This past week, the crew at Autisticana visited Spencer’s at the Smithtown Mall. The store is very interesting because it has shirts and clothing based on popular movies, anime, and musicians. It also has paraphernalia relating to weed, occultism, and magic, sex toys, and candy. They even sell manga and cookbooks. We all took pictures relating to our interests there.
In 1947, Spencer’s started off in Easton, PA, as a mail-order catalog with tons of novelty merch by Max Adler and his brother Harry, the namesake being the former’s middle name Spencer. In 1963, three years after Harry left, Spencer evolved into a brick-and-mortar retail store with its first location in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, at the city’s mall. Since then, Spencer has grown to 650 locations in the US, and Canada within malls, especially on Long Island, such as Hicksville Broadway.
In 2001, Spencer’s Gifts launched its e-commerce website, allowing customers to shop for its products online. The website has become important to the company’s sales and marketing strategy.
Today, Spencer’s operates over 600 stores in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, offering a wide range of products, including clothing, accessories, home decor, and novelty items. The company is known for its edgy and irreverent products and is known for catering to a younger, more alternative demographic.
Despite competing with other retailers in the same space, Spencer’s has continued to grow and expand its business. With a focus on innovation, creativity, and customer engagement, the company has stayed relevant and popular with its target audience.
Spencer’s has been a must for the newest trends, tees, body jewelry, home décor and more that celebrate our slogan “life is a party”and we are making it fun. Known for being a pioneer in sexual wellness, call us what you want, but we are here for all communities to celebrate. We are committed to our guests’ uniqueness and their desire for rebellious, buzzworthy products that represent a unique lifestyle while offering an escape from the ordinary.
Spencer’s had opened in 2003 under new management, raising the bar and continuing its untraditional retail journey. The stores have changed, but when they set out on the path of becoming an industry leader in a subtle shift from Spencer Gifts to Spencer’s, this will always be true to the roots of their love for the pride of the effort they put.
They have done a new and better look, but never forgot the history because some of the trends are as old as time. Spencer’s, which continues to lead the market with one of the oldest continually operating stores in North America and nearly 670 locations throughout the United States and Canada, proudly enshrines the brand as cultural staples. Giving back is a key obligation of Spencer’s, and we have been increasing the commitment over the last few years.
Since 2020, the whole partnership with the ACLU has generated nearly a million dollars to help protect civil rights for individuals. Additionally, since 2008 our associates have been fierce advocates, joining in on the battle against cancer by fundraising on behalf of three organizations focused on fighting youth cancer through the non-profit Boobies Make Me Smile. They’ve raised more than 10,5 million dollars to support the Young Survival Consortium, Stupid Cancer and Fxck Cancer that are working on prevention, education and help for young people with cancer and showing the reality of helping young women that could possibly have breast cancer and knowing the facts of the support they need when their going through tough times.
Everyone takes on Spencer’s:
Scott likes that Spencer’s has cool stuff, especially sex products.
Danielle didn’t care for Spencer’s Costumes
Jackson loved Spencer’s having been at that location and Hicksville’s multiple times. He loved taking the Stepbrothers photo with Scott:
Today I’ll be talking about why I think animation actually counts as another fantastic form of art
First of all, animation has become such a big part of not just in the art community and industry but also in the film industry because animators and filmmakers (for example Disney, Pixar, etc) work put so many details in them and work so hard on them since nothing blows up overnight and everything takes time and they deserve to get paid as much as everyone else.
As someone who grew up watching lots of animated movies/shows/specials in my childhood and teens till currently now in my adulthood, has an artistic eye, and is now kinda an artist since I had and still have an appreciation for that stuff gave me so much inspiration over the years. However, I do have mixed opinions about the whole current live-action and remake thing which I will probably talk about at another time if you want my intake on them or even talk about/rank them let me know in the comments or my socials.
Another thing I love about it is not just the details and creativity but that it takes you to a different place/scenery to explore a world you want to see outside of your world for a while. and gets your mind off of (your reality) for a long time however how long it is. After watching I wondered how they made it and the process so I looked up. I found out that they stretch out their ideas on regular/illustration paper, then draw them out, color, blend, then test them out on the computer, work it on there, show it to other artists/others, and put it together which is pretty amazing if you ask me. I think anyone can do it or be artistic without being born naturally.
After doing all of the illustrations I did for David’s book not sure if you remember my posts/blogs about it which will also be out soon along with my own and everyone else’s who did a book I had to do so many steps and took so much time than I expected to be but I’m glad I took my time since it worked out well in the end. If you want to be a good artist/instructor/animator/filmmaker or whatever you need to practice as many times as you need to, take your time, find your style, and take other’s feedback/criticism. If you don’t you’ll never get the hang of it.
I hope this video helps explain animation and how it works if you are curious and interested
If you enjoyed this and learned something great and important let me know in the comments or in my socials have a great day.
This movie is about a basketball coach Marcus Marakovich who was the assistant coach for the Iowa Stallions but got fired after he lost his cool which he had to do community service for driving while intoxicated. He community service was to help people with intellectual disabilities but he was thrilled of the idea but slowly got used to them. He wanted to help the team played basketball but he was started to get the hang of the team from the Friends which the Special Olympics Basketball Team which it used remind of my days when i used to play challenger basketball in the high school team.
This is the first time that the movie is based on actual people with intellectual disabilities.
Marcus Marakovich, a hot-tempered but capable assistant coach with an Iowa minor league basketball team, loses his cool during a game and shoves the head coach, Phil. He gets intoxicated at a nearby pub after leaving the stadium, and when driving home, he collides with a police cruiser, landing him in jail. Phil bails him out the next day. He gets into a fight with Phil, feeling that he was correct and that if Phil had listened, none of the events of the previous night would have occurred. Phil explains why he didn’t listen to Marcus and tells him that he needs to get to know the players as people, not just athletes, and that their personal life affect their performance. Then he informs Marcus that the owners have fired him.
As Marcus arrives in court for his hearing, the judge gives him the option of either 18 months in jail or 90 days of community service with The Friends, a local community center’s intellectually challenged basketball team. He decides to volunteer and quickly understands that coaching this squad will be a personal and professional struggle. At the end of the first practice, he accepts a ride home with Johnny, one of the players, only to discover that the driver is Alex, Johnny’s sister and a past Tinder one night fling. While he learns how to coach the new squad, he and Alex begin a casual sexual relationship. As Marcus shows up for his hearing, the judge offers him the option of 90 days of community service playing basketball with The Friends, a local community center’s team of mentally challenged people. He decides to perform community service but quickly learns that leading this squad will be difficult for him personally and professionally. During the first session, he agrees to take Johnny, one of the players, on a trip home, only to discover that the driver is Alex, a past Tinder one-night fling and Johnny’s sister. While he learns how to manage the new squad, he and Alex have a casual sexual relationship.
As the squad progresses and Marcus gets to know the players more, he quickly learns that they are more than simply their technical abilities. Consentino, a previously injured player, is brought back into the rotation when one of the squad members, Darius, refuses to play for Marcus. Marcus meets Consentino while they are traveling to an away game. As the team “disrupts” the other passengers and gets ejected from the bus, Johnny contacts his sister to come pick them up in her Shakespeare vacation RV. Thankfully, Marcus and the others can persuade her to drive them to away games. Johnny develops feelings for Marcus and asks him to dinner, where Marcus shares Johnny’s news of going into a group home with some of The Friends. Marcus leaves the house as Alex grows protective and instructs him to keep out of family business, but Alex confronts him in the yard. Marcus understands that Alex uses her daily routine of caring for Johnny as a reason to break up with previous lovers before Johnny becomes connected to them. Alex then informs Marcus that they are no longer together. Johnny feels enraged with Marcus for inflicting harm on his sister and lying to him and refuses to participate, but during halftime of a game, Consentino informs him that he isn’t playing for coach, but for himself. Consentino tells him that he isn’t playing for coach, but for the rest of the squad, and that he needs to get over it. Luckily the won the match after Cosentino’s wisdom words to help the team for a wake up call to turn the team around.
Marcus has requested Sonny, an assistant coach from his old squad, to help him get a new job but Sonny’s uncle, an NBA GM, has turned him down. Sonny tries to befriend Marcus for a time, but eventually finds that Marcus was only being cordial to him in order to gain a position with the NBA. Sonny accepts to Marcus’ request for assistance in guiding The Friends once the latter recognizes how deceptive he has been. Benny, one of the participants who works at a nearby restaurant, has been unable to participate in games since his supervisor will not allow him to change his schedule. As the squad advances to the semi-finals, he tells his supervisor that he should be allowed to change his schedule to play with the team and is dismissed; nonetheless, he is now able to play and is a critical scorer.
Marcus and Phil happen to meet in a restaurant, and Phil informs Marcus that Darius, the player who refuses to play for Marcus, had a promising career before being involved in a tragic automobile accident and suffering brain damage. Marcus realizes it was a drunk driver that caused the accident. When Marcus discovers it was a drunk driver who struck Darius, he visits him at home to apologize and say he would never drive while intoxicated again but also to let him know he understands why Darius won’t sign with him. Darius chooses to start with Marcus and accepts to travel to Winnipeg for the Special Olympics finals after recognizing he must be able to forgive the lady who hit him. Marcus learns that the NBA club in Seattle has recruited him as a third assistant, but Alex informs him that it appears they are using his upbeat news as a cover for their ongoing scandal. The Friends are unable to express happiness when he informs them he is relocating to Seattle since they know it would separate them from him, and Johnny loses his temper with him once more as a result. Marcus comes up with a plan with Alex to blackmail the proprietor of the restaurant where Benny works after learning from Julio, the community center manager, that the city and state lack the funds to send the players to Canada. As a result, they are able to attend the finals. The size intimidates the Friends.
When the Friends are down during halftime, Marcus brings up all the circumstances that they’ve overcome and refers to them as Champions. This is because the Friends are scared by the size and reputation of the opposing team, The Beasts, and it shows in their playing. As Johnny gets back to the court, he goes up the stairs and tells Alex that he’s moving in with his teammates to have his “Champion” moment.
Marcus tries to build up a play so that Darius would make the winning basket as the Friends rally in the second half and are just one point away from victory. The other team will be all over Darius since they know he is the best player, according to his assistant coach, who advises against it. Marcus starts.
The Friends are scared by the size and name of the rival team, The Beasts, and it shows in their performance, but when they are down during halftime, Marcus recalls all the difficulties they’ve overcome and proclaims them Champions. After Johnny returns to the court, he goes up the stairs to have his “Champion” moment by informing Alex that he is moving in with his pals.
The Friends comeback in the second half and are within one point of victory, so Marcus attempts to build up a play in which Darius will make the last shot. His assistant coach believes it is a horrible idea since the other team knows Darius is the greatest player and will be all over him.
Marcus starts to correct him like Phil did, but he stops himself, admits the assistant is correct, and sets up a pick-and-roll play with Johnny. The play is successful, and Johnny is ready to score when another player, Showtime, cries that he is open. Johnny tosses the ball to Showtime, but Showtime immediately executes his signature reverse shot. The squad erupts in jubilation when he misses the hoop but strikes the rim despite never having done it before. Regrettably, the team loses, but because to Marcus’s motivational speech, they continue to think of themselves as champions. After the basketball tournament , the whole team went to the pool with a waterslide to enjoy themselves of paradise and brought some good laughs.
Marcus chooses not to accept the Seattle position after recognizing Alex was correct, and on the advice of the coach of the NBA “J-league “, the Iowa Stallions (the one he pushed), he is given a local coaching position at Drake University. Marcus and Alex start dating, his old assistant takes over The Friends’ coaching duties, and Johnny moves in with his pals at the group home.
During the credits scene, the whole crew had the basketball community dance party to celebrate their amazing achievements at the Recreation Center.
Today I went with my staff Victoria to Island 16 to see the movie ‘The Fablemans.’ I thought there were some funny moments. The main character Sam loved making films, and his mother was very supportive of his creativity. We saw the Fablemans growing up together. There was a lot of drama and the parents were getting a divorce. The mother would sleep all day, but she enjoyed playing the piano as her creative escape. Sam’s dad got new jobs which made the family have to move to new states. Sam and his sisters were upset with the changes, and he was getting bullied and beat up. They made fun of him because he was Jewish by calling him horrible names and hanging a bagel in his locker. There were many challenges, hardships, and stress in the Fableman household. Creativity, art, and love helped Sam and his mother through tough times.
I enjoyed seeing this movie and I would like to continue ‘Rachel’s Reviews.’ I would rate The Fablemans a 10/10. I would recommend to my friends and family.
Lego is a Danish company that is known for its interlocking plastic bricks, which can be assembled to create a wide variety of models and structures. The company was founded in 1932 by Ole Kirk Christiansen, a master carpenter, and it initially made wooden toys, stepladders, and ironing boards. In the 1940s, the company began experimenting with plastic toys, and in 1949 they began using an injection-molding machine to mass-produce plastic toys, including the automatic binding bricks that would later become known as Lego bricks.
In 1953, the automatic binding bricks were renamed Lego bricks, and in 1957, the interlocking principle of Lego bricks was born. In 1958, the stud-and-coupling system was patented, which added significant stability to built pieces, and this transformed them into the Lego bricks children use today. In 1964, for the first time, consumers could buy Lego sets, which included all the parts and instructions to build a particular model.
Over the years, Lego has introduced a wide variety of themes, including town, castle, space, pirates, Western, Star Wars, and Harry Potter. Figures with movable arms and legs were introduced in 1978, and in 1969, the Duplo series – bigger blocks for smaller hands – was introduced for the 5-and-under set. Lego has sold 75 billion of its bricks in more than 140 countries as of 2018. The company has also spawned two movies and Legoland theme parks, making it an icon in the toy world.
We took a trip to the Lego Store at the Smithhaven Mall on Wednesday because all of their employees had their way of giving to the community through lots of building sets, large and small, and of various themes and franchises. One of the many favorites we saw was the Marvel sets, especially the gigantic Sanctum Sanctorum and the Daily Bugle building. And it’s not just the movie or video game-based sets that interested us. The other set that got the attention of others was the set of the famous painting Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh as well as the set of the famous Roman Coliseum.
We also interviewed one of the employees, Andrew. Andrew has been interested in Lego for practically his entire life of 35 years and more to come. His favorite Lego set ever is 1994’s Pizza to Go; despite its small size of 142 pieces, he likes it because it provides old memories of his youth, and presumably’ pizza is his favorite food.
Andrew’s favorite set Pizza to Go from 1994Ninjago City set from the Ninjago Ctiy Movie
Andrew’s favorite theme is Ninjago, one of Lego’s most successful franchises of all time as it has spawned multiple sets, a TV show, and even a movie. The largest set Andrew ever built is Ninjago City from the movie, which boasts 4,867 pieces and even has two companion sets Ninjago City Gardens and Ninjago City Docks.
Another highlight of the event was the Lego Friends Edition, which featured detailed apartment sets with different segments of stores, including apartment complexes, providing a fun and interactive way to play with the characters from the cartoon series. Andrew, as a dedicated worker, took his time to explain the history of Lego and provided great insights about different sets.
Even though some of us may not have made a purchase, the event sparked ideas for future purchases at Lego stores or other retailers such as Target, Barnes and Noble, and more. Overall, the event was a great opportunity for attendees to learn more about Lego and explore different sets, and also to learn from Andrew’s insights and experience from the Lake Grove store in New York.
One of the many lessons people learn in life is: Does humanity make its possessions and things that give it power or does it shape them? This lesson is made prominent among many others in the first installment of Phase Two in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Iron Man 3. It is the primary lesson of the film as after Aldrich Killian, AIM CEO and the film’s main antagonist, destroys Tony Stark’s personal life and home, he is left with a malfunctioning and nearly broken suit for most of the film. However, Stark is able to adapt and wage war against Aldrich Killian, the man responsible, through using his ingenuity and intelligence, whether it be starting a fire to stop Killian’s henchwoman Ellen Brandt or using hardware supplies to make weapons to assault Killian’s mansion, among other things. Stark also learns to rely on other people, most importantly kid mechanic Harley Keener who helps fix his suit. This reflects on how the world created its own forms of entertainment such as virtual platform concerts and conventions after COVID-19 shut down everything, reflecting humanity adapting to situations that are beyond their control. By the end of the movie Stark realizes:
“My armor was never a distraction or a hobby, it was a cocoon, and now I’m a changed man. You can take away my house, all my tricks and toys, but one thing you can’t take away – I am Iron Man.”
Tony Stark and Harley Keener’s bond
Iron Man’s ingenuity on display when he attacks the Mandarin’s Mansion.
This leads into the next major lesson of Iron Man 3, that sometimes we create our own demons. This is important because at the beginning of the movie, Stark’s focus on Extremis at a New Year’s Eve party led Aldrich Killian down a path of villainy, even going so far as getting infused with Extremis and becoming no longer deformed or disabled, but also becoming more arrogant as well as psychotic. To that end he comes up with a master plot to own the war on terror by experimenting with Extremis on other people and creating an anonymous figure known as the Mandarin who claims responsibility for the failed experiments in the form of terrorist attacks. His descent into villainy and desire for revenge on Stark is explained in this dialogue:
Sometimes by rejecting or ignoring other people and making mistakes, they come back to ruin us. This serves as a prominent theme over Stark’s journey in the franchise as it was his own negligence in making weapons that caused him to stop making them and use his suit as a force of good. In the real world, we have created “our own demons” by covering up military casualties in events such as bomb strikes, not acting with enough momentum and action to stop tragic events like school shootings or bombings, or accidentally allowing harmful chemicals to create incidents such as nuclear meltdowns or oil spills
Finally a major real world lesson that is integral in Iron Man 3 is PTSD, or post traumatic stress disorder. This is important because following his near death experience in The Avengers, Stark becomes more focused on building suits because of his fear that the world will be destroyed. This drives him more and more away from his girlfriend Pepper Potts and causes him to act more erratic in public. This one line defines it perfectly: “Nothing’s Been The Same Since New York.”
Overall, despite its flaws, Iron Man 3 has many great lessons that are commonly shown in real life. However the three most essential ones include that we sometimes have to rely on ourselves and not our possessions and the things we take for granted, creating our own problems, and PTSD. These are important because in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic which was caused by inaction early on, we had to adapt when everything was shut down and we couldn’t do the things we normally did in quarantine and with restrictions. Many people also got PTSD, whether it be from death of a loved one, losing their job, and other circumstances. However, like Iron Man 3, the pandemic showed people we had the power to fix our mistakes and prevent anymore tragedies like that while also teaching them how to think outside the box and make their own fun when COVID shut down the world.
Today, my fellow newsmakers and I watched the Disney’s animated movie Zootopia. It follows a new recruit bunny cop, Judy, who teams up with a con artist fox, Nick, to solve the case of a missing otter. Along the way, they uncover a larger conspiracy and harsh truths about the world they live in.
A positive message I learned from the movie is to don’t let stereotypes stop you from being who you truly want to be in life. Although all the officers in the Zootopia Police Department and her parents told Judy she couldn’t be a cop, she ended up proving them wrong and became one of the best cops in the city. The movie explored themes surrounding racism and other forms of bigotry as predators were being cruelly mistreated by prey all over Zootopia. It shows sometimes we shouldn’t judge anyone by opinions or past incidents and tendencies. We should always accept anyone for who they are or otherwise it can lead to dangerous and trauma for others in our community.
Check out the trailer for Disney’s Zootopia below:
Dr. Grimaldi’s Takeaway:
Most people who are quick to judge do so out of their own fear and insecurities. People usually base their judgments on the limited information they have observed. Judgment can stop someone from reaching their full potential. Each individual has their own choice to make to become their best self. This Disney character portrays that by overcoming judgments and believing in her ability to be who she wants to become. A positive lesson for all of us about having the confidence to persevere through conflict to the other side. Despite society’s discrimination about her species, she was able to use this as a driving force to become a cop and successful in her endeavors.
In 2008’s smash hit Iron Man, the first film of the universally acclaimed Marvel Cinematic Universe has many lessons that relate to the world and ourselves. One of them is that businessmen and corporate entrepreneurs of the war industry do not know how their devices and inventions will be used. This is shown at the beginning of the movie when CEO of Stark Industries Tony Stark is injured by shrapnel from his own missile during a terrorist ambush organized by his mentor Obadiah Stane in order to usurp him. This shows that while we believe our inventions have a purpose, we don’t truly know if they will be used for good or bad, as Stark’s arc reactor can be used to power other things like the Iron Monger suit at the cost of his life.
Another essential lesson is not to waste your life. When surgeon Ho Yinsen is dying after being ambushed by the Ten Rings terrorists while constructing the first Iron Man suit, he tells Stark, the man whose life he saved, to not waste his life building weapons and caring only about himself, but to do something good with his talents and inventions and build many relationships. To that end, Stark becomes Iron Man, the very first hero of the MCU.
A final essential lesson is to always take risks. This is essential when Tony is designing his Iron Man suit and despite warnings from his assistant, he decides to fly it and notices a flaw in his suit design. This shows that putting yourself in danger can prevent you from being in further danger through learning from your mistakes. Stane, on the other hand, is so concerned with killing Tony that he fails to try out his armor, resulting in his armor being frozen and damaged, leading to his downfall. Stark ultimately learns from his mistakes as a human regarding his recklessness and selfishness and decides to stop making deadly weapons and also reveal himself as a hero.
Overall, Iron Man, the MCU’s first film and project overall, has many prominent themes and lessons pertaining to the real world, such as terrorism, technology, and corporate conspiracies. However, the overall lesson revolves around how our mistakes as people can harm others. This is shown when Tony is wounded with his own missile and technology and how Stane uses his arc reactor to selfishly power up his suit and kill Stark. However, we can learn from our mistakes by righting our wrongs, shown when Stark uses his suit to stop terrorists and defeat Stane. Iron Man is a perfect example of showing one of the many aspects of humanity, making horrible mistakes and dealing with the consequences of them.
Dr. Grimaldi’s Takeaway:
As positive psychologists, we also try to see the glass half full. Even in the worst of times we need to hold our space of positivity and hold our ground and stand tall. Learning from our mistakes is one thing , but putting them into practice is another. We teach healthy positive rituals to make each individual their best self. We turn our obstacles into challenges and we do it as a team of unique individuals driven to do purposeful work for our community.
