It works in reverse too…

So, yes then…

I watch a great deal of tv, even Spike.  A show I watch on Spike is “Ink Master”, for while I dislike Dave Navaro as a person, I like the art, I like tattoos, so on.  Well, tonite, they sent home one of the most solid, consistent, and IMHO, top contender artists, Jamie D.  Why, in part, do I think they sent Jamie D home?

Well, while he has been tattooing for 17 years….he has no tattoos.  And dresses really straight.

Observe.

That there is Jamie D.  He looks more like a lawyer, yeah?  Maybe an accountant?  This eve, before sending him packing, the judges ripped on him for NOT having ink.  I even get the “never trust a skinny chef” har har thing, but…

Really?  People who have ink get judged all the time, and there they are judging him for NOT having any, despite him being a very, very talented dude.  He even stated yes, he wants tattoos, but is very picky and is waiting for the RIGHT design and the right ARTIST, and faulting him for that?  REALLY?  The man can do some killer tattoos.  Sending him home?  Yeah, I think part of the reason was?

His inkless skin.  And that ain’t right.  So yeah, that shit, it works in reverse.

 

WD II, The Women of Walking Dead…

(by request)

Laurie

Okay, so yeah, what about the women on Walking Dead?  At this point we are down to really four women characters of any sort of significance:  Laurie Grimes (wife of Rick, Mother of Karl, love interest of Shane) who prior to the Zombie Apocalypse was a house wife, Andrea, (who lost her sister to the Zombies in Season One, wanted to commit suicide, has snapped outta that, had a strange relationship with Dale,  had a fling with Shane and is slowly becoming a badass) who was a lawyer, Carol (who had a daughter named Sophia and an abusive husband, Ed, who both ended up dead. Ed got killed by a zombie and Sophia got turned into a Zombie), who was a house wife, and Maggie (daughter of Hershel, love interest of Glenn, lost her step mom and brother) who seems to be a farm girl recently returned from college.

So, here we have our WD Women.  And face it, the world has ended.  In season one, several of the female characters are doing laundry, questioning how the work load is devided -the women being stuck with most of the work, and Andrea comments something a long the lines of  “It’s the end of the world, women’s lib is dead.”   In the show we see Laurie, thinking Rick is Dead, hook up with Shane because he can protect her and her son, Karl.  We see no one say nothing to Ed about the way he  treats Carol and Sophia until Shane looses it and beats the crap out of him for beating on her.  We see Carol herself flip out when it comes time to make sure Ed doesn’t end up  turning and absolutely obliterate his face.  There is, like there is in any post apocalypse thing, from the crappy “Doomsday” Movie to “The Book of Eli” and any other flick of the end of the world genre that women are not safe:  Not from the zombies, and as Randal and crew prove, not from men who have also surivived.  Lawlessness, Anarchy, and Lack of Order never seem to bode well for anyone, but especially for women…  and because of this, for the most part, the women of WD have seemingly accepted their new (very old) roles in society: cooking, cleaning, caretaking, and make an effort to befriend (or more than befreind) strong men:  Laurie has Rick (and Shane), Andrea has Shane, Carol seems to have some sort of something going with Daryl, and Maggie has Glenn.  Maggie however seems to actually love Glenn, and has for the most part been shown as a woman capable of handling herself (yes, Glenn saves her in the pharmacy, but she did save Andrea earlier in the season)…

The one who does not seem so down with the new world order is Andrea.  We have watched her go from ready to kill herself in Season One to certified badass with a gun in Season Two.  We’ve seen all

Andrea & Shane

of the women, except Carol, take on walkers and win in season two  (come on, Laurie, who is pregnant, kills one with a Mag Lite, how badass is that?)  But Andrea?  Andrea seems to have a real taste for it, and in many ways is becoming Shane’s female counterpart.  There are several good scenes with her in Season Two: with Dale, Shane, and Laurie, where she discusses her desire to do more than laundry, to help protect the group and keep people safe, where she is willing to risk herself to keep others safe, and she has generally sided with Shane on many issues where Shane is right…

To me one of the best of these scenes happened in S2E12, the most recent episode, where she and Laurie, the two Main Female Characters of the show, throw down in the kitchen.  It’s a  verbal throw down, but a throw down it is.  Laurie sort of jumps all over Andrea for trying to do jobs that the men can handle…i.e., security, zombie killing, shooting,  making the tough calls, things of that nature- she does in fact even say “leave that to the men” in essence.  This pisses Andrea off, because she’s, well, good at killin’ zombies and one heck of a shot…and is tired of doing laundry, ect.  In fact, the whole scene and scenerio begs some interesting questions:  Should Andrea, who is pretty handy with a gun, the shooting Daryl incident aside, be tasked with keeping watch and going on rescuse missions rather than, oh, Glenn, who is not a good shot and sometimes freaks out under pressure?  Or are the roles in the new world set on biological sex rather than skill?  In the post zombie apocalypse world, much like the present one, Glenn, regardless of marksmanship, is larger and stronger than Andrea, and would probably suffer less if captured by human hostiles (after all, zombies do not descriminate- everyone is good eatin’), so is that reason enough to keep her at home? Randal, the current hostage of the group, states with his crew there are women and kids, but Only The Men go out and forage…and what they do when they find women and kids…heck, kind of supports Andrea’s theory of wanting to be armed and secure.

Maggie & Glenn

Guns and Roles aside for a moment, the four women characters themselves are interesting, as is the interaction between them.  They are varried in age, pressumably from mid 20′s (Maggie) to probably early 40′s (Carol) , and each of them has their own place and personality amid the survivors.  Maggie is not part of the orginal group we’ve followed on the show, but rather Hershel’s daughter and part of the farm crew.  She’s tough, funny, confident, pretty, witty and obviously really cares about Glenn and her family- but didn’t realize the walkers were …well…zombies, until recently.  We know she is college educated and sort of “worldly” compaired to some of the other farm folk.  She’s also apparently rapidly becoming a fan favorite.  Then there is Carol, who is rather beat down, both by life, her now dead man, and the loss of her child- in fact, Carol actually did not say much at all until season two, and filled the roll of the polite but shy, weepy woman for a long time, yet recently we’ve seen her go out of her way to look out for and at least try to befriend Daryl (who is prickly, to say the least).  Even when he says horrible things to her, she takes it and keeps looking out for him.  Is this because Carol is used to abusive men, or is it the mom in her, or is it because he was the only one who really went out of his way to find her daughter?  Andrea, well, Andrea has done a huge 180, from being suicidal to being ready to take up arms and do whatever is necessary to protect her crew, and then…then there is Laurie, who, via of being Rick’s wife, is seen as, to quote Carol, their own first lady.  Laurie is devious too, and uses many “typically female” tactics to get what she wants- from whispering in Rick’s ear about how

Maggie, Laurie and Andrea helping to pull their weight, and Glenn's!

Shane is dangerous to not making decisions for herself merely by doing the “stand by her man” thing.  She is also if not the biggest (Shane may rival her here) drama queen on the show, one of the biggest.  All of these women are interesting characters, and the way they mesh is interesting….but each of them brings up some interesting questions about women in general, in and out of a Zombie Apocalypse.

Personally I favor Maggie and Andrea to Laurie and Carol, but all of them have valid reasons to hold the views they do and take up the roles they have…

So, discuss at will.

And just because….Daryl Freakin’ Dixon!!!

 

**Sidebar, In Season One, Carol Saves everyone by remembering she has a grenade Rick had left in his pocket, she found it while doing his laundry, and they use it to blow their way out of the CDC….

Daryl...almost getting shot by Rick...

So, let’s talk Walking Dead, shall we?

As you may or may not know, I love this show.  A lot.  Now, it seems out there, everywhere from blog world to AMCTV.com itself, people have a lot of opinions on the show.  Some love it, some love and hate it, some love to hate it, some hate to love it, and some just hate it (and to them I really kinda wanna say, if ya hate the dang show, why watch it?).  As I type season two is drawing to a close, two episodes left, and they promise to be…intense, and we as viewers have learned that in this show?  No one is safe.  Thus far into season two, they have killed off two main cast characters, one a young girl (Sophia) and one an older man (Dale) who more or less functioned as the (often over protective) voice of humanity amid the remaining group of survivors.

And while in Season One the story was more about the group of survivors defending themselves from the Walkers (zombies!), in this season they really went where I was hoping they would go and have started to really dig into some good stuff- the fact that other humans, other survivors, just might be (and probably are) more dangerous to the group than the zombies are.  Oh hell yeah…because that shit right there?  That’s the good shit…and when the Zombie Apocalypse Comes, I reckon it’s not me and my Zombie legions you’re gonna have to worry about…okay, I lie, yes you will have to worry about the Zombie Legions….but the bigger, meaner, nastier, more horrifying threat and danger would undoubtedly be…Other People.  After all, a Zombie is just going to make you a zombie or eat you if it can get to you, other humans? Especially desperate ones running around looking for supplies, shelter, and god only knows what else after the collapse of civilization?  Oh boy…far more creative, driven, and dangerous…and they can think, plot and plan, unlike a zombie!  So yes, I personally am thrilled that in Season Two, that threat is being addressed, and promises to provide plot and tension as the show goes on…after all, the Title of the Show (and comic), the Walking Dead?  It doesn’t refer to the zombies, it refers to the survivors…

I also know a lot of folk have been disappointed in the lack of action this season.  You know what?  While I love action and guns and zombie carnage and all that stuff as much as the next person…I also like the plot and character development and interaction between the characters.  Yes, some of it has gotten old for me, like Andrea and Dale’s angst, or the Shane, Laurie, Rick love triangle…but other stuff?  Like how Carol is an actual character now, and the Glenn/ Maggie story line, or the conversations between Group Leader Rick and Farm Owner/Man of God Hershel?  Or the night and day personality swings of Daryl?  Good Stuff IMHO.  Heck, the knock down drag out fight between Shane and Rick in S2E11 and the argument about roles between Laurie and Andrea in the same episode?  Good stuff!  And Karl?  Holy crap…Karl, son of Rick and Laurie, the young boy who nearly dies early on in  the season, who Otis got sacfricied to save, who Shane, Rick and everyone are so heavily influenced by, what, with keeping him safe and tending to his well  being?  Oh man that kid is state of crisis boy, and has now learned that fucking up and acting…like a kid…in zombie world?  That shit gets people killed!  This is good stuff!  The group being torn about What to Do with Randal is good stuff (though I will admit that after he admitted to Daryl what the group he was coming from was like –i.e. scary humans- I wanted Daryl to beat him to death with his bare hands- and I for one think Randal participated just like everyone else in his crew and tried to lie to Daryl so as not to get beaten to death), but yeah, this is good plot IMHO.  This, as much as the action and guns and zombie carnage makes the show good, and its important to the show in order to make it good.

And I know folk, me included, sometimes get honestly frustrated at some of the stupid shit the characters do on the show- making poor decisions that leave them in danger, not handling things that left unhandled end up biting them in the ass (I suspect not handling Randal will be one such decision), not being on guard and ready for full out assault  (from zombies and other people) at all times….and yeah, this frustrates me too.  There are times I find myself yelling at the characters while I am watching.  “Just leave him there, Rick!”, “Dale, what the hell are you doing walking out there all alone?”  “Glenn, get outta the well!”, “Hershel, barn full of walkers is a bad thing!”  But all that said, and something I think I ponder when watching this show that I guess others who watch do not is…well, well, these characters?  They are humans.  They make mistakes.  They, even in the Zombie Apocalypse, have some morals and hard decisions? Well, hard decisions are hard.  They also are dealing with high stress issues, like, oh, your kid getting shot, or turned into a zombie, the deaths of their families, lack of food, sleep, and other shit we all take for granted.  Even the hard asses like Shane and Daryl have these issues.  Shane did not want to shoot Otis, he had too.  Rick, Glenn and Hershel did not what to kill those guys at the bar, they had too.  Daryl was holding out hope Sophia was alive and went out and nearly died trying to find her.  For us watching its easy to say what they are doing right and what they are doing wrong…thankfully none of us are in places like they are where it might not be so clear as to what makes sense.  I think people also forget that the majority of the characters were in no way prepared for this.  Sure, Rick and Shane are cops…from a small town Georgia Sheriff’s Dept.  Daryl Dixon- who does on almost all levels seem to be the most capable character, has a ton of hunting and survival skills (and apparently interrogation skills as well), but he is a rather poorly socialized, awkward occasional drug user as well.  The others?  Let’s see, housewives, a lawyer, a kid, a pizza delivery guy, a vet, some farmers, a retired guy, and well, they’ve never said what T-Dog did for a living, so…not military guys and gals, not doctors, not engineers, not Doomsday Prepper sorts…just….people.  Hell, they are lucky in that they have two guys who are good with guns (Rick & Shane), a guy who is fast and sneaky (Glenn), an almost doctor (Hershel), a guy who is an ass kicker with survival skills (Daryl), a skilled horsewoman who ain’t to shabby with a baseball bat (Maggie) and a place with food and water (the farm).  Oh yeah, and they just lost their second mechanic (Dale).  And they have people who do want to learn to survive better!  Such as Andrea, Karl, Maggie, Glenn, so on.  To me, this actually makes the show better.  I mean, if I wanna see folk who are like “oh, zombie apocalypse, we’re good and know how to handle everything”, well, I can play/watch “Resident Evil” or laugh my ass off to “Zombieland”.

So yeah, I do love this show, even when the characters are idiots.  Because the show is about the people, not the Zombies…and people fuck up and do dumb shit sometimes.  I’m just real glad Andrea didn’t kill Daryl, and Glenn made it out of the well alive!  And, okay, Shane may be a dick, but maybe people should listen to him on occasion…

*I also like Talking Dead, the talk show on after Walking Dead…its fun when they have the cast members on…funny stuff IMHO.

(And check out this picture of Hershel…I also love this show visually, look at the signs on the bar wall there framing him while he is holding the gun…see, I notice shit like that…)

 

 

Ah, the awesome, it burns! In a GOOD way!

So, for years, people  (at least three of them: Gin, Vlad & Me) have been asking “Just once, can we get a movie where the hicks are the GOOD guys and the pretty/urbane/privileged sorts are the cannibal/wierdo/inbred/psycho freaks?”  And for eons untold we have been denied.  Plenty of flicks- from “Deliverance” to “Wrong Turn” have it the other way around, but just once, can we not see the reverse?

Now, in television, we have already seen a bit of this- case in point:  Daryl Dixon on Walking Dead.  Who is not a particularly cuddly fellow; he starts off as hostile/back woods/racist/volatile as they come…but, for those who have watched the show…well, the  Zombie Apocalypse has caused Daryl to rethink a few things, evolve in some ways.  We can see he has developed some respect and even, well, not sure Daryl likes anyone, but he seems to not hate Glen (the Korean-American character) and just last night in the Season 2 Opener, he saved T-Dog (a black character) twice, and we have seen him working with both of them well- a few times…so actual Good Guy potential for Mr. Dixon…and face it, when the Zombies do come, you want that guy on your side.  He might be highstrung and lack in social skills, but dude knows how to waste some Zombies…

However, while Daryl is one of my two favs on “Walking Dead” (the other is Glen), he does fall prey to so many of the typical stereotypes of characters of his ilk.  And hell, admittedly, I have a couple stories filled with characters who fall prey to those same stereotypes- big time.  And while there is hope for Daryl (after all,the  Zombie Apocalypse will change a person), I still found myself searching for THAT movie/show, the one where, well, yeah, the hicks are not the bad guys and the non-hicks are….

And guess what?  It’s out there!  On Friday Vlad, who had been thrilled when he found it, introduced me to “Tucker and Dale vs. Evil”.  About 10 minutes into it I emailed Gin, who then also watched it (fuck yeah, on demand kicks ass)…and why yes, in “Tucker and Dale vs Evil”, our wishes were granted! A film of the black comedy ilk, this flick is…well…just awesome.  Everything a cheesy yet funny black comedy spoofing fun at horror movies and set in West Virginia should be, but with the awesome twist that the hicks are not the evil, psycho, cannibal freaks but well, just some guys who get thrown into a crazy weekend in the woods where they are the victims of some crazy, psycho….college kids.  And while it has some violence and gore…well, “Walking Dead” makes it look like a cartoon in that aspect, hell “Supernatural” is way more gross.  I absolutely recommend “Tucker and Dale vs. Evil” to everyone, but especially Rootie…

See this movie.  If you like it half as much as I did, its worth the rental fee!

And will inspire you to take care of your bowling fingers!

And now for something a bit different…

Television.  Yep, I watch it.  My favorite shows currently are “Breaking Bad”, “Top Shot”,  and “Sons of Anarchy”….and well, I do love Investigation Discovery…the whole channel.

But anyway, I found myself catching up on AMC’s “Breaking Bad” today, which really is a phenomenal show.  Walter White, Chem Teacher with Cancer goes criminal?  Yep, good stuff.  Giancarlo Espisito (or however ya spell it) has been an excellent addition to the cast- I mean, there is one slick, smart dude who knows how to carry a grudge and patiently wait for revenge, but as the show has gone on, I have come to the conclusion that Walt – who we feel bad for or like early on- is a selfish fuckin’ asshole, his wife ain’t much better, and Jesse Pinkman, who initially comes off as an obnoxious moron…RULES.  Which, speaking of Jesse Pinkman…

On the recommendation of some of my friends, I watched that show “Weeds” off of Netflix, which is a Shotime effort, and the story centers around House Mom Nancy Botwin who goes into the pot selling (then growing) business after her husband dies young and unexpectedly.  It was one of those ones I had to force myself through for really about an entire season before I got into it or even liked it at all, and stopped watching it as soon as she ended up preggers (several seasons later) by the Mexican Drug lord…by then, even my suspension of disbelief was shot…and frankly, unlike “Breaking Bad” where there are some non-assholes in the character line up…in “Weeds” everyone is a prick.  They are these annoying cookie cutter bullshit Cali types and just…ugh.  Hell, I wanted bad shit to happen to all the characters…where as with Jesse- – I am rooting for him- even if he thinks he is a bad guy.

So, I have decided, politically un-correct or sexist or whatever the hell else ever, I want AMC and Shotime to do a cross over, where Jesse Pinkman traverses over to “Weeds”-land and…kicks the snot out of Nancy Botwin…is that so wrong?

“Yay Science!”

So, a crap day but with some cool…

Claire, bringing new meaning to face painting...

So, for reasons from everything from physical to family related, I feel like crap and had a crap day…which means I was pathetic and hid out in my basement watching television while being a useless lump.  But Vlad, the recommender of anime I will like, suggested I watch “Baccano” today, so I did, and while I didn’t care for it as much as Full Metal, it was entertaining and had some characters in it I liked a lot:  namely Clarie Stanfield, Luck, and Ladd Russo…but yeah, Claire (who is a dude, oddly enough with that name) was my fav., which hey, if you’ve seen it, prolly isn’t a huge suprise. 

Cool show, but violent as heck and rather gory as a heads up.

“Whale Wars”

(a brief break from Sexism in Gaming)

Okay, so post back shot my back is feeling better, so I have been taking less drugs, but the taking of less drugs has had…an effect…on my stomach (all that pent up…yeah) so I have been feeling kinda GAHHH and spent the majority of last afternoon/evening on the floor, near the bathroom, watching….Whale Wars…

Now, I have admitted to my weakness of watching this show before, and last nite was the first show of the new season, and it’s not like I felt like actually moving, anywhere, at all, so yep, I tuned in, and same as the last few seasons I have been watching it- I root for the Japanese Fleet.   I admit it, I do…heck, I am not even sure WHAT my opinion on Whaling is….I mean, it would be a shame if the whales got hunted to extinction- I do believe that, but at the same time, you know, you don’t see the Sea Sheppard’s out there harassing Cattle Ranchers or Mink Farmers or trying to disable land based slaughter houses, and the crews on the Japanese Fleet Ships?  They are regular people trying to earn a living and put food on their own families plates- not…evil rapers of the ocean.   The Japanese Fleet are a buncha people trying to earn a living.  The Sea Sheppard’s?  Well…..

So, me having my sense of humor and all. whilst watching the show last nite, I found myself wishing for an ice-class ship (I hear the Russians are selling off seriously bad ass Ice Breaker Ships at really reasonable rates these days!) the following arose in my head…

Dear Japanese Fleet:

Hi, You don’t know me, but I am an American television viewer who has seen the show “Whale Wars”, in which the Sea Sheppard’s follow you guys around, throwing shit on your boats and screwing with your business, then whining like school children when you fight back- at all.  You might think I am about to chew you out like some whiny eco-terrorist fangirl, but no…because even if I don’t think whaling is an awesome idea, I cannot stand self-aggrandizing, lying, bloated media whores who will fake being shot and blame every ill they have caused to befall themselves and their crews upon other people.

So, yes, I managed to get my hands on an Ice Class ship, and I am sure I would be able to find enough other American Viewers who watch this show and root for you guys to man it, and thus I am offering to come down there in said ship with my snarky crew and…harass the fuck out of the Sea Sheppard’s while they are trying to harrass the fuck out of your Fleet.  Water cannons, prop foulers, paint balls, spud guns, butaric acid, the works, hell maybe even a few brazen boardings of their own vessels.  What do you say?  I can be paid off in “Full Metal Alchemist” merchandise and would love to help make that Lying Bloated Media Whore’s life a whole lot more difficult.  In fact, I wanna see that fucker cry on air.  

I imagine my first mate will be Stagger Lee, and she is ex-Army, so come on Japan, what do you say?

-sincerely
Your Biggest Fan
Ren 

(South Park did a fully awesome episode Mocking Whale Wars that I loved, and come on, the nerve of naming their newest ship Gojira? WTF!)

A yep, it’s Media Recommendation Time…long style.

I have done this before with movies: Winter’s Bone, Book of Eli, This film has not yet been Rated, so on…well, today I am gonna officially do it and recommend “FullMetal Alchemist”  (just the original series, not yet Brotherhood- ’cause I have not finished watching it), and I am even gonna make a point to recommend it to women viewers….a dangerous gambit with anime.  Why am I making this bold leap here?  Well, for one…

Fullmetal was written by a woman; Hiromu Arakawa, somewhat of a rarity in its own right, and perhaps because of that- we as viewers of Fullmetal are spared the endless stream of giggling huge boobed cat girls with swords and actually given some pretty awesome, intelligent, capable, very human (or wishing to be) women characters…oh yeah, and an actual story with a plot.  And while the central characters are the male, the Elric Brothers…well, it suffices to say without some of the female characters in the story- they would not get far.

The plot in FullMetal is actually pretty complex, and while the series can take a few episodes to actually get into and get you grabbed, once I got to episode three or so, I was hooked.  Vlad introduced me to Fullmetal, and while I gave him the hairy eyeball after the first episode he promised if I stuck with it, I would love it…and he was right.   I can also honestly say that while my two favorite characters in the series are MALE! (Mustang) and Male? (Envy), I am convinced that part of the reason I liked Fullmetal so much is because well, yep, the women all kick ass in their own special way:  Be it Granny who looks after the boys but gives ‘em hell when they deserve it, or Teacher, who is the most hard ass housewife/alchemy teacher…ever….or even Gracia Hughes, who turns out to be a quiet source of strength in a time of tragedy…all of the women in it are pretty cool, each in their own way…and those I just mentioned are background characters…the women in the forefront of the story?  Holy Crow….

 Take Lt. Hawkeye for instance, my favorite of the Fullmetal women.  One, military gal.  Two, takes no crap from the military dudes she works with.  Three- very good with guns.  Generally in any sort of entertainment  the strong silent type with the huge heart is a man…in this story?  It’s Hawkeye.   We see her often put up with the utter arrogance and over-confidence of her superior officer (heh, Mustang), and yep, she saves his bacon a few times…and while there is something definitely going on between those two…it adds to the story rather than detracts from it.  We get to see Hawkeye be all business when on the job, but also all human, when for instance, she explains to Winry why she became a soldier.  Oh, and the woman has mad skills when it comes to housebreaking puppies.

Another of the awesome military women in FullMetal is  Second Lt. Ross.  Ross is assigned to bodyguard the Brothers in the story, a job they do not make easy, but one she does take seriously…and while technically via him being a State Alchemist, Edward out-ranks her, Ross does not let that stop her from giving him the occassional what for.  In the series she is paired with another soldier, a male one, and often…Ross is portrayed as the far more competent one…which is kinda nice.  She also has to put up with Armstrong…which is like a gift unto itself..

Another prominent woman in the FullMetal series is Winry Rockbell, a life long friend of the brothers and automail mechanic who often sees to the upkeep of Edward’s mechanical arm and leg.  Winry is awesome because yep, sure enough, she is the cute, blonde, hot girl…but also a total gearhead tomboy who tends to deal with people disrespecting her or her work via…a wrench to the head.  Like the boys, she is a teenager in the story and has been raised by her Grandmother, and while often Winry is the emotional glue that holds everyone together, that does not stop her from being both tough and competant…and well pretty.  It was nice to see that a character that in any other anime merely would have ended up as love interest fodder/cheesecake did not…and well, how am I not gonna love that she’s  a mechanic?

And I would be horribly remiss and utterly not myself if I did not mention FullMetal’s wonderful, awesome, complex, and very, very evil woman villain:  Lust.   Now, her name and the way she looks might give you a certain idea about this gal…but let me assure you, on this one, you are wrong.  Lust is a woman with a mission, and one cold, cold customer.  Smart, savvy, driven, deadly,  devious…yeah, that’s Lust for ya.   If you like bad guys, well, its gonna be real hard not to like Lust.  She’s….evil.

So yeah, women folk, if you like anime but are sick of the fluffy, bouncing-boobed utterly stupid and or useless women characters found in soooo much of it?  Lemmie heartily recommend some FullMetal Alchemist…where the gals are way more than eyecandy in short skirts.

*in the first series there is some debate about whether or not Envy is male or female, but this is eventually determined…and while drawn very androgynous and voiced by a woman…popular opinion and the original manga states he’s a he..even if he does not necessarily remember that.

I do also wanna say though, that cartoon or not, FullMetal is not a kid show.  There isn’t nudity, but there is violence in spades and some seriously bleak and adult themes in it.  People (Americans, anyway) often make the mistake of thinking that if it is a cartoon, its for kids.  Not the case, so if you have little ones around, FullMetal is NOT for them.

And why yes, it is currently available on the Net Flix insta-watch thingy….

So yeah, I know I should be writing stuff of substance…

But I’ve been workin’ hard on some fiction and felt like crap for the last two days or so, so, mostly I’ve been pupafied on my couch watching only, quite possibly, the coolest anime ever…Full Metal Alchemist…which Vlad introduced me to and I am now addicted…and of course, like most things I watch, I like a lot of the characters but there is one who is absolutely my favorite:  ah yes, Col. Roy Mustang!  (Where do they come up with these names?  And his crew?  His military crew?  Names like Hawkeye, Fury & Havoc…I love anime!)  But yeah, love me some Roy Mustang…not only does he throw fire all over the place, he is snarky as hell and has severe moments of utter ego-mania…and he’s funny.

So, having watched the whole first FMA series, I am now working through FMA: Brotherhood which thus far I am not finding to be quite as good as the first series, but enjoyable nonetheless, and plenty of Roy in it, so that is good.    I also like this series overall because woah, it has a story, and the story makes sense, and well, over all…its really freakin’ grim.  Oh yeah, and automail.   So I guess this would be my allergy having/back pain riddled recommendation that if you are into such things, you should check out Full Metal Alchemist…and there is some added fun in there for fans of history and theology. 

And Roy Mustang.  Oh, and Major Hughes, he’s very cool too.  Oh, and Major Armstrong…bwaahahahahaahha!

I know I promised posts of substance…

But ya know, just not feelin’ it at the moment.  SO yesterdays medical shit:  The MRI was a total cake walk.  It’s not all that difficult to lay still for 20 minutes and ignore the loud clanging when you have earphones blasting classic rock on.  Needles in the neck, however, was…special.  See, my doc, she does real good work- for awhile there, I did not feel the shots at all because my scars were all thick and twisted and full of …well, no nerves I guess.  Not so anymore, they are flat and while still scars…baby butt smooth…which means, I can totally feel the shots again.  She did about 8 yesterday, felt 4 or so very nominally, the other 4?  Yeah, totally aware of the fact she was shoving a dang needle into my neck…and boy, do those fuckers BLEED (I learned Looooong ago to wear black shirts to needle in the neck appointments).  So, yeah, today I kinda look like someone punched me in the throat-bruises and all.

Today is also not a good back day.  Well, in truth, with the back, I have some days are worse than others says…today is a worse than others day.  However, when I have those days, I tend to setup shop on my couch in front of the TV, and, well, as I was of the same mind yesterday and since it is finally on the Netflix insta watch thingy, I am deep, deep, deep into season one of “Sons of Anarchy”….and can I tell you how much I am loving this show?  Oh my, I am loving this show…

   And yes, I even hear you now… “But Ren, how in the hell did you, of all people, not manage to catch Sons of Anarchy prior to now?”  Answer is…well, you know, when I watch TV, I really am sorta a Discovery Channel/History Channel kinda gal.  And well, South Park.  I’d wanted to watch SOA, but never managed to get in front of the TV on the right night at the right time or have my DVR ready to go, and even when I had a ton of people who know me in RL saying “Dammit Ren, you gotta watch SOA, this show screams You!”  I just never managed to get it pegged down.   By the time I did it was about half way through season 2 and I’d  missed so much I felt kinda lost.  So I figured Net Flix (but I had ordered and just finished watching Rome & MASH, and I don’t like to have too much stuff out at once), and then yesterday, low and behold, seasons one and two in the new arrivals on the instant TV stuff.  Score!  So yes, finally getting my SOA watching in…and my RL friends are right:  Thus far, I love this freakin’ show, and I gotta say, Katie Segal is flat out awesome in it…perfect casting right there. 

So, I am afraid posts of actual substance willbe sidetracked by a bad back and Sons of Anarchy.

Have I mentioned how much I am loving this show?