uFlorida Movie Theater Apologizes For Playing “Suggestive” Ad Before Family Flickr

4 4 4 9

• 
  
  
  

  (Revlon)

  
  
  
  A Florida movie theater has apologized and pulled a makeup ad that ran before a PG-rated movie after a mother complained and said that the scenes of people putting on lipstick and kissing each other are images better suited to a screening of 50 Shades of Grey.
  

  The woman took her son to see Home on Sunday, a movie about a girl and an alien who become friends, reports WKMG.com.

  
  

  But she says she was outraged after a Revlon commercial was shown minutes before the movie, recording the ad on her phone to show it to management.

  
  

  “I would expect to see that before I saw 50 Shades of Grey, not Home with my children,” she said. “There was kissing, touching, it was very suggestive. Just had no place to be played before a children’s movie.”

  
  

  She adds that her son was confused, and was unsure if they were in the right movie. She called the theater, thinking perhaps it was a mistake, and claims whoever she spoke to was very “flippant” about the situation.

  
  

  Epic Theatres runs the establishment, and issued a statement saying: “EPIC Theatres apologizes for the programming error. The ad was removed as soon as we became aware of the situation.”

  
  

  Revlon told WKMG that the company would never pay for its ads to air before a kids’ movie, and appreciate Epic’s apology.

  
  

  Check out the ad for yourself below:

  
  
  

  Mom says Volusia movie theater showed racy commercial before kids movie [WKMG.com]

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


• 
  

ribbi

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

u14 House Members Sign On To Resolution To Block Net Neutralityr

4 4 4 9

• 
  
  
  

  (frankieleon)

  
  
  
  While the telecom and broadband industries move to fight net neutrality in court, lawmakers — at least one of whom has received substantial financial backing by neutrality opponents — are moving forward with their plans to strike down the FCC’s new regulations. Yesterday, more than a dozen members of Congress all signed on to a new resolution that would block the new neutrality rules from taking effect.
  

  After a federal agency like the FCC creates a new rule and publishes it in the Federal Record, the Congressional Review Act gives Congress 60 days to issue a joint resolution that “Congress disapproves the rule.”

  
  

  If it garners enough support in the House, it can move on to expedited review in the Senate. However, the joint resolution would still be subject to Presidential veto, so this appears to be more partisan chest-thumping rather than any sort of viable response from neutrality opponents in the legislature.

  
  

  Congressman Doug Collins of Georgia officially introduced the resolution [PDF] on Monday, and was joined by 13 other members of the House, most importantly Rep. Bob Goodlatte of Virginia.

  
  

  Goodlatte isn’t just the Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, he’s also a friend to the telecom, cable, and electronics industry, which has funded him well. The list of top donors to his campaign committee and leadership PAC is a who’s who of these companies, like Comcast ($39,700), Cox ($29,500), National Cable & Telecommunications Association ($20,000), and AT&T ($20,000), among others. Goodlatte was also one of the lawmakers behind the failed and controversial Stop Online Piracy Act.

  
  

  In fact, Rep. Goodlatte will be honored this evening in D.C. by the Consumer Electronics Association at its annual Digital Patriots dinner.

  
  

  Also signing on to the resolution are Reps. Steve Chabot (OH), Lynn Westmoreland (GA), Glenn Grothman (WI), Bill Posey (FL), Rick Allen (GA), Ryan Zinke (MT), Barry Loudermilk (GA), Sam Johnson (TX), Dennis Ross (FL), Buddy Carter (GA) and Vern Buchanan (FL).

  
  

  [via The Hill]

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


• 
  

ribbi

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uEgg Executives Sentenced To Three Months In Jail For Role In 2010 Salmonella Outbreakr

4 4 4 9

• 
  
  
  

  (Dyanna Hyde)

  
  
  
  Last year, an Iowa egg company linked to a 2010 salmonella recall that sickened more than tens of thousands of people agreed to fork over $6.8 million in fines for shipping old eggs under false labels. Now, two former executives at Quality Egg have been sentenced to three months in prison, after facing up to a year for the parts they played in the outbreak.
  

  Austin “Jack” DeCoster and his son, Peter DeCoster were looking at a much longer sentence on charges of shipping adulterated food after pleading guilty last June, reports the Des Moines Register, and will now stay free a bit longer as they appeal the three-month sentence.

  
  

  Though they didn’t want to go to jail at all — naturally — U.S. District Judge Mark Bennett seemed to side with prosecutors who said a tough punishment was necessary because of how far flung the outbreak was. Officially, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control linked 1,939 illnesses to the outbreak, but officials say up to 56,000 people could’ve been sickened.

  
  

  Investigators think the DeCosters knew their egg operations were susceptible to salmonella contamination before the outbreak began.

  
  

  Quality Egg has fessed up to having workers knowingly ship eggs with fake processing and expiration dates to slip them bast state regulators, and in turn, trick customers into thinking that the eggs were younger than they really were. The company also bribed a U.S. Department of Agriculture inspector at least twice to approve sales of poor-quality eggs.

  
  

  Egg executives sentenced to 3 months for salmonella outbreak [Des Moines Register]

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


• 
  

ribbi

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uThere Are Still Car Maintenance Tasks You Can Perform At Homer

4 4 4 9

• 
  
  
  

  (kevin dean)

  
  
  
  The best way to keep your car rolling for as long as possible is to keep it well maintained. While changes in how automobiles are made and repaired mean that it’s hard to do as much maintenance in your front yard than a few decades ago, there are some tasks that can save you money and time later on and that you can perform at home yourself without extensive auto repair training.
  

  Our high-mileage colleagues down the hall at Consumer Reports shared a few ideas for car maintenance tasks that you can perform at home.

  
  

  Keep your car clean and waxed. That might sound overly simple, but it isn’t: soaping up your car by hand gives you a chance to inspect it for minor dings or rust spots that you can catch now. Wax protects the paint and keeps your car looking new. Keeping the exterior dirt-free might be harder in some seasons than others, but still helps keep your car whole and helps with its resale value.

  
  

  Keep your headlights bright. Instead of waiting until the plastic surrounding your headlight assembly is cloudy and doesn’t let light escape, give the lights a polish. There are kits made just for this purpose. (It’s possible to use toothpaste, but not necessarily a good idea if you don’t know what you’re doing.) Maybe do this at the same time that you wax your car.

  
  

  Light bulbs. You change the light bulbs in your house, so why not in your car, too? Your car’s service manual is easy to find online, and will tell you how to access different lights that might need replacing.

  
  

  Windshield wipers. You can get these from dealerships, online, and often at your local Walmart, but they’re simple to swap out. Switching them out when winter comes or when they start to fray is a good safety precaution.

  
  

  Coolant. Your car’s maintenance schedule will tell you when the coolant needs to be changed, but look at the reservoir whenever you happen to have the hood open to be sure. Coolant is inexpensive, but be sure to pay attention to the precise mix that you need and whether you’re buying premixed or you need to add water. Check with a mechanic to find out what type of coolant your car should use.

  
  

  How to save money on car maintenance [Consumer Reports]

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


• 
  

ribbi

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uRemembering When America First Met, Fell In Love With Pizzar

4 4 4 9

• 
  
  
  

  (Furgus)

  
  
  
  In The Time Before Pizza, or as I like to call it, America’s Dark Days, people didn’t have easy access to the delicious, doughy, cheese-and-tomato discs many of us love today. Those who did were mostly limited to the descendants of Italian immigrants, say wise pizza historians, until soldiers abroad in World War II discovered the mouth magic that is a good slice of pizza.
  

  The New York Times took a look back at that time, when the paper first wrote about a cuisine mostly popular with just Italian immigrants and their descendants in the big cities that had started to spread during the 1940s.

  
  

  Troops sick of their usual rations struck out into Italy’s towns and villages to find alternatives to military food, and were swept mercifully into the arms of pizza.

  
  

  From the article “Pizza, a Pie Popular in Southern Italy, Is Offered Here for Home Consumption” published in the NYT on Sept. 20, 1944 (though we’re sure that decade’s equivalent of hipsters had already been eating pizza way before the NYT decided it was a trend):

  
  

  
  

  One of the most popular dishes in southern Italy, especially in the vicinity of Naples, is pizza — a pie made from a yeast dough and filled with any number of different centers, each one containing tomatoes. Cheese, mushrooms, anchovies, capers, onions and so on may be used.

  
  

  
  

  The article goes on to describe another aspect of pizza that we love and cherish today — the idea of takeout, noting one restaurant “prepares authentic pizza, which may be ordered to take home. They are packed, piping hot, in special boxes for that purpose.”

  
  

  Then a few years later, some bright mind foresaw that pizza could be just as popular as the hamburger (another food brought to these shores by enterprising immigrants), if only we knew more about pizza.

  
  

  “The pizza could be as popular a snack as the hamburger if Americans only knew more about it,” the NYT wrote.

  
  

  Here’s to you, pizza. I, for one, am very glad we have you.

  
  

  In case you now have a hankering, check out how you can make pizza at home that won’t be horrible.

  
  

  1944: The Times Discovers Pizza [New York Times]

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


• 
  

ribbi

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uTeen Chain dEliA*s To Rise Again As Online-Only Store This Summerr

4 4 4 9

• 
  
  
  

  (As seen on delias.com)

  
  
  
  Out of the ashes, one teen retail chain is trying to crawl back toward life: Delia’s dELiA*s says it’ll be rising from the dead with an online-only version of its store this August.
  

  As can happen with things that are dead, it seems no one really noticed dELiA*s had made the big announcement a few weeks ago, with a post on Instagram (h/t Racked.com).

  
  

  
  

  “News flash! @Delias will be coming back-to-school with you! Best part? Online only = ALWAYS OPEN! 😍 #DeliasForever #BackToSchool”

  
  

  
  

  Specifically, the online store will open in August, the company followed up in a post late last week (while once again challenging readers to keep their brains from exploding over all that breathless teenspeak).

  
  

  
  

  “It’s true, we’ll see ya in August! 😱😍😱 Spread the word and tag your #BFF! Who’s excited? #DeliasForever #BackToSchool”

  
  

  
  

  Anyone else feeling #exhausted? #OhNo #MakeItStop

  
  

  The teen chain went bankrupt in December, joining fellow former mall favorites Wet Seal and (later) Deb in the garbage bin of liquidation and store closings.

  
  

  Now everyone can go back to being all nostalgic about dELiA*s, laboring to capitalize the right letters, without actually shopping there anymore, just like we used to. Sigh.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


• 
  

ribbi

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uRadioShack’s New Owners Don’t Really Care About Buying The RadioShack Namer

4 4 4 9

• 
  
  
  

  (Phillip Pessar)

  
  
  
  RadioShack still exists. Well, stores that say “RadioShack” on them still exist, but those are a joint venture between the Shack’s new owners and Sprint. While the stores have kept their doors open, there’s one thing missing from the business plan: this new venture doesn’t own the RadioShack trademark yet. They aren’t too worried about it, though.
  

  While the chain’s stores have either been closed and liquidated or reborn as SprintShacks, those stores and their inventory were one small part of the bankruptcy auction. The sale was controversial because other creditors objected to lender Standard General using RadioShack’s debt as auction currency, but the deal will keep about 1,400 stores open for now. That’s good. However, Standard General doesn’t own the RadioShack brand name. That part of the business goes up for auction in May.

  
  

  The Wall Street Journal points out that the joint venture’s leaders have declared that they don’t necessarily need to own the RadioShack trademark to carry out their future plans: they have the right to use the RadioShack name for six months if they don’t purchase it. Maybe they could just slap “Sprint Gadget Hut” signs on the front of their stores and call it a day. The RadioShack name has brand recognition, but does that consist of anything more than nostalgia at this point? Is that nostalgia worth $20 million? That’s how much the name was reported to be worth before the auction.

  
  

  Another part of the business that hasn’t yet been sold is the RadioShack dealer network. While this part of the company’s business is relatively small compared to the 4,000 stores that it had at the beginning of this year, that’s still hundreds of retail outlets, mostly in small towns, that are successful and bring RadioShack merchandise to new markets. While e-commerce has changed small-town shopping, sometimes you need a really specific electronics item on short notice. The dealer network will go up for auction in May, and independent RadioShack dealers and franchisees are worried about what new ownership could mean for them.

  
  

  Customer information still isn’t part of the auction, though: for now, you don’t need to worry that your name and address that are on file from when you returned some batteries eight years ago will be sold.

  
  

  RadioShack Trademarks, Customers, Dealer Network Up for Sale [Wall Street Journal]

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


• 
  

ribbi

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist