I read select sections of Greg Proops's "Smartest Book in the World." My initial reaction was similar to Princess Carolyn's after she read Bojack's: It's gibberish. Otherwise, I would describe it as "Greg really, really likes baseball." There are a couple of quotes I took from his ramblings, as Greg does have a way with words. My favorite is: "No book ever asks for the rent or threatens you with a knife. No book ever borrows money or agrees to help you move and then is too hungover to show up." I don't believe any of his stand-up bits are included in this, though I was only really looking for "America is England's fault;" in the beginning of his chapter on Women (yes, he capitalizes it), however, he does mention that "history is a series of lies written by icky white guys who beat their maids," so that's close enough to "It sounds better than the truth...so we'll all pretend it really happened. There were no women or minorities, just a bunch of white guys wearing wigs." He also includes some poetry that he introduces sort of like my English teacher did in my junior year of high school. This includes "The Raven," which was left out of the Edgar Allan Poe collected works book I have (though that might've only been short stories). Thanks, Greg!
My family knows I'm a weeb, so they got me some odd-flavored Kit Kats from Japan. The strawberry and green tea ones I already knew would be good, as well as strawberry cheesecake. However, there was also apple, azuki bean, and purple potato. The apple ones tasted like candy apples, so they were fine. The azuki bean ones are bitter, so part of me wonders why they're used in pastries and such. The purple potato ones didn't really taste like anything, though they're supposed to taste like sweet potato. I might've been burnt out by that point when I was sampling them. They also got me pumpkin spice flavored ones, and those were just as strong if not stronger than the pumpkin spice M&Ms. Overall, I'm pretty satisfied.
I really liked "The Plan to Eradicate Christmas." My favorite part was when Vegeta monologued about trying to shoot down Santa every year (before Christmas was replaced by Frieza Day) but ended up hitting his brother's pod by mistake. "They never found the body." "I have an uncle?" "You HAD an uncle." Later on, Santa tells him he did manage to hit him one year and is understandably nettled (Vegeta is thrilled). It's sad that the abridged series is ending after the Cell saga (as Toriyama originally intended) because of demands on their time and the toxic fan base demanding they work on nothing but DBZA. I suppose if there are scenes they really want to do from the Buu saga, like their short Super videos, they might do those.
There are a couple of projects I would like to do next year, including the one I've been working on for KH3 (assuming it releases before the holiday season and I can get the relevant screen shots I've been looking/waiting for). Right now I'm preparing to do an audio swap video; characters voiced by the same person will trade lines. I'm also trying to decide whether or not to make my next holiday video a sequel to the last one with other Christopher Lee carols (played straight this time, though).
Sunday, December 31, 2017
Saturday, December 23, 2017
Welcome to the Jungle
I saw the Hey Arnold! Jungle Movie, and it wasn't as great as I thought it would be, probably because people kept saying how good it was and over-hyped it. I don't think that it's bad or a misrepresentation of the show. The only real complaint I have is that sometimes the kids seemed out-of-character or confined to a box (yep, that's what this character is known for, don't need to do anything else with them). Olga got it the worst, as I don't remember her being boy-crazy and immature; she didn't even need to be there. I didn't get why the parents each had a skunk stripe in their hair (they wouldn't be that old and other people's parents look fine), and it seemed unbelievable that they would calmly say "Hey Arnold" (title drop) upon waking up and seeing their son for the first time in ten years. But then they become clingy in the epilogue, following him to school and asking what time school gets out because they're so eager to be with him; he even has to set boundaries with them. The movie does a fake-out like the entire thing was a dream, which was kind of annoying. As far as long-awaited sequel movies go, it's definitely the best one, even though that's not saying much (looking at you, Dark Side of Dimensions). It's most likely better than the first Hey Arnold! movie, even though both of them get crazy in the third act and have dumb, uncomfortable moments. For the most part, it was done well, and I can appreciate that. As for the new Jumanji movie, I haven't seen it and probably will not see it, but I hear it's also really good so I'll just take people's word for it. It's really a remake and not a sequel since it's a video game and not a board game, and they all get sucked into it instead of just one person. That would be like if Cuphead was actually a portal to Hell.
Yandere Simulator would make a great anime, but it couldn't be called that as a TV show since "simulator" is a word to describe the game. Love Sick would be an appropriate name for its non-game counterpart if it were to have one (but I still prefer the original for the game as well as its lighter tone). The Dev recently added the student council to the build, and I like the idea of bringing the Yakuza into it, too. I liked both versions of the Kokona situation, even though neither will appear in the finished game as she's not a real rival. I liked the non-violent approach (which is less out-of-character when you consider the animation on YouTube where Info-chan is the one instigating violence), but I also liked the scene where Ayano puts Kokona in the position to kill Musume.
Yandere Simulator would make a great anime, but it couldn't be called that as a TV show since "simulator" is a word to describe the game. Love Sick would be an appropriate name for its non-game counterpart if it were to have one (but I still prefer the original for the game as well as its lighter tone). The Dev recently added the student council to the build, and I like the idea of bringing the Yakuza into it, too. I liked both versions of the Kokona situation, even though neither will appear in the finished game as she's not a real rival. I liked the non-violent approach (which is less out-of-character when you consider the animation on YouTube where Info-chan is the one instigating violence), but I also liked the scene where Ayano puts Kokona in the position to kill Musume.
Friday, December 8, 2017
Passion Projects
Emerald (along with Mercury) appeared in episode seven of volume five, doing what she does best - styling on the Shady Man. Jerk had it coming (though Yang probably did it better). I get the feeling the only two people who are important in that camp (Raven and Vernal) are also the only ones who can fight worth a damn. Or maybe they'll escape using Raven's semblance and end up with Qrow and the others. Going after Maidens is what Cinder's team does best anyway. Qrow thwarted their earliest attempt on Amber's life and could do so again with Vernal, especially with the others with him this time. He went out looking for Huntsmen and came back with Yang and Weiss.
The Power Rangers Ninja Steel Christmas episode was kind of funny but not as good as I thought it would be. It got more annoying as it went on. It was a neat idea, but it had some holes in it, as time-travel episodes often do. Cleocatra was written well and made me laugh a couple times, but when the Rangers were fighting her at the end, the writing made it sound like they had something against cats.
I get that the Teen Titans Go! 200th episode special is a vanity project, but the only good part was the beginning. The voice actors scene was the best (and I'm glad it was all of them and not just Scott). Like the Night Begins to Shine 4-parter, the celebrities called security on them. Part of me wishes Terra could've been part of it so we could've had Ashley there too. I liked seeing her in the Signal Boost video she was in on Geek and Sundry ("Pay me what I'm worth!").
I found out there was a series of six-minute Abbott and Costello cartoons by Hanna Barbera. Bud voiced himself, but Lou was voiced by someone else. Lou was probably dead by then, and Bud sounded old and sad. I only saw two of them, but I wasn't impressed or amused.
With all of these sexual allegations bringing people down and the public at large being shamed or feeling ashamed for ever liking them in the first place, I'm reminded of the "never meet your heroes" episode of Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! Chiro was ripping down all his posters of the hero team he looked up to, and Gibson reminded them that it wasn't them but what they stood for that made him want to become a hero. I think that principle still stands. You can support and enjoy projects these people made because you can separate their bad deeds from the art.
I recently learned that Daniel Radcliffe was often drunk during the filming of Half-blood Prince. That explains the Felix Felicis scene - he wasn't acting! Also, FNAF 6 came out. WTF?
The Power Rangers Ninja Steel Christmas episode was kind of funny but not as good as I thought it would be. It got more annoying as it went on. It was a neat idea, but it had some holes in it, as time-travel episodes often do. Cleocatra was written well and made me laugh a couple times, but when the Rangers were fighting her at the end, the writing made it sound like they had something against cats.
I get that the Teen Titans Go! 200th episode special is a vanity project, but the only good part was the beginning. The voice actors scene was the best (and I'm glad it was all of them and not just Scott). Like the Night Begins to Shine 4-parter, the celebrities called security on them. Part of me wishes Terra could've been part of it so we could've had Ashley there too. I liked seeing her in the Signal Boost video she was in on Geek and Sundry ("Pay me what I'm worth!").
I found out there was a series of six-minute Abbott and Costello cartoons by Hanna Barbera. Bud voiced himself, but Lou was voiced by someone else. Lou was probably dead by then, and Bud sounded old and sad. I only saw two of them, but I wasn't impressed or amused.
With all of these sexual allegations bringing people down and the public at large being shamed or feeling ashamed for ever liking them in the first place, I'm reminded of the "never meet your heroes" episode of Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! Chiro was ripping down all his posters of the hero team he looked up to, and Gibson reminded them that it wasn't them but what they stood for that made him want to become a hero. I think that principle still stands. You can support and enjoy projects these people made because you can separate their bad deeds from the art.
I recently learned that Daniel Radcliffe was often drunk during the filming of Half-blood Prince. That explains the Felix Felicis scene - he wasn't acting! Also, FNAF 6 came out. WTF?
Friday, November 24, 2017
Thankful
Correction: Cinder is in the RWBY volume 5 opening. I just didn't think I saw her because she is on the same side of the screen and has the same color scheme as Raven. Tyrian doesn't appear in it and hasn't appeared yet, but he's supposed to be getting a new tail. As of this writing, Nick Landis (Lanipator) has appeared about three times, and this latest appearance as a barkeep was glorious, as he uses his well-known Piccolo voice. He'd previously voiced an angry businessman at Weiss's dad's party and the assassin sent to kill Blake's dad's messenger. This is especially impressive since Chris Sabat voices Dr. Watts, and I couldn't tell which one of the two actors it was at first.
Telltale Guardians of the Galaxy finished strong. The last two installments were better than the rest of the series. I especially like Drax's characterization, even though this character model doesn't look much like Dave Batista. Since I don't read the comics, I don't know how he's supposed to feel about Mantis. In the promos for the second movie, he seemed not to like her, but that might not be accurate. In Telltale, he notices that everyone's arguing is physically hurting her so yells at them to stop until he passes out. I also liked thepart where he says "I am the leader? Then I order all of you to kneel before me!" after they praise him for not being materialistic as opposed to Peter, their actual leader. The fourth episode was all Drax, and that probably would've made it the best one if the finale wasn't so good. I like this version of Mantis, at least. I like she can do with her powers in this and how she feels about using them. Her character model is cuter than her movie counterpart too, in my opinion. As for Minecraft Story Mode, Ivor's a ninja now. Great. Another episode of Batman came out also, so that's a lot in a short period of time. I can't really say anything about it without spoiling it, though. Maybe next time.
Teen Titans Go did another Thanksgiving episode, and it was not as good as the other one (which I don't remember being all that good either, but it had Trigon as an earlier episode had promised). Some parts made me smile, but overall it was kind of a train wreck. Why why why why why would they do such an episode with these characters?!
Telltale Guardians of the Galaxy finished strong. The last two installments were better than the rest of the series. I especially like Drax's characterization, even though this character model doesn't look much like Dave Batista. Since I don't read the comics, I don't know how he's supposed to feel about Mantis. In the promos for the second movie, he seemed not to like her, but that might not be accurate. In Telltale, he notices that everyone's arguing is physically hurting her so yells at them to stop until he passes out. I also liked thepart where he says "I am the leader? Then I order all of you to kneel before me!" after they praise him for not being materialistic as opposed to Peter, their actual leader. The fourth episode was all Drax, and that probably would've made it the best one if the finale wasn't so good. I like this version of Mantis, at least. I like she can do with her powers in this and how she feels about using them. Her character model is cuter than her movie counterpart too, in my opinion. As for Minecraft Story Mode, Ivor's a ninja now. Great. Another episode of Batman came out also, so that's a lot in a short period of time. I can't really say anything about it without spoiling it, though. Maybe next time.
Teen Titans Go did another Thanksgiving episode, and it was not as good as the other one (which I don't remember being all that good either, but it had Trigon as an earlier episode had promised). Some parts made me smile, but overall it was kind of a train wreck. Why why why why why would they do such an episode with these characters?!
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
5 Times the Power Rangers were Dicks
As much as some of us hate to admit, our heroes aren't always the good guys we hold them up to be. Sometimes they slip up - badly. A few examples stand out in my mind, either as habitual behavior or isolated incidents. These do not include spells or substances that affected their behavior. Whether or not they learned a lesson from it as part of a character arc or plot point, here are the things that didn't sit right with me even after they were resolved.
1. Mighty Morphin: Either at the time or viewed with Nostalgia Goggles, Bulk and Skull were fan favorite characters. As such, some would say the Ranger Team didn't give them the respect they deserved. I disagree, as they were introduced as bullies and didn't really improve until later on when they became the genuine comedy relief and heroes in their own right. However, there may have been some moments in MMPR where the Rangers said or did some things that were unfair to them. An example that features prominently in my mind is when they're on the Island of Illusion and Kimberly's hallucination has to do with Bulk and Skull (still bullies at this point) being good guys. Mind you, everyone is supposed to be seeing something they're afraid of to make them doubt themselves. I blame the writers just as much as Kimberly on this one, as it makes no goddamn sense.
2. Mystic Force: In that same vein, there was that time the Mystic Force team had to leave work to take care of a problem, and the only other employee left was Leelee, who used to be their enemy. Their boss isn't in on the whole Ranger business, so he chews them out upon their return (part of the reason for hiring Leelee was their repeated absence). On the one hand, they had to go regardless, and they weren't exactly happy that Leelee was working with them as they weren't sure if they could trust her or not. On the other hand, poor Leelee. They warm up to her after they see her genuine hard work.
3. Jungle Fury: Leaving your former enemy to run the business while you're out is one thing, but what about your friend? The Jungle Fury team left Fran in charge of the pizzeria while they were out fighting evil, and she wasn't pleased with them taking advantage of her like that time and again. Even when they were there, without RJ to lead them, they would argue and push their work onto her. She's happy to help, but there's only so much one person can do to run a pizza shop on her own, especially during a rush...which makes me wonder what RJ did before the team showed up. This is before Fran found out about the Ranger thing, though. She got a raise out of it, at least.
4. Mystic Force (again): The Mystic Force Rangers find themselves in hot water when they have to face the Tribunal of Magic. Basically, if the teens hadn't been a bunch of lazy sh*t-heads, Imperious wouldn't have gotten his Dark Wish. They have to prove themselves worthy in order for the Tribunal to reverse the Wish, and it wasn't easy. Usually a storyline will be written around one team member slacking off and dealing with the consequences, but the entire team f*cked up and we got a three-parter out of it.
5. Super Samurai: Negligence is one thing, but actively shunning and bad-mouthing someone is worse. Jayden leaves so his sister can lead the team as she was always intended to. He didn't need to leave, and his departure causes the rest of the team to revolt. They do not accept Lauren as their leader or a member of the team after this. Lauren didn't do anything to deserve this, as Linkara pointed out in his review of Samurai. They got Jayden back and reinstated him as leader. At least when Alex tried to take over again in Time Force, he was unlikeable by that point.
1. Mighty Morphin: Either at the time or viewed with Nostalgia Goggles, Bulk and Skull were fan favorite characters. As such, some would say the Ranger Team didn't give them the respect they deserved. I disagree, as they were introduced as bullies and didn't really improve until later on when they became the genuine comedy relief and heroes in their own right. However, there may have been some moments in MMPR where the Rangers said or did some things that were unfair to them. An example that features prominently in my mind is when they're on the Island of Illusion and Kimberly's hallucination has to do with Bulk and Skull (still bullies at this point) being good guys. Mind you, everyone is supposed to be seeing something they're afraid of to make them doubt themselves. I blame the writers just as much as Kimberly on this one, as it makes no goddamn sense.
2. Mystic Force: In that same vein, there was that time the Mystic Force team had to leave work to take care of a problem, and the only other employee left was Leelee, who used to be their enemy. Their boss isn't in on the whole Ranger business, so he chews them out upon their return (part of the reason for hiring Leelee was their repeated absence). On the one hand, they had to go regardless, and they weren't exactly happy that Leelee was working with them as they weren't sure if they could trust her or not. On the other hand, poor Leelee. They warm up to her after they see her genuine hard work.
3. Jungle Fury: Leaving your former enemy to run the business while you're out is one thing, but what about your friend? The Jungle Fury team left Fran in charge of the pizzeria while they were out fighting evil, and she wasn't pleased with them taking advantage of her like that time and again. Even when they were there, without RJ to lead them, they would argue and push their work onto her. She's happy to help, but there's only so much one person can do to run a pizza shop on her own, especially during a rush...which makes me wonder what RJ did before the team showed up. This is before Fran found out about the Ranger thing, though. She got a raise out of it, at least.
4. Mystic Force (again): The Mystic Force Rangers find themselves in hot water when they have to face the Tribunal of Magic. Basically, if the teens hadn't been a bunch of lazy sh*t-heads, Imperious wouldn't have gotten his Dark Wish. They have to prove themselves worthy in order for the Tribunal to reverse the Wish, and it wasn't easy. Usually a storyline will be written around one team member slacking off and dealing with the consequences, but the entire team f*cked up and we got a three-parter out of it.
5. Super Samurai: Negligence is one thing, but actively shunning and bad-mouthing someone is worse. Jayden leaves so his sister can lead the team as she was always intended to. He didn't need to leave, and his departure causes the rest of the team to revolt. They do not accept Lauren as their leader or a member of the team after this. Lauren didn't do anything to deserve this, as Linkara pointed out in his review of Samurai. They got Jayden back and reinstated him as leader. At least when Alex tried to take over again in Time Force, he was unlikeable by that point.
Monday, November 13, 2017
Let's Talk about Emerald Sustrai
The villains of RWBY are quite the cast of characters. My favorite out of Salem's henchmen is Hazel because he helped Oscar get a ticket and didn't want Sienna Khan to be killed. However, someone seems to be missing from the overall line-up as of late - Emerald. In season 4, Mercury and Emerald were still at Cinder's side but realized they were nothing compared to the rest of Salem's henchmen, to say nothing of Neo being missing/presumed dead and Torchwick having been devoured by a Grimm in season 3. During season 4, Cinder couldn't talk and would whisper to Emerald in order for her to communicate; in season 5, Cinder seems to have gotten a little better and no longer needs her to do so. We still see Yang fighting with Mercury in the season 5 OP, but Emerald is nowhere to be seen. Assuming this means anything and Yang will get a rematch with Mercury, what happened to Emerald? We saw her smiling when she tricked Pyrrha into killing Penny, but during the fall of Beacon, she had a "What have I done?" moment as the Grimm overran the academy and surrounding area. No longer needed and wanting nothing to do with the Grimm, she might just leave the group and go off on her own. Mercury is at least on board with everything and is able to fight even though he's less important than the likes of Tyrian and others. Cinder isn't in the OP, but we've seen her, so maybe we just haven't seen Emerald yet. If she stays, what would they use her for, if anything? The last thing we've seen her do with her semblance is help Cinder train to get revenge on Ruby. Fighting and stealing seem to be lower on the group's list of priorities at this time.
We've seen that Salem is helping Cinder recover and become stronger, and we've recently heard her give orders to have Tyrian's tail replaced. If nothing else, she takes care of her followers. In a sense, they're no use to her crippled, but she seems to at least have an investment in Cinder, who has acquired the powers of the Fall Maiden. Is Cinder going to absorb the Spring Maiden's powers as the OP suggests (it's Vernal, in case that wasn't obvious)? If in fact she can only harness the power of one Maiden, would Emerald be the next choice? Some people are suggesting that Neo, who has been rumored to return, will be the Spring Maiden. Will the fate of the Spring Maiden be the crux of season 5 as the Fall Maiden was in season 3? Will future seasons deal with the Winter and Summer Maidens? I doubt that Team RWBY will face off against Salem at the end of this season like the end of the OP, but I believe they will be reunited as the fate of Haven hangs in the balance.
We've seen that Salem is helping Cinder recover and become stronger, and we've recently heard her give orders to have Tyrian's tail replaced. If nothing else, she takes care of her followers. In a sense, they're no use to her crippled, but she seems to at least have an investment in Cinder, who has acquired the powers of the Fall Maiden. Is Cinder going to absorb the Spring Maiden's powers as the OP suggests (it's Vernal, in case that wasn't obvious)? If in fact she can only harness the power of one Maiden, would Emerald be the next choice? Some people are suggesting that Neo, who has been rumored to return, will be the Spring Maiden. Will the fate of the Spring Maiden be the crux of season 5 as the Fall Maiden was in season 3? Will future seasons deal with the Winter and Summer Maidens? I doubt that Team RWBY will face off against Salem at the end of this season like the end of the OP, but I believe they will be reunited as the fate of Haven hangs in the balance.
Thursday, October 26, 2017
Sauce and Satisfaction
I must admit that I did go to a McDonald's on Szechuan Sauce Day to see if I could get one, and of course I couldn't. I didn't mind except for the fact that one sauce packet is the perfect sample size for people who may not end up liking it. Anyone can go to the store and get a bottle of szechuan sauce, but Rick specified McDonald's, so that's how this shit got started. However, I heard that combining barbecue sauce and sweet and sour sauce produces a close facsimile, so I decided to try that. McDonald's has the best sweet and sour sauce anyway, so I got that with my six-piece nuggets. I saved the extra one (they give you two if you don't specify a number - they do have those kiosks where you can place your specific order yourself now) and dumped it into a bowl. I added barbecue sauce and some teriyaki marinade (I cooked teriyaki beef at home once - delicious) and stirred it together. The results were pretty good, though I have nothing to compare it to. Szechuan sauce is supposed to be spicy, and I don't handle spice all that well, but this had a slow burn to it (I assume - it could've been the seasoning on the popcorn chicken I heated up in the oven).
I finished reading the Tal'Dorei Campaign Guide, and it did not disappoint. I look forward to future campaign books about the other continents, which were summarized in a section called "Beyond Tal'Dorei." While he said we can run campaigns taking place in any point of the history covered in the show, the book is written to take place after the fall of the Chroma Conclave and before the rise of Vecna (though the coming of the Whispered One is hinted at). Each area has quests, either low-level ones Vox Machina has probably done or future ones they never got around to; these hint at menacing things that were going on while our heroes were busy elsewhere or may have happened had they decided to venture beyond the end of the main campaign. There were a lot of weird grammar mistakes, the kind made by a tired student switching between phrasings and forgetting to entirely delete the first one, or typing a word twice without realizing, or accidentally using an incorrect but similar term. Such things I'm familiar with, but since it's Matt and it took so long between pre-order and arrival, I'm not going to let it bother me that much (but it does bother me because I do it too). If you're looking for a Vox Machina timeline or character guide, then I'm afraid this isn't it. Looking forward to the comics anthology next year and Xanathar's Guide to Everything at the end of next month. Is the fan art book just fan art or is there supposed to be something else to it?
I'm enjoying the Duck Tales reboot, but I don't exactly like how dumb they've made Launchpad. He's Patrick Star levels of stupid in this one (though I will admit he is a man-child - bring on DW!).
I finished reading the Tal'Dorei Campaign Guide, and it did not disappoint. I look forward to future campaign books about the other continents, which were summarized in a section called "Beyond Tal'Dorei." While he said we can run campaigns taking place in any point of the history covered in the show, the book is written to take place after the fall of the Chroma Conclave and before the rise of Vecna (though the coming of the Whispered One is hinted at). Each area has quests, either low-level ones Vox Machina has probably done or future ones they never got around to; these hint at menacing things that were going on while our heroes were busy elsewhere or may have happened had they decided to venture beyond the end of the main campaign. There were a lot of weird grammar mistakes, the kind made by a tired student switching between phrasings and forgetting to entirely delete the first one, or typing a word twice without realizing, or accidentally using an incorrect but similar term. Such things I'm familiar with, but since it's Matt and it took so long between pre-order and arrival, I'm not going to let it bother me that much (but it does bother me because I do it too). If you're looking for a Vox Machina timeline or character guide, then I'm afraid this isn't it. Looking forward to the comics anthology next year and Xanathar's Guide to Everything at the end of next month. Is the fan art book just fan art or is there supposed to be something else to it?
I'm enjoying the Duck Tales reboot, but I don't exactly like how dumb they've made Launchpad. He's Patrick Star levels of stupid in this one (though I will admit he is a man-child - bring on DW!).
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