Lantern7

Not much to report on. The Buster Call starts up, and you have to question the wisdom of leveling an island just because stupid Spandam pressed the wrong transponder snail. I know, this is anime, but logic can still rear its ugly head. Also, I'm reminded that Robin isn't much of a fighter, though her Devil Fruit mojo is entertaining to watch. I'm just disappointed that her slapping of Spandam wasn't carried over from the previous episode. ETA: Potential bad news. . . we got another "Boss Luffy" episode coming up. The good news? Luffy will up his game against Lucci in the following ep.

From Reality Blurred: 15 reasons why we love Survivor. It's 15 years old today. Amazing how time flies.

Right . . . I forgot about Fred Wilpon's Ebbets Field hard-on. Heaven forbid they could refurnish Shea, as opposed to building a completely new park. I was on my way to a writing meetup, and I heard on the radio that Bartolo Colon hit a RBI double. See what I mean about me being the king of bad decisions? Turns out he batted one past Ichiro, and he went into second standing up. And he kept his helmet on. I am pissed at myself for missing that. BTW, how come people never refer to Ichiro's last name, Suzuki? It's always "Ichiro."

Death Gun's Death Gun . . . is a Black Star gun? So, what, is it gonna sprout blue hair and spout off about how it's going to surpass God? Seriously, I don't know if I can take Death Gun seriously as a Big Bad, what with the pre-kill theatrics. Did not expect Sinon to become prey that easily that soon. Or for Sinon to get a PTSD flashback to her kill.

Just so I'm clear. . . the game hasn't begun yet? It's funny . . . twenty people, giddy on an ovation high, board a bus . . . not towards the nearest airport and Cambodia, but at a hotel for sequestering. It's fitting.

So. Clothes are actually alien parasitic entities that accelerated mankind's evolution. Okay, then. And Mama Kiryuin is as big a nutjob as they come. Par for the course for anime. Oh, and the new end credits are Mako-licious.

I am the king of bad decisions. I passed up games on Monday and Wednesday, when the Mets won both games. I figured the 4 p.m. game was more my speed. So what happened? Right . . . they lost, and I spent most of the game blinded by the sun, with only my free promotional towel to shield my eyes. Mark my words . . . tomorrow, Bartolo Colon will pitch a two-hit shutout and he'll lose his batting helmet while at the plate. Just watch. I did get to explore the rotunda more thoroughly than when I last went in 2009. I understand why they don't let visitors in the area on non-game days . . . there's not much there. Sure, you have the Mets Hall of Fame and the two World Series trophies, but there wasn't much else there. Still a nice area. As for the game? Never let it be said that the Mets don't keep it interesting. They were down by four runs, then they roared back to tie the Marlins in the fourth inning. The Marlins went up by two in the seventh, then put the game away with back-to-back homers in the ninth, including a second dinger from Giancarlo Staton. In the end, I couldn't tell if the "Lets Go Mets" chants near the end were sarcastic. Marlins won, 9-5 I spent too much money. I had to refill my Metrocard. Then I spent big on a seat in the sun. Remind me to ask about the shade on the third base side next time I think about going to Citi Field. I wound up overspending on food, including my first exposure to deep-fried Oreos. Nobody tell my nutritionist. ratgirlagogo . . . I think the Mets resonated more with Brooklyn Dodgers fans. Or maybe the Dodgers were more mythical. Also, Jackie Robinson's number was retired, and I think it's the only time the Mets ever had a ceremony that was planned well in advance. ETA: I saw an ad from the Brooklyn Cyclones in the program. They're going to have a second Seinfeld night on July 5. Now I'm thinking of taking a new trip. ETA2: Here are my pics from today. I'll add descriptions later.

I'll probably pick up X-Men '92, though I find it a bit off-putting that Chris Sims is writing about the same guys whose adventures he recapped on ComicsAlliance. Make me wonder if his "Batman '66" recaps are going to be a springboard into writing the digital-first series from DC. I wound up scanning a few SW titles. I looked through Old Man Logan . . . didn't seem as readable from Bendis as it was from Mark MIllar. I'm not a Wolverine fan, but I did get this OML sketch three years ago.

Have the Mets been guests on TDS in the past? The only one I know for sure to be interviewed in the past was R.A. Dickey, back when he was promoting his book. It's fun to see Jon get a little antsy about Matt Harvey, because he's the closest to Dwight Gooden circa 1984-85 that we can get. The mini police barricades around the arm were a nice touch. I pointed out to my mother that Jon has a great Lindsey Graham impression, and then he refuses to go hog-wild on it. In other news, I don't think Donald Trump has the balls to run for any office.

I didn't see X-Men '92 on the schedule. I had no reason to hit a comic shop. Looks like I might have to rectify that tomorrow. ETA: Oh, it's a digital thing. Did not know that, either.

Right now, I don't have my credit card. I was going to go to the box office and get a ticket . . . which I'm guessing is not the smartest thing I could do. Speaking of not smart . .. right now, the Mets are up 5-0 on the Phillies. I just saw Noah Syndergaard -- one of the Mets' phenom pitchers -- hit a home run. Looks like I might have picked the wrong game to hit.

Anybody else raised on Bill Cosby? I'm guessing Amy was . . . I grew up an Eighties child, but I listened to some of his "Best Of" albums as a kid. And I recognized the chocolate cake bit from the movie Bill Cosby: Himself, where he served cake for breakfast to his kids, and his wife had a conniption fit over it. It's painful to hear all the allegations against him, and I'm betting Amy felt a little conflict over it. Sometimes, you have to throw away the free drink in order to get peace of mind. I went to Johnny Utah's last year. It was a Sunday afternoon, and nobody was there, save for a few employees. Yes, I saw the mechanical bull. Nice of Amy to spotlight the fatalities of women trying to ride those things. Man, there was a lot of retro stuff. Also, it looks like Amy likes to show how high her guest star ceiling is, what with the Jerry Seinfeld cameo. Holy crap, that was as impressive a "get" as LeBron James for Trainwreck.

I'm a little torn. I'm still thinking about going to see the Mets on Saturday, but I don't have a job, and the tickets are a little pricey. Also, Jonathan Niese will be pitching, and he's not Bartolo Colon or one of the young bucks.

Maybe they're saving that moment for Thanos in the next movies. Also nice to translate: "OH, YEAH?!? WELL, MY GOD HAS A HAMMER!!!" Sorry if I biffed the quote.

I need advice . . . I'm no longer employed, and anytime my phone's alarm sounds off, I tend to turn it off and go back to sleep for an extended period of time. How can I keep (and stay) awake in the morning? Wow . . . Toronto sounds like it's interesting. Maybe I will go back for their convention. I didn't have as much fun last year, though I didn't really build on tourist stuff from previous visits. Right now, I'm thinking of going to Boston's comic con in case I get shut out of NYCC.

I was going to post this link of the news from StopBeingPolite. They also had a piece on ten single-Challenge competitors, though most of them are known for the wrong reasons. Hard to argue their top pick, though.

Heh . . . I just knew Adonis' fall would be celebrated. Good thing for him that he can bang twice his weight in starlets, and nobody really gives a crap about his moving eyebrows. Also, it looks like we'll be getting Kacy crammed down our throats. I mean, she's nice and talented, but the hosts love her way too much. And it's nice to see Kevin Bull live up to the hype. I got a hold of Entertainment Weekly, and they had a page on the "hourglass" obstacle. Quirky to have an obstacle where you can get disqualified for completing it too easily. Also, you get to root for people to smack their heads on the second board. Not that I'm hoping for an injury . . . like that one guy who broke his friggin' leg on the course. It was brutal to see him try and hang in there, though I'll give him props for encouraging his sister while laid out on the stretcher. That was hardcore.

This week: A run-of-the-mill story enhanced by the unique art style of animator David Ferguson. Finn and Jake go to a water park. Finn saves Princess Orangutan from "daddy sad heads." Finn and Jake play a prank on Ice King, getting the icy monarch banned from the water park. And that's about it. No real deep thinking involved this week, but no huge laughs either.

I'd vote for Twila without irony. Sure, she sounded like Billy Bob Thornton in Sling Blade, but she was sharp, and she deserved more that two votes against Chris in her season. Last I saw her, she was bombing out of a "reality stars" version of Fear Factor because she was partnered with Jon Dalton. Nobody deserves that. Thinking about it, I'm glad Jeremy made the cut. Somebody has to represent New England after Rodney and Dan.

Good point, SnideAsides. I suspect he wanted to do it like Ryan Seacrest to rub in the impending cancellation of American Idol. Thinking about it, I should emphasize with Dan. Sometimes, I say (or post) stuff that gets blown out of proportion. But I think it's an unwillingness to look at oneself that separates me from him. Also, the facial hair. I shave twice a week because mine drives me nuts. Dan actually looks like a goat, and he acts like one as well. Tom Buchannan watches at home, unable to decide whether he'd want to eat Dan or copulate with him.

Yeah . . . I think the SPN finales are must-see for the "The Road So Far" montage set to Kansas. After the girl singing, they went back to the regular format . . . but it was jarring. What's your favorite TV tradition? Halloween episodes of Roseanne? Christmas eps from American Dad? As for Survivor? I think Probst wanted to protect the brand, and Shirin was a big enough fangirl to warrant defending. I don't remember another recent season that got as much vitriol from me. During the Will/Shirin debacle, I was yelling, "Fuck you. Go to jail" at the TV. Man, there were so many assholes, and the bulk of the majority alliance was chock full of them. Here's hoping S31 is an improvement. Something tells me that S32 is crap, if it got pushed to 2016.

Just checking to see if anybody here saw the Survivor finale. It went well . . . I feel the biggest "WTF" moment of the night happened when I switched to the CW at 9 and saw some girl singing the opening part of "Carry On My Wayward Son" in the Supernatural finale. Come on, the a capella intro is the best part of that kickass song. I'm more or less glad I gave up SPN due to DVR constraints.

So . . . how do you rate S30 in the big picture? I'd say it was worse than S29, except I've blanked out on most of it. All I really remember was Natalie winning, and me being cool with it. S30 was full of stupid moments, with the occasional hit of awesomeness. I think Mike would've gotten more time at the reunion than Natalie had gotten in hers had S31 not needed pimping. I think Probst realized this as well, and he more or less dropped the check into the love pile that was Mike's family. Also . . . I don't think Dan will be easily forgotten, and I think he'd be back, even if he did shit-talk the show. Probst may have thrown him under the bus and backed it up over him, but I have such a low opinion on Probst and Mark Burnett where bringing back a stinker like Colton wouldn't be out of the question.

I'm reconsidering going to Citi Field on Monday. The following Saturday, the Mets will have a 4 p.m. game. I can get up at a decent hour, do a few chores, then go to Flushing, and get back before 10. They're giving away beach towels . . . I don't remember the last time I hit a beach, but it is a nice incentive. ETA: There's another day game next Wednesday. I think Jacob deGrom would be pitching if he gets five days' rest.

I wish her the best going into S31, even though the sympathy might produce a backlash within the game, and she went on record as saying she made a million bucks already. In the finale thread, I said that she would be a cover band, albeit a kickass cover band. Sure, she quoted Sue Hawk and took a hit off the marker like Greg Buis, but I'm glad a fan will be getting another shot at the prize.