Mod Post: Off-Topic Tuesday
Jan. 9th, 2018 11:30 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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scans_dailyIn 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.
"The Fire and the Fury: Inside Trump's White House" exploded on the scene like.. a very exploding thing indeed! Whilst a number of the claims therein have been called into question, enough of it seems plausible to be worrying.
Things weren't helped with the POTUS tweeting (Well has that EVER helped?) that “Actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart.” and that he “would qualify as not smart, but genius ... and a very stable genius at that!” . So THAT'S all right then.... I feel so relieved.
The Golden Globes took place, with many people wearing black to support the sexism/sexual abuse allegations that have not done the film and TV industry any favours. But some of those in attendance were called on their hypocrisy by clapping people who have been accused of that selfsame sexual harassment. It's all very awkward, to say the least.
Theresa May has been rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic with her first Cabinet reshuffle since the election last year. Comparisons about rats and sinking ships seem especially apt after that Titanic reference as several fairly high profile people took the opportunity to quit rather than take the new jobs offered to them. But fret not, we still have Boris "national embarrassment" Johnson as Foreign Secretary, so what could possibly go wrong?
Unexpected consequences corner. Following the devastation of Hurricane Catriona last year, there's a global shortage of IV bags (most of which come from Puerto Rico).
Sar Trek Discovery returned for the second half of it's first season with a fairly large twist, a suspected reveal and the rather unfortunate departure of one of the cast.
Hulu has placed a 2 season order for new Animaniacs!
Funko's latest Monthly Mystery box included not only some nice action figures of classic new Teen Titans Raven but a "Disco" Nightwing Funko Pop I may have to try and get hold of!
In a similar vein, the second wave of LEGO Batman Movie blind-bag mini-figures came out and I managed to get a whole set with only one accidental duplicate purchase thanks to some skilled bag squeezing and sheer luck. Alas if I want to get a LEGO Crazy Quilt to menace my LEGO Robin I need to spend something like £50 to get the new Harley Quinn vehicle set, though it DOES also come with a LEGO Gentleman Ghost.
Fans of The Matrix might already know this, but apparently the "reality defining" matrix code that features prominently in the movies is actually made up of text from sushi recipes. I feel better knowing that.
"The Fire and the Fury: Inside Trump's White House" exploded on the scene like.. a very exploding thing indeed! Whilst a number of the claims therein have been called into question, enough of it seems plausible to be worrying.
Things weren't helped with the POTUS tweeting (Well has that EVER helped?) that “Actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart.” and that he “would qualify as not smart, but genius ... and a very stable genius at that!” . So THAT'S all right then.... I feel so relieved.
The Golden Globes took place, with many people wearing black to support the sexism/sexual abuse allegations that have not done the film and TV industry any favours. But some of those in attendance were called on their hypocrisy by clapping people who have been accused of that selfsame sexual harassment. It's all very awkward, to say the least.
Theresa May has been rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic with her first Cabinet reshuffle since the election last year. Comparisons about rats and sinking ships seem especially apt after that Titanic reference as several fairly high profile people took the opportunity to quit rather than take the new jobs offered to them. But fret not, we still have Boris "national embarrassment" Johnson as Foreign Secretary, so what could possibly go wrong?
Unexpected consequences corner. Following the devastation of Hurricane Catriona last year, there's a global shortage of IV bags (most of which come from Puerto Rico).
Sar Trek Discovery returned for the second half of it's first season with a fairly large twist, a suspected reveal and the rather unfortunate departure of one of the cast.
Hulu has placed a 2 season order for new Animaniacs!
Funko's latest Monthly Mystery box included not only some nice action figures of classic new Teen Titans Raven but a "Disco" Nightwing Funko Pop I may have to try and get hold of!
In a similar vein, the second wave of LEGO Batman Movie blind-bag mini-figures came out and I managed to get a whole set with only one accidental duplicate purchase thanks to some skilled bag squeezing and sheer luck. Alas if I want to get a LEGO Crazy Quilt to menace my LEGO Robin I need to spend something like £50 to get the new Harley Quinn vehicle set, though it DOES also come with a LEGO Gentleman Ghost.
Fans of The Matrix might already know this, but apparently the "reality defining" matrix code that features prominently in the movies is actually made up of text from sushi recipes. I feel better knowing that.
Crazy Quilt
Date: 2018-01-09 01:15 pm (UTC)I do that for a lot of minis that I can't justify otherwise.
Re: Crazy Quilt
Date: 2018-01-09 01:29 pm (UTC)Re: Crazy Quilt
Date: 2018-01-09 03:32 pm (UTC)I had mixed feelings on the LEGO Batman movie, but it's brought us some great characters we never would have seen otherwise.
Condiment King is in one of the cheaper sets...and the Super Friends Dance Party set isn't vastly overpriced either. And the whole wave 2 of the Batman blind packs are a delight.
...I'm just sad we don't get a Gleek to go with the wonder twins.
Re: Crazy Quilt
Date: 2018-01-09 03:54 pm (UTC)Re: Crazy Quilt
Date: 2018-01-09 04:28 pm (UTC)If you search on Amazon for things like...oh....Kid Flash Minifigure you can find some items not produced by LEGO that nevertheless expand the heroic minifigure universe.
Most of them are cheap knock-off quality, but sometimes they are pretty indistinguishable from a licensed product. (I found a sweet set of vac-metalized Iron Man minis from this sort of search.)
Re: Crazy Quilt
Date: 2018-01-09 04:35 pm (UTC)Re: Crazy Quilt
Date: 2018-01-09 06:17 pm (UTC)Plus I'm not a huge collector as I said, I didn't have Lego as a kid and the Lego I have now I bought on clearance or Black Friday sales. So it's enough for me to get official characters when they're ones I really like.
Re: Crazy Quilt
Date: 2018-01-10 01:54 pm (UTC)Re: Crazy Quilt
Date: 2018-01-11 11:18 am (UTC)Sometimes, life finds a way
no subject
Date: 2018-01-09 01:37 pm (UTC)Netflix would like people to stop asking for it though.
https://www.indy100.com/article/donald-
no subject
Date: 2018-01-09 06:03 pm (UTC)Pluto TV has your back
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Date: 2018-01-09 01:55 pm (UTC)Sam Rockwell was great in Three Billboards, glad he won. Same with James Franco although he could have been nicer to Tommy when he accepted his award.
no subject
Date: 2018-01-09 02:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-01-09 02:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-01-09 03:08 pm (UTC)https://twitter.com/sarahtk/status/
There's nudity in films and nudity in films and having the one with the power saying a nude scene WASN'T exploitative because the person who was nude had signed a contract involved would seem, at the least, to be missing the point.
no subject
Date: 2018-01-09 03:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-01-09 04:50 pm (UTC)It is a little hard to judge the nude contract without more details. She has said that the contract was vague, and also that she can't afford to turn down a contract from a powerful figure in the industry. There can be a lot of debate in how much agency a relative unknown has when dealing with an established power. But without making sweeping statements like nudes are always exploitative (or that they are unless the actor can write her own check), I think we need more info.
I'm not saying Tither-Kaplan is wrong... just that I don't feel comfortable judging either side on that issue. Though any requirements of sexuality in a film should be at the least very clearly communicated to the actor in plain language, and she does imply that was not the case.
But honestly, if Violet Paley's accusations are truthful then there's much less ambiguity about the situations she lays out.
no subject
Date: 2018-01-09 02:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-01-09 07:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-01-09 02:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-01-09 03:23 pm (UTC)Speaking of monster movies, has anyone seen The Shape of Water? I'm intrigued, mostly because the fish guy is pretty hot, but I just hope it's not one of those pointlessly sad movies where the stupid humans kill the "monster" to hammer home some clumsy moral lesson.
no subject
Date: 2018-01-09 04:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-01-09 04:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-01-10 01:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-01-10 07:20 pm (UTC)Helped that I first saw it in a magnificent old art house theater in Los Angeles that wouldn't have looked out of place in the film.
no subject
Date: 2018-01-09 06:29 pm (UTC)The Marvel anime ranged from "very barely decent" (Iron Man) to "terrible" (X-Men), but I thought Blade was actually pretty good. Surprisingly enjoyable.
no subject
Date: 2018-01-09 03:35 pm (UTC)I hate that I have to deal with them as part of my job.
I hate that I'm forced to deal with Comcast because they have the local monopoly on internet service.
I hate that - as a result of unauthorized charges from Sprint at the end of 2017 - I've spent more of 2018 without a working phone than with one.
no subject
Date: 2018-01-09 04:07 pm (UTC)That was sort of a weird feeling.
no subject
Date: 2018-01-09 05:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-01-10 10:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-01-10 02:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-01-09 05:54 pm (UTC)Well, perhaps not - the actor and the showrunners have said he's still around...although it's unclear if the character will have a real ongoing physical presence (they've already set up time shenanigans, and connected them to the spores) or if the actor's just sticking around for metaphysical stuff (which fits with what the showrunners have said).
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Date: 2018-01-09 06:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-01-09 07:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-01-09 11:52 pm (UTC)In the "been there, done that, go thou and do UN-likewise" department: please be careful when driving in sub freezing temperatures even if there's no precipitation. I hit a patch of ice from some runoff and had a wreck. I'm fine except for a few sore spots, and I think my car will be salvageable as well. I'm usually very skittish about driving in winter weather, but being there was nothing falling from the sky, I got too careless.
no subject
Date: 2018-01-10 02:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-01-10 07:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-01-10 12:58 am (UTC)So about a year ago, I mentioned that I would be staying away from SD in order to try to fulfill a personal pledge to take all the money I would have spent on comics in a year, and give it to charity instead. I just wanted to do something that would have a positive impact, and that’s what I came up with. And I did, in fact, keep the pledge all year. Off the top of my head, I can say for sure that the ACLU, SPLC, Lamda Legal Defense, Planned Parenthood, World Wildlife Federation, the campaign of Senator Doug Jones, various relief agencies dealing with at least four separate disasters, and a couple of local animal shelters benefitted. And at the end of the year, Jewish Santa rewarded me mightily by bringing the trade collections of most of the series I would have read over the year. I sort of feel like that might be cheating, but not strongly enough to return the books. :-) I’m still catching up.
Being able the to respond in a small but tangible way to the various horrors that came along with such appalling regularity this year, gave me some sense of control and genuinely helped me cope emotionally. I feel happier overall now than I did a year ago. Probably taking on some regular volunteer work would have a similar effect, but my health isn’t great and I have more money to spare than I do energy. (And unexpectedly, our household finances took an upturn this year, so I may be able to arrive at a compromise for 2018. I’ll probably be hanging out here a bit more often.)
On the subject of what a mixed bag 2017 was, here is my favorite youtube post from the year. https://youtu.be/dAkYt4BCPL0 (This is by the same very talented young woman who also gives us the Google Translate Sings series, which is hilarious and which everyone should watch.)
Anyway, happy new year to you all. See you in the funny papers...
no subject
Date: 2018-01-10 02:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-01-10 02:16 pm (UTC)You remember where everything is I hope? Subtext is on the right and the tied up Robin's are on the left.
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Date: 2018-01-10 01:26 am (UTC)Over at my blog, I review a collection of snake comics! http://www.skjam.com/2018/01/06/comic-
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Date: 2018-01-10 02:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-01-10 06:50 am (UTC)We got a lot of donations to get started but we noticed we are sort of short any good m/m comics. If anyone has any suggestions for those or any suggestions for good LGBT+ books in general it'd be really awesome.
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Date: 2018-01-10 02:21 pm (UTC)Midnighter and Apollo of course
There's a very promising new book just started, by the same author as "Captive Prince" called "Fence" about champion fencers at an all boys school with some promised romance between team-mates (So, probably, "Free!" With more angsty drama AND pointy things.
I have the first couple of issues on my "To read" pile, so might post some.
no subject
Date: 2018-01-11 06:32 am (UTC)Oooh will have to check out and keep an eye on Check Please.
Hrm, I'll have to look up Fence - do you know if Fence going to actually do anything or just ship tease? I'd like to avoid queer bait if I can. Though at this point that's probably about as hard as finding a LGBT book with a happy ending.