YouTube Videos: Jan 22-28

 

Geeks and Jocks: Episode 60

New episode:

https://anchor.fm/ryan-sullivan1gaj/episodes/Episode-60-Death-Has-No-Holiday-ephbph

Xbox Live Hike and Reversal

If you were to get an Xbox, the way to play most online games is through their Live Gold. They range at one month, three months, and a year. The year one is 60 dollars, which is the equivalency of buying a full priced game. On the 360, there were perks to using it and there still is reasons to have it on Xbox One. But Microsoft considering doubling it to 120 dollars, which met obvious backlash and they reversed their stance on it. They also have plans, according to sites like The Verge and Cnet, to make free to play games free without using their service.

The game industry makes a lot of money every year. Here's the thing however. Most gamers are not going to bend over for something like Live Gold. I don't think parents would go for it for their kids. Even if you were to budget, 120 is very high, no matter how much you slice it. Game Pass has become one of Microsoft's main focuses in recent memory. Reminds me a bit of Sega Channel with picking games you want out of the selection. But this requires a lot of bandwidth. Lots of downloading, too. Internet speeds are not the same for everybody.

I hope this was a test to see reactions. If not, this was a dumb move on Microsoft. They seemed to be making the right choices before the Series S/X came about. Nothing too bad in its first two months. But the PlayStation and Switch are still the top choices for everyone. This will not be anywhere near the disaster of the Xbox One reveal. And Phil Spencer better think about trying to get people into buying his systems. This isn't like the last generation where you're riding high on your major hit. I like the Xbox brand, but they need to get some of their exclusives out if they want even a shot at second place. PS5 and whatever new Nintendo system comes out in a couple years will eat them alive.

YouTube Videos: Jan 15-21

 

Playoff Moving

The people that are hired for Fox Sports 1, I don't care much for. For as bad as ESPN is at times with attention seeking, this is much worse. When you have idiots Skip Bayless, it's easy to change the channel. Or buffoons like Colin Cowherd. This take he had a few days ago for the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs game is so bad, it makes you wonder why someone like him still has a job. He thinks Pat Mahomes deserves his chance to play and that the game should be moved until he is healthy.

That's not how football works. I don't know if Cowherd has bets riding on the Chiefs to repeat as Super Bowl Champions, but the timetable to get the season finished is very tight. The NFL is the only league to be on schedule right now. If it was COVID issues and Mahomes and a half dozen players got the virus, I get it. This is a health issue pertaining to injury, though. Cleveland played their playoff game without their head coach and left guard. I doubt they complained that much.

Mahomes is going through the concussion protocol despite his injury being a tweaked nerve in his neck. Call it a weird theory, but maybe the neck nerve issue caused it him to have issues with his head to the effects of getting a concussion. I'm sure doctor reports are confidential., but it's still a concern. A neck issue is not something simple. You're hoping there isn't any aggravation if you're Andy Reid. I do think Mahomes will play, but it's a matter of seeing his health if he takes any major hits. Last thing anyone wants to see is a player become a paralyzed person. The last time anything major like that I can think of was Buffalo's Kevin Everett in 2007.

If Chad Henne is going to start, that's what can potentially happen. I know a Josh Allen and Mahomes game is what Cowherd wants, but the NFL will not bow to this selfish prick. These teams and players have followed a strict regiment since July. They have done a lot to get the season almost finished and they will not adhere to a loudmouth radio host who's angry that the major star of one team may not play. You don't rush concussion protocols. Barring any setbacks from either team, the game will play on Sunday. Suck it up, Cowherd! 

Geeks and Jocks: Episode 59

 New episode

https://anchor.fm/ryan-sullivan1gaj/episodes/Episode-59-Hungry--Chief-ep73n9

Dancing for Food... GrubHub Style

Being in a pandemic, food delivery has become a bigger deal. DoorDash and several other sites have become prominent. We all have those days where we want something quick. Not wanting to make food or want any left over food. GrubHub has been one of the big names. Heavily advertised. Back in November, they put one up. It's an animated ad of adults and kids getting excited for food. Dancing to a beat as they take bites of their meals. It's been panned for the most part and I don't blame the people for hating it.

For one thing, the animation does look second rate. Like a worse version of Dreamworks and Illumination combined. I'm no expert on cartoon animation, but still. The character modeling looks awful and ugly. I know it's trying to make a point with delivery and getting food, but this route was poorly executed. The camera angles to get the dance parts in are very hipster like. Music videos are cool when done right, but this is not what you need for a commercial.

I personally think there is much worse for commercials. This is still pretty bad in itself, but if I had to pick the worst, I'd have plenty of options. It's up there with the East Hills Mall commercial in terms of cringe. It's up there with car insurance ads in terms of being shoved so much down people's throats. This has become many memes. Even GrubHub has done a few memes on this. I wouldn't get mad about it and be like some people and not use a service if I wanted to. So childish to refuse to use the service.

Commercials now these days involve a lot of songs. Overproduced ads that have nothing to do with the ads themselves. Cringe ones that I'm surprised make airwaves considering the strictness of the FCC. While I don't think the GrubHub commercial should be banned, I would reconsider how to do other ads in the future. Just do live action ones. If they do go the animation route, look for something better or better storyboards. Awful execution and as I said, panned and with good reason.

Parents Hate Caillou?

This is more than a week old, but I find it funny. Even CNN and Fox News bringing it up. I think any parent that is with their toddlers in the mornings will be stuck with PBS and several other channels. Caillou was a show that began in 2000 and ended a decade later after five seasons. Over the last ten years, it's been on in reruns. With the start of the year, it was taken off of PBS' schedule. The reactions are priceless with parents in joy of it.

I haven't seen this much hate for a PBS show since Barney. No joke. Granted, it wasn't all negative, but still. From various tweets and what I gathered, the Caillou character is a spoiled brat. You'll see that in a number of kids shows. Certain characters are very rotten and there are consequences that occur from their actions. I'm guessing this wasn't the case for this show. Which is weird because PBS is typically an education channel. Learning right from wrong. They're not the only channel to do it, but that's the bread and butter of them. Why else has Sesame Street been a worldwide appeal to many for over 50 years?

When it comes to cartoons, the most vocal are these people who didn't grow out of their childhood. That's barring any controversy that draws ire. But something like Caillou is certainly the exception. Where does PBS go? To be honest, I don't know what they have in the pipeline or if anyone is willing to do shows for them. The kids programs are literally their only original programs. After that, it's a bunch of British crap and the occasional movie that isn't butchered with censorship. I'm surprised they've never considered a 24 hour network consisting of all their works since the 60s. 

Double whammy? Maybe

YouTube Videos: Jan 8-14

 

Fan Toxicity: The Pac-Man Nut

You have fans of plenty of games. That's a given. But then you have the fans that take it a little too far. They cling to a franchise. Frustration if it's not a sequel they think is needed. Multiple factors. But this guy I'm going to talk about is very much a complete nut with Pac-Man that it's driven him mentally unstable online. Hence the blog title, The Pac-Man Nut. I will not bring up his name and I do not want to see anyone belittle him because of what I have viewed.

This person has a huge love for Pac-Man. More specifically, the World games. I"ve played the trilogy. The original is really good. Been a long time since I played 2, but I remember it being good. I got 3 on the DS and it's not too bad. Need to play a console version at some point. He wants a fourth World game The thing is, these games did well, but they did not at the same time. Enough to justify getting a sequel. You have all these 3D platformers on the N64, PlayStation 1 and 2, GameCube. Competition. .Banjo-Kazooie only sold a couple million when it released at the peak of the genre. You get people that will be frustrated, but nothing to the level of this person.

This person gets hugely upset and really angry. So much that it bothers him that others like a specific type of gameplay. With Pac-Man, he does not like that others like a variation of the original 1980 release. There's more of a Namco hate with showing extreme displeasure with most franchises of the company. It also goes beyond them as well. It's franchises like Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog. This is not to be mean spirited, but the guy is a lunatic judging by what he posts and retweets.

Supposedly, he is very depressed due to COVID-19 and I'm going to assume a lot of people getting tired of his antics. The way the gaming industry also is, I can see some frustration. I think it has also dawned on him that he's gone too far when he has followers that do the same shtick he does, something that has bothered him. If I was him, I would seek some help and maybe not be around a video game for a month or two. Everybody has their own likes and dislikes, but this isn't something to develop depression. I would be re-evaluating things if I were him and trying to make things better instead of feeling the need to lash out at everyone and creating a toxic environment every time something is brought up regarding Pac-Man or other franchises he cares about.

Geeks and Jocks: Episode 58

 New episode

https://anchor.fm/ryan-sullivan1gaj/episodes/Episode-58-Chaos-Everywhere----We-Just-Began-2021-eosite

Who Wants to Coach? NFL 2021

Three firings before it ended, and another four more, maybe five.

Before it ended came the firings of Matt Patricia, Dan Quinn, and Bill O'Brien. O'Brien damaged the Houston Texans pretty badly. Supposedly, they are looking at Marvin Lewis and a favorite may be Jim Caldwell. Both have done well with the teams they have been around. Quinn had a number of struggles the last couple of years with the Atlanta Falcons. No run game and defense killed his chances. Detroit had no defense under Patricia. Along with running game issues and the health of Matthew Stafford, no surprise he was let go.

Adam Gase being fired was not a surprise. The New York Jets going 2 and 14 this year don't help. Too many problems on both sides. Cover 0 blitz, anyone? Salvaging the season and being 7 and 9 did not save Anthony Lynn from getting canned with the LA Chargers. Some injuries and poor defense hampered this season. Hopefully whoever is hired does not mess with what Justin Herbert did as a rookie. Doug Marrone being fired from the Jacksonville Jaguars is not a stunning thing. Second rate talent, though they were in some close games.

I thought Doug Pederson was safe in Philadelphia. Not the case with being let go yesterday. Supposedly, disagreements with Eagle owner Jeffrey Lurie to go with an abysmal year and questionable approaches. Losing the locker don't help. Carson Wentz's situation does not help either. Too much toxicity from the sounds of it. One likely candidate is running back coach Duce Staley, who has ties with Philly. Lots of surprise considering reactions from a number of sports networks. The one that is still in the air is Matt Nagy. Despite two playoff appearances. the Chicago Bears were one and done. Even with a good defense, the offense was still a hassle. Inconsistency is the word I would describe it. If he's gone, three coaches in eight years.

There are some places that one could envy and head to. Some are an easy fix and a couple are ones that require a year or two to rebuild. Have to play that hand and see what can be done with what will be a lowered salary cap.

Hard Nosed Tommy

The Los Angeles Dodgers are still one of the premier teams in Major League Baseball. Whether it's the Brooklyn days or the West Coast since the late 50s, they have put their mark on success. For the longest period, there was stability in part of having a 40 year period of not hiring manager after manager. The second of which is the late Tommy Lasorda. Even with bad seasons, they stuck through from 1977 through the mid part of 1996.

As I write this, by the time I could understand baseball in the late 90s, he was no longer manager. I have to look at stuff that other generations saw. Lasorda was a hard nosed manager. After the Red Machine of the Cincinnati Reds stopped being that dominant, the Dodgers became the big team to follow in the National League. Some World Series stops, but not able to win it until 1981. One more in 88, a couple handfuls of playoff appearances. Leading the way for an organization. He kind of reminds me of Bill Parcells and not taking any crap, not letting the media swoop in at times. But Lasorda has the credit of getting a mascot ejected from a game in Montreal back in 1989.

Lasorda seemed like the type of guy with pride. A big face for the Dodgers, Some charitable moments. Being the first big sports face for Sega when the Genesis launched in 1989. You don't see managers stay with a team for 20 years. The closest guy I can think is Bobby Cox, one of the biggest managers when he took over for the Atlanta Braves from 1991 through 2010. Very fitting for Vin Scully, legendary Dodger broadcaster, to do Lasorda's obituary. I don't have too much else to say. Baseball lost some legends legends last year. Tom Seaver, Charley Pride, Bob Gibson. There's a few more, but these were guys from an earlier era. The best anyone can do is remember the legacies they carried. Lasorda is no different. Los Angeles and the Dodgers will be wearing pride on their sleeves when the 2021 baseball season comes this spring.

Who's Delisting DSi?

Digital games have been around for a very long time. Consoles and handhelds for about 15 years, give or take. As time has gone on, it has become bigger and bigger. Almost to the point where there is too much oversaturation from indie developers. Ignoring computers and phones, the biggest library as of 2021 is the Xbox 360 and following it are the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch. The problem will come as the 360 and PlayStation will one day follow the path of the Wii. Nintendo's 3DS may have one foot already in the digital grave.

Recently, there was a number of DSiWare games that were removed from the 3DS eShop. A couple hundred, but from several game websites, most of them have made it back onto the service. Some are wondering why this occurred without warning. When the Wii was being shut down, Nintendo planned their shutdown way ahead so that things would settle down and gave their customers breathing room to get whatever games they wanted. It seems very strange, but maybe there was a glitch. That can happen, especially if there was no notification. Nintendo may be arrogant a lot of terms, but they are not that arrogant.

Some of it can be licensing. DuckTales Remastered was removed for a while on Steam, PS3, and 360 before coming back. There's multiple factors. Nintendo could have been hacked. That being said, I don't know how much interest there is in something like DSiWare. Anything digital for Nintendo that isn't the Switch as well. Not to say the install base moves on quickly, but the interest in PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One, there's why some still stick to those systems. So they can try some of the digital titles that you can't get anywhere, especially on PS3 and 360.

If you're still interested in DSiWare, get some eShop cards and get what you need before Nintendo makes the announcement of delisting that selection. They're not that foolish when treating customers like dirt, but I'd assume a notificiation will come soon. Better to tell ahead of time.

YouTube Videos: Jan 1-7

 

Will I See Movies in Theaters for 2021?

This is something that I'm not sure will happen. Over the last few years, I've seen around 40 or so films in the theater since early 2018. These I have reviewed on this blog. Always fun to do. With the pandemic still going here in the States, I don't know when movie theaters will reopen. Some states are strict. Other ones are loose and have reopened. I don't know what 2021 will bring forth, but what I will say is this.

I don't think I will see any movies in the theater this year. But this is not a definite answer. It's a matter of when things do revert back to being normal to where everyone can stop wearing masks. All the mandates on stuff regarding the virus. If it gets to that point where it feels much safer to go see a film, so be it. One advantage of the summer is the drive in theater, but restrictions could still happen. There are options, but it's for about three months. There is freedom with streaming new films, but the experience of seeing it first hand on a big screen somewhere else will never die out.

Wait and see. Would like to do more movie blogs, but patience will go a long way. 

Geeks and Jocks: Episode 57

 New episode. 

https://anchor.fm/ryan-sullivan1gaj/episodes/Episode-57-I-Watched-Movies-Last-Year-eojdfn

Tank Culture in Football

Do I think there's tanking in football? Sometimes. But the ire that is stemming towards the Philadelphia Eagles is very obvious for anyone following the disastrous final game of the season. Tight game between them and the Washington Football Team. Then comes the decision to not tie the game on a field goal. Pretty common for Doug Pederson this year. But the changing from quarterback Jalen Hurts to Nate Sudfeld is what is driving many up a wall.

Washington won, securing the NFC East and being the last team to get into the playoffs. It eliminated the New York Giants from contention, but what I'll say is this. It isn't so much the Giants being eliminated that bothers people. Most will not disagree, including former players, that they could have more than six wins. It's how they were eliminated that's the issue. You play with pride. Players want to show they are still worth something to their team or to another team if they express interest in them. People are bringing up a press conference bite of Eagles center Jason Kelce valuing winning over tanking. That will not age well.

I see people bring up playoff bound teams resting players. That's a huge apples and oranges situation. Why risk injury with your starters before heading into the postseason? The look on Hurts' face when he got benched says it all. He was the reason the game was close with his two rushing touchdowns. He didn't look good from a passing perspective, but there is uptick to him compared to Sudfeld. I don't know how Pederson can keep a straight face and say that he was coaching to win. That is flat out chickenshit. Even beyond current and former Giant players, you got angry fans. Angry analysts. Former Eagle players feeling embarrassed. Some are questioning the inactives thing because you can get in trouble for that, but I don't think that's a huge factor.

What this will go into is the culture of the Eagles. This brings a bad message to kids and a bad message to high school football programs all over the country. It's the kind of bad moments that brings toxicity to a locker room. The ones defending Pederson's decisions don't seem to grasp the blatant tanking. Other teams played with pride like Detroit and Houston. If it was a blow out, I would understand. Philadelphia played a big game defensively to give Jim Schwartz a proper curtain call.

Philadelphia gets the sixth overall pick of this year's draft. It does make a difference where you are early. However, whoever they get is going to face a lot of unwarranted hype and potential scrutiny if he messes up or doesn't live up to the pick. Sudfeld I can see being a scapegoat. Unfortunate that Pederson will more than likely keep his job. Shame on owner Jeffrey Lurie and anyone involved in that organization. A shame also that the NFL will probably not investigate this. No excuses should be made at all.

YouTube Videos: Dec 25-31