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I must say, I've had quite a lovely, entirely (in the best way) unproductive weekend. I typically only get off work Sundays and Wednesdays, so having an extra day in a row off is lovely. Sunday I slept in until maybe 8pm. Today it was 4pm. Granted, I didn't go to bed until like 9-10am, so...
Anyway, I spent the past two days catching up on various movies and playing Pokémon Omega Ruby. I've wanted to check out Valerian and the City of 1000 Planets, so I finally did. It wasn't bad, wasn't particularly great either, but not bad. I just finished re-watching I Am Number 4, which has the absolutely tasty blonde girl from Glee. Another good popcorn flick, really. Lastly, I ended up watching Arrival, and I am so glad that I did. Spectacular movie. I'd heard that some of the background science was actually legit, which is always a plus in my book, and Amy Adams is always a solid choice to bet on. It will definitely require another go after a while, due to some of the twists you discover at the end that were in front of you the whole time. Overall, I felt that it did a great job tying together the story, and also the disparate ways that the world governments might actually respond to aliens. They did a bang-up job showing the different types of people in charge, and it never felt like they were showing us straw men villains or anything. Anyway, awesome movie.
Something has struck me in this particular play-through of Pokémon (can I just say how thoroughly annoyed I am when anyone pronounces it pokEEmon and not poh-kay-mon, or even the slightly more slurred pokuh-mon?), and that is the disturbing nature of the world. Specifically, I have been feeling bad about all the wild pokémon I constantly beat up and leave unconscious. There are these super-cute Pikachu-esque guys galled Minuns, and in this particular game, every time you k.o. them, they make a sad sound and get this look of anguish on their face. It's horrifying! Here I am, slogging through the wilderness with my little guys that I've enslaved by means of magic ball, beating up every creature I meet. Battles are already somewhat akin to dog fighting, with all the inherent ethical questions therein, but how many adorable little bastards must I leave unconscious on the road?
Also, what is up with those balls? I beat a creature half to death, then throw this ball at them and, unless I trade them, they become my obedient slave for life? I suppose if you get them too high a level without enough badges, they'll get a bit more resistant to your commands, but that raises even more questions! How does having half a dozen badges make all pokémon of a certain level behave unconditionally? I wonder too, what happens when someone dies, what becomes of their critters? Do they get let go? Euthanized? Go berserk? Simply transfer loyalty to next of kin?
Lastly, can I just say how very thoroughly I appreciate that with Sun and Moon they finally got rid of the need for HM slave pokémon in one's inventory? Playing in Ruby, I hate having to waste one or more slots for a throwaway who's loaded up with Cut, Rock Break, Strength, Surf, Fly, Waterfall... Going forward, they either need to always have helper pokémon like they do in the latest games who do all the moves for you, or they need to turn HMs into non-battle moves that they can learn. Surf and Fly are decent for damage, so it's not always awful to put them on my main guys, but yeesh.
Anyway, I spent the past two days catching up on various movies and playing Pokémon Omega Ruby. I've wanted to check out Valerian and the City of 1000 Planets, so I finally did. It wasn't bad, wasn't particularly great either, but not bad. I just finished re-watching I Am Number 4, which has the absolutely tasty blonde girl from Glee. Another good popcorn flick, really. Lastly, I ended up watching Arrival, and I am so glad that I did. Spectacular movie. I'd heard that some of the background science was actually legit, which is always a plus in my book, and Amy Adams is always a solid choice to bet on. It will definitely require another go after a while, due to some of the twists you discover at the end that were in front of you the whole time. Overall, I felt that it did a great job tying together the story, and also the disparate ways that the world governments might actually respond to aliens. They did a bang-up job showing the different types of people in charge, and it never felt like they were showing us straw men villains or anything. Anyway, awesome movie.
Something has struck me in this particular play-through of Pokémon (can I just say how thoroughly annoyed I am when anyone pronounces it pokEEmon and not poh-kay-mon, or even the slightly more slurred pokuh-mon?), and that is the disturbing nature of the world. Specifically, I have been feeling bad about all the wild pokémon I constantly beat up and leave unconscious. There are these super-cute Pikachu-esque guys galled Minuns, and in this particular game, every time you k.o. them, they make a sad sound and get this look of anguish on their face. It's horrifying! Here I am, slogging through the wilderness with my little guys that I've enslaved by means of magic ball, beating up every creature I meet. Battles are already somewhat akin to dog fighting, with all the inherent ethical questions therein, but how many adorable little bastards must I leave unconscious on the road?
Also, what is up with those balls? I beat a creature half to death, then throw this ball at them and, unless I trade them, they become my obedient slave for life? I suppose if you get them too high a level without enough badges, they'll get a bit more resistant to your commands, but that raises even more questions! How does having half a dozen badges make all pokémon of a certain level behave unconditionally? I wonder too, what happens when someone dies, what becomes of their critters? Do they get let go? Euthanized? Go berserk? Simply transfer loyalty to next of kin?
Lastly, can I just say how very thoroughly I appreciate that with Sun and Moon they finally got rid of the need for HM slave pokémon in one's inventory? Playing in Ruby, I hate having to waste one or more slots for a throwaway who's loaded up with Cut, Rock Break, Strength, Surf, Fly, Waterfall... Going forward, they either need to always have helper pokémon like they do in the latest games who do all the moves for you, or they need to turn HMs into non-battle moves that they can learn. Surf and Fly are decent for damage, so it's not always awful to put them on my main guys, but yeesh.
