The Hottest Online Disney Games

A brand name as familiar as its characters, Disney is timeless and unrivaled when it comes to tales, cartoons and now its online gamification. It is difficult to imagine 90s childhood without online Disney games. It was one way to make friends with Disney characters and they certainly appeal to the child in you. In short, Disney games are not designed only for children. They have certainly proved to be forever in-demand even without unnecessary blood and gore. It is amazing the way they blend learning and fun without coming off as awfully didactic.

Here are some of the most popular and hottest online Disney games of all times:

Becoming Crafty In Mickey House Clubhouse
Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse and his sweetheart Minnie need no introduction. They have done their bit in entertaining you through cartoons and when they ventured into gaming, nobody had any doubt that the insane duo will rule the world of online Disney games too. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Online Games are immense fun as well as suitable for any age.

The most sought-after at the moment is Magic Doodle Game, featuring an adorably doodling Mickey. Then comes the riotous Minnie Party and hair-raising adventures of the characters in Dream Spacecraft. 

Sometimes Donald Duck and Pluto also drop by to up the fun-quotient.

Disney’s Toontown Online Game
Disney’s Toontown Online game has everything ranging from bubbly animal characters, sinfully cute clothes, believable action and some of the most remarkable graphics ever. 

Guess what they used as money? Jellybeans! It has never ceased to charm kids and adults alike.

Be your own Alice in unknown Wonderland
Who wouldn’t want to disappear down a rabbit hole to another world full of intriguing objects and even more intriguing characters? Even adults cannot deny fantasizing such an experience once in a while. 

There are over 50 online games for fans of dreamy Alice venturing out and stumbling across unimaginable wonder-worlds. The game will take you to the world of popular characters like White Rabbit, Mad Hatter, Door Mouse and many more. It is so creatively designed and has perfectly captured the bizarre and faraway world of Lewis Carroll's vision. 

Try it once before scoffing it off as 'girly’ because you are bound to change your mind.

Club Penguin - when fun translates to benevolence
Kids are delightfully cheerful little folks who love helping out. And Club Penguin is one online Disney game that enhances this trait. While there are numerous tetchy programs that offer grownups a chance to give back, Disney’s Club Penguin has managed to become the biggest online altruistic effort completely driven by children. Over 200 million kids engage in club penguin games as they earn and buy 'Coins for Change’. They can donate these coins for a cause of their choice.

Rule Your Virtual Magic Kingdom
Virtual Magic Kingdom can rival even those countries voted as the happiest in the world. 

Unveiled as a surprise gift for fans on their 50th anniversary, Disneyland certainly know how to tickle the wildest fantasy of a childlike mind. 

VMK’s popularity led to the launch of several replicating attempts and predictably, they all tanked miserably.

Disney Infinity - A World With Infinite Fun & Learning
Disney Infinity is one of the famous online Disney games, featuring a slew of epic boss battles throughout the capricious playsets. Even though the 'bosses’ are not that hard or confusing enough to figure out, they do pose a reasonable gaming challenge. They have recently updated the game with even more baddies to make battles more engaging.

Summing it up
The world of Disney is infinite. They say no childhood is complete without willingly losing oneself in that miraculously virtual world. Indulging yourself in online Disney games is certainly one way to do that.

About Today's Contributor:
This article was written by Eleventy Traveller Blog writer.

Jay Baruchel Joins Forces With Captain Canuck On Free Comic Book Day 2017!

Jay Baruchel joins forces with Captain Canuck on Free Comic Book Day 2017! (CNW Group/Chapterhouse Publishing)

Jay Baruchel (Goon, Goon-Last of the Enforcers, This is the End, Man Seeking Woman, How to Train Your Dragon) joins the Captain Canuck team to co-write the Free Comic Book Day edition of Captain Canuck: Year One for Chapterhouse Comics with Editor in Chief and series writer Kalman Andrasofszky.

"Captain Canuck is a true Canadian icon and it is a humble honour to be involved in helping to shape the next generation of Canuck sagas for a new generation of readers and fans, as well as the die-hards that have followed Cap on his journey from the beginning", says Baruchel. "Chapterhouse is doing very awesome stuff as they breathe new life into the world of Canadian comics. I am proud to be joining their ranks in this incredible adventure as we work hard to bring exciting stories and classic heroes to life for readers across Canada."

"The Captain's ranks keep growing" says Fadi Hakim, President of Chapterhouse and Captain Canuck Incorporated, "and we're simply overjoyed to have a consummate talent and Canadian like Jay on board as we march forward!"

Canuck creator Richard Comely echoes Hakim's sentiment: "Jay is one of the most prolific, well-spoken people I've met in this industry - I know the Captain is in good hands!"

The first of the three part series is drawn by Canadian superstar Marcus To (The Flash, Red Robin, Joyride) and features a cover by David Finch (Batman: The Dark Knight, Avengers, Ultimate X-Men). 

The issue also includes an 8-page backup story - Die Kitty Die: Summer Beach Party created, written and illustrated by Dan Parent and Fernando Ruiz of Archie Comics fame.

About Captain Canuck

Created and launched by Richard Comely in 1975 with over 250,000 copies sold worldwide, Captain Canuck was rebooted in 2013 beginning with an Animated Web Series starring Kris Holden-Ried (Lost Girl), Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black), Laura Vandervoort (Smallville) and Paul Amos (Assassin's Creed). 

The comic, published by Chapterhouse Comics was released with over 80,000 copies in May of 2015.

Free Comic Book Day is May 06 2017.

SOURCE: Chapterhouse Publishing

US Climate Heroes: Bypass Trump! [Petition]

Image via Avaaz.org

Dear friends,

One man could destroy our future in 34 days. Yep, Donald Trump. 

He doesn’t even need the nuclear codes -- he just needs to keep his promise to pull out of the Paris climate agreement, and have massive polluters like India or Russia follow suit! 

But we’ve got a silver bullet: bypass Trump.  

New York, California and Google have raised their climate ambitions after Trump's election -- if we get them to build a coalition of US cities, states and businesses to collectively meet the US climate target, the Paris agreement can hold. Let's send a million voices directly to their doorsteps!  

>> Click here to sign!

This really could work. Key cities, states and firms are already stepping up, with Google committing to 100% clean energy by next year!  

Add giant states like New York and California to giant cities like Chicago and Philadelphia, and experts say you might not even need the US Federal government to meet the US climate target! The Paris agreement can be saved. 

Avaaz has already been pushing this idea with insiders, who say that a big public push from our movement could help catalyze the leadership we need from climate heroes. Let's take millions of global voices to Mayors, Governors and CEOs across the US:  

>> Click here to sign!

Leaders change, facts do not. And that’s why our movement is so important. We can keep accelerating on the road towards a safe climate future, no matter who is in power. In the era of Trump’s denialism, let's help bring together the coalition we need to save the world.

With hope,

Loup Dargent
On behalf of Christoph, Alice, Nick, Risalat, Martyna, Ricken and the rest of the Avaaz team 

MORE INFORMATION

• Mayors could override Trump on the Paris climate accord — here's how (Business Insider)
• American Mayors Pledge Climate Leadership In Response To United States Presidential Election (C40 Cities)
• Trump is a threat to the Paris agreement. Can states like California defend it? (The Guardian)
• Google says it will hit 100% renewable energy by 2017 (TechCrunch)
• India’s silence on Trump noted at Marrakech climate talks (Climate Change News)
• Trump, Putin, and ExxonMobil team up to destroy the planet (Think Progress)

More Donald Trump Related Stories

Click here for more Donald Trump related stories...

Tell Colleges: Don't Let Milo Yiannopoulos Harass Your Students [Petition]

Alt-Right's poster boy, Milo Yiannopoulos - image via Wikipedia

The following is an email I've received from Media Matters earlier on... as the subject of that email is Milo (I have written a post about the deluded Breitbart/alt-right's poster boy, quite a while ago), I definitely have no problem whatsoever sharing it on here.

Stay safe!

Loup Dargent

The Email:

Harassment is not a part of the marketplace of ideas. Campuses need to be places where ideas can be debated vigorously, and sometimes that debate will become uncomfortable or controversial. But when discussion devolves into outright harassment of students, it is time to draw a line.

When failed tech entrepreneur and Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos spoke at a Wisconsin university in December, he used the opportunity to harass a transgender woman. According to a local report, Yiannopoulos "named and showed a picture of the student to his audience, and accused the student of being a man trying to find his way into women's bathrooms." Yiannopoulos added "The way you know he's failed is I can still bang him."¹

>> Tell Colleges: Don't Let Milo Yiannopoulos Harass Your Students

Yiannopoulos is defined by his harassment. He is a champion of the "alt-right," a coalition of white supremacists and misogynists that have consistently used online platforms to organize harassment.

In October, the Anti-Defamation League found a drastic uptick in anti-Semitic tweets sent to journalists.² A conservative writer connected them to the "alt-right" and Yiannopoulos personally.³ Twitter banned Yiannopoulos in July for what the organization described as "participating in or inciting targeted abuse of individuals."⁴ The ban was widely understood as a reaction to the harassment campaign Yiannopoulos led against African-American actress Leslie Jones.⁵ This approach can be traced back to "Gamergate," where conspiracy theorists engaged in sustained harassment of women, including directing threats of violence against them.⁶ Yiannopoulos was a key figure in that as well.⁷

>> Tell Colleges: Don't Let Milo Yiannopoulos Harass Your Students
Colleges are rightfully reluctant to ban speakers based on their viewpoint. But they should not shy from taking a stand against people with a lengthy track record of harassment, especially those who have demonstrated a willingness to target and harass students.

Campuses have a simple way to prevent Yiannopoulos from harassing students on campus: They should require him to contractually agree to avoid such behavior before they permit him to speak on campus. If Yiannopoulos is truly interested in participating in an exchange of ideas, he should have no trouble agreeing to this. Campuses would also be doing their due diligence to protect their status as an open forum.

It's time to draw a line, and we need you to add your voice.

Erin Fitzgerald
LGBT Program Director, Media Matters

--------------------

[1] Herzog, Karen. (2016, December 15). Breitbart writer targets transgender UWM student Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel. [2] ADL's Task Force on Harassment and Journalism. (2016, October 19). ADL Report: Anti-Semitic Targeting Of Journalists During The 2016 Presidential Campaign Anti-Defamation League. [3] Pesca, Mike. (2016, November 23). The Alt-Right Is Using Trump Slate. [4] Ohlheiser, Abby. (2016, July 21). Just how offensive did Milo Yiannopoulos have to be to get banned from Twitter? The Washington Post. [5] Singal, Jesse. (2016, November 4). Twitter Exile Has Not Been Good for Milo’s Brand New York. [6] Jeong, Sarah. (2016, December 14). If we took ‘Gamergate’ harassment seriously, ‘Pizzagate’ might never have happened The Washington Post. [7] Biddle, Sam. (2014, October 20). The D-List Right-Wingers Who've Turned Gamergate Into Their Loser Army Gawker.

Rogue One: The Latest Star Wars Film Fuels Resistance And Protest

It’s all happening. © 2016 Lucasfilm Ltd.

By Oli Mould, Royal Holloway

This year, by most accounts, has been tumultuous. Notwithstanding the rise of far-right extremism, “Brexitrump” and the horrors of Aleppo, there have been strikes, anti-government protests and discord on the streets of many cities around the world.

The political legacies of the Arab Spring, Occupy and the 2011 UK riots are bearing fruit, and resistance to the perceived injustices of state power are intensifying. Indeed, subversive and activist groups, such as guerrilla skateboarders, an ever-growing number of anti-gentrification cells in London and the army of humanitarian volunteers in places like the Calais Jungle are proliferating. Is it any wonder then that rebellion, resistance and protest strike such a chord in contemporary popular culture?

The latest offering in the Star Wars franchise, Rogue One, gives us such a narrative. It is the first of (what will no doubt be many) “spin-off” films from the Star Wars universe. It tells the story – alluded to in the first Star Wars film in 1977 – of how a group of resistance fighters stole the plans to the Death Star from under the noses of the Galactic Empire.

AN JOr. © 2016 Lucasfilm Ltd.

Rogue One
Being once removed from the Star Wars saga, Rogue One had the freedom to dispense with the tired platitudes, cheesy star-wipe edits and homogeneous good versus evil, dark versus light tropes of the core films. With Godzilla and Monsters director Gareth Edwards at the helm, the film feels far grittier and somewhat more macabre. Edwards even had the licence to bring in, albeit briefly and somewhat unnecessarily, his trademark of a slimy, tenticular monster.

The story revolves around our hero Jyn Erso (ably played with a battle-hardened sobriety by Felicity Jones), who we see as a little girl in the prologue escaping capture from the Empire. As an older woman she is urged into joining the rebellion. She then leads a band of mercenaries on an against-all-odds heist mission to steal the plans to the Death Star and save the galaxy from the totalitarian Empire and their weapon of planetary destruction (leading some to label the film, somewhat unfairly, as “Ocean’s 11 in space”).

Edwards has skilfully produced a less cliched Star Wars film (and in the hilariously sarcastic droid K-2SO, produced the best non-human Star Wars character since Yoda), but kept the faithful happy with subtle references and the reintroduction of Darth Vader’s malevolence and fear-inducing power. One climatic scene in particular rolls back the years and rekindles some of the terror that gave Vader the accolade of the ultimate cinematic villain.

What the film does not compromise on are the spectacular visuals. Battle scenes set against tropical beaches give a World War II feel to it, and the CGI reincarnation of Peter Cushing’s Moff Tarkin is breathtaking. How the film links back into the first is done extremely skilfully, building to a quite chilling finale.

© 2016 Lucasfilm Ltd.

The faces of resistance
So Edwards has kept within the confines of the Star Wars canon, but created a narrative that complicates the clear distinction between good and evil, right and wrong. We see this particularly with the infighting among different factions of the Rebellion. After Erso’s father is taken away, she is raised by Saw Gerrera, an “extremist” who even the Rebellion have disowned. The broad spectrum of political thought that characterises subversion from and protest against contemporary state power is reflected here. Pseudo-spirituality, comical cynicism, personal grievances and lifelong idealistic struggle are all represented in the band of fighters Erso corrals to the cause.

The aesthetic alignment of the Empire (and its reincarnation of The First Order in The Force Awakens) with Nazism is proving to make the Star Wars films sadly far more prescient than they should be. The fact that Rogue One has been released now, at the end of 2016, and pits a political eclectic bunch of rebellious ideologues against a totalitarian and fascist regime, I’m sure is coincidental. But cinema, far more than any other medium, has the power to tap into, probe and catalyse tacit feelings within a society.

Rogue One stirs themes of resistance, empowerment and activism in the face of large-scale injustices, but also speaks to the political difficulties of enacting this. The amalgamation of diverse activist practice into a single political movement is fraught with difficulties: ideological differences between different groups, emotional and physical burnout, the lure of stardom and selling out, and many other pitfalls.

This is why, for me, cinema is an important resource in maintaining these practices. It can act as a shot-in-the-arm of hope and inspiration (much like Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival did, released as it was the week of Trump’s victory in the US election).

Rogue One plays on this directly with the repeated refrain that “rebellions are built on hope”. This is an important truth, one that will no doubt proliferate as the events of 2016 unfold in the coming years. Rogue One has tapped into that masterfully; and to do so in the confines of a hyper-commercialised Disney profit-fest, is an impressive feat indeed.


About Today's Contributor:
Oli Mould, Lecturer in Human Geography, Royal Holloway

This article was originally published on The Conversation.