#Rick Moose

[abs0luteb4stard]

W A T C H I N G

It's the lowest grossing of the new David Gordon Green trilogy. I thought it was the best film since 2018.

I like that they put some more slower psychological mystery into it leading up to the inevitable slasher stuff.

[rookie-critic]

Halloween Ends (2022, dir. David Gordon Green) - review by Rookie-Critic

Slight Halloween Kills spoilers lie ahead:

Halloween Ends was, much like the other two entries in this massive misfire of a trilogy, greatly disappointing and underwhelming. I have never, in my life, seen a trilogy of films introduce so many neat, unique, and new ideas into a stagnant franchise just to constantly, without fail, not deliver on any of them. This cool new character is created for the second film, Halloween Kills, and literally retconned into the events of the original movie. Seems pretty important right? They wouldn't just make a character seem that integral and build them up to make a commentary about the nature of fight or flight and how important it is to face your fears only to just unceremoniously do away with them, right? RIGHT?! Wrong, this is the very nature of David Gordon Green's Halloween trilogy.

Similarly, a new character has been created for this new installment, as well. The entire opening sequence of the film revolves around this character, and it's interesting. They seemed to be building him up to do something refreshing with him and say something about Michael that, honestly, only Rob Zombie has ever dared to do. I allowed myself to believe that, finally, after three movies, this trilogy would actually try to do something interesting and unique, and yet again I was slapped across the face with the same boring, mundane slaughterfest this franchise has been plagued by since 1981's Halloween II (this, of course, excludes Halloween III: Season of the Witch, which is a massively underrated installment in the franchise that has absolutely nothing to do with Michael Myers and, really, I'm starting to wish it had gone down the anthology path as originally intended). Green and co-writer Danny McBride never hesitate to fast-pedal their way in the easiest direction, the path of least resistance. Michael shows up, Michael kills everything in sight, Michael moves on, rinse, repeat. It's just. So. Boring.

In all fairness, the cinematography and the acting are quite good (Jamie Lee Curtis never fails to impress), and John Carpenter's scores for all three films are fantastic, as always. Also, the climactic encounter at the film's end is massively entertaining, or at least it seemed that way in comparison to the rest of it. I'm just so tired of seeing this franchise fall prey to the highly unoriginal brutality porn and weak, lazy writing that we've gotten for a solid trilogy now. In response to Rob Zombie's 2007 remake of the original film, John Carpenter mentioned that the reason the remake didn't work (it did) was because Zombie tried to humanize Michael, he tried to give a reason for the madness, for the brutality. He posited that Michael (or "The Shape" as he is commonly referred to in the original film as well as Green's new trilogy) only works as an unstoppable force of nature. That explaining Michael only serves to strip him of the mystique that makes him so interesting. No offense to Mr. Carpenter, he is an incredibly talented director and one of the all-time greats, but that's bullshit. When you don't give Michael a reason for being, if he truly is just unstoppable, this whole operation crumbles under the weight of its own repetitiveness. That idea cannot sustain an entire trilogy, we just witnessed that fact. The idea that Michael is some supernatural force works for a single movie, it can add to the film's commentary about our fears of the unreasonable, the seemingly unreal, but past that it loses its appeal. The mystique dies around the twentieth time we see Michael unceremoniously stab a person that we weren't meant to care about in the first place.

All of that to say, while not nearly as wildly infuriating as Halloween Kills, Ends still manages to miss the mark and throw away the potential of something better, something more meaningful, and something worth watching. Laurie Strode deserves better, Michael Myers deserves better, and it is time for this franchise to, indeed, End.

Score: 4/10

Currently streaming on Peacock.

[sam-moose]

Negan: *yells*

y/n: *yells louder to assert dominance*

Carl: uhm, should we do something..??

Rick, crossing his arms: no, I wanna see who wins this.

[tonichelleak]

Dallas Seavey at the Ceremonial Start and ReStart of Iditarod 52. Dallas. Seavey. The kid that believed he was on a trajectory for an Olympic career and not a dog mushing one. Oh, sure, he was like many others of his generation who not only grew up in the presence of many great mushers - all the while helping his dad build a successful racing kennel - but one who watched Iron Will and tried to recreate many of the scenes from the movie... but as he often told tourists - he had no desire to make it his life like his dad had.

Then injuries sidelined his Olympic wrestling dream (was on his way to making the 2008 USA team) so he came home and continued helping his dad build monster teams.

After a while running the puppy team just wasn't enough. Puppy teams are competitive and if you know Dallas even a little bit you know the dude is extremely competitive.

He studied like he was working on a Masters Degree. No one knows the science and stats of the race more than Dallas. Guarantee it.

He won his first title in 2012, then again in 2014, 2015, 2016... took a break after his second place finish in 2017 (we won't rehash the whys) and came back in 2021 to win it again (granted the shorter "Gold Loop Trail" - thanks Covid - but he battled the Rainy Pass Pony Mafia so it still is a huge accomplishment). His '21 race meant he tied for most wins, sharing that record with the legendary Rick Swenson. Swenson was one of Dallas's childhood heroes... and Dallas had broken or tied just about every record Rick had.

This year, Dallas won number six. He is the winningest Iditarod Champion.

It wasn't easy. In November he and two of his handlers took teams out on a training run. His handler running many of Dallas's top dogs was hit by a snow machine. Dogs were killed, some injured with career ending, life altering injuries. The mushers were physically all fine, but mentally... mentally it took a while to feel "normal" on the runners.

Dallas borrowed dogs from his dad to make a competitive Iditarod team, it wasn't ideal - but he'd done it before. The Ceremonial Start and ReStart seemed to go on without an issue. Crowds cheered the musher on and he quickly slipped into the routine.

Monday of race week rolls around. Dallas' birthday. Early that morning an aggressive moose plowed into Dallas' team, the only thing for the musher to do was dispatch the moose. If you've followed the race you know what happened next. Dallas did not properly gut out the moose, one of his dogs was injured but it wasn't noticeable right away (dog is fine now), he was penelized for the improper dressing out of the moose. Dallas was not going to win.

Then things changed in the second half of the race. Teams who decided to try to outrun Dallas who was already dealing with time penalties pushed too hard, too long, too soon. Dallas caught up. And then Dallas did what Dallas does.

And now Dallas Seavey is the only six time champion in the history of the race.

That's a wild ride. (see what I did there? no, oh, well.... you can find out what I mean here.)

To view high quality photos, or purchase, click here.

For more see ReittersBlock.com

[thequeenofindie]

Why is this so funny to me? Rick, doing all the work, teeny tiny Evelyn trying to pitch in, and Jonathan giving off 'Moose Finbar' vibes! —The Mummy (1999)

[shoshiwrites]

Band of Brothers Ages: IRL vs. Actors

Did you know that according to a 1947 study, almost half the men who served in WWII were still under age 26 by the end of the war?

What this is : A (very long) post comparing the ages of the actors in Band of Brothers vs. the IRL figures they are portraying.

Background: Did I need to do this? No. Did anyone ask for this? Also no. Did I do it anyway? Yes.

Disclaimers: This is SUPER approximate for the most part. I based IRL ages off of D-Day unless otherwise noted, and actor ages off of January 1, 2000, the year filming took place (the latter is where the most variation will be because I didn't try to figure out what month filming started). I also didn't fact-check birthdays beyond googling. Most are sourced from the Band of Brothers and Military Wikis on fandom.com, Wikipedia, and IMDb.

I broke them up into rough categories, which are, again, approximate. I know I often forget how young the real life people were here, and this was a good reminder of that. I also found it interesting to see which actors were actually younger than their roles!

Check it all out under the cut ⬇️

~10+ years older

Dale Dye (55) as Col. Robert F. Sink (39) (~16 years)

Michael Cudlitz (35) as Denver "Bull" Randleman (23) (~12)

Marc Warren (32) as Albert Blithe (20) (~12)

Rocky Marshall (33) as Earl J. McClung (21) (~12)

Frank John Hughes (32) as William J. Guarnere (21) (~11)

Neal McDonough (33) as Lynn D. (Buck) Compton (22) (~11)

Dexter Fletcher (33) as John W. Martin (22) (~11)

~5+ years older

Simon Schatzberger (32) as Joseph A. Lesniewski (23) (~9)

Richard Speight Jr. (30) Warren H. (Skip) Muck (22) (~8)

Jason O'Mara (30) as Thomas Meehan (22) (~8)

Ron Livingston (32) as Lewis Nixon (25) (~7)

Donnie Wahlberg (30) as C. Carwood Lipton (24) (~6)

Matthew Settle (30) as Ronald C. Speirs (24) (~6)

Nolan Hemmings (28) as Charles E. "Chuck" Grant (22) (~6)

Douglas Spain (25) as Antonio C. Garcia (19) (~6)

George Calil (26) as James H. "Mo" Alley Jr. (21) (~5)

Rick Gomez (27) as George Luz (22) (~5 year)

Scott Grimes (28) as Donald G. Malarkey (23) (~5)

Stephen Graham (26) as Myron "Mike" Ranney (21) (~5)

~less than 5 years older

Shane Taylor (25) as Eugene G. Roe (21) (~4)

Tim Matthews (23) as Alex M. Penkala Jr. (19) (~4)

Matthew Leitch (24) as Floyd M. "Tab" Talbert (20) (~4)

Peter O'Meara (30) as Norman S. Dike Jr. (26) (~4)

Tom Hardy (22) as John A. Janovec (18) (~4)

Rick Warden (28) as Harry F. Welsh (25) (~3)

Kirk Acevedo (28) as Joseph D. Toye (25) (~3)

Eion Bailey (25) as David Kenyon Webster (22) (~3)

Craig Heaney (26) as Roy W. Cobb (29) (~3)

Damian Lewis (28) as Richard D. Winters (26) (~2)

Robin Laing as Edward J. "Babe" Heffron (~2, 21/23)

Ben Caplan (26) as Walter S. "Smokey" Gordon Jr. (24) (~2)

David Schwimmer (32) as Herbert M. Sobel (33) (~1 year)

Michael Fassbender (22) as Burton P. "Pat" Christenson (21) (~1)

Colin Hanks (22) as Lt. Henry Jones (21) (~1) (age around Bastogne)

Bart Ruspoli (23) as Edward J. Tipper (22) (~1)

~Same age

Peter Youngblood Hills as Darrell C. "Shifty" Powers (21)

Mark Huberman as Lester "Les" Hashey (19)

Younger

Lucie Jeanne (23) as Renée Lemaire (30) (age around Bastogne) (~7)

Ross McCall (23) as Joseph D. Liebgott (29) (~6)

Simon Pegg (29) as William S. Evans (~33) (~4)

Philip Barantini (19) as Wayne A. "Skinny" Sisk (22) (~3)

James Madio (24) as Frank J. Perconte (27) (~3)

Stephen McCole (25) as Frederick "Moose" Heyliger (27) (~2)

Matt Hickey (~16) as Patrick S. O'Keefe (18) (~2)

Incomplete/not found

Phil McKee as Maj. Robert L. Strayer (34)

Rene L. Moreno as Joseph Ramirez (30)

Doug Allen as Alton M. More (24)

David Nicolle as Lt. Thomas A. Peacock (24)

Rebecca Okot as Anna (Augusta Chiwy) (24) (age around Bastogne)

Alex Sabga-Brady as Francis J. Mellet (23)

Mark Lawrence as William H. Dukeman Jr. (22)

Nicholas Aaron as Robert E. (Popeye) Wynn (22)

Peter McCabe as Donald B. Hoobler (21)

Marcos D'Cruze as Joseph P. Domingus (not found)

[lysreadsbookssometimes]

So I was on a cruise in norway last week and one of our stops was Flåm. And because I am at my core a huge Rick Riordan Fan, I tried to figure out how and where the happenings of Ship Of The Dead happened. Enjoy!

When I got to my feet and looked over the railing, I lost the ability to breathe. [...] T.J. laughed. “No, it’s just Norway. Pretty, huh?"

The entire description of the fjords is too long to put here, reread it yourself (Ch29), but see my best attempt to capture this majestic beauty on camera.

If you have the opportunity, absolutely go visit the norwegian fjords, they are stunning.

The boat glided onward, the soft applause of the waterfalls echoing through the fjord.

There were a lot of waterfalls, so have these two, the left one goes directly down to the fjord, the right one is a short hike inland from Flåms center.

Its called Brekkefossen and if you like walking up a bazillion irregular slippery stone steps it might be exactly the view for you.

We slipped into the dock farthest from the cruise ship. Our only neighbors were a couple of fishing boats and a Jet Ski with the dubious name Odin II painted on the side.

So I actually had a little bit of a hard time identifying the docking site. First I thought it might have been across the harbour, but later they mention the docking site being next to a beach and there is no beach on that side. Next to the beach I did find small boat sheds (Not a Jet Ski called Odin II, sadly, but hey) and they had wooden docks somewhat far away from the cruise terminal. Enjoy my artists rendition of it.

I love the pure concept of the Big Banana so much its ridiculous

We walked about three blocks through crowds of tourists, past shops selling chocolate and moose sausage and little wooden troll souvenirs. (You would think anybody descended from Vikings would know better than to create more trolls.)

We saw a lot of trolls. Norway seems to think these creepy gremlins are a fun thing to have tourists take as souvenirs. But in Flåm we had this - thing - in front of a gift shop.

I actually forgot to take a picture of the shops, but my mom did, so everyone say thank you to my mom.

As we passed a small grocery store, Mallory grabbed my arm with enough force to leave a bruise. [...] Mallory pointed to a store called Knit Pickers, where tourists were oohing and aahing over a sidewalk display of locally produced wool yarn. (Norway offered something for everyone.)

Despite my best efforts, i did not find Knit Pickers. The closest thing i found was a small yarn store a few kilometers outside of Flåm on the way to Brekkefossen, but that was too far away. But, I found the grocery store, so closest thing i guess?

This is my favorite doodle amongst all of them. I do invite you to zoom in and take a look at the random baby Magnus is carrying.

By the time Sam and I caught up, she was clinging to a chain-link fence outside a small train depot, cursing as she scanned for her lost prey. “You found the train,” I noted. Parked at the platform were half a dozen brightly painted old-fashioned railcars. Tourists were piling on board. The tracks wound away from the station and up the hills into the ravine beyond.

I did not have an opportunity to ride the train. But, I have a picture from outside which i also doodled on. The norwegians claim it is "one of the most beautiful train rides in the world".

The guy i doodled Mallorys hair on looks like he is having an existential crisis and if that doesn't fit her experience on this train ride I don't know what does.

So because I didn't go on the train, I can't show anything in regards to the train and the myth stuff and everything. But, I can show you some approximations of the way back.

This would be what it looked like when Sam flew back, Mallory in the walnut, featuring the cruise ship I came with as well as the Big Banana probably too big in the corner.

That is actually the view from Brekkefossen, as a teaser what waits there if you ever want to go.

Before the murder could murder themselves on the scythe blades and blame me for it, Jack and I began our long hike back to the Big Banana.

And this would be what that would probably look like.

I need to practise drawing people, jesus christ

Our crew had taken care of the other giant.

I could tell because of the badly hacked-up, decapitated giant body sprawling on the beach next to our dock.

My giant is a work of art, but i am pretty sure they are supposed to be ugly in some interpretation of it and i couldn't be bothered.

I can offer a perspective with the Big Banana in, too. This picture was taken from the ship while departing. It was really cool.

Flåm is stunning. The nature is absolutely beautiful and I get why Magnus was so overwhelmed with the Fjords. I was too when I woke up in the middle of a fjord the day prior, and I was on a gigantic ship, not a small to medium sized longboat. It truly feels like magic. In Flåm, there were clouds against the sides of the mountains surrounding the village. I don't think I've ever seen something like that.

Long story short, Norway is stunning. Flåm is stunning. It is so beautiful that i barely took pictures, because they couldn't capture it properly. I absolutely get why that was a stop on their journey, and I am pretty sure I want to come here again. It is a dream on earth.

[yumeshiproleplay]

all characters are 18+ !

hello!! i'm moose, i am 22 years old, and I've been roleplaying for over 12 years now. i work part- to full-time as a veterinary technician, so my schedule can vary but i try to get in responses at least daily. my style ranges from literate - novella; i usually try to match my partner's length. i am very much a casual roleplayer so i do not tend to focus on length. currently, i am interested in OC x CC roleplays in fandoms we both enjoy. i love diving deep into OCs and brainstorming plot ideas, and I prefer double-ups since they give us both the chance to explore characters together. i am conformable with nsfw themes as long as roleplays remain plot-centered. ———

here are some fandoms i'm interested in as well as characters i am looking to pair against!

Gravity Falls - Stanford Pines & Stanley Pines

Hazbin Hotel / Helluva Boss - Alastor, Vox, Adam, Chaz & Striker

Metalocalypse - Charles F. Offdensen

TADC - Kinger & Caine

Adventure Time - Simon Petrikov / Ice King & The Winter King

Spooky Month - Kevin, Radford, Rick & Bob Velseb

Red vs. Blue - Leonard Church, Dexter Grif & Richard Simmons

Ouran Highschool Host-Club [ 21+ ] - Kyoya Otori & Tamaki Suoh

[ Other Fandoms: Stardew, Moral Orel, The Boys, Mouthwashing, etc. ]

———

if any of this interests you, feel free to dm me on discord!

mooseraptor

Their discord is mooseraptor !

[twdmusicboxmystery]

https://www.ign.com/articles/the-walking-dead-daryl-dixon-season-1-review-norman-reedus

Do you think this makes it sound doubtful that beth will return? This is the first 6 episodes review

Okay, so I've read about 10 of these review articles over the past day or two. I get that it doesn't say we'll see Beth, but I actually think it sounds VERY promising. A lot of what me and my fellow theorists have been saying for a long time now is already being confirmed.

I'm going to combine several Asks into one post so I can gather all my thoughts in one area. I'll also insert some of the articles in case you want to read them yourself. Just keep in mind that they do have a lot of spoilers.

If you read across all the articles out there, some of them clearly are loving the Daryl spinoff, while others are much more negative and hate it. (Most of them seem to harbor negative feelings toward Norman and TWD in general, so I wouldn't take their words too seriously.) But you start to notice similarities between the articles. Most of them talk about the same things in the series, and we start to get a lot of hints toward what we'll see.

It's true that they don't mention Beth and some go out of their way to say that there are no other familiar faces from TWD. But keep in mind a couple of things about that:

1) I think that's aimed toward the Carylers. They're so sure we're going to see Carol at some point, and to me, it doesn't sound like we will. Or, if we do, it will be at such a last possible secondn to kick us into season 2, that her presence will have absolutely no effect on season 1.

2) Several of the reviewers have said that AMC swore them to secrecy when it comes to episodes 5 and 6. So, they've said some general stuff about how amazing episode 5 is gonna be, but overall, they can't say anything about what they saw in those episodes. So even if someone big showed up (Carol, Beth, Rick, Shane, lol) they wouldn't be able to say.

And I think it's SUPER significant that AMC would swear them to secrecy about those episodes. When the show literally leaked Troy's return 15 minutes after the FTWD Coda with the "mysterious" person, why would they demand that those receiving the screeners not reveal anything about the final two episodes of the Daryl Spinoff. Sounds all kinds of promising to me.

But there's plenty more. Let me just mention some things that stick out that seem to confirm we're right about smaller things (i.e. not Beth, per se). If you read across all the articles, there are actually a LOT of spoilers for the first few episodes. You can piece together a lot of the story from what's said. Yet, there's nothing about Carol, as I've already mentioned, and nothing suggesting a Daryl/Isabelle romance.

I did read one that said there are some "romance tropes" they use between the two of them, that are sure to get the Daryl shippers all fired up, but we don't actually hear about a relationship.

To me, that just means we'll see more of the same. Just as with Connie, just as with Carol, or Rosita, or just about anyone else he's had friendships with, he will be close to Isabelle and they'll connect on a deep level. Because of that, we're sure to see some Daryl/Isabelle shippers spring up, and the more angry people who ship Daryl with someone else (we all know who they are) will be on the warpath.

But I think if we were truly going to see a Daryl/Isabelle romance, it would be apparent in some way from these reviews. Even if they didn't come right out and say it, they would be frustrated that something is going to happen to inflame the shipping wars and would say so.

Another thing certain shippers were saying is that the leaked pictures of Daryl near the moose crossing sign were just down the road from the Commonwealth and were a scene where Carol caught up with him before he left the states and they had some kind of interaction.

That's proven to be false. We're now being told by the screeners that he's in Maine, very far from the Commonwealth, and Carol is nowhere in sight. To those of us to *actually* follow the details of the story and the symbolism, this has a lot more ties to Tales of the Walking Dead's Davon episode. If you haven't watched it, I would highly suggest you do. We're hoping to see some obvious ties to it in the show.

Of all the articles I read, this may be my favorite. It just gushes about how good Daryl's spinoff is, and has lots of good clues in it. But yes, the line you mention, Nonny, really stood out to me.

If you read carefully, it says Daryl will be asked about those he loves, and being Daryl, he's fairly closed-mouthed about it. But they specifically entangle that idea with him saying, or almost saying, a name that will break the internet. The Carylers, obviously, assume it will be Carol. But would him saying her name break the internet? I don't think so.

Exactly!

It doesn't make sense that Carol's name would break the internet. He already told Carol he loved her before leaving the CW, so it wouldn't be anything new. The names of any other character (Rick? Judith? Michonne?) wouldn't either because the audience knows they're out there somewhere. To break the internet as the reviewer suggests, it would have to be someone we don't know about (most of the GA doesn't think Beth is alive) or something we haven't heard Daryl say before.

So, here's what I'm guessing/hoping for. What if someone (Isabelle, I'm assuming) asks Daryl if he's ever been in love? Now, it says it's an "almost" name drop, so maybe he doesn't actually say Beth's name, but mentions a girl he once ended up alone on the road with or something.

That would be sublime. 😍

And naturally other shippers think he'll refer to Carol. But here's the thing. Let's say--you know, just for kicks--that he IS talking about romantic love and he DID refer to Carol. I still don't think that would break the internet. Sure, the Caryl shippers would go absolutely ballistic with triumph and joy, but remember that, while they're very loud and vocal, they're just a small part of the internet. Most of the GA doesn't know who they are any more than they know who we are. And I think the after TWD viewer who isn't part of the ship wars would just go, "huh. Okay. So they finally had Daryl say he was in love with someone." And then they would shrug and move on. Because most of the GA wants Daryl to find a happy ending, but they don't care overly much who it's with.

Now, obviously I DON'T think he's going to say Carol's name, in a romantic or any other capacity. My point is just that no matter how you slice it, Daryl saying Carol's name would not break the internet, so that can't be what the reviewer is talking about.

But referring to Beth would be completely different. We've never heard him talk about her before. And if he talks about feelings he had for her, well, even the average viewer remembers his and Beth's storyline (AMC has certainly kept it in the forefront of most people's minds all these years) and would have an emotional reaction to Daryl talking about her, and even more so if he says he loved her.

Now, of course this is all speculation one way or the other. We have no idea what he will actually be talking about in that scene. Again, this is just what I'm guessing/hoping for, because it's the only thing I can think of that would "break the internet" as the article says.

So, I've already addressed most of this. I'm not getting the Daryl/Isabelle romance thing at all when I read the articles. Again, just read them very carefully. It says there are set ups that feel like romance tropes, but it doesn't actually say there's a relationship, and the same thing could have been said of Connie and plenty of others.

As for the happy ending, I really think we'll see something of that by the end of the first season, but remember that the reviewers have admitted they can't talk about that. But even if we don't get a total Daryl/Beth reunion in S1, keep in mind that Judith's line about his happy ending probably spans the entire spinoff series.

And if I'm right about him mentioning Beth, (yes, still a big IF right now) well, there's no reason to do that unless they're foreshadowing her coming back into the story.

So, as always, we'll have to wait and see what the episodes bring us.

Can reviews be misleading? Yes. Definitely. And I don't even think it's always done purposely on the part of the reviewer. Sometimes yes, sometimes, no. But we have someone who has seen the show and is trying to reveal it without spoiling it. Each reviewer has their own thoughts and impressions and biases that naturally leak into their reviews. Some of them don't have English as their first language. Some of them are Caryl shippers, and that will make their reviews sound a certain way.

So, you just have to keep in mind that these reviewers are human beings with their own insights and opinions. And while that might make their review come off as misleading, it's really just that they have their own interpretation of what they're seeing, just as we do. Whose to say who's right or wrong? (Except we're totally right. 😉😁😇)

Overall, I've really enjoyed reading all these articles and harvesting clues and insights from them. I'm more excited for the Daryl spinoff than ever and still think it is leading to Beth. And we'll get episode 1 in just a few days. (Yay! 🎉)

Xoxo! 🍁🍂💓

[thelastspeecher]

I mentioned a bit ago about how I bought a DVD of the movie Brother Bear just so that I could watch the version of the movie with the commentary by the two moose characters (played by Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas). Well, I just rewatched the commentary for the first time in a while and wanted to share my own personal highlights.

“What is that, wasabi paste?” “You gotta spend less time in sushi bars and more time studying anthropology.”

“Is that Antonio Banderas?”

“Did you put a record on?”  “No it’s called a soundtrack.”

“I got one of those at a giftshop at the Vancouver Airport.”  “That’s called an omelet.” (Item being referenced is in picture below)

“Bears make pretty good lifeguards.  They can swim, they can climb, they’re knowledgeable about CPR.”

“You try going anywhere, even up to the North Pole, and talk to the spirits, and they will ignore you.  Because there’s too much noise and pollution.”

“Notice how chipmunks are always harbingers of danger?”

“Kenai doesn’t do his own stunts because he’s the star.  So they draw a character that looks exactly like him for the shots from behind.”

The entire transformation sequence

Long-winded discussion of how a scene reminds one of them of hockey

“I’ve been to the Iron Salmon, where they have to bike, swim, and run.  Some of the salmon, they don’t make it.  They can’t finish the bike part.”

“You know what they don’t have in this movie?” “What?” “A Zamboni.” “That’d be good.”

“I think I could’ve been a singer if I hadn’t just been a moose.”

They order a pizza.  The pizza delivery guy shows up.  They float the idea of having the pizza delivery guy join the commentary, then immediately boot him.

Extended discussion where they claim a chipmunk was seen immediately before intense action scenes in famous movies

“Never underestimate a murdering human.”

“That’s the bear that does ‘This is CNN.’”  “You’re thinking of Darth Vader.  Darth Vader does ‘This is CNN.’”

“Those are not real salmon.  Those are fake salmon made by the prosthetics department.  They wouldn’t allow even the stunt salmon in the bears’ mouths.”

“And they had the representative of the salmon union there.” “Oh yeah that fish head.” “I thought some of the demands by the salmon were ridiculous.”

“Snow symbolizes the end of the journey.”  “I think the snow symbolizes shoveling.”

“This is called comic relief.  When the story gets really serious and sad, they bring the idiots out.”

“No moose was transformed into a lion in Lion King!”

[a-skirmish-of-wit-and-lit]

Book Review: Mistletoe and Mr. Right by Sarah Morgenthaler

The cheery, snowy, and heartwarming read I needed to finish out 2023.

Lana is the Boss Ass Bitch socialite who has bought the town of Moose Springs in hopes of changing it for the better and bringing in more revenue with condominiums a'plenty, and Rick is the divorced small town business owner who can't help but fall in love with her despite being "accidentally" shot with a tranquilizer dart when she mistakes him for the town menace: a decorations-destroying Santa Moose.

I suppose you can say it was love at first shot. And what's not fun about that?

3/5 stars

**Follow me on Goodreads

[sam-moose]

y/n: is stabbing someone immoral?

Daryl: not if they consent to it.

Negan: depends on who you're stabbing.

Rick:

Rick: YES?!??

[brandnulife]

Riverdale Characters Who Should've Appeared in the Final Season

Alan Mayberry

Anthony Topaz

Arthur Adams

Ms. Appleyard

Bernardo Bixby

Britta Beach

Brooke Rivers

Mrs. Burble

Carlos

Charles Smith

Chic

Chief Russell

Chuck Clayton

Coach Clayton

Commandant Carter

Darla Dickenson

Diana Whitley

Dodger Dickenson

Donna Sweett

Dreyfus Starkweather

Eddie

Elio Grande

Eric Jackson

FP, Glady and Jellybean Jones

Farmer McGinty

Ginger Lopez

Heather

Hermosa Lodge

Holden Honey

Howard Taylor

Janet Weiss

Jeffery and George Augustine

Jessica

Jillian Drake

Jonathan

KO Kelly

Katy Keene

Laurie Lake

Lerman Logan

Loudres Luna

Louis Cypher

Malachai

Marsha Lin

Marty Mantle

Moose and Marcus Mason

Malcolm Moore

Melody Valentine

Minerva Marble

Mad Dog

Mrs. Mulwray

Ms. Wright

Nana Topaz

Nancy Woods

Nick, Simone and Xander St. Clair

Oscar Castillo

Paul Sowerberry

Peaches 'N Cream

Penny Peabody

Rick

Ricky DeSantos

Sabrina Spellman

Samm Pansky

Sherry Winters

Sierra McCoy

Sister Woodhouse

Sweet Pea

Terry

Tina Patel

Toby

Trev Brown

Valerie Brown

Xandra Cabot

[zahri-melitor]

Okay, finished Arsenal 1998! A few notes:-

The colourist on this, Moose Baumann, is VERY good. The whole thing is fun and vibrant and really brings out Rick Mays' art.

I must have seen every single panel in this comic that contained Lian at least 50 times previously and I enjoyed seeing every last one of them again.

Yes it's Devin Grayson and once again it's Devin proving that she can write as long as Dick isn't her major focus.

Devin actually manages to fit a whole heap of Roy's backstory into this quite casually in small panels and allusions. This could be your first intro to Roy and you'd get all the important events, but the comic doesn't beat you over the head about it.

Of course this has never been collected, given it's a miniseries about Roy Harper that came out in 1998-1999. (I may have to give way on my usual 'no floppies' policy here because damn I do want to own these. Fortunately they're eminently affordable)

[rodrickstudios]

“You know how to say ‘I missed you’ in elephant language?”

A year or so ago I was remembering the Bob the Builder special A Christmas To Remember. When doing that, I just couldn’t help but compare the story role of Bob and Tom’s toy elephant, Jumbo, with that of Rick’s wooden moose in one of my all-time favorite movies, The Mitchells vs. the Machines (I gave that moose the fan-nickname of “Gulpi” by the way, considering the elephant had a name).

Firstly, both toy animals symbolize the connection (ba-dum-tss) that the main pair —Bob and Tom on one hand, Rick and Katie on the other— had on the past. They also symbolize that said connection, no matter how far away one of them might be in the present (whether at the North Pole or at film school), will still be present among the two pairs.

On another note, Jumbo and Gulpi are also presented to the viewer in similar ways. When they first appear in a video recording, one thinks they're just a simple toy (case of the elephant) or an object that a main character has just forgotten about over the years (case of the moose, as Katie first thought of giving it away forgeting how it had helped her back at camp). However, when they appear on another recording later, the view towards them changes drastically: an accident with Jumbo led to Bob conning his famous “Can we fix it?” phrase and Rick took Gulpi as a reminder of the wooden house he had to sacrifice in order to raise Katie. In other words, both elephant and moose represent objects that, at first, don't seem to be that relevant story-wise, but become so via a revelation done through recordings.

It was based on the previous thoughts that I made these two memes, which I publish here before Christmas comes to a close these days.

Oh, and before I forget, both Mitchells and A Christmas have another similarity. The two have renowned Mexican voice actor José Antonio Macías (known for voicing James in Pokemon, Captain America, Bert in Sesame Street and many other characters) doing a secondary role. In Mitchells, he's Mark Bowman, and on Bob, he's non-other than Elton John.

[thecandywrites]

Monster March 2023 Day 7- Minotaur- Part 2

The Rut

Thanks to @borealwrites for their Monster March 2023 prompt list. As well as @catbatart for their's too. You guys are phenomenal.

Part 2

Pleasant Surprise

But Bauvar got pleasantly surprised when he went to go get coffee the next morning and he recognized your voice when the barista greeted you. 

“Bianca Darling, how are things?” She asked as she didn’t even bother to ask what you wanted and the moment she saw you, immediately started to make it for you. 

“Busy, it’s velvet stripping season.” You answered. 

“Oh you poor thing. How many do you have today?” She asked as she dumped caramel sauce and extra chocolate into the caramel macchiato. 

“18. Most of them moose and caribou too. It’s going to be a very long day.” You answered. 

“How many bouquets of flowers did you get yesterday?” She asked. 

“23. But I got a gift card for this place. So you’ll be seeing me a lot more frequently.” You chuckled. 

“And how many dates did you have to turn down?” She asked. 

“Only six. Thankfully, I could use my ‘I don’t date clients from the spa’ line, always the new clients too because my ol’ reliables already know not to ask.” You admitted. 

“Were any of them even tempting?” She asked as she topped it off with whipped cream and caramel drizzle and Bauvar fought not to shove or sideswipe the guy between the two of you in line to hear your answer.

“Yeah, always a couple, of course the ones that are tempting usually don’t ask.” You admitted with a shrug before she handed the coffee off to you before you used the gift card and grinned to see how much was on it but electronically left a hefty tip to the always hard working baristas. 

“Beaver?” Another barista called out Bauvar’s coffee and his ears laid back as you simply softly snorted a laugh through the mispronunciation of his name. 

“It’s..Bauvar, but whatever.” He grumbled under his breath as he took it. 

“Oh, hey, how are the antlers today?” You asked when you went to walk by him to grab a straw and a few napkins from the counter.

“Much better, you were right, woke up and didn’t feel a thing other than relief. Thank you so much for squeezing me in. I was told you’re pretty popular.” He smiled as his ears perked up. 

“Well when you have the experience I do, it kind of comes with the territory.” You shrugged. 

“Well it shows. You do excellent work.” He praised. 

“Thank you. I try.” You smiled appreciatively before a big bouquet of flowers caught your eye as you smiled to wonder if it would go to any of the baristas. But when your eyes traveled up to see who was holding them,eyes got wider for a moment as your face fell and even tensed before you ducked your head and quickly tried to duck away from the holder of the extra large and extravagant bouquet of flowers before the newest addition to the coffee shop spotted you and made a B-line for you while practically screaming your name across the coffee shop as you wished the ground would open up to swallow you just to get you away from him. 

“Beautiful Bianca! I found you! The salon said you weren’t in yet. I wanted to make sure you got these from me.” He insisted as he came over and thrust the bouquet into your face that had as many gift cards as blooms practically in it. 

“Thanks Rick. You really, shouldn’t have.” You begrudgingly took the flowers from him. 

“But you’re the best stripper in the world, I just wanted to make sure you knew you were appreciated. Did I tell you that I’m going to be opening up a new spa? I would love to have you be my first hire. Really, I’d happily double the rate that you’re making now, plus tips.” He insisted as you grimaced at the word ‘stripper’ and wondered how many people in here now wondered if you were an exotic dancer by the way he just said that as Bauvar frowned deeply to see how you were reacting to Rick. And an unease soon grew in the pit of his stomach and every instinct he had was telling him to shove this guy off because you were clearly, not interested and unreceptive.

“Well if you could get that in writing and drop it off at the salon, I promise I’ll look it over and consider it once I get through the busy season. I’d already booked so far out with them. And I’d hate to cancel on anyone.” You offered as an excuse. 

“But I could even get you a sign on bonus that I’m sure would make up for any lost business from where you are now. How about I take you out to dinner? We could talk about it then, I could pick you up at the salon at 7 or even 8 or 9, depending on how busy you’d be today.” He offered. 

“I’m sorry, but that’s never going to happen. I have a noncompete. Plus, I already have plans.” You tried to excuse, desperately grasping at straws here.

“With what? I’m sure they wouldn’t mind you breaking them, especially when it’s such a great opportunity. And non competes are a bunch of bullshit anyway, legal, mumbo-jumbo. And I’m sure there’s plenty of loopholes you can take advantage of. I got a buddy whose a lawyer, I’m sure he’d find at least a lose thread or two to pull at to make that noncompete- obsolete.” He tried to say as Bauvar simply stood there and watched the interaction and even he could sense how uncomfortable and uneasy you were while he, even on a very base business level, was offended at Rick’s attitude to something as serious as a noncompete could be. And it was clear this asshole was not taking any of the hints nd not taking no for an answer. 

“She has plans with me, and yes I do mind.” Bauvar spoke up and had he been looking at you instead of staring down at the deer- minotaur, he might have seen delight and relief brighten your features.  

“And you are?” He asked Bauvar as he stepped up closer and held his gaze challengingly. 

“This is Mr. Bauvar Leopold, he’s my new boyfriend. And we already have dinner plans tonight. Sorry.” You managed to say as you gratefully slipped your freehand into the crook of Bauvar’s elbow while you held the bouquet in the crook of the arm on the other side after you used it to place the bouquet there while the other hand still held your drink. 

“Oh, well surely, you wouldn’t object to her making more money right? It’s a noncompete, do you even know about those things? They’re…” He began to mansplain. 

“Actually, I’m a corporate lawyer. So yes. I do know about noncompetes. And I’m sure the one that Bianca has signed is quite thorough because The Velvet Spa is a medical facility and meticulous in every single detail. And while I personally haven’t read it over and given her my full legal assistance yet, because it has yet to come up in our relationship, if she wants to revisit that, that will be her choice made in her own free will and not something she should ever be coerced into. But for now, she really needs to get back to work. Excuse us.” Bauvar insisted as he gratefully took you out of there. 

“Thank you so much. I really appreciate this.” You thanked him as you checked to see if Rick was following you. 

“You’re welcome. Did you really sign a noncompete?” He muttered under his breath as he walked you down the street. 

“No. Are you really a lawyer?” You asked. 

“Yes.” He confirmed. 

“Nice. Congrats. But thank you for the save. I just might actually hire you to draw one up just for me then, if it’ll keep that asshole off my tail.” You offered. 

“Does this happen to you alot?” He asked. 

“Yes, well, no. Well. Let me clarify. Have other people tried to head hunt me for other medical spas that specialize in services for taur clients? Yes. I’ve gotten offers from…literally all the major brands and public sector and private sector and across the board. That, I’m used to.” You clarified. 

“However, that particular individual is particularly heinous. Nothing against deer minotaurs in general, but that particular guy, I call him Dick Rick behind his back, he is such an asshole. He screwed his business partners and his ex wife over with his last business and he’s always out to make a quick buck any way he can. And I would guarantee you that whatever spa he’s talking about it- would most likely be completely dependant on all of my clients following me only to use me for a season and then hang me out to dry. He practically creates businesses overnight, only to get as much credit as he can, use them to fleece whatever market he can before he has the business file for bankruptcy. He is as shady and slimy of a scumbag as they come.” You divulged. 

“Yeah, I gathered.” Bauvar nodded in agreement. 

“And at first, it was the personal interest in me. Which I politely refused. But he does not know how to take a ‘no’ as an answer from anyone. I’ve gotten more bouquets of flowers from him than I know what to do with. He’s spent a fortune just in flowers because I think in his head- that’s how a taur woos a human apparently. He’s already done the same thing to other taur specialists, velvet strippers in particular. But his last venture was to have the stripper part be very literal. As if any self respecting professional would give a striptease while they are wielding a surgical scalpel. He has no respect for the profession.” You continued. 

“Ew.” Bauvar scuffed and nearly gagged at the implications. 

“Oh, it gets worse. He’s a cash only client because usually he’ll book up every service in the salon and then his cards won’t have the credit when they run them after the service, no tipping, no referrals, if anything he’s tried to poach more clientele than anything. Every time I see him, I wish I could turn invisible so he doesn’t see me.” You confessed. 

“So, stalker, basically.” Bauvar realized. 

“Yes. Which is why I’m so grateful and thankful that you were able to step in. Back there. He’s one of those assholes that will usually only respect another male’s word or opinion more than a woman’s.” You ventured. 

“That’s disgusting and inexcusable. Would you like for me to look into restraining orders?” Bauvar asked. 

“No, because it’s the rut and hopefully his interest will die, once he goes through it and it abates as his own hormones aren’t sending him into a pursuer frame of mind, like they are right now. Hopefully once he manages to scrape enough money to get into a real whore house to get laid, he’ll ease off.” You hoped which caused Bauvar to snicker a laugh. 

“Hopefully. But if he doesn’t. Don’t hesitate to protect yourself ok? I understand you deal with the public and have to have professional courtesy and all that, but this is not normal. This screams obsessive stalker to me.” Bauvar said as he gestured to the flowers. 

“Yeah, you’re probably right. But thank you so much for stepping in and getting me out of there because I hate it when he comes in and causes a scene at the spa and especially when he waits for me by the parking lot. Last year, he completely surrounded my car with bouquets of flowers, and waited in the parking lot, in his car, and practically juiced up while he waited for me to get out of work.” 

“Well, then why didn’t you do something then?” Bauvar asked worriedly. 

“Because the only reason why he singles me out specifically is because he found out I was “the best” that the spa had and he’s been out to get me ever since. And I’d rather it happen to me than to any of the other girls at the spa and salon who don’t have the experience or don’t have the wisdom to see past his bleached antlers. Last year, even when I stripped the velvet off of him, during the appointment, he wouldn’t shut up the whole time about ‘how awesome and amazing it was’. And then after the service, when I’m already elbow deep into my next client’s velvet, he nitpicks and complains all to get a free service. He’s so two faced, I hate that in every guy, it doesn’t matter who or what he is either. And I refuse to work on him, let alone with him. And whenever he’s at the spa, the managers have to practically sit on the session to make sure he doesn’t try anything. He even comes in for extra antler bleaching and antler sharpening, he’s not happy unless his own antlers are ready to gore anyone within charging distance. He’s ridiculous.” You confessed in a low murmur as you clung to Bauvar’s arm. Grateful that he was there at least to save you from Dick Rick this time. 

“Yikes.” Bauvar muttered back as his steps had now fully synchronized with your own. 

“Will he do the same thing now?” Brauvar asked. 

“Who knows.” You sighed tiredly.

“Well, not to be like Mr. Bleached Asshole, but do you have anyone at the spa who can walk you out when you’re done or does the spa have security guards or?” He asked.

“Well, usually this time of year, we usually all wait for each other and walk each other out at night and as a safety and security protocol, there has to always be at least two people there while the business is open. The manager says they’re getting a security guard, but because of the time of year, it’s hard to get good help without them also looking to take advantage of us, cause it’s just that time of year where the rut turns everyone into a hormonal teenager again, especially the other tuar girls and even us non taurs can get caught up in it too.” You admitted. 

“Well I can get off of work anytime. Here’s my card, this is my cellphone, if he’s hanging around, call me, and I’ll come, at the very least, to be big bad lawyer and if need be- stand in boyfriend if he really doesn’t back off.” He offered. 

“You sure your wife or girlfriend won’t mind?” You asked him as you looked at his hand writing on the back of the business card and appreciate different aspects of his handwriting. 

“No. It’s fine.” He reassured you. 

“Thank you so much Bauvar. Hopefully I won’t have to bother you but thanks for offering in the first place. It means a lot. Have a good day at the office. No more bloody suits and expensive dry cleaning bills.” You thanked him gratefully before you went into work which got him to laugh again. 

“Yup. Same there, good luck wading through all the hormones and velvet between obnoxious bouquets.” He offered which got you to throw your head back and laugh as you neared the door. 

“Especially the obnoxious bouquets.” You offered with one last waive and smile over your shoulder before you went into the spa as he simply stood there with a fond smile before he finally remembered he should be heading into work and pulled himself away to go into the law firm that was around the corner so to speak. Wondering how he had never noticed this spa here before. 

“Ladies, aren’t these flowers obnoxious?” You asked the front desk. 

“Yeah.” They laughed. 

“Dick Rick gave them to me. At the coffee shop. He said someone in here told him that’s where I was. So, who told Dick Rick where to find me?” You asked the team of receptionists before everyone looked at each other in alarm before the newest of the receptionists had her ears pinned down while her cheeks flushed before your eyes traveled down the line and found the guilty party as your face deadpanned as she dropped her gaze guiltily as you walked down the desk to stand in front of her to get an explanation.  

“He said he was your fiance and it was a surprise.” She volunteered. 

“Emily, no. That’s not true. I’m not engaged to him. I’m not even dating him. I never have and I never will. He’s an asshole who has been trying to poach both the clientele here and the specialists here too. He turns into a stalker during the rut. For future reference, don’t ever confirm someone works here to people who the others have not told you or introduced you to who their significant others are. And never say what their schedule is or where to find them. It’s dangerous and unprofessional. That’s how we lose good specialists in here because we’ve had more than our fair share of stalkers. And you guys are especially vulnerable because you’re working front desk and are seen the most. So, Emily, who trained you?” You asked her as calmly yet seriously as you could.  

“I did, my mistake Boss. I thought I went over that. I’ll go over it again.” Macy offered. 

“Thank you, the last thing I want is for anyone in here to be victimized, especially by douchebags like Dick Rick.” You urged them before you went to the General Manager’s office to tell her what had happened and how the whole staff would benefit from revisiting safety protocols. And ask where she was on hiring those bodyguards as she pulled their resume’s up and promised she would get them in there ASAP. 

“Boss? I thought Charline is the owner?” Emily balked in horror once you walked back. 

“No. Charline is the public face of the place because Charline and Bianca grew up together. But Charline simply does hoof trimming and polishing. It’s Bianca who bought and modeled the building and hired Charline to be the face of the business because Bianca is human and at first so few people took her seriously other than the people she grew up working on. Suddenly, with Charline saying that Bianca was the best in the business, that’s when the business took off. Bianca owns the place and literally signs our paychecks and it’s her licenses and certifications that are the reason we can charge as much as we can and have to pass medical board and have medical codes for our services. She’s the reason why we’re a medical spa in the first place. But Bianca simply doesn’t like that much limelight. She’s happy to let others assume it’s Charline’s business because she’s a red deer-taur herself. But Bianca is the reason we have the massive clientele we do. And the reason we can make so much and can offer all the services we do.” Macy explained. 

“Oh shit, so am I fired?” Emily asked as tears came to their eyes. 

“No. You might receive a reprimand from H.R. and the front desk manager. But that’s it. Bianca’s not heartless. She would never fire someone for a single mistake.” Macy reassured her before Nancy came up. 

“Emily, Bianca told me what happened. From now on, please don’t give out anyone’s personal information, especially their location. When and if we have another situation  like this. If they are here, simply say they are busy with another client and then, we can always claim that we have two people by that name if the person doesn’t want to see them. Or that they quit and we don’t know where they went and have no way of contacting them. Ok?” Nancy reminded Emily. 

“Ok.” Emily nodded as she wiped the tears from her eyes. 

“Also, these are for the front desk. Bianca said she doesn’t want them but they should be a reminder to everyone here what could happen if we loosen up on our safety procedures and protocols. Also we’re going to be having security guards coming in hopefully tomorrow. But for now, Rick’s profile has been flagged as a safety hazard to personnel. And he’s not allowed to schedule appointments in the future. OK?” Nancy reminded them as she put the flowers, now in a vase up on the counter with some of the others that had been brought in. 

“Yes Ma’am.” They all echoed in understanding before she passed out all the gift cards that had been with it. 

“Don’t get too excited, they only have $5 on them anyway.” Nancy chuckled. 

“Oh, that’s low.” Macy sneered at the gift card. 

“Why get ten gift cards with 5 dollars each on them. Just get one with 50 on it and be done with it?” Ashley asked. 

“Dick Rick is an egocentric narcissist. He’s all flash, no substance.” Macy muttered. 

“So he’s done this before?” Emily asked and watched as they all nodded yes. 

“Oh yeah, but he’s been hung up on Bianca for a couple of seasons now. Usually, when it’s the rut, she’s used to her taur clientele getting crushes on her. And so she doesn’t think anything of it. But even after the rut, he’s still pursuing her because he’s entitled asshole who always wants the best for himself and he knows she’s the best. So that’s who he wants. If we started saying that you’re the best in business, he’d drop his interest in her in a heartbeat and start going after you instead. And he’d use you up like kleenex and then toss you once he used you up, like he’s done with every ex he’s had, who, coincidentally, come in to use the spa themselves.” Macy explained.

“Oh.” Emily blinked but still frowned at the gift card she got.