Dangers in the Age of Technology

Good evening and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

I apologize for last night’s lack of a blog entry. My Internet connection was shaky and wouldn't allow me to stay on for long, which greatly interrupted my research for my entry. Anyway, here’s this week’s first blog entry.

Folks, there is nothing magical or mysterious about tonight’s blog entry. Tonight this entry is rather concerning and disturbing, just like a pulled fire alarm. Nowadays, there are people who can hack into anything. Usually they target various accounts, but now it seems the stakes have risen and now they cause security breaches in various stores such as Michael’s and Target. However, one hacker in Cincinnati decided to invade something far more precious than chain stores or bank accounts. Rather, he hacked a baby monitor and broke the peacefulness of a quiet evening.

A few days ago in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Schreks were awakened by the sound of a stranger yelling obscenities at their sleeping infant. When they entered the room, it appeared their Foscam baby camera had a mind of its own, swiveling in the direction of the terrified baby. In reality, the intruder had hacked the monitor and controlled it to his pleasure. The Schreks immediately unplugged the camera to get the stranger out of their child’s room. By doing so, they lost all IP addresses including the intruder’s; meaning that they lost a dire piece of evidence that could have helped the police catch the criminal.

The situation is terrifying as is: a stranger staring and screaming at an infant through a baby monitor. But what makes it even more horrifying is the fact that an intruder hacked into something no one expected. As mentioned before, stores, accounts, and even web cams are prime targets for hackers.  But now this event makes us question: what else can these dangerously brilliant minds hack into?

We live in the age of technology, where so many gadgets depend on the Internet to carry out productive tasks. In this new era, most things that weren’t hooked up to the Internet before (video game consoles, toilet lids, refrigerators, and even homes) can now be hacked.  Heartbleed in particular, has not only targeted laptops and computers, but cell phones as well.  This virus now gives hackers the power of exploitation, to which they can harness to attack various Internet based devices, and other items. Hackers have also used Heartbleed and possibly other viruses, to hack into Internet routers. Even Internet Explorer has a newly discovered vulnerability, which could lead to more hackers succeeding at their attacks.

Almost every day we are encouraged to change our passwords, run virus scans daily, and update our systems. For now, these precautions protect us, but will there be a day when nothing can save us from hackers?

Feel free to comment and reblog, and as always, feedback and followers are welcomed.

What Does the Future Hold for Sherlock?

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

Sherlock has come and gone and in its wake, it has left some of the best episodes ever to emerge from the series. With Mary pregnant, Moriarty’s abrupt return, and Sherlock reunited with John, the game will be afoot in the future. However, we might not have to wait long until another episode surfaces. A few days ago Martin Freeman (the famous John Watson and Bilbo Baggins) claimed that there might be a one-off special episode of the popular series.

Freeman has claimed that the idea is mouth watering, but they’re unsure of when they would film it due to Freeman and Cumberbatch’s other commitments. This special may or may not see the light of the television screen, but let’s hope it does. In other news regarding this fantastic series, Sherlock has started filming and will possibly debut in Fall 2016. Along with this season, another season has been confirmed for future production.

Prepare to keep your eyes peeled for any clue regarding this one-off special of Sherlock. Until then, let’s make deductions of what this possible tantalizing idea could be, and how it will fit in with the Sherlockian universe. As for myself I’m hoping one of two things: one, a Wholock crossover and two, an episode with a few answers regarding Moriarty’s return – for now, I guess that he is an android or the Moriarty at Reichenbach was a clone/stunt double.

What are your thoughts, fellow readers?

Hollywood's Unnecessary Sequels

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

The movie industry has been buzzing with news, such as continuing to enforce sequels to movies that don’t need sequels. Like many other unnecessary sequels in the works (such as the possible Ghostbusters 3), Hollywood is now brainstorming sequels to some 90s and 80s classics.

For example:

Ms. Doubtfire

Ah yes, who can forget the 90s classic of Robin Williams posing as an elderly feminine nanny so he could see his family? It’s a movie that we all love and remember and constantly see on television. Not too long ago, it was announced that Robin Williams and Chris Columbus (the original director of Mrs.Doubtfire) were joining together to create  Mrs.Doubtfire 2. However, Mara Wilson (Natalie Hillard in the first movie), claimed she will not be returning to the classic flick. This movie had the perfect ending: Robin Williams’ character was able to see his family again, while making a celebrity of his older woman alter ego.

Beetlejuice

This has been anticipated for years, but was initially turned down when Burton started to work on his Batman movies. Originally, Burton wanted to do Beetlejuice 2 with the title of Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian. He wanted to feature the ghost with the most in this particular light as a tribute to old black and white movie monsters that invaded a Hawaiian beach or some tropical locale. Years passed and the idea was abandoned, only now to be raised from the dead, and discussed through Tim Burton, Winona Ryder, and Michael Keaton.

Goonies 2

Here’s another childhood film that was won its way into many hearts. Other than this confirmed sequel, there have been rumors of a completed script since 2010. The director, Richard Donner, hopes that all of the cast will be able to reunite for this thirty years later sequel.

Feel free to comment and reblog and as always, feedback and followers are welcomed.

What unnecessary sequel would you like to see? 

The Origin of Zombie Jesus

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

Sunday houses a day where people celebrate the rising of zombie Jesus with bunnies, chocolate, and eggs. Easter is a holiday that, like Christmas, has many stories of how it all started. Some say it was the Pagans, others say it was the Christians, and then there are a few lunatics who believe it was all a part of some strange alien ritual.

Below are a few origin stories circulating around this particular holiday:

-The One We All Know

Easter has been taught to us with the Catholic/Christian belief that Jesus Christ was crucified, died, and buried in a stone chamber. Easter is the day we celebrate His resurrection and that He’s a zombie, a biblical Houdini, or really, the son of God.  With this religious lesson, we are able to incorporate the Easter symbols (the egg and the rabbit) as signs of fertility and new life.

-The Pagan Way

In Paganism, Easter has a similar origin to that of the Catholic/Christian belief. The Sumerian Goddess Inanna (aka Ishtar) was crucified on a stake and rose and ascended from the Underworld. Sound familiar? Ishtar was the Goddess of fertility and sex, which fits in nicely with the traditional Easter symbols as previously mentioned. Another Pagan reason for celebrating Easter is the rise of the Spring Equinox.

-Eostre

Eostre is a Goddess from Teutonic lore who is associated with Spring and fertility. Originally, April was called Eosturmonath obviously named for Eostre, but it also translated to ‘Paschal month’. Eostre was to be celebrated with feasts and she was offered hot cross buns as a ritual. The cross symbol on the pastry was to represent the four quarters of the year or the moon.  Eostre even had a totem/familiar which was a hare that she could transform into. As for eggs, they were forbidden during Lent, but placed on the table to show the Lent days had concluded, and were painted crimson to celebrate Easter joy.

-Latin, Much?

‘Easter’ in Latin was translated to ‘hebdomada alba’ also known as white week. This was an ancient reference to Easter week and the white clothing donned by people who were baptized during that time. It appears that Easter was celebrated for a week and only served the ideas of baptism and celebrating the Lord.

Happy Easter to you all. Enjoy your day doing whatever makes you feel good, celebratory, and awesome. Instead of a question, tonight I leave you with something that will warm anyone’s heart and make them smile: an adorable little bunny.

acuteaday.com

Regretfully this little bun bun is not mine. But I wish it was.

In the Summer Time

Good evening everyone and welcome to a late night edition of The Magical Mystery Blog.

This past week Spring sprung all over America and held the nation in a warm embrace. Like any other person who has been sick of the snow and sleet, people revved up their engines and took to the outdoors. Within hours roads were filled with Spring rejoicing drivers and passengers. And as I wound my way down to the shore, I realized why I’ve loved Summer all my life.

3. The Weather

Most people I know hate the Summer weather. The heat drives them insane, the humidity makes them dry as sand, and the sweat caused from it all is disgusting. As for myself, I love the heat; the hotter, the better – just like my spices. While I’m not too fond of the sweat or the humidity at times, I always love the heat. Some of my greatest Summer memories are days spent down in Florida at 113 degrees. I loved those insanely hot days because I wanted to do more outdoors than I would inside during the Winter.

2. More to do, Than Can Ever be Done

The beaches are open, the boardwalks are open, the shops are slowly opening their doors, pretty much any attraction that was frozen by Winter is now ready for business. While the crowds are tame at best for now, the Summer will drive more people to come out, and experience the things they couldn’t during the Winter.

1. The Spirit

There’s something about Summer that liberates one’s mind unlike the other seasons. It’s the spirit of the season that encourages you to be adventurous, to take spontaneous road trips into the great unknown, to do something you never thought of doing, or taking a risk on a small, yet broadening event. It’s the time of the year to throw caution to the wind and rise above the world.

Feel free to reblog and comment, and as always feedback and followers are welcomed. Tonight’s question is:

What do you love about the Summer?

Let's Get Ready to Brawl!

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

Just three days ago Nintendo hit us with news so spectacular it caused gamers everywhere to explode with emotions. Nintendo gave gamers everywhere something they’ve been waiting for: the Nintendo Direct update of Super Smash Bros Brawl 4.

Super Smash Bros Brawl 4 is a fighting game in which you go against classic Nintendo characters such as Mario, Link, Samus, Kirby, and Pikachu. So far, there have been three installations of the game: the original Super Smash Bros for the Nintendo 64, Super Smash Bros Melee for the Gamecube, and the most recent title, Super Smash Bros Brawl for the Wii.

Here’s what Nintendo Direct has informed us about Super Smash Bros Brawl 4:

• Super Smash Bros Brawl 4 for the 3DS (and 2DS) will be released in the Summer. The Wii U version will be released in the Winter. Both platforms will have their differences, but keep the same character selection roster. The 3DS version will have specific mode entitled Smash Run which is a multiplayer timed mission to defeat enemies, gain power ups, and fight each other. 

• Charizard and Greninja are now playable characters, replacing Pokemon Trainer, Mewtwo, and Jigglypuff. However, we still have Pikachu and Lucario, who is able to change into his Mega Evolution form. Lucario has also received a power boost in his Aura Attack, but if you overcharge him, it will lead to his downfall. Charizard’s final smash appears to him transforming into his Mega Evolution form. Greninja’s final smash looks like he’ll be using the move Extremespeed.  Speaking of Pokemon, there will now be two Pokeballs: a Master Ball containing a legendary Pokemon and a regular Pokeball containing basic Pokemon to temporarily aid you in battle. 

• Marth, Yoshi, Diddy Kong, Donkey Kong, Link, Toon Link, Sonic, Peach, Pikmin and Olimar, Bowser, Pit, and Starfox are also returning to the game. Olimir can now only summon three Pikmin which appear in a specific color order: red, yellow, blue, white, and purple. Olimar’s new recovery move features a winged Pikmin carrying him back to the platform. However, the more Pikmin you have, the heavier the weight will be. Pit has lost his mechanical glide, but has been given more power. His final smash has been replaced with a bow and arrow attack entitled the Three Sacred Treasures. 

• Characters that change form are now two separate characters. So now Shiek and Zelda are two separate, playable characters; just like Zero Suit Samus and Suited up Samus. Because of this, Shiek and Zelda have received new moves. Shiek has gained the recovery move Bouncing Fish and an attack called Burst Grenade, where she tosses a grenade at an opponent. Zelda has obtained the move Phantom Slash, where she summons a Phantom Hyrulian soldier to defend her. Be careful though, this summon can easily be reflected. Samus has also gotten an upgrade: she now wears electric yellow heels that help her from falling and allow her to perform quicker kick moves.

• There will be boss battles, featuring villains like Ridley from Metroid, Yellow Devil from Mega Man 3, and many others.

• All stages will now have a Final Destination platform option. There have been some new stages leaked such as the Living Room from Nintendogs, the Elite Four lairs of the latest Pokemon games, 3D Land, Rainbow Road, Tortimer’s Island, and many others.

• There is a new feature entitled Custom Move Sets, which can only be activated when playing online with friends. It allows you to customize your moves in combat. While much wasn’t discussed of this concept, it was noted that it will be explained more in depth in the future.

• There are new assist trophies and items such as the Beetle from Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, the Orc Club, Fairy in a Bottle, the X Bomb from Kid Icarus Uprising, the Steel Diver Submarine Machine Gun, and a ton of others.

• While both editions of Super Smash Bros Brawl 4 allow online gameplay, the creators have added two new modes. These modes are For Fun and For Glory and can only be used when playing anonymously. For Fun, you can choose your stage (excluding Final Destination), include all of the items, only fight in smash battles, and only victories are recorded. For Glory, you only fight on the Final Destination stage, have no items, and both your defeats and triumphs are recorded.

This is all the Nintendo Direct has given us and honestly, I couldn’t be happier. It’s been so long since we’ve heard anything from them regarding Super Smash Bros Brawl 4 and this is a wonderful field of news.

As always feel free to comment and reblog, and feedback and followers are welcomed. Before you leave this blog, I have a question for you:

What are you most excited to see in Super Smash Bros Brawl 4? 

Fort Hood: What the Gunman Caused

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

On April 2^nd, 2014 a shooter entered Fort Hood, Texas, shot three soldiers, and injured sixteen others. After his unforgivable actions, he committed suicide. The gunman was a veteran who served in Iraq and was claimed to have health and mental issues.

It was reported he was being treated for PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (a mental illness usually found in soldiers and veterans), but there was no formal diagnosis or official statement claiming that he had the illness. However, it was discovered that he was suffering from depression and anxiety and taking anti-depressants.  While this supposedly contributed to the shoot out, another factor was that he was denied temporary leave to attend his mother’s funeral.

Because of this tragic event, the Internet erupted not only with sympathy for those at Fort Hood, but the realization that PTSD is not a stigma.

PTSD is a serious illness that usually occurs after something traumatic like sexual assault or war. In the armed forces, it is a strong possibility to be struck with PTSD. 11-20% of Veterans who served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars were struck with PTSD.  10% of Veterans who fought in the Gulf War also obtained PTSD and 30% of Vietnam veterans have it as well. Its effects include reliving the event (ex.: hearing a car backfire and it recreating a memory for a veteran), feeling on the edge, feeling emotionless, and avoiding situations that remind you of the traumatic event.

As seen in other tragic, veteran incidents like this, the media tends to focus on the idea of PTSD being the ultimate cause of horrific actions. By concluding that veterans who have PTSD are dangerous individuals, they create a stigma around them and the illness itself. However, this recent event at Fort Hood has caused many veterans and writers to push the notion of taking the D out of PTSD and to stop labeling it as a cause of violence.

The gunman is completely guilty for his crimes committed at Fort Hood, but his lack of PTSD had no part in it. Rather than assuming veterans with PTSD are dangerous, we should investigate, and not believe everything the media tells us. Let us open our minds and look behind the veil of situations before deciding on what we believe.

Wolverine: The Musical

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

About a week or so ago, Hugh Jackman filled our ears with wonderful music.Hugh Jackman sang a Wolverine version of the song, Who Am I? from Les Miserables. Since there have been many X-men movies premiering with Wolverine as the basis, a musical would do quite nicely for those who love the theatre, and the popular mutant. Below are ten songs you might find in a Wolverine based musical.

10. The Healing Samurai

9.  A Gentle Rose and Wild Dog

8. A Man Among Wolves

7. Rise of Sabertooth

6. I Want to Bone Jean Grey

5. Piss Off, Deadpool

4. Dangerous Life

3. Questioning the Memories

2. Hey Bub

1. Adamantium Rage (A duet with X-23)

What super hero/heroine would you like to see have their own musical?

Feel free to comment and reblog, and as always, feedback and followers are welcomed.