Luis' Illustrated Blog

The Four Reasons Having More Than Three Kids is Perfectly Cool.

December 26, 2013 in CATHOLICISM, FAMILY

FAMILY – The Four Reasons Having More Than Three Kids is Perfectly Cool.

I’m taking a break this week from the nerdy posts. I wanted to write a little bit about what happened to our family last week.

I worked really late just about every day last week and the week before to make up the hours I would be gone from work. It was pretty exhausting and I was burned out by the time I was done.

Why did I do this? I became I’m a dad again.

Giovanni Ignatius Escobar was born around 8:15 am on Dec 18th 2013. He was our tiniest kid to date at 5 pounds 8 ounces. He’s our fifth kid. Our fourth boy.

Yes, we have a lot of kids, but what do you expect? I’m Catholic. Well, at least, this SHOULD be expected from Catholics but sadly, this is not really the case anymore.

Most Catholics just want to have one or two kids and that’s it. It’s because this is what our culture deems “normal.” Three kids is still acceptable, but four is considered crazy and anything beyond that is sheer lunacy.

Don’t we know that the world is over populated and people all over the world are starving because of it?

Well, I don’t see what poor food distribution and the greed that caused it has anything to do with over population. And in many European countries births rates are pretty low so…

Besides the over population problem is mostly an issue in major world cities, there’s plenty of space in towns outside major cities. If everyone would spread out a bit, it wouldn’t be such a problem.

But I’m no expert. All I know is that the moment people find out how many kids I have they freak out. They look at me like some sort of weirdo.

They treat me like I’ve insulted them. They get angry at me or mock me. They say thing like, “You’re the one with the billion kids right? How many kids do you have now 50? Your going to stop now right?”

It starts getting old after hearing stuff like this from EVERYONE. It’s down right hostile.

There’s nothing wrong with having this many kids. So I thought I’d make a list of the reasons why it’s totally cool to have more than three kids:

1. It’s More Difficult to Have One or Two Kids Than it is to Have Four or More.

This might sound odd. It’s especially unintuitive if you’ve only had one kid. One kid is SO much work, how is it possible that having more than three is easier? That’s crazy talk!

Well, actually it’s not. Having kids is like any other job. When you first start out it’s overwhelming and it’s a lot of work. But as you get better at your job, it’s becomes a bit easier. The more you do it, the more acclimated to the work you become. The more of an expert you become.

In other words, it gets easier. On top of the that, you’re not your kid’s only friend. Once there are two or more, suddenly the kids have other playmates. They have plenty more to do, and they often need you less.

As the kids get older, they can even help with the younger kids.

2. Everything Worth Having Requires Work

Funny how we are so willing to work for a bit of money, or work to buy a car, or a house. Even spend time, energy and money to get the career we want, build the business we want, get the skills we want, or the titles, trophies, medals or championships we want. We work on our relationships and our marriage when we truly want them to last.

Anything we value, we are willing to work for. Yet when it comes to having kids, what does it say about us when our reaction to having more than a certain amount is,

“Man, that many kids it is too much work!”

It’s not the kids, it’s our mindset. The work is worth it. The joy you can bring the kids under your care, is worth it. This is work worth doing, we simply don’t value it enough.

3. It Forces You to Be Selfless

Let’s face it. This is the big one. This is really the reason we don’t have more kids. It requires an amount of self giving we are NOT willing to do.

We have to stop thinking simply about what we want and we have to sacrifice some of our more selfish desires for the sake of someone else.

The very idea terrifies us. I get it. But it’s not the end of the world. Getting rid of the selfishness actually brings wisdom. It makes you a more loving and giving person.

We ought not be afraid of becoming better people.

4. Love Doesn’t Diminish, it Spreads

You simply can’t help loving your kids to bits. If you show it, and express it to them, not only do you receive it back ten fold, but it also spreads from you to them, and from them to others.

You are contributing in the process of bringing love into the world.

No matter how much you give, you receive that much more back. The paradox is that if you try to do this artificially, it won’t happen. It has to be genuine selfless love you give.

The good news is that it’s easy to do. There’s nothing like loving your kids and having them love you back. It’s just awesome.

That’s that

So there you have it. This is what I’ve concluded over the years with my kids.

I don’t regret it. I love them to death. And now that they’re old enough to start playing some of my more advanced board games, MAN is it fun to have them around.

Thanks for reading.

Free Books and Learning to Draw

If you’re interested in a FREE art of book, sign up to my newsletter. Not only do you get a free digital book but you get some behind the Simpsons anecdotes.

And if your interested in learning how to draw, especially if you think talent is necessary to learn to draw then I’ve got a something for you:

The Draw Fu Acolyte Bundle. Everything you need to learn to draw in a nice neat package. Click on the link to learn more.

TELL ME MORE.

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Top Ten Animated Family Movies.

December 19, 2013 in MOVIES

MOVIES – Top Ten Animated Family Movies.

So, the American animation industry only does family movies. I mean that’s pretty much the mainstream animated movie in America is a family movie. Alright, so I decided that I’m going to make my Top Ten Family Movies.

This isn’t exactly what my family itself watches when we have movie nights or family nights.

My kids, they tend to have very varying taste depending on their age. For example, my three-year old son, he likes to watch what he calls “Cheese Gromit,” which is basically Wallace & Gromit, ad nauseam.

Those aren’t exactly theatrical feature movies, which is what I’m going to be talking about today. And I wouldn’t even know where to categorize that, under shorts films? I don’t know. And I’m going to restrict this to only American features.

You can either watch the video or read the transcription below.

I’ve also put trailers for each movie below:

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, thanks for your support.

Alright so here we go.

10. Rise of the Guardians

My number ten is actually a movie that I don’t own and I have just recently watched, and that is Rise of the Guardians by DreamWorks.

It didn’t do very well at the box office, and I think the reason is because it was a movie for teenagers, marketed towards teenagers about Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny. They’re not going to go to this movie because it’s about Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny, okay, it doesn’t make any sense.

When you watch the movie it’s actually not necessarily geared for the little kids. Little kids could like it, but it’s a lot more of a superhero show or a superhero movie than regular family fair that you would expect.

I actually really, really enjoyed it. I watched this movie I was like, this is fantastic. I like the take on the characters. I like the animation. I like the designs. The acting was fantastic.

The sidekicks in it were actually fun to watch and exciting to watch. You actually like watching the sidekicks in this movie. I really appreciated that.

I was really entertained and pleasantly surprised, and very saddened that it didn’t make as much money in the box office. This movie was a reason for so many layoffs at DreamWorks.

I understand why, because the marketing like I said was for teenagers and you were trying to get them to go watch Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny, and it’s just not going to work.

“Hey, want to watch the tooth fairy, 14 year old?” Come on. They’ll say “No.” They’re not going to do that.

So I think it was a great movie with a great premise, yet the marketing, was the wrong characters for the wrong target audience. And I think that was really the reason why it failed. But I really, really enjoyed Rise of the Guardians.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWs0qulZ00I

9. Lilo & Stitch

My number nine family film, Lilo and Stitch.

Yeah Lilo and Stitch, you know there’s something about this movie. Out of all the Disney hand drawn movies, I don’t know what it is about this movie. And on top of that the theme is family, “Ohana means family and family means not leaving anyone behind.”

They shove the theme down your throat in a really bad way. That’s just preachy, you know, and annoying and preachy.

But funny and fun and science fiction, It has an alien.

It’s beautiful with watercolor backgrounds, Lilo is really quirky and crazy and fun to watch. And it’s my number nine, I highly recommend it if you guys haven’t watched it with your family.

Lilo and Stitch is a great, great family movie.

8. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

My number eight is a movie that when I first watched it I’m like,

“Really? This is not funny. This is so not funny. I don’t understand this comedy…Wow this is funny. This is really funny. Oh my gosh, this is so funny! I don’t know what it is about it but I think this is hilarious.”

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, this is a great family movie.

It’s just about a guy that makes it rain food and it’s based on a book.

At first, I really didn’t like it. Like I said, I didn’t get it, I’m like,

“This is really forced. It’s really, really forced.” But no, it grew on me as I watched it and the comedy kind of grew on me. And then I’m like “Why am I fighting this? This is really just a lot of fun.”

The characters move like Muppets which is really fun. They act like Muppets which is even weirder, but there’s something about it that just hit me where I live.

I don’t know what it is. It’s just fun and light-hearted, and it’s fun to watch with my kids, and it makes me laugh. It just makes me laugh. I highly recommend this movie and this is my number 8, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

7. Wreck-It Ralph

My number seven, I don’t own. P was late watching this movie, and that is Wreck-It Ralph.

Wreck-It Ralph is about a videogame bad guy who decides he doesn’t want to be a bad guy anymore and he goes off into the arcade – he’s an arcade videogame bad guy – and goes off to find a way to not be bad and be a hero.

It’s really, really fun and exciting and there’s just a lot of nostalgia. If you’re really into video games you’ll like it. It’s a solid story. It’s very moving.

The moment I saw the trailer I’m like,

“That is going to make so much money, because we’re such video game obsessed people now.” Everybody plays video games now and it just hit the culture right where it lives.

I absolutely knew this was going to be a money maker just by its premise alone. But Rich Moore also managed to knock the story out of the park; great movie, Wreck-It Ralph, my number seven.

6. Toy Story Trilogy

My number six, and I’m going to start cheating here, this is the beginning of my cheating. It is the entire Toy Story trilogy.

Toy Story is a fantastic, fantastic trilogy. Every single one of these movies is better than the next. I don’t know how they can possibly manage to do these movies and just make them better and better and better.

I mean, the reason I packed them in and say that the entire series is, my number six, is because if I split them up it would take up most of my list. There’s another series that I’m going to be talking about that would have also taken most of my list.

What can I say? Watch these movies. These are great family movies.

They are great, fantastic, great stories, great characters, they make you laugh too. It’s just oh my gosh! And there’s no singing, nobody has to stop the movie for a song, and it’s still merchandising galore for Disney.

The Toy Story series as a whole is my number six.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYz2wyBy3kc

5. How to Train Your Dragon

My number five, I like even more than Toy Story: How to Train Your Dragon.

It’s got dragons in it. It’s got dragons in it. It’s cool it’s got dragons in it. The story is actually really, really good.

It’s really fun, about a boy who wants to kill dragons, who want to be a fighter but he’s totally isn’t a fighter and then he ends up befriending the most dangerous type of dragon ever. And it’s got basically barbarians in it, and the designs of the dragons are great.

I like the characters in it, they’re great, and it’s go action in it- a lot of it. And that’s what I really like about it, action.

That’s the kinds of movies that I do like, and I wish there was just more of these genre of movies where it’s family but theypushes it to action adventure.

That’s what I like, and this hits me right where I live, How to Train Your Dragon is my number five.

4. Peter Pan

My number four, Peter Pan, action adventure again- little kids finding pirates.

I like the book too, I mean, I really do. And there’s something about the book.

I don’t know what it is, but this movie really hits me and I just like the child-like nature of the story and the way it feels.

My number four is Peter Pan.

3. Monsters, Inc.

My number three is another Pixar movie, and that is Monsters, Inc.

Now maybe it shouldn’t be so high on the list because Toy Story might be much better, but I don’t know anybody who’s had a little girl who doesn’t think that the little girl in this movie is not their little girl.

You identify with her and that to me speaks a little bit more as far as family goes than to Toy Story, because you’ve got this little girl who really does feel like your daughter.

That’s just personally, where I’m coming from, and that’s why it’s higher than Toy Story.

If you have kids, you know that they’re obsessed and scared of monsters in the dark. This is like kind of almost like,

“Hey it’s okay they’re not so bad,” So this is a really great family movie, my number three is Monsters, Inc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IBNZ6O2kMk

2. Kung Fu Panda

My number two, and again this one hits me where I live as far as my personal taste, and that is Kung Fu Panda.

I love kung fu. I love kung fu movies. This is an animated kung fu movie. It’s awesome.

I don’t just mean Kung Fu Panda, Kung Fu Panda 2 as well, the sequel. I just don’t own it and I’m dying to own it.

This movie is so much fun, and come on, how can you not love kung fu.

It’s just great. It’s great fighting, archetypal kung fu characters.

Oh man, Kung Fu Panda and Kung Fu Panda 2 my number two top family movies. Watch them, they’re great.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYIkexIdd-8

1. The Incredibles

This movie is going to be number one in a lot of different lists. I’m going to tell you this right now. The Incredibles.

The Incredibles, it is a family movie about a family of superheroes and it’s awesome, and it’s one of the few movies out there that Pixar has done that actually deserves a sequel. But it’s all up to Brad Bird.

Brad Bird needs to decide what the next movie is going to be about. But this movie is the awesome.

You have to watch this movie. If you have a family, this is the family movie to watch, highly recommend it, The Incredibles.

What’s Y0ur List?

So that’s my Top Ten family movies. What do you think? What would your Top Ten have been?

I really actually enjoy getting comments from people who have left me their Top Ten. It’s really interesting to see what other people actually think about this stuff.

Go ahead and leave your Top Ten if you want on my comments below.

Free Book For You

If you don’t want a free digital copy of that book, you could always go to Amazon and pick it up there. You could pick a print copy there, but if you just want a digital copy and it’s free, hey just sign up to my newsletter.

You will also receive newsletters from me. Mostly we’re talking about the Simpsons, but sometimes other things too.

Alright and that’s it for me. I hope you like my list and I’ll see you next time. Alright, bye.

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Learn to Draw AND Make it a Habit

December 12, 2013 in BOOKS

BOOKS – Learn to Draw AND Make it a Habit

“I can’t draw myself out of a paper bag.”

“I can’t draw a straight line to save my life.”

“I can’t even draw a stick figure.”

Does this sound like you? Well you’re in luck because I’m here to tell you that you’re wrong. You can draw, you can draw stick figures and drawing straight lines is overrated.

I’ve written a book especially for you. It doesn’t assume that you know anything about drawing at all. You don’t need you to have any “talent.”

I assume that the only thing you know how to do is write. And using that I build upon your knowledge of writing to help you expand beyond it into drawing.

The book is called, The Art of Draw Fu: Beginner’s Level and I compare drawing to Kung Fu in it.

When you go take a martial arts class, they don’t assume you have marital arts “talent” and say, “Okay since you’re talented, I will teach you.”

No. They assume you know nothing and that’s why you’re going to the class. Well, my book is like that. You don’t need to be talented to learn what is in it.

I take everything I’ve learned in all my years drawing, including the 20+ years I have working on The Simpsons and brake down drawing to it’s most basic components.

In the book you will learn:

How you may already be drawing and don’t know it.
The dirty secret of drawing talent.
How learning to draw basic shape can let you draw anything.
How to draw stick figures with style.
What professionals know about tracing correctly.
How to draw basic cartoon characters…and much more

That’s what in the book, BUT there’s MORE. I’m now bundling the book with some fantastic things that makes it even easier to get started drawing. It will even save you some time.

How would you like your drawing skills to increase without frustration?

Has this ever happened to you? You sit down to do something, and you get so absorbed in it that when you look up, hours have passed and you feel like you’ve been meditating.

If you have, you’ve experience “flow state” otherwise known as “being in the zone.” Flow state can be reached in many different ways doing many different things. Sports is one way.

Drawing is another.

There’s a reason why artists draw. It’s not just the reward of creating something, it’s not just the kudos from friends that think the drawing is great, it’s not just the joy of having the skills to draw what you want, although all those things are reasons artists draw.

But the reason little kids draw, and the reason those kids who stuck with it are now drawing today, is because at some point, they got addicted to reaching flow state as they drew.

This is why drawing has so many mental health benefits. It puts you in a state of peace outside yourself. And then when you’re done, you have a drawing to show for it.

The problem–reaching flow isn’t easy.

There’s a delicate balance that must be reached to get into flow when drawing. If the drawing task is too easy, it’s boring and you don’t reach flow. If the drawing is too difficult then you get frustrated and quit. BUT if the drawing is just tough enough to challenge your skills but it’s still doable, then POW, you’re in flow.

If you’ve been struggling to create a habit out of drawing, it’s probably because you haven’t reached flow state nearly enough when you draw. You’ve probably found it to be too challenging and frustrating and so you quit, or just too easy and found it boring.

How Can You Reach Flow and be Able to Create a Drawing Habit?

The Draw Fu Acolyte Bundle is everything you need to start drawing and create a drawing habit. Here’s what you get:

A signed print copy of: The Art of Draw Fu: Beginners Level – Not only is this all the basic information you need to get you started drawing, but I’ll also draw a sketch of a Draw Fu characters in it for you. (MSRP $25)
A Canson 9×12 sketchbook – Great quality spiral bound sketchbook. I use Canson sketchbooks all the time. I’ll draw a Homer Simpson in it for you to get you started. (MSRP $23)
A 9×12 tracing paper pad – This is especially handy if you don’t have any around the house. I often suggest using tracing paper in my book. I give you a pad so you don’t have to go out and get one. (MSRP $6.65)
A Color Wheel – Instead of using my book as a color wheel guide, I pack a special one in for you. It comes with instructions on how to use. It instructs you about color mixing, values, color, hues, intensity, tint, tone, shades, neutral grays, primary colors, secondary colors, tertiary colors, warm colors and many other things. REALLY HANDY. (MSRP $6.29)
A free “Keep Calm, I know Draw Fu” Pen – A ballpoint pen to use when going field sketching. ($2 value)
A free “Keep Calm, I know Draw Fu” magnet – A little something fun to stick on your fridge as reminder of your new drawing skills ($5 value)
and a FREE DVD copy of Zentangle with Suzanne McNeill CZT. – This is the perfect DVD to compliment the The Art of Draw Fu: Beginners Level book. Once you finish reading the book, this is the perfect next step and it’s yours for FREE. In the DVD you will learn:

The basics of drawing an illuminated design, called a “tangle.”

What more advance “tangles” look like.

Some really handy marker coloring tips.

The plethora of uses that these designs can be used for (Journals, sketchbooks, scrapbooks, greeting cards, tiles…etc) (MSRP $30)

The total MSRP for the bundle is: $97.94, but your investment is $60 + $5 flat rate shipping (Sorry, no shipping outside of the U.S. for now).

GET BUNDLE NOW

I Haven’t Got the Time.

Seriously, the things in this book can be done anywhere and anytime, on anything. I provide a sketchbook but you can doodle on anything laying around. You can take five minutes or fifteen. The exercises are quick to do.

And if you get the DVD, you’ll get even more ideas for quick ways to get drawing in. It doesn’t take hours to scribble something on a random piece of paper. And it’s fun.

A Great Gift

If you don’t want a bundle for yourself, buy one of these for someone you know that would like to learn to draw.

Do you know of a young adult that has no confidence in their drawing skills but really wants to draw? This is the perfect gift for them.

It will blow their minds.

Supplies May Be Limited (not sure yet)

Now, I will say, I only have a limited amount of these bundles. I’m personally putting together and sending out each and every bundle.

I have to special order all the things that go into each bundle. The place I get my supplies seems to run out of stock on some of this stuff and they don’t seem to be able to resupply. I honestly don’t know how long I’ll be able to sell these bundles. I put this stuff together at my home and once the supplies can’t be ordered anymore, that’s it.

So it would be very wise, if you’re going to invest in a bundle, to do it now while I can still get the supplies.

Order Now

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Top Ten Live Action Superhero Movies.

December 5, 2013 in MOVIES

MOVIES – Top Ten Live Action Superhero Movies.

I’m pretty certain I’m going to make some people very, very angry with me with this top ten list, because today I’m going to be talking about my favorite live action superhero movies. And I absolutely know that people are going to think I’m crazy based on my list here.

I’ve done a Top Ten Superhero Animated Movies and a Top Ten Superhero Animated TV series list. Click on the highlighted text if you’re interested. But today I’m going to be talking about live action superhero movies.

You can either watch the video or read the transcription below it. Below I also provide a trailer for each movie:

(Some of the links below are affiliate links, thanks for your support.)

10. Captain America

My number ten, I don’t have the DVD because it’s on Netflix so I can watch it anytime on-demand. It’s Captain America.

I loved the trailer, I thought it was great, I couldn’t wait to watch it and I thought that it really paid off in the first half of the movie, second half not so much.

The first half, I loved. The turning of Steve Rogers into Captain America, all that stuff was fantastic and I absolutely loved it.

One of the things I do like about Captain America as a character is that he’s a stand up guy. He’s a really good guy and the way he comes across isn’t cheesy, it’s just honest and it’s heartfelt and you kind of root for him.

He’s got very down to earth values, but the reason why it’s not higher, is because the second half of the movie, it just seemed like,

“…and then he became Captain America and everything went awesome, the end.”

There wasn’t really much of a movie once he became completely accepted as Captain America. It was just about how awesome he is.

The Red Skull shows up and he’s basically,

“Curses Captain America- you’ve foiled me again,”- and there was nothing about it that was compelling about the second half of the movie.

Still it’s really actually very re-watchable, in spite of that and it feels good to watch it, it makes you happy.

So my number ten is Captain America.

9. The Dark Knight

Oh here we go, let’s start pissing people off. My number nine is actually Batman: Dark Knight.

Why is this my number nine and not like my number one right? That’s the big question, and that is because it’s so difficult to sit and watch this movie all the way through and not want to shoot yourself in the head.

Of course, everybody knows Health Ledger as Joker is incredible; the story is actually really, really good, very dramatic, it’s just fantastic.

This is a really deep movie, it speaks to you, it has really strong themes, and it’s a great, great Batman. But it also feels so dark and so overbearing, that it’s really hard to just sit and watch it and enjoy it, without wanting to slit your wrists.

That’s really the reason. The other reason why, is that Batman here is really heavily compromised as a character at the end of this series of lying and cheating and becoming a cheat.

There’s something about the ethics at the end of the story that just didn’t ring true to me, which is going to be ironic because you’re going to see what my number three is. And then I totally go and back peddle and excuse myself, and make excuses. So I understand that I’m going to contradict myself later on, so just bear with me.

Alright so my number nine is Batman: Dark Knight.

8. The Amazing Spider-Man

My number eight, and yes I really like this movie, The Amazing Spider-man, the new Mark Webb Spider-man.

I really thought they actually captured Spider-man much more in this, than in the Sam Raimi Spider-man Movie.

Yes you just heard me right. I did say that, it actually reminded me more of the Ditko Spider-man. Very skinny guy who’s kind of not the most likeable person in the world. Because Steve Ditko and Stan Lee didn’t really make a very likeable Peter Parker.

And this Spider-Man really came across this way. It was really reminiscent of that to me.

He has mechanical web shooters, which makes him a scientific genius, which is actually part of the character. There’s something about this that I like, and yes it’s a little dark, but he’s much more of a funny Spider-man than all the other types of live action Spider-man’s, and he is a little bit of a jerk.

You know what, Spider-man is a bit of a jerk. He is. I am a huge Spider-man fan, and he’s my second favorite superhero.

I really liked The Amazing Spider-man movie, my number eight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aL8ctUN1ZSI

7. X-Men: First Class

My number seven I don’t have, I want to own it, but I’m saving my pennies for now and that is X-Men: First Class.

X-Men: First Class is the only X-Men movie that I think really nailed it. I’m not a huge X-Men fan, but I actually really, really thought that X-Men: First Class really captured the team. It was something about the way that the characters related.

The interaction with the characters, you really liked the way they worked together, you were rooting for them when they got together, they did their thing.

I liked the era. It was 60’s, it was kind of a spy kind of thing going, it worked.

I liked the feel of that movie, it’s exciting, it nailed it. I think it really did do a good job of getting the X-Men right.

More so than the other X-Men movies, so my number seven X-Men: First Class.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8ccSiH4olo

6. Spider-Man 2

My number six is Spider-Man 2. Spider-Man 2, yes. As much as I like The Amazing Spiderman, it’s still not as good as Spider-Man 2. Spider-Man 1, I thought was awful. I thought it was a lame, lame, lame movie.

This movie actually was not, the relationship between Doc Ock and Peter Parker that is what makes this movie.

The whole Kiki’s Delivery Service story line in it and you know how much I like Kiki’s Delivery Service if you saw my Top Ten Miyazaki Movies. This is Kiki’s Delivery Service with Spider-man.

He loses his powers and then he has to try to— it’s just really interesting, I really liked it, it was a lot fun.

A lot of really fun, good, exciting action in it. Dr. Octopus is a really good bad guy in this, not cheesy like the Green Goblin was in the original, in Spider-man, the first one.

I like this, Spider-Man 2.

5. Superman: The Movie

My number five is something that I’m constantly ranting almost against, I don’t want to rant against it, because I really do enjoy this movie and that is Donner’s Superman: The Movie.

This is the movie that all superhero movies keep copying. This is the movie that set up the genre of superhero movies. This is the formula that is copied over, and over, and over in different ways, even if it’s told in different sequences.

The superhero movies of today are basically retelling this movie over, and over, and over.

This is a great movie, Christopher Reeves, fantastic Superman, very silver age Superman. A happy light-hearted— it captures the wonder and excitement, and the music in it is great, the relationship between Lois and Superman is fantastic.

What can I say? It’s just great. The cast is fantastic.

The only thing, if anything, is that I think the bad guys are so comedic, that they don’t come across as dangerous to me. But it’s excusable because the movie overall is deep and thematic and fantastic, there’s a reason why everybody’s copying this movie.

My number five Superman: The Movie.

4. Batman Begins

Alright here we go the next controversial movie on my list, It’s Batman Begins.

What can I say about Batman Begins? It’s the best Batman movie ever made.

I think it’s better than Dark Knight, even though Dark Knight is deeper and the themes are deeper.

Batman Begins is watchable over and over because it doesn’t go so depressingly dark. It does really play up the danger of being Batman, what he has to go through to become Batman, there’s just something about it that really, really hits on so many levels.

If you haven’t seen it, you’ve got to watch, it’s a must watch.

Along with Superman: The Movie it’s one of those must watch superhero movies, Batman Begins my number four.

3. Man of Steel

Here we go, this is where I stick my foot in my mouth and contradict myself from what I said about Dark Knight. My number three is Man of Steel, yeah Man of Steel, okay.

I’m a huge, huge Superman fan, so I liked this movie. I kind of wanted to like this movie, but it turned out that it wasn’t what I expected. It wasn’t exactly what I wanted, though it had so much of what I wanted in it.

That said, I really, really enjoyed the movie. It wasn’t quite the Superman movie that the Donner Superman movie was. The Donner movie, you’ve got Superman in it, in Man of Steel, you really don’t have really Superman in it.

You kind of have until the very, very end, it’s kind of like the creation or the beginning of Superman. How he became Superman and how he’s learning to be Superman, even though he’s got the suit on, he still doesn’t know how to be Superman.

His ethics aren’t completely there, because he’s constantly fighting all these other forces.

It’s cheesy, it’s got some plot holes in it, and there is a controversial element in it that kind of takes Superman to a different place where he usually doesn’t go to.

Although you could arguably say that he does exactly the same thing in Superman 2. And that’s where I’m back peddling.

Batman does something in Batman: Dark Knight, that isn’t very dramatic.

Well Superman does something in the Man of Steel, that is not very Superman-ish, but it’s a little bit different because in Batman: Dark Knight, you’ve got an established Batman.

While in Man of Steel, you’ve got a character who’s trying to become Superman, and hasn’t quite made the choices that he will eventually, as a more mature, well developed superhero.

First of all, I think Henry Cavill is a great looking Superman, I think he plays the character well, I like the cast, I like the action in it, specifically the action.

It’s a little dark, it’s not as funny as I would have liked, but I think it’s essentially still Superman. And I have an entire video as to why I like the movie, maybe I should just shut up and let you watch that one instead.

If you want to see it, just find the link below on my blog, if you’re watching this on my blog. You should be watching it on my blog, because it’s meant to be watched on my blog. Okay so I’ll shut up now, let me go to my number two.

2. Iron Man

My number two is Ironman. To be honest, I kind of watched Ironman 2 more than I’ve watched Ironman.

Actually, if I was going to watch one of the two, either Ironman or Ironman 2, I tend to put Ironman 2 in there, because it has more action in it. But this is the movie that kind of set up the Marvel Universe, and the lightheartedness and it showed that you can go lite and yet still be powerful and exciting and real, without it having to go down Dark Knight Movie territory.

This is a fun movie, it’s fantastic, the story is rock solid while in Ironman 2, not so much, which is the reason why this is in and not the other one.

So this is a great, great movie. I highly recommend watching Ironman.

When I left the theater after watching this movie, I was so pumped. This movie got me so pumped, it’s so exciting, like it makes you want to be Ironman.

So my number two is the original Ironman Movie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIFaeqwES1Y

1. The Avengers

My number one, I don’t own it because it is on Netflix, but as soon as it’s off Netflix I’m going to go buy it. It is The Avengers movie.

The Avengers movie– Joss Whedon directed it and wrote it and made it spectacular, it is fan service all over the place.

It is fun, fun, fun. You leave that movie so overjoyed and happy, like yay it’s the Avengers, it’s so exciting, you know.

There’s something about watching that movie that makes you actually really feel like you’ve read a comic book.

It’s not dark and brooding, which a lot of people dislike about movies like Man of Steel and Batman. But this movie is very lighthearted, it does a good job of mixing light-hearted humor with serious action and it doesn’t feel cheesy at any point.

And it shows and compliments the characters, the characters come together, they’re butting heads and they’re very entertaining and it plays up the characters really well.

It really puts the Hulk on the map, makes him very exciting to watch. It shows that really the Hulk, as a character, needs other people around him, to really make him stand out. The Hulk is a little bit like salt, you just need a little bit to really make things pop right.

Everybody loves Loki, there’s a huge fan base of Loki now, because he’s just such a great villain in this movie.

Captain America is played dead on. I love his dialogue, and I love the way that he and Tony Stark are butting heads.

So that’s my number one, The Avengers.

In Conclusion

And that’s my list, what do you think, am I crazy? I know, I know, you’re mad at me for where I put a lot of these movies.

Let me know, let me have it, I don’t care, let me have it.

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That’s it for me today and I’ll talk to you next time.

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Four Reasons to Watch Giant Robo

November 28, 2013 in MOVIES

MOVIES – Four Reasons to Watch Giant Robo

I’ve been talking a lot about a lot of different animated cartoons. And one of the ones that I haven’t been able to, because it kind of doesn’t fit in the TV show genre or the OVA, I don’t know what to categorize it.

It’s a series called Giant Robo, and today I’m going to give you the four reasons why you ought to watch this show.

You can either watch the video below or read the transcription that follows it:

(Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. Thanks for your support.)

Giant Robo is a series but it’s not a television show.

It’s just a series of mini movies, I suppose is the best way to—it’s a serialized show, but it’s not a TV show. So, why am I recommending this? Let’s begin.

1. The character designs.

Now, the character designs are very, very old school. You can tell that they’re the little barrel chested kid, and these are very classic anime style characters, one step up from the Astro Boy style.

The designs are incredible. I love the simplicity and I love that style.

They use the aesthetics of modern Japanese cartoons, the way they have them now, but they play up the old styles of designs from back in the sixties. It’s incredible the way the characters look. I love the designs.

It’s eye candy, when it comes to what the characters look like, and the show and the feel, itself, of the show.

2. The Story

The second reason you should watch this show is because it’s actually a really, really fun story.

It’s generally about a world where the energy crisis has been fixed and this thing called the Shizuma Drive is now energizing everything. And what happens when an evil organization called Big Fire— it’s over the top, it’s really dramatic.

It’s told in an over the top, dramatic, super melodramatic style, but it’s operatic to the point where even the music is opera. And this organization called Big Fire, full of super powered beings, and I’ll get to that in a moment, basically wipe out the energy source because there’s a fatal flaw in the designs.

It’s all about that fatal flaw in the creator, Shizuma, and what he did that created the fatal flaw. And it’s all about this melodrama that happens around the design of this super energy and how the good guys, the Experts of Justice, that’s what they’re called, they’re trying to find a way to stop this chaos from destroying the earth.

So I mean, it’s over the top. It’s just great, right?

3. The Over the Top Superpowers

Big Fire, the bad guys, and the Experts of Justice, the good guys, they’ve got these ridiculous, over the top powers. Every single one is specialized in some kind of super power. They’re not dressed like super heroes, but they’re practically super hero team against evil super hero team.

Each one, you don’t know what their power is until they finally reveal it in the most dramatic way possible and it’s cool. It’s so cool.

It’s really imaginative use of characters with powers and they’re fighting and you know, you’ve got this little boy here and he’s got Giant Robo. He controls this gigantic, gigantic robot who fights giant other robots.

His name is Daisaku, the little boy’s name, and he basically orders this giant robot around. And there is some kind of sapiens element to the robot so that he actually thinks, it’s fascinating.

Of course, the boy inherited the robot from his father- all of that genre trope, the giant robot genre. But, he’s surrounded by this Experts of Justice who’ve got all kinds of super powers. It’s so cool.

You got to see it, you got to see it, okay?

4. The Exciting Action

And that gets me to the fourth reason why you should watch this show, and that is the way that the powers and the action is portrayed is so exciting.

It starts off like- oh, okay that’s cool, and eventually as the series moves and you get to see the story evolves, and all the drama starts playing out.

The stakes get higher and then the over the top action just builds and builds, and next thing you know, you’ve got armies of these super beings fighting other armies of super beings and it’s just crazy.

It’s so fun. If you like action adventure, over the top, exciting super powered characters and a giant robot fighting other giant robots, you’ve got to watch it.

Giant Robo is so much fun. I cannot emphasize how much fun this show is.

In Conclusion

It took forever for this show to come out because the father of the director-writer passed away, like, half way through the making of the show. So there was a huge hiatus in between episodes.

But, the quality is incredible. It’s just done so well. If you can find it and get it, watch Giant Robo. You won’t be disappointed. It’s worth your time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4idR1x_hxI

All right, so if you’ve seen it, let me know. If you’re interested in seeing it, let me know.

What do you think of the show? Leave your comment below.

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Why You’re Missing out if You Haven’t Watched Coraline.

November 21, 2013 in MOVIES

MOVIES – Why You’re Missing out if You Haven’t Watched Coraline.

My all time favorite of the current batch of feature animated stop-motion movies is Coraline. And today, I’m going to be talking about it.

You can either watch the video below or read the transcription:

(Some of the links above or below are affiliate links. Thanks for your support.)

Current Stop Motion movies

Studios have really stepped up and made stop-motion incredible. The last movie that came out – which was ParaNorman– I really, really enjoyed.

I thought it worked really well. The animation was incredible. The designs were fantastic. But, I still don’t think it was as good as Coraline.

It Was a Neil Gaiman Story

One of the reasons was, of course, it’s an adapted version of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline short story. I think he wrote it for his daughter.

The 3D Worked

I actually went to the theaters and I watched it in 3D. It was one of the few movies that I’ve actually gone to the movie theater to watch in 3D that I thought was appropriate to be watched in 3D.

I thought it really worked.

The stop-motion here is, of course, quality stop-motion. The designs of the characters are really quirky and very, very cool.

How It’s Like Miyazaki’s Spirited Away

In a lot of ways, this kind of reminds me of Miyazaki’s Spirited Away.

It’s the same kind of genre where you’ve got a little girl with parent issues, and somehow she and them end up being thrust into this fairyland- this fairy world, this kind of magical world- where the little girl ends up having to step up and take charge, and become something other than what she is in order to triumph over the situation.

This is very similar to that.

This is a little girl who has, again, parental issues. They’re not paying attention to her. And then, she has to move to a new house where there’s this little secret door.

And that door leads to a parallel universe where it’s like the ideal situation, the ideal parents, everything that she ever wanted.

But there’s a catch.

It’s a Dark Fairytale

So, it’s kind of creepy.

It’s one of the things that I liked about it. It doesn’t follow the generic rules of American animation. And I’m very critical about American animation when it comes to this sort of thing.

I’d like the genre in America to expand. This is a really good example of where it can go.

It’s still a family movie, but it kind of pushes the boundaries so that it’s a little bit more of an acquired taste because it has very disturbing horror elements to it, in the exact same way that a movie like Pinocchio had the same kind of horror elements in it, where it’s kind of disturbing.

I think Dumbo may have had similar things like that too.

If you’ve watched The Nightmare Before Christmas , it’s kind of like that, because it’s the same director. And no, Tim Burton did not direct Nightmare Before Christmas. It was Henry Selick.

Henry Selick directed that movie. He directed James and the Giant Peach. He also directed Coraline, and he directed Paranorman.

Henry Selick is actually doing some really fantastic work. I highly recommend, if you have not seen Coraline, you should definitely it.

Whether or not this is good for your kids to watch, that’s a different thing.

See, that’s why I like the movie. It’s not necessarily for everyone. It’s not sugar-coated. It pushes the boundaries a little bit, so that it’s a little creepy, but the story works so well.

I don’t know what it is about this movie, but it’s just great. I like everything about it. I watched it so many times.

Paranorman is on Netflix streaming. Coraline is not. And it so should be.

It should be viewed by more people. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it.

Coraline, adapted from a story from Neil Gaiman, directed by Henry Selick. Great, great movie.

What Do You think?

If you’ve seen this movie, let me know. What do you think?

If you haven’t seen this movie, why haven’t you? Did it not grab you? Did it not make you want to see it? I’d like to hear your opinion.

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I’ll see you next time. Bye.

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How Doctor Who, is Like Bugs Bunny.

November 14, 2013 in TV SHOWS

TV SHOWS- How Doctor Who, is Like Bugs Bunny.

Bugs Bunny, Superheroes, Cugel the Clever, and The Odyssey are not exactly the first things that come to mind when thinking about Doctor Who. But they all have a connection.

In this week’s post I’m going to write about this.

You can either watch the video below or you can read the post. It’s the same thing, only I draw a picture in the video:

(Some of the links below are affliliate links. Thanks for your support.)

Explaining The Doctor

I was trying to explain the appeal of Doctor Who to a friend of mine who hadn’t watched the show. I was a bit lost for words, I wasn’t sure how to describe the show.

I mean, I could just say,

“It’s about a Time Lord and his companion who travel through space and time and have great adventures,” but that doesn’t quite cut it.

I would then try to describe the character of The Doctor comparing him to a type of hero they might be familiar with. That way they had a “feel” of what the character was like. But then, I couldn’t think of any.

Was that why he was so appealing? He was so unique that he created his own archetype? This got me thinking.

Why did I like him so much? What did I like about the show. What appealed to me?

Doctor Who is a Superhero

Well, for starters, his stories are Superhero stories.

What I mean by this is that, Doctor Who is written in stories that Superheroes would feel perfectly at home in. Some incredibly powerful villain, has some sort of plan to destroy, enslave, or conquer, the Earth, some race of people, Time itself, or the entire Universe and it’s up to The Doctor to stop it.

It’s something that you imagine Superman doing. But instead, you have some dude in a suit, tie and a screwdriver, with no superpowers at all, doing the job.

But how? How does he do it? Most superheroes end up having some kind of super fight to get the job done, but The Doctor has no powers.

Well, he does it with his wits. The Doctor is really smart and really clever. He solves these super villainous dilemmas with his brain.

Is there any other hero that does something like this? Is this a preexisting heroic archetype?

The Doctor and Bug Bunny

At first, I thought, no…but then I remembered Bugs Bunny.

Bugs isn’t strong. He often gets bullied and picked on. When the antagonists pushes him too far though, he pushed back.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8_GVfPuw4M

Not with his muscle but with his mind.

He outwits his opponents and makes them look like fools. This is very reminiscent of what Doctor Who does.

Okay so now we have two characters who are similar Bugs and The Doctor. But are they it?

Doctor Who and Cugel the Clever

Well…no. Actually, Jack Vance wrote a fantasy character that I really love named: Cugel the Clever. He is a character in the Dying Earth series.

He’s a really wimpy, underhanded jerk and a thief who gets himself in all kinds of horrible situations, but then he would have to think his way out of them.

The personality of this character different than that of The Doctor. Cugel is no hero, but the archetype is the same.

So how far does this archetype go?

The Doctor and The Odyssey

Odysseus/Ulysses from The Odyssey is exactly this archetype. This famous tactician of the Trojan War got into all kinds of dangerous situations which he couldn’t get out off just by fighting. He would get into dangers that would do Superman proud.

He used his wits to get out of all those situations, just like Bugs, Cugel and The Doctor.

The Doctor’s Archetype

So it turns out, The Doctor does have an Archetype and it’s a very old one, which explains why he works so well.

I personally think that the ultimate appeal of this Archetype is the, “that could potentially be me!” factor. You think to yourself, maybe if I’m clever enough, I could be just like that guy. Heck, I know I want to be as clever The Doctor.

Well, realizing this has made me better able to explain The Doctor to people. Now I days, when I describe Doctor Who to someone who is unfamiliar with the show, I say this,

“The Doctor is like a Superhero without any powers, who fight super villains through out time and space, by using his wit and cleverness. Like Odysseus from the Odyssey.”

And you know what I think would be cool? If at some point they write an episode where The Doctor teams up with Odysseus. That would be epic.

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Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Vs. DC’s Arrow

November 7, 2013 in TV SHOWS

TV SHOWS – Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Vs. DC’s Arrow

Who’s better, Marvel or DC?

Marvel and DC have been rivals for a long time. They both have a universes full of unique superheroes a they’re in constant competition for the same audiences. They have been for years.

Now a days, their competition has gone beyond comics. They’re rivalry has extended to movies and TV shows.

I’m going to be writing about this in this post. You can either watch the video or read the post. It’ the same thing…only, I draw in the video:

(Some of the links below are affiliate links. Thanks for your support.)

Who is Winning What?

As of the time of this writing, Marvel is beating DC with their live action movies. , and of course, The Avengers, are kicking butt at the box office.

Meanwhile, DC has only three Batman movies and one Superman movie. And the Superman movie turned out to be very divisive. On top of that, they’re desperately shoving Batman into the Superman sequel in order to try to catch up to the success of The Avengers. It comes across as sloppy and rushed.

On the other hand, DC superhero animated movies and TV shows are running circles around anything Marvel is producing. It’s been doing this for years. Marvel is only now trying get some kind of serious animated cartoons going. I have yet to be impressed with what they’ve come up with.

Now Marvel and DC have started another battle…

Marvel and DC’s Fight over Live Action TV

Smallville was on for ten years. DC had a superhero presence on TV for years. It was the only game in town and personally, I loved that show.

When Smallville ended, Arrow took the baton. It’s now on it’s second season.

After the enormous success of The Avengers, Marvel decided to join in, with their show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Headed by Joss Whedon, Director of The Avengers, Serenity, The Cabin In The Woods. Creator of shows like: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dollhouse, and Firefly. And web series like, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, this show has some pedigree.

Meanwhile Arrow, is a step up from Smallville and is doing some very interesting things.

So how do these two shows tack up to one another?

To be fair, Arrow has been on the air longer, there have only been, as of the time of this writing, six episodes of S.H.I.E.L.D. aired. I’ve only seen four so far.

I’m going to compare the first four episodes of Arrow to the first four episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. so see with company has it “right,” Marvel, or DC.

The First Four Episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

I have to say, the first episode of S.H.I.E.L.D. was fun with a lot of promise. A tad bit too snarky, and it had a few redundant characters. But overall, it had a lot of promise. The promise being, that we were probably going to see a lot of superpowered characters from the Marvel universe, possibly making an appearance.

After watching the first four episodes, I can say, this is not the case. The show has not really had any “fan service” at all when it comes to seeing more characters make cameos from the Marvel Universe. It’s mostly about the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents on assignments that may really didn’t deal with super humans, except in the pilot.

So far it hasn’t really delivered. And some of the episodes, like the second episode, really comes across as low budget show.

I really want to like this show but so far, it’s pretty “meh.” Shows like Alphas or Warehouse 13 have covered similar territory in a better way.

Marvel has a huge universe to plunder from and they seem to be ignoring it.

I hope they remedy this soon.

The First Four Episodes of Arrow.

As for Arrow, after watching the pilot, I was hooked. It was just good. It didn’t have the promise of a good show, the pilot WAS a good show. Not only that, all four of the first episodes where really great to watch. There wasn’t a bad one in the bunch.

And “fan service?” In the first episode we got to see Deathstroke‘s mask, a character from the comics. By episode three, they had introduced Deadshot, another character from the comics.

Arrow has taken the great stuff that the last three seasons of Smallville got right and plussed them up.

It’s lit well. I doesn’t look cheap. It has attitude and flair. I like the characters. I like the struggle.s between them. I like the way the stories unfold and the take they’ve taken with the character.

I’m addicted to this show. I have yet to be disappointed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCpTR9hwBhk

Which one is better Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or Arrow?

Well obviously, from my description of Arrow, it’s Arrow. So far, in four episodes Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has promised more than it’s delivered.

While Arrow has delivered from episode one and hasn’t stopped.

Watch them and decide for yourself.

As for me, so far, between Marvel and DC, DC is doing a better job with their live action TV superhero shows than Marvel is.

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Three Reasons Why I Hack My Sleep.

October 31, 2013 in LIFE HACK

LIFE HACKS – Three Reasons Why I Hack My Sleep.

Do you want more hours in the day to do what you want to do? Do you want to get more things done faster? Do you want to do this without feeling tired all the time?

My answer to all those questions was, “yes,” and I found how to do it.

I’ve been “hacking” my sleep.

I tend to only sleep about four hours every night.

Here’s the three reasons why I now “hack” my sleep.

1. There simply isn’t enough hours in a day.

I needed more hour to work on my stuff. I’ve got way too many things to do and not enough time to do it. So sleep had to go.

There’s 24 hours in the day. Depending on what time I wake up, and leave work, I spend about of 2 – 4 hours in transit driving between work and home. Yeah, I live far away from and work and traffic is just awful, depending on when I leave for work.

24 – 4 = 20 hours

Once I’m at work I spend eight hour there, sometimes a bit more, not including lunch, which would makes it nine hours.

20 – 9 = 11 hours

If I get home at decent time (around 6 or 7 o’clock) I spend that time eating dinner and being with my kids. They usually go to sleep around 8pm.

11 – 2 = 8 hours

Depending on traffic, I might get an hour extra around this time.

Even if I stay up, an hour more, I only have one, maybe two hours to work on my own stuff before I need to go to sleep, otherwise I can’t function.

8 – 1 = 7 hours

So that’s seven hours of sleep or so then I and have to start it all over again.

I just don’t have enough time. I needed a way to get more. So I cut out sleep.

2. It’s Rob Stenzinger and Jerzy Drozd‘s Fault

So I was listening to Lean into Art extra lean cast. It was episode #13. You can only listen to these podcasts if you sign up to the Lean into Art newsletter.

Anyway, Rob brought up this iPhone App he was using that woke him up at the right times during his sleep cycle so he didn’t feel too groggy when he woke up called: Sleep Cycle iOS App.

I found it intriguing so I downloaded it and tried it out.

I loved. It’s great.

This got me thinking about sleeping and sleep cycles. I did a little bit of research about it on the internet and found myself going down this crazy rabbit hole about sleeping less by hacking your sleep.

Here are the article I read that changed my sleeping habits:

How to Hack Your Brain

Everyman Sleep

Everyman Sleep Schedule

3. It’s working Great.

I was convinced into trying it. I was excited about getting more time to do what I needed to do.

And you know what, it worked.

So the method I’m using is called the “Everyman 3.”

I sleep four hours, haven’t broken the three hour mark yet. For some reason I just keep falling back to sleep immediately after I wake up when I do that. I sleep four hours between 12am and 4am.

I get up, go to work which takes me an hour around that time.

At 9am I take a 20 min nap. I continue working.

At 2pm I take another 20 min. nap. I work til quitting time. My drive back is around 1.5 to 2 hours, depending on traffic.

Then I eat and spend time with the kids. They go to sleep, at the latest 9pm, and now I get three to four hours to work on my own stuff.

That’s HALF A DAY.

And I don’t really feel tired except as nap times get closer.

Do I recommend it?

Yes, although it means being very disciplined about your nap times. And you have be comfortable with the idea that you won’t get the pleasure of lounging in bed anymore.

I mean, you have to get up soon after your alarm rings, otherwise, what’s the point. You’re doing this to get more time to do things.

What do you think? Will you give this a shot? Let me know.

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Top 10 Anime TV Series

October 24, 2013 in ANIMATION

ANIMATION – Top 10 Anime TV Series

Simpsons Quote:

Bart: “I’m still checking Japanese TV. Isn’t it that cartoon that causes seizures?” (Bart watches and has a seizure)
Marge: “Bart, what are you doing?” (Marge is having a seizure)
Lisa: “Hey, what the…” (Lisa is having a seizure)
Homer: (comes in, checks around) “Alright.” (falls on the ground and fakes his seizure)

I like watching all kinds of animated cartoons, and because I grew up watching anime, I have no problem with it, so today, I’m going to be giving you my top ten Japanese animated series.

You can either watch the video or read the transcription below. There are videos to promo spots and opening credits below if you want to get a taste of what the shows are like:

(Some of the links below are affiliate links. Thanks for your support.)

Intro

I’m El Salvadorean. I grew up in El Savador. They showed Japanese cartoons on TV all the time.

I was exposed to Miyazaki very early on, when I was three because I watched the show called Heidi that he happened to do layouts on, and his good friend Takahata was the one that directed, but I also liked Battle of the Planets, and I also liked watching Mazinger Z, and those were my cartoons growing up.

Then, I watched all American cartoons once we moved here when I was six, but I was always very partial to Japanese cartoons.

I mean, I liked them. They were very influential in my life. I have no prejudice against them. There are a lot of people that have prejudice against them because there is some really, really raunchy, bad stuff in them a lot of the time, and I totally understand because – yeah, but for me, there’s some incredible animated shows that are just absolutely worth watching, so here’s my list.

10. Robotech.

Robotech, Okay, this was my cartoon growing up. My parents didn’t allow me to watch more than an hour of television every day, thirty minutes of which were dedicated to watching Robotech.

Robotech was my soap opera. This cartoon was not the watered-down cartoons of the ’80s like He-Man and Thundercats and G.I. Joe and Transformers.

In this cartoon, people died. This was serious. This was serious drama. Bad stuff happened, there was a war going on, people actually died. It was crazy.

My mom – it’s funny, my mom didn’t let me watch G.I. Joe. Why? Because it was too violent. Really? The hadn’t been watching this sucker, because people actually died in this, while in G.I. Joe, the bullets never hit anybody, right?

The only reason it’s my Number Ten is because it hasn’t aged well, it hasn’t aged well at all. It’s not a very good-looking cartoon once you get halfway through the season.

I mean, it’s just – they really started cranking these suckers out, and you can see the quality just gets worse and worse and worse, but it is absolutely worth watching all the way through in spite of the fact that the artwork starts suffering pretty badly by the end.

9. Future Boy Conan

My Number Nine is something that I didn’t become aware of until about a couple of years into Simpsons, and that is Future Boy Conan.

This is a TV show written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It’s a TV show, so it’s a series, I don’t know, twenty episodes long?

Future Boy Conan is very reminiscent of Island in the Sky. It’s almost got the same characters. Conan is very much like Pazu, and Lana is very much like Sheeta in Island in the Sky, but Conan, he’s like – he’s a really tough, very strong kid, and he’s got the most amazing set of toes.

Yeah, toes.

His toes are his superpower, but he’s like a superkid.

It’s insane, and it’s basically about this boy who just lived on this island with his grandfather, and then, this nation was chasing this little girl, and he has to go save her.

It’s incredible. If you can find a copy of Future Boy Conan, I highly recommend it. I have a Chinese copy of the TV show, subtitled in English.

It’s hard to find. I’m sorry that this is my Number Nine.

The story is incredible. Miyazaki, of course, Miyazaki’s storytelling is dead-on incredible. This is a great, great series. Future Boy Conan.

8. Slayers

My Number Eight is silly, wackiness, crazy, super low-budget Slayers, the TV show.

Slayers is about Lina Inverse, who’s a sorceress. She tends to destroy everything that she touches, and she saves people, but only by basically destroying their town.

It is silly, crazy madness. It is really low-budget. The characters hardly move, things slide in and out, and that’s why it’s funny. Part of the charm of this cartoon is that it’s so poorly animated, and yet the stories and the characters are so funny, they crack me up.

It’s a fantasy world, and it’s kind of like Lord of the Rings, but complete silly, wacky, making fun of fantasy tropes. It’s great.

Slayers, the television show. The television show, not the movies. The movies aren’t as fun, and they’re really, like, more high-quality than the TV show, so I highly recommend the TV show, not necessarily the movies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAYAVEzGybM

7. Bakuman.

I don’t own Bakuman. The only way I’ve seen Bakuman is online, on these, you know, fansub versions of TV shows.

I actually reviewed the Bakuman manga a few blog articles ago, but Bakuman is basically about two boys who want to become manga artists, and it’s their adventures, and you get to learn all about the manga-creating industry, and it’s awesome.

I highly recommend it, and, if you want to know more about that, then you can go to my article that I wrote.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-eIU64gQdw

6. Fairy Tail.

Fairy Tail is relatively new. It’s on Netflix streaming, so you can watch it there, but it’s very, very, very much like the Slayers, only better animation – for Japanese television, anyway.

It’s very, very silly, and, again, it’s fantasy universe. The characters are completely whacked-out, deranged weirdos, which is exactly why it’s fun.

You know, the characters blow up every town they try to save, and that sort of thing, so it’s very formulaic as far as Japanese standard comedy goes, but I liked it because it’s right up my alley in that kind of crazy, weird humor thing.

I like the Japanese animation humor. This reminded me of Slayers, and it does other things that Slayers doesn’t do. It’s really a lot of fun, so I highly recommend my Number Six, Fairy Tail.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdrGjixAtKU

5. Fullmetal Alchemist

My Number Five – my Number Five, I also don’t own, it’s also on Netflix streaming, is Fullmetal Alchemist.

Fullmetal Alchemist – high-octane adventure about a boy who screwed up his alchemical thing trying to bring his mom back to life, ended up ruining his brother’s life by trapping him in a suit of armor because his body got destroyed.

He also lost his arm, so he has this metal arm – and their quest for this Philosopher’s Stone so that the boy can give his younger brother’s body back.

It’s exciting. It’s very cool. It’s a fantasy world, and it’s very dramatic, and it’s a lot of fun. I highly recommend watching this show. It is Fullmetal Alchemist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dd1V816mVdU

4. Naruto.

Yes, it’s Naruto. Why? Because it’s got great fighting.

It’s the same kind of show as things like Dragon Ball Z. It follows the same kind of tradition as that and One Piece and that sort of thing, only the reason why Dragon Ball Z, One Piece, and all this other stuff is not even in my list is because I just don’t like them.

I understand them but they didn’t do anything for me. Naruto, for some reason, did, and it’s very formulaic, it’s a very Shounen Jump formula.

You’ve got the spunky protagonist who’s the, “I’m going to do it! I’m going to be the best!: archetype.

Then you’ve got all the rivals who also want to be the best, and then everybody ends up fighting, but then they become friends because they fought, and the whole – it’s that same sort of Shounen Jump formula of battle manga genre, but I liked Naruto a lot.

You know what it is? It’s because everybody’s got some kind of, like, variable powers, like they all get their little specialty, and it’s always fun when each one of those guys has a specialty like that, and there’s something about that that is kind of reminiscent of a superhero for me, so maybe it’s just like that whole Justice League superhero, everybody’s-got-a-super-power kind of thing that I kind of liked about it.

And the characters are a lot of fun, too, and the fighting, and the drama.

It’s great, so my Number Four is Naruto.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIeW67nmlR8

3. Mobile Suit Gundam.

Okay, so, this, I’m going to make a disclaimer, there’s a ton, a ton of Gundam, all right? I’m talking about the original 1979 Gundam. I’m not talking about Gundam Wing, I’m not talking about Gundam 00, you know, I’m not talking about Gundam Stardust Memories, or whatever. And, by the way, I’ve seen all of that stuff. No, I’m talking about Gundam, the original 1979 – so, this show was exactly the same type of show that Robotech wanted to be. It was highly influential.

You can totally tell where Robotech was just lifting stuff in here verbatim.

Unlike Robotech, the quality of the work stays consistent throughout the entire series. On top of that, the stories get better. So, at first, the stories are, like, kind of kiddy-ish, it seems, and then, little by little, the series gets deeper and more complicated.

Unfortunately, it does have Amuro, who’s a very, very whiny protagonist, but I guess, I mean, for a teenager in the middle of a war, you can kind of excuse the fact that he’s kind of stuck in this position of being this warrior when he was never supposed to be.

It’s got, by far, one of the most awesome endings to a series ever. I mean, it is super great, the way the series ends. Mobile Suit Gundam is my Number Three.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Qq-N4R-SB4

2. Macross Frontier.

Macross Frontier is a sequel to Robotech.

Okay, so here’s the problem. What we know as Robotech in the United States, in Japan, was called Macross, and Robotech was basically – they took, three different Japanese cartoons, and then they made it into Robotech as if they all were part of one giant cartoon, but that’s not really what it was.

Macross spun off into its own series, and they did a lot of different things. They had Macross Plus, and then they had Macross 7, and they had Macross II, and there was a lot of different Macross. I think I’ve seen pretty much all of them.

Not all of them were all that very good. Some of them were beautiful, but the stories kind of stunk. Stuff like that.

Macross Frontier is incredible. It takes what was great about Macross and updates it.

It takes – well, basically, it takes the formula of the first show and kind of redoes it with different characters, but, because it takes the formula, it veers from the formula, too, so it veers from it at just the right times, so that, if you are a fan of the original series, it throws you off because you expect things to go one way, and they go the other direction, and it really does throw you off, and the story is great, and the mecha is great.

Unfortunately, there was one thing that I didn’t like about Macross Frontier is that it’s not hand-drawn mecha. The Veritech fighters, or the Valkyries, they’re not hand-drawn. They’re CG.

You get more dynamism out of them, but there’s something about hand-drawn giant robots that is awesome by the very fact that they’re hand-drawn, and they still look good.

There’s something about that art form that the Japanese animation studios have really nailed that I love, and I’m a little upset that Macross Frontier isn’t hand-drawn mecha, but that doesn’t destroy the show.

The story in it is fantastic, very dramatic, highly recommended. Macross Frontier, my Number Two.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKuatIAcnPI

1. Vision of Escaflowne.

This is, believe it or not, a Mecha show. Even though it looks like a girl romance cartoon, it is not a girl romance cartoon. It’s got this gigantic monstrous Mecha in it. It’s about a girl who is a runner, and then, for some bizarre reason, she gets thrown into this magical fantasy world where she has to help two guys – both the guys, they have this armor, and then the armor is actually these gigantic robots.

It’s dramatic, it’s great, I love the world, I love the Mecha, the bad guy in it is, like, ridiculously awesome because you love to hate him.

The artwork – I love Escaflowne, the main robot in it. Imagine Norse mythology and that sort of thing, but kind of married to this fantasy Mecha-driving world, and you kind of get Vision of Escaflowne.

It’s got fantastic music. I believe I even bought the soundtrack because I like it so much.

My all-time favorite animated Japanese series is Escaflowne, and I haven’t seen it anywhere. Run by Bandai – I guess it was to sell toys, and they must not have sold a whole lot of toys.

They did a movie, a Vision of Escaflowne movie, which was nowhere near as good as the series. I love the series. I highly recommend it. If you really, really like Mecha, like I do, give Vision of Escaflowne a try.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KoL7__Bmyg

What’s You’re Favorite Series?

So that’s my top ten. There’s a lot. There’s a lot of anime. I’ve been watching anime forever. I mean, I had ten years of binging on anime. I’ve seen a lot, so I would like to say that I know what I’m talking about. I haven’t seen every single thing. It’s impossible.

So, if I missed something that you think was great, let me know. Based on my obvious tastes, if you’ve seen what I’ve recommended, let me know what you guys think. If you’ve seen Vision of Escaflowne, let me know, because it’s a little bit obscure, I think.

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And that’s it from me. I’ll see you next time.

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MOVIES – Top Ten Animated Family Movies.

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6. Toy Story Trilogy

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7. X-Men: First Class

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3. Man of Steel

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TV SHOWS- How Doctor Who, is Like Bugs Bunny.

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