Let's Play Dead Space: Extraction (Parts 27-29)

I continue on in the PEACEFUL Ishimura.

Let's Play Dead Space: Extraction (Parts 24-26)

I arrive on the Ishimura.

Meatslab is a New Challenger

Info From HERE

You can unlock this nasty challenger with the item Bloody Summoning Altar which can be found in the Cash Shop. He is a three tiered challenger. If you conquer his resting form ten times you'll be in store for a greater challenge!

I just love the artwork on Meatslab. While I'm not a big battler, I only do Battle Quests for the most part, I am in love with this guy. The artwork is very bloody and shows a great difference between Subeta and other pet sites.

Subeta isn't afraid to up the gore a little and so we get gems like this from the site.

Animorphs Re-Read: #6 The Capture (Chapters 13-16)

 Chapter 13

As Jake and Cassie demorph they see that Ax had knocked the human out. Ax says he did that since he was afraid the Controller had been Jake's brother. Jake says it's not Tom but it's good for the Andalite to think like that. So Ax didn't kill because of his honor code of serving his 'Prince'?

Jake looks at the jacuzzi and now realizes what it is since he can seem normally. He wonders why there's a jacuzzi in a hospital. Cassie replies that it's probably for physical therapy.

But when Jake opens up the jacuzzi the three see what it's really for. It's a little Yeerk pool. The description Jake gives of the Yeerks are icky. Ax, of course, reacts as far removed from happy as possible.

Recap of information of the Yeerks is given and Jake asks Ax if they can see him. Well this won't get dark or creepy I'm sure...

Ax reassures Jake that they are blind without a host. Jake then asks what would happen if they turned the heat up and nope nope nope. I'm going on the nope train to fuckitville. Well I would if I wasn't doing this re-read or that I am sickly drawn towards this. What Jake has just hinted at, if you don't know, is that he's willing to boil the Yeerks alive while they're defenseless.

In his defense, he doesn't yet know that the Yeerks aren't all evil. They haven't met up with Aftran yet.

Jake says for Cassie to morph wolf and guard the door alongside Ax. Jake tells Cassie he is going to destroy all the Yeerks in the jacuzzi. I can imagine Cassie debating with herself whether to argue with Jake or not as she finishes her wolf morph.

Jake sets out to 'boil some Yeerks' and I'm both seeing the immorality and necessity of the leader's decision. As he finishes two Controllers walk in.

Cassie is to attack first and Ax follows soon after. Suddenly more Controllers appear as Jake is trying to concentrate on morphing a tiger. As chaos erupts, Jake is hit by a ricochet shot that knocks him into the jacuzzi and he gets knocked out.

Chapter 14

Jake spends an unknown amount of time in the jacuzzi Yeerk pool. This is just...ah! When he finally wakes up he gasps for air as he had breathed in a bunch of liquid from the Yeerk pool. Then another feeling comes to him: he has the worst migraine in existence.

As someone who has lots of migraines: I really pity Jake here. They are far from pleasant. Just imagine an ice pick digging in your head and you got the basic gist of one. So with Jake having head pain...that's bad even without the whole Yeerk invasion.

Jake isn't able to fight but watches Ax and Cassie put up a good one.

Jake hears a random Controller saying to stop firing as the jacuzzi Yeerk pool is in there and Visser Three won't be happy if anything happens to it. And when Visser Three gets angry people die.

Jake tries to join the fight but finds himself unable to because of all the pain he is in. Suddenly Marco and Rachel come in and hold back the Controllers for just a little bit. Marco and Rachel are alerted to Jake's condition so Marco picks him up while Rachel switches morphs to get something with a little more firepower.

Jake continues to cough but says he's able to breathe better. The pain in his head is going away but something is off about it. He's feeling more confused.

As Rachel, in elephant morph, makes a bigger doorway a voice inside Jake's head is surprised that Rachel is a human. It is shortly after that that the Animorphs make their escape from the hospital building.

As the other Animorphs decide to have Cassie morph horse and put Jake on her, Jake tries to tell Marco that he has a weird headache. Marco laughs it off saying to not worry about it. The voice in Jake's head is again surprised that the Animorphs are humans.

The voice in Jake's head talks more and even moves his hand. Shit shit shit!

Jake is wondering what's happening? Really, Jake? Really? There is a voice in your head, you're not in control of your body, and it's surprised that your fellow Animorphs are humans? I fucking wonder what it could POSSIBLY be!

Suddenly it starts to dawn on Jake. Especially when the Yeerk tells him not to resist and to put that 'primitive human brain' to work.

To tell you this was shocking, even now, is an understatement. Only six books in and one of the leads gets a Yeerk in his head. Mind you this is a book for kids where shit like this isn't supposed to happen. The good guys are safe while the bad guys can get hurt.

But this book, as others have pointed out, is where the series starts to get dark. Don't worry, though, Jake being a Controller will look like butterflies and sunshine long before the series is through.

Chapter 15

The Yeerk inside Jake's head seems amused when the Animorph finally figures out what's going on. For a moment he thinks Cassie heard him cry out, but soon figures out that is not the case. How Jake describes being trapped inside his own body is beyond terrifying. And this book series was for kids!

The Yeerk taunts Jake by saying he's in control and can read every part of Jake's mind. Holy shit is that terrifying and awesome at the same time!

Jake is surprised once the Yeerk uses a nickname that Tom called him. Jake doesn't think about what that means as Cassie looks him over to make sure he's okay. Don't worry, Cassie, Jake is fine and just has the minor problem OF HAVING A YEERK IN HIS HEAD! OMG!

The Yeerk gives his name, I'll just say Temrash to keep things simple, and says that he had gotten a promotion prior to getting inside Jake's head.

As Jake yells at the Yeerk to leave his head, Temrash has Jake guess who his last host was. When Temrash says his last host was Tom, Jake thinks that his older brother is free now. Temrash quickly dashes that hope by saying that Tom has a new Yeerk and that he, Temrash, was to be the governor's Yeerk.

Temrash is highly pleased that Jake, leader of the 'Andalite bandits', ended up being his host. That Visser Three will be more than impressed. Jake says he'll never tell the Yeerk anything but the fearless leader forgot that Yeerks can read every little part of their host's mind. So Temrash gleefully says every one of the Animorph's name.

Cassie is concerned, of course, and suggests for Jake to see a doctor. The Yeerk, with Jake's mouth, says he's fine. That is just...this is a kid's series! How was I not put into a mental institution because of this!

To convince the others it's not safe to see a doctor, Temrash says that the doctor might be able to tell he's an Animorph. And here comes a plot point I don't agree with...Temrash mentions that there might be 'leftover roach DNA'. I believe this becomes a plot point later on in the series and I just want to facepalm. But, hey, maybe I'm wrong and such a thing makes sense as there would need to be a way in a creature's body to store the DNA of morphs.

Temrash says that they need to make sure everyone is okay and then they should go their separate ways. And then Temrash will become a Visser. Yeah!

Jake says he can't hear Temrash's thoughts but that he can feel the Yeerk going through his brain. Jake tries to think of something he can do to warn the others. To alert them to the fact that he's not really him anymore.

Marco points out that they're in the national forest so it will take a little while for the Yeerks to find them and the fact that the Yeerks are under the mistaken assumption that the Animorphs are all Andalites.

Temrash continues to imitate Jake and I am getting even more creeped out.

Temrash says that Jake should stop trying to resist since resistance is futile. As I know Applegate is a Trekkie...Borg? Or am I getting my references all mixed up?

Jake feels helpless as he thinks that the Yeerk will fool his friends and even if Temrash goes to another host, that he will never be free. He will become a slave to the Yeerks until he dies.

Suddenly Ax touches Jake's body and looks him in the eye. Temrash says, only to Jake, the word Andalite with as much hatred as Ax says the word Yeerk. Temrash curls Jake's lip in revulsion but quickly goes back to the act of pretending to be Jake.

But somehow Ax knows about Jake's situation as he puts his tail-blade close to Jake's neck. How closely were you looking at your Prince, Ax?


Chapter 16

Everyone starts yelling at Ax like he is crazy. Ax starts to explain, logically, why it is obvious that Jake is now a Controller. I like that they didn't dumb Ax down so that Temrash could infiltrate the group. I really loathe when characters have to be made dumb so certain plot lines will work.

Temrash tries to pretend he's innocent but it seems like Marco agrees something might be up. They didn't make Marco stupid either! Yes!

Cassie starts to side with Ax and the Andalite starts to explain more about Yeerks. He says that it takes awhile for a Yeerk to gain full control of the host so that the host sometimes looks like he/she is in a coma. I think this is really good Yeerk biology. Since this allows the host not to be able to kill themselves as the Yeerk is taking control of them.

Jake is more than excited about Ax figuring stuff out. He thinks of wanting to kiss the Andalite. Yeah, bet you do, Jake. Ax is beyond adorable and amazing!

Temrash tries to argue but Rachel points out that the 'real Jake' would understand them taking a moment to decide what to do. Tobias quickly deduces the fact that if they hold Jake for three days that they will know for certain if he's a Controller or not.

Cassie points out that Jake has to be places or else it will seem suspicious. Temrash again says that he's Jake so there's nothing to worry about.

The rest of the group agrees that they need to hold Jake for three days to make sure that he isn't a Controller. Good! You're going in the right direction!

Temrash continues to try and argue about how people, his family, will become suspicious if they don't hear back from Jake. Cassie says that there's a way to make sure that people don't start wondering where Jake went.

This is just beyond awesome! Know why? How many plots like these have you seen/read where there's a traitor in the group and no one thinks there's a traitor until shit has started hitting the fan? Do you know how rare this moment is? And this is a kid's book where people usually don't put that kind of effort in!

Cassie says that Ax can acquire Jake and then morph him to fool Jake's family.

Temrash is worried and Jake taunts the Yeerk.

When Ax touches Jake, Temrash says 'Andalite filth'. Good going, high ranking Yeerk. I would say the Yeerk isn't acting as smart as he should but this is the Yeerk that decided Tom quitting basketball would help his cover.

I also want to point out that I believe Cassie was having Ax 'acquire' Jake not to get his DNA, but to have an excuse to touch him. Cassie knew that the Yeerk would most likely have a big reaction to an Andalite touching him so she decided to do that. Notice how Jake doesn't show any reaction of how you'd normally be acquired? So I don't think a Frolis maneuver makes morphing one of the DNA of a species not doable.

Temrash quickly says he didn't mean to say 'Andalite filth' but he had a hard day so he snapped. Tobias points out how bullshit that is. Yeah, nothing gets past his hawk eyes!

Cassie reassures Jake that this living Hell will be over soon. The gang then starts debating where they should hide Jake. Tobias suggests a shack.

As they start to move Jake, Temrash squeezes Cassie's hand like Jake would do and does a rundown of everyone in the group. I like how Temrash calls Cassie weak even though she is deadly. Kindness is not a weakness, after all.

Cassie tries to talk to Jake, but Temrash tries to say he's not a Yeerk. Ax replies by pointing out how many Yeerks Jake had killed and that Temrash only survived because Jake fell into the Yeerk pool. Temrash becomes a little more than angry at the Andalite.

Temrash replies in a way that Jake would and Temrash points out that Cassie is having some doubts.

Jake talks about how odd having a Yeerk in your head is. He points out that he is numbed to what his body is feeling.

Temrash tries to convince both Cassie and Rachel that their plan is going to fail. Temrash even uses Rachel's out violent nature against her. Ax, in Jake morph, says that humans believe what they see without playing with sounds!

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Animorphs Re-Read

How To Train Your Dragon 2 (2014)

Title: How To Train Your Dragon 2

Series: How to Train Your Dragon

Based on the Books By: Cressida Cowell

Director: Dean DeBlois

Starring: Jay Baruchel, Cate Blanchett, and Gerard Butler

Rated: PG

Released: 2014

Personal Rating: 5/6

Oscars: N/A

Plot: When Hiccup and Toothless discover an ice cave that is home to hundreds of new wild dragons and the mysterious Dragon Rider, the two friends find themselves at the center of a battle to protect the peace.
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Battle Scene
Now there are two real battle scenes in the movie but I'm talking about the first because it's more grand than the second one. Well...more grand because of the visuals as it was less emotional than the final battle. What happened in the first one may take a second viewing to fully take in. There was so much happening in the fore and background. It reminded me of a grand sci-fi battle at different points. One of the best visual parts in the movie.

The Visuals
The visuals of this movie were to die for. I saw the movie in 3D and I don't know if that helped my viewing experience or not. The flying sequences were beautiful. Especially shortly after Hiccup is reconnected with his mother. In the credits there were drawings, possibly concept art, which were beautiful to look at too.

Family
This movie has a very touching story. It is both a movie with epic battles and continues on the story of Hiccup understanding his father. Near the beginning it's revealed that Stoick is thinking of retiring and will make Hiccup the new chief. Besides the father issues, Hiccup discovers his mother. With his mother the mythology of this series is greatly expanded.

Final Thoughts
I adore this movie as much as I did the first one. It expands on the mythology of the universe as well as giving audiences something more epic than the first one. If you have never seen the first movie I suggest you do so. Not just because you'll understand this one better, but because it's a great movie in its own right. As I stated before, I saw this in 3D so I don't know how it'll look in 2D. I doubt it would look horrible in that format.

Gary Oldman and Political Correctness

Before I start on the meat of this post: I'm talking about this more because of Gary Oldman's influence and very likely confusion about the term than hating on the actor himself.

I like to say that I'm not politically correct. The term, to me, is more about being worried about what might offend people rather than what does offend people. Of course you should worry that you might insult people, but you shouldn't be so concerned that you are worried about every little thing. Because sometimes you'll find that people aren't as easily offended as you thought.

There's a difference between not like hearing the "n word" from a white person and a totally different thing to edit Huckleberry Finn (by Mark Twain) so it doesn't have the "n word".

The first example you're just having empathy. You're realizing that the word does have a big negative impact on people. You're caring for people in a good manner by not saying the word.

The second example is what I mean by Political Correctness. If you agree with the second example you are entirely forgetting why that word is used in the novel. Mark Twain was an author that liked to use the vernacular, aka how people actually speak, in his writings. And guess what? Back in the day, that Twain wrote the novel, that is how people spoke in that area. Be angry at the people who used the word, but don't censor Mark Twain to put a modern sensibility on the novel.

Recently Gary Oldman seemed to get confused on what Political Correctness means and seemed to state that you can say anything. If you disagree with that, you're just being Politically Correct.

He stated opinions like not voting for 12 Years a Slave during the Oscars makes people call you a racist. Maybe to some people, but I'm not going to call someone racist for not liking the movie. Just because you like different movies doesn't make you a "racist" or a "sick puppy".

One of the worse things that Oldman stated was his defense of Mel Gibson. Now Gibson made some good films, but he has stated anti-semantic remarks. There's nothing Politically Correct about being offended when someone insults a whole group of people. It's just common sense to recognize an asshole.

Of course Gary Oldman had to apologize. The backlash from his comments was huge. In his apology, though, he didn't address every group he insulted.

I really hope that people don't take Gary Oldman's view of Political Correctness to heart. That people who feel Political Correctness is the way to go don't use Oldman as showing why they're right. And that people who don't feel Political Correctness is right don't use Oldman as an excuse to say hate and then blame you for being Politically Correct if you're insulted.

A Death in How To Train Your Dragon 2

I have a spoilery video about a scene from How To Train Your Dragon 2.