Leave it to John Oliver to get Americans talking about food waste and more importantly about all the bad habits and decisions that have led us to the grave situation that we are in today.

In its characteristic cutting edge way, John Oliver has laid out the most important aspects regarding the common causes of food waste, its dire consequences on the environment, on the large scale economy and also on a personal level, and most importantly the best course of action that needs to be taken in order to make a change.

He talked about the immense proportions that food waste has reached nowadays, pointing out that “Americans are throwing out the equivalent of $165 billion each year”, which is a huge amount any way you put it. In order to give a more graphic representation of the entire situation, John Oliver explained that the today’s level of food waste essentially amounts to 730 football stadiums worth of wasted food.

Furthermore, the economic losses that most American households gather essentially amount to about a quarter of all the food that they buy, which they pay quite a lot of money for. Again, in order to put a graphic take on the matter, it was explained that Americans throw away as much food as if they would drop one of the four supermarket bags that they have exited the store with and simply keep on walking without even bothering to pick anything up.

He also mentioned that a massive amount of perfectly edible food gets tossed every single day by supermarkets simply because it does not meet the optimal quality characteristics. Thus, food that is still good to eat will be thrown away because it isn’t esthetic enough to be placed on the shelves or because its expiration date is coming up, all while Americans are literally starving.

John Oliver also discussed how most business owners refuse to donate this food, because they fear that they might get sued if any of the recipients becomes ill because of the food. What they all fear is that since the food is borderline officially edible, due to the expiration date present on the pack, they might be slammed with a major lawsuit in the event that anybody gets food poisoning or any other reaction.

As John Oliver points out, that is only a myth that has been created along the time, that he though to be true himself until a week back. There is no actual law that would condemn the donor for the effects that the recipients are experiencing, as long as the donation is made in good faith.

Therefore, reminding businesses that it is perfectly safe for them to donate the food that they are forced to throw away is one of the major changes that would make a difference in the fight against food waste.

John Oliver also reminded people that those fruit and vegetables that do not look perfect anymore are perfectly good for eating and therefore should not be thrown away. Also, he advised viewers to “take expiration dates with a pinch of salt”, as they are only meant to ensure that the food that gets sold in a supermarket is representative to certain criteria of quality, and not for how long a product is edible for.

Last Week Tonight With John Oliver has tackled the most ardent topics along its run, and has won Americans over with the straight forward manner in which it addresses them every single time. So keep up the good work, John Oliver!
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To the delight of “The Simpsons” fans out there, real life Duff Beer might make it into a supermarket near you, as Fox decides to begin its marketing.

For years and years, Simpsons fans have been so excited to see parts of their day to day lives humorously depicted on their beloved show. Furthermore, every once in while, they would get to experience the alternate version, meaning that they would find elements from the show in their day to day activities.

There is one very popular item that fans have been dying to see and that is real life Duff beer. What better way of connecting with their favorite character than through his beloved beer? Well, maybe through his beloved donuts, but that is an entirely different story.

Real life Duff beer is no longer an American dream, because 21 Century Fox is turning it into reality. The company has been considering the concept of real life Duff beer for quite a few years now and until recently, they have kept it restricted to theme parks for a wide variety of reasons, the most important being the effect it might have on children who watch the show.

Fox feared that real Duff might be particularly appealing to children and that this would bring about a significant amount of trouble from concerned parents. But truth be told, the Simpsons isn’t exactly known for its wholesome depiction of parenting or morality, and so this entire situation seems to be a little bit far fetched.

There were two very important reasons that finally determined Fox to make up its mind on the real Duff beer conundrum. The first and most important one was that there has always been a massive demand for such a product. Millions of Simpsons fans from all around the world have been asking for the beer for years an years now.

And this actually brings us to the second reason. Since the demand has reached such immense proportions, bootleg suppliers have been supplying it with unauthorized Duff beer. And the fans loved it.

After numerous trials with the bootleggers along the years, Fox has finally realized that real Duff bear is something that they simply cannot avoid. And as they say, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em!

“Once you see enough piracy, you’re faced with two choices. One is deciding to fight it, and the other is deciding to go out [into the market] with it.” explained Consumer Products executive for Fox, Jeffrey Godsick. “I think there’s potential to have Duff everywhere in the world.”

The product development of Duff beer will be quite a demanding endeavor, as Fox fears to implicate the characters form the show in its marketing campaign since the image that the show has created for Duff beer is clearly not one that would be acceptable as an advertising campaign.

Time and time again, we have been told that Duff was quite a low quality product, made in dubious conditions at best. This is why Fox will have to find a way to market their new product around this concept, that could open a sizable can of worms on the long run, at least in their view.

Fortunately for them, Duff beer is basically a product that needs no advertising, since everybody already knows it from the show. They essentially have a 26-season long advertising campaign for the product, that has already turned it into a household name without the people actually experiencing the product.

This is why Fox should see Duff for the marketing goldmine that it is and exploit it as much as possible. Including the characters in the advertising campaign would probably be the best version, despite their concerns, because the characters are the actual reason behind the massive demand.

However, Fox is taking the development of this product extremely slow, as they plan to release it in Chile first. They say that there is a particularly impressive demand for Duff beer on the Chilean market and that introducing the official version of the product just might be the best way of fighting off the bootleggers once and for all.

The real life Duff beer will be available in Chile as of next week, and then the product is set to hit European and some South American markets in the first months of 2016. According to the success that the product will have, Fox will bring it to the US in the near future, but it looks like the fans will have to wait a while longer.

The real life Duff beer is actually quite the high quality product. According to the developers, the beer is “fairly golden” and it has hints of caramel and fruit. Regardless of the fact that this is slightly different form the beer form the show, real life Duff beer can do no wrong because fans have been waiting for it for 26 years. And considering that there are millions and millions of fans out there, even if half of them decide to only try out the beer, the numbers would still be through the roof.

So Homer fans, get your couch ready for the ultimate TV experience, now powered by real life Duff beer, because sometimes, dreams really do come true!
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Season 2 of  “True Detective”, one of the best HBO series ever made is set to air on June 21st and the fans are counting the days to say the least. Today HBO has released two new clips for the new season, that have left fans wanting more.

After the first season of “True Detective” simply blew the minds of viewers and critics alike, season 2 has very big shoes to fill. It is set to cover an entirely different story than the first season did, that will feature entirely new characters.

The two brand new clips are called “Chaos” and “Stand” and can be found on HBO official website and YouTube. They hint to the great potential of the main characters, that will include three detectives, played by Colin Ferrell, Rachel McAdams and Taylor Kitsch and a very powerful villain, played by Vince Vaughn.

This is clearly going to be completely different, since the first season was one continuous thrilling puzzle constructed around a mysterious mastermind criminal, who was present only through his horrible murders and his almost perfectly devised defense strategies.

In season 2, Vince Vaughn’s character will be present and active and this changes the entire atmosphere of the story. Furthermore, the three detectives appear to have villainous sides of their own, that are obviously somehow connected to the grasp that Vince Vaughn’s character has on them.

Colin Farrell confessed that his character from “True Detective” has brought up some of his personal issues, as the corrupt detective he plays suffers from many complicated addictions. The actor has long been battling drug addiction, so to a certain extent, he will be baring his soul on the screen with this one.

The best thing about the first season was one of the main characters, Rust Cohle, a brilliant detective with a harshly realistic view of the world. He was masterfully portrayed by Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey, whose rendition was so incredibly complex, that it had fans absolutely mesmerized all throughout the eight episodes.

Woody Harrelson played the second main character, Marty Hart, and despite the fact that his rendition was outstanding itself, his and the entire cast’s performance truly felt like it was supporting the masterpiece that Rust Cohle was.

The series had an irresistible charm and a delightfully dark manner about it, as it took viewers through all the stages of a lengthy intricate investigation of a particularly disturbing murder case.

The fans have build tremendous expectations for this second installment of “True Detective” and while the trailer looks amazingly promising, it will have one enormous inescapable flaw. It will not have Rust Cohle in it.

The majority of the fans still have not faced the fact Rust is not returning and it will take a pretty intense first episode just to fill the void that he has left behind. It’s up to Rachel McAdams, Colin Ferrell, Vince Vaughn and Taylor Kitsch to do their best to rise up the high stakes set by Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson.

Nonetheless, the fact that Rust Cohle’s character was limited to the 8-episode first season has actually made him immortal. There is no chance that a second installment could alter it in any way, by providing a disappointing development. Furthermore, the character had reached its full potential, so the essential part of his story has already been told.

The creator of the series, Nic Pizzolatto has gone to great lengths to keep the storyline to the second season a secret, despite the fans’ immense curiosity. Pizzolatto has written both seasons, so there is great hope that he will be able to bring new iconic characters, like Rust and Marty, to the screen.

Unfortunately, director Cary Fukunaga did not return for the second season, buy he has stayed on as an exclusive producer of the show, so there is some hope that his presence will be still felt the second time around.

With two more weeks to go until the air date, the wait becomes unbearable. And these clips only make the fans more restless, as everybody is counting the days until the release of the second season of one of the best TV series of all time.
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Beloved actress Melissa McCarthy is taking a stand on body shaming and expresses her disappointment towards malls “segregating” plus-sized women. She is going to launch her very own fashion line, meant to make curvy women out there have fun when they go out shopping, instead of being marginalized to the back of the store.

And just in time to give audiences somewhat of a preview of her plus-size empowering clothing line, she wore a gorgeous snake print floor-length gown to the premiere of her new movie, “Spy”. Needles to say, she pulled it off perfectly, as she looked absolutely amazing.

The actress confessed that it is always disappointing for plus-sized women when they have to go to a specialized department in a clothing store or even worse, to different stores completely, in order to find clothes larger than a size 12.

Furthermore, she explained how plus-size clothes are utterly inadequate most of the time regarding the quality of the fabric and the range of actual clothing items and styles.

Not to mention the fact that the majority of these clothes are modeled by not exactly plus-sized women. Size 12 just does not cut it for plus-size and ultimately, when actual curvy women try on those clothes, they end up looking like either a human-tent or a balloon animal.

This is why it is important that plus-sized clothes be designed by somebody who actually goes through the struggle of being restricted by mainline fashion every day.

Melissa McCarthy actually points out the importance of the fabric that these clothes are made of specialized material that can offer some extra support here and there and that can prove flattering to some specific problematic parts of the body.

She talked about how she became an actual plus-sized woman after giving birth to her daughter and how she felt it was tremendously difficult to find quality clothes that could be a correct fit and that could actually make her look good. And truly, a plus-sized wardrobe should not be an endless collection of plain T-shirts and mumu’s.

“(…)just because I’m a different size doesn’t mean I flipped some switch and turned off a desire for anything current or modern, or a desire to look good and feel good,” said Melissa McCarthy.

Somehow, her clothing line actually appears to have the potential of revolutionizing plus-sized fashion. It will include gorgeous clothes for gorgeous curvy women to look beautiful in and stores where women can have an amazing time shopping.
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The brand new trailer for the “Point Break” remake has just hit the internet, and it has definitely hit it hard. While the opinions are diverse to say the least, the 2015 rendition still has some convincing to do until its Christmas release date.

Despite the fact that this new version is bigger, a lot bigger than the one from 1991, most people who have seen the trailer could not help but feel a lack of substance in this new version of the main characters.

Furthermore, the story of the new film is similar only in its outline to the one from 1991, because writer Kurt Wimmer and director Ericson Core took the original story to an entirely new level and they changed the games drastically.

In the original film the fact that the bank robbers led by Bodhi were fighting the system with the aim of achieving an adrenaline filled freedom was the subtlety that stood at the core of the entire story. The scene where Patrick Swayze’s Bodhi explains his motives to Keanu Reeves’ Johnny Utah on a rainy day at the beach became an iconic moment in cinema history.

However, in this new version of “Point Break”, not only is this in the trailer, but it generates an entire cascade of stunts that defy the laws of nature and leave the audience in awe of the edge of a knife situations that the characters put themselves in.

This new premise has proven promising in similar recent films, such as “The East”, that has pretty much the same story frame. A police representative must undergo drastic changes so as to infiltrate in a group of criminals, that he is initially intent on catching, but ultimately ends up utterly enchanted by their ways and changes his views accordingly. In “The East” the made the policeman who goes undercover a police woman.

What always proves to be disappointing about these films is the fact that the characters that the audience gets to discover alongside the main character, are beyond salvation. They are doomed from the beginning of the story and the film somehow ends up leaving audiences disenchanted.

In the 2015 version of “Point Break” though, the general feeling that most viewers were left with was that Johnny Utah is somehow stronger and more charming than Bodhi. Australian actor Luke Bracey plays this new and improved Johnny Utah, and he has a more assertive approach on the character than Keanu Reeves did.

Unfortunately, Edgar Ramirez’s rendition of Bodhi falls short to Patrick Swayze’s, as he does not convey the effortless charm that was characteristic for Bodhi, not his serene understanding of life’s ways.

This new version brings this character disappointingly down to earth, despite his plans for fighting the system that are continuously keeping him in the air, whether they involve falling from the sky with a parachute or a fly suit, or outrunning a rocky avalanche on a motorbike.

There is a discrepancy in the characters’ authority and their role in the entire story, that end up making the new “Point Break” an entirely different film. There is even a slight metaphor that suggests this shift in authority. In the original film, Keanu Reeves’ Johnny Utah had beautiful black hair and Patrick Swayze’s Bodhi had wild bleached hair.

But in the remake, it is exactly the other way around, as Edgar Ramirez plays a Hispanic version of Bodhi and therefore has pitch black hair, while Luke Bracey brings his already famous golden hair to his Johnny Utah.

Katherine Bigelow’s film will remain filled with that irreplaceable 90’s charm and with the delight of subtlety, while this new rendition will rely much more on breathtaking action sequences rather than character depth to capture the audience’s attention. Unfortunately, this is a path that characterizes most of the film made nowadays, especially remakes.

It remains to be seen if Luke Bracey will manage to raise to the standards set by Keanu Reeves, because he actually does show true potential, with his masculine-core rendition of Johnny Utah. Edgar Ramirez however, has got a long way to go to even come close to Patrick Swayze’s Bodhi, which ultimately is the single most disappointing fact about this new version of the film.
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This is a good day for movie lovers, as Showtime’s “Twin Peaks” project is finally showing promising updates. The show will be filled with the insanely thrilling charm that only David Lynch can bring to the screen, as he will be directing the series himself. The upcoming adaptation will feature a 18-episode season that is set to continue the action from the 90’s series, by bringing it up to date, 25 years later.

While it has been unclear for a long time how much would David Lunch be implicated exactly in the 2016 rendition of Twin Peaks, fans can rest assured now, as the writer-director has confirmed his full involvement in the project. He even wrote a brilliantly ambiguous tweet about it, that got fans extremely excited about Showtime’s version of the show.

What sets the 2016 show apart from the previous revival attempts that have epically failed to rise up to the power of the initial versions of the TV-shows and films that they were trying to recreate is precisely the fact that Showtime’s Twin Peaks is not a remake. It revives the story by taking the audience to 2016’s Twin Peaks in a natural, unforced manner, as it portrays the future adventures of the characters.

The 2016 series represents an actual sequel to the 90’s classic, and what makes it truly mind-blowing is the fact that it brings back its initial cast to continue the story of the main characters 25 years later both in the film and in real life. Kyle MacLachlan is coming back to play Special Agent Cooper, the gorgeous Sheryl Lee is returning as the mysterious Laura Palmer and Ray Wise will play the deliciously creepy Leland Palmer, thus bringing back the iconic characters that have made Twin Peaks famous in the 1990’s.

Among other big names returning to the series are Sherilyn Fenn, Lara Flynn Boyle and Madchen Amick, thus assuring that the main cast will be there to continue the story that that has kept audiences to the edge of their seats wondering what David Lynch will think of next.

Angelo Badalamenti, the creator of the epic opening credits song, that has made its way into thriller classic hall of fame, will also be joining the 2016 crew, to the fans’ delight. He promises a chilling soundtrack, that is bound to transport fans right back to the Twin Peaks they all know and love.

So, with the genius David Lynch directing it, with the entire main cast returning to show us exactly what their characters look like 25 years later and with the same amazing songwriter creating the series’ soundtrack, Showtime’s Twin Peaks has all the chances possible to make it big.

Initially, it was set to have 9 episodes only, but now the fans get an 18-episode experience into the divinely twisted mind of David Lynch, the man behind cult classics like “Mulholland Drive” and “Blue Velvet”.

It remains to be seen how exactly Twin Peaks will look 25 years later, but it promises to be nothing short of amazing, with such a wonderful cast and crew behind it. So, fans, prepare yourself for your journey back to Twin Peaks, because it’s bound to be even more insanely fantastic than it used to be back in 1990.
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I seems that the powerful movie trailer for the upcoming Dwayne Johnson blockbuster, “San Andreas”, has managed to get the people’s attention in more ways than one. While most people are looking forward to The Rock saving the day once again from this fictional disaster, there are quite a few Californians out there who are taking this earthquake scenario extremely seriously.

The film has three official trailers released on the internet, and the latest one has singlehandedly gathered more than 2 million viewers on YouTube. The first trailer has been screened in cinemas worldwide for months now and it has gotten movie goers to put down their popcorn and stare at the screen in amazement, making the hairs on the back of their necks rise in fear.

The trailer relays a powerful message, that has an impressive capability of getting the audience involved in the action of the film. In the beginning of the trailer, the main characters appear to be going through normal day-to-day activities that the audience can relate to.Then, one by one, they find themselves in the midst of the wreckage brought by the apocalyptic earthquake, facing a series of impossible situations.

As this plays out, the words “Where will you be”, “Who will you be with”, “When everything”, “Falls apart” gradually transport the audience to the heart of these fictional disaster happenings while a gut-wrenchingly dramatic rendition of the song “California Dreaming” plays in the background.

The overall effect that these features have transports the audience from their cozy seats in the cinema all the way to the middle of California, right at the side of Dwayne Johnson’s character, as he faces the massive wreckage created by the tremendously powerful earthquake.

Paul Giamatti’s character administers the final blow as he says that “the Earth will literally crack open ” while a giant crater in the middle of the road blocks any type of on-road transportation. “You will feel it on the East Coast”, he adds, making the audience shrivel with fear at the sight of the Golden Gate Bridge falling to pieces.

This 2-minute roller-coaster ride has left Californians pondering the possibility of an earthquake hitting their cities, with a clear picture of how things will play along if it does happen. Fortunately, scientists have come to their aid and they are trying to explain that a real-life scenario would not be so gruesome.

Susan Hough, a seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, has joined the Associated Press for the screening of the “San Andreas” film. Upon walking out, she described the plot of the movie as being implausible. And that is an encouraging fact, as you would never want to find out that an end-of-the-world movie is quite realistic in its portrayal, as you see your city falling to pieces.

Hough explained that while it is true that the San Andreas fault is very much capable of producing a serious earthquake, it could not possibly be one of the magnitude of the movie-quake, which would pretty much depict the effects of an earthquake of a magnitude of at least 9.

According to Hough, the San Adreas fault is simply incapable of generating something like that, as it is both not long and not deep enough. So that’s one crisis at least partially avoided.

Scientists felt the need to make further clarifications in order to ensure the audience that the blockbuster is merely a work of fiction and not some kind of masked warning sign. Firstly, San Andreas is not capable of generating an earthquake so big that it would be felt on the East Coast, thus putting Paul Giamatti’s warning to rest.

Secondly, it would not be capable of triggering a tsunami wave, as the audiences saw in the second trailer of the film. This one follows the same recipe as the first trailer has, but further scares audiences by portraying an enormous tsunami wave swallowing California.

“This isn’t the type of motion that would generate a tsunami wave. You need something like subduction where you’re lifting large volumes of water, so it didn’t appear to be realistic.” points out Morgan Page, a U.S. Geological Services geophysicist.

Ultimately, it looks like San Andreas is only going to offer its audience fictional entertainment. While it promises to be an end-of-the-world flick of epic proportions, it should be regarded as good clean cinema fun, and nothing more than that. Like many other classics of its genre, it has been deemed implausible by scientists, and that should make viewers breathe easily as the credits roll at the end of San Andreas”.
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