Megas

Non-Compete Clause really sucks. No bad episode has aired since.

The most awesome chef in Ponyville!

I'll always love McDonald's. Yeah, it is probably the spawn of several satans, but I still enjoy it.

This Dashie cover photo is so awesome. Where did you find it?!

Oh and 

Lettuce Guacamole Bacon Tomato  

Remember that time The Undertaker fought Sailor Moon cosplayers?

She is getting sued.  Hasbro please don't sue Vana.

Playing it more, I am convinced that Final Fantasy IX has the best soundtrack in the series. Minus maybe one track, I have liked all of them so far.

In a few weeks (March 7), the first episode of the first season of Digimon: Digital Monsters will turn twenty years old. The English dub began airing in August that same year.

Rainbow Dash: What's up, dude? Wanna go the gym with me after school?

Me: Uh... s-sure, okay.  (Don't get nervous, Avery...)

After Smash and Kingdom Hearts crushing it, crossovers as bad as Jump Force is absolutely inexcusable 

Me while playing Yoshi's Crafted World

No Pixar for now.

*plays Zootopia*

C U L8er.

The new Avatar movie is shaping up pretty well 

Anyone here a fellow Avatar: The Last Airbender fan? 

So after twelve Pixar films, it’s time for me to list them in order from best to worst with their grades.

1. Wall-E: A+
2. Up: A+
3. The Incredibles: A+
4. Toy Story 3: A+
5. Coco: A+
6. Toy Story 2: A+
7. Toy Story: A
8. Incredibles 2: A
9. Cars: A-
10. Cars 3: B+
11. A Bug’s Life: B-/B
12. Cars 2: D+

I may consider rewatching A Bug’s Life just to make sure it’s in the right place.

So, eight to go. I’m considering watching Finding Nemo and then Dory next, but there are also Brave, Inside Out, Ratatouille, and The Good Dinosaur (the standalones), too. Monsters, Inc. and University, as well. I don’t know what to see next.

Syndrome's the personification of fan behavior gone bad. Whiny and entitled. But is he a stereotype? Not even close. His behavior doesn't come this "just because" nor is it one-tracked or a makeup of very single Super fan. As selfish as he was, he cared about doing good, but only became bad after he felt Mr. Incredible wronged him. Heck, Mr. Incredible admitted to this mistake and apologized, only for Syndrome to reject it under the guise of it being false. For a kid like him, that type of embarrassment can impact him for the future, and that's exactly what happened.

More Incredibles 2 spoilers:

"Incrediboy" barging in an ongoing bank robbery = *ultimate facepalm*

Completed Cars 3 before I went to sleep. Two movies ago, Lightning McQueen was the hot shot rookie, got lost in his way, and then learned lessons from Doc Hudson. No, he didn’t win the Piston Cup, but came out with more.

Unlike Cars 2, Mater was in the background for most. Granted, as a main character, he and the confusing story suffered, but when used sparingly and correctly, he’s effective. Look no further than Lightning calling him for advice. Despite their differences in Cars 2, Lightning values him as a very dear friend, and Mater, love him or not, is always there to help, and his advice was critical.

Like Cars 2, the humor didn’t always land. There were plenty of jokes, but the movie with the best comedy was Cars 1, in part because he earned the comeuppances. But here, despite a lot of humor at his expense, he was trying to adjust and succeed, so instead of laughing, I find myself feeling a bit sorry for him. Some of the better jokes were his “life’s a beach” pun and humiliating himself with Cruz’s training exercise after his tirade caused her to resign as his trainer. The comedy in Act 3 was also solid.

Another question mark is Cruz’s backstory, confined to exposition. In the beginning, she acted as a very vigorous trainer, but that’s a semi façade for the humiliation she endured as a kid. What would perhaps impact her plight more is if we see her childhood experiences, whether through flashbacks, memorabilia, or something that we can see rather than just hear.

The first half is serviceable, but when the second half of Act 2 began, everything came together, and that’s where it took a huge turn for the better. Cruz Ramirez’s self-confidence, at an all-time low, starts to change for the better. Believing she wasn’t able to race, she regains the confidence to not only race, but be one of the fastest and best, too. That moonlight race in the forest was one of the best scenes in all of Pixar, in part for setting up two things:

1. Cruz Ramirez belonged. Learned the old-school lessons while also applying new-age ones. She wasn’t only using techniques from Smokey and the great Doc Hudson, but Lightning McQueen, too.
2. The next scene was one of the more devastating in all of Pixar. Despite all of the training, confidence, and belief he was ready to race…Cruz was still faster. He still lost to a faster, newer, younger car. This moment completely slapped him in the muffler. With all the stakes, either win or retire, he realized all the experts were right. As a full-time racer, he was done, and very likely will retire after the Florida 500.

But this scene also eventually gave him that break he sorely needed. He got close to Jackson Storm, but understood he didn’t have the speed or stamina to keep up. As a result, if there was someone who could potentially carry on his legacy while also helping someone create their own, it was her. Inadvertently, he helped reestablish her as a racer, and the Florida 500 was her best chance to upset Storm.

Think about Cruz Ramirez and tie it to NASCAR and the Cars franchise altogether. Cars is mostly popular with young boys. Cruz Ramirez was an attempt to tap into not only the female demographic, but people of color, too. When women, African-Americans, or other people of color race, it’s a huge story, and for good reason. NASCAR has a very difficult time integrating both gender and race. Where is NASCAR the most popular? The South, home of the Confederacy, and a large chunk of the NASCAR fan base and crews is very proud of it. NASCAR CEO Brian France endorsed Trump in 2016, and Trump praised NASCAR and its fans for standing before the Anthem, a false form of patriotism.

Cars like Jackson Storm and Sterling acted like the guard protecting the “integrity” of Piston Cup Racing, Storm by playing mind games with Cruz, Sterling for labeling her as a trainer only. The status of racing being male, conservative, and white only, ala NASCAR’s reputation.

When Lightning overheard Sterling belittle Cruz, he saw a bit of Sterling in him, in how he admonished her for not being a racer in the trailer. After she resigned, he realized how wrong he was, cemented further in Florida. By coaching Cruz during her first laps, he adapts Doc’s legacy and passes it on to her. Her somersault, one of Doc’s classic tricks, completes her earned triumph, the best climax of the Cars series, and establishes her as a top racer immediately.

Cars 3’s first half was decent, but its second half is classic Pixar. I don’t know if it eclipses Cars, but on its own merits, it’s a solid welcome in the Pixar canon and an excellent tribute to the legacy of Doc Hudson that not only did he create, but was passed forward to future generations.

Just something silly that popped into my head:

Just got breakfast at Dunkin Donuts...talk about a sad and disappointing experience. Hash browns were burnt, my Big n' Tosted sandwich was just a sad sack and so flavorless, and they ran out of plain bagels. How do you run out of that at 10:30 in the morning? Shouldn't that be the bagel that you have the most of, considering that you have bagel sandwiches? I asked for a refund for the bagel and they said they don't do refunds. Really? I don't believe that for a second, but they offered me two donuts to make up for it. McDonald's has a much better breakfast than DD. The only thing they have going for them is the donuts. Talk about wack.

Yo pones. I bought a PS TV last night. It is basically a small unit that acts as a PS Vita that hooks up to your television. Got it for $25. :3 Pretty cool unit, it can play quite a few games from the Vita, PS1 and PSP. Bought Final Fantasy 7 for it. I will finish FF7 this time! My gaming honor depends on it!

Well okay then, this episode could have been ended up a lot different

Does anyone else have to be up early for their work? (Around 6:00am or so?)