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.

I mean... well... where does one begin with this week? Okay, choronologically seems the way to go.

Since the start of the year Trump and his administration (As distinct from the scientists and medical experts they've been at odds with), has repeatedly, and knowingly, downplayed the threat of the COVID-19 virus to the USA, even as the US death toll is now in excess of 200,000.

A week ago last Sunday, Trump held an event at the White House to announce his nomination for new Supreme Court Justice (in contradiction to the wishes of the previous position holder). Social distancing was not maintained and masks were hardly in evidence.

Last Tuesday saw the most fractious, least edifying political debate imaginable... or at least so far. Mark Hamill perhaps summarised it best. (The VP debate is tomorrow, though it seems likely to be less... sulphurous in tone.)

Wednesday saw allegations about Trump's taxes which suggests either incompetence, malfeasance, criminality or some combination thereof

Then on Friday, Trump announced that he and his wife had tested positive for COVID-19 and he was later taken to hospital. And the news cycle eclipsed everything that had come before with this.

Multiple people in attendance at the Sunday event have also confirmed as testing positive (At least: Three senators, the chair of the Republican National Committee, the president’s campaign manager, one adviser, one former adviser Kellyanne Conway, a former Governor, and the president of the University of Notre Dame, and the White House press secretary.)

A twitter comment about it all sounding like a Stephen King story gained a comment from Stephen King himself. I've seen another comparing to a modern day remake of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death" and it's also hard to overlook the similarties.

As with so many things of late, Trumps treatment and condition seemed contradictory, with the drugs being used seeming to be extreme for what had been claimed was a mild case.

On Sunday he went for a short motorcade around the hospital, a choice which raised a LOT of eyebrows.

And now he's back in the White House (for now) and not wearing a mask again (Though he's also in the contagious area). Oh and he's also claimed to have learned a lot about the virus from the experience, rather than the books... Gee, if only you'd taken the time to learn about it eight months ago. Sigh...

In a blow to the cinema industry, Cineworld has announced a temporary shut down it's UK and US cinema chains.

This is partly motivated by the descision to defer so many big name movies until 2021. The New James Bond movie "No Time to Die", MCU's "Eternals", and the new "Dune" have both been shifted and others are expected to follow. "Wonder Woman 84" is still, I think still on schedule, but it might be about the only one which still is.

Addendum - "The Batman" has been moved to March 2022, "The Flash" to Novemeber 2022, and "Shazam 2" to June 2023 whilst, oddly, "Matrix 4" has been moved from April 2022, to December 2021.

Concept artist Deryl Braun shared some unused proposals for what Warlock would have looked like had he made it to the final cut of the New Mutants movie.

Also vaguely on topic, but I need something upbeat, I happened upon a terrific audio clip that voice actor Codot44 put up, which is their performance of "Dick Grayson worked in a circus, so Robin should have a particularly low opinion of the Joker" thought I've seen a lot of. I have no idea why his Dick Grayson speaks with an Estuary English accent, but I'll take it! :)

I also accidentally stumbled across the Newfangled Four, a rather fun four part harmony group. Make of them what you will, but I smiled rather more often than I expected, especially the way they keep roasting the judges for never putting them into the finals.

Duck Tales is back to releasing episodes, which is nice, and that seems as close to an upbeat point as I have to close on.

Random question of the week. Well, it sort of cropped up last week, but let's make it formal - What room in the house is your washing machine?

Comments

[tripodeca113]

Finally, Steve? can meet Bayonetta. Society has reached its highpoint.

Noo….The Lion King but with dead-eyed CGI animals, is getting a sequel.
Apparently Avatar 2 is done filming and is due out in 2022. Avatar 3 is mostly done and is due in 2024.
Was Jaime Foxx’s role as Electro in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, really popular enough for him to play Electro again?

Hooray The 100 has ended. You probably haven’t thought about that’s show since season three….
Hmmm….Astro City has been removed from Comixiolgy. Some people think it indicates an as of yet unannounced change in series publisher.

Star Wars Squadron surprised me by a having a reference to Star Wars Resistance, no ones favourite Star Wars show.

Oh yeah Guillermo del Toro was working on another film version of The Witches. So long as the don’t sugar-coat the ending like last time….
No response from the fanfic writer I tried to contact. I was expecting this, oh well I did everything in my power.

[icon_uk]

"Finally, Steve? can meet Bayonetta"

Not sure what that means I'm afraid.

And yes, a trailer for The Witches dropped at the wekend.

I never read the book before I saw the first movie.

I actually loved the way the first movie version ended, that magic itself can be used for good as well as evil and redemption is possible, but the downbeat one of the book lingered longer. Given we're talking Del Toro, I suspect we'll the the book ending. I think the fact the trailer has a narration by an older version of the main character doesn't bely that, given the implication of the book ending.

[iamrman]

I am presently re-reading Legends of the Dark Knight: Alan Davis, a trade collecting various Batman related issues by Alan Davis. I don't need to tell you how much I like them. I have loved Davis's art style ever since I first read Excalibur.

In Marvel news. Comixology is having a sale on Clone Saga trades. I am not sure if I should take the plunge. Ialready have the first two volumes and found them to be a chore. Do things get better from there or is is crap throughout?

[zachbeacon]

The thing about the clone saga is that most of the stories ABOUT the clone saga are bad (especially toward the end when they're dragging things out) but so many stories set during* the clone saga are great.

*The Lost Years, Amazing 400, most of the stories that are just about Ben being Spider-Man (I have a soft spot for Sensational Spider-Man #8 specifically), ect.

[skjam]

My niece was finally informed that she has passed the bar and is an official lawyer now. Which is a good thing as now she can keep her lawyer job.

We are entering the even busier season at work as people try to guess which health insurance plan to have for next year.

Over at my blog, I review a movie with gaslighting in it: http://www.skjam.com/2020/10/05/movie-review-gaslight-1940/

[juniper6]

Congratulations to your niece! I passed the Bar in 1996, and I still have anxiety dreams where I have to take it again. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[owlbrigade1]

The government keeps talking about supporting the cinema by going to them. I just don't want to sit in room with a bunch of strangers who probably are not wearing a mask, while having clammy air blown over me by a duff ventilation/ac system, in the middle of a pandemic. It sucks for the workers at the cinemas, but their business is basically dangerous at the moment.

Frankly, a lot of other businesses which are still open ought to be closed too. The money grubber in government's initiative to get people back into pubs and restaurants have undoubtedly caused infection rates to rise, for no good reason except the ease of the treasury, and the less said about packing everyone, shoulder to shoulder and cheek to jowl, into public transport the better too.

[icon_uk]

I agree that I have not felt like going to the cinema since they re-opened for similar reasons. And I likewise am baffled by Johnson's declaration that people should go to the cinema, on the same day that one of the major chains in the UK is shutting and other chains may follow, it just seems out of touch.

That being said, the owners of Cineworld did say that no case of COVID-19 had been linked to their cinema's re-opening, so it seems a particular shame that an enterprise which put care and effort into the attempt is probably going to cut jobs because of it.

[donnblake]

You know, in the Masque of the Red Death, the nobles at least recognized the threat of the plague and took steps to avoid it, albeit only for themselves.

[kamino_neko]

What room in the house is your washing machine?

Well, we're in the midst of a move, so, uh...currently none. But in every house we've lived in that had one, it was in the basement. In the one that didn't have a basement, it was in a room off of the back entrance, which also served as a pantry (as did the (basement) laundry room in the house we're moving out of, now).

If I had my druthers in a house that didn't have a basement, it would be in the bathroom. (But, I shall not have my druthers, so who knows where it will be in the new house. Which hasn't been purchased, yet. Feelers will be put out while we are quarantining.)

[cygnia]

Basement.

Finished "Gris", game-wise. Gearing up to start "Untitled Goose Game". Book-wise, finished "Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts".

[lissa_quon]

Goose Game is a delight. It's also the one video game my mom is into. Like she fucking loves watching plays of it, need ot see if I can get her to try Co-op mode.

[leahandillyana]

lilacsigil and lissa_quon the kittens are getting better! They were crying a lot during the treatment and their mom hates my guts now. A Tesco opened in my town and I bought some amazing baking ingrediends and baked a perfect chocolate cake. I plan on baking a rainbow cake for when I meet my friends next.
That's about all good news I can share. One of the foxes our refuge had died. She was 13, old for a fox. I loved her because she was always so fat, it looked funny.
The situation in Poland continues to deteriorate. A 12 year old girl commited suicide due to homophobic bulling. Meanwhile, the man responsible for homophobic and sexiat bulling was chosen the minister of education. There was a murder attempt on an LGBT activist I know. A swastica was crudely drawn on the walkway in front of my parents' house.
I think all people in Poland & Belarus keep their washing machines in the bathroom if they have one.

[cyberghostface]

Happy to hear your cats are doing better. :)

[owlbrigade1]

Terry Goodkind has passed away. He was the writer of the Sword of Truth fantasy series, adapted for tv into Legend of the Seeker, and also a... politically controversial figure in fandom. Still, a sad loss for his family and for his fans.

https://io9.gizmodo.com/the-sword-of-truth-writer-terry-goodkind-has-passed-awa-1845277691

I liked the early books of his series, evil chicken and all, although I admit I dropped out once they became more about his politics than fantasy adventuring.

[icon_uk]

Ah, Legend of the Seeker... fun show with the OTHER Cypher I have a sort of a thing for, though a different sort of a thing, and more thanks to Craig "I'm sure I had a shirt on a moment ago" Horner, than the narrative.

[zachbeacon]

Amy Coney Barrett's nomination is generally thought to be the "superspreader event" that started the latest round of infections in DC and its looking likely that her confirmation vote is getting delayed until at least the 18th. That's something, I guess.

Also it means Trump almost certainly knew he had Covid during the debate.

Also, as a Hoosier, I don't think people are terrified enough about the possibility of a Pence Presidency

[zachbeacon]

Also this...

https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-donald-trump-amy-coney-barrett-courts-mitch-mcconnell-ed5453fa2078982dba31919b8c1e274f?utm_source=Twitter&utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_medium=AP

Its weird because I didn't think they'd been in negotiations for months. I thought McConnell was just stamping his foot and shouting "no" like he does with everything he doesn't just ignore outright.

Edit: On the lighter side: Stephen Miller has Covid.

Edit2: Every home I can remember has either not had a washing machine at all or its in a small laundry room either in the basement or just off from the kitchen.

[cricharddavies]

I live in an apartment, so the washer and dryer for the whole building are in their own room. In my parents' house, they're in a short passageway, connecting to the garage, which doubles as their pantry.

Previously known as junipepper

[juniper6]

My 25-year old daughter has been diagnosed with epilepsy, which is a huge and unexpected blow. My 24-year old daughter is in her first year of med school and is somewhat distracted by this, and by the fact that my mother is dying of metastatic malignant melanoma—which has alliteration going for it but nothing else. It’s in her lungs, brain, bones, and lymph glands. She has 14 tumors in one lung and (U.S.) medicare is considering whether or not she can have supplemental oxygen. 🤬

Fuck this timeline.

Previously known as junipepper

[juniper6]

Btw, if you’re looking for a question of the week, I’d be interested in hearing why users chose the icons that they use here.

[mazway_75]

So bummer as Netflix has axed both GLOW and Teenage Bounty Hunters. GLOW is a bummer as they were starting their fourth and final season when pandemic shutdowns happened.

Seems the reason is because shooting in California is hard as it is, especially for an '80s period piece involving pro wrestling (which isn't being allowed for real either). It seems that the higher costs of production protection just weren't worth continuing. Plus, it would mean the season wouldn't hit until 2022, almost three years since the last.

For Bounty Hunters, like The Society, it looks like the viewership wasn't enough to offset the costs of continuing under current conditions. It's not just Netflix as it's the same reason ABC axed Stumptown after giving it a renewal.

While a lot of network shows are trying, it's harder for Netflix which relies on the "release season at once" model. Of course, already the joke to just relocate GLOW to Florida where wrestling was literally declared an "essential business" (I wish I was making that up.).

[stubbleupdate]

Pro-wrestling is allowed in America, but only in Florida. They were declared essential workers in April

https://www.vox.com/2020/4/15/21221948/florida-wwe-essential-service-ron-desantis-vince-mcmahon-coronavirus

[starwolf_oakley]

All this "Masque of Red Death" talk reminds me of The Life Foundation. They are a Marvel villain group with an unusual agenda: they want to be able to live like kings AFTER the end of the world.
Since this was the late 80s/early 90s, it was a "The end of the Cold War will lead to nuclear war" thing.

A mix of a Doomsday Cult with Masque of the Red Death. David Micheline used them a lot in Amazing Spider-Man and Venom.

[donnblake]

In non-comics media, I read Batavia's Graveyard- an account of a real-life shipwreck in the seventeenth century that went... poorly. Like, more than a hundred murders poorly.


I live in a building divided up into apartments, with shared laundry facilities in the basement.

[janegray]

Has anybody seen the first episode of the Inuyasha sequel? Opinions?

I and everybody I know keep our washing machine in the bathroom.

[skjam]

The first episode knows what fans of the old show want--more of the old show's characters. (And nice to see that most of them matured a teensy.) But it gave short shrift to our new main cast, who will presumably be properly introduced to us in Episode 2.

I also liked how the extended flashback was justified.

[owlbrigade1]

The Daily Express, a British tabloid, is claiming Wonder Woman 84 will now be going direct to streaming with no theatrical release at all; however the Express' level of accuracy is so reprehensibly bad it makes the Daily Mail look like a PhD paper, so take it not just with a pinch of salt, but the whole darn mine.

[zachbeacon]

I'd think they'd delay it until ... whenever Black Widow comes out and hope it "wins" at the box office for the handful of cinemas left standing.

I don't think that would be a GOOD decision but it seems in line with the kind of calls their film people have been making.

Assuming the report is true - and it sounds like it isn't - I hope for the sake of the people looking forward to WW and don't pull a Mulan by trying to charge HBO Max subscribers extra for it.

[thezmage]

In the house I grew up in, the washer and dryer were in the unfinished portion of the basement. In the apartment I lived in they were in a closet off the main (only) hallway. In the house we rent now they're in the garage. The idea of having them in a normal room of the house that we do other things in is quite frankly mindboggling to me.

Scooby Doo movie watch update:

Despite hitting nearly everything on my "do not want" list for Scooby Doo adaptations, I'm still a fan of the first live action film. Although the extended burping/farting scene is just the worst.

Legend of the Vampire is the start of the What's New era of films (albeit with a few quirks like the original character outfits). They reused background music from the original cartoon so much that it stopped being nostalgic and grew annoying. The monster is a man in a mask so we've at least gone back to the old Scooby equilibrium but it's just not a very good movie.

The first time I saw Scooby Doo and the Monster of Mexico, I hated it. It felt both too slow and too fast at the same time. This time around it actually wasn't that bad. I don't THINK Dia De Los Muertos has quite as many Halloween trappings as the movie portrays. There are a few set pieces that seem out of place and random. The gang defeats a giant robot during a musical number, Daphne does a fake news interview segment for no discernible reason or purpose. If I hadn't just come from LoV which was just boring with nothing happening I might be more willing to be hard on this one for the opposite. Also Scooby has a bit of a love interest in this film, and I have a hard time with that because he's too human for dating a dog not to be creepy. Not that I want him to have a human love interest either. Maybe Amber from Alien Invaders is the only time they walked the line properly

Scooby Doo: Monsters Unleashed is something I remember liking, but I sure can't tell why from this rewatch. It's almost like Batman Forever with it's neon set pieces and the like. Clearly this film was created by a committee, I just think they should have let the professional writers have at least as much of a say on that committee as the costume and set designers.
EDIT: I forgot to say that I really did like all the monster designs here. A good reminder that the monsters they faced were at least very frightening conceptually

Then, because it just came out, I skipped forward to Happy Halloween Scooby Doo. Maxwell Atoms from The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy is credited for this and it really shouldn't work as well as it does. Mystery Incorporated takes down Johnathan Crane, Batman villain The Scarecrow, but then finds they still have a mystery to solve. With the help of Elvira and Bill Nye. The parts that were good were really good (Velma and Dr. Crane have a great scene together, complete with Velma quoting the scorpion and the frog at some point. I think I like it, but that may just be from the context that I came to it in.

Hopefully by next tuesday I'll complete the What's New era, but at the very least I plan to get through Loch Ness Monster, Aloha Scooby Doo, Where's My Mummy, and Pirates Ahoy, only one of which I remember disliking my first viewing of.

[lego_joker]

I will forever remember Monster of Mexico just for its soundtrack. Does it accompany quite possibly the most nonsensical chase-scene in the whole franchise? Yes. Do I care? No.

[bradygirl_12]

As far as Trump's taxes, a combination thereof is about right.

Always felt Dick would have opinions on Joker usurping a beloved circus icon and twisting it around.

[akodo_rokku]

And RIP Eddie Van Halen.

[lissa_quon]

My cat got spayed last Friday and is now running around trying to do everything she shouldn't while healing from a surgery.

Media wise - been re-reading a lot of Robin McKinley lately. She used to be a fav author of mine as a kid but now that I'm older its sort of weird to look at and see the flaws. She is so bad at endings. She does a great set up but the endings usually collapse in a great cloud of "MEH."

And our washing machine is by our backdoor - in this strange little anteroom called "the laundry room" - next to our water heater and the litter box.

[werehawk]

My washing machine is by the kitchen (kitchen closet really).

Trump's return to the WH was scarily (but not surprisingly) ignorant and also offensive to anyone that ever had Covid.

[werehawk]

I meant to anyone who has had anyone they know/love die of Covid.

[deh_tommy]

“On a completely unrelated note, I believe that”

Believe what? BELIEVE WHAT, MAN!?!

We keep our washing machine in the hot press.

[icon_uk]

I believe in maintaining a sense of antici

...

...

...

...

...

..

-pation!

[hamimi_fk]

What room in the house is your washing machine?

The kitchen sink - don’t have a washing machine.