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 among yourselves.

Fascinating, if slightly worrying, goings-on as the British Ambassadors private e-mails with an honest, it rather unflattering, assessment of the current US President and White House were leaked, most likely with malicious intent. Rather than attempt to deal with it professionally, POTUS 45, who hurls insults without a thought but has a thinner skin than a seedless grape, unleashed his usual "Everyone else is a doo-doo head, and I'm awesome" tirades. So much for "the special relationship".

The Pres has said he'll not deal with the Ambassador anymore, but the UK can't easily remove him from his post because that would make the UK appear weak, and it's not his fault his e-mails were leaked.

Meantime, the US is still running concentration camps for migrantsand is arguing that toothpaste and soap aren't essentials for children that it's holding.

It looks like the UK's Labour Party will actually make a decision about their Brexit stance following five major Trade Unions agreeing that a referendum should be called on any Conservative deal, and that Labour should take a Remain position. We shall see.

In even cheerier news the USA won the Women's World Cup, kudos to the team!

Stranger Things Season 3 arrived and was as entertaining as one might hope. The usual "Sub groups go off and do their own thing without quite realising everything is sort of connected" makes a little bit more sense in the 80's when even car-phones were a rarity, and there are some genuinely wonderful moments from an excellent ensemble cast, including Steve's hair, which should probably get it's own listing in the credits. (Dustin probably has two of my favourite scenes this time around, his almost painful on target dissection of being a nerd with Erica (Who I have to say is already proving a far more interesting character than her big brother Lucas has been so far) and a certain amazing scene in the last episode I won't spoil for anyone).

Thanks to their completely random schedule, Miraculous Ladybug's latest episode introduction of a new hero; Roi Singe/Monkey King, and Xuppu the Monkey Kwami was slightly confused by the fact that two other heroes who HAVEN'T been introduced yet were featured too; Viperion (Snake) and Pegase (Horse). I do love the new heroes transformation, though if you want to remain unspoiled as to which character becomes Roi Singe, don't click on that link. (It should be noted that their special attack involves throwing a squeaky banana at their target, who then proceeds to basically trip balls, which in a largely disco-centric episode seems apt)

Trying a new podcast; Video Palace, which is using a fairly familiar format to tell the story of someone investigating the story behind mysterious old white VCR cassettes with strange, possibly malevolent content. I'm getting sort of "The Black Tapes" vibes from it, though they are rather different beasts. I'm hoping for more of a "beginning, middle and end" than TBT managed though.

Pokemon Sword and Shield unveiled a few new characters and the "evolution gimmick" for this iteration which is "Gigantimaxing" (Which sounded so like something from Power Rangers that I checked and I'm thinking of the "Gigantify!" ray from Ninja Steel)

Sort of wondering if it's worthwhile getting a second hand PS4, or sticking with my working PS3 and just waiting until details of the PS5 come out.

Disney dropped it's first trailer for the live action Mulan

And, of all things, a Maleficent sequel which, given I loved the original is great news, but a bit of a surprise

Comments

[stubbleupdate]

Buzzing your own head is really difficult

[stubbleupdate]

Buy a 2nd hand PS4 and Spider-man for about £20+ whatever the DLC costs.

It's a huge amount of fun

[zachbeacon]

Though rumor is that the PS5 will come out next year and be backwards compatible (which was one of the PS4's biggest failings)

Then again I barely ever play games on my PS4 and only bought it because my PS3 stopped reading DVDs and it was cheaper to buy a new PS4 than a used PS3.

[mister_terrific]

My initial thought was "Spider-Man is watching you masturbate". :)

[informationgeek]

The She-Hulk article was finally published. Took a while but done!

[laughing_tree]

Hmm, might have to give this issue a look. It's always interesting when writers get meta.

[flint_marko]

Not surprised, Jason Aaron taking potshots at readers' criticism is nothing new. he did the same thing with Professor Wolverine and Jane!Thor.

[zachbeacon]

What a week.

Trump diverted 2.5 million from the Parks Department and an unknown amount from the military to finance what Twitter was calling “#TinyPenisParade”. Once again incorrect photos and videos were used to hide the small crowd size (in his defense, it was raining). People assumed he’d be using the taxpayer money for a(n illegal) campaign rally but what I saw was surprisingly bipartisan… up until after the event where we found out he’d used it as a backdrop for a(n also illegal) campaign ad.

(I did laugh at the Capital Hill Books tweet that read “Reminder: the best way to avoid MAGA tourists in DC this holiday weekend is to enter a bookstore.”)

Jeffery Epstein was finally arrested for pimping out underage girls this weekend. Considering his rumored clients include some power people (including two US Presidents), I’m worried it won’t stick.

People are really mad that the magic fish lady changed color. I won’t lie, I was annoyed with the casting too; it seemed wrong on a number of levels. Then I realized I’d misread “Halle Bailey” as “Halle Berry” and suddenly I was fine with it again.

(I did chuckle at a Twitter post under #HollywoodHatesGingers with images of red haired characters like Little Orphan Annie and Josie of the Pussycats beside the actors that play them but it losses credibility when you notice how many times they repeat Wally and Iris West, Jimmy Olsen, and Mary Jane Watson to pad out the list).

MAD Magazine has sadly gone the way of Cracked. I know it usually doesn’t get counted among DC’s comics but I was under the impression it was one of their best selling books.

My DC WB binge has switched to a Marvel Netflix binge.

Punisher Season 2 has the same problem a lot of Punisher media does. It follows the usual vigilante/”cop on the edge” narrative trope where legitimate law enforcement start to see the protagonist as necessary and look the other way. The problem is that Frank Castle isn’t Batman; Frank Castle is a dangerous lunatic who should be locked up.

Its weird to think that this sub-universe (“TV imprint?”) is ending with Jessica Jones season three just because I’ve always seen Daredevil as the backbone of the thing and – while Luke Cage had a small cameo and Rand was mentioned a lot – there was no sign of Matt and co. JJs1 was probably the best of Marvel’s Netflix shows but I was warry about JJs3 since JJs2 was an unnecessary garbage fire that made me hate most of the cast. I’m not sure anyone was really redeemed (and one of them really doubled down on the downward spiral). I do appreciate that we get to see Jessica working more cases in the first couple episodes than she did in the first couple seasons.

Also, kinda fells like Claire/Night Nurse was the only Netflix character who got caught in the snap.

Oh, and for the three other people still watching Agents of SHIELD; Coulson is just the new Ward now, isn’t he?

Signed up for a free Prime trial so I’ll probably be catching up on Good Omens, the Tick, ect before Amazon does something stupid and I unsubscribe again.

[icon_uk]

I forgot to mention The Little Mermaid, and yes I made the Halle Berry misread too.

As, apparently did Halle Berry who in true style, tweeted special congratulations to Halle Bailey

[owlbrigade1]

I'm particularly looking forward to how the UK handles the Epstein thing, since Prince Andrew is also rumoured to be implicated in it too. I'm really hoping that it does go to court and he doesn't plead out, just for the joy of having to watch a senior member of the royal family squirm in a witness box is too fantastic.

[zachbeacon]

Re Good Omens:

I want to stress to the community that I'm two thirds into the show and this is NOT a complaint but ...

I don't remember the book being this gay.

[mrwalker]

I was excited for The Boys on Amazon, till I realized I was a month early. Watched The Tick season 2 instead. I thought it was really fun, with some great nods to things like the original Superman film. Shame it's not being renewed (right?)

[janegray]

If you hated the ending of Voltron, this article analyses how it got there, starting from the ending of S6, and focusing on Shiro and his clone.

https://medium.com/@whyarethegoodnamesalwaystaken/it-never-stops-at-one-why-voltron-legendary-defenders-tragic-ending-wasn-t-a-surprise-and-why-8ceea5ab158b

[matrix_dragon]

Oh, Kuron. While I liked a lot of seasons 7 and 8, I remain bitter about how 'Kuron' was just tossed aside and forgotten at the start of season 7. I mean, at the very least, I was hoping for some sort of spirit encounter between him and Shiro after all the flashbacks in the 7 opener, be it merging, passing on, or SOMETHING.

[tripodeca113]

Oh so that’s what the token progressive element in The Little Mermaid remake is going to be. Anything to try and justify this unnecessary nostalgic cash-grab.

Sigh, another week until The Lion King comes out.

I got Knights of The Old Republic. But it kept crashing before I could start it.
I got Yakuaz 0 today. Haven't played much of it yet, but I'm enjoying it.

[zachbeacon]

The Little Mermaid casting still seems more genuinely progressive than what Disney usually does.

"Hey remember the minor supporting character from Beauty and the Beast that was coded as gay? Well now he's actually gay in a live action movie. We have him dancing with a man at the end and everything."

[locuatico]

My general rule is:
I dislike Disney's current cash-grabing capitalization on Nostalgia and the plasticity of it. But I will DIE before allowing the discourse ruin the movie to kids or make them feel bad for liking the movie, specially black girls.

[janegray]

In the Maleficent sequel, I hope they address the fate of the Queen in the first movie.

I love the idea of Maleficent's story reimagined as a feminist movie. But it feel so wrong that, in a feminist movie, the character of the Queen is treated a million times worse than in the 1959 movie.

The poor lady is made to marry a guy who is obsessed with another woman (in 1959, the King loved her). Loses her baby, and her suffering goes completely without comfort (in 1959, her husband supported her), until she literally dies of grief (in 1959, she lives).

It's kinda depressing that, to raise Maleficent up, they drag the Queen down.

[cyberghostface]

They dragged nearly everyone down to make Maleficent look better.

[ayasugi_san]

It's kinda depressing that, to raise Maleficent up, they drag the Queen down.

I feel like that happens a lot in FEMINIST!! works that only have one feminist icon character; every other female character's portrayal suffers to make the chosen one more special. I think I've also seen it in fandoms championing one character as feminist while dragging everyone else for not being her.

[owlbrigade1]

Someone in The Guardian has accused the upcoming Disney Mulan movie of pandering to China by being too Chinese.
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/jul/08/mulan-trailer-is-a-dismal-sign-disney-is-bowing-to-china-anti-democratic-agenda

Some days you just can't win.

[locuatico]

I wish the whole "movies are being made for the chinese box office!" would just die.

Yes, some movies definitely try to be appealing to the chinese market. But no, the idea that movies nowadays can rely on the chinese market is a myth. the number of movies succesfully saved by the chinese box office after an american flop are very few.

At best, it is an excuse used to justify studios lack of diversity, even though movies are already edited for a chinese release.

[gadz00ks]

In other US news, Nike pulled a shoe design from sales featuring the Betsy Ross flag (our first one, with a circle of 13 stars instead of the 50). While not confirmed, comments from Colin Kaepernick states he finds it a racist symbol. While I've been supportive almost all of Kaepernick's activism (especially a right to protest by kneeling at the anthem) I'm going to need an explanation on this one.

But more importantly, the US Supreme Court will be admitting a case to decide if Civil Rights Act protections apply to LGBT+ people. This is a really big decision that will effect national protections on housing, job security, rights to commerce, and so on. Discussions start in October and a court ruling is due by June 2020. And I for one am super nervous about all of this. Like it or not, next pride month will be interesting for one way or another.

On happier news, I'm late to the party but saw Toy Story 4 and loved it a lot more than I thought I would. It's certainly the weakest of the trilogy, but still a Pixar movie with more heart to spare. But really I laughed way more than I thought I would, especially everything involving Duke Caboom.

Also Young Justice Outsiders is back with 3 new episodes, and some interesting revelations (minor spoilers below).






Seems Halo is non-binary, and that Impulse is either bisexual or gay. I just wish both of these facts were made more explicit than context clues and suggestive dialogue.

[icon_uk]

Yeah, Halo being uncertain about her gender is interesting, especially given her new nature as a human animated by a Mother Box.

Yeah, it's a shame that Bart and Eduardo as a couple are not really treated as a couple the way Jaime and Traci are in the same scene. It's close, but frustratingly just vague enough it could be "they're best friends".

[mister_terrific]

Got a definite "WTF" from the Ladybug episode...did they explain a) what the heck Master Fu was doing there and b) does he ALWAYS carry around the Miraculous Storage Unit? It was a tremendous hoot, though.

Going back an episode or two, I was actually kind of down when Bunnyx mentioned that the group is still out super-heroing in the future. I was like "What? They never get to set it aside and get on with their lives?"

[icon_uk]

Since Fu is Adrien's subsitute Chinese tutor, he probably has more reason to be there than anyone else, though carrying the storage case was a definite oddity.

With Lila around, I suspect there will be villains for a long time yet.

Romance

[blue_bolt]

I'm going to be in London August 19-23, anyone know any romantic spots? Good night clubs and great restaurants? Ive never been to Europe before, and me and my girl will be in London for Half a week and then a week in Paris where I intend to propose. Suggestions?

Re: Romance

[icon_uk]

Gosh! Wishing you all the best with this as a plan!

I'm not the best person to ask about romance, if I'm honest, (And worse at night clubs) but what sort of places does she like?

[thezmage]

New Scooby Doo show debuted recently. It’s a throwback to the New Scooby Doo movies, where they teamed up with random celebrities. In the first episode they teamed up with basketball star Chris Paul to help him win a golf tournament to save an art school so he could teach the kids bowling. In the second they teamed up with the Funky Phantom gang and the ghost of Abraham Lincoln

Future episodes promise Wanda Sykes, Wonder Woman, Batman, and Steve Urkel

[icon_uk]

I was completely unimpressed by "Scooby Doo and Guess Who".

Perhaps because I'd never heard of the first guest star at all, and the second one wasn't nearly as entertaining a Funky Phantom appearance as we had on Mystery Incorporated (And since I don't think Funky Phantom was ever shown in the UK, it has zero nostalgia factor for me)

The animation also looks just... cheap and rushed.