Rest in Peace, Cecil: Minnesota Dentist Kills Beloved Zimbabwean Lion

(not trying to be funny, but...)
Such a shame that the King of the Jungle was taken down by, of all things, a dentist.

Last night, the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force revealed in a statement that Walter James Palmer of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, a well-documented world-travelling hunter, went to Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe, South Africa, and shot and killed Cecil the Lion, a beloved star attraction at the Park. He recruited two local hunters to help with the act, by hunting the Lion for 40 hours, poaching the loved animal and taking its life. The hunters then shaved off its fur and mane and beheaded him.
The price to pay for this entire heinous attack: $55,000, given by Palmer to the hunters.

The hunters later went in court in Zimbabwe on Wednesday morning to face charges of the poaching and killing. Their next court appearance is on August 5.

I've never heard of such a disgusting, heinous and vile action like this before...but...here it is. One American going to an African country to kill what he didn't notice was a national treasure. This fucker did this, and feels like he's on top of the world.

He said in a written statement, "I had no idea that the lion I took was a known, local favorite until the end of the hunt. I relied on the expertise of my local professional guides to ensure a legal hunt."
BULLSHIT. If you have done research on this killing, you would've done the smart thing by cancelling the hunt and went somewhere else. If I were you, I would've let them keep the money, and take back my weapons, and go back home. I wouldn't care if they had done this on their own, and get themselves sent to jail and possibly killed.

I want to talk directly to Palmer for this:
Why did you do this? And what possessed your mind to make you think this was necessary, let alone would happen?
What do you think you would gain from this? What have you thought you have taken away from this? Why did you think that taking out a lion would make you life feel much better?

Because to the entire country of Zimbabwe, Cecil was a beloved figure to everyone, even his family. Now everyone will be heartbroken all across Africa because of this loss. Oh yeah...and his pride will not have a father anymore!! You killed the father of lion cubs, who will now live the rest of their lives without their father to take care of them and guide them through their lives. And they will now live in fear of his rival, who will hunt them for the rest of their lives. All because of you.

And you "deeply regret it"?!? FUCK. YOU. I bet you deeply regretted it the moment you bought the gun, the minute you went down to Hwange National, or the second you pulled the trigger, huh? I bet you felt a little guilty when you did any of those few things. No. Of course you didn't. You feel guilty now because you got caught. And you deserve it. Especially after taking out a lion that meant so much to the country of Africa and his pride.
You are a sick, twisted, horrible man.

To the Zimbabwean hunters who helped him with this disgusting
What did Cecil do to you? Why did his existence felt like the worst thing to you two? Why did you think that taking out a lion would make you lives feel much better?

I have no sympathy for any of you, and I'm relieved that the rest of the world feels the same way, too.
All of you are insane! You all need to be thrown into jail and an asylum for for a long time, because what you done was just disgusting. Fuck all of you.

I've never heard of Cecil in my life, but now, I feel saddened and heartbroken after his death. He did not deserved this death at the hands of random evil. I feel very sorry for the beloved lion's family and all of his homeland for this senseless ending to his life.

Rest in Peace, Cecil.

Funday Friday: #43 -- Avery, Honorary Princess of Arendelle (Kristen Bell Calls Young Cancer Patient as Frozen's Anna)

Happy Funday Friday, folks.

This will just warm your heart, even if it's frozen in ice.
6-year-old Avery Huffman is living a life no child should even live, let alone understand. She is suffering from a rare incurable form of brain cancer. And her family needs money to pay for bills. But a ray of summer sun came in the form of a sweet message from someone she never expected--Anna, the Princess of Arendelle herself! In actuality, it was Anna's voice actress from Frozen, Kristen Bell, who took time out to call Avery as Anna, and even gave her the sweet decree from her sister, Queen Elsa, that she is an honorary Princess of Arendelle. You just have to see the look on Avery's face in this video recorded by her dad--it's just lovely.

I've never suffered from cancer, but I know it's extremely hard for a child of any age, let alone Avery's, to suffer any form of any cancer. As it is painful to endure surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation and the fear that every breath could be your last.
But after this phone call, it's sweet to see that Avery now has one reason to go through this pain in her life with a smile. And it was very sweet for Ms. Bell to make the call to Avery for no reason other than to make Avery happy. I hope Avery will live a long life, even if this form has no cure. I wish her luck. And to Kristen Bell, thank you.

Star vs. The Forces of Evil Review: Blood Moon Ball / Fortune Cookies

Hiya, Stargazers.

Blah blah blah--another hiatus, Blah blah blah--I'm pissed, Blah blah blah--another crap joke, Blah blah blah--it's review time!

So, this has to be one of the episodes I've been looking forward to since I've started watching this series and doing this review. For a few reasons:
-Star is going to prom. That means she'll be wearing a dress that we'll all be fan-art-ing till kingdom come. (or at least until next week),
and the biggest one of them all: Tom is back!
Yes, Star's ex-boyfriend who's caused a lot of bad in her life has returned, and we get to see him much long than that the last we've seen earlier in this series, including in the theme song for about half-a-second, and in "Match Maker", where Star attempts to call her mom, Queen Butterfly, to indirectly solve a problem, and ends up calling him instead. Seemingly, he seemed like a cool, pretty laid-back guy who just happens to be a demon (at least that's what I thought at first), but for that last second...

he was the complete opposite...who just happens to be a demon.
But still, I was still excited to see him in an episode,
what with because I was extremely curious to see what kind of guy he was (and what personality he exhibits) from that few seconds we've seen of him in "Match Maker", and the fact that at the Wikia page that it was confirmed that he would appear in a then-future episode. And the fact that he's voiced by Rider Strong aka Shawn freakin' Hunter, but hey, it's the thought that counts, right? So, let's tear into the reason I may be thanking the creator above for watching this beautiful gem of an animated series...


The episode begins with a shot of a beautiful red-colored moon in the distance, with something ascending from the ground. It's a carriage with someone coming out. It's our favorite horrible, disgusting, reprehensible jockstrap of an ex-boyfriend...Tom.
The reason? He's at Echo Creek Academy, asking his ex-love Star to the Blood Moon Ball--an event that takes place every 667 years. (Cutting it close, huh?) Star understandably says no, but Tom convinces her that he only wants the best intentions for her, as he's changed his life around and is now a new man. With the help of a life coach Brian and a pink bunny, he seems to have convinced her to join him for the big night. That is before Marco drops in with a karate chop to Tom's wrist and breaks off his hand. Tom is close to giving Marc a karate chop of his own, but Brian calms him down with a walk, while Starco converse about him.
After Good and Evil meet for the first time, Tom gives Star a tiny bell as a calling for him to pick her up. She is flabbergasted.
--Let me be honest here: I like Tom. I like him a lot. Even though he's reprehensible as I don't know what, I like his charm, his demeanor and his even voice. So I'd hope you'd understand that If I were Star, I wouldn't just accept his invitation to the Ball, I'd also ask him to marry me.
But I understand where Star's going here: she doesn't want to go, because of the damage he's caused her during their relationship and wants nothing to do with him since then. So I really don't blame her for that; I really believe her from what the Wikia page read about him.
--I wish I had someone like Brian to be my life coach. He and his "walk-it-out" sessions could really come in handy for all my moments of anger.

That night in Star's expansion pack bedroom, she gets ready for the Ball. Marco tries to persuade her from going, but she assures him she's going, seeing as Tom being a changed man convinced her enough to join him, and that it'll be fun. She then goes behind her Magic Mirror to slip into a beautiful pink flowing gown, complete with a hairdo perfect for the occasion. Star is ready and rings the bell, calling up a hearsecarriage to go to Tom. Marco tries once last time to coerce Star, but she shuns him off, on the way to the Blood Moon Ball.
--You know what? This is shocking...but I definitely sided with Star more than Marco. I do believe that Tom can give Star a good, safe night and is trying hard to be a different guy than the one she knew so horribly previously.

Star makes it to Tom's place where he has a corsage ready for her, which she refuses. Tom begins to get angry, but Brian stops him again. And from there, the couple of the evening are ready for the event of their lives (or life and afterlife).
But Marco is instead having the night he never wanted, sitting in Star's room listening to music, eating chips and moping. (Poor guy.)
--I don't have to say that Star looks beautiful in her dress, because it's really obvious. But also, Marco and Tom have a really nice suit game going on. Tom with his clean white layered tux, and Marc with his great black suit showing his Mexican heritage. These guys really know how to dress for an occasion.

Meanwhile, at the event, guests are in line to have their photos taken...before being drenched in blood. Star refuses to this, while Tom assures her it's unicorn blood (as in the blood her friend Princess Pony Head shares). She doesn't budge. She later goes to the Ball-room and begins to enjoy her night. Another attendee appears and complains to Star that the Ball is ruined--Tom changed it around to make it more suitable and PC for Star and (--Awww...I guess.) Tom takes Star to the floor and asks for a dance, which she accepts.

Marco comes in to stop the proceedings, but winds up dancing with Star...at the worst possible moment. The Blood Moon awakens and shines on Starco as they dance the few seconds away. But then Tom comes in. And he's furious. He knocks Marc from his date, and is close to brutally destroying him, but Star stops him by freezing him in a block of ice.
With a nice button as a consolation.
Star storms off, with Marco following.
--Let me be honest here. I felt sorry for Tom. Despite being an asshole, he really did try his best to not only make this the best night of his (eternal) life, but make sure Star had the best night of hers, too, and make sure she's--well, at least, okay. And I honestly believed this. And Marco comes in--I won't say he ruined it (maybe), and I don't blame him. He truly cares about Star, and he doesn't want her to get hurt in the worst way possible

and looking at him, I can honestly believe that, too. But Star wanted him to trust her in that if she does get hurt, she'll handle it. And I can believe that, too. So, I think I'd back Tom more than Marco.

Later on, back at Star's EXPBR, Star is peeved...but not at Tom...but at Marco. She calls him out for going to the Ball and ruining her and Tom's night, and for not trusting her at that moment. Marc agrees and apologizes. Star then asks him to make nachos. And Marco complies.

--You know what? I can't believe I'm saying this...but I think I'm back on the Starco ship bandwagon. ...for now. It's moments like this that actually convince me that they can be a really good couple. And no matter how hard I try to stay on the stance that they're much better as friends, this stuff comes up and makes me change my mind.

--I LOVE THIS EPISODE. Not only did I get to see Tom more (and I was not disappointed), seeing as a guy who can change his personality, and has actually made the commitment to stick to said change (seriously, he has a life coach named Brian)
but I really enjoyed the sweet Starco moments throughout, like
-her wearing her really cute dress, and him looking overwhelmed
-him chasing after her, because he really cares about her
-their dance under the bright Blood Moon
-and even their little fight at the end
I amazingly enjoyed every one of these moments, and these moments make me glad I have a "ship" to like. Oh man...I guess I really am enjoying them as a couple.
This is going to be a roller-coaster ride for me, guys. I'm going to be in a position where I feel one over the other. One episode, I really enjoy them as friends. And the next, I actually want them to be together. But there is barely a middle ground for this, and I feel so frustrated about this. (It's the writing and voice acting, I tell ya!!)
But I'm surely enjoying the ride so far, and I can assure you, this isn't the end of this. I can drop out and jump back in at any time (with or without warning).
Hold on, folks. This ride is just beginning.

and now, the other half of this one episode I think I'll enjoy very much...


This one begins in the Middle of...
Starco vs. The Useless Minions!: Round 7!
(You know the outcome, but Starco's short-but-very-effective moves to knock off Ludo's henchmen was hilarious and cool). After another win under their belt, Marco suggests celebrating with Chinese Food (which Star does not know about). But after another loss under his belt, Ludo (who is pissed off at his workers, as usual) suggests a new game plan. At his castle, Ludo yells at his minions for screwing up his plans once
--This is the first episode where some scene takes place in another place at Ludo's Castle, with this scene not being in Ludo's lair, but in an office breakroom setting. And it was amusing to me, seeing that the minions got a place to talk shop and stuff. And Ludo comes in like a smarter and more volatile Michael Scott. Again, it's amusing to me.
--And just so you know, one of his henchmen has a tattoo on his right forearm of a arrow-stricken heart. It it, says "BOSS".
I think it means his respect for Ludo, but make what you will of that.
--"Go get change!" -Ludo
That's very amusing to me.

At a Chinese food restaurant, Starco are enjoying their meal. (And in Star's case, I mean she's swallowing her meal.) After almost ingesting her fortune cookie (fortune and all), Marco tells her that the fortune is magical, and proves it with one. (Oh Gosh, not again.) After reading one of her own, she fully believes Marc's "story" and starts to look in the way of the Fortune Cookies.
--Star seeing her chopsticks as tiny wands and devouring her fortune cookie was so very cute. Funny, too, but very cute nonetheless.
--When I mean by (Oh Gosh, not again.), I mean this is the second time Marco has told Star something that is obviously fake, but she really takes this to heart and follows it until he spells it out for her, which is when all is gone to ruin. The first time was, of course, in "School Spirit". But this time, Marc is a little worried about Star.

Back at Ludo's Castle, he's holding a tryout for an assistant to get his minions into better shape to stop Star. After interviewing some duds, he finally finds a perfect candidate in...Toffee. *shrug*
He's pretty much a very mysterious man, who knows his way around. Like getting himself hired.
--His pencil case (possibly) is a little statuette of Star. With the pencils going through her. This grown man has some deep issues about this teenage girl.
--It seems Toffee has a nice little suit game going on, too. Real nice.
--My face was just like Buff Frog's when Toffee was hired.

Meanwhile, at the Diaz Family Home, while Marco is whipping up his world-famous
Maaarco's Super-Awesome Naaachos (clap-clap clap-clap!),
Star is busy worshiping her new consultants, the Fortune Cookies. Marc tells her that the Fortunes are not magical, but just papers written by people in a factory. Star rebuffs him by reading one.
Although Marco proves that the fortune isn't true at first, Ferguson shows up (thanks to the call of nachos) and proves Star right. Star begins to act more into delusional about the fortunes and won't Marco's words about it.
On their way back to the Chinese food restaurant, Starco meet two breakdancers. At that moment when they're distracted by their moves, a large fly buzzes to her purse and switches her cookie for another with a fake fortune, setting her and Marco up for a disaster. As it turns out, the breakdancers are two of Ludo's minions and Starco has been ambushed into...Round 8! But instead of fighting them, Star (under belief of another fortune) has to love them. As in giving them hugs. When it seems like Ludo would grab her Wand for himself (...again.), Ludo is screwed out (...once again), this time by one of his own henchman, who needed a good one. After getting caught, the two-headed minion decides to begin a relationship of honesty with Star by revealing the fake fortune plan to all Ludo's bidding. Thanks to this shocking reveal by a surprising source, Star ends her trust (and possible faith) in fortune cookies, and finishes what she kinda started by blasting the minions once again, ending another round in success.
Back at Ludo's Castle, he and Toffee drink to what is the beginning of a perfect partnership.
Looking up to the Butterfly Kingdom, Toffee looks on with a sneer on his face...and something else seemingly up his sleeve.

--Toffee is a very interesting figure. Unlike Ludo, He's secretive, quietly dashing, and he's cunning, and he seems to have everything he can to undermine Star in helping Ludo in his quest to take her wand. But what makes his more interesting is those shots near the end when he turns back with a smile on his face. Could this mean something coming in ways for him? Could he turn against Ludo with his own intentions, possibly for Star's wand or something else? Who knows, but I'm really intrigued, and I can't wait to see what he'll pull later in the season, and probably the rest of the series. I like him a lot.

I ALSO LOVE THIS EPISODE. While it wasn't as strong to me as "Blood Moon Ball", "Fortune Cookies" was great on its own, mostly thanks a new character. We met a new villain, Toffee; he's cunning and interesting, and thanks to him, Ludo has come very close to getting Star's wand a second time, and (hopefully) he's another Force of Evil Starco will deal with sometime later on. I really hope so; he's that cool (in an evil way).

Without saying much, this was another great episode. I enjoyed both very much in their ways, and they both had it all: the laughs, the suspense, the fun, and the moments that make your heart warm. It's just that perfect. Great job to everyone that put this together. All your combined contributions make this one amazing...like Star in that dress.

And that, Stargazers, is another review in the archives, ready for you to enjoy again...or find in disgust, I don't mind. Anyway...
Time...it's a form of measurement we use in life: to go through, to check on our watches, and to kill when we want to wait for something we want to happen, happen. And apparently, Starco has it in their reach.
Next week, I tackle "Freeze Day", where Star has paused time, and it's up to her and Marco to convince Father Time to set everything straight. Also, this:

This is extremely cute.

Also, in my sights to spend days working on while others spend just one for some reason, "Royal Pain", where King Butterfly visits a delighted Star on Earth, but her delight soon turns into annoyance when he wears out his welcome.
Seems like another 30 minutes of fun, action, excitement and laughter to enjoy, huh?

Well, join me next week for that, and I hope to be at least a quarter of that.
I'm Andrew, saying "Reach for the Star, and Keep Looking Up!...at your TV screen."

Funday Friday: #42--It's Time to Play DRINKO!

Welcome to another Funday Friday, guys.
ARE YOU READY FOR THE GAME OF YOUR LIFE?!? Well, you`ll have to settle for this one. I would.

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, always the late night king of wacky, hilarious and awesome games, has created yet another gem this week. THIS is "Drinko". Yes, it looks exactly like "Plinko" from The Price is Right, and there are chips to throw down, but here's where the similarities stop. Instead of playing for money, the players (Fallon and whatever guest is Studio 6B that night-that being actor Paul Rudd) play against each other, with one player throwing a disk into a cup it would land in, and whatever concoction the disk lands, the other player must drink. It's hilarious even without mention!

http://youtu.be/bRmv6z6XAPk

Here are some highlights:
During Jimmy's turn, the disk landed in a cup of gravy, which Paul had to drink. It seemed like Gravy would be a choice of the game, and I had an instinct for that and I was right.
Later, when both guys went up on the top of the game base for he bonus round, both threw down, with one disk landing in a cup of tequila, and the other landing in...you guessed it, gravy. And since Jimmy landed last, he had to sip.

This game is hilarious, and a great excuse to drink. And of course it is another example of TTS' great line of gamessages that makes us laugh and enjoy.

And other thing before I drift into the night for the week, congrats are in hand for the crew of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy
Fallon , as it has been nominated for the Prime time Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Talk Series! Congrats to Jimmy and the writers, producers and The Roots, and everyone else on the staff for the we major coup.

And that does it for this week. See you all next week for another fun article or video I dug up the day before to spotlight.

Troll Says Serena Williams is "Built Like a Man"; JK Rowling Tweet-Calls Him "An Idiot"

If you're a Serena Williams fan, her win at Wimbledon on Saturday was historic. But if you're a troll, it's an excuse to blow up about it.

JK Rowling was one of her fans, when she released this tweet supporting the superstar athlete after her monumental win.

#SerenaSlam! I love her. What an athlete, what a role model, what a woman!

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) July 11, 2015

Cannot agree more

But lurking in the darkness, was someone who didn't agree with JK, and actually had audacity to respond to her in negative terms. This guy called Rob, who is a fan of the Manchester United (which is a SOCCER team, mind you), tweeted this in disgust that his beloved team didn't get as mentioned more than her, and body-shamed her with this tweet.

"ironic then that main reason for her success is that she is built like a man."

What's ironic is that a soccer fan is tweeting that.

JK didn't take this lying around and responded in full force, tweeting this one with a pic attached of Serena wearing a red dress and Louboutins:

.@diegtristan8 "she is built like a man". Yeah, my husband looks just like this in a dress. You're an idiot. pic.twitter.com/BCvT10MYkI

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) July 11, 2015

ha.

From that point on, it seemed the troll had his tail between his legs (metaphorically) and went back to his cyber-bridge. But don't think that at all...because he wouldn't back down. And for the next few days, he doubled down (or even tripled down) on his body-shaming quota, by retweeting many more similar comments from other people who are in the same feeling and mindset. And if that wasn't enough, he had this to tweet about his little comment, like the smug little shit worm he is:

"Listen twitter sheeple I think she has manly features I couldn't care less if you find her attractive, you are not gonna change my opinion."

Well, he has a opinion, and that's fine--he's entitled to it,
but what do you know? So do I.

Serena may be tall, but she's not built like a man. She's built like an athlete.
Athletes work out and train every day to keep their jobs of competing against other athletes and win, along with entertaining and inspiring millions of us every day. Do you know how hard she has to work to maintain her status as an athlete at all, let alone a superstar athlete, only for some dickheaded basement-dwelling asshole to tear her down with one tweet, and another dickheaded asshole to defend her in one long-ass blog post?? Maybe you're jealous that she has more better looks and a better muscular shape than you or your precious United; because if you are, you're pathetic.

She not only is Serena awesome at what she does, she's also freaking hot! Not to mention she once temporarily suffered a terrible illness after doing what she's awesome at doing, but she amazingly got back up and is stronger and even more awesome for it, but that somehow doesn't matter to you. Does it?

You got some damn nerve sitting in front of your computer taking all your precious time thinking of what you believe is clever, witty and funny dialogue commenting on the size and stature of one of the hottest athletes not only in tennis, but also all of sports. And not only did it backfire on your ass big time, even the author of the Harry Potter books thought it was a big dick move. I'm not a huge tennis fan, but at least I have enough sense to keep my opinions off a social media site this grand and public, and especially not share them with a celebrity. Also, tagging her name in your tweet was really stupid.

Also, he said in another tweet that Rowling was a wimp for hiding after her response, but he's not one to talk after he later made his account private. What a pussy.

In another opinion, I don't think JK should have responded to that dude. While her response was awesome, it's not going to stop anything or make it better. Like I wrote earlier, he didn't stop his 140-C tirade against Serena; he continued it, with others doing the same. And who knows what will happen next with him or all the others?
Trolls will do anything to harm anyone from the comfort of their own rooms and their computers. They'll say anything no matter how harsh it is, they'll never stop, their overall mission never ends, and it's horrible. But it will never end, no matter what people do to stand up to them. And it sucks, I know, this is the world we live in. But it's cool she tried anyway.

So who cares if she's "built like a man"? She has be this to be this great as a tennis star, and all others who don't agree, need to keep quiet, if you don't want JK Rowling to destroy your Lord Voldemort-wannabe asses.

#AGTXReview: Auditions -- Ep. 5 - Break it Off or Valley of the Doll or Elderymetal

Hello again, folks.. The America’s Got Talent Auditions continue to entertain, excite and inspire, with more acts coming in to audition and hopefully go to the Live Shows and possibly win $1,000,000 and a Headlining Show in Las Vegas. But before this, is a hurdle they must pass before reaching such (and another hurdle for us to pass before Vegas.) Again, I'm spotlighting 8 acts, and all of them are great to watch here, with the the

First, another great open, as the auditionees AND judges are driving to this week’s auditions (...wherever they are). While the girls ride in a cute pink Model-T, the guys hit the streets in a hot-as-fire red Muscle. It’s nice to the judges to whatever they do before reaching the auditions...even if it is fake as hell.

First up is The Gentlemen aka 19-year-old Zach and 12-year-old Cameron.
This tux-donning duo from Fairfield, CA exhibit a short-fry style is hip-hop, break-dancing and popping. I knew from watching that they were going to be awesome up there, and I was right.

Their moves, whether individually or together, are fantastic to watch. They are really talented and have held me over as much as the judges, I enjoyed their style and grace. Plus, they were having fun on stage as much as I was watching them. I certainly felt the pride that their parents and sister showed on stage, and I share it with them. I couldn’t be as proud as they were for their sons/brothers, because when family is there for you and support you, even when you lose, other people’s pride couldn’t even try to reach a millionth to there’s. But I’ll be there to try.
Great job to The Gentlemen, and I’ll be ecstatic to see them in the Live Shows.
--
Next up is Mentalist Oz Pearlman, a stockbroker from New York, who left his career in Wall Street to chase his dream of magic. If you read the fourth word in that last sentence, you’d already know what he does for a living and what he’ll do during his audition. But what he’s done here with the Judges will no doubt amaze you.

Again, amazing.
--
Semeneya is a dance troupe doing Salsa. The ladies are already hot, so this can’t be better. But it was...kinda.

They do need to tune their moves, but that was a great start. That is, until I realized later that one of the dancers got hurt from a bad landing. I was a little shocked.
And I hoped that he’ll be okay, and that they’ll go on. Whichever is better, I stand behind.
The troupe got a choice from the judges, and chose to stay with their friend now in the hospital with two of them as a duo continuing the audition...and they still got the ball rolling. Speeding, even! The quickness is stunning, and the moves and chemistry between the dancers was off-the-charts stupendous! I nearly couldn’t breathe from watching that. I love these guys, and I think they are one of the best dance troupes I’ve seen this season so far, and I know they’ll make it to the Lives. But I’ll be disappointed if they didn’t.
--
Shel Higgens is a stuntman. And he’s a grandpa. (which EXPLAINS why his wife didn’t appear with him during his audition).

I was almost breathless when he picked up that jacksaw to his apple-holding mouth. I knew what would happen, yet I was still cringing from the thought of not reaching the apple. I wasn’t all that impressed with it. But I’m seeing some potential in him, if he changes it up.
And if those of you come at me with a comment telling me to try the act or that I’m jealous of his talent (and I’m not), it’s just that even with the element of suspense and danger, it’s still an act of an old man cutting an apple in his mouth. It still isn’t as great as other acts to me. Sorry.
--
Next up is Alex Boye, a Nigerian singer originally from London, and now residing in Salt Lake City.
His act involves covering popular songs and, with his band, giving them an African flavor. The song for his Audition is Taylor Swift’s already future-classic “Shake It Off”.

First off, I didn’t know he was so popular on YouTube before making his appearance on AGT. So I should check out his covers on his Channel for more. Which makes my opinion more sensical.
I loved what he brought to his act. But in my opinion, it didn’t really sound “African” to me at first. It sounds like any other cover by anyone else. Even the horns sound normal. Maybe the tempo and Boye’s vocals are the reasons for the concept and what makes the cover here, I’m not sure. But nonetheless, because of the fast, fun nature and amazing sound, I loved the performance, as well as the ending when Boye did a jump off the stage, and INTO A BACKFLIP!!!
Holy crap! That was really good. His outfit is cool, too. And so is strut face right here as well.

This guy deserves going to Vegas, and I can't wait for whatever covers he'll do next.
--
I love Metalachi.
They’re a band that fuses Metal AND Mariachi! That alone is enough to give them their own show. But we have to see what they do first.

That’s it?? Okay. Well...they did so awesomely! Both genres are played very well and balanced perfectly. These guys know what they’re doing and seem to have a lot of fun doing so. Just like I had fun watching their audition. I wish I knew a lot more about the band, but since they’re going to Vegas, I hope the producers would shell out at least a little bit of screentime for them for a more proper intro.
(And funny story: I thought the song they played, “We’re Not Gonna Take It Anymore”, was the Theme from Sesame Street. hee-hee, right? Right?)
--
Oleksiy Mogylnyy is a Hand Balancer originally from Kyiv, Ukraine, who's now residing in Las Vegas. (Ironic)
This dude balanced himself on a doll. not. kidding.

And that was awesome. Seeing as the doll doesn’t fall off or even move, it just makes me gasp for air. I have no other words other than “he deserves to go to Vegas and the Lives!”. He is an act I would pay to see there.
--
This next auditionee is the next to get the Golden Buzzer.
Her name is Arielle Barril. And she is a singer.
But what she did, straight up shocked me, the audience and the Judges.

She sang Opera! And she really sounded like an Adult! And she was really good! Blew us all away for sure.

And that’s it for now. all of these acts are extremely amazing in what they do and deserve to go to Vegas. I’m so excited to see Vegas Week get bigger and more exciting. Gosh, I’m so giddy for what comes next week. See you then for the review.
Goodnight!

Funday Friday: #41--Pirates of the Charity-ean - Johnny Depp & Stephen Graham Visit Australian Childrens' Hospital as Captain Jack Sparrow & Scrum

Johnny Depp is an awesome actor, and Captain Jack Sparrow is an awesome film character, but what they did as one earlier this week is so much more than awesome.

Depp was in Australia filming his next movie, the latest installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean film series--Dead Men Tell No Tales, and took time out of filming and his schedule to visit a local children's hospital. This in and of itself is awesomely sweet, but he didn't appear as his regular real-life celebrity self.
Nope...he showed up as Sparrow. Captain Sparrow. Costume and all.

Here is video below, provided by NTDTV:


Depp's co-star Stephen Graham, who plays pirate Scrum in the installment, joined him in the surprise appearance. He also appeared in costume and character as Scrum.
You cannot not smile and grin at watching the kids' shocked, excited and humbled looks on their faces. Just magical.

This is one of the sweetest and coolest celebrity charity appearances in this past year (and probably of this decade so far), and that's been without formal announcement, and hasn't been planned by the actor or the hospital, and is an amazing example of celebrities being kind, courteous and loving towards children outside of their acting careers.

Three cheers to you, Captain ans Scrum!

Funday Friday: #40--Hooray for Misty Copeland (The First Black Principal ABT Dancer)

(I want to mention quickly that this news came in last week, but I didn't mention it. My dearest apologies.)

Happy Funday Friday. folks.
And a very sincere congratulations to Misty Copeland, who has made history in the world of ballet to become the first African American ballet dancer to become a principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre company.
Ms. Copeland, who has worked with the ABT for 15 years, made the historic promotion (or releve, in this case) when news was made on Tuesday.

Here is an interview she did last December with CBS's Sunday Morning, which gives a perfect look into Copeland's life.

and video of her at work.


I don't have to say much about her, but I'm super proud of her. She is a stamp in the ever-growing history of African Americans, and I can't be any more ecstatic for her. This is a huge progression in the ballet world and in African American History. She has gone far before, so she will go further and further in this role. What she won't stop doing, however, is amaze, set the bar and inspire.
Three cheers to you, Ms. Copeland.

Jared Fogle Kept Child Porn in His Home; Now Suspended by SUBWAY

Jared Fogle has got a lot of nerve--That's somebody's daughter!
The guy (formerly) known as the star spokesperson of SUBWAY restaurants has a shocking revelation: he is an owner of child pornography. This discovery was made 2 months ago, yet just a few days ago, it was revealed that federal and local police have descended upon Fogle's house in the Indianapolis suburb of Zionsville, Indiana, taking all electronic devices inside, carrying the child porn he produces in the home. His assistant was also arrested for working with Fogle in his creepy productions.
And SUBWAY announced on Tuesday that it dropped Fogle as spokesperson.

First off, I'm shocked that I didn't know about this then, when it actually happened. I watch a lot of entertainment news programs and local news, so I'm shocked that this went over many people's heads. I don't know if they didn't announce this unintentionally or otherwise, or that area and federal police departments have kept this confidential until now. Either way, I'm horrified and truly disgusted.

For a guy who wanted to combat childhood obesity, this revelation is just damn shocking. And it blows my mind that someone like him would do something like this. What really shocks me is that this guy really seemed like a very nice guy, who really cares about the people he meets and wants the bulk of America to be healthier. And then this happens--him carrying child pornography in his home.
That is fucked up.

And another thing--he hasn't been charged with a crime. HE SHOULD BE!! This guy kept (AND PRODUCED) pictures and video of children doing lewd, inappropriate, disgusting sexual acts in his home! I don't know why they haven't thrown the book on him the second they took away the last electronic device from his home. But after this they should.
That is really fucked up.

It's a damn good thing that Subway dropped him; it's obvious that it had to happen soon, and they did a great job axing him. It's gonna suck for us to not see him in their ads anymore, but it had to happen and it deserved to happen.

I guess the old term "Don't judge a book by its cover" and "never underestimate" still fits today.

Well, I have nothing much to say, because I'm just as shocked and cringed out as the next guy.
So...I might do an update, and if I do, all give more thoughts. Stay tuned?

UPDATE: Stay tuned, indeed.
Six weeks after the incident, Fogle went to federal court to face charges of child pornography. It was expected that he'd plead guilty to the charges...Even worse, I, along with the rest of the world, learned that Fogle was also revealed to have paid to have sex with minors during treks across the world.

I was already disgusted with the child porn news, but this was just...unacceptable. Sick.
And now, he's looking at five years. Fucker should've gotten more. He should plead guilty, because what would he gain by pleading "not"? Not a damn thing, I think. I'm so glad he won't be a part of normal society anymore, and that Subway destroyed all ties with him.

Facebook Suddenly Pro-Feminist: SoMed Website Changes Friends & People Icons (I Don't Care)

Facebook believes it has changed the world...with a slight change of an icon.
On Wednesday, the social media website has announced a change in its "Friends" and "Groups" icons by taking the woman icon from behind the man icon/men icons and putting it in front of them.

Here is the old and new "Friends" icon:

and the old and new "Groups" icon.:


This redesign is the work of the website's design manager Caitlin Winner, who has made several changes to icons across its network to prominently feature women at the forefront. She had this to say about the change:

"As a woman, educated at a women's college, it was hard not to read into the symbolism of the (old) icon; the woman was quite literally in the shadow of the man, she was not in a position to lean in. My first idea was to draw a double silhouette, two people of equal sizes without a hard line indicating who is in front. Dozens of iterations later, I abandoned this approach after failing to make an icon that didn't look like a two headed mythical beast."

Well, this may have been drawn by a woman named Winner, but in my eyes, ironically, this isn't even a Loser
Because...To be honest...I don't care. I really don't care if a woman is in front of an FB icon (or even notice them anyway), because when you go onto Facebook, this is the last thing you'd want to notice or look at when logging on. Most of the time, you'd rather look at your notifications, or check your latest messages, or check the latest news from the news/entertainment/human interest companies or TV networks or film studios or whatever, new status update from your friends, look at the latest creepy/disgusting/funny meme/picture or "like & share or ignore" post (both of which I hate with a passion) or change your settings.

As progressive as it is, I don't think many people will care about this. At least not in this caliber. Hell, even some women don't care about this news! In this post from the page of the New York Daily News with the from update, some women have voiced their dis-concern under the comments section. Here are two that are some of the best and made the most impact:

In my opinion, I would've found this (specifically the "Friends" icon) much better if the man icon and woman icon stood side-by-side, so that both genders will be recognized (not that I would care anyway nonetheless). I feel that that's a better option than keeping the woman in either the background or foreground. Giving it more prominence without any dominance.

"It didn't seem fair, let alone accurate, that all friend requests should be presented by a man, so I drew a silhouette for cases where a gendered icon was inappropriate."

And yet, it seems fair for a woman to front a group of friendships?? Okay, I call bullshit on this. I get where she's going with, but I think she went a little too far. Sure, friendships can be presented by someone, but it shouldn't matter the gender of the person; whether it's a man or a woman. Yet this clear-as-day feminist believes that a woman should be at the forefront because women aren't at the center of everything yet, and that this should happen now. That's not fair. Yes, I'm a man (named Andrew, by the way), but I think that putting women if front of everything (and I mean literally everything) (at least in this caliber) is just plain nuts. I've never been against women not having equal ground with men in life (it's been that way since birth), but I find this new thing that women see their society over men in everything (TV shows movie advertisements, websites, radio, online videos) and their quest to put other women in front of it all, just to please other women, now to be super sad.
Don't take this the wrong way (again, I'm all for gender equality), but if things like this

will happen for the rest of time, I gonna find this absurd.
So from here on out, I don't care about this new change, I don't find this a Winner (yeah, irony) and I'm relieved that a lot of people are on the same page. And this new era of feminism is too much for me
(a MAN--A misogynistic, anti-female, woman-hating MAN) to handle.
And another thing, Facebook also changed it's logo as well,
but at this point, I don't give a hoot about that either.

So go ahead. The comments section is open (always has been). Tear into me.

Facebook, congrats. I guess.

The Pic from Insta-Hell: "I Don't Love Paula"--Deen Under Fire for Old Photo with "Brownface" Son

"Lucyyyyyyy! You got a lot of esplainin' to do!".
(Even though Ricky has never said that.)

Ahh, Paula Deen. It seems that "racist" is a term that will still follow you, no matter how hard you try to shake it.
The Queen of Butter is in racial controversy yet again for a photo she took involving television icon I Love Lucy and her son Bobby wearing makeup that people are actually calling "brownface".

In the photo, taken 3 years ago on a Halloween episode of her former Food Network show Paula's Best Dishes, Deen is dressed as Lucy Ricardo, with her son Bobby Deen in "Brownface" as Ricky (you can see his hands are not the same skin shade; possibly because of the boatload the makeup artists put on his big-ass head) and another guy behind them possibly as a slimmed-down Fred Mertz. This was released recently by her social media team and has since been deleted (a term people shouldn't use anymore, because a photo appearing on the Internet will never go away) from her SoMed pages. A spokesperson for Deen issued an apology she wrote, saying she has apologized "to all who were offended", and has now fired her publicist.

Really, people??
You're offended by a still image of a man in a darker shade of face paint, without realizing the outfit his mom is wearing beside him? Maybe you didn't see the hashtag "#TransformationTuesday" in the caption? Or the fact that this was actually released NEARLY 4 YEARS AGO!?!
Two black guys dressed as two white chicks in a comedy film, and no one said shit about it and laughed it off; yet if a white guy wears makeup as a Cuban man, oh snap, it's going down like a Pitbull song.
If you can't see that, then your morals are really strange.
Honestly, I don't understand the backlash. Sure, I understand the controversy surrounding it, but I don't get the HUGE amount of backlash that it has gotten. It's a photo of a person in a Halloween costume and someone else almost in one; I don't see why this is getting the shitstorm it has gotten. The fact that people are continuing to give this woman attention, even if they said they wanted nothing to do with her anymore, is just sad. They are giving anything that shouldn't be worth attention the attention it does not deserve (which is also really sad), and there is click-bait "shock" from the online media. Yeah, I clicked on a site, but only to copy-paste the photo.

In my opinion, I don't care about Paula Deen anymore. I'm just not wasting my time with this butter-battered and inhaling woman since I don't cook gourmet southern hick cuisine, and way before the "N-word" incident. This photo does not mean a damn thing to me, and I've seen worse Halloween costume pic before.
Remember Julianne Hough dressed as Crazy Eyes in Blackface?
I know we all know we gave her crap for that.

Or how about Chris Brown and his entourage dressed as members of the Taliban?

You best believe that he still deserves everything throw at him for that dogshit.
Although they deserved the backlash for this backwards lapse in thinking, we should learn by now that Halloween costumes are just harmless, no matter the harm created by them. So people, stop giving this woman the attention she doesn't deserve outside her greasy mess cooking career.
And Paula, if you don't want your cooking empire to crumble after just now picking up the pieces, don't ever do things like this without realizing that some people WILL take things at face value and react like Ricky himself when Lucy was stuck on a ledge as Superman (You guys know the episode).

Bill Cosby Reveals He Purchased Quaaludes for Intention of Drugged Sex

Bill Cosby is a fucking creep.
But it's really sad it took this long for people to admit it.
(Including me.)

On Monday, a deposition recorded in 2005 was released, in which Cosby revealed to a Pennsylvania state prosecutor that he had purchased Quaaludes, a drug that works as a sedative to put people to sleep, with the intent of giving to young women to knock them out and have sex with, without their knowledge. Stemming from a civil lawsuit filed by one of the accusers, former employee at Temple University, Andrea Constand, this comes after the continuing very shocking revelation that over 40 women have come forward in the last year revealing that Cosby had drugged and sexually assaulted them.

Here is part of the deposition, given by Constand's lawyer, Dolores Troiani:
"When you got the Quaaludes, was it in your mind that you were going to use these Quaaludes for young women that you wanted to have sex with?"
Troiani asked.

Cosby replied, "Yes".

"Did you ever give any of those young women the Quaaludes without their knowledge?"
Cosby's attorney advised him not to answer.

Cosby's lawyers had fought the release of these documents, on the grounds that it would "embarrass" their client. I don't think "embarrass" would be the word.
More like "ruin" or "destroy" or "neutralize".

I don't have to tell you how very disgusted I am at this, but not very shocked. When 10 women come forward, it's shocking. When 29 women come forward, it's mind-numbing. When over 30 women come forward, that's just a fucking disgrace of colossal proportions. And the fact that he's never been charged with a crime just shows how horrible the justice system and the American public can be (and ARE) in this situation.
I'll be honest with you: at the time, when a few women came forward with the story, I believed Cosby more than his accusers, because I thought they were going after his money. And that's even though he wasn't that rich, and they have their own money. And yes, I still had believed him after over 30 women revealed that he had drugged and sexually assaulted them decades ago. I know, that's stupid. But I will say that my belief for him dropped hard after 20 women came forward. And now after so many woman have come forward, I had lost all respect for him (something I should've done a long time ago) forever.

This statement by actor/director Judd Apatow just hits the nail on the head. In this statement he sent to Esquire.com (), he states this:

“I don’t think there is anything new here. It is only new to people who didn’t believe an enormous amount of women who stated clearly that he drugged them. We shouldn’t need Bill Cosby to admit it to believe forty people who were victimized by him. I am sure there are many victims who have not come forward. Maybe now more people in show business and all around our country will stand up and tell the people he attacked that ‘we support you and believe you. I also hope Camille Cosby and Phylicia Rashad will now stand with the victims, and not with their attacker.”

And speaking of these two important ladies in his life, Camille Cosby should divorce him, and Phylicia Rashad should cut ties with him. and soon.
I understand "stand by your man", but I wouldn't stand by a person who has held a front as a hilarious comedian and wholesome family icon and supporter of family rights for decades, and under the mask is a sleazy old creep who could give Glenn Quagmire a run for his money, by using "thigh openers" to sexually pleasure himself, and ruin the lives of many women, and act like the complete opposite to gain the love and respect of almost everyone in America. And that it's this close to cheating on her.

Now that after this came up, I will never see this man as what he was--a respectable comedian and sitcom star, and will forever see him as what he is now--a creepy, disgusting, dirty old man with the intent of harming and destroying lives.

Good luck to the women with their trials in their lives at this moment. I'm sorry for times I've accused some or even all of you for creating the allegations for the money (even though I've only ever done this in private and not in public), because it's clear and noble that you all are not, and that was a foolish thing on my part, along with believing Cosby over you. I'm also terribly sorry that these horrible acts have happened to all of you, and that you couldn't prevent them from happening and that you all can't take them back.
I wish you all very well in your lives, and I hope to God this new revelation will help bring justice to you and your families, and bring closure to this horrible chapter in your lives that you just can't rip out.
And thank you Hannibal Burress, for exposing the scum for what it is. Disgusting, unholy scum that deserved to be opened and exposed for the world to see. This is a horrible thing to happen to anyone, and is not something to be taken lightly.

I honestly believed him when this story happened. Now...http://t.co/MNNXACKAmJ #BillCosby, go rot in hell.

— #TheMM (@MaroonMondays) July 6, 2015

Bill Cosby is one person I will never respect for the rest of my life.

Toony Tuesday 2015: The 7D

Hey, everybody.
Let me tell you a story of seven little men who work and play in the small, yet sprouting kingdom of Jollywood. These men are those you have seen many times before in the same one other story, but this story is a little different, (okay, very different) as these men go on many different adventures without the main character of this other story in the picture. And let me tell you, this story is a wondrous story with many chapters that is worth the many page turns.
This is the story of The 7D.

The 7D is a television adaptation of Disney's immortal icon and a reason animation is the heaven of the film medium that it is today, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Developed by Tom Ruegger, best known as producer and writer on Animaniacs and creator of Histeria, this animated series began airing on Disney XD on (basically the perfect date to launch any show, meaningful or ironic) July 7, 2014. Or 7/7/14.
Here's a little history behind it: It was originally planned as an original series on Disney Junior, with the intended audience being infants and toddlers. But the execs felt it would be a better fit for the slightly older crowd. So they changed the network to XD and the producers changed the content to be a better match for the network and its viewers. And the rest is history.

I really enjoy this series. Its light and heart-y feel is a wonderful sight, its humor is light but still jam-packed with big laughs and the characters are super likable and memorable. It's a complete difference from the other series on Disney XD, which vary in darker and crazier tones (which isn't to say the characters on those shows aren't likable; they certainly are).
So let me discuss the characters themselves.

The 7D are what we've already known and loved in Snow White; they're a very wonderful and lovable ragtag group of little guys who work at the diamond mines and live in the cottage. But their personalities and quirks are what make them so memorable and awesome. And here, it's only different because of their voices (the actors are different, of course).

in the order of the theme song:
-Happy is sweet, enthusiastic and overly-optimistic, but now has a guitar and provides music (which is a perfect touch, because his voice actor is a really good singer, and his deep baritone voice is a joy to listen to [me especially]).

-Sneezy is of course know for what his name implies, but his adorkable nature and behavior, and that he's younger than most of the others here, really stands him apart from the others (which is hard to do when they all are super cool), because of his sweet, kind personality and the ability to

-Dopey is known as the favorite of the group because of his cuteness to his actions and the fact that her can make an impact in any scene, despite not speaking even a lick of English. Here, instead of not saying a sound, ha can communicate with the other Ds and other characters with whistling, which is a cool thing I don't mind much, and does bring his character to a new level of originality. (I do wonder why his mouth is partially obscured though; maybe because it costs a lot more paint cels for his lips to move.)

-Bashful is still the shy, quiet member, but, like Sneezy, is also very liked for his adorkable nature, and has also been seen for his sweet crush on the Queen and his hiding in some scenes make him more cute than just a strange dork.

-Doc is the leader (duh) and the inventor of the group. But here, he's more than that. He's dropped his stuttering, wears a cool bow tie (), and is still always there for his fellow men whenever needed (which is a lot, but that's what makes him one to look up to).

-Sleepy is a sleeper. He also reminds me of Frank Zappa (in facial pattern and voice). and...

-Grumpy should be the most memorable D of this series. He may be the angry, short-fused member, but he has a heart that beats through at times. But here, he's not grumpy all the time, and he has some insight and foresight to make him a perfect human character (well, just like the rest of the 7D).

This group of characters is an awesome group indeed. These guys are a perfect ragtag that always stick together, help each other out and make a good time for both each other and us. I love them, individually and together, and this series and its producers and writers bring some new life into then that I believe is deserved. And their voice actors () brings layers of awesome and cool into their characters and the series itself. I enjoy that they all have become, to me, some of the most memorable characters in modern-day animated television.
But they're not the only characters in this show...or the only memorable. There are other main characters that make The 7D so great and hilarious. Each of them carry their own humor and characterization that make them so watchable, even more than the Ds themselves.

-Hildy and Grimwald Gloom are the main antagonists of the series. They are a gloomy couple with only one plan: to destroy the 7D and Queen Delightful, rid them from Jollywood, and turn it into their personal playground from the land under. And they make kissy noises. (Eww.)
The two are a split of the character of Grimhilde the Evil Queen/Hag Witch, the antagonist(s?) of Snow White. Hildy and Grim is the mean, ruthless evil and jealous half. And they pretty much continue what she wanted to do in the iconic film, sans apple and possible death.
Despite these plans, they have been the opposite of Gloom--They're extremely enjoyable and carry a lot of laughs in each and every episode. These two give me such delight, that it feels like the 7D's joy is underwhelmig, and their scenes fill a void for me, taking it to 100%, and maybe even beyond.
Another thing that makes Hildy great is her voice actor's performance. She's voiced by fashion icon and media personality Kelly Osbourne. And since this is her first acting role, you would expect something, but nope, it's the opposite. She's absolutely fantastic, and makes the role so memorable from her performance alone. It's like the the producers had a thing going after they cast her after they heard her speak, and thought her voice would be her personality.
I'm not a fan of most of her other work, but I am a fan of her role of Hildy and that's a great thing.
Grim is also praised from me because of his voice acting by VA legend Jess Hartnell. Putting them together has been a surprising good combo in terms of voice acting and it really pulls me in.
These two are awesome for antagonists, and really carry the show to more heights. I've never enjoyed laughing from villains like I have from them. The joy from watching their scenes and listening to their dialogue just beams every time, and I just can't get enough of it.

-Queen Delightful is a queen I like to watch among many. like The Evil Queen before her, she is a monarch and possesses a Magic Mirror. Although she is her royal highness of Jollywood, she's also goofy, foolish and ditzy, but also gives some really good laughs. Like her shouting in a random moment, as seen in "The Long, Long Winter"; and her willingness to let her royal adviser, Lord Starchbottom, do the work for her.


-Lord Starchbottom is (again) the royal assistant to Queen Delightful. Despite this, he's treated as nothing but a butt monkey. His services are continually denied in favor of those of The 7D, and is I loved his dialogue and gags, and his wit and character.

All of these characters are so likable to me, it's possible not to like them. But that can't be possible, so I'm just making a point.
The humor is so enjoyable to me, and I'm a guy that has a huge broad range of humor I like (except for toilet humor; I can't freakin' stand that), so this is just perfect to me. The humor is clearly for kids, but has enough edge for adults to enjoy as well. There are jokes that adults can laugh at, but also jokes that kids can get as well without scratching their heads. And they're so light and fun, that it's makes you wonder why the execs got their hands on it in the first place. Although it not as edgy as the other shows on Disney XD, it's still great for anyone to enjoy, especially those who don't like dark humor.

It;s all of these reasons that make this series so wonderfully fun and bright and enjoyable.

So there you have at. The 7D is a great animated series for the whole family and adults to enjoy. It's not for everyone, but if you give it a chance, you just may love it as much as I do. So please watch it on

Funday Friday: #39--Happy 4th of July

Tomorrow is going to be a great day. Because tomorrow is one of the greatest and most celebrated holidays of the year: Independence Day, also known is the 4th of July. Of course, everyone will celebrate by having family barbecues and watching special events on television, like concerts and a marathon of The Twilight Zone on Syfy. I don't blame you; I'm that kind of guy. But the real reason to celebrate is this: the day and the Declaration of Independence was adopted, and the United States was incorporated, in 1776, no longer just 13 colonies but a whole nation, and no longer a part of the British Empire. It would take many years before all 50 states were incorporated, but this day celebrates the country's birth. And that brings everyone together, and that is what makes it awesome.

I'm a proud citizen of the States, so I'll be celebrating the way I know how: cookouts with my family and watching TV, especially that Twilight Zone marathon. But it doesn't matter. What matters is how all of you will celebrate. I hope you guys will have a great, safe, fun, honorable and patriotic holiday weekend. We all deserve it, being in one of the greatest countries in the world.

And if you guys don't live in the US...well, whatever holiday celebrates the start of your country, I hope you guys have a great time, too. Just like Canada did earlier this week with Canada Day. They deserved it, also being one of the best in the world.

Star vs. The Forces of Evil Review: Lobster Claws / Sleep Spells (350th POST OF ALL TIME)

Hi, everybody. And welcome back to my Review of Star vs. The Forces of Evil.

After last week's episode and Review, you can tell between the lines that I was excited for what this next episode will bring. And boy did I enjoy it from start to finish. The half hour featured an interesting concept (for lack of better term): One of the Forces of Evil (or if there was more than one planned in this series so far, and I haven't noticed, one of the minions of the Force of Evil) winds up joining the heroes in whatever they're doing that week. Exciting, huh?

Well, if that piques your interest, than this will too:
If you're wondering what our sweetie/rebel heroine does before and during bedtime, this episode is for you! (you sickos.) Halfer 2 is all about Star conjuring spells in her sleep, and it's up to Marco to stop her before she turns the Family Home upside down, inside out, into chaos and into a black hole.

It's "Lobster Claws" and "Sleep Spells".

First up, Halfer 1...

In it, When Ludo fires one of his monster minions, Lobster Claws, Marco and Star attempt to help him adjust to life on Earth.

This segment begins with one reason I love this show so much--
Starco vs. The Useless Minions--Fight for the Magic Wand!: Round 6
Starco is trapped under the hand--hoof--claw--appendages of the evil backups. One of the members, Lobster Claws, is enthusiastic to be chosen to give the finishing blow by taking Star’s Magic Wand. But instead of grabbing it (which had to be in plain view), he grabs...the antler of his counterpart, Deer Beard. OUCH. With this advantage, Star fights back with her finishing blow, and ends this round just like the rest. With her and Marco off to school like the Champs they are, and having lost again as usual, Ludo and his ragtag group of failures head back to the dark dimension from which they came, but not before he sends one of them packing. He forces Lobster Claws to stay on Earth because his performance was a “steaming pile of monster garbage” (his mild, happy, go-get-’em, can-do attitude and sloppy, uninspired work just didn’t fit) compared to the rest of the group, firing him in the process. His partners-in- (literal) crime turn their backs on him and leave in shame. LC kneels to the ground and sobs, losing possibly his dream job, his chance to see his … and a place to sleep (that’s possibly not up to code in the first place.)
--Hate to be Deer Beard (the guy with the antlers) at that moment.
--For that brief moment, when he was kneeling and crying, you had to feel sorry for LC. It had to be the sad BGM that did it, probably.

Hours later, Starco return home to find a strange sight: Lobster Claws sitting in the backyard. They attack, but he doesn’t budge. When they wonder what the problem is, he fesses up. While Star believes he’s lying, Marco believes he’s really in a bind. To drive it on home, LC reveals that he actually always wanted to be a good guy. While Star is totally against it, our heroes decide to go ahead and help Clawsy convert to Good. but...it gets complicated.

Starco and LC take a walk to practice his new goody image. But he hits snags along the way:
-When a guy strolls by on his bike, Clawsy knocks him off. (He’s okay, though)
-When a girl asks for her kitten to be saved, LC climbs to save it...before stuffing it in his mouth. When Star and Marco take it out, he STUFFS THE LITTLE GIRL IN THERE!
-The three find a house on fire and the female owner wants her baby saved. LC rushes in...and instead of saving her child (which wasn’t a child at all), which was actually a Baby Grand Piano, he’s chugging ice cream.
-And finally he’s given the easy, simple, small-form task of walking a lady across street.
He instead causes a fiery rampage.

It’s just clear that LC is just destined to be evil and not good. Especially here.
Star is in the backyard taking a nap, when Ludo and his henchmen show up, ready for the steal. But she “awakens”, making this a diversion.

When they are fake fighting, LC grabs the Wand...and suddenly it changes its look and everything changes. Everyone realizes that LC is an evil force. When Star and Marco notices this, he makes the sad decision to end his episode-long rooting and snap Clawsy of what would’ve been his start of darkness.
Ludo is very impressed with this new-and-improved , and rehires him back onto his army. Marc begs him not to renege, but is knocked out by Clawsy’s...claw. Star remarks that Lobster Claws may have some good in him after all (nope),

Favorite Lines:
“I love cupcakes!” -Bearicorn (before taking a cupcake to the eye-lol)
-
“History is so cool. Ben Franklin blowing up that kite monster with his electric lightning powers? Woah.” -Star (Oh Star. It’s like you’re not even trying.)
“Yeah-heh. That’s not what happened.” -Marco
-
“It’s okay! I landed on a sprinkler.’
later…
“Where’s a sprinkler!?” -Random Guy
-


I love this episode. We get to see one of Ludo’s minions get thrown out of his fray and he gets into Starco’s side, and tries his hardest to be a good guy. But it’s clear that despite his best efforts (or lack thereof), he’s actually evil after all, and that’s hilarious and genius. You feel like you’re rooting for LC to turn good, but when his accidents happen, you’d want to jump ship from that immediately.

But the real reason I enjoyed this episode a lot is this:
We finally saw what would happen when either Ludo or his henchmen actually grabbed Star’s Wand and changed its intentions, furthering the theory that Lobster Claws is evil after all. That was jaw-dropping. (Although we have seen Ludo himself wield to Wand in “Quest Buy”, but technically it didn’t work in that case) It makes us realize that he can be a horrible force to reckon with, even more worse than Ludo! And LC himself doesn’t even realize this. (Makes you wonder what will happen when he does.) Remember that song by One Direction, “What Makes You Beautiful”? Yeah, well, change the lyrics in the chorus, and they’ll fit in this case.
“If only you saw what I could see/You’ll understand why I want you so desperately/
And when I’m looking at you, I just can’t believe/You don’t know (oh, oh)/
You don’t know you’re EVIL/ (oh, oh)/That’s what makes you EVIL”

Oh and a quick thing: does anyone have a urge to dislike Star? I kinda do. Here after seeing Lobster Claws’ tries to be good, she just uses any excuse to just want to blast the crap out of him and trick Ludo into taking him back. And I kinda didn’t like that. More than Marco’s behavior under the Monster Arm the first time in “Monster Arm” (which, by the way, I’ve grown to really like now. I don’t hate it anymore.) I don’t know if that’s just me, but for all intents and purposes, I will say “it’s just me”. I know Star was under suspicion that he’s just “pretending to change his ways to get Ludo to return under surprise mode to jack the Wand”, and I got that and understood that, but I had this strange feeling that at that point, she still won’t believe it, and is now just willing to blast the crap out of LC, which I found pretty crappy. And this is a part of her sweet-yet-reckless character, I guess.
Again, this may be just me on this one.

On the other hand--I love Lobster Claws. He’s sweet, endearing, clumsy and goofy, yet could be a major threat to Starco if he truly gives up his actual dream of being good, and really embraces his “bad guy” character. It could happen as the series progresses, and if it does, I’ll be very happy. But baby steps first.
In the end this episode is great.

And finally, the episode where anything can happen (and considering our main character, that says a lot) at bedtime...

In it, When Star "sleep spells," Marco tries to use psychology to cure her, but her nocturnal magic turns out to be her subconscious defenses against an interdimensional criminal trying to steal her face.

The episode just goes straight into the plot, as Marco wakes up and discovers his living room not looking like a living room, but more like a swamp. Realizing this was made by Star and that her magic has improved, he goes to her, who . Marc congratulates Star for her new creation, but she denies it, even assuming it’s something he made.
--Okay that statue of Star’s face looks really creepy. You try staring into it for a second and see what happens.

Later the next night, Marco wakes up and finds out that Star’s problem has gotten more out of control. She wakes up and stops a beanbag from devouring Marc, who tells her that she has been making spells in her sleep. So he gives her some major psychology help in the form of...Dr. Marco, PhD! (or as his mom calls him, Pretty handsome Dude).
Marc begins a series of tests on Star, involving painting, impersonation someone, and ink blots, the latter of which reveals something crucial about Star: she has mommy issues, specifically those involving her strict methods of making her daughter worthy of being a queen. Dr. Marco has found success and
--Let me say something about this little segment here: I LOVE IT!
Every second I love. Not only it is another example of Classic Marco, but is also funny, too. The goofy graphics you’d find in an 80s action/comedy film, Marc’s cheesy, overacting during his “transformation” and the transitions between Tests, and the music that plays--they sound like something out of an 80s video game or instructional video. All of this make this segment work, and make it what I find is one of the best moments of the series so far.

The next night, Marco wakes up again to find that Star’s sleep-spelling still won’t go away and that his Pretty handsome Doctor Q&A session method didn’t work. In her room appears a large elephant-looking woman, Princess Smooshy, with the behavior and attitude of a female guest on The Maury Povich Show. She says that she has been sent to St. Olga’s, and wants Star for a plan: She wants her face. Literally. She wants to switch faces with her, so that her face can go to St. O’s with Star’s body, and she’ll stay on Earth with Star’s face. Of course, Starco (and me) laugh this off, knowing that her plan is too asinine and stupid to work. So in retaliation, Smooshy steals Star away, and Marco goes after them. After a quick chase through the Jungle-infested Home, Smooshy climbs Star’s expansion pack bedroom’s facade like the King Kong she is and is close to taking her to wherever St. Olga’s, face switching in progress. Dr. Marco tries to stop her with his A-grade PhD method, but it doesn’t work. So Marco just knocks her out with a book; THAT works. And she falls down and is taken away by St. Olga guards. Star thanks Marco for saving her, then asks him about why he counts the number of saves she has of him, because of her powers. She returns by saying that he's awesome, and that he doesn't have to count saves between them anymore. Marco then thanks Star before falling off the roof, asking her to count them again.

Favorite Lines:
-Everything Dr. Marco says, whether funny or not
-“I WANT YOUR FACE!” and
“I CAME HERE FOR YOUR FACE!”
“TO STEAL YOUR FACE!”
“camera phone.”-Princess Smooshy
(Funny her name is “Smooshy”, and that I made that Maury reference.)
-

At first, I thought I had no idea how Smooshy came into the picture, or where she came from. At first I thought she was a manifesting nightmare inside Star based on her fears of ending up in St. Olga’s that somehow come to life and is now taking her away for real, but one quick check of the Wikia page reveals that it’s not true. She’s a legit character and she appears as much a major as Star and Marco.
Again, I at first, thought the Smooshy storyline was a little inconsistent with the sleep-spelling storyline. Both don’t appear as the same, they’re barely connected and they have nothing to do with the other, with the latter storyline ending rather quickly one Smooshy came in. Once the Smooshy storyline ended, there isn’t any mention of the sleep-spelling storyline outside of Dr. Marco. Maybe the writers realized they didn’t have enough content to fill the 11 minutes, and threw this one together. I don’t know; it just doesn’t feel right.

As it turned out, one check of the Wikia page after writing the review, and it makes more sense now. Smooshy’s a criminal from another dimension wanting Star’s face to keep her from St. O’s, and Star’s sleep-spelling was there to keep the selfie-obsessed creature from taking her away. And now everything fits. And excuse me for confusing you for a moment.

But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t funny. I enjoyed this episode more than I thought I would; the writing was strong, the jokes landed great, and the gags were just perfect especially the Dr. Marco gag and the one with Smooshy and Star switching faces. I really enjoyed this and "Lobster Claws". Both are really great episodes that will be on my list of favorite episodes of Season 1.

This episode was a one-two punch of humor and great writing. I’ve enjoyed the previous episodes as well, but this will be one of the highest. I think this show has gotten better, and that’s impossible, but it started out great. So I’m eager to see where it goes from here. And funny I type this, because the next episodes are something I’ll probably be dying from boredom of waiting over.
Guess what: a character we’ve been eager to meet and see again will make his return. Tom (Star’s ex) will return in “Blood Moon Ball”. I won’t reveal anything, but I’ll say that Star is in for a night she won’t forget. And of course, Marco is coming to her rescue. And then it's "Fortune Cookies", where Marco convinces Star that the fortunes in the edible treats contain magical prophecies. But when Star actually believes a fortune will happen, Ludo takes advantage with help of Toffee, his new efficiency expert. Sounds like another good one.

Well folks, let me start the ending of this review by mentioning that I didn’t complete or release this review last week because of some things in my life not going my way--both good and bad. Because of that, I couldn’t finish and post the review on time, causing a delay for the first time in this Review series. But I came through and it's finally finished and released. And I'm happy you guys are okay with this. Thank you.
(Un)Fortunately for me, I don’t have much more of this to do anyway. Because Star is on another hiatus. Two weeks of new episodes, and this happens again. (Ugh) So, Star, Marco and all of Echo Creek and Mewni (along with other dimensions) will return in another three weeks (two weeks as of posting this) on July 20 with two more episodes (as far as the Wikia can provide). And oh boy, I’m so excited!!! See you right here on Friday, July 24 for the review.
7 reviews down, 6 more to go. Can't be hard to deal with...if Season 1 isn't this long. *sigh* :(

As always, my thanks to to SVTFOE Wikia page for all I can gleam on for this and the other Reviews. Couldn't do it without the people who put so much work and info into it every day. Thanks again, kids!
And thank you all as always for checking in once again. Happy and Grateful as always.
Tune in next week when I ask: "what will Star's outfit be like?" and "what fortune will Starco crack open that may come true?" That's in two weeks, but for this week,
I'm Andrew saying "Reach for the Star, and Keep Looking Up!...at your TV screen."

#SYTYCDReview: Auditions -- Ep. 4 - Welcome to New York (...and Good Riddance!!)

Well everyone.
The Auditions for So You Think You Can Dance Season 12 has finally hit their stride. After four (now five) weeks of watching struggling and aspiring dancers competing for the Golden Tickets, the time has come to the wire. This is the final chance for them to show the U.S. of A. what they got, what they bring and what they can do to be some of the best. And here,

The final auditions took place in the Greatest City in the World, the Big Apple, the City That Never Sleeps, the Concrete Jungle, the City So Nice They Named it Twice, : New York City. NYC has had some of the best dance studios in the world and is the birthplace of street dancing, where some of the most iconic creatures of dance have made Gotham the best place in America to be stretch your body and freak people out.
So let’s check out my faves from this episode, and see how they’ll stack up.
Also, I’ll later give my favorites from this season so far going to the Vegas Round.

After the judges get to their seats (not before talking to the auditionees about holding onto their dreams...with Paula yammering on of course), they (and us as well), meet the first dancer.

Street-er Virgil Gadson from my hometown, Philadelphia is not making his first appearance on the show. He previously auditioned in Season 8, but was booted after reaching the Top 30. From there he later resided in New York for a year+, and has even booked a dancing role on Broadway in After Midnight (wow!). So...if that doesn’t sound like a bizarre-yet-amazing rags-to-riches dance story, then I don’t know what is. Let’s see who he does back in the...middle? *shrugs*
I loved his movement across the stage, and his style; like an octopus with rhythm mixed with Michael Jackson’ Scarecrow in the film adaption of The Wiz. Just fantastic His spirit had a real good infectious feeling and the smile he brought was electric. It was a joy to watch.
I loved watching every moment of him. Even his brief moment of doing the super stupid Shmoney Dance made me smile. This dude is really good, and I think he could go to the Lives this time (hopefully).

Oh and another thing...guy looks like Allen Iverson. Who is also known for being from Philadelphia, as he was Guard of the 76ers. (just putting it there.)
--
Up next is Alexia Meyer from Orem, UT. She came to join the Stage side with her audition. Which I loved. Her skills and timing with the music are impeccable, and her emotion and passion were on point. I enjoyed this audition with not a lot of words. She deserved her Ticket, as she’ll be a perfect addition to the Vegas rounds.
--
And now a two-fer in all the wrong places: two male dancers have exhibited two different dance styles and genres: tap...and whatever the hell the other one did. But here’s the surprising part. The Tapper is on the Street side and the other dancer is on the Stage side. Strange as heck and not a great fit for either dancer or side.

Let’s start with the Tapper, Justin Ballasy from Allentown, PA.
I loved his tapping skills, but but they were too fast for the music, and the musicality element of tapping is just as important as the taps themselves. They must go hand -in-hand, or else everything is out of whack. And that’s what happened here. He needs to fix it if he wants to continue in the competition. But other than that, he was great. Again, I loved his tapping and would love to see more of that in Vegas. Oh, and he deserves to be in the Stage side, as Tapping has been a part of Stage Dancing for ages. It just doesn’t fit in Street at all.

Just like this next dancer doesn’t fit in Stage at all. Or maybe even the show itself. But it makes a world of sense compared to being in the Street side.
Meet Thomas Condello from Staten Island...aka Mr. Hollywood (a name he got from a friend of his mom.) To the judges, it seemed like his audition was among the cream of the crop. But for me, it was among the bottom of the heap. I did not find his dancing great--or even good. Just fine or Maybe average. Entertaining, yes, but just average.
I was also really annoyed at the judges’ positive reception of his audition. Maybe it was because they don’t want to hurt his feelings (understandable) or because the fact that he’s Mr. Hollywood and he’s getting the response he deserves (that’s debateable).
Either way, good for him. I honestly don’t see him going to the Live Shows.

This story on these dancers was on for the ages. Both males in two wrong places (one in Street, the other in the competition in the first place), but end up only going higher. Thanks for the confusion, Nigel.
--
But there is less confusion with these next two dancers.
They’re both female, they’re not related, they’re both best friends, and they are from two different cities. And they both partially share the same name.
Angela “Angel” McNeil (from Kansas City, MO) and Angely “Cookie” Deaza (from Washington Heights, NY) are a duo act that came to shake up the competition. and they sure did so with their audition. It was like a battle

The ladies blew me away so far with their audition, that I have only a few words:
They were wiggling around like worms on speed. The rhythm was so nice, and the movement was fantastic. I (sadly) agree with the judges in that Angel was much better than Cookie. Angel had more excitement, animation, velocity and movement than Cookie.
I hope to see Cookie next year, while I shall not wait to see Angel in Vegas and maybe the Lives. Even though I know they might split up come the Lives, I really will hope to see them both together again next season.
--
Next is Alain Lauture aka “Hurrikane”, a native of Port-au-Prince, Haiti now living in New York City.
After spending childhood with his mother and four other siblings in his native country, his father decided to take them to the US to live with him. Thanks to his love of watching the dancing found in music videos of the era, Alain decided to take up dancing, a love he has kept ever since. His wish is to dedicate his audition (and possibly his time in the competition) to the kids in Haiti keeping their dreams alive and one day realize them, thanks to him on the show.
And I think he has done that.
His audition of “locking” (as in “pop-locking”) was really fun to watch. His locking was superb, and the joy on his face was infectious. His style reminded me of the dancing I used to watch on shows like Soul Train and What’s Happening!! . And if you remember Rerun from the latter show, his talents are well-shown in Hurrikane’s talents here. And it was a joy to watch.
Here’s hoping the second coming of Rerun will “rerun” his amazing vibe and wonderful fun feelings in the competition.
--
The final dancers for the day (and the final dancers I’ll review here today) are another duo package that impressed me.
this time is Stage-rs Kenya Welch and Connor Bermingham from New Hampshire.
Their audition almost made me cry; the emotion exhibited is beautiful and the teamwork is just lovely. Also, the song playing, A Great Big World’s “Say Something”, really didn’t help matters for me. Paula pointed out the flexibility from Connor, which I agree with. I usually see that in female auditionees, but this was very impressive to see from a guy like him in this case.
When Nigel said at first that only one of them would move on to Vegas Week, I was saddened to hear it; but then when Paula said “What?”, I stifled a little. Then he recanted, I laughed in joy, because both of them are moving on. And they deserve it, as they’re both very talented Stage dancers who need to go to Vegas, and even the Live Shows.

So at the end of the day, 18 Street Dancers, and 10 Stage dancers have all been chosen to move forward to Vegas to prove their strengths of going to the Live Shows. With this number of contestants going even higher, the bar could not be risen higher.And for me, the chances of favorites from the Auditions going to the lives couldn’t be any more stained. I fear the faves wouldn’t make their way to it, so let’s hope at least some of them go through.

So here are my favorites from Auditions:
Stage:
Male
-Avo Karapetyan
-Allen Genkin
-Jim Nowakowski
-Connor Bermingham

Female
-Jordan Hillenberger
-Christine Sheppard
-Alexia Meyer
-Kenya Welch

Street:
Male
-Asaf Goren
-Corey “Mission” Whitfield
-Virgil Gadson
-Alain “Hurrikane” Laumure

Female
-Jana “Jaja” Vankova
-Samantha Reyes
-Angela ”Angel” McNeil

Let’s hope some or even a few of these dancers will make it through the Vegas Round and to the Live Shows. I’ll even go the route of praying, but not really. See you soon for the what everyone’s waited for: THE VEGAS WEEKS!! The part of Season 12 where the best of the Audition Phase compete for the coveted 20 spots of the Live Shows., It’s up to the judges and the Choreographers of the Stage and Street sides to whittle down the remaining's to to Cast of the Lives. Tune in later on for the result of Week 1. See you then.