Off-Topic Tuesday!

[icon_uk]

In the comments to these weekly posts (and only these posts), it's your chance to go as off topic as you like. Talk about non-comics stuff, thread derail, and just generally chat amongst yourselves.

So we're now officially into December, with the festive season for a number of the major faiths either upcoming or in progress... What specific festivities are you looking forward to? Is there anything local/regional which you'd care to share?

At a convention in Brazil, Toei announced three new Saint Seiya projects; a new CGI anime, a LIVE ACTION MOVIE and a third, secret project that will be confirmed at a later date. (the same convention had all life-sized gold saint cloths on display and they look very cool

A teaser Trailer for the fifth Transformers movie dropped... yeah... so... that happened.

Likewise the new Mummy movie trailer, I'll give them some respect for A) Not making it a period piece (The Karloff original was set in the then present day too) and B) Playing it as a horror film rather than jokey action adventure which was already nicely covered by Brendan Frasier. And this will be the start of the new Universal Monster movie Universe (Depending on whether the Dracula 2014 movie that no one seems to remember much about is included or not Update: Apparently, it's NOT included).

Back in the real world, North Korea seems to have hacked South Korean military. This can only end well....

The Brexit Supreme Court case is getting a lot of column inches, but the judges seem remarkably uninterested in the demands of the 24 hour news cycle so there's not a lot to say yet. And as the judges are not going to be rushed, watching the more fanatical newpapers grinding their teeth in frustration is actually a lot of fun.

We bid farewell to Van Williams, TV's Green Hornet, who has died aged 82.

And in my apparently compulsory LEGO reference this week, a minifigure near and dear to my heart has been confirmed, TARTAN BATMAN!

Comments

[skjam]

If anyone is still on Livejournal, the Holiday Wishes community is active again.

I have more reviews up at my blog, including this Image Comics series that reminds me of early Vertigo Comics: http://www.skjam.com/2016/12/05/comic-book-review-saints-the-book-of-blaise/

[fiddlingfrog.livejournal.com]

Link to the community?

[scorntx]

That Transformers trailer was pretty much what I expected.
Except Antony Hopkins voiceover (though that should've been obvious. If you're gonna have Hopkins, you damn well use him, right?)

Oh and they gave a nod to the first film's catchphrase. That was odd, but kinda cool.
Though mostly because Hopkins makes it sound epic.

Also: Giant robot dragon! Neat! Sucker for beast Transformers. Why, if only there were some manner of show with nothing but Transformers who turned into beasts...

[informationgeek]

Well Ben Carson is getting a cabinet seat after all. Be very afraid.

Also, might as well share another profile. This one for our upcoming Vice President, Mike Pence:

Last year at this time, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” was discussing how Indiana Governor Mike Pence was considered to be an early establishment candidate for president that the Republican Party thought they would be able to rally behind in the 2016 elections. He was a sitting six-term Congressman from 2001 through 2012, establishing conservative bona fides while winning elections comfortably. He actually won a 2010 Straw Poll at the Value Voters Summit where they thought he was their best choice to run against Barack Obama in 2012, but Pence opted to run for re-election as Governor of Indiana, and bide his time for what was to be a run in 2016. Then Gov. Pence, the true believer in the American culture wars that he is, went and signed Indiana’s “religious freedom” law to allow for the legal discrimination of the LGBT community, then denied that the point of the bill was allowing discrimination (and making many send him the literal definition of “discrimination” since he seemed unable to understand it) and claiming he was incapable of discrimination because he once participated in an anniversary walk in Selma, Alabama. That only made critics note that during his time in the U.S. House, he actually campaigned on an agenda to “oppose any effort to recognize homosexual’s as a ‘discreet and insular minority’ entitled to the protection of anti-discrimination laws similar to those extended to women and ethnic minorities,” or that he called for “an audit to ensure that federal dollars were no longer being given to organizations that celebrate and encourage the types of behaviors that facilitate the spreading of the HIV virus“ and instead, ”Resources should be directed toward those institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behavior“. If you’re unclear as to what that means, it’s that Pence wanted money redirected towards gay conversion therapy, which doesn’t actually work, and is considered a human rights violation. But that’s not all. Pence responded to the Matthew Shepherd Hate Crimes Act by making the ludicrous claim that it would allow intimidation towards or even charges to be filed against pastors who expressed a Biblical worldview critical to homosexuality, and also tried arguing that the 2010 repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” would, in his words, “weaken unit cohesion”, and once voted for a Constitutional Amendment to define marriage as only between one man and one woman. Factor in the time Pence is awful enough to women that he voted against all equal pay legislation including the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, railed against the Disney cartoon Mulan for implying that women might be able to honorably serve in the military, and actually had an Indiana woman arrested for having a miscarriage because his obsession with cracking down on reproductive rights is that over-the-top insane. We’re talking that he voted for for the Terry Schiavo Incapacitated Persons Protection Bill extreme, here. We’re saying that he was a sponsor of the legislation that tried to defund Planned Parenthood back in 2011, and his ”evidence“ of wrongdoing was a DIFFERENT doctored fraud of a video produced by friends of Breitbart News hacks like James O'Keefe. Pence also compared the Supreme Court upholding the Affordable Care Act to 9/11, and in early 2015 decided state taxpayer dollars should be allocated towards a state-run news service with two employees being paid $100,000 salaries to present a point of view where Mike Pence could do no wrong (cancelled after taxpayers called him out on wasting their money on him lying to them). Pence denied a link between smoking an cancer as late as 2001 (he was accepting money from the big tobacco lobby), and denies climate change is a thing to this day.

As you may have heard, Donald Drumpf decided that Mike Pence should be his running mate on the 2016 GOP ticket as his vice president. Although, he apparently tried reneging on the offer at the last minute. And then Drumpf botched the announcement and roll out to get the GOP hyped. And then the campaign logo for the new ticket was openly mocked because, well, you know why...


Pence spent most of the VP debate pretending Donald Drumpf didn’t actually say all of the wildly deranged things he says out loud, and on social media, which was far better than the forgettable speech he gave at the RNC (he was clearly overshadowed by Ted Cruz telling people to ”vote their conscience“). Maybe Pence’s speech would have been better if he wasn’t distracted by the inclusion of AIDS Activists in the proceedings. And what a great campaigner Pence wasn’t. When he couldn’t help look like he was mildly aroused by the thought of, as he put it, sending Roe v. Wade to the ”ash heap of history“.

Hell, he even managed to take on some of Drumpf’s worst habits… like falling all over himself to not say disparaging things about white supremacist David Duke, or praising Vladimir Putin. Heck, trying to defend Donald Drumpf isn’t easy, like say when you have to spin how he isn’t a fascist for talking about jailing his opponent during a presidential debate, but Pence was kept on his toes by girls as young as eleven years old trying to make excuses for Drumpf around the time the tape of him talking about ”grabbing women by the p***y“ hit.

And, in spite of Donald Drumpf being Drumpf, and Mike Pence being the coalesced nightmares of the LGBT community and women everywhere, they defied all the odds, and all the polling, and inexplicably won office. And then, suddenly, everyone finally got properly scared that with a Republican president, Republican House, and Republican Senate, that things like gay marriage, or reproductive rights would be fair game for him to restrict. Oh, and then they remembered that Mike Pence also has talked about wrecking Social Security, too. Or that he casually can talk about resuming a torture program at Guantanamo Bay Prison.

So maybe that’s why we don’t feel bad for Mike Pence when people donate to Planned Parenthood in his name, or when he shows up at a performance of Hamilton, and acts surprised when the audience boos him, or that he gets a lecture from a cast of minorities, gays, and even an HIV Positive lead actor to remind him that he’s spent his whole career making legislative and executive decisions to slight anyone who wasn’t a straight rich white male.

Because he’s going to be the VP to the greatest threat to our democracy to ever sit in the Oval Office due to being completely inexperienced and unfit for office, Mike Pence could end up being the most powerful person to ever hold that title, or easily be elevated to the President should Drumpf be impeached or otherwise removed from office by his Cabinet due to mental instability.

[chortles81]

Because he’s going to be the VP to the greatest threat to our democracy to ever sit in the Oval Office due to being completely inexperienced and unfit for office, Mike Pence could end up being the most powerful person to ever hold that title, or easily be elevated to the President should Drumpf be impeached or otherwise removed from office by his Cabinet due to mental instability.

I remember some #NeverTrumpers and some Trump 'supporters' both hoping for this outcome...

[owlbrigade1]

North Korea has done something nefarious towards South Korea, that is not good. December was supposed to be South Korea's month to do the nefarious, according to my copy of the roster. Honestly, NK and SK doing nefarious things to each other only prove that it is a day ending in a "y" in a month which has a vowel in it. It's regularity and mundaneness is a marker of stability and one of the more reassuring things happening at the moment.

In news closer to home to me though. A bunch of posh landowners who like shooting wildlife released a press statement saying wildlife is thriving on their land. A statement that was myth-busted within hours by actual experts.
Fake News Statement: http://www.giftofgrouse.com/article/news/encouraging-numbers-of-birds-of-prey-sighted-on-scottish-moorlands

Statement by actual experts: http://www.rspb.org.uk/our-work/rspb-news/news/434309-rspb-scotland-responds-to-gift-of-grouse-press-release

I'll admit I'm biased, but decide for yourself which is the more credible.

[icon_uk]

"I think we've all had enough of experts" - Michael Gove, exemplifying that problem and proving yet again why he is so remarkably unsuited to.. well, do pretty much anything... ever.

[laughing_tree]

So what did folks think of Doctor Who spin-off Class, now that it finished its first season? I really didn't know what to expect going on, to the point that I didn't get around to watching the show until the season was nearly complete.

Ultimately, I thought it it was really good! I'm kind of surprised about the mixed reactions at Gallifrey Base, but I really shouldn't be because they have mixed reactions about *everything*. I feel it doesn't get enough credit for its clever or subversive parts because unlike most modern sci-fi/fantasy on TV, including Moffat's writing, it doesn't wear that cleverness on its sleeve. Take for example how, in the episode where the alien disguises itself as the cast's deceased loved ones, all of them realize *right off* that it's an alien imposter. There's no period of genuine temptation before they realize the truth, like there is in most iterations of this plot. If a Moffat script did that, there'd be some kind of line to highlight the subversion, like "Of course I know you're some villainous imposter. What, you think I've never watched sci-fi TV before?" (but clever-er). But here, there's none of that, and all we have is the subversion itself, quietly playing out.

My only quibble about the show would be that the season's overall shape was clearly modeled after a season of your average U.S. light sci-fi/fantasy drama... but that's a shape designed for 15-20 episodes, and it's an awkward fit around only 8 episodes.

[icon_uk]

I've seen the first five episodes and will get around to watching the rest soon.

I found it a very odd mix indeed, and my feelings are much the same.

First off the name is awful, it's so generic that it'll never have any online presence. The almost complete lack of promotion for it is also bizarre, even DWM didn't give it a cover story. The theme song is also.. not bad as a song, but it's not a DW spin off theme.

Story-wise there is no need at all for this to be a DW spinoff. It hasn't used any of the core concepts, cast, or monsters, and the Doctor's cameo in part one felt gratuitous, Capaldi gave it his usual 100% but for him to suddenly endorsing the Scooby Gang and their terrorist babysitter (None of whom he really knows) to stave off hostile genocide committing levels of alien invasion with nothing more than their good intentions was... weird.

The level of gore and violence (and sex) makes it unclear who this is aimed at, it's not a kids series, but BBC3 is the youth online channel, so it sort of falls between two stools.

It wants so desperately to be "Buffy", but hasn't had the time to develop that concept enough yet, and Season 2 isn't confirmed either AFAIK.

On the other hand, it's Impressive there's not a straight white male in the main cast, and some of the acting has been excellent...Vivian Oparah in particular is a name I hope we'll hear more of in the future. There's some interesting material to be had too, especially as regards Charlie and Quill's screwed-up domestic dynamic.

(Miss Quill is clearly the one the writers enjoyed writing for and she relishes ever line)

All in all, why it's DW is beyond me, but it's not bad for what it is..

[kamino_neko]

I thought the finale was disappointing, but I liked the rest of the season.

The finale basically felt like 'oh, right, they gave us 8 episodes, we can't end here' - episode 7 felt like a much stronger season ender.

Of course, that assumes that another season has been greenlighted. It would be a terrible ultimate finale.

[locuatico]

I needed the Saint Seiya news. At least something good before the end of the year. Also, Gintama is getting a Live Action Movie: http://ttoushirou.tumblr.com/post/154092401244

[icon_uk]

Did you catch the CGI StS movie "Legend of Sanctuary" from 2014? That was... an odd reworking... and tried to fit all of the 12 Gold Temples into a single movie, which I suspect a new movie would do as well unfortunately.

[janegray]

Seems like a lot of animes are getting the live-action movie treatment. They just announced Hurricane Polimar.

http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2016/12/01-1/hurricane-polimar-live-action-film-teaser-introduces-the-hero-in-costume

I liked it when I was a kid, I'm looking forwad to the movie :)

[dr_archeville]

My home state of NC has at long last called its gubernatorial race, after Republican Gov. Pat McCrory finally conceded the race to Democrat Roy Cooper yesterday afternoon.

(Possibly because the hand recount of all 90,000 Durham County votes that McCrory called for wasn't going his way. Or because Cooper was ahead by over 10,000 votes.)

Unfortunately, Cooper's ability to do anything -- like repeal House Bill 2 -- may be limited, since Republicans hold a supermajority in both the NC House of Representatives and the NC Senate. Also, while the NC Supreme is currently 4/3 pro-Democrat, McCrory's called for a special session of the NC General Assembly on December 13th, to authorize funding and other disaster relief measures for parts of the state damaged by Hurricane Matthew. But as part of this, there's been some murmuring that McCrory will pack the N.C. Supreme Court with two extra seats, pushing it to 5/4 pro-Republican.

[informationgeek]

I'll just take the small victory of the evil, older, and far less mature Markiplier look-like has finally been kicked out, but that is troubling regardless.

[cyberghostface]

The idea of a 'Universal Monsters Cinematic Universe' sounds great in theory but everything I've seen so far with the possible exception Javier Bardem as the Frankenstein monster looks like a big misfire. They should have someone like Guillermo del Toro oversee it at least (probably not helm it given how busy he is) given he has a real passion and understanding of Gothic horror.

I think Marvel deserves a lot of credit at this point for being able to build a successful 'Cinematic Universe' almost from scratch and keeping things running as smoothly as they have. Sony's Amazing Spider-Man and Ghostbuster attempts are dead in the water, DC seems to be seriously struggling at this point, Universal Monsters has already thrown out their first try at this into the trash (Dracula Untold) and starting over and while Disney's Star Wars will probably make bank they seem to be falling back on nostalgia for the original trilogy.

EDIT: Forgot about X-Men although IDK if they've really branched out yet with a 'cinematic universe' aside from Deadpool (which Fox didn't even want to make and Ryan Reynolds had to pull their teeth to get it done) and the Wolverine spinoffs, time will tell how successful their other attempts at branching out with the "New Mutants" are.

[speedingtortoise]

Yeah, I am continuously impressed by what Marvel has managed to achieve with their films. Even if everything suddenly turned awful and the next following films flop (which I sincerely doubt), they've STILL managed to create 13 successful films that all coexist in the same shared universe (I don't really count the Hulk move personally).

[janegray]

Telltale Announces Guardians of the Galaxy Adventure Game:

http://kotaku.com/telltale-announces-guardians-of-the-galaxy-adventure-ga-1789584597

This could be interesting. Telltale is extremely hit&miss for me. Personally, I thought their Jurassic Park game was total crap with no redeeming points, their Back To The Future was okay but nothing to write home about, and their Monkey Island was great (haven't played TWD because I personally have zero interest in tragedies no matter how good the writing is, and plan on getting their Batman game on christmas). So I wonder how this will turn out.

[informationgeek]

I'm rather curious myself about this. Also, I recommend The Wolf Among Us and Tales from the Borderlands by Telltale. Great stuff there!

The Batman is fun and is a very nice Elseworlds story from what I've seen two episodes in. Definitely fun and recommended.

NEW MARVEL VS CAPCOM WOOT

[deh_tommy]

Final Fantasy XV is finally out. Does anyone have an opinion on the game, or the series?

Sister Location has received a new update, introducing Custom Nights, a more traditional FNAF experience with several new animatronics and game modes.

Westworld has ended for now, and... why did Ford want a violent uprising again? Why didn't he just release the Hosts, or why couldn't anyone just say 'the robots are sentient' and petition to close the Park? Why did Ford and everyone else running the place pretend the Robots were little more than glorified NPCs in Grand Theft Auto when they weren't? Why did Dolores become a psycopathic murderer? Are we supposed to feel sympathy for the Hosts after their killings of people who probably didn't know any better? Does she not realise she's effectively doomed the Hosts to prejudice and outside intervention? If Ford's last narrative is to unleash the vengeful Hosts on the unsuspecting masses, wouldn't that mean the Hosts are technically not truly free or 'conscious', since they're still following the narrative? Who will repair the Hosts when they're injured or dying? Who's going to make new Hosts? What was the point of that weird orgy? Why didn't the Scientists just say 'Their are other parks for different themes and periods in History, not just the Wild West' instead of "It's complicated"?

I'm surprised about the lack of complaints about how the new Mummy is a woman or that the movie is 'pandering to SJWs and Feminazis'.

Re: NEW MARVEL VS CAPCOM WOOT

[icon_uk]

She's the villain of the piece, so I'm not sure that that would cause the same stir that having Tom Cruise's character be a woman would. Making the murderously destructive force female is hardly an example of "pandering to the SJW" side of things.

[kamino_neko]

Likewise the new Mummy movie trailer, I'll give them some respect for [...] Playing it as a horror film rather than jokey action adventure which was already nicely covered by Brendan Frasier.

Ugh. Thank you for this. Last discussion on this I saw, most of the participants thought that the Fraser movie was the original, and were complaining that the new one was 'grim and gritty'-fying it. Gggggg.....

[icon_uk]

Ouch! I saw that in the comments on the Youtube page before I reminded myself that you NEVER READ THE COMMENTS!!

[lb_lee]

I HAVE A BIG DELICIOUS GAY PIE OF RASPBERRY AND BLACKBERRIES

ALL IS WELL IN MY WORLD

[icon_uk]

A gay pie? Is that a euphemism for something? Or can pastries be gay? The world is agog to find out!

[junipepper]

It occurs to me that I should hurry up and renew my passport, just in case we have to flee the country.

[lb_lee]

Yeahhhh, I can't really leave, but I dug up my old IRD number just in case things get so bad even I am ousted from my own country and forced into migrant labor again.

Thank god for my obsessive habit of keeping old documents like that!

[fiddlingfrog.livejournal.com]

"a minifigure near and dear to my heart has been confirmed, TARTAN BATMAN!"

Oooh, I'll have to get that to add to my Scottish minifig display.

[bruinsfan]

Aw, sorry to hear that Van Williams has passed. By all accounts he was as beautiful a person on the inside as the outside.

This is going to be so beautiful and it's the best and it's going to be so great

[leoboiko]

2015:
Me: Japan-kun may I go over there and document endangered Japanese dialects to find out more about the history of the language?
Japan-kun: Well, do you know Japanese? English? Linguistics?
Me: Sure I guess.
Japan-kun: Prove it.
Me: There you go.
Japan-kun: Looks good. You're not coming tho, Brazil-cchi, suman.
Me: Awesome, when do I... wait, did you just say "no"?
Japan-kun: Yep.
Me: Was... was I missing anything?
Japan-kun: No, you did great.
Me: Then why??
Japan-kun: Not telling.
Me: ...

2016:
Me: Japan-kun, may I come over to document gravely endangered dialects while there's still time and unravel the mysteries of the Japanese of old?
Japan-kun: Well do you know Japanese? English? Linguistics? Do you have a master's?
Me: (Again?)... yes, here you go.
Japan-kun: All fine! You're not going tho.
Me: Can I at least know what should I improve before next time?
Japan-kun: No.
Me: ............

2016, December:
Germany-chan: Anyone wanna do a PhD? I need a student to document gravely endangered Japanese dialects while there's still time and unravel the mysteries of the Japanese of old.
Friend-kun: Boiko-cchi isn't that kind of your thing?
Me: Germany-chan this is kind of exactly my thing actually, may... may I come over?
Germany-chan: Sure.
Me: Really?!?!1
Germany-chan: Yeah, come in already!
Me: .....



:D :D :D :D :D

Re: This is going to be so beautiful and it's the best and it's going to be so great

[janegray]

Congratulations ^_^

[thatnickguy]

Some very excited news for me: my first novel is now an audiobook!

https://nickpiers.com/2016/12/05/the-city-of-smoke-mirrors-audiobook/

I'd forgotten all about this. I signed and sent off the contract earlier this year and then forgot about it.

[lb_lee]

Sweet! I just shared the news with a friend of mine who likes audio books!

[scorntx]

Thanks to some actual progress with the builders, finally got a chance to listen to one of a pair of Doctor Who audio stories I bought several months back.
Not normally a fan of the Big Finish stuff, mainly because they're kinda naff most of the time (just saying. Plus, attention span issues meaning sitting and listening to something... not easy)
But this one, "Death and The Queen", was pretty good. David Tennant and Catherine Tate firing on all cylinders in a very silly outing with an actually pretty engaging storyline (also, glorious levels of overacting on all sides).
Plus, having the companion and supporting characters actually contributing to the plot, and even defeating the bad guy feels like some wild, radical notion after six years of Moffat.

Plus, it's very silly. "Agatha Christie in a murder mystery" silly.

Worth buying if you get a chance.