I've been watching a lot of "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" lately. I don't think I like it nearly as much as a lot of the nerd set -- you won't catch me declaring myself a "brony" or joining MLP fan communities -- but it is a cute show and the characters are endearing enough that I've picked up a couple of the toys and plan to grab a few more. I've also bought a couple cheaper not-MLP toys, as seen above! Lanard's Pony Tails Collection offerings may not have the MLP name, but -- unlike some other Lanard me-too lines (compare Lanard's The Corps figures to Hasbro's G.I. Joes) -- they're largely on par with the Hasbro toys in terms of quality. Brand names and character backgrounds notwithstanding, an adorable soft plastic pony with rooted hair and a swivel neck is an adorable soft plastic pony with rooted hair and a swivel neck.

I'd been meaning to write a post about all of the DVDs I've purchased lately -- but while I was all excited about a presumed return to my compulsive DVD buying days of old, it ended up being a one-time spree of sorts due to my discovery of a freshly stocked $1.97 DVD bin at F.Y.E. So now that I've gotten around to writing about it, my DVD buying habits have pretty much returned to normal. Granted, that's still a good amount of DVDs (maybe 2-3 every other week?), but it's not new. (Or re-newed, properly.)

What is kinda new, though, is my buying DVDs solely because the films in question have particular actresses in them. I don't generally tend to get attached to performers -- I'll like them in one thing, but in very few cases does that mean I'll go out of my way to view them in something else. This is even more likely to obtain with respect to actors appearing in films, since I don't often see movies in theaters and buy DVDs more for their premises (and their bargain bin prices) than for their casts. Or at least that's how it was until recently. (more...)

Occasionally I'll get part of a line of dialogue -- and sometimes just the rhythm or feel of a line of dialogue -- stuck in my head, and it'll bug the crap out of me until I can figure out 1.) the full line, 2.) who said it, and 3.) what it's from. And as I try and try and try to determine these things, I get even more frustrated because I know that if I could discern any one of them, I could derive the others from it and put my mind at ease.

Sometime early yesterday -- it might even have begun Monday evening -- I found my thoughts thus assaulted. This time, I didn't have even part of the line (which does make things easier; then I can google it and hopefully find the full line and circumstances on an episode transcript or list of quotes), just an idea of the rhythm behind it. For some reason, I also had the distinct impression of Lalla Ward saying the words rather coldly to a man who was genuinely trying to help her, but whom she did not trust and who was taken aback when he heard them. I could fit words to it -- and some of them fit very well -- but I was convinced that those words were wrong... mostly because the words that best fit the cadence in my head were a known line from Apocalypse in X-Men Evolution. ("Since when has mankind ever known what it needs." Incidentally, this was itself a mystery line of dialogue that got stuck in my head at one point.) Apocalypse is not in any way reminiscent of Lalla, and the scenario was all wrong. (more...)

She will be missed. (more...)

You don't even want to know how long this post has been in draft status -- though there are a couple of posts that have been there even longer. Anyway, here's the latest (but unfortunately not the late-est) Totally Crushing entry: Helen Cutter!

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