Remember Miniclip? Online servers have officially shutdown

Oct 21 2022

Miniclip was an online goldmine of internet games – recall the likes of 8 Ball Pool and Save the Sheriff as just two of the thousands of gems on the site.

A website many of us sneakily accessed during IT classes, that nostalgia may have been lost forever as Miniclip online servers have officially been shut down.

This means that almost all of their games have become no longer playable from now on. While the company itself isn’t dying out, the site attracting millions of users may no longer have any games for people to enjoy.

If you go to the website as of yet, the only browser games available are 8 Ball Pool and Agar.io, with everything else practically having disappeared.

The move was carried out earlier this year, but many did not notice this until only recently. And it’s no temporary anomaly as Miniclip have announced that they have no plans on bringing back other games online.

They will be largely selling mobile games from here on out, saying that since the launch of their mobile games department in 2010, they’d see more of their users pick up apps of their most popular games to play on their phone.

Following the brief heart attack that was Cartoon Netwrork, this one seems to be a real loss of a big part of our nostalgic core memories. RIP Miniclip.

#MaltaDaily

Cats on the Menu: Cat Gourmet Butcher page causes uproar on local social media

Oct 21 2022

Local social media was taken by storm after a Facebook page titled ‘Cat Gourmet Butcher’ was launched, sparking many to flood the page’s posts with comments condemning the act of killing cats for meat.

The page introduced the business as a ‘small family-run business, specialising in feline meat. All our produce is currently grown in Poland an France but we are planning to start a local organic farm in Malta in the very near future.’

This did not go down well for many Maltese as the page continued to post – showing off big knives set to be used for butchering the cats as well as promoting their kitten into veal menu option.

However, given the local context, the page could be pure satire. Despite some commenters taking it completely serious, others seem to be in on some joke.

‘Is it enough 1 kitten’ one asked. ‘I usually eat half an adult rabbit.’ Another simply stated: ‘I hope this is a f***ing joke.’ Others were utterly baffled by how the government and the health authorities approved their business.

Others were full on into the ironic comments: ‘Finally, some alternative the usual boring cow, pig and chicken flesh! Can i ask, are they organic? And will kitten flesh be available anytime soon! Absolutely love me some cat bacon.’

Speaking to MaltaDaily, Katerina Younes, the vegan activist and member of Animal Liberation Malta group behind the page, stated that:

There’s a huge hypocrisy around how we treat animals of different species. We wanted to make people realise that the way they felt about these cats is exactly the way vegans feel about any other animals who are being bred and slaughtered solely for people’s taste buds.

We received a massive response, especially from people who identified themselves as animal lovers, who were upset and devastated, including violent threats.

Why do we give certain animals names, take them home with us, love them and cry when they get sick and die, but then stick a number on the ears of other animals and treat them as commodities?

Animals are equal and deserve to be treated equally, the only difference is your perception.

#MaltaDaily

People are losing their minds realising what ‘ASOS’ actually stands for

Oct 21 2022

People are only just now realising what the name of fashion retailer ASOS actually stands for – and no it’s not just an assortment of letters made to sound nice.

Like other words such as GIF or laser (you might want to look those up), ASOS is an acronym based on its original name which was condensed to make it catchier.

And people are only now coming to the realisation via an online trend as is typical of internet culture. It turns out ASOS actually stands for ‘as seen on screen’ [insert mind-blown emoji here].

The fashion brand launched in 2000 and was called As Seen on Screen as the name suggests you could buy versions of clothes which appeared on your favourite TV series, films or commercials.

The brand used to pair with major celebrities and offer up styles worn by these recognisable faces. This would urge people to buy clothes directly from ASOS, having seen their favourite icon donning whatever it may be.

When it expanded its retail, the brand decided that the name would no longer communicate their goals efficiently. Luckily the name could be squashed into a handy and catchy title. So now you know, and you can be ‘that’ person dropping trivia at the party.

#MaltaDaily

5 incredibly-predictable costumes we’re expecting this Halloween weekend

Oct 20 2022

Halloween is almost with us and, while we can’t wait to rock a costume and join in on the spooky celebrations, there are a few looks which we can see coming from a mile away. Of course, Halloween is all about having a good time, but originality always comes with bonus points: here are 5 incredibly-predictable costumes we’re expecting this Halloween weekend.

Stranger Things

Halloween costumes are all about delving into the scary, spooky and supernatural and, considering what a monstrous global hit Stranger Things was, we can’t imagine a Halloween scenario without a Stranger Things costume. Whether you’re going for a classic Eleven look or something a bit different such as Max or Eddie Munson, make sure you look fresh AF whilst Running Up That Hill.

Rabbit/Cat

We’ve seen this costume one too many times. The red make-up, bunny ears and whiskers have been an annual Halloween trope for as long as we can remember and we don’t see things changing anytime soon. Whilst respecting the effort made for an otherwise predictable costume… we do think you could do a little better this year.

Squid Game

This is inevitable: every single year you’re bound to find a handful of people who weren’t in the mood of coming up and shopping for a new Halloween costume, so they just wear what was hot last year. As you know, last year’s Halloween celebrations were dominated by green tracksuits & pink jumpsuits & the probability is that if those same people can’t find the time to shop for a fresh look, they’ll resort to whatever they find from last year.

Harley Quinn

The pop culture influence continues with this one. The past years have truly been a superhero resurgence in films and television series and few came out with the same amount of fanfare as DC’s Suicide Squad and what better costume to wear that the Queen of Crime herself, Harley Quinn. If you are going to wear a Harley Quinn costume, however, make sure you rock a huge mallet as part of the costume.

Jeffrey Dahmer

The mere idea of a costume inspired by the American serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer caused quite a bit of controversy online for its macabre reminder of what went down between the ’70s and ’90s but despite this, we still forecast a few people going ahead with it. Individuals posting photos of themselves costumed-up as the Milwaukee Cannibal received a tonne of backlash and rightly so, so if you’re planning your Halloween costume this year… be aware.

What are YOU dressing up as this year?

#MaltaDaily