NERDS AROUND TOWN
Nerds Around Town: Disney+, DC news and Anne McCaffrey
May 23, 2019, 6:50 am
ART BY JESUS RODRIGUEZ
Born with a comic book in one hand and a remote control in the other, Cory DLG is the talent of Conroe's very own Nerd Thug Radio, Sports and Wrestling. Check out the podcast replay of the FM radio show at www.nerdthugradio.com!
Hey Nerds!
Today is Thursday and we're not done yet, this week isn't over there's still a chance to kick this week's butt.
GOOD DEED OF THE DAY
If you don't like crawfish, all you can eat specials or charity then maybe this isn't for you, because it's an ALL YOU CAN EAT Crawfish boil, that's right! It's the Light of the Phoenix Charity All You Can Eat Crawfish Boil, and there's stuff for the kids to do too while you grub a dub dub. $25 buys your ticket now but $30 gets you in. This is the kind of thing I live for, doing a good deed and eating a bunch of food as you do it. #NerdsUnite
THE STREAMING WARS
Some news broke earlier this week, Netflix announced Spider Man: Into the Spider-verse is coming June 26, great movie, I'm pumped people need to be seeing this if they haven't and if they have they need to be seeing it again. It did win an Oscar. Also Disney fired some shots this week announcing that when Disney+ goes live their content will be off of Netflix, so the only place to get Disney stuff will be at Disney+. There were initially talks that this would be a gradual fade out and move over because of contracts and what not, but now that all the smoke has cleared options have been declined or in some cases exercised and now there is no "us" when it comes to Netflix and Disney. Disney+ will be the closely watched case study of, can these separate streaming services survive? Also the slow, eventual death of Hulu has been initiated as the last two major shareholders of Hulu (Comcast and Disney) have made an agreement that sometime in the next five years there will be a buyout order from Disney to either sell to a third party or sell to Disney, must be weird working there, am I right?
SPEAKING OF
DC Streaming actually was airing television commercials the past few weeks advertising tomorrow's season finale of Doom Patrol on the app. I like seeing them be aggressive on this and try and break into the psyche of streaming customers by airing television ads because honestly, that's who streams if that makes any sense. Also on the comics front, at the retailer summit a lot of people walked away from DC's events with positive feedback for once, they were actually happy with DC, which for those who don't know… hasn't been the case lately. Overall this is a good bit of positive momentum building up for DC so the real question is, what happens next?
I SAW SOME PEOPLE REQUEST MORE ANNE
I got excited, one of my favorite writers growing up was a lady named Anne McCaffrey and she wrote some really great stuff. Truly awesome world building, big universes, big stories and great powerful women in sci fi and fantasy which both genres sorely needed. The reality is none of her series has ever moved into production seriously as far as I have ever heard and that's disappointing to say the least, as she is truly one of the more prolific writers with several different book series under her belt before she passed. She did truly great work and honestly it's worth checking out and enjoying the books and just hoping one day someone builds up enough capital and creativity to give her works a try because if done right, they'd be amazing.
NOT THAT YOU ASKED
So recently I've been working strictly as a freelance creative and honestly there are some positives and some negatives to the whole experience. The cool stuff is making my own schedule and being able to truly have the freedom to pursue creative ventures as they come up and be able to try and create some real momentum in the various things I like to pursue. The frustrating part is that as I step into this process money is tight, there's not a lot else to complain about but man it would be great if everything wasn't so hold your breath and hope for the best, so if you got a minute, do me a favor go to Side Hustle Ts and grab one of the shirts. I don't care which one, just get one and enjoy it, it would help me out tremendously and I do give some of the proceeds to charity.
I'm going to jump out and wish you guys a great Thursday and remind everyone to be kind to each other and try a little harder to have a great day! I'm coming back Friday and we'll be bringing more good times your way. Feel free to check out my digital short story The Wilson House or buy a shirt from Side Hustle Ts where some proceeds help fight cancer or listen to Nerd Thug Radio or support our Patreon Page. Thoughts, complaints, events and comments can be sent to corydlg@gmail.com.
What looked like a minor blip after an emotional series win in Los Angeles has turned into something more concerning for the Houston Astros.
Swept at home by a Guardians team that came in riding a 10-game losing streak, the Astros were left looking exposed. Not exhausted, as injuries, underperformance, and questionable decision-making converged to hand Houston one of its most frustrating series losses of the year.
Depth finally runs dry
It would be easy to point to a “Dodger hangover” as the culprit, the emotional peak of an 18-1 win at Chavez Ravine followed by a mental lull. But that’s not the story here.
Houston’s energy was still evident, especially in the first two games of the series, where the offense scored five or more runs each time. Including those, the Astros had reached that mark in eight of their last 10 games heading into Wednesday’s finale.
But scoring isn’t everything, not when a lineup held together by duct tape and desperation is missing Christian Walker and Jake Meyers and getting critical at-bats from Cooper Hummel, Zack Short, and other journeymen.
The lack of depth finally showed. The Astros, for three days, looked more like a Triple-A squad with Jose Altuve and a couple big-league regulars sprinkled in.
Cracks in the pitching core
And the thing that had been keeping this team afloat, elite pitching, finally buckled.
Hunter Brown and Josh Hader, both dominant all season, finally cracked. Brown gave up six runs in six innings, raising his pristine 1.82 ERA to 2.21. Hader wasn’t spared either, coughing up a game-losing grand slam in extra innings that inflated his ERA from 1.80 to 2.38 in one night.
But the struggles weren’t isolated. Bennett Sousa, Kaleb Ort, and Steven Okert each gave up runs at critical moments. The bullpen’s collective fade could not have come at a worse time for a team already walking a tightrope.
Injury handling under fire
Houston’s injury management is also drawing heat, and rightfully so. Jake Meyers, who had been nursing a calf strain, started Wednesday’s finale. He didn’t even make it through one pitch before aggravating the injury and needing to be helped off the field.
No imaging before playing him. No cautionary rest despite the All-Star break looming. Just a rushed return in a banged-up lineup, and it backfired immediately.
Second-guessing has turned to outright criticism of the Astros’ medical staff, as fans and analysts alike wonder whether these mounting injuries are being made worse by how the club is handling them.
Pressure mounts on Dana Brown
All eyes now turn to Astros GM Dana Brown. The Astros are limping into the break with no clear reinforcements on the immediate horizon. Only Chas McCormick is currently rehabbing in Sugar Land. Everyone else? Still sidelined.
Brown will need to act — and soon.
At a minimum, calling up top prospect Brice Matthews makes sense. He’s been mashing in Triple-A (.283/.400/.476, 10 HR, .876 OPS) and could play second base while Jose Altuve shifts to left field more regularly. With Mauricio Dubón stretched thin between shortstop and center, injecting Matthews’ upside into the infield is a logical step.
*Editor's note: The Astros must be listening, Matthews was called up Thursday afternoon!
The Astros are calling up Brice Matthews, their top prospect on @MLBPipeline
via @brianmctaggart pic.twitter.com/K91cGKkcx6
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 10, 2025
There’s also trade chatter, most notably about Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins, but excitement has been tepid. His numbers don’t jump off the page, but compared to who the Astros are fielding now, Mullins would be a clear upgrade and a much-needed big-league presence.
A final test before the break
Before the All-Star reset, Houston gets one last chance to stabilize the ship, and it comes in the form of a rivalry series against the Texas Rangers. The Astros will send their top trio — Lance McCullers Jr., Framber Valdez, and Hunter Brown — to the mound for a three-game set that will test their resolve, their health, and perhaps their postseason aspirations.
The Silver Boot is up for grabs. So is momentum. And maybe, clarity on just how far this version of the Astros can go.
There's so much more to discuss! Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday.
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*ChatGPT assisted.
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