Archive for September, 2014

Evens Stevens Paradigm Won’t Cut it in the #ClimateChange Fight for the Future

Posted: September 22, 2014 in Frackishima
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
1

frackishimalogo1

by @anarchyroll
9/21/2014

The #PeoplesClimate marches/rallies that occurred across the globe are a great representation of the good news/bad news holding pattern that pro environment supporters have been stuck in for decades. The good news is the #PeoplesClimate was so big, involving so many people, in so many of the world’s biggest cities that it literally could not be ignored by the press or anyone on the internet on 9/21/2014. The bad news is that tangible, global, legislative action is unlikely to occur for at least another full year.

This good news/bad news paradigm has most recently been demonstrated in regards to the two most talked about environment issues of the last quarter century; the ozone layer and the deforestation of the Amazon.

The good news is that scientists have discovered that the ozone layer is starting to heal. How awesome! Certainly no negative spin to put on this story. Since the 1970s attention has been brought to this issue in hopes of reversing the now notorious hole in the ozone layer that has been a direct contributor to global warming and rising skin cancer rates.

Ready for the bad news?

The Amazon rainforest is getting slashed and burned at a 30% increase. Deforestation is right there with industrial pollution as the greatest causes of global warming and climate change. We need rainforests to sustain the planet, but captains of industry seem to think we need grazing land for cattle and industrial logging more.

Good news, bad news unfortunately isn’t going to cut it, why? Because we are playing from behind. Pro environmentalists can’t keep scoring field goals while polluters and deforestrers are scoring touchdowns. It’s great that more people are aware of the negative effects of climate change, the fact that it’s man-made, and we must do something to reverse it. The problem is that this has happened because the negative effects of climate change are being felt more and more every single day. We have let so much wrong get done that the Earth is irreversibly changing all around us quicker, in real-time. It’s great to have good news to report but wildfires, droughts, and other natural disaster devastation is only going up. Is it too late? The good news is that in this fight, there is literally no reason to quit, because there is nothing else as worthy of fighting for as the future of the planet we inhabit.

#TMNT 2014

Posted: September 4, 2014 in Anarchy Journal Constitutional
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
1

mm@C4logo2ajclogo2

by @anarchyroll
9/4/2014

Transformers fans and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fans now have something in common.

No, a long anti Michael Bay rant is not forthcoming. When a person sees his name attached to a film and Megan Fox as the lead actress, one must know what they are getting before they buy their ticket. I grew up on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I was completely unaware of their comic book, alien origin story until a year ago. I knew only of the turtles in the cartoons and live action movies 80s/90s.

My favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, is Casey Jones. I was very disappointed to not see him in the movie at all. The camera time and character focus that could have been given to a Casey Jones was instead given to Will Arnett, cast as a comic relief sidekick for April O’Neil. As a fan of Arrested Development, I’m only half complaining. Half complaining is really all I can really do with this movie. There is enough good to at the very least balance out the bad, if not outweigh the bad.

The Good

  • The spirit/personality of all four turtles was unchanged
  • The look of each turtles was modified to make each look unique rather than the same with different colored bandanas
  • The Foot Clan use guns instead of swords which makes more sense in 2014 NYC
  • The jokes are funny
  • The action scenes are good

The Bad

  • The origin of the turtles and overall plot is basically the same as the recent Amazing Spider Man films
  • Too much Megan Fox for the first hour of the film (was to be expected)
  • No Kraang, Bebop, Rocksteady, Rat King, Baxter Stockman, or any other villains/henchmen
  • Tatsu was cast as a woman who did nothing of importance or impact at any point in the movie

Those who saw the movie may be wondering why I’m not complaining about the Iron Man esque Shredder. If I didn’t have a Shredder action figure from the 90s that basically looked just like the movie’s incarnation, it would have been at the top of my list. Also, the case can be made they just skipped right to Super Shredder, also no complaints there. Even the obligatory, unnecessary Michael Bay explosion just before the closing credits made me chuckle rather than shake my head.

I am happy that the movie made enough money to already warrant a sequel getting an immediate green light. Hopefully we’ll get to see some of the characters listed above who were missing in action this time around. 

The bottom line is this; if you didn’t grow up watching the cartoons and/or playing the video games in the 90s or 00s, there is absolutely no point in seeing this movie.

#Netflix is Representing the People in the War versus Telcom Greed

Posted: September 4, 2014 in Anarchy Journal Constitutional
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

by @anarchyroll
9/3/2014

The war for the future of the internet is being waged now, in real-time by lobbyists of the big US Telcom companies.

If this were a court case, then apparently the people who don’t work for Comcast, Time Warner, and Verizon would be represented by Netflix.

Now of course Netflix is publicly and privately battling the nation’s broadband providers for their own personal gain as well. There is no such thing as a free lunch after all, especially when millions, upon billions of dollars are involved.

However, Netflix has now officially earned some benefit of the doubt for reasons other than how good House of Cards and Orange is the New Black are. Netflix has taken three public steps that directly help the consumers:

  1. Opposing the proposed merger between Comcast and Time Warner
  2. Lobbying to maintain Net Neutrality
  3. Campaigning for Municipal Broadband

Netflix may be looking out for its own bottom line. But each stance that they have publicly come out in favor of or against directly benefits working class people who use the internet. Coming out against the proposed merger which would create a broadband monopoly, is a good thing for consumers. Drawing attention to net neutrality is good for consumers. Encouraging the development of municipal broadband is good for consumers.

In the fight against the billion dollar companies who want complete control of the internet, the common people need someone with deep pockets in our corner. Netflix has repeatedly stepped up to the plate publicly this year alone. They’re not a non-profit or NGO. But when billion dollar corporations are doing everything they can to reduce choice and increase cost to access the information superhighway, we the consumers will take help anywhere we can get it. I for one, will take the million dollar company that brought Arrested Development back, in my corner any day of the week.

#EverySimpsonsEver Showed Me the Show’s Second Golden Age

Posted: September 2, 2014 in Anarchy Journal Constitutional
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

mm@C4logo2

by @anarchyroll
9/2/2014

552 episodes spread out over 25 years is an achievement almost beyond description in the entertainment world/business. The Simpsons can claim to be the greatest cartoon and greatest sitcom of all time. I grew up in an era and media market where the show had syndicated reruns airing two to three times a day, five days a week. I can quote more episodes, word for word, than any human being should.

The show’s universally agreed upon “prime” is between 1993 and 1998. Those are the years when every episode of every season was a home run let alone a hit. Starting in 1999 the show, in my opinion became more hit than miss. The rise of South Park and Family Guy, along with stagnation saw the consistency steadily decline during the first half of the 00s.

The Simpsons Movie came out in 2007 and was an adult, comedy, cartoon tour de force. It was everytIhing a fan of the franchise could have wanted or hoped for from a movie that at the time was 20 years in the making. I was told that the seasons that aired after the movie were akin to the show’s prime years from those I knew who never stopped watching the show during its lean years.

The Every Simpsons Ever marathon on FXX was an opportunity to rediscover classics of the golden years and discover new classics of recent years. 552 episodes airing 24 hours a day for 12 consecutive days, what a concept. The marathon was used to promote the upstart FXX network itself, the FXNow streaming content app, the new season of The Simpsons, and The Simpsons-Family Guy crossover episodes that both debut at the end of the month.

I partook in some binge watching during the marathon. The highlights for me where;

  • Getting to see my two favorite episodes of all time
    • Tree House of Horror V (Season 6, Episode 6)
    • You Only Move Twice (Season 8, Episode 2)
  • Discovering the show’s second golden age

The seasons that have come after the movie, especially season’s 19 and 20, contained a quantity of quality episodes that stand up to the show’s prime in the mid 1990s. After losing its way from 1999-2005, the show truly found its mojo again. Some of the things the show changed after the movie came out are;

  • Improving the animation
  • Embellishing the opening and closing credits
  • Recalibrating the levels of pop culture vs political parody/satire
  • Spotlighting and increasing the relevance of all secondary characters

I am still surprised as I type, just how great the show became again. If you were a fan of the show for any stretch of time, the recent seasons are worth going out of your way to see. Considering FXX will be airing the show five days a week, with a four-hour block on Sundays, it won’t be the toughest task in the world to do.

The Simpsons is at it’s best when it hits the full range of emotions in a given episode. The show in its prime years of the 90s knew what buttons to press with which characters to make their audience laugh, cry, get happy, and/or upset. They truly found that stride again in the five seasons since the movie came out in 2007. Truly a second golden age as there were not just a couple, but rather a couple of dozen episodes that stand up to the best of the best from the mid 90s.

My only complaint is that the marathon aired during the last week of summer rather than in the middle of winter. I’m sure myself and the millions of others who partook in the marathon of marathons would have preferred seeing snow and ice outside as opposed to sunny skies and mid 70s.

Newer Entries