Kitties: 2Y, 3W, 6D Old

more funny, awkward, big Georgie sleeping (plus Mammao in the corner)

 

 

 Oreo playing w/ the hamper while Ping & Georgie watch

 

Barnes & Noble - DC Comics Event

I went to DC Night of Barnes & Noble's Get Pop-Cultured series of geektastic store events.

It started at 8 PM with some freebies: Harley Quinn and the Suicide Squad #1 Special B&N Edition, DC Super Hero Girls Sampler with previews of DCSHG: Finals Crisis graphic novel and Supergirl at Super Hero High novel, the DC Essentials 2016 Catalog, and a large promo poster of the catalog's cover.

There was a Buy-2-Get-a-3rd-Free Sale on DC graphic novels, but I'd already bought my DC Bombshells books, so I didn't have anything to buy. The children's department had DC Comics bingo and Bat-symbol mustache paper crafts for the couple of families with young kids, while the adult fans like me tried the trivia contest. Unfortunately, I didn't keep the trivia pages, but here are some of the questions I remembered:

DC Comics Trivia:

1. What was the name of Aquaman's pet octopus? - ??? [Answer: Topo]
2. Which aliens did the Justice League first team up to fight?  - Starro? [Appelaxians]
3. Superman's shield means "Hope," but something else entirely when upside down... - Rebirth? [Resurrection]
4. How often must a power ring be charged? - every 24 hours
5. How does Superman enter his Fortress of Solitude? - with a giant [yellow, arrow-shaped] key
6. The Green Lantern Corps oath goes: "Beware my power..." - Green Lantern's Light
7. Wonder Woman comes from Paradise Island, also known as... - Themyscira
8. What is the name of Wonder Woman's mother? - Hippolyta
9. What is the name of the interdimensional imp that gives Superman trouble? - Mr. Mxyzptlk
10. How does The Flash travel through time? - Cosmic Treadmill
11. How does The Atom travel quickly? - shrinks and pulses through telephone lines
12. Two of The Flash's villains are from the future. Reverse Flash &... - Professor Zoom? [Abracadabra]

Suicide Squad Trivia:

1. In what comic book did the Suicide Squad first appear? - Brave and the Bold
2. In what year did the Suicide Squad first appear? - 1959
3. What gives Killer Croc his unique appearance? - skin mutation [disease]
4. What is Deadshot's real name? - Floyd Lawton
5. What is Harley Quinn's full name? - Harleen Francis Quinzel
6. What is the official government name for the Suicide Squad? - Task Force X
7. What is the name of the prison for the Suicide Squad? - Belle Reve
8. How did Harley Quinn meet the Joker? - She was his psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum.
9. What is Captain Boomerang's real name? - Digger Harkness
10. What is the name of Katan's sword? - Soultaker
11. What is Killer Croc's real name? - Dwayne? [Waylon] Jones
12. Which comic book had the first appearance of Deadshot? - Batman / Detective Comics
13. Which comic book had the first appearance of El Diablo? - Brave and the Bold? [All-Star Western]
14. Which comic book had the first appearance of Slipknot? - Brave and the Bold? [Fury of Firestorm]
15. Who is in charge of keeping the Suicide Squad in line? - Amanda Waller & Colonel Flagg
16. Amanda Waller works for which government agency? - Checkmate / ARGUS
17. Captain Boomerang is in whose rogues gallery? - The Flash
18. Who created Harley Quinn? - Bruce Timm & Paul Dini
19. What is the name of the woman possessed by Enchantress? - June Moone

I think there were 20 questions in each set, but these are all I can remember. They were pretty tough, but I surprised myself with how many I knew. I had to make some educated guesses on a handful, but only the octopus one stumped me. Filling out the trivia pages probably took me 10-15 minutes. When I turned them in, the staff girl said I was the first one done. (She also complimented my Wonder-Bomb tee and said she loves DC Bombshells, too.) Later, we checked the answers, and overall, I got only 3 wrong each, so that's 85% correct.

And I'd won a prize! :D (Yay, useless fandom knowledge! XD) The girl handed me a plastic bag with a Batman tumbler and rolled-up paper, which she said was a mini Wonder Woman poster! I said, "that's perfect," pointing to my shirt again, but I had no idea how perfect. When I unrolled the poster, I was delighted to find, not just any WW, but my favorite DC Bombshells "Wondy the Riveter" cover art. ♥ I've always wanted a print of this to hang on my wall. ^__^

After thanking the staff for a fun night (there were no more activities), I got ready to go (R was still waiting for me!). Before I left, the girl said if I like Harry Potter (which, of course!), then next weekend, the store will host a Harry Potter party for the release of the script book for the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child plays. I worried that I might be too old to go, but they told me that people of all ages attend, and in fact, it's mostly people who grew up with HP and who are now adults. Hehe. So I said it sounds like fun and I might call my friends to go like we used to. (I wonder if Sara will be free?)

I left happy, and R and I got Sonny's BBQ drive-through for dinner, which was quite fast and very yummy (mmm, brisket...). ^_^

Kitties: 2Y, 3W, 3D Old

haha, look at how looong Georgie is when she's stretched and passed out. 

 

 aww, so cute. (Ping is in the top-right corner of the right pic.)

 

 

To Congress, Re: Gun Control, Part 2

Sent my reply to my representative's lame response to my earlier rant:

Thank you for the response to my earlier email about Gun Control, Congressman. Thank you for politely informing me of House procedures. I understood that the bill did not pass the Senate or the Committee, but Americans are still asking for the bill, a bi-partisan revision, or at least a conversation about it. The GOP, however, refuse to even bring it up because they fear a small but powerful lobby more than they respect the clear wishes of 90% of their constituents. I would rather have Congress break a few of their procedural rules to actually get important work done, than using those rules as a way to escape their responsibilities and place blame on others. But that is beside the point, as was your response, which did not even address my main point: Universal Background Checks and No Fly, No Buy are the simplest, most common sense measures you can enact for National Security. Everyone knows this, and yet it is still blocked by Congressmen like you because of the NRA. Your response did not even attempt to justify it. I don't expect or want a response, because I already know the line about "protecting" our rights. The GOP hides behind the literal interpretation of the 2nd Amendment, even though it says "well regulated" and obviously criminals and terrorists should automatically lose their right to bear arms, while the rest of us retain our right and our guns, so there would be no infringement on our rights. This is not even about an assault weapons ban, which is the equivalent of not allowing citizens access to weapons of mass destruction while the government does. This is just the most basic gun control which should already be in effect, were it not for the gun lobby and their Congressional puppets. Yes, you may be of service to me, my family, Orlando, and America by doing your job as our representative. So PLEASE, go REPRESENT us, address our concerns, listen to our wishes, and work for the people's interest. If you will not, if you continue to fail at your elected position, then the people will find someone who will represent us. Thank you.

"The 100" and POV

Reasons Why the Ambush on the Grounder Army was Justified (not right, but understandable from Arkadia's position):

(1) There is no reason to trust an "ally" who already betrayed you and left you to die. There was an alliance, and Lexa broke it, so why should Arkers just readily believe that, oh, she means it this time? (And her devotion to Clarke doesn't count. Arkers have no idea what went on in Polis. Clarke, Kane, & Abby made the decision to become the "13th Clan" without any input from their people, who had been hurt by Grounders repeatedly since they landed.

(2) Even if Lexa did intend to protect SkyKru, she did not have the power to do it. She lost the faith and support of her people, the Coalition ambassadors tried to remove her as Heda, & most of the Clans rejected or wanted to kill SkyKru. This and the Ice Nation attack on Mt. Weather proved that Lexa could not control the army she sent, even if she sent it to protect Arkadia.

(3) So Arkers can't trust Lexa to keep her word or to keep them safe. Instead, all they see is an army of "peacekeepers" on their doorstep, which is easily seen as a threat or an act of oppression. An army of Grounders who are just as mistrustful/prejudiced/hateful of SkyKru as Arkers are of Grounders. There's no guarantee that the Grounders won't defy Lexa and destroy the Ark civilization. The claim of 4 leaders (Clexa & Kabby) who no longer speak for most of their peoples, is not enough to change months of war and betrayal into a true alliance of peace.

(4) In fact, Arkers were right to fear the army camped outside, because after Lexa died, the army would have turned on Arkadia and wiped them all out without warning. Ontari said as much, and anyway, most Grounders wanted to. The truce was a powder keg that would have exploded into full-blown war again if they hadn't united for the ALIE threat.

Was it wrong to massacre the army? YES. (And Bellamy struggled with it the whole time, the same way ALL the characters do when they do something bad "for the greater good.") Was it done without reason though? NO. They had legit reasons, and they felt they had no other choice (again, same as every character's motivation). Just like what Clarke and Bellamy did at Mt. Weather, Bellamy knew it was wrong but did it anyway to protect his people and took on the burden of guilt, like Clarke said, "I bear it so they don't have to."

The 100 is all about moral ambiguity, and "there are no good guys," which means there are no bad guys either, just people trying to protect their people. Each season's "Bad Guy" has not been evil, just standing on the other side with a different perspective of what is "best" for people.

Furthermore, Arkers and Grounders are held to different moral standards by the audience. Arkers are more like our society and therefore more relatable, while Grounders are a warrior culture from a harsh, post-apocalyptic Earth where "Blood Must Have Blood." Grounders wiping out their enemies is awesome in a Game of Thrones/300 way, but Arkers removing a very real, direct threat (1 army of many) is sickening to our modern sensibilities. (To be fair, killing an armed militia--a real threat--is NOT the same as gunning down innocent civilians--an imaginary threat.)

Pike & Co. had been victims of so much violence that they felt that the only way to survive was to be as ruthless as the Grounders (Ice Nation). So it makes sense that they would use a despicable night ambush with guns against swords. I personally feel that it was out-of-character of Bellamy (even w/ PTSD) to go along with the plan. I expected him to just warn the army to get off Arkadian lands before fighting broke out, but it should be noted that he tried to save the wounded, but Pike killed them.

Bellamy IS partially responsible, and everyone does hold him responsible, including himself, just like Clarke IS partially responsible for Tondc too. Just because she didn't launch the missile herself doesn't excuse her failure to save everyone there when all she had to do was warn them. And why is the death of 1 Grounder army to protect ALL of your people "unforgivable," but the Mt. Weather genocide (killing every man, woman, & child) to save a group of friends "justified"? These are the kind of impossible moral questions that The 100 asks, and the answer is always, "It depends on your point of view," even when it's hard to see characters' POV. The point is to try. "There are no good guys."

Kitties: 2Y, 3W Old

 

Kitties: 2Y, 2W, 6D Old

 

 

Kitties: 2Y, 2W, 5D Old

kitties' new favorite toy: my collapsible net laundry hamper! XD

Oreo looks like she's "phasing" through it like The Flash because i snapped the right pic just as she took off in a mad dash lol!

 

 she just loves to sit, crawl, & roll around in it.

 

 and scratch, bite, & bat at it, too.

 

 Georgie came to inspect and play next.

 

 (in-between adorably peeking out from under my chair.)

 

 

 

 Ping would rather nap. (she played later though.)

 

 Oreo & Georgie have fun inside the hamper together~

 

 

 

DC Bombshells #13-18 = TPB Vol 3: Uprising