Quite a messy 2017, wasn't it? While this new year may or may not be better, ya'll do the best you can to make it worthwhile.

I'm one of many who are beyond angry over this morning's news but most don't realize this is only the first step. The 3-2 vote is already not representative of the millions of Americans who wanna keep a free and open internet. We must write enough to Congress that passing Ajit Pai's petty bill would be a huge mistake.
https://www.battleforthenet.com/

Welp, I was unlucky enough to to check out the "browse" page and see all that nasty shit. Pretty mush more ammo for people to use to explain why this site is the worst thing ever and start another "exodus" of sorts.... only to return after a couple days.

Let's face it. Film sequels are hard to do and it's even a miracle that a lot of them get greenlit or end up actually good. For every Empire Strikes Back, Godfather Part II, and Aliens, you'll sadly have your Revenge of the Fallen, Book of Shadows, and Son of the Mask. A lot of times the original is such a complete story that the very idea of a sequel is ridiculous. Unfortunately, today's film industry is built around sequels and remakes and its no wonder that people are exhausted. That's probably a factor of why Blade Runner 2049 isn't doing well at the box office, which is a shame because that's and example of a surprise sequel that but everyone's fears to rest, perfectly connecting with the '82 original while still feeling fresh and new. The only other example of that would be Mad Max: Fury Road. However, one must ask whether or not these films will encourage more sequels to classic movies made decades ago since these two examples did is as well as they did. I personally don't advocate it since I think it's just luck that they were so good but then again, that can't stop Hollywood. I do, however, advocate good films being made, regardless if they're original ideas or even sequels. We can only see what happens then.

Looks like our good ol' reliable leaders thinks that the new Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act will get rid of all those sexual deviants on the web when really it's just another anti-free speech bill in disguise. Please, pass this on.
https://stopsesta.org/

I'm usually not one to talk about the "state of the fandom" thing because everyone says different things but I feel like I need to. If ya'll don't know already, one of the more prolific artists of this site, Thunper, left only a few days ago. I liked their art a lot and some of their more recent politically-charged pieces were interesting, especially in this Trump era. However, like with every political post, there were the critics, mainly the idiots who think they know everything. Their "Piss On Your Grave" pic in particular has gotten very nasty responses yet that's the only one that's still up in their gallery. Is this another unfortunate case of backlash pushing someone away? Has this fandom gotten so politically divided that it leads to shit like this? Part of me wishes that is isn't yet the other part does take into consideration that the country has been such a cesspool of division for a while now with Trump's win making things obviously worse. I just wish most people these days would just give it a rest and start talking to each other like Americans and not resorting to extremes.

Big news for movie buffs. 7,000 films worth of Afghanistan's cinematic history are now being digitized and preserved after a dark Taliban-led era which saw popular arts banned under their reign from 1996 to 2001.
https://images.dawn.com/news/1178383

Mother Nature's goin' nuts, ain't she? I'll just say that I really worry for those in the path of destruction, same for the ones suffering from that massive earthquake in Mexico yesterday. These are rough times, especially in the States with all the division goin' on when people are tempted to turn all of this into a political statement just because the states in danger happened to vote for Donny. I just wish those people would give it a rest and realize that human lives are at stake regardless. Stay safe, guys.

Many of you may remember him from The Nutty Professor and associate his with a nerdy persona but his charity work cannot be overlooked. His annual telethon to raise awareness for muscular dystrophy ran for 44 years. We not only lost a class talent but also a wonderful human being.

How in the world would this have worked? A clownish actor who has become a punching bag in recent years participating in an art house-flavored romantic production? That ought to be a recipe for disaster! However, Paul Thomas Anderson found a way to make Adam Sandler one of the most sympathetic people you've ever seen on film. Playing an awkward salesman with temperament issues, Adam leads us through a bizarre love story populated by crazy characters like seven sisters who constantly make fun of him, a phone sex operator, four brothers who are henchmen for said operator, and the deranged boss of it all (played effortlessly by the late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman). The one character who's more down to Earth is the love interest (played by a likable Emily Watson). It's sort of like the Big Lebowski of romance films. Both are such oddballs in there respective genres, have big characters and incidents, and they both end in ways you don't expect. However, while Lebowski has more rewatchability, Punch-Drunk Love is much weirder and it takes time to warm up to you. For any flaw it has, it's still a unique film that deserves to be seen despite Adam's reputation.

This masterpiece of late-70s psychedelic madness is something that must be seen to be believed, my friends. At 40 years, it's still an unorthodox yet entertaining piece of Japan and all the delightfully weird trash it has to offer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQ_Yo06kIIA

I understand that his band, family, and fans are hurting and I don't blame 'em. Linkin Park may have never impressed me but that's not the point. The point is that a band lost their leader.

Night of the Living Dead was pretty much the bridge between classic and modern horror, especially given that the MPAA rating system came into effect shortly after the film's release. This guy was more important to horror than most people today may realize.

For a game that I was quite skeptical about at first, every new piece of footage gets me more excited.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOoH7xTFhW0

"If you support so-and-so or such-and-such, unfollow me because I HATE YOU!!11!"

Oh, boy. This hurt. Firstly, I'll just say that Linkin Park never fascinated me too much. While I never thought they were among the worst of the nu metal scene, I never bought on to their popularity after they moved on. I only listened to this to see what the massive fuss was about. Honestly, this makes me feel bad for the fans that expected the more rock-oriented sound that the band was mainly known for. This new sound direction relies on drum machines, out of place electronica beats that don't fit the band's overall sound, way too much sampling, and a complete disregard for the fans that got them this far and kept them relevant when the nu metal craze originally ended. Aside from Chester Bennington's borderline childish complaints towards the fans' preference to their more rock-oriented style, the lyrics to "Good Goodbye" in particular are like a middle finger to those oldschool fans ("I've been here killing it longer than you've been alive, you idiot. And it makes you so mad."). If you can make me have such feelings for a band I previously never cared for, you're doing something exceptionally wrong. One More Light has absolutely no light to it.

Yes, this is a rather belated reaction but due to happenings IRL, I missed the news. Personally, I always viewed him as THE voice of grunge. Eddie Vedder and Kurt Cobain may have captured the angst better arguably but Chris has such a powerful presence when he sang. Such a terrible loss for music.

Well, it's release day of the much anticipated comeback of Gorillaz, Humanz. Oooooh boy, was this hard. I hate to break hearts but this album was rather disappointing. From someone who tends not to have their expectations too high, especially with their favorite musicians, I was quite surprised to hear a rather Damon-less Gorillaz album. Not saying that he completely disappeared though. It just sounds like the guest musicians have taken the spotlight with only a handful of songs that really have him at the forefront including the dreamy-sounding "Busted And Blue" and "Andromeda". Aside from Damon sounding like a guest star himself on most of the album, there are still some fine songs here like the few really catchy ones like "She's My Collar", "Strobelite", and "Let Me Out". Other than that, not much is memorable to me, the most frustrating one being "Saturnz Barz", having a good groove destroyed by an ugly Auto-Tune filter. It's a shame because there are some powerful lyrics like on "We Got The Power" and "Hallelujah Money", which I can see people talk about the most thanks to such lyrics. So, while not awful, Humanz isn't as fresh and memorable like the band's self-titled debut or Demon Days, at least to me. Whether or not this will be a grower remains to be seen.

So, I succumbed to peer pressure and joined this joint. :-P Let's see how this goes.