Nick vs. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Part 1

Well shit, it has been a little while, and while I have had plenty of ideas that could have brought me back to write on a more constant basis I decided not to. Something to ponder however, those things that your friends love that for whatever reason you can't stand, for instance as much as my friends (and the whole world) love Captain America: Civil War it does nothing for me. So the premise of this and all upcoming post is very simple, I am going to let someone pick a TV show or a movie that I have publicly stated I dislike, and I am going to re-watch this show with the hopes of either trying to find new love for something I hate, or to discover if I am right. We are going to call this segment, Nick vs. and we are going to start with Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a show created by Joss Whedon and stars Sarah Michelle Geller in the title role. It ran from 1997 to 2003, and has developed a sizeable fan base. Going into this I will just state outright that I never understood this shows appeal. However because said friends cannot stop raving about it I have decided to give it a shot. This is what I like and don't like about the first three episodes of the series.

Pros.

1. I think what has grabbed me the most this time around, is the lore. In a time period where classic monsters have been given the twilight treatment, it is refreshing to see that someone recognizes that monsters should be scary. Vampires that feel threatening, is a real treat and in the first two episodes I really liked the idea of this town being a gateway to hell can lead to some really interesting ideas, that is what I am looking most forward to seeing.
2. Xander Harris is for me at this moment the best character in the show. Where characters like Buffy and Giles already occupy this strange world, Xander stands out as the only character where it feels like he grasp the situation. Of all the characters that I have been introduced to so far he is the one that most feels like a normal character. Whether it be because he is trying to appeal to a girl, or because he doesn't play off issues like it is just a fly that is bugging you, he is the character for now that is gonna make me come back.
3. There is some solid action in the first few episodes, albeit in really dark shots. People may complain about the darkness of the DCEU, but at least I can see what is going on. That doesn't mean the action is bad, far from it.

Cons.

1. The characters for the most part are weak to start this series. Buffy is a one note character and while I am sure she will grow as the series progresses it is hard not to notice that she is not super compelling outside of one concept but we will get to that in a second. Willow would feel more useless if they had not given her the super power of hacking, for the record I hate hacking characters, they feel more like plot convinces then anything. Giles might become more interesting to me as we go on, but it was just off putting how whenever the plot got going there was no emotion from him until the third episode when he was arguing with the "monster of the day." 
2. Cordelia, yeah I know mentioned characters but honestly she is so bad she gets her own post. She is the Rachel McAdams from Mean Girls with none of the charm or likability. I hope she dies at some point so I can move on.
3. Honestly the dialogue is pretty weak up to this point. I am most ashamed because I know Joss is a better writer then this. I found myself laughing at three jokes in the first three episodes, and yes there were more then three. The fact that it relies on High School humor is lost on me, that may still appeal to some people, and yes you can make high school media that appeals to adults (Edge of Seventeen) but for me its not working. 
4. A little too much 90s for my taste
5. I want to mention what I think is really holding this show back, and that is the technical's. Bad camera movement, really poor lighting choices, choppy editing, have pulled me out of the story, in the two part pilot I could hardly see anything that was relying on tension for me to be invested in. Lucky that was changed in the third episode but for now, this show feels less like a network or cable show, and more like the stuff I am doing as a film student. While this isn't a story problem, this does suck the enjoyment out when I am too busy critiquing the film stuff. 
6. Finally I want to mention that the acting has been sub par. Their is no emotion when things happen except with Xander. Alyson Hannigan delivers each line like she is not sure of what she is saying. Giles feels like he is bored by what he is given, and Sarah Michelle Geller as of this moment is not a bad ass Slayer, she is trying to play both the bad ass and the high school student, but cannot play either of them with any conviction. 

So at the start of this experiment it is 6 cons to 3 pros, and while that is not a good start it doesn't mean that things can't change. My verdict for the first three episodes of Buffy is a 5/10. The idea of a bad ass slayer fighting classic horror villains in a relatable way will keep me coming back, but only if the idea can be fully realized and for now, I don't see it.

Score: 5/10       

No Sin, No Sinner

In a first season episode of The Boondocks, the character of Uncle Ruckus after having a dream where Ronald Reagan informs him that God created different heavens for different races, in order for him to enter White Heaven he needs to preach to the world the evilness or sin of being black. Its terrible and ridiculous, the character of course is wrong and later when asking for God to strike him with lightning if he doesn't speak the truth, which "God" does proving to the people how wrong he is. At least in the show there is a resolution that allows for us to see the error of this way of thinking, in real life unfortunately this is not the case. In the case of this characters actions an audience member proclaims that it makes sense to hate the "sin" not the sinner.

Seen here: God punishing those who actually deserve it

Lucky for us people who argue that people who are black are either not even a blip on our radar, or have been shamed into changing there tune (looking at you Mormons). For the bigot of the 21st century however there is a more acceptable group to hate. LGBT rights have been moving forward a little slower then the other civil rights movements that came about in the 60s and 70s but its hard to ignore the progress. Whether its the obvious of getting Homosexuality off the list of mental illnesses, or the more recent elections where Maine, Maryland, and Washington legalized same-sex marriage by popular vote rather then by court order. With all this in mind there is a trend I have noticed a little bit more often then I would like to admit, people who say that they don't hate gay people, just the "sin" of homosexuality.

The new beacon of Progress

What does it mean to hate the sin but not the sinner? Well the explanation I have been given means that as Christians they must love all but they must not condone the sin they commit. And from the outside that is kind of a nice idea, hey you know I may not agree with what you do but as a person I love you all the same. But lets really look at what they are saying in terms of our topic. What is being said is that I may not like that you love another member of the same sex but I still love you the person. Despite how much religion has made us try and deny this our sexuality is a major part of who we are. Its not something to be disgusted by or to be ashamed of, embrace it. That all being said a major part of being gay much in the same way it is in a straight relationship is having sex. What you are really saying is that I don't mind that you are gay but I would really like it if you didn't have sex with another man or if you are a lesbian another woman. Its a special kind of bigotry, a bigotry that is candy coated in fake kindness. Don't be fooled by this kind of argument it sounds like its coming from a reasonable person, trust me its not. I might even call it unfortunate if the people weren't contemptible humans. 


It has been told to me that in the case of Women's Rights or African-Americans Rights, that you can't change them because they were born that way they deserve the full rights of being an American. But gay people don't get special treatment because of there choice or lifestyle. I won't get into the science of homosexuality, or even the fact that love by its nature does not discriminate. I think anyone with half a brain can look past the stupidity of this argument. Do you understand what you are saying when you make a claim like that. What you are saying is that you have such a hatred for your fellow human that you are willing to look past the fact that as a fellow human they deserve the same treatment as everyone else because you don't like there lifestyle. And you want to create laws that make the government force your narrow minded view of the world on everyone, which for me is always hilarious coming from the small government folks.

Hypocrites in 1776 Hypocrites now

You might be asking why do you even care Nick, you aren't gay this doesn't effect you. You are right but that doesn't change the fact that I don't want to see any kind person be denied basic human rights. Also I have never be a fan of people hiding there hatred in bullshit kindness. The next time someone tells you that they only hate homosexuality not the person themselves you have my permission to tell them to piss off or any variation be it angrier or nicer of that phrase. Because we can not move towards progress when we still allow this kind of bullshit arguments to maintain a hold in our national dialect.

Till next time 

Ravings of a Cheerfully Angry Ranter- Reverse Discrimination

 David Hollingsworth is a friend of mine and a fellow member of the Cabbage Stack Kids. When he is not busy trying to save the world you can find him on his blog Flying Knees, Politricks, Cheerful Existentialism. Here is his first guest spot on my blog which I am going to title Ravings of a Cheerfully Angry Ranter. Enjoy!

Hello, readers of Ravings Of An Angry Ranter.  It is I, Punchline, the one responsible for Flying Knees, Politricks, Cheerful Existentialism.  You may be wondering why I would be doing a guest spot on this blog when neither of our blogs have a particular subject matter, and therefore there isn’t any particular subject that warrants me writing a guest spot.  The answer is that my blog has a more comedic and laid back style.  This blog is for angry ranting, and that is what I am here to do.

This post is dedicated to everyone who cries about “reverse discrimination” when called out on their racist, sexist, homophobic, or any other type of discriminatory bullshit.  This will not be like my last blog about “nice” guys, where my tone is more playful and constructive.  The tone of this one will be more along the lines of “fuck” and “you.”  And that’s why we are here on Nick’s blog.

More Fuck Less You

So, first and foremost, if you think when someone calls you out on your bullshit is “discrimination against the discriminator, and therefore equally bad,” a big, hearty “fuck you” is in order.  You are so inadequate at living that you feel the need to bring down the rights of others, and you are so inadequate at rational thought you think someone calling you out is them “oppressing” you.  Anthropologists will someday study you as irrefutable proof that we came from lesser beings.  And, speaking of anthropology, it takes an Australopithecus with a severe concussion to talk to you on your level, which is why I am not wasting my time.

You have the right to believe its okay to take away the rights of others, and should definitely have the right to express this- in fact, I wholeheartedly support this right because it lets me know whom I could still talk to if I ever got a lobotomy, was given a book by Glenn Beck, and wanted to find someone I could connect with.  But I’m supposed to “respect” this backwards ass opinion?  I’m supposed to smile and nod about the fact you want to deny the rights of people who just want equality and if I deconstruct what you say, I’m being rude?!

Clearly a Reasoned Argument

No.  To quote one of the wisest minds of our time, “eat a sack of baby dicks.”  If I explain to you why your racist bullshit is racist bullshit, why your sexist bullshit is sexist, etc, that is also my right to free speech.  Free speech means no legal consequences for your actions and your well being not being jeopardized by what you say.  It doesn’t mean you can say what you want without any sort of consequence or response from anyone.  In fact, wanting that to happen is infringing on their rights to free speech!

Continuing that train of thought, if other non-shitty human beings decide that, “hey, maybe we shouldn’t associate with someone who believes in this bullshit,” that’s not even close to the same thing as what you want to do to the people you hate for no valid reason.  This is for two crucial reasons.

The first is that by choosing to not associate with you, they are actually not taking away your rights at all!  You still have all the rights and privilege you had in the beginning.  None of that is taken, not even a little bit.  Nowhere in the law books does it say “you have the right to multiple state mandated friends no matter how shitty your outlook as a person is.”  You can still go outside without being arrested for what you said.

The second reason is because being a shithead is not an integral part of who you are.  Your skin color, whether or not you have a Y chromosome, who you are attracted to, etc, are integral parts of who you are that you can’t easily change and shouldn’t need to because there is nothing wrong with these things.  You being a bigoted dipshit, on the other hand, is very changeable.  You could decide not to be one this very instant!

Or wait till your secret comes out

As human beings we have some shitty tendencies hard wired into us, and making certain groups of people “others” is definitely one of those.  But we also have self-awareness, the ability to understand and evaluate ourselves.  We have the ability to be conscious of our beliefs and actions.  Notice how when we want to punch someone in the face, we have the ability to slow ourselves down and say “no, I want to, but this is a bad idea” and not punch them in the face?  You have the same ability to do that with your bigotry right now, tomorrow, or at literally any other point in your entire life!

So yes, your claims of “reverse discrimination” are utter bullshit.  Much like your entire world view.   Now go back to the comment section on Youtube videos and Yahoo! News articles.

Clearly the last beacon of freedom

 I would like to thank David Hollingsworth for his always fun opinion, and we hope he comes back for more rants in the future.

What Have We Learned?

Today is 9/12 which means it has been 11 years since the terrorist attacks of September 11. I like the rest of the people who will read this has not forgotten that day and will probably always remember what I was doing when I saw the news that day. The deaths of thousands of people are always tragic and when done for such a terrible reason just makes it that much worse. However it has occurred to me over the last eleven years that we tend to forget a few things when it comes to big tragedies, the most important of these being the “what did we learn?” aspect of the events.

As a man who has a great love of history, and it is always important for me to put events into perspective. Just think of every tragedy we have ever had, or better yet let us just look at the tragedies that have happened in this country.

No words for this picture

 I’ll start in chronological order:

1898- Sinking of the Maine

More fun then living in Maine

The Maine was a battleship commissioned by the US navy, after being sent out to protect US interest in Cuba during the Cuban revolution from Spanish control. Sadly the ship met tragic end when it was blown up (most likely this was done to create the outrage to go to war with Spain). In the end what we learned here is that the United States was ready to be a major player on the worlds stage and also that certain people in this case journalist had the power to sway popular opinion to war.

  

1915- Lusitania 

All the fun money can buy

I swear every major early tragedy took place at sea, but as it happened the Germans warned the people that if a ship entered British water where they had U-boats stationed they would get sunk. I don’t know if there was a major lesson here but it was the event that helped take us into another war in this case World War One.

1941- Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor

I don’t need to explain Pearl Harbor I just need to point out that once again we are being taken into war. Also maybe we learned the consequences of not only blocking out Japan from resources but also moving in on their territory. Also I tend to think about in this time I think about when people tell us about all the rights we tend to have in America. This event lead to us seeing the US government taking the rights of the Japanese-American citizens taken away. Which is another sad reaction to tragedy, our rights being taken away.

You know the funny thing about Pearl Harbor is that it was the biggest tragedy for our country until 9/11 and it seems that it has long since been forgotten by some people. Also a strange pattern I have seen is that these tragedies tend to put us into a state of war. I bring up these three historical events because it shows how often history repeats itself. Also I have to point out that it seems we just never learn do we.

However I did not create this blog for the sake of a history lesson I want to now turn my attention to 9/11. I sit here before you and ask you what have we learned? I can tell you up to this point is seems that we haven’t learned anything. We never stopped and learned why the people attacked us on 9/11 (maybe over 50 years of western occupation of Middle East land), we never asked the questions of what to do next. We never how we should handle this situation, we already had the answer WAR. The only thing we have at the end of the day is what came about due to the events of 9/11. Two pointless wars that sucked out trillions of dollars, and I think most importantly the continuing loss of rights.

Carlin

The death of thousands will always be tragic, but I think in these situations we need to look at the whole picture and see that in the shadows of 9/11 what ended up being more damaging is the loss of rights. The Patriot Act, the Bush presidency using 9/11 to defend warrantless wiretappings, drone strikes without warning. We now live in a world where we have people to fear that the government is always watching them. Sadly though it might be true, we lost life on 9/11 we have lost lives in the two wars and for this struggle to gain revenge what we got in return wasn’t even the oil we were promised. No instead what we were given in return is a big fuck you the American people and the furthering of power for wealthy and the loss of rights for the rest of us.    

For a little more fun of a read please read my Review of Aladdin 

Also try David Zafra's blog on commonly misunderstood movies 

David Hollingsworth and his post about "Nice Guys" 

Finally two episodes of Daves of our Lives with me as the guest again

First, Kids these Days:

Finally Relationships part 2

 

At Least You Hate Your Life

Hello readers, in my world travels (really just Southern California) I notice a lot of trends but the ones that stick out to me the most are witty sayings or phrases. You see I have always felt that we as a species like to grasp on to catchy sayings and stuff cause they are easy to remember and hey everyone else is saying them. And even I over the years have got caught up in these catchphrases, hell you will still find me saying "dude" or "sweet" and when I know I have nothing intelligent to say I will also spout some catchy new age lingo to make someone feel better. But I am not here to talk about those phrases, I have noticed this recent trend by the older generation to say a bunch of seemingly good advice.


 You see there is an issue with a few of these words though, not only are they not really helpful, but they are also are kinda mean spirited and sometimes just downright stupid. Listen we understand that some of you elders have led shitty lives and are now just bitter but hey you still in all your lives could have come up with something a little better to say. I am talking about phrases such as...

1. At Least you Have a Job

We never complained about our low pay either

 This particular phrase tends to follow someone telling another person that there current place of employment sucks Ron Jeremy's dick. The elder statesmen will come up to you and tell you that in this time and age you should just be happy you have a job. Really you maybe saying Nick, this really isn't all that bad really you shouldn't be complaining when a lot of people don't have a job. To that I say hey stranger how did you get into my room, and that's not the point. For the point I will give the floor to Chris Rock:

No witty comeback here

It's not that we are upset that we have to work for a living, and its not that we just want a free handout its that we for the most part are getting paid really nothing to serve assholes all day. It's the fact that we know our job sucks and that we hope that this is motivation to do something better with ourselves. Telling each other that are jobs suck is not hurting anyone its just releasing some frustration on the shitty situation we are in now.

2. Back in my day when something was broke we didn't throw it away...

And look how happy its made them

It never ceases to amaze me how often I find this quote spamming my Facebook. It's almost as if they think that by making there current shitty relationship situation better by looking at the 50s and using social trends of that time to make them feel better. You know at the time divorce was while legal not looked on with any kind of reverence. And its not that I am saying that when a relationship goes sour that you should just brake it apart, what I am saying is that this advice is kinda faulty at best. The people who post these things still think that the quality of something is based on how long it last, be it life or relationships. Sometimes you have a good run with someone things go south and then you go your separate ways. Why would you argue for keeping something going longer then you know it should last. Think people sometimes what works for that aging couple up there is not whats best for you so really stop thinking that your relationship should be bulletproof and just play things by ear.

3. we had ____, they have____

The Depressing Past

The Sad Future

 There seems to be this revisionist history when it comes to pop culture from the past in comparison to the future. A few weeks ago I saw a post that seemed to be bragging that Aaron Carter was vastly superior to Justin Bieber. We will ignore the fact that both of them make terrible music and instead just focus on the stupidity of this argument. Listen we all had stuff from are childhood that we look on with fond memories. Off the top of my head I can list a few; Pokemon, Batman, Star Wars, McDonald's with standards. 

What we tend to do is ignore the fact that not everything from back then was all that great, for every new Pokemon game we still had to deal with Superman 64, and for every time I saw The Empire Strikes Back I have to be reminded that Attack of the Clones exist. And yes I had to listen to Aaron Carter when I was growing up, and now I have to listen to Justin Bieber but here is the thing they both SUCK. The only thing you are saying when you make the claim that one is better then the other is that your taste clearly hasn't changed much over the years. And much like Aaron Carter the only thing we will remember about Justin Bieber is what drug he got addicted to during his inevitable downfall.

Till next time

And after you are done reading this please read my good friend David Zafra's new post about Actors that aren't as good as we think they are. 

And you should still be watching our customer service video on Daves of our Lives

And for more things about about relationships here is this old Daves of our Lives video

F**k you Paul Ryan

Well everyone we are in the swing of things when it comes to the upcoming election and just when you thought that all of the reasons to dislike Mitt Romney had been all used up he went and picked Paul Ryan to be his running mate. Ladies and gentleman there is but one rule when it comes to picking a Vice President, when you are a douchebag you don't pick another douchebag to run with you.

off screen they are laughing at the poor

You see my loyal readers that when it comes to politics most people involved are totally unlikeable assholes. And really for the most part I can not blame them for that, their job involves taking it from behind from big business you tend to understand why these people are hateful bastards.

How I imagine the meetings go

 But just to prove how much of a douche Paul Ryan is lets do a little commentary on what he stands for because really me just telling you this would piss you off so lets have some fun with it.

1. His budget plan that was meant to counter Obama's would allow people like Romney to pay no income tax and pass the burden on to people like us. And really when you get right down to it you kind of understand why he feels this way, he wants to make life a bit easier for the assholes that have led this country to recession. Hell when he took this plan to his district in Wisconsin he was booed. If you can't convince the people that vote for you to go along with your obviously horrible plan then maybe its not a good idea.

2. He once called the Generals that stated they were OK with Obama's defense cuts that they were liars. Which really is like the pot calling the kettle black. Listen if you are ever in a situation where a known liar calls you a liar then you must be doing something right. This really is more about the fact that these people, these Republican assholes are only concerned with the way they view the world, any one who even questions this is a liar or as we have heard in the past not a member of Real America.

Real America from the last election

 I could go on about this guy but I feel that you as the reader can go along and find millions of other blog post and articles about this guy and you would all read the same thing. He is a terrible awful person, if you even considered voting for Mitt Romney before this, then I am sure this selection is not going to change your mind. I didn't even go into the fact that he wants to replace medicare with a voucher program that would not keep up with rising medical cost and would most likely cost us more money in the long run. And that and one point he voted to prevent gay couples from adopting which is an evil on a level I can describe. Mitt Romney has proven time and time again that he just doesn't know how to relate to us on any kind of level. He is a rich dickhead who thinks that the only rule that matters is who ever has the gold makes the rules. He is going to surround himself with like minded assholes who will only further the big business, pro evangelical Christian agenda to the detriment of the rest of us. I am not saying that Barrack Obama is the best man for the job but it seems that at this point we have discovered that Obama may just be the lesser of two evils. Till next time.

Oh and for those who would like to see here is Paul Ryan being Booed:

Also you should check out my guest blog on my friend David Zafra's blog where I review Beauty and the Beast.

Finally check me out on a guest Vlog on Daves of our Lives where we discuss customer service:

Didn't read but I hated it

This isn't really going to be a long article but its something I really need to get off my chest. Recently I did a blog about people who claim that there religion is less a religion and more a relationship with god. For the most part the people who read it gave me so good feedback, along with some interesting responses. However I also got some people who either were pissed off because of what I said or flat out said they were not going to read it. Listen I understand that when it comes to a persons beliefs people can be really guarded and defensive. That's fine and trust me I am not trying to take anything away from those people, but for the people who said they wouldn't read it just because of the title or the description what the Hell?

Truth be told I really didn't attack a specific religion just the way we frame our beliefs in a way that doesn't make sense to me. Every time some one tells me that they have a personal relationship with God I ask what that means and I never get a satisfying answer. That's all I want really someone to give me a decent answer. If you disagree with me fine, that's good, hell that's what I am looking for a good argument. However if you are going to run in fear every time someone says something you don't like then you have stopped listening and have just accepted one version of what you think is the truth. So the next time you read something you don't like instead of just saying you don't want to read it just based on the title, how about not getting offended and read it. You never know you might just learn something.