Thanks to Gizmodo!

Netflix has had a rough few months. In July, they angered customers by bumping up their prices. Then, in October, they saw record losses, as thousands of subscribers fled.

But one move is likely to make up for it all.

They’re bringing back Arrested Development!

The show’s revival became news a couple weeks ago. An announcement of a feature film preceded by a handful of new episodes left fans wondering where they could watch. Having beat out Hulu and Showtime, Netflix will be the series’ new home.

Since Netflix started licensing original series, the service has been seen as a potential savior for ill-fated productions that get shuttered over the objections of a cult following too narrow to sustain them. But rescuing a show that comes with a built-in audience–albeit one too small to survive on TV–may be a safer strategy than creating a new property out of whole cloth.”

New episodes won’t be available until 2013, but it doesn’t mean we can’t be excited now!

]]> http://www.usdemocrazy.net/2011/11/21/netflixs-redemption/feed/ 0 http://www.usdemocrazy.net/2011/08/12/gadget-boredom/ http://www.usdemocrazy.net/2011/08/12/gadget-boredom/#comments Fri, 12 Aug 2011 21:46:03 +0000 Keepingitclassy http://www.usdemocrazy.net/?p=13650

Thanks to GOOD

How many hours of television have you watched in your lifetime?  Now try adding you hours spent gazing at cellphones, computers, video games etc…

You’ve probably spent a month or two of your life in a frozen gaze, oggling a screen.

But is this “screen time” really harmful?

Little information on healthy digital dosages and smartphone etiquette is available.

Still parents are worried. To avoid the spectre of children with the brains of digital mush, parenting sites are on the case. They are encouraging parents to monitor every digital device within their childrens’ gaze.

Smart parenting? or an overreaction?

Fears of over exposure to screens is not unfounded. Physical and mental problems that are often linked to video games and lots of visual stimuli — obesity and ADHD.

Or maybe what’s really scaring parents is the lack of boredom.

Being bored is a crucial part of childhood, because bored children are forced to daydream, to stand and stare, to use their imaginations.

How important is it for children to “learn how to cope with boredom”?

Well, even the biggest gadget pioneers claim their products have positive qualities.

Do you agree? Or is “screen time” a “waste of time”?

Super Bowl Sunday: A great time for football fans or advertisement enthusiasts? Well, the football fans have gotten the chance to marvel over the Saints’ win, but now it’s time to analyze the advertisements!

Here’s the New York Times’ take on the issue. But we at U.S. Democrazy thought we’d bring you some of our favorites!

First, here’s the definite winner in the Most Adorable category:

Second, the best advertisement that targeted guys:

Here’s one for the Golden Girls fan:

Finally, here’s one that just made us laugh:

What was your favorite ad from the Super Bowl? Tell us in the comments!

We at USdemocrazy like to believe we are above all that marketing-consumerism- hullabaloo. Still, we are suckers for a clever engaging TV ad. Of the tens of thousands of ads produced in the past 10 years (and we saw most of them) there a few that stood out as classics.  In this week’s Film Festival we are celebrating some of the decades best commercials  as voted by AdWeek Media.

Above is one of our favorites as Honda’s fluffy rabbits, rainbows, real-toe tapping tune makes us whistle about a diesel engine.

Sneaker squeaking and basketball “rapping” never made a pair of Nike’s look this good.

One of Ikea’s famous “unböring” commercials. To feel bad for the lamp or not to feel bad for the lamp?

Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street? Courtesy of The Muppet NewFlash

Who doesn’t love a furry puppet who is smart and can tell you how to count and say the alphabet??? ( kinda sounds like our editor at USDemocrazy without the “smart” bit…)

Our favorite gang of Muppets, who are lovable puppets that live on Sesame Street, are celebrating their 40th Anniversary! (Can you count to 40?… let’s do it together…!)

Don’t bother asking how to get there- no one will answer your question even if you sing it to the world EVERY DAY! Although there are many shows that may currently surpass Sesame Street in popularity- its longevity is unmatched.

The Children’s Television Workshop, a non profit production company, gave the world its first glimpse of Sesame Street in 1969. Some of us from the newer generations may be surprised to know that the aims of this iconic show weren’t just to entertain but instead

to present enjoyable and beguiling preschool education to poor children who did not have access to decent preschools while bringing diversity to children’s programming.”

Fighting cultural norms of racism and problems of inequality ? Not what you first think of when you imagine  a cuddly puppet named Big Bird or Elmo!

Still times have changed, and television as a learning tool isn’t looked on so kindly these days. Some think youngsters like two-year old toddlers should not be in front of the tv in the first place. Experts agree that both physically and developmentally, television (even Sesame Street) is harmful at young ages.

Despite this, we at USDemocrazy must applaud Sesame Street- and NOT because President Obama gave his seal of approval in his introduction of Sesame Street’s 40th season. Instead we cheer because under the fur and fabric efforts toward social change remain at the Street’s core.

Cookie Monster Eating Some Fruits and Veggies with those Cookies

This show has presented an integrated neighborhood during a time of racial turmoil.

It made a certain monster who is fond of cookies and sweets, add some veggies to his diet in a time where obesity runs rampant in America.

Sesame Street has made strides globally by introducing the first HIV positive muppet to Sesame Street South Africa.

So next time you are flipping through the channels and pass that familiar green and white sign, pause and take a closer look.

Is the Comedian and Chief back? Obama has a grand old time on the Late Show.

Back from exile. Forcefully removed leader of Honduras returns; the world holds it breath.

Wild times as President. Personal pressures,  a drunk pizza craving Boris Yeltsin and more were part of Clinton’s time in the oval office.

Courtesy of NY Times

We at USDemocrazy get good use out of our TV remote.

But we were certain our prized remote was broken this weekend. It seemed on every channel we changed to…BAM!…. there was President Obama being interviewed!

Thankfully it wasn’t our well-worn remote after all.

The President agreed to appear on five major television networks to chit chat about the big things our little country is facing, like health care reform, Afghanistan, or even the media’s 24-hour news cycle.

So what’s all the fuss about? It’s Obama’s plan to use a media blitz to finally “break through” to the American public.

But will a omnipresent Obama turn into over-exposed Obama? (Is that why all those stuffy-looking men in suits are staring? Okay…not that kind of exposure.)

The jury’s still out, but the GOP has made their feelings known.

“The president is selling something that people, quite frankly, aren’t buying. He’s been on everything but the Food Channel…He can be on every news show until the end of time, if he doesn’t get Republicans and Democrats in a room, and get off TV, we’re never going to solve this problem.” -Sen. Lindsey Graham(R.-S.C.)

Time will tell if Obama’s network-hopping will be good exposure, or just plain over-exposure.

In the meantime we at USDemocrazy recommend folks google Obama shirtless in Hawaii if you want to see the other kind of exposure…