Dreambiscuit

I once tried to speak French at a French restaurant and it came off very badly and embarrassed me greatly. When I was little I had to make a reindeer costume for a school play and accidentally cut eye holes all over it because the materials were folded together when I started cutting, and I ended up with three layers of ‘eyes’ on the front, side and back. I had to wear that atrocity in front of the whole school and I felt like an idiot. I had to make an ass out of myself at an audition for a job I once had, and even though I aced the audition I felt pretty cringy. I also lost my composure when I met Carrie Fisher at Star Wars Celebration 2; I froze up, mechanically received an autograph and then ran for the nearest restroom where I proceeded to cry uncontrollably for the next 20 minutes. I adore Carrie Fisher, but I really lost it and couldn’t control that much emotion flooding in all at once. There are so many more examples but there’s no point in illustrating further magnificence at this time.

It definitely seems to be the case. Maturity and even overall intelligence seems to be dropping at a dramatic rate compared with past generations. Largely responsible is the internet, which encourages people to attach the most importance to the least important things, like gaining popularity among peers who would just as happily chew them up and spit them out for falling out of favor with the lowest common denominator. Acting in a way that takes no responsibility is another prevailing aspect of online existence; people don’t govern themselves according to maturity or doing the right thing because it’s all anonymous and no one can hold them accountable. Parents are often inclined to let their kids do what they want rather than guiding their path and preparing them for future life, so many young people spend vast amounts of time playing video games and watching Youtube videos than going out and seeing that there’s a vast real world out there with much more to offer. It’s not bad parenting to teach kids for their own good, even if modern society is hell-bent on being offended every time someone attempts to instruct or correct anyone, even for their own good. It’s easier to play the victim than to make an effort to improve. This is when immaturity comes in; it represents the easier path in a world when effort is unattractive and undesirable, and the rewards are dismissed as out of reach. If people aren’t willing or able to take responsibility for their own lives, or spend enough time in personal reflection to understand action and consequence, someone else has to make a move to correct this course. That’s how it worked in past generations and it obviously worked for them.

I rarely buy refreshments at the theater because they're too expensive, so I usually smuggle my own treats in. My go-to is chocolate fudge Poptarts in a ziplock bag (the foil pouches they come in are too noisy for the theater). Otherwise I like very buttery popcorn.

She has a really nice design; I love the mane. And the colors are unique and eye-catching. The name Vapor Trails may be my favorite thing about this awesome pony! Such a cool moniker!

I almost drowned once when I was a teenager. I was swimming at the beach in Oregon and got caught in a really strong undertow that started dragging me out to sea. I had no control over it despite being an excellent swimmer. I thought I was going to die for sure but then a sideways wave came out of nowhere and pushed me out of the outgoing current and I was able to get to shore. Thank God for sending that little wave, it saved me. Now I’m more aware of danger when I swim and I’m better equipped to avoid hazards.

Something from my medical insurance; junk mail. And a pair of hair-thinning scissors from Amazon.

Hey, that’s a cool looking book! I might have to grab a copy of that.

I would have loved to see the planned sequels to the movie; it never got to follow through with the broader scope of the whole story. As for the other stuff, I’m happy to give them a chance because I really like the setting and general theme.

You’re right. Continuation isn’t the right choice of words; it is more of a reboot come to think of it, because it even uses some of the same characters (with very different personalities) and there are other similarities as you mentioned. So on that basis I’ll go ahead and cite MLP G4 as one reboot that really scores.

@Fluttershutter I did try watching a few of the animated episodes and they seemed pretty much the same as the 2010 movie, which everyone hated for some reason. I loved the movie, and hated the 2024 live action series, but the animated series wasn’t hugely different from either in terms of story. I liked the old show better than the 2024 live-action series, but that’s more a matter of casting and direction than story. What surprises me is the fact that Airbender fans LOVE the animated series but are absolutely vitriolic about the M. Night Shyamalan movie, although there are no fundamental differences that I’m seeing. Maybe I need to watch more of the old show, but I think the differences are something for die-hard fans to discern rather than the casual viewer.

My latest batch: Mr. Popper’s Penguins (2011) I never had much enthusiasm for trying out this movie, but I was desperate and finally gave it a chance. The results were mixed and largely as expected, but the good outweighed the bad. The story premise is pretty absurd and seems like just an excuse to show a bunch of penguin shenanigans. Not much to work with there, especially since CG penguins graphically pooping and farting isn’t exactly high entertainment. The real selling point is Jim Carrey’s performance; he still has his signature zaniness that is great fun to watch. So based on that and little else, I give it a 6.5/10 Inside Out (2015) Such a beautiful movie, but heartbreaking too. This is from Pixar when it was still Pixar and everything they made was an event. Great characters and some really creative touches. 8.5/10 The Little Mermaid (1989) A perfect Disney animated classic. No wonder it re-wrote the template and was the standard for years to come. Ashman and Menken not only wrote the songs but were more responsible for the shape if this classic than probably anybody. And what they did was perfect. 10/10 Aladdin (1992) More from the new classic era of Disney’s animated films. Though not as solid as Little Mermaid or Beauty and the Beast, it still kept a lot of that true magic. Howard Ashman passed away before the movie could be completed so it lacked some of his guiding influence, but it does have many of his perfect songs and it’s still a great movie. 9/10

Gachiakuta. It’s a simple premise of a guy who’s wrongly accused of a crime and dumped into a garbage heap underworld as punishment, with a goal to return to the utopian upper world for revenge as his primary goal. It has some interesting character design and some funny touches. I’m only a few episodes in, but it’s holding my attention so far.

I can think of countless instances where reboots were an epic fail, but none that were an improvement. I wanted to cite MLP G4 as a good example of improvement but it isn’t really a reboot so much as a continuation. Actually I’m surprised I can’t think of a single good reboot of the top of my head right now. I’m sure there must be something somewhere but nothing comes to mind.

I’d be a fire bender. I like fire; it’s pretty and nothing really beats it. I used to be a firebug when I was little and I guess it never went away 100%. I guess world-destroying habits die hard.

To be honest I have no idea what this is or where it came from, but it looks rather interesting and I’d love to know more. Whatever Twilight did here, I’m sure she knows what she’s doing.

Star Trek (original series remastered). I’ve been watching these classic episodes here and there and they hold up very well; far better than the newer Star Trek stuff.

Chicken casserole, with a couple of cookies for dessert (Sugar cookie and peanut butter cookie). Sugar Cookie and Peanut Butter Cookie sound like cute pony names, don’t they? Just thought I’d toss that in.

I heard an amusing ‘supposition’ about myself right here on the forums, which wasn’t widely circulated as a rumor as far as I know, so I'm not sure it applies. And it was pretty far-fetched so I don’t expect it went very far anyway.

I live in Anaheim, CA, so the weather is pretty nice most of the time and we have more or less distinctive seasons without any real extremes. It’s a fun place to live with no end of things to do and explore. But in the past few years its gone way off the rails and now it’s a dysfunctional mess of a state. The people in charge made an untenable disaster of it and I doubt it’ll ever be the same again. The population is leaving the state in droves. As for California in general, there’s a wide variety of natural attractions, with majestic snow-capped mountains, arid deserts, rich forests and of course, beautiful coastline. I love this state, even if much of the population are certifiable loonies.

I have a little face mask that has heat, vibration, rolling massage and plays music. It’s amazing and transports me into realms of deepest relaxation. In 15 minutes it can take me from being a nervous wreck to being so sedate and peaceful I can almost float off the floor.

I already have a couple of my faves; Mitsuha Miyamizu and Taki Tachibana from Your Name, and Llenn from Gun Gale online. But if I were to pick characters I don’t have, I’d love to get Umi Matsusaki (From Up on Poppy Hill), even though she’s not a dynamic style character, Miho Nishizumi (Girls und Panzer) or any of the other characters from Gun Gale Online, like Fukaziroh or Pitohui, both of which have been on my ebay watch list for quite a while. I love the sculpts for these anime characters; they’re so detailed and well done!

If there’s a thread that I’m interested in, or can impose my opinions on, I seldom hesitate. Let the world beware.

I saw my non-sister, who is not related but she’s a permanent houseguest, and might as well be my real sister considering she’s as close as any relative.

Sure, I used to obsess over it. But now, with so many people desperate to be offended by anything, it seems impossible to say anything at all. So I simply don’t worry about it anymore.

I dropped my paintbrush while I was painting. I always hold one brush in my teeth and another in my hand as I paint, and I dropped the one from my hand. Luckily it was a small brush and didn’t get much paint on the floor; oil paint and Berber carpet aren’t a good mix.