Beating the Odds

'It's all about beating the odds, right?' famous words uttered by Detective Kate Beckett on Monday's episode of Castle. Of course there were more words to it than just those, I just don't want to give away anything with the stuff she said before those words. They just kinda stood out, in their own nice, stark, crisp, mulling way. The moment those words were uttered, my mind was flooded with a bunch of images, snapshots of times past...probably it was a subconscious mental sweep to reassure myself that we (as in the collective me) are not strangers to the odds per-se and that we have always been able to fight the odds, maybe not beat them all the time, but it's the essence of that fighting spirit that keeps us going...(in this case I guess the us and the we refer to not just the collective me but the rest of us collectively)

I guess it's important we all have our quotes, our magic motivational potions and our lucky dice, besides probably something stronger than an espresso and more potent than an Irish coffee. Beating the odds is definitely a lot more tiring and draining than we expect or anticipate it to be. I'd like to say I've mastered the art of beating the odds, but, that would be a lie. I'm no gambler, in fact I'm pretty hopeless at it, but I've gotten better at riding the wave that goes with beating the odds. Some days it's a crushing, brutal force that knocks the wind outta you and sucks the life outta you. It does more than make you give up you know? It eats it's way through you from the inside out and at times it just obliterates you and makes you question your very existence.

It isn't just love that's all about beating odds, it's a concept that is weaved in with the whole fabric of life, whether it's the hem or it's the actual shroud of life that's woven, it plays a role. Brings to mind a quote from the Hunger Game series, 'May the odds forever be in your favour'. There's just such power, weight and responsibility that lies behind those words, no not just the quote from HG, it's easier said than analyzed, understood and interpreted. However, like all things that possess great power, they all come with great responsibility (Oh yeah Spiderman would be proud :P), it would be absolutely stupid and ignorant to believe that all odds can be evened out. It would be wiser to assume that all odds exist to strengthen our choices as well as chances with every randomly occurring moment of probability. Be forewarned, probability wasn't really one of my favourite subjects to tackle or handle in school.

There is a certain addictive nature attributed to probability....well perhaps it's a gambling thing. I wonder if gamblers view their lives as a probability problem where they can approximate with a certain degree of accuracy, probably to the 2nd decimal point, the outcomes of the decisions they make. I wonder if they're the kind of people who can plan their moments 40 steps ahead of a non gambler...imagine, if such a thing existed and if it was scientifically proven that gamblers made for efficient decision makers and planners, then I'm pretty sure every kid would get an all access pass to be the best at poker and blackjack by the age of 6. Scary thought 'en it? I think my folks would be stunned if kids who came up to my knees were all *psht, you don't know how to play poker? What's wrong with you?* Or actually knowing them, they'd agree with the kids and I'd be the proverbial 'sore thumb', you gotta love family...they know when to jump the ship to nominate you as the entertainer/regular stand up comedian...even if it's the sleep inducing kind. Now c'mon you know you wanna have the power to induce sleep...I mean imagine knocking people out without physically clocking 'em, but with the power of words...it's almost like uttering a chant or incantation loaded with the power of nature and majick :D.

Yes I'm in Harry Potter withdrawal mode, oh well what the heck can I do about it, except go into a crazy "I shall read all 7 books within the next 2 days mode?" Ooh speaking of books, I'm close to being done with this highly fascinating book, a review will be up as soon as I'm done reading. Anyhow, this post has nothing to do with reviews, it's all about beating the odds.

We all definitely hate those times when the odds don't favour us, thing about those times is they aren't just a one time event, but there's a bunch of them that occur simultaneously and make us feel like we're ready to be sucked into the depths of our own blackholes, never to resurface, never to reappear. Those odds of ours, break us down quite a fair bit, I wouldn't go as far as to say that they mock us, they sting us, especially our souls and our egos, 'cuz you all know we have that crazy egotistical thing going on within us, like freaking bee stings and our reactions vary from anaphylactic shocks to the slightest shadow of hurt, pain and disappointment. None the less, it's not reason enough for us to shrug our shoulders and say no...possibility is the parental figure for the basis/existence/establishment of all hypotheses, as well as the key ingredient in the composition of the delectable nectar of knowledge, and the stepping stone a visionary needs to fulfill and make their visions a reality.

Do yourselves a favour, besides making lemonades galore and downing tequila shots with the lemons life hands you, go with the odds, 'cuz one way or another they're only preparing you to realize your full potential and unleash all that you've got. Remember they may make you think you're weak, but there's nothing more powerful nor stoic than facing your most crushing moments head on, nor looking your failures in the eye and overcoming them. Not a lotta people are lucky enough to do so, so don't you dare hesitate nor feel embarassed while relating or reliving your failures and fears, because nobody is perfect and everybody has a story to tell.And don't you dare gloat and boast nor let your victories get to your head, 'cuz pride always comes with a downfall. For all you know your story and your experiences may give some people the solace, advice, support and strength they never realized they needed, and there's nothing more gratifying nor satisfying than knowing you managed to change someone's life.

Well that's my random schpiel 'bout odds and probabilities, I just had to throw in my 2cents about it. Don't worry nothing cataclysmic nor catastrophic has occurred...take care people and I hope you have a great week ahead!

Reviews and Reviewers - The 43 Minute edition

*Commencing Transmission*

Hello all,

Welcome to another fine tuned webisode of my verbal onslaught. I would call it Verbalis Mentalis but who knos what the hell that means and who knows when someone is actually going to use that term to start diagnosing people with some life threatening shit? Fun thing about Latin and Medicine, well the Health Industry I guess...if you know a little of both, then you can probably have fun driving up combinations that have people fearing for their lives. Besides, the world capitalizes on fear now, doesn't it? Be it a Capitalist mindset or a Socialist one, fear drives people and causes establishments to thrive. Don't worry, I'm not going to start an aandolan (strike/resistance/movement) against fear, I'm not quite sure if that is possible. None the less, fear is not the main topic of this particular post...clearly can you see fear anywhere in the subject line? Yeah didn't think so.

So what I have for you today is the simple yet dismissive art of reviewing, and on that menu for reviews, there's a few TV shows and movies lined up to get evaluated. Well the movies might find themselves headed for another post, so you can heave a sigh of relief. No don't worry I make no profits outta doing this, and if I did do you actually think I'd let you know? Well....that depends on the profit margin and also on the presents I get myself :D.

So as you all know, fall TV is the time we have new series being launched, old series being renewed and we all wait with bated breath to see what happens next after that 'cliff hanger' moment we had on the season finale of the show back in April/May. Well hello, we've had a busy week, well it's been a busy one for me 'cuz a lot of my fav. shows came back...and some of 'em came back with a BANG! And the others...well they left a bit to the imagination, a bit to the 'hmmmm' part of your curiosity 'cuz you kinda sense a major plot storm brewing or you just get all hyped up, and there's a few patches of disappointment where you feel that a particular situation could've been handled better. But overall it wasn't such a bad week in tele land.

Let's see first up is the season premiere of the most anticipated show (for me), namely 'Castle'. That season finale was one helluva season finale earlier this year. To match pace and tempo with that season finale definitely would have been challenging, because you want to find new ways and means of keeping the audience guessing and reeled in and wondering what happens next. The lighting, cinematography and effects just set the mood and pace for the entire episode, it was terrific. It will definitely be interesting to see how twisted and wound up this season is going to get...the character graphs tend to get a lil' jumpy and hit spots you didn't see coming. Then of course there's the whole Caskett (Castle and Beckett for the newly inducted Castle members) thing that I think a lotta fans are talking about, but in all honesty, I don't really care 'bout the relationship just yet as I do the plot and the writing. The one thing 'bout the writing on Castle that I've truly enjoyed is how snappy, sharp and of course witty, the dialogue tends to get between characters and the character dynamics are also just bloody brilliant. The other cool thing about Castle is how the show is actually expanding on the whole main character and actually gets the books that Castle supposedly writes published in real time. Heck Marvel is even doing a graphic novel for Derrick Storm, one of Castle's major 'cash cows' in terms of character, and a very popular and loved character in the whole murder, mystery, spy thriller genre of things. I'm definitely curious to know just how this season goes.

Next in line we have one of the other shows that I've been absolutely looking forward to since it's finale and since all this casting news that's happened between the end of Season 6 and the Season 7 premiere. That's right people, the brilliance called 'Criminal Minds' was back in full force and action on Wednesday and HOLY SHIT was it AMAZING!!!! It's so bloody brilliant to see everyone back, Season 6 definitely had it's moment, the best story arc being the one involving Prentiss and that whole Lauren arc with Ian Doyle. It was such a well shot and well executed story arc for one of my fav characters on the show, Agent Emily Prentiss! A few of my other fav episodes being JJ and Coda. The action packed, adrenaline pumping season premiere was OUT OF THIS WORLD!!! And I think this is going to be one amazing season of CM! Season 6 saw quite a bit of a falter, and I thought it had quite a few shaky moments, especially towards the end, but hey the rest of the team held it together even with the addition of Rachel Nichols, who yeah the fans absolutely despised 'cuz they figured she was a replacement for our beloved JJ. I must add thought that it is very unfortunate as to how popular a person is due to their character on screen, and we all tend to have that lapse where we forget to differentiate between the character and the actual actor. None the less, thank you Rachel for all your efforts on CM while you were there, however, it would be pretty freaking cool to see you return for a few episodes or a story arc. But other than, oh man did the fans of the show have SO MUCH to rejoice and celebrate 'bout on the season premiere and yeah as an aside, Hotch looked pretty freaking cool with that scruff going on haha. Here's to an amazing season up ahead!

Then we have 'The Mentalist' to follow up on Thursday. Well, the Season finale of 'The Mentalist' was pretty freaking awesome...it was quick, action packed and pretty much outta nowhere. Well I thought the Season premiere was pretty standard. Pretty much Jane and his charm, tricks and his personal story and his personal vendetta to find 'Red John'...sometimes the story line irritates me 'cuz it goes winding around and around and around without touching on anything substantial. I'm not sure if it's something I'd tune into every week, or just wait till the season is done before I do a marathon. Well that's what I did last season, it's not on the top of my must watch list, but hey keeps the mind amused if I'm bored outta my mind with my hectic schedule haha. I guess we'll see how the season goes. However, the one cool thing 'bout the show has to be the episode names, I love how they incorporate 'Red' into pretty much every single episode title, absolutely brilliant work at that.

I decided I'd give 2 new shows that premiered this past week a shot to see how gripping/interesting they would be. The promos looked fairly interesting over the summer. First one up is, 'Unforgettable' with one of the actresses from one of my fav shows, 'Without a Trace', as the main lead. It was refreshing to see Poppy Montgomerey grace the screen yet again, however, I dunno man I thought the premiere of 'Unforgettable' was pretty forgettable...however, that being said I'm not giving up on the show just yet. It's like a mix of 'The Listener' and 'Without a Trace' in terms of the way the show's been edited and put together. Maybe in time it'll turn out to be cooler and I might actually eat my words from this post. Remind me 'bout this post if you happen to find me screaming 'OMG OMG Did you watch that episode!!!??? It was freaking AMAZEBALLS!!!'...well you won't hear me screaming but I guess you can anticipate it with the enunciation in the key strokes and all.

The second new show to premiere this past week was 'Prime Suspect'. Yes it's a cop drama, yes I enjoy cop dramas, they're pretty freaking cool. It was a pretty cool season premiere, to a certain extent it reminded me of 'The Closer' only unlike Kyra Sedgwick's character (Brenda Johnson), the main character on the show definitely doesn't seem like the kinda person who would put someone down/retort and retaliate verbally with the kind of finesse and dare I say Southern hospitality Brenda Johnson does it with. I'm definitely looking forward to the next episode, oh and I definitely dig the main character's, portrayed by Maria Bello, fashion choices haha. So far, I enjoy Maria Bello's portrayal of Jane Timoney. The opening scene had to be one of the best scenes to this pilot episode, the main character trying to kick the cancer stick habit and trying to get a better handle on her health. The way the entire episode went about I think there's a lot more character development that the viewers can look forward to. Right from the get go the creators have made it a point to showcase the layers to Jane Timoney, from the tough and thick skinned cop who is the only source of estrogen in a testosterone filled Homicide Detective division, to the dedicated and efficient cop who puts people in their place and takes no BS in terms of following protocol and getting the work done, to being the street smart NYC chica who doesn't give up getting leads to a case, to the vulnerable woman who shows her colleagues she doesn't get affected by what they say but cracks in the confines of her own personal space...it's refreshingly done.

I have yet to check out 'Ringer' but once I do then my valuable opinions shall make their way here. Shows I'm definitely looking forward to in October include Homeland, Grimm and Once Upon a Time. I cannot wait to see Damian Lewis back on screen, it's such a shame NBC cancelled 'Life', it was such a good show, something I'm sure a lot of Life and NBC fans will never forgive NBC for doing. Well that's it for now folks, have yourselves an awesome weekend, or at least what's left of it. And...watch this space for more stuff. May the power of thought, imagination and progress forever be yours to acquire, gain and possess, for they are the most important ingredients to make this life of yours count. Well on that cheery and dreary note, cheers, adios and all that good stuff.

*Transmission ended*

Hiatus

Gotta love that word, hell it makes me feel like those prime-time fall shows that go off the air over the summer and come back with a BANG some time around now in the fall. Well here I am, and ready to go through a verbal free fall. So let me start off by saying, how kind of you to tag along and join the ride. I have no spoilers for the season ahead, oh wait, *doh* this ain't a TV show now is it? What do we have on the menu? Nothing in particular, the usual fare, randomness served up with even more randomness and just the general joy and angst of being back to the writing board.

Man did the summer fly by, I mean one moment it's all *bloody hell I hope it's summer soon*, next moment *Boom! Bang! Kabang! Alakazam! Hello summer here we are*, and then *Bam!* the next moment it's all done and it all happened in the blink of an eye, and you honestly do stop, ponder and wonder if all that time really did pass you by. Well I keep bringing back summer like something major happened over the summer, but no, nothing major happened, I mean we had a few major comic book and other novel adaptations on that huge ass silver screen come out this summer, some bigger than others, but of course one thing has to be said about them...The movies never quite live up to the books and I'm not sure how many ever will, but it's still an attempt that should be lauded, and despite saying that, I know, I'll be one of those people lining up to see how they adapted my favourite book on the big screen. Curiosity will always be the biggest draw for such genres of cinema, yes it is a genre 'cuz nowadays it has carved out it's own niche, it has it's own set of viewers who will definitely show up to show their support for said project. However that being said, the screenplays aren't exactly original now are they? They're adapted from the original creator's body of work and given a life of their own. That being said, my summer was a time to recharge the batteries, to re-align and re-design priorities, and to refresh and revel those bonds that matter. Oh yeah I'd love to say that it was also the time I took to rescind those bonds that are just a pure waste of my time and energy, but I didn't exactly get around to doing that. I mean who the hell thinks of stuff like that when they have more important things to take care of? Garbage always finds a way to dispose of itself..

I literally spent my time in my Fortress of Solitude brooding creating, destroying, contemplating and regrouping myself. There's always going to be a point in everybody's lives where the hustle bustle of life literally pops you all out and you just need a lot of time to pick yourself up and do what you think is best for yourself. I'm not sure if it makes sense but picture it this way, you are physically free but your mind is caged in, absolutely trapped and weighed down by the sheer volume of thoughts, actions and plans of action that you keep creating and discarding. People are at peace when they're mentally freed, freedom isn't just about the physical source of being free, where you aren't tied down, or cuffed to a radiator or sum'n, freedom is when given the time of day you don't feel like the wind is being knocked outta you by the right hook your brain assaulted you with. It's not having that feeling of being Atlas or inverse Atlas where the weight of the world resides on your chest and not on your back. The human mind is an amazing tool all by itself, you don't need scientific research to prove that, you just need a few On days and Off days to do so. There isn't a more liberating feeling in the world than to think through everything and find your solution instead of hitting up dead ends and bigger obstacles that you have to find more ways to overcome. 

Of course don't ask me what happened, 'cuz I myself didn't see the final result of all that summer fresh brain harvesting. But here I am giving a discourse on freedom and brains and fortresses and things of the sort. There were a few but fabulous events from the summer that I absolutely loved being part of and just feel really special and blessed when I think back to them, and then there were some not so pleasant events. But I guess if you look at it from an astrally projected 3rd person point of view you can't have the good without the bad, but, I must say thank you to my wonderful family/el familio/family outside of immediate family that beats immediate family at being family :D, for being so awesome and supportive. You guys know how to make things right if not better and you make every moment count. Thanks for keeping me in check and keeping that big picture in perspective, we are so totally gonna take over if not dominate the world. Look out world, we're on our way, coming soon to every billboard near you...well if you're not the billboard kinda person then every monitor/screen/device near you. Oh yeah we're that damn good.

Alright so here's the deal, I'm making quick random spurts of acknowledgement to things that I think you all should keep your senses peeled for, 'cuz I think it may blow your mind away.

Firstly, mad props to my boy Shah and his co-creator Gui for bringing their beautiful web comic creation, titled 'Qwixotic', out there for us heathens to revel in and enjoy. I believe it is coming out soon, so watch your spaces for updates 'cuz that's something you will get from me. The artwork is simply bloody brilliant. Congratulations with your Fan-Expo stint, I can only wish you guys all the very best and much success in the upcoming Comic Cons and conventions, You guys deserve nothing but the best for all your hardwork and dedication! In case you have no idea what the hell I'm talking about I strongly encourage and recommend visiting the link following up in the next few lines. So do yourselves a favor and check out,

http://qwixotic.wordpress.com/

Next on the list is the Hunger Games series. It's quite an intense read and not your regular fare sorta tale. It's a fantastical concept and very original and imaginative. I believe the movies are coming out soon, none the less if you can read the books I'd say go ahead and read 'em. They're not your standard fare, well nowadays standard fare would be vampire, werewolves and supernatural tales wouldn't it? But they aren't any of those, to put it simply try imagining it this way...well this is the way the author imagined it, so, try imagining and blending  war and reality TV. In essence that's the base if not core foundation, of course you do have so much more to it than just that...but it's the starting point. You  may find the beginning boring, but, it gets quite a grip on your attention a few chapters in.

Next on this list is the movie 'Sucker Punch'...holy hell did that movie pack in quite a punch. Such brilliant bloody cinematography and a brilliant script to go with it too. Such beautiful work, really there's a lotta scenes in the movies where the actors didn't have to mouth lines to convey a message, their expressions, gestures and the cameras did a fantastic job of telling the story. It was a brilliant movie that just rocked me to very core, bloody fantastic movie. If you're the faint of heart who cannot bear topics of violence and abuse and the darker and grittier aspects of humanity that isn't delved into too much, or might be overly done in terms of treatment and all of that fun stuff, or the kind who can't stomach the conceptual aspects of Law & Order SVU or Criminal Minds (well it isn't as gruesome) then you might want to think twice about it. Otherwise, take a watch, it's a pretty brilliant flick.

Check out the following shows, if you haven't done so already, they're worth the tele time

-Leverage
-Rizzoli & Isles
-Body of Proof
-Alphas (interesting show/concept, it's Heroes with a more scientific approach and reasoning to things)

New shows I definitely wanna check out that might cause me to rant and rave 'bout it include the following, and you'll hear from me if sucks or totally rocks my socks.

-Ringer (C'mon who can say no to SMG big return to prime-time tele? I know I can't say no to Buffy I mean SMG :P)
-Grimm
-Once Upon a Time

Alright folks, so that's a wrap, I just wanted to make my big bang return to my verbal outflow centre. I hope things are going well with all of ya'll and until next time take care and have yourselves a bloody brilliant time.

Theology + Fiction = Theoction + Ficeology...a potent concoction?

Special Potions available and brewed only at Hogwarts School of Theology...

'Huh?!' is that your first reaction? Don't worry, you aren't the only one scratching your head there and trying to figure out what one has to do with the other…I did too, when I first wrote the subject line for this post. Alright so now that we have established the fact that theology has nothing to do with the wizarding world of Harry Potter, can someone please explain what the hell the point is of even putting the two topics together? It's not as if Harry woke up one fine day in the middle of the school year and decided to become Catholic or Protestant or Hari the Hindu or Haroun the Muslim or Harmanveer the Sikh...and so on and so forth with all the other faiths out there…so then, what could one possibly consider to be scandalous or controversial from a theological point of view?

Bleeding torch burning, flailing, wielding morons with no sense of appreciation for something so rich, diverse and all encompassing in it's own way. You must have fallen off of, if not, created off of the shitty side of the G-man's disposition. Forget me saying the Dark side of the moon, at least more civilized things came out of there, namely the residents of Cybertron. Anyway, there is nothing more annoying than dragging something, which might I emphasize, has nothing to do with a whole buncha things, through unnecessary mud. And what's worse? When you actually have more dimwits, who actually jump on this bandwagon like a bunch of sniveling, grunting cavemen/cavewomen.

Religion, at least from what I can understand and what I’ve learned, seeks it’s place in reality so as to try and show people that it all makes sense and that everything is connected. Fiction, on the other hand, seeks to liberate people from the confines of rules and regulations and all other things that we’re bound by and sometimes pulled down by. It’s the key to letting our imaginations grow and to appreciate all that we would not have thought of had someone not conjured something so simple yet profound with their magical use of words. So what's got my neurons in a knot? Well how about the unnecessary need for people to drag religion and fiction all together into one dicey, spicy, unnecessary mess? See, my Newsfeed keeps getting inundated with excerpts from scripture, the Quran/Qur’an to be more precise...and you know what, that's cool an all ya know if it helps give meaning and a reflective perspective to Ramadan to those of you seeking it...but honestly, don't be a git and say ridiculous things like, 'Oh you know something is messed up with the world when people spend money and make movies like Harry Potter a blockbuster while there are people in Somalia dying without food or water.' I'm sorry pal but there's nothing wrong with the world and in case you haven't noticed the world's been this same exact, self absorbed way for a very, very long time.

Although I must admit, I'm glad you have some sort of empathy/sympathy coursing through your veins...shows you're still human or at least have a bit of your humanity intact. But here's my question to you, what have you done/contributed towards providing relief or helping out with the drought situation in Somalia lately? Don't sit there and bitch about something that everyday average Joes' and Janes' enjoy partaking in. If you don't wanna be one of them then that's your choice, but please, don't go around making obnoxious statements. If anything maybe you might wanna take a look at the global headlines as well...instead of making all this hullaballoo about how Somalia isn't getting any relief or aid because it's an Islamic nation (IMHO this is definitely the most preposterous thing I've heard so far)...why don't you stop slandering and bringing to light such unfounded statements, and instead, take a nice good long look at the headlines of the papers of the neighboring Islamic states. There was this other post that popped up on my Newsfeed that was an excerpt from I assume, a leading daily in the U.A.E that went on to highlight how approximately 500 tonnes of food (how much freaking food is that?!) finds it's way to trash cans and dumped out. The source of the food dump? Well how do Iftaar buffets organized by hotels sound for a start? (for those who don't know what Iftaar is...it's the time when the fast for the day during Ramadan is broken...for more detailed info hit up Google...I hear reading is good fer ya) People gotta pay quite a bit to be able to sample and enjoy the finest cuisines being dished out at  those buffets. Well obviously, after long hours of not eating or drinking anything it's no wonder that a lot of the food cannot be consumed. Your body sorta kinda comes up with a way to handle that sorta thing. So what ends up happening? Hey here's an idea....Hmmm if patrons aren't eating let's chuck that food out cuz hey who else could possibly use it right? Talk about double standards...the city of Dubai besides being known as a tourist's paradise *cough bullshit*, how about melanoma/skin cancer paradise instead? It's definitely the world's biggest farce. Underneath all that glamour you see, remains hidden the stark, naked truth. Anyway my rants about Dubai and that good for nothing place are definitely for another post and not for this one anyway. None the less, you would think that these people would have had the common decency to get this food out to people who can barely afford even one meal during the day...these people would be those at the labour camps who, toil day in and out in ruthless and merciless conditions so as to put up those glass towers in that City of Glass. Yeah those people...don't you think they deserve a bit of the G-man's mercy? And isn't it especially part of the season to give to the needy?

Alright let's forget that and go back to the Somalia issue...so if the rest of the world is being all racist and communalist (no not Communist, the 2 words bear absolutely no resemblance to each other ) about getting relief there then what the hell are the sister and brother nations that are not communalist doing about it? Oh yeah I know they're wasting if not squandering all that potentially relief worthy stuff away. Seriously people think before you start posting your gaffs online...there is nothing more obnoxious and revolting than bringing your obnoxious selves to light. It makes the rest of humanity especially those who still thankfully think, act, represent and carry themselves with grace and dignity hang their heads in shame.

Oh and one other thing, as I've mentioned in a previous post. If you wanna go around raising awareness and doing humanitarian work do it out of the goodness of your heart not out of any religious agenda and don't bring religion into the equation. Yeah don't worry the G-man or whatever other higher power it is you believe in or don't is watching. You don't need to keep a physical tab on it ya know? It kills the whole doing it out of the goodness of your heart notion....it makes what you do seem something that's more of an obligation than a choice.

On that note I bring this post to an end. I figure for some of y'all it's the holy month of Ramadan so Ramadan Kareem to y'all and I hope it's a good and reflective one. For the rest of y'all well I hope things are going well in general and that life has been treating you decently...and well if it hasn't, then there ain't no point in keeping your chin up unless you yourself are convinced that that's what you should be doing. Take a little time off and think things through and you will definitely be surprised by what you find, and believe me life revels in doling out surprises.

How To Save a Life

Hey people, welcome to another episode of verbal rantage, the perfect place you wanna be in when you have too much built up in your head and the only way to get it out is via the gift of words. Yes it's a non-refundable gift, them gift of words are....none the less, I hope the week has treated you all well. If anything, Happy Harry Potter Day!!! and for those of you alien to the concept of the boy wizard...well Happy Friday to you.

So let's get to the point shall we? Besides loving 'The Fray' 's music....Right, well I was watching the tube yesterday and while going through the guide to see what was on the regular programming list I came across something on the one channel that had NOTHING to do with, thankfully, home improvement, or fashion tips or whatever the hell goes on the tele during the day. Man I'm telling you these darn shows ruin morning tele watching goodness, instead I wind up watching Hannah Montanna and Wizards of Waverly Place and Disney goodness lol. So, I came across this program on the guide, running on one of the channels that said it was an insight into Leprosy. I got all excited 'cuz you know there's this huge stigma 'bout what leprosy is and it's not something commonly seen around the Northern quadrant, except maybe in some very select cases/situations. I couldn't resist the educational experience and tuned in to watch what I thought was a brief documentary or you know of those health show things that is all out to enrich the human learning experience. I switch out to it and I think I was met with quite a fair bit of disappointment....it was like one of those infomercials that was basically asking you to sponsor if not call up and join and donate money on a monthly basis to make sure people get the treatment. I have no beef with the whole collect money to make medical supplies more available to those who are not in a situation to do so. What I dislike majorly and severely is the need to have religious attachments/affiliations to said charitable causes. Seriously, what the hell does religion have to do with saving lives? Then the program went on to show personal life stories of victims of leprosy from Nepal and India (to name a few places, they wouldn't name the rest) and they tossed in shots of people representing pretty much all the age demographics. And the dude doing the whole infomercial thing was all,

"Please call now and please help make a difference. While were talking about X's life story many more people have been diagnosed with leprosy. Every minute 3 people are diagnosed with leprosy. Please call, send money for a good cause so we can stop this disease from ruining more lives."

This was followed by a 'True story' incident thing, where the guy goes on to explain oh next we'll show you a segment 'bout the life of X. Listen to her story and see how she was treated like if not worse than animals by everyone, especially those closest to her heart when the more devastating aspects of this disease ruined her life. This was followed by panning into pretty much filthy surroundings that one would expect a '3rd world' nation if not a developing nation to have. This only adds to the ignorance of the common man living oceans and continents away from said 'Developing nations.' So next thing you know people have the 'Oh this shit only happens in Slumdog Millionaire places, we're good and have nothing to worry about' mentality creep in. On a more personal note...I hated that movie, it was plain garbage, I've seen better Hindi movie adaptations of the concept them lads from the UK were trying to adapt and bring to the big screen. Anyway ranting about that movie is something for another post.

Going back to what I was saying...I think it's necessary that people get a general idea of what leprosy is and know the more debilitating effects of leprosy but stop treating it like something that happens only in some ass backwards place...because it can happen anywhere. I mean it's a freaking bacteria that kickstarts the process, and those bacterial buggers are more resilient than bleeding roaches, they have the possibility and flexibility to mutate and evolve into more hybrid forms...forms that may turn out to be resistant to any form of therapy that's out there in the market today. Honestly...quit playing the ignorance card...I understand the need to set up charitable organizations that enable if not help the needy/poor/destitute from gaining access to medical supplies, but stop tagging religion into something that it has nothing to do with.

Religion is not the poster child for one's humanity and one's compassion. If anything, it guides and highlights that through tales/myths and verses from passages of scripture...regardless of the book you follow. It is not religion that defines humanity but humanity that defines religion. It is because of what we think and feel, that, we interpret faith the way we wish to. Religion is a funny thing, it's malleable yet when asked questions about it we seem to have such concrete answers. Anyway...Humanity isn't all that dead and gone yet ya know? Just appealing to one's compassionate side makes a helluva difference...people should honestly believe in it and try it sometimes, instead of being ignorant ponces who don't use that brain in their heads to think before they act or speak and have that whole foot in mouth syndrome going.

All of that being said though...you gotta give credit where it's due as well. It's a good thing that there's people out there who cares enough 'bout their fellow citizens that they actually try and spread awareness 'bout diseases that most people are lucky enough not to encounter in their lives. I'm big on the awareness spreading and the campaigning that goes into awareness spreading, I'm just not big on the need for religion to do so. Religion gets in the way too often these days for pretty much anything and everything and most of the times it's in the news these days, it's all for the wrong reason. Whatever happened to the messages of peace and love? Are they just a myth? Or just something the hippies were hip and happy with back in the day?

Well that's a wrap for now...and so here's me peacing out...Until next time, hope all is well with you guys and have yourselves an awesome weekend.

Centennial

Well centennial does call for a celebration now don't it? Who knew I'd hit the 100 mark? Okay fine so this is the 101st post but I hadn't realized it was until I was fiddling around with a few other things that needed to be fiddled around with. I was going through this 'lets change how this blog looks' phase and as you can clearly see....not much happened there. None the less...What started out as a way for me to infuse some sorta humor quotient into my rather uneventful if not sun dried tomato life has definitely grown into my canvas heck playdough for my bouts of verbal carnage....well not without it's share of victims of course especially those of y'all who take the time out to tune in. None the less I wanted to give a huge shout out of thanks and then some to you unshakeable and rather unbreakable soldiers who have marched on through these treacherous trenches of posts. Your grit, courage, stalwarty-ness (I just wanted to use the word...so dear language and grammar Nazis go with the flow if humor and easygoing-ness and cease and desist from throwing objects both real and virtual, thank you) and enthusiasm is definitely worthy if medals if honor and then some.

What can I say about getting yo this point and where it all goes from here? Firstly let me just say this is the first time I've actually hit the 100 mark with anything...okay fine that's not true if you include TV shoes that have reached the 100th episode mark, and word limits...other than that no I don't really recall any other century-tastic things I've done so far. I'm not one for promises and schnazz of the sort but hey a long as life has fun hurling (yeah life skipped the tossing part with me and promoted me to Hurlsville) curveballs and yorkers worthy of Malinga...be certain that I definitely will have a thing or 2 to say about it. So once again thanks for sticking around for those of you who have been arm twisted into reading as well as those of you who fall under the category of brave volunteers....you're all shining beacons emphasizing the importance of literacy :P....and from my part here's to another 50 posts before the next bunch of thank you's pour out.

Well definitely look forward to updates because, with me, one thing is for sure...there always will be something or the other that will be updated...besides my brain i.e....apparently those weren't part of the guarantee, warranty when the prototype was first issued. There are quite a few things I'm looking forward to this summer but hey I can't list 'em all in one go can I? I mean where's the fun in that?! Baby steps people...baby steps, one good small thing at a time! One thing I definitely am looking forward to, though it's somewhere towards the end of August is, the release of the Angel & Faith series by Dark Horse Comics. Two very interesting and awesome characters from the B-verse who were played by equally amazing actors might I add. I always thought that if Angel had gone on for a few more seasons would Faith eventually become a part of the 'Fang gang'? Personally I think she would've been a better fit with the L.A gang than with the Scoobies. Man I definitely would have loved to see the TV show equivalent but hey you make do with what you have and get right? At least there's a comic book coming out with them headlining it...I think it's gonna be an awesome series especially taking into consideration the premise of the series. Buffy season 9 is also something I'm definitely looking forward to but come August 31st I would really love having a copy of the A&F series in my hand...if possible if not just gonna have to wait until I get back. Wheeeee here's to growing libraries and collections!!!!!

A'ite people that's it from me for now. Have yourselves an awesome weekend and here's until next time. Stick around...you never know what just might catch your fancy and attention.
 

Buffyverse Babbles

Alright so welcome back kids to another episode of epic rants of things running through my head...perhaps it's 'cuz of the way I've been feeling the last few days...trapped within the confines of my weary, frustrated mind. The feeling probably resounds best with the way a caged animal feels. It's one of those things where your mind is going absolutely nuts with a gazillion ideas, a gazillion thoughts and bajillion feelings about a crazy amount of situations, scenarios and thoughts. Talk 'bout some heavy mental weight lifting...anyway, I think I needed a catalyst to get going here....well actually that's not true, I've had enough things I've wanted to post on here and that I've been or rather I'm working on at the moment. But apparently other thoughts kinda overtake others that you have in your head, but then again that's the way of the mind and the way of inspiration.

So what's on the menu today then folks? Well...how 'bout a dose of rambles, rants, thoughts and opinions on Joss Whedon and Whedonverse (well this one involves more or less the Buffyverse, yes it includes Angel as well, what with it being a spin-off of BtVS and all.) So as a fair warning, if you have no clue about Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel for that matter and don't really care, I suggest you back away from this post right now and I dunno go read a book or watch a show. This post definitely isn't for you as it goes on and on about my thoughts and opinions 'bout the B-verse and then some. Right, now that the warning has been served, lets get down to business shall we?

Now where do I begin 'bout my induction into the Whedon Universe and all things if not most things Whedon-tastic? My first exposure to JW's world was Angel...I find it kinda funny that I watched Angel first, which in turn led the way to me watching BtVS...from what I've heard and read it's the other way around :P considering how BtVS came out first and Angel branched off from the mothership after Season 3. Call me biased, but I personally preferred the first 3 seasons of BtVS as opposed to the last few seasons of Buffy. Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE SMG and I love the reasons behind why Joss created the character, and I love Buffy too!! She was on quite the growth curve and then Seasons 5 through 7 happened where her character growth and development was kinda sorta spotty....there were some great story-lines there and there were some real crappy story-lines that had me going 'Seriously, what the hell were they thinking?' That whole Glory thing was annoying, so was Riley Finn and whatever the hell he was doing, then there was the evolution of Spike and things with Spike...yeah, I'm not a huge Spike fan...well I like him but there's only limited doses of him that I can take. I think I appreciated his presence more on Angel than on BtVS...yeah it's fun to hear that Cockney accent and all but like I said....limited doses dude. Hey don't get me wrong, but seriously wtf was all that 'bout with Buffy for the longest time? Sometimes that seemed to be more or less the focus of an episode than the actual storyline and that really was a put off for me. But...in the same breath doesn't mean that AtS wasn't without it's share of flaws...I mean what the hell was Season 4 all about? While most people might absolutely hate the 5th Season, I think the final season of Angel definitely was b8r than the last season of Buffy....there may be people screaming from the rooftops going I'm outta my mind, but hey opinions differ on the subject and this is mine. In fact that whole Season that involved Jasmine just sucked ass, I mean wat the hell people? I swear it was one of those moments when the writers had a massive brain fart moment and decided *Hey guys let's come up with something absolutely ridiculously retarded 'cuz the viewers will watch and accept just about anything and everything and don't have minds of their own*. I actually enjoyed Season 5 of Angel, contrary to popular belief and thought 'bout this season in particular, the whole handling, infiltrating and dealing with Wolfram & Hart was pretty awesome. Honestly I thought Angel as a show was much darker than Buffy...well I guess it pretty much matched up to that whole dark, murky, mysterious nature of Angel. In addition there was this whole gritty, darkness (that includes humor as well) to the show too...well according to JW Angel is more Film Noir and Buffy is more or less a musical. Despite how much spunk Buffy lost, compared to it's first 3 seasons, the one thing that needs to be applauded is the writing. Okay yeah sure the plot also deals with writing, but I'm talking 'bout the dialogue...especially when a life or death situation or an intensely dramatic situation comes up in the episode and you expect the most cliched line in the history of writing to appear...you're completely caught off guard with something humorous and witty that breaks that momentary air of anticipation and anxiety. 

Now JW is quite the master of creativity...I have my reasons. I mean he came up with this wicked cool idea of carrying his TV show over into the graphic novel arena...personally I've never heard of that happening before, I've read of things being adapted from graphic novels. The man is a genius, I mean if anything he gave life to the whole vampire, demons, things that go bump in the night concept on the boob tube. Well at least one of his ideas did, and then there was that other piece of brilliance titled "Firefly" that gave life to the whole idea of a space cowboy with a crew thing or rather a Sci-fi Western? if you may? Yeah sure if you think about it it might seem like a ridiculous idea...and if you haven't watched it I strongly suggest and recommend that you watch it...it's just bloody brilliant. But I digress, going back to the actual things that I want to talk 'bout in this Whedonous post...like I was saying, he's one of the guys who has brought this whole concept of moving TV shows over to the graphic novel arena and why the hell not?! It's still visual but the only difference b/w the shows and graphic novels is not hearing the stars acting the scenes out. Besides, in the graphic novels you can make those characters pull off the craziest action sequences and bring out the craziest demons ever without having to worry 'bout budgets for special effects and costumes and make up and all those fun things. It's a wonderful platform for one's imagination to run rampant and to wreak havoc in Imaginotopia...I liked how he decided to go on with his shows regardless of what the networks decided...now that's dedication. He switched out the medium to broadcast the thoughts wandering in his imagination 'cuz he wasn't done yet. On that note though, bring yourselves back to Earth I'm not spending this entire post on commenting 'bout the awesomeness that is the mind of JW, more or less bringing about an awareness to those of you who have never heard of him, and bitching 'bout him to those of you who know 'bout him. Hopefully there aren't too many people reading this post who don't know who the hell Joss Whedon is, in which case Imma set that mummy from Mutant Enemy that shows up at the end of the credits on you people. I think what would be interesting is if Joss actually decided to go ahead and make BtVS Season 8 and Angel: After the Fall into animated movies with voice overs from the actors who played those characters...it would be the next best thing to get that set loyal fan base back to sum'n they've loved. Yeah I know easier said than done, and that it mostly depends on budgets and schedules and the willingness of the actors to want to do sum'n like that, and taking into consideration if all the moolah that goes into making it will be worth it or not. BtVS Season 8 took 4 years to complete and is about 40 issues long, I'm actually gonna dive into it when I get the chance to. Oh yeah I've stocked up on issues for both BtVS Season 8 and Angel: ATF....I remember when I used to read them religiously, but then life got in the way and I didn't exactly have nor make time to keep up with it....I suddenly and randomly remembered 'bout them comeex while working out and sorting through some mental jetstreams of thought. That's when I decided to do a quick catch up on the series before I set about getting a hold of the issues to read at some point in time. I have this habit of collecting, accumulating and waiting for an opportune moment to read 'em...oh and when the opportune moment arrives I'm pretty much a lost cause and can't be pulled outta it until I'm done. It's one of those things that I think is an integral part of the human condition, the part where you just have this need to feel like part of something you know? To be part of the human experience, and sometimes it's what you dive headlong into in search of inspiration and motivation....believe me I've had quite a few episodes of needing inspiration these past few months. But that's not the focus of this post, so going back to what  I was talking about.

So I got the Cliff notes version of what was going on in the Buffyverse and I think when I was done I had a very hard time putting my jaw back together along with my eyeballs and I was going 'Are you kidding me? What the hell? How the hell did I miss out on all of this?' My reactions were as follows, shocked, surprised and infuriated I'm not gonna go into details about what exactly the storyline is all about or what exactly happened to or rather with the story 'cuz there just ain't enough space to dole on 'bout that. Besides if you really wanna find out go ahead and don your "Nancy Drew" and "Hardy Boys" hats on and detect on google, it'll be a much more concise version compared to what I'd write up on here. It left me on this mad search about wat the hell Joss planned on doing with both series...well first things first, though this part of my googling efforts while on the quest for more info didn't really evoke any sorta emotions haha probably because I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing for Angel to move from IDW to Dark Horse. I guess only time will tell....none the less, first off comic houses changed. I think the second thing that was mentioned was more involvement from JW as far as both series are concerned, apparently he wasn't involved with the storylines and creative aspects of Angel at IDW than he was with Dark Horse and Buffy and all of that fun stuff...so I guess it's definitely something to look forward to, just to see how IDW ties up the whole story arc they've been covering for the past few years with the Angel series and how it ties in with Dark Horse and their take on AtS. 

Now if you haven't noticed, I'm a hugggeee fan of Angel and I'm pretty much shocked with what happened with the character in BtVS Season 8....it makes me wonder if Joss hates the character of Angel or just loves the idea/character so much that he keeps throwing monkey wrenches into whatever Angel has done and accomplished so far. I feel the guy NEVER gets a break lol, it's always been one hurdle after another, one campaign after another to not only prove himself but to flex his strength of character and his resolve in being that warrior/champion that he's supposed to be. On the one hand I think the monkey wrenches make Angel not only a very compelling character, but every time he falls he gets up stronger and goes forth with a lotta grit and resolve. Though, I'm not sure how what's happened to him this time around is going to make him stronger or more determined for that matter. So yes I'm very curious to see what happens to Angel in Season 9 and just how he deals with everything...trust me Season 8 ends with quite a bang, but then again what else do you expect from JW right? It wouldn't be Whedon worthy if it didn't end with a bang that had you going "WTF? WTF!!! Where the hell did that come from?!?!"...well in not so many words, a lot of exclaiming, squealing and mouth clamping occurs when you watch a Whedon finale.

From what I hear 'bout upcoming issues, I think there's actually going to be an "Angel and Faith" series and you know what? I think that might actually be a very interesting series to pick up and read. Faith has definitely been a very interesting character and I think Eliza Dushku's portrayal of the character has a lot to do with that. Heck all the actors on those shows respectively created the impact they did due to their portrayal of the characters...I can't imagine anyone else other than David Boreanaz playing Angel, it's one of those solidified images/set in stone things. None the less, like I was saying, Faith's character has always been one of those that definitely piqued my curiosity w.r.t her origins and how she turned into that chick you first saw on BtVS and her constant evolution. Besides her manic tendencies and wild, violent fits of rage and everything else, there's this child-like quality to her, especially when she's manipulated by the Mayor. Yeah she's not huge on the trust factor with anyone, but there's this vulnerability about her, she wants people to see her as a badass who can take care of herself and doesn't give jackshit 'bout anything or anyone around her 'cuz she's never had to depend on anyone her whole life...but in actuality she covets the normalcy that Buffy has...the family, the set of constant friends to keep her grounded and in check. I think Angel is the ideal mentor for her, and I back this up with episodes "5 by 5" and "Sanctuary" from Season 1 of Angel, well along with the episode "Orpheus". She's one of those characters who just believes everybody gives up on her anyway, so what's the point in hoping or thinking anybody would care about her, and it definitely catches her off guard when of all people it's Angel who steps up to the plate to be there for her, despite everything she did to him or both him and Buffy, as well as the gang. I'm definitely stoked about this series, you know I think if AtS were still a show, then they should have definitely thought of adding Faith to the Fang gang, I think it would've been an interesting addition. Yes that would make 2 champions trying to find their way through the fog of guilt and remorse and on the journey to redemption, and it would've added a different dynamic to the group I think. I guess one can only wait and see as to what the future holds, but yeah the "Angel & Faith" series is definitely gonna be a give and take one....actions, belief, trust and faith revisited and returned perhaps? That being said, I'm waiting to see what happens to Angel from here-on....and it should be interesting to see if Joss integrates the Fang gang with the Scooby gang....or perhaps I should adopt the no expectations policy and wait and see just what JW has to toss at us.

This brings me to the next point, and perhaps the concluding point for this post...the way JW treats his characters and the story-line. Usually when people rave about you know amazing characters or character chemistry the creators tend to take a backseat and go "Hmmm should we milk this cow for what it's worth?" or in some cases they go "Let's just stick to the original story plan", it tends to be a case of the former than the latter most often. I think a writer/creator (of pretty much anything) he decides to stick to his/her creative guns and go with the original plan just exudes integrity and balls to go ahead with it. I think some of the best stories told are those where the unexpected happens, well maybe in some remote part of your imagination/mind you thought it would happen but not in your wildest dreams did you actually expect it to happen. A very popular and recent character, in my humble opinion, would be that of Severus Snape from the Harry Potter series I mean that's what the magic and power of writing is all about....so as far as JW is concerned he's sitting very comfortably in that Top 10 list of writers I admire amongst others. I think his shows have the highest number of pivotal character deaths and he makes no bones about it nor is he sorry 'bout it....yeah it's bloody upsetting when he does that, but, it's just something expected with him I guess. I guess without death there is no life and no appreciation for what you have in this life. On that note though, I sincerely hope he doesn't have any immediate intentions of getting Angel killed just yet, yes that's my primary concern haha :P, but oh well if it happens then I guess it happens... :|...maybe Angel just might Shanshu his way through it...who knows right? Another thing that I particularly like with JW's characters is that they're neither black nor white, they're all very stark and sharp shades of gray. They aren't perfect and they never will be perfect, they definitely have their dark, devious sides but at the same time they're all in a constant state of evolution and progress...they're people with principles and it's their principles that define them, mould them and shape them through their trials and tribulations. JW paints excellent gray characters, and I think it's quintessential 'cuz that's something everyone can identify with, nobody is perfect and honey if you think you are, snap outta it, perfection is a very very very high peak to climb up to. Lastly, I think JW finds some of the best actors to essay the roles of the characters he scripts out...think about it!...Nathan Fillion (currently of Castle fame)...nobody would've known of the guy had it not been for Caleb, if not the more popular Whedon avataar --> Captain Malcolm Reynolds, then there's David Boreanaz who has both Angel and Booth as the major roles that changed his life, Alyson Hannigan, Morena Baccarin and so many others that I would mention, but if I did then that would be an entire list of itself, but you guys know who else, you don't need me to repeat names on here. He definitely has tapped out quite a few very talented artists. Oooh, imagine a show starring both Nathan Fillion and David Boreanaz?! How awesome would that be? I know I'd tune in on a very regular basis to watch a show with those 2 in it. 

Well on that note I must say that this concludes this part of some Whedonistic rambling, raving and ranting. I know I haven't mentioned much 'bout Joss's other shows like Firefly, Dollhouse, Dr Horrible's singalong blog feature for that matter, but that's all for another post. I just had to go nutso 'bout the way I felt 'bout the Buffyverse at the moment...well here's to future issues from the Buffyverse, may it be strong, steady and consistent and in character if anything. Take care minions and I hope things are going well for all of ya'll, if not hang in there, monkey wrenches are tossed into plans for a reason....or at least I hope they are, otherwise the Universe just has a sick and twisted sense of humor.

Oh yeah and one more thing, the pics below are in no way my creation, all courtesy Google images and wikipedia and what have you...I'm creative just not that artistically creative...yet..