Wayne Rooney Deletes Man U From Twitter Bio Amid Controversy

By Sam Laird2013-05-09 23:58:49 UTC

There was a time, not so long ago, when pro sports stars who were disenchanted with their occupational situations had just a few choices. Among those options: suffer in silence, approach management behind closed doors and hope for the best, or wage an ugly public relations campaign for a change of scenery.

Twitter, however, has added some new and deliciously passive-aggressive possibilities to the mix.

Take English soccer star Wayne Rooney, for example. The striker has played for legendary club Manchester United since 2004, but late last month reportedly told management he wants out this summer. Management, in turn, has insisted it won't get rid of him.

Rooney hasn't commented on that, but recently did make a subtle — yet potentially significant — change to his Twitter bio. What used to read, in part, "Manchester United player" now simply looks like this:

Does Rooney know for a fact that he's played his last Man U match? Is this a simple act of dissent? Or is the move just a benign symptom of his exasperation with the club?

Either way, he's not the first high-profile athlete whose Twitter bio omission has been viewed as a public statement. Back in October, Lance Armstrong removed the line "7-time Tour de France winner" from his own Twitter profile as the International Cycling Union mounted its doping case against him and nullified much of his official legacy in the sport.

Homepage image courtesy Flickr, Andrea Sartorati

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Party On, Wayne — FlashFlow Syncs Lights to Music

Eric Larson2013-04-20 20:36:11 UTC

Who's got the time and money for dance clubs when you can keep the party at home with FlashFlow?

A Kickstarter project is currently raising funds for FlashFlow, a gadget that syncs your lights — lamps, string lights or whatever else you've got — to your music playlists. According to its creator, the device listens to whichever song is playing and reprograms itself in real-time to flash the lights it's connected to based on the volume, tempo and frequency of the audio.

The gadget, pictured below, has outlets and jacks on both sides to connect your lights with your music device, and can power up to 150 40-watt light bulbs. It also syncs to video game audio — in the project's Kickstarter video, Call of Duty is played as the lights in the room flicker on and off with each explosion and gun shot.

At time of writing, the project was about $3,000 into its $20,000 goal, with 27 days left to donate. Watch the video above to learn more.

Would you use this in your house? Tell us what you think about it in the comments.

Thumbnail image courtesy of Flickr, puuikibeach; above image courtesy of Matthew Ryder

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