Brony

So, my sister was watching My Little Pony this morning and I realized I had yet to write about the Brony phenomena that I really, really, really, really don't understand.

I understand the girls my age being into it, okay, they're ponies they're cute, it make you think of your childhood like Digimon makes me think of mine. I sorta get it. But the boys? I don't understand what is so appealing to them about this show. It's made for three year old girls. Twenty-something boys should not be enjoying it, so much that an entire fandom has sprung forth.
One of my good friends was in New York City a few weeks ago to visit her school. In the hotel she was staying in they were holding "Brony Con" and among other things, she saw a full grown man in a knee length wig and dress cosplaying as one of the ponies.
Now, I gave the show a fair chance. I watched like an episode and a half with a friend of mine and it's just one of those things that I don't get (when they started singing I couldn't do it anymore). To me, the whole fandom that has cropped up around this doesn't make any sense. It's cute and sometimes a little funny, and I appreciate the pop culture references (Doctor Whooves, especially) but I don't think it's all that great, and not a thing for grown men.

Sooo Dark Knight Rises?

Guess who forgot to talk about Batman in her last blog? Yeah, that's right me. Of course I saw it at midnight, how could I not? I went to the drive-in with a couple of my favorite people and it was awesome. I loved everything about it and I'm going to share more about it with you, but it is going to be full of spoilers so don't read on if you haven't seen it. Don't say I didn't warn you.


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Are we good now? Awesome.

So, my biggest problems with the movie. Only have three.
1) Bane's voice: When the opening prologue was released, there was a lot of complaining that no one could understand Tom Hardy through the Bane mask. They went back and corrected that. Except, they over-corrected. Bane was about 10 decibels louder than anything else in the movie. He was supposed to be muffled and hard to understand and unsettling. Instead, it was distracting and annoying.
2) Breaking the Bat: This is an iconic image in not only Batman lore, but in Comic Culture. Bane was the first one to do this, nobody had ever injured Batman so cripplingly. And in the movie, it was over in like 5 seconds. This was disappointing to me because it was the one thing I was looking forward to. It is one of my favorite things. The build up was almost non-existent. I didn't even have the time to process that it was coming. And then it was over. They just snuck it in.
3) "Robin": This is the one thing I don't really have a good reason to not like. I just don't like that Blake's real name was Robin not Dick or Richard. I understand that Christopher Nolan wants to put his own take on things, but it seemed too blatant a reference to me compared to other smaller comic references that existed.

What I really liked (which was everything else practically)
I loved Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, and I retract all the bad things I ever said about her. She was gorgeous and funny and perfect. I can't think of anyone else who would have done a better job.
The ties to the League of Shadows. Crane's Reappearance, Ra's Al-gul's cameo. It tied the series together so well.
The Batplane. It was just awesome. As was the redesigned Batcycle.
The fact that they took their time with the pacing and they weren't really out to please anyone. It was a really good movie, and it didn't have the comic book feel that Avengers did. It was a piece of art and I can't wait until I have the opportunity to see it again.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the tragedy in Colorado. My heart goes out to the families and friends who have been through so much. It was a terrible thing that happened to people who were just trying to enjoy a wonderful movie, and I wish the survivors a speedy recovery.

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So Um Hi

So it's been a while. Sorry about that. I've been working 'bout 35 hours a week and that leaves me very little time where I'm actually coherent enough to write a post. I'm not trying to be dramatic here, but between work and trying to keep up with all the things I have to do around the house, and trying to squeeze in all the things I've wanted to do this summer, I mostly don't really feel like writing.
I guess I'll start with the story of how me and my roommate almost died in Niagara Falls. We went up to the Falls to meet my friend Amy 'cause she was in town for a grad party and we wandered around the park and went to the Aquarium and it was a great day. So me and Taylor were walking back to her car and she stopped to look at a bag at one of the vendor stands and we walked around the table to see it. Not even ten seconds later where we had been standing someone was trying to park their jeep and I don't know exactly what he was trying to do, put he punched the gas and hit the van we were now 10 feet from. So if our timing had been just a little bit off, we would have been crushed between a van and a jeep. But everyone is okay.
I have mostly settled into my room, which is great. I love having my own space, but it's honestly kind of a mess right now. I've done some shopping lately and got some really great deals on some stuff (like two pairs of Toms style shoes for $10 :D). Got some dorm shopping done too. I went to see Sublime with Taylor a couple weeks ago which was really fun. I finally finished reading the Host last night, two months later. I don't really recommend it. It was just okay, slow and only slightly better written than Twilight.
I'm really ready to go back to school. It's been a very long summer and I miss all my friends. There's only 32 more days! So that's what's been up with me recently! I hope you all are enjoying your summers and staying safe!

My New Weight Loss Goal

It's pretty simply. My goal is to lose 50 pounds, and when I do, I'm going to get my tattoo to reward myself. It's all around win.
Why I'm doing this: I need to. The last semester at school kicked my ass, what with not playing Quidditch, all the stress and not having time to eat meals until late at night, and then they were usually subs or ramen and all manner of unhealthy food. I've put on a considerable amount of weight, and it shows. I get short of breath easy now and my clothes don't fit like they used to.
I want to be healthy and look good. I know that some people are going to try and tell me that I'm fine just the way I am, and this doesn't have that much to do with body image honestly. I'm not healthy and it needs to change. And if I can start making changes now then it will become a habit to be healthy and it will help down the road. I know this is going to be hard with the holiday coming up and the fact that it's kinda hard to eat a real meal working, but I'm going to do this, and now it's out on the internet for everyone to see, and I'm hoping I don't someone to, but if I do, I hope someone will hold me to this.
In other news, I'm finally moved into my room!

The Drive-In

By far my favorite summer past-time is going to the drive-in. I love seeing movies out in the open air and you really can't beat the price. It's forty five minutes from my house, so the nights when we go I didn't get to bed until at least three, but it's totally worth it. It's so much fun and such a unique experience, and we are so lucky to have one in Western New York, especially one that is trying very hard to be around for a very long time. They just rebuilt their snack shack and replaced their projectors so it's even better than it used to be.
Anyways, I went to see Brave last night, which was so great! The short beforehand was absolutely beautiful and almost brought me to tears. I'm amazed every time I see a Pixar movie how genius they are and how stunning their movies are visually and how great the stories are. Brave was a great take on the relationship between mother and daughter. And of course, Avengers was just as amazing the second time around!

Summer TV

I was thinking about it today and I realized how much summer TV really sucks. Once you hit early May, there's hardly anything worth watching on TV. All the good series finish up and break for the summer and get replaced with mostly bullshit reality shows. There is absolutely nothing on in the middle of the day any day of the week. And because everybody's so busy during the summer it's hard to keep up with the reality shows. It's like watching Hell's Kitchen one week, missing a week in the middle cuz you decide to go to the drive-in or some shit, and you come pick and somebody's in a cast, there's two less people and somebody's fighting someone they used to be friends with.
I hate summer TV so much. It makes me angry. I do enjoy America's Got Talent, Master Chef, Hell's Kitchen, and So You Think You Can Dance when I can catch.
Other than that, I'm pretty boring. Working 40 hours a week at Lowe's takes up most of my time. I haven't had any adventures since the Men in Black debacle. I bought myself a mandolin today with my first pay check today. Amy will be here in a week and a half and I have plans for a drive-in adventure to see Dark Knight Rises in just 28 days!

Super Fans and Their Knowledge of Everything

So, one of my friends from school writes a summer blog for a club we're in and this week it was about a conversation she had with a friend from home of hers about how the Star Wars prequels are pretty much crap but he likes them anyways, but only for nostalgic reasons. As we were discussing this, it evolved into a conversation about how nerds need to own their love and dislike for things, and fans that know everything about their fandoms.
These kinds of fans can be really annoying. They may need to have the last word on everything about a topic, or may not respect your opinion on something because you don't know as much about it, or they may shoot down your thoughts on something. They can be intimidating to someone who is new to a fandom because they can create a fear of being criticized. Sometimes these people don't even realize they do it (I know the specific person I'm thinking of probably doesn't realize it at all). They just get so caught up in their love of something that they forget other's feelings and thoughts. They know what they know, and they want everyone else to know it. 
Nerds can also be very protective of their favorite things. They don't like to see people jump on the band wagon after something becomes "popular" and this can lead to some negative interactions too. I'll admit that I've been a late bloomer with a lot of nerdy things. I didn't have access to them before I had my own laptop and that is the primary reason, and I'm doing my best to get back in the loop. I've knocked out Modern Who (not an easy feat), Sherlock, I have three episodes of Merlin left and then I will be moving on to Game of Thrones and Firefly. It pains me to admit that I haven't been in on these things from the beginning, because I've always prided myself on that kind of thing. And I've encountered a little of the "protective fan hostility". I know I'm guilty of it myself.
The most important things is for everyone to own the things they love and don't as well respect everybody's else's feelings. Nerds can be outcast enough, we don't need to alienate each other anymore. Take care of each other.
So here are my confessions: I read and loved the Twilight books when I was in middle school. I hate Martha as a companion. I have really fond memories of the Star Wars prequels from when I was a kid, and yes I hate them (mostly) as movies now, but I still love them. I'm a Who bandwagon fan. I think Spiderman is whiny and annoying. I love being a Slytherin, and I love all my friends from the other houses because Hogwarts house shouldn't determine who your friends are. I have only read Deathly Hallows once because it ripped my heart apart the first time. I've never seen all of Starkid's Me and My Dick. I have been a Gleek since the beginning and I'm not stopping even though the show may not be what it used to be. I get way too emotionally invested in everything I like (it's exhausting sometimes).
None of these things make me a better or worse fan than anyone else. There is not enough time in the world to devote to every fandom and to know everything about them all. I try to know a little bit everything so I can talk to any nerd I meet. I love being a nerd, and I have met the coolest people because of it. It all comes down to respecting each other. Share your ideas, listen to each other, and spread the love. Be who you are, own that and love what you do. Be good to each other.


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