Jim Henson would have been 75-years old today. He was one of the most extraordinary people that ever lived. He touched the lives of millions of people. He helped people learn. He made people laugh. He made people cry. He created wonderful programming like The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, The Dark Crystal, Dinosaurs, and more. He was a huge reason why Sesame Street became so popular and successful. His behind-the-scenes work on The Empire Strikes Back helped make Yoda one of the most beloved characters in the Star Wars universe. He entertained people of all ages, and he did it with heart and soul.
Kindly celebrate the life of Jim Henson with me today. What were your favorite Jim Henson movies and TV shows? Which Jim Henson characters were your favorites?
Earlier today, Dish Network announced its Blockbuster Movie Pass. This option lets subscribers stream video content to PCs and television sets. An optional mail-in program allows subscribers to rent physical discs, including movies, TV programming, and videogames. Here’s more information on what the service entails from the press release:
Mail It! – More than 100,000 DVD movies, TV shows and games available by mail. No additional charge for high definition Blu-ray movies. One, two or three disc plans available. Queue management made conveniently from a link at www.dish.com.
Stream it! – Stream more than 3,000 movies to the TV. Stream more than 4,000 movies to the PC. Watch hundreds of on-demand TV shows.
Play it! – More than 3,000 video games by mail for Xbox, Xbox 360, Playstation 2, Playstation3, and Nintendo Wii.
Exchange it! – Unlimited exchanges of DVDs and video games at participating Blockbuster stores.
Watch it! – More than 20 premium entertainment movie channels from studios like MGM, Epix, Sony Movie Channel, PixL and more.
Blockbuster Movie Pass should be an interesting Netflix alternative, especially when the mobile apps roll out. As a gamer, I can’t help but wonder how Gamefly is handling all of this. In less than a week two major competitors popped up. Ouchie.
Any Dish Network subscribers out there? Are you tempted to sign up for Blockbuster Movie Pass? What do you think of the game-rental option?
Check out this clip of Gears of War 3 from Conan. It’s cute and cool. I absolutely love that videogames are a regular part of late-night television hosted by younger comedians. Shows like Conan and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon feature games all the time. Of course it helps that people with gaming backgrounds, like the excellent Gavin Purcell, are behind the scenes. One day soon, gamers will control the media and the government. Then there’s no stoppin’ us! Muahahahahaha!!!
Anyway, check out the clip and let me know what you think of it (please!).
The age of Claudio is almost upon us! Claudio Castagnoli, my favorite indie wrestler for the past seven years, has been revealed on the Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) site as Antonio Cesaro. FCW is WWE’s developmental division headed up by Steve Keirn (The Fabulous Ones, Doink the Clown).
If you haven’t seen Claudio in action then you owe it to yourself to watch his YouTube clips. He has the size that Vince McMahon loves combined with wrestling ability that Ring of Honor marks like me cherish. His European uppercuts are amazing!
It’s funny that WWE saddled Claudio with a name that sounds even more Italian. Years ago I envisioned Claudio being introduced as Santino Marella’s cousin with a limited knowledge of English. Claudio would play up his “Heeeeeyyyyyyyy” gimmick and Santino would give him the rub by constantly taking advantage of him. Claudio would initially get sympathy from the fans and have the opportunity to win them over for life with his superior wrestling skills. You know, I should write wrestling storylines or something….
So yeah! I’m super psyched that Claudio’s WWE career is progressing. I can’t wait to see him on the big shows soon! He has the talent and charisma to be a top-of-the-card guy. I’m counting on all of you to become Claudio marks too! Heeeeeeeyyyyy!!!
Netflix has announced that it will be separating its streaming business from it’s disc-based business. A new spin-off company named Qwikster will handle disc-based rentals, including videogames. Similar to Blu-ray pricing, videogames will be an optional premium service on top of the monthly Netflix Qwikster fee. In a letter to Netflix customers, CEO Reed Hastings wrote:
Qwikster will be the same website and DVD service that everyone is used to. It is just a new name, and DVD members will go to qwikster.com to access their DVD queues and choose movies. One improvement we will make at launch is to add a video games upgrade option, similar to our upgrade option for Blu-ray, for those who want to rent Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 games. Members have been asking for video games for many years, but now that DVD by mail has its own team, we are finally getting it done. Other improvements will follow. A negative of the renaming and separation is that the Qwikster.com and Netflix.com websites will not be integrated.
A-ha! All of the sudden Netflix’s recent price increase makes a lot more sense! It will be interesting to see how this all pans out. Obviously streaming is where all media is heading, but many consumers still prefer discs due to things like DVD features, multi-language subtitles, and the unmatched quality of Blu-ray. There are also more movies and TV shows to choose from on disc, though the gap is getting smaller all the time.
Then there’s the GameFly factor. It’s very, very smart for Qwikster to get into the games business. GameFly is, by far, the leading rental service in the country. I wonder how many people have both Netflix and GameFly subscriptions. I also wonder how many of those people will cancel their GameFly subscriptions when Qwikster game rentals become available. Since I’m doing a lot of wondering, I’ll just wonder about the number of people that were considering cancelling their Netflix subscriptions, but are giving it second thoughts now that games are part of the mix.
Naturally, I want to know what you make of all this (I can make a brooch or a hat or a pterodactyl!). What do you think of Netflix as a standalone streaming video service? What do you think of Qwikster as a service that lets you rent movies, television shows, and games? Will you subscribe to both, one, or none of these services? You think the peeps at GameFly ought to be worried? Shout it out in the comments section (please)!
I’ve always wanted my own entrance music. You know, like how pro-wrestlers have their own entrance music. When I was a kid, I thought it was awesome that Hulk Hogan used “Eye of the Tiger” (Survivor)…
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Mariano Rivera’s 600th save, putting a dollar value on your work, or Dyson’s hot air multiplier, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
I’ve always wanted my own entrance music. You know, like how pro-wrestlers have their own entrance music. When I was a kid, I thought it was awesome that Hulk Hogan used “Eye of the Tiger” (Survivor), Junkyard Dog used “Another One Bites the Dust” (Queen), and Kerry Von Erich used “Tom Sawyer” (Rush) as their entrance themes. Of course nothing beats Ric Flair hitting the ring to “Also Sprach Zarathustra“, more commonly known as the intro music to the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Entrance music changed when Vince McMahon realized that he could save money in licensing fees and make money by selling his own music. Awesome songs by established artists were replaced by mediocre songs performed by no-names. Sure there are exceptions. Hulk Hogan’s “Real American” (Rick Derringer) seems completely appropriate for his character. Motorhead is awesome and Triple H is a mark for the band, so “The Game” makes total sense for him. While today’s entrance music isn’t what it used to be, most of it still works.
If I had my wish, I’d borrow “Sexy Boy” for my personal entrance theme. The lyrics are ridiculous and the music is cheesy. Most of you have known me long enough to have figured out that I’m ridiculous and cheesy. I would absolutely abuse my entrance theme (and spend a fortune in background fireworks). I would use it every time I entered groceries, office buildings, restaurants, courtrooms, etc. (I wouldn’t use it at funerals and when entering bathrooms.) The music fits my personality and would be my little tribute to “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels.
If you could have your own entrance music, what would it be? Choose wisely!
If you haven’t been watching Impact Wrestling — and I know that most of you haven’t — then I urge you to give it a go. Yeah, there’s still a bunch of crap like Ric Flair and Sting embarrassing themselves in their advanced age, the uncertainty of whether Jeff Hardy will wrestle or traffic drugs, every segment with Hulk Hogan, and 84 percent of what Vince Russo comes up with. All that aside, there’s one glorious bright spot in all of TNA Entertainment — Austin Aries.
Obviously I’m biased, but Aries is the best thing — by far — about Impact Wrestling. I’m thrilled that he’s the new X-Division Champion. He absolutely deserves this success and more. He’s putting on great matches and cutting great promos. He’s been consistently great since returning to TNA. While other wrestlers in the company are busy trafficking drugs or getting DUIs, Aries has been providing high-quality entertainment in and out of the ring.
So yeah, I’m watching TNA these days…but only to catch Austin Aries matches and promos. Screw Kurt Angle. A-Double is the one that’s that…damn…good.
If you could have dinner with three people from the history of the world, who would be at your table? They can be game developers, actors, musicians, etc. It’s your dream dinner for four and I’d love to hear your…
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, rain ruining my U.S. Open (tennis) background noise, why my coffee beans are late (again), or dinner/drinks with two excellent people, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
If you could have dinner with three people from the history of the world, who would be at your table? The only condition for this game is that the people you choose have to be real (this is mostly to prevent one of you from choosing He-Man or Bugs Bunny). They can be game developers, actors, musicians, etc. It’s your dream dinner for four and I’d love to hear your picks! Here are mine:
Muhammad Ali: “The Greatest” would headline my dream dinner. I’d choose the Ali that was banned from boxing and speaking out against the war in Vietnam. Ali was already an extraordinary athlete with unmatched speed for a heavyweight boxer, but his stance against the Vietnam War made him so much more. He lost three prime years of his career, but inspired so many people while he was away from boxing. He became more than just an athlete. He became an icon.
John Lennon: My feelings about Lennon are similar to my feelings about Ali. He was already a renowned performance artist and songwriter, but his post-Beatles activism made him so much more. I love that he used his fame to spread positive messages and to get people to think. I also love the continued to write great songs when doubters thought he was washed up. I’d love to have ’70s John Lennon at my dream dinner.
Steve Jobs: My last spot was a tough choice. As I mentioned to you last year, I’d love to have a one-on-one dinner with Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto. For some reason, I’m being a stickler with my dinner-for-four scenario and am disqualifying Miyamoto because he would require a translator (sorry Bill!). The final spot goes to Apple’s Steve Jobs. This would be 2005 Jobs, fresh off his Stanford commencement speech. In addition to getting his thoughts on making products people are passionate about, I’d love to hear about how he felt about getting booted from Apple, elevating Pixar, and returning to make Apple better than ever.
So that’s my dream dinner for four. Now let me know who’s sitting at your table (please)!
Lady Gaga shocked the crowd at the MTV Video Music Awards by appearing and performing as her male alter ego, Jo Calderone. While I loved Gaga’s performance of “You and I”, mostly because it featured Queen guitarist Brian May, everyone seems to be fixated on the Calderone character instead of the music. Check it out below and let me know what you think (please)!
As for me, I love the song and the guitar playing. The Jo Calderone thing seems like another way of Gaga pushing buttons. I like what she was trying to do, but it seemed a little silly to me. Calderone looks like a member of The Jets from West Side Story. I was waiting for a medley of “When You’re a Jet” and “Somewhere“.
Are you ready to boldly go where no man has gone before (on a weekly basis) again? If so then you might be interested in David Foster’s proposed Star Trek series. Unlike the excellent 2009 movie, Foster’s series is inline with the existing canon. He recently gave TrekWeb a ton of details on his ideas for the show. Here’s a sample:
The series concept is fully developed, subject to change of course, with a solid 5-7 year series plan, pilot script and a conceptualized finale that intends to define Star Trek for generations, extensive character bios, costume and ship/set designs, and more. This is a drastic departure from the typical 8-10 page treatment of the previously pitched Star Trek series ideas that have not included even a pilot script.
The series is set in the post-Voyager era, and is designed to return Star Trek to its original series roots in big and mighty ways, without disregarding the other series and movies. As Star Trek (2009) was an alternate timeline, it will not conflict with any canon there either. The co-creators are avid believers in Gene Roddenberry’s “positive view of the future” and intend to bring Star Trek back to its origins while moving forward with the timeline, integrating the best aspects of each of the previous series.
The series is highly energized with a much younger cast, and uses cutting-edge future technologies with newly envisioned special effects and designs. It includes Klingons, Ferengi, Andorians, Vulcans, Trill, and many more. The Klingons are getting very restless since the Praxis incident forced them to come to the peace tables, and are tired of having to rely on the Federation for support. The Ferengi have discovered a vast new resource that has propelled them towards instant riches and power beyond anything they have previously experienced.
I’m sold! How about you? Are you ready for another Star Trek television series?
