xD Okay, it's really my voice rambling while anime pics float in the background, but whatever. I'm going to talk about other stuff other then anime in the near future, but at the moment... it's anime. LOL
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Sunday, September 23, 2007
It Amazes Me Sometimes
Look around you anywhere you go, and you'll see a wide range of different people with different talents. No one is perfect, but some people are born with certain advantages. Which leads me to the whole point of this entry, how different we all are, but yet we're still living within the same world.
It simply amazes me to think that one child can be born perfectly normal, while another child can be born that very same minute and be mentally disabled. The child who was born normal has so many oppurtinites ahead of him right from the word go, yet the child who is mentally disabled immediately has a limited range. Not because he chose to be that way, but because he was born that way. It's really sad when you think about it.
Look beyond that though, and you run across something else entirely. Look at the parents that are taking care of that child. They still love him (or at least the good ones do), and they still want him to live his life as fully as he can. So they're still given a shot to live, just things might be a little tougher for them. The child is still surrounded by parents who love him, he can still appreciate many of the things that makes life what it is. So ultimately when it comes down to it... he's just different. Just like how I'm different from a lawyer, and how you're probably different from your best friend. He's no less human then any of the rest of us.
Or how about people who become disabled through war? Talk about rough. *shudders* Not only do you have to deal with all of the emotinal scars of the battlefield, but you also have to struggle with physical ones as well. Gah! I just can't force myself to throw in a cute anime pic. This entry is too serious.
So how did this topic come up anyways, you might ask? xD I am getting a little preachy here, so I want to explain how this thought process came up. There's this kid at my college campus, maybe a year or two older then I am. I used to run into him everyday, and at first I found it kinda hard to look at him. You could tell, from the very second you saw him, something wasn't wired right. From the way he walked, to the way he talked, to his problem solving skills.... it just wasn't right. So whenever he popped up, I would just basically ignore him as best as I could. That was until one day, I actually had a conversation with him. He's a sweet guy!
It really made me think about things, and now whenever I see him (it is still a bit awkward, I will admit), I'm filled with a sort of admiration. He isn't likely to get married, he isn't likely to have a real relationship with anyone outside of his own family (if anyone does actually reach out to them, god bless their soul, they have more heart then I'll ever have), yet he's still on the college campus taking classes. He's still living. He has thoughts and emotions just like the rest of us (however simple they may be).
I just find it fascinating how different we all are. We're all wired differently, we all have different tastes and interests, and some of us are born with a better advantage then others. Yet we're all just truckin along together. It really opens your mind to alot of things, like how the way the world works now is probably far more accepting and loving then in any other point in time. We've improved quite a bit. Enough so that a handicapped child could grow up and get some sort of education, just like anyone else.
:) Hope I didn't get too preachy for you guys. *bows and leaves cookies* Next time I update, I should talk about anime or something. This blog needs more geeky entries!
It simply amazes me to think that one child can be born perfectly normal, while another child can be born that very same minute and be mentally disabled. The child who was born normal has so many oppurtinites ahead of him right from the word go, yet the child who is mentally disabled immediately has a limited range. Not because he chose to be that way, but because he was born that way. It's really sad when you think about it.
Look beyond that though, and you run across something else entirely. Look at the parents that are taking care of that child. They still love him (or at least the good ones do), and they still want him to live his life as fully as he can. So they're still given a shot to live, just things might be a little tougher for them. The child is still surrounded by parents who love him, he can still appreciate many of the things that makes life what it is. So ultimately when it comes down to it... he's just different. Just like how I'm different from a lawyer, and how you're probably different from your best friend. He's no less human then any of the rest of us.
Or how about people who become disabled through war? Talk about rough. *shudders* Not only do you have to deal with all of the emotinal scars of the battlefield, but you also have to struggle with physical ones as well. Gah! I just can't force myself to throw in a cute anime pic. This entry is too serious.
So how did this topic come up anyways, you might ask? xD I am getting a little preachy here, so I want to explain how this thought process came up. There's this kid at my college campus, maybe a year or two older then I am. I used to run into him everyday, and at first I found it kinda hard to look at him. You could tell, from the very second you saw him, something wasn't wired right. From the way he walked, to the way he talked, to his problem solving skills.... it just wasn't right. So whenever he popped up, I would just basically ignore him as best as I could. That was until one day, I actually had a conversation with him. He's a sweet guy!
It really made me think about things, and now whenever I see him (it is still a bit awkward, I will admit), I'm filled with a sort of admiration. He isn't likely to get married, he isn't likely to have a real relationship with anyone outside of his own family (if anyone does actually reach out to them, god bless their soul, they have more heart then I'll ever have), yet he's still on the college campus taking classes. He's still living. He has thoughts and emotions just like the rest of us (however simple they may be).
I just find it fascinating how different we all are. We're all wired differently, we all have different tastes and interests, and some of us are born with a better advantage then others. Yet we're all just truckin along together. It really opens your mind to alot of things, like how the way the world works now is probably far more accepting and loving then in any other point in time. We've improved quite a bit. Enough so that a handicapped child could grow up and get some sort of education, just like anyone else.
:) Hope I didn't get too preachy for you guys. *bows and leaves cookies* Next time I update, I should talk about anime or something. This blog needs more geeky entries!
Thursday, September 13, 2007
School Has Started, and My Motivation Has Tanked
Hey, y'all! I haven't updated my blog (or my LiveJournal) for so long that I finally decided to throw you guys a bone... you know, even though none of you read it. That'll change someday though. My one dream is to have about twenty or thirty comments on each of my blog entries. That would be the day.
So anyways, my college classes have started once again, but unfortuantely, I don't feel motivated to study what-so-ever! I try to get myself motivated and excited about studying, but to be honest, I just can't get myself to do it. Homework has been light, but there'll be a test coming up this coming Friday, which I SHOULD be studying for. But to be honest, I would rather watch my anime and dream about the future. This is the point where I remember that I won't have a future unless I get an education. That usually scares me straight xD
Another thing I've noticed that kinda bugs me when I'm walking around campus... what is with girls and wearing an ungodly amount of makeup? They look pretty enough just being themselves. The twelve tons of cosmetics just makes them seem, I don't know.... fake? Is fake the right word? I'm not sure what it is, but I like women to just be themselves. When the make-up is that obvious, it is a major turn-off for me. Maaaaajjjjjooooooorrr.
:) Look forward to more entries this weekend! Peace out.
So anyways, my college classes have started once again, but unfortuantely, I don't feel motivated to study what-so-ever! I try to get myself motivated and excited about studying, but to be honest, I just can't get myself to do it. Homework has been light, but there'll be a test coming up this coming Friday, which I SHOULD be studying for. But to be honest, I would rather watch my anime and dream about the future. This is the point where I remember that I won't have a future unless I get an education. That usually scares me straight xD
Another thing I've noticed that kinda bugs me when I'm walking around campus... what is with girls and wearing an ungodly amount of makeup? They look pretty enough just being themselves. The twelve tons of cosmetics just makes them seem, I don't know.... fake? Is fake the right word? I'm not sure what it is, but I like women to just be themselves. When the make-up is that obvious, it is a major turn-off for me. Maaaaajjjjjooooooorrr.
:) Look forward to more entries this weekend! Peace out.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
The Movie Industry: Commerical Profit Over Creativity
I was browsing the net today, and I decided to look further into this "Rebuild of Evangelion" movie I've been hearing so much about. As a casual fan of the orginal source matieral, I couldn't help but get just a little excited about the concept. Take one of the weirdest anime shows ever created, and remake it into a four part movie series. It would have the same basic plot and premise as its orginal source matieral, but with brand spanking new animation, new scenes, and a reworked ending. 0_0 I was hyped! Heck, I still am hyped!
A couple hours, I stepped back and actually started to think about it. They did this before, they already made an Evangelion movie... and it sucked. It really sucked, actually. Now they're going to go back and milk a dead cow that has been in retirement for over ten years? Come on! Why doesn't the show's creator make something new we can be excited about, why remake Evangelion? Then it hit me. Creativity isn't what pays off in the end, it's all about the money.
Rei! Now with more curve appeal and computer enhanced animation! This adds a whole new layer to the EVA mythos. You see, with Rei's new curve appeal and computer enhanced animation, we can now create a new kind of Evangelion. One with more curve appeal and computer enhanced animation!
I mean, look at the way Hollywood is run now. There isn't any quality control there?! The last two Pirates movies sucked, but I would bet you good money that we're going to see even more Captain Jack Sparrow in the near future. Not because it's necessary! Not because they have an orginal idea that would steer the series in a whole direction! But because it'll make the studio more money! Heck, we fall for it everytime. Disney has managed to feed me two extra doses of Pirates, and to be quite frank I don't care if I ever see Captain Jack Sparrow on the big screen again.
What made the first Pirates so appealing was the orginality of the characeter. Captain Jack was like nothing we had ever seen before, and the movie he starred in wasn't too bad either. It was easily some of the most fun I had at the cinema. I can't remember another movie where I laughed so often and so frequently. So when I heard they were going to make not only one, but "TWO" more outings for the then legendary "Jack Sparrow", I couldn't wait! Alas, I walked out of both Dead Man's Chest and At World's End thinking.... "What the hell went wrong?" It seemed like such a good idea on paper.
Thank you for seeing my crappy sequel! I couldn't have made all this money without you!!
The truth was, neither the writers nor the director had anything new to add to the franchise. They would try to trick you into thinking otherwise though! The scripts were so sloopy that it would take a "Pirates Expert" to make any sense out of the whole thing. Does the movie have any kind of message? Is there really any point to all this swashbuckling? And more importantly... is this really entertainment, or a really bland carbon copy of what we've already seen. Honestly, it feels like the writers spent a whole 'weekend' devising this plot, and you can easily see where they liberally borrowed from just about every other successful trilogy ever made. This is Pirates, not Star Wars. If I wanted to watch epic drawn out battles, I would have watched Lord of the Rings. Just be Pirates for me! Not only are you uninspired and unorginal, but you have an identity crisis as well.
Looking at the movie business as a whole, it really feels nothing more then a huge commercal market. The most creative and thoughtful movies produced every year are usually in 'limited release', while the surprisngly uncreative "Spider-Man 3" is shown in every theatre under the sun. It's kinda sad really. If there was any true justice, the personal dramas would be at the top of the box office, not the sequels.
The movie wasn't nearly as cool as this poster would make you think. It wasn't bad... but it wasn't particularly good either.
If a sequel is done well, then there's really no problem. But how often does that actually happen? When the sequel is just as good if not better then the orginal. I can only think of a few off the top of my head, and I know alot of people are going to disagree with me, but I usually don't agree with them either. xD I have a different taste in entertainment then most people.
-Toy Story 2 (just as funny, just as sharp, and just as 'strangely' touching as the orginal. The new characters didn't feel slapped on either, they actually had a reason to exist in this franchise besides the sales of 'Toy Story 2 merchandise.' Who could forget the famous freeway crossing scene?)
-Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (some actual emotinal substance with my Star Trek movie?!! Who da thunk it?! This one packs quite an emotinal wallop as well, easily out perfoming the orginal in every conceviable way. Awesome flick.)
Kirk to Enterprise. .... My movie rocks!
-The Harry Potter franchise (what can I say, each movie is better then the last. It actually makes me sad that there'll only be seven, and that's saying alot)
-The Empire Strikes Back (darker, deeper, and contains some of the best writing out of any Star Wars film. Makes me wish that George had stuck to his day job, and let other people write his stories for him)
I could go on and on with this, so I'll just list the rest: "Aliens, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Lord of the Rings films..... gah, I give up! There just aren't very many."
This whole rant being said and done... I'm still excited about "Rebuild of Evangelion." I just find it funny how the majority of blockbuster hits now are either based on a pre-existing franchise or a succesful book. Where is the creativity? You can find it in 'limited release', but very rarely do you find it on the box office charts. So while the majority of people are being fed the same crap and paying good money for it, a 'real' movie written by an 'inspired' writer often just floats by without any media attention. Remember "The Iron Giant?" Of course you don't. No one remembers that movie. But it was damn good, especially for an animated flick.
After seeing this poster, I really can't blame people for not having seen this. Trust me! It's alot better then it looks.
So I dedicate this blog post to director Anno Hideaki, who feels it necessary to milk his former glory instead of creating a brand new (and possibly more exciting) mythology. We don't need another Evangelion. I just want to watch great anime. I'll watch the movie because I'm an Evangelion fan (and I have a feeling it's gonna be "sugoi"... but that's the geeky side speaking again), but I still can't help but feel a little weird. This guy is feeding me the same story all over again. That's worse then making a sequel. That's about as low as you can get without jumping into prequel territory. I hope your movie turns out great, because I really want to see it. But maybe next time you should rekindle your relationship with Mr. Pen and Mr. Paper and make something new for us. Something truly new. Not something 'kinda new' that you know will make you money. You already have enough money. You're an artist! Make art!
.... Okay, that's the end of my rant. xD Hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I did typing it.
At least I'll stil have Rei.... now with more curve appeal and computer enhanced animation! xD
A couple hours, I stepped back and actually started to think about it. They did this before, they already made an Evangelion movie... and it sucked. It really sucked, actually. Now they're going to go back and milk a dead cow that has been in retirement for over ten years? Come on! Why doesn't the show's creator make something new we can be excited about, why remake Evangelion? Then it hit me. Creativity isn't what pays off in the end, it's all about the money.
Rei! Now with more curve appeal and computer enhanced animation! This adds a whole new layer to the EVA mythos. You see, with Rei's new curve appeal and computer enhanced animation, we can now create a new kind of Evangelion. One with more curve appeal and computer enhanced animation!
I mean, look at the way Hollywood is run now. There isn't any quality control there?! The last two Pirates movies sucked, but I would bet you good money that we're going to see even more Captain Jack Sparrow in the near future. Not because it's necessary! Not because they have an orginal idea that would steer the series in a whole direction! But because it'll make the studio more money! Heck, we fall for it everytime. Disney has managed to feed me two extra doses of Pirates, and to be quite frank I don't care if I ever see Captain Jack Sparrow on the big screen again.
What made the first Pirates so appealing was the orginality of the characeter. Captain Jack was like nothing we had ever seen before, and the movie he starred in wasn't too bad either. It was easily some of the most fun I had at the cinema. I can't remember another movie where I laughed so often and so frequently. So when I heard they were going to make not only one, but "TWO" more outings for the then legendary "Jack Sparrow", I couldn't wait! Alas, I walked out of both Dead Man's Chest and At World's End thinking.... "What the hell went wrong?" It seemed like such a good idea on paper.
Thank you for seeing my crappy sequel! I couldn't have made all this money without you!!
The truth was, neither the writers nor the director had anything new to add to the franchise. They would try to trick you into thinking otherwise though! The scripts were so sloopy that it would take a "Pirates Expert" to make any sense out of the whole thing. Does the movie have any kind of message? Is there really any point to all this swashbuckling? And more importantly... is this really entertainment, or a really bland carbon copy of what we've already seen. Honestly, it feels like the writers spent a whole 'weekend' devising this plot, and you can easily see where they liberally borrowed from just about every other successful trilogy ever made. This is Pirates, not Star Wars. If I wanted to watch epic drawn out battles, I would have watched Lord of the Rings. Just be Pirates for me! Not only are you uninspired and unorginal, but you have an identity crisis as well.
Looking at the movie business as a whole, it really feels nothing more then a huge commercal market. The most creative and thoughtful movies produced every year are usually in 'limited release', while the surprisngly uncreative "Spider-Man 3" is shown in every theatre under the sun. It's kinda sad really. If there was any true justice, the personal dramas would be at the top of the box office, not the sequels.
The movie wasn't nearly as cool as this poster would make you think. It wasn't bad... but it wasn't particularly good either.
If a sequel is done well, then there's really no problem. But how often does that actually happen? When the sequel is just as good if not better then the orginal. I can only think of a few off the top of my head, and I know alot of people are going to disagree with me, but I usually don't agree with them either. xD I have a different taste in entertainment then most people.
-Toy Story 2 (just as funny, just as sharp, and just as 'strangely' touching as the orginal. The new characters didn't feel slapped on either, they actually had a reason to exist in this franchise besides the sales of 'Toy Story 2 merchandise.' Who could forget the famous freeway crossing scene?)
-Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (some actual emotinal substance with my Star Trek movie?!! Who da thunk it?! This one packs quite an emotinal wallop as well, easily out perfoming the orginal in every conceviable way. Awesome flick.)
Kirk to Enterprise. .... My movie rocks!
-The Harry Potter franchise (what can I say, each movie is better then the last. It actually makes me sad that there'll only be seven, and that's saying alot)
-The Empire Strikes Back (darker, deeper, and contains some of the best writing out of any Star Wars film. Makes me wish that George had stuck to his day job, and let other people write his stories for him)
I could go on and on with this, so I'll just list the rest: "Aliens, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Lord of the Rings films..... gah, I give up! There just aren't very many."
This whole rant being said and done... I'm still excited about "Rebuild of Evangelion." I just find it funny how the majority of blockbuster hits now are either based on a pre-existing franchise or a succesful book. Where is the creativity? You can find it in 'limited release', but very rarely do you find it on the box office charts. So while the majority of people are being fed the same crap and paying good money for it, a 'real' movie written by an 'inspired' writer often just floats by without any media attention. Remember "The Iron Giant?" Of course you don't. No one remembers that movie. But it was damn good, especially for an animated flick.
After seeing this poster, I really can't blame people for not having seen this. Trust me! It's alot better then it looks.
So I dedicate this blog post to director Anno Hideaki, who feels it necessary to milk his former glory instead of creating a brand new (and possibly more exciting) mythology. We don't need another Evangelion. I just want to watch great anime. I'll watch the movie because I'm an Evangelion fan (and I have a feeling it's gonna be "sugoi"... but that's the geeky side speaking again), but I still can't help but feel a little weird. This guy is feeding me the same story all over again. That's worse then making a sequel. That's about as low as you can get without jumping into prequel territory. I hope your movie turns out great, because I really want to see it. But maybe next time you should rekindle your relationship with Mr. Pen and Mr. Paper and make something new for us. Something truly new. Not something 'kinda new' that you know will make you money. You already have enough money. You're an artist! Make art!
.... Okay, that's the end of my rant. xD Hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I did typing it.
At least I'll stil have Rei.... now with more curve appeal and computer enhanced animation! xD
Sunday, August 26, 2007
A Brief History of Blogging
Hey everyone! I'm finally getting back into the blogging game, since I really don't have anything better to do at the moment (watched a particularly boring sci-fi flick, which I'll review later). As I type this out, I have become curious how this entire blogging sensation started. I mean, now it seems like everyone has a blog. Just a few months ago, I was surfing around looking at people's anime blogs... and there is alot of us out there! I mean, dang, it makes me happy to be a geek. :) All that aside, I've become really curious about the history of blogging, so right this very moment I'm logged into Wikipedia to check it out. What follows is a brief report of my findings. *giggles* I feel like Indiana Jones or something, finding the lost history of an ancient peoples. xD
This was kinda what I felt like... until I discovered a terrible truth!
.... I have just now realised that I really don't wanna spend the time nor the effort to copy and paste this stuff in my own words. So, I'll just give you guys the link. I find it really fascinating, considering that I am a blogger. We should know more about our origins! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blogging
*sigh* Wikipedia is a wonderful site.
This was kinda what I felt like... until I discovered a terrible truth!
.... I have just now realised that I really don't wanna spend the time nor the effort to copy and paste this stuff in my own words. So, I'll just give you guys the link. I find it really fascinating, considering that I am a blogger. We should know more about our origins! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blogging
*sigh* Wikipedia is a wonderful site.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Love and What It Means to People
*bows* I apologise if my blog updates have been becoming less and less frequent, but since Christine seems to be the only person reading my blog anyways, that's no big loss. I've been keeping myself busy with doing geeky things, while avoiding the things I really should be doing. It really is great fun! My Nintendo Wii is still a god, and I have been watching anime like there'll be no tommorrow. Can't wait till school starts though, I miss studying. As strange as that may sound (I really quit enjoy it).
But anyways, I'm getting way off topic here.
The other day, I was surfing the "Extended Discussion" board on Gaia Online, which seems to be the only place you can go to have an intelligent conversation on that site. As I scrolled through the dozens of religious arguments and pro-feminism topics, I finally found something that caught my eye. Someone had made a topic about "love" and what it means. She asked that we each respond and describe what the word "love" means to us personally. I thought this was really interesting, not because of the topic in general, but because of the surprising array of different descriptions. It's really interesting how a universal idea like love can take so many different forms and mean as much or as little as a person wants it to. Fascinating stuff.
Love is Saber from Fate Stay Night. ... Not really, but I felt like sharing a pic of this awesome character anyways. My new favorite!
You had people who were obviously in the middle of a relationship, and stated that love was the feeling that two individuals share when in each others arms (gag!). There were others that believed that true love doesn't exist (emo types). I quote a strange looking Gaia avatar when I say "When you can levitate a skittle, you are in love."
What surprised me most was how narrow everyone's description of love seemed to be. They didn't seem to get that love, no matter which was you look at it, is everywhere we go. Below I will attempt, with questionable quality no doubt, to write down my own description. Why? Mostly because I'm bored, but also because I consider myself a "lover" in the most traditonal sense. I love to love life. xD That made... pefect sense.
"Love is what drives us, without love we have no reason to go on. The entire reason we live is to love.
When one witnesses a beautiful orange sunset, is one not feeling love? When one enters their house to watch an episode of Stargate SG-1.. is that not love? When you look into the eyes of someone you care for, and they stare back with the same intensity, are you not feeling love?
It is my humble opinion that love isn't something you can classify, for it embodies all things good and all things pure. If you enjoy doing something, you are performing an action of love. If you're cleaning the house for your mother as a surprise when she gets home from work, you are perfoming a labor of love. When you kiss your significant other softly on the lips, you are performing a very tender act of love.
We can't survive without love just like we can't survive without oxygen. Remember that really sappy oldies song? 'Love is Like Oxygen?' They had it all right. Love makes you high."
That was weird. *laughs* I just made that all up in five minutes, so if you were expecting poetry, you came to the wrong place. I actually quite like it though.. especially the Stargate reference. That was a very nice touch!
To close my thoughts, don't be afraid to let love in. Love is amazing.
Today's Review: Neon Genesis Evangelion (An Anime)
A cute picture of an anime that is everything but. Prepare for a dark depressing ride through the human condition.
But anyways, I'm getting way off topic here.
The other day, I was surfing the "Extended Discussion" board on Gaia Online, which seems to be the only place you can go to have an intelligent conversation on that site. As I scrolled through the dozens of religious arguments and pro-feminism topics, I finally found something that caught my eye. Someone had made a topic about "love" and what it means. She asked that we each respond and describe what the word "love" means to us personally. I thought this was really interesting, not because of the topic in general, but because of the surprising array of different descriptions. It's really interesting how a universal idea like love can take so many different forms and mean as much or as little as a person wants it to. Fascinating stuff.
Love is Saber from Fate Stay Night. ... Not really, but I felt like sharing a pic of this awesome character anyways. My new favorite!
You had people who were obviously in the middle of a relationship, and stated that love was the feeling that two individuals share when in each others arms (gag!). There were others that believed that true love doesn't exist (emo types). I quote a strange looking Gaia avatar when I say "When you can levitate a skittle, you are in love."
What surprised me most was how narrow everyone's description of love seemed to be. They didn't seem to get that love, no matter which was you look at it, is everywhere we go. Below I will attempt, with questionable quality no doubt, to write down my own description. Why? Mostly because I'm bored, but also because I consider myself a "lover" in the most traditonal sense. I love to love life. xD That made... pefect sense.
"Love is what drives us, without love we have no reason to go on. The entire reason we live is to love.
When one witnesses a beautiful orange sunset, is one not feeling love? When one enters their house to watch an episode of Stargate SG-1.. is that not love? When you look into the eyes of someone you care for, and they stare back with the same intensity, are you not feeling love?
It is my humble opinion that love isn't something you can classify, for it embodies all things good and all things pure. If you enjoy doing something, you are performing an action of love. If you're cleaning the house for your mother as a surprise when she gets home from work, you are perfoming a labor of love. When you kiss your significant other softly on the lips, you are performing a very tender act of love.
We can't survive without love just like we can't survive without oxygen. Remember that really sappy oldies song? 'Love is Like Oxygen?' They had it all right. Love makes you high."
That was weird. *laughs* I just made that all up in five minutes, so if you were expecting poetry, you came to the wrong place. I actually quite like it though.. especially the Stargate reference. That was a very nice touch!
To close my thoughts, don't be afraid to let love in. Love is amazing.
Today's Review: Neon Genesis Evangelion (An Anime)
A cute picture of an anime that is everything but. Prepare for a dark depressing ride through the human condition.
What I Liked About Evangelion: I'll just say it straight out, I went head over heels for Evangelion. It was the best anime I had seen since Eureka Seven, and that was saying alot. Sure, there were giant robots protecting Earth from an unknown alien force, but it was done so well that I really didn't care how silly the plot was. EVA (Evangelion) was one of those anime that you completely forget that you were watching a cartoon. These characters feel more real to me then in any recent Hollywood production, and I couldn't wait to see how the show's numerous mysteries were going to unfold. Which leads me to why I hate EVA now, after watching the entire series.
What I Hated About Evangelion: This perfectly engaging show is ruined by what is perhaps the worst conclusion I have ever seen to any kind of story (and I've seen alot of bad endings). It left me speechless, wondering what the hell the writer/director was thinking! It feels like a cold hard slap in the face after all the time you spent watching the show. Nothing is explained, the plot dives straight into script hell, and I'm left angry and bitter. Thanks alot EVA! You just ended up being another "Lost".
Rating: B- (great anime ruined by absurdly weak conclusion)
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Wii Love the Wii!
I haven't updated as often as I've been wanting to, but I have a really good excuse. A few days ago, I bought a Nintendo Wii. After the continuous dissapointment as far as the PS3's line-up is concerned, I finally decided to go next-gen with Nintendo. After all, they are selliing the most amount of systems at the moment, meaning that alot of my favorite companies are no doubt going to make alot of orginal games for the system (can't wait to se what Square-Enix does with the motion control). After hours upon hours of hands on experience, I can say without a doubt that the Nintendo Wii is something else. Heck, I would even go so far as to say that it's the most innovative video game system yet realsed. The games are great, the extras are awesome, and the motion control is as smooth as silk. It's... just... too... freaking... cool.
Nagato loves the Wii too! *hugs* Gives me even more reason to love her.
One thing that I did like was how easy Internet gaming is on the Wii. You don't have to sign onto some weird thing like X-Box Live in order to enjoy a good game of Mario Strikers, which I've only played online once, but that's not the point. On top of that, you can download old games from the NES all the way to the N64 for no more then ten dollars (they range from five to ten dollars, depending on what you want to download). Buying Super Mario World is probably the best eight bucks I ever spent.. period.
I was worried about the motion control at first, but after spending a couple hours with it, it feels just as natural as using a normal controler. Now to all of you who love to whine about the controler.... actually try it out for me then just a few a practice runs. It's not "on crack", like some people like to call it (sorry Christine, your anti-wii statements fed fuel to my pro-wii fire).
Who said you needed great graphics to have fun?
Plus, they're making a Bleach fighting game!!!! Okay, it probably won't be any good.. but as a Bleach fan, I can't help but be a little excited. I can finally see how a fight between Orihime and Ichigo would go! Of course, Orihime would win.. because I would be playing as her. And she'd kick Ichigo's butt. xDD
Bleach..... for the Wii! *has geek attack*
I need to stop typing and get back to playing my Wii. Wii will update later.
Today's Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (A Book..... duh)
What I Loved About This Book: This is, on the whole, a fantastic conclusion to the Harry Potter series. There's drama, action, suspense, clever plot twists, and one of the best endings in recent memory. J.K. Rowling has managed to take what is basically a very traditional good versus evil story and shape it into something so unique and new that, to be honest, I can't really compare this series to anything else out there.
This book itself is one of the best in the series (if not the best in the series). I would have to go back and read all of the books from begginning to end to make a true comparsion, but this was easily the darkest and the most emotinal Harry Potter book so far. A must read... but you really didn't need me to tell you that.
Some Closing Thoughts: This book could have been trimmed down by about two-hundred pages. It really started to drag in the middle, and I couldn't help but feel that J.K. Rowling was trying a little too hard for every character to have their time in the spotlight. There is an entire scene in Gringotts as well that just turned me off. Don't ask me why, it just did.
Five hundred and fifty pages sounds more appropriate for the amount of plot that she was developing. While all of the extra subplots and details really don't detract from the story, they kept me from doing any "all nighters". The ending made up for it though. It.... was...... amazing.
Rating: A- (drags a bit in the middle, but it is still a fantastic conclusion to an enchanting series)
Nagato loves the Wii too! *hugs* Gives me even more reason to love her.
One thing that I did like was how easy Internet gaming is on the Wii. You don't have to sign onto some weird thing like X-Box Live in order to enjoy a good game of Mario Strikers, which I've only played online once, but that's not the point. On top of that, you can download old games from the NES all the way to the N64 for no more then ten dollars (they range from five to ten dollars, depending on what you want to download). Buying Super Mario World is probably the best eight bucks I ever spent.. period.
I was worried about the motion control at first, but after spending a couple hours with it, it feels just as natural as using a normal controler. Now to all of you who love to whine about the controler.... actually try it out for me then just a few a practice runs. It's not "on crack", like some people like to call it (sorry Christine, your anti-wii statements fed fuel to my pro-wii fire).
Who said you needed great graphics to have fun?
Plus, they're making a Bleach fighting game!!!! Okay, it probably won't be any good.. but as a Bleach fan, I can't help but be a little excited. I can finally see how a fight between Orihime and Ichigo would go! Of course, Orihime would win.. because I would be playing as her. And she'd kick Ichigo's butt. xDD
Bleach..... for the Wii! *has geek attack*
I need to stop typing and get back to playing my Wii. Wii will update later.
Today's Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (A Book..... duh)
What I Loved About This Book: This is, on the whole, a fantastic conclusion to the Harry Potter series. There's drama, action, suspense, clever plot twists, and one of the best endings in recent memory. J.K. Rowling has managed to take what is basically a very traditional good versus evil story and shape it into something so unique and new that, to be honest, I can't really compare this series to anything else out there.
This book itself is one of the best in the series (if not the best in the series). I would have to go back and read all of the books from begginning to end to make a true comparsion, but this was easily the darkest and the most emotinal Harry Potter book so far. A must read... but you really didn't need me to tell you that.
Some Closing Thoughts: This book could have been trimmed down by about two-hundred pages. It really started to drag in the middle, and I couldn't help but feel that J.K. Rowling was trying a little too hard for every character to have their time in the spotlight. There is an entire scene in Gringotts as well that just turned me off. Don't ask me why, it just did.
Five hundred and fifty pages sounds more appropriate for the amount of plot that she was developing. While all of the extra subplots and details really don't detract from the story, they kept me from doing any "all nighters". The ending made up for it though. It.... was...... amazing.
Rating: A- (drags a bit in the middle, but it is still a fantastic conclusion to an enchanting series)
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Just Another Day... I'm Bored Out of my Mind
There are both positives and negatives towards not having any school for the next few weeks, but from my perspective at the moment, it's mostly negative. I have very little to build towards at the moment, unless of course you're talking about my current addiction to Evangelion (only another thirteen episodes before I finish the series, it's pretty short). Not the best anime show I've ever seen, but it's still pretty good. Not "Fullmetal Alchemist" good, more like "Haruhi" good or "Bleach" good.
xDD Gah! Can't I make a single entry without mentioning anime for once! :) Anyways, i've kind of made a deal with myself to try a little harder this next week at achieving my goals. Even though they may not be massive, they're still there, and part of the fun of life is to apply yourself and just "go for the gold". So starting tommorrow, I'm going to try and do that. It should be fun, to say the very least. I'll try and make a blog entry every night before I go to sleep as well, you know, to keep you guys posted on what is currently clattering in the mind of Kaleb Stewart. Oh! And look forward to some mini-reviews in every entry. I watch alot of TV and read alot of stuff, and unfortuantely, it's become too much of a pain to jam it all into one entry. Look forward to it!
Today's Mini-Review: Walk The Line (A Film)
What I Liked About this Movie: The perfomances were excellent and the movie was superbly crafted. My compliments to the director. There were waaaaayy too many concert "singing" scenes, but that was probably just because I dislike Johnny Cash's music. 0_0 Resse Witherspoon is still amazing. No matter what perfomance she's in, she nails it! Fantastic job.
What I Hated About this Movie: I'll just go out and say that I highly disliked this movie. It's about a washed out jerk who ends up making alot more then he deserves, and how he leaves his family and stalks after June Carter. I respect the movie and what it was trying to achieve, I just found it all very boring and uninteresting. Johnny Cash is a jerk who managed to make great music, that's all you basically need to know about this movie. Oh! And June Carter was crazy for staying with him. By the end of the movie, I was really starting to think about all of the other things I could've done with the time. Could have Wrote...could have read Harry Potter...could have studied for my DMV test..could have watched a drama about people worth giving a damn about.
Rating: C+ (some people will love it, but I just couldn't get into it)
xDD Gah! Can't I make a single entry without mentioning anime for once! :) Anyways, i've kind of made a deal with myself to try a little harder this next week at achieving my goals. Even though they may not be massive, they're still there, and part of the fun of life is to apply yourself and just "go for the gold". So starting tommorrow, I'm going to try and do that. It should be fun, to say the very least. I'll try and make a blog entry every night before I go to sleep as well, you know, to keep you guys posted on what is currently clattering in the mind of Kaleb Stewart. Oh! And look forward to some mini-reviews in every entry. I watch alot of TV and read alot of stuff, and unfortuantely, it's become too much of a pain to jam it all into one entry. Look forward to it!
Today's Mini-Review: Walk The Line (A Film)
What I Liked About this Movie: The perfomances were excellent and the movie was superbly crafted. My compliments to the director. There were waaaaayy too many concert "singing" scenes, but that was probably just because I dislike Johnny Cash's music. 0_0 Resse Witherspoon is still amazing. No matter what perfomance she's in, she nails it! Fantastic job.
What I Hated About this Movie: I'll just go out and say that I highly disliked this movie. It's about a washed out jerk who ends up making alot more then he deserves, and how he leaves his family and stalks after June Carter. I respect the movie and what it was trying to achieve, I just found it all very boring and uninteresting. Johnny Cash is a jerk who managed to make great music, that's all you basically need to know about this movie. Oh! And June Carter was crazy for staying with him. By the end of the movie, I was really starting to think about all of the other things I could've done with the time. Could have Wrote...could have read Harry Potter...could have studied for my DMV test..could have watched a drama about people worth giving a damn about.
Rating: C+ (some people will love it, but I just couldn't get into it)
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Inspiration Comes Out of Thin Air Sometimes
I was sitting down in front of my computer the other night, still developing the characters for this story that has been in the works for the last couple months or so. The problem was, I felt the story lacked any sort of orginality. Not from the plot, but from the characters. What every great story needs is strong likable character, and my leading man just wasn't cutting it for me. We have had so many pieces of science fiction and fantasy that revovle around young boys growing up and becoming a man, and I've found through alot of my manga reading and anime viewing that, well, very rarely do you see a female character in the main role of a sci-fi story unless she's some kind of tough samurai chick or something. Then... it hit me!
Evangelion, my current anime obsession. I've only seen eight episodes, but they were all pretty intense.
That's what I need to do, just switch the genders! It'll be awesome! Instead of having it be the guy who's finding his way in the world through these extraordinary events, you'll have your average ordinary girl becoming a woman. All of my favorite charcters in the anime I watch are usually female anyways, so why not make the leading character a girl? It's pretty genius, if I may say so myself (and again, I sound like I've discovered something new, lol).
Plus, it would draw in a completely different perspective to a story that needed some real life in the first place. xDD Okay, I need to go watch Evangelion now! Will update again soon.
Evangelion, my current anime obsession. I've only seen eight episodes, but they were all pretty intense.
That's what I need to do, just switch the genders! It'll be awesome! Instead of having it be the guy who's finding his way in the world through these extraordinary events, you'll have your average ordinary girl becoming a woman. All of my favorite charcters in the anime I watch are usually female anyways, so why not make the leading character a girl? It's pretty genius, if I may say so myself (and again, I sound like I've discovered something new, lol).
Plus, it would draw in a completely different perspective to a story that needed some real life in the first place. xDD Okay, I need to go watch Evangelion now! Will update again soon.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
"Things That I've Watched, Read, Or Done": Vol. 3
I've returned after a very long break, to give you some new reviews and opinions on somethings that I've watched, read, or done as of late. So let's get crackin!
Blades of Glory (A Film in Review)
This could have been sooooooo funny if written and acted by the right people. Unfortuantely, we're stuck with another piece of Will Ferrell crap.
Seriously, Who Wrote This Garbage: I don't expect much from my dumb comedies, I just want to laugh. Zoolander had me laughing all the way through, while Blades of Glory just made me cringe. Bad dialouge, horrible jokes, and terrible comedic performances all wrapped around a concept that could have been funnier then hell. But somehow, everyone invovled in the production found a way to screw it up... big time! Don't even bother.
There Was One Good Thing Though...: Jenna Fischer is cuuuuuuttee with a capital "C". Basically, that's the only good thing I could remember from this train wreck. 0_0 Super kawaii!
Jon Heder: Is the most annoying actor working in the industry right now. Why do they keep on hiring him?! He's annoying!
Rating: D+ (maybe next time they could bring some class along with their humor)
The Place Promised in Our Early Days (An Anime Film in Review)
I Don't Know What To Say: I both loved and hated this movie, and yes, it is possible to feel both things at the same time. In one corner, you have a beautiful film telling what could have been the most touching story ever told through animation, and then in the other corner you have an extremely slow paced sci-fi flick that bores more then it entertains. There are scenes of such depth and beauty that you can't help but be drawn into the director's vision, but then afterwards they throw you into some crazy weird internal monolouge with some of the most angst ridden teens I've ever heard. Honestly! Your life can't suck that bad man, get over it.
Blades of Glory (A Film in Review)
This could have been sooooooo funny if written and acted by the right people. Unfortuantely, we're stuck with another piece of Will Ferrell crap.
Seriously, Who Wrote This Garbage: I don't expect much from my dumb comedies, I just want to laugh. Zoolander had me laughing all the way through, while Blades of Glory just made me cringe. Bad dialouge, horrible jokes, and terrible comedic performances all wrapped around a concept that could have been funnier then hell. But somehow, everyone invovled in the production found a way to screw it up... big time! Don't even bother.
There Was One Good Thing Though...: Jenna Fischer is cuuuuuuttee with a capital "C". Basically, that's the only good thing I could remember from this train wreck. 0_0 Super kawaii!
Jon Heder: Is the most annoying actor working in the industry right now. Why do they keep on hiring him?! He's annoying!
Rating: D+ (maybe next time they could bring some class along with their humor)
The Place Promised in Our Early Days (An Anime Film in Review)
I Don't Know What To Say: I both loved and hated this movie, and yes, it is possible to feel both things at the same time. In one corner, you have a beautiful film telling what could have been the most touching story ever told through animation, and then in the other corner you have an extremely slow paced sci-fi flick that bores more then it entertains. There are scenes of such depth and beauty that you can't help but be drawn into the director's vision, but then afterwards they throw you into some crazy weird internal monolouge with some of the most angst ridden teens I've ever heard. Honestly! Your life can't suck that bad man, get over it.
This Is What I Loved: You want to prove to your anime hating friend that Japanese animation invovles alot more then just ninjas and crazy Dragonball fights? Sit them in front of this movie, and they'll never look at anime the same way again. At it's best moments, this is a gorgeous, deep, and visually captivating movie. At times, it feels more like a visual poem then it does a feature lenght film.. and that's where the problems start to set in.
This is What I Hated: I don't ask for much, I just want coherancy. For the first half of the film, I was completely and utterly confused. I really had no idea what the heck was going on. It wasn't until I was about two-thirds of the way into the film that I started to put the pieces together and.. it all kind of sort of made sense. I'm still a little fuzzy about alot of the plot details, but on a purely emotinal level it all made sense. But that isn't enough to make a film off of a plot that seems to be only half-baked. It's almost like they took someone's outline of a story, and they based their story off of that. You still have some beautiful scenes and some tremendous visuals, but the story just doesn't connect the way it should. Which is too bad, because with a little more work and character development, this could have been a real masterpiece.
The Ending: It may not have been complete sense, but this movie had one fantastic ending. Of all the things this girl could lose, the one thing one of the main leads is worried about is not dying, but forgetting how great it feels to be in love. Some of the best dialouge of any anime I've seen so far (this isn't the exact dialouge, but more an ad-lib of what I can remember):
"Oh no! Oh no, I.. if he rescues me, I might lose something. I might lose something very imporant. I might forget how this feels... I might forget to tell him how much I love him, how much I loved him. When we were all alone, just the two of us."
...... I'm getting the tingles just by thinking about it. Too bad it wasn't in a better paced movie.
Rating: C+ (what a dissapointment. There is so much going right for this movie, but it only works for about thirty minutes of its ninty minute running time. The rest of the time, I was either bored or frusturated. Would have worked better as a thirty minute short then a feature length film. Should have been a masterpiece, but lazy writing strikes again!)
Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage (A Disneyland Ride in Review)
Disney at It's Best: One thing is for sure, this is one of the best rides Disney has made in the last ten years (if not the best). Right from the moment I walked into the submarine, Disney had gripped me with their magic and didn't let go. Right when I thought the ride couldn't get cooler, it blew me away with yet another outstanding scene or dazzling effect. I love love loved this ride!
Children May Cry: The Angel Fish is offically awesome! Not only will he have freaked kids out when the movie first came out, but now he's going to be freaking little kids out in the ride as well. Angel fish.. you are my new hero. *salutes*
Rating: A- (I felt like a little kid riding this for the first time, and that in and of itself makes this ride one of the best in the park)
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (A Re-Review of an Anime)
What Was I Thinking: After having rewatched Haruhi, I am now willing to admit that my previouis review was a bit harsh. I mean.. I only gave the show a "B-"? B-?! I even said it was a fun ride.. and I only gave it a B-?! xDD That had been bugging me for a while now, so now I'm going to set the record straight and say that this is probably the best anime comedy/sci-fi/drama/high-school romance/fantasy/ series I've seen so far! And yes, all five of those genres apply.
It May Be Crazy: But it isn't stupid. In my first review, I went so far as to say that Haruhi was basically a "stupid" show, when actually, it is one of the smarter comedies I've run into for a while. I guess I was just used to the angst and drama of Fullmetal Alchemist and Eureka Seven that I just couldn't appreciate "Haruhi" for what it was. A great time!
Rating: B+ (it isn't perfect by any stretch, but it is easily the best anime comedy I've seen so far. Just watch the episodes in chronological order instead of the broadcast order, and you should enjoy it)
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
It's Story Time!
Just yesterday, my mom and grandmother managed to bribe me into going to the casino. Of course, I didn't gamble (I'm not legal yet), but instead had to stay in the hotel room while the family went to the slot machines. I rented a truly terrible Will Farrel movie called "Blades of Glory", which I suggest none of you see! @_@ It has to be one of the worst comedies I've seen since Epic Movie. While they were off gambling (aka "wasting money"), I stayed in the room and played my DS while reading my InuYasha manga (great series, by the way). At around one o' clock in the morning, my dad and I went out to eat at the casino's food court, and on the way there something completely and totally scary happened.
I really don't see the point in these things. Honestly, it's like lighting your cash on fire.
This one Korean lady, probably late twenties early thirties, approached me. As if that wasn't weird enough, she kind of glared at me and said "I think I'm in love". xDD I responded in typical fashion, quickly walking away before she realises that she's hitting on a minor. She was obviously drunk out of her mind, but just the thought of someone hitting on me like that is kind of disturbing.. even if I was legal. Dad was laughing his butt off though! *shakes head* I had to put up with some teasing on his part until we got our food.
Speaking of the food, it took them about an hour to give us two burgers and some fries! It was absurd. Sure, it was really late at night, but this is a casino. Don't they realise that the time people are waiting for their food could be used at the craps table risking all of their supposed "savings". So anyways, the food was luke warm by the time we got it. It didn't taste so hot either (no pun intended).
Come, waste all your hard earned cash! We'll be waiting.
I spend the rest of the night watching anime on Adult Swim, which isn't too bad once I'd gotten past the "bad English dub" gag reflex. I mean honestly, the voice for Kagome is awful! And those fedual era warriors, don't even get me started on those guys. It's still entertaining, but you think they could put more effort into making the voice work sound earnest and authentic.
So what did I learn? That drunk Korean ladies are scary! Nuff' said.
I really don't see the point in these things. Honestly, it's like lighting your cash on fire.
This one Korean lady, probably late twenties early thirties, approached me. As if that wasn't weird enough, she kind of glared at me and said "I think I'm in love". xDD I responded in typical fashion, quickly walking away before she realises that she's hitting on a minor. She was obviously drunk out of her mind, but just the thought of someone hitting on me like that is kind of disturbing.. even if I was legal. Dad was laughing his butt off though! *shakes head* I had to put up with some teasing on his part until we got our food.
Speaking of the food, it took them about an hour to give us two burgers and some fries! It was absurd. Sure, it was really late at night, but this is a casino. Don't they realise that the time people are waiting for their food could be used at the craps table risking all of their supposed "savings". So anyways, the food was luke warm by the time we got it. It didn't taste so hot either (no pun intended).
Come, waste all your hard earned cash! We'll be waiting.
I spend the rest of the night watching anime on Adult Swim, which isn't too bad once I'd gotten past the "bad English dub" gag reflex. I mean honestly, the voice for Kagome is awful! And those fedual era warriors, don't even get me started on those guys. It's still entertaining, but you think they could put more effort into making the voice work sound earnest and authentic.
So what did I learn? That drunk Korean ladies are scary! Nuff' said.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
I'm Really Tired
As most of the people who have hung around me know, I used to love making YouTube videos and uploading them. It was a blast! I thought ninty-percent of my videos were of questionable quality though, and I ended up getting a little burned out on it for a while there. But now that's about to change!
I found a new site on the web that has peeked my interest back into making YouTube videos. Just last night, I was making a really random vid with episodes from "The Melancholy of Haruhi". That's right, I was up till three in the morning editing and pasting together a silly anime video. xD Yeah, that thing called having a real life is still slightly out of sight.. but who can argue when I mixed Dr. Phil audio with one of my favorite anime shows? That's right! I so totally went there. *laughs*
I swear that this will be the last Haruhi pic for a while. I swear! .... Why does no one believe me?!
I really want to start over with my YouTube thing though. I'm going to be starting a new profile and everything, although I'll alert my previous subscribers that I'll be moving (and I won't be taking my old vidoes with me). Unfortuantely, I don't think they'll be so understanding. They're an awesome group, but they can be a little needy at times. But seriously, I love you guys! I just never want to make another Kingdom Hearts video!
So anyways, now I'm super tired (I got up at six o' clock in the morning). I'm going to clean the bathrooms now, you know, wake me up to reality. :) Planning to finish my video tonight, then launch my new YouTube account. Fun fun fun, every waking minute! Will update tommorrow.
Monday, July 02, 2007
Gunstar Super Heros: You'll Need Anger Management Classes
Yesterday, I was lucky enough to get a new GBA game. Yes, I still play GBA games.. you've got a problem with that? Anyways, one trip to the Wal-Mart later, I landed myself a copy of Gunstar Super Heros. I heard alot about this game from a few different sources (I think X-Play gave it a 5 out of 5, but I don't trust them anymore), so I figured I would give it a go. To make this brief, here's a number of lessons you will learn from Gunstar Super Heros.
The game may look cute, but don't let it deceive you. It'll kick your butt!
Lesson 1: DON'T START A NEW GAME ON HARD! The game is challenging enough as it is, starting off on the hardest difficulty is one way to ensure an angry/violent breakdown. I probably landed myself about 30 game overs on one boss last night. *cries* It isn't fair, damn it!
Lesson 2: Keep your cool! No matter how any times you get a game over, nothing is impossible. Even if that boss seems to have ungodly strength and an amazingly stellar special attack.. just don't let it get to you. Take yoga if you must. Find your center.
Lesson 3: If you get frusturated, start a New Game on Easy. It will relieve the stress you've been going through, trust me. Just sit back, and watch the bullets fly.
Lesson 4: Man, I need to get a life. Will blog again later.
I think I'm gonna start havign nightmares about these guys. Getting crushed by the same boss over and over and over and over and over and over AND OVER AND OVER! *catches breath* I'm okay now, I'm okay.
The game may look cute, but don't let it deceive you. It'll kick your butt!
Lesson 1: DON'T START A NEW GAME ON HARD! The game is challenging enough as it is, starting off on the hardest difficulty is one way to ensure an angry/violent breakdown. I probably landed myself about 30 game overs on one boss last night. *cries* It isn't fair, damn it!
Lesson 2: Keep your cool! No matter how any times you get a game over, nothing is impossible. Even if that boss seems to have ungodly strength and an amazingly stellar special attack.. just don't let it get to you. Take yoga if you must. Find your center.
Lesson 3: If you get frusturated, start a New Game on Easy. It will relieve the stress you've been going through, trust me. Just sit back, and watch the bullets fly.
Lesson 4: Man, I need to get a life. Will blog again later.
I think I'm gonna start havign nightmares about these guys. Getting crushed by the same boss over and over and over and over and over and over AND OVER AND OVER! *catches breath* I'm okay now, I'm okay.
Sunday, July 01, 2007
My New Super Cute Wallpaper!
This is seriously, the best wallpaper ever! :) It was so great that I had to make a little blog entry about it.
http://wallpapers.theotaku.com/view.php?action=retrieve&id=118723 You try and tell me that isn't the cutest wallpaper in the world! ... That's what I thought xDD
http://wallpapers.theotaku.com/view.php?action=retrieve&id=118723 You try and tell me that isn't the cutest wallpaper in the world! ... That's what I thought xDD
The Nemo Report: The Subs Are Back!
About a week ago, I had the great pleasure of riding the Finding Nemo: Submarine Voyage with one of my best buds. The day wasn't exactly going smoothly for my friend, since this was his first time going to Disneyland with the homeschool group (he's public schooled). Let's just say that... he wasn't clicking very well with the rest of us. So, half-way through the day, I decided to give my friend a little piece of mind, and go on the new and improved subs without the rest of the group. They were driving him nuts! I have never seen him act so weird before.. he wouldn't speak to anyone. I had to do something about it!. Luckily I had some fun with the group, but I have a feeling he won't be coming back for seconds. We are a bit on the hyper side, afterall.
0_0 So pretty! It makes me.. happy! Which is a big deal... for me.
So anyways, I just want to get this out of the way. THE SUBS WERE AMAZING! I haven't been this impressed by a Disneyland ride in I don't know how long. It was everything I could have possibly hoped for a Nemo based ride, and then some. Pretty much every key scene in the film is used as inspiration for the new Submarine Voyage, making the entire thing feel unusually authentic. This wasn't just some rehash that they slapped together like *coughcough*SpaceMountain*coughcough*! This was a really well put together update of an attraction that, from what I heard, really needed a fresh coat of paint to begin with.
I was seriously ranting and raving about the ride the minute I got out. I personally think it's the best thing to happen to Disneyland since Haunted Mansion.. and no I am not joking! Nemo made me feel like a little kid again, riding Indiana Jones for the very first time. I jumped, I smiled, heck I was even at the point of laughing. I felt like I was high off of "Nemo". The coolest thing is.... this ride will scare the crap out of little kids. *devilish laugh* If there's anything I love, it's seeing scared kids at Disneyland! *sigh* Brings me back to the old days.
The subs are back! Let's just hope they never leave us again.
So what was the point of this entry? Nemo was fantastic, and you must ride it! Nuff' said. I'm going to sleep. Will have a more complete run-through of the ride when I get to my "Reviews Entry". I've already made two of them, so why not make another one. Good night!
0_0 So pretty! It makes me.. happy! Which is a big deal... for me.
So anyways, I just want to get this out of the way. THE SUBS WERE AMAZING! I haven't been this impressed by a Disneyland ride in I don't know how long. It was everything I could have possibly hoped for a Nemo based ride, and then some. Pretty much every key scene in the film is used as inspiration for the new Submarine Voyage, making the entire thing feel unusually authentic. This wasn't just some rehash that they slapped together like *coughcough*SpaceMountain*coughcough*! This was a really well put together update of an attraction that, from what I heard, really needed a fresh coat of paint to begin with.
I was seriously ranting and raving about the ride the minute I got out. I personally think it's the best thing to happen to Disneyland since Haunted Mansion.. and no I am not joking! Nemo made me feel like a little kid again, riding Indiana Jones for the very first time. I jumped, I smiled, heck I was even at the point of laughing. I felt like I was high off of "Nemo". The coolest thing is.... this ride will scare the crap out of little kids. *devilish laugh* If there's anything I love, it's seeing scared kids at Disneyland! *sigh* Brings me back to the old days.
The subs are back! Let's just hope they never leave us again.So what was the point of this entry? Nemo was fantastic, and you must ride it! Nuff' said. I'm going to sleep. Will have a more complete run-through of the ride when I get to my "Reviews Entry". I've already made two of them, so why not make another one. Good night!
Ouija Boards (Why I Won't Touch One)
Alright, I just got back from a little nerd research, mostly because I'm bored out of my mind right now. So anyways, I don't know how the entire thing ended up swinging towards Ouija boards.. but it did. And now I may have a little issue getting myself to sleep tonight. Not because I believe in the stuff, but because the thought of a spirit completely taking a hold of your life is the scariest thing I can possibly think of. .... I sure hope writing a blog entry about it doesn't affect my future in some freaky 'Exorcist' way. *cries*
Be afraid. Be veeerry afraid.
So anyways, let me just go right out and say it, I am a bit of a spirtual skeptic. I believe in spirtuality and the effects it can have on people, but alot of actual spirtual concepts I find extremely hard to believe. I love alot of the concepts and I understand why people would choose to follow them, but they just don't work into how my mind runs. Which is probably why, I don't have a specific religion. Don't have one now, and probably will never have one. I'm just happy living my life the way it is. So why would a plastic board made by Parker Brothers scare me? Because of the possibility that there might be something out there, and that I could possibly screw up my life because of it. That's reason enough to stay away from Ouija boards.
I mean, are we so curious to talk to spirits that we are willing to put everything on the line because of it. After looking up Ouija boards online, and after watching a few YouTube videos (which are probably acted out by the way), there is no way I'd be willing to risk my sanity to experiment with this stuff. People have gone nuts over these things! It has happened! They were probably already a little nuts before they tried it, but still.. you've gotta admit that's really scary. All of a sudden you could be lying in your bed, and you've just realised that you have an unwanted guest in your room (and he isn't a Grim Grinning Ghost). Scccaaarrrrrryyy!
Another picture of the same damn thing! *sigh* What can I insert here that would be geeky?
But after reading some brief histories about Ouija boards, my sceptism can't help but turn on full blast. Would Parker Brother's really sell a game at Toys R' Us that truly allowed you to communicate with evil spirits. If so many people have experimented with this stuff and all of them have had "horrible edge of your seat horror flick experiences", then why hasn't the thing been BANNED YET! I know some hardcore Christian groups have probably already tried, but you get what I'm saying. Parker Brothers is not linked with the devil or to any spirtual realm out there. Parker Brothers sells board games!
Then you have people on the other side of things that say that, well, it doesn't matter if it was made by a board game company. If a demon or evil spirit finds a way to communicate, it will use it. Which brings me to my next point.. if demon's were so keen on corrupting people and taking over their lives, you would think that they would find better means then to use a piece of prediticable plastic which only seems to work if you have two people in the room. It brings to my mind a scene from the Sixth Sense where the kid looks away from what he was writing, and his true feelings would just start spilling out onto the paper while he kept his hand moving. Why wouldn't evil spirtis just try and do something like that? That seems to make alot more sense. Why do they need to have this magical entrance (aka the Parker Brother's Ouija board) to talk to you. If demons really did exist, I think we would see their actions more often within our everyday world.. and the fact that it seems to be only those that are religious or mentally ill that claim to have seen them and their corruption.. well that doens't quite cut it for me. The things that are corrupting our world are evil people, not some mythological force that no one can really seem to accurately describe.
It's geeky, and yet kind of sort of on topic. You know, because of withces and the occult and.. yeah. It was basically an excuse to throw an anime girl into this otherwise creepy entry!
*catches my breath* Of course, that doesn't mean that something weird might not be out there. Heck, I could be wrong about the entire evil spirt thing. That's why I'm never touching an Ouija board! After seeing and reading all that creepy stuff on the Web, I personally think the things shouldn't be sold in mainstream stores. Stuff linked with spirtualtiy in such an easy exciting way can play with people's minds, no matter who you are. If I got up in front of a Ouija board, which I won't because they scare me, some weird stuff might happen. Now whether this would be linked towards a spirit realm, or whether it is just purely in my head.. that's something else entirely.
Wow, maybe it isn't such a great idea to read about this stuff late at night. :) Will tell you guys if anything weird happens, which it won't (well, probably anyways). *jumps as my IM begins making noise* I will try and update soo! *bows* Peace out!
List of References (even though I didn't use any):
A Random YouTube vid I watched: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhDmJpEIe8M
Yet Another Random YouTube Vid I Watched (some guys blog entry about the dangers of Ouija boards): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE5foC-EQmw
The Wikipeida Page (Gotta Love Those Guys): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouija_Boards
A Skeptic Page (Let's Shed Some Light on the Subject): http://www.skepdic.com/ouija.html
Be afraid. Be veeerry afraid.
So anyways, let me just go right out and say it, I am a bit of a spirtual skeptic. I believe in spirtuality and the effects it can have on people, but alot of actual spirtual concepts I find extremely hard to believe. I love alot of the concepts and I understand why people would choose to follow them, but they just don't work into how my mind runs. Which is probably why, I don't have a specific religion. Don't have one now, and probably will never have one. I'm just happy living my life the way it is. So why would a plastic board made by Parker Brothers scare me? Because of the possibility that there might be something out there, and that I could possibly screw up my life because of it. That's reason enough to stay away from Ouija boards.
I mean, are we so curious to talk to spirits that we are willing to put everything on the line because of it. After looking up Ouija boards online, and after watching a few YouTube videos (which are probably acted out by the way), there is no way I'd be willing to risk my sanity to experiment with this stuff. People have gone nuts over these things! It has happened! They were probably already a little nuts before they tried it, but still.. you've gotta admit that's really scary. All of a sudden you could be lying in your bed, and you've just realised that you have an unwanted guest in your room (and he isn't a Grim Grinning Ghost). Scccaaarrrrrryyy!
Another picture of the same damn thing! *sigh* What can I insert here that would be geeky?
But after reading some brief histories about Ouija boards, my sceptism can't help but turn on full blast. Would Parker Brother's really sell a game at Toys R' Us that truly allowed you to communicate with evil spirits. If so many people have experimented with this stuff and all of them have had "horrible edge of your seat horror flick experiences", then why hasn't the thing been BANNED YET! I know some hardcore Christian groups have probably already tried, but you get what I'm saying. Parker Brothers is not linked with the devil or to any spirtual realm out there. Parker Brothers sells board games!
Then you have people on the other side of things that say that, well, it doesn't matter if it was made by a board game company. If a demon or evil spirit finds a way to communicate, it will use it. Which brings me to my next point.. if demon's were so keen on corrupting people and taking over their lives, you would think that they would find better means then to use a piece of prediticable plastic which only seems to work if you have two people in the room. It brings to my mind a scene from the Sixth Sense where the kid looks away from what he was writing, and his true feelings would just start spilling out onto the paper while he kept his hand moving. Why wouldn't evil spirtis just try and do something like that? That seems to make alot more sense. Why do they need to have this magical entrance (aka the Parker Brother's Ouija board) to talk to you. If demons really did exist, I think we would see their actions more often within our everyday world.. and the fact that it seems to be only those that are religious or mentally ill that claim to have seen them and their corruption.. well that doens't quite cut it for me. The things that are corrupting our world are evil people, not some mythological force that no one can really seem to accurately describe.
It's geeky, and yet kind of sort of on topic. You know, because of withces and the occult and.. yeah. It was basically an excuse to throw an anime girl into this otherwise creepy entry!
*catches my breath* Of course, that doesn't mean that something weird might not be out there. Heck, I could be wrong about the entire evil spirt thing. That's why I'm never touching an Ouija board! After seeing and reading all that creepy stuff on the Web, I personally think the things shouldn't be sold in mainstream stores. Stuff linked with spirtualtiy in such an easy exciting way can play with people's minds, no matter who you are. If I got up in front of a Ouija board, which I won't because they scare me, some weird stuff might happen. Now whether this would be linked towards a spirit realm, or whether it is just purely in my head.. that's something else entirely.
Wow, maybe it isn't such a great idea to read about this stuff late at night. :) Will tell you guys if anything weird happens, which it won't (well, probably anyways). *jumps as my IM begins making noise* I will try and update soo! *bows* Peace out!
List of References (even though I didn't use any):
A Random YouTube vid I watched: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhDmJpEIe8M
Yet Another Random YouTube Vid I Watched (some guys blog entry about the dangers of Ouija boards): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE5foC-EQmw
The Wikipeida Page (Gotta Love Those Guys): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouija_Boards
A Skeptic Page (Let's Shed Some Light on the Subject): http://www.skepdic.com/ouija.html
Friday, June 22, 2007
"Stuff That I've Watched, Read, Or Done": Vol. 2
Hello everybody! Kaleb the Critic has returned, and this time he's bringing an entire legion of different stuff for your reading pleasure. Fortuantely, I had alot of things that I had forgotten to review from my last entry, so I'll hit upon them here. Please enjoy, and if you don't agree with any of these insights, please give me a ton of rantful comments. :) I love comments.
Borat (A Film in Review)
I like a you! I like a this film! It's a very nice!
OMG: This is the funniest movie I've seen in a very long time! No matter which way I look at it, I really can't find anything I didn't like. I literally laughed until tears came streaming down my eyes. It was a that nice!
Classic Moment in Comedy: Two very naked men fighting through a hotel. It was perhaps one of the most disgusting/funniest scenes in any movie to date. Pure genius running wild!
Rating: A (Nice!)
He Is My Master (An Anime in Review)
Super kawaii!
Things That I Hated: This show hasn't a single shred of dignity or class. All of the characters are basically one dimensional archetypes, and the situations are even more generic. When your show relies almost entirely on the sex appeal of it's fourteen year old cast to sell every joke, you know you've got issues. Big issues!
But Yet...: At it's best, this show is a guility pleasure. There are alot of things to laugh at here, but you'll soon find yourself wondering how many times they'll end up reusing the same gag instead of using something fresh. While Anna-chan's constant infatuation with Izumi was downright hysterical for a few episodes, it all gets very ho-hum after the tenth "I would love to do this and that to Izumi-san!" statement. Come on, guys! Being perverted doesn't make up for creative!
Speaking of Perversion: I'm not going to lie to you and say that I don't like fan-service (a term that basically means "anime sex appeal"), but this show really does take it too far. I was nearly insulted on a few occasions, which is something that very rarely happens withe me and comedies. Maybe it was the fact that the girls are only fourteen, or the fact that thier "master" is a complete and utter lecher.. this show really rubbed me the wrong way. They're just too young! It's creepy!
Rating: C (it's sorta funny, but lacks a real heart)
Grave of the Fireflies (A Film/Anime in Review)
If you don't feel like being depressed, stay FAR FAR AWAY FROM THIS MOVIE! It's like seeing a cute little puppy dog get run over by a truck.. but in a good way.
Borat (A Film in Review)
I like a you! I like a this film! It's a very nice!
OMG: This is the funniest movie I've seen in a very long time! No matter which way I look at it, I really can't find anything I didn't like. I literally laughed until tears came streaming down my eyes. It was a that nice!
Classic Moment in Comedy: Two very naked men fighting through a hotel. It was perhaps one of the most disgusting/funniest scenes in any movie to date. Pure genius running wild!
Rating: A (Nice!)
He Is My Master (An Anime in Review)
Super kawaii!
Things That I Hated: This show hasn't a single shred of dignity or class. All of the characters are basically one dimensional archetypes, and the situations are even more generic. When your show relies almost entirely on the sex appeal of it's fourteen year old cast to sell every joke, you know you've got issues. Big issues!
But Yet...: At it's best, this show is a guility pleasure. There are alot of things to laugh at here, but you'll soon find yourself wondering how many times they'll end up reusing the same gag instead of using something fresh. While Anna-chan's constant infatuation with Izumi was downright hysterical for a few episodes, it all gets very ho-hum after the tenth "I would love to do this and that to Izumi-san!" statement. Come on, guys! Being perverted doesn't make up for creative!
Speaking of Perversion: I'm not going to lie to you and say that I don't like fan-service (a term that basically means "anime sex appeal"), but this show really does take it too far. I was nearly insulted on a few occasions, which is something that very rarely happens withe me and comedies. Maybe it was the fact that the girls are only fourteen, or the fact that thier "master" is a complete and utter lecher.. this show really rubbed me the wrong way. They're just too young! It's creepy!
Rating: C (it's sorta funny, but lacks a real heart)
Grave of the Fireflies (A Film/Anime in Review)
If you don't feel like being depressed, stay FAR FAR AWAY FROM THIS MOVIE! It's like seeing a cute little puppy dog get run over by a truck.. but in a good way.
What I Loved About This Movie: This goes up their with Pan's Labyrinth as one of the most depressing movies I've seen this year, but in a good way. The animation isn't quite as good as more recent efforts such as "Spirted Away" or "Howl's Moving Castle", but it's still a very pretty film to look at. You'll forget this is anime the moment the bombs begin dropping. The overall story is excellent, if a tad bit dissapointing. You really want these kids to be happy.. but unfortuantely, no matter how hard they try, everything just shoots straight for hell.
When Dubbing Attacks: I didn't manage to watch the orginal Japanese dialouge for "Grave of the Fireflies", but I can say that the English dub of the film was lacking a certain zest. It really took the emotinal power out of the movie's more dramatic scenes. When I'm watching a World War 2 animated drama, I really don't want the voices to sound like Speed Racer (which they don't, but you know what I'm saying).
Rating: B+ (would have been an A- if the dubbing was better)
Batman Begins (A Film in Review)
I must be emo.
Things That I Loved About This Movie: This is by far, the smartest superhero movie ever made. The plot is what we in the geek business like to call "freaking genius!" Trust me, this makes pretty much every other superhero film feel like child's play. This is a really deep, dramatic, fun movie! That's right, I did actually use the words "deep and dramatic" in the same sentence as "fun". It is possible! Batman Begins proves that there is still alot of life in the superhero genre, if directors would only treat their source matieral as seriously as this one does. A must see, even if you aren't a fan of The Dark Knight.
Don't Believe Me?: Take a look at http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/batman_begins/ See! The majority of critics loved it too. Which means... you should watch it. I'm lookin at you, Christine.
Rating: A- (a great movie! Watch it now!!)
Back at the Begginning (Its Been a Tough Week)
Several blog entries ago, I made an entry about how I was going to nursing school and how it was going to be this great amazing life changing experience. I had basically convinced myself that this was the perfect carrer track for me, and how everything was just going to fall into place from there. Unfortuantely, reality strikes and situations forced me to double think the choices that I was making. Since yesterday, I am no longer a nursing student, and I really have no idea what I'm gonna do with myself.
Okay, for starters, I'm only sixteen years old! I have another few years to think about what I really want to do with my life, and just throwing myself into something without giving it much thought and consideration could have some major consequences. I just said to myself, "I can be a nurse", and that was how I made my decision. I didn't really think about whether sticking tubes into people's private areas was really what I wanted to do for a living. Sure, I could have gotten a different job in the medical field after being a nurse.. but I've never been too fond of hospitals. xD Maybe that was something I should have considered when I signed up for nursing school, the fact that I don't like the hospitals or medical facilities. Where was I coming from again?
Amen to that! Although, I'm not so sure I would have "loved" it.
I do have to say though, that being in the program for as little time as I did ended up being a worthwhile experience. It really did open my eyes to the real world, and I feel that I've matured quite a bit. But now I'm back to where I was before I entered nursing school, and I can't help but feel just a tad bit guility. Here I was thinking I was gonna be "Macho Nurse", and yet I chickened out (I didn't really, but this is the way I keep on seeing it) and didn't finish what I started. And now what am I supposed to do?
I guess I'll start up the normal college classes again, and maybe get into some acting program. The only issue I'm really having right now is the debate between what I really want to do, and what will eventually become profitable. I really want to do something involving the arts or acting, but their are so many chances of failure in that area that it could become nearly impossible to make a solid living. Yet.. I really want to do something along those lines. Maybe I should write books or something. *shrugs* I have alot of time to think about it. Maybe following my dreams is the best way to go? Or are they just "dreams". Will I really be happy when I'm broke and chasing something I can't possibly attain? *shrugs* I've got alot of time to think about it.
Doesn't look like I'll be walking down this hallway anytime soon. Unless of course, I get an ingrown toenail or something. xDD Sorry, couldn't help but throw that in there.
Anyways, I really don't want this post to be a complete downer. I'm feeling all right, and this experience has really made me think about what I want from my future. That is.. I'm not sure what I want from my future. :) Guess I'll just have to go with the flow of things for now, and keep my eyes open for new oppurtinites. Hope you all have a great day!
Friday, June 15, 2007
A Song That Describes Me (A Tag Response)
I'm a bloody rock god.
So anyways, the other day I was on Christine's blog (a friend of mine, who is awesome by the way), and like all good Blogger friends should do, she tagged me with a topic I'm going to have a really hard time responding to. She left me with the challenge of "trying to find a song that best describes me" and to write an entry about it. And to her I respond: "It's gonna take alot more then one song to flesh me out."
xDD When translated into honesty, this means that "I really don't want to spend the time narrowing it down to one song, and it'll be less time consuming making it three." :) Unfortuantely, there wouldn't be any fun in that now would there. So I decided, after much consideration, to pick a song that had touched me in an honest and sincere way. It may not exactly describe who I am, bit it does describe something I eventually want out of my life. And that in and of itself is enough to catapault it to the top of my list!
I Want Love (by Elton John)
I want love, but its impossible
A man like me, so irresponsible
A man like me is dead in places
Other men feel liberated
I cant love, shot full of holes
Dont feel nothing, I just feel cold
Dont feel nothing, just old scars
Toughening up around my heart
But I want love, just a different kind
I want love, wont break me down
Wont brick me up, wont fence me in
I want a love, that dont mean a thing
Thats the love I want, I want love
I want love on my own terms
After everything Ive ever learned
Me, I carry too much baggage
Oh man Ive seen so much traffic
So bring it on, Ive been bruised
Dont give me love thats clean and smooth
Im ready for the rougher stuff
No sweet romance, Ive had enough
My reasons: This song really breaks my heart everytime I hear it. Even though I've never been in a real relationship with anyone as of yet (I am only sixteen), this song really speaks to me. It talks about having a real emotinal connection with someone, instead of just hiding behind deceptive romance. Or at least.. that's what I got out of it.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
"Stuff That I've Watched, Read, or Done": Vol. 1
Your opinion sucks! Mine is better!
There comes a point in one's life where... you just feel like being a critic. So now, it's my great plesure to reveal to you, a new feature in my blog. "Stuff That I've Watched, Read, or Done" Volumes!! :) +Since I really don't have the time nor the patience to make seperate entries about all of the things I'm about to review, I decided to give you what is basically a bite-sized summary of my thoughts for each subject. Don't worry, it isn't all anime.... only most of it. xDD I'm sure Roger Ebert here would be proud.
Pan's Labyrinth (A Film in Review)
Welcome! My name is Willy Wonka! Welcome to my factory!
Things That I Liked About This Film: Oh god, where to begin! Easily one of the most orginal and visually inspired films I've seen in a very long time.
I"d like to clear this up for alot of people.. this is not a fantasy film! This is a war-time drama that just so happens to have elements of dark fantasy thrown in for flavor. The fantasy scenes only take up about thirty minutes of the entire film, which is a bit misleading if you've watched all of the commericals and ads for the movie.
Prepare to be depressed! By the time you've watched the last five minutes, you'll see the world a bit differently. I know I did.
Things I Didn't LIke About This Film: While the movie was basically brilliant, there were a scene I thought was unneccessary. When you've got a big CGI frog in the middle of what is otherwise a hauntingly realistic film, it completely takes you out of the moment. What were they thinking when they did that scene anyways? It didn't make much sense to me.
While this isn't really a complaint, I thought the brutal violence could have been toned down in a couple scenes. It really narrows the auidence down, since I do know a few people who wouldn't be able to tolerated watching a man's face get beaten in (quite literally). I like that Pan's Labyrinth didn't smooth any of it's sharp corners while presenting it's tale, but people who can't stand the sight of flowing blood need not apply. Which is unfortuante, because they'll be missing out on a really great piece of art.
Rating: A-
Emma (An Anime in Review)
Get outta my grill, yo!
Things I Liked About This Series: I really do love the Japanese! I've been watching anime pretty much non-stop for the last year or so, and they never cease to impress. You would never see anything like Emma realised in the United States, because we're still stuck in an "animation is either satire or kiddy shows" rut. This show proves that you can pull off a Dickens like tale in animation without a single compromise.
The characters are well developed, the story is interesting, and the love between the two main leads is like something you'd find out of an old 1940's style film. See! You can have a believable romance in animation! Now get crackin Disney. I can't stomach anymore of those "Chicken Little" leftovers you've been given me.
Things I Didn't Like About This Series: I do respect that the show takes it's time with developing the characters and the situations they currently find themselves in, but the series is rather slow paced. I really didn't mind that much, but I know a few people who will be turned off by it. :) To be completely honest, I would rather have believable characters then have to put up with another "fast-paced bang boom" anime. Those are getting old really fast.
The ending was not good.. at all. If I didn't know there was a sequel series to this, I would be pretty pissed. I don't want to give anything away, but the last episode was very dissapointing. Luckily, "Emma: Second Act" just got uploaded to Crunchyroll.com! Yaaaaaahhooooooo!
Rating: B
Epic Movie (A Film in Review)
Get it! It's just like the movie Scarface... only with a fawn! Hahahahahahahaha! *crickets chirp in background*
Things I Liked About This Movie: I laughed once. *shivers* I'm embarassed I even said that.
Things I Hate Hate Hated!! About This Movie: By now, you all know this movie is horrible. I mean, come on! Look at the trailer and all of the promotinal clips. Do I really need to tell you how bad this is? .... Actually, I didn't make it all the way through. My friend and I watched the first forty-five minutes and turned it off. If you know me, and how much I love my stupid comedies, this is not something that should have happened. But this isn't just a stupid comedy, it's so brain-dead that it's tragic.
Rating: D-
Who Framed Roger Rabbit?! (A Film in Review)
Marty! We need to travel Back to the Future. (Only major geeks will have gotten that.. because you know, the guy who plays the villian in Roger Rabbit is also the same guy who plays the professor in Back to the Future)
Things I Liked About This Movie: What's not to like? Who Framed Roger Rabbit is funny, hip, and just about everything else you'd want a movie of this type to be. It was also a huge breakthrough from a film perspective, making the animation/live-action sequences in Song of the South seem downright prehistoric. It's mind blowing just how believable the cartoons are when they're acting alongside the actual actors.
The icing on the cake? A piano duel between Daffy Duck and Donald Duck. Genius!
Things I Didn't Like About This Movie: Let's face it, this isn't a kids flick by any stretch. Heck, Jessica Rabbit should have boosted the rating to PG-13 all by herself. You have waaaaaayy too many sexual innuendos, far too many curse words, and far too many Jessica Rabbit jiggles to really qualify this as a family movie. While I personally found it all amusing, I'm sure many parents have not. I saw worse stuff when I was a kid.. but the fact that there's a Disneyland ride and lots of merchandise in Toontown may be a little misleading.
Rating: B+
Friday, June 08, 2007
Welcome to the Bi-Youth Nation
In our culture, teenagers find themselves confroming to different kinds of personality and psychology traits just strictly because it's the popular thing to do within their group. Look around you and you'll see hundreds of kids morphing themselves into something they aren't, just to receive the attention and admiration of their peers. They do it because they feel they have to. It has become a bit of a social survival technique. Although, every so often this can actually deal more emotinal harm then good, and thus I come to the topic of this entry. Why, in such alarmingly massive numbers, have teenagers all of a sudden been stumbling out of the closest about their 'supposed' bi-sexuality. Is it because they're actually bi-sexual... or are they just seeking attention of other youths.
Within our youth culture, the new it thing is being "bi". Now maybe it's just because I'm young and haven't had much experience within the real world, but it seems like every other teenage girl I've talked to claims that she's bi-sexual. On top of that, most of their friends are either "bi" or have been converted into being "bi". Wanna talk about exposure! All of a sudden, you have all of your friends bragging about how great it is to be attracted to both genders. Now how is the typical teenage brain going to react: it conforms and adapts. Pretty soon, you've got a whole group of friends that have all decided that they're bi-sexual. It's really strange, and I've seen it happen a little more then I'd like.
Through peer pressure! Oh, the drama of Japanese school life! Although.. if you had watched the show, you would know this has very little to do with my actual topic. I just thought the image was funny! Haruhi is a cutie anyways.
Now, if you're completely for people being bi-sexual, this really shouldn't be a problem right? Well, I for one don't have a problem with people being either gay or bi-sexual. People should be able to choose what works for them, and that includes sexual preferences. That's not the point. The point I'm trying to make is when kids put themselves into a state of mind that isn't their own, but was created through the forces of peer pressure, you have a problem! You are what you are, and you shouldn't just jump into something because it's the new and hip thing to do. If you aren't gay and you aren't bi, then there is no reason why you should be. It's more healthy to be true to yourself and walk your own path then to hear girls giggle about you being "the hot bi".
I do believe that this sudden bi-wave is probably just a phase, and will eventually pass just like everything else. Their are some major negatives to going around bragging about how you swing both ways. As accepting or unaccepting as you think our society is, once someone says that they're "bi-sexual", a massive amount of assumptions will be made about you. Do they really want that? Do teenagers even bother to think about this part of the deal? Do they bother to ponder what emotinal baggage playfully dabbling in this kind of stuff can cause? How many of them are actually bi-sexual? If you want my humble opinion, probably less then you think.
I would like to state once again that I'm not against any sexual preferences. Whatever floats your boat is fine by me. Just stay true to who you are, and not what the current social "it" is hinting towards. You may just end up trapped in something that you may later regret.
Within our youth culture, the new it thing is being "bi". Now maybe it's just because I'm young and haven't had much experience within the real world, but it seems like every other teenage girl I've talked to claims that she's bi-sexual. On top of that, most of their friends are either "bi" or have been converted into being "bi". Wanna talk about exposure! All of a sudden, you have all of your friends bragging about how great it is to be attracted to both genders. Now how is the typical teenage brain going to react: it conforms and adapts. Pretty soon, you've got a whole group of friends that have all decided that they're bi-sexual. It's really strange, and I've seen it happen a little more then I'd like.
Through peer pressure! Oh, the drama of Japanese school life! Although.. if you had watched the show, you would know this has very little to do with my actual topic. I just thought the image was funny! Haruhi is a cutie anyways.
Now, if you're completely for people being bi-sexual, this really shouldn't be a problem right? Well, I for one don't have a problem with people being either gay or bi-sexual. People should be able to choose what works for them, and that includes sexual preferences. That's not the point. The point I'm trying to make is when kids put themselves into a state of mind that isn't their own, but was created through the forces of peer pressure, you have a problem! You are what you are, and you shouldn't just jump into something because it's the new and hip thing to do. If you aren't gay and you aren't bi, then there is no reason why you should be. It's more healthy to be true to yourself and walk your own path then to hear girls giggle about you being "the hot bi".
I do believe that this sudden bi-wave is probably just a phase, and will eventually pass just like everything else. Their are some major negatives to going around bragging about how you swing both ways. As accepting or unaccepting as you think our society is, once someone says that they're "bi-sexual", a massive amount of assumptions will be made about you. Do they really want that? Do teenagers even bother to think about this part of the deal? Do they bother to ponder what emotinal baggage playfully dabbling in this kind of stuff can cause? How many of them are actually bi-sexual? If you want my humble opinion, probably less then you think.
I would like to state once again that I'm not against any sexual preferences. Whatever floats your boat is fine by me. Just stay true to who you are, and not what the current social "it" is hinting towards. You may just end up trapped in something that you may later regret.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End (A Film in Review)
Captain Jack Sparrow returns for another action-packed sea voyage in Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End, the third (and hopefully final) entry in the Pirates of the Carribean saga. I'll just go out and say it, the first Pirates one of the best times I had seeing a movie. Not necessairly because of the content, or even because of Johnny Depp's peformance, but because no one knew what to expect from it. There were no expectations of what the film should be like. Everyone was on the same page when "The Curse of the Black Pearl" opened, and it ended up being one of the most orginal action-films ever made. Outside of Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Carribean had vibe that was distinictly its own, mixing your typical pirate swash-buckler with the supernatural elements found in the Disneyland attractions. Completely fresh and unexpected, Pirates was the surprise hit of the decade. I couldn't wait to see how the sequels were going to turn out.
Arrrrr! Even ol' trusty Johnny Depp seems bland in this sea voyage. Make him scrub the planks, I say!
Now four years later, I could care less if they make another Pirates movie. It feels exactly like every other piece of Hollywood garbage being produced. There's nothing fresh or new in "At World's End", it feels exactly like the first film, just with an overly dramatic story and a script that's in desperate need of a few rewrites. Who wrote some of this stuff! Who decided that (insert one of the several strange scenarios you'll find in "At World's End" here) was a good idea! Why does this series have to become this grand sweeping adventure epic, when what we loved about the first film was the characters and humor? We didn't flock to see "Curse of the Black Pearl" because of the amazing special effects or the incredibly stretched out sword-fights. We went to go see the first film because it made us laugh! I want Pirates to make me laugh again, I could care less about Davy Jones (Darth Vader) or the West India Trading Company (the Empire) or William Turner and his daddy issues (Luke Skywalker). This isn't Star Wars, this is Pirates of the Carribean! Aka: The Funny Johnny Depp Druken Pirate Adventure
To be quite fair, there were a few things I liked about this movie. The special effects were superb, the acting was reasonably good, and the final battle was really mind blowing. But wait... I think I've seen this movie somewhere before.
*Goffy performance by Johnny Depp: check!
*Constant switching of sides made by crew: check!
*Funny parrot that speaks everyone's mind: check!
*Pirate guy with the funny eye... oh forget it!
Keira Knightly is cuuuuttteeee in this movie! 0_0 No words can describe.
In other words, everything that's amusing in this film was three times better in the orginal. Save your money and watch "Curse of the Black Pearl" another dozen times. If you've just gotta see how the entire story comes together, then you're probably going to see this anyways. Don't say I didn't try to warn you.
Not a bad movie by any stretch, just a bland and uninspired one. Unless Disney seriously improves their game plan, we're no doubt in for more generic Pirate sequels. Arrrrrrr! Captain Kaleb says: "All carbon copies should walk the plank!" I'm almost begginning to hope this is the "End" of the Pirates franchise.
RIP: Pirates of the Carribean
It was fun, until you got all serious 'trilogy' on me. I liked you better when you were yourself, not when you were trying to be like big brother 'Star Wars'. Swish down another dozen bottles of rum, an' get back to bein' an ol' drunken sailor you miserable pup!
Rating: C+
Arrrrr! Even ol' trusty Johnny Depp seems bland in this sea voyage. Make him scrub the planks, I say!
Now four years later, I could care less if they make another Pirates movie. It feels exactly like every other piece of Hollywood garbage being produced. There's nothing fresh or new in "At World's End", it feels exactly like the first film, just with an overly dramatic story and a script that's in desperate need of a few rewrites. Who wrote some of this stuff! Who decided that (insert one of the several strange scenarios you'll find in "At World's End" here) was a good idea! Why does this series have to become this grand sweeping adventure epic, when what we loved about the first film was the characters and humor? We didn't flock to see "Curse of the Black Pearl" because of the amazing special effects or the incredibly stretched out sword-fights. We went to go see the first film because it made us laugh! I want Pirates to make me laugh again, I could care less about Davy Jones (Darth Vader) or the West India Trading Company (the Empire) or William Turner and his daddy issues (Luke Skywalker). This isn't Star Wars, this is Pirates of the Carribean! Aka: The Funny Johnny Depp Druken Pirate Adventure
To be quite fair, there were a few things I liked about this movie. The special effects were superb, the acting was reasonably good, and the final battle was really mind blowing. But wait... I think I've seen this movie somewhere before.
*Goffy performance by Johnny Depp: check!
*Constant switching of sides made by crew: check!
*Funny parrot that speaks everyone's mind: check!
*Pirate guy with the funny eye... oh forget it!
Keira Knightly is cuuuuttteeee in this movie! 0_0 No words can describe.
In other words, everything that's amusing in this film was three times better in the orginal. Save your money and watch "Curse of the Black Pearl" another dozen times. If you've just gotta see how the entire story comes together, then you're probably going to see this anyways. Don't say I didn't try to warn you.
Not a bad movie by any stretch, just a bland and uninspired one. Unless Disney seriously improves their game plan, we're no doubt in for more generic Pirate sequels. Arrrrrrr! Captain Kaleb says: "All carbon copies should walk the plank!" I'm almost begginning to hope this is the "End" of the Pirates franchise.
RIP: Pirates of the Carribean
It was fun, until you got all serious 'trilogy' on me. I liked you better when you were yourself, not when you were trying to be like big brother 'Star Wars'. Swish down another dozen bottles of rum, an' get back to bein' an ol' drunken sailor you miserable pup!
Rating: C+
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