Instant Streaming My Life: Arrested Development

The other day, as I was discussing with friends about the state of the economy and American Imperialism, normal conversations for any college student, we started talking about blogging. Being part of a journalism school most of us are required by our professors to blog regularly. And I began saying how I try to blog as regularly as possible (which is a bald faced lie if I ever did tell one). But we began talking about ideas for blogs and cool themes that people could do and I, being as incredulous and ironic as is humanly possible, said that I should start blogging about my favorite past time, Netflix.

That's when I got the idea. To actually blog about Netflix.

As you all know, or should know after reading this post, I have an addiction to this particular online streaming site, Netflix. So I have decided to incorporate one of my past times into blogging, like I started to incorporate the reading list (which is still going strong, I just lost track of Penumbra's 24 Hour Book Store and had to start another book). This is also great, because blogging will give me motivation to actually watch the series on my "Netflix Watch List" and watching Netflix will give me an excuse to blog! Win-Win-Win!

The general idea of this post series is to watch a TV series on Netflix, and share what information I have found out about said series. As you can tell this post is about the television show, Arrested Development. So without further blathering on my part, TO THE ACTUAL POST!

Series: Arrested Development

Photo courtesy of theverge.com

Netflix Synopsis: "It's the story of a wealthy family that lost everything, and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together. It's 'Arrested Development,' the Emmy Award and Golden Globe-winning series starring on of the funniest ensembles in TV comedy."

Began watching series on: April 16, 2013

Finished watching series on: May 7, 2013

Total amount of time watching series (start to finish): 22 days

Number of Seasons/Episodes: 3 seasons, 53 episodes

Average Length of Episodes: 21 minutes

Average Number of Episodes watched in a day: 3 episodes per day

Most episodes watched in one day: 9 episodes on April 20, 2013

Favorite Episode: "S.O.B.s" (Season 3/Episode 9)

Best snack for instant streaming: Homemade popcorn, with butter and salt.

Thoughts: "Arrested Development" has definitely stood up to its reputation. I had only ever heard people on tumblr discussing the show, as well as the accompanying .gif sets and stills that would go along with any tumblr post. The show, as a whole, had great continuity and felt whole, unlike many shows where there are plot holes or plot points that don't really hold up within the universe of the show. Thankfully, this show didn't have much of that, at least, not that I noticed. Things also moved along in a manner that was very easy to follow, or as easy as it can for the Bluth family. This was extremely nice for a comedy show, which can sometimes feel disjointed and as if the writers are trying to find the next joke. That rarely came across in "Arrested Development."

And the jokes were well crafted; I definitely had laugh-out-loud moments in a room full of people. Needless to say, the weird looks I got were worth it. The wit and attitude behind the writing was very refreshing, and something that I thoroughly enjoyed. The long standing jokes have been some of the best. I now know how to accurately do every Bluth family member's chicken dance, and I will never be able to look at the Blue Man Group the same again. The writing definitely stood out amongst some of the other shows that I have instant streamed on Netflix.

This was definitely apparent in my favorite episode listed above, "S.O.B.s" (which actually means Save Our Bluths) where the writers were taking a facetious approach to saving the show that was obviously going to be taken off the air. As the narrator blatantly begs people to watch the show, such lines like "HBO will never take us" and "I guess it's ShoTime then," were other great, not-so-subtle ways to make comments on the situation the writers and producers were facing.

The cast of the show did a great job portraying their characters as well. Lucille Bluth is now my favorite fictional mother, and I aspire to achieve her greatness one day. But that never would have been without Jessica Walter's fabulous performance as the alcoholic, uncaring Lucille. I had only really ever seen Jason Bateman in "Juno" so I was completely unprepared for the performance he gave as Michael Bluth. In his performance we found a father that was completely dedicated to keeping his family afloat, but ignored the family member that needed him the most, despite his best attempts. Speaking of which, it was nice to see where Michael Cera got his start, but as his usual, George Michael Bluth was probably what led him to playing the same character in every movie he would subsequently appear in. Which, consequently, have all been an older version of George Michael.

The show as a whole has been great to watch. Not only does the show provide a wonderful look into this whacky family that we have all fallen in love with, it also provides a deeper look at family ties and corporate corruption, which as everyone knows is what the entire show is about. Good job, I won the prize. The obligation of Michael to save not only the dying business but also his failing family, is the overarching theme of "Arrested Development". But it's obvious that Michael needs his family just as much, if not more, as they need him.

If you haven't watched this show, then you should. It's funny and witty, and will have some guaranteed laugh-out-louds. You should definitely catch up now because there will be a new season premiering on Netflix on May, 26. The new series, if you've been living in a cave and haven't heard, will be a Netflix only series, that will ultimately culminate in an "Arrested Development" movie.

Enjoy and hurry! You'll only have a couple of weeks before the newest episode premieres.

Why are Dating Apps so Depressing?

I wake up every Monday and Wednesday at 4 in the morning so that I can get ready for the opening shift at my minimum wage job at the campus recreation facility. I serve as the bridge between members and the fulfillment of their equipment needs. Basically, I check out towels and basketballs. But before I can open the hearts of the guests with an early morning smile, I begin my day with a bowl of cereal and a look at the latest messages on my various dating apps.

Most of the time there isn’t much to look at. The messages I have received while I slumbered can range anywhere from a new person seeking my attention to an old hook up trying to see if I’m “looking” for the night. I continue scrolling through the various pictures and messages, searching for that one that will spark my interest and cause me to take a leap of faith into the arms of a stranger. Predictably, no such message exists and I slump over my Cinnamon Toast Crunch, defeated once again by the virtual dating world.

This is a cycle that I find myself in more and more as I continue to use dating apps, such as Grindr and Tinder. Trying to find a connection in the virtual world can be depressing and soul sucking. Messages go ignored on both ends, everyone lies on their profile to sound more interesting, and at the end of the day, that torso on Grindr is really only interested in where you’re at and if you can “host.”

Is the logo a skull because this app will suck the life out of you?
Photo courtesy of Google Images

But why are dating apps so depressing? What happened to the simple days when pairs were made outside locker rooms? As long as both parties were content with the match, you could have a boyfriend/girlfriend in no time. But why do these applications take away that simple side of dating? Because dating apps create a potent mixture of destroying romanticism while simultaneously reminding us of every flaw we have.

These apps have brought about the end of fantasies and dreams that have been with us since our childhoods. Think about it, since we were wee tots the idea of finding true love at the drop of a hat has been pounded into our brains. We have all had that fantasy that we would meet someone and find a connection to another human being in the most romantic way possible. Dating apps have taken away that romantic aspect of spontaneously meeting another single human being. What is so romantic about picking and choosing the best looking abs in a line up of men? Nothing.

When you have to choose someone from a list of people on an app it feels more like you’re picking the best brand of shoes that you would like to potentially try on and have for a week or two before returning them for store credit. It’s empty. There is no fire, no passion that comes from a smart phone screen. You can’t hear the excitement in someone’s voice when they discuss their pastimes, or the love they have for their favorite sports team. These things have to be added to the conversation by your own mind, rendering the dialogue completely one-sided. Interactions with someone you’re interested in on an app can feel disjointed, and lifeless. Conversations don’t feel as urgent as they do when meeting in person, because there is no sense of I have 5 minutes before the barista finishes my coffee order and I need to find out everything I can before he/she disappears forever because then I could have a chance to see him/her again.

That romanticism is further destroyed by the idea that everyone on the app has to be picked by someone. Dating apps are like the stereotypical gym scene in an elementary school. Everyone who you think is attractive, funny, and cool gets paired up together while you are left on the sidelines wondering when someone will pick you to play on their team. Except in this scenario you continue to send notes to the cool kids and they continue to throw them in the trash without looking at them. And this selection of people adds to the heavy weight sitting on you, because you know that you won’t get picked by the one you want because of some, unforeseen reason.

Ever since high school, when we would hear the horrible things people thought about us, we have been afraid of people judging us. Even those who say they don’t care, have at one time in their life been terrified that they were ultimately put on a scale and scrutinized by another human being for some facet of their personality or looks or whatever. The plus side of high school, was that we would tend to hear these things second-hand from friends or people who overheard the nasty things others would say about us. A majority of the time we didn’t have to take the judgment at face value, and we could shrug it off. But with a dating app, that judgment is thrown in your face, no matter how hard you try to avoid it. It’s inevitable that the minute someone ignores your message you start listing all your flaws and the things you heard in high school: too fat, too skinny, rude, not funny, mean, annoying, etc., etc. Flaws are magnified in your head when people are rejecting you left and right.

Dating apps are not perfect, that’s to say the least. But to write them off entirely would be wrong as well. They do offer the opportunity of connecting with someone you wouldn’t normally connect with, and it extends the playing field for the single members of society. In some cases, like Grindr and Jack’d, people who may be in the closet or questioning their sexuality can find a safe space to explore and find what they really want, something they wouldn’t be able to accomplish in the physical world. And some extremely lucky people really do find love and happiness by using these apps, and to them I say, kudos. To the rest of us I say, carry on.

While I have deleted my dating apps numerous times, I continue to go back to them. My morning routines wouldn’t be the same without reading five different “hellos” from the same guy. And while, I haven’t personally been able to completely eradicate dating apps from my life, I still try to hold on to that romantic notion that one day, when I’m handing someone a towel, or getting my coffee at Starbucks, I’ll meet someone and know that there could be potential there. I won’t let Grindr take that away from me completely. 

Web Series Watch Party: It Could Be Worse

Since the web series The Outs had concluded at the end of the month, I have been in search of a new web series to fill my time with. This search had been proving fruitless until about a week ago, when I stumbled across It Could Be Worse, a darkly comedic web series created by Mitchell Jarvis and Wesley Taylor. After watching the first few episodes I became hooked and buckled myself in for the funny and rather twisted ride.

It Could Be Worse follows the life of Jacob Gordon, played by Taylor, as he deals with his needy, neurotic boyfriend and his insanely odd parents. Gordon's life is turned around when an old flame, Ben Farrel, returns to New York City and prompts Gordon to start changing things in his life.

Wesley Taylor who portrays Jacob Gordon in It Could Be Worse.
Photo courtesy of Google Images. 

So far there have only been ten episodes that have been released, but there are more to come. Even as I sit, writing this post I wait in anticipation for the next episode to be put online. Each episode has a run time of anywhere between 7 and 10 minutes. These episodes are not wanting for content, despite their short length.

The writing for the series has been humorous and dark, causing the viewer to find the perfect mixture of awe and hilarity in each episode. Taylor and Mitchell have provided audiences with a wicked storyline that does not disappoint. Each episode builds on past episodes, expanding the plot and characters but still keeping the watcher in anticipation for what twist could come next. From drugs to pooping in the ladies room, It Could Be Worse provides excellent coverage of the topics and plot twists that we all yearn for.

The series was awarded Indie Series of the Week on welovesoaps.net, and was nominated for the win for four consecutive weeks. It Could Be Worse is quickly becoming one of the most talked about series on the web. All of this is completely understandable. With the great writing, and the absolutely outstanding performances from the cast, this series provided what I was looking for after my emotional ending with The Outs.

The series also has wonderful guest stars sprinkled throughout the episodes including Audra McDonald, who plays Jacob Gordon's shrink, and Debra Messing, a neighbor of Jacob Gordon's who doesn't seem to get along with him very well. These are just a few of the wonderful surprise appearances that come up in practically every episode. The entire cast is filled with the latest faces from on and off Broadway, and any theatre lover would be ecstatic to watch this.

Each character gives a wonderful performance as well. Taylor's portrayal of Jacob Gordon is phenomenal. Every mishap that comes his way deepens your sympathy for the character, and sometimes makes you want to jump into the screen and comfort him once another thing in his life goes wrong. Overall, the cast does a wonderful job of bringing this fantastic, dark world to life.

If you are interested in watching It Could Be Worse you can find all ten episodes here. Enjoy!

The Best (and Worst) Thing to Happen During My College Career

As well as being a lover of books, I am an avid lover of good television shows. I'm just going to throw that out there now. But I never really got to watch any TV my freshman year at college. If I did it would be an episode of Glee (thank God that stopped after first semester) or shows like Weird Addictions or Call of the Wildman. This was partly due to the fact that my roommate and I were generally not watching TV while working on homework, or hanging out with friends. TV was something we turned on right before we turned the lights off to wind down from the day.

I still don't watch a lot of TV now that I have an apartment, and a TV to myself. The only show I follow religiously is Parks & Recreation and if you don't watch that show, then you are wrong. The irony of the whole situation is that, while I don't watch a lot of TV, I watch a gigantic ton of TV shows.

The answer to the conundrum: Netflix.

One of my roommates hooked me up with his subscription when I was trying to watch the 90s version of X-Men on Youtube and it wasn't working out. After that, it all went down hill. I became hooked to the site, and began to log a solid five to six hours in front of the computer screen watching cartoons, British sci-fi shows (five guesses on what show I'm talking about) and comedy shows like Parks & Rec and 30 Rock.

I'm still a little tender over the series finale.
Photo courtesy of Netflix via Google Images

This all seemed great! Finally, I had a database where I could find the shows I wanted to all in one place. I started compiling a list of shows that I wanted to see. A list, might I add, that is still in existence today, while I am writing this post. This show list coupled with my addiction to Netflix began to run my life, and dictated how much time I spent in front of the computer. There was even one day that I stayed in my room the entire day, marathoning the entire second season of Avatar: The Last Airbender (woops don't tell my professors. I still got an A in the class I missed, it was one time). My friends knew that if I was laughing at something on my computer I was generally watching a show on Netflix. It was bad.

My Netflix addiction took a peak during the summer. While I was living in Columbia working towards getting residency in Missouri, I could spend close to 7 or 8 hours straight of watching Battlestar Galactica, Charmed, and any other tv show that I could stream. After getting off work I would walk in to my apartment and go straight to my laptop. Before I knew it, the day would be gone and I would have gotten through half a season of Torchwood.

To this day I have been unable to stop my continual use of Netflix. But I have embraced it, and am no longer ashamed of how often I use it. Netflix has become a way for me to relax after a long day of class, studying and writing. It provides an outlet for me to unwind during the week while still being entertained and without having to deal with pesky commercials and advertisements. The most important thing is that I have found a way to balance my Netflix use and ensure that I don't watch anything before my work is done. And that's what college is all about, finding the balance between school, work and life.

Netflix has become part of my life. I use the streaming service everyday, and I have practically gotten rid of conventional television in my life. This has become true for many people in my generation, I believe. Especially among the group of people I spend most of my time with, the TV doesn't play a major role in our everyday life. We use the television for video games, and using consoles to get Netflix on the TV so that we don't have to watch movies or shows on our laptops all the time.

I know that I am a Netflix junky, but I also know that I am not alone with this particular vice.

Can I Be Pavel Andreievich Chekov?

With the second semester in full swing now, I've found very few opportunities to blog. I'm still working vehemently on the 2013 Reading Challenge, although I did have to switch books due to some changes (just a heads up the next review will be on Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan). Many of my professors in the J-School would find my lack of blogging as being lazy, but I just call it being busy with class, internship, projects and work. This semester has a smaller class load, but way more work outside of the classroom. Maybe. I need to check on that.

Anyway, with the added work hours and the internship that I am participating in, I try to find time to spend with my friends and roommates. Recently we all started watching Breaking Bad together on Netflix, starting from season one. Other activities we do together include cooking dinners together, going to Taco Bell and McDonalds (conveniently placed near our abode) and playing video games together. This last option took on a fun, new form tonight that I felt would be a great way to spring back into the blogosphere.

This turn of events came in the shape of an iPhone app called Spaceteam. The app was realeased Nov. 29, 2012, by Sleeping Beast Games according to this website. It is a cooperative party game where 2 to 4 people sit on their iPhones and scream nonsense words at each other. Each player is randomly assigned a panel with buttons, switches, dials and knobs on them. Each player must follow instructions that are meant to move the team on to the next sector. The instructions are time sensitive, and the best twist of all, the instructions are sent to your teammates so there is quite a bit of shouting out orders. The entire time you're playing the game the ship is falling apart, and space anomalies such as thermal storms, asteroids, and wormholes make it harder to follow the instructions being shouted at you.

Once you think the game is easy it gives you crazy words to shout out.
 Photo courtesy of Apple, via Google Images. 

One of my roommates found out about this app from a Podcast that he listens to regularly and told the rest of us to download it and that we would be playing it later in the evening. We were all curious as to what the game was even about, but we downloaded and waited to get back to our apartment in order to try it out. Right before we started playing we asked what the game was about and he said, "It's like Star Trek. We each get a panel and we have to fly a ship."

I immediately asked if I could be Chekov. Or Scotty. But mainly, I wanted to be Chekov. I mean come on, Chekov is awesome. He's a pretty sweet pilot And who wouldn't want to have that great, Russian accent?

How can you not want to be him?
Courtesy of Wikepedia via Google Images

Anyway, after we worked out the debacles with the Wifi and the Bluetooth, we all joined in on the Spaceteam fun. Our living room was filled with shouts of, "set shiftcrane to 1," "activate zeta-rack," and one of my favorites, "cancel subscriptions." There were also times when iPhones were vigorously shook to avoid asteroids, and even moments where we had to flip upside down so as to not be sucked into a wormhole.

The wormholes make your screen go all wonky so you better flip.
Photo courtesy of the wonderful and amazing Chelsea Kim.

Our team was only able to make it to Sector 8 before our ship burst into flames from the expanding star that we were attempting to outrun. This app was some of the most fun I've had playing a game on my iPhone. Even more so than the "critically acclaimed" Temple Run. The game gets stressful as you move on through the sectors due to the fact that your time grows shorter and the commands start to come in faster. But even with everyone shouting orders and instructions at the same time and no one truly knowing what is going on in the game, we were able to pull it together and get through seven minutes of the game. SEVEN INTENSE MINUTES.

Seven minutes was the longest time we clocked as a team of four tonight.

I would definitely recommend this app for any group of friends looking for a fun way to spend an hour or two, especially on a weekday when movies, Netflix and homework aren't sufficient enough distractions. Not to mention it's free so that's an added bonus. Be ready to scream at your friends and recite crazy, technobabble that will make absolutely no sense!

Just a hint, if you play with two people, it's a lot less intense since you won't have three people barking instructions at you, but it feels more like a dialogue between two pilots in the middle of the Bermuda triangle when the plane is about to go down. But I highly recommend playing in a group of four, since this is way more fun and intense (and slightly stressful when you get to higher sectors) but it's all for a good time.

Enjoy it! And play where you can be loud (my friends and I talked about how funny it would be if a group played during a lecture and were shouting instructions over the professor. Easy way to get kicked out of class) otherwise you may encounter some problems with the flux oscillator.