Author Archives: Joshua Sanchez

Netflix, it’s time to save yourself

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Netflix has been around since the late 90s, first as a DVD rental service via mail order, to becoming the streaming powerhouse we know today. The last few years for them haven’t been pretty, with them cancelling shows that people loved. One of the latest shows to be cancelled is Warrior Nun. The show lasted 2 seasons with 18 episodes before getting cancelled last month. This continues Netflix’s trend of cancelling shows with LGBTQ+ representation. This show in particular has sparked the phrase “NETFLIX CORRECT YOUR MISTAKE” online. At this point, it has become a joke that every Netflix show with LGBTQ+ representation will get cancelled after 1 (sometimes 2) seasons despite how highly they are received, while still supporting shows that are divisive, such as true crime documentaries.

https://twitter.com/henrytcasey/status/1615098164729753600?s=20&t=_8IhCqUC-qQtUAsMrszJgw

I’ve written about online services before but Netflix takes the cake when it comes to being inconsistent with their quality. They’re started including ads in a new payment option which defeats the point of paying for their services. This is on top of already increasing prices for a regular subscription. Also, starting early this year, Netflix is going to stop allowing people to share their passwords outside their households. In some countries, people are charged around $3 to use their friends’ Netflix accounts, which will start expanding to the rest of the world. People are not happy about this, as people share accounts all the time. Some families live far apart but still share an account. Even friend groups also share an account just to save money.

If Netflix keeps going down this path of anti-consumerism, people are going keep cancelling their subscriptions and going to other services such as Amazon Prime or Disney+. These services aren’t as anti-consumer as Netflix and have shows and movies people love, which should make Netflix worry. Netflix needs to stop the shenanigans and start thinking about the consumer.

World Snow Day – Frosted Tales

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January 15th was World Snow Day. We get snow here every once in a while but not as much as the rest of the country. But when it snows, oh boy does it become a disaster town. Last November it snowed and a ton of people were stuck in traffic for hours. It really shows how much the Metro Vancouver area isn’t prepared for snow.

https://twitter.com/FortWhyteAlive/status/1614644973873373185?s=20&t=pGmeDk06LLYPMtZqhLgnrQ

I remember years ago when there would be a consistent snow season during late November and early December. During the last few years, it doesn’t happen as much as it used to. Sure, we had snow days that closed down schools during February for two years and January once (during my time in high school) but that’s about it. People always want to stay home when it’s snowing which is understandable. No one is prepared because of how infrequent it is, the roads and sidewalks are usually not prepared, and other reasons people don’t want to deal with it. Safety is the biggest concern here. My townhouse complex sometimes wouldn’t be salted which made getting out a huge problem. Also, the route to my elementary and high school had some downslope sections which made walking a huge pain. Don’t even get me started on crossing the roads. It once took me 20 seconds to cross the road when it should only take me less than 10, and I was maxing out the time on the crosswalk.

I still enjoy the snow, but only when I don’t need to go anywhere. It’s nice to just stay at home, drink a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows, wrap yourself in a fuzzy blanket, and sit in front of a fireplace. Those are what I consider good snow days. Snow will probably be around for a long time. I’d say cherish those days while you can before you despise them.

High Risk, Low Reward: Perfect Attendance

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My mom once told me about an award she got back when she was in elementary school. It was an award for perfect attendance. I am proud of her for getting that award, but learning about other people’s lives makes me wonder why an award like this would be considered fair.

People are bound to be absent from school a few times in their life. I remember having a perfect attendance record from grade 4 to grade 6. Sure there were times when I was a bit late but other than that, I was always at school. Grade 7 rolled around and I had to miss a few days because my family went on spring break early. During high school, I also missed a few days for school-related events. This proved to me that I can miss a day to do things that are fun every once in a while. Also, when I was in 10th grade, my school had a measles exposure and I had to miss a week because it turned out one of my vaccinations as a baby didn’t count. Again, nothing bad happened and the worse thing that happened was having to do a makeup quiz.

https://twitter.com/vivastweets/status/1613179187648512000?t=eZN_4JoGIa4CKUqLGMiUGA&s=19

The big thing to mention is getting sick or having medical issues. Especially in this age where there’s a pandemic, people are likely to end up staying home if someone in their home gets infected. This makes attendance awards completely unfair. What if someone comes to school or goes to work with an illness and gets someone sick, no matter what they do? You end up screwing someone over, all because being somewhere was that important to your superiors. Also, people with cancer, disabilities, or other chronic medical conditions would immediately feel left out because their conditions don’t allow them to always show up.

These awards need to stop. It’s unfair for those who can’t control when they can come and is also ableist.

True Crime and Reliving Trauma

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There’s been an increased output in true crime content over the last few years, whether that would be Sarah Koenig’s Serial or Buzzfeed Unsolved. One form that has risen is episodic documentaries. The one that people are talking about these days is Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. This series focuses on Jeffrey Dahmer, who was known for killing seventeen men and boys and performing necrophilic acts on them. However, the families of the victims aren’t happy to hear about the docuseries’ existence. One of the families even said they rejected the idea, which led to the producers doing extensive research against the family’s wishes. This month,

Evan Peters was given a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Dahmer in the docuseries. His acceptance speech didn’t mention the victims which made the victims’ families rightfully upset. People are disgusted by the fact that the showrunners are making money off of events that traumatized them which is understandable. I can’t blame them for it. I don’t exactly know what they’re dealing with but you can’t deny what they’re feeling.

 

Last month, Sword and Scale, a company that focuses on true crime content, put a poll on Twitter asking people which race they prefer the murder victims to be. Excuse me? I rather there be no victims. What kind of messed up question is this? It has been taken down since then but the fact that people still make true crime content without any level of sympathy is beyond vile. People’s trauma isn’t something to make money off of. If they truly cared, they would at least consider the victims’ and their families’ feelings before making such content. There needs to be an end to romanticizing murderers and remembering them for what they were; monsters who were on the hunt for innocent people.

But Who Cares?

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I’ve seen many posts online in my lifetime. I like to check out the comments section every once in a while but sometimes I’ll see someone say “Who cares?” This one has always been weird to me. That person took time out of their day to say that. Why not just keep scrolling? Why waste your time saying that when you can find something you care about instead? There’s a lot more out there in the world and if you found things you care about, you’ll probably be happier when going online.

Caution Troll Ahead

(sboneham / Flickr)

I once posted something on Instagram about a thing I bought. I was just happy that I had the thing I wanted and just wanted it on Instagram. I didn’t expect other people to actually care. I just expected people to see it, maybe press like and/or put a comment of some sort and move on. Someone commented “who cares?” and while I wasn’t hurt by it at all, it did bother me a bit. Imagine doing that in real life. What if I was just walking around, smiling at the thing I bought, and someone just goes up to me and says to my face “Why should we care about this?” I never asked you to care about anything. What if I did that to you? That wouldn’t be nice to do, would it?

Most of the people who do this are pretty much internet trolls. I know there’s stuff in the world that I admit, don’t care about, but I’m not just going to ask why I should care about it. If I truly didn’t care about it, I would just keep scrolling and forget about it. Doing that doesn’t affect me or anyone else and everyone is still happy at the end of the day.

Burning Out In Life

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I’m guilty of burning out. I will work on something for long periods of time to the point where I’m exhausted. Sometimes I work hard because of procrastination, other times it’s because I feel the need to work on something continuously. I’ve talked about not wanting responsibility before. But when I am responsible, I end up going hard, whether it results in a good product or not. I end up not wanting to talk to others afterwards, skipping meals, or just end up not being fun around. That’s when I want time for myself, whether it’s just going on my phone or chatting with my closest friends who will understand me.

Treating burnout is important, otherwise, you might not be able to do certain things again. I once heard about someone who was always at the top of their game. They would always go hard when it comes to their work and everyone would congratulate them. When they were asked how they treat burnout, they said they didn’t. Now, they don’t do what they were known for. They’ve taken a new path in life which is great to hear, but sometimes I wonder what would’ve happened if they never burned out. They would still be working the job they were known for, maybe not forever but for longer than they did it for.

 

There was a time in my life when I was always burnt out. I would be at school for extended periods of time and while the things I were doing were helping me, I sometimes wonder if they were even worth it in the end. No one actually cares about what you did in high school after you become an adult so maybe the stuff I did was pointless. Was waking up early or walking home in the dark worth my energy at that age? Probably not. If you ever get the chance to take a break, always use it. Your body will thank you for that.

Backing Tracks For Modern Live Shows

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Go to any modern musician’s concert today and there’s a good chance they’re using a backing track of some sort. Backing tracks aren’t new. Some of our favourite classic bands, such as Queen, have been using backing tracks for decades. However, there is a large demographic that believes using tracks is cheating and is ruining live performances.

One event that always gets into their minds is the Milli Vanilli incident, where they were caught lip-synching. They think that all backing tracks are used to replace human talent whether it’s just lip-synching or instrumentalists miming with instruments in their hands. To me, that’s not a backing track. That’s a cover-up. This is where I’m not okay with tracks. If I see a singer on stage, I better hear them sing. If there’s a drummer on stage, I better hear them play drums.

Another case use is using it to substitute for someone who isn’t there. This includes stuff like orchestras, choirs, or even bass players. Orchestra and choirs are more than forgivable for some people because they don’t expect artists to bring those people around with them due to costs or other circumstances. Tracks can also be used for synth parts that are complex and can’t be done live on keyboards (if there even is a keyboardist at all). Some people still don’t excuse this case, thinking that artists should make the studio versions of their songs completely playable live without resorting to a track.

I don’t care if someone is using backing tracks for live performances. As long as they’re using them to enhance, rather than replace, then it’s more than fine with me. People think all backing tracks are cheating, saying that live shows are meant to showcase the artist at their rawest form. But with the level of production that goes into songs these days, they don’t realize how hollow these songs would feel without the layers that were in the original song. They’re not going away and it’s time people realize that they’re not ruining live shows.

Art and Separation

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Hogwarts Legacy, a game based around the Harry Potter universe, is coming out next month on the 10th. Some people are excited about it, especially fans of the Harry Potter franchise. There is one main issue with anything Harry Potter-related these days. Over the last few years, J.K. Rowling’s views on transgender people have seen the light of day, and it’s something we can’t ignore. Some people are saying “separate the art from the artist.” However, because of the harm Rowling has caused to trans people and the fact that she’ll be seeing money come out of this, I don’t think buying it can be justified.

Some people might go “Well if this doesn’t affect me, then it’s okay.” I’m not sure whether to call it selfish or not, but it’s clear that they aren’t thinking about the people they care about. They might not realize that supporting her product is a slap in the face for them. Everything trans people have fought for is gone all because people want to play a game a person with transphobic views will profit from, thus holding her power. I’ve had a few friends over the years that I can’t talk to the same again because of stuff like this. They make comments that they think are jokes but don’t realize what they might be tolerating. Because people of higher power say stuff like this, others will think it’s okay to be discriminatory in some way.

If you still want to get the game, by all means, go for it. I can’t stop you from enjoying things you like. Personally, I can’t support the game or even the Harry Potter franchise any further. The things that J.K. Rowling said made quite an impact on her legacy. I used to think of her as a great author who has written books with great lore. Now I see her as an author who has immortalized her discriminatory views. If there are people you care about, don’t support Hogwarts Legacy when it comes out.

Our Heroes, Gone From This World

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A few days ago, Jeff Beck passed away. He was a guitar icon, playing with The Yardbirds. His influence had a great impact on the music world. Over the last few years, our heroes have been going away. Alexi Laiho of Children of Bodom, Joey Jordison of Slipknot, and Bob Saget from Full House and America’s Funniest Home Videos are just some of the names I think of when I think “gone too soon”. These are people I thought would be around until I became old. But for these people to go away sooner than expected is something people always forget. You grew up with their existence and once they’re gone, it’s like a piece of you also went away, no matter how much attachment you had for that person.

You can’t help but have this sense of emptiness when someone well-known goes away. I know I’ve talked about obsession before, but this is different. You don’t need to have known someone to express sadness. Since most of the news is now on the internet, you share your grief with a lot of people right away, which definitely doesn’t make it go away.

There’s nothing sadder in the world than for someone millions of people loved to be gone one day. Remember back in 2016 when people thought it was the worst year for celebrity deaths? Despite not reaching that level in recent years, it somehow always hits you the same when you hear someone is gone. We don’t want them to go away, but there’s nothing we can do about it. Death is inevitable, but we will always never want to see it coming, especially if that person meant something to us. The impact of our heroes is immeasurable and once they go away, a bigger part of the world is gone.

 

After Holiday Blues

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Being back at school is something I usually dread whenever a break comes to an end. No more being able to wake up whenever I want, being on my own schedule, or not having that much responsibility. My mind has to get back to work mode in one day. And no, I don’t try to adjust myself toward the end of my break. I’m always trying to make sure my last day on break is at least decent. Despite that, I always get butterflies when the time comes. During the last two days of winter break, all I can think about was school starting again rather than enjoying the time I had.

I can probably trace this back to when I was a child. I hated school as a kid. I wasn’t the brightest kid, so having time when my brain wasn’t challenged was the best thing that can happen to me. I always looked forward to weekends and extended holidays. I even craved sick days. Once those things were starting to end, I was immediately hit with a sense of discomfort. It was a combination of nervousness and also not wanting to get back to responsibilities. Call me weak and lazy, but my brain can’t handle lots of activity for long periods of time. I don’t know if it’s just my brain wanting more fun rather than work or if it’s actually me being overwhelmed at times.

I’ll probably be back in the groove of things over the next couple of weeks. But my brain will always look forward to the next big break (in this case, Family Day weekend). I know I should be a contributing member of society and see holidays as a reward. As of right now, I don’t think that will be happening any time soon.