(If it wasn't clear from the headline, this video and the GIFs that follow are extremely NSFW.)
It's Nicki Minaj's butt's world — we're all just living in it.
The rapper debuted her video for Anaconda Wednesday and it's, well, oh my god, look at her butt.
The song is a throwback to Sir-Mix-a-Lot's 1992 classic "Baby Got
Back" that borrows a lot from the song. But Nicki, of course, takes
booty-shaking to the next level in a cheeky video set in the jungle (or
an infomercial for blenders). Then she gives Drake a lap dance
(!!!!!!!).
Both Drake and Nicki teased (pun very-much intended) the video on
Instagram during the past week, confirming that Drake did indeed start
from the bottom and now has returned to it.
At least the video is inspiring us all to be more charitable:
We've compiled the most SFW GIFs possible (which, we warn you, is not
saying much); they sum up just five seconds of the almost five-minute
music video.
Stay tuned for a series of think pieces of what the lap dance heard (felt?) 'round the world means for the future of hip hop.
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The pen is dead. It was murdered by the finger.
I first realized this last week when my girlfriend asked to borrow a pen to sign the back of one of those paper check things.
"Sure," I replied, picking up my laptop bag to rummage inside. I pulled
out a succession of rectangular-shaped gadgets, but there was no pen to
be found.
"Hmm, maybe we have one upstairs," I said as we both
began a detective-like search for anything that resembled a vessel for
ink. We scoured the home office, kitchen drawers, bedrooms, even looking
through our cars. But again, no pen.
After backtracking to figure out when I last saw a pen in the house, I realized it had been more than two months.
While my home is filled with multiple laptops, smartphones, tablets and
other internet-connected devices, there isn't a single pen to be found.
No ballpoint, fountain or rollerball. No highlighter, marker or even an
itty bitty nub of a pencil.
Rumors of the pen's demise have
been around for almost two decades. The PalmPilot and early tablets were
supposed to finish it off, replacing it with a pen look-alike called
the "stylus." That fake plastic thing proved to be slower and more
expensive, however, so the pen lived to scribble another day.
But for me, the pen has finally lost its usefulness to the finger and the touchscreens it controls.
Unlike pens, fingers don't run out of ink, they're free and you always
have one with you. I use mine to take notes on my phone, highlight books
on my Kindle and draw pictures on my iPad. I don't have to worry about
losing this work because, unlike a piece of paper, my digital notes live
in perpetuity online.
Until recently, financial transactions
were among the last holdouts for the pen. But these days I pay my
utility bills by opening an app and signing a screen. When I go to my
local coffee shop, I sign an iPad with my finger. Theory, Apple and
dozens of businesses I interact with have all eliminated pens (and
styluses) in lieu of a finger and a screen. And, a couple of months ago
when I bought a new home, I signed every document but one (which needed a
notary public) using my iPhone. Think about that: I bought an entire
house on my smartphone.
While I loved pens in the past, I have to admit, it's a lot easier not using them.
"There's that famous quote that the best camera is the one you have
with you, and in that respect, the smartphone has won out over time,"
said Naveen Selvadurai, a partner at Expa Capital and a co-founder of
Foursquare. "In the same sense, the best pen is the one you have with
you, and that's your finger."
When Steve Jobs introduced the
iPhone in 2007, he described the finger as "the best pointing device in
the world." And in typical Jobsian fashion, he seemed to know that
fingers would be next big thing.
"Any technology that removes a step for people is often the one that ends up winning out," Selvadurai said.
Not surprisingly, some pen makers have seen declines in the United
States, including Bic, the maker of those iconic plastic disposable
pens, which said sales of pens fell slightly last year. Bic is trying to
reverse the decline, starting a "Fight for Your Write" campaign this
year, which the company describes as a "crusade" to underscore the
importance of handwriting.
Pam Allyn, literacy expert and spokeswoman for the campaign, said
writing with a pen or pencil helps children develop a sense of identity.
"It gives you the power of seeing yourself reflected back at you," she
said, though she also acknowledged that writing with a digital
alternative can do the same.
And for every research paper
showing that pens are better for learning or memory retention, there are
competing studies showing that computers are superior.
For
example, a yearlong study by Dr. Pere Marques Graells, a director of
research at the University of Barcelona, found that children who used
tablets in the classroom had improved understanding of topics, were more
creative and more capable of independent learning.
Graells,
who interviewed 2,000 students and 150 teachers for the study, said that
87 percent of teachers reported that tablets helped students learn
better.
A competing study by Pam A. Mueller, a researcher at
Princeton University's psychology department, found that people who took
notes using pen and paper tended to retain more information than those
who used keyboards.
The problem, Mueller wrote in the paper,
"The Pen Is Mightier Than the Keyboard," is that laptop note takers have
a tendency to transcribe every detail, whereas pen note takers just jot
down the important information.
There is one thing that the pro-pen and pro-computer camps agree on: The pen will eventually become obsolete.
"Everyone is shifting to a digital world," Mueller said. "There may be
room for pen and paper when putting up a sign or writing a birthday
card, but for note taking and work, there's no way of reversing the
current changes."
So it is with a heavy heart that I must bid
the pen adieu. But don't fret; the finger is here to take its place. Or,
to quote a proverb often used at the end of eulogies, "What the
caterpillar perceives is the end, to the butterfly is just the
beginning."
The
Moto 360 will bring the first circular screen to wearables, but it looks
like Apple may be looking to 1-up Motorola with a curved touchscreen.
Patently Apple uncovered a new document that suggests Apple may
introduce a curved, touch-responsive display on its rumored iWatch.
Unlike curved screen TVs and LG G Flex-type phones we've seen so far,
this curved screen wouldn't fan out in a concave shape on a user's
person. Rather the screen would be convex and bulge from the center,
turning it into a small dome or protruding square sitting above the
wearer's wrist.
Much of the patent explains how Apple would
glue together multiple curved layers to form the screen. Otherwise the
document doesn't explain any advantage of having a watch face that
bulges, nor does it make any mention of using sapphire.
Round about ideas
The patent also describes the curved display could be used for a future
smartphone, but it doesn't say the technology would be exclusive to
handsets, leaving the door open for use in other types of devices.
Despite mounting anticipation for the iWatch, this isn't the first time
we've heard of a curved touch surface from Apple. Years ago the
Cupertino company introduced the Magic Mouse, though of course now we're
talking curved touch-enabled screens and not plastic peripherals.
Anything else Apple?
Curved display or not, rumors have strongly suggested we could see an
iWatch announcement next month at Apple's annual iPhone event. Signs are
pointing to Apple utilizing a tough-as-nails sapphire screen with its
first wearable as well as a more expensive model of the iPhone 6.
On top of this, the iWatch has been said to carry a complete suite of
10 sensors, including an accelerometer and gyroscope, plus some new bits
like a pulse oximeter. If the rumors are true, the iWatch would blow
activity trackers like the Nike FuelBand SE and Jawbone Up24 out of the
water.
The iWatch should also provide the same notifications
and smartphone experience we've come to expect from devices like the
Pebble Steel and Samsung Gear Live.
