FF ramblings

[ria_oaks]

I happened to check Rpgamer.com a few minutes ago and noticed that FFIII:DS comes out today (I haven't really been keeping track...). I'm probably just being too over-emotional, but this day feels rather historic in the RPG world - the last Final Fantasy that wasn't released in the US is finally here. I checked, and it's been approximately 16.5 years since FFIII was released in Japan - well, better late than never, I guess. XD I mean sure, I played it years ago on a translated ROM and I won't be buying this version anytime soon (lack of a DS... and lack of time to play. woe.), but it's still cool to think that it's here. It's sort of a pity that the original version of the game will never make it here, most likely (how hard would it have been to include the orignal version in the new game, really...?), but the new version looks pretty spiffy. Hopefully I'll get to play it someday.

3 FF games in the past 2 weeks, 2 of which are new to the US (FFXII and FFIII:DS) and one of which only ever made it here in a mangled fashion (FFV Advance) - makes me miss the days when I could play all the time... I haven't really been into gaming as much the last few years, largely because of a. lack of time during school, b. other interests take up my free time, and c. i'm lazy., but I still get excited hearing about games and still want to play when I get the chance. I'm way behind on all the games I'm playing, but I still plan to ask for either FFXII or Disgaea 2 for Christmas (leaning towards the latter - FFXII will be easy enough to find for years to come, and it'll get cheap fairly quickly, whereas Disgaea 2 will start disappearing soon...). I am sorely tempted by FFXII, though - it's been getting fantastic reviews, and hell, it's FFXII! We've been waiting for this game for years, and it's finally here... and I really can't justify the time or money to get it. Part of me, too, is still a bit uncertain about it - but most of the reviews have said that the game is nothing like (and much better than) anything we've seen of it to this point, including the demo. I plan to give it a chance eventually, but can't do it yet.

And... I'm procrastinating. Back to my Farscape paper... it's due tomorrow at 9, so I need to get moving. Up to 5 pages, need about 12 - and I'm still blathering on about the context, haven't even gotten to analysing the series itself! Ehehehe. baaack to work.

Comments

[bk635.livejournal.com]

I may as well carry this over, since I was going to reply to it anyway.

"After re-watching the ep tonight, I'm still not sure about that... at first it seemed like an accident/trap, but later Bobby commented about how they went in half-cocked and got fucked over (or something to that effect, lol), which seems to indicate that they knew. Huh. For the sake of my sanity, I'm going to assume that they didn't..."

It really didn't seem like it. They went in with this tiny little vial of holy water; if they knew it was a demon roadhouse they would've gone in strapped to the teeth in weapons. It seemed like they (the husband) were just planning on following Envy into the bathroom and quietly exorcising him there.

"There's been a lot of drama over the gender and race issue in this fandom, from what I've seen... some pretty legitimate complaints, too (what's up with the fact that almost all the women in the show are victims who have to be heroically saved by our boys? And always really sexy victims, at that?). I know a lot of people are just worried about how the new characters will affect the boys, but sometimes there seems to be an awful lot of "eww, girls!" attitudes re: the Ruby and Bela. Considering that most of the complainers are girls, it's rather... troubling. -_-"

"Yeah, hard to say bout the D.E.M. thing. She did take them by surprise and she had a nifty demon-killing knife, but it just seemed a bit too easy. Intriguing though, I guess. Though am I the only one that was kinda bothered by Dean's "a giiirl can fight better than you, Sam!" comment? I know it was a joke, but it hints at something pretty deep-seated and disturbing I think. Yet, didn't he say something back in s2, re: Jo, about how he knows girls can fight as well as guys and it's just that she has no training, not that she's a girl? Seems to go against what he said last ep. Kinda annoyed me, but maybe I'm just thinking too hard... and all the gender wank isn't helping. Still, he didn't need to sound so damned surprised."

I see a lot of this stuff on the Women's Network, where the female protagonist usually has it all together and everything, but by the end of the movie she's almost always held hostage or in some kind of trouble, and she almost always gets bailed-out by the male protagonist. It's definitely something not exclusive to Supernatural.

With the new female characters on the show, I'd imagine that there's going to be a lot of back-and-forth going on, in regards to who saves whom. I get the impression that these new characters are a response by Kripke to the fans who have those complaints (but then again, Kripke says he's been planning this particular season from the start).

As for the comment by Dean, meh. As wrong as it may be, that's one of the ways young boys tease each other. Seriously. So it might just be a sign of immaturity on Dean's part (I mean, in the very first episode he called Sam a bitch). I'm not so sure that the writers are using Dean as an oulet for their misogynistic views to trickle out.

I dunno. I usually take everything with a grain of salt (especially TV shows), and think that some people just like to nitpick at certain issues just for the sake of nitpicking itself; that they have nothing better to do. I agree there's an issue, but if they like to spend their time complaining about the show, they aren't really doing anything to solve the overall problem at hand; one day Supernatural is going to end (;_;) but the issue will still persist.

"Dean did seem kinda... off. I don't know. I suppose he's just coping with this the way he knows best - making jokes and pretending it doesn't matter. The fact that Sam's alive and will continue to be so long as he keeps his end of the bargain is probably contributing to it; as he basically said, he doesn't care if he dies so long as Sam's alive. Same old death wish issue as last year, I kinda wish they'd go somewhere new with it because it seems to be retreading some of the same ground as last year."

Continued..

[bk635.livejournal.com]

I don't remember the death wish issue.. Season 3 will have some good things, I hope. We have Evil Sam, Dean's one year to life, Tamara and Bobby, Ruby and her dagger, Dean's necklace (hmm. Yeah it's going to save his life..), the Trickster (hopefully), and the demon war thing. Hopefully Ellen makes an appearance, since I really liked her.

And yeah, I really want this year to be Sam's.

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

It really didn't seem like it. They went in with this tiny little vial of holy water; if they knew it was a demon roadhouse they would've gone in strapped to the teeth in weapons. It seemed like they (the husband) were just planning on following Envy into the bathroom and quietly exorcising him there.

Yeah, maybe you're right... I dunno, I'm just going to assume that they didn't know to prevent me wanting to bang my head against the wall. XD And you're right, it doesn't make sense that they'd just walk in so unprepared.

see a lot of this stuff on the Women's Network, where the female protagonist usually has it all together and everything, but by the end of the movie she's almost always held hostage or in some kind of trouble, and she almost always gets bailed-out by the male protagonist. It's definitely something not exclusive to Supernatural.

True enough. *sigh* It always seems to happen, yet the men usually save themselves. And the women. -_- It's definitely not exclusive to SPN, no, but it's still a problem on the show. Hopefully they're working towards correcting that by introducing Ruby and Bela.

With the new female characters on the show, I'd imagine that there's going to be a lot of back-and-forth going on, in regards to who saves whom. I get the impression that these new characters are a response by Kripke to the fans who have those complaints (but then again, Kripke says he's been planning this particular season from the start).

Yeah, ditto. Course, it's funny (annoying) how many fans are now whining that they don't want any girls on the show (generally speaking I think these are different people from those complaining about the gender issues, but...) I think Bela will be an interesting addition, anyway. Ultimately it depends on how Kripke handles them - he's proven before he can introduce at least some new characters effectively, and that the boys aren't the only interesting characters, so...

As for the comment by Dean, meh. As wrong as it may be, that's one of the ways young boys tease each other. Seriously. So it might just be a sign of immaturity on Dean's part (I mean, in the very first episode he called Sam a bitch). I'm not so sure that the writers are using Dean as an oulet for their misogynistic views to trickle out.

I know they do, but ultimately the blame for that lies on how they're raised in our society. They're taught that girl=weak, and therefore calling another guy a girl (or a fag) is the worst insult. It goes hand in hand with the whole "guys can't be emotional" thing, etc etc. Funny considering that most of us girls like a man who's in touch with his so-called "feminine" side. XD Anyway, I don't really think that they were purposely making Dean misogynistic or anything, and I know it was just a joke. But underneath that, it does indicate some fairly disturbing things about our society... it's not about the writers' own feelings or even Dean's, it's just indicative of a larger problem. I don't mind those kinds of jokes to some extent, but sometimes they just grate. And that comment, to me, was less of a crack at Sam being weak and more of a crack at girls being bad fighters. I dunno, maybe I'm looking into it too much, but it kinda irked me... *sigh* I don't think Dean actually thinks that, but...

(continued below, stupid LJ)

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

I dunno. I usually take everything with a grain of salt (especially TV shows), and think that some people just like to nitpick at certain issues just for the sake of nitpicking itself; that they have nothing better to do. I agree there's an issue, but if they like to spend their time complaining about the show, they aren't really doing anything to solve the overall problem at hand; one day Supernatural is going to end (;_;) but the issue will still persist.


Oh, it's true enough that some people can't just enjoy a show and spend all their time complaining, but otoh I don't see anything wrong with enjoying a show while still being critical of certain aspects. I love SPN to bits, but I still acknowledge that it's not perfect and there are areas of improvement. Sometimes I think I'm most critical of the shows I love because I know they can be better. Shows I hate I just kinda rant about briefly then shrug and move on. Anyway though, I also think that dealing with these types of issues on TV is often important, and that TV shouldn't be pure escapism. Not to say it can't be, or that TV should be some kind of soap box, but I think truly good TV is entertaining while still dealing with the issues we face in everyday life - including issues of race and gender. Look at Buffy - entertaining and fun show, but it was also very much done to challenge stereotypes of women and 'make the blond victim in the vampire movie the hero'. Who knows if TV can actually make a difference, but I think it's worth trying, and I certainly don't think it should be making things worse. (and hell, TV can indirectly make a difference - look at the Serenity Equality Now screenings! $113,000 raised this year for charity, all because of a TV show. Yes, we rock. XD XD)

None of which is to say that I think SPN is all that bad when it comes to gender/race issues. I think it could be better and it's problematic at times, but it's still a heck of a great and fun show. But what can I say, I find enjoyment in getting meta about television. :)

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

Wah, I just finished reading HP7 for the last time and I cried again. A lot. You need to read these books someday. XD And lucky lucky you, you'll get to read them all in order with no waits... 2 years between each of the last 3 books, ya'll, it was harsh. I got my supervisor hooked on them over the summer and she loved getting to read them one after the other so quickly. Anyway though, someday I will lend them to you cause they're worth a read. :) They're somewhat similar to HDM in that they're fantasy stories set in worlds both similar to and different from ours, and that appeal to both asdults and youth, though they're also quite different.

Yes, I'm just trying to think of shit to take up space. XD Might even make a post about it, but figured that if I did and you wanted to reply, then you could just reply to this comment. XD XD

[bk635.livejournal.com]

I have .pdfs of all the books, so I might read them when I have the time (December?). Though I'd imagine getting them from the library or from you because it'll probably be a pain in the ass to read them on a monitor.

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

*iz bored* New topic of conversation - how's school going? Haven't heard much bout it. You got midterms around now? Wow the school year goes fast... the UBC exam schedule went up about a week ago. o.o

Did I tell you? My advisor and I messed with my program and now I only have to take ONE more course to graduate. Sweeet. There's some boring course about Canadian society on Tuesday mornings, so I might take that - would only have to go out there once a week, then. Though am also tempted by Gender Studies, which is Tues/Thurs at 2. It needs to be a Soci course, in any event. It's gonna be nice to get it over with... yay! Course, then I need to, you know, work. -_-

[bk635.livejournal.com]

Just got my organic chemistry midterm back yesterday. Got an 80 on it, so I'm happy. Would have liked it to be higher, but considering the class average was 64%, I'm not complaining. *feels superior*

Have a cell biology lab midterm tomorrow. Yaay. I don't know how to study for it.

Wonder how many years it'll take me to get a Ba.S. I'll be able to start, like, working then.

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

ZOMG I just saw that we're on page 5! Go us! XD

Anyway, re: the above discussion about gender in the media... just watched ep13 of Friday Night Lights, and damn but there is a show with some seriously awesome women. They're all so strong in different but subtle ways - they have a more silent strength than the "beat em up!" mentality of some shows/movies where women can only be strong by having physical strength. Especially Tami Taylor, the wife of the main character, who is just utterly amazing and strong and beautiful. I think I'm in love with her. ;_;

Anyway. Amazing show. :) One of the most underappreciated and underwatched shows on TV right now, but hey, least it got renewed for this second season! :)

Okay, bed now... *cough*

[bk635.livejournal.com]

Eureka has a woman like that (and she's black). Fucking SPACE pre-empted the show last Monday due to Thanksgiving. I was looking forward to it. :|

They need to move Friday Night Lights from the Friday timeslot its in (right?) so it gets more exposure and, you know, doesn't die.

[bk635.livejournal.com]

Ridiculous. Prison Break is going to be pre-empted this Monday for fucking baseball.

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

Blah. Forgot that it was baseball season... House is off, too. Meh. I'm finding it hard to even be that upset, sadly... *sigh* Fortunately I think that they're the only two Fox shows I watch.

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

Aaand, I've got to go to TKD... woo! Will be back later to continue. ;) SPN soon! *goes to set up tapes for 8 o'clock*

[bk635.livejournal.com]

Huh.. I forgot you had TKD.

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

Spoilers if you haven't been watching, but I assume you are... 9:30 right now, on commercial.






Zomg creepy kids. o.o Also, mini!Dean. So cute. <3 And hee on Dean teaching the kid to beat up bullies... bad Dean, that's not good advice. Heh. But amusing. And god that kid is adorable and he looks exactly like Jensen. Probably isn't actually his, but otoh Dean's slept around enough that I wouldn't be surprised to find out that he's got at least one kid somewhere in America, lol.

But that girl is creepy yo. Still, bad on her mother for trying to drown her, christ.

Enjoying this episode so far. Fairly light-hearted yet also creepy, good ol' SPN.

Commercial's over! *runs back to TV*

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

No, mini!Dean's been taken! :( Poor mini!Dean.

Frankly enjoying this episode more than last week's... last week tried to be serious and kinda failed, and this episode is a nice mixture of humour and creepiness. I dunno, it's entertaining, anyway. And mini!Dean is freaking adorable.

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

Is it just me or has TBS disappeared? Wtf?

[bk635.livejournal.com]

The local Atlanta TBS station (we never got the national TBS station, by the way) has been rebranded as Peachtree TV. It's pretty much the same thing, but with an even more annoying format than before (screen overlays and such).

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

Dum dee dum... my manager and supervisor are out of the office so we're sitting here doing fuck all. It's fun. XD Short day today as it is; I'm only here for 4 hours...

Yes, I'm just bored and lazy and am posting about nothing to up our comment count. ;) I'm actually going to have to study this weekend, god forbid, because I have a 'teller basics' exam on Tuesday. Woe. Aside from that, no plans... maybe I should come down Sunday and we could do something... I dunno. Any thoughts? I still have Children of Men sitting around to watch. :)

Woops, manager's back. Will discuss more later... should check and see if there are any interesting movies out.

[bk635.livejournal.com]

Ever wonder what it would be like to be in an RPG?









Like hell I will.

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

Dude, sure - remember that list we made in grade 11 or 12 of who each of us would be in an RPG? I unearthed it recently; I think it's in an old sketchbook in North Van. We had the hero (you), the sidekick (me), the villain who destroyed the hero's hometown (Cecilia), and a ton of others which weren't necessarily assigned to anyone but were amusing anyway. Like the dark mysterious guy and the catgirl and the stupid villainous sidekicks, etc etc. Next time you're over in N Van I'll dig it up. :)

Anyway, that said. Heh, yeah, being in and RPG, that'd be crazy... didn't we discuss the possibility of world map music everywhere at some point?

Also, LOL at the picture. XD That thing's scary as fuck.

[bk635.livejournal.com]

Placeholder for Supernatural thread.

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

Booya! 1.5 more hours. :) Ditching TKD tonight because I'm laazy and it's a miserable day outside (okay, it's better now, but it's still cold and damp) and I want to curl up on the couch under a blanket and not leave the house. So watching NBC comedy at 8, then SPN at 9. Woot. :)

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

Aaand, we hit 900! Wow, over 50 posts tonight... if we do this every Thursday we're set. My dream is to one day max out this thread...

[bk635.livejournal.com]

Hm.. It really didn't feel like over 50 posts.

[bk635.livejournal.com]

Yay, new Prison Break on Monday. I thought it was already off for good, until the baseball season is over.

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

Yeah, new ep, sweet... :) Hope it'll be good. Really looking forward to Heroes after, though - first Kristen Bell ep this Monday, and damn I'm hyped...

Exhausted today. Stayed up to 12:30 last night reeling over the bombshell JKR dropped on us (the short, non-spoilery for book 7 version is, one of the MAIN characters has been outed in an interview and a slash pairing that became popular after book 7 became semi-canon (unrequited love, anyway)). Suffice to say, fandom is going batshit. I'm avoiding most of it and staying in the places where people are happy). Anyway, then went to bed and spent 2 hours thinking about it, unable to get to sleep, until abou 2:30... was semi-comatose at work today, which was generally okay because the manager wasn't there... then home for late Thanksgiving (power went off on the day itself) slash Grandpa's 80th birthday (when the hell did they get old? Christ. Still can't quite wrap my head around the fact that they're 80 now...). Was exhausted for most of the afternoon and evening... sigh. Now sitting in my room having just finished reading an angsty fic about the above mentioned HP character and pairing and sobbing my fucking eyes out. Feels fantastic. ;) *is a glutton for punishment, clearly*

Am still tired, however... le sigh. Early night tonight. Into town tomorrow to see movie with Mom and Grandma. We should do something sometime... maybe next weekend.

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

Any thoughts so far? It's an okay ep... I'm still having trouble getting particularly excited about it, though. *sigh* The escape oughta be pretty exciting, anyway. I dunno, I'm in a shitty mood right now because my mother seems utterly incapable of being supportive of my art or even bothering to look at it, which considering that I just finished what I think is a pretty damned good picture, is just pissing me off and depressing me. So. Not too happy right now... *sigh* Sorry, am bitching. XD I've been experimenting with different techniques in Photoshop today and am getting vaguely frustrated because damn it's hard to make stuff look good. ^^ It's a combination of knowing the tools and actually knowing how to draw, and both are giving me trouble, heh.

It amuses me that on Fox inmates shower in their underwear. Lol. Not on Oz. XD XD

I think Linc's grown more hair... looks better, that's for sure. serafina commented on how he looked like a giant penis before, and I'm inclined to agree. XD

Poor Linc, though... I hope he gets LJ out. :(

Gratuitous booty shot, ftw! *snort*

Heroes next... Kristen Bell's first episode. Awesome. Forgot to tape Chuck, however, which kinda sucks. Will have to download...

/rambling

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

Damn, Alex ain't looking so good... though it does make him look strangely adttractive. ;)

[bk635.livejournal.com]

Hah, I love this video. Did I ever show it to you? Some guy rigged up his house Christmas lights to be in sync with Trans-Siberian Orchestra's "Wizards in Winter."

Here is the group performing the same song live. It's an over-stimulating light show; I'd love to go see them perform live.

Here is another one..

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

Heh, yeah, I've seen that... still pretty nifty, though. :) Must've been a heck of an undertaking.

I suspect a live performance would just give me a ripping headache. Loud music and strobe lights? No thanks. Video's nifty, though.

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

3 more hours!

*puts on "Carry on Wayward Son" in preparation*

[bk635.livejournal.com]

I don't like cheese.

[bk635.livejournal.com]

On another note, I finally saw Shawn of the Dead yesterday. That was an excellent movie.

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

Ooh, nice. I want to see that movie...

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

Is it bad that I have absolutely no desire to watch Prison Break right now? *sighs* Am in shitty mood and don't care enough to watch. Fuck. I might just tape it and watch it when I feel better... I was trying to sleep and my mom started playing the fucking piano and woke me up, and I know I shouldn't be mad but it's just adding to my bad mood. And now stupid Prison Break is on and I want to feel excited but I don't anymore. Waah. What happened to my show? :(

*sigh* Sorry. XD Will watch later and discuss, prob. Hope it's good...

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

Aaand, I just remembered that there's no new episode tonight. Yay. I was taping it, then just remembered that there isn't one. Heh. Should've taped Chuck instead, damn... would've watched it, but haven't finished last week's ep yet. Huh. Well, off to start carving stupid pumpkin for work (first one rotted so I offered to do a second one. Because I am dumb. Sigh.) then watch Heroes. Woot.

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/ustv/a78835/prison-break-producer-signs-with-fox.html

Dear god, I thought that was just a bad rumour but it's actually happening... Evidently they're going to introduce the main character sometime this season then spin off with her into the new show. Shoot me, please... even with the small handful of good spinoffs out there, I have little faith in them (remember Joey?)

[bk635.livejournal.com]

Frasier is probably the most successful spin-off, ever.

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

Wanna go to this? I want to see the movie anyway, and the BC Browncoats are gathering to go on Sunday. Since we were planning on hanging out that day, anyway... could watch Children of Men earlier then head out.

When:
Sunday, November 4, 2007, 5:00 PM 20071105T010000Z
Where:
Tinseltown Vancouver
88 West Pender 3rd Floor
Vancouver , BC V6B 6N9
604-806-0797

* Info/Map

Description:

Alan is high-larious in this film from director Frank Oz about the story of a family that puts the F U in funeral.

Chaos ensues when a man tries to expose a dark secret regarding a recently deceased patriarch of a dysfunctional British family.

http://us.imdb.com/ti...

Event Details:

Event is free but you are responsible for your own movie ticket!

The film starts at 5:30pm. For those interested in meeting before the show, we'll be gathering at 4pm at the food court.

We'll be heading to the theater at 5pm so if we miss you, look for us after the show back in the food court.

Hope to see you there!


I saw the trailer last time I went to see a movie and it looks good. Dark comedy type of thing. And gotta love Alan Tudyk (Wash, fyi), he's a great comedian. :)

[bk635.livejournal.com]

I dunno. Still thinking about it. I was kind of hoping that we'd just hang out, watch a few movies, and I'd still get to do some work in the evening. Going to Down Town would wear me out. >.>

[bk635.livejournal.com]

Oh Joss, when will you learn that FOX is not the answer?

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

*dies* Shit, I hadn't even heard about this! DUDE. I mean yeah, FOX isn't the best network for it in the world, but really, every network cancels awesome shows early. Either way, NEW JOSS SHOW ON TV HELL YEAH. And starring Eliza Dushku! And Tim Minear wants to work on it! This is fucking awesome. Plus they're already signed a 7-episode deal with FOX, so clearly they're interested enough in it to take some risk and be locked in to 7 eps instead of just a pilot.

Damn, I'm hyped now. It sounds interesting, and fuck, it's JOSS. Man's a damned genius, and I missed him on my TV. Though he is directing tomorrow night's Office, yay. ANyway, here's hoping this survives or at least gets a season. And hell, even if it's Firefly length, it'll still probably be brilliant and popular among cult fans.

[bk635.livejournal.com]

What the hell is going on in Smallville? I just tuned in, and I haven't been following it.

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

Fuck if I know, I only watched the first 2 eps this season and hated both of them.

Supernatural! *bounce*

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

Dude, we hit 1000 a few comments ago!! :)

[bk635.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I figured we hit it a while ago. That was easy.

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

So, tomorrow, whaddya think? We're coming down in the morning, then Mom and I might be going to Costco, then we can do something in the afternoon. Say ~1?

[ria-oaks.livejournal.com]

Phones suck. *pokes cell phone* How come is it that my parents get near perfect reception up here and mine sucks? Even with my new phone? :(