Leo DiCaprio has been rumored to be in talks with Sony Pictures to play Steve Jobs in an upcoming biopic about Jobs’ life based on 2011’s Walter Isaacson’s biography. This movie is seemingly coming on the heels of 2013’s mediocre “Jobs” which stared Ashton Kutcher as the late great Steve Jobs. This time, however, the script was penned by the critically acclaimed Aaron Sorkin. Unfortunately we won’t see a “The Social Network” reunion between Sorkin and director David Fincher as Fincher declined the directing job. Instead “Slumdog Millionaire” director David Boyle will he at the movie’s helm.
Personally, I’ve always had an affinity for the brilliant Jobs. He’s been an idol of mine ever since I started really paying attention to pop-culutre. Like many others, “Jobs” didn’t quite hit the mark. I felt as though it was a very main stream view on Jobs’ life. I read the 2011 biography after his untimely death and thought Isaacson did an amazing job. A script based on his book is much more welcomed as the novel held quotes that no other outlet has. Sorkin is one of the greatest script-writes in the business so I’ll be keeping a close eye on this project.
E.T. is an all time classic movie. Another 80’s masterpiece that inspired millions of people world wide. The 1982 video game… not so remarkable. It was so bad in fact that it almost destroyed the entire video game industry which was at that time slumping. As a result, Atari took unsold truckloads of the game and buried them deep in the New Mexico desert so that people may forget the abomination the entertainment company had spawn.
And so people did. It became an urban legend, a tall tale wished to never be heard from again.
Until this weekend.
A documentary about the fall of the Atari gaming system tentatively called “Atari: Game Over” hired excavators to dig up the rumored burial ground. What they found was not only the infamous E.T. game, but also a slue of about 700,000 cartridges which Atari discarded in 1983 as the company was going under. It chose to dump all their remaining merchandise so scavengers couldn’t get their hands on the games and resell them.
image credit: i2.wp.com
A large crowd of onlookers gathered to what would happen. When the diggers unearth the legendary E.T. the masses went nuts cheering for what’s considered the worst game in video game history.
Here we go again! Like Karate Kid, Star Wars, and Indiana Jones (just to name a few), Hollywood doesn’t know when to say enough’s enough. “The Goonies” is a film that many Americans hold near and dear to their heart; easily one of the top 10 films of the 80’s in my estimation. It’s a film that transcends generations with it’s timeless message of camaraderie and fortitude. It’s story is complete: a group of young friends set out to find a rumored treasure to help their town which is in dire financial trouble. They overcome insurmountable odds to find this treasure and their town is saved. Simple and effective. What more could we want?
image credit: stupid celebrities.net
Apparently original director Richard Donner and Hollywood legend (and sometimes huge pain in the ass) Steven Speilberg think the story isn’t finished. A sequel to the 1985 classic is reportedly in the works, with Speilberg leading in the drafting process. No official word yet on whether the sequel will include any of the original cast. Sean Astin, who played the main character Mikey in the original said a sequel “will happen. I’m 1000 percent certain there will be a sequel.”
Though unfortunate for many fine with the nostalgia from the original, maybe a “Goonies” sequel is inevitable… because Goonies never say die.
In their ever expanding goal to rule the planet, Google has purchased drone-maker Titan Aerospace with plans to bring Internet access to parts of the world with out it. This is their second project aimed at ruling the sky, the other being “Project Loon,” a plan that will use helium balloons to bring connectivity to remote places.
I’m no conspiracy theorist; I believe a better world starts with better Internet access for everyone. But in recent years, drones have been closely associated with two things in the mindset of the American public: privacy breeches and military strikes, both of which are bad.
It’s a sad fact that people today are skeptical of anything that could be beneficial to them, like a constant “too good to be true” mentality. Maybe the drones and balloons will do what Google say they’re going to do. But since I cater to a mostly American audience, I’m going with the former theme.
Google, or as I like to refer to them, Skynet, is systematically working to destroy humanity’s privacy and dictate how people should live their lives by trying to seduce them with their “open source,”net neutral facade. They already own the Internet, creating utopian search bubbles for each individual who surfs the web. They own global geographical information, having worldwide access to everyone’s back yard. Now, with their new drones, they could conceivably do two things: track every individual’s movement and dictate everyone’s Internet access.
Google makes money by putting relevant advertisements in from of the right users. When individuals use Google, they are adding to their own online history book of sorts. If one particular thing or topic is searched more often than another, Google notices. Through one of its many algorithms, it can put together sites that certain individuals will likely click on based on their search history. The next step in advertisement for Google is likely taking the same algorithm and applying it to real life travels. Drones from Titan Aerospace can stay in the air for up to five years without needing to land. In that time, Google’s new drones could perceivable travel around the world a couple times keeping tabs on people though their smart phone’s internet connections and other devices people use on a daily basis.
Net neutrality isn’t a huge issue yet, but as the Internet grows older, we’ll see it become a bigger one. Simply put, companies want to control the flow of information on the Internet. Internet providers today such as Comcast and Verizon are already making a push to block some sites and promote others for their users. Google and other such online companies want to quell this greedy censorship, right now. Google has always been about a free an open Internet policy with all their products. Now, some believe Google will be the perfect company to provide Internet to the masses because of their web philosophies. What they don’t consider is what would happen if Google is given complete control over everything Internet related. Conceivably, such a powerful entity, one that already controls what information users find on the web, could dictate everything put on the information superhighway. The lines between reality and cyber space are blurring everyday. Now is Google’s chance to take control of more than just the Internet.
For right now, Google is a laid back company who wants nothing more than for people to live free and search without charge. But could this simply be the receding water before the massive title wave? I’m not sure, but remember Think Different.
Selfies aren’t a new phenomenon. Since the beginning of film, people have been taking pictures of themselves and sharing them for their friends to see. Today, with the ease of entry that camera phones and social media provide, selfies are easier to share than ever. The fad today, which was once only the hobby of teenage girls, is being perpetuated by celebrities, in turn, making selfies an acceptable thing in society. In fact, the most retweeted tweet of all time was the famous Oscars selfie that featured Ellen Degeneres and a slew of her celebrity friends. Even the president is getting in on the narcissistic phenomenon, which has some White House people up in arms.
This latest selfie was taken by Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz as the team visited the White House April 1st. The seemingly impromptu pic was actually revealed to be a planned out marketing scheme by Samsung which they had spoken to Ortiz about prior. “In general, whenever someone tries to use the president’s likeness to promote a product that’s a problem with the White House,” said White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
This latest selfie comes on the heels of another controversial presidential selfie. In December, at a memorial service for Nelson Mandela, President Obama leaned in with Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt and British Prime Minister David Cameron to snap a quick one.
image credit: the guardian.com
So it looks like David Ortiz ruined it for the rest of us. Little kids with dreams of taking a selfie with the president will never get their wish. No one will ever again uncomfortably lean over rows of blockades so that they can look like they were standing right next to the president when they snapped their photo.
To the White House, I can only say, some selfies… are friggin sweet!
image credit: nerdist.com
[UPDATED 4/17, 9:44 a.m.]
Joe Biden is now on Instagram everyone! What an epic first post.
At the beginning of April, #CanelColbert was a trending hashtag on Twitter, pushed heavily by the Bleeding Heart Association of the America. (not a real co.). The condemnation of Stephen Colbert was due to a joke from The Colbert Report tweeted by the show’s Twitter account later that night. The joke was taken out of its proper context by the tweet which is why so many people were outraged.The ignorant masses took to vilify Mr. Colbert, calling him a racist and demanding he be taken off the air. This, however, was an unjust accusation for two reasons.
One: as previously stated, the joke was taken out of context. It was meant to be a parody, of sorts, towards Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder’s new foundation titled “Washington Redskins Original American Foundation.” Colbert’s “Ching-Chong Ding-Dong Foundation for Sensitivity to Orientals or Whatever” would clearly be racist, if it were a real thing. When put next to Snyder’s foundation, one that uses a racist epithet to describe the people it wants to help, it’s clear how The Colbert Report wanted the joke to go.
Two: @ColbertReport is in no way associated with Stephen Colbert himself, other than in title. Colbert’s actual twitter account is @StephenatHome. The Colbert Report twitter account is controlled by some Comedy Central employee, or small group of employees, that make all the decisions for it, leaving Stephen out of the loop. When Colbert saw the tweet and the outrage caused by it, he tweeted from his account:
The official Colbert Report twitter account was subsequently shut down by order of Colbert, with the help of former guest, Twitter founder Biz Stone.
The next show, Stephen apologized, in his recognizable unapologetic way, explaining in a snarky manner the whole situation, adding a little product placement along the way.
About a week later, 35 year late night talk show vet David Letterman announced that at the end of this year he will retire from his current show “Late Show with David Letterman.” Speculation arose over who would replace such an icon of pop culture. Surely whoever CBS chose would need to be easily recognizable by the American public. Viewers of his show don’t want some SNL D-lister still wet behind the ears to replace the brilliant David Letterman.
In an ironic turn of events, Stephen Colbert, who Twitter activists wanted black listed from television all together, was chosen to helm one of the biggest institutions in the medium today.
So, now the speculation can begin. Stephen Colbert, like Letterman, has been one of the biggest pop culture icons since his show debuted in 2005. Undoubtedly, he’s as big a name as CBS could have gotten and will have no problem living up to the prestige Letterman has established over his long tenure. But, Colbert’s show has been based around a character, a parody of the Fox News channel’s blowhards who infect American airwaves. Unfortunately, that’s how most viewers around the world know him, through the character, not his actual personality. It will be interesting to see if his everyday persona will enthrall viewers the same as his Colbert Report counterpart.
image credit: nydailynews.com
Do we really want him to though? “Late Show with Stephen Colbert” will mean the end of The Colbert Report and the death of the character we came to know an love (or hate). For me, the revelation of his new position was bittersweet. I’ve watched The Colbert Report ever since I was too young to even understand the political jokes told on the show. Between his undying conceitedness and his deprecation of his counterpart Jon Stewart on The Daily Show, I, along with his cult following, have amassed great memories that won’t die easily. Sure Late Night may be a step up from The Colbert Report in the eyes of television aficionados, but at the end of the day, it’s about the fans and what they want. It’s about what will entertain us more: the charismatic, pride of South Carolina who will welcome viewers in with open arms and send them gently to bed with good humor in their hearts, or the hard hitting, overly confident political go-getter who will make sure Americans receive a daily dose of truth and justice at the comedic expense of other politicos.
I’ve never really been a big serial show watcher. I always say I’m going to commit to a show, but after the pilot episode, I never stay on schedule then end up falling way behind. I’m constantly hearing how great this show is or the amazing thing that happened on that show. I badly want to be part of the water cooler talk, but sadly I’m left behind. The only show I’ve kept up with since its debut is The Walking Dead. But the show’s fourth season just wrapped up, so I have to wait till October for zombie killing goodness.
Luckily for me there’s sites like Netflix, Hulu Plus, and HBO GO where I can watch episodes of shows I’ve missed at my leisure. I desperately want a show that I can hang my hat on, but there’s so many to choose from. Below are a few shows that I think would interest me. Vote on which you like best, or leave a comment with a suggestion.
The Trivial Matters 