Tag Archives: Netflix

Aug 29 2018

Streaming – It’s Not Rocket Science

I know you’ve heard the word and some of you have probably cringed on more than one occasion, when you heard it. Streaming, now what the hell is that? I just barely mastered my cell phone!

Coming from a baby boomer, yes, streaming is new and it does require a few skills, but it’s not rocket science and you can’t screw up anything someone is going to hate you for.

If you have Netflix and a cable or satellite service, you are more than half way there. I have DISH and I can get to my Netflix account in a couple of clicks. I actually set-up my Netflix account via my DISH Satellite. Though it was a little clumsy filling in the forms since I’m a whiz at typing. It is very convenient accessing it when I want to watch something at Netflix, all I need to do is use my remote.

I also have Amazon Prime and I recently bought a Smart TV which allows me to access a ton of streaming services, including Amazon Prime which is a portal of streaming services in addition to all else it has to offer.

NCIS Box from AmazonHere’s an example. My DISH DVR automatically records 3 hours of prime time television every night. I’ve started to enjoy NCIS: New Orleans and began watching Season 1 via CBS All Access through Amazon Prime (that what CBS calls it’s “streaming feature”). I also recorded Season 2 and 3 on TNT and Season 4 on CBS with my DVR.

Unfortunately, it missed some of the Season 3 episodes, but I’ve watched those via the OnDemand feature on DISH, or CBS All Access via Amazon Prime. See how easy Streaming is?

But I’ve only scratched the surface. The reason I went down this road in the first place was because I was reading this article about the 50 Box Office Bombs That are Actually Good and I noticed many of them are on streaming services (I already made my list). So here’s the link to the article and perhaps now is the time to get over your fear of streaming.

https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/biggest-box-office-flops-bombs-good-movies

John Carter is based on the story “A Princess of Mars” by Edgar Rice Burroughs and is a Walt Disney movie. It barely surpassed its budget, but I really enjoyed this movie. © 2011 Disney. JOHN CARTER™ ERB, Inc.

Movie

BTW (By the Way) the David Fincher 1999 movie Fight Club is listed. That made well over $100 million dollars at the box office. Plus how many times have you heard the phrase “you never talk about ….(Fight Club)” in every day life? Fight Club was one of those movies that influenced the fabric of America.

 

May 25 2014

The 2013 Peabody Awards

PeabodyThe annual Peabody Awards are administered by the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication of the University of Georgia. The Awards recognize distinguished achievement and meritorious service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals.

Selections are made by the Peabody Awards Board, a committee of experts in media, culture, journalism and the arts and are followed by a special screening committee made up of faculty, staff and students.

The 73rd Annual Awards celebrate programs produced for broadcast, cablecast or webcast in 2013. They are under no restrictions as to the number of awards it can present. There are 46 Peabody Award winners this year.

Some of the 2013 Peabody Award winners are:

Turner Classic Movies The Story of Film: A 15-week Historical Journey Through World Cinema

Ira Glass, Master of Ceremonies (host and producer) This American Life which premiered in 1995 and is broadcast on more than 555 public radio stations and is one of the most popular podcasts in America. Over 3 million people listen to the show every week.

Scandal (ABC) ABC Studios

One-on-One with Assad (CBS) CBS This Morning, CBS News

Hanford’s Dirty Secrets (KING-TV, Seattle) King 5 Television

In Plain Sight: Poverty in America (NBC & InPlainSight.NBCNes.com) NBC News

The Central Park Five

The Central Park Five

Tom Brokaw: Personal Award

House of Cards (Netflix)

The Central Park Five (PBS) Florentine Films, WETA

The Bridge (FX) Shine America and FX Productions

Key & Peele (Comedy Central) Central Productions

Breaking Bad (AMC) Sony Pictures Television

Six by Sondheim (HBO) HBO Documentary Films and Sabella Entertainment

Broadchurch (BBC America) A Kudos and Imaginary Friends Co-Production

Life According to Sam

Life According to Sam

Life According to Sam (HBO) HBO Documentary Films and Fine Films LLC

Orange is the New Black (Netflix) Lionsgate Television, Netflix

Coverage of Boston Marathon Bombings (WBZ-TV, Boston, and WBZ Newsradio 1030) WBZ-TV, WBZ Newsradio 1030

Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (CNN) CNN, Zero Point Zero Production, Inc.

Anthony Bourdain at J Mueller BBQ

Anthony Bourdain at J Mueller BBQ

Outside the Lines: NFL at a Crossroads: Investigating a Health Crisis (ESPN) ESPN

FRONTLINE: League of Denial: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis (PBS) FRONTLINE, Kirk Documentary Group

Orphan Black (BBC America) Temple Street Productions in associations with BBC America and SPACE

The Returned (Les Revenants) (SundanceTV) Haut et Court TV, Canal +, Jimmy, Cine + Backup Films)

And for the first viral video ever honored: A Needed Response (YouTube/Samantha Stendal) Samantha Stendal, Aaron Blanton. A Needed Response grew out of two University of Oregon students’ outrage when watching the news coverage of the Steubenville, Ohio rape sentencing that denied the perpetrators’ loss of their promising athletic careers while ignoring the 16-year-old girl they had drugged and sexually assaulted. Samantha Stendal and Aaron Blanton conceived, staged and shot a 26-second video that emphatically rejects the idea rape is ever excusable. Short, sweet and to the point, it was an ingenious PSA targeted to college age viewers and definitely got their attention. They uploaded the video to Upworthy’s Facebook page and within 48-hours the video surpassed 1 million views. It doubled, tripled and continued to grow as more and more peopled shared it, debated it and discussed its take on masculinity and morality. A Needed Response received a Peabody Award for creating an unforgettable, undeniable statement about rape culture and sharing it with the world via social media.

 

Mar 10 2013

‘Walking Dead’ Helps Solidify AMC’s Ratings Success

‘Walking Dead’ Helps Solidify AMC’s Ratings Success – NYTimes.com.

How long have you been watching The Walking Dead? Just the third Season? All three Seasons?

Have  you noticed how “other” press coverage on The Walking Dead, the stars and other aspects of the series has picked up 10-fold?

I just saw Laurie Holden on Ellen early last week. In mid-February, I attended a live show with 3 cast members and Greg Nicotero. USA Today recently had a half page article about The Walking Dead women being stronger than the men.

If you hit the link above, you’ll read an interview conducted by David Carr, who writes the Media Equation for Business Day Media & Advertising for The New York Times, of Josh Sapan the Chief of AMC Network. Mr. Sapan has been with AMC for 25 years, and shares why, after 3 seasons, the success of TWD has finally come to fruition.

Mr. Carr squeezes a ton of facts about The Walking Dead (TWD) in this article – all of them complimentary: TWD was the highest-rated show … during its run last fall; 3-weeks ago TWD owned Sunday night; The Talking Dead drew almost 2.8 million viewers … trumping NBC for all of February.

And NBC should be a little pissed about that because TWD was actually NBC’s for the asking in 2011, as reported in the NYTimes.com article (just hit the link above and read about for yourself).

Dec 27 2012

The Story Behind the Movie “Argo”

How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans From Tehran | Wired Magazine | Wired.com.

Keyart from the movie "Argo"

Keyart from the movie “Argo”

I was doing my day job yesterday, processing photos for movies that are On Demand in February, one of those being the Ben Affleck directed “Argo.” While I was checking out the information on imdbpro.com, I discovered it was produced by George Clooney‘s Smoke House production company.

Chris Terrio wrote the screenplay based on an article by Joshuah Bearman entitled “Escape from Tehran” (the link above will take you to the article).

Thinking that reading the article would help me put the 63 pictures I downloaded from the Warner Bros. in perspective (it did), I went ahead and tore right into and was thoroughly entertained.

Ben Affleck plays Tony Mendez to put it into perspective for you, but that’s as far as I’m willing to go. Read the article, see the movie and enjoy your self. I intend to see it when it’s available on DirecTV On Demand, I don’t even want to wait for Netflix.

Nov 13 2012

A “Second Revolution” In Television

Will Netflix, YouTube, Hulu Content Create a ‘Second Revolution’ in Television? | The Wrap Media.

This is an extremely interesting and important article you should take the time to read. It explains the importance Hulu, Netflix and other up and coming streaming services will play in your television watching future.

I personally still use Hulu to get caught up on some television shows but I never could see the advantages of Hulu Plus. Then I discovered Roku. I personally don’t use a Roku, but people who do say it’s the only way to stream and watch television (see the screen capture at the end of the page).

I use to have both streaming and mail delivery Netflix but that was because I would “listen” to Netflix at work. Now I just have mail delivery Netflix. The nice thing about Netflix, even now, as mentioned in the article above … “At the start of every season, Netflix releases all of a show’s episodes simultaneously. The move is a nod to the binge habits of its members, Netflix says, who prefer to see an entire season in a few sittings as opposed to tuning in for the latest episode at a particular time every week …” which was me and in some cases, still is me in a nutshell.

At this very moment I’m banking my A&E Hoarders episodes on my bedroom DVR because I HAVE TO WATCH them during my Thanksgiving vacation from work. I’m also saving up my FX’s AHS: Asylum episodes on my HD DVR for my vacation Christmas/New Year’s and I banked a bunch of shows during August, September and October so I could zap through the … yep, you guessed it … the constant political commercials (I am so glad that’s over).

Now scroll to the top of the page and hit the link and read the article. It’s a little long, but it will get you so educated on what’s coming down the road and will give you talking points at your next dinner party.

For just $49.99 it will deliver streaming TV.

Oct 11 2012

Bones – Running for President?

Bones has been on for eight seasons. For at least six of those seasons, fans have done all but beg FOX to allow the relationship between Dr. Temperance Brennan and Special Agent Seeley Booth to bloom into a personal one.

Sometime during the sixth season, that’s exactly what happened: no big build-up, no advance warning, no publicity. I’m sure that Bones’ fans just sat there watching Season 6, Episode 22 and when it happened, their jaws dropped – just like mine.

And when Season 6 ended with Bones announcing to Seeley and the world that she was pregnant with his child, those fans stood up and cheered, just like I did.

Now in Season 8 with Bones and Seely living together raising their baby girl, it seemed natural for Bones to decide in Monday’s episode (Season 8, Episode 4) that she would make a good President. As she made her list of pros and cons, I was  excited about getting out the Vote! Yeah! Vote Bones for President!

Bones is one of those quality television programs that has changed and grown over 8 seasons. It has had minimal cast changes; the most dramatic being in Season 3 when Eric Millegan (Dr. Zack Addy) is revealed to be the apprentice to the cannibalistic serial killer known as The Gormogon.

Bones past seasons is available on DVD, Blu-ray and on Netflix, both streaming and  DVD through the mail. A quick way to get caught up to this season would be to start with Season 6.

It airs Monday nights at 8/7pm on FOX.