Moving, Vacations, and YouTube...

Hey guys!!

I know it's been forever since I last posted, my apologies. There's been quite a lot going on for me lately and I hadn't managed to find the time to write any new posts [and if I'm being honest, I just hadn't really felt like posting much...] but, no worries...because I'm back!

Hmmm...I wonder what all could have been going on?

Well, moving, for starters. At the beginning of June, I moved into new apartment that's in the same complex I've been living in for the last year or so...want to know something that feels like an absolute exercise in futility? Having to pack up all of your stuff just to move it across a parking lot....yep, tons of fun. But, luckily, I had lots of help from my spectacularly fantastic boyfriend ^_^ Seriously though, without his help, the move wouldn't have gone nowhere near as smoothly as it did. Which brings me to another new development...

Not that I think my boyfriend wouldn't have helped me out anyway, but there was a huge contributing factor that I haven't mentioned yet...

We've officially moved in together :)

Things have been going really well, so far....and I'm sure that they'll continue to do so, he and I get along really well and make an awesome team <3 [I love you, HoneyBear!]

Also, the boyfriend, kiddo, and I got to spend some time at the beach! We went down to Panama City Beach about 2 weeks ago and got a few extremely needed days to relax. Aaaand, I managed to get a bit of a tan! [Kind of a big deal since I hardly ever spend time in the sun]

And that brings me to the last little update that I wanted to tell you guys about:

I'm on YouTube!! The boyfriend and I have started up a YouTube channel ^_^

As of right now, we aren't exactly sure what direction we want our channel to take...but we're thinking it'll probably be where we post videos of us gaming and being nerds, in general. We're planning on uploading an official 'introduction' video sometime this week, but we've already posted a video for you guys to check out!

***Spoiler alert for anyone who hasn't seen this week's Game of Thrones episode...(season 6, episode 9)...and for the love of all the old gods and the new...watch the episode!!***

Our first video is of us watching the death of Westeros' most hate-worthy bastard...my boyfriend's reaction is definitely more entertaining than mine [unless you like muppet-esque frowns!]...




Well, there's the video! Please like it and subscribe to our channel...we'll have more content loaded up soon ^_^

Okay, that's all I've got for now...hope you guys have a good day!

I Rule Hyrule!

Soooo, I should probably apologize for yesterday's post.

/siggggghhhhhh....I'm sorry I couldn't stop myself from writing a non-descript, vague rant post...everyone knows those are the worst...well...after liberal support posts, that is. Bazinga!

Glad to get that out of the way...

If didn't have any reason to use GoogleMaps this past Friday, then you missed out on one of the coolest Easter Eggs of all time. Of. All. Time!

Behold!

It's so cute!

Last Friday [3/4/16 for those reading this post significantly later than the post-date...], the GoogleMaps guy was dressed up as Link! 

As any good nerd would, I completely exploded with excitement when I noticed that my little desktop companion was replaced by a tiny duplicate of my favorite rpg hero...no, for real...things got loud. /chuckle

Anyway...

Google did this to commemorate the release of the Twilight Princess, remastered for the WiiU! [Super awesome move, Google!] 

Which, because I can't help myself...

Do take note of the awesome
quilt...thank you, HoneyBear <3

I bought myself a copy of on Saturday!!

It came in this really cool bundle-box with a Wolf Link Amiibo...not sure if that was some special thing that Target was doing or if all copies came like that...

Sooooo, who wants to help me play this game? Any takers?

Road Trip, Anime, and MMORPGs...

Hey, there!

Looks like I've fallen out of the habit of posting...again. /sigh

I should say, "I promise to start posting waaaaaayyyy more often..." but, I've got to be honest...I'm probably going to continue posting sporadically. But I can promise that I'll post about interesting/exciting things that are going on in the daily life of yours truly!

Let's see...where to start??

Oh! Baton Rouge!

My brief road trip to Baton Rouge has come and gone....the kiddo and I had an absolutely wonderful time! My college roomie's son is simply adorable! I got to see some friends that may as well be family...I truly wish I could see them more often than I do...maybe I will! It really isn't that bad of a drive...

Attack on Titan

Over the last couple of months, I warrior-binged my way through a few different anime series...I don't think I'll have the time to write up posts about all of them, but here's the list: Black Butler [seasons 1 and 2], Attack on Titan, more FairyTail [I don't think I'll ever get caught up on this one! It's kind of like Naruto...there are just way too many episodes!], Devil is a Part-Timer [for the second time], and I started watching Sword Art Online.

I may end up writing a few posts on my favorite newly watched anime...check back in a few days! [If there is any of the ones I've mentioned that you'd particularly like to hear about, let me know!]

Alliance, ftw!!!

Another development: I've recently started playing WoW [World of Warcraft] again!

It remains to be seen if this is a good thing...but I'm definitely enjoying it! You guys have no idea how much I missed playing WoW...

Alrighty...I've got to get back to work. Hope you're having a good week!

I'm A Happy Nerd!!

Big news!!!! [To me, anyway]

I just found out that two of my favorite Naruto characters end up together!!! /squee

[Just a heads up, I'm not talking about these two characters, sooooo no spoilers here!]

Kushina and Minato...I loved these two, too!!

Gaming Again...Finally!

Hey, again!

Sooooo....I was thinking, I'm just gonna skip all of the obligatory 'sorry it's been so long since my last post' stuff. That's alright with you guys, right?

It's been a few weeks since it aired, so I'm pretty sure that most of you have heard about/seen the hot mess that was the season 5 finale of Game of Thrones. Comments? Thoughts?

If you only knew, Jon Snow...if only...

I'm still feeling like I've been personally victimized by the show's creators...so rather than going into details [and risk spoilers for those who've been sub-rock dwellers] I'm just going to leave this picture here. You know...to remind us of happier times. [Maybe 'happier' is stretching it a bit...has anyone in the seven kingdoms been truly happy for more than an episode or two?]

But, I have to give the show's creators credit...they certainly know how to put together cliffhangers. And I'll be anxiously awaiting season 6...snow matter how much it pains me to continue to watch some of my favorite fictional characters disappear. /sob

All emotional scars due to being far too invested in fictional characters aside, I bring up Game of Thrones as a mediocre means of introducing my main point of interest [in regards to this post]...the Game of Thrones video game! [The episodic version from TellTale Games, not that other one that came out a few years ago...]

If you'll recall my last post, I was super excited to start playing my newly downloaded copy of The Stanley Parable. I'd just newly discovered Steam as a new [to me] gaming platform, and I was geeking out at the prospect of some semblance of gaming again...

Well...

My apologies to fans of The Stanley Parable, but I just didn't really like the game as much as I thought I would. The game play just wasn't as...I don't know...as adventurey as I wanted it to be. Though, to be fair, the playable demo certainly wasn't very adventurey....so, that disappointment is my own fault, really.

I mean, who can't relate to the game's
title?

However, it was my wanting to play through an adventurey, story-driven game that lead me to finally playing through my downloaded demo of Life is Strange [I'll probably write more on this game later...]. And it was playing through Life is Strange that lead me to TellTale's Game of Thrones...which I love!

I downloaded GoT on my PS3 earlier this week, and I've played through just about all of the episodes that have already been released...I think that new episodes for the game are released just about every 6 weeks, so I'm hoping that I can time it so that I finish up this last episode around the same time that the next one comes out. Does that make me sound a bit impatient? /shrug

The Forresters...I just wanna give 'em
all a big hug...

I love that the game introduces a new house...any mention of the house Forrester in the show or books is pretty brief and without much detail, which I think is better for the game. By introducing a new house, there isn't a mental synopsis of how things should play out. Buuuuuuut, there are enough similarities between the Forresters and the Starks that one should easily deduce that nothing will go smoothly for the unfortunate Northern family.

The game let's you play through scenarios as several different members of the Forrester family...each person is going through their own troubles and are in their own sorts of danger [because it wouldn't be GoT if there wasn't a sense of urgency and foreboding in every moment].

There's one Forrester in King's Landing who, through my unfortunate decision making, has found herself on the wrong end of business deal with Tyrion...just as Tyrion is declared responsible for his least favorite double-nephew's choking on his pigeon pie.

Another is currently attempting to seek favor in the eyes of Dany...he's been in Essos and is desperately needed back home.

A third is at The Wall and [again...poor decision making] has just committed almost murder while acting in self-defense...but sparing the guy's life is going to change things for this character in the next episode...Jon Snow is going to be mad at me! /sob

And lastly, there's a Forrester at home, in Ironrath. He's trying to keep the shambles of his family together while staving off the Whitehills and Boltons...oh yeah...did I forget to mention the Boltons? Ramsay Snow is there...he's already killed one of the Forresters and isn't too fond of the ones that are left...super fun.

It's definitely one of my favorite games that I've played in a while! Have any of you guys played it? If you have, what sort of decisions did you make? I'd love to see which choices yield different outcomes!

More Proof that Geeks/Nerds are the Best....

I've been working so much lately, I haven't had time to post anything that wasn't TV show or movie related :/

So here's a little something that I found on BuzzFeed today that I really, really wanted to share...

23 Gloriously Geeky Engagements

Ummm, I'm not even dating anyone at the moment so these aren't in the realm of possibility for me right now, but some of these were so cute that I couldn't help but be hopeful for the future... 

The link above is to the entire list. Here are a few of my favorites:

 

Aren't they cute?!

Here's to hoping that one day I'll find the other half of my delightfully nerdy heart ^_^

Memes, Avengers, RDJ, Comics, and Star Wars...

/giggle

Yeah, okay...I bet Justin Timberlake hates these memes, my apologies...

But, yes, it is the first day of May...and it's also a very exciting day for Marvel fans! [Maybe not so much, if you aren't a fan of the Avengers movies...]

Avengers: Age of Ultron premiers for us non-celebrity Americans today...needless to say, the kiddo and I are ridiculously excited about the movie! He and I are huge fans of the Avengers franchise...we've seen all of the movies and own more toys and comics than we probably should.

I mean, who doesn't love superhero movies? [The kiddo and I most certainly do!] And the Avengers movies present an opportunity to see half-a-dozen of our favorite heroes at the same time! Iron Man is always going to be a favorite of mine and my kiddo is a big fan of the Hulk [with Captain America and Thor coming in as close favorites, as well]...

RDJ will always be a favorite of
mine...because...reasons...

Along with all of the Avenger-y goodness, tomorrow is Free Comic Book Day! So, look up your local comic book store [or 2nd and Charles] and see what kind of stuff they've got going on to celebrate...who knows, you may end up with some pretty cool stuff...for free!

One more thing!

Some places [my local 2nd and Charles, for one] are observing May 4th early, and hosting their activities and such on Saturday. What's the deal with May 4th?

Well...*ahem* "May the Forth" be with you!

Hehehehe...nerd stuff, for the win. Always. [See what I did there? Of course you did... /grin]

It's Been A Long Week....

Soooooo, it's been a week since I've posted...one very long week.

It's been a week full of sickness, doctor's visits, church events, wintry weather, school delays, school closings, and (of course) loads upon loads of work. See? Tons of stuff!

Quick Recap [I may find the time to expand on a few things later...maybe]:

Gesundheit!!

- Thanks to my kiddo's recurring allergy problems [boo, genetics!], he was the unfortunate recipient of an ear infection last week. Luckily, I was able to get him an appointment with his doctor rather
quickly and he was back to himself in no time. As crappy as an ear infection is, we finally found a medication that will be useful when allergy season arrives [several medicines have been tried and failed...thankfully, this one doesn't have 'mood/personality' changes as a common side-effect!].

- My parent's church hosted a weekend for Junior High youth this past weekend. Not knowing exactly what I was getting into, I'd agreed to a pretty significant role [the preacher asked me about it while we were standing in line to get soup and sandwiches after the service a few weeks ago...I was hungry, there were sandwiches....I shouldn't be held accountable for things I agree to when pondering sandwich selection!].

The weekend ended up being phenomenal! I honestly think that I may have gotten more out of the weekend than some of the Junior High kids did [though, I hope that they did get just as much from the weekend as I did...]. At this point in my life, I shouldn't find things like this surprising anymore, and yet...I still find myself in awe of God's capability to use unlikely situations to bring me back from my [mostly self-induced] melancholy haze.

I can already tell that this topic alone could manifest several posts, so I'm just going to roughly summarize: this kids were amazing, spending time with people that I'd forgotten were my friends was something I'd needed for quite some time, hearts were touched, tears were shed, some spiritual lives were awakened for the first time, other spiritual lives received the revival that they'd been sorely needing...songs were sung, skits were performed, and hilarious inflatable sumo suits were worn in the Fellowship Hall! It was a good weekend...

- Alabama got a hefty dose of winter weather over the past week...Hamilton got 12' of snow! Pretty sure that 12' in one day is a lot, even by Northern standards! As could be expected, there was a lot of overreacting to the snow and ice...just about every day this week, school was delayed or cancelled. After the "Snowpocalypse" of last year, I guess the overreaction can be justified. Things are supposed to be much warmer this weekend...highs in the mid- to upper-sixties! Welcome to Alabama, home of the craziest weather patterns ever!

Soooo, that was my week, in a nutshell. Throw in some 3DS Ocarina of Time and Big Hero 6 and that'll do it! Hopefully, I'll be back to posting regularly soon!

Behold! The terrifying wrath of the spurned Cuckoo!

Happy Madly in Love with Me Day!

Hooray...

So, it's Friday the 13th...

Today is also:
- Employee Legal Awareness Day
- Get A Different Name Day
- Madly in Love with Me Day
- National Tortellini Day
- Desperation Day
- Blame Someone Else Day
- World Radio Day
- International Condom Day


I hope you enjoy whichever is your celebration of choice!

*Note: I chose to title the post "Happy Madly in Love with Me Day," because I thought it sounded like a perfectly hilarious and sarcastic 'holiday.' I was leaning more towards a Sue Sylvester-esque sort of sentiment....and then, I read articles about the 'holiday' and learned that it's actually part of the ever-ridiculous 'female empowerment' movement.../sigh

Sooooo....let me throw my unsolicited view on the 'holiday' out there...I think it would be far more appropriate if the day were meant for all people. Male, female, or otherwise, I think all people should feel comfortable loving themselves...after all, if you can't love yourself, can you truly love someone else?

And just in case you don't know what Sue Sylvester shenanigan I'm referring to:

In the 8th episode of the 2nd season of Glee, Sue Sylvester plans to get married...to herself. Yep!

INFJ + Stress = Yikes...

I know it's been awhile, but I've found some more MBTI [Myers-Briggs Type Indicator] information that I thought was post-worthy.

[I first mentioned MBTI on this post]

I found this site's interpretation of INFJ behavior when exposed to stressful situations to be spot on...it's always a bit refreshing to read an article on your MBTI type and be able to say, "Yep! That's definitely me!"

[/chuckle which is an INFJ thing for me to say...seems like we INFJs enjoy affirmation of our MBTI traits more than most other MBTI types...]

According to Personality Playbook, stress can really do a number on an INFJ:

Normally, INFJs are most thrown off and stressed out by environments that oppose their own personal set of values.  INFJs often become stressed when they are forced to extravert too much without a break to recharge their batteries, working in a place filled with lots of noise, and in places where they must work with those they see as lazy or ignorant individuals. They may become bored and/or frustrated with activities that require attention to lots of details, dictate specific processes that must be handled in a certain way, or environments where they feel unappreciated or misunderstood.

When faced with stress overload, which may come from dealing with unfamiliar environments with overwhelming amounts of details, having to extravert too much or in uncomfortable ways, or having their well settled plans disrupted, INFJs may find themselves “in the grip” of their inferior function, Extraverted Sensing.  During this experience, the individual is likely to do things that are typically completely out of character.  This may include binging on the pleasures of the senses by binge-eating, over-exercising, buying lots of useless items, etc.. INFJs may assume the worst of and become angry with the world, even blaming inanimate objects for purposely causing problems (ex. an ottoman tripping the individual on purpose), and they may obsess over details in the world around them that usually seem unimportant.

Fortunately, going through and coming out of a grip experience can lead to growth and balance of the personality and the person.

Personality Playbook - INFJ

Here's the link to their INFJ page. From there, you can click on links to take you to the pages of the other MBTI types.

Curious to know what your MBTI type is? You can click on the link at the top of this post to visit one of my previous posts...there, I'd posted a link to a site where you can learn which MBTI type you are.

Thoughts? Comments? If yes, please don't hesitate to either leave a comment or send me an email...I love MBTI and talking to others about similarities and differences between the types!

[P.S. - I'm still freaking out about my hair appointment!]

A Collector's Dilemma...

Evidently, I need to be banned from eBay... for the sake of my bank account!

A few months ago, I found these Supernatural Pop! figures by Funko at 2nd and Charles...

Love these!

Of course, I bought them both at the same time [how could I pick one and leave the other behind?!?]...and I noticed that there's a tiny Castiel that completes the trio [there's a picture of him on both boxes]. I looked, but wasn't able to find a Cas at 2nd and Charles that day. Little did I know that tiny Cas would be such a difficult one to find!

Turns out, Castiel was a special edition that had a limited release with Hot Topic [naturally, I didn't know this until the year after it was available is stores]. So, now I'm not just looking for a figure that's over a year old...I'm looking for a special edition, limited release figure that's over a year old!

Honestly, it was pretty easy to find one. A quick search on either eBay or Amazon will show you several sites that you can visit to buy one.
What I didn't expect, though, was to learn that there are actually several more figures that must be purchased if I'm going to have a truly complete collection...

Turns out, there were two editions of Castiel released for Hot Topic...one with wings and one without.

Wait! There's more!

Hot Topic also carried a special edition, limited release Charlie figure. And now, there are carrying two Crowley figures [one with normal eyes and one with red eyes].

I've also learned that there are special editions of both Sam and Dean that features blood splattered faces. And there are special editions of both Sam and Dean that feature blood splattered faces and metallic paint jobs for their clothes. [Did I mention that all four of these figures appear to have been released for conventions. And from what I'm gathering, those conventions were in Australia!]

Sooooo, yeah...

What I thought would be a venture to find a singular Castiel figure [and only cost me around $15] is very quickly adding up to a costly endeavor...

Here's the dilemma: do I simply not pursue completing my collection? Or should I spend [more] time and money than originally expected to make said collection complete?

/sigh

I'm starting to think that these Funko things should come standard with a warning label!

Misophonia Triggers...

Found this on BuzzFeed today...I couldn't resist sharing...

24 Mispronunciations Guaranteed To Annoy The Nerd In You

I'm A Panda!!

Semi-exciting stuff:

My order from ThinkGeek finally arrived!

I ordered part of my brother's birthday gift and a Christmas gift to myself from their site about a week ago...I'm super glad that it's made it here on time. [Last year, my brother's gifts were late...]

Ordinarily, I love everything that I order from ThinkGeek. This time? Not so much.

The pajamas that I ordered for myself are great! They're pretty much exactly as described and, as of right now, I plan on keeping them. My brother's gift is the problem...I received it damaged.

I've never had to return anything that I've ordered from them, so I'm hoping that their return/replacement process is an easy one. I opted to 'chat' with a representative through the portal on their website...I sincerely hope that it's going to be worth the almost 1 hour wait to talk to someone.

*Update* I just got finished chatting with ThinkGeek...when I mentioned that I'd received a damaged item, they offered to give me a refund or send me a replacement, with express shipping, at no cost! And I received an email with the information for the replacement item's order...with their 'express shipping' options, their website says I should receive the item within 1 business day plus processing time...maybe his gift will get here in time after all!

For myself, I ordered a set of panda kigurumi! [Kigurumi are the Japanese-style fleece onesie pajamas...typically they're animal or cartoon character designs.]

A few hours into kigurumi ownership and I already love them more than I thought I could ever love a set of oversized jumpsuit pajamas....[hey, if loving pajamas is wrong, I don't wanna be right...]

I wish I had given more thought to my kigurumi selection though [it was an impulse buy]...I probably should have picked a design with far less white on it. Also, the placement of the tail is a bit unfortunate. It requires some tail-maneuvering before I sit down, or else it ends up being quite an uncomfortable experience. I'm also concerned that the tail might get damaged or even come off...sitting on it at the required odd angles can't be good for the stitching...

That being said, it would only make sense to order another set in a different design, wouldn't it? [Orrrrr...maybe I'm just looking for a reason to order more!]
Here's a link to a store that has far more kigurumi options than ThinkGeek...check them out!

http://kigurumi-shop.com/

Pentatonix Now, Hobbit Later...

So, I think it may have been a bit early to start reading The Hobbit to my kiddo...

Doesn't seem like he's got the attention span for full-length stories quite yet. Just a handful of pages into the book and he was already asking about the big dragon fight...I forget that children's books are tailored to a child's attention span [or lack thereof]...oh well, I'll just wait a bit longer before I try to start the book again...

Switching topics:

I'm still obsessing over Pentatonix! Love their stuff!

Here's their official video for their cover of Ariana Grande's 'Problem.' These guys are pretty much musical wizards...they must be! I can't think of any other explanation for how they are able to take a 'hit pop song' that is barely tolerable on the ears and then turn it into something amazing! [They actually do it quite often...give their videos on YouTube a look over...you'll see what I'm talking about....]

They're all fantastic singers, but I must admit that I've picked a favorite...care to guess? [If you've known me long enough, you'd know that I have a weakness for all things bass!]

Yep. Their absolutely astounding bass singer Avi is definitely my favorite! Especially in this video...0:23 and 2:13 are just ridiculous...haha, yeah...I'll just leave it there. Can't have my blog headed to those NSFW waters...

...yeah, I'm not even going to pretend that I've got anything else to post about. I just wanted to post the video. And write about Avi. Yep. That's it.

Fantastic Monday! [Now There's An Oxymoron...]

A few things that I'm excited about:

- This afternoon, I made the decision that I'm going to start reading my kiddo The Hobbit for his bedtime story. He's very much into playing out adventures and what better story to use as an introduction to more 'adult' literature? I gave him a 2-minute break down of the basics of the story, and he's thrilled! I'll be sure to post how the initial reading goes...

- I finally decided on what to get the kiddo as his 'big' gift this year...I placed an order for Amazon's Fire HD Tablet, Kids Edition. The specs are pretty fantastic for the price and it comes with a 2-year 'worry free guarantee,' which sounds like they'll replace the tablet, no questions asked. Definitely a plus! [He and I are both accident-prone...so, it'll be one less thing for me to have to keep a constant eye out for...if it breaks, no big deal!] In addition to the guarantee, it comes with a year's subscription to Amazon's 'Free Time' app service...this is the bit that allows for parental control over content and duration...I'm hoping it works as well as it's supposed to. And if worst comes to worst, I'll have a Fire HD tablet if my kiddo ends up not playing with it very much. [I read on multiple sites that if you disable the Free Time mode, the tablet is a regular Fire HD tablet. Completely adult friendly.]

- I was able to order pizza for dinner tonight for virtually free! Thank you Papa John's points! [Know what happens when you have happy pizza purchasers? Great tips for their beloved delivery drivers!! Add to that the increased tipping tendencies of a former food industry worker, and you've got the makings for something great! Hear that, Papa Johns? Keep up the great work!!]

- I fully intend to watch about 600+ hours of Supernatural tonight! [Am I exaggerating? /shrug Yeah, probably...]

I hope you all are having an excellent Monday...here's to a great week!

See? Jensen/Dean knows what's up!

Thoughts On Death Note....

Well...I just finished watching Death Note.

Overall, I thought the series was...umm....interesting, I suppose.

Netflix has the series listed as having only one season with 37 episodes. However, as characters and motives change due to the progression of the story line, I think that it's acceptable to view the entire series as having two definitive parts....

Okay. If you haven't watched the show yet and think that you might like to watch it at some point...you should stop reading this post now...some of the things I'm about to say about the show are going to be MAJOR SPOILERS...now that the disclaimer is out of the way, I'll continue...

L

Those who are familiar with the anime or manga know that this odd looking character is L. [L is the brains behind the operation that is trying to capture Kira] He is odd and quirky but he is undeniably a genius...[this is proven several times during the anime]

Bahahaha!

At first, I found his character to be off-putting and rather annoying...but as the story progressed, he quickly became my favorite character. I mean, what's not to like? He's brilliant, self-assured, and delivers some of the funniest lines in the anime...the little comic strip to the right? That's an actual scene from the show...hilarious!

Anyway...somewhere around the halfway mark of the series, L dies. Guys...L dying, to me, was a slightly less scarring version of Harry Potter's Snape dying. [Yes, yes...the death of Snape was much more gut wrenching...but this character death is definitely up there...]

I can understand why L's character had to die for the sake of the story...well, kind of...but this was a pivotal point for me. I found the series to be far less interesting once L was no longer a key player. The absence of his character changed the show to the point that I almost stopped watching it...obviously I continued on to finish the series...but, honestly? I didn't really want to.

Light Yagami

This handsome looking fellow to the left is Light Yagami, pretty sure that it's alright to say that he's the main character of the story.

As the story begins, Light is introduced as a very intelligent high school senior [he boasts the best test scores in Japan] who has the brightest of futures ahead of him. His father is Chief of the Japanese Police Force, a detail that Light eventually uses to his advantage.

Light is the first human that encounters the Death Note dropped by the shinigami Ryuk [I mentioned Ryuk in my previous post on Death Note] and he ultimately becomes the mastermind behind all the Kira killings and the fallout that follows.

Light's character development is...well...it's crazy! He begins with intentions that are, for the most part, 'good.' He aims to rid the world of evil doers and criminals, and he's found ways to do so utilizing the Death Note...but it doesn't take long at all before his intentions become warped into something much, much more sinister.

Truer words have never been
meme'd...

Before you know it, Light has become determined to become the new 'god' of his idea of a Utopian world...one that has been shaped and groomed by himself acting as Kira. It becomes clear that Light intends on achieving this goal through pretty much whatever means are necessary...Light goes so far as to using deaths of his family members to insure his coming out on top...which is just plain dirty.

The depth and detail that Light puts into his plans are remarkable. He is able to correctly anticipate people's actions even months in advance...so, in that aspect, he's quite impressive. There's one twist that occurs shortly before L's death that definitely had me giving him mental applause...but his thought processes are just too insidious to overlook and, in my opinion, render him unlikable. At the end of the story, Light had zero redeeming qualities. None. And that's a lot coming from a girl who typically sympathizes with the bad guy!

Though, I definitely give the writers credit...the progression of Light from innocent high school senior to world dominating sociopath is extremely well-done. By the end of the series, Light becomes a character that is truly unsettling...watch the last episode...tell me that his laughter isn't that of a maniacal villain!!

The 'Post-L' portion of the show focused heavily on Light's interactions with Misa as he manipulates her to fit into his Kira plans.

Misa's the blonde...not the
shinigami behind her...

I really, really dislike Misa's character. Really dislike her.

She's the second human that encounters a Death Note...she becomes the first 'Second Kira' in the story...and she goes to outrageous lengths to meet up with Kira/Light. The story says that she's infatuated with Kira due to him killing the murderer of her parents, but then she meets Light and 'falls in love' with him and the fact that he's Kira.

I was very disappointed that her character never developed any real depth...throughout the whole series, she's just this gullible, stereo-typically dumb 'pretty girl' who will do literally anything Light asks her to just because she fell in love with him at first sight.

I mean...seriously.

Misa goes along with whatever Light says [she even goes so far as to sacrifice half of her remaining life span, twice!] in hopes of being useful to him so that he might love her back. It's pathetic.

But...the introduction of Misa and therefore the second Death Note does create more complexity for the story...and it gets interesting at times to see how Light manages to juggle not just one, but two Death Notes. [But I still don't like Misa. Nope.]

What else....

Oh, yes. Near.

Near

Near steps in and fills the role as L's true successor [After L's death, Light fills in as the replacement L for the media and what not...but Light isn't actually going to pursue Kira now, is he?]. The story reveals that L and two younger potential successors grew up together in the same orphanage. The two younger ones, Near and Mellow, seems to be at odds over who will be L's true successor...L didn't have the chance to pick one of them before he died. Mellow, the older of the two, gets frustrated at this and relinquishes the role to Near [though, as I'm sure you'd predict, Mellow leaves to pursue Kira on his own].

As a stand alone character, Near is very likable...but as a successor to L? Meh...not so much.

Oddly enough, I can't really pinpoint a reason why I didn't like Near...I think it's because I liked L as much as I did.

In the end, Near is able to out-smart the officially-lost-his-fruit-loops Light, prove that Light is Kira, and expose the second Kira [X-Kira, at this point] all in one fell swoop. Everything goes down inside of an abandoned warehouse...and the scene begins with Near wearing an L mask. That was creepy...

Wait...what?!?

The series has one of the most 'wtf' endings that I've seen to date.

Light has a clear mental breakdown, X-Kira dies with an actual geyser of blood spurting from his chest, and Ryuk has a few words to say before he writes Light's name in his Death Note...

 I grabbed a screenshot from a YouTube video of the blood geyser scene...I'm not going to post the actual video [you're more than welcome to look it up, if you'd like...the character's name is Mikami...] but that should give you a good idea of how crazy Death Note's ending is...

I've read that there have been a few post-production thing released that kind of elaborate on the story's ending and some of the events that happened afterwards...but I'm really not interested in watching them. [That is, with the exception of the one showing Ryuk's thoughts on the whole thing...that, I'd watch...]

Overall...I think Death Note is a good anime, and I suppose that I would recommend it. But once you reach the point that L dies, feel free to skip to the last two episodes or so...but beware of the L-masked Near...there are something that you can't un-see!!

What A Curious Little Beasty...

I watched a few movies over the last several days...thought I'd share my thoughts/opinions...maybe someone will find them useful!

First up is Disney's Maleficent.

I remember being ridiculously excited for this movie when I first started seeing trailers for it last year.

To me, the big selling point of this movie was that we would get to see a different side to the classic Sleeping Beauty fairy tale...I've always been a big fan of classic protagonists. For years, I maintained that it would be a brilliant paper topic to write about the happenings in The Phantom of the Opera from the view-point of the Phantom. Most people view the Phantom as the clear-cut villain in the story...after all, he terrorizes the opera house and it's patrons...and he kidnaps Christine! Call it the odd side of me, the side that can't help but be drawn to things that are melancholy and misunderstood...but I've always sympathized with the Phantom rather than despised him. His poor soul...the pain and suffering that he must have been made to endure, especially when he was a child...

/sigh...my views on Phantom could make up for a dozen posts on their own, and I'm getting away from the actual topic...

The movie begins by announcing to the viewers that the "true" story [of Sleeping Beauty] isn't quite as we've been told. Then we are shown a young Maleficent and are enlightened as to why she grows to be in conflict with the King [as we see in the beginning of Disney's animated Sleeping Beauty].

Now, I really liked the whole premise that this movie has set for why Maleficent becomes the villain that we are familiar with. I can't go into detail without ruining the story, my apologies. Just know that it's pretty good...I wouldn't say that it makes for a 'must own' DVD or BluRay, but I definitely feel as if I got my money's worth out of my RedBox rental! [Yeah, yeah...I know it's less than a whole $2, but when money's tight, money's tight...]

I've got no wings on me!

The only thing that I didn't really care for has to do with the classification of magical creature that the story has chosen for Maleficent. In this movie, she is said to be a fairy...the largest of all the fairies in the Moore. I'm sure that I'm discontent with this classification only because of what I've come to accept as fairies through stories and various books are very different than this 'fairy' version of Maleficent. Fairies are, in my mind, supposed to be tiny, wisp-like creatures with delicate butterfly-type wings...unless it's a dark fairy...that's a different story...

Anyway...I thought that perhaps this winged Maleficent would be better classified as a Valkyrie. But some quick research on the topic and I learned that this would not be a proper classification either.

Originating in Norse mythology, Valkyries were female spirits [helpers of Odin, if you would] that hoovered around battlefields and would select those that were to die in battle. Commonly depicted with wings on their helmets, but the Valkyries themselves do not have wings. [I mistakenly thought that they did] Turns out that this misconception is probably because the Valkyries were allowed to disguise themselves by taking the form of a swan...but if  a human were to see a Valkyrie in her true form, she would become an ordinary human and would never be able to return to Valhalla.

Soooo....yeah. Pretty sure this rules out Maleficent as being a Valkyrie.

If you're harpy and you know it...

My next thought was that maybe it would be more correct to label Maleficent as a harpy.

I remembered, from my World of Warcraft playing days, that harpies were female creatures with wings. [Vicious, vicious female creatures...] The fact that harpies have wings is pretty much where the similarities with the newest version of Maleficent end. Maleficent certainly did not have a bird-like body or feathers aside from her wings...

Soooo....nope. She's not a harpy either.

/Shrug

So, I guess she's a fairy. Why not.

Overall, it's a good movie. Give it a watch...maybe you'll be able to think up a better classification than fairy...if you do, please share!

I hadn't anticipated typing this much for just one movie...but it seems time has escaped me, so I'm going to have to save the other movies for another post. At least I'll have something to write about!

Waiting Always Sucks...

A bit of exciting news: I subscribed to this month's Loot Crate!

I wrote a post about the awesomeness that is Loot Crate back in September [Loot Crate Post], but this month will be my first to receive a Loot Crate.

Must...Buy...Loot Crate!!!

I'd received emails informing me that this month's theme is a "Battle" crate...and when I found out that there's going to be Assassin's Creed and Street Fighter merch in the crate, I couldn't resist!

Yesterday, I got the email confirming the shipment of my crate...now I'm just waiting for it to get here...[note that I never said I was waiting patiently!]

I'll be sure to post about the contents of the crate when it arrives...here's to hoping it's awesome stuff!!

I Love Baymax!

Here's something else I'm excited about:

Big Hero 6 comes out next weekend!!

If you haven't seen a trailer for the latest Disney movie yet, give the one I've posted above a shot...

It's going to be awesome!!

Marvel Universe Live! (Take My Money!)...

Marvel Live!

So, this weekend was a big weekend...

Marvel Live! weekend was finally here!!
[I'd previously written about this...]

After a little debate on which showing to take my kiddo to see,  I finally decided on one and was ridiculously stoked about the whole thing. Seeing my son truly, radiantly happy...I don't know how to explain what it does to me...it brings me a sense of happiness that can't be rivaled by anything else. Nothing else. In those moments, nothing else matters. It doesn't matter that I had a 'bad day at work,' it doesn't matter that I've had three car accidents in one month, and it doesn't matter that I feel like I lose at the parenting game more than I win...none of it matters. In those moments when he's that sort of beaming pure innocence happy...I feel as if I'm not the terrible parent that I feel I must be at times.../deepbreath sorry, didn't mean to steer this post in that direction...

The show was fantastic! I loved it, my kiddo loved it, the kid and mom sitting next to us loved it! And I'm sure whomever receives the profits for the show really loved it. The tickets were 'holy crap' expensive...but to be fair, I didn't have to spring for the front row seats, but I wanted my kiddo to have the best experience possible. That being said, I'm going as a Marvel fan and a parent, here's some things that might be helpful for anyone who plans on seeing the show anytime soon...

The little doodad on the right is call a "Lectro Link" and there's an option to pre-pay for one if you order your tickets online prior to the show, but you could also buy one from one of the many vendor stands selling souvenirs before the show. This bad boy is $25. $25!!! At best, its a very cheaply put together plasticky watch with a few LED lights inside. The big sell point for these things is that they allow for direction interaction for the show...sounds awesome, right? It's not. At least it's not $25 worth of awesome.

At the beginning of the show, the Lectro Link is introduced as a way for everyone that had one to help power up Tony Stark's arc reactor if there should ever be a problem and his power begins to fail...but the whole premise is kind of ruined when Jarvis pipes up and say that the same effect could be achieved by being in close proximity to other devices such as cell phones and digital cameras. /eyeroll

Anyway. The stupidexpensivepieceofjunk lights up whenever Iron Man is in trouble and needs some help. It happens in the show exactly one time. One. And the whole thing was so brief, my kiddo didn't even notice that the thing had lit up by itself until it was turning off. Ridiculously underwhelming. So, parents, save your money. The day after the show, my son's stupid Lectro Link won't even light up anymore when you push the button. The batteries are replaceable, but I'm not going to start the vicious cycle of replacing them every 24 hours. Nope.

Why, hello Spiderman...

Of course all of the souvenirs are over-priced, as is all available food. I paid $14 for the world's most terrible snow-cone...just because it came with a 'collectible' plastic mug. They sell all sorts of stuff emblazoned with "MARVEL LIVE!!" and whatnot. Maybe you'll luck out and managed to sneak past all of the obnoxious cotton candy mongers and toys with flashing lights...but chances of successfully doing so are ludicrously slim, so I suggest that you be prepared to drop a pretty penny on some memorabilia.

As far as seating, I was surprisingly disappointed with my front row experience. I'd been hopeful for some amount of front row interaction with some of the show's characters, but there was none of that. Absolutely none. In fact, I think the only time any of the actors even pretended to pay the crowd any attention was after the show had concluded and they were bowing for their curtain call. I suppose that it's necessary in order to maintain the feel that the audience is watching a live-action comic book...but....eh. I think it would have made a world of difference if they had some time for the actors to meet with the audience before or after the show...kind of like a pit pass sort of thing. Especially if the front row tickets are over $100 and I've just been ripped-off buying the stupid Lectro Link.

Another word of advice: if you have a child that is over the age of 4...do not waste your money sitting on the front row. In fact, I'd avoid the first 15 rows altogether.

Being too close to the stage allows for an up-close look at a lot of production details that small kids probably don't need to see. Sitting so close to the stage, the production staff was obviously visible whenever they needed to sneak in and change out a bit of equipment. Furthermore, from the front row, all of the actor's cables used for flying stunts were right in our faces. The 3 year old sitting next to us wasn't phased by any of this at all...but my kiddo spent a good bit of the show watching the production crew move equipment rather than watching the action that was supposed to distract from said equipment movement. So, save the money that would have been splurging on front row tickets and go ahead and get the more reasonably priced seats that are further from the stage.

All things considered, my son and I had an amazing time. As soon as the show was over, my kiddo was asking me if we could come back and watch it again the next day...so, yeah...it was worth every begrudgingly spent dollar.

And...I got this pretty sweet arc reactor necklace. Was it actually worth the $10 price tag? Nah. It doesn't light up, has a plastic clasp, and I'm pretty sure that it's sized for children rather than adults...but...it's an arc reactor necklace that has Marvel Live! emblazoned on the back! There was no was I was going to be able to walk away from that bad boy! [/sigh the perils of being a Marvel nerd...]