Rock-n-Roll Journey to Mars

I've been hearing a lot of buzz for the new cartoon Young Justice, so I tracked down the first episode and gave it a try. I... don't think I'll be sticking with it.

Let me just say that the animation is beautiful. It's very crisp, everything is smooth, and it doesn't look like any of the other DC cartoons I've watched, so it really stands out. It reminds me a lot of the animation for X-men: Evolution, which I'm very fond of. So, my first impression was that it was going to rock.

But the first episode left me feeling underwhelmed, mostly because of the characters. To begin with, the first episode features a grand total of zero women with lines. Normally I wouldn't be too bugged by this (it happens a lot and I've accepted it) but I remember seeing female heroes in the promo images, so a complete absence of them sticks out.

Another thing is that the characters are incredibly whiny and unlikeable, in my opinion. I'm okay with teens being whiny and then proving themselves, but Jesus CHRIST are these boys whiny. And it's all the same kind of whiny - "we're not sidekicks!" "We wanna see the Justice League's toys!" "Treat us like adults!" I was doodling while watching this episode and didn't even realize multiple boys were whining because the way their voices are written all sounds the same. And on the topic of voices, the "witty" quips the writers gave Robin are HORRIBLE. They are just stupid and sound like the writers were just trying waaaay too hard, especially since he says one every two minutes. Again, I'm all for quips, but only if they're actually funny and sound natural.

Other then that, the story didn't really grab me. A show about sidekicks is a good idea, since these are characters that don't get to shine as much and may be a bit obscure compared to the main heroes. But in practice, that turns into a weakness of the show - I don't know anything about these kids, and the show is treating them like I should. I thought Aqualad was white*? I thought Green Arrow's sidekick was named Speedy? I thought that was Tim's uniform but imdb tells me that it's Dick? This is a show meant for hardcore fans, not casual ones like myself. And it looks kind of good and I'm sure there are plenty of hardcore fans that are having fun with it. But this is one superhero cartoon I'm not going to join in on the fun.

*ETA: Wiki tells me that there is a black Aqualad named Jackson Hyde. But seriously, all my knowledge of Aqualad comes from Blackest Night (think that one was Garth?) and the Teen Titans cartoon where he was voiced by Wil Wheaton.

Eeeeeeee, my roommates make me cook and that is AWESOME. One of wanted to make something for the suite for Valentine's Day. At first I was at lost, thinking of maybe just making cookies or something. But then I remembered seeing these adorable little chocolate cups full of fruit at a grocery store, and reading how to make the cups somewhere online. It seemed really easy so we made some cups and filled them with red and pink fruit (apples, peaches, strawberries, and raspberries). They turned out awesome and were soooo good. Maybe my new favorite desert!

Here's how to make them, they're so super easy:

Blow up a balloon to about 2 to 3 inches in diameter. You want it to be as round as possible - if it's sort of pear shaped, get a different one. Tie it, and rinse it under warm water. Dry it off.

Spoon a little circle of melted candy melts onto a sheet of wax paper. Dip your balloon into a deep bowl of melted candy melts. (We double-dipped ours in pink vanilla, then milk chocolate melts) Set the dipped balloon onto the base that you made on the wax paper, being careful to set it as upright as possible. If it's leaning over to one side, the bowl will probably break during the last step.

Let the balloon sit until the candy is completely dry. Pop the balloon. It will naturally peel back from the sides of the bowl as it deflates, so don't try to pull it out right away. If your bowl is too big or lopsided, it'll break.

Fill with anything you want, and happily eat!

So much awesome happened this weekend aaaaaaaaah

I turned 20 yesterday, which is awesome. No longer a teen, whoo! 'Wicked' happened to be playing in the local performing arts center this month, and my mom was awesome and got me tickets! My sister came down and saw the show with me and holy crap. It was awesome. It deviates quite a bit from the book (which I only read half of, a long time ago, but I could still tell it kind of took an axe to the source...) but it was still really enjoyable. The first part of the first act was kind of meh, but it got awesome right before the act break and in the second act. The stage effects were amazing, the costumes were amazing, the music was amazing. I loved it.

Also got comics for my birthday! Some I bought myself (Batman Beyond 1 and 2) and some my roommates got me for my birthday (Justice League Europe #1 (from the 80s!) and some 90s X-men title). Haven't read the comics my friends got me yet, but I just finished Batman Beyond and fafdafadfkjkldsafd it was awesome.

Terry teaming up with the future Justice League will always make for awesomeness, because the future league is COOL. And I am going to continue to ship Batman/Aquagirl EVEN THOUGH THEY'VE SPOKEN LIKE TWICE NOW. I said in my review of Hush Beyond that I had some issues with how they write Terry and Bruce, and I think they are improving. Terry is back to cracking jokes and being a smartass, and I can hear his dialogue in my head as being spoken by the show's VA, so that's an improvement over the miniseries. Bruce still feels more like the comic Bats then Cartoon Bats, but it's not as extreme as it was in the miniseries. He just... back-seat superheroes a whole lot more in the comics then the cartoon. Also, Terry family and Dana are actually getting some active roles in the comic! The cartoon was pretty careful to keep them out of danger, and even when their lives were threatened by the Joker in the movie, we didn't see them in danger. I like that they give Terry a reason to be careful and that they themselves show signs of bravery. Having a family is the biggest difference between Terry and Bruce, and I'm glad the comic writers are taking advantage of that.

Ah damn, that got way too long. I came here to talk about my birthday, not Batman.

HOLY SHIT, HOMESTUCK

FIRST WEBCOMIC TO MAKE ME CRY, I SWEAR

I NEED TO STOP SHOUTING 'GOD DAMN IT, HUSSIE' EVERY TIME I READ A NEW UPDATE

So, before my winter break, my suitemates all got together and had a little dinner party. For that party, I made mini cinnamon rolls, which where awesome, and a huge crowd-pleaser. So, I figured I share that recipe. (I would have done so earlier, but I lost my camera's USB cord) Recipe under the cut.


Look at these. These are amazing.

( Super easy mini cinnamon rolls recipe )

Enjoy!

Japanese researchers to attempt cloning a mammoth

Holy shit, that is COOL. SCIENCE!

So I heard that Ophiuchus has been added to the western Zodiac. I really don't care about astrology, but I find this amusing for two reasons.

1. When my dad and I stargaze, he always points that constellation out as 'The Teapot'. I'll never be able to not think of it as that. So now 'the teapot' is a zodiac sign, and that tickles me.
2. I'm now a Capricorn. As I've said, I don't give a fuck about astrology - but this means I'm no longer an Aquarius. Which is awesome, because Gamzee is cooler then Eridan.

I have no idea how many people on my f-list will get that reference.

Also, I made a thing. A jewelry, geology nerd thing.

So, for only the second time ever, I've been watching an anime as the official subs are released week-by-week on Hulu. The first anime I did this with was FMA: Brotherhood, but I kind of fell behind on that and wound up archive-binging about the last two month's worth in a single week. This time, though, I picked up a show about three episodes in and watched it loyally, week-by-week, until it finished. And that show was Shiki. And it was worth it.

( Shiki review )

I'm starting to think I should stop using the 'short review' tag, since all my reviews are seriously long any more. TL;DR - despite some kind of weird art, the series is a great, fresh look at vampires and the darker side of humanity. I highly recommend it.

I finally got my hands on the Batman Beyond miniseries comics! Well, sort of. I went to the comic store for the first time in months the other week, and they had issues 4-6, so I bought those. But they didn't have 1-3 and didn't think any store in town would. So I resorted to buying online... but couldn't find issue 1. BUT. I got 2-6, so I at least got to read them. Here's my thoughts on the miniseries, under the cut because of spoilers.

( Hush Beyond spoilers )

Wooooow, TL;DR. Congrats to whoever read through all my nerdy ramblings. So, long story short: There are some problems with characterization and the villains, but I still really enjoyed the series. I look forward to the ongoing series, and hope the fandom will get more active. Oh, and expect some icons from the comic from me soon.

I got hugged by a French woman tonight for knowing who Mello from Death Note is.

I also got hugged by a Chinese woman for baking cinnamon rolls.

Tonight was a good night.