People watch the moon partially obscure the sun Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, at Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. David Crane/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images

Eye Watch

Google searches for eye damage peaked around the last solar eclipse in 2017

Don’t look up (without eye protection).

Rani Molla

4/3/24 9:21AM

A rare total solar eclipse is happening across the US Monday, April 8. That means lots of traffic, tourism, and Google searches for eye damage.

In the days after the last total eclipse in August 2017, optometrists saw a surge in people coming in complaining of blurred vision and other eye problems. Lots of people, apparently, asked Google, which had its highest level of searches for eye damage on record that month.

And yes, looking directly at the sun, even during an eclipse (outside totality) and with anything but approved glasses, can cause terrible eye damage. Ask the woman who had the eclipse etched on her retina during the last solar eclipse in 2017.

According to the American Optometric Association, “A total solar eclipse is the only type of solar eclipse where viewers can momentarily remove their eclipse glasses or viewers for a brief period of time when the Moon is completely blocking the Sun.” That means you have to be in the path of totality and you’d better have reputable glasses on before and after.

And if after this eclipse you start experiencing altered vision or loss of vision, go to a doctor, not Google.

Tom Jones

The new york pastimes

11/10/25

Could paywalling The Mini have made a big difference to the NYT’s bottom line last quarter?

A new wave of bundled and single-product digital subscriptions boosted The New York Times’ profits in Q3.

Max Knoblauch11/7/25

Hollywood is developing a film adaptation of the wildly popular Roblox gardening sim created by a 16-year-old

A popular Roblox game being developed for the big screen could test the limits of the recent success of video game film adaptations.

“Grow a Garden,” a gardening sim in which players plant seeds, sell their crops for in-game currency called sheckles, and then use that money to purchase more seeds, is reportedly being adapted as a feature film by production company Story Kitchen (which has adapted other video games for the big and small screen such as “Tomb Raider”). Can we start the awards season buzz now?

The game has become hugely popular, boosting Roblox’s player counts and breaking concurrent user records multiple times in recent months. It was also originally created by a 16-year-old.

No doubt Hollywood, and Roblox, are hoping that every kid-friendly video game adaptation can see the billion-dollar (or close to it) success of Nintendo’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” and Microsoft’s “A Minecraft Movie.”

Story Kitchen Developing Film Adaptation Of Roblox Game ‘Grow A Garden’

The game has become hugely popular, boosting Roblox’s player counts and breaking concurrent user records multiple times in recent months. It was also originally created by a 16-year-old.

Luke Kawa11/4/25

Thieves are targeting “Pokémon” cards in robberies since they’ve skyrocketed in value

A real-life mishmash of different Team Rocket wannabes is having a lot more success thieving “Pokémon” cards than Jessie and James ever did in their attempts to pilfer Pikachu throughout the anime series.

The Washington Post reports on a string of DC-area heists of “Pokémon” cards, with CGC Cards Vice President Matt Quinn quoted as saying, “Any time you’re carrying around collectibles that are worth money, whether it be gold bars, Pokémon cards, coins, toy trains, or whatever it might be, you have to be vigilant with knowing that you’re carrying collectibles that can be easily stolen from you,” adding that these episodes are happening across the country.

Gotta thieve ’em all is an outgrowth of the massive boom in the value of “Pokémon” cards, with The Wall Street Journal reporting on 3,000% returns earlier this year. Their meteoric rise has been a big boon to GameStop, whose collectibles business has played a critical role in the stabilization and nascent turnaround of its operations.

Both individual cards and unopened packs have been targeted in robberies of stores and personal residences, per the Post report.

Stealing unopened packs of “Pokémon” cards is effectively thieving and buying call options at the same time: an individual pack might not be worth much on its own, but the most valuable cards in the recently released Mega Evolutions set are going for over $1,000. And at about 23 grams per pack and relative differences in security, the logistics seem a lot less onerous than trying to rob a gold dealer.

(Note: I don’t know for sure. I’m not a thief, besides that Klondike bar one time in high school.)

Max Knoblauch11/4/25

iHeartMedia surges on report Netflix, competing with YouTube, wants its video podcasts

Video podcasts are becoming a key part of Netflix’s efforts to keep pace closely behind YouTube in the streaming wars.

According to reporting by Bloomberg, the streamer is in talks to exclusively license video pods from iHeartMedia. Shares of IHRT surged on Tuesday morning.

Under the deal, iHeartMedia, which produces shows like “Las Culturistas,” “The Breakfast Club,” and “Jay Shetty Podcast,” would reportedly stop posting full episodes on YouTube — the site that more than a billion people use to watch podcasts every month.

Netflix made a similar deal with Spotify last month and will begin streaming 16 video podcasts produced by Spotify Studios early next year.

According to the Nielsen Gauge, YouTube pulled in 12.6% of all TV viewership in September, compared to 8.3% for Netflix.

Netflix Is in Talks to License Video Podcasts From iHeartMedia

Netflix made a similar deal with Spotify last month and will begin streaming 16 video podcasts produced by Spotify Studios early next year.

According to the Nielsen Gauge, YouTube pulled in 12.6% of all TV viewership in September, compared to 8.3% for Netflix.

Millie Giles

PERSONNEL BEST

11/3/25

The 2025 New York City Marathon saw a record number of runners

Almost 60,000 people took part in the NYC Marathon this year — as celebrities, influencers, and hordes of routine-starved young people keep long distance races on trend.