Oh hey, it's a little later than usual, but that's not stopping me from making this. =D

So today was a good day. Let me just say right now: every chance you get, say to yourself "Today is a good day." It will help boost your spirits and will prepare you for the day.

So this morning I had physics in the classroom and we took down notes on a lecture about electric currents and circuits and other things of the like. We have a test/assignment that is due tomorrow night and I am confident I'll get a 100 on it as I have for every other assignment to date in that class. =D

For lunch time, my dad and brother were in town today for a meeting over the past several days and we ate lunch and then went to Target where I got some snacks to last the next few weeks. It was still kinda sad to see them leave, but not as so much as the first time about two months ago. In fact, it reminded me of what was said by... a young, yet extremely bright person:

"Sometimes waiting to be scared is worse than the scare itself."

I'm sure you know who said that. ;)

This afternoon I had physics lab and I turned in my lab report and found out I got an 86 on a previous lab, which is totally awesome. The lab was about founding the static magnetism between strips of tape and calculating and forming a graph from the voltage of a particular paper. We gathered some good results and I thought that it was a smooth experiment.

I got back a couple of hours ago and I watched my fourth movie for this week: Monsters vs. Aliens. I quite enjoyed and like every other movie this week, I really recommend you check it out if you haven't already. =)

And now, I got some questions! Like I said, send them in if you haven't. It makes these more fun to read, and that benefits you. So all three of these were submitted by MightyBFan25. She asks...

1. Will any of the questions in your Random Game involve Bakugan or The Mighty B!?

I haven't given much thought to either of those, but Mighty B! related questions seem plausible. Not so much for Bakugan as I'm relatively unfamiliar with that franchise, so sorry Alicia. I'll let you trash my place at my next blog party for that. =P

2. What the hell's Portia up to on the Roleplay forum?!

Yeah well, I'm really just making this up as I go along. I mean, it seems we're all like that. All of us being inserted into the plot, meteors and satellite lasers blowing everything up, Hal being killed like six times. When we got to all the Boston stuff appearing in San Francisco, I just wondered what would happen if I plunged Portia into unknown territory, well at least unknown to her. So sorry Alicia; you're not the only nerd in that roleplay now. Least not until someone gets Portia out of it. =P

3. If zombies were destroying the world and you had a plane and could go to an island where you would be safe but could only take one thing with you, what would it be and why?

Hm... That is a hard question. Off the top of my head, I would say my DSi XL because it lasts for up to 17 hours on one charge and I would sneak my Pokemon HeartGold game in it cuz that's how I would pass the time until the zombieapocalypse ends or I get hungry and do stuff to survive. =P

So that's all I've got to say for now. Tune in again tomorrow. =D

Cody

...Hey, didn't see you there. =D

So I'm just here right now, finishing up an assignment I have for my English class. We're reading our peers' essays and giving them advice on how to improve it for their final draft. The thing about the due dates in this class is that they're due a minute to midnight on the due date. Hence, I have three and a half hours left to do it.

So this morning I had precalculus. We had a brief quiz on plotting graphs and formulating tables with a select formula and I was able to get it down quite quickly because I have a graphing calculator and of course, I can understand it pretty easily. And also, I got an assignment back that I turned in some time ago, and I got a perfect score on it. Awesome. =D

Then in the afternoon I had my engineering class. We were listening to the other groups give a presentation on their model vehicles I talked about the other day and explain how they would function to the rest of the listening group. My group had made a good amount of progress and everyone is on track to meet the Monday deadline. And then I met with one of the instructors and found out that I am a pretty good group speaker. =D

And continuing the animated movie streak I've started as of late, I watched Up a few minutes ago. The movie was quite good and I really recommend it.

So that's all I have for now. I don't have any new questions and if you read this but don't send in a question... Do it! You know, it'll make this more entertaining to read. =P

With that, have a nice day.
Cody

For the non-Spanish savvy, the title reads "Your Blog for Tuesday". =D

So today, I had physics in the morning and it was a lecture, as has been established as the regular schedule now. It was on magnetism, atoms, and all that. A little lesson: your hair "sticks" to the comb because the electrons in your hair are transferred to the brush and your hair becomes positively charged, and they repel each other, which is why they stand straight out. Neat, huh? =P

After that was the introductory ASU 101 course. We talked about being part of a global enterprise and how that can relate to the university experience. I chipped in when necessary and now just have to post on a discussion board for credit. It is an easy class, but it's an introductory so I guess one can expect them to go easy on us in there. =D

After that, I caught the area transit bus down to the nearby Walmart and bought some materials with which to construct a model for my engineering class. We're designing vehicles that we will program to run on its own power and will be presenting that later in the semester. Perhaps I'll post up materials in a future blog if I feel like it. =P

So that's my classes for the day. I watched another movie via Netflix today, this one being "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs". I quite enjoyed it, even if I only half-paid attention while playing Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. I made progress and had fun watching the movie, another win-win situation!

And now, we can move onto the questions that I got. Two from MightyBFan25, so don't hesitate. Anything you want to ask, just send them in but again, nothing too personal. So here we go...

1. When will you be making a random game?

I predict that I will perhaps have a start-up by Saturday. I'm still thinking of a scenario that is engaging enough to play all the way through. I don't want this to be like my writing on other sites, which I shall spare you from, and plan it out instead of making it up as I go.

2. What's your favorite Pokemon (sans Pikachu)?

Well, I could have to say... Kyogre. This guy ----->He's just very powerful and I've always liked Water-types the most.

So there you have it. I shall talk to you again tomorrow. =)

Cody

Let me explain the title right now: I'm gonna make a conscious effort to keep a daily blog post going for as long as I can. I'm gonna update this everyday to the best of my ability on whatever I feel like talking about. So if you want to join in and, like, ask my any question, feel free to. It'll add more content to these blogs and make them more interesting to read, no? I only ask that you refrain from asking very personal questions like where I live, any important numbers, etc. Consider this my revival on this site, as I've been not-quite-so-active in the past months. =)

Anyway, today was Columbus Day and I didn't really have any special plans. I missed a class today, because I was still being taken back to campus, which is about a six hour drive from my hometown. I did make my afternoon class and performed my observation of another team as instructed quite well. I analyzed them intricately but fairly, and I'm working on a model of a vehicle to display in the class on Wednesday.

Anyway, I got back about two hours ago. I had started a Netflix account about a month ago and the movie I had received today was Shrek the Third. I watched it, well, half-paid attention while I played Pokemon HeartGold, which I started a new save in, and enjoyed the movie while making progress in the game. It was a win-win situation. =) You could say I'm preparing for the eventual release of the fourth Shrek movie on DVD and that dragon movie coming out on DVD on Friday. I've heard good things about it but never watched it myself. So I'm wondering how that will turn out.

And that's what I'll talk about today. Again, feel free to send any questions my way. So... That's it. Talk to you all later, Cody. =)

Alright guys, here's what's going on.

My dad called me and we worked out a plan for me to go home for this weekend, and I'll be back at campus on Monday.

Here's hoping I don't wind up in a bus station for five hours like last time. =)

Cody

It's almost Halloween, so I figured it's suitable to listen to the Mighty B! Music Video that's on Nick.com. Whoever wrote this song deserves a pat on the back.

So yeah, college stuff is going swell. I have all my stuff turned in and I took a test in precalculus on Friday that was pretty easy. I know the stuff and I can learn it pretty quickly, I've always been like that.

I don't have too much to talk about now. I did watch Legend of the Guardians, aka the "Owl movie" yesterday and it was quite good. I would recommend it to you guys. I still want to write some Mighty B! tales on the forums and put to use some of the tips from the site Quick and Dirty Tips. Check it out; you may get some helpful advice.

So there you have it, I'll talk to you all later. =)

Cody

Right out of left field, no?

Yes, it has been one year since I joined TV.com We've had some laughs, we've had a few discussions and debates, but most importantly, we've had fun. So I threw together this little blog bash for the weekend in hopes of getting some others to come and join in the destructive fun. =D

I mean, I still have a bit of school work to do, but it's no big problem for me. I think of myself, as my good friend MightyBFan25 would say, as a "smarticle" person. =D

So here's what I got:

Cake shaped like a Rubik's Cube

Pepsi

Root Beer

Chicken Wings (My personal favorite)

And numerous pizzas. =D

Now for music, I'm open to suggestions as long as it's not pop. And refrain from causing too much damage, I am still living in school property after all. ;)

So enjoy yourselves until Sunday evening. =D

Or why I see little pleasure in the DP fan community nowadays.

I've been a big fan of Danny Phantom since it first premiered. I watched every episode more than once and rarely missed a premiere date except for when other occasions took higher priority in my schedule. Some of you may not know this, but I had an older account on this website which I heavily used in the DP forums and was pretty active on FanFiction.net back in 2007. During the summer of 2005, we had a handful of great episodes and not one but two excellent TV movies. After the bevy of premieres that made up the beginning of season 2 of Danny Phantom, I was under the impression that nothing but good stuff was in store for this show.

Well, we all know what happened next: the bombshell, which was that the show would end after its third season, was dropped and fans were pissed. Many wrote angry letters to Nickelodeon, innumerable people formed and signed petitions, and rallies were held outside of Nickelodeon key buildings and even the Kids' Choice Awards at one point. These fans were fervent about the show and would fight to the death, so to speak, to bring the show back. Naturally, the pleas fell on depth ears and the show ended in August of 2007. Reruns slowed down afterward and after a year or so of hanging in there, Nick dropped DP from its lineup entirely.

Before I get to my key point, let me demonstrate some of my fond experiences as part of this community.

These fans are very passionate about the show even today. Every other day, we get new drawings, photos, and whatnot of the show on deviantART and people still talk about it a lot. They keep the show's memory alive and there is certainly nothing wrong with that.

We all were in this together during the "Save DP" movement of years past and I (rather) shamelessly admit I helped from time to time. Eventually, I saw that little could be done from the fans' standpoint so I let fate takes its route.

Okay, enough of the good stuff. Now let's go for the throat.

Some fans are a little too enthusiastic, almost to the point of being radical. I've noticed more girls than boys in the DP community and a good number of those girls would say that Danny is "hot". Now, I'm sure there are many people out there who lust after fictional characters, but some of these fans are in their late teens to early adult years; I'm pretty sure that's bordering on being a pedophile, even if he is a fictional character. Some take it to one side of the extreme by putting themselves into tales, also known as the dreaded "original character", and pair themselves up with Danny. Getting back to the actual show, every year in late winter/early spring, someone brings up the ever-annoying "DP might come back this year" tale and the rumors spread like wildfire. To that end, some people insist on continuing to blast Nickelodeon about this decision even though years have passed since the show ended. The creator of the show, Butch Hartman, would like to make more episodes but even he admits that it's beyond his control.

People continue to release their blind hatred towards Nickelodeon while asking things like "Why should I care for them? They're just an evil corporation out to get money!" Whoa, slow down on the high fructose corn syrup there. If you take a moment from your teen cynicism, you'll notice that you're answering your own question: they have to care about money because that's how they stay in business. They give the crowds what they want, which is indicated by ratings. DP was not on par with what they wanted, i.e. what SpongeBob established, and so it was not a big loss to them.

And some people just can't leave well enough alone with how the show ended. Fine, in retrospect, the show had a half-baked ending with plots that were left unresolved. On the subject of fan fiction, people create alternate endings, new tales, and a boatload of crossover stories. I've seen many people tailor the DP universe so much that they seem to forget what the show actually is: a kid-friendly superhero show. What I've read ranges from romance crossovers, angst fests, and even a bunch of slash pairings. To make matters worse, some people take their "original" characters so far that they somehow persuade others into thinking that they're part of the actual canon. I know that unsatisfactory turnouts is a cause for all this, but persuading others into believing non-canon to be canon? That's either really impressive or laughably stupid.

There's nothing else I can say right now. Dozens, if not hundreds, of fans have dropped out of the community due to loss of interest of the show and for the fans out there still fighting to bring the show back, guess what: it'll be harder with the lost support. Keep in mind that I still like the show, I'll draw and write about it from time to time. But asking me to help in bringing the show back is where I draw the line.

I ask this: I was sad about the show ending, and even without it, I've moved on and have lived happily for three years without it. Why can't you?

Yes, I have returned home for Labor Day Weekend. It is quite nice to see that nothing has changed because that's just the way I like it. I did have quite a bit of work but it's nothing that I can finish soon. I guess the only thing unpleasant from this weekend was that I was stuck in a bus station for five hours the other day. Oh well, I had my DS Lite and M&L:BIS to keep me occupied.

So yeah, I'm still thinking up a scenario for my own version of the random game coming up soon. Before that, I figure I'd give you guys another incentive to look at this blog though. As stated, I call it the Music Game and here's how it works: I list down four songs that you may or may not know, provide links to listen to them, and whichever one you choose, you listen to it and tell me what you think. Sounds simple, right? So here are the links:

Song 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpdMIe3yiYo

Song 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhOJ3WDS-To

Song 3 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8d60rNRtc5k

Song 4 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4L3UEK-Wwg

So what did you think? Let me know how this goes and we'll see if it can catch on.

With that, I bid you good day. =D

I don't believe I've ever told you this, but I watched James Cameron's Avatar a couple of months back and unlike most of my friends who've seen it, I didn't like it all that much. There are a couple of reasons why that verdict was the way it was and of course, there are some people who have made their decisions based on other aspects than what I was going for. Watching a video review of the film yesterday on YouTube whose verdict was to see it in theaters because not watching it in that environment will make you see the film for what it really is and that's a bad thing really made me think about it. As the reviewer said, "it's a pretty-looking movie, but not a beautiful movie".

Last night, I watched Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan for the first time in years. I remember watching it when I was younger and enjoying it a fair bit but being so young, I really had no idea what was going on except for when the ships were shooting at each other. And not being so young this time around, I really enjoyed it because I could get invested into the plot and characters. And this leads me to my first point:

I. The Plots and Characters

What is basically the universal grievance against Avatar is just how cliched its story is. To many reviewers, they have referred to it as simply being "Dances with Wolves/Pocahontas/FernGully in Space with Blue Aliens". I think you can figure out the meaning of that, and of course it didn't help that the trailers and TV spots basically showed us how the movie would turn out, which is more or less what happened in the previously mentioned films. Now, there is a diverse cast of characters who seem to become the dichotomy that forms between the humans and the Na'vi but none of them seem relatively deep or interesting to me. They are mostly a combination of stereotypes and archetypes that we've come to see in such tales of clashing cultures and worlds and never really take time to develop because they're one-dimensional.

Now for Star Trek II we have the cast of a TV show from decades ago facing a vengeful villain from the same time. It's a basic revenge plot but done extremely well. We see the characters face dire situations and both sides take heavy losses over the course of the film. You really get attached to the characters because again, they take the time to develop and you can take sides with this. Going back to Avatar, another reason I couldn't get invested into the story is because I had no idea who to root for. There are the Na'vi, a seemingly perfect race in total harmony with nature and the humans who want to sustain life for themselves but are portrayed as complete jerks. The Na'vi are a nice group, but I'm still human so a tinge of me still wants to root for them. Quite a conundrum if you ask me. Back to the losses, it's like three-quarters of the characters in Avatar die within two minutes while deaths of key characters in Star Trek II are mostly spaced out, each one seems significant to the plot.

II. The Presentation

Of course, one of the biggest selling points to Avatar is the 3-D effects that it pushed upon audiences. People went in with their 3-D add-ons that they shelled out another 3 dollars for and wait for the good stuff to happen. It came in spades and from what I've heard, people walked out of the theater in total awe at what they just saw. In fact, the 3-D was a little too realistic because reports soon rose of people not being interesting in this world of ours and instead wanting to permanently be on the world of Pandora. It got so bad that many people said they wanted to commit suicide in hopes of being reincarnated as a Na'vi. I am a rather spiritual person, but wanting to kill yourself for reincarnation because of a film is taking it too far!

With Star Trek II, everything is shot with models as before the CGI hoopla that arose in the late twentieth century and it still looks very good. Ship damage looks authentic and the various creatures have a excellent amount of detail and the environments are just very well crafted. It's in 2-D and even then, I still found myself getting pulled into the tale. I smiled a bit when it looked like the good guys were winning and went "Aw..." every time the antagonists had it going their way.

So those are my two big concerns with the film and why I think Star Trek II is better in just about every respect. Now of course if you disagree, there's no reason to post any hateful comments on this journal. I totally respect your opinion. Of course, it was announced some time ago that Avatar would be getting sequels sometime down the road and as you may have already guessed by now: I will ignore them. Also, Star Trek '09 is also getting a sequel in a few years so naturally, I will line up for that.

And of course, I'm still working on my own version of the "Random Game" and I shall post up a start-up situation in a few weeks. So keep an eye on that.

With that, good day.
FZeroBoyo