Update: First Reaction of 2018

Hello, dear viewers!

It might take some time for me to work on fresh content because finally, FINALLY, I am gainfully employed!

I started just over a week ago and the hours are kinda long; however, the first real step into adulthood has happened for me. Not too shabby for a May 2016 graduate to get the first job over a year and a half later with benefits in one of the more expensive cities in the United States. Having my own place to live alone is still a long way to go, but the fact I'm making gains towards it is a plus.

Hell, I'm more psyched that planning a vacation in Japan is much closer to reality than ever before. I need to actually use what I've been learning incrementally.

So, yeah, 2018 has started off pretty well for me. How's the rest of the world?

‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’

I’ve had it. I'm done. I am so done.

This is the last straw. I’m at my limit. I can't take this anymore.

Fuck Disney.

Fuck Hollywood.

Fuck the trendy franchise addition.

Fuck the obsession with cinematic universes.

Fuck the corporate capitalist cult that strangles creativity in the name of profit.

Fuck Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

And fuck me for feeding money to this detestable beast.

... Feel free to keep count of how many times I curse in this post. It's one of those, people, so strap in tight. This rant-review hybrid is not for the faint of heart.

Spoilers, because I have succumbed to the power of the Dark Side, consequences be damned.

Pre-Thanksgiving Update

我累。我很累。我的手痛了。(1)

...

A nostalgic train ride with Linkin Park, an eleven-slided powerpoint presentation on a cultural world problem, a nine paged essay on an environmental problem close to home, AND a ten page essay on how terrorism affects a country's GDP.

...

Worst... procrastinating... EVER.

...

对不起，我累。我需要去睡觉。(2)

...

I miss my big bed...

~~~~~Notes:~~~~~

(1) - I am tired. I am very tired. My hand hurts.

(2) - I'm sorry, I'm tired. I'm going to bed.

Need to Vent... RISING.

For some odd reason my text gadget is glitching out. So my most recent "PSA From a Fangirl" will be a blog post instead. This won't happen very often. It's just a quick way for me to make a quick note about something that hit me. You might as well call it a tweet, only less toilet updates and celebrity gossip chains.

Anywho.

PSA From a Fangirl:
The US government has shut down today. Both Republicans and the President refuse to negotiate on the budget and health care reform.

China is free to demand us to cough up what we owe. North Korea is free to send out a nuclear missile. The terrorists are completely welcome to attack us on our soil again. Paranoid, hypocritical Christians are free to build their shelters when the supposed "Evil Islamic Armageddon" destroys the "good ol' 'Merican spirit!" "God bless the USA!"

Seriously. We are at our most vulnerable. We are practically begging for our country to crash and burn! We're practically asking for the nations our beloved fathers crafted for us to be decimated!! If these threats are real enough to manifest to enact change, please attack our country! We can't get anything done because of ideological and geopolitical cat fights. We need something to yank our heads out of our behinds!

And I blame all Americans - soldiers, politicians, businessmen, rednecks, intellectuals, conservatives, liberals, Congress, the president, the judicial branch, the federal government, the state government, lobbyists, diplomats, the religious, the irreligious, every ethnicity that exists in this country, the proud, the stupid, the smart, the young, the old, families, singles, the married, the rich, the poor, the middle class, capitalists, socialists, anarchists, men, women, students, the healthy, the sick, the dying, the druggies, the alcoholics, the smokers, the immigrants, the natives, doctors, teachers, journalists, bloggers, paparazzi, celebrities, Youtube celebrities, comedians, talk show hosts, musicians, tax payers, tax collectors, government organizations, straight people, gay people, transgender people, the employed, the unemployed, those who cannot vote, those who can vote AND myself.

Because it's all our fault. WE LET THIS HAPPEN. 

... ... ...

I'm too young to be tired of the epic failures of this world.

... ... ...

Y'know... I don't want to hate my home country. I honestly don't. The United States is my mother country and culture. I'm so embedded in it, I sometimes can't imagine myself living anywhere else and being just as satisfied. As much as I find China and Japan to have cool cultures and languages, I won't ever fit in there. I'd like to live in Europe sometime, but English is my only reliable form of communication. Plus, I'd stand out in a Caucasian continent. And let's not get started with politics, laws, money, and taxes...

Then I look at the state of the US now. We are so backwards and delusional. We're not the greatest country anymore. Hell, I doubt we ever were the greatest country in the world. We're just so rude, narrow-minded, arrogant, and irrational, it astounds me that we were once considered "the greatest country ever".

... ... ...

Yeah, I'm supposed to be a kid with big eyes and a drive to live on my own and make a different in the world.

Then the government shuts down because our leaders are so stubborn.

I guess we're just not motivated to do anything anymore. I know I'm fighting laziness and childish urges to crawl into a hole and play video games for the rest of my life. But when my elders show no desire to get work done, the sickness spreads and trickles down.

And this is the United States' greatest failure.

... ... ...

And it's been going on for nearly a decade.

... ... ...

... ... ...

*checks calendar*

I can't wait 'till I turn 21. I need a superior-beings-damned drink...

Fangirl's Lazy Post on E3... Or Why the Xbone Is in Trouble, Part 2

The whole internet pretty much summed up my general view of what happened this week. Microsoft shot themselves in the foot, and Sony laughed their asses off. While doing so, they did the simple trick of giving the people what they want: now they have us under their spell until they rip the rug from under our feet. It'll happen, it's business, I assure you. Meanwhile Nintendo did their own thing - as usual - and presented themselves well.

Since Sony and Nintendo tend to get my money in some way, shape, or form, I'll get a Wii U and/or a PS4 once the libraries have expanded. It'll probably be when I'm done college and have a stable income.

The All-In-One Device... Minus Gaming

Maybe I was born in the wrong generation. Why else do I apologize to adults about the intolerable mess of our pop music? Why else do I still cringe at the mentioning of a smart phone? Why else did it take me nearly six years to finally buy a new gaming console?

...Oh wait. I'm a skeptic at heart. And stunts like this make the self-fulfilled prophesy continue to spin in circles.

So... the Xbox One...

BEWARE! The Hate of Sonic 06's Soundtrack Is Over 9,000!!

Sonic 06, wake the **** up. You are NOT Final Fantasy.

Very well. I may not have played Sonic 06 since I currently don't own a XBox or a PS3, but I can still take this thing on. I watched at least four walkthroughs of this game and I listened to this soundtrack for months. I think I have enough room to toss my few cents into the opinion cup.

So here it goes.

This soundtrack is considered to be one of the best of this franchise.

... ... ... ... ...

BULLSHIT

Believe me, it gets much worse from here.

I apologize if any Sonic fan is reading this and loves this soundtrack. I am shooting bullets at this cocky piece of junk, not you. Please don't take this as a personal insult.

As for the rest of you... I'm sorry if my rage overwhelms anyone.

1:43 - What is THIS?! Is someone getting MARRIED?! *flashback to game*

OH GOD NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! TT-TT

I'm serious... what the fudge was Sonic Team AND Sega on in 2006?! Why did they release a half-assed game with sloppy gameplay, inconsistent graphics, and a generally insultingly overrated and unexciting soundtrack?! Most of all, why has no one apologized for this train wreck?!

*storms away from computer, sits on bed, and meditates for seven years*

Okay, I'm cool... ish.

Pointless 28 second song is pointless!

I know making claims of what defines a "Sonic soundtrack" is shallow and stupid, but hear me out. Music in pretty much every Sonic game released was energetic, upbeat, or catchy. Even in the SEGA Genesis days, restricted by electronic bleeps, the music was still memorable! So what happened here? Electronic and rock still exist, except watered-down and lifeless. Other than an orchestra, keyboards, the occasional guitar, and woodwinds, no other instrument exists. They replaced actual drums with machines repeating the same damn noise over and over again. This is not fun, musical perfection, this is repetitive laziness. "Wave Ocean" is the prime example of such sloth!

*sigh* This ain't the Gerudo desert of the Zelda series... wake me up when it...

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

This soundtrack is just as long as Shadow the Hedgehog's with over 90 songs, and YET Shadow's music was far more dynamic and energizing. Sure, not everyone can tolerate the sound that appeals more to rock and metal fans, but barely anything sounds exactly the same! Sonic 06, however, decides to have five songs sound 95% identical. This is mostly cutscene music too.

Yep an official Shadow recolor. Didn't see that one coming...

No seriously. That's the villain.

I kid you not, the tunes that play whenever Mephiles appears sound no different from each other, except that one during the cutscene with the pseudo-Jesus imagery. (That's a rage for another day...) There's "Resurrection of Mephiles", "The Black Shadow", "Mephiles' Whisper", "Mephiles' Temptation", and "Showdown with Mephiles". There was a cool theme that was duplicated and raped for no reason.

Silver, why did you debut in one of the worst games ever?!

WAAAAHHHH!!! 

And for character themes? "Dreams of an Absolution" - as I repeated for months - is the only track that deserves your serious attention. The in-game version of "His World" - not to be confused with the superior "Theme of Sonic the Hedgehog ~ E3 Version" - is hilariously awful. I'm sorry, Mr. Ali Tabatabaee, but in this song you are a lazy rapper. Just listen to the Crush 40 version, which the gods have blessed in their infinite wisdom... ...only to curse them. Crush 40's remake of "All Hail Shadow" is absolutely unnecessary. Magna-Fi made it glorious before, so why elongate and weaken what was concise and full of life?

Look, I have no issue with orchestral music. Symphonic metal is plagued with it. Nightwish dives head-first into the orchestration so much that it can be nauseating. But for them, it works because that was their style, their technique from day one. The fact that they continue it may prove that they are satisfied or that people want them to continue it until they die. Here, in a Sonic game it seems to work in small doses, otherwise it will look like everyone is trying too hard.

"The Past", "Chaos Control", "Revival", "Theme of Sonic Colors", "Theme of Sonic Unleashed", "To the World of the Memory", and "Metal Madness" are some examples of orchestration done well. They fit the tone and mood of the games they appear in while retaining a reasonable bit of memorability. Part of this is because we will hear these songs several times throughout the course of the game's story at the most appropriate moments. AND the games and their soundtracks don't drown themselves in such music.

Oh no! The tears that will release the Nine Tailed Fox from its' host!

It's the apocalypse! Cue the organ!

Yet Sonic 06 flips the bird at conservatively using what could be beautiful music and decides to fling new "impressive" and "elegant" crap at you to the point you forget what the fudge you're listening to! There are 48 event songs out of 94 tracks. 48 EVENT SONGS!!! That compares to 10 in Sonic Adventure 2, 17 in Sonic Colors, 10 in Sonic Generations, 11 in Sonic Heroes, and 6 in Sonic Adventure! 48 songs make up MORE THAN HALF OF THIS SOUNDTRACK! And most of the songs ARE REPEATS!!!!!

Fine, Shadow the Hedgehog has 49 event tracks. HOWEVER! Most of them STAND APART VERY CLEARLY!!! And many were re-used throughout the game WITHOUT DUPLICATE EDITS on the soundtrack! For crying out loud, Sonic Team!!!! Did you make Sonic 06 suck on purpose?! This is overkill!!!!

*walks away from computer and screams off the foulest curses ever conceived by mankind*

I have a headache. Seriously, I don't know if this or A Thousand Suns is the worst excuse of "great" albums I have ever heard. It's hard... man, is it hard... I could not finish listening to both in their entirety.

Yes, I gave up once we got to the Town Mission tunes. ...And I skipped the "Accordion Song". I wish that was a joke.

The only good action stage song that stuck the first time I listened.

Before I get a load of grief for my immaturity, I will admit that not every song was a colossal failure. Other than "Dreams of an Absolution", I found comfort in "Kingdom Valley", "Aquatic Base ~ Level 1", "Boss Fight Vs. Character", and "Theme of Dr. Eggman." These are five gems that I have found in a sea of oil and sludge.

And I refuse to comment in detail on "Sweet Dreams" and "My Destiny". They made me sick. Thankfully the developers didn't want me to puke excessively as the former never appeared on the soundtrack.

This could easily fit with the ARK stages in Shadow the Hedgehog...

Here's the greatest problem. Sonic 06 tried to impress everyone with its "realism" in graphics, story, and soundtrack. It's like Sonic would be deemed childish with the presence of epic, in-your-face music borrowing elements of rock, rap, jazz, techno, electronic, and orchestral. And what was released was a horrible disaster. They tried too damn hard and this ends up looking like a wanna-be Final Fantasy epic tale with snobbishly pretentious and "I'm superior to you all" music that should NEVER be in a Sonic game!

So what if I got into the games via the GameCube? I still have a tiny idea of what makes the blue blur awesome in the eyes of his fans. If you could stomach this more than me, fine. Enjoy it because I can't change your mind. But as you continue to praise it, I will continue to condemn it for failing to be the best damn thing it thinks it is.

Oh, Crush 40... we miss you dearly, even if you fumbled "All Hail Shadow"...

The good news about this? Sonic Team never attempted to overkill us with this pretentious, pseudo-elegent bullshit ever again! ... at least after Sonic Unleashed. *weeps*

0.5 out of 5

Because even this is the Mona Lisa next to the Twilight "saga".

I need to go brainwash myself with far better thoughts... A part of me has died...

"WHAT?! You're not supposed to do that!!!"

Reason #99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999991 why Sonic 06 is one of the most hilariously awful games to grace the planet.

(BrainScratchComms)

If only I had a PS3 or an Xbox, I'd buy it just to have this happen. XD

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Music Mood:

("Forces" by Susumu Hirasawa... from Berserk anime)

2012 Is Going to Suck

[Update of the Update: Now the Amazing Atheist's video is back up. Huh... wonder what that was about...]


[Update: I just love it when a Youtube video is deleted due to it's "scam, spam, and deceptive content." Sure, the Amazing Atheist can be a huge jerk but he called out Perry for HIS spam of a "political campaign ad." Irony is so lovely.]

I just cannot wait to get my card punched so can freely complain about morons in American politics. Too bad the presidential is terrifying.

There's very little I can say because these guys hit the nail on the head except this: may the superior being(s), whether he/she/it/they is or are a deity, group of deities, or fate itself, not let 2012 suck. My sanity - and many others - depends upon it.








Not afraid to admit being a Christian? War on religion? Gays openly serving in the military? Kids not celebrating Christmas? Liberal attacks on religious heritage?! Faith brought America together?!

If this is the best the right can do to convince me to vote for them, then I rather live the rest of my days as a shut-in. Looks like I'll be an Independent at this rate.

Why Avoid 4Kids' English Dub of Sonic X?

Because you will want to kill yourself.

I would have loved to have gone into tons of detail on this, but I would have never completed my review of the show. The extreme cases can best be noticed visually. However, there are several that go deeper than that. So from the hilarious and obvious, the confusing and silly, and the insulting, I present a fraction of what you will endure in the English version of Sonic X. I wish I could have found so much more in a more organized fashion, but 4Kids has a tendency to delete anything "copyrighted."

Exhibit A: Imagery

1:04 - Good kids won't study or try this at home.

1:11 - You mean I'm not a good kid?

1:37 - G.U.N. stands for "Guardian Union of Nations" *facepalm* RESEARCH!!

1:47 - Egg Emperor Eggman Robo E-99

Exhibit B: Death

Admittedly, this might show my bias towards Shadow, but this is one of the biggest contrasts between the Japanese and English versions. Maria was essential to the whole plot of Sonic Adventure 2. Her death is the reason the whole story even unfolded and why Shadow is deemed an "emo" by the general public! Thanks, 4Kids!

In my defense, however, this is a universal problem in all of the other shows. One Piece took the brunt of it head-on. But I digress...

Yes! Maria never died! She was NEVER shot and killed! The whole revenge plot was just a silly, whiny, overdramatic bitch fest over being "taken away" by the boogeyman! Remember: death does not exist, kids!

The English version starts at about 5:00 just in case not understanding Japanese just hurts. Basically though, Molly is killed and Shadow avenges her. After they built her grave, Rouge asks Shadow if he reacted so strongly because Molly reminded him of Maria. He, however, denies this.

"She's off on another adventure." That's a load of crap. "Well, yeah I liked her. She's a good kid." Since when did Jason Griffith portray his half-jackass and half-crybaby Shadow as being open and honest?! And after that stupid edit?! CONSISTENCY!!!!! *rapidly beats head against laptop*

Exhibit C: Voice Acting and Dialogue

If the earlier clips didn't make your ears bleed, then you are made of steel. Otherwise, enjoy more!

At least this was reasonable...

The corny jokes... the emotion (or lack there of)... *groans*
And yes. This is one of the least annoying ones...

must... resist... urge... to... harm... Jason Griffith... *brain explodes*

Exhibit D: Deleted Scenes

4Kids must nitpick over every silly joke.

OH NO! IT'S X-RATED! DELETE, DELETE!!!!!

=_='

If they had such a problem with a bit of a girl's daydream, I'd love to see 4Kids take a stab at an anime romantic comedy...

Vector trying [and failing] in his plans to get two characters together. Don't we all do that to our friends with their silly crushes? So why get rid of it in this show? Are you allergic to romance or something?!

And the Finale:

The sub-dub comparison starts at about 7:30.

Sonic X was not as butchered as other anime 4Kids picked up, but every single one suffered from some form of stupid edits and censors that can annoy. You might argue that these shows are meant for kids; HOWEVER, that is not true for their original Japanese versions. It's one thing to make some changes for cultural reasons. Japan is known to let sexual tension, blood, and violence slide (heck, Rouge made an S&M joke at one point.) But to completely deconstruct beyond recognition is too much. To change names, alter plot details, emphasize words awkwardly, add different music, and remove emotion in dramatic moments...

I think you get the idea.

Here are other examples of mentioned edits from various shows 4Kids picked up.

2:09-2:22 - they are ONIGIRI!! Rice balls wrapped in nori seaweed and dried, salty umeboshi plums!! NOT JELLY DONUTS!

2:25-4:07 - "We're friends... I guess I'll shoot... but I'll be sad...ish" :'(

4:08-6:33 - "I CAN'T KILL YOU! I LOVE YOU!!" TT-TT

6:43 - Jason Griffith... singing? ZOMFG, NO!! MOMMY, MAKE IT STOP!! TT.TT *shoots self*

7:40 - Dan Green!! No! Save yourself from this humiliation!!

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Looks like I should stop beating the ashes of the corpse of a dead horse. If you were able to put up with me this whole time, I will love you forever. ^_^

Halloween Fails

Way back when I used to have a monthly theme just so I can better organize my thoughts. And just like any other new thing I try, it fell apart as the remains crawled in every which way. October MIGHT be different this time, I swear! Just give me another twenty three days and then I'll have something planned out!

Just so I can have a new post in nearly a week, here are some Halloween items that made me chuckle a bit too loudly. With the laughs and the snide remarks, I'm shocked no one kicked me out of the store.

This is so hilariously bad, it might as well be the staple for the obvious Hot Topic I-wannabe-badass-emo shoppers. With green mohawks.  Or something like that.

Stupid.

A "Steampunk Victorian Vampiress Costume"... On paper, sounds ok-ish. In reality, this is fake. The top is cheap as hell and the shoes are unfitting, especially when nothing else is as white.

But this isn't a real steampunk or Victorian outfit anyway...

It looks magnificent does it not? Hot, steamy pizza served just for you at any time and any place. Literally.

It's a pillow.

It is the pinnacle of creepy when you wake up from a nightmare and your bedroom accessories look like food.

Pfft.

I can hear the cries of thousands of men and women killed for hundreds of years because they were "witches".

Charming.

.........

Forget the pig. This is as f***ing low as the "content" in Elfen Lied.

Halloween's gonna suck...