Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Post 119: Unrealistic Character Changes

So, I get that Disney and other makers of kid and preteen movies will tone things done and wrap up the story with some sort of happy ending, but it often is way too unrealistic.

The biggest examples I can think of are 1 Chance 2 Dance and Cloud 9.

In both there is a main character and an antagonist that are competing against each other. The antagonist in both goes to extraordinary measures to take out the competition but then, at the end, claps for the main character when they win.

In 1 Chance 2 Dance, the main character and antagonist are both dancers. The antagonist is threatened by the main character, so she steals her partner. But that's not all. She also tricks her into coming to party, where she uses the main character's mother's alcoholism and her crush to hurt her emotionally. But that's not all, either. On the antagonist's behalf, a boy at the party spikes the main character's drink and then tries to get her to lie down and starts to climb on top of her. Now, the main character's love interest pulled him off her, but it is hard to say how far he was supposed to go and what he did as it was, was way over the line. But that still isn't all. The antagonist trips the main character with an intent to injure her, and when the main character is injured, the antagonist insults her again and walks away.

But then when the main character wins she basically shrugs it off and claps for her. After everything she has done to the main character or tried to do to her, it is absolutely out of character for her to not be upset about the main character winning.

In Cloud 9, it is the same ending.

Except in Cloud 9 the main character and antagonist start out on the same team. The main character is not a very good teammate, but the antagonist (the coach) cannot kick her off the team without a reason, so he has his son/her boyfriend get her into trouble.

Except that how he got her into trouble was actually pretty dangerous. She could have gotten seriously hurt. In fact, while they wrap it up like it was just to get her in trouble, it seems more realistic that the dad's actual goal was for her to get hurt, but didn't want to tell his son that.

Anyway, the son and the main character stole someone's sled (which really seems like it should have been enough). They were riding in it and all was well, until the son directed the sled towards a sign, which was really more like a giant billboard, and jumped out so that the main character would crash into it (at his father's behest).

She was lucky she didn't get hurt.

I had a friend when I was younger, a neighbor more than friend, and she cracked her skull open while sledding. She needed 19 stitches. Thankfully, she was alright but it was day and there were a lot of people around to help her. And it was not a steep hill and it was not a big hill, she just hit a patch of ice the wrong way and next thing she knew she was in the hospital.

The main character wasn't on a hill. It was a mountain. And it was steep and there were trees and she was sent directly into a giant sign. And it was night. And the guys she was with ran away, if she had been hurt there wouldn't have been people to help her. She was seriously lucky.

And yet, the coach clapped at the end like him sabotaging her and putting her life in danger were really no big deal.

There have been other shows or movies where this has come up and I don't get it. It doesn't really seem realistic and I'm sure (well, I suspect) I am not the only person out there thinking it is ridiculous and unfair.

Both these people got away with it and it is hard to say which is worse. On the one hand, the antagonist in 1 Chance 2 Dance went further, especially when she drugged the main character, but on the other side the antagonist in Cloud 9 was her coach, an adult who is supposed to take care of his team and be responsible for their safety, not jeopardize it. And they both showed in doing these acts, as well as the mention of the antagonist in 1C2D having a history of this kind of behavior, they will probably continue it.

They got away with it after all.

I would have liked to see the coach fired. Especially since what he did came out in front of her dad (who, technically, signs his paychecks and could have fired him or sued him)  but he wasn't fired and his team wasn't disqualified, it showed no repercussions for his behavior. Same with the antagonist in 1 Chance 2 Dance, she wasn't disqualified, or suspended, or punished, or anything.

So, my biggest problems with this should now be clear: they wouldn't have clapped, it isn't in their nature, and they will do it again, so there is no real happy ending.


Thursday, December 25, 2014

Post 118: Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas (Dec. 25th)! 
Happy Hanukkah ( Dec. 16th - Dec. 24th )! 
Happy Kwanzaa ( Dec. 26th - Jan. 1st ).
Happy Holidays ( Jan. 1st - Dec. 31st )!

This will be a pretty short post, it is a holiday after all. So, happy holidays all no matter what you celebrate or if you celebrate at all this month.

For Christmas this year, like most years, I am visiting family in upstate New York. In fact, as I write this I am on my way from my dad's to my aunt and uncle's. It is about a four hour drive, and don't worry, I am not the one driving.

Christmas music is playing and there is snow on the ground. It is a very Christmas-y scene. Not quite movie level picturesque as it has been uncharacteristically warm this December. In fact, it was in the 50's the other day. So, there isn't quite as much snow as there has been in the past.

Which makes the drive safer, at least.

Anyway, we are on our way with a van full of gifts and toys for relatives and other random things that have accumulated over the years. 

Every year, I usually get something small for everyone. Which sounds pretty obvious, but because their are so many people in our family, we have a system in place where everyone buys for the kids and then it is set up kind of like a secret Santa where every family gets gifts for another family, but not something for everyone. By family I mean, husband, wife, and kid or married couple or single person or parent and kid, etc. I guess, household might be a better way of explaining it. 

Anyway, since I was a kid I got something from everyone, I (with my dad's sponsorship) got something for everyone. This year I made necklaces. Which was fun. I like making things. There is something both wonderfully entertaining and completely satisfying in creating things, whether it be blog posts, stories, jewelry, paintings, pie, jam, characters, etc. 

It was fun. I really enjoyed it. The first time I ever made anything in the way of jewelry was probably when I was like 11, it was a bracelet. My mom got a jewelry kit because she was considering taking it up as a hobby and she got me some stuff too. I really liked the bracelet I made and I liked making it, but I didn't like how much the beads, wire, fasteners, and other supplies cost. 

The next time I got into it again, it was with rainbow beads and elastic cord. They were not as nice as the previous bracelet. However, they were just as fun to make and the supplies was a lot cheaper. Also, because there were not as many small pieces involved I could make them anywhere. 

My dad has at least four, I probably have at least six and I have probably made at least a hundred in the past few years. Though, I tend to give them away or lose them, so I don't know where a majority of them are anymore.

The necklaces I made for Christmas are not rainbow beads and elastic cord. They are wire and beads and charms and other miscellaneous things that can be found in the crafts' section of any store that has a crafts' section.

I don't have any pictures of them. In fact, since all but two (one for my mom, who I hope doesn't read this before I give it to her, and one I am wearing because I made it as a tester) are wrapped up in a box with wrapping paper and stored in another box in a bag in the back of the van. 

Anyway, this has gotten longer than I expected it would and my hand is getting a little sore from writing this on my iPad without my handy Bluetooth keyboard, so I'm going to end this here.

Happy Holidays!!! 

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Post 117: Don't Try This At Home

'Don't try this at home' is something that I remember appearing on the bottom of my TV screen a lot when I was younger, for commercials and TV shows alike. I don't see it as often now. Perhaps it is what I'm watching now. The assumption might now be that the audience is old enough not to blindly attempt the stunts being shown. However, that doesn't seem overly likely. I mean, knives come with instructions and logs for the fire come with warnings that they are flammable.

So, where are the warnings now? Probably buried in the credits or tiny print that shows up for commercials at times which has the warnings and restrictions,  essentially the fine print of whatever it is. 

Why am I writing about this?

Because I ignored the warnings and tried something I saw in a movie. I successfully completed the stunt. By successfully, I mean I didn't kill myself and caught the knife with only a small amount of blood shed.

So, I got a pocket knife recently. Not that I have any desire to use it or really any need to use it, but I'm hoping to take it with me back to CAN. My idea of Canada as a safe place is not as strong as it used to be. This year alone there were approx. 44 murders in the lower mainland area alone in BC. Including a teenage girl who was found murdered not far from my school campus. 

This new knowledge as well as the the recent statistics coming out about rape (98% of rapists won't spend a day in jail, approximately 70% of rapes aren't reported, 1 out of every 6 women in the U.S. has been the victim of either sexual assault or rape, 17.7 million American women alone have been the victims of sexual assault or rape, etc.) makes commuting home especially after late night classes a little unnerving.

I mean, I want to say that it's not likely something will happen, but statistics suggest that it is more likely than people would like to think.

So, I think I would feel more comfortable just knowing I had something that I could use if the worst were to happen. 

Anyway, with this new pocket knife, I was kind of playing around. I mean, I have never had one other than the little Swiss Army ones so I wanted to make sure I knew how to open and close it. Which was actually a little more difficult than I had imagined. And I happened to remember something I had seen someone do with a pocket knife in a movie. It was like a flick and spin thing. 

I tried. I got the spin except it spun down instead of up. I got the flick except it flicked a little more than I had expected. Long story short I have two band-aids on the back of my leg and one on my finger, because that is the extent in which this went wrong. And yet, I still caught it and I didn't lose any fingers or nick any major or minor arteries. 

So, for the most part, I would list this as a successful attempt that I will not repeat again.

Anyway, I didn't have that much to say with this other than what I've written above. So, Happy Holiday Season all!

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Post 116: Don't Die, Just Dye



This is kind of a review, but kind of not. So, it will be my review post for the month, but will also be counted in my post count (Post 116). If I had the time I would separate the three main brands I use and post them as part of my monthly reviews. However, I don't have that much to say and what good does it do people if I only do one or two. They can't compare them.

So, as anyone who has met me in person may know, my hair tends to change color. As of late I have been adding less natural colors. I've pretty consistently had a streak in my bangs . It goes from green to blue to purple and I recently added red to the end of the streak. However,  I also added a green and red striped streak for Christmas. 

For this I used three different brands, mostly because that is what I have and it is expensive to buy new product every time. The three main kinds I use are Splat!, Manic Panic, and Punky color.

Splat!

The cheapest from most places for what you get and how far it will go, but more limited color selection. I think there is only red, green, blue, purple, pink, and aqua. Which is really enough.

It comes in a box with a bottle of dye, a pair of gloves, and a set of instructions. Which is nice. I usually buy a pack of cheap, disposable plastic gloves from the Dollar Store to use but the instructions are nice for people who don't dye their hair often and wonder about timing. Also people who don't do it as often as I do, won't need multiple pairs of gloves for constant upkeep.

This one is also nice because it works for either streaking or for doing all your hair.

It also comes with a product to lighten the hair before adding color. 

Over all, this is probably my favorite. It takes the least amount of time to get the color to stick, the time between fading is the least and it smells the best.

The only downside is that sometimes it bleeds. This isn't always the case, but on occasion I have had colors bleed. By this I mean that if it rained, sometimes slightly tinted streams of water would run down my face. This isn't always the case, as I said, and most often it only occurred when I mixed colors or products. 

Manic Panic

Both Manic Panic and Punky color some in small jars. Manic Panic being in the smaller of the two selections and the most expensive. It usually costs about $15 dollars per jar. It takes longer than Splat! but not as long as Punky color.

Manic Panic does have the added benefit that it is Vegan and not tested on animals. Though, I'm not sure what would be in hair dye that would make them non-Vegan. It has a wider variety of colors than Splat! and various shades with in the basic colors.

It also adds new colors every once and awhile as well, so their selection is growing.

I have not had the problem of color bleeding with Manic Panic that I had with Splat!

However, it is also the most expensive for the amount that you get and I have had to double the time in my hair for some of the colors to show up (meaning, some colors can take two hours or two one hour applications - this often happened with green).

Punky Color

Even though this costs about the same amount as Splat! and doesn't bleed it often takes at least an hour for the color to stick. However, the main reason I don't use it whenever it is possible (sometime it is the only brand I have the color I want in), is because I find that it seems to make my hair feel dry. Splat! and Manic Panic while surely not great for my hair, don't seem to negatively effect my hair as much as this product does.

Overall, Splat! is my favorite because I like the price, the minimal time required, and the brightness of the color. Manic Panic has the same brightness but takes more time and more money, however for people who live in rainy climates or are deeply concerned by the possibility of color bleeding, I recommend it over Splat! Punky Color, I don't really recommend based on my experience with it.

Rating Hallmark Christmas Romance Movies

'Tis the season for some Christmas movies. This post will focus on Hallmark Romances. Next I might do Christmas Romances that are like H...