Vote!

Nov 4, 2014 By Sharon Feliciano in Uncategorized

When I was a kid my mother was fiercely private about her vote . She always told us it was rude to ask people who they were voting for.

It must be a generational thing, I have no problem talking with my kids about what we are voting for, who we are voting for and why. We have a 14 year old son and I feel that it’s really important to get him involved in the civil process before he has to do it all on his own.

Whatever your beliefs, whatever your political leanings, it is so vitally important that you go out and vote today (or make sure your ballot is mailed in.) In a democracy we have the ability to let our government know what it is we want, what it is we stand for. When people don’t vote that system doesn’t serve us the way it should, and those who don’t vote have no right to complain about it.

So go out there and stand up for what you believe in. Even if you don’t talk to your kids about it in detail, even if they’re too young to understand, you’re setting the example of how to be a responsible citizen.

Phase 3 of The Marvel Cinematic Universe Unveiled

Nov 2, 2014 By Sharon Feliciano in marvel, movies

With Halloween costume making taking up so much of my time this week, I neglected to report on some of the most exciting news in all of Geekdom. Marvel is putting out EVERY SINGLE MOVIE EVER! Well, not really, but they have definitely listened to their fans and have announced a slate that showcases diversity (Capatin Marvel is a woman in most comic iterations and Black Panther is the first black superhero to star in a mainstream comic ) as well as returning cinematic universe favorites Captain America, Thor, the Avengers (THREE NEW AVENGERS MOVIES!!) and Guardians of the Galaxy.

Robert Downey, Jr., Chadwick Boseman and Chris Evans
at the announcement of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 3

Of course casting speculation is already running rampant. If you type “who will play” into Google, the first auto-complete suggestion is “Doctor Strange”. Benedict Cumberbatch was supposedly officially cast, until that was refuted by the bigwigs at Marvel. There is already a social media campaign to cast Battlestar Galactica’s Katee Sackhoff as Captain Marvel in a movie that isn’t even scheduled to be released until 2018. Chadwick Boseman is confirmed as Black Panther, as he will debut in Captain America: Civil War.

As comic fans do, even Super-Dad and I had our nit picks, personal favorites and praise for both confirmed and speculated casting choices. Could Katee Sackhoff really embody the “girliness” of Captain Marvel? Sackhoff is known for playing toughies and Carol Danvers definitely has a more fragile side historically. Cahdwick Boseman has definitely shown his acting chops with his lauded performances as James Brown and Jackie Robinson, but my first thought upon seeing a recent photo of him was “He’s going to have to bulk up”. Clearly these are “problems” that can be easily taken care of by talented actors and good personal trainers, but we’re geeks and it’s how we do, I personally, would love to see Beyonce as Captain Marvel, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.

Seriously, though,,,Beyonce!

Here’s the lineup:

5/1/15 – AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON
7/17/15 – ANT-MAN
5/6/16 – CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR
11/4/16 – DOCTOR STRANGE
5/5/17 – GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 2
7/28/17 – THOR: RAGNAROK
11/3/17 – BLACK PANTHER
5/4/18 – AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR PART I
7/6/18 – CAPTAIN MARVEL
11/2/18 – INHUMANS
5/3/19 – AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR PART II

Who do you want to see play your favorite Marvel character? Let me know in the comments!

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day: A Parent’s Guide

Oct 9, 2014 By Sharon Feliciano in movies, parent's guide

Last week we were invited by Disney to check out “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Day”, their new family film staring Steve Carell and Jennifer Garner.

Alexander is sick and tired of being the non-perfect member of his perfect family. Dad is a baby-and-me-going, birthday-party-planning, stay-at-home-super-dad aka “Fommy” (Father Mommy as coined by his yoga instructor). Mom is a hot shot at book publisher, his older brother is handsome and popular, and his older sister is the angelic voiced star of the school play. His baby brother is an adorable and because of his age, needs (and gets) a lot of attention.

The main conflict comes when a popular boy at Alexander’s school announces that he is throwing a huge birthday party the same day Alexander had planned his. Not only is Alexander’s crush planning on attending the rival’s party, so is Alexander’s best friend! Feeling jealous and sad, Alexander makes a wish on his birthday candle that his “perfect” family would understand what it’s like to have a day as bad as one of his.

And WHAT a bad day each of them has! As a parent I really, really laughed at the challenges Alexander’s Dad felt having to drag the baby to a job interview at a way younger-skewing video game company. Alexander’s mom has to commute across town on a bicycle in high heels to prevent a disastrous book reading with a mis-printed children’s book.

His siblings don’t fare much better. His sister, trying to soothe a flu before opening night, drinks a bit too much cough syrup and performs Peter Pan while inebriated. His brother suffers a misunderstanding with his girlfriend and then fails his driver’s exam in the most spectacular fashion possible.

So, should you bring your 5 year old to see “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Day”?

I brought Super-Dad and seven year old Kitty along. Kit had a hard time waiting for the punchlines. It all just seemed very extreme and mildly upsetting to her, she was just a bit too young to really enjoy the schadenfreude inherent in a comedy of errors. There were definitely moments where she laughed, but they weren’t as frequent as SD and I. Some of the themes were a bit too more mature for her as well. Certainly nothing too objectionable, just a little “old” for her. There was a bit of cyberbullying, some rough language “crap, idiot”, and the young teen sister accidentally gets drunk on cough syrup.

Younger kids may not get some of the more subtle aspects of the movie messages; like how members of the family can have trouble seeing and empathizing with the problems others are having. While Alexander is convinced his family lives perfect lives, in reality they all have their own “No Good” worries. Dad is worried about finding a job, while mom is worried that a new opportunity at work will leave her even less time for her family. Big Brother Anthony is struggling to placate a status-hungry girlfriend. Sister Emily has a lot of pressure on her from her school’s Drama Director. Everyone is so caught up in their own issues it’s hard for them to see that each of their family members are having their own problems. Bigger kids hopefully will understand that the message here is that NO ONE has a perfect day. The resolution of the film actually comes when the family is able to come together to handle their “Terrible, Horrible, Very Bad, No Good Day” as a team.

14 year old Nate, was having his own “terrible, no good day” on a mandated tent camping trip with school. It’s a shame, too. I think that this movie is perfectly suited for his age. While there is nothing too objectionable for younger kids, I think kids 10 – 14 and their parents will get the most enjoyment from this adorable flick.