Community, Attack the Block: Destiny and Origins

 

I may have to eat my words.  Right after I posted that I was ready to give up on Community, it came back with some pleasant surprises that are making me reconsider our break up status.   As of now, I will hold off on judgement a little longer.  Let’s just say that for right now, it’s my favorite sitcom boasting a licensed doctor and an Oscar winner as part of the cast.

So the last two episodes (Basic Human Anatomy and Heroic Origins) actually made me happy.  The first is about a “ Freak Friday”  scenario which is actually handled quite well with some good laughs.  The second is Abed trying to show that they were all always destined to meet and be together, hence their origin story.

 It is really obvious that Chevy Chase is on his way out.

That’s okay though, it seems like there has been a ton of negativity on that set.  There are some very talented people working and I’m sure it doesn’t make their job easy.

So in honor of hopeful feels some Community Appreciation:

Also, I couldn’t help looking at the flashback into high school and realize I look like Annie from them.  Unfortunately I look like that now.

On another note, I really like Origin stories when they are done correctly.

Let me explain.

I do not mean, following the story/comic/graphic novel exactly.  They are different mediums and therefore can not be addressed the same way.

Sometimes, trying to be TOO faithful to a story will cause a lot of weird down time, pacing issues, missed opportunities because too much is trying to be fit in… or the worst offender ever:

THE INFODUMP

I don’t need or want a twenty second exposition about something because someone is too lazy or thinks the audience is too stupid to follow something.

The best entertainment does not infodump and instead allows the story to unfold organically and slowly, like a journey.

So when Abed brought up Unbreakable, I was surprised.   I actually enjoyed Unbreakable (no hate please) BUT it was marketed in the wrong way.  As a story on its own, I appreciated its merits.

I thought it did what it set out to do well, an origin story.

(And no, we will not bring up X-Men: Origins or any of the Wolverine movies.  We can however bring up X-Men: First Class)

But I still want to throw up an Origin story that was one of the best put on film but was only ever made for film:  Attack the Block

If you haven’t seen it (and I seem to run into more that have not), please, go, do, support.  It gave me chills at the end.  This is movie with one foot in comic and it makes it very enjoyable and re-watchable.

New YA Title, Eyre House by Caitlin Greer

We are always looking for new things to read here … though really there needs to be more hours in the day to just read.

Since we are fans of YA, sci-fi and fantasy (all this authors categories), we were intrigued by the upcoming novel.

Cait writes YA and NA stories that range from sci-fi and fantasy (because she loves making worlds and things up), to contemporary (because she kind of sort of fell into it and discovered she’s not half bad). (from GoodReads)

When eighteen-year-old orphan Evan Richardson signed up to work at Eyre House, on the sleepy tourist getaway of Edisto Island, SC, he never expected to find himself dodging ghosts. But Eyre House seems to have more than its fair share of things that go bump in the night, and most of them seem to surround his employer’s daughter.

Back from her freshman year of college, Ginny Eyre is dangerous from word one. She’s a bad girl with ghosts of her own, and trouble seems to follow her everywhere she goes. But living or dead, trouble isn’t just stalking Ginny. When her ex-boyfriend is found murdered in the pool, Evan knows he’s got two choices – figure out what’s going on, or become the next ghost to haunt Ginny Eyre.

Mark it to read on the below link!

Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17694883-eyre-house

We will have more information as it gets closer to the release date. 

oopsie daisy homophobe

Stephen Colbert and Alan Cummings: Click to Play Video

Okay, this just needs to be thrown out there.

WTF Brad Paisley and YOU LL Cool J???

EVEN LYNYRD SKYNYRD knew to distance themselves from the flag and they give some very good reasons why.  But people hate change.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/24/lynyrd-skynyrd-confederate-flag_n_1909135.html

Aside from if whether you think it’s “heritage not hate”

as someone with family on both sides of the line and from OTHER COUNTRIES, it shows AT THE VERY LEAST anti-American sentiment.  Remember that time the Confederacy wanted to secede?

Oh yea…. so you want to argue about slavery and racism, well with other races contributing to this site, I can’t say I agree with you.   But I don’t want to have that circular argument anyway, and I guess we can agree to disagree.

But even if you feel that it’s a heritage problem and not a racial religion history problem, then do some research and realize that the flag you hold so dear wanted to be it’s own country.  It wanted to leave America.

So….. waving it proudly means you are proud of belonging to people who hated this country so much they attempted to leave it.  It’s a slap in the face.

And people probably wouldn’t get so pissy if teenagers didn’t feel like they had to fight for an integrated prom because the parents don’t want one and the school outright washes it hands about the whole thing (click on link for story)

Georgia Teens Fight for Racially Integrated Prom Because It’s 2013, for Chrissakes

OMG:  This is an added edit…

WHY WHY WHY is there a separate Confederate Memorial Day?

Why is that a thing???????!!!!!

What was wrong with REGULAR U. S. Memorial day… a day to honor U.S. Soldiers?

See, this is the stuff I was pointing out above.   Don’t wave that flag in front of me and tell me you love being an American.  I understand the press release SAYS that it’s to remind people that we UNIFIED….

by honoring the fallen confederate soldiers separately.

This isn’t Civil War Memorial day or even “The War Between the States” Memorial Day…

It’s CONFEDERATE MEMORIAL DAY

Wait here is a link from the Georgia Senate:

http://senatepress.net/sen-heath-issues-statement-to-commemorate-confederate-memorial-day.html

Sen. Heath Issues Statement to Commemorate Confederate Memorial Day

Sen. Bill Heath (R-Bremen) has released the following statement on the commemoration of Confederate Memorial Day in Georgia:

 

“On Monday, April 22, many Georgians across the State will pay respect to the countless soldiers who gave their lives to defend the confederacy. It is important to remember the historical significance of our nation’s fractured past.

The “War Between the States” was unlike any conflict in our nation’s history; brothers took up arms against each other and it was not uncommon for young boys to join in the war effort. As war raged across the early American countryside, both the Confederate and Union Army fought to preserve their unique heritage and uphold the values that shaped their identity.

The Civil War ended nearly 150 years ago, but continues to stand as a resolute reminder of how a nation divided by war was unified despite our differences. There is no greater reminder of our nation’s reconciliation than when our country is faced with times of adversity. When tragedy most recently struck the heart of Boston, our nation did not cower and hide, but showed resiliency and solidarity in the midst of pain. When times of trial come – and they will – we must always remember that we are stronger together than apart.

Honoring the fallen during Confederate Memorial Day is a reminder of our country’s unique ability to rise from the ashes and reconcile a war-torn past. If we don’t understand the battles of the past, we’ll be destined to repeat them.”

RELEASE
For Immediate Release:
April 19, 2013

For Information Contact:
Jennifer Yarber, Interim Director
Shawna Mercer, Sr. Communications Specialist
Shawna.Mercer@senate.ga.gov
404.656.0028

Posted April 19th, 2013 in Bill Heath, Senate Press Release. Tagged: Sen. Heath Issues Statement to Commemorate Confederate Memorial Day.

LYRICS:

To the man that waited on me at the Starbucks down on Main, I hope you understand
When I put on that t-shirt, the only thing I meant to say is I’m a Skynyrd fan
The red flag on my chest somehow is like the elephant in the corner of the south
And I just walked him right in the room
Just a proud rebel son with an ‘ol can of worms
Lookin’ like I got a lot to learn but from my point of view

I’m just a white man comin’ to you from the southland
Tryin’ to understand what it’s like not to be
I’m proud of where I’m from but not everything we’ve done
And it ain’t like you and me can re-write history
Our generation didn’t start this nation
We’re still pickin’ up the pieces, walkin’ on eggshells, fightin’ over yesterday
And caught between southern pride and southern blame

Who wasn’t paying attention?

“District of Columbia Public Schools officials have long maintained that a 2011 test-cheating scandal that generated two government probes was limited to one elementary school. But a newly uncovered confidential memo warns as far back as January 2009 that educator cheating on 2008 standardized tests could have been widespread, with 191 teachers in 70 schools “implicated in possible testing infractions.” The 2009 memo was written by an outside analyst, Fay “Sandy” Sanford, who had been invited by then-chancellor Michelle Rhee to examine students’ irregular math and reading score gains. It was sent to Rhee’s top deputy for accountability.”

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/michelle-rhee-cheating-scandal-041213

In the wake of the 80 million school scandals of *gasp* school officials blatantly cheating on standardized testing IN ORDER TO NOT LOSE FEDERAL FUNDING … well, like I wrote above.  Who the hell wasn’t paying attention?

Look I know the fat cats in DC take a while to know/learn/understand how us commoners feel but all they had to do was talk, listen, ask any educator about this YEARS ago and they would have found it that SCHOOLS HAVE BEEN FUDGING THE NUMBERS FOR STANDARDIZE TESTING FOR YEARS! 

The schools were already underfunded, the classrooms were full and if the kids didn’t MEMORIZE enough shit in the CORRECT ORDER and were not ABLE TO SPIT THIS BACK OUT, that meant that teachers and schools would lose money. 

This is like, the worst kept secret ever and it amazes me it’s taking so long to get noticed. 

From a tradition to asking the “special education” class to stay home on testing days or feeding the answers to kids…. teacher openly talked about the frustration of what they were TOLD TO DO by their administrations.  This is mostly based on fads and not about fostering a desire to learn or educate. 

The US is one of the lowest rated school systems in the world.  Think about it, there are a lot of people in this country.  We don’t want thinkers, we want people to memorize and when they don’t, we punish the schools, punish the teachers which all in the end PUNISH THE CHILD!!

This circle jerk thinking needs to end.

Seriously, if people are creating a work around, then the system isn’t working. 

How many teachers, administrators, school districts have to be put out there until there is a realization that it’s not an individualized problem?  The whole system is broken, but good news! Broken means it can be fixed! 

But not by blaming teachers (who get paid shit and then told to spend more time/work for free/spend their own money/get yelled at by administrators, parents and children alike) but by changing the system in itself. 

Seriously, just go ask a working joe sometimes. They could give you far better answers than someone who has never done the damn job and instead looks at a stack of statistics and makes decisions from their glass houses.

*Edit*

I am not an educator.

 I do not work in the education field.

I am however a lover of learning.

 I used to frustrate my teachers by asking too many questions in school.

Yes, you read that right, too many questions.

Do you know why this frustrated them?

Because it wasn’t set in the curriculum.

I would mess up their schedules, mess up the schedules of the classroom.

This would mean that I might mess up the testing for everyone.

It’s not that the teachers didn’t want to teach

they wanted to

but they couldn’t.

You could see the panic in their eyes if they got “off topic”

going back to their desks to check where they were in the books

if we didn’t get caught up

we might not pass the test

and then the school gets less money.

I was a student with a high IQ and poor aptitude for tests.

College classes in high school but no memorization skills.

Not an ideal student at all.

The school had high hopes for me in terms of test scores.

But they would tell how important this is,

you NEED to take these tests

you NEED to pass these tests

when one ended another began

I can’t even remember all the acronyms anymore

but the stress SCREAMED at us

THIS WAS IMPORTANT

…..

a test is a test

it doesn’t define me

it TRIED to define me

the numbers shouldn’t be the end all in LEARNING

Gravity Falls is the new Community

 

Look, it’s gotta be said.

Community isn’t really that funny anymore. 

 

This saddens me after The Guild ended and I’m still feeling the hurt that 30 Rock is over.

But I miss Dan Harmon.

I miss the old characters, going just that extra step further … something they seem to be missing.

Even with some bang up guest stars this season and an Inspector Timespace episode.

 

I still watch it.

I still DVR it, but I delete it when it’s done.

No longer does it sit on my list, waiting to be watched, rewatched, laughed at, new things noticed….

*sigh*

I have however picked up Gravity Falls on a regular rotation.  (you really DO notice lots of new things on a rewatch)

and New Girl has had some really good ones lately.

 

In the meantime, it might be time to pour a 40 for Community.

 

 

 

 

Oz the Great and Powerful

 

mickey:

http://mobile.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2013/03/13/sam_raimi_s_oz_the_great_and_powerful_sexism_and_the_imposter_effect.html

leela:
LMAO… omg. seriously. the author needs some chocolate and a chill pill. I couldn’t read the whole thing.
mickey:
Actually it seems like its a major gripe by people who are fans of baum’s books. He frequently had women in charge of things in his novels, generals, heroes, temporarily taking up the seat. Disny didn’t use any of his books and so none of it makes sense in canon. Why would a two bit magician be able to trick three experienced witches? Why did the women all need extra photoshopping on their faces. And the articles loves James Franco but says he and the actresses were all underutilized. I dunno, it wasn’t really anything I had wanted to go see, it was just interesting.

leela:
Here is my thing. Whoever wrote this went to the movie, and glanced at it about four fucking times before she sat down and wrote an entire article about how weak the characters were. Deep down, it makes me question if deep down the author herself, doesn’t think that highly of women in general.
Only ONE witch was tricked by this guy. One of them was evil, and was pretending to be dumb. The other Glinda (played by Michelle Williams) was basically telling him fake it till you make it, we were told a savior was coming, looks like you’re all we got.
The author here was reaching, and turning things into something they are not. And thus upholding the very reason feminists aren’t taken seriously.
Now, I have never read the books, so I am not familiar with the whole strong women characters he has in his books. That part I can see as upsetting, because its not true to the book. However, lets look back at how they had the characters in the original and how they portrayed Glinda. Oh thats right, like a sweet dumb benevolent gentle witch. SURPRISE! That’s exactly how she was in the movie. Minus the dumb.
Furthermore, the reason he could not kill Glinda, was not because of her “beauty” as the author would have anyone who has not seen it believe, but because SHE LOOKED JUST LIKE THE LOVE OF HIS LIFE.
So my message to the author, before you go and write an entire article and bash a movie, PAY THE FUCK ATTENTION to what is going on.
Oh and please, we don’t know any men in leading roles who turned evil over a broken heart? DARTH VADER ring a bell bitch? again. But its okay for him because he has balls? But not for her because she has ovaries?

mickey:
First everyone has issues with annie(kin) heh
Glinda actually DID come across kind of brainless in the movie
But in the books she ruled over quadling country. Did the movie even talk about the ozma’s?
Lol I love how passionate you are about this. It seems she did see the movie but not through the same eyes. Line I said, there are actually quite a few of these reviews going around.
I will say if you want to try on another wicked witch prequel, have you read Wicked?

Leela:

I have Wicked. The hardcover was on sale so I got it. LOL I have not read it yet though. After I read the Wicked series I want to read the one about the Evil Stepsisters.
I didn’t mean to come off so passionate about a movie, but I really enjoyed it and the attempt to steal its thunder under the name of feminism pissed me off. lol

The movie had its flaws, weak woman characters were not one of them. lol
My BIGGEST MOST GIANT GRIPE (how do you like that english) is why was there no mention of the ruby red slippers? I wanted a bit of a back story on that.

Well that and that Disney went out of their way to make sure that any time there was a crowd scene, the front row had to have a black, an asian, a spic and white guy. I found it laughable. EVERY SCENE. lol

Maybe it was different eyes with which we watched the movie with, but trust me she could not be more off lol.

People had issues with Annie, but it happens. People change after being screwed over only all the time.

 

Mickey:
Especially if they are moody and cranky and met their wife when they were a know it all child who just happened to have the ability to build the protocol droid that happens to help their son in the future. Sorry… Lol there is my gripe.
The shoes were never mentioned in any other books. I think it was implied they were made by the witch herself.

It’s ok, Glinda was a redhead anyway. And all the costumes and all make her blonde ( just like Cinderella… Her hair is so light now!! Why is that Disney?)

And no…. When I watch the Disney channel , I Never notice something like that!! Lol
PC means not talking about PC

Leela:
LOL rule number one, no one talks about episode 1-3 unless we are talking about how big of a badass Darth Maul was and how WEAK his death was…

My other gripe with the Disney channel, I feel like they try to get really good looking white kids, and the comic reliefs are always chunky brown and not that attractive… IE The best friend on Teddy, and the best friend on Austin and Ally, the best friend on ANT Farm. (the one on ant farm is a boy, he’s not fat but he’s not good lookin lol)

I dunno. Just a random observation.

________________________________________

Leela:
how about I’m more surprised shes redheaded? made sense to change it then, as she’s a good witch and gingers are evil and have no soul.

Mickey:
Oh no you are right. The suite life on deck… Good luck charlie….That’s their formula I guess.

On the other hand, are you watching gravity falls? Because you should be

 

Well , she’s a redhead in the old movie, strawberry blonde
But the costume always comes across like this

Meanwhile, I did see Spring Breakers and James Franco was DISTURBING!

 

representin’ florida bitches

Being Scared as An Adult

 

 

Okay, So I made the mistake of rewatching the Marble Hornets YouTube page recently.  (Did you know they will be making a movie?)  Plus there is a new SlenderMan game coming out….

I’m okay, I am a grown ass adult so it doesn’t bother me.

So here I am, putting away clothing and I hear a noise from the other room.  A really loud, really strange noise.

It’s a Furby going off.

Yes, it is ours but WHY IN GOD’S NAME did it start going off when no one else is in the house but me?? and it’s sitting on a counter, I know they’ll go off is someone moves them.  There is no TV in other room, it was just me, my dog, 30Rock reruns and then that thing…

So I can’t see out the door to the other room, from where I am, and there was NO WAY IN HELL I was poking my head out there.

Eventually, it announced “I’m Sleepy” and shut off.

Then my house phone immediately began to ring.

No one has that number.  No really.  Just two families, but instead it’s from a number I don’t recognize.  (319-535-2429) Which a quick internet search assures me is a scammer. I didn’t answer anyway.  All I had were of visions of a voice saying.. “Seven days….” So NO THANK YOU!

The TV starts buzzing periodically (it’s still on mute).

and now my dog won’t stop staring at the doorway, listening for… I don’t know what.

I don’t think I’m leaving my room for a while.

Plus I feel like  a moron because I’m an adult and I’m scared shitless at the moment.

Stupid, scary robotic animal toys, horror films, the internet and most importantly, my brain… UGH

.. my dog put her head down, but now my ipod’s alarm is ringing with an old timey phone ringer… stupid… now i have to go out there to turn it off

i forgot i had somewhere to be

*sigh*