Friday, December 31, 2021
Wednesday, December 29, 2021
Friday, December 24, 2021
Wednesday, December 22, 2021
Friday, December 17, 2021
Friday, December 10, 2021
Thursday, December 9, 2021
Friday, December 3, 2021
Thursday, December 2, 2021
Friday, November 26, 2021
Wednesday, November 24, 2021
Friday, November 19, 2021
Thursday, November 18, 2021
Friday, November 12, 2021
Thursday, November 11, 2021
Tuesday, November 9, 2021
Post-2021 World Series Thoughts
It's been a week since the end of this year's World Series for Major League Baseball. Where do teams go from here? There's a lot of questions into whether a 2022 season will even be a reality. No strike since the 1994 season. If one were to happen, the AL East and West take huge hits. I'd also say that would happen to the NL West and Central. As far as the Atlanta Braves go, this solidifies some of their players. Freddie Freeman adds another piece to getting himself in the Hall of Fame as do several other players.
Awards are almost over, but most have been picked. Gold Gloves had the National League dominated by the St. Louis Cardinals with five of them, including Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt. A handful of teams in the American League had winners. I'll do some predictions quickly. I think Vladimir Guerrero Jr. gets MVP and Robbie Ray gets the Cy Young for the AL. Rookie of the Year I think will be Randy Arozarena and the Manager of the Year would be Dusty Baker. For the NL, I think Bryce Harper gets his second MVP award and Corbin Burnes gets the Cy Young. Rookie of the Year would be Dylan Carlson and Manager of the Year will be Gabe Kapler. (Keep eye on Mike Shildt though for what he did in September despite getting let go after the Cardinals playoff run ended)
Who do you think has a chance to get some award hardware? Share your thoughts.
Friday, November 5, 2021
Wednesday, November 3, 2021
Monday, November 1, 2021
The Future of 007
The latest James Bond 007 film, No Time to Die, has been out for almost a month in the United States and just over a month in most other territories of the world. A lot of critics loved it compared to Spectre. As of November 1st, it has made over 600 million altogether with 133 million domestically and 473 million in international markets. Some places have yet to or just put it in theaters in a few markets, so the number can still rise. It marks the end of Daniel Craig playing Bond, a role he has done for 15 years.
I've never watched any movies of Ian Fleming's secret agent outside of most of Goldeneye. But that doesn't mean I'm ignorant to what may be done in the future. Craig's take of Bond along with the writers of those films helped revive the franchise critically. Outside of Goldeneye, critics were not keen on the Pierce Brosnan ones. They did well enough, but were also getting outclassed by Austin Powers, a parody of Bond that got huge once the second one came out. I'm going to assume the people involved in the last 15 years wanted to stand out, which they did. I think with Skyfall, they outdid themselves critically and commercially and I'm not sure it can be topped ever again.
So where does James Bond go? I don't know. But I'd imagine they would want to go a route similar to what has been done since 2006. Maybe find a way to have some things that were good about the older films while seeing the quality of the Craig films. You have to find a good balance to please many fans of the last 60 years. No Time to Die's performance might determine what kind of scale they go on being an action film. I'm not sure they can keep making budgets of 250 million. Maybe going back to basics could go a long way. But I still think Bond will be around for a long time if the quality is still up there. Time for a new arc in the world of 007.
Friday, October 29, 2021
Wednesday, October 27, 2021
Sunday, October 24, 2021
Fatal Rust
The last thing you think will happen is getting killed by a prop gun. Mishaps do happen on sets of films and shows. A stunt gone wrong. Pyrotechnics, driving, you name it. Gun related things will mostly be tragic. There's a movie being made called Rust. It stars Alec Baldwin and he is a focal point of attention for this. Firing a prop gun in rehearsal, it has killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured the writer/director Joel Souza. The incident has made its rounds on LA Times, Vanity Fair, and so many other sites.
This is obviously a police matter. Some want homicide charges on Baldwin. I can see two reasons. One is a political aspect given how much of a liberal he is. I don't think he's that malicious. But the second reasons and more reasonable is that he is a piece of garbage. I can't think of anything positive in his personal life over the last 20 years. I don't see charges sticking to him. If they do, I can't imagine a lengthy sentence by any stretch. Unless there's instance of him being foolish, he wasn't doing anything on purpose.
A lot of questions I think will go into the prop department. Stories from The Sun and LA Times mentioning gun misfires on set. Now there's speculation on the assistant director, Dave Halls. In a sad fate of irony, Halls worked on the sequel to The Crow, which I'm willing to believe is the first thing coming to many people's minds when Baldwin fired. In 1993, Brandon Lee was killed by a prop gun as he was shooting a scene for The Crow. Imagine if an incident occurred on the sequel. This brings to question safety in general.
Someone's getting in trouble. Halls seems like a suspect in terms of negligence as well as whoever is in charge of props. Multiple incidents occurring and with death happening, this should automatically raise red flags. There's stories reported of the crew walking away not too long before the gun was fired because of working conditions. This is a problem with Hollywood unfortunately. I'm going to assume it's beyond just safety with props. New Mexico is not the most ideal place to shoot at certain points of the year because of dry heat. The southwest of the United States in general, too.
The IATSE (International Association Theatrical Stage Employees) was ready to strike until reaching a deal about a week ago, demanding better improvements of working on set. Better working conditions, hours, everything. Hutchins' death will reinforce why they almost went on strike. This is going to look really bad for the industry. Rust should be canned for now. Not until things are vastly improved for safety and better conditions. It's going to be investigated for a while. Don't hold your breath on justice being served, no matter who is in line to be charged.
Friday, October 22, 2021
Thursday, October 21, 2021
Monday, October 18, 2021
Jamie Costa: Extreme Good Impression
Last week was an interesting one. I've never heard of Jamie Costa. He's a comedian and does a lot of things. But what he did blew up in such a huge way that people were very impressed. He put on his YouTube channel a five minute clip of doing the late Robin Williams. The scene is set on March 5, 1982, on the Paramount set. As gets ready for his show, Mork and Mindy, co-star Pam Dawber gets his attention to tell him that John Belushi passed away. After hearing that, Williams has a had time thinking it didn't happen and isn't in the full energetic mode.
I think what I got out of it is that Costa's voice is near identical to Williams. That's how impressive it is. Scary impressive as if he was that young 30 year old (Costa actually is around 30 or 31) trying to take the world by storm and have these raw emotions and disbelief. No music is used. The actress playing Dawber did a good job as well. It's wowing enough to be a viral hit and many want to see a biopic of Williams. I think it'd be nice to see, but I think a documentary would work better. And I would also mention that there's probably some dark stuff in his life that I'm not sure many know about.
Stories have been said on that day in 82 that Belushi, Williams, and even Robert De Nero had cocaine together the night Belushi died. I wouldn't be surprised if the death gave Williams reason to get clean and stay clean for roughly 20 years or so. People have also been sending the clip to his daughter, Zelda. Obviously, she does not want to see it. I don't blame her. A lot don't realize the amount of depression he had and I can't imagine she would want to see someone doing a depressed version of her father finding out another comedian like him died. The fact that even the LA Times brought this up and many news websites that aren't geek centered speaks dividends.
I think there's a place and time to do a Robin Williams biopic. I'm not sure this is the best time and I'm not sure also on whether the stuff in his life is worth putting on the big screen. I believe a documentary about comedians that have suffered a lot would be better suited. Whatever the case, the impression from Costa was really good. Give it at least one watch. But do understand the real Robin Williams before clamoring for a biopic.
Friday, October 15, 2021
Wednesday, October 13, 2021
Monday, October 11, 2021
GTA Trilogy Remaster
There was news back in the summer about the PlayStation 2 Grand Theft Auto games getting a remaster. While III, Vice City, and San Andreas are still excellent games, some aspects could have been finely tuned to be better. The news is confirmed that they are getting a re-release this year. Downside is that the original versions are getting delisted on PS3, PS4, and Xbox 360. The same is going to happen for the HD San Andreas game on 360. At the time of this blog on a Monday night, they probably have be taken off the digital stores already. If not, this week.
These are coming out on everything. Xbox One, Xbox Series, PS4, PS5, PC, iOS, Android, and the Switch. The fact that Nintendo is getting these is a huge surprise. Only their handhelds had GTA games with ports of the first two and two original releases. Rockstar has shown some support with Manhunt 2, Table Tennis and Bully on the Wii and L.A. Noire on Switch. Having GTA is a benchmark for the developer. From all assumptions, these will play roughly the same, but have better visuals. I have a feeling it will get cleaned up quite a bit to retain their looks but utilize the hardware of everything.
As far as delisting goes, I'm not sure if this is going to be permanent or not. I wouldn't think so, but weird things do happen in gaming. With the PC, you can find copies of them. You can also find copies for the PS2 and original Xbox. These were mega sellers. Millions upon millions, especially on PS2. Very common and going for 10 to 25 dollars. Maybe more if people are trying to popularize theme even more. There is that talk of game preservation, but the discs are not inaccessible. GTA is in a strange spot and I don't have an easy answer on how to solve the issue of digital stuff being taken away.
These should do decently and the price will hover around 40 to 60 dollars. You're getting 200 plus hours worth of content with these three games. I'll have to wait and see how it fares and see some gameplay to see if it's worth getting. For now, it's a decent way of celebrating 20 years since GTA III released and changed how games could be played.
Friday, October 8, 2021
Thursday, October 7, 2021
PS3/Vita Payment
I see a lot of complaining right now on this. A little shortsighted given it is three weeks away from the intended date, but not anything out of the ordinary. Sony is winding down on their PlayStation Store for PlayStation 3 and Vita. They will be open until whenever they deem is necessary to shut it down. By when, I don't know. They are looking at October 27th as the day they don't accept credit cards, debit cards, and PayPal payments.
This isn't new by any stretch of the imagination. Ending certain form of payments started with stuff such as the Wii, Nintendo DS, and PSP. To expect console storefronts to function forever is impossible. The PC, I can't comment. Yet, I see this uproar. I wouldn't be surprised if it's people that want to make the PlayStation brand look awful. Nintendo and Microsoft are going to do the same thing. Whenever the 360 finishes up in terms of its online, there will be upset people. Credit and debit cards won't be usable on the 3DS and Wii U after mid January 2022 in Japan. Anywhere, I don't know. And those systems had decent lifespans, but not as long as PS3.
Certainly, the announcement of the store shutdowns earlier in the year have people on edge despite the decision to keep the PS3 and Vita ones open. There are parts of the world where a credit card is necessary when it regards to buying specific games with specific ratings according to a GameSpot article. These console manufacturers can't risk their old infrastructures taking hits if they were to be hacked. There are also computer games that no longer have multiplayer due to their infrastructures.
PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 have a lot of digital games that will be lost unless there is someone that dedicated to preserving them. I hope someone has done that for the Wii, DS, and PSP, too. Because once PS4 and Xbox One are finished them along with the Wii U and handhelds are going to need major preservation immediately. We're talking thousands of titles digitally that could be lost. My ending point is to not make Sony out as the only bad guy. A lot has to be done to make sure a number of games can be played. Doesn't matter if the game is good or bad, having access to the full library is what will be important for the future.
Wednesday, October 6, 2021
Monday, October 4, 2021
Revitalizing PlayStation 3
I have been a lot more appreciative of the PlayStation brand as a whole for the last ten years despite my first experience with it being in late 1997. With PS3, it was something my family got into in 2012 and had on and off spans of playing it until early October of 2016. Prior to that, the last time I really was playing it was that April and gaming also took a backseat somewhat that summer. I played some stuff like Blasto and the original Zelda, but nothing too substantial. Getting back into PS3 revitalized an interest in playing it and playing games a lot more.
The game that kicked it off for me was Ducktales Remastered. I bought it that summer and didn't get into until the start of October. I don't know what drove me to play it, but I did and blew through it within a couple of days, beating it on every difficulty, unlocking everything as well. Immediately after that, I revisited Back to the Future, the last game I really played on there that April. Went back and got the rest of the trophies I missed out on. Definitely felt good to get back into the system.
I played the original Uncharted a very tiny bit when my family got the PS3, but at this point with revisiting, played through it all. Got every treasure and every trophy. The hardest difficulty was not anything to take lightly. In between that was Madden 13, Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing, and Wolfenstein 2009, either starting with getting trophies or cleaning up a little bit on ones I missed. Not too long before completing the trophy list for Uncharted, I got back into Jetpack Joyride, a fun phone type game that can be rather addictive and played on my own profile Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12. One of the last games I played that month was Splatterhouse 2010 and got back into that during that October and November.
During this time, I would flip flop between both PS3 and Xbox 360 up until I bought my PlayStation 4 in June 2017. I also found myself getting back into doing YouTube at the very end of 2016 and doing videos on a consistent basis in 2017. Without this revitalization, I don't know how much more gaming I would have done or stuck to older hardware. PlayStation 3 may not be the best system out there of all time, but getting back into it will hold a special place for me for the rest of my life.
Friday, October 1, 2021
Wednesday, September 29, 2021
Monday, September 27, 2021
Super Mario ManBabies
I always have the impression of The Legend of Zelda or Super Smash Bros. fans being the biggest babies for Nintendo franchises. I think Super Mario might have just eclipsed it for the time being. There have been plans for an animated Super Mario movie for quite a bit of time. Going back to around 2017 or 2018 did I hear something about it. Illumination and Universal have their cast. Chris Pratt and Charlie Day are Mario and Luigi. Anya Taylor-Joy I believe is the Princess. Bowser will have Jack Black's voice, and Seth Rogen will be Donkey Kong.
I've seen worst casting, but it's not a slam dunk. The only one I'd feel any confidence in is Black. He could seriously give Bowser a menacing presence. Rogen seems like a very weird choice for Donkey Kong. I can't comment on Taylor-Joy, but at 25 years old, maybe her voice is suitable for the Princess. Day, I hope the production crew are looking beyond just the Charlie Kelly personas that he does on Always Sunny. Maybe he does a surprisingly good job, but I need to see a trailer first before being critical.
Pratt being Mario I'm not sure I like. Sure, he's done Parks and Recreation, but when's the last time he did anything that was full on comedy? The problem is the fans being the absolute worst in reacting to the casting. Almost universally panned. A lot of them wanted the game series' voice actor, Charles Martinet, to do the role. I know he's had a very long tenure as it, but Martinet's voice of Mario is very awful and has been since the GameCube days. It is the definition of very generic and trying to be very high pitched. Mickey Mouse, he is not. And it is very grating to hear. There was a sweet spot during the Nintendo 64 days, but that was long ago.
Voice actors are also not recognizable outside of the gaming community. Cartoons, maybe, but not in video games. And Martinet doesn't have a huge resume, either. Not to mention he is in his mid-60s. It's like asking Mel Blanc to keep doing Yosemite Sam into his 70s and 80s. I can't imagine him doing Mario's voice for 90-100 minutes. Also, who can you get that is recognizable and do the voice? Not saying Pratt is the best choice, but fans don't seem to want to see other alternatives beyond Martinet.
My final word is this. Let's wait for a freaking trailer to drop before we fly off the rails. If the trailer doesn't impress you, don't see the film and vice versa. But the fans are acting like the most spoiled rotten children on the planet. Let's hold off on the rage meter before we even get a shred of footage. It's just a kids film. I'm sure Nintendo is paying attention to what Universal and Illumination are doing, casting or not.
Friday, September 24, 2021
Wednesday, September 22, 2021
Monday, September 20, 2021
MacDonald's Cancer
Last week's news came out of nowhere and you wouldn't think this would have happened. We hear stories more of celebrities with cancer. This one stung with the passing of comedian Norm MacDonald at the age of 61. Tributes from many comedians, talk show hosts, it has been pouring in throughout the week. It brings up the story of keeping the cancer private and a glimpse of what he had been doing for a long time.
From stories on many websites, MacDonald started doing stand up in the 80s in his home nation of Canada. One of his major TV breakthroughs was working on Roseanne, something I had no idea he was involved in. He was part of the production as a writer and helped with stories. That was in 1992 and a year later, he was on Saturday Night Live. On NBC's sketch comedy show, he was part of the transition of the very few people to return and to be with a newer cast in 1995. His notoriety was being the Weekend Update anchor, which some speculate was why he was fired in early 1998. The reason supposedly was NBC executive Don Ohlmeyer being friends with O.J. Simpson and him getting tired of the jokes. Some say MacDonald was the best Weekend Update anchor ever.
MacDonald did try to do a show of his own and it only lasted a couple of years. Films where he was the main star failed and ones where he wasn't varied in success. There was still a lot of respect towards him and he was still a notable name to have. A staple on late night shows with Conan O'Brien, David Letterman. Voice over work on stuff like Fairly OddParents. Guest starring for shows like The Middle. Something about his presence I would assume made people comfortable due to the way he delivered on his comedy.
There was a lot of love for him altogether. But this brings up the whole thing about cancer. From all reports, he kept it private for nine years. That's his right. Same thing that happened with both Chadwick Boseman and Kelly Preston last year. That had to have been draining. I believe they're saying acute leukemia. I'm going to have to assume MacDonald had health issues in his childhood unless this is something you can get later on in life. Celebrities take a lot of crap from people and it's nice to see them keep it private. That way no tabloid and trash like TMZ make false stories. Either way, sad to see him go. Comedy lost one of the greats.
Friday, September 17, 2021
Wednesday, September 15, 2021
Monday, September 13, 2021
Surprise, Shang-Chi!
I wonder if anybody expected Shang-Chi to do as well as analysts predicted over these last two weeks. From Box Office Mojo, it dominated its second weekend with over 35 million dollars. A 50 percent drop, but the next closest film made just over five million. Domestically, it's grossed 145 million and altogether worldwide, 257 mil. I kind of thought this would underperform due to the characters and not having any big names attached to this project.
What I think has helped is that you can only see this in theaters. It is part of Disney CEO Bob Chapek's experiment to see what happens when there is only one avenue of seeing a film. You can argue it has paid off. Free Guy has been a hit since it came out last month and should make a small but tidy profit. Shang-Chi should be able to carve itself a nice profit given the hunger for something different out of Marvel and having to stick around of seeing the whole film and not watching on Disney Plus. The main star of the film also blasted Chapek for calling it an experiment. Maybe part of that has played into the film being a huge success so far.
That being said, this film could add extra fuel to the fire of the Scarlett Johansson lawsuit she has against Disney. I don't know how many more countries Shang-Chi has yet to debut in, but it should rest near the worldwide numbers of Black Widow or do just a tad better. Right now, Marvel is in a bind. Supposedly, Kevin Feige is not pleased with Disney. Wall Street Journal had an article a week ago about the Russo Brothers potentially not returning because of how Johansson has been treated. The fact that this is still news and support for her from them and Elizabeth Olsen. The Disney Must Pay group as well backing her. I don't care for this Cinematic Universe, but Shang-Chi will be both a bright spot and dark spot for Marvel. Eternals might be the bow for a bad year and I don't think it's going to find success or be a surprise like Shang-Chi.
Were you surprised by this film doing way better than expected? Is there implications on what could happen to Marvel? Share your thoughts.
Friday, September 10, 2021
Wednesday, September 8, 2021
Golden Axe Doom
Almost twenty eight years later, and there are still people that are making mods for Doom. This was at the end of August, but is interesting to see. For many years, there have been modifications. Goldeneye was converted into Doom. Aliens was another one. But Golden Axe seems like the last choice of game you'd want being converted into a first person shooter. As of now, it is a work in progress. It's still cool though.
From watching a video that was uploaded about a week ago, there is a Heretic type of feel to it. It's in that line of the Sega classic, though. This has to be a painstakingly effort to get that to work on a computer and the engine. You have to figure out what needs to be implemented and to make textures and objects work around the engine, too. Those are my assumptions.
What I'll end with is that Doom is still a testament to how loyal fans can be. The last couple of years have shown it still going strong. Putting the game into household items, including a pregnancy test. Modders upping the ante with their own original levels. I can't wait to see what entails as people keep finding ways to make it stay in tune with the game and be fresh for newcomers to these hacks and mods.
Monday, September 6, 2021
The Dumpster of LA Baseball
The Los Angeles Angels are a dumpster fire of a team and haven't been a contender in the last 12 years. Reports of minor league farm systems failing and many other things make it one of the worst teams in baseball. Not the absolute worst, but still filled with huge mediocrity. I'm willing to bet they didn't want the Feds involved. This is two years in the making since the passing of the team's pitcher, Tyler Skaggs. Skaggs passed away from a drug overdose in July of 2019. Prosecution is now trying to pin the death on ex-employee Eric Kay.
Supposedly and according to articles from sites like CBS 2 and KCAL 9, Kay was also handing out drugs to a handful of other players. I'm assuming Angel players and that handful are looking to testify in court if they haven't already. Kay was indicted last year and trying to get the trail in motion has had times of delay. One of the drugs that was allegedly supplied was oxycodone along with fentanyl. Oxycodone is legal and can be used as a prescription. I don't know what prices are for it, but not going the legal method is a very serious matter.
I'm no legal expert, but the testimonies of those players I think will land Kay in jail for a very long time. This is no slap on the wrist with it being a federal thing. You add in those guys and Skaggs' death, he's not seeing freedom for the rest of his life if found guilty. This is a slap in the face for the team, who got a no-hitter on Skaggs' birthday not too long after the passing. I'm sure there are other teams that do this sort of stuff and not just baseball. For baseball, they've had to deal with steroids for the last 15 plus years. With all sports, there have been big name players who got caught and suspended hugely.
Fentanyl is very, very lethal. I just heard of a story in my neck of the woods of it being laced into other drugs, killing a couple of people. There has to be a way to get this stuff off the streets as best as law enforcement can do. This is not going to look pretty on Kay. It's part of a huge black eye for Major League Baseball, the Angels, and Los Angeles. I hope Skaggs' death can be used as a lesson to keep kids from doing drugs. Staying clean is worth living a full life.
Friday, September 3, 2021
Wednesday, September 1, 2021
No More PlayStation Movies
This is more of a take on why I think this happened. Yesterday was the last day you could buy movies, TV shows, and specials on PlayStation 4 and 5. With PS3 and Vita, I'm not sure. I can assume yes, but will have to look into it deeper. Sony announced the disbanding back in the spring. I'm not sure there is an honest answer you can find in why this occurred. Digital is a big thing now these days. This was in service for a long time. If there was a big guess, probably competition.
With PlayStation and Xbox, you have access to many services. Those services have gotten bigger and bigger within the last decade. Hulu is a great example. Small potatoes ten years ago and now are one of the biggest names for streaming with acquired content and new stuff coming in. Obviously Netflix is still one of the kings of it, though its lost some steam. The major prime time networks and conglomerates have their hand in the pie. Disney, NBC, Viacom. You're getting more meatier content and much more access compared to PlayStation.
I don't know how digital renting worked for it. If I had to assume, a couple days and that was it. I'm not sure many people liked that idea. Even with digital, you want to have a film or show and keep it and re-download whenever. And probably the selection was not a strong point despite having big name properties. Why buy Fast and Furious when I can see all of them on Peacock? Probably back in the late 2000s, it was serviceable and there wasn't much to worry about. Now these days, Sony saw the writing on the wall.
Does that mean Sony has given up on the concept? Maybe. If nothing new materializes in a year, I would say yes. That's not to say they won't return to this, but they'd probably would choose the right time to do a video store again. The PS4, I can kind of understand, but not PS5. For now, Xbox kind of has a slight advantage despite having other streaming services on that console. This however will not dictate a console war that some people obsess about.
Monday, August 30, 2021
Love a Free Guy
I haven't been to a movie in the theater since the start of the pandemic. With the push of getting them back in, many ups and downs have been seen. If there was one I would want to see, Free Guy is one of my choices. It has been a huge surprise. Critics actually like it and moviegoers have made it gross over 170 million worldwide with nearly 80 million domestically. It dropped to number two in its third weekend, but still holding on.
The fact that this isn't a comedy sequel or anything of that nature is something. It's also different given the glut of horror films dominating over many genres. Ryan Reynolds is still a hot name within these last five years. He can carry a film to some capacity. Shawn Levy has had his hand in doing CG stuff like Night at the Museum and doing more lighthearted material. Also a Fox mainstay since the early 2000s. Video games are a big commodity for adaptations despite this being its own original video game film. A big factor is that the only way to see the film is in the theater as part of an experiment from Disney. This and the new Shang-Chi are Bob Chapek's choices to see how they fare without streaming.
It's a dumb popcorn film. Something to ease our minds. And it's one that hits the right spots for nearly everybody. I can only assume, but it probably does the video game stuff very well and its aware of how goofy gaming can be. There's also a few other notable names including TV actress Jodie Comer and Marvel mainstay Taika Waititi. This breathes in something fresh for Hollywood and probably isn't something that panders. You might see a review if I do see it. Maybe its time to see more original films prosper and bring in a new generation of moviegoers.
Friday, August 27, 2021
Thursday, August 26, 2021
OnlyFans Reversal. What Now?
I wouldn't have imagined going back on what was originally intended. OnlyFans was looking to ban adult content in October. It drew a lot of ire in this short time. Now they are reversing course. Most of the time, I wait to see the full story and do some due diligence so I can get a clear vision of the story. But this is one I have to react to. I have a feeling OnlyFans wants to avoid a Tumblr situation.
The reason I say this is because Tumblr numbers dropped. Maybe they see value in seeing the complaints and decided to change the decision. There's not a lot to say right now because I'd like to see where the numbers go. Either they get a surge or it gets a small drop. Either way, most of the adult content people will be happy and still do their thing. Hopefully see an update sooner than later.
Wednesday, August 25, 2021
Game Grading: Is This Trading Places?
Maybe these auction sites are becoming like the Dukes in Trading Places. This sort of stuff began a couple of years ago with a copy of Super Mario Bros. on the NES. It sold for 100 thousand dollars and has since created a niche slice of people wanting crazy money. If stuff didn't happen these last two months, I would have ignored it. A couple things would have caught my attention, though nothing hugely substantial. But not stuff is getting pumped up on games that can easily be found.
There was a Super Mario 64 that sold for over a million and half. Now the question comes into how fake this thing could be with another copy of Super Mario Bros. going for two million dollars. From listening and reading about it, it's not a first print run version or a first year copy. More so a third year copy. Over the years, companies have tried to do grading of games and hasn't fully materialized until 2019. Hard to believe ten years ago prices people wanted from 9.0 graded. That was child's play compared to now.
Getting games you want now these days is a lot more difficult. Prices do play a factor. It will dreadful if it leaked over to PlayStation. Something like Silent Hill goes for over 100 dollars. I can see some jerk off trying to get it graded and it goes for nearly five figures. And the stories of people involved with auction sites having stakes by buying some of these games, there can be pure manipulation on their part. With numbers being hard to come by, it can be anyone's guess on how many games sealed and graded have been sold.
Do I think this market will grow more? After the newest revelations, I don't think so. With these shenanigans going on, I think many will love it when it crumbles. It may not make finding games easier, but at least they won't feel ripped off. My gut tells me another bombshell will occur sooner than later.
Monday, August 23, 2021
OnlyFans Safe For Work?
Plans in October are coming as OnlyFans is stopping with adult content. The site has been around since late 2016 and has been known for that type of stuff. A few years ago, Tumblr stopped with their adult content. I remember that because I also remember reading about the Trump administration trying to stop sex trafficking. Other places like Craigslist stopped with relationship seeking. Why the sudden need to not allow it?
Potentially to be taken seriously, I guess. It's not even a religious type of issue. Adult content is not something billions of people are into. There are some, but not to the level that I think others believe it is. Not to mention the stigma associated with it. While I wouldn't say it's extremely harmful though I see more negatives than positives, pornography is not normal and never has been. It is not exactly healthy, either. Yet, people flip out. The vocal minority. Sex workers having to find other venues to make money. That's also another issue in regards to adult content. How many of these people are of legal age?
I'm not saying the majority of these workers are underage, but you have to take things into consideration. This isn't something to take lightly. Like I said, the attempt to stop sex trafficking was a big deal a few years ago. It's why some websites stopped offering certain features in fear of misusing said feature. In the case of OnlyFans if they are looking to be taken serious, businesses and companies don't want to be associated with lewd content. There was an episode of Bar Rescue from 2015 where a particular bar had a couch that was used to shoot porn. That's a big turn off. I know it's apples and oranges, but still.
More than likely, there will be another site that will provide that niche content. If the Tumblr numbers are anything to go by, OnlyFans will struggle. I'd be willing to say that this will be an endless cycle and these sites and other future websites will keep repeating the same thing over and over.
Friday, August 20, 2021
Wednesday, August 18, 2021
Geeks and Jocks: Bonus Episode 4
Another special bonus episode:
https://anchor.fm/ryan-sullivan1gaj/episodes/Bonus-Episode-4-e162c0q
New season of the podcast begins in mid-September.
Monday, August 16, 2021
Best Trevor Moore Sketches
The shock is still kind of here. Last week had the sudden death of comedian Trevor Moore. He was the founder of The Whitest Kids U'Know, a sketch comedy group that has a very huge cult following due to their material. I have been a fan for a little over a decade discovering their TV show. I'd like to say my favorite sketches. One from each season and a couple of honorable mentions.
Season 1: Lincoln: Probably their most well known. Moore plays John Wilkes Booth and wants to enjoy Hamlet. To his annoyance is President Abe Lincoln, who is played by Zach Cregger. The absurdity of the leader of the nation taunting him and causing Booth to snap and kill him. Over the top, but still holds its own 14 years later. Honorable mentions include Astronaut Mess and Bigfoot vs. Gravedigger/Monster Truck. Watch his mannerisms in the latter sketch.
Season 2: I Teached a Whale: Moore is a child who pisses off Mrs. Lambert (Cregger) about his story and she wants proof of him getting a whale's tail off. What works is the people they meet, which is the whole Whitest Kids group (there's only five members) and the desperation to get a whale. A few jabs at the teacher and the reasons of not having whales. Really fun sketch to watch. Honorable mentions are Oh Shit and Nail Gun.
Season 3: Wheel of Money: Everything you can do to anger Trevor is here. Bad contestants, legal issues and chaos at the. The myriad of reactions. There's a lot of sketches from this season that deserve mention. Foot Touch is really funny. Yellow Mustard-ed, Little Rascals, Gandalf, Trent Reznor, Earthquake, Horses Love, Table Monster, Grapist, Back Seat, Jerkocaust, and Helicopter Wife Cheating. Really funny ones that he shined in.
Season 4: Chicken, Not Kitten: It's one of those sketches that the twist is funny and you will grasp why Moore's character doesn't care for health inspection. A sense of being a douchebag and his outfit. The reactions from the health inspector and highway department guy are what give the sketch plenty of chuckles. Honorable mentions are Pussy Salad (that's the actual name of the skit) and Hunting Housecats.
Season 5: Teacher's Union: Not a starring sketch for Moore, but how he portrays the evil teacher is gut busting. All five members have reasons to laugh in this one. To be honest, this is the only season I'm not overly familiar with due to IFC censoring the show because of adding commercials. If I had to put honorable mentions, Careful Commandos, Old Folks Home, and Ants.
What are your favorite sketches that Trevor Moore did? Just think about some of the things he did that made you laugh and became a fan.
Friday, August 13, 2021
Wednesday, August 11, 2021
Bob Jenkins: A Generational Voice
If you were to piece together the best of NASCAR broadcasting, you can nail down who you'd want for play-by-play. Back then, you had Ken Squier for CBS and TBS. There was Mike Joy at TNN and CBS before doing his current run at Fox. And then you had Bob Jenkins, who just passed away from a fight with cancer. If there was ever a time to be in the right spot at the right time, he was that and put together a very long tenure at ESPN.
It's hard to think that ESPN cared more about non-NBA and non-NFL stuff. NASCAR was one of their early broadcasting packages and the Cup series was around in 1981 up through to 2000. Home to many notable races including the first Brickyard race in 1994. Many classic Atlanta races such as the final race of the 1992 season. Final races ever at Riverside and North Wilkesboro. Jenkins was there. Whether it was with Larry Nubar the first seven years or the combo of Benny Parsons and Ned Jarrett, you had excitement coming from this crew.
This was one of ESPN's first deals with anything that wasn't college sports. Auto racing was something they invested in and the sport ballooned to high popularity as it got more mainstream. NASCAR became more than just a Southern sport. The network would get to expand throughout the 80s with the NBA, NHL, NFL, and much more like Tennis and even wrestling. Jenkins also was a part of calling the Indianapolis 500 for many years, something I did not know of. He was an Indiana native. To be around that for 60 years as a fan and later on to call races, that's a life well spent.
Jenkins would still work with ESPN a little bit after the Cup series moved following the 2000 seasons. He would go to NBC Sports as well where he ended his run in 2012 to take care of his wife who would pass from cancer that same year. Today's batch of broadcasters do not get the same kind of love that he had. You'll never see a guy like him again. One of the true treasures of auto racing and broadcasting.
Monday, August 9, 2021
Love Gov Falling Down
This should be a movie at this point. No joke. There was that Bombshell movie that didn't do well a couple of years ago. I don't think Andrew Cuomo's allegations would be a hit in theaters. You have to hand it to New York Attorney General Letitia James. She's pulling in a lot of work to find the dirty laundry. Earlier in the year, Cuomo went from loved to very hated quickly due to how he handled nursing homes and sexual harassment allegations. More has opened up recently and more women are speaking out. This is where many are speaking against him.
From AP News, even a number of Democrats are not on the side of the Love Gov. That even includes Joe Biden. I think New York is tired of the antics of Cuomo and how he has handled things in recent memory. It's not just one or two women. This is ten plus women. Maybe even more. Stories are going to come out from others who may have been afraid initially to say what happened to them. Pressure is on the governor to resign and he has refused to step down. Impeachment has been the table since at least March. If the time to strike is now, they better get it done quick.
It's not even the first time sexual stuff with a New York governor has occurred. I point to Eliot Spitzer a couple years into his tenure. I also have to wonder if father Mario Cuomo shaped his boys up to treat women in a specific way and how to live lavishly in politics. Andrew is feared for a reason and can dictate many things. He even scared his own wife when they were together. And according to the AP article, the lawyers are bashing James for favoring the women and siding on their stories.
I don't think James is in it to be girl power. She has seen something heinous and has opened up a pandora's box of problems that Cuomo created and no one knew prior. This is the instance where you understand why MeToo exists despite many not using it properly or hiding behind it as a shield. Do I see jail time? Maybe. I think he gets a little bit of time if convicted or a huge fine. As far as politics go, he will never see the public spotlight again for anything huge.
Friday, August 6, 2021
Wednesday, August 4, 2021
Chicago Cleanup
Pretty disappointing to say the least. This fall will mark five years since the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series. A feat hadn't seen since 1908 at that time. That game 7 is one of the greatest games ever played. For me, it doesn't top Super Bowl 42. The way the Cubs were, they should have won at least another World Series. And last week's trades signal a bitter end to players that were catalysts to ending the drought.
Closer Craig Kimbrel was sent close by to the White Sox. That will help bolster the bullpen on the other side of Chicago. Kris Bryant goes to San Francisco. It adds another good bat to a team that has gotten out of a slump the last couple of seasons. Javy Baez goes to the New York Mets. Anything for run support to help compliment their pitching. Anthony Rizzo goes to the New York Yankees. A left handed batter could mean the difference for making the playoffs this year. I know Bryant wanted to get paid, but the Cubs weren't going to. Been a good player since coming into the league, but enough for a big contract? Something the team may regret.
Kimbrel has been lights out this year after a couple disappointing years. The Sox have a strikeout machine that can help bolster their lead in the AL Central. Rizzo has been a consistent player in hits and power. He's a free agent next year. Maybe the Cubs weren't confident in having him return. The Yankees could scoop him up for next year. First base has been a problem for at least eight years. Baez has show his potential for four seasons prior to last year. He still has something to show in terms of power. But I question whether he will fizz out during this time with the Mets. That team always has a knack for ruining stars that come from other clubs.
I think the Cubs are looking to rebuild. Not a good year for them. The NL West has the leading wild card teams and they are far behind first place Milwaukee. I don't know what their payroll is, but it's probably not enough to support all four of those players. Start fresh for 2022. See how David Ross handles the new batch of players. Washington is doing the same thing a little bit. Definitely will talk about that story as well in another blog. You do wonder about the dynasty that could have been. That question, we will never know.
Tuesday, August 3, 2021
Why Olympics Don't Interest Me
Or at least why it doesn't get me excited. I don't have the time and energy to get used to seeing all these competitors throughout the world. Some of the events don't hold my interest. I don't have a lot a reasons. It's one of these things that might surprise people. Sorry if that bothers you, but with working a job, it's hard to find time to see something that I could like. Some stories I'll definitely read, but I'm going to have to pass.
The only other thing that doesn't interest me is NBC. They have had a stranglehold on the Olympics since 1988. Four different decades and they still hold exclusivity on it until 2032. The ratings have not been all that good. Nothing has reached 20 million viewers at any point. I think people are getting burned at how the network does its coverage. Probably tape delays and other stupid shit that turns off viewers. It's not the only reason, but there's more to it if I had to guess. The 2016 Olympics saw a big decline and this year is worse. The pandemic hasn't helped, but that should not be used as a shield for criticism.
So there you go. Sports championships hold my interest a lot more and are more exciting for me compared to the Olympics.
Monday, August 2, 2021
Steam Deck Thoughts
I'm not huge on PC gaming. I find it to be a very obnoxious part of the industry due to the elitism of the hardcore gamers. This has been on full blast for a long time and it was shown a few weeks ago when Steam announced Steam Deck. I decided to wait until the fanboy hype died down a bit to put my thoughts about it. I think the concept of playing PC on a true portable could be possible. Now, there are laptops, but people are not using them solely for gaming unless they were designed specifically for them. But they are bulky.
People want this to overtake the success of the Nintendo Switch. I'm guessing because of all the indie games that have been put on it and combine it with the modern hyped up titles that go onto computers. There are several models and the cheapest is at 400 dollars with 64 gigabytes. That's really good. For the one that is into indies, it's all they need potentially. The most expensive is a 650 dollar one with 512 gigs. According to PC Gamer, microSD cards can be used to add more storage. It will have stuff like Wi-Fi and controller connectivity, HDMI output. It's covering the bases enough. Battery life might be a hassle.
There are two things I would have concern about. One is upgrading. Since the days of the DS and PSP, systems and handhelds have had updates. PlayStation 3 had one back in June for compatibility with movies. Everything currently on the market still gets updates. How long does Steam Deck get updates for its three models? And if so, how long until there are games that can't work on it? Switch doesn't have to worry about that. Neither does PlayStation or Xbox... kind of with some models. People can upgrade with graphic cards and what not, but I can't imagine most will. Why mess something up with your computer and it doesn't do any of the basics.
Two is Valve. They don't have a track record of supporting stuff for a long time. How they handle reception and marketing it will determine if this even survives for a year. I would imagine this would do okay and be out there for a few years. But will the double dipping occur? I have a hard time thinking people will ditch what they have. Anything can happen, though. Other platforms like Windows can be put onto Steam Deck. This comes out next year. PC Gamer said in the second or third quarter for anyone ordering. I'd predict just before next year's summer sale that it will show up on customer's doorsteps. This will not overtake the Switch or any console. It will find an audience, How big it will be will be based on Valve plays their cards.
Friday, July 30, 2021
Thursday, July 29, 2021
Cold Suit
I would have shrugged off this story before revelations came up. When it comes to sexual allegations, I have a hard time wondering if people are telling the truth. There's no defending Blizzard for this. It has reached Bloomberg, The New York Times, many other news organizations and websites. Stunned to know that this was a couple of years in the making in California suing them for the way they treated employees. Plenty of bad things that you would think was unimaginable.
The company has been accused of being a "frat boy culture." One of the big stories was one of their female employees committing suicide after harassment and a trip when a guy brought butt plugs and lube. Rather heinous. Stories of guys goofing off while women were doing their work. That one sounds like something from a different period of time. Offensive jokes and I would have to guess many other inappropriate things were to have been said. I wouldn't think it's all the guys working at Blizzard, but the ones creating the toxicity might have sunk this company.
If this is two years in the making for California, there has to be much more stuff that went down at Blizzard beyond that period. People that got screwed over. More than just the women. Burnt bridges, regardless of who was in charge. I believe the head of the company made a response about not being aware of it and that caused more ire. So much that many current and former employees signed their names to a statement, blasting the head's thoughts. One of the results was a walkout.
There's a lot that probably will get brought up at some point. This is following a trend of controversies involving gaming. You got the Super Smash Bros. fandom from last year with their tournaments. EVO from last year. Stories of Ubisoft and one of their studios. This can happen to either gender, but the death threats towards several actresses that were in The Last of Us Part II. It has evolved a lot more from what was seen way back in the 80s. There is still that stereotype of being a bit exclusive to guys, but I'd have to imagine there is a decent amount of women playing that you wouldn't have seen 40 years ago.
This is a burn it to the ground and rebuild thing. Blizzard stands to lose a lot in reception and commercial profit. The only thing you can do is boycott if you want to stick it to them. Your choice. But this will take a long time to repair their image. I'm not a legal expert, but I anticipate heavy damages.
Wednesday, July 28, 2021
Space Flop?
Think we're going to have to say that now. Space Jam: A New Legacy needed a month long run of big weekends to even get close to the supposed 150 million dollar budget. Not reaching 10 million (9.6 million according to Box Office Mojo) is very much a death sentence. You can chalk this up to many factors. The pandemic is too easy of an answer, but some states are rising in cases, making it kind of difficult for some to go to the movies.
But the pandemic is not the only thing holding it back. HBO Max has it for free. As I said in a blog about it being number one last week, this is getting panned. The original was also panned, but not as severely. The first Space Jam's concepts are rather forgettable and you forget the first half unlike something like Rocky where you're engrossed in all of the film. With the sequel, it didn't do anything for critics. LeBron James' being a factor is there, too. What he does off the court and his behavior, this is not the type of guy you're going to have lead a box office.
The original's director, Joe Pytka, talked to TMZ recently and tried to justify why he viewed his film to be better than the sequel. I'm assuming he's had to defend himself a number of times. Yes, there's Bill Murray and Danny DeVito. You have a soundtrack that is very memorable. NBA players that provided funny moments. Big name ones that Michael Jordan competed against. But Pytka doesn't seem to realize that his film is not a masterpiece. There's issues. It has fans, but the fans are not in huge numbers that Warner Brothers was hoping they thought they had.
If the pandemic didn't occur, I'd argue it would have still came up short, but the bleeding wouldn't be so severe. Worldwide, this should make more than the budget, but I'm not seeing this making any kind of profit. It didn't need 150 million dollars. Maybe these studios should stop relying on CGI driven films and look back at the past of why a number of movies did really well and netted them huge profit. This overly expensive films will come back to bite them.
Monday, July 26, 2021
The Effects of Milwaukee
Almost a week later, and the Milwaukee Bucks gave the NBA a shot in the arm. Being down two games to the Phoenix Suns, they won the next four en route to a championship for the first time since 1971. Back then, it was the young sensation, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar leading the way. Here, it was Giannis Antetokounmpo and other starters playing defense and making shots count. Here's what helped the league.
First is the two teams. Small market ones, yes, but ones that hadn't seen a Finals. No Warriors, no LeBron James team. Excitement can occur for ones that never sniffed a championship or had, but haven't been at one for as long as Milwaukee did. How about the fact that these weren't super teams, either. Unknowns or stars accompany the guys like Antetokounmpo and Chris Paul. Anyone could play a factor.
The games having an underdog mentality. Milwaukee being down two games, the audience wants to see the "heroes" rise up to the challenge. In doing so, they fixed what was problematic and rebounded to get the championship. A lot of energy to stay in that fight. Phoenix lost some of that mojo after Game 2. They were in close games, but had didn't take advantage of opportunities late or let Milwaukee crawl back into a game. In the history of Arizona sports, it unfortunately continues a thing where the state has yet to see a championship outside of the Diamondbacks World Series in 2001.
Ratings helped, but not good enough. Compared to last year, these are a big improvement, getting around eight to nearly ten million viewers. Almost averaging ten million for the whole series. It doesn't come close to reaching 2019. Many factors have played a role. People getting tired of James. The Warriors making it to five straight Finals, winning three. Politics over the last two seasons, especially all the social justice stuff last year. I'd argue players speaking before thinking on social media. Adam Silver not understanding why his league is suffering. The NBA burnt its audience out.
I think this 2021-22 season is going to be an even bigger test. Does Milwaukee winning it bring forth a group of fans to return to watching it? Will Silver keep close eye on what his players do? There's more questions that have to be asked as there is a lot at stake for the NBA. Early prediction, I believe they will see a small improvement, but not by a lot. It all depends on the direction they want to go and any controversies that occur. They can't airball any mistakes.
Friday, July 23, 2021
Thursday, July 22, 2021
The Teigen Trap
Watching this unfold is pure karma and entertainment. About two months ago, model Chrissy Teigen was called out for cyberbullying by Courtney Stodden. Stodden received death threats from her in 2011 when she was married at the age of 16 to then 51 year old Doug Hutchison. Other people spoke out of Teigen's bullying, including the mother of actress Lindsay Lohan. For the most part, Teigen is now viewed as a cyberbully. Some retail places not having her cookware anymore. Issuing half assed responses. And she still doesn't understand why she's in the position she is in now.
Go to PageSix.com since they are putting up a valiant effort in detailing the latest news of Teigen. Supposedly she's depressed and feels like things are very rough. One part I'd probably feel bad for is her miscarriage I believe from last year. No one wants to terminate a pregnancy because of that. But that doesn't excuse poor behavior. She's probably pissed deep down that she can't get on social media and continue her bullying crusades. Eventually, she was going to get caught and she did red-handed. I don't think she realized how big this issue was going to be and still be one two months later.
Complaining about being in the "cancel club", yeah, because you made death threats to a teenager. You harassed a ten year old who has had big success on television for the last seven years. Those are just a few people, though. There's probably more that Teigen has went after viciously. This "cancel club" is a taste of her own medicine. If she was 20 years old, I'd let it slide a tiny bit, but would have a firm warning on not continuing this behavior. But at the age of 35/36, that's over the top and childish. The fame got to her head and she didn't learn to control anything.
The fact that PageSix had another article with Stodden speaks volumes. From the article, she has yet to get a direct apology from Teigen and thinks she should donate to anti-bullying charities. Her behavior could have a long lasting effect on her kids at the age of five and three respectively. Someone in public relations is going to have it very rough. If she can change, she has to commit to it, but I don't think she has the heart to do so. Until then, she deserved to be exiled from social. If she still doesn't understand the consequences of her actions, she will never learn a thing.
Tuesday, July 20, 2021
A Peculiar Top Two July 16
The dust settled and one of the more interesting weekends a few days ago had a new number one film. How they will fare the next weekend is what I'll be curious about. From Box Office Mojo, Space Jam: A New Legacy scored its way to the top with over 31 million dollars, besting Black Widow by over five million. The next closest film was a huge drop with an Escape Room sequel making 8.8 million.
The Space Jam sequel is an interesting one. If I had to guess where it was going to be, it was top five due to nostalgia and a new generation seeing Looney Tunes. You also have the fans of LeBron James, who acted like a shithead with a "Hi haters" tweet after seeing the film reach number one. Like the original it is getting panned and some of James' fans online are acting like Michael Jordan fans are review bombing. It makes no sense at all. A lot of people and critics view the original as a forgettable film. This will be no different. Expect the new generation of kids to like it tremendously like most 90s kids back then.
That said, Space Jam Legacy has a huge uphill battle. The budget is either around 150 million or 185 million. Warner Brothers could be taking a huge bath if this doesn't have huge legs. It needs a good solid month in the States to get close to the budget. I don't think it will happen. The international release dates, I don't know, but that could be the saving grace. Pending the budget and advertising/marketing, this needs to make 400 to 500 million to even be considered a profitable one. Add in the small controversies, it's hard to give it a benefit of the doubt combined with the panned reception. James' haters tweet could bite him given his toxic behavior.
Black Widow could have been seen as a favorite to repeat. There was a headline I saw with movie theaters blaming Disney Plus for why the movie dropped to 25 million dollars. That could be streamed for 30 dollars, similar to what was done with Mulan last year. According to Deadline, the numbers reached 2 million households, which means it made 60 million. That number could be skewed a little bit, but take it as it is. The confidence in going to movie theaters is still a question. If you have a family of four or five, it's better to do your own popcorn and drinks and buy the film off of Plus for 30. At least in theory. Sure, it's not like the movie theater experience, but with a pandemic still going, why should some take that risk?
And this isn't just families that may not see the film in theaters. Right now, it's made just over 210 million worldwide (270 mil, give or take, from Plus) This also had a 200 million dollar budget and my guess of 50 million or more for advertising and marketing. It's going to look a lot more disappointing compared to the Ant-Man sequel though this will make more than that. There's also the Birds of Prey film from DC that I look at a little bit. That film did not have the budget like Widow, but made past it worldwide. You also have people who might be burned out on Marvel and Disney churning out these films. Scarlett Johansson isn't exactly a top billed actress that can lead a box office. They have to hope that the film doesn't drop steeply in its third weekend.
This upcoming weekend will bring in a new G.I. Joe film, Snake Eyes. Also plenty of smaller released films coming out. I can't imagine Space Jam having a strong second weekend and Black Widow could go either way. Maybe studios should learn you don't need 150 to 200 million budgets for most films to do well.
Monday, July 19, 2021
Shooting in the Outfield
What do you say about a situation like this? How do you comprehend it? Saturday night is one Nationals fans will remember for the wrong reasons. Later stages of the game, switching of sides for who will bat and who will field. Gunshots erupt. Chaos ensues. Players get their families into the clubhouses. Fans told to exit through center field and right field exits as the game got suspended. Scary situation.
Thankfully, Sunday went by without incident, but it makes you think. What is going on in DC? Has mayor Muriel Bowser lost control of keeping things from spiraling downward fast? Nationals Park isn't exactly in the greatest neighborhood from what I remember, but it wasn't like it was in the ghetto. People should be at ease when they go to a game. At least they think they will. Last week had an incident with three potential killers at a hotel near Coors Field. Though the All-Star Game was not their target, bloodshed did not occur.
I'm surprised this happened in DC and not a city like Chicago or Los Angeles. I don't know what can be done to prevent another incident like this from happening. Or at least you hope it doesn't happen again. I honestly think no one is putting any effort to stop crime. I feel like it's only going to get worse until an athlete gets killed. The time to really go after criminals needs to happen now before we see a tragedy amidst many tragedies that go unnoticed.
Friday, July 16, 2021
Thursday, July 15, 2021
Xenophobe A. Smith
Another week, another controversy at ESPN. And it's from one who finds himself in a bit of criticism and for past remarks that are both racist and sexist.
Shohei Ohtani has been a must watch for this year. Power hitter and a pitcher is a good combo. A Bo Jackson type of thing but only doing one sport. He always has a translator with him and that did not sit well with ESPN's Stephen A. Smith (hate using the initial in his name). Smith basically went xenophobic on the Angels star this past Monday and said along the line of baseball being better if he spoke English. A lot of people on social media and within the sports world ripped him for those comments and rightfully so. He has since "apologized", but it adds another stain to past controversies.
Domestic violence is real. I do think there are ones who will fake it, but the Ray Rice incident in 2014 was real. The ex-Raven now is in a better place from reports. But Smith was downplaying why this was a big incident and saying some rather spicy takes that resulted in ESPN suspending him for a week. He's also said very sexist things towards a number of women. Whether it's Ayesha Curry, the US Women's soccer team, or even UFC and MMA women fighters, he puts himself in the crosshairs. Unfortunately, it's a ratings grabber.
Baseball definitely needs fixing. Question is, I'm not sure where you start. Market Ohtani. Get people to recognize some of these big name players that aren't the 70 year olds hooked on Viagra commercials. Ban the shift. Showcase more of the up and comers. There's not an easy solution.
I honestly question if Smith is knowledgeable about non-NBA sports. His football takes are bad. He makes it easy to know he doesn't follow a lick of baseball. ESPN keeps letting him off the hook. I don't know if they are afraid of punishing him because of various reasons, but something has to happen now. I can see him getting fired. I can literally see him saying something even worse. Disney and ESPN need to grow a spine and have a discussion with him. With all the stuff regarding Rachel Nichols and Maria Taylor, all it is doing is making it easy to ditch the worldwide leader in sports. Ohtani is here to stay for now.
Wednesday, July 14, 2021
Monday, July 12, 2021
USA Change: Psych at 15
I do miss when the USA Network wasn't the Dick Wolf network. They aired their share of movies (they're getting better now, but don't hold your breath on that) and showed respect for a number of original shows. There was WWE, The 4400, and Monk. A couple others but that was it. Kind of falling on the wayside given their past of having tons of original programming. But then you get to Psych, which celebrated 15 years on July 7th. It was a breath of fresh air and a quality show that was like Monk, but with their own takes. Without it, you don't see USA take chances on other pilots.
Created by Steve Franks (his only other credit is Big Daddy), it helped the network. The series focused on Shawn Spencer, a very intelligent man with a photographic memory thanks to his policeman father to look for the very fine details. He reports a crime and unfortunately taken to custody because it involved two criminals. To get out of it, he fakes that he is a psychic. Cue eight years of solving many crimes and going along for the ride. It's comedy enough for the pilot. But it grew and grew. Why did it get the following that it wound up getting?
Part of it I think is that it's not ultra serious. Look at prime time TV. Everyone wanted the next Law and Order or CSI show. There are serious crimes in Psych, but it's much more lighter toned. You get comfortable with the main characters and their pros and cons. Development is seen throughout it and the writers were able to cobble out many humorous moments. But it's not all being a joke. It picked and chose when to be serious, when to crack out the joke. Not 100 percent accuracy, but it landed more than splat. It didn't go overboard with references compared to some shows (cough Family Guy cough)
There is a charm to the show, which is why it has continued on since ending the last episode in 2014. Two films with a third one on the way. Universal knows it owes a lot to the cast and crew of Psych and the cult fanbase that has welcomed it in open arms. It is very much like a Twin Peaks in terms of love, which is fitting given they did an episode in tribute of it. I could go on about more, but I'd like to do a favorite seasons blog of it. Give it some credit at the very least. It made USA more lively and exciting when it wasn't bombarded with Law and Order reruns.
Thursday, July 8, 2021
Vocal about Comic Book Adaptation
I'm a lot more critical towards comic book films. Specifically Marvel. If you like that stuff, fine. But understand why others are getting frustrated at them overtaking movie theaters. The big test for the company will be how Black Widow performs. There is some vocal opinion from actor Stephen Dorff, who worked on Blade back in 1998. He unloaded a bit on the film and Marvel in general. Hardly the first, but won't be the last.
I think with the influx of these films and their success the last 12 years or maybe more, studios are looking for that big slice. They think superhero films can sustain the industry along with horror, sci-fi, and animated films. There are plenty of films that aren't those types and it fluctuates on whether these help drive the box office or falter. Steven Spielberg was a bit critical towards these. Martin Scorsese in 2019 understood why people enjoy them, but did not consider them cinema. I'm sure deep down some have similar mindsets.
Even a guy like Lou Ferrigno, who played the Hulk back in the 70s, was a little critical in a jab towards Marvel. More so the reliance on CGI. There is a point, but I'll get to this. With CGI, you can do things that weren't possible back in 1977. I can also get why Ferrigno is not huge on it since studios rely on this a lot instead of trying some things naturally. Do these films really need 200 million dollar budgets?
We're unfortunately past the days where different films were number one for its respective year. You won't see a Top Gun, a Beverly Hills Cop, or a Home Alone like you did back in the 80s and 90s.. I think Dorff wants to see people try seeing other films and expanding their horizon compared to seeing only Marvel films or comic stuff in general. People could pull the jealousy card, but I don't see it as jealousy. These are corporate factory made popcorn flicks that are practically brain dead films. Eventually, people will burn out from these. You'll still see some of these do well, but I see a future where some will flop and there will be bigger risk.
I'm not sure if this will get more vocal, but as much as we need popcorn flicks, we need more original material. Like I said, this weekend will be a huge test for Marvel and Disney.
Tuesday, July 6, 2021
ESPN Implosion
Where do you start on this? I've never seen ESPN to this level of animosity. An article from The New York Times put out a thing they found of footage of the sports channel's reporter, Rachel Nichols, from last year. When it came time to return and do the NBA stuff, she wasn't hosting Countdown. Instead, it was given to another reporter, Maria Taylor. A camera was on and Nichols vented about the network trying to make its case for diversity. I don't think she was upset about Taylor herself, but at the time it was recorded, you can get why consequences could happen. Some have defended her. Some have ripped her.
While I do think Nichols should be aware of her surroundings like everyone should, it makes ESPN look very fake. To be honest, I don't see anything special about her as a reporter. I think Taylor isn't special either. Not worth the supposed 8 million a year she is alleged to be demanding. I'd like to know who pulled the trigger to have Taylor as the host at the last possible moment. This does feel like a need to be "more diverse" for the wrong reasons. There's a way to do inclusion organically, but this was not it. Even for a guy like Stephen Jackson, who has a messed up mind and has said nasty antisemitism, has called ESPN out for that decision. That speaks to how bad they have handled things and why people are tuning out along with the political focus.
Nichols has done sports for a very long time. At least two decades worth. I can sort of understand why she was bothered about getting the shaft. Taylor I only see do college sports, but has for almost a decade on the big stage after five years with the SEC Network. If you want to do this properly, you have to pass the torch in some manner. There was nothing necessary for ESPN to make a sudden change. Why not have both? For all the crying about lack of women and minorities, you get both of them together and maybe make them co-hosts. That would have been much better.
In the midst of this, reports are coming out now that Nichols has been replaced by reporter Malika Andrews for sideline reporting. Supposedly to put more focus on the Finals. In short term, maybe, but that draws more attention to ESPN and continuing to make themselves look bad with their intentions. Hopefully Andrews doesn't get berated all that much. But overall, the network's main NBA people stink to high heaven. You have Jay Williams with his take on the Boston Celtics coaching history and his "I was hacked" response getting shut down by almost everybody. While bad, it pales to Jalen Rose and his thoughts on Kevin Love making the Olympic team. It's not good, and that's just a small sample size.
ESPN needs to burn to the ground, rebuild and retool as a whole in terms of journalism, especially with their NBA people. We should be talking about what could be a good Finals for two teams who haven't had much experience in winning a championship. Instead, we're talking about political and racial pandering because a network think that's much more important than having intellectual discussion to matchups. There's a lot of work to be done to have diversity, but this ain't it. Continuing to shoot themselves in the foot makes them look worse. I don't know if Jimmy Pitaro can fix any of this, but he better think fast.
Monday, July 5, 2021
Fireworks Danger
This one will be quick somewhat. Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Matiss Kivlenieks got struck by a firework and passed away yesterday. It's not the first time for an incident to occur with a sports star. Jason Pierre-Paul lost part of one of his hands in 2015. July 4th is supposed to be something nice to celebrate. For some, it means getting boozed up and shooting fireworks in their yard. That is a combination that should never happen.
In regards to this Kivlenieks incident, shouldn't these athletes be aware of their surroundings? This isn't his fault or anything, but it's the kind of thing that creates all sorts of dread. Even if it was someone you don't know, what if it kills a citizen? A child? You have to go into that scenario and assume the worst can always happen. I have neighbors who are rather arrogant and almost seem oblivious to the dangers of fireworks with having about 20 or so people over. Can't expect everything to go smoothly.
What makes people inconsiderate is not understanding people who have pets. Dogs can get terrified of hearing the sounds of fireworks. I'd also bring up anyone involved in war. One guy I worked with back in 2016 was a Vietnam vet. Fireworks one night triggered a PTSD and he was very upset. Know the people around you before you start shooting off that stuff. There can be fun to be had for July 4th, but a little safety can go a long way.
Columbus loses a guy that could have been their future starter behind the net. Maybe we should start issuing licenses to shoot fireworks and have them in a spot where they can't get tilted towards someone.
Friday, July 2, 2021
Thursday, July 1, 2021
A Dark Emulation Scene
This week is a very dark one for the emulation scene if what is said is true. I've never been a huge fan of bsnes/higan, which is a Super NES emulator that strived for accuracy and making all games work. SNES9x I thought was a better one. But that doesn't mean anything for the time being as the guy who created higan has supposedly passed away via suicide. Near/byuu took his own life and fingers are being pointed towards online bullies that harassed him and make things worse for him and anyone close to him. It has upset a lot of people involved in gaming and the emulation scene.
Online bullying is not new. It has grown out of control in the last ten years or so. Controversial figures, teenagers, anyone can be a target, whether it's real criticism or straight up harassment. In the realm of people getting picked on, I feel like that's more from teenagers who feel that the whole world is against them. But this can also apply to adults as well. Near was the target of a group that has been in the spotlight at points for other types of tragedies. There were things about him such as being non-binary and several other things that no one will realize.
Near had been working on emulation for over 15 years. The dedication from that is a huge welcome. If only others would do that for stuff like Sega Saturn and obscure systems that don't get enough love. But the dedication has also lead to people who flat out hate the guy. I would have to wager that it got so severe that he lost it mentally. You act in ways you typically don't do. It wouldn't surprise me if he had depression. Unfortunately, that is still a stigma whenever mental health comes into play. Nothing ever gets done and almost always when it's too little, too late. While a different situation, this feels a lot like what happened with comedian Robin Williams. Top of their game and then they end their life. No one to help them or to even see a doctor.
Also unfortunate is the online bullies getting doxxed. Groups can get pissed, but fighting fire with fire was a very bad idea. The best way to fight back is to go after the people in charge of running those types of sites and create a huge stink. Some question if Near even passed away. There was a confirmation made by someone close him that it did happen. Some have suggested punishments for the future. That won't happen. I look at it as huge legal issues since anyone around the world can say anything and laws are different everywhere.
The best anyone could potentially do is to talk to a suicide helpline or speak to doctors. Maybe we can stop making mental health and depression so taboo. Let's make more people aware of this. Very unfortunate with what happened to Near. The best we can do is celebrate the efforts made to make emulation much better. A lot has changed since 2004 and if not for people like him, the scene would not have thrived.
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