Dreambiscuit

I had some white chocolate raspberry coffee. Quite nice.

I’m looking forward to Christmas. And doing some more painting, maybe some Imagineering, and creative hobbies in general. Movies are hit and miss, but I’m interested in seeing M3GAN 2. Aside from that, I honestly don’t have anything big to focus on at the moment.

I like showtunes, movie soundtracks and classical. I don’t like everything from each category, but generally speaking, those are my favorites.

The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017) Aside from a completely inappropriate title, this movie is very solid and engaging. It tells the story about Charles Dickens’ writing of A Christmas Carol. It’s well acted, mostly well-written and had a nice production for something I suspect was a TV movie. 7.5/10

Inside Out 2. Felt like watching the old classic Pixar. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. Decent, as far as Mad Max movies go. IF. Missed a lot of potential and focused too much on Ryan Reynolds’ character, but okay. Popular Theory. Practically perfect in every way.

While not as bad as many insects (meaning they don’t really bite or anything), they look awful skittering about. I’ve seen them as large as cigarette lighters and that was unsettling. Let’s face it, bugs aren’t really high on my list of awesomeness. The lightsaber in the pic is cool though.

It’s interesting and somewhat surprising that so many would emphasize the Equestria Girls as part of their plans. I like the EqG, but they’re a spin-off for expanding the toy line and making movies that rightfully should have been based on the ponies rather than their human counterparts. Still, there is some value there nonetheless and I do agree with @Casey Pones that it would be interesting to see the EqG world connected with Equestria, with more interaction between the two. Also, more adventures following Twilight’s coronation but before she’s fully grown. Let’s learn about some of the things seen in the finale; Pinkie and Cheese Sandwich’s relationship for example. I want to see some of the interim stories fleshed out, so I would mainly continue the series where it left off, but before the flash-forward to the adult Twilight. And I would get back the season 1&2 writers. Back-up writers who don’t know or care about the characters are the death of any good show, and the fifth-string writers who worked on a lot of later MLP eps are no exception.

I talk too much and too fast when I get excited. And I often use ten words when two will do. And if I really get revved up, I gesticulate wildly and get tongue-tied.

No better way to dig-in for the long winter than to watch a nice MLP marathon. That will keep you warm. And if it doesn’t keep you warm, at least you’ll be happy as you slowly fade into hypothermia. That’s the beauty of having such a large base of material to enjoy. The series finale made me cry, but I can always go back to the beginning and enjoy it all over again. I’ve been a fan forever but never even read the comics beyond the first 6 or so, so there will be ponies to enjoy for a long time to come. Now, about this DNA business; if you manage to attain unlimited powers, I’m available as a villainous sidekick. Just sayin.’

@BrawnyCharger All good points. It’s all a matter of perspective and what you want to see in this genre of entertainment versus the intention of the author. Charlie Brown is meant to be the born loser and the comedy comes from that. There may be no justice in it, and it might be fun to see the parents retaliating on behalf of Charlie Brown, but the comedy is in Charlie Brown receiving rocks for Halloween and getting the football swiped away. That’s the joke and the very simple premise of the Peanuts newspaper comic strip format. I’m not saying you’re wrong in wanting to see more; most fans do want more than meets the eye in their favorite movies and shows. I completely understand and applaud your interest.

Don't tell anyone! It would make it very difficult to rule the galaxy by fear and intimidation!

I have a bunch of cardboard boxes piled up in storage. I could be rich and not even know it!

Everything Tim Burton makes is a Halloween movie whether he intends it to be or not. They all look and feel the same, and his version of Christmas definitely carries on that tradition.

Facebook. They are so messed up and stupid. I used to have an account there and cancelled it after a few years. But when I tried to sign back up they kicked me out, over and over and over again, citing ‘violation of Facebook guidelines’. They had me out of there so quickly I didn’t even have time to violate any of their ambiguous guidelines. If I loaded a picture, it was removed as indecent or something like that (even though its kinda hard to be indecent from the chin, up). If I appeal, their automated bot arbitrarily overrules me, allows no dialog or rebuttal, and blocks any attempt to appeal further. It’s like they’re trying to block members from signing up, at all costs, and getting rid of existing ones. Most media sites (Twitter/X, Tiktok, Instagram) are merely confusing and impossible to understand, but Facebook is simply f**ked.

Specials: Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer A Charlie Brown Christmas How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) The Little Drummer Boy, Frosty the Snowman Santa Claus is Coming to Town Trans-Siberian Orchestra: Ghosts of Christmas Past, Santa ’85 (from Amazing Stories), It’s A Wonderful Tiny Toons Christmas Special, Seoul Mates (from Northern Exposure) Movies: A Muppet Christmas Carol, A Christmas Carol (Patrick Stewart), Barbie in A Christmas Carol, Barbie and her sisters in A Perfect Christmas, Barbie in the Nutcracker, Better Watch Out, Wakko’s Wish, Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas, Rare Exports, Unaccompanied Minors, Journey to the Christmas Star, Klaus, We’re No Angels (1955) Donovan’s Reef, Daddy’s Home 2, Holiday Inn, Jingle All the Way, A Christmas Story, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Santa Claus The Movie, Miracle on 34th Street (1947), White Christmas. Other: Mikhail Barychnikov/Gelsey Kirkland Nutcracker, Lucy Worsley’s 12 Days of Tudor Christmas. This is my short list, cuz dang, there’s a lot of stuff every year!

Mark is such a talented voice actor, I have no doubt as to his capabilities. He has so many diverse voices I’d love to see what he comes up with.

How to Train Your Dragon (the first movie, TV series and the specials), and Kung Fu Panda (first movie), Monsters vs Aliens (movie and TV series), and Megamind. All of these are next-level excellence.

Wow, so many! Okay, I’d better stick to my short list: Mel Blanc, Tress MacNeille, Phillip Glasser, Mark Hamill, Tabitha St.Germain, Joe Alasky, Rob Paulson. These are in no particular order.

Umm, it was a good idea, but imperfectly executed. To be honest I stopped watching the show after the first few episodes because I could see where it was going, so I may not be the best judge. But it seemed to me that a place where all these classic characters get together and mix it up should have endless possibilities for humor and adventure. Instead it felt like a promo for Disney properties they wanted to sell, using the characters on a flimsy template of a ‘House of Mouse’ where they could congregate. I’m a little cynical, and I’m sorry for that, but this show had huge potential and didn’t live up to it, which to me is unforgivable.

To be honest I don’t think the parents should be included. Charles Schultz had the right idea in making it all about the kids. Adding an adult perspective would take away from the uniquely youthful experience of the primary characters. It may be interesting on the level of fans who want to know everything about every peripheral character, but overall I think it would be a distraction. As an example, when the Barbie franchise added the parents in Dreamhouse Adventures: Go Team Roberts, it did nothing but detract from the main characters of Barbie and her sisters. It may seem harmless but it doesn’t add anything of value to the overall show, making it superfluous and cluttered. The point of the Peanuts characters is the same as Barbie and her sisters; to put them into a variety of situations and see how they handle them without the intervention of adults. When that’s the central selling point to a series, anything else must be excised. It would be better if there was to be a book or something delving into all the aspects of the parents, etc, that would be a fun resource for die-hard fans, and it wouldn’t bog-down the comics or televised shows.

I was somewhat impressed by the trailer. But as we all know, trailers can be very misleading. But taken on first impression, my thoughts are these: I love the Superman costume; it’s a throwback to the original comic book costume rather than being another stupid modernized facsimile of Batman with a splash of added color. This looks like the real deal. Krypto the Super Dog is an interesting addition and shows James Gunn is really delving into the mythos, but he has to handle it correctly or it’ll end up too campy. The first glance at Superman shows him in a pretty rough state, which may not be the best way to represent him as an opening impression, but still, I have no reason to worry because it’s a teaser designed to get audiences curious. Finally, the teaser plays an electrified version of John Williams’ Superman theme, which makes me wonder if it’s just a tacked-on backdrop for the teaser, or a sample of the actual score of the movie. If the latter is the case, will they use the original John Williams themes freely, or simply use them minimally to sell the movie and then revert back to the usual generic sounds we’ve heard too many times before? These are questions I’m willing to watch the movie to get answers to. Besides, it looks kinda fun.

Have a happy one, my ponies! No concrete resolutions here. To be honest I just want to practice more self-control and increase creative output. That’s about it right now.

It's also strange that they call it an 'extended version' when that scene was part of the original theatrical release of the movie. I can't even imagine why they ever cut it, considering it's necessary to the story. The Patrick Stewart version is also really good, and faithful to the book. The Alastair Sim version took an interesting look at Scrooge as sort of a feeble old man who was too old to change. I thought that was interesting and realistic. It's fun to see which versions use which materials from the original story. Some show scenes of Scrooge and Marley starting off with a hostile takeover to establish themselves, and some show the important scene of what happened to Scrooge's fiancé after he left her, and the life she ultimately had. The Muppets are still my favorites though, and have the best, most balanced telling of the tale. Lionel Barrymore would have been great had his health problems not prevented his casting in the Reginald Owen version of the story. But you can at least hear the trimmed-down radio version of Barrymore's rendition, which is quite good.

I hadn’t really noticed it but now that you mention it, yes, I do miss that added splash of art and color. I didn’t think much about how dvds have become less colorful and attractive until now. The ones I like best are the ones with good art and originality, like Monster House to name one just offhand. Like any vinyl LP record album, cover art (or even label art) is essential as part of the complete product. I would never want an album with no art; that would be uninteresting and cheap. Art matters, and it doesn’t cost much to add a little bit for a dvd.