MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

I don't have an elaborate gift set up, but I'll share this album:

Halford III - Winter Songs


Rob Halford's take on various Christmas songs. It's actually quite beautiful and more than just WHOO HEAVY METAL CHRISTMAS RIFFS RIFFS RIFFS YEAH. "We Three Kings" and "Light of the World" are my two personal favorites.

Download

Hope everyone is having/has had a good holiday.

Netflix's subtitles for Star Trek TNG are hilariously terrible. For some ungodly reason Riker's line of "All stations, prepare for reconnection" in the first episode is captioned as "All stations, prepare for happy birthday." I don't have a screencap to prove it, but I'm sure someone else does.

And then there's this:



TNG Jeopardy! Yes, I'd like to buy a vowel.

( More screencaps )

This usually only happens to the subtitles occasionally, but for some reason it bombarded this particular episode like a virus. Sort of took away from the dramatic Klingon face-off.

I have now watched all the Trek movies aside from the 5th one, which I couldn't find available at any libraries (I guess I should feel fortunate that the worst movie is the one I can't get).

Now, Watch and Be Amazed As I Spout Off About 20-Year-Old Movies

▶ First off, The Voyage Home. Excellent movie, & probably the one I've seen the most behind-the-scenes pictures of. I always wondered what the hell was going on with this movie with the punk, the martial arts outfit Spock wears, the location...& now I get it. It's by far the least science-fictionesque film (I think a phaser gets fired one time the entire movie), but it's great fun. It's a movie that couldn't have been done early on because it relies so heavily on the characters & their interaction with each other & with the "ancient" world they've been whisked back to. It really made the cast feel like family, to put it in a sickeningly cheesy way. Kirk & Spock were hilarious, Bones got to one-up Spock quite a bit and was super tsundere, Sulu was a badass & got to showcase his geeky obsessions, Uhura was also a badass...etc.

When I first started watching, I thought "this isn't really the main plot, is it? Getting whales? Surely it'll turn into something else once they warp back in time." But no, that's the entire scenario. No dramatic overlooming villains, no epic battle scenes, no strategic space jargon. And yet it all comes together beautifully because the people behind this film knew the winning element of the Trek series--the characters--and capitalized on presenting them in a light-hearted, adventurous way to the audience. It just works. I'll admit, it felt odd to watch this after the waterworks-inducing Search for Spock, but once I finished it I couldn't stop smiling. I really needed a movie like this after II & III. I went through a transcript collecting my favorite quotes & damn near copied-and-pasted the entire film. Basically anything with Spock misusing profanity cracked me up, especially the "one damn minute, Admiral" line. kslfjlaf

I found it interesting that this is the first film with somewhat of a love interest for Kirk who isn't Enterprise/Spock/Bones/his hand. I got used to the girl-of-the-week while watching the series, annoying as it was at times, so not seeing any girls falling over themselves to get to Kirk in the films was a pleasant surprise. Now here we are again. I actually liked Gillian quite a bit, though. She was cool. I was a little disappointed when she suddenly got all flirty with Kirk towards the end, I was hoping they'd just be bros (it is possible to have a brolike relationship between a girl and a guy, dammit)...but still. I liked her wit. However, as she doesn't seem to appear ever again, I guess she was just another girl-of-the-week (or movie, in this case) for Kirk. Oh you, Kirk.

So yeah. Ramble ramble, I loved this movie & it made me even more googly-eyed for the cast than I was before. And lastly...

▶ ...The Undiscovered Country. I had very little knowledge of this one, so I felt a little blind going into it. I was nervous something would happen--the death of a regular or something--because I really hadn't heard that much about it. Thankfully no such thing happened. I thought the premise was really interesting & of course very reminescent of current events at the time the movie came out. The entire series the Klingons have been the one race that seemed overtly "bad" through the show's eyes, and certainly through Kirk's, especially after the third movie. Now, at last, this feature presented a more three-dimensional view of them, something I'd been wanting to see for a long time. And yet, even the audience is hesitant to trust them (or at least, I was) after all they've been shown to represent. I didn't trust any of them, least of all Gorkon, and look how it turned out. I was as prejudiced as Kirk was. Touché, movie, touché.

Loved Spock in this. Loved him. What has really impressed me about these movies is that they actually have--gasp--character development. Kirk grows beyond his smug defiance after witnessing Spock's death. Bones becomes more deredere tolerant toward Spock and realizes he needs to appreciate him more after his death. And perhaps most significant of all, Spock slowly shows acceptance of many of the human elements he so scorned before. Well, maybe that isn't the right way to put it. I think he's inwardly acknowledged the advantages of his human characteristics for awhile, but this movie made it evident he was no longer concerned about seeming "too human." He explains his reasons for having a human painting in his room without blinking an eye & even states that logic is not the end-all be-all of wisdom. Not something the television series Spock would've said, I'm sure. The exchange between him & Valeris may be one of my favorite scenes in the movie for how well it shows Spock's growth.

Loved the Kirk/Spock/Bones interaction too, as usual. It simultaneously saddened & excited me to see Kirk & Spock admitting their prejudices to each other. Again, dat character development. Wouldn't be hearing Spock speak this easily to Kirk in the original television series. I really enjoyed the moment between Kirk & Bones. Their relationship doesn't seem to get as much exposure as Kirk/Spock and Spock/Bones, possibly because it doesn't have as much obvious conflict--they've always had a pretty amiable relationship, even when they lecture each other--so that was a much needed scene. Oh yeah, and Spock and Bones working together at the end to modify the torpedo. HNNNNNNGH. Perfect. Although the dynamic of the relationships in Star Trek certainly remains recognizable, the characters don't remain completely static with each other, and I love that.

Let's see, what else. MOTHERFUCKING CAPTAIN SULU almost distracted me from the Enterprise crew at times because I wanted to see what he was up to. What a badass. I bet he gives fencing lessons to the crew in his off-time. The soundtrack was awesomely dark compared to the other movies (which was yet another factor in making me fear something really bad would happen), the alien chick was weird, Uhura laughing like a Klingon was lolworthy. The ending was perfect for the series. Optimistic, yet also completely mysterious with that element of adventure that's made the Enterprise crew as successful as it is. Really liked it. (and Spock's "go to hell" line, oh lawd. Spock. How you have changed.)

Holy shit did I type a lot. Sorry. This is really the only place I can ramble on and on about things like this, and I have become so immersed in the Trek universe as of late I feel like I have to type all this or my head will a splode. ARGH OBSESSIONS

My Exciting Charismatic Life, Featuring: Me Talking About 30-Year-Old Movies

Still going through Star Trek TOS. I went to the library last week and checked out the first 3 movies.

▶ Original Motion Picture? moar like Original SLOW MOTION Picture! Nyaaa ha-ha-haaaa-ha (Roger laugh) no, but really, I did enjoy it for what it was, but damn did they spend a lot of time lingering on the graphics (as awesome as they were, especially compared to the TV series's less-than-impressive sets). I imagine it's a snorefest to the average viewer, as some of the most exciting parts to me were the original characters' re-appearances. For a show whose success comes largely from its cast of characters, though, I gotta say, they definitely didn't focus enough on the OT3...or any of the recurring characters. You'd think they would've thought to compensate for the lack of character development with more action sequences, but they didn't, so you keep waiting for these thrilling battle scenes and they never really happen.

But uh...yeah, again, despite my criticism, I did like it for what it was. Obviously I loved the "this simple feeling" scene which I have known about for far too long without viewing because, yeeeeah. Alongside the graphics, the soundtrack is amazing. Dat beginning sequence with Ilia arriving. And dem ending credits. And when Spock was entering V'ger's core. Breathtaking stuff.

▶ As for Wrath of Khan, well, jesus. What can I say that hasn't been reiterated a thousand times? I loved it. It focused on the aspect that made me love Trek in the first place--the characters and their interactions with each other. It comes the closest to the spirit of the TV series out of the three movies I've seen so far, yet, at the same time, it also pulls off the "movie" format the best of the three. The first movie just felt like a long episode (and a dull one at that), and the third movie, while much better, lacked a defining villain and relied more on emotional drama than anything else (though I liked that and really couldn't see it going any other way for the plot it had).

Montalban was fucking awesome as Khan, of course. An awesome foil to Kirk who ramped the tension in the movie up to 11. And the action sequences, while they've never been central to Trek (especially not the original series with its godawful props), were thrilling. Everything just came together so perfectly. I loved the theme of aging, maturing, facing death, et cetera. It was a constant factor in the movie, but it wasn't overstated; you knew it was there without it having to be repeatedly explained, and it all entwined together so well by the end. I was pleasantly surprised to see Kirk go through such a solid bout of character development.

Bones & Spock arguing again made me want to cry with joy, goddamn I love their spats. And of course Kirk and Spock and their...everything with each other. Shit. I was sobbing during the climax even though I knew everything that happened and would happen in the sequels. This speaks either of an engaging plot with amazing characters or my tendency to be a complete baby. Probably a mixture of both. Anyways. Yeah, loved it.

My only criticism is that the soundtrack didn't stand out for me as much as the first one did, but on the other hand, the first one had pretty much nothing else going for it so I was able to pay attention to the BGM more.

▶ Lastly (for now, until I find the other movies)...Search for Spock. Not as engaging as Wrath of Khan and certainly not as action-packed, but for fans of the series action wasn't as necessary for this one. I could've done with more badass Klingon antics, but yanno. The Vulcan myticism was…kind of contrived, I'll admit, but it did at least have continuity in the context of the second movie (Spock mind-melding with Bones). On that note, it makes me ;w; to see the series acknowledging the close relationship between Spock & Bones. It isn't touched upon as often as the other main ones--Kirk is always buddying it up with Bones, and Kirk/Spock is, well, yeah--but it's one of my favorite relationships in the series. It's such a hilariously acidic relationship that you hardly ever see any tender moments between them (a tsundere and a kuudere, what a surprise), but when you do…bawwww. "It seems…I've missed you." Bones, my heart. deredere

The emotional drama in this movie makes me think it probably doesn't do much for the average viewer since it relies so much on the long-lasting relationship between Kirk/Bones/Spock, but for me it was a powerful experience. why am I making this sound like a religion Goddammit, I teared up a little at the end from sheer joy even though, again, I knew everything would turn out all right. Then I started laughing while still in the middle of crying at the Vulcan eyebrow. These fucking emotions, man. I didn't sign up for all this.

I'm the last person on the planet to see these movies and I feel like a dumbass for gooshing about them 30+ years later, b-but I have to. :( I only became obsessed with Star Trek this summer. I'm planning to watch TNG next, which is the only series I have actually watched before (minus TOS obviously)...Picard is so dreamy. errr not that that's the reason I'm watching it. Just one of them

Does anyone remember the Sonic comic scan posts I used to do? After...*checks* 3 years, here's another one! Scans come from some random Sonic & Sonic X comics. Once I get more Sonic Universe issues I might do posts with them too ┐(´ー｀)

Lots of pictures behind the cut, so obviously not bandwidth-friendly.

( of Eggman cosplay & robot catfights )

Aaaand I'm done. More to come in the future, hopefully--!

Some more GX Engrish. I have 6 episodes or so to go, so hopefully I'll be able to gather enough for one more post.

( fffffffffff )

I forgot how hilarious Chronos was ~na no ne.

Seeing as how I haven't updated in forever, I figured I'd at least make this entry a somewhat amusing one.

So um, this was a few years ago, but I once ordered a Yugioh GX DVD from a little site called Toys N Joys with the original Japanese audio on it and English subtitles. The catch, of course, was that the subtitles were translated from Chinese to English, making for some amusing Engrish Chinglish. I've screencapped some of the subs that particularly tickle me for the hell of it, and now I'm going to share some. |D

Obvious warning for lots of semi-large pictures and maybe a slow loading time because I accidentally had screencapping set on PNGs instead of JPGs for part of it fffff.

( Gotcha! )

That was only like the first 5 episodes so maybe I'll cap more later. It's fun :X

I've scanned a few issues of Sonic X, so here's another picspam!

( dial-up users beware )

Hope you enjoyed. More to come some other time in the future, hopefully!

insanepurin's recent posts made me go through my Archie comics again. Hence, more scans of random things that amuse me.

A warning, though: I am a Mina fangirl and will not hold back from loving her. D: I am also a closet Sonic/Mina fanatic. SHHHH.

( Pictures behind the cut )

Gotta go to Outback now.

So instead of doing her homework a few nights ago, Allie decided to read Archie comics and scan panels that appealed to her inner fangirl. |D In other words, Sonadow Sonadow Sonadow. As confusing as Archie comics can be, I do enjoy reading them from time to time.

And um, my weird journal layout might cut off some of the pictures, but it's not that bad. If you really want to see the whole thing, just copy&paste the URL. |D

Okay. So. You know how in fanfic/art/etc they always make Sonic call Shadow "Shad" or "Shads" or something? Well, they do. :| And I always found it kind of funny, since he never calls him that in the games or anything. Buuuuut then I came across this! Dun dun dun. Don't ask about Rosie, I have no idea wtf is going on.

( Cut for images and shit that only I find amusing. |D )