Android 16 was released this week, and as usual its source code also popped up, under the permissive
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Gay marriage was legalized in Massachusetts just over two decades ago and has been the law of the land in the U.S. since 2015, yet somehow, queer movies are still mostly a trickle at the box office (unless you count Barbie…which you can). The last big one was 2022’s Bros, marketed as the first mainstream gay romantic comedy ever released by a major studio. In fact, 2022 was an all-time high for queer rep in movies: 28.5% of films released that year had at least one LGBTQ character (though most of those showed up for fewer than five minutes of screen time). We’ve been on a downward slide since, and the current zeitgeist seems to find studios shying away from diversity of any kind.
On another level, though, Hollywood has been making gay movies since the advent of film—albeit with plausible deniability. The late 1920s and early 1930s were a golden age for movies that explicitly (or nearly so) dealt with queer characters (Garbo, Dietrich, and Hepburn were bisexual icons before that term was commonly used); the same can be said of the independent-minded 1970s. At other times, representation was all about subtext—the filmmakers sneaking in themes that would go over the heads of the censors but land with the right audiences, or arising as unintended subtext. Which is to say, sometimes even the straightest movies are gay as hell—the inevitable result of straightness trying too hard.
That is to say, while ostensibly straight, the following 33 movies are totally gay, and as such, make for perfect Pride programming.
Following the events of Frankenstein, the eponymous doctor is all ready to settle down with his fiancée when his old college mentor shows up: Dr. Septimus Pretorius, who lures Henry away from the arms of his promised in favor of the two of them getting together after hours and building more bodies. Dr. Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger), given to sassy retorts and chain-smoking in mausoleums, was high-camp before the notion was codified. Although there’s nothing explicit here, there’s no real queer-coding, either: the fascinating Thesiger never made any effort whatsoever to hide his queerness, nor to accommodate anyone’s ideas of masculinity, and he certainly doesn’t in this role. Following an injury while serving in World War I, he took up needlework and passed the skills on to other injured soldiers, despite formal warnings that the work was too “effeminate.” Later, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for both his embroidery skills and his acting career. Even with all that, he remains most famous for luring Colin Clive’s Frankenstein out of retirement.
This movie is so gay it inspired 1998’s Gods and Monsters, a super queer biopic of its director, James Whale, played by Ian McKellen, who came out publicly in 1988. You can rent Bride of Frankenstein from Prime Video.
Most of these movies have queer themes running throughout; I’m not sure that’s the case here, although I’d be thrilled to be proven wrong. Still, I’m going to let Peter Lorre’s Joel Cairo speak for all of the many queer-coded villains in classic Hollywood. It wasn’t always a great trope, but audiences have always been open to spinning straw into gold by giving extra love to the meager, often problematic representations of LGBTQ+ characters in classic films. Characters made to be mocked or hated become appreciated figures, and that’s the case here. Overtly gay in Dashiell Hammett’s novel, Hollywood censors of 1941 of course wouldn’t allow Joel Cairo to be explicit in a film version. So Petter Lorre sashays his way into Sam Spade’s office with pretty clothes, fancy gloves, a cane that he can hardly stop from fondling and, of course, gardenia-scented calling cards…because the planned lavender cards were seen as too on-the-nose by censors. You can rent The Maltese Falcon from Prime Video.
Directed by Jacques Tourneur and, crucially, produced by the unconventionally highbrow Val Lewton, Cat People stars Simone Simon as Irena Dubrovna, who believes that she’s descended from a line of, well…cat people. Convinced that she’ll shape-shift into a panther if she ever allows her true and repressed sexuality to come out, she avoids engaging sexually with her new husband. The metaphors involving otherness work on multiple levels, but seeing Irena as a woman stuck in a straight marriage that she was never meant for is the reading that sticks. You can rent Cat People from Prime Video.
Two strangers, each in an unfulfilling marriage, meet by chance at a train station, kicking off a relationship that starts as one of convenience and evolves into an intense emotional affair—complicated by their personal lives and the ever-present danger of discovery. A 2015 staging of the original Noël Coward play (called Still Life) put two men in the lead roles, making clear that while the story works beautifully with a straight couple, it’s also a brilliant encapsulation of the particular challenges facing same-sex encounters. I’m not sure what director David Lean had in mind, but I shouldn’t be at all surprised if Coward wasn’t thinking, at least in part, of the inherently dangerous nature of chance queer meetings. You can stream Brief Encounter on Max and The Criterion Channel or rent it from Prime Video.
In 1924, Leopold and Loeb, two wealthy University of Chicago boyfriends kidnapped and murdered a 14-year-old largely to prove that they could, the pair having read just enough Nietzsche to convince themselves that they were the Übermensch of whom he wrote. They weren’t, of course, but they wouldn’t be the first rich white boys to believe themselves inherently superior.
The murder was a tragedy, but for someone with Alfred Hitchcock’s sensibilities, it was also too juicy a story to pass up. Rope is most famous because of its unique filming technique: it’s presented as one continuous take, though in reality the takes were about ten minutes long, limited by the film technology of the era. But Rope is based on a play loosely inspired by the Leopold and Loeb murders, and in the play the pair are explicitly gay. The movie, being a product of its time, obscures that without really suggesting anything else. These effete and sassy “roommates”—played by Farley Granger (who came out late in life) and John Dall (who is widely believed to have been gay, though he never came out publicly)—hold a party at which the body of their murder victim has been concealed. Screenwriter Arthur Laurents, who was gay, was an expert at dodging the restrictions of the Hays code in order to sneak in subtext that was just subtextual enough, a trick Hitchcock likewise excelled at.
Was it truly lost on 1940s audiences that these characters were more than friends? Apparently Laurents and company didn’t clue in Jimmy Stewart about his character, and the actor never caught on. You can rent Rope from Prime Video.
Nobody tell John Wayne, but the queer subtext of Red River has been discussed for decades, which makes a special kind of sense given that it provided a breakthrough for gay actor Montgomery Clift, who plays Matt, the more sensitive ward of a typically butch Wayne. Complicating life during the film’s core cattle drive is the introduction of John Ireland as Cherry Valance—the scene during which Matt and Cherry compare guns is justifiably memorable as euphemism, and even characters in the movie seem not unaware of what’s going on: Wayne describes them as pawing at each other, and Walter Brennan’s old-timer character describes them as “…having some fun. A peculiar kind of fun.” You can stream Red River on Tubi, MGM+, and Pluto TV or rent it from Prime Video.
Lesbian writer Patricia Highsmith wasn’t afraid of gay subtext (see: The Talented Mr. Ripley), nor text-text, for that matter (see: The Price of Salt); neither was director Alfred Hitchcock afraid to inject queerness into his films, as we learned from Rope and Rebecca (among others). Given all that (as well as the presence of Farley Granger), it’s not surprising that Strangers on a Train is rather delicious in its preoccupations. Granger’s Guy Haines has a kind of meet-cute with Bruno Antony (Robert Walker) on a train (naturally), and they have a rather intense conversation about dual murders: Guy should kill Bruno’s hated father, and Bruno will kill Guy’s wife. Fun hypothetical, except that Bruno is absolutely serious and follows through with his part of the deal. The whole thing plays a bit like a straight man’s fever dream—even giving into a momentary dalliance with another man could ruin one’s life. You can stream Strangers on a Train on Tubi and Kanopy or rent it from Prime Video.
This low-budget Nicholas Ray film isn’t one of Joan Crawford’s better known movies, but it is one of her best and most fascinating, earning its entry into the vaunted Criterion Collection. Playing a saloonkeeper in the wilds of old-west Arizona, Crawford’s character is introduced by one of her employees just so: “I never met a woman who was more man.” Her arch-nemesis is a “cattle baron” played by Mercedes McCambridge, a straight (as far as we know) actress who became a gay icon for her portrayals of strong, queer-coded women. There are male love interests here, but they’re largely incidental. It’s the seething energy between the two leading women—frequently facing off while decked out in black leather that borders on the fetishistic—where the film’s true heart lies. You can stream Johnny Guitar on Kanopy or rent it from Prime Video.
One of the essential thrillers of the 1950s, the film version of Boileau-Narcejac’s novel removes the explicit lesbian relationship between the two women at the plot’s center, the wife and mistress of a man whom they team up to murder, radically altering the ending in the process. Much of that relationship remains regardless; the closeness between Nicole and Christina is remarked upon by the students and faculty of the boarding school where the two live. They travel together, sharing rooms and even a bed. A climactic moment is played very much as a breakup scene. Simone Signoret and Véra Clouzot are one of French cinema’s most memorable couples, even if their romantic pairing is never made explicit. You can stream Diabolique on Max and The Criterion Channel or rent it from Prime Video.
Moody, sensitive teen Jim Stark (James Dean) meets Plato Crawford (Sal Mineo) and Judy (Natalie Wood) at the police station, and one of cinema’s great emo love triangles was born. Though restrained in the finished film, it’s impossible not to see the attraction that Plato has for Jim, nor was it unintentional—worried censors told director Nicholas Ray during production that “It is of course vital that there be no inference of a questionable or homosexual relationship between Plato and Jim.” Still, Mineo spoke later about how Dean instructed him to “Look at me the way I look at Natalie…” None of it is terribly ambiguous in retrospect, and the pin-up of then-heartthrob Alan Ladd in Plato’s locker is just one of the many winks to a savvy audience. You can rent Rebel Without a Cause from Prime Video.
Don’t tell Charlton Heston, but everyone else involved in crafting Judah Ben-Hur’s relationship with his old friend Messala was down with the idea that the two were lovers. Script doctor Gore Vidal claims to have convinced the producer, director William Wyler, and actor Stephen Boyd that none of the rest of the film’s high drama involving the relationship would make any sense if there weren’t strong hints that the two had been knocking sandals. Everyone was in on the bit, except for Heston (who was pissed when he found out about it decades later, calling the suggestion an insult to the director). You can stream Ben-Hur on Tubi or rent it from Prime Video.
The more recent Haunting of Hill House Netflix series, also based on the Shirley Jackson novel, made the subtext text, but the gay vibes between chic and sassy Theo (Claire Bloom) and repressed, mousy Eleanor (Julie Harris) radiate through the early ‘60s original. Theo rebuffs the men who flirt with her in favor of making eyes at shy Eleanor, the two forming a charmingly traditional idea of a lesbian couple: one glamorous and fashion-conscious, the other more of an awkward tomboy. You can rent The Haunting from Prime Video.
A low-budget cult classic with a tone that’s absolutely all over the place, Fear No Evil follows a somewhat effete young man (Stefan Arngrim) who slowly comes to learn that he’s the literal antichrist. He’s bullied relentlessly by the middle-aged actors playing high school jocks, who love nothing more than to strip down to their buff, bare asses and case him around locker rooms (so many male butts on display!). When he finally comes into his own as a Satan figure, our hero announces it by throwing on some make-up and getting revenge. The movie muddles its message; we’re not necessarily meant to cheer for gay Satan climactic rampage, but plenty of viewers have. You can stream Fear No Evil on Tubi and Prime Video.
The subtext here comes through so strongly that it can hardly even be considered subtext, but back in 1985, plenty of straight audiences still missed it. There’s a role-reversal in the film’s basic premise, which puts Jesse (Mark Patton) in the position that would be taken up by the “final girl” in most slasher films of the era. Freddy toys with Jesse, at one point caressing his lips with those finger blades; Jesse flees from danger and his girlfriend in equal distress, and nearly always half-clothed. He runs into his gym teacher in a leather bar, and that same jerk later gets bare-ass spanked to death in a locker room. As a metaphor for the torments of being a closeted teen, you could do a lot worse. You can rent Freddy’s Revenge from Prime Video.
When Chris Sarandon and Jonathan Stark move in next door, it’s the usual formula: “I did hear he’s got a live-in carpenter. With my luck, he’s probably gay,” says the main character’s mom. It’s usually “friends” or “roommates,” so “live-in carpenter” is an innovation, but it’s not hard to see what’s really going on. The two turn out to be vampire and familiar, but they share an easy rapport and a genuine concern for each other—a picture of a healthy, supportive relationship, even if they are evil vampires. You can rent Fright Night from Prime Video.
Coming out in the military in 1986 would have seen one dishonorably discharged, which is surely why Top Gun takes a time out, every so often, to reinforce the fact that Tom Cruise really, really likes kissing Kelly McGillis—even though the movie’s central relationship, and heat, is found between Cruise’s Maverick and Val Kilmer’s Iceman. The rest of the movie? Frequently shirtless, often sweaty (well, oiled) Navy boys do things like play volleyball to Kenny Loggins’ “Playing with the Boys,” with sample dialogue including lines like: “I want somebody’s butt! I want it now!” and “I’d like to bust your butt, but I can’t!” Late director Tony Scott copped to using books of gay beefcake photography as his primary reference for how to photograph the movie’s man meat—which probably explains the proliferation of slightly porny mustaches. You can stream Top Gun on Paramount+ and Prime Video.
There’s a lot going on here, and I’m not sure how much of it was intentional (out director Joel Schumacher, later of Batman & Robin, wasn’t known for subtlety). Leather-clad bad boys who want nothing more than to suck (the blood) of slightly more straight-laced teenagers, with a climax that turns on vampiric seduction; a poster of a sweaty Rob Lowe placed prominently in Corey Haim’s room without explanation; that oiled and gyrating sax man, who almost singlehandedly queers the entire film. It’s not straight, I’ll tell you that. You can rent The Lost Boys from Prime Video.
Writer/director Walter Hiller described Red Heat as a “love story” between devoted cops played by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jim Belushi, and though I’m not sure he meant it literally, you wouldn’t have to alter much of the screenplay to make their relationship explicit. This one serves as a stand-in for a lot of hyper-violent, hyper-masculine movies of the 1980s (many of them featuring Schwarzenegger): full of the kind of sweaty man-on-man action that you’d expect, with an entire opening sequence that takes place at a bath house. It’s co-ed, but the male characters are overwhelmingly the focus, fighting in coverings that could barely be described as loincloths. You can rent Red Heat from Prime Video.
As with Hitchcock’s Rope, Scream screenwriter Kevin Williamson was inspired, in part, by murderous couple Leopold and Loeb when he created the movies-and-murder-obsessed duo of Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) and Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard). Even before he spoke about it explicitly in interviews, however, queer fans got it; at the very least, Stu is obviously way into Billy. You can stream Scream on Max or rent it from Prime Video.
Start with the generally camp sensibilities of gay director Joel Schumacher (who once claimed to have had sex with tens of thousands of men during his life; not that queer cred is a function of mathematics…but damn), and throw in a batsuit with pronounced nipples, a massive codpiece, and deeper-than-strictly-necessary ass cleavage, and you’ve got a recipe for the gayest superhero epic ever. And that’s all before George Clooney’s Batman adopts a nearly grown man only nine years his junior. You can stream Batman & Robin on Max or rent it from Prime Video.
There’s a point at which hyper-masculinity starts to look an awful lot like homoeroticism, and you have to wonder how many sweaty, shirtless men you can literally toss together in a space that excludes women entirely before it starts to look like a gay club. Oh, and let’s make sure not to mention anything that goes on here to our wives, girlfriends, or co-workers. You can stream Fight Club on Hulu and Max or rent it from Prime Video.
Beloved by cinema kids and dudebros alike, The Matrix broke ground back in 1999 for its blend of trippy philosophizing and fast-paced (and sometimes veeeery slow-paced) action, but there was something else going on under the surface, with themes speaking to the experience of trans people who saw in its fable of transformation from an artificial outward image (life in the Matrix) to one that’s truly authentic (awakenening in the real world) as a mirror for the challenges of gender dysphoria. Its story of breaking free from societal constraints has inspired thoughtful analysis and appealed to some of the worst people imaginable (when Elon Musk and Ivanka Trump invoked the film’s “red pill” imagery, co-director Lilly Wachowski famously responded with a hearty “Fuck both of you”). Sometimes queer themes emerge from art without much conscious thought on the parts of the creators, but Lily Wachowski has been clear that the trans allegory was always part of this very dense soup. You can stream The Matrix on MGM+ and Peacock or rent it from Prime Video.
Rumor has long held that, as originally conceived, football teammates Jess (Parminder Nagra) and Jules (Keira Knightley) were intended to end up together in a romantic sense, but that changes were made in deference to more conservative American and Indian audiences. Even without that, though, the chemistry between the two star players is palpable, and the moments of hand-holding and even kissing allow for more romantic readings of this above-average entry in the underdogs-win-at-sports genre. You can stream Bend It Like Beckham on Disney+ and Hulu or rent it from Prime Video.
If the characters of Sam and Frodo were of different genders, it would be almost impossible not to view their relationship through a romantic lens. Even if we dodge queer readings, though, it’s certainly the case that their story (as in the novels) is a model of male intimacy rare enough in film as to be almost nonexistent. The trilogy is full of male relationships that are almost shockingly supportive and healthy—Sam and Frodo hold hands, cuddle, and literally carry each other at various points. The wise old drag-queen-as-mentor is an age-old trope of explicitly gay movies, and, though his wardrobe is limited, Ian McKellen’s Gandalf, with his luxuriant hair and mid-trilogy glow-up, fits the role flawlessly. You can stream Return of the King on Max and Prime Video.
I’m cautious about reading queer themes into any given male-male bromance—men can just be friends (or so I’m told), and there aren’t exactly a ton of great cultural models for healthy male intimacy. But then something like 2 Fast 2 Furious zooms along, with its two leads displaying such sweaty, sassy chemistry alongside Eva Mendes’ Agent Monica Fuentes (she refers to them as “girlies”) that the whole thing plays like a bisexual fever dream. Paul Walker is Brian O’Conner, returning from the first movie as a disgraced LAPD officer tasked with teaming up with his old friend (or more than friend?) Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson). The two spend the entire movie bickering, wrestling, and putting each other in ostensibly no-homo headlocks while Brian struggles with his attraction to Agent Fuentes, knowing that it will hurt Roman. A key moment comes when Brian does that stare-and-drive flirt thing that we see in car movies; he drives at top speed while never taking his eyes off of Monica. When it’s all done, Roman cattily pronounces: “he got that from me.” You can rent 2 Fast 2 Furious from Prime Video.
300 practically screams “no homo!” whenever Leonidas or some other nearly naked character talks about the general hardness of the Spartans, but Zack Snyder’s comic book-based breakthrough is also literally every fetish party I’ve ever been to. There’s nothing new in the queer-coding of the heavily made-up and bejeweled Persians (the orientalist stereotypes about easterners and their decadent, feminine ways wouldn’t surprise the ancient Greeks), but that feels like a movie missing its own point, while also wildly overestimating the heterosexuality of the ancient Spartans. You can stream 300 on MGM+ or rent it from Prime Video.
The story of four young men (oddly old for high schoolers) who are descended from witches and have to fight some kind of evil or something…the plot doesn’t really matter, and the movie’s not very good. But it is an unintentional cult classic, one in which a series of soon-to-be-famous guys do a Craft-lite, but with more locker room scenes. A movie doesn’t have to be good to subvert the typical male gaze of the genre; it’s nice to see the camera leering at the men for once. You can stream The Covenant on Prime Video.
Let it go, Elsa. It’s partly that Elsa is hiding a secret about which she’s terrified that people will discover, and the subsequently joyous sense of liberation that she experiences when she finally does own her power. That all speaks to queer people, but there’s also the fact that there’s no love interest for Elsa in Frozen, when the story of pretty much every other Disney princess has been centered around getting a boyfriend. Frozen 2 left the question of Elsa’s romantic interests open, which feels like a teeny-tiny step forward for a company that’s notoriously desperate not to offend its straight audience. Plus, that climax where she races across the sea on her magic horse is super gay. You can stream Frozen on Disney+ or rent it from Prime Video.
The Babadook became a gay icon quite by accident. Though there had been a bit of social media discourse on the topic previously, it all exploded when Netflix lumped the movie into its LGBTQ category for no particular reason. Queer readings were suddenly validated—and fairly, I think. Though on the surface, The Babadook represents grief and the dangers of trying to sweep trauma under the rug, he works every bit as well as a metaphor for closeting. With flawlessly goth style, he torments a mother and young son who try to ignore him and pretend he isn’t real. The more mom tries to shove him back into the metaphorical closet, the more horror he inflicts. It’s only through acceptance that their small family has any hope at all of moving forward. You can stream The Babadook on AMC+, Kanopy, Shudder, Mubi, and Pluto TV or rent it from Prime Video.
Fans felt a great disturbance in the Force around the release of The Force Awakens in 2015, but the millions of voices that were set to applaud the acknowledgement that gay people might exist in Star Wars were slowly, agonizingly silenced. The chemistry between then-new characters Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and Finn (John Boyega) seemed to go well beyond friendship, and the movie (and it’s direct sequel, The Last Jedi) left open the possibility that there might be more. Alas, the final film in the trilogy introduced heterosexual love interests for both the men, despite both actors strongly suggesting that they would have preferred to play a romantic relationship; given that The Rise of Skywalker almost entirely wrote out Kelly Marie Tran’s Rose following “fan” resistance to the franchise’s first woman of color and targeted harassment of the actress, the sudden appearance of girlfriends for Poe and Finn feels…very convenient. Bones thrown to the very worst type of SW fan. Still, if one ignores that last movie (not the worst idea), it’s still possible to see the seeds of what might have been a groundbreaking moment for the franchise. You can stream The Force Awakens on Disney+ and Starz or rent it from Prime Video.
Tom Hardy broods his way through Venom, the story of a couple of “roommates” who happen to share a body. Possessed by an alien symbiote, Eddie Brock bickers incessantly with his newfound partner before the two start to learn to appreciate, and maybe even love each other. Just a couple of bros out to fight crime? Maybe, but the chemistry is real, and, when Venom takes over the body of Eddie’s girlfriend Annie (Michelle Williams) in the final act, it’s unclear who exactly is kissing who. Real throuple energy there. You can stream Venom on Disney+ or rent it from Prime Video.
You’ll never convince me that the story of two men who meet-cute during an impromptu coordinated bridge rescue and then proceed to spend every waking minute together except for the ones they spend agonizing over the secrets that might tear them apart is not an action-packed rom-com. These guys love three things: taking off their shirts, fighting colonialism with tigers, and each other. You can stream RRR on Netflix.
Google’s Pixel phones got a big update this week with the release of Android 16 and a batch of Pixel Drop features. Pixels now have enhanced security, new contact features, and improved button navigation. However, some of the most interesting features, like desktop windowing and Material 3 Expressive, are coming later. Another thing that’s coming later, it seems, is a fix for an annoying bug Google introduced a few months back.
Google broke the system dark mode schedule in its March Pixel update and did not address it in time for Android 16. The company confirms a fix is coming, though.
The system-level dark theme arrives in Android 10 to offer a less eye-searing option, which is particularly handy in dark environments. It took a while for even Google’s apps to fully adopt this feature, but support is solid five years later. Google even offers a scheduling feature to switch between light and dark mode at custom times or based on sunrise/sunset. However, the scheduling feature was busted in the March update.
Anker has issued a recall for its PowerCore 10000 power bank (model A1263) due to a “potential issue with the lithium-ion battery” that could pose a fire safety risk. An anonymous reader adds: The company has received 19 reports of fires and explosions that have caused minor burn injuries and resulted in property damage totaling over $60,700, according to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (USCPSC).
The recall covers about 1,158,000 units that were sold online through Amazon, Newegg, and eBay between June 2016 and December 2022. The affected batteries can be identified by the Anker logo engraved on the side with the model number A1263 printed on the bottom edge. However, Anker is only recalling units sold in the US with qualifying serial numbers. To check if yours is included, you’ll need to visit Anker’s website.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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Grilling season is in full effect. Father’s Day is quickly approaching and it’s not too early to plan your Fourth of July—the United States’ unofficial national grilling holiday. And if you’re not celebrating any of that, charring meat outside with good friends is a worthy enough celebration. Whether you’ve hosted a few burger sessions already this summer, or you’ve wheeled in your very first charcoal grill, it’s important to brush up on your safety before you strike a match. Here are the things you should do and the tools you might need, before, during, and after the last dog comes off the grill.
Safety begins before the food starts cooking. Get your grilling area ready by keeping these things in mind:
Placement is key: In the event that a stray spark flies, or a wicked flare-up occurs, you want to be well clear of anything that could catch fire. Grills, especially charcoal grills, should be at least 10 feet away from the house, railings, overhanging tree branches, and anything combustible. For gas grills, check your city’s fire code for distance minimums. (Here’s the NYC grilling “tool kit”.) After browsing a few different fire codes, 10 feet seems to be the way to go. Make sure you’re grilling in an outdoor, open area so no carbon monoxide can build up. If you’re grilling under a tent—technically you shouldn’t be—the top should be 10 feet high, and it should be one without walls so air can flow freely.
Establish a safety zone: With kids running around and dogs catching frisbees across the yard, it’s easy to get caught up in the moment. It doesn’t hurt to establish a defined circle around your grill that’s a “no-go zone.” Use bright colorful chalk for concrete, environmentally friendly field marking spray for grass, or just set up a ring of coolers so kids don’t wander in unknowingly.
Get the fire extinguisher ready: Of course, you have a fire extinguisher, right? Get one. Get two. It’s a small price to pay for safety, and you’d be kicking yourself for not spending 30 bucks if you suddenly had to pay $3,000 for siding repairs. Put the fire extinguisher in an obvious place so you and everyone else knows where to find it if there’s an emergency.
OK, it’s time for the main event. While you’re grilling, remember to:
Open the lid before lighting: Gas can build up under the domed lid of your gas grill if you keep the lid down. Before clicking the ignition button, make sure the lid is open. Not only does this allow any built up gas to dissipate, but you’ll be able to check out how the flames are doing.
Use a charcoal chimney: Charcoal grills don’t have an ignition button, and that’s the beauty of it all. Instead of dousing your briquettes in lighter fluid, which can flare up (and later possibly cause your food to taste of fumes), use a chimney. They’re fast, simple, and safe to use. Not only do well-seasoned grill masters use them, but they’re a good way to build confidence as a novice. Plus you can grill veggies right on top of the chimney while you wait for the charcoals to get ready. While you’re at it, you’ll need these too—extra long grill matches and biomass chimney starter bricks.
Clean your grill: Not only does your food deserve to taste its best (not seared with old grease and potential bacterial build-up), but giving your grill a clean before adding your fresh food can reduce grease fires. Here’s a harrowing tale with tips on deep-cleaning your gas grill, and a less scary situation with tips on cleaning your charcoal grill. Aside from deep-cleans done once a month or so depending on your grilling proclivities, every grilling session you should scrub the grates after heating up the grill but before adding your food. That way the oils and crud have warmed up and they’ll be more likely to budge. While some folks use grill brushes, my family fears loose wire bristles, so we’ve always used wadded up aluminum foil clenched by long grill tongs. Simply scrub the balled-up foil along each grate bar before adding food.
Don’t wander off: Any time you have an open flame, you should be close enough to keep an eye on it. If that goes for your vanilla-chai scented candles, it definitely goes for grills.
Your burgers and dogs are cooked to perfection! But your job is not yet complete. Now you need to:
Clean your grill… again: You may have scrubbed your grates before grilling, but it won’t hurt to clean it up again. This is especially true and considerate if you’re using a shared grill like in a public park. Use that foil trick or a sturdy (bristle-free) brush.
Dispose of your coals properly: Once the coals and ashes are completely cool, you can wrap them in aluminum foil and put them in a metal can with a tight fitting lid. This could be a small coffee can, or a metal trash can that you use specifically for this purpose. Public parks should already have cans like this nearby. Make sure the coals are in an outdoor trash can for pickup.
Once you have the right tools by your side and you’ve checked these cautionary items off your mental checklist, you’ll be ready for a heck of a grilling season.
A remake of the original Silent Hill is in development, it was revealed during Konami’s Press Start stream on Thursday. An image announcing that another Silent Hill game from developer Bloober Team was in the works appeared during the stream. It was accompanied by music from the first game in the series. The official Japanese Silent Hill account on X later clarified that Bloober is modernizing the original 1999 entry.
Back in February, it emerged that Bloober is making a new title based on Konami’s intellectual property. The two companies previously worked on a remake of Silent Hill 2, which was released in October and, by January, had sold more than 2 million copies. It was also one of our favorite games of 2024.
The Fear Of Blood Tends To Create Fear For The Flesh…#SILENTHILL #KonamiPressStart pic.twitter.com/wlKYdOnX79
— Konami (@Konami) June 12, 2025
So, going back to the game that started it all makes a lot of sense. Konami and Bloober haven’t revealed any other details about the remake yet, such as when it’s likely to arrive.
There was plenty more on offer during Konami’s showcase, including a behind-the-scenes developer diary for Silent Hill f. The first game in the series to be set in Japan will drop on September 25.
Before that, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater (a remake of MGS 3) will hit PS5, PC and Xbox Series X/S on August 28. Konami revealed on the stream that the Xbox version will include gameplay from the Bomberman series — the PlayStation and Steam variants have an Ape Escape tie-in. It also emerged that Metal Gear Solid Delta will have a brand-new multiplayer mode called Fox Hunt. This is a camouflage-based hide and seek mode that builds on the stealth aspect of the series. You can expect more details on that soon.
Press Start included looks at some other games, such as Suikoden Star Leap (a new RPG adventure set in the world of Suikoden for PC and mobile). Suikoden I&II HD Remasters are getting upgrades on Nintendo Switch 2 as well. A demo for action RPG Edens Zero (based on a manga and anime of the same name) has dropped, while there was a peek at action-adventure platformer Darwin’s Paradox, in which you play as an octopus.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/konami-and-bloober-team-are-remaking-the-original-silent-hill-160629432.html?src=rss
Agriculture equipment giant Deere must face a lawsuit by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission accusing the company of forcing farmers to use its authorized dealer network and driving up their costs for parts and repairs, a U.S. judge has ruled. From a report: U.S. District Judge Iain Johnston in the federal court in Rockford, Illinois on Monday ruled for now to reject, opens new tab Deere’s effort to end the lawsuit, which was filed at the end of Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration in January.
The lawsuit alleges Deere is violating federal antitrust law by controlling too tightly where and how farmers can get their equipment repaired, allowing the Illinois-based company to charge artificially higher prices. The FTC was joined in its lawsuit by Michigan, Wisconsin and three other U.S. states.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Microsoft has begun rolling out a major update for Copilot. Starting today, Windows 10 and 11 users in the US can try out the assistant’s Vision feature. The tool allows you to share up to two apps with Copilot, so that you can then chat about what it sees. “[Copilot Vision] acts as your second set of eyes, able to analyze content, help when you’re lost, provide insights, and answer your questions as you go,” Microsoft says.
Additionally, with its new Highlights functionality, Copilot can even show you how to complete a specific task within an app. To try out Copilot Vision, open the Copilot app on your computer, click the glasses icon in the composer window and then select the browser or apps you want to share. You can stop sharing at any time by pressing “Stop” or “X” within the prompt dialogue. Microsoft says Windows users in non-European countries can look forward to the feature rolling out to their computers soon.
Microsoft began testing Copilot Vision with Copilot Pro subscribers in October. Following the contentious launch of Copilot’s Recall feature, the company took a more careful approach with Vision by making it something testers had to manually activate and limited to a select list of websites. Now the company is expanding the available functionality before rolling it out to other markets.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/microsofts-copilot-vision-ai-helper-is-now-available-on-windows-in-the-us-160034369.html?src=rss
You don’t have to make a huge effort planning Instagram posts anymore so that your profile takes on a certain aesthetic or so that your grid reads or looks a certain way. Instagram will soon (and finally) let you re-order the posts already on your grid. Alessandro Paluzzi, who reverse engineered apps and posted upcoming features online, found an “edit grid” option within Instagram way back in 2022. Instagram didn’t say when exactly the feature will be available, but when you do get the edit grid option, tapping it will take you to a screen where you can rearrange your posts in the way you want them to appear on your profile.
In the post announcement from Instagram head Adam Mosseri, he also revealed that Instagram is “exploring a way” that will allow you to post to your account without broadcasting it to your followers’ feeds. The idea is to make posting less intimidating and to allow you to keep your account active without the pressure. Mosseri also didn’t say when the feature is rolling out, but take note that his post is about Instagram’s investments in creativity for this year.
Finally, the Instagram head announced that trial Reels are now available to everyone. Trial Reels will allow you to publish Reels that bypass your followers’ feeds. Those Reels are then recommended to non-followers instead, since the feature’s original purpose was to give creators a way to experiment with new types of content that could alienate their current audience. Mosseri said that the hope is for trial Reels to “give everyone greater freedom to explore their creativity in a low-pressure way.”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/instagram-will-soon-let-you-re-arrange-your-grid-160011925.html?src=rss
Do you remember the Pirelli Cyber Tire? No, it’s not an angular nightmare clad in stainless steel. Rather, it’s a sensor-equipped tire that can inform the car it’s fitted to what’s happening, both with the tire itself and the road it’s passing over. The technology has slowly been making its way into the real world, starting with rarified stuff like the McLaren Artura. Now, Pirelli is going to put some Cyber Tires to work for everybody, not just supercar drivers, in a new pilot program with the regional government of Apulia in Italy.
The Cyber Tire has a sensor to monitor temperature and pressure, using Bluetooth Low Energy to communicate with the car. The electronics are able to withstand more than 3,500 G as part of life on the road, and a 0.3-oz (10 g) battery keeps everything running for the life of the tire.
The idea was to develop a better tire pressure monitoring system, one that could tell the car exactly what kind of tire—summer, winter, all-season, and so on—was fitted, and even its state of wear, allowing the car to adapt its settings appropriately. But other applications suggested themselves—at a recent CES, Pirelli showed how a Cyber Tire could warn other road users about aquaplaning. Then again, we’ve been waiting more than a decade for vehicle-to-vehicle communication to make a difference in daily driving to no avail.
If you’ve got a Pixel phone, you should find Google has now pushed out both Android 16 and the June 2025 Pixel Drop to it, which brings you several significant new features to make use of. One of those new features is Pixel VIPs: It lets you grant Very Important Person status to a select number of your contacts, giving them privileges that include being able to override your active Do Not Disturb settings.
This helps solve the main worry with Do Not Disturb: You might miss a call or a text about something important. There’s always a chance that some emergency could happen when you’ve blocked incoming alerts, but Pixel VIPs gives you a way to make sure the most significant people in your life can still get through.
If you’re not familiar, the Do Not Disturb options on a Pixel can be found by opening the main Settings app, then tapping Modes. The Do Not Disturb mode is listed alongside any other variations you’ve set up—for bedtime or for driving, for example. Tap Do Not Disturb, and you can turn it on or off manually, set it to run on a schedule, and choose which contacts, apps, and alarms are allowed to override it.
Before Pixel VIPs, your choices for allowing communications with Do Not Disturb were all your contacts, none of your contacts, or your starred contacts: There wasn’t much scope for creating a customized list. Pixel VIPs improves on that, enabling you to create a new level of super-starred people with some extra features included.
To get started with Pixel VIPs (if indeed the update has reached you), open the Contacts app, switch to the Organize tab, then tap on Pixel VIPs. Tap Next on the introductory blurb, and you get to choose up to eight different contacts for the privilege: You’ll see some suggestions on screen and you can tap on Add to see your full contacts list.
Tap Next to move on, and you can then give the Pixel VIPs feature permission to access your SMS conversations, your WhatsApp chats, and your location—all of this information is kept private to you, and it’s worth mentioning that your contacts won’t know you’ve selected them as Pixel VIPs either.
When you’ve worked your way through the setup wizard, you get shown a preview of the Pixel VIPs home screen widget. You can choose Add to home screen right away, or add it later by long pressing on a blank part of the home screen, then tapping Widgets. The VIPs widget is under the Contacts heading.
The widget will start out as a 4 x 1 block, but you can change the size by tapping and holding on the widget, then using the handles around the edges. You can also tap the pen icon (lower right) to get back to the Pixel VIPs screen for managing included contacts and permissions.
Tap on any contact on the widget, and you get to a special Pixel VIPs page for that person. You can see your recent messages from that person, their current location if you’ve chosen to share it through Find My Device or Google Maps, and any other details, like their birthday, that you may have stored.
There’s also a Notes section here, if you need to jot down a reminder or a memo about someone: Google suggests you could put birthday gift ideas in here. There’s even a box of suggestions for things you might want to do with this person, such as watch a movie or visit a restaurant. You can tweak these suggestions via the slider button on the right.
When it comes to the Do Not Disturb settings, nothing has changed, except that Pixel VIPs are automatically added to your starred contacts. Google doesn’t exactly make it clear, but as far as I can tell, you still need to select your starred contacts on the actual Do Not Disturb screen mentioned above—it’s not enough to simply select someone as a Pixel VIP, but it does give you an easier way of managing this privileged list of people.
I can see Pixel VIPs being a useful way of managing important contacts, and it would be nice to see additional integrations with more apps here—though that does depend on the app developers as well as Google. For now, it’s earned a place on my home screen.
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The abstract of a study on NBER: We examine the performance of startups co-founded by immigrant and native teams. Leveraging unique data linking startups to founders’ and employees’ employment and education histories, we find native-migrant teams outperform native-only and migrant-only teams.
Native-migrant startups have larger employment three years after founding, are more likely to secure funding, access larger funding rounds, and achieve more successful exits. An instrumental variables strategy based on native shares in university-degree programs confirms native-migrant teams are larger and more likely to receive funding. Superior access to diverse labor pools, successful VCs, and expanded product markets are key factors in driving native-migrant outperformance.
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You don’t have to be a dad to score some big discounts on tools for Father’s Day. Anyone is allowed to shop for additions to their home shop or DIY maintenance tool set during Father’s Day sales going on right now on Amazon, so even if you’re not shopping for a gift, you can save on cordless tools, yard and garden equipment, and accessories. Since these items can be expensive to buy, much of the time, getting a deal can mean that your DIY budget remains intact, even if you want some fancy new impact drill bits or a cordless chainsaw.
Cordless tool sets are an essential part of any DIY toolkit, and getting a good-quality tool that will last a long time can help you save money in both the short and long term.
The DeWalt 20-volt drill and impact driver set is on sale for $149, 43% off its regular price. This set includes a drill, an impact driver, two batteries, a charger, and a tool bag. This drill/driver set comes with everything you need to get started drilling holes and driving hardware, except for the bits.
The DeWalt 20-volt oscillating tool is on sale for $94.99, 50% off its usual price. This is a tool-only deal and doesn’t include a battery or a charger, so you’ll need those in order to use it. An oscillating tool is great for plunge-cutting, trimming at odd angles, and sanding in tight corners, as well as several other functions. It’s one of the most versatile tools in the cordless kit and has a wide variety of applications.
The Milwaukee cordless 18-volt router is on sale for $145, 42% off its typical price. This is a compact router, good for finishing edges on shelving, moulding, and other woodworking projects. This is a tool-only deal, so you’ll need router bits, a battery, and a charger to use it.
From cleaning off patio furniture to cutting branches, outdoor cordless power tools can be indispensable.
The Makita 14-inch, 20-volt cordless chainsaw is on sale for $399.62, 41% off its regular price. This tool comes with two 5-amp-hour, 20-volt batteries and a charger, so you can use it right out of the box if you have some bar and chain oil. The blade can handle branches up to 12 inches in diameter.
The Ryobi 18-volt cordless 100mph leaf blower is on sale for $152.99, 30% off its regular price. This tool comes with a 4-amp-hour battery and a charger, so you have everything you need to start blowing leaves. A leaf blower is good for more than just leaves, and can be used to dust off your projects in your home shop as well.
The Greenworks 40-volt, 150mph leaf blower is on sale for $30, 50% off its typical price. This blower has a tapered tip for more precise aim and can operate at multiple speeds. This is a tool-only deal, so you’ll need a Greenworks-compatible battery and charger to use it.
An often overlooked but also pricey component of cordless tools is their batteries and accessories. Although these things seem small, they can really add up in price, and you can’t do much without them.
A DeWalt 8-amp-hour, 20-volt battery is on sale for $149, 32% off its regular price. This battery has a larger capacity than traditional tool batteries and will last for several continuous hours of use without needing a charge. This battery type is especially useful if you are using your tools farther from a power source or in an emergency kit.
The Bosch 21-piece multimaterial drill bit set is on sale for $24.99, 51% off its usual price. This set includes 21 bits ranging in size from 1/16th inch to 1/2inch. This is a good set for basic home maintenance tasks.
The DeWalt 29-piece pilot point drill bit set is on sale for $73.15, 45% off its typical price. This set includes bits that range in size from 1/16-inch to ½-inch, and they have a tapered pilot point, good for preventing your bit from wandering while you are starting to drill. These bits are made from titanium and come with a metal carrying case and index.
Just in time for a last-minute Father’s Day gift (or perhaps a little treat for yourself, because you deserve nice things), Apple‘s AirPods 4 have dropped back down to their lowest price to date. You can snap up a pair for $99. That’s $30 off the list price.
This discount is for the base version of the earbuds without active noise cancellation (ANC). All the same, this is a good deal on our pick for the best budget AirPods, especially if foregoing ANC doesn’t bother you too much.
We gave the AirPods 4 a score of 88 in our review. The improved fit and comfort, and upgraded sound quality compared with the previous version are definite plus points.
The AirPods 4 include features seen in the higher end AirPods Pro 2 but, unfortunately, not that model’s onboard volume controls. The lack of wireless charging and Apple’s Conversation Awareness feature are also negatives.
However, due in large part to the H2 chip that’s included in the AirPods 4 (the same one that powers AirPods Pro 2), you’ll get features such as Personalized Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking, “cinema-quality” audio for FaceTime, Adaptive EQ and Voice Isolation (which helps eliminate background noise). With Siri Interactions, you can nod or shake your head to accept or reject calls, and respond to or dismiss messages and notifications.
When Apple rolls out iOS 26, iPadOS 26 and macOS Tahoe 26 this fall, the company will release a firmware update for AirPods 4 (as well as AirPods 4 with ANC and the second-gen AirPods Pro). This update will bring new features to the earbuds, such as the ability to use them to control iPhone and iPad cameras. Apple is also promising “studio quality recording” that should help creators better capture sound, even in noisy environments. Audio quality upgrades are on the way too.
Check out our coverage of the best Apple deals for more discounts, and follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/apples-airpods-4-earbuds-are-cheaper-than-ever-right-now-144223181.html?src=rss
If you’re looking for a versatile new wireless controller that isn’t exclusive to a particular platform, 8BitDo’s various pads are always worth considering. And Amazon’s current deal on the brand’s Ultimate 2C Wireless Controller is nearly the cheapest we’ve seen. Right now, if you pick up the controller in either its Purple or Green colorways, you’ll pay $25.49, as opposed to $30 or above (the special edition Black Wukong version costs $35) for the other available colors. The lowest price we’ve ever seen this model at is $25.
If you’re a console gamer you’ll need to look elsewhere, but the Ultimate 2C plays nice with Android devices and Windows PCs, connecting either via Bluetooth in the case of the former, or over 2.4G or a wired connection for PC. There’s also a mode switch button to make it easy to hop between devices. The controller offers extra bumpers that sit next to the standard left and right bumpers, and these can be remapped without the need for additional software, while the Hall Effect joysticks are precise and reassuringly durable.
The Ultimate 2C is compatible with devices running Windows 10 and above, and Android 9.0 or above. You can expect 32 hours of playtime over a Bluetooth connection, or 19 hours when using the wireless 2.4G adapter.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/8bitdos-ultimate-2c-controller-drops-to-25-144020474.html?src=rss
The World Bank is lifting its decades-long ban on financing nuclear energy, in a policy shift aimed at accelerating development of the low-emissions technology to meet surging electricity demand in the developing world. From a report: In an email to staff on Wednesday, Ajay Banga, the World Bank president, said it would “begin to re-enter the nuclear energy space” [non-paywalled source] in partnership with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog which works to prevent proliferation of nuclear weapons.
“We will support efforts to extend the life ofÂexisting reactors in countries that already have them, and help support grid upgrades andÂrelated infrastructure,” the email said. The shift follows advocacy from the pro-nuclear Trump administration and a change of government in Germany, which previously opposed financing atomic energy due to domestic political opposition to the technology. It is part of a wider strategy aimed at tackling an expected doubling of electricity demand in the developing world by 2035. Meeting this demand would require annual investment in generation, grids and storage to rise from $280 billion today to $630 billion, Banga said in the memo seen by the Financial Times.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
