for singles, but wouldn’t go back to online dating.  “I got turned off from it enough to never do it again.”
 
Amara, a 28-year-old furniture consultant, has met most of her dates in bars, and a few through friends, but she refuses to use dating websites too.  She got into a serious relationship through OkCupid that ended abruptly: “We dated about 6 months. We went on a vacation together and it just didn’t work out after that. He wasn’t sure what he wanted and I was mad because he wasn’t affectionate on the trip, and so I ended it. All he gave me was, ‘I don’t know what I want.’ That’s a cop out — and I couldn’t make him want more from me so I walked.”
 
As a former single woman, I have to ask the question, “If you’re living in New York and on the hunt, isn’t any place the right place to find love?” In reality, it can happen while walking down Broadway, grabbing a caramel macchiato (skim, of course) at Starbucks, or taking a Pure yoga class. Are city women simply too shy about their needs for affection and companionship? If the ladies are putting themselves out there and sharing their solo status with friends, family and through social media, shouldn’t every independent woman in NYC have a weekend date if she wants one? Or, are big city girls burying themselves too deeply in the world of internet dating?
 
Meeting a guy may be simple enough, but connecting to the right ‘one’ for a long-term relationship isn’t a cinch anywhere, and especially in a city the size of New York. The guy of your dreams may be out there in one of the five boroughs, but finding him isn’t going to be a walk in the park — or is it?
 
I asked a few more single women about their dating experiences in the Big Apple. I received a mixed bag of answers.
 
“Every time he had an orgasm, he laughed. He got the job done, but I had to do a lot of the work. We didn’t last very long. It was really awkward.” D.Y. -West Village
 
“There was the guy who listed himself as ‘Jewish — but not that serious about it.’ Everything was going great for a couple of months… until he told me he really had to end up with a Jewish girl.  That was of course after we’d slept together.” C.A. -Financial District
 
“My last serious boyfriend is engaged now to a Plain Jane—a sign he wasn’t for me. I’m a whole lot to handle.” A.E. -Hell’s Kitchen

“I went on my first ever online date with a guy right after I broke up with my long-term boyfriend. The waiter pressured him to order a bottle of wine… and then another. That’s when it all came out that we both had just gotten out of horrible breakups that we still weren’t over, and we were only forcing ourselves to “date” to get our minds off of it. It was the most depressing date of my life.” C.G. -Midtown West
 
“I’ve used Match.com, eharmony, and OkCupid. Eharmony delivered the nicest guys who were really interested in relationships, but weren’t great matches for me, and Match.com — whatever. OkCupid had cheap guys looking to get laid without paying the cost of a dating site membership.” W.B. -Astoria
 
“When your boyfriend has a male chastity cage around his penis and gives you the key, it’s time to move on.” H.H. -Upper West Side
 
For more about New York, follow me on Twitter, or on Tracy’s New York Life.

The post Looking for love in all the right places? appeared first on Metro.us.

They’re words we often hear and often say: Man cave, F-bomb, gastropub, mash-up, energy drink. Now, they’ll find a place among the pages of the 2012 update of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary.

According to Merriam-Webster Editor-at-Large Peter Sokolowski, the updates are really just a testament to the ever-changing English language and our ability to reshape it through new generations.  

“Some of the new words this year provide colorful images,” he said. “Terms like ‘man cave,’ ‘underwater’ (when used to describe mortgages), ‘earworm,’ and ‘bucket list’ paint vivid pictures in your mind. They show that English-speakers can be very creative as they describe the world around them.”

Creative, indeed! “Energy drink”? That takes wit.

About a year ago, the 12th edition of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary set the pace for all other dictionaries when it added “domestic goddess,” “woot,” “gastric band” and “sexting” (which is also included in the new Merriam-Webster’s). The definition is: The sending of sexually explicit messages or images by cell phone.

Here’s the full list of the new words added to the 2012 update of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. However, some of them aren’t yet recognized by spell-check. Get on board, Microsoft!

•     aha moment
•     bucket list
•     cloud computing
•     copernicium
•     earworm
•     energy drink
•     f-bomb
•     game changer
•     gassed
•     gastropub
•     man cave
•     mash-up
•     sexting
•     systemic risk
•     underwater

The post ‘F-bomb,’ ‘Man cave’ among new words in Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary appeared first on Metro.us.

At least, that’s the business model that Penfield, N.Y. woman Jackie Samuel is banking on. About a month ago,  she launched a business offering a solid hour of cuddle time in exchange for a cool $60.

“I really just wanted to cuddle,” Samuel told Metro.

On her site, The Snuggery, Samuel showcases herself as an advocate for the healing power of touch. With photos that show her in cozy, curled up poses dressed in pajamas, Samuel states that Americans are deprived of non-sexual touch and that’s why she is here to help.

Samuel said she has looked into getting certified for her snuggle sessions, but found that the only certification available was for people looking to host group snuggling parties. Samuel just wanted to do individual cuddling. When she placed an ad for her snuggle services in the back of her local newspaper, business started to flow.

“There are different kinds of cuddling positions, but I typically always start out spooning and I am pretty small, so usually I’m the little spoon,” Samuel said.

She also offers a 45-minute session for $50, and 90 minutes of cuddling for $90. While she has gotten some inquiries from snuggle-seekers looking for a little extra affection, Samuel said the majority of her clients (all men, though she is willing to cuddle with women, too) respect her boundaries and are just looking to get cozy.

“I think a lot of people don’t have someone in their life that they can receive comforting touch from on a regular basis,” Samuel explained.

She covers any potentially awkward moments in the frequently asked questions section of her site:

Q. Do we meet before we snuggle?
A. Yes, we do meet briefly prior to snuggling in order to make sure that we’re both comfortable and that our expectations are compatible.

Q. What if I become sexually aroused during my session?
A. Don’t worry, it happens! Although sexual activity is not permitted, arousal is perfectly normal and should not make anyone feel uncomfortable.

Q. Do clothes/pajamas always stay on for the duration of our session?
A. Absolutely! Nudity is not permitted.

Though Samuel is alone in a room at her home with her clients during snuggle time, there are always other people present in the house for security reasons. She has studied the “Cuddle Sutra” and said she would be open to the more than 100 positions detailed in the book, though most snuggle positions just come naturally when she’s on the clock.

“It tends to be pretty improvisational,” she said.

More fun business ideas:

Buy a shark on the NYC subway!

50 Shades of Grey merchandise?

How much would you bid for Tim Tebow’s virginity?

Why not buy Babe Ruth’s 92-year-old jersey while you’re at it?

The post The Snuggery: New website offers hour of cuddle time for $60 appeared first on Metro.us.

Filmmaker Jeremiah McDonald apparently caught the video bug at an early age and recorded himself at age 12 asking questions directed to himself in the future. Twenty years later, McDonald sat down for a candid conversation with… himself.

The contrast between the adolescent McDonald and the adult McDonald is charming and touching, and serves as a reminder that we were all kids once and, perhaps, still kids at heart.

The video is edited as a hilarious back-and-forth between the two Jeremiahs. Young Jeremiah asks the older Jeremiah whether his pets are still alive, while adult Jeremiah is reminded by his younger counter-part that he once had a love for drawing. Their banter is heart-warming.

“You’re interviewing yourself, look at you!” the young Jeremiah cries, before he lets out a burp.

“Oh, charming. No wonder I’m single,” adult Jeremiah responds.

Adult Jeremiah leaves his younger self with words of wisdom from “Dr. Who,” which they both love: “Don’t blink. Blink and you’re dead.”

Check out the entire video below and get in touch with your own inner kid.

The post VIDEO: Filmmaker Jeremiah McDonald answers questions from his 12-year-old self appeared first on Metro.us.

We’re reminded why we absolutely despise the dating game in “Speed Dating,” starring Jeff Ward and Emma Koenig. The film’s main characters make a show of boldly reciting lines from the unwritten and (typically) unspoken rules of dating.

It begins as the new relationship is just developing and both partners “go around in circles” about what they should do that night.

“We should waste at least 15 minutes being indecisive,” Ward says.

“I think it’s really important that the phrase ‘I’ll do whatever you want to do’ is said by each of us at least five times,” Koenig replies.

The next four minutes squeeze in just about every up and down two people can experience at the beginning of a dating relationship, from that first awkward time in bed, to the break up, to the booty calls.

Forewarning: You may have the urge to cancel your OkCupid account after watching this.

The post Short film ‘Speed Dating’ sheds light on the depressing perils of modern dating appeared first on Metro.us.

In this humiliating video posted on YouTube, James is offered two choices by the furious father as punishment for having sex with his daughter: A “severe ass kicking” plus criminal charges or a “brutal spanking.”

Young James mulls over the lose-lose situation and eventually settles on the spanking. Hey, who wouldn’t, right? James, though, at first refuses to lay face-down on the ground to endure the butt-smacking, but the angry father reasons with him in a shockingly logical way, telling James he doesn’t want him to bend over the stone fence and hit his face.

After the dad promises not to kick him in the balls, he finally coerces James pull down his pants and lay on the ground.

“And that will be the end of it,” the disgruntled dad promises.

But that is not the end of it. In fact, that was just the beginning of the utter Internet humiliation that is sure to haunt unlucky James for the rest of his life.

The dad also tells James that this is the same punishment that Chelsea got, whom we assume is his teenage daughter. That’s weird. But this whole thing is weird.

James breaks down whimpering and whining soon after the turbo-speed spanking begins, his voice breaking as he says, “I’m not gonna be able to sit, dude!”

The father tells James to consider himself lucky for dodging a beat down and rape charges, then retreats to his pick up truck where he tells the cameraman that his hand is swelling from spanking James so hard.

“That’s what you get for ‘puttin it’ to an underage girl,” the video’s description reads.

There, James. Have you learned your lesson?

The post VIDEO: Dad gives vicious spanking to man who slept with his underage daughter appeared first on Metro.us.

Radar Online is reporting that America’s most hated mom, who was acquitted of her 2-year-old daughter Caylee’s murder, has gained so much weight that her puffy face is unrecognizable in the Florida community where she is under probation.

The past six months have been busy for Anthony, between getting baptized and packing on the pounds.

“She hasn’t needed to wear a disguise because of the physical transformation. Casey is finding comfort in food and she is clearly eating a lot. She typically goes out at night to rent DVDs and pick up food to go from restaurants. She is very careful to not linger anywhere when she does and tries not to make eye contact with anyone,” a source told Radar Online. “Casey doesn’t feel safe anywhere and just wants to leave the country and begin a new life.”

But she’s going to have to wait before she gets her international start. Her probation for writing bad checks is set to end in a few months, but she is facing a lawsuit from Zanaida Gonzalez, who was dragged through the mud after Anthony told investigators that a woman by that name took her daughter, Caylee. Anthony will have to attend the trial, which is set to begin in January 2013.

Anthony was last seen online in January when a video diary she recorded was posted on the web. In it, Anthony talked about getting a new camera and phone and her hope for a new pet, but never mentioned her daughter.

The post Casey Anthony fattening up as she prepares to leave country appeared first on Metro.us.

Filmmaker Vitaly Zdorovetskiy, best known for his comedic web series “How to Pick Up Girls!,” staged his zombie prank in a city traumatized by the recent horrific face-chewing incident.

In the video, titled “Miami Zombie Attack Prank!,” Zdorovetskiy covered himself with fake blood and wore a microphone so the camera could pick up his growls and grunts. The camera operator caught the action, from a moving car as Zdorovetskiy flailed wildly towards unsuspecting Miami residents who fled in terror — all set to ominous music.

On the video’s description, Zdorovetskiy commented, “Very Dangerous Prank! Almost Got Shot at 2:00! DO NOT TRY IT!” For most of his stunt, people frantically ran from Zdorovetskiy, one young boy even climbing the fence of a basketball court to escape him. The fun came to an end, though, as a group of young men either caught on to the prank or banded together to stop the zombie, and turned on Zdorovetskiy, chasing him out of the frame.

You might catch yourself feeling guilty about chuckling over the video when you remember that Ronald Poppo, the victim of the real life face-eater, is still recovering after from having the majority of his face eaten off.

The post VIDEO: Tasteless or hilarious?: Miami prankster poses as zombie appeared first on Metro.us.

It was likely a campaign member or some sort of tech person who made an embarrassing typo when designing a mobile app meant to instill voter support, but that hasn’t stopped the Twittersphere from pouncing on the error.

The Mitt Romney app “With Mitt” lets users upload photos of themselves underneath various campaign slogans like “American Greatness,” “We’re With Mitt,” and the now infamous “A Better Amercia.” (In case you didn’t catch that — and someone in the Romney camp didn’t — “America” is misspelled.)

Alas, a new wave of internet memes was born as the slogan became the center of digital mockery. Here’s a roundup of the best plays on “A Better Amercia.”

[View the story "Amercia" on Storify]

The post Amercia: Mitt Romney campaign typo spurs internet memes appeared first on Metro.us.

Portland actor Isaac Lamb wanted to pop the question to his girlfriend Amy Frankel, but simply getting down on one knee and pulling out a ring clearly isn’t his style. He asked about 60 of their friends and family to help plot and participate in an elaborate choreographed lip-dub of Bruno Mars’ song “Marry You.”

The shocked bride-to-be was wearing headphones while sitting in the back of a slow-moving Honda CRV with the hatch open as a live musical unfolded before her eyes. Lamb, clearly a meticulous planner, made sure to outfit the SUV with cameras, capturing Amy’s sweet surprised expression as she watches her friends and family dance in and out of the street. At one point, a group of dancers approaches her with open laptops to reveal video of more people, who we assume are other friends who could not be there in person, dancing along to the song.

We were in tears after the first 60 seconds, but we really lost it when Isaac finally emerged from the back of the crowd and walked up to Amy as the SUV rolled to a stop. The crowd surrounded him, visibly excited, as he got down on one knee, said all the right things, and asked her to marry him (she said yes, duh!). Their group of friends and family burst out into cheers and so did we!

The video has gone viral on YouTube with more than five million views in just four days. Scores of well-wishers have commented on the clip, sending their congratulations, and it’s easy to see why it has touched so many people after you watch it for yourself. 

The post VIDEO: Isaac Lamb’s lip-dub proposal to Amy Frankel is the sweetest thing we’ve ever seen appeared first on Metro.us.

Whether you agree or disagree with the idea of objectifying and ranking women based on their physical appearance (and encouraging readers to do it, too, by voting for their picks), you can’t argue that Maxim has made the annual tradition into a wildly popular and successful media blitz. Maybe you love to look at it or maybe you hate to look at it — but you’re still looking at it.

So, of course, we here at Metro have studied the list closely, for, uh, reference purposes, and we contend that the Hot 100 are, in fact, hot. But, there are a few selections on Maxim’s 2012 Hot 100 that make us rather uncomfortable.

Allow us to explain:  

Amanda Knox

Everyone is talking about “Foxy Knoxy’s” appearance on the list. She was acquitted this year of her roommate’s murder and returned from Italian prison to her home in the United States. Besides a few professional athletes, Knox is the only woman on the list who isn’t a model, actor or singer. The question is: Is it okay to judge a convicted murderer on her sexiness, as long as she was acquitted later?

Amanda Bynes

Even though Bynes seems to be clumsily following in the footsteps of trainwreck Lindsay Lohan, we can’t help but still picture the former Nickelodeon star as just that — a Nickelodeon star. Her consistent roles as innocent, goofy girl have sucked any and all sexy thoughts about Bynes straight out of our heads.      

Lois Griffin

Interesting choice, Maxim, interesting choice. Perhaps the writers chose the “Family Guy” mom to try and interject a little humor onto the list and send a message that says, “Sure, we judge women primarily on their worth as sexual objects, but look — we included a cartoon, so we can’t be that bad, right? Ha. Ha.”

Sarah Hyland

The very young-looking actress plays a teen on the show “Modern Family” and, yes, she is of legal age. But even Maxim admits that talking about her hotness is a bit borderline creepy: “It turns out the hot daughter from Modern Family is 21, so you don’t have to feel weird about having a crush on her.” Well, we still feel weird about it.

Vanessa Hudgens

She’s already got a naked photo scandal under her belt, but Hudgens is another one of those former Disney stars who won’t grow up in our minds. She probably still lives at home with her parents, right?

Emma Roberts

Another young one, Roberts was dubbed by one Metro staffer as “the human glass of milk.” ‘Nuff said.

Selena Gomez

Again, we know she’s “legal” at age 19, but we still can’t get past her Disney image. Plus, she’s the the girlfriend of Justin Bieber (cutest kid couple ever!) and the whole thing makes us feel icky inside. Wait, Bieber turned 18, too?

Emma Watson

We’re well aware that the Brown-educated Brit has come into her own, cut her hair, and re-branded herself as a mature actress, but we will always see her as frizzy-haired little Hermione, who helped Harry Potter save the world as a young student at Hogwarts. We don’t want to sexualize anyone who’s still 11 in our minds.

Miley Cyrus

She certainly wants everyone to think she’s hot, with her recent sideboob unveiling and all, but she is still tween rocker Hannah Montana in our eyes. There’s no doubt that Cyrus is growing up, but come one: How mad would her dad be with us for looking at his Miley in “that way.”

Stephen Colbert

Apparently, he made the list after an aggressive write-in campaign by his fans, but it’s puzzling, given that Maxim labels the Hot 100 as “The Definitive List of the World’s Most Beautiful Women.” But, uh, sure, Maxim. 

The post The 10 selections on Maxim’s 2012 ‘Hot 100′ list that make us uncomfortable appeared first on Metro.us.

Chan, 27, and Zuckerberg, 28, were married in Palo Alto after guests thought they were attending a party for Chan to celebrate her graduation from medical school. Instead, Chan walked down the aisle and became the wife of one of the world’s youngest billionaires.

So, who is Priscilla Chan? What kind of woman does it take to be the long-time girlfriend and now wife of the world’s most famous nerd? Their road to newlyweds was long and one that began when they met in college. Our new-found fascination with Chan led us to some in-depth research into the past of the tech world’s newest blushing bride. Here are  five facts about Priscilla Chan that you didn’t know:

1. Chan met Zuckerberg at a Harvard frat party and thought he was a nerd. The two bumped into each other while she was waiting in line for the restroom.

“He was this nerdy guy who was just a little bit out there. I remember he had these beer glasses that said ‘pound include beer dot H.’ It’s a tag for C++. It’s like college humor but with a nerdy, computer-science appeal,” she told The New Yorker in 2010.

Little did she know years later, this nerd would be a household name and one she would marry.

2. Though she had been his girlfriend for seven years, Chan and Zuckerberg weren’t “Facebook official” until 2011 when they both finally changed their profile statuses to read “in a relationship.”

And as the old saying goes, “First comes love, then comes marriage,” their Facebook timelines proved to be a precursor to a bigger commitment.

3. She speaks three languages. Chan is fluent in English, Spanish and Cantonese. She also encouraged Zuckerberg to learn Mandarin in preparation for a trip they took together to China. Zuckerberg studied each morning for a year and was able to carry on a conversation with Chan’s Chinese grandmother.

4. She made Zuckerberg sign a “relationship contract.” Chan agreed to move to Palo Alto to be closer to the Facebook mogul, but only after she negotiated a set of terms for their relationship. Most of the contract has been kept under wraps, but one thing we do know is that time together was one of the big sticking points.

“One date per week, a minimum of a hundred minutes of alone time, not in his apartment and definitely not at Facebook,” was one of Chan’s stipulations.  

5. Mark Zuckerberg personally designed her ring, according to a source close to the couple.
Instead of a multi-carat diamond, its focal point is “a very simple
ruby.”

Chan wore a sheer-backed gown with ivory embroidery called “Sky Between the Branches” by designer Claire Pettibone, who is known for her
whimsical, vintage-inspired creations. Chan’s gown is priced at $4,700.

Their wedding details were some of the best kept secrets in “celebrity” history. Less than 100 guests saw the couple exchange vows in the backyard of their home. Zuckerberg announced their nuptials on his Facebook timeline the next day.

The post Five things you didn’t know about Priscilla Chan, the new Mrs. Zuckerberg appeared first on Metro.us.

The Gregory Brothers first found their way onto our computers by creating hilarious auto-tuned versions of viral videos. Remember the “Bed Intruder Song” (Hide your wife, hide your kids…). And who can forget the hilarious Songify version of Charlie Sheen’s infamous “winning” interview.

Now the brothers have set their sites on presidential candidate Mitt Romney in a video posted today on NYTimes.com. The song strings together various soundbites from the “M.I. double Tizzle” describing things he likes. We’ve got to say, we actually feel like we know him better now! As for what Mitt thinks of the video, no word. But we can’t imagine he’d be opposed — after all, he “likes music of almost any kind, including this.”

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D’Avonte Meadows said he was standing in the lunch line next to a girl in his class when he said it: “I’m sexy and I know it.”

Yep, those venomous words are no laughing matter at Aurora Elementary and Meadows was promptly disciplined.

“I only just said the song,” D’Avonte Meadows told 7NEWS in Denver. “I’m sexy and I know it.”

“I could understand if he was fondling her, looking up her skirt, trying to look in her shirt. That, to me, is sexual harassment,” said Stephanie Meadows, the boy’s mother. “I’m just, I’m floored. They’re going to look at him like he’s a pervert. And it’s like, that’s not fair to him.”

But could there be more to this story? Stephanie Meadows admitted that this is not the first time her son has been in trouble with school officials. In fact, this isn’t the first time that very LMFAO lyric has landed him in hot water. Just last month, D’Avonte approached the same girl and said “I’m sexy and I know it” to her then, too. That time, though, he was “shaking his booty” near the girl’s face, according to his mother.

“I think it’s kind of overwhelming. You know, sexual harassment on a six year old?” she said. “I don’t understand. You know. Kids are kids.”

Kids are kids, indeed. But little D’Avonte, who has already been accused of sexual harassment by age 6, is certainly having a tough time learning the rules of flirting. It’s pretty sad that something silly a child did has led him to this kind of discipline. But we’re sure in a couple years, D’Avonte’s will better understand that men cannot go around shaking their booties in women’s faces, even if they are sexy and they do know it.

The post D’Avonte Meadows: First grader suspended for sexual harassment appeared first on Metro.us.

Patricia Krentcil, the New Jersey mom accused of bringing her 5-year-old daughter into a tanning bed with her, frequented Ruccatano’s salon until a couple weeks ago, he said. He denied that the overly-tanned mom ever brought her child into the bed with her, saying the tanning unit she used wouldn’t even have room for the 5-year-old.

“There’s no way I’d let a kid go tanning,” Ruccatano said, adding that he has seven of his own children. He also acknowledged that he has never met Krentcil and spends most of his work day at another salon location. “We have been here a long time, we never have any problems.”

Ruccatano said his staff members have described Krentcil as “way out there” and that her home is rumored to have frequent visits from the local police. He also said that her current appearance is not a result of using a tanning bed, but some sort of self-tanner or makeup.

“She doesn’t look like that when she comes here,” he said. “She is using some kind of self-tanner. I don’t know what the hell that is.”

Krentcil pleaded not guilty this morning in Newark to charges of second degree child endangerment. She has adamantly denied bringing her daughter, Anna, into the tanning bed with her, but defended her own tanning habits. 

“I find nothing wrong with tanning. To each his own. I like to tan,”
Patricia Krentcil said to CBS, — though considering her shockingly unnatural shade,
her opinion on tanning should go without saying.

The controversy began when 5-year-old Anna Krentcil, a fair-skinned redhead, showed up to school with a sunburn, then told the nurse she tagged along to her mom’s trips to the tanning salon, and even went tanning herself.

Krentcil said her daughter only comes into the room with her while she is tanning. She insisted Anna got the sunburn from playing outside in the sun (with sunscreen on, of course).

“There’s no room, A. B, I wouldn’t permit it. C, it never happened,” she said.

In New Jersey, tanning is illegal for children under 14, and those under 18 must have parental consent.

The post Tanning salon owner denies bronzed mom Patricia Krentcil tanned her tot (UPDATED) appeared first on Metro.us.

In what doctors are calling a “dangerous new trend,” teenagers are drinking the gelatin substance to get drunk. At first, this story sounded so moronic that we were convinced it was a hoax (like when teenage girls were inserting tampons soaked in vodka), but six teenagers ended up in a Southern California ER with alcohol poisoning from the stuff — so we know at least six teens are stupid enough to do this, in California (big surprise). Not to mention, a quick YouTube search turned up a handful of videos showing kids egging each other on with bottles of hand sanitizer. What happened to keg stands and shot guns?

Hand sanitizer is 62 percent ethyl alcohol and makes a 120-proof liquid, as reported by KTLA. That’s comparable in proof (and taste, probably) to actual hard liquor.

“All it takes is just a few swallows and you have a drunk teenager,” said Cyrus Rangan, director of the toxicology bureau for the L.A. County Public Health Department.

“It is kind of scary that they go to that extent to get a shot of essentially hard liquor,” he added.

Other adjectives we’d use to describe this trend: baffling, preposterous, inconceivable. But alas, cough syrup, vanilla extract, and mouthwash are so passé. Kids these days, right? Always have to be the trend-setters….

The post ‘Let’s get drunk on hand sanitizer,’ say idiotic teenagers appeared first on Metro.us.

 
 
Bigger isn’t always better. In Manhattan, some gems are too tiny to notice, yet too fantastic to miss. Certain spots maximize the little amount of real estate they have. Think they’re undersized? Think again. If you can stand the squeeze, these smaller than usual treasures are worth trying.
 
Nook Restaurant
746 Ninth Avenue between 50th & 51st Streets, Hell’s Kitchen
Tiny 20-seat café with somewhat limited menu, but fresh, delicious food & BYOB (yes that’s bring your own booze) with no corkage fee. The unisex bathroom is in the kitchen. All quirks aside, it’s one of my favorite, intimate New York dining experiences.

Laura Lobdell
83 1/8 West 10th Street, Village
Artisan jewelry boutique sells pieces inspired by everyday objects including champagne rings, guitar picks, pull-tabs and more. Teenie canine companion Xiao greets customers as they enter the creatively decorated eighth of a store.

Biddy’s Pub
301 East 91st Street, Yorkville
An authentic Irish pub off Second Avenue with a small bar, about six tables, and a dartboard, Biddy’s attracts a no-nonsense crowd. Bartenders are always friendly, and patrons are usually local. With no room for a kitchen, order delivery from any of the surrounding restaurants in the hood. Biddy won’t mind.

Westsider Rare & Used Books
2246 Broadway between 80th & 81st Streets, Upper West Side
Specializing in fiction, literature, art, architecture, children’s books and more, Westsider buys, sells and trades. An Uptown fixture, they stay open late most every night.

Viand Coffee Shop
673 Madison Avenue @ 61st Street, Upper East Side
This old New York haunt with terrific diner food, slightly abrupt service, and loads of character in the middle of hoity toity Madison Avenue never disappoints.

Abraco Espresso
86 East 7th Street, East Village
Quaint cafe located in the hip East Village serving coffees, homemade plates, and pastries beyond the expected for a neighborhood joint.

 
Abraco Espresso
 

For more about life in New York, follow me on Twitter, or on Tracy’s New York Life.

The post Tiny Manhattan: Who says bigger is better? appeared first on Metro.us.

Mattera, editor at large at Human Events, approached said “Bono” and asked him direct questions about U2′s taxes, particularly about moving money to Holland for a lower tax base.

“How do you not have control over that? It’s your company. Are you not in charge of your own company?” Mattera asked.

“It’s not my company,” the impersonator responded.

“You have no say in what U2 does?” Mattera pushed.

“Not particularly,” said the “Bono.”

The reason he didn’t have much of a say about his company? Because it wasn’t actually his company at all. The impersonator declined to let Mattera in on the little joke, and the reporter went on believing he had captured a real “gotcha” moment.

According to Media Matters, the video was posted on Breitbart.com and Glenn Beck’s The Blaze this week, but was pulled and marked “private” on YouTube last night. Lucky for us, and anyone else in need of a good laugh, it has resurfaced.  (Watch it below!)

Mattera admits he was duped, but said it was bound to happen.

“I got punked. I thought I got Bono. I didn’t. I got his impersonator apparently. Hats off to him. He got me — and how!” Mattera said in an e-mail to Washington Post blogger Erik Wemple. “After scores of interviews with big-time politicians and celebrities, I finally got had. It was bound to happen sooner or later. On the bright side, if I’m gonna get had as good as I did, it might as well be in pursuit of one of the greatest rockers ever.”

As for the impersonator, it was Pavel “Bonodouble” Sfera who said he was only giving answers he knew how to give. In the end, Sfera decided not to reveal his true identity to Mattera.

“I let him go. I didn’t think he was being legitimate and fair,” Sfera said.

As Mattera learned first-hand, “gotcha” journalism isn’t always fair.

The post VIDEO: ‘Bad boy reporter’ Jason Mattera mistakenly grills Bono impersonator appeared first on Metro.us.

Then you, my friend, are an online dater with a chronically uncreative profile. It happens to the best of us.

Anyone who has ever taken the plunge and signed up for a dating website is well-versed in what can be the agonizing experience of writing a witty, clever and non-creepy (guys!) profile. And worse — choosing photos that don’t scream, “I’m doe-eyed and sassy. Look at my cleavage” or “See this six-pack? This could be yours.”  

But single New Yorkers — there is hope, and it comes in the form of Brooklyn-based startup Artful Online Dating. 30-year-old Christine Hooker found an untapped market for digital dating guidance after helping countless friends improve their profiles once she successfully met her own boyfriend online. She quit her corporate advertising gig and launched Artful Online Dating for singles who need a little help letting their personalities shine online.  

“For me, online dating was really fun and I found that because I had a marketing background, it came very naturally to me,” Hooker said. “But for people who are not used to writing that kind of description of themselves, it can be daunting.”   

Through Artful Online Dating, Hooker offers services (including a “Wingman Supreme”) that can help you maximize your online potential. Maybe you don’t have a knack for writing — she’ll meet with you and ask questions to bring out your more interesting quirks to include in your profile. For between $20 and $79, she will scan your answers for overused phrases, weed out your generic photos or even help you craft the perfect first message.

Hooker shared some expert advice with Metro about creating the ultimate profile, but first, we took the opportunity to ask her a question that has been burning in our minds: WHY DO SO MANY GIRLS HAVE MUSTACHES IN THEIR PROFILE PICTURES?!

“It’s an epidemic,” Hooker laughed. “The psychology behind it might be that you want to show a goofy side of you and it’s hard to do that in a picture without looking like an idiot.”

But will this trend ever die?

“I think people don’t realize that everyone else is doing it. It’s sort of the hipster lexicon of visuals,” Hooker explained. “I am going to declare that mustaches are over.”

Ok, now that that’s cleared up, Hooker had some other tips for both men and women when it comes to those dreaded questions and answers: have a sharp, clear head shot that shows your face well; if you say you like to “have fun,” for goodness sake, please elaborate; don’t waste space on details that aren’t necessarily interesting to potential matches (ladies, your obsession with ‘Grey’s Anatomy’: fellas, your penchant for working on cars with your boys).

“Think more about what you would want to do with that person,” Hooker advised. “Instead of saying you love taking cooking classes with your best girls, say you like to cook a nice meal for someone who appreciates it.”

How about making the first move? The same rule applies for both men and women.

“As much as you can, message, message and message,” she insisted.

But keep it short and sweet — four to five sentences. Make sure you mention something specific about the person’s profile that caught your eye and always include a question.

Hooker offers guidance on these topics and much more, including when to ask for a first date. Her experience spans a wide range of dating sites and she works with clients who have profiles on all the most popular choices, including OkCupid, eHarmony, J Date,  Gay.com and Zoosk. She’s willing to travel to meet with any single New Yorker who is looking for more from their online experience — but ladies, delete those mustache photos before you sit down with her. No really, we insist.

The post How to get the perfect online dating profile: Focus on your quirks and ban the mustache appeared first on Metro.us.

26-year-old Helian Williams of Newark, who has since been fired from CareOne in Livingston, is accused of snapping the below-the-belt photo and then sending it to 21-year-old Michele Walker. Prosecutors then say Walker posted the photo on her Facebook page.

Ironically, CareOne’s mission statement says, “We treat residents, their families and each other with respect, dignity and compassion,” as Gawker points out.

“No one should be made to suffer humiliation, particularly at the hands of someone responsible for his or her care,” said Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Ronald Chillemi, according to NBC.

Williams and Walker are both facing third-degree invasion of privacy and third-degree conspiracy charges.

The post Helian Williams: Nursing home worker charged with posting photo of patient’s genitals to Facebook appeared first on Metro.us.

Spoiler alert, if you’re a sucker for happy endings: The dog lived.

According to the Chicago Tribune, police responded to an animal abuse complaint yesterday at a home on the North Side of Chicago. Officers found a 6-month-old brown puppy “cowering in a corner.”

Its owner, 32-year-old Taj Oatis, admitted that he punched the puppy in its tiny, innocent little face because it would not stop barking. The animal’s eyes suffered broken blood vessels and blood around the pupils.  

Apparently, Oatis is a convicted felon who also had an outstanding traffic warrant. He was permitted to own pets. Police charged him with cruelty to animals and possession of certain dogs by a felon.

What kind of monster (allegedly) does this?

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