By Cynthia Herbert :: 11:24 PM
Young pop star Justin Bieber shocked millions of teenage girls everywhere on Christmas Eve by Tweeting from his official Twitter account that he would be retiring.
“My beloved beliebers,” he wrote, around 10:15 PM Eastern time, “I’m officially retiring.”
After the news had a chance to sink in and make its way around the Twittersphere, Bieber followed up with two additional Tweets around 11:00 PM. See below.
The media talks a lot about me.They make a up a lot of lies and want me to fail but I’m never leaving you, being a belieber is a lifestyle.
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) December 25, 2013
Be kind loving to each other, forgive each other as god forgave us through Christ Merry Christmas IM HERE FOREVER
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) December 25, 2013
Other than the three Tweets, no other official message has been made by Bieber’s manager or recording company as of yet. Everyone is waiting to see if this is some kind of elaborate Christmas Twitter hoax, or if Bieber’s account was somehow hacked.
Earlier this month, Bieber had made mention of retiring when he was on a radio interview in Los Angeles. However, he quickly backpedaled when the show’s host and staff became shocked by the news.
“I want to grow as an artist and I’m taking a step out, I want my music to mature,” he said on Power 106, a Los Angeles radio station.
Stay tuned – we will update this story as news becomes available.
By Gilbert Falso :: 6:28 PM
Here we are again, another Christmas Eve is upon us, and the big man in the red suit is about to take to the sky to deliver his sleigh full of presents to good boys and girls throughout the world. As in years past, the folks at the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) are ready to help track Santa as he makes his annual excursion around the planet.
NORAD has been tracking Santa for 58 years, and has been adding new technology every year, to be able to give boys and girls the most up-to-date information about where the jolly old elf will be headed next.
This year, as well as manning the traditional tracking website at noradsanta.org, the volunteers that run the Santa tracking system have also released mobile apps to track the big guy – available for both Android and iPhone. In addition to being able to track the whereabouts of Santa, the apps also offer games to entertain young ones, who are eager for Santa’s arrival.
Of course, with the popularity of social media sites like Twitter, you can also follow NORAD’s Santa Tracker tweet feed to receive updates as they happen: @NoradSanta.
By Cynthia Herbert :: 1:29 PM
You can’t walk into a WalMart this holiday season without being assailed by the likenesses of the stars of the hit TV show Duck Dynasty. Their faces are everywhere – from holiday-themed wrapping paper to Chia heads that grow out long green beards. Yes, the show and its irreverent bearded stars have skyrocketed to fame this year – but a recent interview with GQ magazine could cause all of this hoopla to die down quickly.
Phil Robertson, patriarch of the Duck Dynasty clan, spoke about his feelings regarding homosexuality in an interview set to run in the January issue of the magazine. In short, he’s against homosexuality, believes it to be a sin, and against the teachings of God and the bible.
“It seems to me, a vagina — as a man — would be more desirable than a man’s anus,” he is quoted as saying.
He also paraphrases from Corinthians, saying, “Don’t be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers — they won’t inherit the kingdom of God, don’t deceive yourself. It’s not right.”
When news of the content of the interview broke earlier this morning, gay rights activists and supporters were quick to take to Twitter and Facebook to challenge Robertson’s views.
“Phil’s lies about an entire community fly in the face of what true Christians believe,” a spokesman for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) said in a release issued shortly after Robertson’s remarks were made public.
Much of the reactions posted on social media have been supportive towards homosexuals, and negative towards Robertson and his Duck Dynasty clan.
Neither the Duck Dynasty show or the A&E television network, which airs the show, have commented about Robertson’s remarks yet.
By Gilbert Falso :: 12:08 AM
A Domino’s Pizza delivery driver jumped the curb in his van, plowed through the front of the Grand Rapids, Michigan restaurant, and nearly hit two people who were sitting inside, waiting for their order.
According to Twitter user Dalton Fuller, a student at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan, what happened next is even more unbelievable.
Fuller’s father started to take pictures of the wreckage, showing the chair that he had been seated in when the van came through the store’s front window. A Domino’s employee demanded he stop. “You need to stop taking pictures,” the manager told him. “You will be sued if you publish those images online.” Fuller recounted the experience in a post on the news aggregation site Reddit.
But the threat from Domino’s management didn’t deter Fuller or his father. Within a few minutes of the incident, the pictures were posted to both Twitter and to Reddit.
“Only two in the lobby, no one asked if we were okay,” Fuller Tweeted about the experience.
Fuller reached out to Domino’s corporate Twitter account for an explanation and apology, but the company has not yet responded.
Based on the photographs provided, it does not appear that the Domino’s driver was injured in the accident.
By Paul Thomson :: 1:54 PM
Another American day of remembrance, and another example of brands royally screwing up. A few months ago, it was the September 11th anniversary that had brands scrambling to pull Tweets and Facebook posts that followers found offensive. Today, on the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack that brought the U.S. into World War II, SpaghettiOs is backpedaling on a Tweet made earlier this morning.
The Tweet, shown below, read “Take a moment to remember #PearlHarbor with us” and then pictured their cartoon SpaghettiO waving the American flag with a big smile on his face. Certainly not the right way to mark a solemn day of remembrance of the first battle of the last major war the U.S. fought.
Reaction on Twitter was swift and furious. With everyone from regular users to media and press quick to cry foul on the brand’s off-temperature recognition of the day.
The Tweet was pulled within a few hours, and SpaghettiO’s issued the following remark: “We apologize for our recent tweet in remembrance of Pearl Harbor Day. We meant to pay respect, not to offend.”
