Walking Dead

This season seems to be a lot more promising than any of the others. Season 3’s finale made me almost want to stop watching the show completely, and the 4th season finale had me feeling indifferent to whatever happened to the characters.
I can’t tell exactly what’s improved — acting, writing, production value — whatever it is, it’s working. For the first time in a while, I’m excited for 9pm on Sundays again

Plattsmemes

When downtown Plattsburgh is dead…

Nightcrawler

Gyllenhaal is a revelation once again, and the control of his instrument is a wonderful thing to witness. The character is unhinged, but precisely pitched. Unblinking and haunted, one imagines a rich back story for this character. While it’s never explicitly stated, much is suggested by Gyllenhaal’s fractured, on-the-edge performance and the environment around him; a lifetime of loneliness and isolation from an indifferent world that’s about to crack and manifest itself in all kinds of ugly fissures. The harsh fluorescent brilliance of “Nightcrawler” is just how in tune Gyllenhaal, Gilroy and the movie are. Bloom and the movie slowly uncoil in tandem lock and step to unveil much more than an unsocialized loner who’s listened to too many of Tony Robbins’ motivational speeches. But Gyllenhaal isn’t scene-chewing, and the humanity glimpsed early on is perhaps what makes his sinister transformation so creepy."

Nightcrawler | Dan Gilroy, 2014

So excited to see this movie. It seems like a very dark and twisted take on my major…
I’m wondering if there are any people in my classes who would end up like a character that Jake Gyllenhaal is playing (including myself)

Movie Theater Etiquette

Movie Theater Etiquette

gloveandboots:

How to Behave at the Movies

A funny and accurate video on how the ideal movie goer should behave.
Last weekend I saw Gone Girl at 9:30pm, and my friends and I were the only ones in the theater. We were able to goof around during the previews and not worry about anyone saying anything to us.

However, once the movie started, one friend had kept using his phone. The start of the movie was quite slow, and even I was tempted to check and see what the vibration I heard on my phone was. But once the movie started getting intense and required our full attention, I didn’t touch my phone until the end of the film.

I think that phones are used to escape reality — don’t know anyone in a room? Go on FB on your phone. Went on a date and the kid's a total weirdo? Text your friend an S.O.S. Movie boring you half to death? Live-Tweet it with the movie's hashtag.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve definitely been to a movie theater and looked at my phone more than I should’ve been, but it was during a movie that didn't grab my attention and hold it for its entirety.

United State of Pop

DJ Earworm - United State of Pop 2009 (Blame It on the Pop) - Mashup of Top 25 Billboard Hits

I remember my brother showing me this as it came out, and I was really impressed with how seamless the editing seemed to be. I am a unapologetic fan of top 40 music, so there really isn’t any way that I couldn’t like a mashup of a bunch of songs I already like put together.

Gamergate

This whole Gamergate thing is getting out of hand in my opinion. I know video games can sometimes portray women in a “damsel in distress” kind of way, but doesn’t that happen in every other single form of media?  Music, film, literature — they all have similar stories.

The Legend of Zelda is a classic version of the man saving the princess, but as more games were made in the franchise, Zelda actually starts becoming a more nuanced, layered and stronger character, establishing herself as a self-sufficient and not needing rescue. However, Link is physically stronger and has many weapons and tools in his arsenal, whereas Zelda's magic and wisdom are more related to the brains of the operation to seal away their mortal and long-time nemesis, Ganon.


A point is being argued that the damsel in distress story is outdated, and that in the year 2014, that there shouldn’t be any more stories about it happening. It is definitely uncommon for these roles to be reversed, having a man to be in a compromised situation being rescued by a woman, but I don’t think it’s inherently wrong with either narrative, so long as they make sense.

Beats by Dre x Daniel Tosh: Hear What You Choose Commercial

Tosh.0 has become much more than a show that solely relies on user generated content; with skits, interviews, and other original content, the show has branched out and has a lot more depth to it.

With anything that is successful, comes negativity and criticism. Daniel Tosh faces a lot of flak because of his deadpan delivery with insanely insensitive jokes. As someone who is very interested in comedy, I know that he is not actually a racist/prejudiced person, but is saying what he does from a comedic standpoint.

As Taylor Swift has has so eloquently put, “haters gonna hate hate hate hate hate” and Tosh will surely “shake shake shake shake shake”, probably while fully naked.

But in this episode, I knew that it could never happen. A good drama doesn't give you what you want; a good drama brings you to tears because what happens is so terribly unpredictable--And that's what the writers of this show did with To'hajiillee.

Columbus Day

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/columbus_day

oatmeal:

Read the rest of the comic here:  Christopher Columbus was awful (but this other guy was not)  

I’ve always heard jokes about Christopher Columbus being a disease ridden asshole who Inadvertently killed the indigenous people of wherever he arrived, but I didn’t know his atrocities were this bad.

My understanding of American history is pretty damned awful, but it’s hard for me to care about / remember things that happened 500 years ago

Breaking Bad / S05E13 / To'hajilee

Well, the Breaking Bad binge comes to an end. It's been a fun 8 weeks of being almost completely unproductive on Sundays, but all great things cannot last.

As I sit here casually adding a few lines to this post through every commercial break (which I've only just had to do, instead of fast-forwarding through what I had DVR'd), my favorite episode in the entire series is airing.

I suppose it's my favorite because it's the culmination of all of Walt's wrongdoings. Everything comes crashing down and it was honestly an overwhelming episode to watch.

When I watch a series, I end up growing attachments for the characters. With BB, it was Walt that I became so drawn to. As awful as a human he is, he still is a human and there's something about the way Bryan Cranston portrays this character that makes it hard for me to hate him -- A character who orders innocent people murders, has children poisoned, and manufactures untold amounts of one of the most addictive and life-ruining drugs -- yet, I still cheered for Walt, hoping for a positive resolution with his story.


But in this episode, I knew that it could never happen. A good drama doesn't give you what you want; a good drama brings you to tears because what happens is so terribly unpredictable. And that's what the writers of this show did with To'hajiillee.

HBO Go

HBO Go available to non HBO subscribers

A topic that’s been spoke about for quite some time now is how “the people” want to watch HBO without actually subscribing to HBO. As it is now, anyone who has HBO is usually whoring their login around to any of their close friends (I have my brother’s old roommate’s parents password).
However, it hasn’t happened yet because HBO has a lot of leverage. The content that HBO puts out it somewhat at a higher quality than other networks, and people ARE willing to pay for it. Game of Thrones, True Detective, Boardwalk Empire, True Blood — these are shows that have been nominated for Emmy’s regularly.
With that being on HBO’s side, there must be some evidence that’s been found that offering an online subscription would be damaging to their television subscriptions (although I can’t imagine how it wouldn’t be, attracting an audience who doesn’t have cable((I am not a market researcher)).

Breaking Bad / S05E08 / Gliding Over All

I remember watching the last scene of this episode at my friend’s house, and being so nervous about what was going to happen. The way it was written and directed was incredible, I was actually speechless. The whole scene was dragged out, with (for the most part) meaningless dialogue, as a distraction, for build up. It was exaggerated and the whole time I could not help but think there were only a few minutes left before I had to wait a whole year for the final season. It was agonizing.

When the credits rolled, we kinda just sat around with our jaws wide open processing what we’ve just watched, and thinking of what will happen in the next 8 episodes.

Media Convergence

#Binging

Still haven't figured out a way to cross post... 

I wish I was able to find a way to have my tumblr posts automatically go to this blog...for now I'll have to screenshot

Greetings