Mod Post: 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.

"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.

Comments

Crazy Quilt

[cjdoyle]

If you don't want to get the full set, you could always source your LEGO Crazy Quilt from a secondary source like Bricklink (Link to that very option)


I do that for a lot of minis that I can't justify otherwise.

Re: Crazy Quilt

[icon_uk]

I both thank you for that link, and at some unspoken level, hate you for introducing me to such an overly convenient means of spending money! :D

Re: Crazy Quilt

[cjdoyle]

Yeah, I get that a lot when I introduce folks to that website. ;)

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

[ozaline]

Thanks for the link as well. I'm not a huge lego addict (though I have a few sets), but I will probably use that to hunt down Orca (whom I need in my collection because of my Larry Hama fangirl status), and the PS4 exclusive LD Supergirl, who came out mere weeks after I bought my PS4 set.

Re: Crazy Quilt

[cjdoyle]

Since i'm already fully in my "enabler" role....

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

[icon_uk]

I have used such a site in the past to source a classic New Mutants outfit minifigure ( which I am still unhappy the LEGO Marvel game didn't give as an option. :)

Re: Crazy Quilt

[ozaline]

Luckily for me a lot of the unlicensed stuff I'd love to have isn't likely to have fan projects done.

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

[icon_uk]

You might be surprised

Re: Crazy Quilt

[icon_uk]

...I'm just sad we don't get a Gleek to go with the wonder twins.

Sometimes, life finds a way

[owlbrigade1]

On the subject of American Politics: I just want to put this out there, but, I would watch a Gorilla Channel. I would. Maybe if it also had an Orangutan Hour in its scheduling too that would be nice, but I would watch it.

Netflix would like people to stop asking for it though.
https://www.indy100.com/article/donald-trump-gorilla-channel-netflix-pixelatedboat-michael-wolff-white-house-8145336

[thezmage]

https://pluto.tv
Pluto TV has your back

[cyberghostface]

Hope Guillermo del Toro gets more awards, long overdue.

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.

[icon_uk]

James Franco was one of the ones who was seen as being a bit uncomfortable to applaud, given he is also facing multiple allegations of sexual misconduct.

[cyberghostface]

Wasn’t one of them from someone upset they signed a contract to appear nude in one of his films?

[icon_uk]

I believe that's one of the more contentious ones.

https://twitter.com/sarahtk/status/950165990213496832

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.

[cyberghostface]

Unless he forced her to go beyond what she agreed to or misled her as what she was doing it’s a still a nonissue imo.

[ozaline]

If the other allegations are true, they are bad enough.

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.

[nightauditguy]

I'm replaying Skyrim and thanks to Youtube, managed to get Sneak up to 100 in the starting area of the game. I'm now in Whiterun and pickpocketing everyone. That's up to 50

[joetuss]

Your whole entire existence will be spent in crouch, shooting a bow.

[starwolf_oakley]

When it comes to the red carpet of award shows, it isn't "binary." You can wear fancy dresses AND talk about important issues that most people AGREE with. What, there SHOULDN'T be more women in important executive jobs in Hollywood? Sexual harassment ISN'T a terrible thing?

[commodus]

With all the brew-ha-ha about Fox and Disney, I'm hoping we can get a new Blade movie. There's so much they can do with the character. Or Hell, just test the waters and have him appear in a season of Jessica Jones maybe? Though, for me, I've always wanted to see a Blade movie set in England where he was born, with less flashy fight scenes and more mist and fog and tension - basically more like a classic vampire movie.

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.

[cyberghostface]

It’s not one of those movies, you should definitely watch it.

[bruinsfan]

If I had to sum up The Shape of Water, I'd say it's Amélie with the Creature from the Black Lagoon in the Mathieu Kassovitz role. Definitely worth seeing.

[icon_uk]

For some reason I never warmed to Amélie. Paris has rarely looked more GORGEOUS and Audrey Tatou is as cute as a button of course but I just did NOT like the character of Amélie herself, since she seems manipulative in the extreme, and in ways she shouldn't get away with.

[bruinsfan]

I can see that, though to me she was impish and charming. The comparisons to Audrey Hepburn may have disposed me to liking her. For me it was probably the most lush and enjoyable movie of the 2000s.

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.

[janegray]

Have you seen the Blade anime?

The Marvel anime ranged from "very barely decent" (Iron Man) to "terrible" (X-Men), but I thought Blade was actually pretty good. Surprisingly enjoyable.

[zachbeacon]

I hate telecom companies.

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.

[ozaline]

So it's been a bit over a month since my friend, and crush, Miriam, passed away. Yesterday I binged the rest of an anime she had introduced me too, and we'd been watching together. She only got through a quarter of the 12 episodes.

That was sort of a weird feeling.

[commodus]

I'm sorry to hear that.

[sisterofbloomerjunior]

My condolences.

[icon_uk]

That can't have been easy, but I'm sure she'd have approved of you finishing it.

[kamino_neko]

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.

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).

[janegray]

Went to see Jumanji today. I was fun!

[glprime]

For anybody who missed Seth Meyers' opening monologue. It was pretty good, if more roast heavy than the normal softball fair. I enjoyed it. My favorite being the lob at the heavyweight table of Spielberg, Hanks, and Streep.

[mrwalker]

There's a surprising number of prescription drugs made in Puerto Rico as well, apparently, based on the explanations we're getting on shortages at work.

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.

[janegray]

I'm so glad you are fine. Car accidents are something I constantly worry about because my father and my sister spend a lot of time driving, it makes me really anxious. Thank goodness you are safe.

[bruinsfan]

Yikes! Glad you're OK. About a decade ago I had a similar incident on the highway despite being careful and driving 40 in a 70mph zone, sometimes the ice will sneak up on you.

[junipepper]

Hi, all. I doubt anyone missed me since I never post, only comment, but I have missed you folks.

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...

[janegray]

Welcome back :)

[icon_uk]

Hey there, welcome back!

You remember where everything is I hope? Subtext is on the right and the tied up Robin's are on the left.

[skjam]

My job training continues, though we got word today that sometime in the fall we may be needing to retrain as our specific duties will be outsourced.

Over at my blog, I review a collection of snake comics! http://www.skjam.com/2018/01/06/comic-book-review-snake-tales/

[philippos42]

Hurricane Maria has really been almost cataclysmic for Puerto Rico, if not in all the same ways Katrina was for New Orleans.

[lissa_quon]

Not much going on here - though I apparently got recruited into helping run/organize an LGBT pop up library in the Houston area. I was supposed to just be manual labor and now I'm on paperwork and sorting through book catalogs cleaning up the search tags.

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.

[icon_uk]

The charming webseries "Check, please!" is getting a GN in September, if you want to plan ahead.

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.

[lissa_quon]

Heh, we do have some Midnighter on the purchase list - though none of us know the characters well enough to know what would be a good series or starting point to pick up.

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.