Spoiler Alert: Australia discontinues everything.
Every time you've opened a Bubble O' Bill and his nose has been missing.
While the person next to you got lucky with a double-nose.
Cadbury
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Thursday, October 1, 2015
Everyone's Really Excited About The New SBS Channel Dedicated Entirely To Food
SB-Yaaassssss.
Foreign news and late-night-nipple TV service SBS has announced it will launch a fourth Australian channel - this one just for food shows.
SBS managing editor Michael Ebeid made the announcement on Wednesday, saying the new channel would take SBS's food and cooking productions to new heights.
"We know how much audiences love to be taken on a journey of culinary and cultural discovery with our food shows every Thursday night. This new channel is an opportunity to extend that offering with a world of food programming available all day, every day, for free," he said.
The new channel will be Australia's only dedicated food network on free-to-air TV.
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Exclusive First Look Into Twitter's New Office In New York City
Jared Harrell / BuzzFeed News
Earlier this year, Twitter's New York City operation completed a move into a brand new office at 245 West 17th St. in the city's Chelsea district. The move brought together four disparate offices -- located in New York's Midtown, Union Square, SoHo and NoMad neighborhoods -- into a single, 12-floor headquarters.
After San Francisco, New York is Twitter's second largest office, so the new NYC HQ will likely be a critical home for Twitter's business for years to come. It's already home to the team building one of Twitter's most important forthcoming products: Project Lightning.
Moreover, the New York office is a way to keep the company grounded. Having a big domestic operation outside of San Francisco's tech hothouse helps the company in several ways, but is especially valuable culturally and when it comes to recruiting. It's easier to meet people who don't work in tech in New York, and, conversely, it's easier to hire people who do work in tech there. It's also not a bad city to be in when you're in the media business.
On Monday, Twitter invited BuzzFeed News into the office, the first time it had shown it to the public. Here's what we saw.
Jared Harrell / BuzzFeed News
Twitter (naturally) works in an open-plan setup. There are no cubicles and managers sit together with their reports at long desks. Every other week, the office comes together for a "Local Tea Time" an all-hands bringing the entire building together to share thoughts.
Now that the office is up and running, celebrities visit regularly. Last week, Donald Trump stopped by. On Monday, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg paid a visit. The celebs often speak with Twitter's employees in open sessions, helping foster a sense of community more common in smaller companies. BuzzFeed News watched Hanks and Spielberg, for instance, lead the crowd in a chorus of "Happy Birthday" after a Twitter employee asked the two to send their wishes to her mother, a big fan.
Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg address Twitter's New York office
Alex Kantrowitz / BuzzFeed News
More than 80 engineers work in the office, led by Vijay Pandurangan, a Director of Engineering. In an interview, Pandurangan discussed the projects the New York team is working on, including Project Lightning, some machine learning efforts, and the company's location-focused projects. The location part was especially intriguing.
New York is a cramped, highly-populated city with lots of buildings, so it's a great place to work on location functionality since the margin of error is very small. Pandurangan offered one scenario of a possible location-focused project the New York team might work on: "One of the things that could be cool is, for instance, [if] there's an earthquake in San Francisco and I open Twitter, wouldn't it be cool if it were pushed to the phone that, 'Oh, there's an earthquake near you.'" Twitter has no specific plans to build this exact product, Pandurangan said, but the example shows the type of work his team is thinking about.
Jared Harrell / BuzzFeed News
Jared Harrell / BuzzFeed News
Twitter New York keeps in touch with San Francisco and other Twitter offices via video conferencing technology, which is all over the office. "If you look around, I've worked strongly with the IT folks to really try and get it the point where it is ubiquitous," Pandurangan said. "It's enormously impactful in terms of our abilIty to execute."
Be careful, you may run into videoconferencing-Twitter-employee-robots too.
Vine, which Twitter acquired in 2012, is also in the building. The sub-50-person company-within-a-company sits on building's top floor. "We have many of the benefits of being a startup in that it's a small team, we have a big impact, we can move quickly, we have a strong culture, everybody knows each other," said Jason Toff, Vine's General Manager. "We also have the backing of one of the biggest tech companies in the world. We have access to their resources and knowledge so it's really the best of both worlds."
Jason Toff
Jared Harrell / BuzzFeed News
Vine's team is half engineering, Toff said, and then a mix of product, design, content, editorial, marketing, and operations. Vine relies on Twitter proper for some functions such as HR and Finance. It does not yet sell ads, so there is no sales team.
Instead of reporting into larger departments within Twitter, the heads of each department report into Toff and Toff reports to Kevin Weil, the Senior-VP of product at Twitter. "Kevin oversees design in addition to product and Periscope so it's more broad than what a normal product leader might encompass," Toff said.
Toff said living and working in New York City has helped him build a better product. "There's such a dramatic difference in the types of people that are on the team and that we encounter on a daily basis," he said. "In San Francisco, as much as I loved living there, I found that every single person I interacted with worked in tech, be it my neighbor, be it my Uber driver, be it my friends."
Jared Harrell / BuzzFeed News
"It's been really refreshing seeing people on the team and people you interact with on the subway and your neighbors and your friends who don't work in tech who are much more representative of the world. I think that leads to a better product," Toff said.
Pandurangan also spoke highly of the benefits that come along with operating in multiple cities. "You can get access to talent that you cannot get in the Valley," he said. "Some of it is because everybody is trying to hire people in San Francisco and there's lots of contention. Some of it is because you look at what you see with housing prices around [San Francisco] and how difficult it is to sustain yourself. A lot of that stuff can be alleviated by going to different cities and hiring the best engineers who are there."
Matt Derella
Jared Harrell / BuzzFeed News
Twitter VP of Sales Matt Derella met us in a simple yet elegant conference room for a quick discussion before our visit came to a close. "From marketing and media partners through to engineering talent and M&A opportunities, having a flagship office in NYC is of tremendous value," he said. Working out of New York provides easy access to the ad agencies of Madison Avenue, along with a line into the city's advertising technology industry, which works closely with Twitter.
Derella also brought us to a wall with a neon sign featuring a the hashtag #lovewhereyouwork. The hashtag, Derella said, originated in the company's London office, where a Twitter employee suffering from cancer tweeted it to thank her team for giving her her a knit blanket. Though the employee ultimately lost her fight with cancer, the hashtag lives on, Derella said. "We try to create a sense of family here."
At the elevator, we ran into none other than Mr. Steven Spielberg, who was also preparing his exit. The Academy Award winning director, who does not have a Twitter account, looked at the 'down' button before taking care of one last order of business: a smiling photo in front of the Twitter logo behind reception.
Lauren Zaser / BuzzFeed News
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For Everyone Who Hasn't Seen The Iconic Web Series "The Katering Show"
Just more reasons The Katering Show is the actual best.
Earlier this year, Australian comedians Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan launched The Katering Show. The delicious web series follows foodie McLennan, and her food intolerant friend McCartney!
They quickly whisked their ways into our hearts with such classics like their take on the Thermomix.
You can and SHOULD see all six episodes of season 1 here.
Not only are the Kates fucking hilarious...
...but the show is educational, too!
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12 Glorious Baileys Cocktails That Will Delight Your Tastebuds
Because there’s more to life than slippery nipples!
Caramel Apple Martini
Ideal for serving at your bonfire get-together! Find the recipe here.
Via hgtv.com
Coffee Grantia with Baileys and Kahlua
TURN UP your coffee with Baileys and Kahlua. Serve as a dessert for maximum enjoyment. Find the recipe here.
Peppermint White Russian
Looking for the perfect festive tipple for your holiday party? Look no further. Find the recipe here.
Misty Maiden Martini
NOW is the time to utilise that hazelnut liqueur you've got stashed away! Find the recipe here.
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Carly Fiorina Charms Both Establishment And Outsider Republicans At Closed-Door Meeting In D.C.
Coming out of a meeting in Washington on Wednesday night, several members of Congress said they would consider backing the presidential candidate.
Scott Olson / Getty Images
WASHINGTON – Carly Fiorina — one of the White House hopefuls pitching herself to voters as a political outsider — might soon have a handful of endorsements from members of Congress.
Coming out of a closed-door meeting at the Capitol Hill Club with Fiorina and her campaign staff Wednesday evening, several House Republicans repeatedly said they were "very impressed" by her, and some even said they were seriously considering throwing their support behind her.
The former business executive was able to draw members of Congress from across the Republican conference — conservatives and establishment members — at a time when the Republican Party is becoming increasingly fractured. According to members who attended the event billed as a roundtable discussion, Fiorina addressed the standing-room-only crowd for a few minutes, highlighting her background as a business executive and the need to control government spending, and then took questions from attendees.
"She was as impressive with the members and this audience as she was in the debates," said Illinois Rep. Peter Roskam. "Clearly, the only challenge for her now is the high-level of scrutiny that she'll be under. And she's clearly a tier-one candidate — that was not lost on anyone in there. I can clearly see there is a pathway for her to be a nominee."
Roskam added: "There was a wide range of Republican members who were there and her message and her passion and her clarity really resonated with the group."
Reps. Mark Walker and Peter King were among those who said Fiorina was on their short-list of presidential candidates they were considering endorsing.
"She's a strong woman and certainly someone who has gained my respect," Walker said. The Alabama Republican is deciding between Fiorina and Sen. Marco Rubio.
King, who is deciding between Rubio, Jeb Bush, and Fiorina, stressed that Fiorina wasn't just a sound bite, unlike many other presidential contenders. "Whenever I've seen her, she's been very effective, very knowledgeable," he said.
Fiorina's meeting with House members and staff comes as the former executive has skyrocketed in recent polls after two impressive debate performances. A USA Today/Suffolk University poll released Wednesday found Fiorina tied with neurosurgeon Ben Carson in second place at 13%.
The event was organized by South Carolina Republican Rep. Jeff Duncan, who is hosting events for different presidential candidates. So far only two members of Congress — Reps. Candice Miller and Lynn Jenkins — have endorsed Fiorina.
Reps. Tim Huelskamp of Kansas and Mark Meadows of North Carolina — members of a group of conservatives called House Freedom Caucus — said Fiorina's outsider appeal makes her an attractive choice for the conservative wing.
"She's another outsider, and what a time to come to town when you know John Boehner just lost his job, and we're looking for someone new," Huelskamp said.
Source BuzzFeed - Politics http://ift.tt/1KSDZbg
How A Half-Naked Drunk Man Caused A Flood At A Blue Jays Game
The true story of the drunken urinal valve yanker!
On Sept. 18, the Blue Jays were at home playing the Boston Red Sox. At one point during the game, water started flooding into a concourse at Rogers Centre.
Vaughn Ridley / Getty Images
Some reports claimed it was a children's urinal.
SB Nation
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Sports: Tony Hawk Wants Skateboarding to Be Part of the Olympics
Sports on TIME.com
Tony Hawk Wants Skateboarding to Be Part of the Olympics
It's a "great opportunity," he said
Published on September 30, 2015 at 11:32PM
Shared at 0 shares/hour
Read more: http://ift.tt/1O2UBBy
This Lamborghini Looks Like A Pizza Because YOLO
Lamborghizza!
Push For Pizza is an app that's exactly what it sounds like. Just push the button and BOOM, fresh 'za at your door. With the help of Mother New York, these geniuses decided to create a Lamborghizza, a pizza-covered Lamborghini.
youtube.com / Via youtube.com
When trying to pick a company car, the dudes behind the app just couldn't find one that was pizza enough.
Via youtube.com
Like, there is virtually no pizza here.
Via youtube.com
NEEDS MORE PIZZA.
Via youtube.com
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SoFi's Billion Dollar Funding Round Is One Of The Biggest Ever
The online lender is one of just six American startups to ever raise $1 billion in a single funding round.
AP
One of the superstars of the online lending industry has raised $1 billion from investors, in one of the largest funding rounds ever for an American startup.
SoFi announced today that it was raising the new equity from Japanese technology conglomerate Softbank — a new investor — along with existing investors like the the hedge fund Third Point.
This comes after a $200 million round early this year that valued the company at just over $1 billion. While SoFi didn't disclose a valuation this time around, the Wall Street Journal reported in August that the Softbank investment would value the company at about $4 billion, making it the most valuable privately held online lending startup.
There has only been 19 venture capital funding rounds worth $1 billion or more, according to Pitchbook, which tracks the industry. Four of those were for Uber; just six American companies, including SoFi, have ever completed a billion-dollar round.
On Tuesday, online lender Avant said it had raised $325 million in a funding round that valued the company at $2 billion. Prosper, which mostly does personal loans to people with good credit scores, was valued at $1.9 billlion in its most recent round. Lending Club, another online lender, went public in December of last year and, despite its stock sinking below its IPO price, has a market capitalization of almost $5 billion.
SoFi, which was founded in 2011, started out refinancing student loans. That can be a great business in a growing economy, as many college graduates may be considered risky borrowers by traditional metrics (they have no income, for instance, and can have very large outstanding debts), but actually have good job and income prospects. When SoFi was founded in 2011, the first loans were to graduates of elite business schools like Stanford, where its founder, former Wells Fargo trader Mike Cagney, graduated from.
SoFi also expanded into mortgages late last year and now offers mortgages in 23 states. It started offering personal loans in February, and has begun selling those loans to investors.
"We have an aspiration to change banking and create an alternative solution to allow people to check out of the banking system entirely," Cagney said, mentioning wealth management and insurance as possible areas SoFi could enter.
But that won't be happening in the public markets, for now. After the company raised $200 million and garnered a billion-dollar "unicorn" valuation, there were reports that the company was considering an initial public offering.
But like so many fast-growing startups (Cagney says SoFi has been profitable for two years), they were able to raise a massive round from a new private investor and stay insulated from the public markets.
Cagney described Softbank as a "long term, patient capital partner" that told SoFi it was able to grow even faster than the company previously thought. "Personal and mortgage loans were growing ahead of schedule and we needed incremental capital to support that growth," Cagney said.
Lending Club "went out there and raised $1 billion publicly and they have to deal with the public," Cagney said. "We could raise $1 billion from the private investor."
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