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JAG18

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Blog Entries posted by JAG18

  1. JAG18

    Risk: Star Wars Edition

    By JAG18,

    A couple of days ago I turned 20 and one of my gifts was a board game called "Risk: Star Wars Edition".
     
    Now, any serious board gamer (full disclosure: I'm not because I'm new to the hobby and frankly don't have the funds to get into) Risk is at the end of the day not a very good game or at best their are a lot of game that does what Risk does a lot better, but that doesn't matter because this game has absolutely nothing to do with Risk. Instead, this a spiritual successor of an older and exceptional Star Wars game that came out in 1999 called The Queen's Gambit and both were designed in part by Craig Van Ness who worked on my favorite board game of all time "Star Wars: Epic Duels".
     
    Anyway, Risk: Star Wars Edition is a fun game, very reminiscent of a Commands and Colors game only Star Wars themed (come to think of it, that actually sounds like a great idea) and while there isn't much deep strategy involved in this game who cares because its just a lot of fun moving ships around and chucking dice. I did encounter the same problem that most people who bought this game did; that the Rebels win almost 90% of the time, but fortunately I was able to find a rule clarification sheet online that, in my experience, balances the game out by pointing out some rules that really help the Empire.
     
    Star Wars: The Emperor's Gambit is a great game that's strangely, also a mass market game; I like it a lot and will probably play it again as soon as I can.
  2. JAG18

    Beowulf Translations

    By JAG18,

    A few days ago, I finished reading "Beowulf", while I was reading I kept anticipating specific cool moments I've heard of over the years; like when Beowulf pulls Grendel's arm out of it's socket like a wookiee, but one moment I was really waiting for was when Beowulf kills the Frankish standard bearer.
     
    Now, here is how Tom Shippey described the moment, in the special features for "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug",
     
    ...and here is how Marc Hudson put it in the "Wordsworth Classics of World Literature" edition I read,
    (lines 2505-2508)
     
    Maybe a slight difference to some, but clearly not as exciting or epic IMO; no offense to Hudson and his publisher, but now I think I really should have read whatever translation Shippey is quoting.
     
     
    Anyway, I now need to find something new to read.
  3. JAG18

    In America

    By JAG18,

    In America, you scare your daughter's boyfriend:
     
    Man throws bullet at daughter's boyfriend,
     
    "It gets a lot faster after 10 pm."
     
    In Soviet Russia, your daughter's boyfriend scares you!
     
    FPSrussia drives up to girlfriend's house in T-14 Armata tank and emerges from turret draped in machine gun belts,
     
    "I'll bring her home when I feel like it."
     
     
     
    Thank you, I'm here all week.
  4. JAG18
    So, last month after "Green Book" won Best Picture at the Academy Awards I was made aware, through headlines like, "Green Book worst best picture since Gladiator", of the fact that people don't like Ridley Scott's "Gladiator".
     
    Now, my first reaction to this news, of course, was, "ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED!" Which, despite Zoey Deutch saying it in "Vampire Academy" (one of the most cringe worthy moments in any movie from the last 20-ish years) is one of the best lines in cinema of all time.
     
    After that, I did some looking to see what movies "Gladiator" was competing against and found that "Cast Away" is probably my next favorite film from 2000 although I can't say whether I like it more than "Gladiator". When I told my sister about this, her response was something to the effect of, "So it's 'are you not entertained," vs. "Wilson"?"
     
    That made me wonder, "What if movies were as good as the memes they inspired?" Then the Star Wars prequels would all be masterpieces! "Taken" would be worth watching more than once; "The Dark Knight Rises" might actually be better than "The Dark Knight".
     
    I could sit here and think of some more, but I'll let anyone in the comments work out the implications of living in such a world.
  5. JAG18

    There is a Fifth Dimension

    By JAG18,

    Last week(ish), I finished watching the entire first season of one of my favorite TV shows "The Twilight Zone".
     
    So, for as long as I can remember I've always enjoyed Sci-fi's "Twilight Zone" marathons, but despite always considering it a favorite show of mine I've never actually had any exposure to the show outside of the marathons. Well, recently I decided to change that and so I borrowed the first season from my local library and went to watching.
     
    I'm not going to ramble on here about my favorite episodes or any observations I've had while watching, but I will say that very quickly the episodes became very predictable with only the finale's twist ending making me grab my head while shouting, "OH MY GAWD."
    I don't know if this is because I have a lot of experience with the show or if the episodes really are just that predictable or what, but either way it didn't really matter because the writing and Rod Serling's insights into human nature still kept me interested, but its just something that stuck out to me.
     
     
    Favorite Episode(s); "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street", "Judgment Night", and "One For the Angels".
     
    Alright, now on to season 2.
  6. JAG18

    Ask Me Anything

    By JAG18,

    Or considering the activity around here maybe I should call it an "Ask me nothing." Imma rite?
     
    Anyway, my premier membership is almost up so I thought I should do at least one of these in my time on BZPower before it finally runs out.
     
    So go ahead and ask me any questions you might have in the comments and I'll answer them when I can.
  7. JAG18
    And not just in terms of everything except choreography.
     

     

     
     
    [Yes I've known about these videos for some time (and I've also seen the video where Obi-Wan Force Speeds straight into the power generator pit), I'm just posting them as food for thought, and no I don't mind if you like this fight or the movie it's from.]
  8. JAG18

    Goodbye Blog

    By JAG18,

    For now?
     
    Yeah, my premier membership is up in a day or two and I've decided to not renew it. I'll admit it's been fun; having a blog (that I'll be the first to admit I didn't update enough) and neat images under my member title, but I don't really get enough out of it to justify buying another year or even lifetime membership. Still, like I said I had fun and I got to help support a site I love a lot so it's all good.
     
    And hey, never say never right? Maybe, I'll change my mind some day, but until then it's goodbye blog.
  9. JAG18

    5 Years on BZPower

    By JAG18,

    Yep, today is my five year anniversary on BZPower. Not as impressive as it used to be either when I first joined or when I was a lurker, but whatever.
     
    This has gotten me thinking a bit, about how much my life has changed since I first joined and if you read through my profile feed (please don't) you can see me chronicling some of those changes. Me being me, I'm most interested in how much my music hobby has changed since then; back when I first joined my primary means of music consumption were youtube and radio, which just strikes me as kind of funny now. And that's not even mention how much my music taste have changed since then.
     
    But mostly my anniversary has gotten me thinking about what the site was like back then; all the members I used to hang out with (most of whom have left the site or hardly visit), the sub-forums I used to be super active in like S&T (where discussion has almost completely died). I remember how I used to post in almost every topic made in BBC, including every entry for that BBCC about video games. I remember that time I tried to join an RPG, how I used to be as active in the CoT games as the G&T ones (not sure why I stopped though), playing Mafia and always being the villager, hosting Hitman. It's all coming back to me.
     
    Well, times changed, people grow old, and all good things come to end. Even though you'd think that all BZPower is now to me is a place for nostalgia, I actually am thinking a lot about my future on this place. For some weird reason I just now started my career as a mocist and ain't done yet; plus I still have some ambition to host one more game of Bionicle RISK if I can get enough players. In the mean time I still plan to keep the caption contest going (by the way, is that the most active topic on the site now or am I just being delusional?)
     
    Alright, that's all I got, now I'm going to use my new Olmak to transport myself to some random pocket dimension or something.
  10. JAG18

    Three Years

    By JAG18,

    Today is my three year anniversary on BZPower; feels more like two. I wonder if I should try and be more active around here or something...
     
     
    That is all, now continue with whatever you were doing.
  11. JAG18

    My BIONICLE Collection

    By JAG18,

    Today, I got the box containing all my BIONICLE sets down from the top of the closet for the first time in probably a couple of years or so.  Giant nostalgia blast.  I decided to take a picture to commemorate the moment, but to make it funnier I posed them all duking it out in a huge side-less battle. 

    Can you spot everything wrong with this picture? 
     
  13. JAG18

    Music Questionnaire

    By JAG18,

    This is something I've enjoyed doing for years since I first got it from this ten year old blog entry; basically, you take a list of questions, set your Ipod (or any Spotify/Apple playlist) on shuffle and answer each question with whatever song you get.  The songs usually make no sense as answers, but it has always been a fun past time.  I have a word document that I've been filling with these since 2012, but the last one I did was apparently in 2017 so here's one I did a couple of nights ago (using my best songs of 2018 playlist).  Give it a try if you want. 
    Back To The Future:
     
    I. What will I dream about tonight?
    “Outlaws” – Au/Ra (ooh, sounds risky and dangerous and fun)
     
     
    II. What song best describes my love life?
    “The Medicine Does Not Control Me” – EURINGER featuring Grimes (I don’t like the sound of that.)
     
     
    III. What is my life’s ambition?
    “Loveless” – Lila Gold (Um, mission accomplished?  I think.)
     
     
    IV. Who is my greatest hero?
    “Deliverance” – CHVRCHES (Deliverance does sound like a cool fantasy character name…)
     
     
    V. What do I want right now?
    “I Love My Boyfriend” – Princess Chelsea (Well, it almost works because we’ve already covered my love life, but…)
     
     
    VI. What is my dream job?
    “Side Effects” – The Chainsmokers; Emily Warren (My dream job is a side effect?)
     
     
    VII. Where does my future best friend live?
    “no tears left to cry” – Ariana Grande (Uh?)
     
     
    VIII. What song fits me the best?
    “Sweet but Psycho” – Ava Max (This made me laugh, but I’m still a little offended.)
     
     
    IX. What is the real answer to life, the universe, and everything?
    “Focus” – Allie X (Did you just finish watching “Priest”?)
     
     
    X. What should I definitely not eat?
    “High Horse” – Kacey Musgraves (No comment)
     
     
    XI. How will I die?
    “Third Eye” – Emma Blackery (This either has something to do with that Martian episode in the original “Twilight Zone” or Combustion Man from “Avatar” either way not good). 
     
     
    XII. What will people say at my funeral?
    “CEASE AND DESIST” – Alice Glass (I like it).
     
     
    XIII. How will my grandchildren feel about me?
    “Girl of the Year” – Allie X (Kids these days).
     
     
    XIV. Who loves me right now?
    “Over My Head” – Echosmith (I had to resist the urge to look up).
     
     
    XV. What is my true identity?
    “Heartbroken” – Fickle Friends (Ok, I wasn’t sure before, but now I know this list is trying to hurt my feelings). 
     
     
    XVI. Who or what is my greatest foe?
    “This Time Around” – Jaira Burns (In the context of the song, that almost makes sense). 
     
     
    XVII. Aliens just teleported me out of my computer chair in a swirl of blue sparkles what happens next!?
    “Mulholland” – Sizzy Rocket (That teleported me to a highway?  Alright then.)
     
     
    XVIII. Any last words?
    “Everybody Wants To Be Famous” – Superorganism (I’ll take it.)
     
    Favorites: 5, 8, 12
  14. JAG18
    Over the last week or so, I've been rereading all 49 of the old Bionicle comics for the first time in years. Here are my (completely random) thoughts on them.
     
    2001:
    -Why exactly were the Turaga telling the Bionicle Tale at the beginning of Comic #2? I know it's some kind of tribal thing to tell myths and legends over and over to preserve them, but they weren't any Matoran around so were the Turaga just telling it so they wouldn't forget?
    -I never realized how diverse, and honestly sometimes odd, promotions were in 2001; having a contest to meet some skater is probably the strangest (to me).
    -The last of this year has the Toa finding ways to beat random Rahi without physically hitting them and thereby violate LEGO's no violence policy; it ends with the heroes striking poses and leaving us to play MNOG to see how the story ends.
     
    2002:
    -Six issues allowed for the room to tell a more in-depth story and cooler year overall making '02 my favorite year of the original three.
    -LEWA WHY CAN'T YOU GO TWO SECONDS WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MASK!
    -It's kind of a shame that so often in BIONICLE so many sets were shoehorned into the story for just a few seconds of screen-time in which they don't really do anything. The Exo-Toa are good example of this (but I guess the whole point of the comics and entire story was just to sell all these sets so it's fine.
     
    2003:
    -Bohrok-Kal filler is fill-y.
    -I find it hilarious how the so many BIONICLE fans over the years kept asking Greg about what must have been something he did without a second thought at the time (sending several Tahnok and Lehvak-Kal to space).
    -In Comic 14, Kopaka stood his ground against all the Rahkshi LIKE A BOSS.
     
    2004:
    -Another great year for story with the first half involving the Toa pruning weeds and second half running away from Vahki
    -I find it funny how much time and effort was spent giving the Vahki different powers and tactics only for them to be more or less completely forgotten in later years.
     
    2005:
    -Seeing the Toa Hahga (well, two of them anyway) in action in Comic 25 still makes it one of my favorite comics of all time.
    -The sub-plot involving Nokama and Matau hitching a ride on a Visorak Battering Ram (that Roodaka orders destroyed FOR HAVING A SINGLE CRACK) was a lot more fun than I remember.
     
    2006:
    -For some strange reason I don't have "BIONICLE Ignition Comic #0"
    -I knew about BIONICLE at the end of '01, bought the sets, saw "MOL", but I didn't have massive nostalgia rush until I started the '06 comics; the nostalgia value alone will always make 2006 my favorite year in BIONICLE.
    -Anyone remember Free The Band? I wonder what the All American Rejects would say if some fan bought that up with them now.
     
    2007:
    -You know in retrospect, '06 with all the backstabbing and secret alliance of the Piraka made that year feel more like "Game of Thrones" than '07 should have had with the Barraki.
    -Nocturn is one of the best sets and characters of Gen 1, which is why he had to be reincarnated as Skull Slicer in Gen 2.
    -Jaller set Mantax on fire, WHILE THEY WERE BOTH UNDERWATER.
     
    2008:
    -Only four issues is a bit of a let down (yeah I know the first is super long, but still)
    -The Makuta follow inverse ninja-law...for some reason.
    -You know what, Mata Nui never kept his promise and returned to the MU (unless you count when his fist were bashing Makuta in their final fight).
     
    2009:
    -Because of "TLR" whenever I read Mata Nui's voice I hear Michael Dorn's voice.
    -What exactly was the point of having a reboot only to reintroduce Mata Nui halfway through the year?
    -For some stranger reason I only have the small version of Comic 3 that I got with "TLR".
     
    2010:
    -GIANT EPIC ROBOT FIGHT.
    -I have so many fond memories of that day in 2010 when that guy on BZPower was uploading the last comic as fast as he could scan it and I was refreshing the page over and over so I could see the end of BIONICLE, which was so important to me as a kid.
     
     
    One last thought, the only non-BIONICLE comics I've ever read are some Deadpool and Batman comics and also some Spider-Man when I was a lot younger and to be honest, I think the BIONICLE comics actually aren't all that bad compared to them. You know, keeping in mind that the BIONICLE comics were just to promote children's toys (and condense the larger story)...I definitely prefer the artwork throughout all the comics more than the kind found in Deadpool.
  15. JAG18
    I’ve done this a couple of times here before (although I didn’t mean for 6 months to pass before doing another one of these, oops) so I won’t explain it again.  You can see my past two here:
    Back To The Future
    If Life Were A Movie
    And I’ll be using my playlist of music from 2017 (557 songs) for this one; share yours below if you want to.
     
     
    The Future:
    1. What is my life’s philosophy?
    “Fine” – Tayler Buono (not good or bad, just fine)
     
     
    2. What will my last words be?
    “Ground Control” – All Time Low; Tegan and Sara (So my death’s gonna be plane related?  Ominous)
     
     
    3. How am I Feeling today?
    “Want You Back” – HAIM (ha, ha, NO)
     
     
    4. What is my Theme song?
    “Totalizer” – Charly Bliss (uh…*checks Genius* alright, next)
     
     
    5. What song will be played at my wedding?
    “Give Me Your Word” – Bella Goldwin (I’ll take it)
     
     
    6. What song will be played at my funeral?
    “Life Goes On” – Bailey Bryan (well, not my life, but good advice anyway)
     
     
    7. How will I be remembered?
    “Just A Crush” – Grace Vanderwal (whoa)
     
     
    8. What is some good advice for me?
    “Big Girls Cry” – Mimoza (wrong gender, but sure)
     
     
    9. What’s my life’s dream?
    “Empty” – Olivia O’Brien (what?)
     
     
    10. What’s my kind of lady/man?
    “Something To Tell You” – HAIM (no comment)
     
     
    11. How do people see me?
    “High Enough” – K.Flay (um, OK, next)
     
     
    12. How would I describe this page?
    “Bleachers” – Jillian Jacqueline (another what?)
     
     
    13. How would I describe my best friend?
    “Bloom” – Marnie (uh, ok)
     
     
    14. What’s in store for this week?
    “No Love” – Olivia O’Brien (OUCH)
     
     
    15. How would I describe my parents?
    “Sleep” – Timothy Heller (ha)
     
     
    16. If I had one wish, what would I wish for?
    “Too Many Love Songs” – Maggie Rose (probably not)
     
     
    17. What do my friends think of me?
    “(Not) The One” – Bebe Rexha (I think that’s a good thing?)
     
     
    18. What is said about me behind my back?
    “Oh Love” – MisterWives (no comment)
     
     
    19. What do I think of this questionnaire?
    “Fly high” – DREAMCATCHER (cool story)
     
     
    Favorites: 2, 6, 11, 14
     
    -JAG
  16. JAG18
    OK, I know I'm getting this up a little later than I wanted to, but regardless here are the rest of my year-end lists for the year of 2016 for your reading pleasure and because I really like making top lists. So, let's start with...
     
     
    Best Movie of 2016: "10 Cloverfield Lane"

     
    You know, I don’t know I make these best movies lists when I do. And the reason I say this is because I watched some of my favorite movies of 2015 (“Mad Max: Fury Road” and “Krampus”) for the first time in 2016 and more than likely I’ll discover my favorite movies of 2016 this year.
    OK setting all that aside, I did really like this movie. Put simply, it’s almost like a two hour episode of one of my favorite TV shows “The Twilight Zone” heck it’s even got a classic Twilight Zone ending. Yeah, I really liked this one.
     
    Honorable Mentions: “I’m Not Ashamed”, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”
     
     
    Best Album of 2016: “Royal Blues” – Dragonette

     
    You know what, I could start this by complaining for the millionth time that not one, or two or three, but five albums that I was really looking forward to coming out in 2016 and I thought would be the top half of a decent top 10 list, all got delay until this year, but I'm not going to.
    So, I’ve known who electropop act Dragonette is since early 2015, but this is when I really became a fan after hearing their amazing song “Lonely Heart” a couple of months before they dropped this album. Anyway, this is a really cool album, that I did like a lot (especially songs like "Body 2 Body", "Darth Vader", and "Your Love Can't Touch Me Now") even if at the end of the day there was no competition this year.
     
    Honorable Mentions: “Britt Nicole” – Britt Nicole, “You Can’t Kill Us” – Icon For Hire
     
    Top 10 Songs of 2016:
     
    First things first, the criteria were that the song need to be released between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2016 or needed to become popular in that same time period (without having appeared on a previous year-end before). Anyway, this was by far the list I spent the most time on and poured the most effort into. Since last January I’ve kept a list in a word document of every song I might want to put on this list resulting in almost 125 nominees. Now, I could list all 50 songs that I ranked and even add my short list to create a Top 75, but I’ll just stick to a top ten. And the winner is…
     

     
    I really like this song (obviously), although it was really, really hard deciding this one over “Chewing Gum” and I’m not entirely sure what puts this song slightly above that one, but whatever this is a great song.
     
    2. “Chewing Gum” – Nina Nesbitt
    3. “Real Love” – Florrie
    4. “Hotter than [karzahni]” – Dua Lipa
    5. “Rockabye” – Clean Bandit; Anne-Marie, Sean Paul
    6. “My Heartache” – Olivia Lane
    7. “The Magic” – Lola Blanc
    8. “Blow Your Mind” (Mwah)” – Dua Lipa
    9. “Play House” – Colette Carr
    10. “That’s So Us” – Allie X
     
    Best Music Video of 2016: “False Alarm” – The Weeknd
    Ok, first off I know that this director has made two music videos and even a full length movie around this concept and I don’t really care, because this music video is really cool and made me not only like "False Alarm" more than I probably would have, but also convinced me that there's a better song to play during an action scene than the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" (well, almost better).
    Of course, now is a good time to mention that I realized something last year and that is the fact that I really don’t watch music video anymore. Not sure why.
     
     
    And that completes all my "best of" lists for 2016, it was a fine year I guess aside from a lot of album delays, but hey that at least means that I have a lot to look forward to this year, right? Actually in point of fact, this week I discovered The Katherines' debut album, "To Bring You My Heart" that would have given Dragonette a run for their money if had come out this year, so hey that's a good start.
  17. JAG18
    Although I did consider calling this entry "The Slender Man of Bionicle" I think Blaze from Mortal Kombat is a better fit here, but if anyone thinks they know what the character I'm looking for is then go right ahead and tell me in the comments.
     
    So, this is a promo picture of Iconox as seen on Strakk's canister:

     
    If you know me you know I had the closer Glatorian in the foreground (who I've dubbed "Snow N. Ice Oakenshield") as my avatar for years and considered it my calling card. In fact, I have a whole block dedicated to this guy in my blog here.
     
    I wish I could say that I came up with this idea all by myself, but I remember seeing someone with this image as a banner back in '09, although I don't think I remember seeing anyone use it as an avatar. I don't now why I was drawn to Mr. Oakenshield, but when I become a member and was trying to think of a cool avatar I thought back to that banner I saw once and the rest is history.
     
    Now, here are the instructions that came with Malum:

     
    Yep, nothing out of the ordinary. Wait, what's that in the background? Let's zoom in a little.

     
    I found this today while looking for images for the Bionicle Caption Contest. Now, these instructions are from 2009 and this image was uploaded in 2016, but I've never ever seen this guy before in my entire life...If I wasn't so attached to my coat of arms, I'd considered making this guy my new avatar both as a throwback to my old avatar and because I think he also looks pretty cool.
     
    And that is all. I hope I was the first one to point this guy out to you and that now your life is a bit better for having spotted him. Now excuse me while I try and think up a way to honor these guys probably either in moc form or in a short story where these guys fought each other in the Core War or something.
  18. JAG18
    If you've seen my posts in the "What Are You Listening to Right Now" and "Official Music Topic" you'd know I like and listen to a lot of music. Also, if you've seen my posts there you'd know that I don't necessarily have the best taste in music. Regardless, in no particularly order, here is a list of the music I've been liking and listening to this year so far.
     
     
    1. “Real Love” – Florrie
    Florrie (English singer Florence Arnold) has been active in music for many years now and has released a lot of great, 80’s influenced, pop music, but her latest single “Real Love” (released just in time for Valentine’s Day) is her first song to be released by a major label serving as a first taste before her debut album comes out late this year. “Real Love” is an amazing pop love-ballad with good lyrics and Florrie’s usual stellar vocals. Just a side note, the song is just a little similar to Taylor Swift’s “Style” a song Florrie said she loved and has even covered.
     
    2. “Hummingbird” – Kyla La Grange
    An incredible electro-pop song about being, to quote Grange,
    “…hovering between the different versions of yourself…about how having too many choices makes you dissatisfied because you always think you'd be happier if you'd chosen the thing you didn't choose, which usually isn't true…”
    This has been one of my favorites since it came out in April and is a solid pick for one of the best songs of 2016. Give it a listen.
     
    3. “In My Blood” – The Veronicas
    The first new music to come from the Aussie rock/pop duo since their 2014 self-titled album. “In My Blood” is a different sound from what we’re used to from The Veronicas being the kind of dance pop you’d except to hear at night clubs or music houses, but regardless it’s an amazing dance song for the summer.
     
    4. “Criminal + Dreamers” – Willa
    A more obscure release from electro-pop Canadian new comer Willa (Ali Milner) who debuted her first single “Stay the Night” (Track 4) in 2014. This debut EP features 8 songs and overall makes for a very good listen; album opener “Swan” (which also has a radio edit at the EP’s end) is more rock-influenced with Willa belting out some defiant lyrics about not being eye-candy (I’m not a swan/pretty in the pond). The next two tracks “Criminal” and “Hey” as well as fifth track “Stare” are my favorites featuring some interesting and solid production and wonderful vocals from an artist who all fans of pop should keep an eye on.
     
    5. “Hero” – Maren Morris
    For whatever reason, most of my favorite LPs for each year are released in the second half of the year; which probably explains why this debut from Texas native Maren Morris is the only LP to be featured on this list. This is a solid country album with more to offer than just Morris’ breakout hit “My Church” (about the strong connection between music and driving) and follow up single “Rich”, which I would recommend particularly to fans of Kacey Musgraves. Favorite tracks include, “Sugar”, “80’s Mercedes”, and “Drunk Girls Don’t Cry”.
     
    6. “Summer EP” – Cassadee Pope
    I very much enjoyed Pope’s debut album “Frame by Frame” (2013) and eagerly anticipated her follow up album all of last year; whether the release of this EP is a sign the album is coming sooner or later is unknown to me. Either way, the four tracks presented here are all very good and very much what Cassadee Pope fans have been hoping for. Opening track “Summer” is a fun, upbeat, perfect for the summer song, but I personally prefer either “Piano” or “Alien” for their superior writing. Third track “Kisses at Airports” is the only genuine low point for me, but is still fine; a great EP overall.
     
    7. “Bella Goldwin”
    Another debut EP from a rising Canadian female pop artist; the really outstanding track here is opener “Higher Than Life”, which is a deeply moving, atmospheric song, about death and wishing to be reunited with a lost loved one. The performance here by Goldwin is absolutely amazing and is the heart of this incredibly sentimental and touching song. The rest of the EP also features the artist’s quality vocals (except for the third track, which is almost entirely instrumental) and good song writing; definitely worth a listen.
     
    8. “Bubblebath” – That Poppy
    This is a very good debut EP that features four very fun pop songs. My personal favorite is "Money" although like I said this all quite good especially if you're a fan of less-serious kind of bubblegum pop. All in all a solid EP, which is definitely going to put me on the look at for future music from this artist.
     
    9. CHVRCHES
    The marvelously talented band that defies genre description and released one of my favorite albums from 2015 (“Every Open Eye”) released a good song for the video game “Mirror’s Edge Catalyst” called “Warning Call” written from the perspective of the game’s heroine. They also just came out with a different version of one of the best tracks off their last album, but this time featuring none other than Hayley Williams the front woman for rock stalwart Paramore; both these songs our definitely worth a listen.
     
     
    That’s what I’ve been listening to and loving so far this year, again like I said most of my favorite music is released in the second half of the year, but still I’m both pretty happy with the music that’s come out this year and also very optimistic for the future. Speaking of the future, I’m greatly anticipating three LPs in particular from pop stars Tove Lo and Charli XCX as well as from the amazing pop/rock sister band HAIM.
  19. JAG18
    Alternate Title: The Tommy Westphall of Sci-Fi
    Alternate Title #2: Take It Off Predey Boy!
     
    A while ago I was watching the kill count video for "Alien Vs. Predator" and after doing some reading on the AVP wiki I got the idea for this entry, but decided to wait until I had watched all the AVP movies at least once. That meant had 5 or 6 movies to watch; well, last Monday I watched "Alien vs. Predator: Requiem" so here we are.
     
    Note: I will not be spoiling any movies worth seeing, but if for some reason you want to watch all the AVP movies then in that case spoilers below for "The Predator" (2018), "Alien Vs. Predator", "Alien Vs Predator: Requiem", "Alien 3", "Alien: Resurrection", and "Alien: Covenant". Although honestly, if you haven't seen most of these movies then this won't make any sense.
     
    Main Movies:
     
    "Predator" (1987) - 1987
    Bunch of muscular special forces dudes in the jungles sprout off action one liners while being hunted something that ain't no man.
     
    Predator 2 - 1990
    The Predator moves to the city and some weird stuff goes down; stuff a BZP Lovers organization would rather not anyone know about. Please note, Aliens and Predators had already crossed over before a Xenomorph skull appeared in this movie.
     
    AVP and AVP Requiem - 2004
    The CEO of a company called Weyland enterprises, Charles Bishop Weyland, leads a team to Antarctica to investigate some strange happenings and get caught in the hunt of three Predator young bloods (Celtic, Chopper, and Scar). In flashbacks, we learn that the Predators taught humans how to build pyramids and used them as hosts for the ultimate sport, xenomorphs. After the battle, an alien/predator (Predalien) hybrid bursts out of the chest of the last surviving Predator of the last film (Scar) causing the ship to crash in a small town on earth. Another Predator (Wolf) now has to go to Earth and preform one of the worst cover ups in history and this three way war ends with the secret government agency nuking a Colorado town. Ms. Yutani appears in the last scene.
     
    Predators - 2010
    A bunch of killers and warriors get kidnapped and dropped on a Predator game preserve. Doesn't establish anything new except maybe that they're super Predators, but whatever just get to the choppa.
     
    The Predator - 2018
    So many stupid things happen, but the stupidest might be the "revelation" that Predators hunt in order to collect the DNA of the best warriors as opposed to, you know, cause of the fact that they're sport hunters. Also, this is why Predators have an obsession with ripping people's spines out (what's Sub-Zero's excuse?) Also that BZP Lovers organization is back with the actually props from all the previous movies. Finally, the humans get a secret weapon--an Iron Man suit, which might help explain...
     
    Blade Runner - 2019
    Yes, tenuous evidence suggests that "Blade Runner" and "Alien" share the same universe; the only important thing established is that androids exist although they're not on the best terms with humans right now. Also, this creates the biggest plot in this whole thing, which is trying to explain the biggest tech jump in all of human history.
     
    Soldier and Blade Runner 2049 - 2036 and when the heck do you think?
    These both exist in this timeline, but I don't have anything to say about them because I haven't seen either so we are leaving.
     
    Promethes - 2092
    First, I'll say up front that I think this never should have been an alien movie, but that being said this does give us a lot of back story.
    In flashbacks we see a new Weyland was running the company in the early 2000s (probably the son of Bishop Weylind who died in AVP) and we learn that another race of aliens The Engineers created humans (and maybe Predators and Xenomorphs?) And fun fact, Elien Ripley was 1 year old during the event of this film.
     
    Alien: Covenant: 2104
    Um, android David recreated Xenomorphs (but we are trying to keep things consistent, then Engineers, Predators, and David all re-created the Xenomorphs from the same black goo) and before this movie he used The Engineer's ship to destroy a world of aliens created by The Engineers. I want to say that Ridley Scott will fix the timeline with the next Alien prequel, but if this movie is anything to go off of then probably it will only mess the timeline up more and suck at the same time.
     
    Alien: 2122
    A bunch of space truckers find an old Engineer ship with a xenomorph on it.
     
    Aliens: 2179
    Ripley and a team of Colonial Marines fight xenomorphs and Bishop shows how far androids have come since "Blade Runner".
     
    Alien 3: 2179
    You know, Ripley killing the last of the aliens isn't all that important if it's true that xenomorphs exist elsewhere in the universe. Also, we meet a scientist named Bishop who, no joke, is theorized to just look a lot like the Weyland from AVP; yeah assuming this guy is who he says he is.
     
    Alien: Resurrection - 2379 (ish)
    I can't believe that in the two centuries that have pasted since the last film that humanity hasn't found any xenomorphs on other planets OR the Predators. But this is the end of the timeline so that's that.
     
    Here's the whole thing in
    (make sure to watch that video on 1.25 speed; trust me you'll need it).  
    But we're not done yet.
     
    Crazy Comic Crossovers:
    Batman vs Predator: see
    for an epic animated version of this comic in which Batman defeats a Predator with his greatest gadget...the bat. Yep, Batman beats up an alien with a wooden baseball bat. This combined with "Batman vs. Aliens", "Superman vs. Aliens" and "Superman vs. Predator" (and others) means the DC universe is connected to the AVPverse (somehow).  
    Judge Dredd vs. Alien: Incubus: see
    for how awesome this story actually is. Also, since multidimensional travel is a thing in 2000 A.D. this means that most of these shared universe can be explained as taking place in different dimensions that the Predators and Aliens keep stumbling into.  
    Archie vs. Predator: Yep this is a thing and since "Archie vs. The Punisher" is also a thing that means that technically the DC and Marvel universes are connected.
     
    Alien vs. Predator vs. Terminator: alright I'm done (although this is obviously non-canon). This comic does include a hilarious bit where the writers try and sell the idea that Dutch was the inspiration for the Terminators.
     
    See here for even more crazy comic crossovers.
     
    Mortal Kombat:
    So, Jason Voorhees, Alien, Predator, Freddy, Kratos have all been guest characters in MK over the years, but I'll yet you figure out the implications of that. Plus, don't forget the DC universe crossover. Mortal Kombat (like Dredd) can make sense of all these connected universe using the idea of realms, but that is probably unnecessary because...
     
    In Conclusion: A Few Take Aways
    1) I think Warner Bros and Dark Horses may have too many licenses on their hands.
     
    2) I don't (and would encourage everyone) not to take all this too seriously. Like the Tommy Westphall theory, this all shows how ridiculous it is to assume that universes are connected just because of one guest appearance. Heck, it's an argument against making overly connected universes in general. But, whats more...
     
    3) Making good art is more important than canon.
    Crossovers can be fun (and like some of the above realy good), but valuing canon over art can sometime be really dumb. Ultimately, Disney did the right thing with the Star Wars EU.
     
    And I think that's all that needs to be said about that. I hope you learned something important from this or at least got a good laugh out of some of those hilarious attempts to maintain continuity.
  20. JAG18
    [
    ] 
    Apparently, this was the idea for Jurassic Park IV as envisioned in a script written by John Sayles, years before Jurassic World was a thing.
     
    Now, despite being someone who rolls their eyes every time someone in the "Jurassic World" movies brings up the idea that dinosaurs have any military value what so ever I just love the idea of a scene where an Ankylosaurus is sitting inside the hold of a C-130 Hercules, the door opens and an army guy shouts, "GO, GO GO, GO!" Prompting the dinosaur to jump out the aircraft and three big ol' parachutes deploy causing it to fall safely to earth.
     
    And don't forget the priceless reactions of the poor guys on the ground looking up as an eight ton dinosaur gets dropped on their heads.
     
    I just thought everyone's life would better with that imagery in their brains.
  21. JAG18

    Spotify Year in Music 2016

    By JAG18,

    With another year almost come and gone Spotify has sent all its users their year in music, which means it’s time to talk about how I listened to music in 2016. This time around, Spotify was a lot less revealing having replaced a dedicated site with a simple email with regrettably less detailed statistics, but whatever it’s still interesting (to me) so let’s go with it.
     
    In numbers:
    This year I listened to 35,330 minutes of music (580 hours, 24 days), which is way up from last year’s 22,000 minutes. And also 1,309 different artists (double last’s year number of 648). However one place I lagged behind is in the number of unique tracks I listened to: 1,720 as opposed to 1,943 last year.
     
    Top Tracks:
    “Pray to God” – Calvin Harris feat. Haim: you know, while writing this I just realized that this was also my second most played song of 2015.
    “Red Eye” – Kid Cudi feat. Haim: this is the year I went from being a passive fan of Haim to them being my third or fourth favorite bands ever, which is my guess as to why they’re featured on both of my top two tracks.
    “Oh No!” – Marina and the Diamonds: probably still favorite Marina and the Diamonds song so I’m not surprised.
     
    Top Artists:
    Marina and the Diamonds
    Chvrches
    The Veronicas
    Charli XCX
    Halsey
     
    As I mentioned already, I was so happy when I saw that I’m in the top one percent of Marina fans and CHVRCHES is still one of my favorite bands ever. The Veronicas I discovered this year just in time to see their great new tracks drop “In My Blood” and “On Your Side”. Charli XCX is an old favorite of mine who released a pretty great EP earlier this year and Halsey is a more recent favorite. I’m more than a little surprised not to see Dua Lipa here or even Kyla La Grange, but whatever.
     
    Top Genres: Pop, Post-Teen Pop, Dance Pop, Indietronica, Metropopolis
    The only change from last year is that I’ve apparently stated listening to less synthpop and replaced it with Post-Teen Pop.
     
    Favorite Day to Listen (more like the day I have the most time to listen): Monday
     
    Your Top Songs 2016 Wrapped:
    Finally, Spotify also takes your one-hundred and one most streamed songs and puts them in a single playlist for you, and these are the first ten tracks on that playlist.
     
    “Hummingbird” – Kyla La Grange
    “Hotter Than [Karzahni]” – Dua Lipa
    “Higher Than Life” – Bella Goldwin
    “Chewing Gum” – Nina Nesbitt
    “Lush Life” – Zara Larsson
    “Love Is the Name” – Sofia Carson
    “Blow Your Mind (Mwah)” – Dua Lipa
    “Real Love” – Florrie
    “Pray to God” – Calvin Harris feat. Haim
     
    Unsurprisingly, many of my favorite songs of this year as well as an obvious old favorite; the other eighty-one songs are about the same.
     
    And that’s all I have to share from this year in music; as I said not as detailed as last year, but then I guess it’s kind of a moot point seeing as I do have a Last.fm account (although unfortunately one I didn't get 'til this past July) so I have some pretty elaborate statistics of my listening habits over there. Either way, I hope you some enjoyment out of this and look out in the coming weeks for all of my music related year-end lists.
  23. JAG18

    Exo-Force Spin-Off Idea

    By JAG18,

    For whatever reason, watching "Star Trek: Beyond" as sent me into a Sci-Fi craze (note: I do mean "Sci-Fi" not "science fiction" because the only thing I've been reading/watching recently that has anything to do with actual science is "War of the Worlds") and this, somehow, has made me think of an old LEGO theme I've always liked: Exo-Force.
     
    Now, I really like Exo-Force to the point that it might be my second of third favorite LEGO theme overall after "Hero Factory" and, of course, "BIONICLE", but rather than talk about the actual theme I want to talk about something I've dreamed of doing if I was in a position to do it namely an Exo-Force movie. If you like Exo-Force or mecha in general I'm sure you can imagine how awesome a live-action (or pure CG because, let's be honest, it would probably work just as well if not better) Exo-Force would be and I for one have spent lots of time thinking up spectacular and exciting action pieces that a movie about human and robots battling it out could have.
     
    Although, thinking about it now the movie I'd really like to see would probably be "Starship Troopers" meets "Terminator" with some more Sci-Fi military action thrown in, but that wouldn't really be Exo-Force, which gave me the idea for a movie that distills the theme of Exo-Force to it's essence: humans making an Alamo last stand against overwhelming robotic forces.
     
     
    And now, some incoherent thoughts from the brainstorming I had last night:
    1) It's really, really hard to come up with a logical explanation as to why the robots don't just go around Sentai Mountain and I'm not talking about going around the mountain to strike the village, but why not just surround the humans and attack them from all sides?
    2) Thus, the "plot" of the movie would be a single battalion of division of a human military defending a mountain, or other easily defended nature position, against the robots as a kind of delaying tactic. The humans are preparing a massive counterattack that could turn the war in their favor, but they can't go through with their plan if the robots are allowed to take this mountain.
    3) Even though, it would be hinted that their is a large conflict going on, for the sake of focus the movie would center exclusively on this one front of that conflict; one human battalion defend one mountain against overwhelming numbers.
    4) The robots would be an utter ruthless and merciless enemy looking gritty and terrifying like the Terminators who want one thing and one thing only; to destroy all humans (or "Blast some meatbags" to quote a certain fictional killer robot). They have grunts they rush forward in suicide charge to set off land mines so their superior soldiers can advance, they field jetpack wielding paratroopers in the vein of the Fire Vulture and massive attack helicopters.
    5) I love the idea that the humans fight the robot paratroopers by just knocking them out of the sky with a massive jet; no really they just fly it right through a swarm of them and just watch them shatter on their wings.
    6) The humans are, of course, a small band of space marines who have a very modern military feel...you know if the military had advance Sci-Fi technology.
    7) The humans have craved out helicopter pads into the mountain and I have a great idea for a scene where the robots scale the mountain on grappling hooks and force their way onto one of these pads forcing engineers and pilots to fight robots in brutal hand-to-hand combat.
     
     
    Alright, that's enough rambling, my point is I came up with a lot of action shots and world-building gimmicks for this idea. Will anything actually came of this? Probably not. Other than maybe another story treatment/script draft that will end up stored somewhere deep in my computer or maybe a short story I would post in OTC, I don't know. Either way, it was a cool daydream.
  24. JAG18
    In my "Best Everything of 2016" list entry, I lamented the fact that I only watched 10 new movies last year and that I was going to try harder to watch more movies this year.
    Well, so far this year I've watch 13 new movies and I regret nothing...well, actually I do kind of regret seeing "Beauty and The Beast" and "Aftermath", but whatever.
     
    So what were these movies and what did I think of them?
     
    "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" is one of my favorites of the year so far and I love it. Oddly enough, I just watched the first "Guardians" this past January and I watch the second on a late Thursday night showing.
     
    "Life" is a pretty good sci-fi horror movie and while I noticed the similarities at the time after re-watching all the Alien movies this past month I really noticed how similar "Alien" and "Life" are.
     
    "The Lego Batman Movie" is a lot of fun.
     
    "Kong: Skull Island" and "Power Rangers" are fine summer blockbusters.
     
    "The Great Wall", "Alien: Covenant", and "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" are all OK films.
     
    "Silence" is better made and "smarter" than all the above films, but I don't prefer it to any of the above.
     
    While, I thought it was good the first time around I really think I need to re-watch "Split" to form a solid opinion on it.
     
    It's not a great movie, but I enjoyed "Megan Leavey" a lot. Definitely more than I thought I would.
     
     
    And after all that I still need to watch "Logan" and "Wonder Woman", and there are still some movies coming up that I'm really looking forward to ("Dunkirk", "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets", "The Last Jedi"). We'll see what happens.
  25. JAG18

    I Need to Get Me a Cig

    By JAG18,

    Yeah, I just realized the other week that I don't have a signature below my posts; I'm sure I had a good reason for doing that, but still I...wait. Did I put a "C" instead of an "S" in the title? Oh well, might as well just roll with it.
     
    So, I did some browsing around the forums and noticed that, for one, a surprising number of people don't have a sig at all, but also that everything in sigs fell into a few categories: links, quotes, and occasionally a moc image or banner. And when I think back to what my sig has looked like over the years I realized that has used fallen into the same categories. First it was nothing, but links (there was a lot of stuff I wanted to link to back in the day!) then I got a banner with a model in it, heck I know I've even put silly quotes in my sig before.
    I'm pretty sure the last links I had right before I got rid of it were of this blog, my wordpress blog that I abandoned, the caption contest, and I think that's it.
     
    I'm open to any and all ideas as to what I should put down there; my only ideas right now are...you guessed it links (this blog, my flickr) or maybe a banner featuring the three most beautiful women alive (assuming I feel like putting in the work necessary). Or I could just get with the times and leave it empty.
     
    Any thoughts?
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