Flicking Through Netflix: Love, Death, & Robots (My Top 5 and Bottom 5)

Been a while, huh? Let’s get into it.

Love, Death, & Robots is an animated anthology show on Netflix, joining the ranks of Black Mirror for their anthology selections. This mature show deals with complex issues like murder, war, racism, rape, apocalypse scenarios, and the world getting taken over by giant masses of sentient yogurt. This show is weird and, honestly, had it not been recommended to me by quite a few of my students, I probably would never have watched it. The trailer I saw on Netflix looked a little too bizarre for my tastes. Thankfully, I was able to clamp down my predispositions on this show and went in basically blind. Honestly, I would suggest you do the same. This is a show you really need to see upfront. If you want a basic synopsis, the stories are mostly science-fiction inspired and each episode has a completely different animation style. Some are 2D, some are very stylized 3D, some are realistic, and only 1 is live action in any way. Oh, one more thing. THIS SHOW IS FOR MATURE AUDIENCES. The majority of the episodes have either nudity, gore, violence, sex, or a combination of some or all of these elements. It is not for children.

All that said, let’s get into some nitty gritty.

Daffy’s Nuzlocke Journal: Pokemon LeafGreen (Days 4 and 5)

Two days as part of today’s journal since Day 4 was mostly about grinding. This time, we make our way to a new city, meet up with our Rival again, and suffer a fairly devastating blow to the team.

Daffy’s Nuzlocke Journal: Pokemon LeafGreen (Day 3)

In today’s adventure, I tackle the very first Gym, face many trainers, and make some new friends!

Read on and enjoy!

Daffy’s Nuzlocke Journal: Pokemon LeafGreen (Day 2)

Day 2 of my Nuzlocke Log! New around here? Here’s Day 1.

In today’s adventure, I make some new friends, I suffer my first loss, and I get into a couple of important battles! Read on and enjoy!

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Daffy’s Nuzlocke Journal: Pokemon LeafGreen (Day 1)

I recently got a copy of Pokemon LeafGreen at a convention since that’s one of the only Pokemon games I don’t own. I have loved Pokemon ever since I was a kid and first started watching the Anime, then buying up the cards, then begging my mom to by me Red when it first came out.

Still, my love for the games has been somewhat limited. There are big gaps in my memory for a lot of the Pokemon past the first generation. I also seem to remember that I haven’t fully played a couple of Pokemon games. There’s also a lot about Pokemon I don’t fully understand (like “natures” and “IVs” and “EVs”). At best, I’m a casual player.

Still, I have been inspired. I like watching PokeTubers like TheKingNappy and ShadyPenguin when they do Nuzlockes. Therefore, I have decided to do a Nuzlocke. I’m no stranger to the rules, as I’ve attempted a Nuzlocke of Soul Silver before. Depending on how this goes, I’ll be Nuzlocking every Pokemon game I own, starting with Leaf Green. I’ll go in order of the “generations;” however, I’ll be doing “LeafGreen” instead of “Red,” and “Omega Ruby” instead of Ruby, just because those are easier. I’ll also be keeping a log of my Pokemon travels. I’m calling it Daffy’s Nuzlocke Journal. I’ll be writing it from the perspective of the character I made in the game, Daffy. Think of it as if the character is keeping his own personal log of his journey.

If you’ve never heard of a “Pokemon Nuzlocke,” here are the rules.

1. If a Pokemon faints (aka loses all its HP), it is considered dead. Normally, people release them. Instead, I’ll be keeping a box of dead Pokemon in my PC.
2. If all my Pokemon “die” in a battle, I lose.
3. I’m only allowed to catch the first Pokemon I encounter in each new area. If I accidentally kill the Pokemon, or if it runs away or roars me away, I can’t catch any Pokemon in that area.
4. I have to nickname the Pokemon so I’m more emotionally attached to it.
5. If I find a Pokemon in an area that I’ve already caught (or I caught one of it’s evolutions already), I can get the next new Pokemon I see.

I’ll explain how these rules work in the “world” of the game as I go through the journal itself.

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Change the Channel: A Retrospective of ThatGuyWithTheGlasses and Channel Awesome

Before we continue, this is a blog talking about my own personal experience as a fan of TGWTG. If you’ve come here looking for juicy gossip, you’ve come to the wrong place.

ThatGuyWithTheGlasses changed my life. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without TGWTG.

That sounds dramatic and extreme, but it’s true. I may not ever have been an official producer for them (though I could have been [more on that later], but, as a fan, my life changed forever the moment I started watching the Nostalgia Critic. If you think I’m crazy, let me explain.

I discovered TGWTG before a website ever existed. A group of guys in my high school were talking about these hilarious videos called “5 Second Movies,” Doug Walker’s (aka The Nostalgia Critic) first real smash hit series. That same day, I went home and watched every single 5 Second Movie I could find, and I couldn’t stop laughing at any of them. I became a fan of his. I eventually found the Nostalgia Critic. I followed Doug through his troubles with YouTube (if you don’t know, he kept getting his channels deleted because of copyright policies). When he announced that he was starting his own website, ThatGuyWithTheGlasses.com, I was ecstatic. I couldn’t wait to see what he would do with no stupid copyright policies to bog him down. I watched everything Doug put out. Bum Reviews, Ask TGWTG, that crappy Melvin: Brother of the Joker video. I watched them all.

After a while, TGWTG started opening up to be about more than just the NC. They added a forum, a blog, a handful of outside contributors/video makers. I was one of the first people to start a blog series. Hell, it’s how I started my own personal career as a critic. I made some good stuff and some really bad stuff on those blogs. However, I guess I was good enough that I was actually part of the first (and to my knowledge only) Contributor Contest. I was up against other people to become a featured producer/writer on the site. I only lost by 5 votes to a guy who eventually called himself Rollo T. I could have been a part of that site. At this point in my life, I don’t really know if I dodged a bullet or missed out on a huge opportunity. I still definitely like analyzing movies/TV/games and such and I’m convinced that my love of analyzing couldn’t have fostered without TGWTG.

But I digress.

I kept up my blog on the site and, eventually, I heard from another blogger that someone was starting a TGWTG wiki and wanted some help putting it together. I was eager to help because I was a huge fan of the site. And thus, I was introduced to CrazyBuffyFan1, aka the founder of the Channel Awesome Wiki, aka Laura… aka my wife. We started talking, then we eventually started dating, and now we’re married. So, right there, I’ve already proven how much my life has changed thanks to watching a stupid “5 second” video.

I also met my best friend, Anthony, thanks to the wiki, and a lot of really good friends as well, like Chris and Lozzy and Dan. I’ve been really close to a lot of people thanks to ThatGuyWithTheGlasses.

We of the Wiki had our own Skype chat dedicated to just talking about the site and generally hanging out. At one point, that chat was HUGE. Over the years, it got smaller as people kind of stopped caring about anything to do with CA. Not to mention a lot of stupid drama, too.

Oh, yes, I could tell you stories. The Wiki actually had direct lines to people involved with CA. The good news is, a lot of the time, those people were very friendly and helpful with information. Heck, the main Wiki team even got free signed copies of a few TGWTG DVDs. However, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. We learned that some of the video contributors thought we were annoying and a few apparently just hated us. When we learned about that, it really hurt. We were just fans who wanted to show our appreciation for something we cared about. Mike Michaud allegedly thought we were just “obsessed fans.” If that’s true, well… Yes. We WERE obsessed fans. Isn’t that kind of the point of a wiki? We weren’t dangerous or crazy. We were just fans. Was that… wrong of us? I don’t know. I don’t want this blog to turn into a long ramble defending the actions of a Wiki I don’t even care about anymore.

There’s been a lot of crazy moments thanks to CA. I still remember the excitement over the first year anniversary “Brawl” that brought all the contributors of the site together. I remember the drama caused by ThatAussieGuy, the very first full blown MOVIE made by the site, a lot of wonderful and hilarious crossovers, extreme low moments, but such good high points. I remember so much. And I probably will continue to remember all of that for many years to come.

Unfortunately, times have changed. Channel Awesome isn’t the “online video maker utopia” it once was. Hell… Maybe it never was all that good behind the scenes. It seems the management of CA hasn’t been good to their contributors for a long while. It’s heartbreaking to watch a website that I followed for almost a decade fall apart at the seams. At the same time… It’s not surprising. I’ve been following the drama and it all looks very bad for those guys running the site. If it’s not back to just Doug Walker and everyone directly linked to him by the end of the year, I’m going to be very surprised.

I’m still going to follow the contributors I like. I still LOVE Suede’s videos, Atop the Fourth Wall, Some Jerk with a Camera, Lost in Adaptation, and so many other videos that TGWTG.com/ChannelAwesome.com introduced me to. I’ll probably be getting 90% of my entertainment from online content for the rest of my life…. However, as the title of the blog says, it’s time to Change the Channel. I’m not going to Channel Awesome anymore. I can’t even stand to see the Nostalgia Critic anymore, a video series without which I wouldn’t have my wife or my friends.

Look, I made this excessively long, incredibly rambling blog to get all of this stuff off my chest. If nobody reads it, I guess I just made it for me. Blogs can be therapeutic like that.

Anyway, if you’re still reading this, thanks. Maybe you found some entertainment in my words. If you’re still a CA fan, more power to you. I’m glad you can still get something of value from that site. Me, however. I’ll be sticking to YouTube.

Spook Factor Special: Halloween Honeymoon (Parts 2 and 3)

Here’s the rest of our Halloween Honeymoon! Day 2 we went to Disneyland and Day 3 we went to Disney California Adventure!

Spook Factor Special: Halloween Honeymoon (Part 1)

My October got super busy super quick. Ergo, I had no other blogs out in October. BUT! Here today is the first part of a 3 part special! Laura and I had our honeymoon in October and we did a lot of Halloweeny things in order to celebrate. In these two videos, we show you and discuss our first 2 days of our Honeymoon. This includes two studio tours and a half a day at Downtown Disney.

The copyright information can be seen in the video. Part 2 should be out soon!

Spooked and Haunted

So I’ve been really busy getting married to my fiance… Excuse me, WIFE, Laura, this past month. (The ceremony was short and simple at a court house and the “reception” was at Long Horn Steakhouse.) Likewise, I’ve also been busy with my job and preparing to take on a new class at the end of October. My busy-ness isn’t going to slow down any time soon, BUT, since October is here, I feel the need. The need for HALLOWEEN!

The Next Step

I’ve been in one of my creative slumps again. Haven’t written any scripts, blogs, or anything in a long while. It’s partially due to a little bit of laziness on my part. I have a job now and I would rather relax than do “work” when I’m not actually working. I’ll try to get better with that soon.

However, I did want to make a blog about a really important next step in my life. If you don’t know, a few years ago I got engaged to a woman named Laura. We have a great relationship together but there has been one major factor that has been really difficult to deal with. We live in different countries. I’m in the USA and she’s in Canada (and, yes, I’ve heard every “My girlfriend who lives in Canada” joke there is). Well, after a long process of talking to lawyers and visiting political consulates, we are finally taking the next step. Today, September 2, 2017, Laura’s coming down to live with me permanently. In a few weeks, we are getting married! I’m extremely excited to be taking this big step with Laura. We even have our honeymoon all planned. (DISNEYLAND, BABY! WOOO!) And I couldn’t be happier.

Now, that’s not to say I’m not nervous. I’m nervous about what we need to do to get her an official residency here, mostly because I don’t want to screw it up and have her get deported. I’m nervous about setting up the wedding and making it nice for her and her family. But, mostly, I’m nervous about being a good husband.

I don’t doubt the strength of our relationship. The good thing about distance is that Laura and I are able to communicate really well thanks to necessity. If we’re upset, we talk about it. If we’re having a bad day, we know how to cheer each other up. I just want to make sure we’re happy together. I want to be able to give her the things she wants. I want to be able to give her new experiences. I want us both to be happy.

My mother has a good piece of advice for marriage. “You only have to worry about her happiness. Likewise, she only has to worry about yours. If you’re both working to make each other happy, the rest will fall into place.”

I’m not saying everything will always be sunshine and rainbows. We’ll have struggles to overcome. Times won’t always be happy. But we will work at it together. And that’s what’s important.