My Second AMV. The Dork Returns!

Or something. Anyway, I have completed my second AMV (or at least attempted to). I think this one is an improvement over the previous one. There's a few inexplicable video flubs (just flashes of video junk), I don't know what happened as it looked fine in storyboard layout. Thankfully, there's only like three that I can see. Anyway, using my experience with the first video, I was able to focus a bit more on editing, timing, and overall quality.

About this video:
This is the first in a 3-part series of videos detailing the three main characters of the anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. Each video focuses on a specific character; Rei, Asuka, and Shinji. Each video is soundtracked by an Alter Bridge song that fits each personality (I hope). All three videos should tie together to hopefully tell a story.

The first video is of Rei Ayanami. This was the most difficult video of the trio, mainly because Rei does not display much emotion, and she's not flashy. In short, she stands around a lot and whispers. I did my best to pull as much character as possible out of the clips. She is a fascinating character, and I hope this video does her justice. A slight content warning: there's some brief PG-13 nudity, so if that sort of thing offends you,eh, not much I can do about that (hey, it's animated. Relax.)

The music is "Down To My Last" by Alter Bridge. Pretty good little song, maybe a little "rock-ier" than some of you might like, but the words are the key. At a few points they can be a bit hard to understand, not because of the instruments, but simply the lead singer has a slightly odd accent on some of the words. If you need clarification, just let me know. Anyhoo, give it a look-see, and let me know what you think. Oh, and if you have time, go over to the youtube page and rate it. Enjoy!

Rebuild of Evangelion Movie Poster?

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know that I am following the development and release of the 4(!) new Eva movies with great interest. I can't wait! Any way, I have run across what appears to be a movie poster for the first of the four movies, Evangelion: 1.0 (or something like that). I LOVE the tag-line under the title at the bottom: "You are (not) alone." That certainly sounds like Evangelion to me. One thing appears to be missing from the poster, though: Where in the fark is everybody's favorite red-headed German, ASUKA?! I am worried...



And here's a really cool bit from the director himself:

”Eva" is a story that repeats. It is a story where the main character witnesses many horrors with his own eyes, but still tries to stand up again. It is a story of will; a story of moving forward, if only just a little. It is a story of fear, where someone who must face indefinite solitude fears reaching out to others, but still wants to try. We hope that you look forward to the 4 new retellings of this story.

In closing, it is also our job to provide a service to our customers. Although it seems obvious, we aim to create a form of entertainment that anyone can look forward to; one that people who have never seen Evangelion can easily adjust to, one that can engage audiences as a movie for theatres, and one that produces a new understanding of the world.

This fall, we hope you can join us.

Creator/General Director, Anno Hideaki

See? Gun Bans Work! Wait...

You all probably know by now of the tragedy at Virginia Tech. In short, some whack job started shooting at students on VT's campus this morning, killing (so far) 32 people. It started around 7:30am, and the VT locked down the campus. Well, they then lifted the lock down, and the guy started shooting again. He eventually killed himself. He will not be missed.

Normally, one would hope we could at least have a couple of hours to grieve and/or honor the dead, but the media is already looking for the boogyman in this, so here we are:

The point of this post is to bring to light this particular topic: Firearms are banned on all campus grounds at Virginia Tech (and every other school in the US, for that matter). Imagine how low the death toll would have been had any of the students been armed. It's hard to stalk room to room gunning people down when the room starts firing back.

Gun control favors shootings such as this. Criminals and the insane will have access to weapons no matter how many stupid laws are passed against it. Gun control simply takes away the public's ability to defend itself, and turns citizens into targets.

End rant for now. There's many, many things to discuss about this sad event (such as why students were notified that a killer was loose 2 hours after the shooting started.) We'll get to that later.

EDIT: As usual, Fark.com has served up a picture that sums up the aftermath of this nicely:


BONUS!: Dr. Phil blames all of this on...wait for it...video games!. I hate Dr. Phil.

Although, Tetris does make me get all stabby and stuff...

UPDATED: My First Attempt

Well, I've gone and done it. I am now a true internet geek. Thank the Lord I'm married, 'cause after this, well...(thanks, Shel!) Anyway, what'd I do? I made an AMV (animated music video). All by myself. Took me about 8 hours, on and off. It sucks, but it's my first try, so hopefully I'll get better. If you've ever seen an AMV, whether on this blog or anywhere else, let me tell you: They are NOT easy!! The timing's a bit off, and I couldn't figure out how to remove the subtitles, but since some of the words fit the song, I figured I wouldn't stress too much about it. The song is Broken by Scott Stapp, who used to be the lead singer for Creed, but is doing his own thing now, mainly Christian-themed stuff. And the anime featured is (what else?) Evangelion.

I think most of my readers know how much I love me some Eva, and how moving and thought-provoking (not to mention mind-bending!) it is. To me, the song really fits what the characters have gone through in the series. All of them, by the end of the show, have been utterly broken in just about every way. The things they go through are more than most anyone could handle (and most of the characters don't handle it successfully). Remember, this series is about the end of the world, and finding who you are when EVERYTHING is gone. It's really quite incredible.

I remember the first time I finished the series and End of Evangelion (the ending movie), I was depressed for a week. I've never had any form of "entertainment" (or anything else, for that matter), affect me like that. It was interesting, because the next time I watched the whole thing, I had a completely different take on it. There is a message of hope buried in there, and after you invest some time into the motives behind the anime, it really starts to shine through.

Somehow, I was able to finish it without using any footage from End Of Evangelion, but don't worry, that'll come in another one later. Anyway, give a listen, let me know what you think. I am a big fat dork.



I figure I MIGHT have four readers that will give hoot about this (Joey for the video, Jodie for the song, Doc, 'cause well, he's Doc, and MissSpeech, 'cause she has to!), but it's MY blog, dang-it! And I worked hard on this, so PBBBBBTTTTT!!! Anyhoo, the next one will probably be Last Exile, but I'm not sure yet. Hope you enjoy it!

EDIT: Added a little bit more info above as to why I chose this song and anime.

Oh, and if you have the time (26 30-minute episodes, 2-hour movie, and countless hours of interweb reading), and you think you've got the mental and emotional fortitude, I HIGHLY recommend experiencing this series. You can borrow my copy if you need to (I know where you live!)

First Iron Man Suit Revealed!!!

Oh man, oh man, oh man! Looks like they're actually doing the movie right! The first image of Tony Stark's first Iron suit (also known as the "Grey Suit") has surfaced on teh interweb tubes. In case you're unaware, this first suit is the one he builds while being a prisoner. It goes through several iterations before becoming the super streamlined version he wears now. Anyway, feast your face on this:



And remember, Robert Downie Jr. is being cast as Tony Stark. How perfect is that?

For a little more info on the suits, here's the original grey suit:



And the modern version:

OH NOES!!! It'S teh gloBal waRmingS!

As of this posting, the Waco area has about 2-3 inches of global warming accumulated. It's been freakin' SNOWING since about 1:00pm, and hard! Here's some pics from earlier:







Al Gore's a smacktard.

Victory For Texas Citizens!

The Castle Doctrine comes to Texas!

From El Capitain Perry, no less:

DALLAS (Reuters) - Criminals in Texas beware: if you threaten someone in their car or office, the citizens of this state where guns are ubiquitous have the right to shoot you dead.

Governor Rick Perry's office said on Tuesday that he had signed a new law that expands Texans' existing right to use deadly force to defend themselves "without retreat" in their homes, cars and workplaces.

Essentially what this means is, if you shoot someone in self defense, you cannot be prosecuted criminally OR in civil court.

Here's the rules:

The reasonable use of lethal force will be allowed if an intruder is:

- Committing certain violent crimes, such as murder or sexual assault, or is attempting to commit such crimes
- Unlawfully trying to enter a protected place

- Unlawfully trying to remove a person from a protected place.

The law also provides civil immunity for a person who lawfully slays an intruder or attacker in such situations.

And I love this little quote from Reuters:

A conservative political outlook and widespread fondness for hunting also means Texans are a well-armed people capable of defending themselves with deadly force.

You can almost hear the shock and outrage at this offense to their liberal sensibilities. To paraphrase:

"Your ability to defend yourself angers and confuses me! I will now retreat to my corner and await the police!"

The Saddest Story You Will Ever Read

I'm not kidding. Makes me wish I had a daughter so I could give her a hug. The amount of anger I'm feeling right now is almost overwhelming. I'll post some excerpts, but you need to read the whole thing. But be prepared: It will disturb you.

Later that night, McGonnell told police, he heard someone struggling to breathe and found Rebecca gurgling as if something was stuck in her throat. McGonnell told police he wiped vomit from his niece's face, then kicked in the door to her parents' room and yelled at the Rileys to take Rebecca to the emergency room.

Instead, Carolyn Riley said, she gave her daughter a half-tablet of Clonidine."

Rebecca died of a combination of Clonidine, a blood pressure medication Rebecca had been prescribed for ADHD; Depakote, an antiseizure and mood-stabilizing drug prescribed for the little girl's bipolar disorder; a cough suppressant; and an antihistamine. The amount of Clonidine alone in Rebecca's system was enough to be fatal, the medical examiner said.

SHE WAS FARKING 4 YEARS OLD!!! How could she possibly be diagnosed with ADHD and bipolar disorder?! The doctor in this case needs to die in a fire along with parents. The only "justice" out of all of this is that they will hopefully spend some time in prison, being introduced to a whole new world of pain and fear. Daily. Repeatedly. See, even the most hardened criminals have a special disdain for "people" who hurt kids. Sorry, my rage is getting the better of me. I'll be back later...

You can go here to read comments on this story from some seriously pissed off people.

Look, Ma! No Impact!

Or at least, I have no brain! It'll make sense in a minute. Here's why:

The Year Without Toilet Paper:

Welcome to Walden Pond, Fifth Avenue style. Isabella’s parents, Colin Beavan, 43, a writer of historical nonfiction, and Michelle Conlin, 39, a senior writer at Business Week, are four months into a yearlong lifestyle experiment they call No Impact. Its rules are evolving, as Mr. Beavan will tell you, but to date include eating only food (organically) grown within a 250-mile radius of Manhattan; (mostly) no shopping for anything except said food; producing no trash (except compost, see above); using no paper; and, most intriguingly, using no carbon-fueled transportation.

So, I'm curious: has this family decided to stop breating altogether for the next year? Or do thier carbon dioxide exhalations not count because their environmentalists? Do they not flatulate any more, like Al Gore? Clearly, his flatulance is odor and methane-free, so perhaps this family's is as well. Methinks thier carbon footprint is larger than they'd like to believe. Eh, who cares? I really only bring this up as a chance to post this:



Been waiting for that.

Homeowners Association Steps In It Big Time

Antioch, TENN:

Some people in a Nashville neighborhood are furious over a new rule that makes it illegal to own a gun.

Residents in Nashboro Village said it's unconstitutional and leaves them defenseless.

Two weeks ago, residents received a letter from their homeowners' association indicating that guns are not allowed on the property.

To start, HOA's are the devil. Plain and simple.

The quesiton is this: Is it actually legal for a HOA to take away your Constitutional rights?

There have been other HOA's that have refused to let people fly American flags from thier property, tie yellow ribbons on trees in support of our troops, and other instances. Is that legal? Imagine if an HOA tried to deny a black or hispanic family from living in the neighborhood. There's no way that would fly, and rightly so. But how can an HOA preempt your Constitutional rights?

Oh, and listen to the "logic" behind this:

"the gun rule is meant to keep criminals out of Nashboro Village"

What? If I'm going to break into a house, guess where I'm going first? The neighborhood I KNOW is unarmed. What are the residents going to do? Use harsh language?

In all fairness, the HOA says they are looking to change the rule to allow people to keep thier guns, but it will still be illegal to fire them. So now, you can possess a gun, but you can't use it to defend yourself, or the HOA will pitch a fit I guess.

I hate gun-grabbers.

Are You Experienced?

Are you a man? Do you know your stuff? Are you sure? Find out! Every man should take this test. Are you a well-rounded MAN? See how you measure up! The first time I took it, I got an 84. Took it again and got a 92. Then a 98. Soon, I will be a 100% man (the cuts of beef are kicking my butt). Let's see how you do!

Old Spice Experience

Oh, you'll need speakers or headphones for a few of the questions. Also, if you get a question right, you can click on the "More" link on the bottom right corner and it'll explain why the answer is right.

Good luck!

UPDATE! HA! 100%! I am a MAN! Ahoy!



NOTE: It took me 8 tries to get this far. I am ashamed.

Worst. Baby. Name. EVAR!!!!1one

Urhines Kendall Icy Eight Special K

You know...I don't even know what to say.

Oh, and "Urhines" is apparently pronounced "Your Highness". Yep.

Discuss.

I'm...So Very Sad...

Many of you don't give a fart in a windstorm about comics. Fine. Well, here's some news we should ALL care about.



Captain America is dead.





Rest in peace, Steve.

Appleseed 2 Trailer Released!

Man, I am full of animation updates today. There's been a teaser released for Appleseed 2, directed by none other than John Woo (you can tell be the doves in the church, and the two-handed pistols. Classic Woo). Anyway, the first Appleseed was an incredibly slick, gorgeously animated movie, though a little confusing. I'm very stoked for this, and hopefully it'll get released stateside. Give it a whirl!

Geico's Cavemen Get A SitCom!

Yessir, ABC is developing a sitcom based around the metrosexual cavemen from the Geico insurance ads. Personally, I think they're just about the funniest ads on TV right now (Dude, give us a minute!), so I am actually looking forward to this. From Variety:

"Cavemen" will revolve around three pre-historic men who must battle prejudice as they attempt to live as normal thirtysomethings in modern Atlanta.