#best of the super juniors 2019 day 4 review

[hazyheel]

Best of the Super Juniors 2019 Day 4 Review

First match of the night was Ren Narita against Robbie Eagles. The two locked up and grappled for a while. Narita was super over in this building, apparently in his hometown. Eagles tried to work over the leg, to set up for his submission hold later down the line. Narita was able to hit his belly to belly suplex, but released and only got a 2. Narita locked in a cloverleaf as well, but Eagles got to the rope. Eagles was still able to pull out the win with a turbo backpack. Eagles: 4, Narita: 0

Grade: B-. Good match, pretty short. Of all times to not give Narita some more time, this was a weird day for that. The crowd loved him. Still, good stuff here, Narita can definitely hang. It feels like he will get a win this year, so that will be exciting if it happens. Eagles was an awesome heel too, stomping on signs that the hometown made of Narita.

Next up, Bandido vs. YOH. Match started out with a handshake, and then a feeling out process. Yoh was absolutely eating up the adoration of the crowd. The ladies looooooove him. At one point, Bandido hit a nice looking hurricanrana off the apron, followed by a beautiful moonsault. Bandido also had an awesome sell job, where he was coming off the ropes and ate a superkick, selling it with a perfect backflip. Yoh copied the classic Rollins superplex into falcon’s arrow for a near fall. As Bandido went for the 21 plex, Yoh countered with a dragon suplex, and then another with a bridge for the win. Yoh: 2, Bandido: 0.

Grade: B+. A weaker B+, but I really liked this match. This was a faster pace, so Bandido really got into it. The striking was really good here, and I loved their various counters to the other’s big moves. Yoh is impressing me a lot more this year than he did last year, and I look forward to his matches a lot more. He and Sho both have careers in singles competition, that is for sure. 

Then we had El Phantasmo vs. BUSHI. The match started out with both people being dicks, where Bushi offered his hand, and Phantasmo spit his own to shake it, while Bushi then held a finger gun to Phantasmo’s head. There was an interesting dynamic in this match, because both guys cheat like, all the time. So it was cool to see them using similar tactics. For example, they both choked each other with Bushi’s shirt. At one point, Phantasmo countered the MX with a stiff superkick, and he followed it up with two suicide dives and a rough looking splash. In the finish, Phantasmo push Bushi at the ref, and then punched Bushi low, and hit greetings from chasewood park for the win. Phantasmo: 4, Bushi: 0.

Grade: B. I love the cheater vs. cheater dynamic. Kevin Kelly tried to be upset about the finish, and the cheating, but Caprice Coleman was just like “eh, Bushi would’ve done the same thing. They both suck, so whatever.” That was a good point. Phantasmo is still very strong her, and while Bushi hasn’t gotten a win yet, his time is definitely coming. 

Next up was Will Ospreay vs. Rocky Romero in a battle of the CHAOS boys. Of course they started with the Chaos fist bump, which popped the crowd a bit. Rocky copied the Okada cockiness throughout the match, and they were really flying all around each other. Rocky was actually in Ospreay’s head, such as when they both did their poses and he suckered Ospreay in for a baseball slide on the outside. The two of them really nailed each other with brutal chops and such. At one point, Rocky locked in an octopus and locked the arm, so Ospreay couldn’t escape, but only a short sequence. Ospreay also had to use some of his old high flying counters to fight his way out of Rocky’s moves. At one point Throughout the match, Rocky attacked Ospreay’s arm, which permeated the rest of the match. As Ospreay went for an os cutter at one point, Rocky countered by picking the arm and locking in an armbar. The crowd was definitely behind Romero during the match, wanting the underdog to win. At one point, Rocky countered the stormbreaker with an awesome spike rana for a near fall. Ospreay was able to hit a shooting star press for a near fall, but then followed it up with a storm breaker and got the win. Ospreay: 4, Romero: 0

Grade: B+. Really good match, with awesome storytelling. Rocky is trying to go through the tournament without using his sneaky style, and while Ospreay may have the strength advantage, Rocky attempted to neutralize that with mindgames and targetting the arm. Rocky nearly won, but Ospreay still pulled it out. I really like in fighting in factions, and this match really showed why. Match of the Night.

And in the main event, DOUKI took on Ryusuke Taguchi. Douki attacked before the bell and quickly gained the advantage. He also used several young lions as weapons by bodyslamming them onto Taguchi. Even when Taguchi would get the advantage, Douki would be able to fight his way back into it quickly. At one point, Taguchi went for a hip attack on the outside, and Douki just hit him in the back with a chair. After Taguchi got control during the match, he quickly picked the ankle, and even hit a double knee gutbuster for a near fall. As Taguchi was about to win with an ankle lock, but Douki grabbed the ref and pulled him to the ground, allowing Taichi (who was on Japanese commentary) to run in and break up the hold with a Saito suplex. In the finish, Taguchi went to give Douki a running hip attack, but hit the ref. Taichi then got involved again to introduce a chair, but Taguchi got the better of it and dispatched both men. He then hit a facebuster to the chair and a bumboye for a near fall, followed by a Dodon and then an ankle lock for the win. Taichi tried to get involved, but the young lions subdued him at ringside. Taguchi: 4, Douki: 2.

Grade: B. Fun match, if a little slow. Taguchi was a great underdog, and Douki was a great villain for this. It was a vicious match from the start, and Taguchi really had to fight from behind. I thought that Taichi’s interference was well done and made sense, but I wish that he had introduced the pipe given its significance with Taguchi. A very fun match that had a feel good story.

Overall Grade: B

Pros: Bandido vs. Yoh; Phantasmo vs. Bushi; Romero vs. Ospreay; main event

Cons: Bandido lost

[kpopotd2]

December Wrap Up

Wow. It has been a whole twelve months since we have started this blog and now we are on the final, official post of the year! A mega-post compiling the top songs of the past year, as well as official departures and disbandments of groups from 2019, will be up on our main blog @kpopsunbae​ (make sure to go and follow us there for more content, although it will be quite a bit different than what we put on this blog). 

As some of you may know, this blog (as well as the previous one, @kpopotd​) are project blogs that end once the year is done. This means that while we will no longer post on this blog it will remain as an archive. We will however be back with a third blog in the future as a continuation of this blog (it will cover 2016 and onwards!). This does not mean that we will go completely off grid once 2019 is done though! 

This coming year of 2020 has a lot in store for us, your K-Pop Sunbaes! We currently have a website to overhaul, an Instagram to properly launch, and of course we will continue releasing podcast episodes! Remember to follow us on Twitter too, our handle there is @kpopsunbaes (updates will be on there and you can interact with us too!). 

On a final note, we are so appreciative for the love that you all have given this blog over the past year. It has been such a fun experience and the three of us have had a blast working together on the blog, having meetings, and eventually completing just under 900 posts. We hope you will continue to support and follow us in our upcoming endeavors. We wish you all a very Happy New Year! 

새해 복 많이 받으세요!

❤ JR, Min, and Onyx 

NEWS:

December 5, 2010: Lee Young-hee, a well-known social activist, dies of cirrhosis at 81. December 20, 2010: The Republic of Korea Marine Corps stars to hold live-fire drill exercises on Yeonpyeong Island. North Korea responds by saying they will not retaliate.

December 12, 2011: An incident occurs where a Chinese fisherman, who was illegally fishing, is confronted by two SK coast guards. He stabbed them and one died from the injuries. The fisherman was sentenced to thirty years in jail and a fine in April of 2012. December 19, 2012: The 2012 presidential elections were held in which Park Geun Hye is elected as the first female president of South Korea. She would eventually be impeached and removed from office due to corruption in 2017.

Album of the Month 2009 - 2015:

2010 - GD & TOP by GD & TOP

2011 - The Boys by Girls’ Generation 

2012 - Winter Poetry by Shin Hyun Seung

2013 - Miracles in December by EXO

2014 - Exology Chapter 1: The Lost Planet by EXO

2015 - SING FOR YOU by EXO

DRAMAS:

December 2009: Father’s House (This show was a year end special that brought in over 15% viewership ratings and garnered generally good reviews. It stars Choi Min Soo, Moon Jung Hee, and Kim Soo Hyun.)  December 2009: Will it Snow for Christmas (This melodrama brought in around 10% viewership ratings. It stars Go Soo and Han Ye Seul.)

December 2010: Athena: Goddess of War (This action/spy drama is a spin off of the hit show IRIS. It’s in the same universe as IRIS, but stars Joo Woo Sung, Cha Seung Won, Soo Ae, Lee Ji Ah, and Super Junior’s Choi Siwon. IRIS’s cast also made cameos throughout. It averaged around 15% viewership ratings.) December 2011: What’s Up? (This musical drama stars Lim Joo Hwan, BIGBANG’s Daesung, Lim Joo Eun, Kim Ji Won, and Jo Jung Suk.)  December 2011: Vampire Idol (This sitcom style drama stars Lee Jung, Davichi’s Kang Min Kyung, Lee Soo Hyuk, Kim Woo Bin, and Hong Jung Hyun. There are also a couple idols as supporting characters including ZE:A’s Kwanghee and Girl’s Day Bang Minah.) 

December 2012: School 2013 (This is the fifth installment of the popular “School” drama series. This iteration stars Jang Nara, Choi Daniel, Lee Jong Suk, Park Se Young, and Kim Woo Bin. It did pretty well, bringing in over 10% viewership ratings.) December 2013: Prime Minister and I (This 17 episode drama stars Lee Beom Soo and Girls’ Generation’s YoonA. The main OST is a song called “Footsteps” sung by SHINee’s Taemin. The show brought in over 5% viewership ratings and won two awards: the Best Couple Award for the main characters and an Excellence in Acting Award for YoonA.) December 2013: You Who Came From the Stars/My Love from the Star (This hit romance/fantasy drama stars megastars Kim Soo Hyun and Jun Ji Hyun. The duo had previously acted together in the movie The Thieves. Dal Shabet’s Serri and Subin, former miss A member Suzy, and former 2NE1 member Dara make cameos throughout. Lyn, K. Will, Younha, Hyorin, Huh Gak, Sung Si Kyung, and Kim Soo Hyun all participated in the OSTs. The show did incredibly well and ended up selling out products that the characters wore, being the highest rated drama of it’s time (not only in South Korea but throughout Asia), and bringing in over 20% viewership ratings.) 

December 2014: Healer (This action drama stars Ji Chang Wook and Park Min Young. The show averaged around 7% viewership ratings, but while it only did moderately well in South Korea it boosted Ji’s international fandom immensely.)  December 2015: Remember- War of the Son (This thriller stars Yoo Seung Ho, Park Woo Sung, Park Min Young, Min Namkoong, and Jung Hye Sung. K. Will, Jooyoung, Jang Jane, Jang Han Byul, and Bobby Kim participated in the OSTs. It averaged around 15% viewership ratings, and won a few awards at multiple award shows.

FILMS:

December 23, 2009: Jeon Woo Chi: The Taoist Wizard (This fantasy/action film stars Gang Dong Won, Im Soo Jung, and Kim Yoo Seok. A 2012 K-drama spin-off was made with the same main character played by Cha Tae Hyun, although the rest of the show’s plot was different. It was the third best selling movie of the year.)  December 9, 2010: Finding Mr. Destiny (This movie adaption of the musical of the same name, stars Gong Yoo and Im Soo Jung. It did well at the box office, bringing over a million admissions.)  December 1, 2011: Spellbound/Chilling Romance/My Girlfriend Can See Ghosts (This rom-com stars Son Ye Jin and Lee Min Ki. It was the 7th biggest movie of the year.) December 25, 2012: The Tower (This disaster movie stars Sol Kyung-gu, Ki Sang-gyung, and Son Ye-jin. The movie did very well at the box office and become the first movie of 2013 to hit five million theater admissions. It was sold to multiple countries and eventually got an English dub with voice actors such as Buba Kachow, Erin Fitzgerald, and Todd Haberkorn.)

December 11, 2013: Way Back Home (This movie, which is based on the true story of Jang Mi Jeong, stars Jeon Do Yeon and Go Soo. It follows the story of a woman who unknowingly attempted to smuggle drugs out of Paris and is caught, and how she eventually got back to Korea. It did fairly well, bringing in just under two million theater admissions.)  December 18, 2013: The Attorney (This law drama, which was inspired by a true story, stars Song Kang Ho, Kim Young Ae, Oh Dal Soo, ZE:A’s Im Si Wan, and Kwak Do Won. It became the 8th best-selling movie in Korea of all time with over 11 million admissions. It won many awards at various award shows.)  December 24, 2013: The Suspect (This action/thriller starring Gong Yoo was a box office hit, bringing in over 4 million admissions. It received praise from various western newspapers and reviewers.) December 31, 2014: The Tenor - Lirico Sprinto (This movie, which is based on the true story of Bae Jae Chul, stars Yoo Ji Tae, Yusuke Iseya, and Cha Ye Ryun. The movie took eighteen months to film and six years to fully complete.)

HAPPY STUFF:

December 12, 2012: Sungah was added to the line-up of Nine Muses. Her first comeback with them would be with “Dolls”.

SAD STUFF:

December 21, 2009: Hangeng leaves Super Junior and files a lawsuit against SM Entertainment. December 11, 2009: Inyoung and Jungah leave Jewelry to pursue solo careers.

December 24, 2012: Trinity leaves GLAM.  December 21, 2013: Sohee leaves Wonder Girls to focus on her acting career.

December 2014: Sunye leaves Wonder Girls and says she will retire from the industry.  December 31, 2014: Jooyeon contract with Pledis Entertainment ends and she graduates from After School the following year.

December 12, 2013: Singer Kim Ji Hoon, half of the duo Duke, passes away due to suicide at age 40.

POST OF THE MONTH:

iKON - Dumb & Dumber

[1358456]

Review Response, Dec 22 - 28, 2019

“28″, but I’ll be including the reviews that came in this morning. Because hey.

And... there are a lot. The most this year.

Legacy Prologue - Kalos

1) That first part DEFINITELY reminded me of the XY chapter, except Y is being the Hikikomori (shut-in) and X is trying to drag her out... It’s a good role-reversal!

I also wanted it to be like the time in XY where Y found out what happened to her mother and she got super depressed. Except this time, X tries to do something about it. Finally.

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Legacy #008

1) LOVED IT!

Thank you!

2) Poor moon. I loved this chapter

Hey, it’s you! <3 Thank you kindly.

3) WoW cool chapter. So blue confessionele next chapter hopefully? Lol have been waiting on that for the entire story so Lets hope its the case

Haven’t we all. ... Except for those that don’t like this pairing...

4) It’s nice to see platinum trying to help blue move things was a good chapter with nice interactions with the juniors and seniors all under the same roof

It’s like a big Dex Holder family! ... But not too big, since there are far too many of them nowadays! And despite Platinum not really wanting to get involved, she helps out anyways, as “foretold” by the Headcanon Chronology!

5) While Moon really should rest, the idea of her getting that Spirit of Vengeance team you posted about on your Tumblr sounds way too awesome. ...Also Umbreon bias since it's my first (and only) shiny, but yeah.

Poor Blue - it really is probably only going to hurt her the longer she keeps it in. Wonder how that is going to play out, since I guess Platinum's now put things in motion. I think the first scene in this chapter is the one I enjoyed the most.

Damn, for Moon's Pokemon to die like that...that's gotta be traumatizing. I have to admire that determination though, even though she's shaping up to be a revenge-obsessed character from what I see.

Awesome chapter as always and can't wait for the next one!

Hehe. Spirit of Vengeance. The amount of curse in that team would be quite terrifying. Hehehe... ... Only shiny, you say? Aww...

Platinum has gotten the ball rolling despite not really wanting to. MVP of the confession? Hehe... Sisterly bonds, indeed. Now, will it work out in favor for Blue??

Moon can’t be filled with a lust for vengeance if none of her friends and Pokemon have perished. And so now she rises from her agony with ice cold determination for blood to be spilled for the blood that had been shed. ... Or does that saying go the other way around? Heh. Regardless. She’s pissed, has a bow, lethal poison, and soon to be a team packed with ghosts (and Dark types).

Thank you as always! And you won’t have to wait long~!

6) Eh lucky really isnt my cup of tea but the way you write stories is pretty awesome keep up the good work!

I could tell by the anon ID you picked. To each their own. And thank you!

7) Awww blue being so shy hahahaha. Its like the roles have reversed since the first time they met thats so cute! Anyway Great story as usual

Hehe. Timid Blue~! It’s new and very cute, isn’t it? And thank you.

8) Hey man Great story looking forward to the next chapter

Thank you. It’s coming very soon.

9) Wow this is A really underrated story I really like how you keep most characters so in character!

Still underrated... in comparison to my previous stuff. But that’s to be expected, I guess. And thank you.

10) Well Colour me surprised ! A Pokemon story thats not forcing crack pairings! Anyway Where is green in this story?

Heh. Crack pairings... Only once in a solar eclipse. And... who? Heh. He’s in Kalos and thus off screen.

11) Wtf did moons Pokemon just die? Great story but damn thats fucking dark

Yes they perished in the fire. “Die, insect” and all. ... And one of them was an insect! Heh. Ahem. ... Dark? That’s not dark. Have you seen the stuff I did in SA and Destiny? Heh...

12) I mean I kinda like the story but isnt specialshipping canon? Also this is really really dark

No, it’s not canon. What is canon is that Yellow has a crush on Red. What’s also canon is that Red is uncomfortable with the idea. And of course he is. He thought she was a guy the whole time and then suddenly found out all at once that she was a girl and had a crush on him. His response is not going to be positive. And again, this is not dark. ... Though I guess that depends on your sensitivity.

13) hey sorry for not leaving A review for so long but I still really like the story lol!

Hey, you’re back. ... Then... who’s the anon with the v2 of your ID?

14) I love your writing style!

Thank you!

15) I somehow found Pearl smacking Black across the face to wake him up funnier than it should’ve been. Haha

I wonder if Blue really will confess to Red today. If so, I wonder how the opportunity would present itself.

Its quite sad that Hau, Lillie, and two of Moon’s Pokemon died. I guess this is where Moon’s overhaul comes in. I cant wait to see Moon’s viciousness unleashed when she inevitably meets the guys responsible for all that.

I look forward to more!

Hehe. Black always getting smacked around in my stories, literally and figuratively.

Will Blue truly confess on that day (which is a day before the stuff in Alola happens), or will she fail again due to anxiety? And will it end well for her??

Moon’s overhaul is happening now, yes. For that, she’ll have to go to Galar too. And I don’t know sh*t about that region, so... that’ll be difficult. Hehe. And much later in the story when she meets her foe... oho, Rage Unleashed Moon!

16) Moon and Lillie sure get burned really bad. Also, what about the kid with the malasadas? Hopefully, Blue will confessed to Red soon...

The local boy with the malasada had the same fate as Lillie. Two stretchers with a body on top, with the white blankets pulled all the way up.

17) I figured that now would be the best time to give a review for one of your works. therefore, I should review my personal favourite.

I been a consistent and long-time reader for numerous years now without ever leaving a review. I simply didn't have an account until recently just so I can give my thoughts on some of the series that you make.

Regarding Legacy as a whole, it truely showcases your ability to take the wide variety of dexholders and thiee different personalities and place them in situations that would absolutely never occur in the actual story. I have always loved the way you portray each individual character, improving thier teama and strategies and having genuine character growth. Although Sun and Moon are my uncontested favourite characters so far, I adore the way you use Platinum B in your stories, giving her a genuine personality and character traits.

You also generate a wide range of different and creative settings for each of the characters to go through. Legacy is the perfect example of this in terms of one truely coherent story setting. by using the opportunity of the highest stakes that these dexholders may ever face, you use the opportunity to explore all of the aspects of each character amazingly and how they would face this danger.

Since Sun and Moon are my favourite characters, the wait for this chapter absolutely killed me. Although it sucks that due to the lack of reviews for these characters I will get few opportunties to read your way of presenting the characters What I am trying to say is that the way you write your characters makes them feel REAL. I genuinely believe that these are the actual characters as they personalties are replicated and refined to perfection The way both Sun and Moon react in this chapter is exactly the way I would have expected them to. Being a Deliveryshipping day 1, seeing even the slightest interactions in any media, especially in your stories always brings joy to me. I have regulary reread most of your works such as Special Chronicals and Distinct Events becuase each story is chapter is amazing in its own right.

Your amazing work has inspired me to possibly start my own project one day. I am sorry for the stress that you have gone through this year and the issues with the Discord. It will get better this year. Seeing as you use reviews to indicate the popularity of a particular series, I had to write this review so that this series can get the update it deserves so that we can all see how this fantastic story ends. Thank your for all of the amazing work you have done.

Whoa, hello. Haven’t gotten a review this long since a certain someone stopped with Destiny reviews back in July.

Accounts aren’t necessary for the reviews. Guest reviews exist! And if you use the same anon ID, I’d know it’s you. But thank you for going through the effort! It’s much appreciated!

Aww, thank you very much! <3 And while I don’t know about Sun, but Moon is going to be in the spotlight quite a lot, so enjoy it! Since Platinum is my uncontested favorite, she gets plenty of development in my stories, with new character bonds, teams, battling style, etc. And unlike in DPPt, she actually gets to do things against the enemy.

Of the three major stories I’ve written (SA, Destiny, Legacy), Legacy has the lowest stakes. But I think it’s also the most personal, which I guess means it’s much more important for individual Dex Holders. Well, we’ll see as time passes. And yes, these are kind of things that would never happen in the actual arcs, so the Dex Holders get to be stress-tested. How would they react given their personalities, tics, relationships, etc, in a realistic situation?

Oh. ... Ahem. Sorry for making you wait 7 months. Ehehe... And while it’s true that Sun and Moon currently have the lowest “viewership”, that changes as time passes. Like Black and White in SA and X and Y in Destiny. As the “meh” torch is passed down to Sword and Shield, Sun and Moon might rise in popularity, thus increasing the chances of them appearing in my stories.

I don’t really know if this was how Sun would react though. But I also don’t know how he would’ve actually reacted, so this might not be outside the possibility range. I kind of had him act like Black, really, but without being as sweet... or loud. Well, there will be more Sun & Moon interactions for you to enjoy in the upcoming chapters, so... there you go!

You should start your own project! Go for it! And eh, Discord. Sh*t happens. I wouldn’t call that stress. Anyways. Yes, I use the review count as an indicator of how many people have finished the chapter. Of course, there are plenty of people who read the chapter to the end without reviewing, and the number of people who review after reading tends to fluctuate. But if there is a trend, that indicates a trend in viewership as well. And that is what I look at. Hence the charts. And yes. We’d all like to see how the story ends. Me included. Keep up with the reviews and we’ll all see it by 2021.

And thank you so much for the review and the... sweet talking. Hehe <3

18) Just found this story and am enjoying it thoroughly. Big fan of your Blue characterization as well, I used to enjoy shipping Red with Yellow, but recently, I've come to enjoy Blue with Red.

A small nitpick - Did none of the juniors comment on Red and Blue sleeping in the same room/bed while they stayed in Red's house in the last two chapters? I would assume the female juniors already know Blue likes Red and so won't say anything unnecessary, but I guess the guys are a little more tactful than we give them credit for?

Looking forward to me. Cheers.

Red with Blue works very well. And it’s cute! Hehe... ... biased.

Heh. The girls... already know, since the girls who are in the house were Platinum, White, and Y, and they already know of Blue’s crush and all that. So White and Y would just snicker at the fact that Red and Blue are sleeping on the same bed, while Platinum would just smile. As for the boys... Diamond might notice something if he spent more time talking to Red and Blue before and after. But I doubt Pearl or Black would notice anything odd. They’d probably just assume that Red and Blue are sharing the bed because a ton of guests were sleeping in the living room, so there were no other options.

Of course, all that’s assuming that the juniors know that Red and Blue are sleeping on the same bed. I don’t recall having Red and Blue give them a tour of the house, so as far as the juniors know, there might be another bed upstairs. ... Though a house tour is generally the first thing you do, but... heh. Ambiguity. No one knows for sure.

And I look forward to seeing more reviews from you!

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Well well. Would you look at THAT. Way above the average now. So... looks like I’ll have to keep my word and update Legacy again before this year ends in 3 days. Heh. Of course, I did notice a few things but... well... whatever.

18. That’s the most reviews I’ve gotten in a chapter in all of 2019. Or 2018. ... And vast majority of 2017 (Legacy Prologue - Kanto was in January 2017). If this kind of thing happened much more frequently, I would be updating Legacy like once every two weeks, instead of 3~4 times in a year.

But, there you have it! New record in almost 3 years. As a result... Legacy update in 3 days.

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DE #031

1) Sun and moon are so cute. I love them

Support the new...ish pairing!

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And with that, DE #031 is no longer in the top 4 least reviewed. Yay!

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SC #017

1) Awesome story.

Thank you.

2) Well that was...brutal alright. Thugs deserved it though. I'm mildly surprised no one died, but I think that's more because I'm used to seeing that from your old "doom hammer" chapters.

I admit the Santa part was an amusing touch, and I guess that explains why you needed to release this by the end of the year. Heh, Blue's gadgets are useful as always and very effective - that's a nice disguise. That action scene was awesome and easily the best scene in this chapter. The situation aside...it was nice to see Red be a hero even without his Pokemon.

You were right - this is an enjoyable chapter and I like this "brutal Red" experiment. Can't wait for the next chapter!

Heh. The doom hammer is for serious stories. Not comical ones. So no one dies in the hands of Santa Claus. This time.

Ahem. Well, there’s the inspiration for the chapter, and the reason behind the line of “Or Santa will go jolly on your naughty asses with a candy cane axe”. Hehe. Cheers, everyone, Santa has come to town!

And the duo of Red and Blue becomes much stronger. Mercenary Red with technological support!

Hehe. Much more serious brutal Red (instead of comical) to come up later as the experimentation continues. Ohoho!

3) holy crud, santa beating up a gang is greatest thing ever

Yep. Santa going to town on their naughty asses with a candy cane bat. What’s not to love?

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And with that, the latest SC chapter is now in the top 4 least reviewed. For now?

... Looks like the “A Day at Work” chapters are failing miserably, since they’re at 1 and 3 reviews respectively. So... I guess I won’t be doing that again.

And with this, the longest review response post of 2019 has come to an end.

[bccity]

JULY 2019 BC ENTERTAINMENT SCHEDULES & REVIEW

Members may earn 3 points each (up to 6 points) for writing, by the end of July 31 KST:

A solo para of 400+ words based on their monthly schedule (does not count toward your monthly limit).

A thread of six posts (three per participant, including the starter) based on the monthly schedule.

Threads and solos do not have to take place directly during an important date listed on the schedule, but must be related to what the muse is mentioned to be doing in the paragraph explaining their schedule/the company’s schedule for the month and/or their thoughts on the mentioned activities or lack thereof.

These schedules may be updated throughout the month if new information needs to be added.

Overall Company

BC artists are again encouraged to attend WISH’s concerts again this month, especially once news regarding Goeun’s case drops. The success of WISH’s concerts will be one of BC”s two main media play defenses. Thankfully, the news won’t lead to too big of a stock drop like the initial lawsuit news did, but all idols under BC are still forbidden to publicly speak about the case to the press or fans.

Post-July 8 update: All idols are still forbidden to talk about the case and it seems that the higher-ups that know more about what’s going on have been told not to be open with people about more details as well. The general atmosphere of the company this month is a little tense, with management on high alert to keep all of their charges out of trouble. Any questions raised about Goeun will be dismissed and those questioning will be told to focus on their own schedules instead of other people’s business.

Important dates:

N/A

BC Soloist 1

Now that her debut is imminent, she has a packed schedule this month. The album has already been fully recorded and choreographed, but the music video still needs filmed. She’ll also make a special surprise appearance on an episode of Weekly Idol with senior soloists that will air a week before her debut to introduce her to the public.

Important dates:

July 8: Release of pre-debut single “Week”.

July 15: Why Don’t You Know MV filming.

July 16: Special appearance on Weekly Idol Soloist Special filming (also appearing: Dimensions Soloist 1 and Gold Star Soloist 3, to air July 24).

July 31: Release of “Why Don’t You Know” & Hands on Me mini album/debut showcase, promotions continue until August 31.

Decipher

Along with the company’s two other boy groups, Decipher is being sent off to KCON NY this month. Decipher is a bit less popular than their two junior groups overseas, but they still have a number of fans that will be attending just for them. The week before KCON will be packed with group and individual English lessons packed in to provide the members with, at the very least, memorized lines to recite. They’ll have a hi-touch, a meet and greet, and participate in the second concert day.

Important dates:

July 7: Performance at KCON NY at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY, USA (also performing: 7ROPHY, Knight, & CHARM).

              ↳ Decipher R & V

After the meeting last month with Decipher V, the members will be called into concept meetings this month and record the single for their comeback at the end of the month. It’s a song that had originally been in consideration for a full group comeback but has been repurposed for the unit after management deemed it more fit for them after deciding Decipher V should make a return.

Important dates:

N/A

BEE

After music show promotions end on the fourth, they get the news from the manager that they’ve been gifted almost two weeks of vacation time from the 6th to the 18th thanks to their successful comebacks since re-signing their contracts. The members are free to leave Seoul or the country as long as they remain on their best behavior. Once they come back from vacation, they’ll be met with the news of a new brand deal with hair care brand Mise En Scene, which they’re scheduled to film a CF for straight away. At the end of the month, they’ll hold a fan sign for the brand deal.

Important dates:

July 4: End of music show promotions.

July 19: Mise En Scene CF filming.

July 28: Mise En Scene fan sign in Jung, Seoul.

Knight

Management is confident that this comeback falls comfortably into Knight’s image and artistic niche, but the results after the mini-album drops might say otherwise. It could be the numerous albums BC has made Knight pump out every year for the last few years catching up to them with the fan base, poor marketing, a song a bit too dark for the season, or the fierce competition from groups like Femme Fatale and Fuse for digital points and music show wins hurting their chances with casual fans, but this comeback under performs much more noticeably than the last in physical sales, digital charting, and music show wins. They’re still clearly going to end the year in the top three selling groups of the year physically as always, but with BC more concerned with building up CHARM, it becomes obvious BC doesn’t plan to have them come back again until next year and they’ll be relied on for second half of the year concert profits instead.

Important dates:

July 6: Performance at SBS Super Concert at AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong (also performing: CHARM).

July 7: Performance at KCON NY at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY, USA (also performing: 7ROPHY, CHARM, & Decipher).

July 9: Release of “Now or Never” & Sensuous mini album showcase, promotions continue until August 9. 

July 13: Fan sign in Yeouido, Seoul.

July 14: Fan sign in Gangnam, Seoul.

July 27: Filming of “Now or Never Suit Version” choreography video.

July 27: Performance at Boryeong Mud Festival in Boryeong.

              ↳ White Knight

No schedules for the month.

Important dates:

N/A

Lipstick

Music show promotions continue to go well though BC doesn’t have them promoting too extensively. As soon as promotions end, the members will be hopping on a plane for their Taiwan concerts, then returning to South Korea where they’ll be shooting for a summer-themed photo book and behind the scenes video on Jeju Island that will be released near the end of summer for fans (admin note: if you want to reference exact outfits/concepts/photo pairings, you may use the respective AOA line distribution with the maknae aligning with Choa since Chanmi is absent from the shoot). After that, they’ve got one last tour stop for the month in Malaysia. They’re asked to keep attending pole dancing classes in preparation for their Japanese music video as well and, in general, avoid putting themselves too much in the public eye this month following the news on Goeun’s case.

Important dates:

July 19: End of music show promotions.

July 20: Prima Donna tour concert at National Taiwan University Sports Center in Taipei, Taiwan.

July 21: Prima Donna tour concert at National Taiwan University Sports Center in Taipei, Taiwan.

July 23: Lipstick Hot Summer photo book shooting day one in Jeju Island.

July 24: Lipstick Hot Summer photo book shooting day two in Jeju Island.

July 25: Lipstick Hot Summer photo book shooting day three in Jeju Island.

July 27: Prima Donna tour concert at Stadium Negara in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

              ↳ Lip Gloss

No schedules.

CHARM

This month, the members will only be in Seoul for around a total of two weeks, from July 5-6, 9-12, and 18-25. The rest of the time, they’ll either be doing their Japanese concert and fan meeting tour or performing at the SBS Super Concert or KCON NY. This means English lessons the first week of the month and expectations to be studying Japanese if needed the rest of the time. Time when they are in Seoul will be spent learning and recording for their Japanese single album Happy Ending and in practice learning the choreography for it so the music video can be filmed and released next month.

Important dates:

July 2: CHARM 2019 Japan Tour ‘Haru’ concert at Marine Messe Fukuoka in Fukuoka, Japan.

July 3: CHARM 2019 Japan Tour ‘Haru’ concert at Marine Messe Fukuoka in Fukuoka, Japan.

July 6: Performance at SBS Super Concert in Hong Kong at AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong (also performing: Knight).

July 7: Performance at KCON NY at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY, USA (also performing: 7ROPHY, Knight, & Decipher).

July 13: CHARM 2019 Japan Tour ‘Haru’ concert at Ecopa Arena in Shizuoka, Japan.

July 14: CHARM 2019 Japan Tour ‘Haru’ concert at Ecopa Arena in Shizuoka, Japan.

July 16: CHARM 2019 Japan Tour ‘Haru’ concert at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

July 17: CHARM 2019 Japan Tour ‘Haru’ concert at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

July 26: CHARM 2019 Japan Tour ‘Haru’ concert at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan.

July 27: CHARM 2019 Japan Tour ‘Haru’ concert at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan.

July 28: CHARM 2019 Japan Tour ‘Haru’ concert at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan.

July 29: CHARM Japan Fanmeeting - ‘Hana’ at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan.

July 30: CHARM Japan Fanmeeting - ‘Hana’ at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan.

WISH

The stricter diets and curfews and additional practice time don’t let up this month, but their public schedules do at least. Their tour begins this month with dates in Seoul and Bangkok. The rest of the time, they’re scheduled to film a Pocari Sweat CF and record for their Japanese releases for next month. The double title tracks for said Japanese comeback will be filmed at the end of the month with contrasting concepts, one more typical bright pop WISH and one more in the vein of their latest Korean comeback.

Important dates:

July 6: WISHlights Tour concert at KSPO Dome in Seoul, South Korea.

July 7: WISHlights Tour concert at KSPO Dome in Seoul, South Korea.

July 11: Pocari Sweat CF filming.

July 25: Happy Happy MV filming.

July 27: WISHlights Tour concert at Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand. 

July 31: Breakthrough MV filming.

[puroresu-musings]

NJPW BEST OF THE SUPER Jr. 26 Day 7 Review (May 22nd 2019, Tokyo, Korakuen Hall)

Taiji Ishimori vs. TAKA Michinoku (A Block)  ***

Bandidio vs. Ren Narita (B Block)  ***3/4

Titan vs. Jonathan Gresham (A Block)  ***1/4

Rocky Romero vs. YOH (B Block)  ***1/2

Dragon Lee vs. Tiger Mask (A Block)  ***1/4

BUSHI vs. DOUKI (B Block)  ***1/4

SHO vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru (A Block)  ***

Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Robbie Eagles (B Block)  ***3/4

Marty Scurll vs. Shingo Takagi (A Block)  ****

Will Ospreay vs. El Phantasmo (B Block)  ****1/2

Photos.

The first of three straight nights at Korakuen Hall kicked off in fine fashion with a highly enjoyable show that flew by and featured nothing but good to excellent matches. Things started with Taiji Ishimori defeating the currently winless TAKA Michinoku with Bloody Cross in a fun 5 minute opener. Bandidio squared off with Young Lion Ren Narita next. This only went 6:19, but it was a great little sprint which the crowd were white hot for. Had it gone 5 minutes longer, this would have been north of **** no doubt. After loads of break-neck action, Bandido unsurprisingly put the rookie away with his Go 2 Sleep variant, followed by the 21 Plex, to score the 2 points. This was a crazy little match. Jonathan Gresham’s win over Titan was a completely different, though still really good, outing. They’re kind of pushing Gresham as a junior ZSJ, and he impressed with his submission skills again. He submitted the masked man at 10:55 with the Manjigatame. It was a battle of Roppongi 3K in the next match, which saw YOH take on mentor Rocky Romero. This was a very fun outing indeed, with the crowd fully invested, and told a simple story of Rocky working YOH’s arm, and YOH working Rocky’s leg. After a series of near falls from cradle attempts, YOH scored the surprise submission win when he trapped Romero in his calf killer that he’s calling Stargazer, making Rocky tap at the 13:29 mark.

IWGP Jr champion Dragon Lee was victorious over junior legend Tiger Mask next, when he scored the win with Desnucadora (sort of) at 8:55 of a good babyface vs. babyface battle. BUSHI finally got on the scoreboard in this BOSJ with his 7 minute win over DOUKI. This was another fun sprint on a show filled with them, and the crowd were super into BUSHI. One thing worth mentioning is Juice Robinson on commentary (who I wasn’t especially enthused with in this role) pretty much buried both guys here, proclaiming he didn’t give a “hot damn” about the match, hates BUSHI, then admitting he didn’t know “Dookie” from a “ham sandwich”. Way to put guys over Juice. I know it’s his gimmick, but whatever. The next match between SHO and Kanemaru fell into the ‘sprint’ category, and also had a very interesting finish; after brawling all over Korakuen Hall, the veteran ran SHO into the wall, and gave him a suplex on the concrete up in the runway. With the referee at 18, Kanemaru threw Young Lion Yota Tsuji into SHO, then rolled in at 19 for the countount win at just 4:01. This was really short, but fun whilst it lasted, and I really liked the ending as it gets the countout finish over. Taguchi and Robbie Eagles had a great match next. this too had a hot crowd, and Taguchi was in full BOSJ mode here. Eagles worked over Taguchi’s knee, but ‘Coach’ fired back with flying moves. The finishing sequence was great, as Robbie missed a 450, escaped an Ankle Lock, then scored a believable near fall with the Turbo Backpack. Taguchi battled back, hitting Dodon’s Throne, which got a fantastic near fall. Finally Eagles caught Taguchi in his Seat Belt cradle finish to win in 11:13.

The last two matches of the night were both excellent. First Shingo Takagi faced Marty Scurll in a really great, hard-hitting outing. These guys traded stiff blows, until Brody King, who accompanied Scurll to ringside, got involved after a ref bump, hitting a Blackhole Slam, allowing Marty to get a great near fall with a powerbomb. After Red Shoes was bumped for a THIRD time, King came in again and tried a lariat on Shingo, but the Dragon ducked and King nailed Scurll. Takagi sent Brody packing with a Pumping Bomber, and tried a Noshigami, but it was botched as Scurll’s leg was free. Another Pumping Bomber scores a near fall, then Shingo put Marty away with Last Of The Dragon at the 14:07 mark to remain undefeated. I really liked this, even all the shenanigans worked, as there was something on the line here in Shingo’s undefeated streak. And finally, El Phantasmo beat Will Ospreay in a fantastic main event. Anyone who saw their Rev Pro match last year will know that these guys can have excellent matches together, and this certain surpassed their previous outings. Ospreay came out like a house afire, destroying ELP with stiff strikes, and taking it into the crowd, where Phantasmo hit a beautiful moonsault off the entry tunnel. These guys hit so many big moves; Phantasmo hit his Jinsei Shinzaki rope walk hurricarana, Ospreay hit his springboard moves, and a big Star Dust Press to the floor. Will killed him with hard cheeky Nando’s superkicks, then hit his impressive middle rope Iconoclasm for a great near fall. After battling to the apron, Ospreay tried his Spanish Fly to the floor, but ELP blocked it, tried the CRII, but Ospreay escaped. From here, Phantasmo hit a big piledriver on the apron. They teased a countout, beautifully set up in the SHO/Kanemaru bout, but they made it in for 19. Phantasmo hits an impressive top rope Big Splash, then went for the Rainmaker, which Ospreay turned into a picture-perfect Liger Bomb. Will tried Oscutter, but ELP caught him in his spinning Rack neckbreaker, but Ospreay battled back with a Spanish Fly and Shooting Star Press for a believable near fall. After Phantasmo escaped a Stormbreaker attempt by wrapping his legs around Red Shoes’ head, he hit a low blow, then pinned the Ariel Assassin with CRII to score the biggest win of his career at 26:40 of a super smooth, excellent outing. This was also Ospreay’s third ****1/2 match in a row in this thing, and the dude just seems to be getting better. Phantasmo cut a promo in the post match, telling the fans to bin all their merch and start buying Bullet Club merch. This was a really fun show, and tomorrows looks even better with Ospreay vs. Bandido and Dragon Lee vs. Shingo as the top two matches!

NDT

[goldstarnation]

APRIL 2019 GOLD STAR MEDIA SCHEDULES & REVIEW

Members may earn 3 points each (up to 6 points) for writing, by the end of April 30 KST:

A solo para of 400+ words based on their monthly schedule (does not count toward your monthly total).

A thread of six posts (three per participant, including the starter) based on their monthly schedule.

Threads do not have to take place directly during an important date listed on the schedule, but must be related to what the muse is mentioned to be doing in the paragraph explaining their schedule/the company’s schedule for the month and/or their thoughts on the mentioned activities or lack thereof.

These schedules may be updated throughout the month if new information needs to be added.

Overall Company

CEO Bang Sunyoung has recently collaborated with a trendy, up and coming fashion brand to release a line of men’s and women’s accessories and shoes with her name attached and all Gold Star artists have been tapped to help model the line in two different groupings this month for the brand’s summer look book. The idols will do group shots (if they’re in a group), individual shots, and some PD-chosen mixed groupings as well.

Important dates

April 7: Accessories line lookbook photo shoot (Gold Star Soloist 1, Gold Star Soloist 3, Aria, Impulse, Femme Fatale)

April 19: Shoe line lookbook photo shoot (Gold Star Soloist 2, Silhouette, Origin, Element, Fuse)

Gold Star Soloist 1

To tide fans over until the next comeback, Gold Star has decided she will be releasing a fun and bright summer-themed photo book, which she’ll be traveling to Jeju at the end of the month to model for, with pictures taken by a popular photographer.

Important dates:

April 20-25: Photobook photo shoots in Jeju.

Gold Star Soloist 2

She’ll be flying out to the United States at the beginning of the month to perform in a gig there, but once she returns, it’s time for her to buckle down and focus on the final month of her solo concert preparations. After a lot of talk and seemingly fruitless studio recordings, there’s also word that Gold Star is going to go ahead with giving her a comeback later in the year.

Important dates:

April 6: Performance at concert at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax County, VA, USA.

Gold Star Soloist 3

At the end of the month, he’ll be performing his first domestic solo concerts in four years, so that is the priority on his schedule for the month. The weekend before his concert, Gold Star is sending him out busking for publicity and he’s scheduled to do a couple of radio appearances in the week between for additional promo.

Important dates:

April 20: Hongdae busking.

April 21: Hongdae busking.

April 22: Guesting on COOL FM radio show.

April 25: Guesting on Arirang Radio.

April 27: I COLOR U concert at Blue Square iMarket Hall in Seoul.

April 28: I COLOR U concert at Blue Square iMarket Hall in Seoul.

Silhouette

Following the end of their music show promotions for “I Love You”, Gold Star has booked Silhouette a gig on Running Man as a group, which they’ll be filming amidst the tour preparations for their June Japan tour that the rest of the month will be focused on, with performance rehearsals and promotional photo and video shoots.

Important dates:

April 6: End of music show promotions.

April 9: Running Man filming (to be aired April 28)

Aria

Gold Star is very happy with the performance of their last comeback and are going forward with initial plans to throw Aria into the summer comeback and are also talking about fitting a third comeback into the end of the year to please investors. In the meantime, April is largely a vacation month as congratulations for a job well done for the group other than a performance at the Korea Times Music Festival to cap off the month.

Important dates:

April 27: Performance at Korea Times Music Festival at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Origin

Though the planned comeback date earlier in the preparation process was for May, Gold Star has pushed the comeback up to the last week of April to best accommodate overseas promotions for the new album. Origin will film their music videos during the first few days of the month and then they’re slated for two concerts at the end of the first week of the month. The group will fly out to the US on April 23rd after pre-recording a handful of comeback stages for Korean shows and will remain there to film promotional appearances content until they finish their comeback stage on Saturday Night Live on the 27th, after which they’ll leave immediately on a private plane to make it back to Korea just barely in time to perform at the SBS Inkigayo Super Concert and pre-record more music show stages before they leave back to the states on the 29th (after their press conference) for the Billboard Music Awards next month.

Important dates:

April 4: Interview and photo shoot for Entertainment Weekly magazine.

April 6: Love Yourself tour concert at Rajamangala International Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

April 7: Love Yourself tour concert at Rajamangala International Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

April 10: Release of pre-release MV for intro “Persona”.

April 24: The Fact Music Awards.

April 26: Release of title track & Map of the Soul: Persona, promotions continue until May 26.

April 27: Appearance as musical guest on Saturday Night Live.

April 28: Performance at SBS Inkigayo Super Concert in Gwangju.

April 29: Map of the Soul: Persona Global Press Conference in Seoul.

Impulse

Following their juniors Fuse and preceding their seniors in Silhouette, Impulse’s Japan tour will start next month, and that keeps them busy with stage rehearsal and other concert preparation this month like fittings and photo shoots. They’ve also been chosen at the new ambassadors for Est Cola in Thailand, so they’ll be flying there to film a CF near the end of the month.

Important dates:

April 20: Est Cola CF filming.

Fuse

Fuse’s Japan tour is this month, and they’ll be in Japan for the latter half of the month, save for a short return to Korea to attend an awards show. Before that, they’ll be scheduled for some form of concert rehearsal and/or Japanese lessons nearly every day. There’s some talk among management regarding a summer comeback to continue their success over the past couple of years during the season, but nothing has been confirmed and A&R are only in the stages of fielding possible songs.

Important dates:

April 21: Redmare tour concert at Marine Messe Fukuoka in Fukuoka, Japan.

April 24: The Fact Music Awards at Namdong Gymnasium in Incheon.

April 26: Redmare tour concert at World Memorial Hall in Kobe, Japan. 

April 27: Redmare tour concert at World Memorial Hall in Kobe, Japan. 

April 29: Redmare tour concert at Yokohoma in Yokohoma, Japan. 

April 30: Redmare tour concert at Yokohoma in Yokohoma, Japan. 

Element

With approval from the higher-ups, Element is set for a mid-May comeback and with it, they’ll be promoting a new song for the first time in eight months. Some back and forth within marketing and the company investors ended up with only a single approved for release, but the company is hoping to see good results nonetheless. The members will record the song in the studio this month and will spend long hours learning and perfecting the choreography. Gold Star is going sexier for this comeback than their last one, so more pressure will be put on the members visually. The pattern of VLives they fell into will be broken to focus on comeback preparations, but each member will be asked to film a solo cover video of some sort to upload on YouTube to keep fans engaged. The members are encouraged to lean into a sexy concept for the cover they either choose or are assigned, but it is not required.

Important dates:

April 24: 4lement tour concert at Shibuya Duo Exchange in Tokyo, Japan.

Femme Fatale

Now that filming for their reality show has wrapped, the members will be put into full focus on their summer EP. Gold Star wants their title track to be the hit of the summer and for it to make waves in a way that will justify their first tour and possibly even an American push in earnest in the second half of the year so the members are on a tight leash to maintain their collective it girl images. The members won’t make any scheduled public appearances this month in favor of spending time in the studio recording and learning choreography, but the plan is for this to increase buzz and hype about a potential comeback from them. A repackaged Japanese album will be released at the end of the month, but it won’t feature any new content from the members.

Important dates:

April 24: Release of Japanese repackaged album Re:Femme Fatale.

[hello-biblioflower]

OWLs Readathon 2019

Hello beautiful people!

My name is Amanda and I am just becoming active in the online book community. I have been watching booktube for around five years, which is actually before I really got into reading and pretty much what made me get into reading. For a long time, I have wanted to be a part of the community, but I have been searching for the right platform to be a part of. I finally decided that a blog is the best choice for me and I am super excited to join this community of amazing people! 

I’ll be posting more about me and my reading interests soon, but for now, I want to talk about the OWLs Readathon (created by the lovely BookRoast on Youtube) which just started today and is the first readathon that I will be participating in. So I wanted to share my TBR here! I shared it on Twitter this morning (@biblioflower), but I wanted to add a little more depth to it. So here we go!

So this year the creator decided to add careers to the readathon (I’m not going to go into detail, but if you want more information head over to her channel, she has a whole video about it!), and I decided to pursue the career of a Hogwarts professor. So for that, I need OWLs in: a subject I would like to teach, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and 5 additional subjects. So here are the books I chose!

1. Charms: An adult book

This is the subject that I chose that I would like to teach. I think Charms is super cool and as much as we all love Professor Flitwick, eventually he’ll need a replacement and I’ll be right there prepared. So for this, I chose The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I don’t know if this is ~technically~ an adult book, but I have never read it and it’s been on my TBR for quite some time, so I decided to give it a go for this readathon. It also helps that it is quite short and will most likely be a quick read for me.

2. Defense Against the Dark Arts: A book that starts with the letter ‘R’

For this, I chose Rebel Springs by Morgan Rhodes. This is the second book in the Falling Kingdoms series. I read the first one last year and I was not crazy about it but I can definitely see the potential of this series and hope that it lives up to it.

3. Ancient Runes: A retelling

Okay, so something that you should know about me is that I am absolutely OBSESSED with The Little Mermaid. Like it’s my absolute all-time favorite movie. I picked up a copy of Part of Your World by Liz Braswell a couple months ago solely because it is a Little Mermaid retelling and have been dying to read it ever since, but things keep getting in the way (@life, mental health, school, y’all suck). When I saw this prompt I knew that I had to choose this one. This book is obviously a retelling of The Little Mermaid, but with a twist--Ariel never defeated Ursula. That’s pretty much all I know about it and I am super stoked to dive into this story.

4. Arithmancy: A book with 2+ authors

For this, I chose My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows. This book has been on my TBR for a hot minute and I’m excited to finally get around to it. I honestly don’t remember what exactly it is about, but I do know that it’s supposed to be a really fun/funny read.

5. Astronomy: A book with the word ‘star’ in the title

This is the book I chose to start with and let me tell you I am LOVING it. The book is The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi. This book is about a girl whose horoscope when she was born foretold a marriage of death and destruction, and because of this she was hated and feared by most everyone in her father, the Raja’s, kingdom. Until she marries a mysterious king from a land she’s never heard of. I am about 50% through this one already (it’s still April 1 and the readathon just started) and it is so amazing.

 6. History of Magic: A book published at least 10 years ago

So I’ve been rereading Harry Potter for the past couple months and I thought that it was only fitting to add a Harry Potter book into a Harry Potter inspired readathon. So, for this, I am reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I’m so not ready to relive some moments in here, but I guess I’ll live...

7. Muggle Studies: A contemporary

I chose In 27 Days by Alison Gervais for this one. Okay, so I don’t think a lot of people have heard of this one which is an absolute tragedy, because it’s amazing. It was originally written on Wattpad, but it was eventually published in a physical book. I read it like three times on Wattpad and I’ve read it once in a physical book, and every time it was amazing. This story follows Hadley, a high school student in New York, who goes to school one day to find out a classmate of hers, Archer, has committed suicide. Hadley was not close with him, but she felt off after it. She is then approached by Death who gives her the chance to go back in time 27 days to save Archer’s life. This story is so good and I’m excited to reread it.

Those are all the OWLs that I need to complete and that I am prioritizing. However, there is one more that I would love to get to this month if I have the time.

8. Transfiguration: A book with a red cover

For this I have Crazy Love by Francis Chan. This is a book I read back in the summer before my junior year of high school, and that I’ve really been wanting to reread for a couple months. This book is a Christian non-fiction book about the sacrificial, unconditional, reckless, crazy love of God for His people. This book hit me hard when I read it the first time and I really want to read it again as a more mature Believer to see the impact again.

I am so excited to be a part of this readathon. I think it is such a cool and unique concept. I’ve been super immersed in the Harry Potter world now that I’m rereading the books so this just fits my mood really well right now. I’m thinking that I will post reviews for at least some of the books, but probably not all. I will be posting updates on my Twitter if anyone wants to follow along with that! Anyway, that’s all for now! 

xoxo 

Amanda

[gdwessel]

Road to the New Beginning Night 3 - 1/29/2018: KUSHIDA’s NJPW Farewell; Updated Giant Baba Memorial Show Card

The tour continued today, with a match that sees the end of the NJPW career of Yujiro Kushida, best known as KUSHIDA around these parts. You can see it now on NJPWWorld.

Kushida's origins were actually based in MMA, as his first training was in the Takada Dojo run by the legendary Nobuhiko Takada, training under Takumi Adachi. He began training during junior high school, debuting in the MMA promotion ZST in 2003, where he would win their Genesis Lightweight Tournament in 2004, ending his MMA career with 6 wins, 2 draws, 0 losses, while also attending Senshu University and working part-time for Tokyo Sports. It is generally assumed that Kushida's pro wrestling debut was in Takada's HUSTLE promotion in 2006, however he first debuted in Mexico in 2005 after learning lucha libre under El Oriental.

During his time in HUSTLE, Kushida would also work matches in All Japan Pro Wrestling and Osaka Pro. He left HUSTLE in 2009 after what amounted to a "loser leaves town" match, which lead to Kushida going abroad, wrestling all over North America, in Canada, Mexico and the USA, notably Chikara and OVW. In 2010, he would join Yoshihiro Tajiri's SMASH promotion, which is what got him into NJPW, with an appearance in 2010's edition of Best of the Super Juniors.

Kushida's NJPW career proper began on 4/1/2011, and the rest, as they say, is history. During his NJPW career, KUSHIDA became one of the best and most popular junior heavyweight wrestlers in the entire world, first as one-half of the Time Splitters tag team, with the now-retired Alex Shelley, winning the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles twice, as well as 2012's Super Jr. Tag Tournament. As a singles wrestler, KUSHIDA is a 6-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight champion and 2-time winner of Best of the Super Juniors, along the way having massively popular feuds with Kenny Omega, Will Ospreay and Hiromu Takahashi. Outside of NJPW, KUSHIDA was also the winner of the (ill-fated) 2016 Super J-Cup, the 2017 WhatCulture Pro Wrestling World Cup, and was even an ROH World Television Champion for a little while. He even managed to win the 2016 Cuadrangular de Parejas tag tournament in CMLL, along with partner Marco Corleone, and was #20 in Pro Wrestling Illustrated's yearly PWI 500 list in 2017.

I don't think it's hyperbole to say that KUSHIDA's departure is a loss for NJPW, and in very many ways, a lost opportunity. I think he should have had a shot at competing in the heavyweights, as had been rumored for the last few years, and it's bittersweet that in his final match for the company, he finally gets a singles match with Hiroshi Tanahashi. He's been one of the best, most consistent workers in NJPW in his time with the company, and he will be missed around here. Best of luck to him, whereever he may end up.

Results:

- 1/29/2019, Tokyo Korakuen Hall (NJPWWorld)

Ren Narita d. Yuya Uemura (Belly-to-Belly Suplex Hold, 6:24)

Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Manabu Nakanishi d. Ayato Yoshida [K-DOJO] & Shota Umino (Tenzan > Yoshida, Anaconda Vice, 7:30)

Yujiro Takahashi & Taiji Ishimori [Bullet Club] d. Toa Henare & Ryusuke Taguchi (Yujiro > Henare, Pimp Juice, 8:50)

Togi Makabe, Toru Yano [CHAOS] & Tomoaki Honma d. Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Chase Owens [Bullet Club] (Makabe > Owens, King Kong Knee Drop, 10:23)

Jay White & Bad Luck Fale [Bullet Club]  d. Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS] (Fale > YOSHI-HASHI, Grenade, 11:52)

Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA, BUSHI & Shingo Takagi [Los Ingobernables] d. Minoru Suzuki, Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado [SZKG] (EVIL > Kanemaru, EVIL STO, 16:41)

KUSHIDA Farewell Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi d. KUSHIDA (Texas Cloverleaf, 24:34)

It really shouldn’t come as a surprise that KUSHIDA lost his farewell match, but even so... KUSHIDA gave a speech at the end, thanking everyone for the last 8 years, but said he was leaving now. Jay White did attack Tanahashi post-main, much as Fale hit Okada (and Uemura!) with Grenade, and Naito did to Taichi with Destino. Ren Narita v. Yuya Uemura is getting rave reviews in some corners, and I am inclined to agree.

More matches have been announced for the Giant Baba Memorial show at Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan on 2/19/2019. Thus far, no further matches with (current) NJPW talents have been announced, however it is confirmed that both Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tomoaki Honma (the latter of whom has also worked in AJPW and BJW) will be there, as well as current Triple Crown champion Kento Miyahara. Of all people, Atsushi Onita will ALSO be on this show, in an 8-man street fight. Just have a look at the card below. It’s going to be a mixed bag but should be a fun one.

Giant Baba Memorial Battle Royale: Mitsuo Momota, Kim Duk, MEN’s Teioh, TARU, Ryuji Hijikata, Yuto Aijima, Joe Deaton, Masao Orihara, More TBA (Referee: Mighty Inoue)

Eight Man Street Fight Bunkhouse Tornado Tag Team Deathmatch: Atsushi Onita [FREE], Kendo Kashin [FREE], Hideki Suzuki [BJW] & Hideki Hosaka v. Shuji Ishikawa [AJPW], Great Kojika [BJW], Mitsuya Nagai & Hikaru Sato

Masanobi Fuchi [AJPW], Yuma Aoyagi [AJPW] & Yoshiaki Fujiwara [FREE] v. Taichi, TAKA Michinoku & Yoshinobu Kanemaru [SZKG]

Jake Lee & Koji Iwamoto [AJPW] v. SANADA & BUSHI [Los Ingobernables] v. Ayato Yoshida [K-DOJO] & Shota Umino [NJPW]

Jun Akiyama [AJPW], Takao Omori [AJPW] & Taiyo Kea [FREE] v. Satoshi Kojima [NJPW], Yuji Nagata [NJPW] & Osamu Nishimura [FREE]

Naomichi Marufuji [NOAH] v. Masaaki Mochizuki [Dragon Gate]

NOSAWA Rongai [FREE] & Kaz Hayashi [W-1] v. Mil Mascaras & Dos Caras

Abdullah the Butcher Retirement Ceremony

Also appearing: Hiroshi Tanahashi [NJPW], Tomoaki Honma [NJPW], Kento Miyahara [AJPW], Daisuke Sekimoto [BJW], Kazushi Miyamoto, Stan Hansen, Tomohiko Hashimoto

Tomorrow is a busy day for NJPW. We have another tour show, which it turns out WILL be live on NJPWWorld. This features a NEVER Openweight 6-Man Comedy Tag Team title match, as well as Shingo Takagi’s 2nd ever NJPW singles match. Then there is also the first day of the controversial New Beginning USA tour, which that will be later in the evening, so i probably won’t blog about that until Thursday since I’m on Eastern time. Enjoy the show if you’re going to that.

- 1/30/2019, Miyagi Sendai Sunplaza Hall (NJPWworld)

Toa Henare & Yota Tsuji v. Ayato Yoshida [K-DOJO] & Shota Umino

Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Ren Narita v. Manabu Nakanishi & Tiger Mask IV

Shingo Takagi [Los Ingobernables] v. Yoshinobu Kanemaru [SZKG]

BUSHI [Los Ingobernables] v. El Desperado [SZKG]

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada [CHAOS], Tomoaki Honma & YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS] v. Jay White, Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens

Tetsuya Naito, EVIL & SANADA [Los Ingobernables] v. Minoru Suzuki, Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi [SZKG]

NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship: Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Taiji Ishimori [Bullet Club] © v. Togi Makabe, Toru Yano [CHAOS] & Ryusuke Taguchi

The New Beginning USA - 1/30/2019, Globe Theater, Los Angeles, CA

Alex Coughlin v. Clark Connors

Jonathan Gresham v. Tyler Bateman

Colt Cabana v. Shane Taylor

Marty Scurll & Brody King [Villain Enterprises] v. Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. [SZKG]

Jeff Cobb [FREE] v. Karl Fredericks

David Finlay Jr. [Lifeblood] v. Chuck Taylor [CHAOS]

One Night Only Roppongi Vice: Juice Robinson & Tracy Willams [Lifeblood] v. Trent Beretta & Rocky Romero [CHAOS]

[feedmeramyun]

Hey friends, it’s Feedmeramyun’s 2018 in Kpop! (Pt.4)

It’s only seven days into 2019 and I’m already! so tired! But since I survive on a diet of Diet Coke, Kpop and spite: it’s time for Part Four of my 2018 Kpop review. This time, it’s the collaborations. 

One of the many things that the Kpop industry does excellently is collaborations. SM’s Station alone could have filled this list three times over, after all. Collaborations are fascinating, because often they let artists explore a side to them their core output doesn’t allow for through unexpected combinations and experimental avenues. All of these have been difficult to whittle down to just five songs, but I think this has perhaps been the hardest category overall. Hwasa & Loco’s ‘Don’t’, Hyolyn’s ‘Dally’ featuring Gray, Zico & IU’s ‘Soulmate’, Alisha’s ‘Drunk Texting’ with Jimmy Brown have all been regular residents on my speakers this year, but since I had to pick (I didn’t have to, I did this to myself, but hey): here’s my top five. 

You can find Part One [here], Part Two [here] and Part Three [here]

Part Four: ‘It’s better if we do it together’: The Collaborations 

1. Baekhyun & Loco - Young

I honestly, genuinely did not know what to expect when this was announced but oh my god, did it completely blow me away. Baekhyun harmonising WITH HIMSELF? Loco running rings round everyone with his rap verse? ‘Young’ delivered, hard. The video also managed to capture that same, electrifying essence that popularised MV’s in the heyday of the mid 2000s: it’s that arresting feeling of not knowing quite whats happening, but that somehow you’re being spoken to directly, with something subversive, dangerous and alluring (have you ever seen the video for the Pendulum remix of The Prodigy’s ‘Voodoo People? No? Go watch it. Because that is a great example of what I mean). Cos now you love me - with that XOXOXO. 

2. Taemin & Bewhy - Pinocchio 

‘Pinocchio’ is, without out a doubt, one of the best things to ever come out of a variety show. I love Taemin’s solo work, and the way in which he’s constantly experimenting with masculinity, identity and the artistic persona. The combination of his breathy, uniquely Taemin vocals with Bewhy’s one of a kind rap is really beyond perfect. The lyrics are darker than Taemin’s usual style, but it suits him well. It’s no surprise this did as well as it did, but I particularly like the performance video because of the way Taemin uses his movement is so jarringly beautiful. 

3. Super Junior & Leslie Grace - Lo Siento 

Si te beso hoy! Mañana me voy - loca por ti no estoy! 

You guys, when this dropped, I lost my tiny mind. ‘Black Suit’ was a tour de force of a comeback for suave, mature Super Junior but ‘Lo Siento’ is hands down my favourite thing they’ve ever done. I speak not as good as I used to Spanish and I’m a huge fan of Latin pop and reggaeton (for context: I did my GCSE Spanish presentation on Shakira’s Donde Estan Las Ladrones and my A Level oral exam on the history of flamenco. Also I went to see Shakira live in Barcelona this year. It was amazing. I cried. This is only tangentially relevant) and ‘Lo Siento’ was everything I didn’t know I wanted. Even the questionable styling choices in the video couldn’t put me off of this one: it’s a bop. 

4. Suho & Jane Jang - Dinner

‘Dinner’ is the understated epic of 2018. The first time I showed it to @sweet-teeth-mfs​, she told me she had to pause it as soon as Suho started singing because it was too beautiful. And it is. Suho’s voice blends so well well with Jane Jang’s, and the overall effect is hauntingly, painfully beautiful. It’s not exactly upbeat (though luckily we got ‘Do You Have a Moment’ for that) but it proved Suho’s leading man credentials and showcased just how good his vocal range is. Dinner’s melancholy is, admittedly, some what at odds with every thing else I’ve recommended so far but it’s too heartbreakingly brilliant not to include it. 

5. Lee Jin Ah & Gray - Run

If you’re not familiar with Lee Jin Ah, then I highly recommend her: her style, her vocals and her musicality are wonderfully original and fresh, all of which ‘Run’ showcases really well. The MV has serious in indie film/Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face vibes, and the whole thing is just down right delightful. It took me a few listens to fall for this one - the music is almost off kilter (in a good way) which can take a while to get used to - but it’s just so charming it wasn’t long before I was humming the tune everywhere. 

[whatifitscool]

Shingo Takagi: Charting the Progress of the Dragon with the Mighty Mullet

By Timmy Daytona

To say that Shingo Takagi had a stellar introduction in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), one need only review his impressive record.

Introduced as the sixth member of Los Ingobernables de Japon in late 2018, Takagi looked as menacing as his Dragon moniker implied.

With the physique of a barrel-chested strongman, he is also the proud owner of the most magnificent mullet in pro wrestling today.

Though Takagi was already familiar to Dragon Gate audiences and the independent wrestling scene abroad, 2019 was the year that mainstream wrestling fans were put on notice.

The Dragon had arrived and he was here to dominate.

Steamrolling through the competition of Block A in the Best of the Super Juniors (BOSJ) 26 tournament, Takagi was the first man to ever reach a perfect 9-0 record on his way to the finals.

As storylines went, this was nothing new seeing a performer go unpinned or unsubmitted for so long. Same with the way he shook off almost all challengers that stood in his path.

But it was a real delight seeing how casually and expertly he dismantled the competition.

They were all insects compared to this beast of a man.

His performance with Will Ospreay in the 2019 BOSJ final was a David vs Goliath encounter of epic proportions. 33:36 of brilliance.

The power of Takagi paired well with the fancy acrobatics of Aerial Assassin Ospreay in a dynamic bout of might vs flight. Their first meeting left an indelible impression, leaving fans craving more.

Ospreay had to unload his entire arsenal before he slew the Dragon at Ryogoku.

This was a match of the year contender and for both men, the best of their careers (at the time). Especially Takagi, who, despite coming up short in the final, nonetheless impressed in his debut year.

Following BOSJ 26, Takagi’s steady rise in NJPW continued when he announced that he was moving to the heavyweight division at Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-Jo Hall 2019.

Fighting bigger opponents, the big man found foes almost as immovable as him.

His final standing in the G1 Climax 29 of 2019 of 4 wins and 5 losses included impressive wins over reliable heavy hitters Tomohiro Ishii and Hirooki Goto in brawny, big hoss battles. He’d finally met true challenges in NJPW.

While 2020 started off in memorable fashion with Takagi defeating Goto for the NEVER Openweight Championship at The New Beginning in Sapporo, everything came grinding to a halt.

In response to the global pandemic, NJPW closed their doors for a significant period last year.

When they returned, Takagi would again put in spirited efforts in the G1 as well as in defences and pursuit of the slippery NEVER Openweight title.

In his third defence, Takagi lost the title to Minoru Suzuki at Summer Struggle in Jingu on 29 August 2020 before reclaiming it from him at Power Struggle on 07 November 2020.

Between those dates, he took part in the G1 Climax 30 where he equalled his previous year’s performance. His efforts however, were even more notable as Takagi brought his fighting spirit in the rematch with Will Ospreay as well as in two matches that Kevin Kelly looked forward to most in the tournament against Kota Ibushi and Kazuchika Okada.

In their rematch on 27 September 2020, a major talking point involved Ospreay’s increased size and power. In a neat reversal of roles, Takagi was no longer the dominant aggressor while Ospreay played the overconfident larger man.

Despite moving up a division, the two did not miss a step with their sequences. The match still featured the swiftness of their 2019 confrontation, though this time with Takagi the victor as he avenged his loss from BOSJ. The two have amazing chemistry together so additional classics are sure to be achieved should this rivalry be reignited in the future.

In his first meeting against Kota Ibushi on 07 October 2020, Takagi again looked highly competitive. In a hard-hitting bout, Takagi emerged victorious when he blocked the Kamigoye and immediately converted it into Last of the Dragon for an amazing upset.

On 10 October 2020, Takagi met Kazuchika Okada. While the Rainmaker refused to use his trademark finisher, Takagi took him to the limit and outshone him in several exchanges. Most notably was his immediate recovery following a shotgun dropkick to answer Okada with a sliding lariat.

Takagi had also grown more comfortable in the lens of the camera, sometimes looking directly into it with a cheeky grin or when pumping himself up. And although Okada teased its appearance, Takagi was the one who utilised the Rainmaker – complete with pose – much to the crowd’s amusement.

Ultimately, he would fall to Okada. He sold the Money Clip’s effects beautifully as his eyes displayed his fighting spirit slowly being extinguished. Takagi still looked great even in defeat.

Wrestle Kingdom 15 featured the big hoss battle for the NEVER Openweight title against the now villainous Jeff Cobb. In a strange sight, Takagi was manhandled by Cobb like nobody else, looking visibly smaller than the former Olympian. Having lost to Cobb in previous meetings, the Dragon had to switch gears.

Memorably, Takagi hit a Tope con Giro on Cobb on the outside. Receiving just as much punishment as he dished out, Takagi had to – as Chris Charlton said – summon the will of the people on more than one occasion to make it through the war.

He eventually found a weakness to exploit and after targeting Cobb’s knee, he cut down the human tree. A late stage Pumping Bomber turned Cobb inside out before Last of the Dragon saw Takagi finally overcome Cobb to retain the title.

Most recently at The New Beginning in Nagoya on 30 January 2020, the former top heel of Dragon Gate met the Ace of NJPW, Hiroshi Tanahashi, in a dream match-up.

On commentary, Kevin Kelly noted that there were a lot of physical similarities between Tanahashi a decade ago and Shingo now.

In this later stage of his career, the Ace had to wrestle smarter to take on the power of the Dragon.

In a highlight reel of the hits, Tanahashi and Takagi brought their entire arsenal to Nagoya. A monstrous Made in Japan looked like it crushed Tanahashi’s head and neck while a later stage Pumping Bomber looked like it knocked him right out of his boots.

He even had room for some more copycat antics similar to his match against Okada, this time imitating Twist and Shout on Tanahashi.

Tanahashi on the other hand executed a perfect game plan to target Takagi’s knee, using the Dragon Screw Leg Whip to devastating effect multiple times, also hitting a huge Aces High from the top turnbuckle to Takagi on the outside. The final sequence of Tanahashi’s Aces High, Dragon Suplex with a bridge and High Fly Flow sealed the Dragon’s fate.

Unluckily for the Dragon, he lost the NEVER Openweight title to the Ace but in a sign of respect, he blessed Tanahashi as the new holder of the belt and both agreed they should do this at least one more time.

What also stood out in this epic were the more frequent flashes of Takagi showing off his more charismatic side. Fist pumping for the camera or firing himself and the crowd up, he is fast becoming a badass fan favourite.

With the Ace in the NEVER Openweight picture, Tanahashi together with Shingo could bring a level of prestige to this title and elevate it to greater heights.

While it would be great to see them fight forever, one could also see Takagi’s chase of this title as laying the groundwork to segue to the heavyweight title picture.

Years back, Okada lost to Tanahashi in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 9 but returned a year later to defeat the Ace for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 10.

What if this Nagoya classic and further battles with Tanahashi are to prepare Takagi for the richest prizes of the Intercontinental and IWGP Heavyweight championships?

Despite this recent loss, mark these words. This isn’t the Last of the Dragon. The man with the mightiest and classiest mullet in pro wrestling lives to fight another day and 2021 and 2022 will see improved performances from Takagi in the G1.

Perhaps he will pin the current champion once more to set up a program where he gets a match for the top prize? Hopefully it’s not just as a temporary challenger like Ishii was to Omega in 2018.

But based on Takagi’s performances against top tier wrestlers like Ibushi, Okada and the Ace, he is more than capable of standing toe to toe with the upper echelon of talent. Defeating them is within his grasp and it’s only a matter of time before the Dragon finally holds the gold that he covets.

[hazyheel]

NJPW G1 Climax 2019 Day 8 Review

We started up with Toru Yano vs. Juice Robinson. These two have met twice, both in the G1 and both with Robinson winning. Juice was very skeptical to even lock up in the early portion of this match, while Yano desperately tried for some rollups Juice wasn’t having any of his cheating ways and was mostly annoyed, but Yano nearly snuck a countout win early on, thanks to some athletic tape tying him to the barricade. Yano kept trying to hit a low blow to get the win, which only angered Robinson more and more. After Robinson caught a low blow, he nailed the left hand to god and hit pump friction for the win. Robinson: 6, Yano: 4. 

After the match, Robinson shook Yano’s hand as he lied on the ground. 

Grade: C-. Normally I really like the stupid Yano matches in the G1, but this was not really a fun one. They didn’t really blend together super well, and they didn’t go long enough to be very funny. That’s fine though, they won’t all be winners. Good for Juice to keep winning his matches. 

Then we had Taichi vs. Hirooki Goto. The record going into this match was 2:1 in favor of gotoBefore the match, Taichi made sure to beat the crap out of one of the LA Dojo guys, because Goto trained there for the G1. These two had a rivalry over the NEVER Openweight championship late last year, and that rivalry was renewed in this match. And naturally, anyone who has had problems with Taichi absolutely hate him, so Goto was vicious here. They quickly fought on the outside, Taichi continued to hit Karl Fredericks and even threw him into Goto to get the advantage. He brought the anger right out of Goto, who absolutely destroyed his chest with overhand chops. The two then exchanged a series of strikes and kicks, which Taichi actually came out on top of. We actually saw shades of big match Taichi in this match, as he busted out some huge kicks and often refused to let Goto put him down, but that didn’t stop him from cheating. At one point, Taichi pushed the ref into Goto to stun him, and then nailed a saito suplex for a near fall. Taichi then grabbed the mic stand, but Goto grabbed it and threw it out of the ring. Goto then nailed his mid kick, and went for the GTR, but Taichi grabbed the ref. They struggled a bit, and eventually the ref went down. Taichi then caught a kick to the gut and nailed a low blow, followed by a Gedo clutch for the win. Taichi: 4, Goto: 2. 

Grade: C. This match started off pretty week, but got better towards the end. They didn’t seem to have the fire or the chemistry that they had last year, but when Taichi started some shenanigans, I got into it a bit more. Goto’s run in the G1 this year makes sense. He hasn’t been doing all that much, but he beat a big rival already, and now he is just doing the job for a lot of his compatriots. Taichi was the correct winner here. He is having an entertaining run for sure, one that I am happy to watch. But this match was not the best. 

Then we had Jon Moxley vs. Shingo Takagi. Exciting stuff, and they were in the same stable in Dragon Gate USA a while back, so that is interesting. The two squared right up the second they were both in the ring together. And they started the brawl before the bell even started. Moxley quickly resorted to his now signature bit to the eyebrow. The two blasted each other with strikes and chops in the corner, before trying for a quick test of strength that Moxley came out on top of. Moxley then overextended a bit, going for a suicide dive, but Takagi caught it and hit a death valley driver on the outside. After Moxley gained the advantage again, he set up a table on the outside, but it wasn’t used right away. Instead, Moxley started to target the leg a little bit to weaken the base. Any time that Shingo started to get some momentum, Moxley went right to the leg and knee. It absolutely crippled Shingo’s offense. He was able to get flashes of offense, such as a nice german suplex, but it would be immediately countered, such as when Moxley responded with one of his own. At one point, Moxley tried for an Irish whip, but Takagi just collapsed as he ran. Moxley tried to follow that up with a regal knee, but Takagi caught him with a noshigami. He followed that up with a pair of pumping bombers, the adrenaline pushing the pain to the back of his mind. However, when he got Moxley up on his shoulders, Takagi couldn’t finish the move. That allowed Moxley to hit a short death rider for a near fall. The two then spilled to the outside, and Moxley started to use weapons to attack the knee. He dropped him knee first on the table, and then wrapped his knee in a chair and smashed it. He was nearly counted out, but when he got into the ring, Moxley blasted him with a regal knee. He tried for another short knee to the ribs, but Takagi grabbed it, and was able to twist him around for a short Made in Japan for a near fall. The two then battled in the middle of the ring, countering several attempts at finishers, before Moxley forced Takagi to the mat with shots to the knee, and then hitting a pair of regal knees to the back of the head, but still a near fall. Moxley then wrapped Takagi up in a cloverleaf for the submission victory. Moxley: 8, Takagi: 4. 

Grade: A-. Really good stuff between these two. Moxley is phenomenal with other brawlers, but it also showed an interesting side of him that has technical prowess. He worked the leg in an interesting and exciting way, which seemed like it was only to weaken the offense, but he got a submission win. It was such a great finish, because Moxley never gets submission wins. It came out of left field but it made a lot of sense. Takagi suffered his first submission loss, but it was to the strongest competitor in B block right now. Takagi is having a rough tournament, but moving up a weight class isn’t easy. Match of the night. 

Next up was Jay White vs. Jeff Cobb. Neither have had a particularly impressive tournament so far, sitting at 0 and 2 points respectively. Gedo was of course out to corner his protege. White started the match by retreating out of the ring, but unlike opponents before him, Cobb opted to stay inside of the ring. Cobb totally manhandled White, throwing him all over the place, and only pursuing him to the outside when White was on the backfoot. Gedo still tried to interfere, so Cobb threw him into the ring and was about to beat on him when White came soaring in with a knee to the back. White opted to target the neck of Cobb, which is an interesting part to isolate due to his massive neck muscles. Of course, White tried to intimidate Red Shoes when he went for a pin after an illegal move, which made me sad. He is just doing his job. The damage to the neck actually made Cobb slow down quite a bit. His power moves took that much more energy, so he couldn’t go as fast as he usually does. However that did not lessen the impact of his suplexes and throws. He still ragdolled White around like anyone else I’ve seen him handle. White too showcased his strength, giving Cobb both a saito suplex and an uranagi. At one point, Cobb was trying to give White a suplex out of the corner, but White was holding the ropes. So, Cobb popped him up into a cradle position and just chucked him halfway across the ring. He then tried to give Cobb a superplex, but Gedo held White’s leg. White thought he had escaped to the apron, but Cobb then gave him a deadlift superplex. He went for the pin, White kicked out with probably the weakest kickout that I’ve ever seen. He just barely lifted his shoulder off the mat. Cobb and White then battled as Cobb went for tour of the islands, which ended when White was accidentally sent into the ref. Was the ref down, Gedo tried to blast Cobb with the brass knuckles, but ate a slam for his troubles. However, the distraction landed white a low blow, which he converted into a sleeper suplex. White then went for a blade runner, but Cobb countered that into a German Suplex. Cobb went for Tour of the Islands again, only for White to slip out once again and land Bladerunner for the win. White: 2, Cobb: 2. 

Grade: C+. Very slow match. It was cool to watch all the power moves from Cobb and seeing how strong White is, but other than that it was just too slow for my liking. I thought the closing stretch was pretty nice, always love to see Gedo taking bumps. White’s losing streak is over, and I’m sure that will transfer right into a winning streak. As for Cobb, I don’t know. I don’t see him passing six points. But this match was fine, nothing worth going out of your way to see. 

And in the main event, we had Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii. Intercontinental Champion vs. NEVER Openweight Champion. These two are longtime rivals, and unfortunately, I can’t look up their record against each other because of spoilers. Drawbacks of falling behind in the G1. Of course, Naito took his sweet time removing his ring attire, but Ishii was cool as a cucumber. They started with a striking contest, going until one of them was worn out and then continuing as soon was they could. Naito was naturally fighting dirty during the match, stomping on Ishii as he was grounded and spitting in his face when the mood struck him. Naito targetted the neck in order to nullify some of his power moves. The attacks on the neck, however, did not affect his striking, where Ishii had an advantage. Both men took loads of punishment whenever they started to hit each other. The forearms were stiff, the chops were blistering and they moved very quickly.  Naito was taking advantage of his speed and agility edge in the match, using some high flying offense like in his junior heavyweight days. After escaping out of a powerbomb situation, Naito started to disrespect Ishii by slapping him lazily and spitting on him. In response, Ishii trapped him in the corner and destroyed him with chops and strikes. Even when he was about to collapse, Ishii would pick him back up and keep going. He followed it up with a saito suplex for a near fall. He tried for the powerbomb again, but Naito countered with a spike hurricanrana. Naito then tried for a flying forearm, but Ishii countered this time with a straight jacket suplex. Ishii then tried for a superplex, but Naito slipped out and hit a hangman’s neckbreaker off the top, and followed it up with a hurricanrana from the top rope for a near fall. Naito continued to target the neck with his offense, and Ishii was starting to slow down. The injuries were piling up. Naito went for Destino, but Ishii caught him. He tried to go for a lariat, but Naito countered with a high angle german suplex. Ishii popped right back up, but Naito nailed a poison rana. Ishii’s strikes became absolutely desperate, which is normally a bad thing, but with Ishii’s strength, he was still able to floor Naito. He converted those huge hits into a superplex for a near fall. That allowed Ishii to get his second wind, and he just annihilated Naito with various headbutts, strikes and lariats. The two exchanged blows back and forth, when Naito hit a short Destino out of nowhere, but Ishii kicked out! Naito tried for the full hit, but Ishii caught him. The two battled for control, each trying to hit their finisher, ending with Naito hitting a DDT, and Ishii popping right up and hitting the sliding lariat for a near fall. Naito then nailed a brainbuster of his own, but still Ishii kicked out. Neither man was willing to lose here. Naito then hit Destino one final time for the win. Naito: 4, Ishii: 4. 

Grade: A-. Another great match out of these two. Ishii was actually fighting from behind a lot in this match, and I think the only reason why he was actually able to stand up to Naito in this match was his raw strength and endurance. He was at a disadvantage from the start, because Naito picked the best body part that he could have to work over. It nullified a lot of his offense, and given how much he uses various suplexes, Ishii injured himself over time as well. Naito played this one smart. In the end, Destino did it. He broke the neck down and got the win. Good stuff from Naito, glad to see that he is coming into his own now. Ishii is still the MVP of the G1 in my opinion, delivering his fourth great match in as many matches. Definitely the best in the block. Great stuff from both guys, two of the best in the entire tournament. 

Overall Grade: B-

Pros: Moxley vs. Takagi; Naito vs. Ishii

Cons: Robinson vs. Yano; Cobb vs. White

[thezachrogers]

TOP 50 OF 2017

(revised 1/15/2018)

Well everyone, as 2017 comes to a close, and as the holidays are just a head of us full of the best and most anticipated films of the year...it is time to recap some of the best and worst movies I have seen so far this year...50 of them to be exact!

WORST TEN:

10. Life (now available on Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

Sony was very vague about if this was a prequel to the upcoming Tom Hardy Venom spinoff. Even if it was or wasn’t, it would not make this film any better. So if and only if it is in fact a Marvel film, SPOILER ALERT, the symbiote makes it back to Earth, darkens (goes from white to black when hitting Earth’s atmosphere) and can kill or keep its hosts alive. The end.

IMDB - 6.6/10 Rotten Tomatoes 67% My score - 2/5 Stars

9. Transformers: The Last Knight (now available on Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

This is arguably the worst installment of the explosive franchise. I keep scratching my head as to why these films keep getting made. And then I remember, “oh yea, toy sales.” Even though Michael Bay and Mark Wahlberg are calling it quits, a sixth installment is in motion set as a prequel in the 80s that will be loyal to the original transformers animated series will drop sometime in 2019. Don’t waste your time on this piece of garbage. 

IMDB - 5.2/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 16% My score - 1.5/5 Stars

8. Death Note (available for stream on NETFLIX now)

I laughed repeatedly at how ridiculous this movie was. Based off the anime, Willem Dafoe stars as Anti-hero/Villain Akira who is a demon that comes along with a book titled “death note” that allows you to kill anyone you want by writing their name down in a book. Production is quality for Netflix, and I can say that I did enjoy this movie even though I knew it was bad. Definitely one for the tweens.

IMDB - 4.6/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 40% My score - 1.5/5 Stars

7. GOLD (now available for stream on Netflix, Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

Why does Matthew McConaughey now think he has to completely change his appearance and body weight in order for us to assume he is a good actor? It worked with Dallas Buyers Club because he didn’t just change his body, but it was also the token gay film of the year to take home all of the awards. Gold however has no gay undertones, neither does it have humor, nor a good story. Just a fat, balding, snaggle-toothed version of himself with an excessively hot out of his league version of Bryce Dallas Howard. Another true story that is crap and should have been made into a movie, this film should have been a straight to Redbox or Netflix feature. 

IMDB - 6.7/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 43% My Score - 1.5/5 Stars

6. The Heart of Man (one night only documentary for Fathom Events at AMC)

I don’t even know y’all. Why do Christians feel the need to put crap like this in theaters? I can’t even call this a documentary - there was this weird analogy/metaphorical scene throughout the film with this “God” like character (old and bearded hipster) playing a violin and this other dude, let’s call him gaptooth, running away chasing his definition of hot girls (guess they couldn’t find any to be in the movie) and he didn’t want to play violin anymore. Then the girl he is making out with turns into a crack head dude (so I guess she’s a tranny?) and he/she locks gaptooth in a cave. Whaaaaaaaaaaa? Throughout the “artpiece” there were people spilling out their guts in interview format on committing adultery. Yea it was weird. I walked out with my community group thinking “so do all of our wives think we are cheating on them? 

Yea this was just a giant turd. Don’t bother seeing it.

IMDB - 8.6/10 (probably from christian bloggers) Rotten Tomatoes - no score (surprised?) my score - 1/5 Stars

5. Baywatch (now available on Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

Wow, this was so bad. I don’t know when Dwayne Johnson will ever make a good film. How is this dude the highest paid actor in Hollywood when he ONLY makes trash movies? I know he’s a great person and all but...we need a good movie from you man. With the exception of the eye candy as seen above there is nothing watchable about this movie. 

IMDB - 5.6/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 19% My score - 1 star

4. Power Rangers (now available on Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

You are probably not surprised, but the worst five films I have seen this year were all my wife’s doing. This one is on the list as well. I grew up a Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers fan and knew this one was going to be terrible as well. Another movie made simply to sell toys. Such a garbage movie with too many good actors like Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Banks, and Stranger Things 2′s Dacre Montgomery. Please don’t waste your time with this movie unless you have kids that want to watch as they will probably love it and want to go to the store after and buy toys.

IMDB - 6.1/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 43% My score - 1 star

3. A Dog’s Purpose (now available on Digital, Blu-ray, DVD)

AND THE WORST MOVIE THAT I SAW IN 2017 GOES TO...

AND THE WORST REBOOT OF ALL TIME GOES TO...

AND THE WORST START OF A UNIVERSE/FRANCHISE GOES TO...

AND THE WORST MOVIE OF RUSSEL CROWE’S CAREER GOES TO...

AND THE WORST MOVIE OF TOM CRUISE’S CAREER GOES TO...

2. The Mummy (2017) (now available to not watch on Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

1. Flatliners (review coming soon)

IMDB - 5.5/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 16% My score .25/5 Stars

TOP 56 (revised 1/15/18)

56. The Lost City of Z (Now on Amazon Prime, Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)The cast is superb. This a true story as far as script goes, not really much you can change..it’s just not a great story. No great character development, even though the acting is great; halfway through the movie, junior has a time jump and grows to be Tom Holland, who we now know and love as Peter Parker/Spider-Man. The movie is just weak.IMDB - 6.6/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 87% My score - 2.5/5 Stars

55. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (now available on Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

54. The Case for Christ (2017) (now available on Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

Not bad Pure Flix Studios, not bad at all.

IMDB - 5.9/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 55% Me- 3 Stars

53. Despicable Me 3

52. Bright (Review Coming Soon)

51. Better Watch Out (now on Digital)

Fun, suspenseful, thrilling movie that brings a twist on the Holiday genre. Another one for Dacre Montgomery in 2017...this is a satirical horror, and is nothing like Home Alone as what you may have thought from the trailers.

IMDB - 6.6/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 90% My score - 3/5 Stars

50. The Fate of the Furious (now available on Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

49. Kong: Skull Island (now available on Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

Do we need another King Kong reboot? No. Was the movie cool? Yes. This film also sets up to be a follow-up of 2014′s Godzilla and opens up to a monster universe franchise. 

IMDB - 6.7/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 76% My Score - 3.25/5 Stars

48. Murder On the Orient Express (2017) (now in theaters)

Probably the most A-List Ensemble cast of 2017 and directed and starred by Kenneth Branagh, this movie was lots of fun! I would recommend waiting for rental early in 2018 rather than seeing in theaters but without seeing the original film, this story will keep you guessing till the end on who did it!

IMDB - 6.8/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 60% My Score 3.5 Stars

47. Kingsman: The Golden Circle (coming soon to Digital, Blu-Ray, and DVD)

Just as fun as the first movie, excited for the third!

IMDB - 7.2/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 51% My Score - 3.5/5 Stars

46. Hush (now available for stream on NETFLIX)

IMDB - 6.6/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 94% My Score - 3.75/5 Stars

45. Lady Bird (Review coming soon)

44. Gaga: Five Foot Two (now available for stream on NETFLIX)

A peak into the life of the last two years of Gaga’s life recording and realasing her latest album “Joanne” leading up to her superbowl halftime performance. 

IMDB - 7.2/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 75% My Score - 3.75/5 Stars

43. Silence (now available on Digital and DVD)

42. Super Dark Times (now on Digital)

This has been the year of suspense/horror! This film is super dark (pun intended) and definitely a period piece that captures life for teens in the late 90s during the times of the Columbine shootings. Video Games do affect the brain y’all!

IMDB - 6.6/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 91% My Score - 4/5 Stars

41. Logan Lucky (now on Digital, Blu-Ray, and DVD)

The Redneck Ocean’s Eleven from the same director with dry humor. I enjoyed, definitely a must rent.

IMDB - 7.2/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 93% - My Score - 4/5 Stars

40. Ingrid Goes West (now on Digital, Blu-Ray, and DVD)

Brilliant film about people obsessed with instagram likes and revolving their whole world around social media. Reminds me of ABC’s The Bachelor/The Bachelorette pretty people. 

IMDB - 6.7/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 85% My Score - 4/5 Stars

39. The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) (now available for stream on NETFLIX)

The fourth and final film of Adam Sandler’s four film Netflix contact, he FINALLY delivers. Meyerowitz has already won sever film festival awards and critics’ awards. I see Oscar nods for the future of this movie. Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Adam Sandler, and Ben Stiller all deliver in this melancholy dry-wit drama, definitely has a taste of Woody Allen in it.

IMDB - 7.1/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 93% - My Score - 4/5 Stars

38. Justice League (in theaters now)

37. Happy Death Day (review coming soon)

36. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (now available on Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

35. The Founder (now available to stream on NETFLIX, Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

34. The Lego Batman Movie (now available on Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

33. Beauty and the Beast (2017) (now available to stream on NETFLIX, Digital, Blu-Ray, and DVD)

32. John Wick: Chapter 2 (now available to stream on HBO GO/NOW, Digital, Blu-Ray, and DVD)

31. American Made (now in theaters)

Based on the events of the life of pilot Barry Seal. Seal (Cruise) was an airline pilot recruited by the CIA to pilot for Pablo Escobar and the Medellin and Cali Cartel and monitor activity for the CIA. Ironic how one of Cruise’s best and one of his worst films can come out with in three months of each other. 

IMDB - 7.2/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 87% My Score - 4/5 Stars

30. Our Souls at Night (now available for stream on NETFLIX)

When three Hollywood legends like Jane Fonda, Robert Redford, and Bruce Dern are on screen together; it’s movie magic. Hands down, Netflix’s best original film to date. I’m throwing Oscar nods it’s way.

IMDB - 7/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 91% My Score - 4/5 Stars

29. Goodbye Christopher Robin (review coming soon)

28. War for the Planet of the Apes

The final installment into the Caesar’s prequel trilogy, this is hands down the best Apes film of them all. Woody Harrelson plays the best antagonist in the Apes saga and this movie ends with you wanting more.

IMDB - 7.6/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 93% My Score - 4/5 Stars

27. Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri (review coming soon)

26. The Greatest Showman (now in theaters)

25. IT (2017) (now in theaters)

The reboot of the infamous clown that terrorized my childhood. Blows the original 1990 miniseries out of the water. I am so jacked up for the second installment as this film has made so much money that tells me that the all grown up versions of the characters will get an A List cast!

IMDB - 7.7/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 85% My Score - 4/5 Stars

24. Split (now on Digital, Blu-Ray, and DVD)

23. Wind River (now in Theaters, on Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

No, this is not a Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olson), and Punisher (Jon Bernthal) spinoff...however it is one of the best thriller/suspense/murder mysteries to release in the last decade! The whole cast brings it on a story about a murder on a Native American reserve where the law can barely touch. 

IMDB - 7.8/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 88% My Score - 4.5/5 Stars

22. Hidden Figures (now on Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

21. Blade Runner 2049 (now in theaters)

Not my 11th favorite movie of the year, but it deserves to be this high up on the list of “best films” to appreciate what the first Blade Runner did for film and the sci-fi genre as a whole. If you’re wanting a lot of Harrison Ford, this is not your movie, he doesn't show up until 1 hour and 55 minutes into the movie. Gosling is definitely the protagonist. They left it open for there to be third movie but I also think they left it open for us to imagine what comes next as if there will not be a third. All in all it was visually stunning and was a great script for the long awaited sequel 35 years in the making.

IMDB - 8.4/10 Rotten Tomatoes 87% My score - 4/5 Stars

20. Dunkirk (Digital, Blu-Ray, and DVD)

My all time favorite director made another masterpiece. I can say that this was an attempt at story, not character which was a little shocking to say the least coming from Christopher Nolan! Harry Styles definitely stole the show with this one! Tom Hardy's character arc was my favorite story line out of the three narratives in the film. Definitely a Blu-Ray to buy for Christmas!

IMDB - 8.3/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 92% My score - 4.5/5 Stars

19. Spider-Man: Homecoming (now available on Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

read review in previous post here

18. The Big Sick (now available for stream on Amazon Prime, Digital, Blu-ray, DVD)

Hilarious and heart felt, this is the true biographical story of Kumail Nanjiani as portrayed by Kumail Nanjiani.

IMDB - 7.7/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 98% My Score - 4.5/Stars

17. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (now in theaters)

16. Patriots Day (now on Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

15. Stronger (review coming soon)

14. Get Out  (now on digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

review posted here 

13. Darkest Hour (review coming soon)

12. The Disaster Artist (now in theaters)

11. Wonder Woman (now on digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

review posted here 

10. Baby Driver (now on Digital, Blu-Ray, and DVD)

Filmed in Atlanta, takes place in Atlanta, shows off some hot spots in Atlanta I have been to on several occasions, I can say I have some bias on why this movie is so far up there. Unfortunately, this will probably be the last film of Kevin Spacey’s long career. I do enjoy his work, hate to hear who he is as a person though. Spacey did play a very minor role in this film. Arguably the best role of Jamie Foxx’s career, Ansel Elgort’s breakout performance and definitely throws 2015′s Live Action Cinderella’s Lily James as an A-List actor from here on out. Great film to watch in 4K as it is action packed, check this movie out now!

IMDB - 7.8/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 93% My score - 5 Stars

9. Brawl In Cell Block 99 (now on Digital)

Hands down, the best film of Vince Vaughn’s career. He should be nominated for the Academy Award. 180 from Wedding Crashers y’all, believe me. This film is exploding with hand to hand combat violence and acting like I’ve never seen from a comedic actor in my life. Probably the darkest action film this year next to LOGAN. I cannot say much more as I do not want to give the plot away, I think it’ll be the worth the watch if you don’t know much before watching the movie.

IMDB - 7.2/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 92% My score - 5 Stars

8. I, Tonya (Review Coming soon)

7. Coco (now in theaters today!)

Pixar never disappoints as this is one of their best films yet! Heart-warming, fun, and full of laughter, I would say this is Pixar’s best film since 2015′s Inside Out! This Pixar instant classic will remind adults and show kids the importance of family (especially this time of year)!

IMDB - 9.1/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 95% My Score - 5 Stars

6. Thor: Ragnarok (now in theaters)

Now in my top three favorite MCU films EVER!! (next to Avengers and Iron Man) Ragnarok will make you pee your pants laugh as it is funnier than Guardians 2 from earlier this year and as it was directed by co-creator of HBO’s Flight of the Conchords Taika Waititi! Learning the movie was 80% improv by the actors made it this movie that much better. The entire cast from Hemsworth to Ruffalo to Blanchett, Thor finally gets the movie this superhero deserves.

IMDB - 8.2/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 92% My score - 5 Stars

5. Wonder (now in theaters)

Can’t...stop...crying. The feel good movie of the year. Ask my wife, I literally cried from the first five minutes to the last second of the movie. This film broke my heart in all the best ways. Wonder (based on the NY Times best selling fiction novel) is a very real story about boy with Treacher Collins’ Syndrome (facial deformities) starting public school in the 5th grade and everything that comes along with it for his family and friend’s as they walk through this journey with Auggie. One of the best takes on character I have ever seen in film. This picture will be nominated for several Academy Awards including best lead actor by none other than Auggie Pullman himself 2015′s Room’s Jacob Tremblay. I want to hug every kid in this movie, the entire ensemble cast was superb.

IMDB - 8.1 Rotten Tomatoes - 86% My score - 5 Stars

4. The Post (review coming soon)

3. Molly’s Game (review coming soon)

2. Star Wars: The Last Jedi

1. LOGAN (now on Digital, Blu-Ray, DVD)

see review in previous post here.

and there it is fam - my top 50 list of 2017! Feel free to share, comment, and like! As the holidays are coming upon us this list will get updates and I will be posting single movie reviews as well! 

- Z

[mitchbeck]

CANTLON: HOCKEY NEWS AND NOTES

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - While in our safe places under a pandemically-induced house arrest, there is some limited hockey news still going on. XL CENTER The XL Center, despite being shut down, progress on the facility's brand spanking new chiller project has officially begun. According to Michael W. Freimuth, the Executive Director of the CRDA (Capital Regional Development Corporation), a construction management contract was awarded to Hartford's Consigli Construction Co., Inc. “Consigli has bid out the chiller package to two qualified bidders who have completed NHL chillers in the past – Cimeco & Ice Builders – those bids are currently under review. The remaining bid packages are going out today and the bid packages are due on April 15th.” The project schedule indicates mobilization to begin in May and is set for completion by September 2020 in time for the start for both of the 2020-21 college hockey and AHL Wolf Pack regular seasons. NHL DRAFT Sadly, another victim to the COVID-19 virus that initially began in Wuhan, China is the summer NHL Draft spectacular that was slated to be held in Montreal on June 26-27. The NHL combines, NHL Awards Show in Las Vegas and the NHL Draft were all shut down. It looks like the NHL Draft will be held remotely at the NHL offices and will likely occur with a video hookup with all 31 teams. It will be handled with NBCSN and TSN who were going to broadcast Day 1 and TSN Day two. That is unless conditions dramatically change in the next three months in the US, Canada, and Europe and that doesn’t seem very likely. PRO SIGNINGS Ex-Bridgeport Sound Tiger, Matt Donovan, has re-signed with the Milwaukee Admirals for the 2021-22 AHL season. The team also signed ex-Pack captain, Cole Schneider (UCONN), to a new AHL, one-year deal for next season. Meanwhile, in Sweden, 2019 second-round draft pick of the Rangers center Karl Henriksson signs a deal with Frolunda HC (Sweden-SHL) and is eligible to play for Sweden 2021 WJC Team. This season just concluded, he played a majority of his games with Frolunda HC J-20 team in the Super Elite League, got in eight SHL games and was loaned out to Sodertalje SK in Allsvenskan League and skated for the 2020 Sweden WJC Team. -Ex-Pack Nick Latta signs with EHC Straubing (Germany-DEL) for next season after three seasons with EHC Wolfsburg. While ex-Pack Steven Moses goes from Jokerit Helsinki (Finland-KHL) to SC Rapperswil-Jona (Switzerland-LNA). -Greg Ireland, former AHL head coach with Grand Rapids and San Antonio was named Italian Nation team coach replacing Clayton Beddoes who he replaced with HC Bolzano (Italy-EBEL) mid-season. Beddoes had a solid college career with Lake Superior State in their heyday in the early 1990s and played for several years with Providence before heading over to Europe. COLLEGE HOCKEY The player signing numbers have picked up over the past week with several each day. The Wolf Pack latest signing was skating not far from the XL Center. Alex Whelan, a 6-0, 210-pound native of Ramsey, NJ, played four seasons at Quinnipiac University (ECACHL), including 13 goals,11 assists and a 24-point performance in 29 games this year as a senior for the Bobcats. Whelan, 22, an assistant captain led the Bobcat squad in plus/minus, with a plus 16, and finished second on the team in goals and third in points. He notched his second collegiate hat trick January 17th, in a 4-3 win at Holy Cross, and had a college career-best six-game point-scoring streak (4-3-7) from November 30 through January 10. In 141 career games with Quinnipiac, Whelan totaled 48 goals and 30 assists for 78 points, along with 38 penalty minutes.  He led the Bobcats in goals his sophomore season, 2017-18, with 16 in 38 games, and twice topped Quinnipiac skaters in shots-on-goal, with 175 in 2017-18 and 152 in 2018-19 his junior season. Whelan also earned ECACHL All-Academic Team honors for three straight years, from 2016-17 through 2018-19. - The latest signing came late Friday afternoon as freshmen Trevor Zegras (Avon Old Farms) left Boston University after one year and signed a standard three-year two-way entry-level contract. Joining him in SoCal in a rare Ivy League early exit is forward Jack Badini (Old Greenwich/CT Oilers-EHL) from Harvard to the Ducks. Hobey Baker candidate, Jason Cotton of Sacred Heart University (AHA) and his brother David of Boston College (HE) both signed with the Carolina Hurricanes. Jason signed a one-year free-agent deal and David, a two-year entry-level deal earlier in the week. Mattias Samuelsson, son of former New Haven Nighthawk and one time Ranger Kjell Samuelsson, has left Western Michigan (NCHC) for the Buffalo Sabres on a standard three year, two-way entry-level deal. Several Notre Dame (Big 10) players have signed deals like Callahan Burke (Colorado-AHL) and Colton Poolman (Calgary-NHL). The top school with the most signees is the Western Michigan Broncos (NCHC) with six, including the recently inked Rangers forward Austin Rueschhoff at 6’7 and 230 lbs. departing a year early on a two year, two-way entry-level deal. The other school with five signees is the Ferris State Bulldogs (WCHA), then with four are the University Vermont Catamounts (HE) and Michigan St. Spartans (Big 10) led by Patrick Khorodorenko who played one game with the Wolf Pack after signing before the season was suspended. In total, 58 Division I players have signed and 68 in total have signed pro deals so far. The Big 10 conference has 15 players, Hockey East has 14 signees and the WCHA and NCHC each have 10. Just one player has signed in Europe, in Teemu Pulkinnen Nebraska-Omaha (NCHC) with Jukerit (Finland-FEL) and there is just one grad transfer in Sean Dhooggee from University Wisconsin Badgers (Big 10) to Arizona State Sun Devils (NCAA Division-1 Independent). -Ryan Donald, an assistant coach with Yale University (ECACHL) has left to become head coach/GM of the expansion Cranbrook Bucks (BCHL) signing a four-year deal. He has been an assistant to head coach Keith Allain since 2014-15 and played four years for Yale. -The 10 finalists for the Mike Richter Award for the top college hockey goalie were announced including Spencer Knight (Darien/Avon Old Farms) of BC, unsigned Rangers draft pick senior Tyler Wall UMASS-Lowell (HE) and Jeremy Swayman, Maine (HE) who recently signed with the Boston Bruins. -The NCAA Division I/IIII Player of the Year is Norwich University Cadets (Northfield, VT) goalie Tom Aubruen (Chamonix, France). He finished with a 23-2-2 record and an obscene 0.77 GAA and a .967 save percentage in gaining, the Sid Watson Award. He was no academic slouch either with a 3.77 GPA in business management. His career playing numbers 65 games, a record of 50-8-5 and a .946 save percentage. He should get a training camp deal from some team in the NHL, AHL or ECHL. JUNIORS Very sadly, the Canadian Hockey League, the governing body for all three Canadian junior hockey leagues the OHL, QMJHL, and WHL formally canceled the playoffs and the 101st edition of the Memorial Cup, one of the great hockey treats in late spring. -The WHL has set its Bantam Draft for April 22nd and completed its first-ever US Prospects Draft on Wednesday, a two-round 44 player process of selecting prospects from the Western US. The only name of local interest is Riley Bassen, son of former NY Islander and Springfield Indian Bob Bassen, the current Director of Alumni Relations for the Dallas Stars who resides in Frisco, Texas.   EUROPE The KHL became the last hockey league to shut down as they canceled the rest of the Gagarin Cup playoffs at the quarterfinal round. This was necessary after two teams from outside Russia, Barys Nur-Sultan in Kazakhstan and Jokerit Helsinki in Finland, because of their governmental restrictions they couldn’t host playoff games and travel restrictions prevented them from leaving their country. -The NHL announced this week that KHL free agents cannot be signed by NHL clubs till after May 1st. -One of two leagues to finish its tournament and crown a new champion was Turkey. The seven-team short season Turkish Super League (TSL) saw Buz Beykov SK of Istanbul end the five year run of Zeytinburnu SK as champion with a 4-2 championship-clinching win. Serkan Gumus, the first Turkish born non-import to win the scoring title tallied all four goals in the victory for Beykov. The Telford Tigers of the English Tier two National Ice Hockey League (NIHL) defeated the Peterborough Phantoms 8-3 to win the title with Brandon Whistle, nephew of former New Haven Nighthawk, Rob Whistle scoring a hat trick in the National Cup victory. In Serbia, they played just one game before the finals were canceled as Crvena Zvezda (Belgrade) won 4-2 over Vojvodina. -The Southern Hemisphere hockey season set to begin next month has been paused as well. The AIHL (Australian Ice Hockey League) has delayed the opening of its 30-game 2020 season that was slated to begin on April 18th. Neighboring nation New Zealand is still ready for its short season 16 game per team (five teams) NZIHL schedule and is holding firm on a May 15th start date, but are monitoring developments like the rest of the planet. The Southern Hemisphere is now entering its winter season and the possibility of a COVID-19 outbreak is expected from South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia. -The IIHF has canceled the Worlds Championships scheduled to be held next month in Davos, Switzerland (Belarus, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Norway, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, United States) and all the other world championships tournaments as well. Division I: Group A in Ljubljana, Slovenia (Austria, France, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia, and South Korea), Division I Group B to be held in Katowice, Poland (Estonia, Japan, Lithuania, Poland, Serbia, and Ukraine ). Division II: Group A in Zagreb, Croatia (Australia, China, Croatia, Israel, Netherlands, and Spain) and Division II Group B in Reykyavik, Iceland (Belgium, Bulgaria,  Georgia, Iceland, Mexico, and New Zealand). Division III: Group A set for Kockelscheuer, Luxembourg (Luxembourg, North Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and United Arab Emirates-UAE). Then Division III Group B in Cape Town, South Africa (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hong Kong, South Africa, and Thailand) Lastly, Division IV in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia and the Philippines) all were canceled. Read the full article

[iwantunique]

20+ best stocking stuffers for toddlers 2019

Oftentimes, best stocking stuffers for toddlers 2019 or to choose toddler presents are some of the most difficult tasks on your shopping list. What’s your type when you choose the presents for your tot, like funny, cheap, useful, educational, and expensive? Well, there are heaps of miniature gadgets that will amaze your child by seeing the brimmed stocking! But it is always fair to indulge at least some things that the receiver of the gift (whether it’s your parent, child, or might your cute dog) gets really surprised; feel enjoyed while receiving those presents; at the same time, it would be the icing on the cake if they’re useful too! To help you out in this thorough process of figuring out the suitable Stocking Stuffers for Toddlers 2019 for preschoolers this year, we have assembled some of the best products aptly suited for the best stocking stuffers for toddlers 2019. These stuffers include items right fro, quirky toys to gag gifts, the very useful gadgets, beautiful accessories, and so much more.  Here, you’ll find the best stocking stuffer toddlers ideas for your little cutie pie! And remember while adding the excitement taste under Christmas Tree, fill these stocking stuffers with something that spreads enchantment and joy! The list of these best stocking stuffers for toddlers 2019 will make Christmas morning or the annual holiday present list a very special one! We test, research, and recommend the best of the best products. So, glance further to buy something unique for your child. Best stocking stuffers for toddlers 2019 1.Turbo Race Car Twin Bed The Turbo Race Car Twin Bed from Delta Children! Designed to resemble a classic race car, fun details include a rear spoiler, a front grill and racing tires with chrome-colored rims. Made of durable molded plastic and decorated with cool decals, this sleek bed will kick any car-themed room into high gear for years to come. The high sides of the race car act as secure guardrails and allow kids of all ages to easily enter and exit the bed. Perfect for any child who dreams of racing cars.

Promising review: " I bought this bed for my 3-year-old son. He loves cars and we were trying to motivate him to stay in his own bed. He loves his own bed and I have fallen back in love with my own bed."--Doognik Get it from Amazon for $252.89 2. Warmtree $100 Dollars Bill Funny Money Napkin This funny napkin is soft and comfortable,it looks and feels like real money, perfect for themed parties and interesting games.

Promising review: " Very happy with my purchase! Larger size than expected!"--Ashley Mcneil Get it from Amazon for $10.99 Best Stocking Stuffers for Toddlers 2019 3. Children's Night Lights Touch Sensor Vibration Birdcage Chargeable Hand-held Lamp Made of ABS and PC+TPU,Food-grade premium quality,safe and non-toxic materials ;High emulation lawn cute round animal in clear cap glowing soft light (birdcage shape).Build in 700 mAh battery,Rechargeable and energy-saving with an USB line(1200mm) Charging time:5h, Battery life:15h;USB charge it by your computer or power bank, etc.Base switches with 3 modes :ON / OFF / VIBRATION.VIBRATION: three status of middle-bright, high-bright, turn off , lights will cycle when your hands touch the cage.

Promising review: " My daughter loves it. It is a great night light."--Lenka Hrebickova Get it from Amazon for $19.99 4. Totoro Anime LED Night Light Kid's Character Lamp USB Charge, Desk Night Table Reading Lamp Whimsical lamp in the shape of Totoro holding an umbrella. Totoro is a popular Japanese animation character, loved by adults as well as children. Soft light emanating from Totoro's stomach or his umbrella are perfect as a nightlight. Charges conveniently with USB, making the lamp useful for outdoor camping and travel. Charging Time: approx. 2~3 hours. Light lasts about 8~15 hours.

Promising review: " Great little lamp. Super bright! Recharges with USB cable (included). Light comes out his belly or from the umbrella. Again both are fairly bright. It comes in a box and you snap the umbrella into place. The box I received also advertised the fan variant, so it might confuse someone if you're giving this as a gift. Overall my 12 year old daughter loves it. Very good resemblance to the beloved Totoro from his classic film."--James Wyatt Get it from Amazon for $27.00 5. My Neighbor Totoro Sleeping Bag Sofa Bed Twin Bed Double Bed Mattress for Kids Bed sack: 100% Polyester *Inner padding: 80% Polyester, 20% Cotton *Overall Size: 230CM * 175CM (90” * 69”) *New Weight: 13KG *Tail Size: 80CM (31”)

Promising review: " I Absolutely Love this. This one from this seller is better than I expected. My daughter absolutely loves it. Absolutely NOT made cheaply. Now my other daughter wants to buy one for my granddaughter. It's huge and comfy and no need to add more stuffing although we thought we were gonna have to with some reviews. Also it has a zipper if you do wanna add stuffing or remove it to clean it. Absolutely 100 % Completely Satisfied and A Very Happy Birthday Girl who turned 10! "--Sonja Schlegel Get it from Amazon for $273.64 Best Stocking Stuffers for Toddlers 2019 6. R/C Award Winning Tracer Racers High-Speed Remote Control Infinity Loop Track Set with Two Cars for Dual Racing Racing cars feature undercarriage lights that not only make these cars look almost like they are hovering rather than rolling - the lights also leave glowing streaks in their wake showing how the racers are "burning" up the track takes your racing to the next level with Tracer Racers High-Speed Remote Control Glow in the Dark Racing. Tracer Racer racing cars feature undercarriage lights that not only make these cars look almost like they are hovering rather than rolling - the lights also leave glowing streaks in their wake showing how the racers are "burning" up the track!

Promising review : " very good investment - not cheap, but will be used for many, many hours by my grandson and myself - so well worth the price - can see us buying more track pieces to create different designs - lots of fun to race, simple to charge - good quality product, did have an issue with one car when opened, called company and got immediate response - they sent new product out same day of call and I got it in 2 days - impressive - grandson loves hot wheel and RC cars - this is perfect for him - also light up track is very good - extra bonus!"--Wayne Get it from Amazon for $119.99 7. Hamburger Junior Beanbag Chair Fresh off the WOW! grill, The Double Stack beanbag is hot and ready! Warning: the delicious appearance of this superbly soft beanbag may cause slight drooling. Soft and cushy construction that lends a touch of whimsy for any area and is certainly a fun conversation piece. Digital printed fabric treatment projects real life-like appearance. Wow! Works bean bag unique chairs will wow you! Product Materials: Polyester, High-grade EPS Bead.

Promising review: " Bought it for my sons 9th birthday. It was a big hit! the chair is the perfect size and the print image is great. The only thing i didn't love is that the "beans" are really big. I am buy smaller filler to replace it."--TLC Get it from Amazon for $38.99 8. 95 Foot Zip Line Kit with Stainless Steel Spring Brake and Seat Our zip line used the 5.3 Foot Stainless Steel Spring Brake instead of the bungee cord braking system. All customers who have purchased our zip line before, if there is any problem with bungee cord braking system, please Contact us, we will help you replace the new Stainless Steel Spring Brake for free! This zip line meets the international quality standards (RoHS & CE) and can easily hold up to 250 lbs. Are you looking for a wonderful outdoor activity or a birthday gift that will help you bond with your kids and enjoy unforgettable moments? Look no further. Now you can spend endless hours of backyard fun with your children. Your backyard will instantly become a stunning amusement park, and you will become the neighbourhood’s coolest parent!

Promising review: " We LOVE this zip line! We were looking for something to draw our screen magnet youngest child outside with increased frequency. This fits the bill!! Installation was definitely a two-person job, just as we expected. It took us a part of a morning to put it up. Tightening it was a little tricky and required some trial and error on our part, but I'd call that operator error related to inexperience, not a flaw in the kit. We have installed a secondary brake just to add a back-up for safety. It's only been up for about five days but I bet we've made 500 trips down the line already. We have six children with an eighteen year age spread between them. All six have enjoyed multiple trips down the line along with their friends."--Dayna Strand Get it form Amazon for $161.27 Best Stocking Stuffers for Toddlers 2019 9. Giant Inflatable Ride-On Banana Float Huge over-sized inflatable banana ride-on float enjoyed by kids and adults alike for a great pool experience. Use as a lounger or for just any fun pool activities. Made of durable heavy duty PVC and measures 59 inches long. Not recommended for kids under 6 years old and children should have adult supervision.

Promising review: " I got this as a gift for my friend, and didn't realize that it's likely meant for kids, so can't really handle adult weight as well. It made such a fun floatie to even try to get on top of the thing! It's basically the water version of the mechanical bull."--Mia Get it from Amazon for $16.99 10. Baby Kids Play Mat Foldable Soft and Washable Toys Storage Organizer Children Play Rugs with 59 inches Large Diameter Winthome toy storage bag can store the toys in order, no longer need to find toys everywhere. It is very Simple, Portable and Sturdy. Ideal solution for leaning up small toys like trains, cars, dolls, stuffed animals and more. Mummy's good friend. Use this to make sure your child is having fun without worrying about the mess.You can also bring it with you while you are outdoors, making sure your child is safer and more comfortable when playing.

Promising review: " Purchased this mat for our 7 month old daughter and it's absolutely perfect! Easy to sinch up and move into another room. Just enough padding to keep her comfortable on our hardwood floors. I was nervous to wash it but no change to the quality of the mat after washing it. It's big but not too big. Big Brother can easily join her for play and there's room for everyone. Highly recommend."--EmmyB Get it from Amazon for $29.99 11. Baby Play mat Kid's Puzzle Exercise Play Mat for Floor Crawl mat for Baby with XPE Foam Thicking 0.8in This baby mat is easy to Splice as puzzle and take it out.You can optionally splice baby play mat baby mat play mat playmat extra large foam play mat according to your preference. Depending on the size of the space, different shapesbaby play mat, baby mat,play mat,playmat extra large foam play mat. The play mat is big and thickening 0.8 inches and Changeable Size so easily .baby folding mat play mat extra large foam play mat play mat large foam baby crawl mat playmat foam folding play mat baby foam mat folding baby play mat foam play mat for baby folding mat for baby foam baby play mat .

Promising review: " I wish I come across this baby mat sooner... My daughter is almost 2 and the mat is perfect to put at Grandma's. She goes there a few days a week and Grandma likes that it is foldable so it can be put away when it's not in used and depending what toys they put out, Grandma can adjust the playmat accordingly. The material is good, the prints are cute, I cleaned it a few times with disinfectant wipes, easy to clean, no colors were wiped off. This mat can be used for tummy time, crawlers, and of course toddlers, I really like the foldable design."--Doleman Get it from Amazon for $49.99 Best Stocking Stuffers for Toddlers 2019 12. Pool Floats for Kids - Llama Pool Float, Baby Floaties for Toddlers and Kids Baby water float and inflatable pool float features a unique trendy design for 2019 - only available from USA Toyz; these llama pool inflatables introduce little ones to these gentle South American animals. Let kids have fun splashing around with these swimming pool floats; this floaty for baby features 2 leg openings in the swimming ring for toddlers to sit safely, and should be used responsibly with adult supervision.

Promising review: " I loved this floaty. I loved that it is a cool llama, its actually fun to choose different animals / shapes every year, I had just become tired of the same old Aligator or Shark or even those flamingos that were popular the last couple of years. Llamas are cool, my kids got a huge kick out of it, and when their friends come over they also love it. It seems very sturdy, after a couple weeks and I don't know how many kids using it, it is still in tact as good as ever. The material seems thick and high quality. Nice design. I also think it is very reasonably priced for its size. I have seen floatys in the store for upwards of $50, so this was a great deal."--Julie S. Get it from Amazon for $15.99 13. Light Up Football : Glow in The Dark LED Ball Composite leather footballs and textured lace provides exceptional grip and control especially with Football Gloves, we’re talking solid spirals for days during your American football games. Butyl bladder locks in air for optimal pressure and shape retention for a consistent throwing during your football games. USES: Beach football, night-time football, recreational football games, playing in the pool, park, ootball practice.

Promising review : " Very cute- my son,Chance, will be thrilled when he gets it! "--SallySue Get it from Amazon for $24.99 14. Capture the Flag REDUX: The Original Glow-in-The-Dark Outdoor Game for Birthday  It's the classic game of stealth, speed and strategy that people have enjoyed for over 90 years – now adapted for today's generation using glow-in-the-dark lights! It includes battery powered game pieces for jail markers, territory lights, light-up wristbands and glowing crystals that serve as each team's flag. With a fresh look and the added dynamic of low-light game play, this activity inspires people of all ages to put down their phones and do something active together. Learning how to play is easy. Your objective is to enter the other team’s territory, steal their Orb (aka “flag”) and get it back to your home side without getting tagged. Tagged players go to “jail” and must remain there until a teammate reaches them without getting tagged.

Promising review: " I am a youth minister and this game was used on our Fall 2016 Retreat. Was a huge hit! A couple lights went out and I emailed them about it a few months after and they sent new parts without any hassle. Extremely good customer service and a great product. Well worth it for any size group. My group is bigger than what this game gives arm bands for so we use cheap glow stick bracelets for extra team identifying."--Mason Cothren Get it from Amazon for $59.90 Best Stocking Stuffers for Toddlers 2019 15. Anime Hooded Cloak Flannel Cape Hoodies for Sleep Nap Critter Blankets 100% brand new & high quality.Note:The snaps that connect the sleeves are the same which style just like the pictures.FUNCTIONAL:The versatility of this plush blanket allows to be a perfect camping, traveling, napping, playing, sleeping and reading companion.COMFORTABLE:Very soft and comfortable flannel,it can keep you warm in the winter or sleep under an air conditioning in office.OCCASION:You can use it as cosplay cloak,role play,Halloween,Christmas,all kinds of parties or daily wear.One Size:90*160cm(35.43*62.99inch).Package: a cloak.

Promising review: " I love it! It's super soft, the quality is way more than expected. I am just worried about the whiskers.... It might fall in the washing machine. And It should have a bigger version! So it could cover my whole body. SO cute!"--Bianca Get it from Amazon for $28.99 16. Glow Battle: A Light up Sword and Ninja Game  Family, friends and neighbors play organized sword fighting games using (harmless!) glowing foam weapons. Choose from 10 different ways to play or create your own! The perfect interactive game for team building, icebreakers and developing strategy for large and small groups. Get youth off their screens using the 28 glowing game pieces included in this kit. Make exercise fun as boys and girls run, swing and dodge to win.

Promising review: " This is a really fun product for the family. The glow bracelets and swords stay lit for a long time. I love that the batteries are replaceable. I would recommend that you play outside since its an active game. The ONLY thing I didnt like is that at the end of the battle need swords is plastic and can hurt someones face, you know if you're getting crazy, like kids do! We use safety glasses as always with any sport. I didn't take pics because we are having too much fun. Also, fun for adults in the forests. Not even kidding."--crystal knigge Get it from Amazon for $49.90 17. Kids Kick Scooter w/ 3 Wheel Deck, Handle Bar Grips, Sit-or-Stand Removable Folding Seat Adventurous tots gain a smooth-gliding companion with this cool convertible Kick Scooter from Modera Kids. Designed to adjust as kids grow up and fine-tune their motor skills, the three wheeler features a foldable/removable seat, adjustable easy-grip handlebars, built-in back brake, extra wide anti-slip deck, front basket for toys, and an additional platform where toddlers can rest both feet while sitting.Like a balance bike, the scooter’s sturdy design and lean-to-turn wheels support little ones as they hone their coordination and control. Watch as they rip up the pavement and gain confidence on the road to adolescence! Parents also save a bundle with a toy that conveniently collapses and converts as kids get older. So give a gift that actually grows with them—add a sit-or-stand Kick Scooter to your cart today!

Promising review: " This is a awesome little scooter. My so t had played with it everyday since it arrived. Quality built and. It cheap as I was afraid it may have been. I’m super impressed."--J Guthrie Get it from Amazon for $49.99 Best Stocking Stuffers for Toddlers 2019 18. Colored Clip in Hair Extensions 20 inch Rainbow Heat-Resistant Straight Highlight Hairpieces Cospaly Fashion Party Christmas Gift For Kids Girls 12 Color in 24 pcs Colored hair extension are affordable ,lightweight,and easy to apply,these color extension snap into your hair and can be taken out in a matter of seconds.High quality synthetic fiber,DIY your look you want ,and instant highlight without any chemical dye to damage your hair ,it is a perfect accessory for special occasions which can make you stand out from the crowed.Color:Bright red, lilac purple, pink, yellow, orange yellow, sapphire blue, fruity green, rose red, beige, violet, purple, vanilla green.

Promising review: " Sometimes I want to dye my hair a crazy color but I realize it would be expensive because my hair is long and dark. So I got this extensions pack to just try out colors. That way I have the fun hair colors without the commitment. It’s a good value for the amount of extensions that come in the pack. The clips are easy to put on and there are a lot of color options. I had more than enough colors so I gave some to my 6yr old niece and she had a lot of fun trying on the different hair colors."--Abbie Get it from Amazon for $14.99 19. Giant Beach Ball 6 ft Soccer Ball Diameter Extra Large Inflatable Beach Ball Pool Toy Jumbo Beach Ball 6 Feet Tall Beach Ball Inflatable Soccerball 12FT Pole-to-Pole Inflatable Beach Ball Pool Party BallsIntroduction:A huge size version of a classic sports ball! Kids and adults will have a blast chasing, kicking, and watching the ball soar. Add a unique touch of fun to any party, cookout, or beach day!Item Specification&Features:Material：Made of thick, durable 30mil vinyl with reinforced seamsSize: 6 Feet Tall/12FT from pole-to-poleLarge, secure airtight valve keeps air in and won't tear or detach from the vinylNew rapid valve allows for the fastest inflation and deflation compared to traditional valvesFun eye catching colors inspired by the classic beachball design, great for adults and kids of all agesThis is a great ball for kicking, punching, throwing, and climbing on top of .

Promising review : " This item is the size and style I expected when ordered. It arrived in the time frame that was given. It inflates and deflates great, no holes. I would order this again"--Lyndsi Donner Get it from Amazon for $49.99 20.Remote Control Car Boat Truck 4WD 6CH 2.4Ghz Land Water 2 in 1 RC Toy 360 Degree Spins and Flips- This is a multi-functional stunt rc car, unique design let it easy to complete 360 degree spins around, best gift for boy and girls.Waterproof Design- Equipped with waterproof rubber ring to protect inner accessory of the car which makes it possible to even drive on the water, amazing fun land & water rc toys.

Promising review: " I bought 2 of these are they were way more fun than I anticipated. My 5 year old daughter and I were driving them in and out of the surf for a good 20 minutes. They're not super fast, which was perfect. They're quick enough to be fun, but not so fast that my kids couldn't control it. I highly recommend this toy. I bought spare batteries too (all blue). and used my spare batteries first and they lasted over 20 min of near continuous use. Next I put in the batteries that came with them (one blue and one green). The blue one performed the same, but the green battery died after 5 minutes. I think I got a bad one since I charged again over night and it died quickly the next day."--Rory Get it from Amazon for $37.98 21. Water Balloon Launcher Water Balloons Slingshot Cannon 3 Persona Balloon Launcher 250 Yard Wheter you're having a party or looking for a wet and wild sort of battle, Whizbuilders balloon slingshot has you covered. Out water balloon launcher is the perfect choice for anyone that wants to rain down balloon filled with water on their friends and family to enjoy the surprise look on their faces. This 3 persons water balloon sling is designed to launch balloons further and faster. Our 3-person water balloon launcher can shoot a balloon up to 250 yards to surprise friends and family at backyard parties, pools and more.

Promising review: " This is exactly what we expected. So much fun, for adults and kids. With an adult on either side, and an adult pulling the sling shot - we were able to launch a water balloon from one backyard, across the street, and into another backyard. Totally worth it!! "-- Kristen Get it from Amazon for $16.97 Best Stocking Stuffers for Toddlers 2019 Read the full article

[krsyarchive]

Evidence, you

"The final, crucial piece of evidence...you."

-

Reasons to fall:

1. Darkness

" Im.."

"What is it? "

" Kinda thinking about change this 'broken white' wall's colour-"

"That's good.."

" I'm gonna paint this wall with black-"

" Wait, what? Don't be ridiculous no one will come here at night because of the dark.."

" Well, haha.. Are you afraid with the darkness?"

" Not really.."

" Liar~"

" I'm not. But may I just ask why are you really love those dark colors?"

" Then I'll just ask you back before I answer that. What do you think about 'black'? Let's forget about navy or grey because everyone usually like that."

" People usually think that they describe the darkness, or maybe sadness(?)"

" Right, that was people thought. But, I don't think the same. It's a serenity for me."

" I see.. So that was your reason, huh?"

" Yes. So if I change this room colour will you-"

" No."

" Ok nevermind forget that I'm just kidding"

2. Photography

" Why is this so confusing..."

" What's wrong?"

" I'm getting confused with this camera, why is this so hard to change the settings I don't get it."

" Which part?"

" The results make you looks brighter-"

" Are you trying to say that I'm too 'dark'?"

" Yes hehe ok no I'm kidding but you look so pale here"

" Let me see that and stop make me curious- wow yeah I'm too pale".

" How to change that? There are too many buttons I'm confused."

" Come here I'll show you. There's nothing wrong with the exposure, you just have to change the ISO. Here's the button.. So I'll let you try it, here..."

" You're right.. Thanks"

" I learned about camera when I was in the high school. I often borrowed my friends' camera, and then asked how to set them.."

" Hmm.. Ok got it."

" You said you want to be a photographer. Then you should have to learn a lot about how to set camera. Don't give up! I'll help you later."

3. Nyctophilia

" Here let me take a picture of you."

" Don't, I'm not im the mood, really.. Why don't you take a pict of Isola instead?"

" Hmm you know? I often went here at 10pm.."

" Going here? At night? Wow, I'm surprised that you didn't afraid.."

" I told you earlier I'm not afraid of darkness.. Why should I? Besides, I really enjoyed the night view of Isola.. It's so beautiful.. You should try it sometimes."

" I will, and what were you doin'?"

" Not much. Just read my books & drank a cup of coffee, and layin' outhere to see the sky.."

" I see.. Anyway, thank you for you recommendation.. I'll try it maybe if I have a chance.."

" Anytime, I'll promise you won't regret it".

4. Casing

" Im, I wanna ask you something".

" Go on.. What was that?"

" Have you bought something online?"

" I have, and why is that?"

" Um, how to?"

" ....buy something online?"

" Y-yeah.."

" Do you want something?"

" I want to buy a phone case like yours."

" Hm? Like mine? Oh....black, isn't it?"

" Hehe..."

" Do you think I want to have a same phone case with you?"

" Hm, no?"

" Exactly."

" Ok nevermind but please help me find another black phone case, will youuuu?"

" Why me?"

" Psssh I don't know how to buy something from an online shop and I don't know how Sh*pee works. Besides, I heard it's more cheaper if we bought it online. Can you show me?"

" Are you sure you didn't know about that?"

" I am... Please help me."

" Fine.. What's your phone type?"

" Xiaomi, Redmi Note 5A.. Ah yes, without fingerprint."

" Ok what about this?"

" No.."

" this one?"

" Hm no?"

" This one?"

" Too expensive please can you find another cheaper case? I trust you a lot."

" I am. Just wait till you saw this..... How about this one?"

" Oh sure.. I like this one."

" Okay.. I will bought a clear case too, so we can share the shipping fee together."

" Agree."

" Do you want me to use your address? Or mine?"

" Mine was fine."

" Ok.."

" So how long the shipment is?"

" About 3-4 days...usually."

" 3-4 days? Ok fine."

Day 1

" Im, why is the packages isn't arrived yet?

" I said it takes time around 3-4 days, and this is the first day so be patient."

" Ok."

Day 2

" Im, why is the packages isn't arrived yet?"

" This is the 2nd day and still on it way, calm down."

" Ok."

Day 3

" Im, why is the packages isn't arrived yet? This is the 3rd day, you say it."

" Nah, maybe tomorrow."

" Ah, I see. Ok"

Day 4

" Im, I want to talk with you after your division's briefing."

" Why? Is there anything you need?"

" Just finish it quickly-"

" If you asked me about your packages can you-"

" Hehe actually it was arrived last night."

" Oh, so how was it?"

" I like it very much! See?"

" That black phone case suits well with you."

" Yeah, and this is yours."

" Alright.. It's easy to buy something in online shop. But you have to check their shop review before buy something. Got it?"

" I will remember that."

5. Low contrast, High Exposure

" Im, can you please change the tone of your edit? It makes me more ugly-"

" Hehe finally you realized it."

" But it's too dark on me.. I took a bath before this photoshoot so please make it visible."

" With?"

" The brightness, Im........"

" Fine.."

" Listen, you just need to low its contrast and make the brightness higher. See? It looks like you use a 'soft filter' presets on this pic."

" Ah you're right. Isn't this edits technique looks like the 05 presets on VSCO?"

" I don't know... But I usually edit my pics like that."

" I see.. Thank you so much, Faw!"

6. Physics

" Why did you choose Physics, Faw?"

" Because I love it. And why did you choose Arabic?"

" It's my parents choice.."

" Oh, I thought you're the only one who choose your study."

" I let my parents choose too."

" Actually, I didn't want to be here. I really want to be a part of ITB. But, yeah-"

" Fate?"

" Yeah, something like that. But, I'm not going to regret it.."

" I see.. I feel the same. Actually, I have an interest to Chemistry, but yeah I'm not good at Physics and Math.."

" But, Chemistry is more difficult than physics"

" No, I think physics is more difficult."

" Ok what about biology?"

" I'm weak at memorizing something"

" Same here."

" Why are you so tall anyway?"

" I don't know either.. Maybe it's just my mom.."

" Your mom?"

" Maybe she eats bamboo when she's pregnant(?). Hehe I'm just kidding, because I don't know."

" Me either..."

7. K-POP

" Im, do you know this song?"

" iKON's Love Scenario?"

" True!!"

" DO YOU LIKE KPOP?"

" Hehe but I'm not a fans. I just love their song. Do you know about Super Junior?"

" Mr. Simple?"

" Yes, but my fav's Superman.."

" But, actually I'm STILL speechless because of this.."

" Hahahaha, you know? I have my old kpop song's folder. Oh, do you know this song?"

" It's SNSD's.. The boys, right?"

" How about this?"

" It's Big Bang's.. Monster."

" And this?"

" Wow, it's Trouble Maker's! Wait, DON'T TELL ME YOU SAW THEIR MV TOO PLEASE BE HONEST."

" HEHE BUT JUST ONCE I SWEAR!!"

" I DIDN'T TRUST YOU."

" Oh come on.. Hey, I have to show you something."

" What is it? WAIT, IS THAT YOU?"

" Y-yeah, the bald one."

" Did you just- did you join the dance club?"

" I- I did, in the past. When I was in the mid school."

" Seriously, you make speechless twice in a row."

" Surprised, aren't you?"

" Kinda.."

" Please just keep it secret I am shy."

" Anyway, you should hear BTS' songs. It's good, really.. You'll like it.."

" Ah I've heard about BTS before.. So maybe I'll download their song later.."

8. Patience

" Im, can I talk to you now?"

" Sure.."

" Where have you been? It's been a while since you didn't come to our secretariat. Why is that? Do you have any problems?"

Actually, I'm just dissapointed with all of them but-

" I'm alright.. There's no need to be worried."

" Are you sure?"

" I will talk about this later."

" Hm? Why didn't you just say it here?"

" It can't.. I have to tell you directly.."

" So can you just come-"

" No."

" Okay, let's meet again, later?"

" Yeah, okay..."

" See ya!"

9. Last scene, white rose

" Isn't today your graduation, Faw?"

" Um- yeah.. Will you come?"

" I will.. So when you'll be free?"

" Maybe after the ceremony.."

" I have to go to the Gymnasium or the-"

" Please just go to FPMIPA instead.."

" Okay, I'll call you later."

14.49 PM, FPMIPA

" Where are you?"

" In front of the building"

" Where?"

" Turn around!"

" Oh!"

" Happy graduation.."

" Thank you"

"......"

"......"

" So, you really graduated now."

" I am.. Why is that?"

" YAH WHY ARE YOU LEAVING ME SO SOON?!"

" Hahaha, am I not be able to graduate?"

" It's not like that but, finally.. Baraakallahu fii Ilmi.."

" Thank you."

" Let's take a pic"

" Sure, but can you send it to me later?"

" I will!"

" Thank you, Im.. Please, forgive me. So sorry, I can't protect you from them earlier.. I'm sorry."

" Nevermind, just forget that problem. I should apologize too.. So sorry, I didn't contribute to you as much as I can do. I'm sorry too, I didn't do my best.. I didn't help you a lot.."

" It's okay.. Thank you for being my partner."

" I should say the same things to you.."

10. You, the crucial piece of evidence.

Bandung,

Starts from May 2017 till February 2019.

[tech2guides]

Free Online Cartoons to Watch and The List of the Free cartoon website in 2019

In this Guide, we will be going to Discuss Free online cartoons to watch. The Best thing about this guide is that you will simply able to understand each and every point that we are discussing today because of I have Explains how to Free online cartoons to watch with a very simple way to understand every reader of this website.   So Now coming to the Pints that There are the People who love to Remeber there Childwood Life and most of them were might not be enjoyed that wat that thought. Now here is the thing that you have to Make sure when there is a chance that can bring our Childwood life back then it's very simple that you can do it by Following this guide about the cartoons.   But the Problem is about Time, Even if there are the People who love to Watch cartoon. because of the Time schedules of these days lifestyle. Also, you have to remember one thing that When there is no Time for you to Sitting in front of the TV and waiting for one single specific Program.   Then there is the Solution for you, If you are very much interesting about Watching the Cartoon channels or Programs then you have to think one thing and that is the Websites. Yes, Websites are the very Best Options when it comes to Free online cartoons to watch at that time we want.   The problem s about the Websites is that there are Unlimited websites where you can simply get confused and you will end up with surfing the multiple websites and you might not find the best Websites that offer the Very Good service to the Users.   N0w we are here to Guide and Suggest the best Service to you which they can offer the Best service to the people. After you have been in the search option from the Longtime period and cloud not able to find the best website then you can simply able to find the cartoons or animes website by finishing the Website.   Talk n text free app  

25+ Best Website for Free Online Cartoons to watch:

  1. YouTube: When there is a time for talking about the Cartoon then you have to have a thing of about Youtube. Because there the millions of carton creators available online and also you have to make sure that whenever you will simply want to browse any kind of the videos then you will definitely find on this website. You can find all the videos of cartoons and make sure that if you want to watch any one particular video then you have to search in the search box by that cartoon name. You wil also suggested by some of these Similar videos on the side of the youtube.  

  You can also upload your own videos on the Youtube where you can simply create your own Channel on the carton if you are interested you can watch it here.   2. ToonJet: ToonJet is one of the Best places to watch cartoons online for free. Yes, You doesn't need to pay a single penny on this website. There are some popular and best Cartoon series like Betty Boop, Popeye, Looney Tunes in these Platforms. You can simply browse those list and Enjoy watching them for free. You can simply watch those videos without signing up into the website.   If you want to access more features then you have to Sign up for the website. Once you just got completed the Signup procedure for the ToonJet then it's very simple that you will get a Profile page of the ToonJet. You will also get the feature that you can simply comment on the Cartoons and you will rate them as per your wish and the Level if you have an interest in the Cartoons.   So when you getting all these features with just Signing up with an account then you can simply Fill all the required details and Just Go ahead with an Account. ToonJet also has an Android app where you can easily Download it from the Website www.toonjet.com. You can find the Different types of Cartoon here including the Streaming classic cartoons.   3. Cartoons On: Cartoons On is another Website Which has a very Simple interface to understand by everyone. If you want to watch Cartoon without just Downloading the Videos on the Computer then this is the website which you must give a try without having any second thought.   if you simply search for anime/cartoons in the search bar then you will find the list of the cartoons like them by Studio like Walt Disney, Warner Bros, etc. Characters like Tom and Jerry, Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, etc and  Shows like Family Guy TV Series, Ben 10: Omniverse, etc.    

    This website also does not require any Signup Process where you can watch the Unlimited Cartoons for free of cost. You don't need to pay a Single rupee. They will keep Updating the Data of the Cartoons. So you can easily able to Find the new cartoons for free of cost here.   4. Watch Cartoon Online: Watch Cartoon Online is one of the best websites that offer Cartoons for free of cost to the People. If you got into the website and if you see it then you will understand how its simple to understand the Menu bar and everything in very well Structured.   You will find all the Best list of Free online cartoons to watch and also there some Popular Shows like Shark Tale, Atomic Betty, The Super Hero Squad Show, Super Friends and so on. Whenever you get bored and not feeling happy then you can visit this website and Enjoy the cartoons all the time. But the main issue with the Watch Cartoon Online is the Popup ads that you face in the Website.   5. Anime Flavor: The next best app is Anime Flavor, this is another best app where you can easily watch the animes online without paying anything to the Website. Its always for free to watch. You will find all the Free online cartoons to watch on the Home page in a Way that you will simply Find them because of they are all available in a very Organised way. You can also find them In Alphabetical Order.   You can also find the additional Summary on the Hoem page of that Particular Anime. Anime Flavor is one of the websites where you can find Popular Free online cartoons to watch the Hoem page of this website. If you are not good yet reading the text then you can easily find it out by simply Watching the Pictures.   Disney Junior Nick AllMyAnime Anime Toon GO GO Anime Anime Center Hulu New Grounds Side Reel Cartoons8 Watch Online Cartoons Kiss Cartoon/Kiss Anime SuperCartoons Vimeo Disney Video Comedy Central South Park Studios Cartoon Park Boomerang Ovguide Cartoon Network KissPanda Maker. Watch Anime Dub Cartoonito This is the List of the More than 25 websites to For "Free online cartoons to watch". You can simply choose any of these lists and enjoy watching the Cartoons Using these websites online. Also if you want to Use any Specific app you can try also make sure to check about the app and google for review. So finally This is How you can go ahead to watch Cartoons Online.   Read the full article