Shinmaru

Um, I go from top (Anime Lounge) to bottom (Anthology), I guess. That's my only real routine ... well, except I'll be spazzing out in the Lost thread with Dagger each week again. :D

[quote name='Aceburner']Shinmaru: You're double-jointed? The most I can do is bend just my fingertips.[/QUOTE] Yep. Kind of nice to see someone realize that upon first glance at my freaky fingers. Most people are more likely to go for the, "OMG YOUR FINGERS!!!! EEK!!!!" reaction lol.

I was in a dodgeball tournament yesterday with my pals from the school newspaper. Here are some of the glorious photos from said tournament. [url=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Shinmaru/DSC_0505.jpg][b]Showing off my taped fingers.[/b][/url] [url=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Shinmaru/DSC_0516.jpg][b]The team. Don't mess with this. Just don't.[/b][/url] [url=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Shinmaru/IMG_7627.jpg][b]Throwing the ball ... and making some sort of retarded chipmunk face.[/b][/url] [url=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Shinmaru/DSC_0541.jpg][b]Journalism has made us a hard, hard team.[/b][/url]

Des won our match. It was a lot of fun - every time he got a Final Smash, it scared the **** out of me lol.

No items except the Smash Ball, or no items period? You up to fight tonight, Des? Best time for me would be after 8 p.m. I look forward to [strike]being completely annihilated[/strike] destroying you!!

Haha, I was going to do this, but Des beat me to it! *shakes fist* [b]1st tier:[/b] Fox, Marth Fox is still my best character (not that it's saying much lol). He's great for running in, getting some good damage and running away like a little puss. Pestering opponents is fun. I've still got a bit of improving, though, so that I can use his abilities to best control the tempo of fights. Marth is just fun in general and I've played him enough to where he's my 1a character. I'm starting to get better with his down aerial, too, though I'm definitely not perfect with it. Killing people with that attack feels great, haha. [b]2nd tier:[/b] Link, Zero Suit Samus, Falco, Zelda Link I just like too much as a character, so I have to use him a lot. Helps that he's a bit faster now; I don't feel like a damn turtle running around getting the crap beaten out of me all the time lol (now it's only some of the time!). I was never that great with Samus, but I did the 100 Man Brawl with Zero Suit Samus and OMG she rules. She's like a female Fox where you can just run in and straight up annoy the **** out of people with her. Fun times. Falco is Fox Jr., though he's in danger of slipping to the 3rd tier. He'll probably be replaced with Zelda, who I totally love now. I don't know what happened but I suddenly got a lot better with her. Maybe Twilight Princess > Ocarina of Time? Who knows. [b]3rd tier:[/b] Ike, Wolf, Toon Link, Solid Snake These are the guys I want to move up on but can't for various reasons. With Ike, my fingers slip up a lot and I almost always end up using his really slow smashes, which leaves me wide open to attack. Also, I'm a 'tard, so I don't use Counter enough. Wolf I also desperately want to get better with, but I can't get the hang of his special movies, especially his recovery. Reading today's Smash Bros. DOJO!! update makes me want to work harder, though. That could be deadly if mastered. Toon Link I just haven't used that much. I have no idea why. Snake is about the same problem as Wolf. I need to master his specials and those smash attacks to be decent with him. [b]4th tier:[/b] Mr. Game and Watch Solely for his bell ringing taunt, which annoys the **** out of my friends/siblings, haha. [b]Characters that I suck with but want to learn better:[/b] Lucas, Metaknight, Pit, Sheik My brother is pretty good with Lucas, so I want to play catch up with him. Metaknight and Pit are the same problem with me: I can rack up a decent amount of damage with them, but I can't kill anybody. It's frustrating. Sheik isn't a terrible character for me; however, like MK, if I'm going to use Zelda a lot, I've got to get better with Sheik.

Man, I tripped randomly when I faced 8bit, and it scared the **** out of me lol. Every time my character trips, I think someone is going the smash me to pieces. And, uh, whoever wants to beat up on me more should advance. :)

[b]Hard Candy[/b]: After Juno I wanted to see more of Ellen Page, and holy crap this did not disappoint at all. Her performance honestly creeped the hell out of me, which doesn't happen often these days; she totally turned what would've been a solid thriller with a twist into something great. Patrick Wilson carries his weight, too, as a pedophile-in-denial. [b]The Matrix Reloaded (Rifftrax)[/b]: I liked this more than the Rifftrax for The Matrix. The "mother--" running joke was funny and was done just enough times so that it didn't get old, Keanu bashing never gets old, and the entire freeway chase had me rolling. Oh, and "WALT~!" [b]Hot Fuzz[/b]: Shaun of the Dead is slightly better, but this is still pretty damn funny. The over-the-top [spoiler]vengeance scene at the end where Angel and Butterman go after the whole town was amazing. Loved that they had to have the reverend shout, "Jesus Christ!" as he fell to the ground.[/spoiler] I'll be watching [b]The Pursuit of Happyness[/b] next - probably tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it. I also have to watch my copy of [b]Children of Men[/b] eventually, too ... Movie Count: 23 (Live Free and Die Hard, Time Bandits, The Hustler, Black Dragon (Miracles), Hollywoodland, Blood Diamond, Animal Crackers, Marie Antoinette, Inside Man, The Fountain, Tombstone, Jurassic Park (Rifftrax), No Country for Old Men, Juno, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (Rifftrax), There Will Be Blood, Rize, Born Into Brothels, Eastern Promises, Gone Baby Gone, Hard Candy, The Matrix Reloaded (Rifftrax), Hot Fuzz)

[url=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Shinmaru/DSC_6072.jpg][b]Probably the coolest I'll ever look in my life.[/b][/url] That was a test shot taken by one of our photographers, Brandon, who is probably the best photographer our rinky dink college rag will ever have.

That month is going to be soooooo long. :( [quote name='Dagger'] ****ing cliffhanger. Is it: [spoiler]the Others? (Ben could've sold Alex out. Or he wants her safe but would prefer to have Carl and Rousseau out of the way.) Or: Widmore's people, somehow. Or: someone tracking them from the camp (Locke finally snaps?) Or: ???[/spoiler][/quote] [spoiler]I think it's Widmore's people. Remember, Frank isn't on the freighter right now - he took the chopper somewhere. The captain probably ordered Frank to fly back to the island with some other members of the crew. Ben could conceivably have set this up, but I'm going with Widmore for now.[/spoiler] [quote]ETA: Here's a thought. [spoiler]Maybe Sayid outing Michael is the unwitting first step in the chain of events that leads to the tragedy alluded to in his flash-forwards.[/spoiler][/QUOTE] I wouldn't be surprised. [spoiler]Outing Michael makes perfect sense for Sayid right now - his trust in Michael died long ago, and he sure as hell hasn't trusted Ben for a while now (to put it lightly lol). But the way it's shaping up, there's no way to tell who's on the "good" side and who's on the "bad" side (or if there is even a "good" side between Widmore and Ben). Whatever the case, this will have definite consequences. I'm guessing Michael will go through some not so pleasant interrogation, perhaps by Sayid.[/spoiler] EDIT: Also, WTF, is [spoiler]Tom like 5,000 times stronger off the island than on it? Granted, Michael had recently been in a car accident and wasn't in the best physical condition ... but, man, Tom smacked the **** out of him. He came a long way from tossing footballs like a doofus.[/spoiler] One more thing - I was wrong; Ben was reading [i]VALIS[/i] instead of [i]A Scanner Darkly[/i]. Still appropriate, though. [i]VALIS[/i] is a weird *** story.

Tinkering with the Level Editor is fun. My brother and I spent an hour making the most random ***, sadistic levels lol.

[spoiler]The date on the grave is the date of the Oceanic 815 crash, so that grave is part of the coverup. If Jin [i]is[/i] really dead, then he dies on the island. I'm holding out hope that he's just stuck on the island, though. PLEASE DON'T DIE, JIN. I mean, seriously, if Jin dies and [i]Kate[/i] lives? WTF is all I can say.[/spoiler] Anyway, aside from that malarkey, I thought this was the weakest of the Sun/Jin episodes. It smacked of being constructed just to confuse the audience and give them a big twist instead of a solid story. Wasn't really working for me. I will say, however, that the Home Alone-ish music that plays when Jin chases after the taxi with the stuffed panda in it is fantastic. As for [spoiler]Michael ... looking forward to finding out what he's been up to all this time and where Walt's been (and is currently) too. Also looking forward to Sayid roughing him up a bit.[/spoiler]

Weird, I just battled for more than an hour with Alex, and there wasn't much lag in our matches (I'm using a wireless connection). Anyway... [b]Character of Choice:[/b] Fox [b]Friend Code:[/b] 4983-4584-1619 [b]Skill Level:[/b] 3

My friend code is 4983-4584-1619. The best time to challenge me (ha, like it'd be a challenge) would probably be some time between 8-11 p.m. PST. That's when I'm online, anyway lol. *adds a bunch of friend codes*

So, Amazon being as generally lovely as it is, I got my copy of the game about an hour and a half ago. Yay! Right now I've just played a few simple brawls with my brother (either he's even rustier than I am, or my terribleness hasn't translated to Brawl), and I've tried out a few characters. Don't know if it's just me but Link feels easier to use. I was kind of bad as Ike... have to get used to his relative slowness. Fox is still super awesome, though I'm sad you can't do his amazing taunt every time. And, uh, making up dialogue to go along with the Subspace Emissary cutscenes is hilarious. So far I've unlocked Ness and Marth, but I've yet to try either. And now I have to go back to doing homework. :(

[quote name='Dagger']So that's what he was reading? I saw the Philip K. Dick but didn't catch the title. Neat.[/quote] Ha, this is where I go all PKD nerd on you. The title wasn't shown (if it was, I didn't see it, anyway), but I recognized the font of PKD's name and the weird background colors from the edition of the book I got from the library the first time I read it. Why I remember this, I do not know, but there you go. [quote]My question for this past episode: could they possibly make Kate any dumber?[/quote] I ask myself the same question every time, and the answer is always yes. So, yes, the writers most defintiely can make Kate dumber. I say bring it on. The cackles were flying at my house when Kate got knocked out with the gun.

I feel bad about not adding my thoughts about last week's super awesome episode. Busyness + overwhelmed with Desmond = no post. This week's wasn't as good, but it had its moments. Tom and his mustache bumped their way into the top 5 most unintentionally hilarious moments ever on Lost (I predict that by the end of the series, Tom will occupy all those spots). Ben was great, too, as usual. "See you guys at dinner!" I smell mutiny. :) EDIT: Also, Ben is a fan of [i]A Scanner Darkly[/i]. I approve.

I'm definitely joining in. I'll be more than happy to be everyone's whipping boy! Seriously, though, I was soooooo rusty the last time I played Melee. My skills (what little I had, anyway) have deteriorated so much. :( I like the idea of seasons; they should definitely be used to build toward tournaments. Wouldn't be too difficult to determine records - I don't remember if Brawl keeps track of records, but if not, then we could keep track of those ourselves. They might be different, though, depending on whether we're a 1-on-1 league, four-player league, or all match types, or whatever. Something to think about, anyway. We should figure out a way for this to not become so dense that it scares people away lol.

[b]Rize:[/b] Documentary about Clowning and Krumping, two dance subcultures in Los Angeles. It's pretty interesting, and I like seeing how dedicated everyone is to finding themselves through dance and using it to escape the hard life of the streets. I was quasi-familiar with Krumping before I saw this, but Clowning is totally new to me lol. [b]Born Into Brothels:[/b] Another documentary I watched for a class. This one follows a documentary photographer who goes to Calcutta to photograph prostitutes in the Red Light District and instead befriends some of the children there and attempts to better their lives by teaching them photography. It's definitely sad, but I think the debate behind it regarding whether the children were actually helped and whether the depiction of Sonagachi is fair is at least as interesting as the movie itself. [b]Eastern Promises:[/b] Man, David Cronenberg is [i]really[/i] getting close to the point where his movies are guaranteed awesome no matter what. Interesting depiction of the Russian Mafia and how far one can go to do the "right thing." Any other year Viggo Mortensen probably would have been the odds-on favorite for the Best Actor Oscar; he's very commanding, and by the end of the movie, every move he's made gains an intense new meaning. Great stuff. [b]Gone Baby Gone:[/b] Horribly depressing (not totally unexpected from the writer of [i]Mystic River[/i] lol), but it kept my attention from start to finish. The plot moves very well from point to point; the story had me legitimately surprised by the end. It's not often that a movie has me seriously thinking about what's right and wrong... this did it, though. Also, Amy Ryan's character? Whaaaaaat a megadouche. Good lord. Movie Count: 20 (Live Free and Die Hard, Time Bandits, The Hustler, Black Dragon (Miracles), Hollywoodland, Blood Diamond, Animal Crackers, Marie Antoinette, Inside Man, The Fountain, Tombstone, Jurassic Park (Rifftrax), No Country for Old Men, Juno, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (Rifftrax), There Will Be Blood, Rize, Born Into Brothels, Eastern Promises, Gone Baby Gone)

God, Kate is awful even in flash forwards. She got off so ****ing easy, too. Ten years probation AND YOU CAN'T LEAVE THE STATE BTW. Ugh. I'm anti-death penalty and all, but I'll say it - ***** needs the chair. Please? For me? The only interesting things about the flash-forward are [spoiler]Kate is raising Aaron and Jack lying on the stand. Mommy Kate is only interesting because of what it implies about Claire's fate. Jack feels super guilty and doesn't want to see Aaron, so I think a) He does something that leads to her dying or getting stuck on the island (I think the former is more likely) and b) He eventually learns Claire is his half-sister. Also, like Dagger posted, it's cool to get more of the Oceanic Six's alibi. Methinks Jack and Co. get caught with a couple of corpses when they finally get rescued.[/spoiler] Poor Sawyer. The truth hurts, buddy. And, Locke, yeah, WTF is correct. He really is morphing into Col. Kurtz lol. [spoiler]De-facto dictator and a grenade in the mouth for the Ghostbuster? Yeesh. Hilarious that he's all, "Things have changed, Ben" and he doesn't even wait until he's out of earshot to throw a tantrum. I don't think he'll be dying this season, though, if at all. If Locke goes out, it'll definitely be during the final season (maybe with Ben getting the last laugh?).[/spoiler]

Haha, I think Luigi is more likely to be Fredo. :p

Been way too long since I did this... [b]Tombstone[/b]: Good stuff. Val Kilmer is an awesome Doc Holliday, and Kurt Russell is pretty good, too, especially when Wyatt Earp kicks into [spoiler]Super Revenge Mode.[/spoiler] [b]Jurassic Park (Rifftrax)[/b]: Still a good movie. Makes for a solid Rifftrax too. Definitely buy it if you're a fan of Weird Al Yankovic. [b]No Country for Old Men[/b]: I like the book; this is incredibly faithful to it. The mood is perfect throughout - quiet, subdued, letting the tension speak for itself. Javier Bardem is one scary ************. I've heard people go either way about the ending, but it makes sense to me. [spoiler]Sheriff Bell is defeated, and he knows it. It's the reason he's retiring - he just can't keep up with the evil and cruelty of what he sees as a changing world. His dream at the end reflects that. Bell's father is riding into the cold with a horn of fire, ready to burn away the frost with his son ... but nothing comes of it because Bell wakes up. There's no heroic conclusion for him. It's just a desperate wish.[/spoiler] [b]Juno[/b]: Continuing watching the Best Picture nominees. The movie's like five million times more adorable than I expected it to be lol. I was a bit put off by the heavy amount of random slang, though. Makes sense because they're teenagers, and God knows my friends and I said a lot of stupid **** when we were teenagers (of course we still say a bunch of stupid ****...), but it's just weird to hear it in a movie, I suppose. Can't say it takes away much from the movie, and it's not as though it makes Juno unlikable or anything. She's someone anybody could get behind. [strike]Like Paulie Bleeker.[/strike] [b]Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (Rifftrax)[/b]: Finally got around to buying this one. Neil Patrick Harris is [i]by far[/i] the best guest riffer I've heard (aside from Kevin and Bill, of course, though I wouldn't count them as guests). He's got tons of funny lines, great timing, and he adds some real acting talent to it (listening to them, you can tell why Mike has made his living as a writer, while Neil is the actor lol). If you're a fan of Rifftrax and you don't have this, you should buy the movie just for it. [b]There Will Be Blood[/b]: Holy Jesus. Best movie from 2007. I'm pretty sure No Country for Old Men will win Best Picture, but I'm pulling for this. It's weird as hell (which I don't mind at all) and utterly mesmerizing from start to finish. Daniel Day-Lewis deserves all the acclaim he is getting and more. He's intense as hell as Daniel Plainview, and I'm not sure anyone else could have made all of Plainview's absurd eccentricities at all believable. Special shout out to the music Jonny Greenwood composed for the movie. It adds the perfect touch whenever it's used. The best description of it I've heard is that the music sounds as if it's straight out of a horror movie. Hard to disagree with that when you hear it going wild while [spoiler]Plainview is practically ripping the guts out of the ground digging a grave for his "brother," whom he shot dead in the previous scene.[/spoiler] I can't say enough good things about this movie - just see it if you haven't already. Movie Count: 16 (Live Free and Die Hard, Time Bandits, The Hustler, Black Dragon (Miracles), Hollywoodland, Blood Diamond, Animal Crackers, Marie Antoinette, Inside Man, The Fountain, Tombstone, Jurassic Park (Rifftrax), No Country for Old Men, Juno, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (Rifftrax), There Will Be Blood)

[quote name='Dagger']HOLY ****ING ****. WHAT THE HELL. !?!?!?? There is no way I can discuss this calmly right now. Worst of all, the friends I normally watch Lost with are at a Rufus Wainwright concert, damn them! In terms of sheer shock value, though, this might be the best episode ever. And god did I love it. Um, see you guys on Monday, or whenever I've cooled down a bit...[/QUOTE] Hahaha, I'm surprised you're collected enough to post. I figured you would have exploded with joy. :animesmil So, uh, there goes the [spoiler]Ben in the casket[/spoiler] theory. Craaaaaaaazy ****, man. Crazy ****. [spoiler]Ben's really got Sayid by the balls if he has Sayid running around killing whomever he wants. Kills to keep Ben safe from people still hunting for him, good old fashioned vengeance kills, or both?[/spoiler] Hmm. Also, Ben has my favorite line in the episode: "I'm thirsty!" I was cracking up.

Ha, I'm not calling [spoiler]Miles anything but "Ghostbuster" from now on.[/spoiler] I love how Ben pushes it [i]every[/i] episode. He must not mind getting the crap beaten out of him every five seconds; I suppose the immense satisfaction he feels from knowing [spoiler]he's essentially untouchable because he's pretty much the only person who knows nearly everything going on[/spoiler] gives him the balls he needs to take all the physical punishment. Any guesses about who [spoiler]Ben's mole is[/spoiler]? I think the obvious guess would be [spoiler]Michael[/spoiler], but for some reason I have the nagging feeling it will be more shocking than that.

I can only agree with the two fine people who posted above me. It'd be nice to have a Sharingan battle that doesn't have 5,000 retcons taking place within the span of five seconds. Interesting that Sasuke was able to withstand the Tsukuyomi (not entirely surprising, of course), though it appears Itachi still held back a bit. And, yeah, I'm looking forward to Amaterasu. Every vision I have of it involves flames shooting out of Itachi's eyes, so I'm glad I'm not the one who has to think of what it should look like and then draw it lol.