A frat threw a "Kanye Western"-themed party and is being faced with charges of racism. The party was a mixer between Sigmi Phi Epsilon and Alpha Phi at UCLA, and took place at the former organization's house. Guys dressed up like Kanye with fake goatees and whatnot, while girls dressed up like Kim using fake butts. After hearing about the party, a group of black students scoped the scene where they saw "a male student wearing blackface." They had it shut down early, but frat members didn't seem entirely apologetic. According to the LA Times:

Kelsee Thomas, a member of the black student union, said students confronted fraternity members at the party. One apologized, but laughed when he was asked to write a letter to the group, she said.

 The outrage grew after some of the pictures were shared on social media:

Both Greek life organizations have been placed on suspension while the university investigates. There was a protest yesterday afternoon, in which students marched to the University Chancellor's office and chanted slogans such as "Black culture is not a theme” and “Black Bruins Matter." The Afrikan Student Union has also called on the university to address problems with racism on UCLA's campus more broadly.

It seems that every week is becoming a bad week for fraternities.

Ellen Pompeo, notable sexy doctor Meredith Grey on Grey's Anatomy, has for some reason become involved in the James Bond Internet drama cycle. Earlier this week, recent James Bond actor Daniel Craig told Time Out he's so "over it" that he'd rather kill himself than play the character in another film.

Can you imagine doing another Bond movie?
‘Now? I’d rather break this glass and slash my wrists. No, not at the moment. Not at all. That’s fine. I’m over it at the moment. We’re done. All I want to do is move on.’

A lot of people thought he could really stand to chill. Including, apparently, Ellen Pompeo. She took to Twitter to finally address this non-issue that has nothing to do with her.

She also acknowledged that actors are often misquoted when they talk to the press, which is a weird, not really true thing that celebrities are constantly talking about. Or are they being misquoted?

Well, this is either a very forced celebrity feud, or a very interesting meet cute.

You might not be the kind of person who sees vaginas everywhere you look, but if you were looking at a frozen sports-themed Morrisons pizza, how could you avoid it? That pepperoni tunnel of love in the center is supposed to be a rugby ball. To most people, it's looking like the "Origin of the World" or a "Front Butt." But the UK grocery chain is like, no no no, we're honoring the World Cup! The Internet contests that:

Is that the most sexual pizza you've ever seen, or what?

Not everyone is catching on to tweeting at Morrisons about the #FannyPizza ("fanny" is a slang term for "vagina" in the UK), but some of their mentions are now unintentionally suggestive:

That's what she said!

A California mom was shocked when her child's Playmobil pirate ship set contained a dark-skinned figure wearing a neck shackle. Ida Lockett noticed it while assembling the gift her son received for his fifth birthday. The character, which appeared to be dark-skinned, with black hair, no shoes and tattered pants, came with instructions to put a gray choker-like piece around its neck. The boy's aunt, Aimee Norman, who purchased the gift for him, posted her concern on Playmobil's Facebook page along with images of the figure, the instructions, and Kunta Kinte from Roots:

I am MORTIFIED to have recently bought your Pirate Ship Set 5135 for my nephew only to hear that when assembling it, they found that its assembly instructions indicate to add the neck cuff/shackle to the black character's neck. I suppose it's optional as to whether a kid chooses to then place said character into chains or into a prison cell at the bottom of the ship. 

The company responded,  explaining that the figure was meant to represent a former slave who became a member of the pirate crew:

The figure was meant to represent a pirate who was a former slave in a historical context. It was not our intention to offend anyone in anyway. If you look at the box, you can see that the pirate figure is clearly a crew member on the pirate ship and not a captive.

This is actually true; on the box the character is up in the crow's nest holding a map and a gun:

It's likely historically accurate that some former slaves became pirates, and also quite understandable that the point could be lost on someone assembling the set for their child. Sometimes people are intentionally racist and it costs them their job. And sometimes things are unfortunately and accidentally racist. 

There was recently a massive traffic jam on a 50-lane highway in China and the aerial footage is unbelievable. It happened on a road right outside Beijing, at a toll both/checkpoint where a massive multi-lane highway transitions into a road with only a few lanes. Everyone was returning to the city from vacation at the same time, and because of the volume of cars and the narrowing of the road, the world's worst bottleneck was formed. Those people better have had some podcasts handy, or they were otherwise stuck playing 9999999 bottles of beer on the wall.

Jared is a 26-year-old autistic man who recently lost his father, and loves the simple pleasures of receiving snail mail to help combat grief. His cousin posted a few pictures of him along with his story on Imgur. Jared's father passed away from cancer last year, and it has been especially difficult for him because his father was his best friend. His verbal and intellectual skills are limited, but receiving mail has always made him happy, and his family thought it could be a good way to bring some joy back to his life.

His family set up a Facebook page for him, where they post updates about all the wonderful messages and gifts Jared has received from new pen pals. He loves the classics: Disney, Mickey Mouse, Scooby Doo, stickers and coloring books.

It's nice when the internet comes together for positive attention and good causes. Be sure to check out the Facebook page for address info and more heartfelt thanks from Jared.

Katie Holmes is so normal. Fame hasn't changed her. She lives a totally regular life just like all of us slobs—sorry, humans—who do our jobs and love our families and try to grow a little bit wiser every single day. For example, here's an Instagram photo of Katie Holmes doing a totally normal thing that many of us have done before: getting on the train at Penn Station in New York City. She's wearing her go-to train clothes, too: a designer dress and high heels. We have all been in this situation and we've all shared basically this exact same Instagram photo.

So what's really going on here? Is she filming a movie? Is she shooting an advertisement? Is she breaking in a new gown? Maybe she's just doing the same thing all of us are: trying to find the way home.

If you've ever come away from a Jane Austen novel and thought, "I wish that had more brain-eating," then you've probably come across Seth Grahame-Greene's parody novel Pride Prejudice and Zombies in your subsequent research. It's basically the classic romantic story of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, but with zombies. Let this be a warning to anyone with ambitions to authorship: your book will one day enter the public domain, where anyone will be able to simply add in whatever monster-of-the-week is fashionable to gnaw on your heroine's face. Still...this trailer looks pretty badass.

If you haven't read the book, but want to watch women stab each other in ball gowns, we won't spoil much for you. But don't expect all your favorite characters to come through this movie intact (cough Charlotte Lucas cough)!

Halloween is not the time to be a contrarian. Holidays are about tradition, particularly when they’re things to look forward to all year long, such as Halloween and Halloween candy. See, kids don’t really have any money, and Halloween allows them to get as much candy as they can carry, one night a year, for free. That means when they knock on your door, give them candy. And make sure it’s the good stuff. Do not give Trick-or-Treaters anything else, or you’ll surely be spending Nov. 1 cleaning eggs and toilet paper off of your house.

7. Coupons.

There was this one house in my neighborhood that always handed out coupons redeemable for a free doughnut at the grocery store. Doughnuts are fantastic; they’re the candy of breakfast, after all. But Halloween is about the now, and about the actual physical candy in the bag. Handing out a coupon, even if it’s for something good, like a doughnut, cookie, or some other treat, is unacceptable. Instead of a treat, you’ve given out an errand.

6. Pennies.

Somehow, with all of the spooktacular displays in stores and Hocus Pocus running on cable around the clock, you somehow forgot it was Halloween. And yet you didn’t turn off the porch light, inviting Trick-or-Treaters to approach, and getting their hopes up, even though you do not have any candy to offer. The price of a piece of fun-size candy works out to, what, a dime? And you’re handing out literal pennies. In this case, nothing is better than something, so instead, shut off the porch light and tell your phone to remind you to buy candy next Oct. 30.

5. Jack T. Chick tracts.

There is a time and place for proselytizing, and Halloween isn’t it. You aren’t going to save any kids from hellfire by angering them when you give them a disturbing comic book about church instead of a mini Snickers.

4. Toothbrushes and toothpaste.

The person that hands out dental hygiene products on Halloween is an especially douchey dentist and/or was once the kid who reminded the teacher when they didn’t assign homework. Plus, it’s a waste of money. Kids are terrible about brushing their teeth 365 days a year, not just on the one night where they get sugary candy. Every neon-colored toothbrush and every miniature tube of “fun-flavored” toothpaste is going straight into the garbage, if not the lawn and mailbox of the person who handed them out.

3. Mary Janes.

These aren't technically candy. Only really old people like these weird peanut/molasses things because it reminds them of their childhood, when everything was terrible. Technically taffy, they’re hard as a rock because no new Mary Janes have been produced since 1911.

2. Raisins.

In general, most kids like raisins. They’re incredibly sweet and you can slam a handful into your mouth and ingest a week’s worth of sugar all at once. Raisins are literally nature’s candy. Put when going head-to-head with actual candy, raisins will lose every time. Raisins aren’t candy—they’re fruit. They are, relatively speaking, healthy. Don’t even try to step on Halloween, raisins…unless you’re covered in chocolate.

1. Sugar-free candy.

Personal note: I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when I was really young, and right before Halloween. So, several of my neighbors bought special sugar-free candy for me, and only me, so I wouldn’t feel left out when I went Trick-or-Treating. This was an incredibly kind and thoughtful gesture and one that really helped me feel “normal” again for the first time since the diagnosis. However, did you know that sugar-free candy makes you shit out all of your insides? Apparently, the artificial sweeteners used in sugar-free candy are so chemically engineered that the human body has no idea what to do with them, and it goes into lockdown mode, which is diarrhea. The ironic part is that while sugar-free candy is technically free of sucrose, the thing we call “sugar,” it is not free of carbohydrates, which means I still had to take insulin for the sugar-free candy, as I would have for regular candy. In other words, I still had to give myself the injection I would for regular candy, but then also, I got diarrhea. And then I had to write a bunch of thank-you notes to my neighbors.

Don’t hand out sugar-free candy.

Yale University just released a big ol' batch of 170,000 photos taken by the Farm Security Administration and Office of War Information between 1935 and 1945. The photos span the country from big cities to small towns, illustrating Americans at work, home, and play. Some people are taking this release of photos as an opportunity to remind us all of how badass our ancestors were, but we prefer to remind you of something different: that our ancestors liked getting sloppy on beer just as much as we do. 

1. Just two normal people and Indiana Jones having a drink in Florida.

2. Pretty sure that the guy on the left is actually David Duchovny. 

3. Aw, man. Can't believe we missed the Huck Shaffer show.

4. They're singing America's traditional drinking song, "Don't Stop Believin'."

5. Tim stood like that for 35 minutes before someone came up and punched him.

6. So many babies were conceived that night.

7. Hopefully, the things hanging from the ceiling are not lighting fixtures, but tiny beer kegs.

8. Well, this man is either drunk or possessed by a demon.

9. The stream is both nature's fridge and nature's toilet.

10.  That kid in the back is SO convinced he's about to get his first beer.

11. "If you didn't want me to sit next to you, Hal, you could just say something."

12. In fact, Jerry's story was dead boring, and they were all just humoring him because they knew he was about to get fired.

13. "Let's toast to the wheat that feeds our families, and the hidden feelings we'll never discuss with them!"

14. Life story of the guy on the right: "First I was one year old. Then, a year later, I was two. A year after that, wouldn't you know... I was three!"

15. Joe Gladski's cellar was off the hook.

There's a big problem with Halloween: you're supposed to stop going trick-or-treating at an age when the desire to go trick-or-treating doesn't really stop. Sure, you can trade running around getting candy in silly costumes for sexy, alcohol-fueled parties, but let's be honest—those parties are nowhere near as fun as the old days. Thankfully, the adults in this list have shown us that growing up and having kids actually lets you revert to your childhood once more, when Halloween was fun and innocent. Let's take a moment to honor them and their amazingly coordinated group costumes that their kids probably didn't consent to.

1. These 'Doctor Who' fans.

2. These Robin Williams devotees.

3. These Minecrafters.

4. This Pokéfamily.

5. These Batman fans.

6. This fairy tale duo.

7. This Ghostbuster and marshmallow man.

8. These 'Adventure Time' Fans.

9. This Super Mario Family.

10. These Dora fans.

11. These bad influences.

12. These 'Finding Nemo' fans.

13. This group of unlikely friends that are on a quest.

14. This other Pokéfamily.

15. This nightmare family.

16. This visual representation of motherhood fears.

17. These X-Filers.

18. These Rugrats.

19. This shark attack.

20. These Adamses.

21. This Ripley.

22. This mythical unifamily.

23. These 'Star Wars' fans.

24. These 'roos.

25. These Avengers.

26. These Flinstoneses.

It's Friday, which means it's time to celebrate the death of another dumb work week. Attack your weekend with the same vim and vigor that Willow the mini pig brings to his life. Splash around in your metaphorical pool of friendships! Run around the yard of free time! Scratch your back up against the folding camp chair of sleeping in! You've been a human tethered to a computer all week; it's time to let your mini-pig play. 

Previously:

• Forget your sh*tty week with this dog that falls asleep standing up.
• Forget your sh*tty week with this bunny eating Doritos.
• Forget your sh*tty week with this partially paralyzed cat that loves to play.

On Wednesday, a suspected car thief in San Francisco climbed onto a third-story window ledge and threatened to jump. Police negotiated with the suicidal man for three hours, but were having little luck talking him down. During the course of the negotiation, however, members of man's family arrived on the scene, and officers discovered that they had brought the man's orange-and-white cat with them. 

Officers took the cat up to the negotiators, who were talking to the man from a fire escape near the window. According to SF Gate, "Using his pet, hostage negotiators were able to persuade him to go back inside the building, come down the stairs and surrender without incident."

They also let the man see his cat before being taken to jail:

If somebody isn't already working on a script about a cat hostage negotiator, Hollywood is broken. I'd do it, but I'm too busy pretending I'm not crying in the office after reading this story.

You might remember Daniel Piece from this heartbreaking video of his family holding what he referred to as a "pray away the gay" intervention last year. Instead of praying away the gay, which is impossible and awful for so many reasons, the "intervention" resulted in the family essentially disowning Daniel, who was only 19 at the time. The good news is that, a year later, Daniel is doing much better. While he's no longer in touch with his family, he has found a loving support net both locally and around the world, and he's been able to put time and money towards helping other LGBT youth dealing with similar family issues. 

You can see Daniel discuss his experience in his own words in this update video from USA Today:

Kanye took to Twitter to unleash some rage about in-app purchases in children's games, specifically because his daughter North managed to accidentally make a few purchases while using an i-Pad. Two-year-olds have been known to do that. In fact, it's pretty much guaranteed that there will be an unintended consequence once you place anything in a young child's hands. Kanye kicked it off with a subtle remark:

That's right, any company. Can you believe that a company would market junk to kids through video games? What's next, trying to sell them stuff in movies? Kanye can't fathom why in-app purchases exist or how easy it is to click buy:

Pay attention, because his last tweet on the matter is important:

Did you catch it? He said "Christ." He referred to a deity other than himself! The internet quickly responded to his crisis, pointing out that parents can turn on controls that prevent those in-app ads from appearing.

Lastly, his wife Kim Kardashian happens to have her own video game app called "Kim Kardashian: Hollywood." And it makes piles of money. And kids play it. And it has in-app advertising where kids can accidentally purchase stuff that's really, really expensive. A future presidential candidate should be better versed in technology and commerce.

Some women convinced their boyfriends to get a bikini wax and have it live forever on the internet. There's nothing quite like men trusting women to remove hair from their body. They must have really screwed up or owed their girlfriends a huge favor. Or perhaps they made the fatal error of guessing aloud that it's not that painful. Surprise! It totally is. Before you criticize a woman, try walking a mile in her shoes. Or take those shoes off, hoist your feet in the air, and get a taste of what it feels like to have all your short and curly hairs yanked out simultaneously.

There's a lot of those half-scream, half-laugh exclamations. And also a few bleeps to edit out the inevitable curse words. In the end, the men said they have serious respect for women that commit to this grooming expenditure on a regular basis.

Amy Schumer received a text she referred to as "hostile" about hosting Saturday Night Live. She's already taken on the haters who want to see her fail in her hosting debut. We're certain she'll be a spectacular host, especially since she's already comfortable being funny on live television. She received the text from a previous host, who enjoys throwing a little shade from time to time. He also enjoys just being little, because the man is Kevin Hart. 

Hey I know your hosting SNL tonight… If you get nervous during your monologue just tell the audience that you know me. I promise it will help. Or you can FaceTime me but I probably wouldn’t be able to pick up because I’m busy doing stuff. Just spit balling here… I’m trying to help… you know what f##k it… you will be fine… I hope.. God bless...K Hart out.

So when Amy said "hostile" she was being sarcastic, because that's what she does best. And while Amy continues to be unstoppable on TV and at the box office, we can also look forward to her forthcoming book.

Disney released some never-before-seen footage of Robin Williams doing voiceover takes as Genie in Aladdin to celebrate the release of the film on Blue-ray Disc. The late actor was remembered fondly for many roles, and yet his improvisational skills, humor, and energy were at full blast when he was in the sound booth. The scenes show several Genie impersonations that did not make the final cut of the movie. 

His role as Genie is always a pleasure to revisit, and one for which he'll always be remembered. Even a few clips of unearthed footage are a treasure, though we'd certainly use all three wishes to see a few more. Three wishes, to be exact. That's it. Three. Uno, dos, tres. No substitutions, exchanges or refunds.