At the time, the show was ground-breaking.  I had never seen a show so excellently combine music, technology and comedy to create a form of entertainment that defies categorization and appeals to people of all ages. My memories of the show are quite vivid and that is something to say about my aging memory.  So when my tech-obsessed son recently asked me to take him to see the show, I found the idea incredibly exciting.  For both of us. His interest was also a sign that the show’s marketers are doing a very good job promoting the show if he saw it advertised somewhere and discovered the show on his own.

GOOD LUCK!

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With the holiday season just around the corner and 2015 winding down, there’s a lot to be grateful for. Friends. Family. Good health. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Orange is the New Black. House of Cards. Grace and Frankie.

In the spirit of the holidays, Netflix has curated a list of 12 reasons it makes the best holiday gift for everyone on your list.

12 Reasons To Spread the Netflix Love This Holiday Season

12. You can watch anywhere — by the fire on the big screen or at the breakfast nook on a tablet.
11. See what Piper’s piping on Orange is the New Black.
10. The kids can meet up with old friends in new ways, like racing to the edge with Hiccup from How to Train Your Dragon and Toothless from Dinotrux.
9. Mom can play White Christmas over and over again and encourage her daughters to reenact “Sisters” like Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen.
8. It’s so easy to set up, your five year old can help you do it.
7. Celebrate the classic holiday extravaganza with the Radio City Christmas Spectacular featuring none other than the Rockettes.
6. Legos, Legos and more Legos.
5. Family movie time can happen any day of the week.
4. Learn all you need to know from the first family, aka The Croods.
3. Saturday morning cartoons, solved. (Especially if Inspector Gadget has anything to say about it.)
2. Date night with Frank and Claire.
1. With Netflix, the whole family wins: Mom gets Jessica Jones, Dad gets Narcos and the kids get Care Bears, Project Mc2, Fuller House and five more minutes before bedtime.

Me? I have so many reasons I love Netflix, it would go on and on.

Want to win 12 days of Netflix?

To enter, answer this in the comments: What Netflix show are you dying to see?

Winner will be selected randomly. This giveaway will end on Wednesday, December 16th at 3pm EST. Winner will be posted here, on the Culture Mom Facebook page and via email and will have 24 hours to accept their prize.

Disclosure: I’m a member of the Netflix #StreamTeam and get perks as a member.

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I’m a sucker for holiday movies. Some of my greatest memories are of my sisters and I snuggling up with my grandparents on our annual visits to their home in Philadelphia and watching some of the best ever made.  We grew up watching Miracle on 34th Street to It’s a Wonderful Life over and over, year after year. Holiday films bring families together and bring in a sense of warmth, nostalgia, family, tradition. In recent years, the classics have turned from black & white to color and my kids now love watching Elf, Home Alone and Scrooged.

Love The Coopers follows The Cooper clan as four generations of extended family come together for their annual Christmas Eve celebration. As the evening unfolds, a series of unexpected visitors and unlikely events turn the night upside down, leading them all toward a surprising rediscovery of family bonds and the spirit of the holiday…and it’s all told from a dog’s point of view (the family dog). The film has an impressive cast including Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Ed Helms, Diane Keaton, Jake Lacy, Anthony Mackie, Amanda Seyfried, June Squibb, Marisa Tomei and Olivia Wilde. With a cast like this, the film is pretty irresistable, particularly my all-time fave, Diane Keaton partnering up with John Goodman – great pairing. And I adore Marisa Tomei, who plays a very relatable middle-aged woman feeling very alone in mid-life. While it wasn’t my favorite holiday movie, the premise was all there – we all need to appreciate life more and be more grateful for the people around us. Besides, you can return your family! That’s a lesson I’d like to teach my kids more often and a good reason to see Love the Coopers.

To celebrate the film’s opening TODAY, I’m giving away a Visa gift card for $50.

To enter, answer this in the comments: Tell me about a time you did everything you could to make the holiday perfect but things went very, very wrong.

For an additional entry, tweet this:

I entered to win @LoveTheCoopers (now in theaters everywhere) $50 Visa card via @hollychronicles! http://bit.ly/1RTOXBT

Winner will be selected randomly. This giveaway will end on Thanksgiving Day at 9am EST. Winner will be posted here, on the Culture Mom Facebook page and via email and will have 24 hours to accept their prize.

Disclosure: I was not compensated to write this post the same prize to facilitate the post.  Giveaway is courtesy of CBS Films.

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I’ve done this giveaway several years in a row, and I’m happy to be doing it again. The New York Botanical Garden’s annual Holiday Train Show is a part of our annual ritual of living in the NYC metropolitan area and it’s back this year with additions to this NYC seasonal tradition, which will open to the public on Saturday, November 21, 2015, and run through Monday, January 18, 2016.

The new Holiday Train Show enhances the visitor experience with three components, in addition to the ever-popular miniature wonderland  including a short film screening of the behind-the-scenes magic that takes place in order to bring the show to life, 3,000 square feet of additional space, allowing for 360° viewing opportunities of intricate structures such as the original Pennsylvania Station, Macy’s, NYBG’s Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, among others, while trains and trolleys zip through and around them. 3,000 additional sq. ft. of exhibition space this year  and a multisensory finale that features sound and light in the Reflecting Pool under the glass dome of the 90-ft.-high Palms of the World Gallery.

Kids who love trains will love this show. More than 25 large-scale model railway trains and trolleys—from American steam engines and streetcars from the late 1800s to modern freight and high-speed passenger trains— traverse across rustic bridges, along overhead trestles, through tunnels, and past waterfalls that cascade into flowing creeks. Some trains measure more than two feet long and weigh as much as 10 pounds. Thomas the Tank Engine and other trains especially loved by children also travel the tracks of the exhibition.

The show is truly a New Yorker’s defining moment, and the experience will just add to the pride that you have in this incredible city that we live in. And now, right here on the Culture Mom, you can enter to win FOUR tickets to the NYC Botanical Garden’s Annual Train Show!

HOW TO ENTER?

1) Comment here and tell me if you’ve been before.

2) Tweet this message: “Hope I win the @NYBG Annual Train Show #giveaway http://bit.ly/1LmZrZL via @hollychronicles”

Contest ends midnight Eastern time, November 1st, 2015. Tickets are valid for weekdays only from November 21-January 18, and the following blackout dates apply: November 27, December 14-January 1, and January 18.

The winner will have 24 hours to accept their prize. For more information on the Holiday Train Show, please visit http://www.nybg.org.

Disclosure: These tickets were provided to me complimentary for this giveaway but I was not compensated for this post.

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I’ve been very intune with the need for STEM over the last few years, not just because I have a daughter, but because I have worked for tech companies with an emphasis on digital, science and technology. I understand the dire need to encourage and inspire young girls to pave the way for them in these important fields.

Yet it was surprising, in a very good way, when my daughter approached me about a new show on Netflix called Project Mc2, a show about four girls who join forces with intelligence chief The Quail, played by actress and real-life math whiz and author Danica McKellar from The Wonder Years.

In the three-episode Project Mc2, available on Netflix, the teenage spies are intelligent, savvy and far from what we used to call “geeks”.  I love that the cast is diverse. The cast includes Victoria Vida, Genneya Walton, Ysa Penarejo and Mika Abdalla.

I also love the show’s choice of merchandising. We received a box full of science experiments in the mail, which my daughter is sinking her teeth into.

A second season is already planned, and my daughter is hooked.

We also received an adorable doll, the character Adrienne Attoms, with her own science experiment. At 12 years old, my tween is a tad too old so I have decided to give it away to another Project Mc2 fan.

To win, just comment below and tell me about a STEM-inspired girl in your life.

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Update: This giveaway is closed.

Available on July 7th, Academy Award winner Helen Mirren stars in Woman in Gold, the incredible story of a Jewish refugee who was forced to flee Vienna during World War II, and the paintings that were left behind.

When I saw Woman in Gold early this year, I was spellbound. The film had a poignant intensity about a particular time in history and it’s a story that demanded to be told.

In the film, Mirren plays Maria Altmann, a Viennese-born resident of Los Angeles, who in 1998 battled the Austrian authorities for ownership of the eponymous Klimt painting, stolen from her Jewish family by the Nazis. Altmann had lived in California since fleeing Europe with her husband during World War II when the death of her sister brought documents to light concerning a number of Klimt paintings and other valuables looted by the Nazis from the home of her well-heeled Viennese family.

One of the Klimts had special significance to her. An electric masterwork richly embellished with gold leaf, it depicted her beloved aunt, Adele Bloch-Bauer, who had lived with the Altmanns until her untimely death from meningitis at age 43, and was virtually a second mother to Maria and her sister. Hanging in the Belvedere Palace since the war, the painting had come to be regarded as Austria’s “Mona Lisa,” while the museum had conveniently buried the paperwork concerning its provenance.

If you want to know who won the case, you must see the film.

I’m giving away:

WOMAN IN GOLD Blu-ray 

$50 Visa Gift Card to mark your moments in history

 To win, just comment below and tell me a story of a personal hero.

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So, when I walked into Encore the other day for my sixth session with Robert, I felt confident and hopeful that I had progressed in the weeks since I’d seen him.

And guess what? I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I’ve lost two of the four pounds I’d gained. I’ve also lost some body fat, and my cardiovascular endurance and muscular endurance have shown “phenomenal” progression. I’ve also made progressions especially in the core strength area. The only bad news is that my neuromuscular control is still not it could be – but it will be!

Because you you know what? As a cancer survivor and a multi-tasking mom who can’t seem to DO IT ALL (can any of you – if you can, please do let me know how you manage), I’m happy with my progress. More than happy, to be honest. For the first time in a long time, I look forward to going to the gym. I rode nearly 50 miles in a bike tour around NYC last week. I started swimming laps. I plank on a daily basis.

Since I started training at Encore, I’ve shown myself what I’m capable of doing and I see the potential in my body strength and flexibility. If I keep working on it, progress will come. As my sessions at Encore are nearing the finish line, I see that it’s been a healthy, worthwhile experience seeing Robert at Encore Fitness NYC regularly.

Now I’m ready to start spreading the wealth! So, I’m giving away a free session with Robert at Encore Fitness NY!

To win, just comment below and tell me why you want to win a session at Encore Fitness NY.

About Encore (from their site)

Encore Fitness is a New York City-based private personal training studio. Our clients are given every opportunity and tool to successfuly and safely achieve those fitness goals. Together we can create an individualized program that will challenge and push you to the next level of fitness. Personal training sessions can be held at one of our personal training facilities or in your building’s fitness center. Let us help you get into the best shape of your life. 

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I’ll never forget the film Honeymoon in Vegas starring Nicholas Cage, Sarah Jessica Parker and James Caan. It was about a yuppie who promised his mother on her deathbed he’d never marry. This presented major problems in his relationship with his girlfriend, but after dating for five years, they take off to Vegas to get hitched but encounter a stumbling block. After an expensive, impromptu game of Poker with a wealthy gambler, he is forced to sacrifice his fiancee to the man for the weekend and what follows is pure madness. About the film, I remembered Elvis Presley impersonators and a very savvy, debonaire Caan wisking Parker away from Cage, who I had a huge crush on in the 1990s.

I have to admit that as much as I liked the film, I didn’t have high expectations for the show. I wasn’t sure how the story would translate to the stage, but with a combination of catchy songs with lyrics written by Jason Robert brown, lovely, comedic performances by Rob McClure (who I loved in Broadway’s Chaplin a few years ago) and Tony Danza (from Taxi and Who’s the Boss fame) and a great supporting cast, this show won me over. Brynn O’Malley as the female lead, Betsy, gives a solid performance as the fiancee and I thoroughly enjoyed her solos. Vegas lounge singers played by David Josefsberg and Matthew Saldivar are believable and the show’s orchestra, who is on stage the whole time, takes us all right to Vegas…and later Hawaii. The set and costumes all add to the Vegas glitz – in all its kitsch and glory. My companion and I left the show smiling, probably a result of the finale full of Elvis impersonators, just as I remembered. Oh, and Tony Danza’s tap dancing.

Honeymoon in Vegas is playing at the Nederlander Theater. You can get tix here.

I’m thrilled to be giving away a pair of tickets to HONEYMOON IN VEGAS (valued at $310 for the pair)! Tickets are good for Saturday, April 4th only!

To win, just comment below and let me know if you know anyone who has gotten married in Vegas!

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When I was invited to view the film HOME and attend a press junket with the creatives involved that included Jim Parsons, Rihanna, Steve Martin & Director Tim Johnson, I was thrilled. Such talent – such creativity – such legends. First I had to see the film to see for myself.

So, on a late Monday afternoon, I ventured into the city for a screening of the film. The film is about Oh, a misfit from another planet who lands on earth and finds himself on the run from his own people. He forms an unlikely friendship with an adventurous girl named Tip who is on a quest of her own. Through a series of comic adventures together, they both come to understand that being different and making mistakes is all part of being human. There are some great messages being relayed to the audiences watching, particularly children about being different, fitting in, nonformity. I knew the conversation with the group would be cosmic..and it was. A long time fan of several on the panel, particularly Steve Martin, who I have grown up with and followed my whole life, and Jim Parsons from the wonderful Big Bang Theory and The Normal Heart, which I saw on Broadway last year, and Rihanna for so many reasons- what can I say? There would be no other word to describe being in the room with them other than COSMIC.

Here are some of my favorite comments from the press conference – about everything from girlpower to feeling left out as a kid to the new technology to make the film.

On working alone in a sound booth without anyone to work off:

Steve Martin: I was delighted to finally work alone. I didn’t have to put up with those hacks like Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin and Marty Short. It was just me.

On creating a powerful female character:

Rihanna: I think it was both important to me and DreamWorks Animation for this to be as realistic as possible. We wanted little girls to feel empowered, little girls of any size, shape, color, race. It didn’t matter. We wanted girls to just feel strong and brave and empowered and beautiful and like they can do anything. And they can take charge of their life or their situation no matter what. I think we were really, really careful, especially with the animation and making sure that she wore the right things, that her body was not unrealistic, you know? And I think for kids, that’s going to be very special, for young girls especially. 

On lessons learned from the film:

Rihanna: I’m really inspired by Tip’s strength and determination because, you know, even in real life, there are those moments where you start to doubt yourself or you start to really feel like it’s not the right thing and going on the wrong direction. And you don’t know. Like, you start to lose hope. And you are right. This movie did kind of bring that back for me.

Martin: And I want to be more like Captain Smek, shallow and arrogant.

Jim Parsons: Oh has his own selection of them too, this optimism and eagerness and friendliness and hopefulness, that I don’t carry with me as in abundance and as much of the time as he does. And there’s not a good reason for–I mean, life gets in the way.

On working with Apollo, the new technology used to make the film:

Tim Johnson: The biggest thing I could do is I could bring the camera closer to the characters. And with voice performances like this, the classic film close-up is something animation didn’t usually do. An animation close-up would go from the middle of your chest over your head. But, a film would go in very tight. But, it used to kind of break down when you’d go that close on an animated face. And it would look kind of, frankly, a little bit like plastic. This new technology, we could go right up to Tip, right up to Captain Smek, right up to Oh. And the animators were able, by the tiniest squint of their eye or the little, little tiny glint in a smile. You would get so much more subtlety. And so, it was very empowering as a director to be able to do what I think audiences loved, get very intimate with the characters.

On the soundtrack:

Rihanna: There are seven full songs right now on the soundtrack. And it’s not just me on the album. We worked with a few other artists and collaborated with some people and some producers and scores. I mean even throughout the movie, the soundtrack, there is a lot of music from the soundtrack in the movie. Tim worked with some amazing, talented string players that really helped to score the film and tie all the emotions together, kind of just give the vibe or the energy, just to build the atmosphere of what you’re supposed to feel in that moment.

Johnson: Rihanna and a couple of producers, song writers, she’s had a long partnership with Stargate. We started working on music three years ago when we cast her as the voice.

On comparing acting in a animated feature to writing a play and using improvisation:

Martin: With a play, you get to try it out and maybe take it out of town, rewrite it, and rework it. And even during the run, during the previews, you can make changes. And it’s very much like that in an animated film because you could actually do a scene, animate it, try it out, and see if you like it. And if not, change it, unlike a film, which is a very hard thing to do.

Parsons: It’s funny. I know Steve was a bigger part of adding things to his dialogue and stuff than either of us were. I mean I never improv’ed, other than the “Boov Death Song”. I think there’s reason. I think Steve’s better at that than me, maybe not you, but me.

On giving advice to children who have been picked on or feel like insiders:

Rihanna: I have felt like an outsider ever since my first day at school. I mean I think that’s really it. Like, you’re at home. And you know, it’s the whole–not to go there, but really when you’re at home, you have this sense of comfort. You belong. It’s familiar. It is you. And not until you leave your home and you have to be in another environment supervised by completely different people and around different children who come from different homes, and you’re immediately exposed to all these type of things because just as strange as they are to you, you are to them. And it can be hurtful. It comes off hurtful for children. But, really, they’re trying to understand each other, or they really don’t understand each other because they come from a completely different background or culture. And it really is just about being who you are no matter what. Like, you just have to understand everybody’s not going to be like you, even in those horrible situations.

Parsons: I think that’s beautifully put. And I think that it speaks to why everybody in the movie is in to a degree, but specifically Tip and Oh are in is such a universal feeling. I love what you just said about you at one point leave your home, where you’re like everything’s natural and normal here. I can do nothing that’s weird.

We’re normal here. And as soon as you leave, everybody’s going to run into a situation where it’s like that’s not acceptable here. Okay. Okay. You know? So, to varying degrees, there are harder times to get through or not.

But, I think, too, what you say is exactly the truth. There’s only really one choice to get through that. And it’s to stay true to yourself and know that there are people who, if you’re running into people who think you’re a real weirdo right now and seem to judge you, there’s plenty of those who aren’t.

And eventually, that’s going to be your money maker, frankly. Embrace your freak.

Martin: At 12 or 13, I felt like an outsider at school. And then this new usage of a word came in, which was nonconformist. And you were lauded if you were a nonconformist. I thought I’m not an outsider. I’m a nonconformist. So, I was feeling pretty good at that point. I still had no friends. But, I was a nonconformist with no friends.

The actors found a lot of common ground with their characters, and after having spent very little time with each other producing HOME, the bond that was formed appeared strong and their banter seemed effortless.

Excited about HOME? Here’s how to stay connected:

– Follow DreamWorks Animation on Twitter

– Like ‘HOME’ on Facebook

– Visit the Official Website

– Get to know The Boov’s at Meet the Boov!

To celebrate the release of HOME, I’m thrilled to be giving away a $25 Visa gift card to inspire your next movie outing and HOME earbuds.

The movie takes place in various parts of the world. To win, just comment below and tell me what place your consider your home away from home.

For an additional entry, tweet this:

I entered to win a $25 @Visa card to celebrate #DreamworksHome via @hollychronicles! http://bit.ly/1Ex9Dd4

Disclosure: I was not compensated to write this post but received complimentary tickets to facilitate the review.  Giveaway is courtesy of Dreamworks. Open to U.S. mailing addresses only. Winner will be chosen Monday, March 23rd at 6:00pm.

Disclosure: I was not compensated to write this post but was invited to the screening and press event by the folks at Dreamworks.

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