Dreambiscuit

Akiba Maid Wars: This is an anime series about Akihabara Café Maids at war with other café maids within the Akihabara/Electric Town section of Tokyo. I like outlandish, insane and ridiculous story ideas like this and I had a great time watching it. It had an interesting ambiguous ending which I liked but then they tossed on a post-credit scene which diluted the ending that should have been left up to the interpretation of the audience. But still, I can’t diss this show because I had so much fun watching it.

Plane (2023) Simple and effective. If you want good solid action, intensity and nothing else to burden the plot, this is for you. I liked this movie a lot. Fun for the sake of fun, nothing more, nothing less. Lift (2024) Kevin Hart stars in this heist film in which a group of professional thieves must make an impossible score to save their own necks. It’s a lot better than the usual Kevin Hart film because he’s not so over-the-top in this. The plot is decent, the action pretty good and the locations beautiful. Surprisingly solid.

Tress MacNeille, who is basically the Tara Strong of the 90s. She did all my favorite toonettes: Babs Bunny and Gadget Hackwrench to name a couple faves. Mel Blanc, the ultimate voice-over actor. I always wanted to see footage of him behind the microphone; that would be even funnier than hearing him in the cartoons. Seeing him as a regular on the Jack Benny show is so funny because Mel is such an unassuming little man and you'd never imagine he had all that zaniness inside him. When it all comes out, hilarity ensues! Phllip Glasser, the voice actor who brought us Fievel Mousekewitz. He was just a child when he was doing this role but he was so natural and perfect. I love pure natural talent like that. It's just amazing to hear.

I have a brother-in-law that I don’t get along with AT ALL. He irritates me all the time and he uses marijuana which only makes him worse. He thinks he’s all happiness and harmony when he’s on that stuff but he doesn’t see himself through sober eyes. The rest of us see him as irritating, combative, overly sensitive, paranoid and an all-around ass. When he’s around my blood pressure goes sky-high.

I wanted to be something that could transform because, let’s face it, it’s not always easy getting into finer restaurants when you have claws and fangs. So I opted for being a Kitsune, which is a Japanese fox that can take on human form. Here’s what Wiki has to say: "In Japanese mythology, kitsune, or legendary foxes, often take on a human disguise; most frequently taking the form of an elderly man, an attractive woman, or a child. Kitsune can also replicate the exact appearance of a specific person. In medieval Japan, the belief that any beautiful women met alone at dusk was a kitsune was prevalent. In some legends, kitsune cannot fully transform, but maintain a tail or other foxlike characteristic such as long red hair." Foxes are my favorite animals so this is a perfect fit for me. Now, I wouldn’t opt to take on the form of an old dude or a child, but the attractive woman is fine, and even in human form I could still keep the tail. That’s just too awesome.

I think of it as ‘Uhhh…” as though I don’t know how to react to something, like I’m standing there with tumbleweeds rolling by with a stupid expression on my face, unable to process. But in the odd circumstance somepony posts something reaction-worthy about leaves, I might use it for that as well.

As mentioned in an earlier post, I had radical OCD when I was younger but I got past it. It tries to rear its ugly head from time to time but it doesn’t own me anymore. The modern world seems to breed mental issues because people try to twist nature into something unnatural, and psychological problems are the inevitable result.

Don't you just hate it when that happens? You're having a nice time enjoying your VR and some damn whale has to come along and spoil things. So inconsiderate.

I took my grandma to the eye doctor, went grocery shopping, took grandma’s car out to put gas in it, put out some birdseed for our little feathered friends, had a slice of pizza, took a shower and went to bed, Woke up at 11pm, emptied the dishwasher and watched some TV. After that I mixed some color dye for a sewing project I’m working on and now I’m trying not to nod off again…with mixed success. I’m glad this wasn’t a work day.

I avoid talking on the phone at all costs. I don’t like regular phones and I don’t like cell phones. The only reason I have one is because the world insists on revolving around these stupid devices to the point where you can do even the most basic tasks without having an app. I rarely turn on my phone unless it’s necessary, and you’d be surprised just how unnecessary it is.

I brush at least twice a day and if my gums start to hurt I rinse with a multi-action oral rinse and that fixes me right up. I haven’t had a cavity yet but I would never rule it out, no matter how thoroughly I brushed. I don’t want to go to the dentist EVER if I can possibly avoid it.

Christmas. And not just the day itself but the whole season which, for me, begins in late September and continues as long as I can drag it out in January (or February…or March). I love Christmas and there’s too much going on during this wonderful holiday to contain in a short amount of time.

Since my last post on here I made the move and bought a Meta Quest 2 to replace my dead Oculus Go. The Meta Quest is very nice and seems to have more content than the Oculus Go, especially where gaming is concerned. I compared the Quest 2 and 3 side-by-side and didn’t think there was enough difference to justify doubling the price, and I got my Quest 2 used on ebay for a good deal. And now that I’ve finally broken into the VR gaming world I have to say…it made me rather sick. Yeah, motion sickness, real bad, Within 15 minutes I had to stop the game (still in the tutorial stage), set aside the unit and lie down on the bed in a cold sweat. I thought the motion sickness aspect would have been somehow ‘fixed’ in these newer VR headsets but my brother reports identical symptoms when he played Doom back on the old Playstation VR years ago. So, that being said, I’ll continue to use my Quest 2 for watching VR videos on Youtube VR, and watching movies, but gaming isn’t going to be a big factor. That’s fine with me; I never was much of a gamer anyway. Sure, you can loads of fun stuff on VR. After what happened?

That's what I'm afraid of. They're soooooooo expensive! And right now my purse is screaming for mercy.

That's okay, I like nosey gits! LOL The figure is a princess character from a fantasy show we’re writing for his performing arts theater. I’m trying to capture the likeness of the actress who will be (hopefully) playing the part. As of today I got the sample pics of the figure and it looks pretty good. I might have to tweak it a bit myself once it arrives in the mail but it’s as close as I can hope to get it. I have to paint it myself though.

I saw several older versions on TV when I was very little, but the first ones I remember lucidly are The Muppet Christmas Carol and Mickey’s Christmas Carol. These are still my favorites although Patrick Stewart’s version is high on my list. The older ones are very good; each for their own unique reasons, but often have one flaw that prevents them from being perfect for me. It seems funny that it took some Muppets and cartoon mice to put this story across best. The first version of the book I read was an abridged version about the size of a large matchbook. I received it as a birthday present and it’s so tiny it takes very young eyes to read it. I now have the (larger) unabridged version, a digital version on my Kindle, and there’s an audiobook I like to listen to on Youtube. Such a great story.

Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead (2023) A fun story about a guy who is so overworked he actually rejoices when the zombie apocalypse takes over the world. New episodes just came out and I'm liking this show so far. There's ever a live-action movie of this and it was pretty good too.

That’s a really cool paint/wrap/decal job! I love it when people MLP a car! It looks great and the artwork in those pics is beautiful. Here’s a pic of a little Smart car I saved from way back (I have a Smarty so it holds a special place in my heart). Sadly this little car is not mine so I take no credit for its awesomeness.

I use it fairly often. I have an older Oculus Go headset and it’s really fun. Sadly it’s showing its age and starting to malfunction a bit so I may need to replace it or upgrade. But the concept is so cool and I love going through Youtube and finding 3D VR videos to watch. Some of them can give you some serious motion sickness but I’ve found that’s the exception to the rule. I’ve never done any gaming on them but I’ve watched movies and loved the experience. VR can be very addictive and I wish they had more content for VR headsets. A lot of the material that was originally created for Oculus Go is discontinued now and that really sucks. They love to manipulate customers by making older models obsolete. If I buy a new unit it’ll be previously owned, but it’ll probably happen.

The Princess Stallion (1997) Nice movie that takes place in Scotland and starts Ariana Richards from Jursassic Park. Sometimes dramatic, sometimes silly, but overall quite good. Wish Upon a Unicorn (2020) A great movie for little girls (and adults) who love a nice innocent movie with a magical touch. Barbie and Her Sisters in A Pony Tale (2013) One of my favorite Barbie movies (not to be confused with the live action garbage that came out this summer). Funny, sometimes intense, and beautifully moving. The Horse Whisperer (1998) This can be hard to watch in places because some of the scenes can be brutal, but as I recall, it was a decent movie with a positive vibe (ultimately). A Champion Heart (2018) This was on my ‘recommended’ list on Netflix and I was surprised how good it was. A troubled girl has to help out at horse ranch and good things happen. Seabiscuit (2003) Another one with some hard to watch scenes. But once it gets rolling it’s very good and even riveting. Riding Faith (2020) A bon bon of a movie that had me yelling at the screen quite a lot but that’s not unusual. A decent, solid movie but sometimes sad and frustrating. Worth it in the end though. Dreamer (2005) Featuring one of my favorite actresses, Dakota Fanning. It's based on a true story of a family who takes an injured horse, bring it back to health and take it to great heights.

Baryshnikov’s Nutcracker (1977) I watch this every year as the highest point of my Christmas viewing season. I don’t know if this counts as a movie, TV show or performing arts, but I’m going to list it here anyway. It was performed live on tour by The American Ballet Theater Company, was then aired on CBS in 1977 with limited commercials, sponsored by IBM, and has been on VHS, DVD and in rare cases Bluray for years. Anyway, it deserves to be called a movie since it’s too long for a TV show and is more than a simple filmed stage production. But enough about the technicalities; this is possibly one of the greatest pieces of art ever created by humans on planet earth. It far surpasses every other version of The Nutcracker out there (and there are hundreds, if not thousands of different versions around). This ballet by the master, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, based on the story by E.T.A. Hoffmann has been translated, adapted, re-envisioned and taken from the absurd to the profound by countless artists and hacks the world over. But this magnificent retelling of an imperfect original story takes all the flaws and fixes or deletes them with surgical precision by those who knew exactly what they were doing. Never have I experienced more perfect acting, dancing, choreography, costumes, stage design and direction in my life than right here. It takes a children’s story and transforms it into a coming-of-age tale about a girl (Gelsey Kirkland) who receives the gift of a dream, and through this dream experiences the first kindling of romance as she embarks on a fantasy adventure with the Nutcracker prince. It’s no longer the kid’s show about dancing toys and candyland, but something to be taken seriously and enjoyed by children and adults alike. I hate to use the word ‘genius’ because it’s too often abused by those with no concept of its true definition, but the word might have been invented for the likes of this enchanting Christmas masterpiece. I only watch this once a year because it’s too powerful an experience to allow it to become rote or overdone. It’s a one-time annual event and must remain that way. It’s perfect.

Merry Christmas, Amira and just plain Amira, starring Amira Willighagen, who was around 9 or 10 years old when she recorded these albums. She has an amazing soprano voice for her age and she’s a joy to listen to. Some of the song selections and arrangements could use a tweak here and there, but the voice is what I got the albums for and that’s as sweet and rich as I could want.

I'm best at...using a calculator. (Assuming it doesn't have too many buttons).

There really isn’t any excuse for lip-syncing at concerts. These singers are making boatloads of money for these gigs and have the responsibility to provide a live show. They may be trying to preserve their vocal cords by faking it but that’s not a legitimate excuse. If they can’t do the job they shouldn’t take the money. If they announced in advance that they’d be lip-syncing, no one would attend their concerts, so they should respect the audiences that are paying their salaries and give them what they’re paying for. Lip-syncing to accomodate choreography onstage is understandable if it's the filming of a movie or music video, but live performances are supposed to be live and fans expect performers to deliver or change the routines if needed.

As much as I enjoy A-1 and stuff like that, I don’t mind a little barbeque sauce or horseradish sauce. I came across Blues Hog Raspberry Chipotle barbeque sauce recently and wow, yummers!