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Netflix Giveth, Netflix Taketh Away, September 2015 Edition
Via The Mary Sue (originally via Death and Taxes), a list of what will be added and removed from Netflix in the month of September in the year 2015. A highly selective micro-list follows. For the full list, head over to The Mary Sue.
taro taking his pictures for netflix ‘ads’ (see more here: tar0shiba.tumblr.com/post/967950437/shibaadvertisements2 ) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Notable losses:
Sept. 30
Apocalypse Now
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
World War Z
Notable gains:
Sept. 1
First Blood (1982), Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), Rambo III: Ultimate Edition (1988) – So, like, ALL the Rambo.
Masters of the Universe (1987)
Mister Roger’s Neighborhood: Volume One – this is interesting. I’ve said in the past that it saddens me to know that children are growing up without Mister Rogers in their television lives. (My kids didn’t get to watch him, but he was important to me.) Will the show work as something to be streamed? I don’t know.
Sept. 12
Portlandia: Season Five – even when this show is bad, it doesn’t bother me. There’s something soothing about it. I’m not caught up, so it’s possible that they’ve run out of ideas by now. Still, I’ll probably watch when I get the chance. Side note: Carrie Brownstein wrote a book and is doing a reading in NYC in October. Anyone wanna go with me?
Sept. 18
Keith Richards: Under the Influence (2015) *Netflix Original – this *could* be interesting, as long as it isn’t too long and overly sanitized.
Sept. 22
SMOSH: The Movie (2015) – I was surprised to see this. It’s from the goofy guys who are mega YouTube stars. Here’s one of my personal favorites: a 7-year-old describes the Twilight movies based on the trailers. Semi-NSFW. My kid showed me this years ago.
Anyway, it would appear that they made a movie. Good for them. No, I mean actually good for them, not Christian Bale gooooood for them. I like it when people succeed.
Many, many more movies and TV shows coming and going from Netflix in September 2015. Hit the link below for the full list.
Source: Here’s What We’re Losing (and Gaining) on Netflix in September—Starting Tomorrow | The Mary Sue
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Grumpy Cat Is Getting a Comic
This was announced awhile ago, and more info was revealed during San Diego Comic Con, but I only just noticed because it’s not something I track very closely. But for fans of the cantankerous kitty, here is some exciting news: Grumpy Cat is getting a comic.
SDCC: Dynamite Entertainment Announces Full Creative Team for Grumpy Cat #1 – Grumpy Cat contributors include Ben Fisher, Agnes Garbowska, Ben McCool and more and features multiple variant covers, including a Create-Your-Own-Meme.
There are numerous variant covers, but this one by series artist Ken Haeser, is my favorite.
Because someone is asking for help and Super Grumpy Cat says no. Hee.
This quote from the article on Comic Book Resources also amused me:
Tavis Maiden (cover artist): “This is literally the first thing I’ve worked on that my kids think is cool.”
Grumpy Cat #1 hits comic book shops in October.
Source: SDCC: Dynamite Entertainment Announces Full Creative Team for “Grumpy Cat” #1 – Comic Book Resources
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Amazon.com : Purrfect Thermal Mat, Leopard Brown : Pet Supplies
You might want this DaddyDeal if you have a cat. Currently on sale for almost 50% off the regular price.
Amazon.com : Purrfect Thermal Mat, Leopard Brown : Pet Supplies
Source: Amazon.com : Purrfect Thermal Mat, Leopard Brown : Pet Supplies
Sawyer Dunlap Is Groot And That Is Awesome
This story comes via James Gunn‘s Facebook page. It’s about a little boy named Sawyer Dunlap who suffers from dyspraxia, a condition that manifests in many different ways. In Sawyer’s case, he has trouble speaking. According to NBC’s Today Show, he used to be able to say only three words. Then a certain movie called ‘Guardians of the Galaxy‘ came out.
Until a year ago, Sawyer could only say three words, but then he watched “Guardians of the Galaxy” and his vocabulary increased by one word — Groot.
So we are Groot. Sawyer Dunlap is Groot. OK, not exactly. But the story is still cool.
Gunn posted the following on Facebook:
A lot of stuff I post on this page gets picked up by the mainstream press. Usually it’s something like, “No, Captain Marvel won’t be in Guardians Vol. 2” or “No hair for Nebula in future Guardians films.” So I’m happy that THIS is the story that’s been making the rounds for the past couple of days – one that started here with a kind and thankful post from the child’s father. Touching people’s hearts and emotions is the very greatest gift a filmmaker can receive.
I like Mr. Gunn more every time I find out more about him or read something he writes (usually via Facebook). His DVD commentary track on ‘Guardians’ is also particularly good.
For example, this little anecdote from The TODAY Show:
Her husband, Josh, felt so grateful for Groot and “Guardians of the Galaxy” that about a month ago he sent a private message on Facebook to director James Gunn. Josh thought he’d never hear anything back from Gunn. On Wednesday, Gunn did more than just send a message; he posted the family’s story for the world to see with a simple message. “I love making movies because of stories like this. Thank you.”
“It was amazing,” said Dunlap. “When we woke up, it was at 5,000 likes and all these comments … people really related [to it] and that was really cool to see.”
More importantly, a superhero movie helped a little kid in a very real way. That’s cool. Geek Gold Cards all around.
Source: Dad says ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ character helped son overcome speech problem – TODAY.com
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Josh Duggar, Oy Vey
We’ve never been big fans of the Duggars. I wrote a piece for Babble.com about the “quiverfull” movement awhile back (can’t find the link) in which I basically said that it was a lot of nonsense and they should stop having so many kids, but if they want to have so many kids, don’t use religion as an excuse for it. Also, don’t put the kids on reality TV shows. Now, with the news that Josh Duggar had an Ashley Madison account, I’d like to keep things simple. Josh Duggar, oy vey.
Details below.
The family of Jim Bob Duggar. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
In 2013, conservative reality TV star Josh Duggar—of TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting fame—was named the executive director of the Family Research Council, a conservative lobbying group in D.C. which seeks “to champion marriage and family as the foundation of civilization, the seedbed of virtue, and the wellspring of society.” During that time, he also maintained a paid account on Ashley Madison, a web site created for the express purpose of cheating on your spouse.
Source: Family Values Activist Josh Duggar Had a Paid Ashley Madison Account (Gawker)
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Mixed Feelings About James Harrison And Participation Trophies (UPDATED)
NFL player James Harrison does not believe in participation trophies. Even if they’re for his own kids.
James Harrison and coach Keith Butler can be see in the background. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Via ProFootballTalk:
Anyone who’s ever watched Steelers linebacker James Harrison play football knows that he’s an intense competitor who wants to win at all costs. So perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that Harrison is passing along that intense competitiveness to his sons.
That’s a good, but imperfect, description of what Harrison did. Here’s the post from Harrison’s Instagram:
In general I agree with the notion that we have gone too far in the direction of “attaboy” awards for children and for adults. So while at first I might be inclined to join the chorus of “yay! Go James Harrison!”, in this specific case I think returning the trophies puts Harrison’s kids in an uncomfortable situation socially. Granted, their father is a professional football player, and a well-known one at that. (He’s not Tom Brady or Peyton Manning, but most NFL fans know who James Harrison is.) That makes it easier. And I would never presume to tell someone that they should go against their personal family values, even if that person isn’t someone who can throw me across a room with his pinkie. (That doesn’t mean I think people can beat their kids, or do other harm to their children in the name their individual “family values”.)
However. In this specific case, everyone gets a trophy. I admit those trophies look a lot bigger than the crappy ones that we got “just for playing” when I was young. But youth sports often have a participation trophy, or certificate of completion, or something along those lines. This analogy isn’t perfect, but if a player is injured, he still gets paid, right? The backup quarterback of a Super Bowl winning team still gets a ring, even if he never played a single down. (I know the analogy isn’t perfect. If you have a better one, let me know and I’ll post it.)
Maybe you’re a good player on a crappy team. In my case, I was a crappy player on a great team, at least my first year in youth baseball. The team was so good we won the championship. I didn’t do much to contribute, but I got a HUGE trophy. Should I have given it back because I didn’t do enough to earn it?
This is in no way a commentary on James Harrison’s parenting skills. (And not only because he could hurt me if he wanted to.) I don’t know what kind of father Mr. Harrison is, and I’m glad to see that he is, at minimum, an involved one. But while I agree that “sometimes your best is not enough, and that should drive you to want to do better” I’m not sure it follows that participation trophies are given out because kids “cry and whine until somebody gives you something to shut u [sic] up and keep you happy.” That certainly wasn’t the case when I played, nor was it the case when my own children played.
The truth is, part of life IS about showing up. Maybe the answer lies somewhere in between. Kids who never missed a game or a practice without a legitimate medical reason get a trophy, while kids who only bothered to show up every other game get bupkis. That won’t happen, but it would be a happy medium.
UPDATE: Albert Burneko wrote a piece on this topic for Deadspin that is less restrained than mine. (H/T Whit Honea.)
Source: James Harrison won’t let his sons accept participation trophies (ProFootballTalk)
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Books – The Original iPad
I recently received an email from a PR person touting the success of electronic devices giving parents some time to themselves. This is true. But it doesn’t only apply to electronics. It also applies to books.
When I was a kid, there were electronics, but they required dinosaur toenail clippings to run. (Little joke there.) I spent plenty of time in front of a screen, usually a television, because that’s what we had. I also owned a lot of handheld games, like this miniature Pac-Man machine. Eventually I had a TRS-80 Color Computer which I used to play games and also write programs in BASIC.
English: Tandy/Radio Shack TRS-80 Color Computer 1 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
But before any of that, I read books. So many books. The Hobbit. Lord of the Rings. Bored of the Rings. A Wrinkle in Time. The Fletch and Flynn series by Gregory MacDonald. (I was too young for those but I read them anyway.) Agatha Christie. Sherlock Holmes. Comic books.
Reading gives parents a break as much, if not more than, electronics do. I’m not anti-screen time. I try to manage it, and I recommend that parents with very young children manage screen time closely, mostly because I don’t see any reason for a 6 month old to be playing with an iPad. But as a kid who grew up watching a lot of TV, it would be hypocritical of me to say that I’m anti-screen.
But a good book will always trump electronics. A good book — I’m talking about a really good book — is hard to put down. Sometimes it is impossible to put down. “Just one more chapter. Just one more page.” Sound familiar? Sure, the same can apply to a video game. “Just let me beat this boss.” But it’s not the same thing. A book requires imagination, and therefore uses more of the brain than anything involving a screen does. (Kindles count as books, although there is an argument to be made that plain ol’ paper books are more involving because it’s just the book, no buttons, no screen. It’s not necessarily an argument you will win, but you can make it, and I’d back you up.) (Note: the statement “uses more of the brain” sounds like I’m making a scientifically proven statement. I’m not. I think it’s likely that my statement is correct, but I don’t have the science to back it up.)
Not all kids are readers. I was, and luckily so are my kids. I like to believe that because they grew up in a house where reading was a regular activity, they naturally became readers themselves. I have no idea if this is the case, and I never will. Maybe I just got lucky. But I can confidently say that once your kids learn to read, it has the potential to be life changing… for you.
Kids who love to read get involved in their books. And when they’re reading, they don’t ask you to look up a walk-through so they can beat a section of the game they are playing. Also, reading is a quiet activity. Books don’t make noise. And readers rarely make noise when they read. (Occasional exclamations of surprise and/or joy don’t count, although they are wonderful to hear.)
Again — I am not knocking screens, literally or figuratively. Heck, unless you printed out this blog post, you’re reading it on a screen. And video games are fun. My point is simply that back in my day, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, books provided a service to parents that electronics do now. And they still can.
