Candy Crush Maker’s IPO Plans and Other Fascinating News on the Web

Candy Crushin’ It

Your addiction to various things digital might be wasting a lot of your time. But it’s paying off in a big way for companies like King Digital Entertainment, the folks behind the wildly popular Candy Crush Saga. King just announced plans for an IPO. Can a company with one very big hit really go public? On one hand, consider this: “Of the 5000 companies in NASDAQ, only 6 have as much revenue ($1.88b) and fat profit margins (30%) as King.” On the other hand, it’s tough to stay on top in the hit-driven game industry. Want to invest in this IPO? First, you need to consider how long King will wear the crown.

+ Candy Crush Saga really has created some incredible numbers.

When You’re Not Playing Games…

I didn’t lead with the wild success of a game maker like King to suggest you’re wasting all your time on such frivolous activities. You’re also binge-watching a lot of television. The Atlantic’s Nolan Feeney wonders: When, exactly, does watching a lot of Netflix become a binge? (If you can press pause long enough to read this article, you’re probably OK.)

+ Those who tend to binge on entertainment are in pretty good company. President Obama is one of us (and he’s got pretty good taste in shows).

If You Only Knew

“I probably shouldn’t say this, but I will. Had we been transparent about this from the outset right after 9/11 … and said both to the American people and to their elected representatives, we need to cover this gap, we need to make sure this never happens to us again, so here is what we are going to set up, here is how it’s going to work, and why we have to do it, and here are the safeguards … We wouldn’t have had the problem we had.” That’s Director of National Intelligence James Clapper on how all these NSA revelations could have played out if the Feds had handled things differently.

Snow Job

After people dig themselves out of this seemingly endless series of snowstorms, they might start asking how the Climate Prediction Center got the forecast so wrong. No one said anything about an oncoming polar vortex. This was supposed to be a warmer than usual Winter.

+ Of course, we can’t blame climate scientists for being unable to predict something as unpredictable as the weather. Especially when one in four of us doesn’t know that the Earth revolves around the Sun.

Five Ring Circus

The first week of the Olympics was less political than many predicted. But week two got underway with the arrest and release of the members of Pussy Riot near Soch. (And yes, the revolution will be Tweeted.)

+ If you run the U.S. hockey team, what is your key to success? Well, having a player from Warroad is a good place to start.

+ Russians are great sports, even in hockey loss. A reporter watches a big hockey game at a Russian bar.

+ The best cameramen at the Olympics are drones. (Although humans are still taking some pretty amazing photos.)

+ How Norway, Slovenia, and Latvia are owning the Olympics.

+ Watching ice dancing is like meeting a new boyfriend’s annoying friend.

I Have a Secret

“Anonymity is a double-edged sword. It brings out the best in people, as when nameless donors give millions to worthy causes. But it can also bring out the worst, as it has in a number of social-networking apps that users have turned into weapons for cyberbullying.” Casey Newton of The Verge takes a look inside Secret, the most scandalous social network. This anonymity trend is worth watching, even though every time I’m about to post a secret, I just post it on Twitter instead. I guess that’s my secret. I’m swirling in a bottomless pit of attention neediness.

It’s Still Me in Here…

“The top two knuckles of my left hand look as if I’d been worked over by the K.G.B. No, it’s more as if I’d been a catcher for the Hall of Fame pitcher Candy Cummings, the inventor of the curveball, who retired from the game in 1877. To put this another way, if I pointed that hand at you like a pistol and fired at your nose, the bullet would nail you in the left knee. Arthritis.” The New Yorker’s Roger Angell on life in the nineties. “Getting old is the second-biggest surprise of my life, but the first, by a mile, is our unceasing need for deep attachment and intimate love.”

This Ford Keeps Going

“I have truly, in my eyes, a phenomenal record.” It’s not exactly a shock to hear a politician utter those words. But it’s a little more surprising when you hear it from Toronto Mayor Rob Ford. From Esquire’s Chris Jones: You may have wondered how it is that Rob Ford, the mayor of Toronto, has not been shamed from office. Here’s how. And why, he tells us, things are likely to get even uglier.

Heeeere’s Jimmy

The Jimmy Fallon Tonight Show is officially underway. From the evolution of hip hop, to U2 acoustic, to a parade of guests, here’s a look at Fallon’s first night.

+ Joan Rivers made her return to The Tonight Show after a long ban, and Fallon’s parents were in the studio audience. Let’s relive the moments, in GIFs.

+ Fallon invited Will Smith to be his first guest. Here’s a look back at the first guests on 22 late night talk shows.

The Bottom of the News

Many people in Spain have suffered through a terrible economic stretch, and that has led some locals (and even some government officials) to wonder if it’s time to skip the siestas and start having dinner at a reasonable hour. Wait, we’re talking about Spain, right?

+ PSA: There’s a clown shortage.

+ When you fall in love, this is what Facebook sees. (Meanwhile, marketers just see an opportunity to sell you a bigger mattress.)