Okay, so some of you guys hated Zeke as he was.  That's fine, I can understand... but more importantly, I want to get better at this.
To that end, I picked up a trial version of a character building software to help me plug up the holes.  Bear in mind, I'm not mindlessly following the templates, but a lot of the suggestions have been useful in both helping me to understand Zeke and to help make him into a more believable character.
At this time I am still working on tweaking things a bit, but I think I got enough groundwork down for everyone here to comment on.

http://www.telegraph.co.u...previous-Doctor-Who.html
So David Tennant is going to marry the biological daughter of the the actor who played the Fifth Doctor, and who is herself the actress who played the fictional daughter (well, cross sex clone) of his own Doctor.
...
--------------
Epsilon
Head aspolode!

So, who is "Donald635603"?
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

http://www.escapistmagazi...ts-Robbery-Gains-TV-Fame
Admittedly, it wasn't much, but it's a start.  Most of the supposed RL superheroes you hear about ... don't actually do anything, near as I can tell.

--sofaspud
--"Listening to your kid is the audio equivalent of a Salvador Dali painting, Spud." --OpMegs

Okay, I finally had an opportunity to watch this, and I'm going to try to comment a bit on it without rolling out any spoilers. I'll see how well I can pull that off.

This is the first full feature length movie the Gundam franchise has had in ages and there's a lot riding on it. It's made quite a lot of money but.. is it any good? I could tell as soon as I'd seen it that this was going to be a very polarizing movie. There are elements to it which are blatantly not 'Gundam' and, at times, run counter to messages that people have come to expect in Gundam.

Normally in Gundam you have a dialog of sorts between the main characters and the threat they're facing. A declaration of ideals is handed out on each side and the sides beat each other's faces in until someone is resolved as being 'right.' This movie lacks this completely. The enemy is faceless and voiceless and seemingly implacable. Brave soldiers put their lives on the line, proclaiming their devotion to their cause.. and are met with nothing but a soft metallic hum that will probably stick in my head the same way the Probe from Star Trek 4 did.

The enemy of the movie is, I think, one of the most alien aliens I have seen in recent efforts of speculative fiction. Their biology and home environment is completely unlike Earth's and it shows on basically every level.

One of the most surprising messages that got repeated in the story, both in dialog and in the events of the movie is the idea that 'understanding' is all well and good, and an admirable thing, but there comes a time when you have to be prepared for the thing that doesn't want to understand, that simply does not care or simply cannot be reasoned with. For a Gundam production to say this is almost heresy, and it has gotten a lot of people rather heated.

Is it good? It was entertaining. It was fairly thought provoking to me at least. I know a lot of Gundam fans who are kind of furious right now because they feel like it was 'too super robot' for them to properly enjoy. I wonder what in the world people like that are thinking. I personally recommend it with the following caveat: The movie does not attempt to explain the story to people who are just coming in now, this is not a recap movie and it goes straight away into the epilogue of a two season long TV series without missing a beat, two hours is barely enough time to get the job they wanted to do done.

Of course, just like any regular TV episode of Gundam 00.. make sure to keep watching when the credits roll, there's a little something after the credits end.
- Grumpy Uncle Gearhead

 

This film needs a few exclamation points after it.  It is not Machete.  It is MACHETE!!!!!.

 

This is an awesome bit of exploitation, or rather mexploitation.  You want blood?  MACHETE!!!! has it.  You want Boobage?  MACHETE!!!! has it.  You want beasts?  MACHETE!! has it.  Danny Oedipal-Gerund Trejo! Steven Conjugating Seagal!  Tom Obscene-literary-construction Savini!  Taking the exploitation genre and kicking it up to 11, Rodriguez has brought his B+ game to this film; not his greatest work, but I have spent time with a lot worse movies.

 

The supporting cast is solid, and a lot of Rodriguez favorites show up – DeNiro and Cheech Marin; and some newcomers including a smoking hot Michelle Rodriguez whost pose cyclopean alteration reveal is the things that dreams are made of.  Jessica Alba shows up; and Lindsay Lohan pops top, pops caps and pops pills (Which is pretty much her normal day.)

Worth every penny.
Cheers,
Shayne

Specifically, the Steve Jablonsky score from the Bay TF movie, the only thing I judge worthy from it. (does a victory dance) And how worthy it is! Like someone said here when the movie first came out, it "finds all the right buttons and then mashes them with big fucking hammers!"

- CD, exultant
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

They're censoring Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. 
NPR link
The Telegraph
ABC News
What.  The. Hell.
-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber."  --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.

The full version of the theme for the anime The World God Only Knows:

Quote:What I'm seeing... is it real?

What I'm feeling... is it real?

What I'm doing... is it real?

There is no regrets, satisfy my curiosities

There is a new world waiting, explore my possibilities

There is no guarantee, just improve my abilities

(Go ahead with your own life - Is there any hope in your sight?)

There is a choice to make, setting the right priorities

(You will always be the one, so feel the power

And you should know the sun comes up - For you)

There is no regrets, satisfy my curiosities

There is a new world waiting, explore my possibilities

There is no guarantee, just improve my abilities

There is a choice to make, setting the right priorities

Chapter 2

(What is the best you can do? How can you do?)

I was sitting and thinking the other day

(What is the best you can do? How can you do?)

If I fail, I won't throw my passion away

(What is the best you can do? How can you do?)

Just 'cause giving up is not the only way

No matter how it's gonna be, I'll try it anyway

Chapter 3

Love is such a sweet illusion (Let's come together)

Can't seem to stop my imagination (Goes on forever)

What a ridiculous situation (Another matter)

But I can't deny, I'm faced with a tricky temptation

In the world that keeps on changing

Don't know why my heart is aching

Gotta handle it, no more hesitation

There can be no turning back

God only knows

"My mind is as free as the wind.

But now what I should do is to fall in love"

God only knows

"I don't need that kind of real things

Feels like I'm lost in the labyrinth"

God only knows

"There must be the meaning of life

Somehow unexpected happenings thrill me"

God only knows

"Just believe in myself and my dream

Anyone could be a hero and heroine"

God only knows

"Though it's not so easy to get through

Here I am, I'm sure that things will go my way"

God only knows

"My mind is as free as the wind.

But now what I should do is to fall in love"

God only knows (Your own happiness, you can find it)

"I don't need that kind of real things

Feels like I'm lost in the labyrinth"

God only knows (Your infinity, you can feel it)

"There must be the meaning of life

Somehow unexpected happenings thrill me"

God only knows (Opportunity, you can take it)

"Just believe in myself and my dream

Anyone could be a hero and heroine"

God only knows (Toward the future, you can make it)

"Though it's not so easy to get through

Here I am, I'm sure that things will go my way"

Chapter 4

(Sailing, you're sailing away

And now it's blowing, breeze will take you away)

I feel that my spirits rise

I will survive and just stay alive

Enjoy being alone, the isolation is not always so bad

Another day has gone by, every day goes by

In the sky there'd be a bridge to a bright tomorrow

(You will find your treasure and share your pleasure

Let me tell you...)

Chapter 5

(Just keep your vision, your dream and your soul alive

Be as you are, I will always be right by your side)

Think about my love and my life

In an uncertain world, face to face with myself

Continue to make progress, day by day and step by step

I've got a good feeling

So I'm gonna keep on trying, life will go on...

I like incorporating other people's characters where I can, and in Reunions I'm drawing on a large cast already -- but there's one scene where I think I can tap the collective creativity of the group to better effect than relying on my own imagination.  So, I present you with an out-of-context snippet and a question:
If any of your characters were attending the party described below, and they chose to come as a villain, what villain would it be?

Quote:The Legendary base wasn't a nightclub or a bar, and it wasn't a
speakeasy or bistro or jazz hole or pub or tavern or restaurant or any
single one of these things.  It somehow managed to be all of them at
once without being tacky -- though privately thought the tiki
torches were a bit overkill -- and had a reputation as the spot
to hold a party, at least among its allies -- and if word on the street
was to be believed, among the general hero populace as well.  The D was
still the place to go, but if you couldn't get in or if you wanted
something a bit less exotic, the Legendary base was... legendary.
Tonight
was the annual Bring Your Own Villain party, something Mag Flashlight
and Pooky Da Imp had cooked up over beers, shrimp, and a
liquid-oxygen-fueled hibachi -- the former claiming strict sobriety and
complete innocence, the latter unable to recall events clearly but quite
certain that it had been a good idea at the time.  Perhaps
unsurprisingly, it had caught on, and there was much innuendo and barb
flying around at the choices those who had elected to be the villains
had made.  Some had thrown themselves into it wholeheartedly, some less
so, and then others...
blinked as Hamidon oozed by, and thought briefly that that had to be the most clever use of a
personal force field ever.