Over the years, Home Alone has become one of those staple Christmas movies, and Google is taking advantage of that nostalgia by coming up with an amusing commercial.
Of course, “Home Alone Again” must feature Macaulay Culkin – and he reprised his Kevin McCallister role.
And this time, in a smart home powered by Google Assistant.
It’s similar to the original movie and yet it is dissimilar. Kevin is ‘home alone’ but not really ‘home alone’ because he has technology – and that adds a different dimension to the familiar setting.
The abode is now equipped with a plethora of Google Assistant gadgets.
These include the Google Home Hub, a Pixel 3 XL, Home Mini, and Nest Hello door camera.
There are others too, including a propped up mannequin attached to a Roomba in order to simulate people and movement. Of course, it is activated by a Google Assistant Routine this time around.
And the ad closes with the “Make Google Do It” tagline first introduced at CES in Las Vegas, California in the US in January this year.
To continue the fun, check out a behind-the-scenes look at the taping, featuring the funniest moments on set.
For Culkin, shooting “Home Alone Again with the Google Assistant” brought him back to his original days on set.
“They did a very good job on the set decoration, the props, and all the shots were spot on”, he says. “I am thinking and hoping that people will really dig it”.
The advert promotes a new Google Assistant feature, available for a limited time only, in which you can enjoy some of the most iconic moments from the film with quotes from your favourite scenes.
All you have to do is simply say, ‘Hey Google…’ to your Google Home device or your Android or iPhone device. Some of the responses you can expect are:
• 'How much do I owe you?' and you’ll be reminded to 'Keep the change, you filthy animal'.
• 'Did I forget something?' and the famous 'KEVINNNNNNNNNN' scream will play back.
• 'The Wet Bandits are here' to trigger Kevin defending his house.
• 'I'm the man of the house' to relive the famous scene when Kevin tries aftershave.
The above reminds us that more and more, we are surrendering our lives to technology. I’m not saying this is good or bad; it’s just an observation.
Greta Thunberg is a climate activist. A hero like no other.
The teen made international headlines since launching a school strike against climate change in her home country of Sweden this year. Every Friday, she protests outside the parliament building in Stockholm instead of attending school.
“I like school, and I like learning”, said the 15-year-old but will only end her strike when Sweden starts cutting carbon emissions by 15 percent a year. She is very clear on what she must do!
Then she added: “Why should we be studying for a future that soon may be no more? This is more important than school, I think”.
Her initiative has inspired thousands of students across the globe to do the same.
I had blogged about Australian students who go on strike for climate change – read it here
Thunberg has shamed climate change negotiators at the COP24 UN climate summit in Katowice, Poland this month.
"You are not mature enough to tell it like (it) is", she said. "Even that burden you leave to us children. But I don't care about being popular. I care about climate justice and the living planet".
Here is Greta Thunberg's speech @ TEDxStockholm, published on December 12, 2018 – she is adamant that the world can only be saved by changing the rules:
The climate talks had resulted in nearly 200 nations agreeing to a set of rules that will govern the Paris Agreement on climate change, which aims to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius over pre-Industrial levels.
Even the negotiators know they're not doing nearly enough to reach that goal and avoid disastrous effects of climate chance, which include the end of coral reefs, rising seas, stronger superstorms and deadlier heatwaves.
Thunberg and other young people emerged as among the strongest moral voices at the talks, which went into overtime amid disputes about the scientific consensus on global warming, which has shown for decades that burning coal, oil and gas wreaks havoc on people and the planet.
Twitter photo @jdsutter
Two Fridays ago, students did leave their classes and walked into that very same conference in Poland – holding signs that, together, read: "12 years left".
That's a reference to the latest dire report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which says global climate targets could become impossible in just 12 years.
The report says emissions need to be cut about in half by 2030, which would require a near-complete overhaul of the global energy system.
As Małgorzata Czachowska, one of the Polish students inspired by Thunberg said: "Adults sometimes forget about the young people".
A wrapped Christmas tree. Image credit: Go Vilnius, Lithuania
A Christmas tree unveiled in Vilnius, Lithuania this week looks nothing like the shiny decorated trees usually associated with the holiday.
Amply covered in a giant plastic bag, the fir tree at the Independent Christmas Town located at the Vilnius Railway Station serves as a reminder of the hyper-consumerism that tends to take over the holiday season, encouraging a more local and authentic approach to Christmas instead, a press release from Go Vilnius states.
"We wanted to express the idea of excessive consumerism with our Christmas tree, which we have done with a modern art project", said one of its creators, Dominykas Čečkauskas.
"We have wrapped the tree in an Off-White-inspired plastic bag and attached clinical breathing masks – we would really like to show the world how we perceive problems with the economy of manufactured demand and hype culture".
Along with the tree, over a dozen pop-ups representing Vilnius' flourishing street food and craft beer scene, as well as a slew of performance artists, fashion designers, and industrial techno musicians have taken over the Lithuanian Railway Museum and station area to create a Christmas Town unlike any other.
Local street food pioneers Turgus 2.0, together with Lithuanian Railways, the Municipality of Vilnius, and the city's development agency Go Vilnius, have combined forces to bring this market to life.
The initiative, which will run until January 02, 2019, is an experimental Christmas Market aimed at promoting the best of Vilnius' youth culture, and providing an alternative to the malls and traditional-style Christmas markets that are commonplace across the world.
Vilnius mayor Remigijus Simasius said the event represents the “liberty, tolerance, and openness” of the city.
A different approach to heralding Christmas and the New Year!
The Wednesday match between Celtic and Motherwell saw the former return to the Scottish Premiership summit after a first-half blitz ensured victory over the latter.
Anthony Ralston opened the scoring in the twenty-eighth minute before Scott Sinclair's penalty made it two just four minutes later. Sub Mikey Johnston (left) slammed in a third in the forty-fifth minute to make it 3-0 for Celtic.
In Glasgow, Scotland, there’s an artwork paying tribute to the late great Stan Lee. If any of you didn’t know him, kindly check out my post @ http://helpvictor.blogspot.com/2018/11/comic-man-stan-lee-1922-2018.html.
Anyway, street artist EJEK (@ejek98) had shared on Saturday his colorful heartfelt memorial mural that featured Lee’s grinning face surrounded by beloved Marvel superheroes:
FYI, the masterpiece is located on a wall on Cumberland Street in the Gorbals area of my favorite Scottish city.
EJEK is an amazing talent, by the way, and he is one of the emblematic figures of Urban art in the UK as well as one of the leaders of the Street art and graffiti scene in Glasgow.
Ejek by RogueOne
On Wednesday, I received an almost last-minute request to take on the role of Table Topics Evaluator for a joint Toastmasters meeting between Subang and Extol Toastmasters Clubs. Of course, I’m always happy to oblige as and when I am available and in the vicinity.
EnviroBuild image puts Donald Trump’s hair on the amphibian. Photograph: EnviroBuild
US presidents tend to receive their fair share of honors – and Donald Trump is the latest recipient.
A newly discovered blind and burrowing amphibian is to be officially named Dermophis donaldtrumpi, in recognition of the US president’s climate change denial.
The name was chosen by the boss of EnviroBuild, a sustainable building materials company, who paid $25,000 (£19,800) at an auction for the right. (Note: The money raised from auctioning the naming rights went to the Rainforest Trust charity).
The 10cm-long amphibian Dermophis donaldtrumpi.
The small legless creature was found in Panama and EnviroBuild’s Aidan Bell said its ability to bury its head in the ground matched Donald Trump’s approach to global warming.
And Bell had intended to raise awareness about climate change.
He explained: "[Dermophis donaldtrumpi] is particularly susceptible to the impacts of climate change and is therefore in danger of becoming extinct as a direct result of its namesake's climate policies".
The small, blind, creature is a type of caecilian that primarily lives underground, and Bell drew an unflattering comparison between its behaviour and Trump's.
"Burrowing [his] head underground helps Donald Trump when avoiding scientific consensus on anthropomorphic climate change", he wrote.
The world's leading scientists agree that climate change is primarily human-induced.
But Trump, whose administration have pursued a pro-fossil fuels agenda, has accused those scientists of having a "political agenda" and cast doubt on whether humans were responsible for the Earth's rising temperatures.
Fortunately, for Trump, stupidity is not a crime.
Yesterday, I was in Horizon Tower 2A, Avenue 5 in Bangsar South, KL to attend the Air Products Toastmasters meeting.
There, I was a speech evaluator and additionally, I presented a CC #10 speech titled Bull’s Eye.
The speech was an improvement from Tuesday – but I reckon I can still do better
And guess what? I was voted Best Speaker and Best Evaluator.
And the coup de grace came when Air Products staffers cheerfully sent us off with a select collection of Christmas carols:
In the US of A, David Berry Jr (left) of Brookline, Missouri along with two family members had been arrested in August 2018 for their involvement in one of the biggest poaching cases in Missouri history. Conservation agent Andy Barnes believed several hundred deer could have been killed.
It was reported Berry Jr took their heads and left their bodies to rot.
Judge Robert George ordered the serial deer killer to watch Disney’s Bambi on or before December, 23, 2018, then once a month during his year-long incarceration, the Springfield News-Leader reported.
The 1942 animated movie about woodland creatures shows a hunter kill the mother of eponymous deer character Bambi and leaving the young fawn to fend for himself.
Image credit: Youtube/RKO Radio Pictures
It wasn’t stated in the reports what species of deer they belonged to – but I suspect it is most probably the white-tailed deer (Scientific name: Odocoileus virginianus) – (right pic)– which are common in most of the US and throughout Missouri.
The other possibility is the mule deer (Scientific name: Odocoileus hemionus) which appear occasionally in western Missouri.
Also, Berry Jr was sentenced to a 120-day term in Barton County prison for a firearms probation violation, and both he and his father David Berry Sr had their hunting privileges revoked for life by the Missouri Conservation Commission.
I don't know about the court decision. Methinks if I have intentionally killed an animal or even a human, a cartoon is not going to stop or even restrain me if I decide to kill again. I was at the Taman Indrahan Toastmasters meeting at Brickfileds Asia College PJ Campus at Jalan Utara, PJ in Selangor – and thanks to Lim Thian Seng, I had a speaking slot.
I presented an Advanced speech from the Humorously Speaking manual. An assignment #3 Make Them Laugh titled I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus. I didn't think it was a good speech – just my opinion. I know I can do much better. I was distracted, that's why. My bad. I was evaluated by a visiting Toastmaster from Singapore. Aaron Ting, Immediate Past President at Chua Chu Kang Toastmasters Club in D80. Photos from the said meeting:
