Autism Awareness on Sesame Street

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

“Sesame Street” has been in our hearts for as long as people can remember. Starting on November 10^th, 1969, this program pretty much taught us everything from our abcs to 123s. However, the series has been known to reflect on other issues such as feelings, breast feeding, diversity, and now, autism.

Autism is a mental illness that appears in early childhood and makes it complicated for the person to communicate and form relationships. They use abstract thoughts, repetitive motions, and language to help the other person understand what they’re saying. So far one in sixty eight children have this mental illness, but to help the public understand more about autism, “Sesame Street” decided to do something rather grand and amazing.

On October 21^st, 2015 “Sesame Street” introduced Julia, a new friend to the iconic cast. She has autism and along with her debut came a new program within the series that showcases autistic children, showing how despite their mental illness, they are still amazing people. To further raise awareness for autism, "Sesame Street" has devoted some features on their website to helping parents and children understand autism, how to counteract bullies, exercises, customizable cards, educational cards, and even an online storybook called “We’re Amazing, 1,2,3” featuring Julia and Elmo. They have also developed an app entitled: “Sesame Street and Autism: See All in Amazing Children” that depicts the lives of autistic children and just how great they can be. The app also includes resources on how to further help children with autism.  “Sesame Street” is using  #SeeAmazing as a gateway for those who have autism to share their stories, offer some advice, and generally show support for those who have autism.

Sesame Workshop (a nonprofit organization that supports “Sesame Street” and other educational programs) has also teamed up with fourteen other organizations to raise autism awareness. Some of these organizations include Autism Speaks, Autism Self-Advocacy Network, and the Yale Child Study Center. The organization Exceptional Minds contributed to Sesame Workshop’s autism project by creating a short animation regarding autism. The animation was crafted by young adults who have autism and focus on the life of Benny, a little red rectangle, who has this mental illness to show what life is like for him.

In my life, I’ve met people who have autism and I understand that it must not be easy. After all, bullies are more drawn to those who have autism, thus quintupling those who have this mental illness as opposed to those who don’t.  For something as beloved as “Sesame Street” to go above and beyond their everyday programming to promote autism awareness is amazing. Their overall attempt for promoting autism awareness is to “normalize” the mental illness so that the bullying will lessen and people will have a better grasp of the mental illness. Personally, I hope this initiative succeeds not only for Sesame Street, but for autistic people as well.

Thank you for reading tonight’s entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to subscribe, share, comment, and/or critique.

So tell me, what are your thoughts on this movement?

A Nostalgic Halloween

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

Halloween is next weekend and what better way to remember the holiday than to watch some nostalgic Halloween movies? Think of this as yet another flashback entry – back to a time when you were a child getting ready to trick or treat in a costume either your parent made you or you bought from the store. It was probably something significant to you like Cinderella or a cowboy. With the spirit of Halloween throughout the month of October you couldn’t help but to watch some films pertaining to the season. Maybe some scared you and maybe some didn’t, but they are memorable programs. These Halloween films and specials are the same way for me and if you haven’t heard of them, by all means check them out.


5. “Scooby Doo on Zombie Island” (1998)


Because it can’t get any better than Hanna-Barbara’s classic animated series. To be honest, it was either “Scooby Doo on Zombie Island” or “Scooby Doo and the Alien Invaders” that made me so indecisive. But then I remembered one redeeming thing about this movie that not even aliens could replicate: zombie Shaggy and Scooby Doo.

The movie starts with Mystery Inc. finishing up a case and going their separate ways because they’re frustrated with not finding any real ghosts and monsters. They eventually reunite and after a series of mysteries, they get invited to investigate Moonscar Island home of the pirate Morgan Moonscar. From there onward, the gang realizes they get more than they bargained for and aren’t met with fake masks and cheap monster costumes. They encounter werecats, zombies, undead versions of their friends, bats, and oh so much more that make it all a perfect movie for Halloween.


4.  “Garfield in Disguise” (Garfield’s Halloween Special 1985)

Oh Garfield, I’ve read your comics in the paper every single Sunday morning when I used to get up early – even on the weekends. Yeah, I pretty much had no life back then. Regardless, this was a special I only recall seeing once in my childhood, but thank God for Youtube.

The plot is that Odie decides to trick or treat for extra candy and convinces Garfield to join him, causing him to fashion a pirate outfit. The two roam throughout the neighborhood getting as much candy as possible before going across a river and stumbling upon a haunted house. If that plot doesn’t scream Halloween then frankly, I don’t know what does.

3. “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” (1966)

Yes, most of you have seen this and at this point in your life you may be sick of it or still embrace it to satisfy the inner child. For me, it’s a tradition to watch this special every single year. Albeit, there were times I missed it due to life, but when I did manage to watch it, it reminded me of why I loved this special.

The plot is that Linus believes in a Santa Claus like figure called The Great Pumpkin who shows up on Halloween in a pumpkin patch to deliver candy to all. Everyone (except for Sally) doesn’t believe in The Great Pumpkin and go trick or treating and to a Halloween party.

It’s a plot that no other special has. Although The Simpsons did a parody of this in one of their Treehouse of Horror specials, it was nothing more than a parody. Thus the program adopted the special’s aspects and beliefs and gave it their own twist. Other specials do not share a plot reminiscent to this and if they do, then the main character(s) usually sees the rumored being. For example, in every retelling of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”(a classic Halloween story) the rumor is addressed (there is a Headless Horseman) and someone (usually Ichabod Crane) sees it. The same formula applies to most ghost stories and other Halloween specials, giving the media an overall air of eerieness. None of them have an outcome where the main character doesn’t see what they’re chasing and lacks the reality that “It’s a Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” delivers. 

2.  “The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror” (The original, 1990)

By now this is something every Simpsons fan is familiar with. The Treehouse of Horror is a long standing Simpsons tradition in which three horror stories are performed by the show. I actually used to be scared of these when I was kid, especially the original. While there were three segments in this special, I always keep going back to “The Raven”. “The Raven” (the iconic Edgar Allen Poe poem) has been depicted and spoken by many voices, but this one combines the lovable nature of The Simpsons with something as strange as “The Raven”.

James Earl Jones (Darth Vader’s voice for all you “Star Wars” fans) read the narration of the poem. His vocals were soft but stern, addressing each word and verse with caution. His voice framed the literature’s eerie but serious nature, while allowing the Simpsons to go about their silly antics. It’s a timeless piece of animation that still makes me smile to this day in appreciation for a classic piece of literature and animation.

1. “The Addams Family” (1991)

The Addams Family is a family that every single person on this planet knows because of their iconic appearance and catchy theme song  (*snap snap*).  The original series was based off cartoons that Charles Addams had drawn and wanted to bring to life. When Charles drew these pieces, it was during a time when the typical American family was wholesome and too goody goody. Needless to say, his idea of a family was far from the norm.

Flash forward to the future and the trope still holds true in a society where families are “reality tv” or are branching out to different races or lifestyles. The movie is no exception – showing how The Addams Family engages with the real world while living in their own world which seems far more interesting than reality.  In the film, Gomez laments the falling out between himself and his brother, Fester. Gomez’s lawyer, Tully Alford attempts to loan shark a woman named Abigail Craven whose son looks exactly like Fester. The three team up to reunite “Fester” with Gomez in an attempt to infiltrate the Addams’ vault where unimaginable wealth is stored.  Along the way “Fester” initially detests Gomez, but begins to question if he really is Gordon as he slowly starts to remember the Addams’ way.

I’ve watched this movie since I was a child and every year it still manages to make me smile. The nostalgia I receive from this flick combined with the wondrous acting and the lovable characters makes it a fantastic film that I hope you will (or do) enjoy.

 Thanks for reading tonight’s entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to share, subscribe, comment, and/or critique.

So tell me, what’s your favorite Halloween movie?

The Strange Sights of October

Good evening and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

We are sixteen days from Halloween. By now you have witnessed some jaw dropping sights and some things that will be so scarred into your brain that not even brain bleach or music can save you.  Here are some things that you might see in October that you really should don’t want to. Why don’t you want to see these things? Well, you’ll soon see why….

5. Christmas Movies

For this topic, I’m excluding “Tim Burton’s the Nightmare Before Christmas” because it’s considered a Halloween and Christmas movie. Besides, the Christmas movies I’m talking about are the ones that have been playing on the Hallmark Channel since July. You know what ones I’m bringing up – the cheesey, corny, wholesome, American way, unrealistic Christmas stories. Even during the holidays, these movies are kind of dull and just scream for attention like a child who doesn’t receive what they want. These movies try too hard to be some Blockbuster film that will take the nation by storm. Then again, they even try too hard just to be a television special. These films aren’t something memorable like “Die Hard” or “Big Hero 6”, they’re just bland sappy flicks that promote the loving, caring ways of a fictional world.

4. Pumpkin Spice Things That Should NOT Be Pumpkin Spice


For example, pumpkin spice cat litter. I honestly wish I was joking about this.

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Fall Frolic my eye, that's code word for pumpkin spice!

I used to have two cats – a black cat named Kitty and a grey kitten named Pistol (may God rest their feline souls). From my experiences with them, I know that cat leavings don’t exactly smell like a bunch of roses and I acknowledge that products exist with the goal of making a litterbox smell better. Some have a generic scent, others have some floral perfume; these scents are acceptable because they’re normal. Now pumpkin spice on the other hand is an acceptable scent for everything else, but not for cat litter.

3. Christmas decorations

Yes, Christmas is right around the corner, we know this because right now almost every store has an aisle that’s slowly being stocked with Christmas decorations. It’s a time honored tradition of rushing the holidays so we tear through the money maker that is Halloween (costumes, decorations, and candy aren’t cheap) and the even bigger cash cow of Christmas (toys, decorations, ugly Christmas sweaters, it all adds up).  It’s the most wonderful time of the year to remind you that Halloween is the mere stepping stone between spooky scary fun and Christmas consumerism.


2. Things That Should NOT Be Sexy 

Halloween costumes are by far one of the greatest pieces of clothing you can ever wear. It transforms you from your average human into a princess or that popular Internet meme or even a hot piece of corn.

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Damn this girl is ready to pop.

What? Don’t you know that corn can be a-maizing and sexy? Well, apparently it can be. Olaf can be sexy too while we’re at it and don’t get me started on some of your classic childhood icons. All limits are off on Halloween! Everything is sexy – yes, even your blender.  Go to your blender and confess your love to it, especially when it makes your smoothie just the way you like it.

1. The Treatment of Black Cats

Black cats are adorable, snuggly, and cause people to be incredibly superstitious of them. There’s nothing wrong with being superstitious, but like drinking you have to know your limit. Easily avoiding black cats without harming them is all well and good. Gutting them alive on the other hand is horrible and terrible. While black cats are shunned and harmed throughout the year, they’re usually given the worst treatment during October because it’s a month that they’re associated with.  Some people even use black cats for sacrifices in some dark religion or practice.


If you happen to see a black cat this month then call the animal shelter, take it to an adoption agency, adopt it yourself, or just bring it in for a night. Any one of these actions will do them a greater good than roaming on the streets and possibly being killed.

Thank you for reading tonight’s entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to comment, critique, share, and subscribe.

So tell me, what’s the worst thing you’ve ever seen during October?

WE ARE FINALLY GETTING HOOPA

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

What are the five words you want to hear in life? 

For most people it’s, “(whatever your name is), will you marry me?” for others, it may be, “(whatever your favorite store is) is having a blowout sale!”. For me, the five words I definitely want to hear in my life are, ”WE ARE FINALLY GETTING HOOPA.”

Well, I think I’ll be hearing those words soon just like everyone else in the Pokemon community.  The Hoopa distribution for the United Kingdom will run from October 23^rd to November 5^th of 2015 in GAME stores. Germany will receive Hoopa from October 16^th to November 7^th of 2015 in Gamestop stores. The Netherlands will be able to get their hands on Hoopa from October 10^th to October 11^th of 2015 at the First Look Festival. Lastly, French, Spanish, and North American dates will be announced in the future, but we will most likely be able to obtain Hoopa later this year. Hoopa is obtainable by a serial code available for Pokemon X, Y, Omega Ruby, and Alpha Sapphire.

So yes, we will finally be receiving Hoopa after all this time. Now here’s hoping that Hoopa comes with the Prison Bottle so that we may unleash its Hoopa Unbound form and wreck all of the battles.

To add onto this awesome event, we will also be able to receive a shiny Xerneas, a shiny Yveltal, and a shiny Zygarde in the near future. Serial codes for each Pokemon will appear in episodes of the Pokemon XY & Z anime. Shiny Xerneas’ code will be available on October 29^th, 2015, followed by shiny Yveltal’s code on November 5^th, 2015, and finishing up with shiny Zygarde on November 12^th, 2015.

Thanks for reading today’s entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to share, subscribe, comment, and critique.

So tell me, what distribution are you most excited for?

Sonic Sunglasses or Screwdriver?

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

In the past few weeks, I’ve noticed that life has a way of making things work. For example, I’m now in a Dungeons and Dragons group (#clericlifestrife) every Tuesday which conflicts with my blog schedule. I’m also growing more acquainted with my job and I couldn’t be happier in doing so.  Lastly, I’m finally starting to get more of a social life – going out almost every Saturday and doing things to craft an excellent life.

Because of this, I’m once again going to change my blogging schedule. I apologize, this must be irritating to you and frankly, I can easily understand why. I don’t know if I will change the scheduling again in the future, but I can only see what time brings.

Until then the new blogging schedule is: Monday and Thursday.

Fanfictions will still be posted every Sunday. As to where there will be a second day for them or not, I’m still uncertain. I do not enjoy doing anything without putting effort into it – my writing especially; after all, it is what I want to do in life.  I will keep everyone abreast as to what will happen in the future regarding my blogging and fanfiction schedules.

Since it is Monday, let’s get this show on the road.

Speaking of shows, this previous weekend episode of “Doctor Who” sent the Internet into a frenzied storm. Not because of the Daleks or the Tardis regenerating. No, no, it was something completely different, unexpected, and written by the hand of Steven Moffat. 

It was the sonic sunglasses.

The sonic sunglasses are to (possibly temporarily) replace the sonic screwdriver and encompass all the features of that device. They are “wearable technology” as the Doctor so excitedly referred to them.  This new accessory has sent the Internet into a spiraling tornado of anger and curses aimed towards Moffat who claimed that he invented the sonic sunglasses because he could.  He exercised his power as a writer and made a change to something incredibly iconic, now reducing it to a pair of sunglasses.

Before I give my opinion on these sonic sunglasses, I would like to say that I am a woman who embraces change like the sun. I try to live my life open mindedly, experiencing new things one day at a time or whenever they so happen to arise. I appreciate and welcome change in an attempt to learn more about myself and the world around me. I honestly believe the Doctor is the same way – from the start of his new regeneration we saw him trying to figure out who he was and always questioning his person. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this and if anything, more fans have encouraged this. They want to see a Doctor who will never stop asking about his identity, his life, his past, what he can do, what he can’t do, and why. It makes this Doctor much more relatable, given that these are questions we do ask ourselves on a daily basis. We do this to understand ourselves better and our place in this great, vast universe.

But by the beard of Zeus coated in bubble gum I hope these sonic sunglasses are temporary. Again, there is nothing wrong with change and exploring something new in an attempt to understand everything, including yourself.  The sunglasses are just sunglasses; there’s nothing special about them other than them being able to perform the functions of a sonic screwdriver which is all well and good, but in the end they’re just sunglasses.  You can purchase sunglasses anywhere and while they are stylish, they bear nothing special when compared to a sonic screwdriver.

Now what is a sonic screwdriver? A sonic screwdriver is elusive, exclusive only to those of Gallifrey (unless you’re River Song) crafted with time lord technology. It is a device no other species has and is used for pretty much everything except any activity regarding items with wood in them. It has been around since the very birth of this entire franchise and has stood the test of time, often changing into different forms when a new Doctor regenerated. The sonic screwdriver represents the “Doctor Who” fandom as something unique, strange, and timeless.

So far, the Internet has crafted petitions against Moffat’s sudden onslaught of sonic sunglasses.  While I have not signed it (nor do I have any intention to in case this is just a mere temporary event), I am curious to see what will come about.

Thank you for reading today’s entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to subscribe, share, comment, and critique.

So tell me, what do you think of the sonic sunglasses?

Run You Clever Boy and Remember Me

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

The new “Doctor Who” season starts on September 19^th,2015 on BBC. It’s the day we have been waiting for, like children anticipating Christmas. It’s a day that begins a new season where we’re reunited with the Doctor, a wondrous time lord from Gallifrey who travels the stars. Alongside him, we’re introduced to new faces of the otherworldly and human kind, while recognizing old familiar persons like Missy the Mistress and Clara Oswald the Impossible Girl.

But how long will we have Clara with us this season?

It has been stated time and time again that Jenna Coleman would leave “Doctor Who”, but now that rumor is set in stone. Having filmed most of the season, but excluding the Christmas special, Jenna is leaving “Doctor Who” for good. Jenna is moving on with her life and leaving the whimsical world that is “Doctor Who” and taking on a role for a new BBC series, “Queen Victoria”.

Given the fact that Clara is leaving the show permanently, I can only wonder how this will affect the Doctor. In the trailer we see the Doctor actually hugging Clara and running to her just to greet her with a grin and an embrace. Keep in mind that Capaldi’s Doctor is and was far from the hugging type and only now has Clara probably changed that trait. The Doctor has broken a rule of his just to accompany Clara and to make himself more open as opposed to being cold and distant. Only now will Clara be taken from him – how? No one knows, but it will truly be devastating not only to the fans, but the Doctor as well.

Thanks for reading tonight’s entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to share, subscribe, comment, and critique.

So tell me, how do you think Clara Oswald is going to leave?

Pokemon Go!

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

Pokemon Go was announced for 2016 for the iPhone and Android devices. Pokemon Go is about as close as we’ll get to capturing Pokemon in real life. The app uses real life locations to help you capture wild Pokemon such as Pikachu, Snorlax, and many, many others. This app allows you to trade with others who have this app and battle them as well.

Since this is something incredibly massive to Pokemon fans, including myself, I’ve decided to list some of the things I would love to see from this app.

1.Event Pokemon

In the trailer, we witnessed Mewtwo fly about Times Square with a time limit so that everyone present could capture the Psychic beast. This appeared to be an Event only Pokemon, which is something that has happened in many Pokemon games from Red to ORAS. Personally, I’d love to see more Event Pokemon and Pokemon that release on the holidays or month of. For example, for October they could release a shiny Ghost or Psychic type (because if they’re making Pokemon real, chances are shinys will be real too). For December, they could release a shiny Ice type (preferably Delibird because it has the move Present and the colors of the Christmas season).

2.Event Items

Now automatically in the game we have Pokeballs to catch em all, but from how it appears we gain more balls the more we play. Yet there are special tools used to catch Pokemon or summon them. We see a Snorlax in the trailer and the only way for Snorlax to awaken is by the Pokeflute. This makes me wonder if there will be an Event Item distribution to receive the Pokeflute and use it to catch Snorlax. If Nintendo plans to include Pokemon from other generations, then there are some that need special items. Hoopa needs the Prison Bottle to change into its Hoopa Unbound form and obviously the Mega Stones exist to make other Pokemon like Gardevoir and Blastoise to Mega Evolve.

3.Pokemon Amie

When Pokemon X & Y were released, I immediately fell in love with Pokemon Amie. The ability to play with your Pokemon and in return, that Pokemon would show its loyalty and love for you in combat. It was a wondrous notion that stole my heart. To have this experience in the games was fantastic, but to have it in real life? That would be absolutely outstanding.

4. Implementing Other Tech

Let’s say you just got into a battle with a fellow trainer and they completely annihilate your team. By charging your phone (regardless if it’s fully charged or not (though I can imagine this game would drink a ton of battery juice due to its use of maps and location)), your team would regain their health. 

5.  Mega Evolution

Going off my point earlier with the use of special (possible Event) items, this would be a neat concept. The idea of Mega Evolution seemed Farfetch’d at first, but it’s evolved into something incredible. The thrill of activating your Pokemon’s Mega Stone to cause them to transform into an even more powerful, tremendous beast – it’s intense. Wouldn’t it be even more fantastic if we could replicate it on this new app?

Thank you for reading tonight’s entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to share, subscribe, comment, and critique.

So tell me, what do you want to see from Pokemon Go?