(via Shutterstock) When I bought my first Christmas tree as an adult way back in 1992, I bought some pop culture ornaments but I mostly stuck to the sorts of ornaments and baubles I remembered from childhood. But as time went on, I increasingly bought more and more pop culture Continue Reading
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More than a single snowflake … Thoughts on The First Snow of Fraggle Rock
(courtesy IMP Awards) SNAPSHOTThe Fraggles eagerly await the first snow of the season and all the traditions it brings, but when only a single snowflake arrives and Gobo can’t write the yearly holiday song everyone is expecting, the season is thrown off course. For the first time ever, Gobo journeys Continue Reading
The festive short and the short of it: You’ve got a friend in the A Disney Holiday Short: Best Christmas Ever
(courtesy Disney+) SNAPSHOTWhen Santa mistakes the doodle on a girl’s list for a holiday wish, she wakes up on Christmas morning to find an unusual new friend under the tree. Directed by Taika Waititi and featuring the voice of John Goodman, the short follows the heartwarming story of the friendship Continue Reading
A whole new world: Thoughts on Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age
(courtesy AppleTV) Losing yourself in a documentary is one of life’s great, often unsung, pleasures. If they’re done well, and many are, they are gateways to magical places of knowledge and experience, a chance to find yourself somewhere you’ve never been or to get lost in the rapture and wonder Continue Reading
It’s beginning to look a lot like the festive season … Christmas ads 2025 round-up
(via Shutterstock) I know there is a significant school of thought that rails against the materialism and rampant consumerism of Christmas. And yes, while I can see it, and it’s valid point as far as it goes, it leaves aside the fact that much of that drives this need to Continue Reading
Festive animated love? Disney’s Hulu’s Family Guy’s Hallmark Channel’s Lifetime’s Familiar Holiday Movie
(courtesy IMP Awards) If you only watch one parody of a festive romcom movie this year, and let’s face it, much as I love many of them, the actual films are almost parodies of themselves, then make sure it’s Disney’s Hulu’s Family Guy’s Hallmark Channel’s Lifetime’s Familiar Holiday Movie. The Continue Reading
Why ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ almost didn’t air − and why it endures (curated article)
(courtesy IMDb) In 2024, the beloved special is streaming on Apple TV+. Stephen Lind, University of Southern California It’s hard to imagine a holiday season without “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” The 1965 broadcast has become a staple – etched into traditions across generations like decorating the tree or sipping hot Continue Reading
A celebration of me, Grover #Andyat60
(courtesy Sesame Workshop) Grover, sweet, loveable, funny, silly, thoughtful blue-furred Grover has been my favourite Muppet since I can remember loving any Muppets. I can’t remember when I first encountered him, but it would’ve been in the early Seventies when my family and I had just returned to Australia from Continue Reading
The loveable characters of Sesame Street do their best to get into the Netflix vibe
(courtesy Netflix TUDUM) When HBO decided not to renew its contract to screen first-run episodes of Sesame Street, there was a brief moment of worry about who would step in to keep kids learning their ABCs and 123s with the likes of Grover, Big Bird and Elmo. Thankfully, Netflix stepped Continue Reading
Let the end times roll … Fallout S2 has a fabulously apocalyptic new trailer
(courtesy IMP Awards) SNAPSHOTThe new season will pick up in the aftermath of season one’s epic finale and take audiences along for a journey through the wasteland of the Mojave to the post-apocalyptic city of New Vegas. Based on one of the greatest video game series of all time, Fallout Continue Reading