I'm gonna make reacting to this a thing for me.

Friday Forum: Insert Subtitle Here by Huinesoron on 2017-05-19 08:47:00 UTC Reply

Hello again, and welcome to your weekly dose of news, views, and... snooze? I dunno.

Please remember that, when it comes to the state of the world, not everyone will agree with you. You're free to state, discuss, and defend your viewpoint (provided it does not violate the Constitution), but please don't use that fact to attack others.

Fandom News

(Link 1 & Link 2)

Soooo hands up who remembered there's a new Star Trek series on the way? :D Yes, we finally have a proper trailer for Star Trek: Discovery, which is revealed as taking place ten years before TOS. Actually, we have two trailers: a 1:50 cut and a 2:24 cut which has vanished from YouTube. The only reason I'm aware of the second is that my phone popped it up on my newsfeed last night.

As a part-time Trek fan (we've been watching Voyager; for some reason it's the only one we've been able to stick with), I'm cautiously excited for this. It certainly looks very pretty, and I love that uniform design. The ship itself (as seen breaking through the clouds) doesn't look half bad from this angle, either - rather more NX-01 than NCC-1701, but maybe that's not a bad thing? (The Internet suggests that might not be Discovery, but Shenzou, Michelle Yeoh's ship. We shall see.)

On the other hand, it does look like the first episode is Invasion from the Lens-Flare Dimension, and I'm finding those Klingons pretty disturbing. We'll see, I guess.

Silly News

(The Netherlands & Japan)

There's no serious way to put this... the king of the Netherlands has a secret double life as a pilot. As in, he secretly takes the co-pilot's slot on commercial flights, without telling the passengers who he is.

He's been doing this twice a month since he became king in 2013, and for 21 years total. He, uh, is now training to fly the Boeing 737, too. So... yeah? Good for him?

Meanwhile, over in Asia (yes, Friday Forum does know of a world beyond Europe and America...!), Princess Mako of Japan is giving up her royal titles to marry a commoner, as required under Japanese law. As it happens, her aunt Sayako did the same thing back in 2005 - she went from being the daughter of the Emperor to living in a one-bedroom apartment.

Neither of them were eligable for the throne - apparently only males can inherit (which puts Mako's younger brother third in line) - but even so.

Serious News

(Link)

Ian Brady, one of a pair of serial killers known as the Moors Murderers arrested in the '60s, has died in prison (and who said Serious News had to be bad news?). He did so without ever revealing the location of the body of his one still-missing victim, though it doesn't seem like he was ever going to. The other four were buried on Saddleworth Moor, though (and have been recovered), and that's where the interesting part of this story comes in:

Christopher Sumner, the senior coroner running the inquest on his death, has refused to release the body until he's received an assurance that Brady's ashes will not be scattered on Saddleworth Moor. He says he's fully aware that he isn't legally entitled to make that request - but that he's doing it anyway, for moral/ethical reasons. I find that quite heartwarming. Good on you, Mr. Sumner.

Not News

(Link)

The Grand Canyon is a) very pretty, and b) haunted. Possibly by the ghosts of dead oceans.

hS

Dark Crystal is getting a Netflix series. by Bramandin on 2017-05-23 03:34:00 UTC Reply

Who is ready for a trip back to the planet Thra? Netflix announced Thursday that it is producing a 10-episode TV series prequel to Jim Henson’s 1982 fantasy film, The Dark Crystal.

The series is called The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance and takes place many years before the events of the much-beloved movie. According to the official synopsis, the show concerns three Gelfling who discover the horrifying secret behind the Skeksis’ power, and set out on an epic journey to ignite the fires of rebellion and save their world.

The series will be shot in the U.K. and will star an ensemble of fantastical creatures created by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop and Brian Froud, the original feature’s conceptual designer. Filmmaker Louis Leterrier (Now You See Me, The Incredible Hulk) will executive-produce the series and direct.
I aten't dead. by Neshomeh on 2017-05-22 19:59:00 UTC Reply

(This seemed like the best place to say so.)

I was busy hanging out with my in-laws and having an important choir performance, so I haven't been online all weekend. Just in case anyone was wondering. I'll try to get back on track this week. I know there's more work to do.

~Neshomeh

Hope you had fun. (nm) by Ekyl on 2017-05-23 11:36:00 UTC Reply
Ooh, how'd the performance go? (nm) by Zingenmir on 2017-05-23 06:22:00 UTC Reply

It was kind of a mess, actually. ^. ^; by Neshomeh on 2017-05-23 14:48:00 UTC Reply

We had four or five different church choirs thrown together for the first time just before the performance. Some of us had been working with a different arrangement of one of the pieces than the one we were using. Fortunately, it was simple enough to pick up, but still frustrating. Plus, two songs that we hadn't practiced and I, at least, didn't know, and had to pick up without music on the spot. >_>;

But, I don't think anyone in the audience noticed. It was a big enough group that the people who knew what they were doing could cover up those that didn't, and I was told by a couple people that we sounded great. So, I guess that's all right.

~Neshomeh

Ah, one of those :) by Zingenmir on 2017-05-23 17:51:00 UTC Reply

It's amazing learning about what audiences do and don't notice, and the differences between the performer's perspective and theirs. I love the experience of finding out. Glad it appeared to go well! :)

Was there a particular occasion for the group performance?

~Zing

My finals are over - time to bingewatch! by Maxewell on 2017-05-20 04:05:00 UTC Reply

After a week of pain, suffering, and studying, I've finally finished my finals. On a side note, I feel as if I've been hit by a truck. Huinesoron, you just reminded me that I should be watching more Star Trek. Thank you, I truly do need more fandom stuff in my life. Have a good weekend!
I'm gonna make reacting to this a thing for me. by twistedwindowpane on 2017-05-20 01:45:00 UTC Reply

Reaction to the Fandom News:
Oh, that's awesome! I don't know too much about Star Trek stuff past TNG (haven't done much research), but if Star Trek has been a thing for this long, it's probably still good, right? The lens flares are kinda humorous for me, considering my school band had a concert yesterday evening and someone said about the bright auditorium lights: "Oh god! Lens flares! It's like Star Trek all over again!"

Reaction to the Silly News:
I don't know much about Japan's current systems (wow, do I seriously know more about the world before I was born than I do about what it is now?) but I definitely can say I'm not surprised that that's a law. The country is very tradition-oriented and tends to keep to itself, which I guess sort of gives anime an excuse for not being the most politically correct. (One more point to consider in the debate.) As for the King of the Netherlands... Well, there's gotta be some way for heads of state to have fun and get away from the responsibilities and the publicity for a while! :P

Reaction to the Serious News:
Yeah, that would've caused a bit of controversy.

Reaction to the Not News:
...Care to elaborate? Otherwise I'm probably going to look up "grand canyon haunted" on Google to see if there's anyone who believes that there literally are ghosts there. :P

And my own addition:
Anyone who reads this, here's a writing exercise idea for you. Go onto the Superpower Wiki (link below my signature) and hit "Random Page." Then come up with a character with the specific power you get. (It's okay if you click it again because you get something a bit Sueish, but if you get something really unique and obscure, please do it!)

-Twistey

Superpower Wiki: http://powerlisting.wikia.com/wiki/Superpower_Wiki

Elaboration: see the video. Haunted! (nm) by Huinesoron on 2017-05-20 07:58:00 UTC Reply

It didn't load, but it's safe enough for other devices. by twistedwindowpane on 2017-05-20 16:42:00 UTC Reply

"Safe" as in "not PPC-related" as in "my parents ain't gonna kill me"...

-Twistey

I hope that Star Trek series works out. by eatpraylove on 2017-05-19 14:01:00 UTC Reply

Also, that's an awesome picture of the Grand Canyon.

Also also, the article on Princess Mako says Emperor Akihito is considering abdication? I wonder why? And for that matter, why isn't the Japanese Emperor allowed to abdicate? I guess it's a holdover from back when the Emperor had way more political power. Any Japanese political history experts, feel free to weigh in.
Elementary has been renewed! by KittyEden on 2017-05-19 11:22:00 UTC Reply

I'm not sure if any of you watch this excellent little show, but it looks like there's going to be a sixth season! Personally, I'm delighted that I'll get to see more of Joan's wonderful fashion sense (and by extension, Lucy Liu's lovely face). Yeah I'm shallow.

Also the King of Netherlands news make me laugh incredulously, so there's definitely that

Whoa heck, are we up to Season 6? by Huinesoron on 2017-05-19 11:33:00 UTC Reply

Kaitlyn and I have the DVDs for one through... three? Four? I can't actually remember what even was happening. Something dramatic, at any rate.

May have to look up the next one and see if we can buy it...

hS

Has not watched Elementary (nm) by CodeCom on 2017-05-19 11:39:00 UTC Reply

Is interested in Star Trek series (nm) by CodeCom on 2017-05-19 08:55:00 UTC Reply