Tech / Technology

Is The Cheesecake Factory a bad place to take a first date? The internet is divided.

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The online world is ablaze arguing about the places OK for a first date after a woman went viral for refusing to enter a Cheesecake Factory.
cheesecake factory viewed from parking lot

Lots of folks have experienced a bad date. But it’s not every day someone exposes the intimate details of their bad date online — down to the choice of restaurant their prospective date chose — garnering an audience of millions. For one woman, that happened when she pulled up to The Cheesecake Factory for a first date.

Yes, the popular chain restaurant famed for its Bible-length menu is going viral for reasons likely making its marketing department lose sleep. A TikTok of a woman refusing to exit a vehicle for a date at The Cheesecake Factory has made the rounds on social media platforms this past week.

The TikTok in question, posted by a woman speaking directly into a camera, went into detail about how this was, apparently, a great offense.

“Who takes someone that looks like this to a chain restaurant?” she said in the video.”Look at me: I cannot go in Cheesecake Factory. I will die.”

The whole thing has since taken on a life of its own. So much so that the original TikTok isn’t even the issue in question anymore. At more than six minutes long, the video features the woman dressing down her would-be suitor outside of The Cheesecake Factory. He also poked back at her for being late and they then went back and forth, arguing in the front seats of a car. And, not for nothing, these sorts of TikToks are often staged and played up for the camera because…well, duh…people want attention.

If it was for attention, it worked. Millions of people have watched the interaction. The response has largely been in defense of the guy and The Cheesecake Factory. Typical comments were: “What’s wrong with the cheesecake factory” to “he seems so nice I would’ve been so hyped for the cheesecake factory,” and “I like the Cheesecake Factory….Girl bye…. He dodged a bullet.. perfectly played.”

Then, of course, the online world began having a Discourse because that’s what people online do. A list of 28 places not to take a date went viral, for instance. Twenty-eight places! (What’s left?) Things only escalated from there.

Popular sports talking head Stephen A. Smith ranted about it. TL;DR: “Ain’t nothing wrong with the Cheesecake Factory.” The freaking View had a segment on it. The brands posted about it, including The Cheesecake Factory itself.

In some ways, you do begin to feel bad for the woman who posted the original TikTok. Was it shady, over-the-top, and slightly unnecessary? Yes, of course. There was no way, however, she could know it would be this big of a deal. But in our culture where everyone needs to post about going to the viral new place, the relatively bland reliability of The Cheesecake Factory might feel like an insult. Never mind the fact that the restaurant itself estimates the average guest spends about $30, which isn’t that cheap. If you’re springing for drinks, dessert, and tipping no less than 20 percent, it seems the bill for a first date is likely to be at least $100.

The jokes about the whole saga will keep on coming for a while.

First dates are tough. Picking a restaurant is difficult even for couples who’ve been together for years, let alone two people just meeting.

It’d be great to support locally owned restaurants, but sometimes people want to play it safe with a place that has hundreds of options. There are worse things. And hey, at least the dessert will be good. That is if you enter the restaurant from the parking lot.

Tech / Technology

How to watch BTS’ concert film ‘Yet to Come’

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BTS’ mega concert film “Yet to Come” is hitting streaming. Here’s how to watch it.
BTS perform onstage with a crew of backup dancers.

What: BTS: Yet to Come

Where to watch: Prime Video

Premiere date: Nov. 9, 2023

On hiatus until 2025, BTS have been off doing their own thing of late, whether severely excellent solo releases or military service. But for fans keen to relive their shenanigans onstage from 2022, the K-pop superstars are bringing their concert film BTS: Yet to Come to streaming.

Concert films are making tiny stadiums of cinemas and living rooms of late, so consider this your front row ticket to your couch. And for ARMY who’ve watched every episode of BTS Run a hundred times, this one’s especially for you.

Where can I watch BTS: Yet to Come?

BTS: Yet to Come will premiere on Prime Video on Nov. 9 in 240 countries and territories.

What is BTS: Yet to Come

Held and filmed at Busan’s Asiad Main Stadium, the BTS: Yet to Come concert was staged in Oct. 2022 as part of the city’s World Expo 2030 bid. 50,000 people showed up to watch RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook perform 19 of their bangers from a decade’s worth of music, from “Dynamite,” to “MIC Drop”, “Butter to “RUN”, and so many more.

BTS’ label HYBE produced the concert film along with CJ 4DPlex and Trafalgar Releasing, and it screened globally in February in 5,817 cinemas across 128 countries and territories— and the film made a casual $40 million globally at the box office.

What are people saying about the film?

Wherever you look for reviews of BTS: Yet to Come, whether Rotten Tomatoes, social media, anywhere, it’s nothing but love, fandom, and fierce support from ARMY and newcomers alike. If you’re a fan, you’re gonna love it.

Are there any other BTS concert films to stream?

You bet. You can stream BTS Permission to Dance On Stage on Disney+ straight afterwards.

Directed by Park Jun-soo and Sam Wrench with Disney and HYBE, it’s the filmed version of BTS’ mega concert at the Los Angeles SoFi Stadium in November and December 2021 — BTS’ first tour two years after the 2020 Map of the Soul tour was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Huge.

Tech / Technology

NYT ‘Connections’ hints and answers for October 31: Tips to solve ‘Connections’ #142.

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Connections is a New York Times word game that’s all about finding the “common threads between words.” How to solve the puzzle.
A phone displaying the New York Times game 'Connections.'

Connections is the latest New York Times word game that’s captured the public’s attention. The game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for October 31’s Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

What is Connections?

The NYT‘s latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications’ Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there’s only one correct answer. If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

Here’s a hint for today’s Connections categories

Want a hit about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

  • Yellow: Idyllic plants

  • Green: Barn things

  • Blue: Slasher directors

  • Purple: Types of jackets

Here are today’s Connections categories

Need a little extra help? Today’s connections fall into the following categories:

  • Yellow: Flowers

  • Green: Seen On A Farm

  • Blue: Horror Directors

  • Purple: ___Jacket

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today’s puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to Connections #142 is…

What is the answer to Connections today

  • Flowers: DAISY, ROSE, TULIP, VIOLET

  • Seen On A Farm: BARN, CHICKEN, FARMER, TRACTOR

  • Horror Directors: ASTER, CARPENTER, CRAVEN, VAN

  • ___Jacket: DUST, LIFE, SPORTS, YELLOW

Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Is this not the Connections game you were looking for? Here are the hints and answers to yesterday’s Connections.