Tag Archives: tv

Free TV at 35,000 Feet

Southwest Airlines is giving passengers another way to stretch their travel dollar.  The discount airline recently announced that it will be allowing customers to watch TV for free on all Wi-Fi enabled planes. The new “TV Flies Free” offer is a budget-conscious traveler’s dream come true.  Just bring along your own personal device–iPhone, iPad, iPod or other Internet-ready gadgets–and Southwest will hook you up with satellite TV provider Dish network’s 14 live TV channels and 75 on-demand shows.  The new service is currently being offered on the airline’s 425-plus Wi-Fi equipped planes, which is nearly 75% of Southwest’s entire fleet. While … Continue reading →

The Return of the Dark Fairy Tale

When studying the feminist evolution of the Disney princesses I came to the conclusion that it was time for Disney to once again reinvent the fairy tale for contemporary audiences. It seems that might be happening, though perhaps not in the way I’d expect. In the past year or so I’ve read a number of reports indicating that one of the latest trends in proposed films is the “dark fairy tale.” Several studios are green lighting movies that take classic fairy tales and “de-Disneyfy” them, supposedly turning them back to their darker roots. Whether or not the true sources of … Continue reading →

Disney D23 Expo Report, Pt. 2

The hottest panels at D23 were for companies Disney recently acquired, like Pixar and Marvel On Tuesday I looked at the exciting news about Pixar’s next projects that came out of Disney’s D23 convention. Today I’m going to wrap up my examination of the reports from D23. Now it’s time for the Muppets. D23 didn’t tell us a lot about the film that we don’t already know from the movie’s many trailers, but the two previewed clips cement what we’d suspected: that this is the most Muppet-y Muppets film we’ve had in a long time. The first clip expanded on … Continue reading →

Disney D23 Expo Report

D23 has come and gone, and with it all the latest news of Disney’s upcoming features. As I anticipated, despite not announcing anything about them very far in advance, D23 offered some fantastic sneak peak at the Mouse House’s most anticipated upcoming films. Entertainment Weekly has the scoop on the new films. The Expo was packed with Pixar previews. We got tidbits of what to expect from “Monsters University”: expect Mike and Sully to be a little thinner, less shaggy, and with some orthodontia. The movie focuses on how the two form their friendship. They’ve actually known each other all … Continue reading →

Muppets Movie Trailers

The start of summer saw the release of four Muppet movie trailers. The tone of those trailers, though they contained many of the same scenes, taught us a lot what the new Muppet movie will feel like. Isn’t that any diehard Muppets fan’s biggest complaint: that most of the Muppet movies released in the 1990s didn’t feel like Muppet movies? Something about them didn’t contain that unique Jim Henson sense of humor. It’s not that we expect they could, since Henson’s passing. That raises the question, however, of whether Muppet movies should continue if they couldn’t remain true to their … Continue reading →

Captain America: The Noblest Avenger

“Avengers, Assemble!” With these words, Captain America calls together the many scattered members of Marvel Comics’ crime-fighting squad. It’s appropriate, then, that Captain America is the subject of Marvel Studios’ last superhero flick before next summer’s “Avengers” ensemble piece. When first perusing the list of this summer’s comic book films I figured I’d give “Captain America” a pass. The straight-laced always-been-a-do-gooder Steve Rogers (the Captain’s alter ego) has less character development than some of his more conflicted counterparts, and thanks to an overabundance of History Channel specials on the topic I’m currently experiencing a little of World War II-era ennui. … Continue reading →

Cars Land: Grand for “Cars” Fans

We all know how I feel about “Cars.” So I will force myself not to spend this article grinding my teeth over how, despite lackluster reviews, merchandising sales for “Cars 2” were so phenomenal, even before the film came out, that it was considered a success. Such a success (again, even before its release) that Disneyland’s California Adventure Park is adding a new attraction: Cars Land. The official Disney Parks blog has posted a series of articles lately on it, exploring what it will entail and highlighting its 2009 groundbreaking. “Cars” fans start your engines: the attraction dedicated to the … Continue reading →

For Green-Thumbed Pet Lovers

As I write this I’m sitting on my porch. Though many days recently have been so grossly hot and humid that I’ve never wanted to venture outdoors, some have been pleasant, especially in the mornings. These days I’ve taken to bringing my laptop out to the porch and completing my work here. I let the dog wander around the yard as I do so. Just a moment ago I had to do something that’s become common during these work outdoors mornings: chase my dog away from my garden. The majority of my garden items – herbs and berries – are … Continue reading →

Dreamers Academy Applications and King of the Elves

Today I have two very different news stories to share; the one is brief, but important, so I just matched it up with the other story I planned on running. For the first one: wdwinfo.com has the scoop that applications are now being accepted for the 2012 class of the Disney Dreamers Academy. A quick refresher into the Disney Dreamers Academy: it’s a joint venture by Disney World, actor/writer/comedian Steve Harvey, and Essence Magazine to promote youth education. Around 100 youth are chosen every year to visit Disney World for four days free of charge. While there they’ll of course … Continue reading →

A Study in Princesses: Careers Coda

You need more than just him in your life, Ariel Today I’m going to add a tongue-in-cheek coda to my otherwise serious series on the Disney Princesses. If most of these princesses should have had something other in their lives than their men, what should those things be? I’m going to posit alternate endings to most of the films; mainly, recommendations for the careers into which the Disney Princesses ought to have embarked instead. Some suggestions might be a bit sillier than others. “Snow White” – One thing Snow White did excellently was to get those dwarves to come out … Continue reading →