Treat Yourself: Take a Mini Vacation

On March 24, 2013February 25, 2014 By R. PettyIn OpinionsLeave a comment

Little fact: In 2011, CNNMoney reported Americans forfeit around $34 billion in vacation days per year. That is the total amount of money from unused vacation days. Ouch.

This statistic and recent planning inspired me to write about the importance of taking a break. This weekend I took my son to Kentucky for our annual mini mom/son vacation. Yes, work will be a little crazy when I return. Yes, it cost a little money. And yes, it was totally worth it.

Why Should You Take a Mini Vacation?

We all need a break, especially if you have a physically demanding job or sit at a desk all day. Our bodies get stiff, and our minds run 100 mph to keep up with our schedules. I am not suggesting a vacation with crammed schedules full of things to do. I’m talking about a vacation with fun activities and relaxation – think hot tub, beach, a hike or run, ziplining, or a quite dinner and drinks. And I strongly urge you to turn off your phone. Gasp!

Relax and Recharge: There are a number of sources that argue the mental and physical benefits of vacationing. Getting away allows us to have fun and relax, and we tend to sleep better. When we pack up and drive off, we break the monotony of everyday life and free ourselves – even if only for a couple of days. These trips are especially important for kids because they sit in class all day and deal with being kids. If you remember being one, it kind of sucked.

Make Memories: It’s a dismal thought, but do we begin dying the moment we’re born? It’s an interesting argument, and if so, we don’t have a lot of time to make memories and do everything we want. My son loves our mini vacations and will always remember his parents taking him to nearby attractions and cities, good restaurants, and spending quality time with him. I hope he will do the same with his family and friends.

Reflection and Connectivity: In our family, our mini vacations are times when one parent travels with our son. Last year, my husband and son went to their first NBA game in Memphis. This year, I took our son to one of the scariest places on Earth. Our little vacations are a time to grow closer, talk about anything, and try new things and foods. It’s all about spending time together or even traveling on your own. Taking a break can also jump-start creativity and inspire you to work harder.

We stay distracted and busy all the time, so it’s time we shut down like we do our computers and cellphones. Money and time are often factors, so here are some resources that may help:

51 Mini Family Vacations from Parenting.com

Inexpensive Mini Vacations from Easy Money Tips

The Mini Vacation from Travel+Leisure

It’s also a cool idea to vacation in your own city or take a day trip. We often overlook nice hotels and popular attractions that are in our own backyard.

If you’ve taken a cool mini vacation, feel free to tell us about it in the comments below!

Off the Charts: The Fresh Prince of Bel Air

On March 21, 2013March 21, 2013 By James CastroIn Opinions, Projects, Reviews, TV ShowsLeave a comment

I was an avid TV-watcher as a kid. Between Saturday morning cartoons, after-school afternoon shows, all-day Nickelodeon-a-thons, and NES my young life revolved around the Television. Well that and action figures.

Despite all the TV-ing I did there was only ever ONE show I remember being excited about the premiere: The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Honestly I don’t know how I heard about it, what the promotion for the show was, and even if I was a huge Fresh Prince fan before the show (I knew several of the songs but I was deep into Guns N Roses love at this point…) but for some reason I have a distinct memory of my sister and I ending playing outside early (unheard of!) to run inside and crowd around the second TV in my parents’ room (sitting on a giant desk and occasionally requiring a SMACK on the side to work properly) to watch the very first episode.

As part of my 90s nostalgia I bought and re-watched the entire show from start to finish over the last couple of weeks. There was a lot I’d forgotten, a lot that I remembered (and couldn’t WAIT to get to!), and some changing opinions on the show itself. Here are my thoughts:

The show starts, as many shows do, with a cliché premise. This one is “fish out of water.” Will Smith, from West Philadelphia (born and raised), moves in with his rich relatives and their clash of cultures causes hilarity. I remember as a kid only seeing the Will-side of things and reveling in his bucking of the establishment. Watching as an adult I realize it’s more complex than that. In the very first episode Uncle Phil (James Avery) sets Will straight, he might be a kid from the streets now, but being an adult on the streets isn’t appealing, Phil worked hard to get where he is and while Will’s revolutionary spirit is often the white hat of the show, you see the value of the Banks’ ethics too. Similarly in another episode Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro) comments that Will mocks him for being the “bourgie” guy he is, but in doing so he’s being as unaccepting of Carlton’s personality and much as he (Will) claims the Bel Air society is unaccepting of him. It’s much deeper than just watching wild-Will run amok as I thought as a kid.

The show is full of lots of running themes; Will’s “look to camera,” cartoon effects, Jazz being thrown out. A lot of common threads that are undoubtedly “Fresh Prince.” It’s like watching live-action Looney Tunes in a way. Even the serious moments I hated as a kid are effective now. Try watching Will respond to his father leaving and not be affected!

The show also has some of the best bloopers I’ve ever seen. The only unusual aspect of the show is the high number of clip shows they do. Even in the early season. I learned from audio commentaries on The Simpsons that this is something networks do to save money and this may be the case here. It’s not a complaint as the clips are always the best of the show, just strange to have a second season clip show.

Another strange thing that hit me while watching it is how much has changed in the intervening time between the show’s original run and now. The stars they mention who we lost way before their time (specifically Heavy D, Whitney Houston, and Michael Jackson), and the fickle nature of the trends as celebrities on the show who received raucous cheers who are now in the midst of relative obscurity.

My favorite aspect of the show is Jazz. DJ Jazzy Jeff, in addition to being one hell of a DJ (a REAL DJ. Ya know…with records…) is absolutely a riot every time he’s on screen. You can tell he’s not a trained actor, but his part is so funny it doesn’t matter.

Here are some of my personal favorite moments:

If it’s been a while since you’ve visited Bel Air I say pick it up. It’s one of the rare shows from the 90s that, while it does have its dated moments, is as funny now as when it was made.

Below is the REAL FULL theme song of the Fresh Prince. As far as I know it never aired. Only an extended version during the first two episodes. It’s still missing two sections in the middle. But to answer a long standing question, no the Prince didn’t take a cab from West Philly to Bel Air!

Off the Charts: An Idiot Abroad Series 3

On March 6, 2013March 5, 2013 By James CastroIn Opinions, Projects, ReviewsLeave a comment

Karl Pilkington has been around the world twice. Once to see the seven wonders of the world and again to check things off the bucket list of someone more adventurous than he. A viewer could tell Karl had about had it with his travels at the end of the second season. Actually this was apparent at the end of the FIRST season, but thankfully he agreed to go on more adventures.

Season three of Idiot Abroad just finished broadcasting in the US. It was, no pun intended, a mini-season, consisting of only three episodes and features a constant travelling companion for Karl, film star and friend of Ricky Gervais (who also appeared on the phone in the second season of Idiot Abroad when Karl visited the Chinese dwarf village at the end of the Trans-Siberian railway) Warwick Davis.

As a fan the concept was concerning to me. We like to see Karl exploring on his own and hear his random, yet always honest, reflections about his experiences. When I heard he would have “a little company” for season three, and it would consist of only three episodes, I thought it might prove to be disastrous. After seeing it I’m happy to say it was a great conclusion (I REALLY don’t think Karl will be up for any more of this…) to the series and still loaded with Karl fun.

This season was billed as Karl, who hates doing new things, and Warwick, who’s up for anything as they trace the Marco Polo route from Venice to China. This turned out not to be the case. In a few ways:

First: They didn’t do the whole Marco Polo route. Obviously in 3 episodes that journey wouldn’t be possible. Unlike previous seasons, you got brief looks into each place they stopped, usually punctuated by one or two big events per episode.
Second: Karl was as up for doing new things, and looking back, he really always has been. From using a water jetpack, to eating Chinese street delicacies (something he was totally against in series 1!). There remains ONE thing Karl abjectly refuses to do though!
Third: Warwick was as apprehensive as Karl about some of the activities. Including ones he tried to get Karl to do (like being lifted in the air by helium balloons) and enjoying a Venetian “Pleasure Machine” during a masquerade party.

Overall this season was filled with the same Karl blunt hilarity as the others. Some viewers complained about the “shock” value of it, the inclusion of Warwick in general, the “Spider Sisters” event, but to me this was just more of the same. Anyone who’s familiar with Karl knows he’s fascinated by “different” people, including the very tall Steve Merchant who produced the first two seasons and appears on the Ricky Gervais Show. And it was no more shocking than bird fetus-eating and lady boy-visiting that appeared in previous seasons. These inclusions always feel like Karl doing what Karl does. Here are some of the highlights of season 3 for me:

Karl’s failure to use the water jetpack and Ricky Gervais’ very correct theory on why he chose to do it (essentially to try to find something Warwick would hate but he wound up hating it himself)
Flying Warwick on helium balloons in Macedonia (to quote Karl, “I’ve never had a kite…”)
Karl dressed as the slouchiest panda in genetic history. Also his plan on how to fend off an attacking panda.
The results of Karl and Warwick in a Bollywood film and how they both reviewed the experience. Surprisingly the roles reversed in this case!
Random Karl quips and quotes about Warwick (comparing him to a leech, saying he’d trade him for a cat, constant references to his playing a “bear” in Star Wars, and his utter shock that Warwick was in ALL the Harry Potter films)
A favorite moment, that might seem uncomfortable to some, was Karl’s tough love to Warwick climbing the steps to a Buddhist temple. Warwick wasn’t feeling well and didn’t want to continue. Karl’s blunt, seemingly vicious, criticisms eventually got Warwick to walk the entire length of the stairs. Though to add to the comedy, Karl ended up taking a palanquin!
And my personal favorite moment, perhaps in the history of the show, what makes Karl laugh:

The only negatives in this series to me are; it can feel uncomfortable as you watch the two of them interact and interact with those around them at times, until you get used to what is going on. Karl was right to be angry that Warwick had better lodging than him. He was right that he got a different experience, eating the local food and getting sick, than Warwick. It doesn’t detract from the show, but the tension makes it a little more “reality show” than the others. The other negative is there was no “Karl Comes Home” this season. Obviously with only three episodes a clip show would be a waste, but I always enjoyed Karl’s final thoughts on his travels. Warwick’s as well as he could review where they had been and what it’s like to travel with Karl.

I highly recommend the entire show, and this season was no exception. It’s not for the easily-offended, but Karl never is. If you’re looking for comedy and pure honesty on TV Idiot Abroad is the way to go! Thanks to Karl for going through all this for our entertainment!

The 90s: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles the Movie

On February 27, 2013February 27, 2013 By James CastroIn Movies, Opinions, Random Fun, ReviewsLeave a comment

I don’t know when and where I first heard of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but I do know I joined the majority of my generation in becoming obsessed with all things mean, lean, and green for the better part of four years. I’ve always loved turtles, I wanted to keep a giant water turtle that I found outside my house when I was about 8 and my sister and I used to make paper bowl turtle toys (turn the bowl over, make it paper feet and head, color it!) at my grandmother’s house, so when a cartoon about anthropomorphic turtles came out it must have felt like a perfect fit.

The Ninja Turtles movie was the first film I remember being truly excited about. There had been The Land before Time when I was even younger, Ghostbusters II, and Batman the year before, but Ninja Turtles ramped up to be the event of my youth. I remember TONS of pre-release promotional material I collected, including the awesome poster (Lean, Mean, and on the Screen!) that hung on my green-painted wall for years. And yes it was painted green because of my TMNT love…

Despite all of this I don’t remember having any expectations for the film. I didn’t expect it to be a continuation of the cartoon, or the re-telling of the show in live-action format. I may have been too young for such concepts. I was expecting to see live-action Ninja Turtles and that’s just what I got.

For me, this movie was the perfect introduction to the 1990s. Though it was made in the late 80s and based on an 80s cartoon, the film is far more 90s than 80s. The costumes, from April’s street gear and Danny’s slacker outfit, looks like 90s clothes, even Shredder’s MC Hammer red jump suit (complete with giant, square shoulders) looks more like early 90s than late 80s. The musical score, with a killer synth theme, didn’t have the distinctive “Final Countdown” sound that marred synth in the 80s. In fact this is the first movie I can recall that heavily featured rap music, not just as a soundtrack item (though there was an awesome credit scroll rap track that still gets stuck in my head…) but in the background as what was on the radio that we, the kids seeing the movie, were listening to.

This song plays right after “Cowabunga!” at the end of the film. It still plays periodically in my mental soundtrack…

I recently rewatched the film and, objectively, I can say it was a fantastic herald for the decade and is still a terrific movie. While some might consider the background dated, to me it speaks so clearly of the time it was made and it never detracts from its effectiveness. Yeah the foot soldiers steal 10-inch tube TVs and VCRs but in 1990 something like that would have been a kind of luxury item. As well as something a ninja could conceivably flee on foot carrying.

Even the turtles themselves, essentially man-sized muppet outfits, are surprisingly emotional. You believe their animatronic faces. This is aided by the voice acting, which, in most cases (Raph’s Brooklyn accent being the outlier) came close to matching what we were used to hearing on the cartoon show. Even Splinter’s voice became the model used for later TMNT features…though never close to as well…

The action sequences are remarkable, which is surprising as the stunt guys are wearing massive foam-rubber suits and I attribute THIS movie to sparking my interest in martial arts, which extends to this day (not the cartoon, which I’ve also seen recently and it has very little fighting I’ve realized!)

The non-turtle actors led by Judith Hoag, the best live-action April, and Elias Koteas, the quintessential Casey Jones, never seem out of place or make the very weird subject matter seem as odd as it is. They play it believable so you believe them. They are enhanced by a score of excellent secondary characters, Danny, Charles Pennington (April’s Boss), Tatsu (one of my favorites, “Ninja! Vanish!”), and an incredible live action Shredder.

It doesn’t just “hold up” as a good movie, it actually is a good movie. It never has a dated cringe-worthy moment that references some long-lost, time-stamped, disposable concept. In many ways the humor and references are more like Looney Tunes, in that they have a timeless feel or harken back to already-established icons, such as the old-school surfing terms, Three Stooges, Rocky, or the famous James Cagney “you dirty rat” misquote.

I wonder if newer generations of kind can appreciate this film for what it is. Or if music-video-style film making, flashing light imagery, and over-shiny CGI has altered the fundamental image of what an action movie should be. To me, this is the Raiders of the Lost Ark of cartoon pop culture, a great marriage of subject, style, and execution. And, to me, a memorable way to open the decade.

Interesting to note, this is the official trailer from the film, I actually remember seeing scenes from it, but the voices were not the same as the finished film. Nearly every “masked” character has a different voice in the theatrical release!

Coming Soon: The 90s in Review!!

On February 20, 2013February 19, 2013 By James CastroIn Opinions, Random Fun, Reviews1 Comment

Ah the 90s… I will always consider myself a child of the 80s…but I was a teenager of the 90s. So while some of my favorite childhood memories are deeply rooted in the kid-culture of the 1980s, my adolescent memories are more firmly based in the bedrock of the 1990s.

There has been a fair share of 80s and 90s nostalgia in the last few years and the people of my generation reach adulthood and look back longingly and the culture we grew up in. From VH1’s I Love the 90s and Nickleodeon’s 90’s Were All That, the 1990s have had a resurgence in the last few years. I personally both love and cringe at the glory that was the 1980s and 1990s and became excited to share my personal favorite and LEAST favorite things about the second second decade I experienced.

My insightful RevPub colleague unintentionally got this ball rolling with her Clueless post, and I got to thinking about all of the great things the 1990s gave us. We’ll be discussing TV, movies, music, general culture from the era, and hopefully will be able to reach the rest of our generation in celebrating the decade that gave us the fall of MC Hammer, the creation of the first-person shooter, the re-rise of the boy band, the horrible innovation of reality TV, and the tragic end of music on “music television.”

These, like previous posts, won’t be broad history lessons but personal memories of the 90s. So enjoy, we all have different perspectives and will remember distinct memories of where we were the first time we saw DVDs, Rap Metal, or 3D Graphics!

PS: I planned to have a nice snazz-graphic ready for this post…unfortunately my wonderful Vaio went into cardiac arrest on the morning of 2/19 and is no longer with us. New PC arrives Thursday… Hopefully snazz-graphic will be ready by the first 90s post next week, a look at how the 90s started for me: A review of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movie!

Life Lessons from Video Games Versus Mode: Bonus Stage!

On January 23, 2013January 22, 2013 By James CastroIn Games, Opinions, Projects, Random Fun, ReviewsLeave a comment

While Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat were locked in deadly battle for arcade supremacy other franchises came and went on the console market. TMNT Tournament Fighters, Clayfighter, and the dreaded Shaq-Fu all appeared to take advantage of the fighting game popularity.

One franchise stood out to me and, though it’s vanished into retro-obscurity, it is probably my favorite of the bunch.

Eternal Champions

Eternal Champions showed up as a Sega-only franchises on the Genesis and utilized the same aggressive marketing campaign that Sega used to fight Nintendo. I remember seeing the plastic clamshell box stalking around the residential hallways chasing down other fighting games throughout the house. Admittedly these kinds of ads are a turn off to me. I’d rather not compare one item to another, just let me know what’s good about the one you’re selling me. But Eternal Champions won me over. It combined the cartoon-style animations and unique character styles of Street Fighter with the brutality and violence of Mortal Kombat.

The premise was terrific. A group of warriors, all throughout time, each meets a premature demise . The Eternal Champion has offered them a chance to return to their respective time, moments before their deaths, and have the chance to prevent their deaths before they happened. I loved the premise, and when the Sega CD sequel offered more fighters and more options I jumped on that version too.

Eternal Champions CD — My copy of EC: Challenge from the Dark Side

At the time reviewers, who are always an annoying snarky bunch I’ve found (and I still maintain it’s easier to write a bad review than a good one…recently reviewers don’t think it’s “cool” to like things they review), called it a Mortal Kombat rip-off, based solely on its bloodiness. But the gameplay and presentation was FAR closer to Street Fighter than Mortal Kombat.

The special moves, character movement, and attacks all resembled Street Fighter. I remember playing as a caveman named “Slash” (I was then and am still a GnR fan I had to play as Slash) and how incredibly hot the portrait of Shadow Yamoto looked in the game, so much so that I hated to beat her up. My favorites on the Genesis were RAX, the futuristic kickboxer and Midknight, the vampire. In the Sega CD sequel Challenge from the Darkside I added Chin Wo and Ramses III to my favorites list. They all used specific martial arts styles as well and, since I was deep into Tae Kwon Do at the time, I loved the variety.

The kills that were the most fun came from the environments. I remember the car in Larcen’s stage riddling you with bullets and getting sucked into the big fan on Blade’s. Dinosaurs ate you, you got electrocuted, and burned. The tricky part was getting your opponent into the right position to meet their destruction.

UN-like Mortal Kombat, it required the strategy and techniques of Street Fighter to defeat an enemy. Often killing your enemy was just an awesome bonus. The Challenge from the Darkside offered more kills, challenging, but terrific if you pulled them off, and often related to stories. Sometimes a new event happened you’d never seen before and, remember this is PRE-INTERNET, you had to figure out how that happened.

Added to this was the secret element. Eternal Champions was loaded with secret characters. From a Senator (taking potshots at political anti-game violence grandstanding) and my favorites, the animal characters, a chicken named Crispy, a monkey named Zuni , an owl (loved the owl) named Hooter, a snake named Slither, and a dog named Yappy. These were simple diversions from the regular game…but brought humor and replay value into the fighting game, which can be sorely missing in some of them.

Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Darkside, along with Sega Saturn’s X-Men: Children of the Atom, remain my favorite non-Street Fighter fighting games. It doesn’t suffer the same “Duke Nukem” effect I mentioned that impacts Mortal Kombat for me and is still loads of fun to play. I personally would like to see a return to the Eternal Champions franchise. Updated in the same way as Street Fighter IV, keeping true to 2D fighting roots but updating the graphics and gameplay. The premise, characters, and styling already exists. You’ve got a foundation, gaming industry, get to it!

So while Street Fighter reigns supreme in my fighting game memories…Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side holds a special place as the potentially the best fighting game no one remembers…and potentially a challenge to SF’s throne…

For a full look at my love for classic Sega check out my love letter to the Genesis-Saturn days!

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Category: Opinions