The Rhythm: coming at you in spectacular 4D.
Get your Universal remote ready
The peacock network has officially combined with media mogul Comcast to create the Voltron of the media entertainment industry. The Justice Department approved the merger of Comcast and NBC Universal this Tuesday, completing the first step of the ultimate media giant. On one hand you have a media broadcasting company and on the other a network in control of dozens of top television programs, actors, channels, movie companies, and much more. All that power is a little dangerous, which is probably why as part of the deal Comcast cannot exercise "managerial control" over the video streaming site Hulu. Given the effect of internet TV against subscription TV through a service like Comcast, you could probably see the evil gears turning in the mind of the Philadelphia based cable company, but that has been prevented. So what does this merger mean for us, the average consumer? Well the major entertainment assets that have been combined such as theme parks, cable networks, Telemundo, and news networks can definitely help Comcast break into their New Year's resolutions to "increase local news coverage to viewers; expand children’s programming; enhance the diversity of programming available to Spanish-speaking viewers; offer broadband services to low-income Americans at reduced monthly prices; and provide high-speed broadband to schools, libraries and underserved communities, among other public benefits". Otherwise, your guess is as good as mine as to what this means for us. Still, I'm a bit excited by the changing of the guard. Maybe they could make some changes over at Syfy before it becomes the new Bravo.
[Wired]
It's a disease! Oh wait, no it's not
A study done recently about gaming addiction in kids has born fruit in the form of statistics. The medical journal Pediatrics reports that 1 in 10 kids is addicted to video games. According to their study, this is equivalent to playing more than 30 hours of games a month. Let's just do some math here...carry the 2...that's less than 8 hours a week. Given that the average kid probably watches just about as much TV as that a week what would you rather have them doing? Just sitting there or interacting? The study further states that children characterized as addicted also have trouble socializing, social phobias, are impulsive, and are more likely to be depressed than "non-addicted" children. I'm not sure how I feel about this. Yes, I was the kid of a parent who didn't want me to play video games, but when my aunt got me a Gameboy and Tetris I couldn't pry it away from my mom. I think I turned out fine, and I probably played more than 31 hours growing up myself. Sure, I probably could have been considered to have some social difficulties, but that's kind of a norm these days with geeks and nerds, both young and old. I honestly am not sure how I feel about this study, and I feel like there was a similar one conducted when I was younger that predicted a similar trend. So groundbreaking? No, but it is interesting to see what the kids in Singapore, Hong Kong, and the US have been doing the past two years, gaming. Though the article I read on the study didn't indicate the games that were being played, that would be something nice to know. Were there more Zelda players out there or are we talking GTA and Dead Space here?
Interestingly enough, Japan conducted a sex study recently that indicated that most teenagers aren't actually interested in sex, and they attribute this in part to video games. Seriously? How lame do you think we are? Of course this is Japan, so things are a little different over there, but still. Is there a correlation between having a video game addiction and a non-existant libido? I smell study.
[G4]
Hardy will be the Bane of Hathaway's Catwoman
Okay, so that's not entirely true. Tom Hardy will be playing the Bane of Christian Bale's Batman in coming up The Dark Knight Returns. Who's Bane you ask? Well you might remember a form of him that appeared in Batman and Robin as Poison Ivy's subordinate, but that's really the true story behind the character. Check out a recap of one of Batman's greatest nemesis that you've probably never heard of at [io9]. As for Hathaway, that's right she will be playing Catwoman. Apparently, Catwoman will be stepping in for Batman while he's on vacation or something, the details weren't really there, but apparently her vigilante antics call for the return of the Dark Knight himself. We'll be expecting to see Christopher Nolan's finale to his Batman trilogy next year, probably set to compete with The Avengers and Spider-man.
[IGN]
Dream on.
[END TRANSMISSION]
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