When I was a young kid, about 7 or so I think, my parents gave me two VHS tapes of the 90's X-Men: The Animated Series as a gift. These tapes were titled Creators' Choice, volumes 1 and 2. These were the tapes including these round table discussions at the beginning, in case any of you old timers remember that:
These volumes contained the first four episodes of the series. Volume 1 was Night of the Sentinels part 1 and 2, and volume 2 was Enter Magneto and Deadly Reunions. These two t
This entry will a bit more personal than the last few. Today I'd like to talk about how American society judges our worth and value as human beings. By and large, I feel like American society defines our worth as people by our ability to do a job and get paid for it. Financial independence is paramount in this culture, and we are often judged by whether or not we have it. Throughout my life, I've often felt like people in my culture believe that achieving financial independence is the single
This is a bit late, but I'm bored, so whatever.
So, I don't know how true Tangled stayed to original fairy tale, but I've never been familiar with Rapunzel at all. The only thing I've ever known is that she has long hair and lives in a tower and people climb up and down her hair. I never knew who she was or why she was in the tower or anything.
I first saw Tangled last August on TV. It was actually in a hotel room. I was scrolling around, and there it was, so I watched. Now, when I tur
I have been avoiding all movie spoilers with a meticulous level of dedication. As soon as the first teaser was released, I began avoiding most pony content. I stayed away from the forums for the most part, and I avoided watching anything pony related on youtube except for older things. I was determined to be completely surprised. I didn't want to know anything about the movie. Absolutely nothing. I wanted to walk into the theater completely blind and just be totally surprised. But earlier
Long, thick, full eyelashes are so universally understood as being a feminine feature. When animators want to differentiate two otherwise identical cartoon characters, they add lashes to the female. If you see two identical characters, one with long lashes, and one without, there's no question which one is female. But why? Men don't have eyelashes now? In point of fact, many men have long, thick, full eyelashes. Me, for example. My hairdresser, who is female, is envious of my lashes and often co
This is just so awesome I had to share it.
If you've ever been proud of a minecraft build you did, just watch this and then you'll know how crappy your stuff really is. That's how I always feel.
Today's blog will be a little different. No philosophy, no show reviews. Instead, a cautionary tale from my past, and a little helpful advice for a healthier life.
So, I don’t know if any of you are familiar with Instant Breakfast. It’s been “Carnation Breakfast Essentials” for some years now, but it will always be Instant Breakfast to me. It’s a powered chocolate milk nutritional drink/meal replacement. I started drinking it as a little kid because I was such a picky eater that it was
Today I'd like to talk about transgender issues. I want to try to unravel and dispel as much misinformation as possible because I see so much confusion and frustration surrounding this issue. I also want to try to bridge some gaps and find some common ground between liberals and conservatives because there is a lot of hostility around this subject. My goal is to try to have an honest discussion, get at the facts, and provide my opinions and perspective, all while remaining compassionate and s
I think that we need to outgrow the concept of tradition. I believe it can be a dangerous mindset. Our species seems to have a very natural tendency towards sentimentality, and attaching great importance to tradition, and while this is often benign, it is just as often not. Traditions often prevent progress and new and better ideas. For example, many seemingly decent people clung to the institution of slavery because it was tradition, and it was just what was always done. Another example is
I'm sure no one will ever read this, but I'll feel better if I say it.
Earlier today, I walked down to a small shopping center near my house to visit a used book store. In the parking lot, there was a fairly pleasant, average looking young man, close to my age (he looked about mid-20s). He was just milling about. From a fair distance off, he called "Hello" to me. I gave a slight nod, which he may not have even noticed. He then said, "How are you?" Being the shy, cold, mistrustful misanthrop
This one isn't any sort of public service essay--just a personal vent. I've referenced Game of Thrones enough times on this forum that anyone who follows me probably knows that I watch that show. I mean... who doesn't? That would be like saying, "I enjoy pizza." Like... duh. Did we really need to be told that? So, I watched the finale, and I never planned on writing anything about the show in my blog, but now I feel I must, but probably not for the reason you might think. Suffice it to sa
Trump recently attended some type of voter summit where he belted out to a crowd of adoring fans about how he would restore Christian values to a nation that had lost its religious roots. Allowing companies to deny women birth control on the basis of religion was just the beginning. Every day that I wake up, it's some new unspeakable horror. Most days, I wish I didn't wake up.
Yes, this blog entry will be provocative and probably offensive to some, if you haven't figured that out. I can
In my last piece, I argued that immortality wouldn't be the blessing that it's cracked up to be, but rather a curse. Today, I tackle the opposite side of the same coin: suicide.
My thoughts about suicide are quite simple. I have always believed very firmly in complete bodily autonomy. I believe that your body is the only thing you can ever truly own in the purest sense. No one can tell you what you can and can't do with your own body as long as you're not infringing on the rights of oth
I am a big proponent of honesty. I believe that honesty is the bedrock foundation for all relationships--the "master virtue", if you will. In fact, I believe that healthy personal relationships cannot exist if dishonesty is involved. I am even opposed to so called "white lies", and believe that they are corrosive to personal relationships in subtle ways. This doesn't mean that I think people should openly broadcast every thought they have to everyone, á la The Invention of Lying. It's perfe
I'd like to talk briefly about the idea of sexual virginity. I believe that the very concept of "virginity" is one that we could do without. I believe virginity to be a flawed idea that does more harm than good.
What words and images crop up in your mind when you hear the word "virginity"? What sort of ideas do your hear associated with virginity? Virginity has long been portrayed as a sacred, precious thing, a thing of great value that must be cherished, and that somehow diminishes the
Of the four basic literary comparative devices, the only one that most people are familiar with is the "metaphor"--the figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance. We all know what metaphors are. We typically use them on a daily basis. Many people may also be familiar with the term "simile"--a figure of speech in which two unlike things are explicitly compared. Similes tend to use the words "like
So, it's a funny thing--I've been a huge Pony fan for years now, and the franchise is extremely important to me, and yet, I find myself dreading most new episodes, as well as the movie. I just...tend to expect the worst these days, and I'm not entirely sure why. The show has proven that it still has the right stuff, but I guess it has been rockier the past couple of seasons, with more ups and downs. A casual observer would think I'm nuts, and ask why the hell I stick around if I dread new epi
Disclaimer: moderate spoilers. Spoilers will be fairly vague without names or specific details and won't ruin the show, but if you're interested in Disney's The Lion Guard and want a completely spoiler-free experience, then watch it before proceeding.
One of my complaints about Friendship is Magic was their refusal to touch the beginning or end of life. I always thought it was kinda weak and lame that they were forbidden to actually have a character die for real (as opposed to ambiguously
I recently read a news article that an American city, which shall remain nameless, just passed a bill to enshrine all of its police and fire vehicles with the phrase "In God We Trust". This is absolutely appalling. Moreover, as I have argued previously in this blog, this sort of encroachment of religion into state should be appalling to all religious people as well.
Religion has no place in state or government affairs. God has no place on our currency, or on the sides of law-enforcement
During the 56th episode of his Making Sense podcast, entitled "Abusing Dolores", my favorite thinker and philosopher, Sam Harris, explained that it would be monstrously evil to create conscious, artificially intelligent machines that are capable of suffering. To do so would be a highly unethical crime, and would create suffering where there was none before. I completely agree, but I believe this begs a follow-up question--perhaps the most important question ever asked: if it's unethical to cre
For anyone who knows me, it's no secret that I despise much about this world, and spend a lot of time wishing I could live somewhere else. We've all been there to one extent or another. Who among us hasn't wished she/he could live in Equestria? Quite frankly, I often feel like I don't belong in this sh*thole. Most days, I would describe myself as a nihilistic misanthrope. The thing is, I see a lot of potential in this world, and in our species, but 99% of it has gone unrealized. I've often
If, when, and only if it becomes exceedingly unnecessary to properly undermine the extensive and uninhabitable eccentricities, which, under normal circumstances would defeat the purpose of such extraneous matters, that are heavily scrutinized and routinely serviced on a regular basis with or without authorized clearance en route to various and/or particular paranormal anomalies, one must immediately compromise or police the accurate and precise microcosms in order to effectively prevent he outbr
This is a sister entry to the previous blog about The Lion Guard. It is recommended to read that one first before proceeding.
In my previous entry I gushed about Disney's The Lion Guard, and how they included a brilliant, sensitive, emotional, and lovingly crafted death scene. That scene got me thinking more about something I've thought about occasionally for a long time, and that's the strange beauty of sadness.
There are definitely a few emotions that I could do without. Anger, fr
I made an incredible realization about my own mind while playing God of War III. In fact, it's so strange that I'm actually having trouble believing it.
There are several mini-games in God of War III that involve flying up and down the Chain of Balance, dodging obstacles and debris.
Here is one such scene. In this scene, you use your Icarus wings to fly up the chain. Just watch long enough to get the basic idea.
Now, during this scene, I find that I must have the y movement
Abortion is a topic that I do not enjoy writing or thinking about. It's something I prefer to avoid, because this debate always seems to end up unpleasant for all involved. Yet, it is vitally important, so I will give my opinion and try my best to say something useful.
I touched on abortion in The Ethics of Life, which I definitely recommend reading as a prerequisite to this, but I feel the topic warrants an entry all its own. Incidentally, I apologize if I repeat things that I already s
