I’ve always wanted to find a solid place to backup all my data in the cloud, yet it always seemed extremely costly.
Microsoft OneDrive offers 1TB of data for $70 a year ($5.80/month), Google Drive offers 1TB for $10/month, and Amazon S3 has a plan that brings it down to similar costs.
The good thing about these services? They hold your data forever, even if you don’t log in…which is the one downside to the service I’m about to introduce you to: Backblaze.
This cloud service is loaded with amazing features, on the Personal Backup option, the simplest of which is $50/year for unlimited storage ($95/2 years), but it gets better from there:
Unlimited Storage, and unlimited file size. Usually, these products limit the individual file size, regardless your overall space. But Backblaze doesn’t care how big/small it is. It’ll back it up.
Fast speeds. They let you backup with auto-threading and throttling, or set your own limits to make it go even faster.
Easy recovery: From any computer (or even on Android or iOS) you can download your entire database, or even just one file if that’s what you need.
But what if it takes too long to download? Or you just want your files, and don’t want to download it?
Backblaze will send you your files via FedEx, 128GB Flash drive for $99, or a 4TB drive for $189. And if you want, within 30 days, you can return the drive for a full refund, after you transferred the files to your personal drives!
Safe. All your files are encrypted, and you can turn on two-step verification to prevent others from logging in.
As I stated earlier, they only hold your data for 30 days at a time, unless you connect the drives to their servers. This creates a constant backup, where if it disappears from your drive it will remain on the cloud for 30 more days.
But don’t connect at all, and they assume your data has been removed, in what they would consider file integrity.
Pentatonix burst onto the scene in 2011 as the Season 3 winners of The Sing-Off. And while there were four seasons, and four winners, they are the only ones that really took off and made a name for themselves.
Over the years they’ve won Grammy’s and YouTube Music Awards, and their covers of songs have made it onto peoples playlists. But their most popular songs may have been off their 2016 Christmas album.
Well, now they’ve released a brand new album, PTX Presents: Top Pop, Vol. I, which has some of the most popular songs on the radio on it, from Ed Sheeran to Ed Sheeran, and Zedd to Kesha.
My favorite songs on the album are Stay (a Zedd with Alessia Cara cover) and Perfect (Ed Sheeran). But the songs that stand out from the album are the two mashups that they have put together: New Rules with Are You That Somebody (Dua Lipa and Aaliyah) and Despacito with Shape of You (Luis Fonsi w/ Daddy Yankee and Ed Sheeran).
Hilarity for Charity is an organization founded by Seth Rogen and his wife Lauren Miller, with the intent to raise money for Alzheimer’s research, in a yearly comedy show. The 2018 edition took place at The Palladium in NYC, and was created for Netflix being released a few weeks ago. If you’d like to donate to the cause, head to DonateHFC.com.
Sarah Silverman, talking 9/11 and the Holocaust: “Never Forget…oh, I shouldn’t say that tonight. Sorry.”
This show is rated R/TV-MA, and very much deserves a higher rating (if there would be one). It starts off with weed and d!ck jokes but then launches into a packed house of comedy (much along the same lines). Unfortunately, despite the big names, most of it is not funny, and is too over the top and “trying”.
I’m not a strong performer on stage, whenever it’s not going well, there’s one thing that always works…I ask my talented famous friends to do cameo appearances to pander to the audience and distract them from the fact that I’m not doing that well. – Seth Rogan
The list is pretty impressive though: Michael Che, Chelsea Peretti, Kumail Nanjiani, The Muppets, Craig Robinson, Michelle Wolf (who yells at me too much), Chris Hardwick, Sacha Baron Cohen, John Mulaney, Justin Roiland (of Rick and Morty), Sarah Silverman, Tiffany Hadish, David Chang (of Momofuku), Jeff Goldblum, Post Malone, and most importantly: the USC Marching Band.
The next comedian performs at clubs and colleges all over the country.
I would say don’t waste your time watching this, only giving it a 5 out of 10, but do encourage you to head to DonateHFC.com and give to a great cause!
Swedish DJ and musician Avicii passed away on Friday at the age of 28. While his name was only directly associated with a few songs, he was instrumental in making the music industry sound how it does today.
Here are some of the songs that he became famous for:
WAKE ME UP
This song was number 1 on my Song of the Year list for 2013 before I started this site…
They tell me I’m too young to understand
They say I’m caught up in a dream
Well life will pass me by if I don’t open up my eyes
Well that’s fine by me
HEY BROTHER
What if I’m far from home?
Oh brother, I will hear you call!
What if I lose it all?
Oh sister, I will help you out!
Oh, if the sky comes falling down
For you, there’s nothing in this world I wouldn’t do
LEVELS
This song featured some of the sounds from Flo Rida’s “Good Feelin, which he helped create.
Oh, sometimes I get a good feeling, yeah
Get a feeling that I never, never, never, never had before, no no
I get a good feeling, yeah
Spoiler alert: I think I really like the X-Men movies.
ROUND OF 32
The Avengers vs. Thor: The Dark World – The Avengers — I mean, The Avengers was the end of Phase I, and the movie that started tying all our favorite characters together
Spider-Man (2002) vs. X-Men (2000) – X-Men — No one can deny that Spider-Man was a great movie, but X-Men launched this entire Marvel Universe into existence Thor: Ragnarok vs. Ant-Man – Thor: Ragnorak — I did not particularly like either of these…but the lesser of two evil (villains) Logan vs. Blade 2 – Logan — I loved Logan…and I’ve never seen Blade 2, so this one was pretty easy!
Captain America: Civil War vs. X-Men: Apocalypse – Captain America: Civil War — This was it. Our favorite heroes battling against each other, over the future of their kind
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 vs. Spider-Man: Homecoming – Spider-Man: Homecoming — This movie was a rejuvenation and breath of fresh air to a becomingly stale series X-Men: Days of Future Past vs. Iron Man 2 – X-Men: Days of Future Past — Iron Man is a solid character, but the origin stories and going back in time to the beginnings and creations of the X-Men wins out Deadpool vs. The Wolverine – Deadpool — This one was really tough because I love Wolverine, both the movie and character, but Deadpool and its comedy changed the future of MCU movies and comedy
Spider-Man 2 vs. Fantastic 4 (2005) – Spider-Man 2 — The Fantastic 4 movies never really took off…nor were they very good
X-Men 2 vs. Iron Man 3 – X2 — Both equally medium, one had to move on
Avengers: Age of Ultron vs. Thor – Thor — Thor was good at the onset, before getting more boring as time went on
Captain America: The Winter Soldier vs. Blade – Captain America: The Winter Soldier — Same as before…I’ve never seen the Blade movies, and Bucky was great as Winter Soldier (Spoiler Alert? But if you are reading this bracket, you should expect those here…)
Black Panther vs. X-Men Origins: Wolverine – Black Panther — Black Panther is going to have recency bias for many, and it is better than Origins: Wolverine…but not by much
X-Men: First Class vs. Captain America: The First Avenger – X-Men: First Class — The start of the X-Men and the beginning of their story
Iron Man vs. Doctor Strange – Iron Man — Doctor Strange was a whole different version of superhero and Marvel, but Iron Man started the current MCU universe
Guardians of the Galaxy vs. The Amazing Spiderman – The Amazing Spiderman — Guardians was a fun different brand of MCU, but Emma Stone is gonna push most movies over the edge
SWEET SIXTEEN
The Avengers vs. X-Men (2000) – X-Men — The Avengers is fantastic, but I think the fact that the mutants of X-Men were the first (good) movie of the modern era moves it along
Thor: Ragnorak vs. Logan – Logan — Logan all the way. The entertainment levels are so high in this movie…compared to the bore of Thor…
Captain America: Civil War vs. Spider-Man: Homecoming – Captain America: Civil War — Spider-Man appears in Captain America, so how can his awesome character win out over the full collection?
X-Men: Days of Future Past vs. Deadpool – X-Men: Days of Future Past — Intensity is what MCU is based on, and while comedy is fun, the strength of Future Past powers thru
Spider-Man 2 vs. X-Men 2 – Spider-Man 2 — Doc Ock pushes past the X-Men series
Thor vs. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Captain America: The Winter Soldier — Thor is one of the weaker series’ amongst the individuals, and Cap basically represents America
Black Panther vs. X-Men: First Class – Black Panther — Wakanda Forever
Iron Man vs. The Amazing Spiderman – Iron Man — Tony Stark will win out over Peter Parker
ELITE EIGHT
X-Men (2000) vs. Logan – X-Men — The OG wins out
Captain America: Civil War vs. X-Men Days of Future Past – Captain America: Civil War — The originals and individual movies are great, but when you put all these powerhouses together it just creates an unbelievable movie. And while both of these feature great casts of characters, Civil War is the better of the two
Spider-Man 2 vs. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Captain America: The Winter Soldier — The weakest bracket has Hydra moving on thru to the Final Four
Black Panther vs. Iron Man – Black Panther — I started off by saying how Black Panther may have recency bias, but it really does have a lot going for it
FINAL FOUR
X-Men (2000) vs. Captain America: Civil War – X-Men — I’ll go back to what I said in the first round…this movie was the one that really launched this entire franchise, and should be in the Championship game
Captain America: The Winter Soldier vs. Black Panther – Black Panther — The newest movie is also the one heading to the Championship
CHAMPIONSHIP
X-Men (2000) vs. Black Panther – X-MEN (2000) — When I started filling out this bracket, I did NOT think that this movie would be the ultimate champion. But when you look at it big picture, the entire MCU universe only exists because of the success that X-Men started off with in 2000. Without it, we never would’ve gotten to Black Panther in 2018. It’s kinda fitting that the first good movie in this bracket, and the most recent one, face off against each other
As Season 1 comes to an end (an overview of the show can be found here), the story of John O’Neill is intriguing. The CIA and FBI, had they been capable of working together, quite possibly could’ve stopped 9/11 in its tracks…but politics and bureaucracy got in the way.
The show does a good job mixing real-world footage with show footage, allowing the realism and historical fiction to play out.
But becaue of that, it is infuriating to watch as Richard Clarke, John O’Neill (Jeff Daniels), and Ali Soufan (Tahar Rahim) with the FBI, and Martin Schmidt (Peter Sarsgaard) and George Tenet (Alec Baldwin) with the CIA, as well as White House officials, particularly Condoleezza Rice, just can’t work together. The lack of passing information between departments, because everyone needs to be the one in power, led to one of the worst disasters in American history…and if this still continues these days (and you have to assume it does), what other horrors are we missing with the info in our pockets?
Your government failed you. Those entrusted with protecting you, failed you. We tried hard, but that doesn’t matter, because we failed.
9/11 will haunt the memories of many (and no one will forget their stories of the day), and this can only make people hate Condoleezza and the likes even more, for impeding the prevention of this from happening.
Recently dubbed the best Hulu original, this show reached its crescendo in the first nine episodes, and the finale was less riveting but great nonetheless, this show gets an overall 9 out of 10.
Back in October I spoke about NYCFC’s quest for a stadium, and at the time the focus was on Elmont, and how we all hoped it wouldn’t end up there.
Well yesterday, thanks to a story from YIMBY, we got some unconfirmed news of a possible stadium coming to The Bronx.
The stadium project, which would cost upwards of $700K, is set to hold 26K fans, under a “pitch open” roof, allowing the players to face the elements, while the fans can stay dry.
This location, the Harlem River Yards, is currently home to commercial properties and a large rail yard, which they would build the stadium (and a collection of housing) over, with an expected completion date of 2022.
Among their selling points, and something that wasn’t as doable in Elmont, is the ease of getting to the stadium. There are already existing subway stops within a 10-minute walk of the stadium, they are certain to add parking garages, and they are promising the addition of a new ferry stop on the NYC ferry system.
If this turns out to be the reality, a lot of fans would be very happy with it. I can’t wait to see what other amenities show up inside the stadium.
Pictures via YIMBY, courtesy of Rafael Vinoly Architects
The music is there from the moment it starts, kind of like how La La Land did, and young PT Barnum clearly always wanted to be entertaining.
Growing up in poverty, wanting the love of a rich girl who he just couldn’t have, and when PT (Hugh Jackman) grew up he came back and swept her off her feet (Michelle Williams).
He takes up a loan to open a museum of things that people have never seen. Wax animals, stuffed figures, and magicians to name a few. But he needed a gimmick to get people in his doors…and then it hit him. He started small, really small…Tom Thumb in fact, a bearded lady, and trapeze artists, to name a few. And he turned them all into curiosities for people to come explore.
From NYC to a trip to Queen Victoria, and having the great singer Jenny Lind (Rebecca Ferguson) join the act.
A celebration of humanity.
First glance the movie seems a bit underwhelming, but once you sink in and appreciate the movie, it’s really enjoyable to learn the start of the modern circus. Meanwhile, this movie was clearly made for Broadway…or a big top.
Once you see it you’ll never be the same.
The movie is loaded with talent, beyond our main pairing, including Zac Efron, Zendaya, and Paul Sparks (House of Cards, The Crown).
On top of that, the soundtrack is top-notch, with This Is Me leading the way.
Everyone’s got an act.
Watching this made me miss the circus, and I’m glad I saw the last shows they had to offer. This movie gets an 8 out of 10.
“The noblest art is that of making others happy.” – PT Barnum
One of the problems with shopping for clothing online is that you never know what’s going to fit, and what needs to be returned within an hour of receiving it. Well, Amazon certainly has its fair share of returns, but they have tried to make it a lot easier to get it all done, introducing Amazon Prime Wardrobe.
Amazon Prime Wardrobe requires you to order three or more items from the qualified list, and you don’t have to pay for any of it until after you’ve tried it on.
The order ships to you, and you aren’t charged for anything until 7-days after you receive the box. Once you get the order Amazon provides you with an easy list where you just select “Keep” or “Return”.
Once that’s done you can just close the easily resealable box, and use the enclosed return label before dropping it off at a local UPS store.
Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi has finally come out on DVD, which means I’ve gotten a chance to watch it…and learn what a terribly boring storyline it is.
<There will be spoilers in this post. Sorry/Not Sorry!>
General Leia (Carrie Fisher) leads her rebellion army, with Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and BB-8 in their X-Wing, standing up to the First Order…all while waiting for Jedi Master Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) to reappear.
But on the search for him is Rey (Daisy Ridley), who wants to train in the Jedi ways, all while Finn (John Boyega) tries to reconnect with her.
Meanwhile, Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis) is leading Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) to the dark side, as they try to find a replacement for Vader.
As long as Skywalker lives, hope lives in the galaxy.
Did you get all that? Because that’s pretty much the gist of it…and while the storyline is boring, the action is not.
The fight scene between Luke and Rey, despite being incredibly short, was one of my favorites, and when the Millennium Falcon swoops onto the scene you can practically feel everyone cheering.
But now for my issues with it all:
The Leia in space scene should never have happened. The Force has been around for thousands of years, but suddenly now in the last 20 they’ve learned to fly in space?
On that note, since when can they all just close their eyes and make “Skype” calls to each other?
Also, turning on a lightsaber from across the room to kill somebody…if we can do that, and not need to hold it in your actual hand, why not just have tens of lightsabers, sit back and just fight everyone at once?
Why does Snoke look and sound like Voldemort?
Is Rose annoying? Yes. Definitely yes.
What are you looking at me for? -Leia
This movie has the action and excitement, lacks the story…only gets a 6.5 out of 10 from me.
Aviously 