Dec 14 2015

New Star Trek Beyond Trailer is Brilliant

This may seem weird because I’m linking to a site that says “The Star Trek Beyond trailer has landed and it’s going to annoy the hell out of fans”. But I think the new Star Trek Beyond trailer is brilliant.

star-trek-blu-ray-at-amazon

Here’s what the other site says:

The first trailer for Star Trek Beyond, the third in the current series, has landed, and it’s very silly. While fans still crave a more cerebral film a la the Picard/Sisco golden years, Paramount looks to be going further in the other direction – the emphasis in the trailer being on comedy and action.

And here is the trailer.

Something needs to be clarified. This quote is also from the linked article: “It begins by shamelessly cribbing from Guardians of the Galaxy, with the crew enjoying anachronistic music, before rifling through one-liners, lurching spaceships and hand-to-hand combat with aliens.” (emphasis added)

That “anachronistic music” is the Beastie Boys’ song Sabotage (arguably the best song ever), and it was featured in the first JJ Abrams’ Star Trek movie.

Remember that? I know it was 2009, but that wasn’t THAT long ago. More importantly, it’s not a random choice of song. It’s a callback to the first of the new Star Trek movies, when a young lad named James Tiberius Kirk steals his stepfather’s car and cranks up Sabotage.

Does the trailer look a little goofy? Maybe. But it’s a first trailer. There’s clearly going to be more Scotty, which I’m in favor of, because Simon Pegg is awesome. He also co-wrote the screenplay, so I don’t mind that he’s giving himself more screen time.

But awful? Really? I think it looks like fun. The other two reboots weren’t perfect but what they did get right is the characters. As long as that continues, we’ll be fine.

Also — and this is very important — IT’S THE FIRST TRAILER. We have no idea what the actual film is going to be like. And that’s great. I’m tired of trailers telling me every friggin’ thing that’s going to be in the movie before I see it. For example, Idris Elba is in the cast. Love Idris Elba. No idea who he’s playing. That’s cool with me.

Spock is logical. McCoy is cranky. Kirk is something of a maverick who will sleep with anything. That’s what matters. After that, give it a chance, people. Don’t judge a film by it’s trailer. Be happy that there’s more Star Trek to consume. I know I am.

Source: The Star Trek Beyond trailer has landed and it’s going to annoy the hell out of fans (Independent)


Dec 07 2015

Parents Need Sleep Too

Parents need sleep just as much as their kids do. My good friend Valerie Reiss wrote a great article for Wanderlust offering some tips about how to do that.

Boy toddler. A child running in the park.

Boy toddler. A child running in the park. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This line made me smile: “I now understand why no one says, ‘Sleep while your toddler sleeps.'” Because toddlers don’t always sleep the way babies do. Babies, because they’re, like, babies, will eventually sleep for a decent amount of hours because they really need it, and they haven’t figured out how to belligerently decide that they would rather be playing or talking or just running around, as in the photo above. (A note on said photo: I have no idea who that child is; it’s a public domain image from Wikipedia. Notice, however, that he is not sleeping.)

Then there’s teething. Oh, by the Lords of Kobol, teething. That just sucked. There’s no way around it — you want your kids to have teeth, and those teeth literally push their way through your child’s gums. Think about how insanely painful that must be. You think you could sleep through that? No you couldn’t.

Still. You need sleep. Everyone does, even if they don’t think they do, but parents in particular must, must, must catch some zzz’s. Trust me. I speak from experience. Not sleeping is bad for you, and also bad for your children. Like your kids, you will be cranky if you don’t get enough sleep. This will not be fun for anyone.

Valerie’s article (link below) points out why you need sleep and offers some specific tips on how to get the zzz’s you need, even if only in small doses. Napping is fine. More than fine. Napping is AWESOME. I’d actually like to be napping right now.

All this writing about sleep is making me sleepy. Well, that and staying up late watching Sunday Night Football. Maybe I’ll take a naaaaaaaaaaaaaa……..

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Source: Parents: Power Down to Power Through (Wanderlust, by Valerie Reiss)


Nov 24 2015

Kid Solves Rubik’s Cube in Under 5 Seconds (Video)

Watch this video of a kid named Lucas Etter as he solves the Rubik’s Cube in under 5 seconds. He’s 14-years-old. His time was 4.904 seconds, which is a new world’s record.

English: Rubik's cube

English: Rubik’s cube (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

He solves it so fast it’s literally blink and you’ll miss it.

For me, the best part of the video is the reaction. Not to diminish what Lucas did; breaking a world record in anything must be pretty cool, and as someone who never managed to solve the Rubik’s Cube even once back when they were first introduced (I’m, like, old), the fact that he was able to do it so insanely fast is incredibly impressive. Also impressive, though, is everyone else’s reaction. It’s so positive. Everybody wants to take his picture, they all seem really happy for him. The reaction of the kid in charge of the stopwatch is pure amazement and joy. It’s nice to see everyone being so nice.

I admit that I wonder how the kid who, on the same day, broke the world’s record with a time of just over 5 seconds, only to have that record shattered later on. But based on the reactions in the video here, I prefer to believe that even he was happy for his fellow cuber. (Cubers? Is that a thing? I have no idea.)

Bottom line: Congratulation Lucas Etter. At the age of fourteen, you are the proud owner of a world’s record. Good on ya, mate.

Source: A teenager just pushed the Rubik’s Cube world record under 5 seconds | The Verge


Nov 20 2015

French Father Explains Paris Attacks To Son (Video)

This video of a father talking to his son about the Paris attacks might make you cry. Me? Oh, you know. Allergies. #liar

DaddyTips Featured Video

Oh my. The kid is adorable, and the way the father handles the situation is just wonderful. To be fair, I’m assuming that’s his father. It could be an uncle or a friend. But the tweet says father, so let’s go with that. Excuse me. I need a new box of tissues. I told you. Allergies. #liar

H/T to @thereaIbanksy and the awesomely talented actress Constance Zimmer (currently being awesome on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) who retweeted it.


Nov 12 2015

Demaryius Thomas’ Mom Will See Him Play in the NFL for the First Time This Week

Denver Broncos Wide Receiver Demaryius Thomas’ mom will see play in the NFL for the first time this week. Why does this matter? Well, it’s a nice story. It’s also one of the rare times that parenting and fantasy football intersect. Since I do both of those things, I had to write about it.

Stay with me. There’s a point here. I promise.

English: Demaryius Thomas, a player on the Den...

English: Demaryius Thomas, a player on the Denver Broncos American football team. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

From FantasyPros.com:

Thomas will face the worst secondary in the NFL and will be playing with a little more on the line. Peyton Manning is fully aware that this will be the first time Thomas’ mother will see him play in a professional football game, and he will make it a special day. I am going bold here in predicting two touchdowns for Thomas this weekend.

Emphasis added.

I will admit that my heart likes the analysis. Read more »


Sep 09 2015

Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron 2-Disc BD Combo Pack Pre-Order

Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. You saw it. (At least you did if you live in my house.) You loved it. Maybe not as much as you loved The Avengers (the first one), but that’s not a big shocker because the first one was awesome and tough to top. Now the 2-Disc Blu-Ray Combo Pack is available from Amazon for pre-order. I’m going to pre-order it, because, well, I love me some comic book movies.

English: Cast of The Avengers at the 2010 San ...

English: Cast of The Avengers at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International featuring Robert Downey Jr., Clark Gregg, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Joss Whedon and Kevin Feige. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

BUT! I won’t get it until October 2, 2015. #FirstWorldProblems

I can’t quite tell, but I think if I want to pay $19.99 NOW I can get the movie in HD *immediately*; SD (standard definition) is available on October 2, like the discs.

Can I wait a month? Of course. Do I *want* to wait a month? No. I want to watch the movie again NOW.

Call the wahhhhbulance. Read more »


Aug 30 2015

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.

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.

Guardians of the Galaxy (Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + Digital HD)

Source: Dad says ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ character helped son overcome speech problem – TODAY.com