murfSTUFF

So… apparently Seth MacFarlane, creator of Family Guy, has some serious clout with FOX. How serious? Enough that he has managed to get them to air a “sequel” to Carl Sagan’s stunningly spectacular series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, to be hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson, and aired on primetime.

Let me repeat that. Sequel to Cosmos. Hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson. On FOX. In primetime. Spearheaded by the creator of Family Guy.

I’m a bit bewildered and confused but simultaneously really excited.

Now, I’m sure there is going to be a bit of change up in style in order to connect with a modern audience. Sagan speaks with astounding poetic power to explain the concepts of science. Tyson is a bit more lighthearted and energetic. I think so long as the message is the same, that science is a powerful and the best tool to understand the universe in which we live and the best true hope for our continued enlightenment as a species, then I’ll be perfectly content with this production. And my hopes may be well placed as the new series as Ann Druyan and Steve Soter, who helped write the original series, are on board for the new one.

I only watched Cosmos last year on Netflix, but for being 30 years old it still powerful and poignant. It is likely the best documentary series ever made, and certainly the best I’ve ever seen. If you haven’t watched it, check out the first few minutes here, and then head to Netflix and get watching.

Did you enjoy the five minutes linked above? If you did, you can at least start your journey with Carl with the entirety of episode 1, right here:

EDIT: It has come to my attention that Netflix no longer streams Cosmos. Shame on them! You know who does have it though? Hulu.

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Filed under:Personal Tags: carl sagan, cosmos, neil degrasse tyson, seth macfarlane, TV

Avatar: The Last Airbender

At one point, I was a huge anime fan stemming of course from my love of animation in general. At the same time I had this ‘American animation for the most part is childish and not really that good’ attitude.Then this one show on Nickelodeon came out called Avatar: The Last Airbender. I didn’t see it initially as I did not have cable at that time. One of my friends raved about the show and I heard from others how awesome it was. So I eventually borrowed a copy of Season 1 on DVD and I was blown away. The animation was top-notch, the world lore was amazingly well created, the design aesthetic was incredible, the writing was great and the story was exciting and interesting. By the end of Season 1, Avatar not only far-and-away became my favorite animated show ever, but also one of my favorite TV series in general.

Today’s Friday Five is all about my favorite scenes from the whole show. To be honest I could write down a whole batch of these because the series is filled with great moments and scenes. In fact, I could probably make a whole series talking about awesome moments in this show, but I won’t. If you have not seen Avatar: The Last Airbender, it goes to say I highly recommend doing so. Even if you don’t really like animation, I urge you give it a try. Best of all, the whole series is available on Instant Netflix. No excuses, go watch it. Anyways, today’s list is presented in each scenes order of appearance.

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Filed under:Friday Five, Post Series Tags: Aang, animation, avatar, Azula, Iroh, Ozai, Sokka, the last airbender, Toph, TV, Zuko