Books -- The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
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My To-Do List -- Last Updated March 31, 2009FAQ -- last updated July 26, 2008I don't need to compromise my principles because they don't have the slightest bearing on what happens to me anyway. -- Calvin, Calvin and Hobbes
Quick project update -- I'm about half done with the next chapter of Thundercracker's Glory. Once that's done I'll work on the second chapter of The Gathering Storm. Also plan on starting the requests soon. I can't make guarantees on when any of these projects will be finished, however, seeing as I have a costume to make and a presenatation to prepare before the first weekend in August...
Picked up Stephen King's Dark Tower series to give it a look here. I love his writing style, even if I don't dare go near a few of his books because of the subject matter, and this series looks interesting, to say the least. So far I'm several chapters into it and still trying to figure out what exactly is going on -- and it doesn't really help that he seems to be telling the story backwards here...
Also regarding books... every once in awhile I go to Google and put my online name through a search, just to see what comes up. And recently I found my name had been brought up in an online discussion regarding the Eragon books and how terrible people thought they were. The person's comment was (and this is a direct quote) "And to make it worse, a person I think is a Goodfic writer likes the books. Said Goodfic writer is Kenya Starflight... How could she degrade herself this way?"
Daaaaang, I'm degrading myself by reading a book?
Seriously, I'm glad they think I'm a good writer. And I have no complaints if they don't like the Eragon books. Heck, if we all liked the same things this world would be a very boring place. And to be honest... I fully admit that Christopher Paolini is not the best writer in the world, that several of his characters feel like Mary Sues, and his books "borrow" liberally from multiple sources, from Star Wars (the entire frickin' plot) to Dragonriders of Pern to Lord of the Rings. The books are a sort of guilty pleasure for me, I guess, and I am curious to see where the book series goes from here.
I guess that's why, while I'm pretty fed up with the Twilight craze and refuse to read the books, I can't be TOO harsh on the Twilight fans. Because the Eragon books really aren't that much better, even if they lack vampires...
Lastly regarding books -- I know many of you have favorite books. Out of curiousity, do you have any LEAST favorite books? Books that you can't stand or that just annoy or bother you? Share with us...
In my case, the book I can't stand is Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli.
SPOILERS AHEAD!
Stargirl is about an eccentric girl named Stargirl who goes to high school after being homeschooled all her life, and who at first shakes things up and inspires many of the kids to dare to be different. She dances in the rain, changes her name to suit her whimsy, sings Happy Birthday to students in the cafeteria, and is generally a sweet, if slightly odd, girl. Unfortunately, after an ugly incident at a basketball game the entire school turns against her, even the story's narrator (who was starting to become romantically attached to her), and the story concludes with her family pulling her out of school and moving away, and the narrator wistfully remembering her and wishing they hadn't been so harsh on her.
There are many reasons I don't like this book (the depressing ending, the narrator being a major aft, the general moral of the book seeming to be "if you're not normal you'll never be happy"), but the biggest reason is probably the fact that it hits way too close to home for me. In certain ways, I was Stargirl growing up. I was the oddball and the outcast, and while the cruelty actually eased up during my last few years of high school, I suffered some of the same treatment Stargirl received in the book. All this is enough to make me experience a major sense of revulsion every time I shelve the book.
I don't dare pick up the book's sequel, Love, Stargirl, for fear of more the same. So don't ask me what the sequel's about...
Today's episode -- Carnage in C-Minor
Decepticons seem to be fond of NOT testing their inventions before using them...
...Devastator, you shrunk!
...did they just drop a BOAT on Devastator?
And Brawn, you're back! As... a Decepticon? And that other guy looks kind of like Huffer, only with red coloring in places...
Devastator isn't the only shrinking gestalt here -- Superion's tiny as well!
What the heck is going on here... is that wind in space, or something else?
These aliens sing all their lines? This could get annoying FAST... and dude, nice outfit, you look like a court jester...
Of course Soundwave and Blaster would enjoy a "harmonic weapon..."
Perceptor just blew up Devastator! Holy crap!
"Outnumbered two to one! Just the kind of challenge I like!" You've got a weird sense of fun, dude... (Can't remember that character's name, but I'm guessing it's Hot Spot...)
Ultra Magnus is HUGE in that scene... been taking your vitamins, I see...
Galvatron and Soundwave are holding hands. Seriously, they're holding hands. I can hear the slashfans squeal from here... (Personally I think Galvatron's just holding onto him so someone can save him from the bad animation of this episode...
)For once Soundwave's alt mode is at a halfway realistic size... though having a HUGE tape deck sitting around defeats the purpose of an alt mode in the first place.
And Galvatron and Soundwave literally "drop a bridge" on Ultra Magnus, Blaster, and Broadside.
("Drop a bridge on someone," for those who don't know, is to kill off a character in a sudden, undignified manner because they're no longer needed in a story. Kinda like certain characters in the TF movie...)Kind of amusing that Blaster's the one to translate these characters' speech. Makes me wonder if they really communicate by wordless songs instead of this goofy song-speech, and the show writers just added the English so the kids weren't totally confused by what was going on.
Allegra's a pretty name. Zeebop, on the other hand...
Bad idea, Zeebop...
Uh-oh... Blaster just landed RIGHT ON TOP of Zeebop!
Ultra Magnus just spoke using Blaster's voice.
At least Defensor is the proper size here...
Anti-sound? Oh, white noise... I guess it makes sense...
Blaster just pushed Soundwave's buttons... that sounded bad...
Itty-bitty Blaster!
Ultra Magnus, you might want to look at people when you talk to them...
Interesting premise to this episode... too bad the many animation mistakes and the poor execution of the idea dragged it down.
Next episode -- The Big Broadcast of 2006.
Journal Feature -- The Last Unicorn
Why, hello there Kenya. 
Devious Comments
I know how you feel; I was the oddball at school too.
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Missing Link-*to Susan*Look, you've been letting this quack experiment on you for the past month.
Dr. Cockroach-I'm not a quack! I'm a mad scientist. There IS a difference.
Even though I liked Carnage...gah, way to many animation errors...as quoted from TFWiki-
Throughout the entire episode, Broadside is drawn with a previously discarded character model.
Devastator is the exact same size as Soundwave during the start of the first battle.
Devastator also appears before he forms later in the battle.
While the Autobots are shooting at the meteor, they are so badly drawn that they appear to have only one leg each, left arms starting from the elbows, and enormous heads...and Superion is tiny.
When Bonecrusher orders the formation of Devastator, he's wearing an Autobot insignia. See also the continuity error below.
When the Constructicons form Devastator for the second time, the first shot shows four Constructicons forming the legs and the torso. The second shot shows three robots forming the arms and upper torso. This means that seven Constructicons formed Devastator.
After watching Galvatron and Soundwave leave, Ultra Magnus dispatches Hook and Scrapper—by picking them up in his hands and bashing them together. Magnus is supposed to be big, but not that big.
Blaster, Ultra Magnus and Zebop are shown hanging onto Broadside while he flies around. Sometimes, the shots make them appear tiny or not to be hanging onto Broadside at all. (One wonders why Zebop doesn't just ride in Broadside's cockpit, as he does for the trip to Earth.)
Soundwave points out that Zebop is standing in the distance, while Galvatron says that "he probably is with the Autobots." Yet, Ultra Magnus is standing right next to him.
Soundwave has a purple Autobot insignia...again.
Blaster is drawn delivering Broadside's line about "scorch-marks on top of everything else".
During part of the battle at Allegra's retreat, Hot Spot is with the Autobots instead of Broadside.
When Blaster explains that the Eurythmans use the harmony even for healing, Ultra Magnus is the one mouthing the words.
When the Protectobots are combined as Defensor, Hot Spot (the main body) is fighting alongside his combined self!
In one scene, a cel-layering error causes Blaster to appear very tiny compared to Soundwave.
Primus forbid that's a lot...still's an okay Episode...nice to see Soundwave a bit more ^^
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Tell my tale to those who ask. Tell it truly, the ill deeds along with the good, and let me be judged accordingly. The rest...is silence.- Words of the noble hero
Yup, same author. I liked Maniac Magee (though I admit it's been years since I read it), but Stargirl struck the wrong chord with me...
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Q: How many Transformers fans does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Eight. One to change it, and the rest to complain that the light bulb was so much better back in the 80s.
I support well-written, in-character fanfic!
I think that person also wrote "Who Put that Hair in My Toothbrush". I haven't read that book in a while, but it's about this brother and sister who fight all the time (but don't worry; there's alot of funny parts, as well as some sad stuff, but it has a happy ending).
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Missing Link-*to Susan*Look, you've been letting this quack experiment on you for the past month.
Dr. Cockroach-I'm not a quack! I'm a mad scientist. There IS a difference.
-Dead and Gone by Andrew Vachs. Felt like it took forever to finish, and the only reason I made it through was because I don't like leaving books unfinished, even if they suck.
-Under Cover of Daylight by James W. Hall. I said I don't like leaving books unfinished, but I abandoned this one around halfway through because I was so very bored. One would think a book with drug running and cold-blooded revenge killings would be exciting, but no. Just... no. I almost fell asleep reading it.
As to The Dark Tower septet, the first book is a bit boring, but necessary to set up some of the stuff that will happen in book III, The Waste Lands. The story does pick up nicely in The Drawing of the Three, which is one of my favourites in the series. Book V has lightsabres. I kid you not.
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Member of *ArtisanCraft =artisanlist *hiredeviantARTISTS =FraCult
Why yes, I do offer commissions
It appears you survived watching the episode (still typing on the reply to the last one
Well, the dropped Broadside (think that’s his name) on Devastator… don’t ask why though…
"Outnumbered two to one! Just the kind of challenge I like!" Only that of curse if you count the Decepticons and Autobots you’ll quickly realize it’s the Decepticons who are outnumbered
Yeah they are holding hands… AND right here I just say for anyone else reading this: If you’re easily offended stop reading because, no I don’t want any “input” on this. Since the fans are complete idiots with a knack for acting like perverts (yes DO flame me for that one “almighty” so-called fans *mocking*) no matter how innocent something is I’m sure some of those people will claim it’s SO romantic and write a 500 page bad OOC pornfic with much whoring around on the theme *rolls eyes*…. After all since when did anything those people said or did make sense? Personally there is something known as common sense which SOME people might want to apply before jumping to conclusions. Such as ”IF this is the most animation error ridden episode in all of G1, what might that mean? Yes exactly, brilliant conclusion: it might mean that it might be an ANIMATION ERROR and not an intentional ick-fic fantasy confirmation.” Then again… No one honestly expects people to actually do the smart thing and draw intelligent conclusions no matter how obvious something is (see the Who became Cyc argument for proof on that matter). After all, we all know that people who try to kill each other are SO in love with each other and are only trying to cover that up by tearing each other’s heads off and that robots are really humans in disguise and that the air force uses submarines to fly etc etc *snark*.
Zeebop… got to love the pants…
As for the next episode: Enjoy the scene with Cyc flying upside down (and the “eyeshadow”
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- “Nobody grabs Cyclonus' bunny ears but Galvatron!”
- "Det skadar intet"
- Skadeglädjen är den enda samma glädjen
- "You amuse me, Mr. Bond"
- OOC-fans are not to speak to me OR fave my stuff under any circumstances
I'm of the opinion that the animators worked so hard on making "Webworld" a good episode that they slept all through making "Carnage in C-Minor."
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Q: How many Transformers fans does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Eight. One to change it, and the rest to complain that the light bulb was so much better back in the 80s.
I support well-written, in-character fanfic!
And I've abandoned several books partway through because I couldn't finish them for one reason or another. Wicked, Sense of Evil, Night of the Moonbow, Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday... they just didn't hold my interest. *sigh*
I'll remember that as I read. Just need to get through Gunslinger here... the fact that he seems to be telling the story in reverse is a bit confusing...
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Q: How many Transformers fans does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Eight. One to change it, and the rest to complain that the light bulb was so much better back in the 80s.
I support well-written, in-character fanfic!
Outnumbered when they've got the Aerialbots AND the Protectobots AND Ultra Magnus, Perceptor, Broadside, and Blaster (and presumably his cassettes too) there... yeah, not really outnumbered there, Hot Spot...
Luckily, I haven't seen any Galvatron/Soundwave fic or art spawned from this episode (then again, it's not like I've looked for it), and anyone who decides they're a couple just from looking at one of the most animation-ridden episodes in G1 needs a smack in the head...
Everyone on this planet dresses really weirdly...
I'll keep an eye out during this next episode...
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Q: How many Transformers fans does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Eight. One to change it, and the rest to complain that the light bulb was so much better back in the 80s.
I support well-written, in-character fanfic!
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