A Brief Countdown to Tomorrow(land)

I haven't done a big post here since AoU, but I have good news: I plan to see Tomorrowland (fittingly) tomorrow night! I'm really looking forward to it. Just FYI.

Update

I saw Agengers: Age of Ultron last Thurs. A review of it is incoming, as well as some video shares. I just haven't been in the mood lately.

My Return To This Blog

It has been a long time since I posted here. Almost a month in fact. I had something in the works, something pretty big that I was pretty excited about. Maybe I'll post it eventually, but I dunno, because the same reason that I never posted it is the same reason why I feel kinda sad every time I think about posting anything here: I was on lunch break at work working on that very post when I found out that Leonard Nimoy had died.

I'll talk more about my feelings on that soon, and I definitely have something in the works again, a review of the new live action Cinderella that will be up Thursday or Friday. However, I wanted to announce that despite the rough feelings that I'm still subconsciously projecting onto this blog, I'm back. And what better day to come back than on April Fools Day, the day when the internet explodes with fun and fantastical pranks in the form of fake news posts, videos, and web articles, like this one:

I have a feeling that today will be fun. Maybe I'll even post a list of my favorite pranks at some point after the day is over. It could be interesting.

Follow-Up Awesome - Gotham

So hey, guys, I'm back doing stuff, and just in time for the new TV viewing period! So rather than what I was going to post today, which I totally didn't irresponsibly not write down and then forget what it was or forget to work on it at all (probably), let's talk again about Gotham.

New AwesomeBlog Schedule

So I thought about it, and seeing how I write my content here as I sit down to it, with little preparation, I think that the easiest thing to do would be to just do the following:

-Monday: Some kind of full-length Something Awesome post. I post a YouTube video on Monday, but it is always ready in advance, so I would have time (the Twelfth Doctor in-depth overview will fall into this category, and will come this coming Monday).

-Wednesday: A guaranteed short post, maybe an A Little Something Awesome or something else about the same length. I might even start doing weekly journal entries or something, I dunno.

-Thurs/Friday: A review of something. This is because I will typically go see a new movie on a Thursday or Friday night and write the review of it after, and while I won't be seeing/reviewing a movie every week, it will be nice to have my "review something" day coincide with the day that I would normally review something.

I will reinstate Saturday Doctor Who reviews as well once the show starts up again, though on weeks when I saw no new shows or movies and am pressed for time, I might count this as my weekend review. And, of course, other awesome things, from musings, to cuteness, to poems (yeah, I said that, I'm surprised too!), to cool videos, to A Little Something Awesomes, will come as they come. For example, here are two awesome videos from this past week! I have mixed feelings about both, for wildly different reasons, but they are still both really cool:

Finally, I want to say that this schedule will be implemented next week. I am taking the week off from YouTube, and would be taking the week off from AwesomeJohn Writes if the posts weren't already queued, so it only makes sense to start up here again when I start those up again as well.

It's Been A While

So it's been a few weeks since I've posted here, which is something that I didn't want to happen again. I enjoy posting on this blog, even if I'm too lazy to promote it and pull in readers. I can't blame my other blog, as most of the content there comes from an every expanding buffer of chapters, or my work on YouTube, because it's pretty simple and stable. I can't even blame my job, which gives me a daily hour long lunch during which I can write. I can only blame myself.

I promised things here, but part of the reason that I have split up my main blog, my creative writing, my toy reviews, and my gaming is because now all of these things have different categories. It's also part of the reason that I've started tagging every post. See, if I try to do too many similar creative things at once, I have trouble deciding which to work on, and all work on all of the things grinds to a halt. It was the reason for several long gaps in the updates of my fanfictions on yugiohcardmaker.net, and it is the reason for the long gaps in updates here. My mind is just very easily pulled in so many directions at once that it can't focus.

This is why I will begin striving to post weekly updates on planned larger posts, as well as more short ideas and musings again. I will also be working out a schedule here regarding which update types come when, whether they be new reviews or updates to old reviews, or full length Something Awesomes or whatever. I will also begin reposting every toy review video that I make here as well. Hopefully this will help me sort out my ideas more concisely and get more varied posts flowing again on a more regular basis. Expect a schedule to be posted soon.

A Small Update

Just a quick update for anyone who might read this blog. I write fanfiction, or something akin to it, set in the world of the anime/manga/game property Yu-Gi-Oh!. I'm not going to justify myself (I know fanfiction is often frowned upon and avoided), I just like that world and wanted to contribute my own characters and stories to it. Typically I post this fanfiction in the relevant section of the forum on yugiohcardmaker.net. However, and not for the first time, my login to that site has stopped working, making it impossible to update my threads on the forum. It has been like this for a few months, so I have decided to resume updating my facfiction here. First, however, I must decide if I should open up a second blog just for creative writing, and I want to post what I already have finished here on this site, which I want to do gradually, which will take a loooong time.

Strap in people, because it's coming in just the next few days. You have been warned.

Seriously, What's Up With Blogger?

Again, this is the first time in days (weeks, maybe, I've lost track) since I've been able to log on to this site. Every time I try, I get an error. I emailed someone on the contact page, but nothing. Anyone have any ideas?

*Sigh*

Well, anyway, some awesome stuff has happened lately, like the birthday of Audrey Hepburn, and Star Wars Day (May the 4th be with you!), which I never realized were the same day, but could I post about them? ...Maybe, I haven't tried to log on in a few days. Anyway, provided that my login continues to work I'll have a review of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 up probably tomorrow. For now, here's a link to another two new videos posted to my toy review series on YouTube.



I'm Back! + Blog Update

So things at work are finally settling down fully once again, and I should have time to continue updating the blog very soon. Not today, though, as I'm totally hypnotized by this one YouTuber, Veriax's The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Let's Play, and am almost finished marathoning the entire 337 (or something like that) episode run. I will, however, take the time to update all two of you of my future plans for the blog.

I've been doing a new playthrough of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, really getting into character, and even keeping an in-game journal of what is my take on the main character, the Dragonborn, and his story. I plan to start posting one entry a week of that journal starting next week, for anyone who enjoys Skyrim as much as I do. The entries will come complete with screenshots of my playthrough, and depending on how much I enjoy telling the story of one of my RP characters, I might consider a Skyrim Let's Play of my own. Also, speaking of my YouTube channel,I have my computer back, and an HD camera, so expect new toy review videos soon.

I've also made a decision regarding my Something Awesome posts. I like doing them each day, but when I end up missing one I freak out because my OCD demands that I post them at five a week, so that each friday post is a multiple of five, and each monday post (the larger post of the week) is the first of the next five (on an unrelated note, I'm wondering if I should go on any medication). Honestly I would have posted some Something Awesomes this week, but it wouldn't have fit the pattern. To eleviate some of this drama, and save myself future frustration migraines, I've decided that only one post a week, the big Something Awesome post of the week, will be numbered from now on, with the other being called A Little Something Awesome instead, and that the big post can come any weekday, not just monday.

Updates Again!

I did an update post a while back where I updated people on how I felt several weeks after first viewing some of the shows which I had reviewed here, and I figured now was as good a time as any to do this again. This will be a quick update, because I mostly want to touch on just three shows: Dad's, Marvel's Avengers Assemble (henceforth known as AA), and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Do you put another period after an acronym if it's at the end of a sentence?

Anyway, on to the updates! Beginning with Dad's, I've stopped watching it pretty much completely. I think its season ended, I dunno, but I got over it pretty quick. I still stand by what I said in my review, that the dialogues are pretty good, especially between a few specific characters, and that it is worth taking a look at, but just know that I stopped looking on, like, week five.

As for AA, I've given up on that one, too. It became very clear after a few episodes that the high expectation of a continuing storyline put in place by the pilot was not going to be the reality. The stories are episodic and fast-paced and way too silly and simple. I think what killed it for me was the episode about week four or five where the team finds out that Captain America knows Dracula from WWII (yeah, you read that right) and now he has to go fight him. So with no other exposition or character developement, they go fight Dracula. Witty phrase, witty phrase, punch punch, Hulk Smash, episode over. It's a shame. I'd really hoped that this show would live up to the promise that it would be a faithful seccussor to Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, and it has not. I reduce my rating for AA to a 4 out of 10. It's decent, but it's not great, and I won't be watching it anymore.

Which brings us to S.H.I.E.L.D., which was the first show that I gave a 10 out of 10. Actually it's the first anything that I've ever given such a good score. I did, however, say that I did expect it to level out to being a more typically imperfect show down the road, and in this case my expectations were right on the money. While I still love the show, and I can't wait to see what happens next, it ties into entities from the known Marvel continuities far less often than I originally expected it to. While I understand why it does this (that being so that it doesn't step on the potential future toes of the Marvel movies, and so it can build its own world), I still wish we saw things like A.I.M., Hydra and the like in this show, rather than new entities created for the show itself.

There have also been some shocking reveals as to the events which led up to Coulson's return after The Avengers, where is frackin' died, and while they have been interresting, I don't like them. Hopefully as more is revealed on the subject, I'll get over it, but as of now it leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and kinda makes my brain hurt (watch the show and you'll be able to tell the exact scene which brought about this brain pain). I still think it's a good show, just with its own share of flaws, which any show is bound to have. It's as I always say, nothing is perfect, and it just so happens that S.H.I.E.L.D. is no exception to that rule. However, despite my newfound issues with the show, I still give it something between a 7 and an 8 out of 10, and highly reccomend it.

As for these update posts themselves, I'm going to keep doing them periodically, so get used to them, because they're here to stay.

Sorry One And All

I simply don't feel up to typing up Something Awesome today. I have the entry planned out, but I just can't focus on posting it. Don't worry, though, I plan to have two entries for you tomorrow.

Updates! Hurray!!!

So while my mind continues to process the various degrees of awesome that the new fall television season has blessed us with, I've decided to go back and give some updates on some of the shows that I've reviewed on this site so far, now that they have been out for a while, and when I say some, I mean all! We'll start at the very beginning (it is, after all, a very good place to start) with one of the most disappointing new shows that I have had the displeasure to watch in recent memory: Family Tools. Ah, Family Tools. Didn't that get cancelled already? Because I don't remember hearing anything about it in forever. I watched it a couple more times, and while a few more of the jokes hit home in episode two than did in episode one, episode three was another bore fest of stale, poorly ripped-off humor and themes. My rating of this show has actually gone down from a 4 to a 2 out of 10, as all of my (very small amounts of) hope for the show going forward drained away very quickly.

Based on my review of the show, however, I think we all saw this coming, so let's move on to the next show I reviewed, Weird or What?, with the original Captain Kirk, William Shatner. I gave this show a good review, saying that it was an interesting sort of introductory look into the realm of supernatural phenomena, and that it evoked one of my favorite shows to just turn on on a boring day and watch: Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction?. My opinion of Weird or What? hasn't changed at all. I still catch it from time to time, as I still catch reruns of Fact or Fiction? from time to time. It is a good time-killer show, and, as I said before, a great way for people to see if the supernatural investigative genre is the thing for them or not. Weird or What?, congrats on retaining your above above average score of 8 out of 10.

Teen Titans Go! and Marvel's Avengers Assemble also retain their scores of 7 out of 10. I don't like either show as much as their predecessors, but I still find them to be interesting enough substitutes, and the TTG! episodes are more consistent now than they were in the beginning already. TMNT is actually pushing above it's 9 out of 10, just a bit. It had an amazing season finale only recently, and is already starting up again with new episodes on the twelfth of next month, giving the fans exactly what they want, and building a larger fanbase at a steady pace. It doesn't hurt that I just saw Sean Astin, who voices Raph, live at a Q and A at Wizard World Ohio last week. Still, Samwise aside, the show is great, consistently great, and I can't wait for more.

As a Batman fan, my review of Beware the Batman, the newest animated foray into the Batman universe, was pretty harsh, but I'm happy to say that I'm liking it more as time goes by. The newest episode revealed that Ra's Al Ghul will be featured in the series. As long as he is done well, this will open doors to include other long-standing and better-known Batman villains, like the Joker and Harvey Dent, just less-frequently and in bigger roles, and I really like our "mad villain" character, Anarchy, who manages to be Joker Lite and a badass physical threat, something that Joker rarely is. However, I am still only enjoying the series in a way similar to how I enjoyed The Batman. It is satisfyingly action-packed, but still lacks the deep, thought-provoking storylines and strong mystery elements of another animated Batman series that comes to mind. It also has still yet to develop the character of Batman at all. Yeah, we know him by now, but he's still the title character. He needs to have development, and the show never seems to give him any. It does, however, continue to show potential, so I have bumped my rating of Beware the Batman up to a 7 out of 10 rather than a 6.

And that's it, guys, that's every TV series that I've reviewed so far on this blog, but I still hope to review many, many more, as well as actually start to post more varied content here eventually. I also want to do what I did with Turtles and review some stuff that's been around a little longer, though not too long, so look forward to that.

TTFN!

My Rating Scale

So my rating scale might seem a little odd. I never give tens, and say that sevens are high and eight and nines are something special. I just wanted to explain this a bit for anyone who is confused. My rating system goes from zero to ten, not one to ten, scaling everything down. Also, unlike most people, great isn't a ten, perfect is a ten, so if something manages to be a perfect representation of itself it will then, and only then, score a ten, which doesn't happen often, if ever. In short the scale looks like this:

0: Not worth anyone's time, should not have been made, and, in my mind, doesn't exist (Jersey Shore, etc.)
1: brings something worthwhile to the table, but still pretty horrid
2: Your average crap
3: Not entirely terrible, but I won't be dealing with it a second time
4: A bit below average, but still worth paying mind to if it is part of a greater, better whole
5: Just on the cusp of average
6: Absolutely average
7: Better than average. You should take a look
8: Much better than average. You really should take a look
9: Exceptional. Definitely take a look
10: Perfection, at least within the sphere of its existence

I also place heavy emphasis on how much potential a reviewed material shows going forward within its own franchise. This can add anywhere from half a point to three points, but will likely never yield a score of ten.

Intro to Awesomeness

Hello everyone! Welcome to The AwesomeBlog. Here I plan to talk about everything that I care about. Most of you will considers this to be ungodly boring, but hopefully someone somewhere will get something out of this.

No topic is off limits here. I will primarily focus on toy reviews, the occasional movie or TV review, or review of another product, and little bits and bobs about my life, but then sometimes I'll talk about love, or longing, or current events, or whatever. Just anything that crosses my mind.

Though this will mostly be a place for me to document what matters in my life, I do hope that others will get something out of it too, so please, give it a read.

If I can figure out how, which is a stretch since I know nothing about this site, I'll also be posting stories, video, and my terrible webcomic here, so yeah...