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..

                            

Cue Card Confessions - The Wave...

Hey guys and gals, it's been a few days since I spread some verbal carnage in the virtual world, so here I am :D. Well actually I wanted to present a lil' bit of a special sum'n I'm working on, well the title of this post pretty much is the title of this new project I'm embarking on. People who know me know my tendency to go crazy in the head space with things I think of. I guess this is just my brain's way of saying it ain't happy with the stimulation it receives. None the less, it's been a stressful and crazy few weeks...I'd go into details about it, but, if I do then I might say a lot of unparliamentry things that I could've avoided saying....it sucks when you're your own censor board...you kinda sorta bleep everything...*sigh, smacks head*....None the less this new project in a way is a challenge for me, since I have a habit of writing long ass poems, so this in a way is a way for me was challenging. My inspiration was my lil' stack of cue cards, that at the moment is kinda sorta scattered all over the place. If anything I hope this is something that grows at least for a little bit, I don't envision much but it's fun when you think of a project and go with the flow and see how far you can go with it. Feedback of any form, shape, size and format is greatly appreciated so go crazy and leave a lil' sum'n in that comments section down below folks, if nething I can give you plenty of virtual cookies :P. Here goes nothing :)....enjoy!

Installment #1 - The Wave

I sit here,

In my corner,

In my place,

Questioning

Oh unanswerable
fate.

Pondering life’s

Twists and turns
off late.

Pens and pencils,

At the ready,

To rewrite,

Re-draw,

All and everything,

On a clean slate.

Whispers and words
Of encouragement,

Making their way;

Ever so gently…

Like soft, lapping
waves,

Amidst the turbulent
undercurrent,

Of despair and hurt,

Residing and
rampaging,

The ground beneath
My feet.

Hold up…hold on…

They say.

Giving up, letting down,

Ain’t the way,

They say.

Let me be your anchor,

Your buoy, they say;

Take my hand!

They say,

Akin to a plea…

A prayer.

Follow my lead,

They say;

Let’s swim ashore,

They say.

A'ite peepz, time for me to go crack the akademia nut, hope all is well with all of you. Wishing all you awesome people only the very best that there is 'cuz you guys deserve it. A'ite I'm off to not only crack the akademia nut but to ponder my next problem....replacement headphones....I HATE it when my headphones die their miserable death...sigh oh well, out with the old in with the new. Must find a way to maintain the peace and equilibrium quotient I oh so selfishly gain from my muzeeekkk!! Right well then kids, I'm off, have a fantastic week and weekend and g'luck for any upcoming Herculean tasks coming your way!

Flickerin' Slivers

A'ite lets see what I have for you kids today, lets just say the major areas involve comeex, thoughts and tv shows . Right so lets get this started before I lose myself in a prologue to set the stage for this whole thing.

I hope things are going well with ya'll, if not well I'll say the one thing that's said to me often...things will get b8r and just watch out for the silver lining, though technically silver is a lil' over-rated, if you really want a lining aim for platinum, more value for your shares n stocks and all that financial mumbo jumbo that I'm not at all familiar with. See usually when things reach a whirlwind phase in my life there's always something that comes out at that exact moment...it could be an album from a fav group, a movie by a fav actor or even a book or I guess any work of art that makes you feel like there's something out there that captures and understands exactly what you're going through and if anything it "seems" like a sure fire sign from the Universe that you and your trials and tribulations are being watched, monitored and observed and you don't necessarily have to go through it by yourself. Well to be honest I see it as the Universe or whatever you want to call things around you...trying to connect with you, trying to gauge what exactly you're going through and giving you something to turn to and a voice that can express the exact sentiments coursing through your veins, body and mind. It's like all that's imploding, accumulating/aggregating within suddenly found a way to expend itself and suddenly found the "green light" to go on and spread itself in that mysterious ether that's out there. 

With that being said and the friendliness of the ether being spread here's me going back to the main point. So back in 2003 when things weren't looking all that great for me, it may seem trivial now, but back then it was a pretty big deal and the repercussions still make their presence known time and again. But yeah back in 2003 when things were headed for a good ol' downward spiral and it just seemed like I was flailing and thrashing in the dark with absolutely no chance of seeing even a sliver of light and with a very very good chance of drowning in that darkness I found inspiration in the most unconventional source. Growing up was for lack of a better word, interesting, for most parts...I spent most of my childhood as a loner, I guess I wasn't the "cool" kid everyone wanted to spend every second with, which I was fine with back then too haha. But yes, the point being, right from the time I was a kid I found other things to ease and appease my turmoils, the 2 things that NEVER left my side and that I knew I could count on were music and writing. Though the writing bug kinda kicked in when I was in Grade 5 or 6...but creative expression was always something that I could lose myself in. I guess that's what some people tag as daydreaming :P, but hey think about it, without dreams who are we really? And more importantly where would we be if it weren't for dreams? So...in '03 this movie "Kal Ho Naa Ho" came out, and for those of you who know me you might chalk it up to me being a super mega huge fan of Shahrukh Khan, sure that's a reason but there was just something in there that clicked, registered and locked itself within, maybe it was the music, maybe it was the time the flick came out, maybe it was the story. But there definitely was something that resonated within and probably was the something I needed to get my mental gears and myself back on track and to keep fighting the uphill fight to get back to the top of that mountain that was determined to see me fall. Sure it seems like something you'd laugh yourself silly or snort yourself away saying "Psht, so a movie changed your life? A bunch of song, dance and melodramatic sequences is what you needed?" Well that's not entirely true, it was a contributing factor, though the major credit goes to some of the most amazing people I met during that time as well as people with whom bonds just further solidified and has grown into perhaps the strongest bonds one can think of. It's almost like the key made out of dwarf star matter that Superman has for his 'Fortress of Solitude' :P...hey it's not my fault I decided to revisit the 'All Star Superman' animated flick haha.

But going back to what I was saying, things have been a little shitty...actually wait that's an understatement...they've been quite frustrating, flummoxing, annoying and aggravating and I'm ready to reorganize a few nasal structures on a few people. But, there's no point in saying any of that 'cuz I'm not gonna act on it, considering how I prefer peace and tranquility over reorganization of structures that can get quite messy. Anyhow while on my downward spiral my brain was kind enough to send memory flashes of me reading the "WONK" series, that's right...WONK...as in World Of New Krypton and so I decided I'd have a lil' bit of an indulgence and finish reading up the series. I'm not sure what people's sentiments 'bout this series are, but, I enjoyed it...maybe 'cuz it was a break from the monotonous and tedious life I lead at the moment, and a lil' bit of colour, dialogue, action and a storyline is what I needed to add that spice to my life :P. But all said and done, I enjoyed the series and the entirety of the story. It's a concept that has been touched on before, and you see a bit of it in the Dean Cain, Teri Hatcher "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" series, I guess more so twoards the end of Season 3/beginning of Season 4. However that being said, the follow-up Superman solo series titled "Grounded" is one that I'm having an absolute blast reading. This series resonates with my initial statements and sentiments 'bout finding that one thing that just clicks with you and understands you best during certain moments of your life. I guess I found something to keep my footing and keep me grounded with the "Grounded" series, and I know for a fact that this is one of those issues/series that's going on my collector's shelf. It's such a simple premise but every simple problem is layered in complexities that we either see or we miss out on 'cuz we're so caught up in trying to wrap our heads around things that we miss out on finer details. Sometimes the best way to solve the worst problems is to go right back to the very start and approach it with a Tabula Rasa mentality...go right back to the beginning and start it up all over again, and you will definitely see things that you missed out on the first time around. It's all part of the growing and learning process to be honest, sometimes it just really sucks, but we aren't exactly given a choice in the matter are we?

Well peepz time I guess that's it for now, seeing how it's time for me to take off, but I do hope all is going well for all of ya'll. This post was s'posed to be longer but to be honest I don't really remember what I was gonna write for the rest of the post or where my train of thought was headed :P, the price I pay for not finishing up posts the day I start 'em *tsk tsk*. Oh well, end of the day sum'n is b8r than nothing :P and I do have valid reasons to get sidetracked, it's called...Akademia...Take care and keep 'em spirits bolstered, if not find your fix to keep 'em bolstered :).