As many of you can see, I have a particular fascination for the red tape and paperwork of Zootopia seeing as the movie went to great lengths to show that these things were indeed just a normal part of the world. I came up with the idea of passports that turn you into Zootopia mammals as a means of us humans getting a taste of the city itself, and it’s world. If anyone wants to use this idea in future stories or art, feel free to! I may not actually be the originator of the concept, for all I know, but I’d love to see more of them out there.

I love Halloween. Honestly, I love Christmas too, but while Christmas involves a lot of unwanted family coming down, busy schedules, overly complicated scheduling, and craziness, Halloween is just good fun. The dark and the humorous become one and the same, spooky, silly, scary, everything becomes not only normal, but expected. Some of my best memories are memories of Halloween, dressed in costumes, getting candy, going to parties, telling ghost stories, reading scary things in school, it's just an amazing time of year. I thought it'd be interesting to hear everyone's favorite Halloween memories here.

I'm far from the first person to comment on this, but I feel like I just have to say something, as I'm tired of being insulted for my opinion by people who don't even know me. Recently, Cuphead was released after a few years of hype, and I got super excited, based on its awesome animated style. When I first saw it, I had no clue that it was going to be a super hard, tough as nails experience, but I am actually thankful that it is. I'm still struggling with it, and have yet to be able to beat the robot boss, and I've only gotten to the last phase of the ghost train. But you know what? I love this game. It's charming, it's beautifully animated, and it takes me back to my childhood. A childhood of awesome classic cartoons and tough as nails video games.

But that's not how many gaming journalists see it. Many of them have demonized the game for being way too hard, and demonized its fans as being evil, horrible people who only want elite gamers to comment on games. The controversy began when a game journalist named Dean Takahashi (I think that's his name apologies if I'm wrong) played it at a European gaming convention and released footage if him struggling to even make it through the tutorial. This in turn lead to a flame war, but, as they do, the press immediately tried to make the argument about Mr Takahashi's race, the alt right, and gamergate, instead of the actual point being raised: should game journalists be competent video gamers.

Look, here's the thing. I am not a great gamer. I have beaten Bloodborne, Dark Souls 3, many souls-like games, and so on, but the only Megaman game I ever beat was Megaman X-2. And you know what? That's fine! No one really cares if you can't beat a game. Elite gamers might pick on you, tease you, but this is locker rom talk. This is guys being guys, or even girls being girls, as there are, I'm sure, lots of girls who are great gamers. But this has lead to many games journalists even calling for a "skip boss" option in games for those who can't beat a boss. So let me get this straight: you are now telling us that if you can't do something, it ought to be simplified, so that you can get through it to remove any sense of accomplishment. We as gamers aren't fetishizing skill as you jerks in journalism say when we praise someone able to beat a game, we are simply being impressed by ability. It is roughly analogous to being impressed by an olympic gymnast. Shit, while we're at it, let's just make it so that everyone is able to play an instrument by just tapping buttons in a computer, or everyone is able to compete in the Olympics, and everyone gets a gold medal for just showing up. Let's make everyone an Iron chef!

I think what I'm trying to say is that challenge is a good thing. Challenge allows for accomplishment. Challenge to authority gave us the United States of America, challenge to authority gave us the Civil Rights movement. Challenge is good. If we remove challenge and award instant gratification, what's the point of existence? In a nutshell, games journalists, if you aren't pro, it's okay. But at the very least, you need to Git Gud.

I finally reapplied for Fafsa and am planning to go back to college to finish my music degree and to get a degree in broadcasting. I was thinking of doing English Education, but teaching is a hard thing to get into, doesn't pay as well, and public schools tend to get into hiring freezes. I need to think about making money first and foremost as I'm rather broke. Broadcasting is something radio and tv always needs and combining that with my musical abilities, I could eventually move into performance and voice acting. Let's pray.

I got sick of having a depressing journal up. Things are still grim, I probably won't be able to go to my local comic-con this year, which really sucks because I wanted to meet Sean Astin super badly. But today my brother and I sold hot dogs again and actually made decent money. My brother and I are also considering going to welding school though I may go back to college and get an English degree. Hopefully, start teaching soon. I think I could do that, at heart, even as an opera singer, I'm a storyteller. I love to see people love the same stories I do.

Lately though, I've noticed that as much as I love my fellow furries, friends, and family, the atmosphere around here is so politically charged. Everyone is so hateful and vitriolic that I honestly don't feel safe giving my opinions online anymore for fear of Social Justice Warriors and whatever far right people call themselves. I've only had a few arguments lately with good friends, and they've all been over political reasons. I'm sorry if my opinions are offensive to you, I really am, but I'm not sorry for disagreeing with you. It's okay. The world won't end, and I promise I don't eat children just because my opinion is different. You think I'm exaggerating but in college, I was told my political opinion meant that I ate babies. I get mad when people post things I disagree with, but I never say anything online public if I can avoid it, because it's stupid. It makes no difference and all that it does is lead to hate and people being divided. I love all my friends too much to hate them because of how they vote. There are some who don't feel this way, of course, who care only that I have to agree with them, but to them I say "The human body has many parts. The arms to pick things up, the eyes to see, the legs to move and so on. We need differences or else the body would only be one massive part. And those who don't think we should be different and divide and threaten those who don't toe the line, are the body's ass."

I have had a major argument with someone that I thought would always mean the world to me. I never imagined this kind of big argument with someone I always got on so well with. I love this friend, but I cannot just roll over and take basically being called stupid over and over and over again. I am not inferior, I am an intelligent, proud person, and I wish that they could accept the fact that just feeling different about something does not make me bad, ignorant, despicable, of all the other things I'm sure they're thinking of me. I can't deny, however, that this latest blow up has depressed me more than I have ever, ever been depressed since Jason and I split up. I feel awful, and am close to losing all hope.

I'm going to be perfectly honest with everyone right away, I have not seen any of the new DC movies since Man of Steel in their entirety. I've seen most of Man of Steel and bits and pieces here and there, but I was mostly ambivalent toward what I saw, seeing them as DCs sad attempt to replicate Marvel's success by going darker and having more crossovers sooner. I saw Wonder Woman because of the popularity the movie has with critics and the general audience perception. I really really enjoyed it. This movie has a very genuine superhero, one that we haven't seen since Christopher Reeve played Superman in the D.C. universe, though I'd say she reminded me of Captain America, this hero who just wants to do what's right no matter what. She was strong, but loving, and existed in this world without cynicism, only to try to learn that people aren't always as pure and noble as we want them to be. It was a very heartfelt story, though I will say that some of the special effects weren't that good. Not terrible, but a little distracting. I honestly hope that the continuing success of this movie makes Hollywood realize that most nerds like myself are not against female lead movies. We are against bad movies.

Every single person I knew in every corner of the Internet loved this movie, praising it for the incredible work of art that it was. I must say though, unlike Zootopia, which I thought was good, but not nearly as good as everyone seemed to think it was, I really didn't like this movie. I mean, there are certain things about it that are cool. The animation is amazing, and I say that wholeheartedly. This movie looks cool, it's bright and colorful, and the design work is gorgeous. I liked Baymax. He was a good character, and I enjoyed his lack of human understanding, but good heart. I really felt for Hiro, having an older brother that I love a lot, I'd be devastated if he died. But, honestly that's about it. This movie has an incredibly weak villain with a twist I saw a million miles away, the conflict wasn't interesting at all, the little microbots, I could tell these things were evil the second I saw them, the death of the brother was much too abrupt, leaving me barely any time to get a real emotional attachment, the city was kind of generic, especially considering what it was supposed to be a mashup of, but the biggest disappointment for me were the other kid heroes. Outside of Baymax and Hiro, I don't remember a single name at all. I remember the "I'm a strong woman so that makes me better than you in my Tron Lightcycle suit!" chick, the cuter chick, the black guy, and the rich stoner in a monster suit... were there other characters? Who cares? I don't. These kids seemed more Scooby Doo than superhero material. Hell, even the villain was like a Scooby Doo villain! It was an old man in a spooky mask, using technology to frighten people, it is Scooby Doo!!!! And they'd have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling kids and your pesky bot.

In conclusion, I don't like this movie. A few glimmers of promise aren't enough to say it's good for me.

I was driving Uber last night around an event called Festival Internationale, a huge event they do once a year. Last night, just as I was picking people up, shots rang out less than a block away. Needless to say, I need new underwear, but more than that, why does one asshole get to ruin my lucrative weekend and everybody's fun?

Someone asked me this recently and honestly I had no answer. Not that I don't love video games, I friggin cherish, love, trust in, adore video games. But having to pick one as an absolute favorite is really hard for me to pin down. Video games are like any other art, totally subjective. What one person may love, may not be to all tastes, and we like games for different reasons. I love Skyrim for the vastness of its world, but Bloodborne has deeper, more meaningful story depth, a smaller, yet even more detailed world, gorgeous atmosphere, and so much more. Both are standouts. But then so is Shovel Knight. It's just plain fun, fun in terms of its gameplay, music, visual style, but it also has a great group of characters and homages classic games. And these are just to name a few very recent titles. Is it wrong to not really have a favorite? I mean... I don't see it as a detriment so much as a fortune of choices.

Does anyone else remember this game? Let me guys take you back to my childhood. I was in sixth or seventh grade, and for years I had yet to ever get anything beyond a Super Nintendo and PlayStation and N64 were all the rage. I coveted the N64 massively for games like Star Fox 64 and Banjo-Kazooie, but when we finally got one, my brother decided to go for PlayStation because the games were much cheaper and there was a greater variety. So, while I had friends who had N64 and enjoyed the great games made by Rare, I had the action platformer Medievil. The story of a reanimated knight who, in death, must prove himself to be the hero he only pretended to be in life. A simple story, but visually the game was like a combination of a Rare game and a Tim Burton movie. The music was gorgeous and the voice acting was charming and often hilarious. I used to play this game every Halloween like clockwork. The sequel must not have sold well, because the title silently disappeared, given only a terrible "remake" on PSP that was like a bitter betrayal as it was nothing like the original. I loved this game so much. That being said, in this world of games like Yooka-Laylee, we really really should have Sony release this game again, or make a spiritual successor. I love this game and I hope we see something based on it in the near future.

Okay, before I start ranting on this topic, I have to admit, I've never played 5 Nights at Freddy's. From everything I've heard, the original games are very good, and the concept was solid and original, a survival horror being trapped in Chuck E. Cheese knockoff with evil animatronics sounds incredible. Why then do I see it as children's plush toys, t-shirts, Leap Frog type educational games, the whole works. I get that the characters look a little bit kid friendly, but the entire concept of the games was the inherent creep factor of these animatronic kid's places. Let me also clarify, I am not one of those people who hates anything that suddenly becomes popular, I really love artists and creators to get success when they deserve it. I am not saying that Five Nights at Freddy's doesn't deserve to be popular either. I thought it was great when Harry Potter became so mainstream, because it's a concept and a world that is extremely accessible and speaks to a massive audience. Who doesn't fantasize about living in a world of magic and mythological creatures? Harry Potter, Star Wars, Firefly, these are all massive worlds with accessible ideas and tons of room for expansion on. The concept of Five Nights is a limited scope, it's basically a really scary haunted house idea. The concept doesn't open itself up to a massive amount of imaginative new venues. Five Nights seems like they just totally sold out.

Okay, first, let me say that what I am about to say about this film is in no way because the leads of this movie were women. Some of my favorite comedic actresses are women, and if anyone honestly believes that I hate women, I refer you to my gallery.

I had a really bad feeling about this movie when it was first announced, and I even refused to see it. Then as now, I was extremely skeptical of yet another remake of a classic movie.
However, I then saw the movie Spy, which was starring much of the same people, and I thought it was one of the funniest movies I ever saw. My hopes were raised somewhat, until I suddenly saw the trailer. I didn't go into it expecting bad things, and I even tried to lie to myself that something in the trailer was funny. But after three viewings, I had to concede that it was awful. It suddenly struck me that the problem was that it was made like a spoof of Ghostbusters, rather than trying to be Ghostbusters for real. This combined with the marketing spin team and several media outlets calling anyone who disliked the movie a misogynist prompted me to boycott the film. I cannot and will never be shamed for having an opinion. I have finally seen the film without having to pay money for it. After viewing it, I can say this without fear of misrepresentation. This is not a movie. This is an improv group riffing on the original movie in any way possible. The film feels as if it had no script, rather just a list of locations and a rough outline of the story. In place of dialogue, they had a parenthesis that said "The cast makes shit up." The constant references to them being obviously in Boston, the overacted character quirks, and the constant winking to the camera created exactly the wrong kind of atmosphere. In the Original Ghostbusters, I never feel like I'm watching comedians, I feel like in watching a group of funny characters, despite each one being portrayed by fairly well known actors. The new movie never even attempts to seem real, instead becoming the Ghostbusters equivalent of Airplane! or The Naked Gun, but it doesn't even manage to do that well because it still has to be PG-13. The villain is one of the worst I have ever seen, never threatening at all, never interesting, never anything but a yawn. He serves only to once again tell you that if you were born male, this movie hates you. The worst of all though was that stupid ass wonton soup gag. I was dreadfully reminded of Super Mario Bros. The Movie and the pizza gag. I think it is extremely important for people to be honest with one another about this movie, because, if Hollywood believes that this is what people want, mindless, repetitive and stupid remakes, we'll keep getting more.

One last thing. The end credits scene... they have the gall to ask "What's Zuul?"

So let me get this straight... we just watched a terrible movie that was a remake of a beloved classic... and it teased a sequel... that is a remake... of the same Goddamn movie?! This must end!!!!!!

My grandparents never ever had a major catastrophe like this happen. Their house has always been our refuge in the storm, and this recent flood was do awful that it destroyed all our cars, their walls were full of water, their house was a shambles, and they still need to see if they can get through this with no mold. I know I'm not a popular artist or anything but I hope some of you find it in your hearts to help.

https://www.gofundme.com/2kfz8sq4

I'm here at my grandparent's house, and it's flooded with four to five inches of water on the kitchen floor. This is the place I've always gone to during floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, I always came here to seek refuge. Now, the fortress has fallen. Pray for all of us down here, we need help, and pray we get rescued soon.

Well, I finally threw in the towel on getting a decent job, so I've returned to driving cabs. It's dangerous work with the possibility of getting robbed at gunpoint, combined with the statistics of getting killed in an automobile accident, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

This is a film I have been following very closely since the production began, I've had a big, vested interest in this film since it was Ghostbusters 3: Alive Again, and all the behind the scenes BS mixed with the "You're a sexist, misogynist, autocratic, gynophobe!" crap on YouTube and Ellen and so forth is a story for another time. What's the biggest complaint I have with the movie? Well... I went to see Spy with  Robertge in California, and I should mention, we were together at the time, and I'd bern saying for months that I thought the Ghostbusters reboot would suck, while she thought it would be good. Seeing Spy actually gave me more hope that this film might be good... I think I even said as much to Jason. But, then the first trailer dropped. Laaaaaaame. It then occurred to that the talent behind this movie was just completely wrong for this genre. Paul Feig seems to make great subversive female driven quasi genre spoofs. This is Ghostbusters in earnest, however, not a female driven indictment of the sci-fi comedy genre. From the start, it seemed the entire mindset behind the film was wrong... It was trying to start a franchise that Sony could make money on rather than just tell a story. So, according to the critics, how is it? Meh. And that's exactly what I knew it would be. In ten years time, I seriously doubt anyone will care about this movie, while the original will remain one of the best examples of a genre mashup done right.

Wishing all furries a happy U.S. Independence Day, and I hope you all enjoy some fun and time off with loved ones.

I finally saw the movie that sent furries, and apparently film critics, into a massive frenzy of praise. What's my take? I liked the world, I loved the animation, I really enjoyed the characters, the comedy was good, but the message and the plot were predictable, and extremely standard. Not a bad message, I know, but I've seen it before, and seen it a million times at that. The animation, the designs, the quick wit of out resident fox, more of that please. I loved the world they created, and the fact that Judy's dad reminded me of Tim Conway. I just would have preferred a more substantive plot.

May the Fourth be With You

No one ever said that life was easy, but does it have to be so difficult? My breakup, my bad luck, my bad fall, everything has left me in tatters thus far. I'm trying, but fate seems to enjoy kicking me in the teeth. However, I believe it was Walt Disney who said "Sometimes, a kick in the teeth is the best thing that can happen to you." I hope in the end, his words were right in my case.

and I have finally reached an impasse in our adventure through life. We've decided that this is it, but, at least I hope that in the future we can try again, when both our lives aren't on such a massive downward spiral of bad fortune, and horrible dead ends. I wish Jay all the best, and I still love Jay with all my heart.

I'm not going to completely transform my fursona for good and all, but I'm introducing a new character to my lineup. Gabe, the Gay Gator. I've decided to be less weird about my own sexuality, as I've been kinda dancing around this. I'm in a relationsip with a man, and, as such, we decided to make new characters to represent our real world relationship better, his is Tyson, a hyena, while mine is Gabe the gator, two very cute guys in a very cute, loving way with one another, unashamed, unconcerned with what anyone thinks, just being themselves, and loving one another fully and completely. Gabe is shy, sweet, gentle, and loves Tyson with all his heart, and is always trying to find the positive side, and holding out hope, but he tends to be a dreamer, and can at times be gullible. Tyson is a bit more the active one in the relationship, while Gabe is always there to try and keep him from going too extreme, or falling into depression.

My brother and I just got a Playstation 4 last month as a kind of early birthday gift, and I'm just saying, the saying the thing is awesome. I only wish i were home so that i could play it more often, seeing as how I'm out in Boothville two weeks at a time.

I was gonna make a joke in the title of this journal, but it was too long. Anyways, those in the fandom who are friends of mine have probably already heard, but for those who may be acquaintances, here's the whole story. I recently gave up cab driving after I got shot at by a crazed woman who saw me witness the shooting of her husband/boy friend. I finally found a decent job driving for a company owned by the father of a friend of mine from High School, driving offshore oil workers to a heliport from their cars, or to their cars leaving the Heliport. It's tedious work, monotonous, my hours suck, and I have to live in Boothville, a tiny little town 5 hours from home, in a tiny little FEMA trailer for two weeks at a time. The only upside, and, let's face it, the only reason you take a job like this, is the pay. I should be making awesome scratch soon.