Okay, so we're doing this

Whelp, I was gonna have a meaningful post about Raul Esparza and personal growth today, but then the Death Note trailer dropped.

 

Tomorrow, you treasure.

Ohhhhhh boy. It's gonna get UNCOMFORTABLE UP IN HERE.

So, Death Note was the last anime I finished before Puella Magi Madoka Magica. It's about a charming, intelligent, totally sociopathic high schooler Light Yagami (yes, his real name, I suspect it doesn't translate well) that gets the power to kill anyone who he knows the name and face of.

This guy is a douche.

Naturally, the police are WTF when criminals start dropping dead. Enter L (real name withheld, because he doesn't wanna die) the world's greatest detective.

Our hero!

There's a LOT of details I'm leaving off, like the rules, death gods, familial entanglements, love triangles, etc, but the story at it's most basic is a cat and mouse game between L and Light to discover each others identities so Light can kill L or L can catch Light.

I'm going to avoid spoilers, since the series is pretty good and you should watch/read it. It's so good, there have been a few live-action movies in Japan already.

And while this trailer looks like it's been lifted right from the anime, there are several major plot threads that were totally changed as the films went on, resulting in prequel movies, and an overall overhaul of the story. I'm not as familiar with these movies, but from my understanding, people accepted the changes and they were very successful.

Enter the American trailer.

To put it simply, people are not happy about it.

There's a lot to unpack here, and I can still do it while avoiding spoilers. First off, a LOT of people are pissed that Light is white. Also now named Turner/ The setting has been moved from Japan to America (apparently Seattle, if the space needle is any indication). I'm unfamiliar with the actor playing Light, but if he's good, that's something. Still, should have been an equally good Asian dude.

Also, L is now black. L was distinctly not-Japanese before, so I think this is causing less tension. Granted, he looks nothing like his counterpart either. People don't seem to be as mad about that, for whatever reason.

Who is the smoking cheerleader? There's only 1 major female character that I can think of offhand, and that's a 180 from her look.

Misa. I am not a fan. You know what you did!

Second, there seem to be some action set pieces that aren't related to the show; that whole Ferris wheel thing? No idea where that came from.

There are some things that are unchanged; the look of the notebook. The use of Kira as an alias for Light (originally derived from Japanese mispronunciation of the English word 'killer'. Not sure how that's supposed to play here).  The shot of the notebook falling from the sky. The apple. All very important elements.

On the positive side, Willem Dafoe as Ryuk, the god of death that provided the killer notebook, is already being hailed as a great choice.

Perfect.

I'm reserving judgement until it airs, since I'm a pretty recent fan, and have only seen the show once. But, if people want a more authentic version, at least in this case it exists. Unlike some franchises...

Just why?

Strangest Thing

So, I've finished watching the first season of Stranger Things.

This is one of those rare series where not only does it live up to the hype, but it speaks to MANY things I love. Stephen King, IT, The Thing, Poltergeist, E.T., The Evil Dead, Spielberg coming of age films, D&D, 80s horror, practical effects, responsible use of CGI, realistic characters, alternate universes, and just good writing.

I'm still reading through fan theories, references, and other "we're waiting for Halloween" fan ramblings. I'm sure I'll add to them myself, given enough time. But, in the meantime, here's some cool stuff I found on Reddit, Buzzfeed, and other internet hidey-holes.

We still have months until my favorite holiday rolls around, and with it the next season. So, we'll leave things on this note...

A new adventure (and by adventure, I mean not that)

After finishing Puella Magi Madoka Magica I found myself without an anime for a bit. Lucky for me, The Devil is a Part Timer! is back on netflix.

Time to go to MgRonald's to celebrate.

This is one of those shows where I watched a few episodes, then Netflix dumped it. It's only been a little while, so I didn't need to rewatch the first two episodes again to recall the premise; The Dark Lord Satan (not our satan, seems to be more of a title) his demon first officer, and the hero who's trying to kill them, are expelled from their fantasy world into modern day Japan. Satan, now a human teen must get a part time job at a fast food joint to survive. Oh the hijinks!

Surprisingly, there's not a lot of 'I'm Satan, bow before me!' humor going on. The Devil, now called Sadao Maou, is just interested in working hard to rise in the world. Granted, this is so he can get back to the other dimension and take it over, but he's nice to his lieutenant/roommate, the coworker crushing on him, and even the hero who's still pursuing him.

It's not what I expected, and that's part of the fun. The joke of 'I'm so much better than you.' would wear thin pretty fast. The 'WTF, he's literally satan, why is he just being a normal dude?' is pretty fun.

Satan is adorable!

I'm only three episodes in, but this is another anime with few episodes (13) so I'll get through the rest in a week or so.  No idea what I'll watch next. Maybe they'll bring back 'My Bride is a Mermaid...'

Makes sense in context.

The IT Spot: Breath in that Derry air! Plus, Dark Tower

Some really cool pictures of the models of Derry and the sewers below have been released. Drink in this gorgeous 50's exterior:

The are some iconic and important places in Derry, and I hope the actual film looks this good. But we've also got a glimpse at the sewers, where the real action is!

The most important thing, aside from how grim and gross the sewers look, is the graffiti. If they're actually going to discuss The Turtle in the movie, my hopes are considerably heightened. This is a being that ties heavily in to King's multiverse,with specific importance to both IT and The Dark Tower.

Speaking of which, we got a poster!

After a long look, I find myself happy with the poster. It doesn't really give us much to go on, but implying the multi-verse is a good start. I would have liked the desert background, but it's more than acceptable.

Can't wait for a trailer!

*UPDATE!* We also have the poster with the colors flipped for an awesome reveal.

Boycotting boycotting

Hawaii was the first state to block Trump's new travel ban. So now Trump supporters are urging a boycott of Hawaii.

Much like the laughable Hamilton boycott, this is just idiotic on it's face. Not only can you NOT boycott something you weren't able to get to/use anyway, people are not considering the everyday things they use from Hawaii and how a serious boycott would actually affect them.

Want to eat guacamole? NOPE! You're boycotting that now, along with coffee, macadamia nuts, bananas, guavas, papayas, and tomatoes. No pineapple on your pizza either.

or your pens.

Well, what about a night at the movies? Have fun avoiding Dwayne Johnston, the best-paid star in Hollywood. Also no Game or Thrones of Justice League for you, thanks to Jason Momoa.

This guy made Aquaman cool, damnit!

You can't even drown your sorrows in soda; Hawaii makes a LOT of cane sugar. Which is in pretty much everything. No tuna fish, no cotton cloth, or special spam recipes either.

Though like pineapple, this will hit some harder than others.

"Boycotters" need to admit it: #BoycottHawaii is just saber rattling. They're not going to bother to check where these things come from, or pay more to get non-Hawaiian versions of them. And good luck to them trying explaining how Moana is evil to their kids. See how far that gets you.

Oh, and just in case they are able to avoid ALL these things, Maryland has also stopped the ban. Yet (gasp!) I don't see anyone saying #BoycottMaryland and it's fine output of crabs and planes. It's almost like a bunch of racists seized on a state they were never going to visit anyway, just to be part of an echo chamber!

And as for the possible lost tourism? I think this sums it up pretty well:

Silver Eyes, or, what's the fuss about?

I just finished reading the tie-in novel for the FNAF series, The Silver Eyes. As mentioned previously, I found the book underwhelming to okay. The additional lore was worth the read, and the main character actually had character. I'm looking forward to wasting my time with the follow up novel set for this summer, The Twisted Ones.

This one is based on the game that takes place in the nightmares of a dying child! Hooray!

The book was published for teens, so I didn't go in expecting greatness. The problem is the action is limited, with almost no scares, and very little bloodshed. Goosebumps is scarier than this.

Most FNAF fans aren't enraged over the lacking story; it's the deviations from the game that madden them. For example, the animatronic eyes are brighter and differently colored.

 

Blasphemy!

Scott Cawthon has stated the INFO in the books is canon, but it also takes place in a separate timeline from the games. That translates roughly to "Just repeat to yourself it's just a franchise, I should really just relax."

See the SOL for greater detail (now on Netflix!).

As much as I like preserving every detail, there have to be allowances for changes in medium. I can allow for an altered story or details, if the changes make sense, I.E. dropping Jud Crandall's wife from the Pet Semetary movie since her impact on the plot was negligible. Changes for change sake are where I need to draw the line.

We don't speak it's name, lest it hear and return.

The TLDR of this is that The Silver Eyes is no great horror novel, but it does flesh-out the lore of FNAF, and it's totally readable. Just don't expect to enjoy it more than watching Markiplier do a lets-play.

Or even this reaction compilation.

That moment when

One of my favorite video game reviewers is a crazy racist.

JonTron, a video game an movie reviewer so funny that I actually watch his video game reviews, tweeted and debated in a video some things about immigration, racism, and other hot-button political issues. Highlights apparently include him claiming "colonialism benefited the people that were colonized, wealthy black Americans commit more crimes than poor whites, the court system doesn’t display bias against people of color, that Irish and Italians were always considered “white” in America, and that Black Lives Matter doesn’t disavow violence."

Well, shit.

The JonTron reddit page has locked down in response to this, but not before some memes got in. Memes make everything better, right?

No, memes don't make everything better.

Damnit, I just got to work, saw there was an article about JonTron in google news, and now I've got a damned moral dilemma. I wasn't even sure I had any subject matter for a blog. I wish I didn't.

This isn't like when rape allegations are brought against a celebrity, and I can get rid of their books and unsubscribe from their channel without looking back. This is America, and Jon can hold any political beliefs that he chooses. They can be dumb, ignorant, or even alternative facts, and you'll still go far, as Mr. Trump has proven.

But a bunch of the things he said were just incorrect on their face. Black Lives Matter DOES advocate for non-violence. Irish and Italians weren't always considered white in America. There IS racial bias in our courts.

The question now is, can I separate JonTron the entertainer from Jon Jafari the person I deeply disagree with.

This isn't without precedent. Mel Gibson is a fine actor, even if he is a shitty human (although, I've not watched any of his directorial work or old movies since the incidents). I've often said you either need to be a good person or a good actor (my chosen hobby) for me to work with you. I can count on one hand the number of people I personally know who have failed on both counts.

Sometimes the charge is too great, and one thing cannot trump the other: I've rid my home of Bill Cosby and Orson Scott Card's material. Rape, Homophobia, and Antisemitism are my hottest hot-button issues. You fail those marks, I don't care how talented you are. We're done.

So, one of my favorite entertainers is at best, misguided and misinformed, and at worst an active racist and isolationist.

I guess if we can have one running the country, I can watch one make funny videos.

The IT Spot: Penny for your thoughts

There's been some big news since my last IT Spot blog: first, Stephen King himself has praised the picture. Though I'm not sure I can trust the director of Maximum Overdrive to know what makes a good horror movie.

Hint: nothing in this.

The other is that the young cast of IT part one met their Pennywise, and was afraid of him. The director seems to think this is a big deal, but I'm less impressed. There's something to be said for your actors actually being afraid of the villain, but there's also an element of unprofessionalism there. I'm not sure if I'd rather have real fear verses capable actors who are comfortable enough to act afraid.

The original cast was afraid of Tim Curry, and it worked beautifully. The boy in Insidious was specially instructed that Lipstick Face wasn't real, and wasn't afraid. Both films are great, and both sets of child actors do fine.

Not that Lin Shaye seemed thrilled either.

Some of the greatest performances in horror were born of real discomfort. Shelly Duvall in The Shining was basically tortured by Stanley Kubrick. The skeletons in the Poltergeist pool scene were real. And lets not get started on what Hitchcock did to Tippi Hedron in The Birds.

But real fear isn't necessary to a good performance. Miko Hughes in Pet Semetary played with his doll stand-in. Robert Englund's co-stars are jovial and relaxed with him on Nightmare on Elm Street commentaries, recalling fun times on set. So it swings both ways.

I'm trying to remain optimistic, but with keeping the timeline linear as to "not confuse" the audience, and Pennywise's look, it's getting tough. I just have the hope the trailer looks good, since we should be seeing it soon.

When the notes are sour

So, over 800,000 homes in SE Michigan have lost power due to the crazy high winds Wednesday.

My house joined those numbers at 7am today, loooooooooooooong after the winds were over. Right now there's no estimate of when it'll be back on. Many of my readers and friends are in the exact same boat, so I'm not here for sympathy.

I can see my house from here!

The outage is so large, other states are getting involved. Warming centers are opening, as the temperatures are still in the 30s.

Both Bahamute and I are working today, warm and charging various devices. This evening and tomorrow we'd set aside for a break. Bahamute was planning on playing the new Zelda game all day, while I was going to catch up on some videos, books, and laundry.

This man is a genius, and he has a new review out.

Worst case senario we may prevail upon Bahamutes's brother and brother in law for a few hours of light if the outage lasts. Our animals will be fine for the moment, and I can cook with a gas stove very easily. I can read by candle light, as I literally have 500+ books (not including single-issue comics).

There was time now!

This is just a taste of the power and fury of nature. How easily we forget that at any moment the world around us can literally come crashing down. The ocean can take out destruction-proof cruisers. Winds whirl and kill. Even lakes can swallow ships and sailors.

Amid the temporary loss of our luxuries and trinkets we forget; the world takes people whole.