Pretentertaiment (In defense of art and critics)

Okay, first off: where have I been? Busy. I was hit with a severe case of ‘I should actually do some real writing for a change’ followed by ‘Hey I never got around to watching those TV shows, I should do that’ followed still by ‘Oh, hey finals are coming up, I had better study’. I also compiled a rather intimidating list of things I need to write on and realized somewhere a while back that I needed to take a break from the internet as well as people who take it and their interactions on it way too seriously. You could say that I saw what I could become in a few others on the blogsphere and promptly ‘freaked the fuck out’.

Well, I’m no less busy today than I was yesterday, but I figure I may as well drop in every once in a while to post something. Today’s topic is something that’s been on my mind for years. It bothers me because both arguments on each side fail to realize a basic truth I learned while studying to be a better writer. There is a time and a place for everything and anything and, even the stupidest, lowly movie/book/anime, can set out to be the best at what it wants to be.

Glenn Beck vs. Art: Does Symbolism = Propaganda?

I was about to put the finishing touches on an article about language and writing when I stumbled across a little gem I just have to show you all.  You see, I’ve been a bit busy as of late and have a few articles circulating (each of them close to being finished but not quite) and as such have not had the chance to really sit down and catch up on the news.

If you know nothing of right-wing, though he calls himself Libertarian, pundit Glenn Beck, then allow me to explain.  He is currently a very popular Fox News Host in the vein of Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly, the difference being that at least the latter two are honest with themselves on what they say.  Beck is more famous for selling lies in the form of pipe dreams.  He’ll talk in circles, making conspiracy theories and “asking the hard (read: nonsensical) questions”.  To give a hyperbolic example: Is Obama capable of eating through his ear?  He won’t tell us if he is or not.  I’m just asking questions here.  Why won’t Obama tell us about his ear eating habits?

A legend has died

Thanks to MovieBob and a quick google search, I’ve come to find that TV animation pioneer Art Clokey has died. You may not recognize him by name alone, but nearly everyone has seen his work. Remember Gumby or Davey & Goliath? Those were both him. As an animation fan, his death saddens me, just as Joseph Barbera’s (one of the three founders of Hanna-Barbera cartoons) death did. Still, the man lived a full life and contributed greatly to claymation and American icons. He will be remembered.

R.I.P. Art Clokey (1921 – 2010)

Kids these Days, and a few words on Christmas

I read somewhere once that when birds tweet, they aren’t talking so much as asking the same question over and over.  Each bird says “I am here, where are you?” only to receive a similar response from another bird.  I’d like to think that the internet acts the same way.  When I blog, I am simply penning my thoughts in an overly drawn out way of saying “I am here, where are you?” and each comment is a tweet back.  I only say this because I want to thank everyone who reads these posts and especially thank those who bother to comment.  I had a pretty stripped down Christmas this year, but I think it was still one of my bests in my overall lifetime.  I felt accomplished, good about myself and thankful for everything life had given me.  Like the ending to a sappy-faux-deep indie film, I felt like I had “found myself” or at least found a few things to keep me occupied as I pilot my wooden boat through the murky waters of life.

So, before this starts sounding like some fakey-flakey bullshit, let’s get to the heart of the matter, shall we?

I wanted to share a little something personal, now that Christmas is over, and we’re entering a new year.  It’ll be a final toast to what I would consider less a year, and more a collection of highly interesting events.  It’ll also be a semi-rant on ungrateful brats.

Let’s watch and laugh at Code Geass (episode #2)

[WARNING: LOTS OF IMAGES]

I kind of didn’t want to make this my first post back from my hiatus because…it’s just looks weird to me. OCD is such a strange mistress. “But!” I said to myself. “I haven’t posted in a while and that one article is taking longer than I thought, considering the research I have to do and all that. Oh, that and I’m being a lazy prick.” Being that I’m a bit of a Scrooge as I despise the holiday season and being that I’m sure I’ll come down with the seasonal flu in the next few days (Oh yea, wait until after Christmas to get sick. Way to screw up there, immune system.) I decided to just get this thing posted. I cut quite a few screencaps out as I felt it was getting ridiculously image heavy, but I think a fair warning and a nice cut will be good enough. Anyway, enjoy my summarizing of episode 2 of Code Geass.

ONE MORE THING, is it just me, or do a lot of girls watch this show for no other reason that “OMG LELOUCH”?

The White Knight Awakens

Moe is a character killer

Yes, that’s right, a rant about moe. However, this is not a typical rant where I talk about how the art style is usually bad and the glorification of weak characters is annoying and the fact that it sexualizes stupid, underage girls is insulting, because these things have been ranted about already by far funnier and smarter people than me. Instead, I am going to discuss what I would consider the worst part of moe. But, before we begin, I would like to clarify my beliefs on the subject.

Moe, on its own, does not bother me. It has its uses as some characters are just naturally cute or weak. However, these are the things I hate about moe, that will not be discussed, at least not at length, in this article:

• The art style isn’t that great. It can be used well, but the eyes that take up half of the face annoy me.

• The shows that focus around moe tend to be vapid and boring.

• Moe is becoming so popular that shows that don’t focus on it are becoming harder to find.

• God damned pedophilia.

• Retarded, useless, stupid little girls should never be considered a good thing.

Now, to the meat of things.

Just Stick with the Original Ending! 5 movies that jacked up the last few minutes

What do you often hear when you think of an adapted movie?  The book was better.  Oh yes, and the book is almost always better.  Why this is, is nothing the film can stop.  The stories in novels are generally written that way because the author felt they could be told that way the best.  The same goes for graphic novels, musicals, plays and the like.  Each author felt that the medium they chose was the best for their work.  Changing mediums is always risky.

This article is not about me bitching that adaptations don’t do it right.  I know why film adaptations will always be different or, in the college student’s trump card-like excuse, I took a film and literature class.  These are the inexcusable changes to endings where it was actually detrimental to the film as a whole, at least in my opinion.  Get your geek goggles on, cuz it’s time for a list of five movies (in no particular order) that jacked it up.

Warning: CONTAINS SPOILERS

The Park Bench Talk

Just a quick, non image heavy post before I get back to the loads of work I have this weekend.

Recently, I’ve picked up on reading anime blogs (I’ve been reading those two a lot, lately) and have consistently noticed the desire to have, what I will call, ‘the park bench talk’. Basically, the idea is to have a deep discussion involving themes, characters and plot for anime, with someone on a so-called ‘park bench’. As I sat in In-n-Out (California residents will know what I mean), eating a tasty burger and discussing with my friend, James, why I felt that a good plot and characterization was far more important than ‘deep’ meanings and that Higurashi is good because it sticks the landing with the basics of such things, I suddenly felt very conscious of the gift I was enjoying.

My Haremu

I know I said I’d be taking a break but my OCD is killing me after having missed two post dates, so here is a post I wrote a few weeks ago for just such an occasion.

A few other anime bloggers have been talking about their anime harems. Hell, the whole /a/ trend of claiming your waifu (wife) is growing out of control. Not content to settle with just one waifu, I have written down who would be in my haremu. This is a working list, subject to grow and gives an approximation for my tastes in men (and sometimes women).

Kurogane

C’mon, look at him! Look at how manly he is! Kurogane is a ninja from Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle who was punished by his queen for being a ninja and doing his job. I don’t get it either. Apparently you’re supposed to let the attacking enemy go because we all follow Naruto ninja standards. He was cursed and sent away to learn respect for human life.

No new updates for a bit…

Here’s my to do list before I get back to things.

– Finish commissions

– Finish Halloween stuff

– Figure this coding stuff out

After that, posting will be on it’s regular schedule.  I’ve got two things written to be posted once I get it all squared away.  Basically, short hiatus.