~KairiTheValeyard

Yesterday was a sad day for our family as our beloved cat of 14 years, Nefertitti, had to be put to sleep.

Neffie, as we always affectionally referred to her as, was our family's first ever pet, and she was something of an enigma; sometimes she did things that we were pretty sure there was no chance any cat could do. Like open cabinet doors that were tightly shut. For me, her destruction of my combat boots was just mystifying: these were no ordinary boots mind you, these were boots that came from Fort Benning. I've had them for over 3 years and they have been through a lot with me. Road marches, desert runs, Pre-PLDC, whatever hardship I had, they had seen it through with me. She destroyed them in less than a day when she got her claws on them.



Oh, and she was my personal alarm clock for a good 2 years when I was in high school. Every morning, she would sit on my chest and lick my face or sit at my side to paw at me until I got up. Of course, the fact that this so happened to coincide with feeding time probably didn't hurt her needs too much.



One of the most heartbreaking things about this, however, was the fact that it was the only decision that we could make. We didn't want to see her suffer needlessley anymore and the alternative was not acceptable. So, with a heavy heart, I said goodbye to my beloved cat.



Standing there in the waiting room while waiting for my older sister to come by, I had started to talk with a few of the pet owners waiting to take their pets in for examinations. And I dealt with my grief and pain the only way I knew I could: I told jokes. A LOT of jokes. I shared some humourous stories and observations too, but mainly I had quite a few jokes.



Someone once told me that they couldn't believe that someone like me, who had a rather off the wall sense of humor, had so many personal issues. I told him that I remembered something that Richard Pryor once said in a book: in order to have a real good sense of humor, you have to also experience real pain. So it hurts a hell of a lot to lose my cat, yes, but the best thing I can do now is wipe my eyes, smile and tell a detailed ancedote about what cats are REALLY thinking when we pick them up. You must never allow it to dwell too much, because the memories of those we love will always comfort us, no matter what...



Rest in peace, kitty.







By the way, if you want to know just what cats are thinking when they see us or pick them up, here are a few:



"Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my house?"

"Yes I am cute and fluffy, I know. Leave me alone already!"

"Don't bogart the tuna."

"Maybe if I stare at you long enough, you will let me sample some of that fried fish you have on your plate."

"Ugh, your breath! It reeks of bvodka!"

"The things those humans says."

"Snowball? Why do you have to call me Snowball? It's 'cause I'm white, isn't it?"





Always leave them with a smile...

Well, to my friends I say sorry I haven't been in touch with anyone as of late. I've kinda been keeping myself busy, not only looking for a job, but writing and tending to my cat. Somehow she hurt her leg, and I'm trying to keep her from doing any further damage to it. But now that I've got a moment, let me get a few things up in the air...





- Yeah, I should have mentioned this a lot earlier, but I was blown away by 'The Dark Knight', a movie that surpasses my expectations. It's one of the best ever interpretations of the Batman comic, and has one of the best stories ever in a superhero movie. Of course, Heath Ledger's final full performance as the Joker is everything it is hyped up to be and is more than worthy of an Oscar. Though some naysayers may be turned off by the somewhat realistic approach to the Batman universe, I find that Nolan's style can make it work.



-Ok, Iron Man, Incredible Hulk, Indiana Jones 4 (I like the movie, damn it!) Dark Knight, Prince Caspien...it's been a really good run lately with these movies. So, of course, SOMEONE has to ruin it. Yeah, Disaster Movie....look, I have said plenty about the directors of these movies, so whatever I said about 'Meet The Spartans' applies to Disaster Movie. It's like they sit down, watch all the trailers for good movies, look at TMZ & work from there. Nice to know that they aren't hampered by unconventional things like, say, humor or decent writing or decent acting. I guess this is the only way that Carmen Electra an get a legitimate paycheck without being nude.



-My aunt Maxine's wedding was a couple of weeks ago. It was real cool seeing almost all of the family again, even family members I barely remember. Of course, in all big events comes an awkward moment for someone. And that was me...



In weddings there is a tradition that the bride throws the bouquet and the groom throws the garter belt. Everyone knows that. It's what you do with a garter belt that I apparently forgot. See, whoever catches the garter belt has to put it on the leg of the woman who caught the bouquet. So, guess who caught the garter belt?

Needless to say, I felt undying, unyielding embarrassment.



-So, anyone else find that the timing of the whole John Edwards scandal to be a little too convienant with the DNC coming up? Yeah, me too.



-Gurren Lagan...damn this is a weird show.



That's all for today!

WARNING!!!! MILD TO BIG SPOILERS AHEAD!!



Wow.

3-4 years, 3 seasons and it all came down to this: a 4 part story that details the Gaang's final battle against Azula, Fire Lord Ozai and the might of the Fire Nation and Aang's desperate stand against Ozai's mad ambitions.

Before I can get into this, I have to admit, like some, when I first watched 'The Boy in the Iceberg' I was almost ready to dismiss the show. It looked at first like just another anime inspired show that this time Nickelodeon had decided to air. But I decided to give it a chance. The artwork reminded me of a Hayao Miyazaki film & I figured 'Hey, if they are gonna draw inspiration from that, the least I can do is give this one a try'. And from there on, the show did not disappoint me. It had done something that very few American cartoon that kept me hooked for a very long time. Episodic shows like Avatar are very few and far between in the American market, and when they work, they work well (see Justice Leauge, Teen Titans). But the level of growth in Avatar grew tremendously over each episode. The ambitions and creativity of the team was great, and with each episode, the tale expanded and the characters grew on us more and more.

So, fast foward to now. The four part opus to the Avatar tale takes the show to it's highest peak yet, hooks us in and does not cease to keep us entertained until the final act. We watch as Aang struggles with finding a way to end Ozai's mad plan without killing him. We see the reunion of Zuko and Iroh, the return of various masters who make up the White Lotus Society (apparently all old people know each other), the descent of Azula into utter madness as we see into the fragile psyche she hides behind her cruel exterior, and most importantly of all...Zutara officially dies and Maiko & Kaatang prevails! ^_^

There are so many things I could cover that was right about this episode, but the part that stood out the most, aside from Zuko's influence on the crew, was Azula's breakdown. I never actually outright hated her, despite all the utterly despicable things she was responsible for. If anything, after the events of season 3, I had immense pity for her. Imagine being groomed, by your own father, to be a cold, heartless and manipulative engine of destruction, to use fear as a means of control. But just like her brother, all she wanted was love from both her parents, and we see how much of an effect losing her approval really had on her, complied with the betrayal of her friends and the responsibility of becoming the next Fire Lord. If they do air the spinoff series, I hope they continue with the story of Azula.

Oh, and the battles...wow. I could not keep track of how many times I said the word 'damn' during the seige on Ba Sing Se alone by the White Lotus Society. The fights betwen Azula, Zuko & Katara was amazing, especillay when Katara had completely taken Azula by surprise. But Aang vs Ozai...we are gonna have to come up with new words to describe that battle, hell this whole episode. And the music, my God the music, the best I've heard in a very long time.

In short, this is now the standard in which I hold action adventure cartoons now. This is one that will be very tough to top by anyone I am very, very glad to have been witness to it. Thank you Aang, Sokka, Katara, Zuko, Toph, Appa, Momo, Iroh, Suki, Mai, Ty Lee and a big thank you to the Avatar creators, Micheal & Bryan, for a damn fine job.

And now, before I watch the end of the Avatar saga, here are some of my favorite moments from each season of the show!

Season 1

1) The first fight between Zuko and Admiral Zhao aboard Zuko's ship. Not only do we get to see Zuko take on an experienced foe & previal, be we get a first glimpse into the character of Zuko himself.
2) Aang's reunion with Bumi- It's not everyday you meet up with an old friend from 100 years ago who is still alive. But then again, we never figure our friends would make us go through incredibly deadly lengths to figure out who they are...
3) Katara learns she is a healer, yeah that was classic. The writers take something that could possibly scar a character and then turn it around to make it so that Katara slowly becomes a stronger water bender. and speaking of water bending...
4) Katara vs. Pakku: despite it being a losing battle, Katara more than proved her mettle against Pakku, who stubbornly held on to the belief that no woman could make a capable water bender. She would go on to become possibly one of the most powerful waterbenders, if not the most powerful one on the show to date.
5) Suki pwns Sokka-yeah, I enjoyed that immensely.
6) Yue sacrifices herself to restore the moon- If you didn't even shed at least one tear at that moment, you are a cold, cold person & will not be eating any of my mint chip cookies.
7) That foamy guy in Kyoshi village. He always makes me laugh.
8) Iroh delivers a beatdown to various soldiers- A word of advice: if Iroh tells you to leave something alone or he will proceed to hand you your ass, listen to him. There's a good goddamn reason he is the Dragon of the East...
9) The death of Admiral Zhao. Did not see that coming...
10) The introduction of Ozai & Azula. See above statement, throw in 'Holy shit, Mark Hamil!'
11) The Avatar State is used to repel the Fire Navy. As if Aang wasn't powerful enough before...

Season 2:

-Azula's introduction. Damn, that was just cold, the way she casually tells her officer she was mulling his imminent death. But then again, seeing as she smiled during the Agni Kai that scared Zuko, what did you expect?
-Aang's Avatar State unleashed for the first time when he thought that Katara was dead was awesome.
-The introduction of Mai & Ty Lee. Azula didn't really need to work too hard to convince Mai, but with Ty Lee, she practically had to terrorize here during a circus performance to 'convince' her to join up.
-Mick Foley's guest appearance as The Boulder. Not only is it awesome because it's, you know, Mick fucking Foley, but it's him as The Boulder, a very sly caricature of The People's Champion. (That's The Rock to you, jabroni!)
-Toph handing all the Earth benders in the underground tournament their asses. Twice.
-Zuko's childhood, where we get a hint of Maiko, the malice that Azula had, and a hint of just what happened with his mother and how Ozai became the Fire Lord. We also learn he is a tremendous dick. Oh, and Zuko kicks some ass.
-Azula fights off Aang, Zuko, Katara, Toph & Iroh.
-Aang's training under Toph. Brutal and funny.
- Aang becomes a boy obsessed when he loses Appa, becoming more agressive and violent. When he finds the people who was responsible for his disappearance, he becomes completely berserk and activates the Avatar Stare, only for it to be stopped by a hug from Katara.
-Fortunatley, Aang recovers his hope when a baby is born to a refugee couple on their way to Ba Sing Sei. We also see Sokka & Suki further their relationship, learn Toph has a crush on Sokka and see the crew take out a drill.
-The return (and untimely death) of Jet. It was cool to see him fight again, but I wish he'd survived the fight at Lake Laogai.
-The tribute to Mako!
-The complete takeover of Ba Sing Sei by Azula, and Zuko's choice to side with her. As I said before...did not see that coming!


And now, Season 3!

-While 'The Awakening' has a lot of great moments, such as the meeting between Ozai & Zuko, Katara's temper making itself known & the conversation between Azula & Zuko at the end, nothing will replace the sheer awesomeness of these three words- "Load the Toph!"
-Aang goes to school! We see life in the Fire Nation for the first time, and see Aang interact with other kids, get into a whole mess of trouble and top it off with a sweet dance party where he and Katara bust out moves I don't ever want to attempt at my current weight level. We also see the first appearance of a very persistant enemy, hints of Mai's dislike of Azula and, of course, Wang Fire!
-Aang & Katara blow up a factory, what more can I say?
-Sokka makes a freaking kick ass sword out of a meteor (shades of Goemon from Lupin III) & undergoes some training of his own. What ws even more kickass is that his teacher figures out that Aang is the Avatar without so much of a second glance. And Sokka becomes a swordsman in the best way possible...by being himself.
-Iroh seems like a harmless old man who loves tea, right? So when they showed his own training regiment in prison & we see a hint of what it's done for him, I'm pretty damn sure the first words coming out of my mouth were 'Holy SHIT!'. Man, that guard is in for a beatdown.
- "Look out, it's Sparky Sparky Boom Man!"
-The Puppetmaster, one of the best (and creppiest) episodes EVER. Katara learns just how deep hatred can run when she learns more than she ever intended about waterbending from Hama, including a technique that could be best described as 'fragging creepy'.
- The origins of the war and Zuko's connection to the Avatar. I mean, damn, Rokku is Zuko's great grandfather? Damn dude, how meta is that?
-Aang halucinating a samurai duel between Momo & Appa, probably one of the funniest things I will ever see.
-Zuko finally tells off his father during the Day of Black Sun and informs Ozai he's joining up with the Avatar so that Aang can kick his ass was cool enough. Zuko taking a dual lightning attack from his father & redirecting it back at him? Fucking A!
-The death of Sparky Sparky Boom man by boomerang, courtesy of Sokka!

Zuko: That's not his name!
Me: Uh, Combustion Man then? We're all kinda confused.
Zuko: Look, if you really want to know, his name is--
Delivery Guy: Hey, who ordered the Mushu pork?
Me: THAT'S his name?
Zuko: I know. Funny, you'd think it'd never suit a guy like him.

-Azula gets betrayed not only by Mai, who loves Zuko a lot more than she figured, but by Ty Lee! I really, REALLY hope they show up for the finale.
-Azula & Zuko, in the opening minutes of 'The Southren Raiders' fight to a stalemate atop Fire Nation blimps. Zuko has come a long way since the beginning of the series. It'll be intresting to see how their final fight plays out.
- We finally learn the details of the day Katara lost her mother in a Fire Nation raid as Zuko sets out to help her find the man responsible for her death. Not only does she become a freaking ninja and takes out a crew of Fire Nation soldiers, she even uses bloodbending on the man who commanded the ship. When she does track down the man she is seeking, she shows just how far she has come as a Waterbender, before ultimately deciding against killing him.

So, there you have it. Those are all of my favorite moments from Avatar I can fit in here. Of course, there's still the series finale tonight. Here is a spoiler free review!

[link]

Now excuse me, I have a WHOLE lot of snacks to buy for tonight.

Well, once again, it's that time of year again. No, not the great lemming migration and mass suicide. (That is a dirty dirty Disney backed lie) No, this year, another really good animated show I watch is being cancelled. And yes this show is on our old favorite network, Nickelodeon. Or, as some refer to it now, "that station that shows nothing but Spongebob and really weird live action shows."



It seems odd now, just a few months ago, October actually, I was talking with anna & her friends about how the show was really getting good & before I was prepared for it, it's all set to end. I mean I knew that there was not going to be a season 4, but I guess I wanted the show to last as long as possible. It's one of those rare US made cartoons that anyone can watch & enjoy. It also doesn't hurt that the show's anime style look is easy on the eyes.



But instead of yet another rant about Viacom & their business practices, let me start listing some of the reasons why the show is so damn good:



The story- The writers do not shy away from certain themes in the plot of Avatar. The war which has lasted 100 years, the possible murder of the previous Fire Lord by his own son, acts of genocide, these are just some of the things that happened within the main story line & they are approached in a manner that both kids and adults can handle. And each of the main characters has a unique back story that makes them who they are. Zuko, for example, has matured considerably. We first see him as a hot headed, determined fire Nation officer who will stop at nothing to capture Aang, but as the story progressess, we learn why he is the way he is; he desires nothing more than his father's love and acknowledgement of his existance. He has a greater inner conflict within him and it drives him to do many things, both heoric & not so heoric. at the end, he finds the courage needed to confront his father and join Aang in his quest to restore order to the world.



The action- Oh sure, any Tom, Dick & Harry can make a show with martial arts. But how many shows out there have martial artists that fight with freaking WATER as a weapon?

Avatar's universe has the martial artists use the elements in conjuction with their martial arts, which makes the action sequences even more enjoyable. And the writers actually consult with an actual martial arts teacher: Kisu of the Harmonious Fist Chinese Athletic Association. Tai Chi, Hung Gar, Chu Car, Northern Shaolin & Bagua are the basis of each of the bending arts in the show.



The influences- Various eastern and western influences are in the show, especially the asian ones. Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino, the creators, draw inspiration from a variety of series, like Star Wars (in terms f story) as well as Hayo Miazaki films (Appa, the flying bison, was basedaround the Catbus design from 'My Neigbor Totoro' The show's writers also draw inspiration from various films and anime companies like Production I.G., Studio Ghibli & GAINAX. The staff was even required to watch all 6 episodes of FLCL by director Giancarlo Volpe. How freaking cool is that?



If you want to see for yourself how the show will ends, the fianl episodes will start airing on Nickelodeon next week at 8, leading up thethe 2 hour (WHOA) finale airing on Saturday. And you can catch any of the episodes you missed on the Nicktoons network (provided you have digital cable) or buy them on DVD. Of course, you COULD do the smart thing and find yourself a torrent of teh shows...but I think contributing to the delenquency of my audience would be a bad thing...