November 2023

The wide receiver has been sidelined since early November due to a hamstring issue.

The Warriors provided an update on Chris Paul and Gary Payton II’s respective injuries Thursday.

Facing uncertainties at Crystal Palace, Richards still finds joy through national team triumphs and a steadfast focus on the bigger picture.

Carter made the admission in a 2021 investigation that has just come to light. There is no evidence LeBron knew of the bets.

A friend of mine used to say that the first question we ask when we’re introduced to a new piece of technology is, “How can I use this to have sex?” To that end, here’s how to use a Meta Quest 2, Quest 3, PSVR, Vive, or other VR headset to have sex…or watch virtual porn, anyway.

How to watch VR Porn with a Meta Quest 2

It’s almost comically easy to have an “entry-level” VR porn experience with an Meta Quest 2 (or other headset).

Entry level porn VR porn viewing on an Meta Quest 2

Lock the door.
Put on your headset.
Click on the browser.
Navigate to a site that hosts VR porn. Free video megasites like youporn have a VR section, or just use google to search something out.
Using PlayStation VR: Sony’s PSVR seems to require some extra steps. I haven’t tried one, but here’s a PSVR specific porn-viewing guide.

That’s all you need to know to get a taste of the VR porn thing, but because of the massive file sizes of VR video, streaming is likely to be choppy, and free movies are probably not going to be in high resolution. To get a better experience, you’re going to have to (gasp) pay to watch it.

Suggested headsets for VR porn-viewing:

Valve Index VR Full Kit
Meta Quest 2
Meta Quest 3
Pico 4
Apple Vision Pro (expected to be released in 2024)

How to watch VR porn with a Meta Quest 3

The above instructions for streaming porn work the same on the Meta Quest 3 headset, but the Quest 3’s front-facing pass-through camera array adds a new wrinkle to porn viewing: Augmented reality porn.

Getting your pass-through-porn on is fairly complicated, so here’s a separate post that goes into detail about how to get augmented reality porn to work on your Meta Quest 3.

Advanced VR porn viewing

Pick a VR Website. Because VR porn is relatively new, more costly to produce, and has a smaller audience than “normal” adult videos, there aren’t an overwhelming number of sites dedicated to it. Most of them have sample videos to view, and some provide single-day access for very cheap so you can see if you dig it. Check out this list of the most well-known producers, and make a choice.
Did you lock the door?
Open the browser, navigate to your newly chosen site and enter your credit card digits. Membership fees vary from site to site, but expect a range of $20 to $30 a month.

From here, you can stream full-length videos at very high quality, but the streaming might still be choppy. If so…

Download and save video to your device— These videos can be over 10 gigs, so it might take a little bit.
Play the video back—Major VR headsets come with great video browsers, but if you want advanced features, download Skybox for 10 bucks. That way you can save video to your PC and stream from your computer easily.

If you want to get really advanced (it’s a pandemic, so no one should judge) you can delve into the world of virtual reality sex toys. These are devices designed to vibrate and oscillated in sync with videos. I have no idea how well these work, but if you do, let us all know in the comment section.

Is Virtual Reality Porn any good?

Now that you know how to view porn in virtual reality, you have to ask yourself if you should. Virtual reality’s “you are there” immersion provides an experience that is markedly different from traditional porn, but it’s not necessarily better. Like all things of this nature, it comes down to personal taste. I checked out a little bit of the stuff (for research purposes only, of course), and, without going into too much detail, here are the pros and cons:

Locked in perspective

The idea of putting the viewer right up in the action means the camera is locked to your perspective. If you like that kind of thing, it’s gravy for you, but if you don’t…well, you gave it a shot.

The performance

The camera/you feel very close to the performers in VR porn videos and the illusion is fairly convincing, but actually selling that kind of intimacy requires acting talent. It’s a different kind of performing than film or stage altogether, and, at the risk of being negative, many pornographic performers don’t have the chops to really pull it off, so it can just feel weird, and not sexy-weird. Again, your mileage may vary.

Limited content

Because it is more expensive and more difficult to shoot VR video, and there is a smaller audience, it seems like almost all VR porn is geared toward a mainstream porn audience. If you share the tastes of the majority of porn viewers, you’ll be really happy. If you’re into something more esoteric, you might find it difficult or impossible to find what you like, at least until more pervs join the virtual world.

Gender-bending

Most virtual reality porn is designed for heterosexual men, but not all of it. There is VRporn from the point-of-view of gay/bi men and women (straight, gay, and bi) which provides maybe the most unique possibility of VR porn: Putting yourself in the skin of someone else. Looking down at yourself and seeing a different body (one that doesn’t skip ab day) is strange enough, but looking down and seeing a differently gendered body is positively freaky in the best possible way. I can only assume this will lead to a new age of empathy and the end of sexism and homophobia.

For couples?

Realistically, most porn is going to be consumed solo, but some couples are strapping on headsets (and maybe other devices) and incorporating the virtual into their shared real sex lives. I think a real experience while wearing a headset would be a little ridiculous, but maybe I’m just old-fashioned.

Sartini wasn’t happy after the Whitecaps’ season-ending loss to LAFC.

The holiday season is in full swing, parties are filling your schedule, and cookies are always in style. This year, I’ve got a very special cookie project for you. One for the drinkers, non-drinkers, and the stoners in your group (and even the ones who manage to do both without tossing their cookies). Whether you’re hosting or bringing a gift, bake a batch of cookie shots for the holidays. Here’s how to do it so they look cute too.

A cookie shot, or more accurately a cookie shot glass, is cookie dough baked into the shape of a little cup. I had only ~~eaten~~ (drank? used?) experienced a cookie shot once before. It was four or five years ago, and I was both thrilled and confused. Would it be gross? Would a cookie even hold liquid? My boyfriend’s cousin had purchased them from Dominique Ansel Bakery (you might know the chef as the creator of the decadent cronut). So the question about flavor was answered—Ansel’s pastries are anything but gross—but how do you prevent leakage? Well, the inside of the cup gets brushed with a layer of melted chocolate. This adds more chocolate-y flavor, but also creates an impermeable layer on the inside. She’s a modern marvel.

We had more than one shot, because the cookie doesn’t get soggy, and then we ate them. The cookie shots were incredible, and I’m sure we became very responsibly buzzed. It’s a fun way to do normal shots, and a hell of a talking point. All of these things are great for a party. But I never had them again. You see, Dominique Ansel knows his worth. That’s nice for him, but I will not purchase three chocolate chip cookies for 22 American dollars, regardless of their shape. Luckily, the universe heard my sorrow, and now I can make as many as I want at home.

Products to consider:

Cookie Shot Flexipan Mold from Williams Sonoma (49.95)
Silicone Shot Glass Mold by Celebrate It ($9.99)
Wilton Cookie Shot Non-stick Pan ($14.99)

You can buy metal cookie shot pans specifically for this purpose or you can buy shot glass molds made of silicone. Most silicone molds are oven-safe up to 500°F, but double check on the packaging, of course. Nestle Toll House currently has a cookie shot sweepstakes going on too, where you can enter to win your own cookie shot kit. It comes with the Wilton cookie shot mold above, which is a non-stick, quality piece of bakeware. The real value is that it’s basically a 12-cup popover pan set, and I don’t have one of those yet. (Get ready for some popover recipes, y’all.)

Tips for making the perfect cookie shot

Once you get your mold and make your favorite drop cookie dough (standard chocolate chip is my go-to), you should be able to follow the directions to success. However there are some things I wish I had done better the first time. Here’s what I learned, so you can make sure everything goes well even on the first batch.

Don’t overfill the mold

Left: A cookie shot that had too much dough. Right: A cookie shot with the right amount of dough.
Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

I got greedy. It happens. I’m not proud of it, but I overfilled my cookie mold. On the bright side, no one’s going to be mad that they got the cookie shot with an extra-cookie-umbrella top. Remember, if there’s a leavening agent in your dough, it will expand. If you’re using the Wilton-style mold (where you fill the cavity and use a plunger), fill it only halfway up the mold. Plunging the indentation in the center drives the dough up the sides, but even then there should be a half-inch or more of space at the top of the mold. Dough in the other style of mold should also sit with a little room to grow.

Make sure they’re cooked crisp

Once I had baked the cookie shots for about 12 minutes, according to the baking directions and the pan instructions, I noticed the plungers were lifted as a result of the baking powder and probably steam. If that happens, just press them down again while the cookie dough is soft and let them cool. They won’t fight you.

Once I twisted out the plunger, I could tell they were set, but still too flexible for a shot. Once they were cooler, but still warm, I gently twisted the dough in the mold and lifted it out while twisting. I gripped the top edge with four fingers spaced around the rim to prevent breakage. Then I put them on a baking sheet, and baked them at the same temperature for another five to seven minutes. They cooled on a wire rack, and were crispy and stable. I have only used the Wilton mold, so I’m not sure how evenly the silicone molds cook.

Get your hands dirty

Here’s the interior I coated with chocolate using my finger, and another “glass” with sprinkles on the edge.
Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

In order to hold liquid, the cookie must be coated with chocolate or icing on the inside. At first, I figured I could use a pastry brush to swipe chocolate along the inside of the cookie shot. Silly me. Not only is a pastry brush too big, but you need to ensure there are no holes in your coating. A brush is not dependable for that.

Use your finger. Melt down any old chocolate or use icing. Scoop with a spoon, or use a piping bag (or zipper bag with the corner clipped), and put a teaspoon or so inside the shot glass. Use your finger to smash chocolate all the way down into the bottom corners and up the sides while you rotate the glass for complete coverage. Hey, you can always wear a food-safe rubber glove.

Let the chocolate cool in the fridge for 10 minutes or so, and the shot glasses are ready to roll. Different cocktails will pair well with different cookie doughs, but you can’t go wrong with dessert shots. Whiskeys pair well with chocolate cookies. Add Baileys, a white Russian, or a mudslide. Try coffee-flavored mocktails, a chilled espresso, or kick it old school with milk. Then you’ve already got your snack in hand. If you can help yourself, I suggest eating it slowly and taking incrementally smaller shots as the night goes on.

A spokesperson for James and Carter reportedly said the betting had “nothing to do with” James.

The screenshot above, taken from CBS’s broadcast of Sunday’s football game between the Las Vegas Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs, caused an online controversy after it was posted on Twitter on Sunday night. It seems to depict a double-dose of racism—a white kid in blackface wearing a traditionally native American headdress—and people were (understandably) appalled at such a blatantly racist image. But a look at the context of the photo reveals that this is a photo illustrating the impossibly complex maze of racism in America.

The missing context in a seemingly racist photograph

Given the disturbing history of blackface, it’s not surprising that people would react with anger at the sight of it on national television. But a straight-on picture of the fan reveals that only half of his face is painted black. The other half is red. Red and black: the Chiefs’ colors.

Credit: HistoryInc/Twitter

Maybe a white person painting any part of their face black is problematic regardless, but intent is important, and the makeup seems more likely to be part of the tradition of sports fans painting their faces with team colors than a reference to minstrel shows. If he’d been an Eagles’ fan, it would have been green and white, and we wouldn’t be talking about it at all.

But it gets even more complex when you consider the “cultural appropriation” of the feathered headdress. Wearing Native American gear is generally regarded as a shitty thing for a white person to do, but the young fan in question is reportedly Native American himself. His grandfather, reportedly, is Raul Armenta, who sits on the board of the Chumash Tribe in Santa Ynez, Calif. The Chumash didn’t wear feathered warbonnets though—that was a plains Indian thing, a group thousands of miles from the Chumash’s west coast home. See what I mean by complicated? Inter-tribal-cultural-appropriation aside, I think most people would agree that this fan’s attire at the game was perhaps not the most sensitive choice, but it’s far from a hate crime.

How racist is the NFL?

The knee-jerk reaction of many to the fan’s appearance during the game was “The NFL is racist.” True, the NFL has a troubling history of racism, but the NFL isn’t football. The early days of the game itself point to the possibility of a more egalitarian professional football league that never came to be.

Organized football was always racist—this is America after all—but the contributions of both Native and African Americans to the formation of the sport are undeniable, and the early days of collegiate and pro football were less segregated than the NFL later became. Black players and player/coaches were vital to the success of early college football powerhouses like Nebraska, Ohio State, and Cornell beginning in the late 1800s, and Charles W. Follis (aka “The Black Cyclone”) led the Shelby Blues to an 8-1-1 season in 1904 in the professional Ohio League.

It was different down south of course, and this was pre-integration, so there weren’t many African American students at universities to begin with, but football in its early days was seen by some as an exemplification of American equality. Ideally, it was open to all who were courageous enough to step onto the gridiron, no matter who they were. But real life has a way of failing to live up to lofty ideals, especially when things become more structured and racism becomes institutionalized. In other words: Enter the National Football League.

The NFL wasn’t fully segregated to start with. In the two years after the league (then called the American Professional Football Association) was formed in 1920, not only were there a handful of Black players, African American hall-of-fame running back Fritz Pollard was the head coach of the Akron Pros. But even though the NFL’s segregation was never explicit, it may as well have been. A “gentleman’s agreement” among team owners in the mid 1920s limited the number of Black players allowed to play in the league, and by 1934, there were no African American players left in the NFL. It wasn’t until 1947 that the league was reintegrated.

These days, the NFL owns up publicly to its racist past, and proudly proclaims its intention to “End Racism” on end zones and team uniforms, but how they’re actually going about the racism-ending is unclear. It is clear that race isn’t a barrier to entry in the NFL any longer, nor is it a barrier to stardom—Patrick Mahomes is a household name. But on the other hand, there’s the dual attorneys-general investigation of the league for racial, sexual, and ageist discrimination, the Colin Kapernick situation, and on and on. There’s also the league’s relationship with Native Americans.

Native Americans and football

Native Americans have been intertwined with football since the game began, and not as racist mascots. Jim Thorpe, a member of Sac and Fox Nation did more to popularize football in its early days than just about anyone. Thorpe lead the Canton Bulldogs to unofficial professional world championships in 1916, 1917, and 1919. Thorpe cut his football teeth on Glenn “Pop” Warner’s squad, the Indians, a team of Native Americans from the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. If you like the forward pass, you can thank the Carlisle Indians, who perfected the play, leading to a 14 year record of 167–88–13 playing against well-funded college teams like Yale and Princeton. But again, it’s complicated: the Carlisle School may have had a great football squad, but the institution’s focus on assimilation as an antidote to segregation was part of the US’s ongoing cultural genocide against Native people, and the football program could be seen as part of that.

Native Americans were ultimately “thanked” for their contributions to football with organizations like the Washington Redskins, who clung to their racist name until 2020, long passed the point that any “but it was a different time” arguments had any merit.

As for the K.C. Chiefs, the team is named for H. Roe “Chief” Bartle, the mayor who brought pro football to Kansas City in 1960, so the squad’s name isn’t based on Native Americans. But the organization definitely used (and uses) harmful, stereotypical Native American imagery heavily for promotion. So do the fans; just look at the “Tomahawk Chop.”

In response to accusations of insensitivity, in 2014 the Chiefs initiated a dialogue with the American Indian Community Working Group, a collection of leaders from American Indian communities around Kansas City, and took many of their suggestions on how to seem less bigoted and dial down the cultural appropriation. One of the rules the Chiefs say they adopted is “the outright banning of headdresses and face paint at the stadium on gameday.” I guess they aren’t too strict about that one.

Tee Higgins planning to return for Bengals’ Week 13 game vs. Jaguars

Warriors provide Chris Paul, Gary Payton II injury updates

Beneath the jokes, Chris Richards is battling for his bright USMNT future

Report: LeBron James’ manager Maverick Carter made illegal bets with bookie on NBA

How to Watch Virtual Reality Porn