#anyway. i think we can all agree that jim carreys role in this movie is not worth 24 ben schwartzs.

[hishighnesstheprincess]

I’m so confused on how Ben Schwartz isn’t a celebrity. He’s literally been in movies and shows!

He is somewhat known, but he is nowhere near as big of a name as any of the top four primarily live-action actors at the top of the payroll. I can tell you from personal experience that maybe 10% of people who are interested enough in the Sonic Movies to watch the second one know any of Ben Schwartz's previous roles (or they had to be informed via the internet), whereas one time I told my dad I didn't understand why Jim Carrey was such a big deal and he looked at me like I just kicked a puppy

[viviane-lefay]

Yeah, no fucks to give here!

Really not into this ship - at least not in a romantic & sexual context.

—

At this point, I think it is best, if I put a little clarification here, before I continue:

This is just about my personal opinion, theories & headcanon - and by no means lays a claim to general validity (nor does your POV, btw).

I have more of a pick & choose approach to fandom subjects, anyway, so I can customize the experience exactly according to my needs and wishes. This is fiction, after all - the realm of endless possibilities - where anything goes, and where there is a place for the preferences of all of us.

That said, I really want to point out that I have nothing against people shipping the Dr. with Agent Stone - but since I, personally, prefer m/f ships, I’d rather choose the female OC approach, as it’s also my beloved villain x heroine constellation (not the subject of this post, though).

My take on the dynamic between the Dr. and his assistant is, therefore, quite a bit different from the fandom popular one. Well, to each his own.

What this post definitely is not, is an invitation for a debate regarding character interpretation, shipping choices, etc. - and all the potential drama that this might entail. If that is what you’re after, then I’d politely ask you to leave now, because all you are doing is wasting both of our time.

Let’s just agree to disagree and move on, k!?

I do my thing and you do you, guys!

I suppose, I made myself abundantly clear now.

—

Anyway, to return to the topic …

Where have all the male friendships & professional partnerships in fandom gone!?

Because, personally, I think agent Stone rather relates to his boss on that level…

Robotnik being a role model of some sort, that is - not unlike a kohai & senpai, or a younger & older brother constellation, actually - where the former looks up to the latter due to certain traits that he admires (and Stone certainly does). Regarding the age difference of the two, this could also make sense.

I’d estimate that Stone can’t be much older than his mid-twenties at most, since he’s in the position of a junior agent and assistant - still at the very beginning of his career path. And he’s very capable, disciplined and professional, at that, which is probably why he made it as Robotnik’s assistant at all (unsurprisingly, given the man isn’t the most patient).

Speaking of whom - I think, regardless of Jim Carrey being in his late fifties at that point - he, himself, can’t be that old, actually. My personal take (& preference) here would be late thirties, which would still make a lot of sense regarding his academic and occupational career. Being this overachieving genius, I guess that he finished school in time-lapse mode, skipping one, or even more grades - same goes for uni. Therefore, it wouldn’t surprise me if he was done by the age of 25 - his five PhDs included (bet he did two at once), which would still give him plenty of time to make his way as an agent and scientific government official up to the time of the events of the movie.

Aside from that, I can’t help but see parallels to the dynamic of Piett and Vader here, as well - a mixture of professional esteem and a bit of intimidation. But certainly no outright fear, as Stone is hardly under the threat of being strangled to death by his superior, like poor Piett is.

That is not to say that Robotnik’s still frequent misconduct towards him is ok (it definitely is not), but it certainly is more mild than he behaves towards, say, pretty much anyone else. Btw, that includes the “pin yourself to the wall”, grabbing him by the bottom lip and dragging him towards himself, while glaring at and chiding him (For what exactly!? Not being perfect, or as smart as him!? Chill, man, the boy is doing his best, and he’s doing a good job!).

Fandom, of course, does what it always loves to do - construe this as “evidence” for the alleged attraction between the two, which is pretty far-fetched, imho (…although you’re surely free to interpret it this way, if you so please. As I said, this is just my pov & to each his own. *shrugs*).

Anyway, you can clearly see Robotnik displaying this type of behaviour, along with the invasion of personal space, towards other male characters as well - be it “Major Nobody Cares”, “Officer Brainfart”, the big bar dude he threw out of the window, or Tom Wachowski. So, following this line of argument, does that mean he’s into these guys, as well!? Honestly, that’s pretty ridiculous!

If anything, it is a blatant display of asserting dominance, bringing the message home that he is the alpha male, while putting his opponent / subordinate in his place - and that’s it! What this behaviour definitely is not, however, is something remotely shipping related.

Besides, there are many examples of other male characters doing this for similar reasons, too - amongst others Darth Vader (remember that scene between him and Orson Krennic!?), and Severus Snape (after Harry invaded his memories during the occlumency lessons). And Robotnik does that quite aggressively in the cases above. In fact, it seems to be a fairly consistent behavioural pattern with him (not that he actually needed that though, but that’s an entirely different matter).

As for Robotnik’s personal attitude towards his assistant, I think Stone’s one of the very few people he actually respects, and even likes, because the young man’s esteem for him is so genuine, while everyone else regards him pretty much like nothing more than an asset, or a threat.

It’s not like he doesn’t somewhat encourage being kept in that position himself, behaving like he does - aside from actively reducing himself to his intellect & academic prowess. This isn’t all that surprising, as it is something he apparently gets his entire sense of self-worth from, and likely the only thing he got any appreciation for from others, which is, perhaps, also why he constantly needs to spotlight said trait (no behaviour someone truly at one with himself & his abilities would display, btw). Then, there is his little tolerance for failure - especially when it comes to himself. He truly expects to perform flawlessly, like a machine, and when he doesn’t, that really seems to unsettle him (that face when Tom points his unsuccessful attempts to catch Sonic out to him … he was so offended, he almost looked like he wanted to cry ^^;;).

So, of course it is likely that he becomes quite attached to the sort of attitude and behaviour that Stone displays towards him, even though he wouldn’t think of it this way - because, you know, emotional bonds with other human beings obviously are beneath him (Yeah, sure, we did see the veracity of that claim afterwards, didn’t we!?).

But, then again, growing up as an emotionally starved child and adolescent, used to being brushed aside, and, later, deliberately distancing himself from other people, he actually might have no clue whatsoever how to appropriately deal with things like these, and thus brushes them aside as “weakness”, which really does make sense, especially in the context that he was bullied as well.

Same goes for him eventually adopting the habit of pushing other people away via plain disagreeable behaviour. I think this phenomenon is called “hedgehog’s dilemma”, and it is quite ironic that he is more afflicted by it than his blue nemesis.

It is so painfully obvious that this guy has some massive issues, stemming from past emotional neglect and negative experiences - so much, that he even rejects all things human altogether, along with his own humanity.

His excessive idealization of and identification with technology, therefore, comes quite in handy as a defense mechanism in order to cope with said experiences.

Machines don’t ask much of you, they do what they are told, they are predictable, and they - above all - can’t suddenly abandon, betray, humiliate, and hurt you (which, I think, is the crux of the matter here).

Even though he might claim that his robots are everything to him, and that he doesn’t need anything and anyone else - his actions, however, prove otherwise … let alone his constant spiteful remarks on the matter, which just sound so damn bitter.

We can recognize that quite clearly when he is forced into involuntary seclusion on that mushroom planet at the end. This is where we see that what he truly is missing are not his machines (I bet he could have easily built a robot to accompany him out of the wreckage of his vessel), but one of the few people (maybe even the only one at that point), that he had apparently grown to value as worthwile company - namely agent Stone.

And, yes, it is very evident that he misses him (platonically, for me - but this isn’t even the point here) - he even tries to make a rock resemble Stone’s likeness in order to have someone to “talk to”, and mimic the social interactions he had with him.

Essentially, all those objects and machines are but a substitutive gratification that he tries to use, but that never come remotely close to the real deal, let alone are ever able to replace it.

In the end, he’s still a human being, along with all the human needs that go along with it - human contact and care included.

If the psycho-social and emotional makeup of his closest known relatives is any indicator to how his own might be structured - and it usually is (I’m speaking about the nature aspect, not nurture) - then he can’t be such a bad guy, after all - at least not inherently.

Taking his grandfather Gerald Robotnik, for example, who loved his granddaughter Maria (a total sweetheart) so much, that he was willing to do anything for her, in order to heal her from the fatal illness that was afflicting her - and who literally went insane with grief after losing her - then it shows someone with a strong emotional life, who feels what he feels very keenly and deeply. Furthermore, he is also someone that happens to bond very selectively, but if that is the case, it has this virtually absolute quality about it, with a love just as intense and profund to match (which is quite beautiful, actually).

On the other hand, though, that can also mean someone that has a high degree of emotional vulnerability, and who, therefore, is susceptible to sustain lasting damage from interpersonal traumatic experiences (which happens to be the case here, imho).

More often than not, it is this type of person that is likely to cork up their feelings and harden their hearts as a result - and who use every opportunity to deride the very traits, needs, and wishes they worked so hard to push away, if they see them in others. That is, amongst others, what gives them away. It’s pure projection - which is why I think that his caustic remarks should definitely not be taken at face value.

There are many, many examples of villains (or anti-heroes) that fit this type. Robotnik would hardly be an exception.

Besides, it is nice to see that Jim Carrey seems to have a fairly similar take on that matter (not that I actually care, but still):

“… and all it really comes down to is, he wants to be special to somebody, only it’s gone megalomania for him.”  [x]

Ouch! Poor guy, actually.

He seems a lot like Ozai in that regard. No wonder I dig this dude (aside from him being hot, that is, haha) - he’s totally the type of villain I fancy.

And also, like it’s the case with Ozai, I can’t help but wonder about his past, given there is known so little about it (aside from a few hints), so the following will be about some of my personal theories and headcanons about him, his family, and his past.

These are such important characters (main antagonists, no less), yet the creators can’t bring themselves to be more specific about the most basic facts concerning their families. Ugh, huge pet peeve here! Nobody expects a huge ancestral chart down to the tiniest details, but they could at least offer more info about their closest relatives - especially the parents, who happen to have the most formative influence on a person.

How old was he, when his parents died, anyway!? That they died seems pretty much a given, as that is what being an orphan is about, per definitionem (and he referred to himself as such). But how did they die? Did he witness their death, or was he absent?

Personally, I have this theory that their demise might very well be linked with what happened to his grandfather Gerald Robotnik, and his cousin Maria. Perhaps they were on that space research colony during the military assault, and were also amongst the “collateral damage” there.

From what I read, the recruited scientists lived there, so I reckon that they did bring their families with them, which is likely, since it is said that Maria was born there, so at least her parents must have lived there for an extended amount of time, as well. Since Ivo isn’t Maria’s brother, but her cousin, Gerald must have had at least two children, who lived alongside him (… and his wife!? No info about her, either.) on that station.

While I think both of Ivo’s parents were from prominent scientist families (after all, that is what the population of this space station was comprised of), it is still unclear whether or not they remained on that station. I am inclined to believe they might have split their time between there and Earth, as Maria and Ivo don’t appear to have been particularly close, such as, for instance, her and Shadow (who was pretty much her only friend there), but I think that might also have been the case due to a difference in age.

Maria was 12 years old when she died during the military attack on the station. Since Ivo apparently seems to have no significant memory of his parents, and seems to have spent his childhood as an orphan, he can’t have been older than 3-4 during this incident.

With Gerald arrested, and pretty much the rest of the inconvenient Robotnik family gone, aside from that small child, I think the military decided to take him along, simply because of the vast potential of this child, coming from a bloodline of geniuses, that was now theirs to mold and to exploit.

They likely left the boy in an orphanage afterwards, mostly to his own devices, and without any support, or caregiver whose bonds transcended the mere duty of keeping their fosterling alive - a lonely life, largely deprived of emotional warmth and attachment.

However, they did keep him under close monitoring, so they could intervene anytime they saw fit, to stir him in the direction they wanted - like a psychological experiment of sorts. I remember that in the movie the presiding pentagon guy referred to him as “a lab rat with teeth” - which is rather telling regarding how they perceived him, and pretty nasty, considering the implication.

The Robotnik name, though, they obviously did not refuse him - a decision they would come to regret later. While this allowed him the only tie to his ancestry, their legacy, however, didn’t do him much good.

Gerald Robotnik was a disgraced man, known to the world as the genius madman, imprisoned and sentenced to death as a criminal - which was, by far not the whole truth. And yet, he was turned into this idealised picture of a hero by his grandson, who so admired his achievents and strove to become a scientist because of it, despite knowing only the official version of the story.

The tainted reputation of his grandfather would haunt Ivo for a long time to come. It would also become the lens through which he was perceived and judged by the world at large, and this turned out to be the main reason he was rejected, and, furthermore, relentlessly bullied by his peers - irrespective of his own accomplishments, which earned him at least the praise of his authority figures.

That he eventually snapped and retaliated, did not exactly improve the situation for him. While the bullying did stop for the greater part, the peoples’ suspicion had turned into fear, as their concerns had come to pass after all, and, as a result, he was shunned even more.

In the following years, he was further on groomed to become this perfect military asset - a morally unchecked scientist and ruthless agent, that the government could deploy like the weapon they undoubtedly saw him as.

Unfortunately for them, however, their experiment didn’t quite have the outcome they had anticipated, as he not only exceeded their expectations on an intellectual and scientific level, but, at the same time, became increasingly unstable, unpredictable (”psychological tire-fire”) and, hence, potentially dangerous - to such a degree that they became very hesitant to deploy him at all (despite the “perfect operations record”), and even downright terrified of him.

Frankly, I think they’d also have ample reason to be afraid of him, other than just his obviously ambitious nature. The most prominent being a possible event, where he finds out about what truly happened to his family and himself, as well as their role in this. Needless to say, that he wouldn’t take this lightly, considering all the shit he had to endure because of it, and likely seek revenge. I’d really be curious about such a scenario.

[ladyonfire28]

Here’s a (disastrous) translation of the interview Adèle Haenel in France Inter back, in their « Popopop » radio show back in June 2019, when she was promoting her film Le Daim. They rebroadcasted a couple of days ago. I’m really sorry about how messy that translation is, it’s even worse that usual lol. But anyway here you go:

Begins at 6:00 - 

The lady interviewer, Charline Roux (CR), talks about Adèle’s filmography: Les diables, Naissances des pieces, l’Apollonide, Suzanne, Les Combattants etc.

6:45

The presenter Antoine De Caunes (ADC) says that if she gets two more Césars she can make a coffee table out of them (the 4 legs of a table). And she replies that only one César is enough for that.

7:00

De Caunes asks her how does she feel when she wins awards.

AH: It’s enjoyable obviously and it gives you confidence. And it’s encouraging. I try to be sincere in my work and to have this support reinforces my desire to work that way.

ADC: It makes you feel like you didn’t take the wrong turn ?

AH: Or everybody is taking the wrong turn with me

CR : You’ve been nominated almost every year for the César (2014, 2015, 2018, 2019 and she didn’t know yet but 2020)

AH: Yes it true

CR : So you’re not really taking any wrong turn here

AH: Yes but it’s not the reason why I do this, but I’m happy when it happens of course. It helps me staying confident in a job envrionment that is quite unsettling.

8:00

So then they said they asked for her « pop » list, which are her favorite book, film, tv show and song.  So De Caunes says that Adèle’s book choice was Mémoire de fille by Annie Ernaux published in 2016.

Charline then talks a bit about the book and then Adèle reads a short extract of the book. Then she explains why she likes it.

9:23

AH: I love Annie Ernaux and you chose a very good extract for me to read because it talks about how she tries to find her presence in her absence of life. And this where she really tries to find who she is. And it’s very powerful and it’s a very honest writing.

DC: You like all of her writing  ?

AH: Yeah I love the writer she is.

Then De Caunes says Adèle chose Carol as her favorite film. And then Charline explains the plot of the film.

10:35

Then De Caunes asks why she likes the film so much. If it was because of the complicated love story, Todd Haynes, Cate Blanchett, the drama, all of that ?

AH: It’s all of this together. To me it’s an amazing film, a film that makes the emotions speak. For me Cate Blanchett is an incredible actress, she plays that fantasized character but we also see the fractures that appear in her character and in the image. I find her way of working wonderful and the image is beautiful. And also the relationship between brave and beautiful people. I love that film.

ADC: When you see Cate Blanchett acting you as an actress -

AH: I’m so thrilled haha, it’s amazing

ADC: Yes but do you tell yourself « this is what I’m trying to reach »  ?

AH: What I like about her is that she doesn’t try to just act well, she takes the job as a artistic research. And it wouldn’t be good to try to do like her but to follow that way of working, that spirit, that’s interesting.

CR: And what is great is that she does that no matter what is the film. She does that with Carol but also with Thor. Even in Thor we believe in it and she’s really good.

AH: She’s always searching and I don’t know her personally but this way of being is always the most enjoyable and the most interesting one.

12:08

ADC says they also asked her to chose a tv show but Adèle had nothing. And he asks her why she doesn’t watch them.

AH: Well I don’t know why. I just don’t. And I wasn’t going to give you a show like Une femme d'honneur *laugh*  (it’s a terrible cheap French show)

CR : Because you really watch Une femme d’honneur ?

AH: No but not anymore *laugh*, it’s awful, but yeah I just don’t watch shows. I find them very interesting when people tell me the story but I don’t watch it.

ADC: Is it because it’s too long ?

AH: I don’t know, I just don’t, I don’t find the time for it, I’d rather read.

ADC: Well since we’re not scared of anything, we will recommend you one show that is linked with one of your inspiration for Le Daim

CR : You said you got inspiration from the Goosebumps books so we’re recommending you the series adapted from the books that was broadcast in the late 90’s on France 2. They’re now on Netflix

AH: I didn’t think of it but if I did I would have watched it.

ADC: Let’s finish your pop list with the song you picked and it’s this one: *Mississipi Goddamn by Nina Simone is playing*.

13:55

ADC: So what’s up with Nina Simone ?

AH: Nina Simone is an wonderful artist. Sometimes in her songs she’s really in the present moment and it’s the goal of every artist. I love everything she does and here it’s really beautiful because there’s a political thought that leads to anger that is used as an artistic inspiration and that’s very powerful.

DC: So you’re more Nina Simone than Joe Dassin, who’s in the soundtrack of Le Daim

AH: Well a priori yes.

Then they’re doing a mix of all her pop list.

15:20

DC: So do you recognize yourself in that mix ?

AH: Well it’s pretty well done live yes.

They play some music

17:00

De Caunes explains the story of Le Daim and tells Adèle it’s a pretty weird plot. She agrees. And he asks her if that’s how they presented her the movie.

AH: No they gave me the developed version of the story, which is called a script. And then I made my own pitch with it.

CR: So Quentin Dupieux didn’t just come to you and tell you « its’ a story about a guy with a jacket »

AH: Actually he didn’t explain me anything, he sent me the script directly

ADC: In the past Dupieux made Steak, Rubber and Réalité. But for that one he said he he wanted to film about madness. So are we close to that with that film ?

AH: Well to me there’s always a part of madness in all his films. I don’t know if we’re close to that but we’re in his world.

CR : What did you see from Dupieux before saying yes ?

AH: I loved Réalité. I didn’t know much about his films. And so I’ve been told to watch Réalité and I loved it. And I also saw Au Poste later. And What I love is that crazy side. And that’s why I wanted to do that film. The main character is the jacket, the supporting role is Jean Dujardin, and the third character is me. And I tried to make a character that goes along with the film's craziness.

Then they play a extract of the film.

19:35

Charline talks about Denise, Adèle’s character. And since we don’t know much about the character’s background she asks Adèle if she imagined one for her.

AH: No, not at all. I think all the characters are really uprooted in this film. What I tried to do is to find a goal for her. Her goal was to shake her reality by adding some craziness in her life, even if it becomes macabre in the end. So I tried to focus Denise’s fascination on the jacket. That was the idea. ADC: A suede jacket, which is the main character as you said, worn by an Oscar winner. How did you work with the jacket, did you feel like you had two different co-workers with Jean Dujardin and the jacket ?  Was it easier, harder ?

AH: No it was great because originally, Denise was written in support of the character of Georges. And what I tried to do with Dupieux was to change this so Denise wouldn’t just look at Georges but also the jacket. And that’s how the relationship with Jean Dujardin could really be developed. Georges was so obsessed with that jacket, the only thing he was looking at were the people interested in the jacket and everything around the jacket. And when Denise started to focus on the jacket Georges saw a partner in her. So we built our relationship like that.

ADC: And you also yourself stopped wearing jackets, you came here in a sweater.  

AH: No no, I just let my jacket outside

DC: Oh well sorry

CR: Dupieux said he wanted to talk about madness with this film but he also wanted to make his first realistic film. So how do we try to be realistic as an actress in that kind of film ?

AH:  That was the whole point of the movie in the first place. My idea was to include my character into this crazy film and I didn’t try to be realistic. Jean Dujardin has an amazing character and totally crazy from the beginning and I thought I had to make my character become even crazier because she’s a normal person and we don’t see her becoming mad.

CR: So we have to ask that question. Do you consider your fashion style as « un style de malade » (it’s a catchphrase from the film that means « dope » basically)

AH:  *laugh* yes yes… nope.

22:33

ADC: So I read that you have many inspirations from the Wolfe in Tex Avery, to Jim Carrey in The Mask or even Nicole Kidman in Eyes Wide Shut. What do you take from those people to make your own thing ?

AH: Well I kinda say this without really thinking about it. We all say stupid things sometimes. But what I like in Tex Avery is how you imagine your body as something else that what it is and I creates an physical imaginary that I love. For Nicole Kidman I don’t know, I must have answered that without really thinking.

ADC: You prefer Cate Blanchett now

AH: Yes I do, but I already talked about her. And for Jim Carrey, he’s the human version of Tex Avery. I love how he doesn’t even think about his acting and if he’s acting well. He’s going mad but with so much honesty. And it’s so great to see imagination pictured like that.

ADC: Is it something we develop more in comedy ?

AH: I think it’s more necessary in comedy. It’s harder to run away from that. But you can bring that in drama and all genres. There’s not just one way of acting, which is why it’s great.

24:11

CR: We’ve seen you more in dramas but comedies suit you very well like we saw in Le Daim or in En Liberté !. Is it a choice not to do a lot of comedies or don’t you get a lot of offers ?

AH: Until now people didn’t offer me a lot of comedy roles, they probably thought I was boring as fuck. But I’ve always loved comedy as a spectator, it’s a way to discover everything we can do in acting. We’ll see what happens now.

ADC: What do you find in comedy that you don’t in drama ?

AH: The imaginary is stronger in comedy. There’s also a very strong accountability. But it’s also present in drama, it’s pretty much the same, there’s a dialogue in both. And we’re also less in the continuity in comedy. That’s what I learned with Salvador in En liberté!. There’s a much more discontinuous rhythm in comedy, where in drama it’s usually more flat and it’s about the rise of emotions.

CR: And didn’t you talk about an experience that was more collective in comedy ?

AH: Yes we built the rhythm with two people. So yeah it’s a collective work with your colleague but also, for me at least, I can’t do comedy on my own, so the look and support of the director is really needed and they can help us with the acting. We’re more independent in drama.

ADC: in the soundtrack of Le Daim we only hear one song : *Et si tu n’existais pas by Joe Dassin plays*

AH: I love that song, it’s beautiful.

ADC: Is it a song that capture the craziness of the film ?

AH: well there’s that kind of nostalgia - I think it’s a very beautiful song, it wasn’t in my pop list but I love it. But yeah there’s that nostalgia, like a boat that leaves the coast and won’t ever come back.

26:43 - end.

[ranma-rewatch]

Episode 7: Enter Ryoga, the Eternal ‘Lost Boy’

Hey, it’s Ranma Rewatch, I’m on episode 7, and I don’t want to waste too much time with the preamble. I am super excited for this episode, my boi is here, I really hope it holds up, see you after I watch it again!

That wasn’t exactly how I remembered it, but not in a bad way. The episode starts with a short scene that has become pretty freaking iconic, and has been sampled in dozens, if not hundreds, of AMV’s: A man cloaked from head to toe, walking through a desert, his eyes barely visible under goggles. It is a really cool shot that catches the eye right away.

We cut from that to that same person approaching a small village, deciding to throw off his concealing clothes to reveal his typical yellow and green outfit, with a bandanna around his head and an umbrella on his back, which he takes out to slow down his descent when he jumps off a cliff. This village happens to be being attacked by a huge wild boar, wrecking everything in its way, but this fellow is able to stop the animal with little effort and send it flying. When the grateful villagers approach, he only has one question for them: where is Furinkan High School?

At first they don’t understand the question, until they look at what he has for a map and realize it’s of Tokyo. The problem is, this young man is on Shikoku, a completely different island in the archipelago. They point him in the right general direction, and he reveals before the scene ends that he is specifically trying to find Ranma Saotome.

Speaking of the show’s titular character, we get a small scene of him in his cursed form being blackmailed by Nabiki into wearing women’s clothes because all of his stuff is in the wash. After that, we get another scene of the mysterious umbrella-wielding stranger asking someone for directions to Furinkan High School, but this time he’s in Hokkaido. Once again a completely different island, only this time on the opposite end. Fun fact: Hokkaido was the inspiration for Sinnoh in Pokemon!

We get another small cut-away to Ranma in various outfits, then another of our new character somehow ending up back in that village he was in earlier. The point is being made clear to us: he is terrible at getting where he wants to go, but is also so inhumanly strong and resilient that he has no trouble surviving in the wilderness in the process.

What seems to be the next day, he finally gets to where he’s going, just as school is letting out for the day. Ranma is being chased by Akane for something, though we don’t know exactly what. (Of course, we know their dynamic well enough by now to know it’s almost certainly something Ranma did to annoy her.) The newcomer slams into the ground where Ranma is landing at the same time, leaving a crater in the cement from the force of his landing, all while screaming how Ranma has to die.

The problem is, Ranma has no clue who this guy is, which pisses him off to know end. Even after he brings up that his vendetta has something to do with Ranma never showing up for a duel, Ranma still struggles (and fails) to remember this guys name, but luckily he gives it to Ranma anyway: Ryoga Hibiki. They went to Junior High together, and they’d agreed upon a duel, but it never happened because Ranma wasn’t there when Ryoga arrived.

Now, Ranma protests that he waited in the agreed upon empty lot for three days before taking off for China with his dad, which is honestly more time than most people would have waited. As we already know though, Ryoga can’t seem to get anywhere quickly, so he got there on the fourth day. Oh, and the lot was right behind his house.

The crowd of students who only moments before considered him with awe over his fantastic martial arts abilities are now looking at him like a buffoon, and Ryoga is ready to get his revenge on Ranma already. But Ranma puts a pause on that, runs out, and comes back with a bunch of different kinds of bread. Why? Because bread was the reason for their duel in the first place. Their school was only for boys, and getting food at lunch was a nightmare. Ranma ended up snatching the last piece of bread just before Ryoga could get it time and time again, and all the bread he brought was one of each type he’d taken years before.

But Ryoga doesn’t care about that, making it clear that the bread isn’t something he cares about anymore, that Ranma has put him through hell, even if Ranma has no clue what he’s talking about. But before they can get a proper fight going, Ranma runs away, losing Ryoga enough that when he starts busting up the school looking for him, he ends up going the wrong way and out of the area entirely, leaving Ranma and Akane to wonder where he went. We do get to see where before the episode ends: once again back in that village that had the boar problem, where he gets a meal before running out into the evening to find Ranma once more.

Like I said before, this episode wasn’t entirely how I remembered it. Namely, there was a lot more humor than I remembered. For the most part, that’s not a bad thing, there was actually some really good comedy, and I don’t feel like it trampled over the more serious parts of the episode.

If it isn’t clear, I am going to say right now that I did still love this episode. The animation was really on-point, some of the visuals of Ranma darting around people or the brief combat he gets with Ryoga just looks beautiful. Also, even though we don’t get a fight between the two just yet, it’s already solidly communicated, through Ryoga easily beating the boar, barreling through steel barriers, and hitting the ground so hard it destroys concrete, that he is strong as hell.

As much as I love the opening desert shot, I actually think my favorite part of the episode is some of the conversation between Ranma, Akane, and Ryoga. Ranma straining his brain to remember who Ryoga is killed me. It was weirdly relatable too, I’m sure many of us have run into someone who obviously knows us, while we can’t even remember how we know them, let alone their name. The fact Ranma actually specifically bought one of each bread he’d taken from Ryoga before was kind of cute, more than I expected of the usually flippant martial artist.

There’s also an exchange I’ve seen on Tumblr a few times in screencaps and gifs, and there’s a reason people love to share it. When Ryoga says he’s going to destroy Ranma’s happiness, there’s this shot of him freaking out, only to turn to Akane and blankly ask if he is happy, to which Akane doesn’t understand why he’s asking her. They take such a trope-y line from a character seeking revenge and turn it around into a really good joke.

There was also a really interesting thing I noted in terms of translation. After hearing about the string of times Ranma stole bread from Ryoga, Akane makes an analogy to why it mattered so much, but it’s different from dub to sub. In the English Dub, she says the straws broke the camel’s back, a common phrase that seems to fit the situation. But in the English Sub, she says (loosely remembering) “enough dust can make a mountain”, and I think that actually fits much better. After all, we soon learned that the bread isn’t really why Ryoga is angry, but once you do know everything that happened that led to Ryoga’s rage, that analogy fits perfect: it isn’t so much one specific event, as a collection of small events that collected into an enormous vendetta.

All my compliments aside, I did have some issues with the episode. Some of the comedy didn’t really work for me, and that was most true with the early scenes of the Tendo girls trying to dress Ranma in Akane’s clothes. Some parts did make me chuckle, but on the whole the mini-plot made me uncomfortable. Primarily because, as I’ve said before, I feel like the best way to look at Ranma’s cursed form is as a trans man. Even though his body has changed, his gender hasn’t, he’s still a man. The scene has Ranma protesting again and again that he is a man, even as they try to dress him as a woman. The idea of some cisgender folks trying to force a trans man into women’s clothes just...isn’t very funny to me. It’s kind of terrible, at least from a more queer perspective. That complaint done, let’s do the character spotlight.

Oh come on, who else did you think I was going to do? If it isn’t clear yet, Ryoga Hibiki is my favorite character in the series, and he has been since I was a teenager. Who knows if that will remain true this entire watch-through, but so far I’m not liking him any less. I’ll get into why, but first let’s talk about his voice actors.

The voice actor I’m more familiar with, his English one, is Michael Donovan. Like most of the actors for this dub, he’s someone who worked with the Ocean Group for a lot of series around this time period. That said, if you’re a fan of the Fate franchise, he has done some voices in Ufotable’s recent anime adaptations, playing Risei Kotomine and Zouken Matou. In Japanese, his voice actor is one Kōichi Yamadera, and he continued the pattern of voice actors who are well-known in Japan for dubbing English works. He’s most well-known for dubbing over Jim Carrey in a lot of movies, but he’s done a ton of others as well. In anime, some of his notable roles include Spike Spiegel, Beerus in all the recent Dragon Ball movies and anime, and Gentle Criminal in My Hero Academia. Seriously, diving into this guy’s list of roles is like swimming in an ocean of great roles.

So, how do they do? Well, so far I’d say I like both of them a lot, but they do play Ryoga differently. At his core, Ryoga is actually kind of a perfect microcosm of the tone of the series itself. Ranma 1/2 is simultaneously a shonen battle anime, a romantic harem series, and a wacky comedy. Ryoga is someone who takes himself very, very seriously. His desire for vengeance against Ranma isn’t a joke, and neither is his ability as a martial artist. But he’s also a doofus who ends up crossing the length of Japan several times because he can’t follow directions properly and the reasons (so far) for his hatred of Ranma are completely laughable.

I wouldn’t say that Michael Donovan’s performance lacks seriousness, in fact when he wants Ryoga to sound menacing I think he does it well, but on the whole he leans more heavily towards the comedic parts of the character. Meanwhile, Yamadera’s Ryoga hasn’t really sounded silly once to me. He plays the character dead straight, and let’s the comedy come through in the contrast between that demeanor and the circumstances around him. We’ll have to see as we go, but I actually might be preferring the Japanese performance so far, a rarity for me.

Okay, so, why do I love Ryoga so much? There are SO many reasons, many of which I won’t go into just yet because I’ll save them for when they appear in-series. But there is still a lot shown in this episode that I feel I can discuss. To start with, I adore his design. I don’t mean the cloak and goggles, though those are absolutely awesome, I’m referring to his standard mode of dress. The yellow and green as a color scheme, with accents of black to top it off, is something really unique. I don’t know enough about art to really articulate why, but I just love every touch of his design. My favorite small touch has to be the yellow strands wrapping around his lower legs, clashing with his otherwise dark green lower half. I have no clue what they’re supposed to be for, but they just add something, almost making him look more rooted to the spot of wherever he’s standing, more solid.

That is a good word to use for Ryoga in general. Even though we haven’t gotten to see him in a proper fight just yet, we’ve seen quite a lot of evidence of his main attributes. In Dungeons & Dragons terms, Ryoga is making out his Strength and Constitution. He hits like a truck and he can be hit by a truck without slowing down. I love that because it contrasts so perfectly with Ranma’s strength: his speed and precision. I adore it when rival characters actually have qualities that make the fights between them more interesting from the contrast, and Ryoga fits the bill there quite well. He’s also a good foil in terms of personality: Ranma is easy going, likes screwing with people, and is quite quick-witted; Ryoga has a hot temper and a long memory for grudges, hates it when people trick him, and tends to let his emotions do the thinking for him.

I will say it feels like his character has some classic Early Installment Weirdness, as he uses his umbrella quite a bit in this episode. If I remember correctly, after his introductory arc, he doesn’t use his umbrella much at all for the rest of the show, preferring to rely on his fists. It definitely feels like they hadn’t quite nailed the character completely yet, if that makes any sense.

Ryoga is also doing that thing where he’s seeking revenge and really angry, but refuses to talk about why, drawing out the mystery as long as possible. While that trope can become annoying, I don’t really mind it in this case. This isn’t a situation like Godot from Ace Attorney, where Ryoga is purposefully hiding it for some grand plan or something, or to teach a lesson. Ryoga doesn’t go into specifics because A) he thinks Ranma should already know; B) Ryoga is very mad; and C) he doesn’t want anyone else to know his secret. I’m not saying it isn’t stupid that he doesn’t tell Ranma why he’s mad, but I am saying that it’s in-character.

Are you surprised that I adore this episode? You shouldn’t be, I’ve been gushing about it this whole time. Even with the parts I found more rough to watch, this is still my favorite episode of the series thus far, putting the rankings at:

Episode 7: Enter Ryoga, the Eternal ‘Lost Boy’

Episode 2: School is No Place for Horsing Around

Episode 6: Akane's Lost Love... These Things Happen, You Know

Episode 4: Ranma and...Ranma? If It’s Not One Thing, It’s Another

Episode 5: Love Me to the Bone! The Compound Fracture of Akane's Heart

Episode 1: Here’s Ranma

Episode 3: A Sudden Storm of Love

The big question is: will the next episode of this four episode Ryoga arc be even better? We’ll find out next time with Episode 8: “School is a Battlefield! Ranma vs. Ryoga”. See you then!

[bughead-fic-request]

The Last Great Cult Movie: Chapter 1 - Pulp Fiction

Summary: Video store clerks Jughead Jones and Betty Cooper find themselves in scenes from the greatest cult movies of all time. 

Words: 1,717

Warnings: Violence and swearing

A/N: I’ve had this idea for years. It’s really strange, I hope you like it. You can also find it on AO3. 

I also edited this myself so there are probably errors. 

“So we both can agree The Dark Knight is the best Batman movie?” Jughead Jones asked putting movies away in the last video store in Nameless, Texas.

“What do you mean?” Betty Cooper asked while she counted the snack food for inventory.

“I mean there is no competition between The Dark Knight and the rest of the Batman movies. Some people say the 1989 Batman is the best one but I fucking hate Tim Burton, man.” Jughead adjusted the crown shaped beanie on his head, allowing one black curl to escape.

Betty shrugged and looked up at him. “I guess if you think good acting, writing, directing and cinematography means something is the best, then yeah, The Dark Knight is the best. It’s not my favorite Batman movie though.”

“Please don’t say its Batman & Robin.” Jughead begged.

Betty made a face of disgust. “No, god no.” She shook her head, her blonde ponytail swaying back and forth. “Its Batman Forever.”

Jughead stopped what he was doing and placed the stack of movies on the shelf, letting them teeter on the edge. “Betty, I don’t know if we can be friends any more.”

“We aren’t friends, Jug. We are work associates who are forced to work together night after night and happen to have a few things in common.” Betty liked to joke that they weren’t friends even though they had worked together at Bandito Video since their junior year of high school. Jughead was her best friend and they were almost never apart.

The truth was Betty was in love with Jughead and had been since her first day. He was smart, funny, had always been kind to her and he was very easy on the eyes. His smile had the power to make her melt and his eyes were sparkling blue, making Betty forget that she was a 23 year old college dropout with no future.

He smiled. “Well, if that’s all we are I would hate to have to fire you over your terrible movie tastes.”

“It’s a fun movie filled with color and camp and I’ve seen it like forty-two times.”

“Sentimentality doesn’t make a good movie.” Jughead pointed out as he strolled towards her.

“For me it does and Jim Carrey should have been nominated for an Oscar for playing The Riddler.” Betty cocked her head and put her hands hips.

“I will agree with that, no one will play The Riddler better than Jim Carrey. That’s still no excuse for Batman Forever being your favorite Batman movie.” He grinned at her.

“You’re both wrong, the original 1968 classic Batman: The Movie is the best Batman movie of all time.” Dilton Dooley proclaimed from two shelves over.

They looked over at him. “No one asked for your opinion, Dilton.” Jughead snarked at their former classmate who was incredibly annoying.

“Why are you in here anyway, we’ve banned you for life, remember?” Betty pointed over to a sign over the register. It was a picture of Dilton with the word BANNED written over it. Underneath the photo is said, “Movie tastes are so bad he can no longer be tolerated in this store”.

“If I’m banned, how come you both keep letting me in here?” Dilton adjusted his coke bottle glasses.

“Because we love kicking you out.” Jughead said pointing at the door. “Leave!”

Dilton huffed and rolled his eyes before leaving the shop, the bell above the door ringing when he left.

Jughead and Betty both went back to what they were doing before Jughead started talking about Batman.

Jughead loved working Saturday nights with Betty. After work, they would head to Wickie’s, the local pub, where they would have one beer after another. Sometimes their friends Veronica and Archie would join them but it was mainly just the two of them. He would encourage her to tell story after story as he tried to build up the courage to tell her how he really felt about her. He always lost his nerve no matter how drunk he got.

Just before closing, the bell above the door rang and Jughead kept his eyes on his phone. “Dilton get out, we are closing in fifteen minutes.”

“Jeez, he has no idea when to give up does he?” Betty said from behind him as she organized the last few movies that needed to go out.

Jughead snickered at his best friends comment.

He could hear foot steps approaching the counter. “Dilton, did you not hear what I said?” Jughead looked up and felt his heart drop into his stomach.

There was no way he could possibly be looking at what he was looking at. Standing in front of him was John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson but they weren’t as they were at present. They looked exactly as they did in Pulp Fiction. They were as young as they were then and dressed on the same black suits with black ties. Jughead froze when he saw the guns in their hands.

These two men weren’t John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson at all, these men were Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield.

It couldn’t be possible, there was no way they could be standing in front of him. “Can I help you?” He finally managed to squeak out as he took a step back trying to reach for Betty.

They two men stood perfectly still and watched him.

“Betty, Bets!” He hissed still trying to reach for her.

“What?”

“Turn around.”

“What are you talking about?” Betty said in an annoyed voice before turning to look at him. Her gaze moved from him to the two men, her eyes went wide. “What the fuck?” She managed to sputter out.

“What country you from!” Jules finally shouted causing them both to startle.

“What?” Betty asked.

“"What" ain't no country I know! Do they speak English in “What?”" Jules asked her taking a step towards the counter.

“What?” Betty stuttered again.

“English-motherfucker-can-you-speak-it?”

Jughead started shaking his head. There was no way this was happening.

“Yes.” Betty answered.

“Then you understand what I'm sayin’?"

“Yes.”

“Now describe what Marsellus Wallace looks like!” Jules encouraged.

“What?” Betty was practically choking on her words.

Jules leaned across the counter and pushed the barrel of the gun against Betty’s cheek. “Say "What" again! C'mon, say “What" again! I dare ya, I double dare ya motherfucker, say "What" one more goddamn time!”

Betty began to shake.

“Now describe to me what Marsellus Wallace looks like!” Jules demanded.

“Well he's... he's... black –“ Betty stuttered.

"– go on!"

“What are you doing Betty? Stop answering him.” Jughead said to her.

Betty looked up at him and started shaking her head. Her mouth open and closed but no words came out. She looked like she was in pain as the next words seemed to tumble out. “...and he's... he's... bald -” It was like she couldn’t control what she was saying. She was filling the role of Brett whether she wanted to or not.

“– does he look like a bitch?!” Jules asked.

She fought against what she had to say next. They both knew what would happen if she spoke but whatever force was controlling her won out in the end. “What?”

Jules looked over at Vincent who smirked back at him. Jules raised the gun and pulled the trigger. The bullet lodged itself in Betty’s shoulder and she began screaming, blood pouring from the wound.

Jughead’s hands wove into his hair knocking the beanie from his head. He wanted to help her, he wanted to go to her aid but he was frozen in place.

“Does-he-look-like-a-bitch?!” Jules screamed at her.

“No.” Betty sobbed.

“Then why did you try to fuck 'im like a bitch?!” Jules asked with raised eyebrows.

“I didn’t.” Betty shook her head, tears screaming down her cheeks. The light pink sleeve of her cardigan was soaked with blood.

“Yes, ya did Betty. Ya tried ta fuck 'im. You ever read the Bible, Betty?”

“Yes.”

Jughead couldn’t understand how this was happening. It was impossible.

“There's a passage I got memorized, seems appropriate for this situation: Ezekiel 25:17. "The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men.  Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children.” Jules proclaimed as he paced back and forth in front of them.

“Holy shit, oh my god, Betty! We gotta go!” Jughead shouted but when he went to move it felt like his feet were glued to the ground. Betty whimpered beside him holding her bleeding arm still not able to say anything off script.

“And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you.”

Jughead grabbed Betty’s hand before closing his eyes.

Jules and Vincent raised their guns and began shooting.

They waited for the bullets to hit them, for the shooting to stop, for there lives to be over but nothing happened. There was only Jules voice again.

“That was... divine intervention. You know what divine intervention is?” Jules questioned.

Jughead and Betty opened there eyes to realize they weren’t hit by a single bullet. It was exactly like what happened to the characters that stood before them in the movie.

“Holy shit.” Jughead breathed.

“Yeah, I think so. That means God came down from Heaven and stopped the bullets.” Vincent spoke for the first time.

“Yeah, man, that's what is means. That's exactly what it means! God came down from Heaven and stopped the bullets.” Jules explained, looking at his partner.

“I think we should be going now.” Vincent said moving around the counter towards Jughead who, like Betty, still couldn’t move from his place.

Vincent took the butt of his gun and Jughead in the back of the head with it.

Betty watched him fall to the floor. She looked over at Jules, her eyes wide, wishing she could say anything before he took the butt of his gun and hit her over the head.

Everything went black.

[joshuazev]

On everything must go:

I feel like now I need to put a disclaimer before every post that says, “It’s possible that I might completely go over the same topic on accident.”  I have a pretty good idea of what I’ve written, but like I said before, a lot of the same thoughts might be written on the paper.

Now that we’ve cleared that up I want to talk about my new way of critiquing comedy films.  I’m sure it’s far from revolutionary, but I think the best way to take a step back and answer the question, “What is your favorite comedy of all time?” is by trying to remember the movie that made you laugh the most and that you thought was funniest your first time watching it; in theaters, at home, on a plane, whatever.  For example, I can remember the first time I saw “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”  I rented it with my mom and over the course of three days had seen it three times and thought it was funnier and funnier each time.  It was a bit of an anomaly, but I think my age had a lot to do with it too.  I was so young.  I can also remember the first time I saw “40 Year Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up”—both in theaters—and I thought both of those movies were hilarious.  Recently, when I’ve revisited those movies I’ve found them to be less funny throughout their entirety, but I’ve appreciated them more as just overall really good movies that also just happen to be really funny.  Last week I saw “The Big Sick,” and it was very much in the same vein as the more contemporary “Apatow comedy” that’s around a lot, lately.  I thought it was very very funny.  If I saw it again at home, do I think I would feel the same way?  Probably not.  So much of comedies have to do with the unknown.  You have no idea what the joke will be or when it’ll happen, which makes the first time you see a comedy much like the experience of watching someone do stand-up.  The first time is great.  When a stand-up act is good, it’s amazing!  The flow, the energy, the jokes, the laughter.  It’s all one continuous stream that is constantly building you up and then breaking you down.  A comedy is the same: unknown, new, mysterious, etc.  Have you ever been to a comedy club and seen the same comedian do the same set?  It’s kind of shocking.  Granted, the majority of the audience probably hasn’t seen the comedian before, but to the person that has…the jokes are stale.  You know what’s coming.  You know how it’s going to be prepared and then subsequently delivered to you.   I saw Kevin Tate perform twice at Chocolate Sundaes in Los Angeles.  Unbeknownst to me he was a regular.  The first time I saw his set he came on with the jealous boyfriend persona.  It was hilarious.  He had one specific thing about stalking his girl’s photos on Facebook and scrolling through the likes that absolutely brought the house down.  I saw him again at a later date and was excited to see his new material.  Sadly, it was exactly the same, word for word almost, with the exception of some singling out different members of a new audience.  I’ve seen Kevin Hart twice.  I saw him perform, “Let Me Explain” and “What Now?”  Electric.  Both times.  And both of the shows were filmed and later released in theaters and you can guess it, when I saw them on the TV, it was not the same.  It was a present whose contents I already knew.  So, back to movies.  At the end of the day the studios are banking on people seeing the film in theaters.  And I think lately there hasn’t been as much of a trend to buy films on DVD or Blu-Ray.  Maybe that’s to be expected or maybe I’m speaking from my own experience.  When I was really young I might see a comedy twice in the theaters, buy it on DVD, and then watch it a couple times at home.  Oddly enough, when I used to go to the video store with my Mom or Dad and we needed a new movie to see it was always so hard to select a comedy.  We had seen all the good ones already and trying to find the right one to watch was always so difficult.  So, does this change the criteria for a comedy?  Should it have more to do with how you felt the first time you watched it or are there only a few transcendent comedies that stand the test of time?  Like all types of art the answer is purely subjective.  There is no universal opinion.  A lot of people might agree, but no comedy is liked by everyone.  With that being said, if I were to answer what are my five favorite comedies of all time based on the first criteria (how funny was it the first time you saw it) and the second (comedy that lasts) I would say (in no particular order), “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, American Pie, Road Trip, 40 Year Old Virgin, and (Unknown title).”  Just for good measure the funniest stand up set I’ve ever seen live was probably either Dave Chapelle at the Neptune or JB Smoove at the Comedy Parlor in Bellevue (I know I mentioned that in my comedy post earlier in the year).  Funniest person I know?  Danny Schmidt.  Hands down.  That dude is walking, talking stand-up.  And I sound like a broken record, but the longer he doesn’t do stand up the longer we all have to wait to see natural greatness on stage.  My man.

I’ve always been super intrigued by comedic actors in serious roles.  Jim Carrey in “Eternal Sunshine.”  Adam Sandler in “Punch Drunk Love.”  Jamie Foxx in “Ray.”  Monique in “Precious.”  Robin Williams in half of his catalogue.  Will Ferrell in “Everything Must Go.”  Whoopie in “Color Purple.”  I only wish it wasn’t the way of Hollywood to allow most of them one opportunity to showcase their dramatic talents.  

…

I just had a conversation about creativity with one of my brothers and it’s so refreshing to hear the ideas that he had and his plans to bring them to fruition.  I think the opportunity to think creatively; to be able to allow enough space and time in one’s schedule and daily lives to express themselves is one of the most important aspects of human life.  Money is obviously a primary motivation and why wouldn’t it be?  It’s a blessing to be able to profit off of your own ideas.  Anyway, I wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise or reveal the idea because it’s not mine to reveal, but this particular dude has a pretty straightforward plan that has some real strong possibilities.  One thing that I think we’ve trained ourselves to do is to think of an idea, hear that it’s been done before, and immediately go on to the next idea instead of spending more time to say, “Yeah, that has been done before, but I think I can add my own flavor to the mix, to make it even more attractive or survive in its own niche.”  Our example was LimeBike in Seattle.  I can’t remember everything that existed before LimeBike, but I think there was a period of CitiBikes and Alaska Airline bikes or something?  My memory fails me.  LimeBike appears to be enjoying some good success (it’s obviously subject to change because of fall and winter coming up).  I couldn’t help but think to myself, “How has no one thought of this before?”  It seems like a simple enough idea.  Put bikes around the city and let people ride them for cheap.  Allow people to set up payment plans and put a balance on their account, so they don’t need to worry about paying every time.  Simple ideas.  Effective ones, too.  I’ve let our conversation be a lesson that every idea can be built on to become more original.  So much of it is a matter of consolidation.  Take the idea of a physical grocery list.  Sometimes we forget to put stuff on there.  Then I heard there are refrigerators that give you an inventory of what’s inside and how much of everything there is.  Then there are grocery list apps.  Not great, but serviceable ones.  Since phones are the status quo there has to be a grocery list app that performs the functions of those special fridges, does what the bad apps do, and can answer the questions of, “Am I running out of milk?  What ingredients do I have to make this curry that I saw online and which ones do I need?  If I’m going vegan, what foods should I buy?”  On that you can probably implement an app that gives you a store inventory depending on where you are and so on.  See?  The blocks have no limit no many you can stack.  If there is already something that does everything I just expressed?  So be it.  We can always add more.  

…

To be seen and not to be seen.  To need space, but to feel alone.  To enjoy attention, but prefer your privacy.  To feel energetic, but remain lethargic.  To love to walk, but to feel paralyzed.  To run along the bridge, but to check the drop.  To be fair, but to be an opportunist.  To be optimistic, but prefer lamenting.  To see the lightbulb turn on, but to let it burn out.  

…

In the midst of getting rid of all these things and being the main means of transportation for taking all of our unneeded shit to Goodwill I have had an epiphany.  Can you have a recurring epiphany?  We have so much unnecessary stuff.  I do.  We do.  We all do.  Sometimes I think of what my house will look like.  I look at my dad’s place as an example, my mom’s place and then my hopeful place.  Am I boring if I have a couple things inside?  Am I too much if I have too many things?  A long time ago I spoke of this vision I have sometimes right before I go to bed.  It’s this idea of a warehouse that is way down the road, but is vast and big and huge and seems to get bigger and bigger.  Well I also have a vision of a white space that just has random things dispersed throughout but in an organized fashion.  I don’t know if this is my vision for my home, but I think it could be similar.  Rooms for specific uses.  Creative zones.  A couple floors.  It’s like a museum exhibit meets any of those really minimal music videos where there is just the artist front and center against a one color background.  Maybe it’s too bougie.  Maybe.  Then again, what house am I getting any time soon?  Ha!