OakGoblinFly

Oh, I agree that Daisy might have switched the video feeds (which still begs the question, who was watching/guarding her) - I can forgive one stupid mistake/plot oversight ..... it just seems that stupidity has become a major plot device and it is annoying. I don’t think I would have minded Daisy’s “betrayal” if she did so of her own free will (which is why Ward’s betrayal worked for me) – but for her to be mind-whamyed into betraying SHIELD is (in my opinion) rather lazy writing and makes it all to convenient for her actions to be excused away (she didn’t mean it – she was under the influence of a mind hex). And I agree with you, most of the interesting characters are gone or have greatly reduced roles.

Based on numerous recommendations (including from one of my favorite authors) I picked up Blood Song. I'm only about 100 pages or so in and, if you can ignore some of the grammatical errors and the bizarre use (or lack thereof) of commas, the story is pretty decent and the author’s writing style is pleasant. It reminds me a bit of The Name of the Wind (an excellent read) in two ways: (1) both novels tell the story as if the narrator were speaking to a historian (using flashbacks if you will), and (2) recount the life of a famous magician (Wind) or assassin (Blood) from childhood, through his schooling, and into his notorious adulthood.

So let me get this straight ABC Studios; you’ve been promoting “Secret Warriors” for weeks and this is what you come up with? Four whole members; none of which are all that secret? Not only that, they manage to take out an entire Hydra/Hive team in less than five minutes (though I suppose one could fanwank that Hive-Ward allowed the “warriors” to “win” so he could put the hex on Daisy). If Hive-Ward has been collecting Inhumans via Malick, why aren’t there more than two Inhumans protecting his base? Hands up if you were surprised at the “twist” of Daisy being the one who turns “traitor” – yeah, I thought so. That twist wasn’t much of a twist; it was telegraphed pretty early on that she was the one who was mind-whamyed. Perhaps the writers were looking to parallel the “Ward is Hydra” storyline from season one with “Daisy has been assimilated into the Borg Collective, erm, Hive” - so very predictable and rather lazy writing. So, based on Hive-Ward’s comment that they “have to find Skye” and her “wanting” to run away with Lincoln, are we to believe that she’s returned to Special Snowflake Status and that she alone has the power to exert her own will and fight the mind control? We’re going to be subjected to more “we have to save Skye, I mean Daisy” again, aren’t we? How many IQ points did Coulson lose this week? You learn (albeit from a questionable source) that one of the Inhumans is infected and you lockdown the base, spy on the four Inhumans, take an armed group to “detain” them, and don’t bother to explain why? You have potential infection on your hands, why wouldn’t you tell the people that they’ve been exposed? Sure, they might freak out a bit; it has to be better than treating everyone like a criminal. Where are the security personnel at SHIELD HQ? And for that matter, why aren’t the security cameras running – we know that Mack used some of the surveillance to spy on the Inhumans, was no one else watching when Daisy sabotaged the system? If Daisy did indeed hack into the system to disable the cameras, why didn’t anyone notice? Also, why didn’t anyone question why the power simply went out? If the cause was Lincoln, wouldn’t there be physical signs of him zapping a junction box? There was just too much stupid going around this episode. Thank goodness for Mack and all the Fitz-Simmons interactions – they were the only redeeming part of this episode. <sotto voice> I like Hive-Ward’s jacket; Brett Dalton works the hell out of it.</sotto voice>

The only things I liked about the farm scenes were Thor's perplexed look and Steve Rogers chopping wood.

I don't mind Nyle with Peta, though I agree. Jodie really got shafted when she was assigned Keo (nothing against him, I think he's lacking in the creativity and teaching departments). Jodie lived up to her potential last night and it makes me sad that she may get the boot way too soon (which is why I think Maks mentioned Sabrina). I think Len awarded the 10 because Nyle and Sharna's dance was a (mostly) traditional Viennese Waltz; and with him being extra grouchy for lack of ballroom content in the ballroom dances I think he was just happy (delirious maybe?) that a couple was dancing an actual ballroom dance with recognizable steps. I notice that about Nyle's turns as well - I wonder if that's becuase he's looking for Sharna for his next dance cue. I still find Paige a little to hectic/frantic when she dances; I think she's still in her head too much; she needs to let go and trust her partner She is very pretty, she reminds me a lot of Faith Ford - and that's a good thing.

Len has been extra grouchy this season and it was on full display last night. While I do agree with him in the fact that a lot of the "ballroom" dances lack actual ballroom content - and it should be mentined - however, you shouldn't bash the celebrity for that; that falls on the choreographer. There is a huge disconnect between what Len wants to see and what the powers-that-be want to to televise (meaning Len wants to see "traditional" ballroom and the powers-that-be want a fusion). Which is why I always thought there should be two scores (five points each) - one for "performance" and one for "technique/content" While I don't generally like Sharna's choreography, she creats some beautiful Viennese Waltzes. To be fair, I think this is the first "soft" dance that Nyle has been assigned -

Are they actively trying to get me to NOT see this film??

Insert joke about speaking while the movie is playing here, And, thank goodness - I'm glad they finally came to their senses.

I've done the fully immersive experience at theme parks and such – after about 15 minutes I found myself dealing with vertigo, nausea, and migraines (it happens with 3D movies too). Some IMAX fills also give me vertigo - which is weird becuase if you put me on a roller coaster I'm perfectly fine. It’s like my eyes are telling my brain that I’m moving through space while my body is telling my brain I’m not moving . . . . the resulting “war” causes me to become ill.

And I may STOP going to movies or at least request a text-free showing ....It's not like a bright glaring screen and the "tap, tap, tap" of flying thumbs is going to be a distraction or anything. I don't care where I'm sitting in the theater, once the lights go down and someone whips out their phone to text, I can see it. And really, you can't put your damn phone away for two hours????? If the text is that important, get out of your seat and leave to deal with it, don't ruin it for everyone else. 4D?

Ugh! So much bad in this episode .... I had to fast forward through nearly all of the Daisy-Lincoln scenes because . . .zzzzzzzzz! And really Daisy! You're on a mission with a deadline and you you pick that time to have a discussion about your boyfriend's ex-girlfriend? Thank goodness for Ward - while the storyline poteinal is wasted - he sure is pretty to look at (I think Brent Dalton is the acting hero this season).

And since it appears that Nyle will be dancing the Viennese Waltz this week it should be find as he'll be in hold for most of the dance - I just hope Sharna is up to the challenge .... I'm generally not a fan of her work, though I thought her Waltz with Nick last year was quite good.

I thought that some of the scenes were gorgeous and very trippy (rather appropriate for the movie's theme).

I agree with you - while Jennifer Lopez will never, ever be a good singer - she is a great dancer and a fantastic performer - her performance was pure Vegas and I enjoyed every cheesey moment of it until the rump shaking.

Welp! That happened and I'm still shaking my head at the ....... I don't even have a word to describe the mess that I endured. This show no longer resembles the show that I fell in love with, and worse, the characters aren't even the same (sure they have the same name but they're not the same characters we meet in the pilot). I have to thank the powers-that-be and the writesrs; after that shit-show, I will find it easier to break up with you for reals.

I can't remember the exact words, but when Peta was talking about Nyle's costume, she said (paraphrasing) we're going to put you in a lion cloth to keep the ladies happy. And Bruno. The deadpan "and Bruno" had me giggling.

She's a first time mom with a three-month old, every first-time mom I know talks a lot about their child ...... I can't blame Ginger for that. I do believe that she talks about a lot of other things, it is the producers that put Ginger in the "first-time mother" storyline and they will air packages to advance that storyline. I for one find her happy, upbeat, perky, quirky personaility appealing; it's a bit sad (to me) that someone is called out for being too happy or too upbeat - and why shouldn't Ginger be happy; she's clearly at a wonderful point in her professional and personal life. More power to her.

And yet there's something about her that is keeping me from completely enjoying her performances. A lot of her dancing (while technically proficient) is a bit too frantic for my taste (though a great deal of that blame lies with Mark) – this is the first dance where (to me) it felt like Paige didn’t do three Red Bulls before performing (just two). I think the adrenaline rush is getting the better of her and she tends to rush her movements. There’s something just a little off-putting about Paige – it’s not that she’s unlikeable or horrible, I think she gets lost in a season where there are so many likeable contestants – I know that quite a bit of the pre-dance packages are scripted, still, a lot of the “I’m a fighter but I’m really a girly-girl” seems forced/faked.

Just once I wish somone would dance to I See the Light from Tangled. I always thoguht Tangled had much, much better music than Frozen. Though Lana Del Rey's version of Once Upon a Dream could be a stunning dark waltz in the right choreographer's hands. And I think Zendaya is fine; she's talent, articulate, and I think very likeable. I think she's a great fit for a guest judge on Disney night.

Just when I thought my love for Mr. Jones had reached its peak, he busts this out.

I did not like the little girl singer/tapper (Heavenly???) - she felt very "on" ... like she didn't know how to be a kid and everything had to be a performance.

This season? The show has always been about making money, ratings, promoting the judges/host pet projects, and finding a recording artist (in that order) for years.

Though she did start with the "I have no idea what I'm going to do; this is so outside of my comfort zone" whining in the begining. Honestly, other than Walter, I thought all the make-ups were lackluster. I had no idea what Melissa's was supposed to be; she and the artistic director guy kept saying "werewolf" yet I saw feline. Take away the hair on Mel's creature and you're left with a rather dull piece, Yvonne's was a mess; she shouldn't tried to "unpretty" her creature -- make it pretty and then add dirt, grit and other elements. Rob's was okay - but missed the challenge mark. I loved the finger waves and the old-school Hollywood vibe she was giving off.

That's true, updates are automatically sent/recieved when connected to WiFi (you can only receive updates in sleep mode when connected to WiFi). I only use my WiFi for downloading books as well - however, that should be enough to caputure any software updates. If you're not sure, you can always connect to WiFi and check for downloads. If your operating system is too old, then you'll have to transfer manually (not difficult, just cumbersome). Even if you Kindle was a gift, once you registered it, emails regarding updates should have come to you.

I thought she looked terrific (excepting awful shade of pink lipstick) on the premiere episode - and I adore her for saying she is going to learn sign language to make it eaiser for her to work with Nyle. Good on her - during his stint on America's Next Top Model only two contestants even attempted to learn sign language.