Hey! I'm now also on Bluesky! Note me if you really need my info, but my username is basically the same.

Wait, what? Oh, dear God, not THAT kind of fix! No, no, as in 'repair' or 'restore', not the veterinarian's kind of fix!

Whew...

Now that that's clear, I'm going more in-depth into HTTYD2. Specifically, my personal thoughts on how to fix the movie.



SPOILERS AHEAD. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.



I'm giving this a spoiler-tag not so much because there are any major spoilers, but because I'm going to be talking about more specific parts of the movie, and I'd rather not have to recap. So from here on, I'm assuming you've either A) Seen the movie, or B) Already have a good idea how it goes and are okay with me referring to things you may not know anything about.

So, how would I fix this movie?

Simply put, change the antagonist from this Drago idiot to a much better candidate: Hiccup's mom, Valka.
Why? Two reasons: Trimming down the number of major characters we have to keep track of, as well as keeping the first movie's theme, that of acceptance, identity, and looking beyond minor misunderstandings.

See, I'd see this movie as a mirror to the first movie: If the first movie was about Hiccup getting people to get along with dragons, this movie could be about Hiccup getting dragons to get along with people.

How to go about that? First off, get rid of Drago completely. He just doesn't work, and it feels like he's only in the movie because the writers couldn't think of anything else to challenge Hiccup and Co. with. He has no real connection to any other characters, or anything else in the movie. Also, remove that second Alpha Dragon he has, as well as the whole mind-control thing that Alphas seem to have. The dragon in the first movie ruled through intimidation and brute force, not any kind of hypno-magic.

Since that would mean throwing out the second half of the movie, what to do with all that space? More time to develop Valka and her multiple ties/connections: With Stoic, with Hiccup, and with dragons.
First off, keep the entire opening, with the dragon-games and the wingsuit/cartography. The games were cool, the wingsuit and especially mapmaking was amazing, and both set the stage nicely. However, past there...
How about this: The dragon-hunting ship from the early part of the movie stays in, as does Eret, their leader. However, instead of catching dragons for part of some larger army, they're just in it for the money; either selling live dragons for well-to-do bestiaries, or just killing them and harvesting them for parts. (Would be a nice allegory for the whale trade, eh?) That way, Hiccup still has something to worry about and investigate, but it's a more minor issue, as opposed to "crazy evil warlord with a dragon army who for some reason I forgot about for the entire first movie, never mentioning once, but IS SUDDENLY A BIG DEAL". Still, that gives Hiccup a reason to head out and wind up meeting Valka.
While their initial meeting still goes basically as it did in the theatrical release, Valka's status as social hermit and dragon master needs to be emphasized. That whole half-feral walk, slightly odd mannerisms, and such a level of understanding with dragons that it's second-nature to her? Play up more of that. Since it's Cate Blanchett doing this, we'll call it "if Galadriel was a druid". Also play up her utter hatred of anyone who causes harm to dragons. That scene where she's showing some of the injuries she's helped dragons recover from? Put a bit more edge into that. If she doesn't flip her lid when Hiccup mentions that it was he who took half of Toothless' tail off, she should definitely have a major reaction there. Something more than the "oh, how nice" kind of blank stare she gives in the movie. It should definitely take some work from Hiccup to defuse that situation. Show the Alpha, that guy (girl? it's hard to tell) was cool, show the sheer variety of dragons and Valka's bond with them, etc. (On second thought, maybe don't bother showing the Alpha; although it's cool, the movie's focus is on dragons as creatures, not dragons as plot devices.) But play up how inhuman parts of her are; she's been away from human society, and even human company, for TWENTY YEARS. This is the first time she's had close contact with another human being for a long, long time. Although she remembers Hiccup, she's forgotten a lot else, including how to get along with people.
Overall, she comes across as possibly crazy and definitely not a hale-and-hearty human.
(Optional) I'm not sure how this would fit in the movie, but Stoic and the rest of the characters could show up here. Unlike in the theatrical release, although Valka does get all misty-eyed at seeing her long-lost husband, she doesn't feel like returning home, feeling that this is her home more than Berk ever was... especially the violent, flame-ridden Berk of her past.
About this point in the movie, someone else comes to the island. Instead of a GIANT ARMY OF WAR, it's one boat. The slavers again, who somehow followed Stoic here, seeing this dragon-filled island as a jackpot. They're not much... but even a small match can set off the powderkeg of Valka's personality. Plus, where there's one boat, there will be more, and something has to be done. Blaming Hiccup for this whole thing, she finally flips and banishes Hiccup, Stoic, and everyone else, declaring war on humankind for their greed and selfishness.
This sets up the third act of the movie for everyone, but especially Hiccup and Stoic, fighting against her dragon invasion while trying to bring her back to her senses. (Another reason to not bring the Alpha into the movie; either it sits out this fight for no good reason or far too much of the movie's and characters' time would be focused on it. Either way, not good. Just leave it out of the script altogether.) Now, instead of a big dragon battle focusing on Hiccup vs. Evil Bob Marley and his Giant Magic Mindcontrol Dragon, this is a big dragon battle focusing on Hiccup and his parents. Does Valka truly remember what it is to be human? Does it have to be only dragons or only humans? Why not both? I'm not sure exactly how this fight would go, but I know how it would end...
They finally get Valka off a dragon and down to the ground. After a brief but fierce fight with Hiccup and Stoic against Valka, both Hiccup and Valka are down. Stoic advances on Valka, axe in hand, as Hiccup can only look on in horror. The music stops dead. Valka gasps for breath, her eyes pleading, as Stoic raises his hand...
...tosses his helmet off, puts his axe down, places his hand on her cheek, and starts humming their wedding song.

So in the end, she'd realize that humans and dragons can live together, and calls off the fight. Everyone wins!
As for resolution... I'm not sure if she'd stay in Berk, but she'd definitely visit regularly. Maybe set up the Alpha's lair as a hatchery/training grounds for dragons and dragon riders.

In summary, this changes the movie's themes from vaguely-defined "evil taming"/mind-control and a theme about totalitarianism to themes of enviromentalism, eco-terrorism, identity, and family.

...Okay, so maybe I'm not the best writer, but hey, you gotta admit... it would be better than what we actually got.

So I just got out of the theater after watching How To Train Your Dragon 2. I've been waiting for this movie for several weeks. The ongoing thought in my head: "Please don't suck, please don't suck, please don't suck..."

Well... it sucks.

I was really hoping it wouldn't, but unfortunately this movie has classic Sequel Syndrome: Now that the main character's, and indeed entire setting's, story arc was finished in the first movie, the writers can't figure out what to do with another hour and a half of screentime. In this case, they just threw a bunch of different plot points together into a big pile and called it a movie.

There are parts that are good. The entire first third is great, and there are one or two moments beyond that. But honestly, the entire second half isn't worth watching. Certainly not more than once. Way too many shallow characters and Deus Ex Machinas, especially when they're basically crammed back-to-back. Honestly, this movie feels like they just threw half a dozen fanfictions together.

In summary, the biggest problem is a lack of focus.

Shame. I really, really, really wanted to like this movie. Haven't been this disappointed since Eragon...

Yes, I joined Flight Rising today. I'm going Light.

My username is Sinelance. (Without the period).

The game's a browser-based casual, but as browser-based casuals go, this isn't bad. There's stuff to do each day, but not hours and hours of stuff, so it doesn't feel like a time-sink.

Personally, I don't really like the dragon designs, but they're okay. You can certainly do worse...

So, I came home after school today with the math part of my brain still running at full-tilt, and the fat-loving part of my brain starting to edge in. The result? I take what I'm learning in school right now and apply it to things it was probably never meant to apply to. FOR SCIENCE!

This also, oddly enough, was a good exercise to keep me polished on system analysis in discrete time.

Because the math part of my brain is starting to shut down, this is copy-pasted from the notes I made earlier.

So, without further ado:

[Start Math]
A very rough formula to represent a person's weight and weight gain, based on starting weight

and food eaten each day. This is not intended to model real life nutrition, just imitate it.

I'll use a discrete-time formula for this.

y[k] = person's weight on day k; starting weight is y[0]
f[k] = amount of food eaten on day k.

Three constants:
a: Fraction of food converted into body weight; this is dependent on the kind of food eaten,

but for now I'll keep it as a constant to keep things simple. In most cases, this will be

between 0 and 1.
b: Fraction of body weight needed each day for sustenance, and therefore subtracted from any

weight gain. Again, this is dependant on the exact body type, composition, activities, and

temperature, but I'll keep it as a constant for now. In most cases, this will be between 0 and

1.
c: Starting weight; aka, person's initial weight when this modeling started. In most cases,

this should be the person's lean weight.
To simplify things later, I'm introducing a fourth variable now, which is based on b:
d = (1-b): This is fraction of body weight retained each day.
(-d) = (b-1)

NOTE: We're assuming this is a causal system, so f[k] = f[k]u[k]. This system can only track

food eaten starting on day 0.

And now, the formula:
y[k+1] = y[k] + af[k] - by[k]
With the initial condition y[0] = c

Put into standard form:
y[k+1] + (b-1)y[k] = af[k]
y[0] = c

Solving for the zero-input equation yields:
y(zin)[k] = c(1-b)^k = cd^k
This is exponential decay when 0<b<1, which makes 0<d<1, which makes sense; someone should

lose weight if they aren't eating anything.

Solving for h[k] yields:
h[k] = ((b-1)/a)*(unit impulse function[k]) + c(1-b)^k*(unit step function[k])
Solving for h[0] by plugging h[k] and (unit impulse function [k]) into the formula yields:
h[0] = a
Plugging this into h[k], making it h[0], yields:
a^2 + (-c)a + (1-b) = 0

Going back to h[k], solving for the zero-state equation yields:
y(zis)[k] = f[k] convoluted with h[k].

This yields:
y(zis)[k] = ((b-1)/a)*f[k] + c(1-b)^k*(Sum, as m goes from 0 to k, of f[m]/(c(1-b)^m))

Plugging in d yields:
y(zis)[k] = (-d/a)*f[k] + cd^k*(Sum, as m goes from 0 to k, of f[m]/(cd^m))

Putting it all together:
y[k] = y(zin)[k] + y(zis)[k]
y[k] = cd^k + (-d/a)*f[k] + cd^k*(Sum, as m goes from 0 to k, of f[m]/(cd^m))

And finally:
y[k] = (-d/a)*f[k] + cd^k(1 + (Sum, as m goes from 0 to k, of f[m]/(cd^m)))
[End Math]

So, what do you think? By the way, this isn't as advanced as it looks; if you can't follow along, that's probably because I'm taking a few shortcuts for the sake of space; if I wasn't so impatient to get this posted, I'd take the time and space to explain each step of the way.

Well, furries may have just gotten their first mainstream glimpse in a while, and it's actually not bad for once.

Of all places, Scott Adams decided to include a brief discussion of furries in today's Dilbert cartoon.

A link to the cartoon is here:

http://www.dilbert.com/2013-05-27/

Not sure what to make of it yet. What are your thoughts?

This is an amazing video of the work it can take to make art in games:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIhIC9KFyFo

This is going to be a new character in the free game, League of Legends, and this looks awesome.

If anyone notices a flurry of watches from me, it's because I'm finally officially watching many artists that I've been looking at for a long time. Just to let you know.