Follow Us

visit our friends at

×

American Girl Doll of the Year Is an Animal-Loving, Wildfire Fighting Badass

By Mark Chalifoux
Kira Bailey
(American Girl)

American Girl just unveiled their Girl of the Year for 2021. Her name is Kira Bailey and she’s an inquisitive 10-year-old passionate about animals who goes on an adventure to the Australian Outback. When she visits her aunt’s wildlife sanctuary she must protect her family and the animals she loves from a raging wildfire. Kind of a lot for a 10-year-old to deal with!

Admittedly, American Girl dolls were not my thing growing up (I didn’t have any sisters, so not really on my radar). But as a dad with three daughters, you gotta be flexible and learn to roll with what they are into. And the American Girl company has helped push the envelope for inclusiveness, featuring the first doll with hearing loss and the first child catalogue model with Down syndrome.

And as the dad of a nature slash animal obsessed daughter, she’s gonna be into it. The company is partnering with the NSW Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education service by supporting the organization’s mission to preserve Australian Wildlife by matching customer donations. The company said the wildfires in Australia and the U.S. earlier this year played a major part in dictating the story of their Girl of the Year doll.

“Kira joins our lineup of diverse and purposeful characters who star in stories that reflect the realities of the times,” said a spokesman from American Girl. “Through Kira, we hope our fans will learn we all have a part to play in taking positive action for our planet.”

The doll comes with a host of outback-themed accessories, but also the typical book accompaniment when it comes to rounding out her story and who she is. It’s all about the 10-year-old excited to leave Michigan for the summer (who wouldn’t be psyched to leave Michigan?) and care for animals at her aunt’s Wildlife Sanctuary and vet clinic in Australia. The company will also have a series of videos inspired by Kira on their YouTube page.

She does learn a lesson that should resonate with young kids (and really, all of us after 2020) everywhere: “you can’t let the fear of the worst keep you from living your best.”

Fans React to Chris Evans Picking up the Captain America Shield Again

By Mark Chalifoux
Captain America
(Marvel)

In somewhat shocking news, Chris Evans is nearing an official return to Marvel movies, picking up the shield again to reprise his role as Captain America. According to Deadline, Evans will be bringing Captain America back in at least one movie, possibly more. The caveat, though, is that he won’t be the main draw, he’ll be a secondary character, sort of like Robert Downey’s Iron Man in a few of the MCU movies.

Evans was a great Captain America, so why are fans shocked? Because his ending in Avengers: Endgame seemed really well done for the character. It was a great send-off to Cap and that whole phase of the MCU. I mean come on, he literally even took the Captain America shield and passed it off to Falcon at the end of the movie. What better passing of the torch could you ask for?

But Evans hasn’t had enough of Steve Rogers, though the details as to which film he’ll be in are still unclear. Is it the most shocking reversal when it comes to movies? I mean no, clearly not, as long as it’s done well and not just haphazard (looking at you, Emperor Palpatine in The Rise of Skywalker). Maybe it’ll be some sort of Dr. Strange, alternate reality thing, or maybe a flashback-y movie.

Fans…are split, to say the least. Some are PSYCHED to see one of the MCU’s most beloved superheroes back in action, while others think it could diminish his great ending in Endgame.

Even Chris Evans tried to play it off, saying on Twitter that it was “news to me.”


Marvel has a TON of new projects and heroes on their plate, and no shortage of difficult situations to navigate (like a Black Panther-less Black Panther), so Evans returning to his iconic role adds another interesting twist to the new direction.

Jim Carrey Wins a Critics Choice Award for “Best Villain” in Sonic Movie

By Nigel Jones
Jim Carrey Wins Award for Best Villain
(Paramount Pictures)

Two-time Golden Globe winner Jim Carrey can now add another award to his resume… for his role in a film about a talking hedgehog.

Announced on the Critics Choice Awards website, Jim Carrey took home a ‘Critics Choice Super Award’ for his role as Dr. Robotnik in the 2020 Sonic the Hedgehog movie.  Formed in 1995, the Critics Choice Association (which is still one of the largest collections of film critics in North America) has been providing annual ‘Super Awards’.  These awards honor films and performances in genres that are typically overlooked by the Academy, such as Superhero, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Horror, & Action.

I think this is such a cool idea.  There are some really great performances in plenty of films each year, and awards like these allow more actors to be recognized.

If you’ve seen the Sonic movie, you have to admit, Carrey was one of the best parts.  It might have just been classic Carrey, but he was still very entertaining.  What was initially thought to become a disaster in the history of video game movies after that first trailer released, Sonic the Hedgehog would end up grossing over $300 million worldwide at the box office.   My family and I saw it in theaters and have watched it at least a dozen times at home since we purchased the digital edition.  With a sequel now greenlit, Sonic and Sega fans have plenty to look forward to in the future.

I’m just so glad they went with the redesigned Sonic.  The first trailer with the original design they were going to use gave me nightmares for a week.  I don’t think I would have slept again for the rest of my life if I had to stare at this thing for an hour and a half.

(Paramount Pictures/Luckyone)

GoldenEye 007 Gets a New Custom Mario 64/Peach’s Castle Level

By Nigel Jones
(Graslu00)

When it comes to the N64, GoldenEye 007 and Super Mario 64 are some of the best games on the console.  You could even argue that they’re some of the best games ever made.  What do you get when you combine the two?  You get something so great, I wish that original developer Rare would have just included it as a bonus level on Goldeneye’s N64 cartridge.

Developed by StupidMarioBros1Fan, this “Goldeneye with Mario Characters” mod (which originally released back in 2018) features a new Super Mario 64 Peach’s Castle level, recreated within GoldenEye.  It contains the classic GoldenEye gameplay and sound effects, and even includes mission objectives and a Bowser boss fight.  YouTuber Graslu00 who mainly focuses on Goldeneye and other N64-era games showcases the level in the video above and helped create and test it as well.

I just think it’s hilarious to see the Koopa’s walking around with weapons.  Even the thought of Mario carrying out the mission of saving the princess “James Bond” style cracks me up.

If you want to play it for yourself you can download the mod here.  This mod will replace every character in Goldeneye with Mario characters, and even changes the original dialogue to reference characters like Peach and Bowser.  This new level is a fantastic addition, but if you really want to relive the entirety of GoldenEye 007 in a whole new light, this mod is definitely the way to do it.

Now if only someone would add dual flamethrowers.

Teen With Autism Becomes a Successful YouTuber Thanks To Her Dad’s Encouragement

By Yael Meshulam
Dad's support helps daughter with autism create successful YouTube
(YouTube/ToyQuest101)

Helping kids pursue their passions is a delicate business. We want to be encouraging but not pushy, helpful but not overbearing. It’s thrilling to watch our kids fall in love with their hobbies, whether they’re short-lived or end up lasting a lifetime. Things often become more complicated when our kids internalize stigmas that shake their confidence, but with support and encouragement, every single child can be successful in their own way.

13-Year-old Illiana, as most kids do, loves watching YouTube videos. In 2017, Illiana’s dad, Miguel Figueroa, had a brilliant idea – or so he thought. His daughter lit up when she watched her favorite videos, so why not start her own channel? When he approached Illiana with the idea, he was filled with enthusiasm simply thinking about his daughter pursuing something she loved. Her response, however, turned his enthusiasm to an immense sadness.

“She said, well, I can’t, because I had autism,” he told ABC6 “And it really broke my heart.”

Figueroa was not about to let his daughter give up before she even tried, and more importantly, he wasn’t going to let her believe she couldn’t do something simply because she had autism. The father-daughter duo decorated their basement with their collection of superhero paraphernalia, laid out stacks of comic books, and made the first “Toy Quest 101” video together.

Three years later, Illiana and Miguel’s channel has nearly 120,000 subscribers on YouTube. The adorable duo feature unboxing videos, toy reviews, and even celebrity interviews. The pair bond over their mutual love of superheroes, comic books, sci-fi, and most importantly, spending time together.

Their YouTube channel explains, “Our mission is to transform the lives of children with autism and special needs worldwide and inspire the lives of children and families through our videos and our story. Our vision is to bring awareness and promote a culture of acceptance where all kids with autism and special needs can be empowered to do what they set their mind to and not feel that their disability is a road block to accomplishing their dreams and or wishes.”

Dude! Jeff Bridges Says Treatment Has ‘Shrunk My Tumor Drastically’

By Mark Chalifoux
Jeff Bridges Update Tumor Shrunk
(Instagram/thejeffbirdges)

I’m willing a positive 2021 into existence. Part of this is exercising a laser-like focus on any and all good news, and infusing it directly into my daily information diet. So that’s why it’s tremendous to see Jeff Bridges sharing a positive update on his health.

The Big Lebowski (or True Grit, or take whatever your fav is) star took to his website to give another update on his cancer battle, after being diagnosed with lymphoma in the fall.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Jeff Bridges (@thejeffbridges)

He stated he went in for a CAT scan to see how his treatment protocol was affecting his tumor, and it was “working beautifully” as the tumor had shrunk drastically. “I come home elated with the news,” Bridges wrote.

He went on to describe his broken heart at the current news enveloping the nation, and revealed the mantra he’s adopted from his mentor to push him through these tough times: “Be Love.”

In an earlier entry on the site, which he’s using to keep supporters and friends updated on his condition, he said the whole thing was bringing on feelings of ‘preciousness, gratitude, and good old fashion love, lots of it, big time.’

“I’m feeling so much of it comin’ my way, and man, I appreciate it,” he wrote. “It’s contagious, all this love.”

Ken Jennings Pays Heartfelt Tribute To Trebek in His First Appearance as Interim Host

By Mark Chalifoux
Jennings Trebek Tribute
(YouTube/Jeopardy Twitter/KenJennings)

After posting a final farewell to its iconic host, “Jeopardy!” has entered a new era, airing the first episodes without Alex Trebek. After the final episodes Trebek recorded aired, the show has moved on with its first interim host, Jeopardy GOAT Ken Jennings. And before his first episode, he paid a moving tribute to the iconic former host.

“Sharing this stage with Alex Trebek was one of the greatest honors of my life,” he said. “Not many things in life are perfect, but Alex did this job pretty much perfectly for more than 36 years and it was even better up close. We were dazzled by his intelligence, his charm, his grace — really, there’s no other word for it.”

“Like all Jeopardy! fans, I miss Alex. Very much. And I thank him for everything he did for all of us.”

He was fighting back tears as he declared moving the show forward was the best way to honor Trebek’s legacy, by continuing the game he loved and dedicated so much of his life to.

“Let’s be totally clear: No one will ever replace the great Alex Trebek, but we can honor him by playing the game he loved,” Jennings said.

And so we moved forward, into the Trebek-less era. Jennings did have a special Trebek memento in his pocket when he did his first episode as guest host. It was a ticket stub from a studio taping of the first episode of Jeopardy hosted by Trebek in 1983.

His piece of quiz show history was his good luck charm as he took over the franchise temporarily. Jennings is widely seen as the favorite to take over as permanent host, but Jeopardy will welcome a number of other interim hosts before any decisions are made.

This officially closes the door on the Trebek era of the show, but his spirit will live on every time someone answers a clue in the form of a question.

Daughter Defeats Dad in Historic College Basketball Coaching Matchup

By Andrea Kramer
Head coach Dave Magarity of the Army Black Knights women's basketball team
(Getty/Mitchell Layton)

There are few things more special than sharing a passion with your child — until the kid grows up and schools you in public.

At least, that’s what happened with the Magarity family this weekend, when daughter Maureen faced off against her father Dave as rival coaches of the Holy Cross and Army women’s basketball teams, respectively.

On Saturday, Maureen’s Holy Cross Crusaders topped Army 80-46, in what’s thought to be the first-ever dad-daughter coaching matchup in Division-1 history. She turned around and did it again on Sunday, leading Holy Cross to a 70-61 win.

However, Dave will have a chance to settle the score next month, with two more matchups against his daughter lined up. And, even if Army loses again the next go-round, perhaps the senior Magarity can take comfort in knowing his daughter learned from the best: him.

“In fifth or sixth grade, people would ask me what I want to do when I grow up,” Maureen told the Telegram & Gazette. “I would say, ‘I want to coach. I want to coach like my dad.’”

She grew up around the game, watching film and attending her dad’s team practices, and it doesn’t take a stretch of the imagination to picture lots of “Father of the Bride”-type driveway shootouts at the Magarity house.

Father of the Bride – Touchstone Pictures

Maureen went on to play a year at Boston College, then transferred to Marist, where she was ultimately a captain and helped usher the Red Foxes to their first March Madness dance in 2004. After working as an assistant coach under her dad at Army, she spent 10 years coaching at New Hampshire before taking over the Crusaders’ program earlier this year.

Dave has been coaching basketball for more than 40 years, and has been heading the Army women’s team since 2006.

Before the weekend Daddy-Daughter duel, he had to fight back some big-league emotions, stating, “It’s hard to put into words — it really hit me like a ton of bricks.”

As far as the next round of matchups on Feb. 6-7, he’s not the only one hoping to settle the score; his wife told Maureen’s kids, with typical Grandma diplomacy, “I want Pop-Pop to win two and Mommy to win two.”

But hey, even if he takes another set of Ls on the court, Mr. Magarity gets a big, fat DUB in fatherhood, from where we sit.

Lucasfilm Games and Ubisoft Teaming Up for an Open-World Star Wars Game

By Mark Chalifoux
Star Wars Ubisoft
(Electronic Arts)

In major video game news, the Star Wars IP is going to a game developer far, far away from its prior relationship with EA. OK, not that far away, but Disney has energized the gaming world this week with the announcement of rebranding their gaming division as Lucasfilm games and now they’ve announced a new open-source world Star Wars game is being developed with Ubisoft.

Ubisoft, the company behind the incredible Assassin’s Creed franchise, broke the news on Wednesday. Lucasfilm Games made huge news on Tuesday by announcing a new Indiana Jones game in production with Bethesda.

There’s no word on the story or era yet for the new Star Wars game, but it is huge news as it seems like Lucasfilm is making a big investment into gaming and the appeal of telling stories through that medium.

“We know that fans of Star Wars value the feeling of immersion—of being transported into the Star Wars galaxy and moving through richly-detailed environments,” Lucasfilm Games VP Douglas Reilly told StarWars.com. “It’s fun to imagine what the team at Massive can do within Star Wars by bringing their innovative spirit and their commitment to quality.”

While there are still two years left of EA’s exclusivity over SW games, the departure from EA is surprising. It opens up a world of possibility and different gaming genres, not unlike Disney’s current plan to invest heavily in a whole new batch of Star Wars shows and movies.

It should also be noted that EA didn’t do a bad job with Star Wars games. Jedi: Fallen Order was an OUTSTANDING game, and Squadrons was pretty solid too.

We’ve seen what shows like The Mandalorian can do when they explore different corners of the Star Wars Universe, so there’s an enormous amount of storytelling possibility for video game developers, and some genuinely exciting games will soon be on the horizon.

Hero Teen Saves Mom and Three Kids by Pulling Them From Their Burning Car

By Yael Meshulam
Hero teen saves mom and kids from burning car
(Facebook/Waterbury Police Department)

There’s no way to prepare for the tests life throws at you. Even if you could, it’s impossible to know how you’d actually respond when faced with a life-or-death situation. 18-Year-old Justin Gavin never expected to become a hero on his seemingly normal walk to a local Walgreens, but when he noticed a family in danger, he jumped into action.

On an otherwise calm September day, Gavin noticed something terrifying as he walked through his town. Driving by was a small SUV with a little girl clearly visible through the car window. The car, however, was on fire.

Realistically, many of us would have frozen completely when faced with such a startling reality. Perhaps we would’ve had our wits about us just enough to dial 9-1-1. But as cars drove by honking frantically and others jumped from their vehicles to get the driver’s attention, Gavin quickly realized how dire the situation truly was.

With barely enough time to process what was happening, Gavin ran after the burning car. The driver, it seemed, was unable to stop at first. And as a result, neither was Gavin. The teen continued to run after the car, screaming to get the driver’s attention. Finally, the car skidded to a stop, and Gavin began his heroic rescue.

“I just felt like if I was in that situation, I would want somebody to help me out,” Gavin told CNN. “I guess my instincts took over.”

Upon reaching the car, Gavin pulled the front door open and helped the shaken mother to safety. As the flames grew, Gavin noticed three young kids in the back seat. One by one, Gavin pulled a 4-year-old and a 9-year-old from the car. With incredible speed and focus, the teen unstrapped a 1-year-old from their car seat – at last, the family was out of harm’s way.

“It kind of got scary because I didn’t know whether I was going to be able to get everyone out in time. And luckily, I did,” Gavin said.

The 18-year-old hero is being honored as such. Local police chief Fernando Spagnolo presented the courageous teen with a “challenge coin,” a token of his bravery. The mother who nearly lost everything expressed gratitude towards Gavin as well, acknowledging that he saved her life as well as the lives of her children.

In a moment of terrifying uncertainty, Justin Gavin chose to act. His bravery is an empowering reminder that every single one of us has the ability to make a difference.