Who’s Afraid Of The Big Bad Lorry Driver? Facebook, Apparently.

I, like pretty much every man, woman, child, cat, dog and mouse in the country, am something of a Facebook addict. Sure, I can deny it – and always claim that time spent on it in the office is invaluable networking time (even when networking involves playing a rip off of Scrabble with old friends) – but there’s something of a compulsive delight in spying on old acquaintances and seeing what they’re up to. Then of course, there’s the communities… so many improbably named Facebook groups with even more improbable numbers of members. Everything from ‘The Drunken Text Message Appreciation Society’ to ‘A Cup of Tea Solves Everything’is represented, and more are springing up every day.

Naturally my career at a freight exchange means I have an above average interest in lorries and lorry drivers, so it stands to reason that one day this would collide with my other life-sapping obsessive interest – Facebook. I began looking through the various pages, and was more than a little surprised by the sheer quantity of groups devoted to expressing dislike and mockery towards trucking society. There are a few groups which particularly attracted my attention, including:

‘Nothing angers me more than lorry drivers hogging the motorway!’

Personally, I can think of quite a few things that anger me more than lorry drivers hogging the motorway: famine, genocide, pizza menus through my door – and that’s just off the top of my head! Regardless, 54 people have independently thought “Yes, lorries on the motorway is Number One in my list of annoyances,” and fair play to them.

‘”Lorry Baiting” appreciation society’

This one’s just plain mean, and easily tops the ‘lesser evil’ of haulage vehicles hogging the motorway. For those not in the know, this involves cars travelling in front of lorries on the motorway a mile per hour slower than the lorry behind them, only to speed up a little when the lorry tries to overtake, forcing the lorry back behind. Cruel, unnecessary and ultimately dangerous – it currently has a membership of 54 but ultimately the danger involved in the ‘sport’ could see this number dropping.

54. Let’s face it, this is a very dangerous “sport” and, personally I would prefer them to abandon their game rather than needing another kind of driver to take them to hospital.

‘Lorry Drivers Suck’

Finally, there’s the plain ol’ “Lorry Drivers Suck’ group. A title both simple and to the point, exactly like the group’s membership of 29.

Amongst all the hateful anti-trucker groups (trust me, there are a few – some of which won’t pass the editorial standards of article distribution websites (thanks to the liberal use of ‘f’, ‘c’ and ‘b’ words) there are occasionally touching groups – a personal favourite of mine (and with a massive 1381 members) expresses the disappointment that lorries consistently fail to live up to the expectation that they will transform into Optimus Prime from Transformers. Elsewhere is “Lorry Drivers have Rights Too” – a heart-warming call for equality diminished only by the sorry looking single member currently keeping the group warm.

I don’t know what traumatic event happened in these Facebook group creators’ childhoods to make them so vehemently anti-trucker – perhaps they had a nasty accident with a hub cap, or they were beaten up by an HGV – but I instantly felt a need to redress the balance somewhat. I created a Facebook group in praise of truckers, defending against a tirade of stereotypes. Join it if you want – “Just because I’m a Lorry Driver Doesn’t Mean…” – I can’t speak for everyone else, but I for one won’t bite.

 

Memorable TV cartoon characters of the past and present – Part 2

Yes, Bugs Bunny and all his WB pals were great. The children loved the slapstick of it and even the adults loved the more mature overtones.

I think the most memorable TV cartoon characters were any and almost every toon released in the 80’s.

Lets list a few of the cult classics.

Voltron, Thundercats, He-Man, Dungeons & Dragons, Robotech, G.I.Joe, Transformers!

Toons from the 80’s have birthed cash crop toy lines and major movie productions. Come this July, Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg will release a live action Transformers movie!

Granted Bugs and friends along with the old Disney black and white shorts, I think the 80’s toons will forever be cult classics.

My vote goes to Optimus Prime! When transformes made its first animated movie, and Optimus was killed by Megatron, there was never such a moment or such an uproar of fans. That in its own is a major step in something as simple as a cartoon. In GIJoe the animated movie, Duke was speared in the heart by a snake thrown by evil Serpentor. I was in shock! It was another milestone that many will remember.

So, when Transformers is released and has had its box office run b4 its DVD release, we can look at this comparrison:

Looney Toons: Space Jam w/Mike Jordan…it grossed $90,418,342

Transformers 7/4/07…….?

My prediction of most memorable with a ‘Mice of Men’ twist…

Robot tend the Bunny!…crush!

 

Short stories: Christmas

“I’m uh, I’m admittedly confused,” Nate confessed to his father. “What’s the deal Ebenezer; what’s going on?”

Twas Christmas morn and Nate had just come from the living room, where a large conspicuous void under the Christmas tree

occupied a space that was until recently a large conspicuous assemblage of presents. Whether or not the still-empty stockings were hung by the chimney with care seemed peripheral; the Grinch’s coup had been an unmitigated success.

“I was just in Holiday Mission Control

with your children, the children of your children, and a number of your life-long friends who have heretofore had no occasion to question your neural wherewithal or sanity.” Nate continued. “But based on the particular, er, “context,” of the Christmas

you’ve ostensibly engineered, you’ll forgive me if I suggest that it does seem a tad unorthodox that you so enthusiastically insisted that your many kith and kin congregate in a home that Santa himself could not locate. Where are all the presents that were there last night?”

Nate’s father cut to the chase. “The presents are at the orphanage. Say Nathan, what does Christmas mean to you?”

Nate flipped.

His mind flashbacked to many a similar Christmas “surprise” from his youth. “No way!” he thought to himself. “This Artful Codger did not just invite everyone dear to him to his home on Christmas just to give them an object lesson on how they need to be “over” the materialism of Christmas. He’s pulled this stunt before, but that was just with us kids. The CIO is here with her husband, dad’s golfing buddies, the bishop, the assistant superintendent of schools; to them a cheap trick like this is either surpassingly phony or cause for them to suggest he not work so hard. Dad, this time you’ve gone too far.”

“You are NOT doing this to them Pop, not now!” Nate erupted. “Now my own unassailable need for an Optimus Prime may not be quite what it used to be, but you have some very young grandchildren in there who may not appreciate or benefit from the timing of whatever life lesson it is you’re trying to promulgate. If you wanna tell them that Santa dropped the ball because Blitzen sprained his Achilles or Santa’s sleigh’s GPS conked out, that’s fine, but don’t you beat four generations of consanguinity and friendship over the head with your proprietary views on the True Meaning of Christmas.”

Nate’s father repeated his query. “Nathan, what does Christmas mean to you?”

“I swear, Dad. I mean, as the comptroller of your

 

Michael Bay: Destroying our childhoods? – Part 3

Both articles here bring up valid points. I, personally, agree more with the first one since I have already seen the movie and did not enjoy it as much as I would have liked. Transformers was a great cartoon. Like the previous author said, it had great plot, interesting, well-developed characters, and engaging action. Even the villains were cool. In comparison to today’s cartoons, which garble mindless nonsense to children to make them stupid, Transformers was awesome!

But how can you conceivably stick over six years of cartoons into a two hour movie? It’s impossible, which is why I knew I was going to be disappointed. Of course, the computer graphics and the action sequences were amazing. That’s as far as it went for me. The military involvement in the first act of the movie was unnecessary. Movies have enough propaganda as it is. We don’t need half an hour of constant military brainwashing. Their removal would have left more time for the boy to interact with the Robots. Optimus Prime doesn’t come out until the middle of the movie. WHAT WAS THAT! There was hardly any character development for the Robots. You don’t feel for them. Jazz died. That’s supposed to be a BIG deal and yet in the movie it was like “Oh he died.” If you blinked you would have missed it. So in agreement with the first author, the movie completely ruined the cartoon, but to agree with the second author what movie hasn’t done that these days? If you’re a hardcore fan of a book series or a particular cartoon, don’t go see the movie. Save yourself the misery because nine out of ten times you WILL be disappointed.

 

Movie reviews: The Forbidden Kingdom

Synopsis: As a creative telling of the “Journey to the West” tale, a young boy finds himself in mythical China. Trained and guided by legendary martial artists while pursued by the evil Jade Warlord’s army, the young boy embarks on a quest to restore the land to its former glory. Starring Jackie Chan and Jet Li.

DeNiro and Pacino.

Optimus Prime and Megatron.

Alien and Predator.

Throughout Hollywood history, movie audiences pine for certain characters and/or actors to face off against each other on the big screen. And thanks to “The Forbidden Kingdom,” legendary martial arts actors Jackie Chan and Jet Li finally have an arena to display their skills against each other. And martial arts film fans everywhere cheer.

“Saiyuki” or “Journey to the West” is a classic Chinese novel detailing the actions of the Monkey King as he guards a Buddhist monk through the Silk Road. The Monkey King is mischievous, and cocky but he has the skills to back up his boasting thanks to his magical staff. The adventures are arduous and the trials are difficult. But the Monkey King and his team prove their heroism through the novel. I can’t find a copy of the original “Saiyuki” in English, but today the closest retelling of the tale are found in the Japanese cartoon (anime) series “Saiyuki” and arguably, “Dragonball.”

In “The Forbidden Kingdom’s” telling of the tale, a young, modern day Bostonian named Jason (Michael Angarano) is established as a bona fide Kung-Fu movie fan with none of the ability to emulate his heroes. A bizarre turn of events puts a “Chekhov’s gun” device (in this case, The Staff of the Monkey King) in his hands and transports him into a mythical China where certain residents miraculously speak English. Jason finds allies such as a drunken fist master (Jackie Chan) and a talkative silent monk (Jet Li) while fighting the armies of the evil Jade Warlord (Collin Chou). Jason learns martial arts from his allies and the importance of his staff as they follow the road to their destiny.

The main selling point of “The Forbidden Kingdom” is Jackie Chan and Jet Li battling each other and together for the first time. For people wishing to see the movie just for those scenes, they’re in for a treat. The cinematic historic battle between Jackie Chan’s adaptability and experience versus Jet Li’s accuracy and energy is a sight to see as they punch, kick, throw, dodge, and parry at each other. When they’re not fighting each other, their differing styles are seen as they train young Jason in their respective styles.

For those who watch a movie beyond the fight scenes, they are in for a visual treat. Using China as a backdrop provides great color, architecture, and costumes. The opening credits alone provide a great timeline of Kung-Fu films. Further references to classic Kung-Fu films are generously sprinkled throughout the film. The Jade Warlord hires an assassin whose cold heart and fighting style resemble “The Bride With White Hair.” Hint: that assassin in question has white hair. Jackie Chan as a drunken master brings back memories of his classic film “The Drunken Master” while Jet Li’s monk character resembles his various monk protagonists. And the Monkey King’s movements and costume are very much similar to a really old Chinese TV serial of “Saiyuki.”

For a good popcorn Kung-Fu film, “The Forbidden Kingdom” delivers. My only main gripe is that the Bostonian scenes kind of makes “The Forbidden Kingdom” feel less like “Saiyuki” and more like “The Wizard of Oz.” But it’s a small gripe that doesn’t really kill the movie for me.

Rated PG-13 for martial arts action and violence. 113 min

 

Website reviews: Co

Are you a gamer and wish to learn about the newest cooperative friendly video games on the market? If so, then Co-Optimus is probably the ultimate one stop website for you to learn the newest ways to team up with friends in the various video games that have recently been released.

Sure, the name of the website doesn’t sound all that great, but once you type it into the address bar and check it out you’ll most likely be hooked. At times, video games with cooperative modes can be very hard to find, that’s by Co-Optimus claims itself to be the prime source for Co-Op gaming.

Design

In terms of the layout of Co-Optimus, the website looks just like any other professionally made gaming website. The design and feel seems similar to IGN.com or one of those major sites. Co-Optimus has crisp images and great reviews at first glance, but can the features of the website stand up against other gaming websites?

Features

While there isn’t many features on the Co-Optimus website, there are many different categories of information and articles on the website. As with other gaming websites, the front page is littered with gaming news that almost always centers around games that have or had cooperative game play features.

Beyond that, the website gives a home to some very impressive reviews with crisp screenshots from each game. Take note that there are comments from users on the articles too, so readers can display differences in opinion and so on. Editorials and other special articles are also on the same page as the reviews, which can be about various different subjects in gaming.

The games section gives video gaming fans a list of cooperative games for all of the newer systems, and most classic ones. For example a person could check out the newest cooperative friendly games for Xbox 360 or Nintendo Wii, and then go out to the nearest store and buy them.

Improvements

Does Co-Optimus have room for improvements? For the most part yes, it does have some room for improvements, but the website sets out and achieves its original goal. The website is no doubt the best place to look up information on cooperative friendly video games whether they be online playable or local only.

Ultimately Co-Optimus gets a score of eight out of ten for being well above average. The website could use some improvements but overall it does the job that it sets out to do.

Final Score

8 Out of 10. – Well Above Average – (10 Being Perfect, 1 Being Horrible.)

 

Movie reviews: The Transformers (2007) – Part 76

Going into “Transformers” I did not expect much out of the movie, and I did not think much of it coming out. Although the plot of the movie is quite interesting and there are a few laugh-worthy parts, I was not impressed overall. The movie is far too liberal with its action sequences; one person can only stand to watch so much destruction. The last 30 minutes of the movie was so repetitive (crash, boom, crash, boom, explosion, etc.) that I found myself staring at the ceiling and praying for the movie to end sometimes soon.

In my opinion, the best parts of the movie were parts which did not contain any traces of transforming cars. During one particular scene when the boy’s parents venture into his room during a power outage, I was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes.

Although the movie got much applause from the audience (especially the appearance of Optimus Prime), I was not particularly impressed and feel that the movie could have been much better.

 

Memorable TV cartoon characters of the past and present – Part 1

Of course, there are a number of memorable TV cartoon characters, both of the past and the present. There are the obvious character choices, such as Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse, Fred Flintstone, Woody Woodpecker, and Winnie the Pooh, just to name a few. I would also include Snoopy from the Peanuts specials in this list. But who else is there?

Going back to the 1960’s and 1970’s, I would have to say that one of the most memorable cartoon characters from that era would have to be Scooby-Doo. In fact, he’s so memorable, that he has continued to appear in various television shows including one that aired on Kids! WB earlier this decade!

If you go back to the 1980’s, I would have to say one of the most memorable cartoon characters of the era would have to be Optimus Prime from The Transformers. So many people of my generation remember Optimus Prime, especially since his death in The Transformers: The Movie caused such a controversy. I would also consider the Smurfs to be memorable 1980’s cartoon characters. And if you go back to the 1990s, I would have to say that several of the Rugrats characters (specifically Tommy, Chuckie, and Angelica) would also be in the memorable category.

From more recent cartoons, I would have to say that SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star also fit into this category. I’m around kids who really like SpongeBob, and a couple of them can even quote lines from episodes. For current preschoolers, one of the most memorable cartoon characters would probably have to be Dora the Explorer.

I would also have to include Bart Simpson and Homer Simpson in a list of memorable TV cartoon characters; with such catchphrases as “Eat my shorts” and “D’oh!,” who could forget these two?

From the anime field, I would definitely have to include Pikachu as a memorable TV cartoon character. There’s just something about Pikachu that captures children’s interest.

 

Movie reviews: The Transformers (2007) – Part 81

“So, what are we going to see tonight?” I asked my husband as we pulled away from the hotel that my in-laws were staying at during the time they were in the area from Texas. They had granted us a rare occasion of being able to go out to a movie without our four year old and two year old and we were at a loss as to what we were going to do like a lot of parents during that time without the kids. “I don’t know, I guess we will see when we get to the theater.” My husband said as we made our way to the local theater.

The movies that were available during the time that we were there did not interest us much but I saw Transformers and said I wanted to see it. I did not tell my husband that I had been a secret fan as a kid since most of the viewing audience had been boys during the time the cartoon was on in the 80’s. But I loved a “hero” story line as much as anybody. The Optimus Prime character was always my favorite and each time I went to a story and saw an action figure I wished I could pick one up for myself but I figured I would have to say it was for my younger brother if anyone had caught me.

I walked into the darkened movie theater yawning from a day of traveling on the road with my in-laws. I was really hoping that the movie was not going to be one that I was going to fall asleep in. Boy was I not let down in anyway! The action started just about right away as the main character goes to a car lot to buy his first car and the entire car lot of blows up! The car that was picked was a classic Camero at first that reminded me of the cars when I was a kid so I had a chuckle at that and when it began to do things like drive by itself and play songs that were appropriate to the moment, I could not help but fall in love! There was NO way that I was going to fall asleep during this movie!

I enjoyed seeing Shia Lebeouf in the main male lead role as I have enjoyed him on the Disney shows that I have been able to watch including the movie “Holes”. He has a certain flair with comedy and action that is captivating and hopefully will last a long time in the entertainment business. It was almost a breath of fresh air from watching other action flicks with actors that need to throw in the towel. His female counterpart in Megan Fox was refreshing as well. She actually turned out to be the beautiful girl with a brain rather than the cheerleader who was more obsessed with her looks than anything else. There were scenes were she was really able to show her emotions and her strength and I was cheering for her right long side Sam, Shia Lebeouf’s character.

All in all, this thirty five year old mom gives the movie a huge thumbs up with great action shots, great characters and an awesome story line. I may have to buy a copy when it comes out on DVD.

 

Testimonies: Why I collect action figures

I really have to thank childhood for this, I haven’t stopped loving action figures since I was a kid and still have them to this day. As I’ve gotten older though I don’t collect as much than how I used to. Nowadays I tends to go for McFarlane toys with some of their Movie Maniacs line, in particular with popular horror characters. The other type of figures would probably be of video game characters as well. Usually if I get very involved with a game and learn more about a particular character I tend to get interested in it’s action figure variation.

During the summer however I became very addicted to Transformers which I hadn’t bought for well over 2 decades since their original reign. It wasn’t the actual film itself that encouraged me, but rather the re-runs of the original cartoon that was being shown during the summer. Never before had I seen a show so much as to make me want to see what the actual toy of it was like.

I don’t think I will ever stop collecting action figures especially when in today’s day of age you can almost literally buy action figures based on anything, even to the most bizarre types of creativity imaginable. Before you know it you can have Snoop Dogg standing next to Optimus Prime. Better than this though you can even have a version of yourself fighting the good fight with all of your good guy action figure counterparts from your childhood. Why play these figures when you can be side by side with them!

 

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