Chuck: Season Two/General Fangirlings

So, thanks to our crazy campaigning, my part being signing petitions and of course:



We are finally getting a third season of Chuck, which makes me happier'n holy hell.

Season one was absolutely incredible so for season two to take season one and kick it's ass was absolutely fantastic. Looks like the only way is up!

Unlike Nip/Tuck, the show knew how to use it's major guest stars and use them well (Teddy, seriously, the fuck is that bullshit?). From Nicole Richie as Sarah's bitchy school 'friend' to Gary Cole as Sarah's dad (seriously though, what does this guy have against the Jossverse? I saw a movie where he screwed one of Willow's friends, he beat seven shades of shit out of Mal in Desperate Housewives and now he doesn't like Jayne?) to Michael Clarke Duncan as Colt and finally the awesome double team of Chevy Chase as Roark and Scott Bakula as Daddy Bartowski. Obviously not all of them, just the first ones to come to mind.

The secondary characters in this season were also great fun, Chuck's stable of ho's, (Morgan, Jeff, Lester, Anna, Big Mike... Emmett on rare occasions), made themselves pretty much indispensable. They may have been thrown in for the humour value but they never seem redundant. And so often their storys overlap with Chuck's bigger stories. Morgan has a tendency to say things to Chuck which tie in so well to what's going on with everything he's dealing with without even realizing it.

And of course, I can't mention the Stable Of Ho's without mentioning the glorious Jeffster. It shouldn't work. It should be stupid, pointless and annoying but something about it is just so utterly fantastic. It's so real. Just two normal (well Jeff and Lester) guys with this garage band and no real talent. Just grounds the show in reality that little bit more. How many of us know people like that?

And then we've got the characters thrown into Chuck's spy world, Cole Barker being the one which comes to mind. The very antithesis of Chuck, all sexy, suave, smooth, British (obviously). He was a great characters, I want to see more of him in season three. Then there are people like Jill - who honestly? Hated her. But at the same time, she fit into the storyline really well. And for one episode spy characters I loved, let's not forget Casey With Boobs. Or Alex Forrest. The scene in Vs. Broken Heart with her and Casey cleaning the guns was utterly fantastic, Casey's facial expressions especially were hilarious.

Then obviously there are all the main characters as well. Seeing Sarah's past has just made her even more interesting to watch. I especially loved in Vs. The Cougars seeing her past. Geeky Sarah was so cliche really but at the same time, it did fit with her. It'll have been on of the other things - along with Daddy in prison all the time - which'll have made her the strong woman she is today, which is something I admire about it. Her romance with Chuck is gorgeous as well, it doesn't drag like you'd expect it to considering the length of time it's taken them to get to the point it's at now.

And Casey. Well what can you say about Casey? He's even more entertaining this year. The thing I love about him is the fact he is compromised now, he does care about Sarah and Chuck but the character hasn't become a big fluffy pussy cat. He's still Casey, his allegiances have just moved to his friends rather than his country. He's also one of the funniest characters in the show, his interactions with Chuck especially are brilliant. I'm torn between whether I like Casey more than Jayne these days, heh.

Then obviously, there's Chuck himself. Zachary Levi really is an actor to watch. If he doesn't go stratospheric, there's something very wrong with the world. Chuck as a character is one of those rare leads who really is the best character in the show (personal opinion), he's got everything a leading man should have but at the same time, he's just this real person as well. He's not smooth, he's awkward and that's what I love so much about him. He didn't take to spy life like a duck to water, he struggles and that's why he's so enjoyable to watch. While he's getting better in this latest season, it's been a learning process rather than a simple "I CAN DO IT NOW!" and that's what most shows would have skipped out on. I hope season three and the discovery of what the new Itersect can do doesn't change this too much. And his love for his sister? Love it. It's nice to see a family who are that close.

And I can't discuss the characters without a special shout-out to my other favourite, Captain Awesome. As I just mentioned on a YouTube video, when I first started watching the show, I was convinced that I'd hate Awesome. A tall, blonde haired, blue eyed, muscled beefcake who overused 'awesome'? Come on, how many of us thought that'd grate after an episode or two? But damnit, if that little bastard hasn't wormed his way into my heart. The writers and Ryan McPartlin have taken a character that could have been a one-dimensional idiot and made him into this loveable, sweet, indispensable character. I knew he'd be the first to find out about Chuck. He's just on the edge enough for it to work without it being a major deal. I hope to see more of him in the third season - I did actually say this to Zachary Levi at the T1 convention when he asked what we wanted in the new season. He seemed to agree.

The show has also had a really strong story running through which rarely dipped in quality (I only say rarely and not never because sometimes I did get a little annoyed with Chuck's allegiance flitting between enjoying spy life and hating lying to everyone). Even the episodes which should have been terrible (Vs. Tom Sawyer for example) were absolutely spot on. The 3D episode was a great idea but as I'm English and my 3D glasses were homemade - using Quality Street wrappers and an old bit of cardboard, told Zac this at T1 as well. (Cutest thing you'll ever see? Zac Levi squeeing.) But as I was saying, these homemade glasses worked to an extent but short of the ninja stars and the cereal, I couldn't see too much in 3D. But the idea was interesting and perfect for Chuck really.

The whole stories in the spy world have been incredible too. The whole Orion being Chuck's dad surprised me - no really, it actually surprised the shit out of me, sue me for not being especially observant. I knew he was involved in the spy world but I didn't expect him to be involved in the intersect project although the more I think about it, I guess it does make sense really. How else would Chuck's brain be one of those able to handle it?

I'm very much looking forward to the third season. The ideas set up in the finale have shown real promise. Waiting until March is very likely going to do me in but shit, I have the DVD's and it looks like possibly an online campaign before then as well, so I'm sure I'll manage.

But if anyone involved in the show is looking, I just have one request for the third season:

More Awesome.

That is all.

Avenged Sevenfold vs. Underoath: The A7X fans point of view.

"People might associate us with Avenged Sevenfold because they’re pissed republicans and ‘so metal’, but they’re a gimmick, they’re a circus. They can’t play and they can’t write a song. What’s worse is the way they look. If you need to have make-up and crappy names like Synyster Gates to sell records, then you shouldn’t be here. That’s not rock’n’roll to me. Arena rock maybe, but not real rock’n’roll. If you’re basing yourself on how cool you are or how many girls you can trick into thinking your band is cool you can just… take that home. I’m not saying that’s what Avenged Sevenfold do, but they do a lot of crap that makes me think, ‘that’s why you and us will never be the same’. At the same time, we don’t write a really heavy record ‘just to show all those Avenged Sevenfold fans what real metal is like’." - Tim McTague, Underoath.

Tim McTague is talking bullshit.

Avenged Sevenfold are one of the few bands these days who really put everything they have into their music. They can’t be lumped into the same group as those pretty boy bands who learn how to play three chords and sing whiny songs about chicks hating them.

To say Avenged Sevenfold are talentless is an absolute joke. Avenged Sevenfold are some of the most talented musicians around today. Brian is one of the most talented guitarists in rock today and his teamwork with Zacky is an absolute sight to behold. Jimmy is the one of - nay the best modern drummer of the past ten years and his voice is so original and unique. Johnny is an incredible bassist. And what is there to say about the vocals of Matt, the lovechild of Phil Anselmo and Axl Rose, it's original and lends itself to anything perfectly.

They’re one of the few bands around today who have got real staying power and are going to be highly thought of in years to come. They’re well on the way to becoming legends in the rock world.

How many young bands these days have earned the same kind of status as A7X have? They’ve played with Slash, were personally chosen by James Hetfield for a Metallica tour, shit, have been credited by Metallica as inspiration for their latest album. Guns N' Roses' 'Better' is an Avenged Sevenfold inspired track (not confirmed but just listen to that chorus and that solo). And Underoath have done, what?

And then to give them shit because they have stagenames and wear make up? What is wrong with a bit of theatricality in music? Their look and names don't make them any less talented. And on the same subject to assume that girls got into them because they looked like that? That is the thing which has really fucked me off. You know what? Yeah, there are going to be girls out there who are into the band for the way they look but the majority of us are intelligent individuals with minds of our own who can see past looks and to the music itself. When I first got into A7X, I wasn't remotely attracted to anything, I was just so depressed that looks didn't matter shit to me. I fell in love with the music and my infatuations with members came later, even those were built more off how they made me feel than how they looked - despite the fact they are beautiful. You want to have a go at pretty boy rock acts, try fuckin' Bring Me The Horizon and people like that.

And finally, who the hell compared these guys to Avenged Sevenfold anyway? Looks to me like they're trying to ride on A7X's popularity, yes?

The 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' leak.

So by now you will probably have heard about the fiasco with the XMO: W leak. If not, google it, I don't feel up to explaining it again.

Now, I shouldn't admit this but I need to. I did get a copy and I was very, very tempted by it. Shit, I even scrolled through a little to watch tiny snippets. In all, I probably only watched 20 seconds at most. And I absolutely hate myself for it. I'm supposed to be a real X-Men fan, along with this, I'm a huge Hugh Jackman fan and an admirer of both Taylor Kitsch and Ryan Reynolds. I can't believed I was unable to resist this.

I have now completely deleted the film from my hard drive and I refuse to watch this until it's released. I feel sick with guilt over having watched these few seconds of the film thus far.

I honestly feel that even with that snippet I have completely ruined the enjoyment for myself already and that has absolutely devastated me because this was the most exciting thing in my life at the moment. (Sad, I know but I'm unemployed, still grieving and single - there are very few yay things in my life).

So, although I know it means nothing, I apologize to everyone I have disappointed by even watching this amount of the film. If I could take it all back, I would. I'm pretty sure I've ruined my enjoyment of the movie for myself now and I deserve to have done so.

The Way We Percieve Ugliness.

A question I'm asked on a regular basis is "Are you a man with boobs?"

And it's starting to get me more upset than it should. Of course, I didn't say this, I just responded with "No, I'm just an ugly woman."

I'm actually sick of having to clarify to people that I am a biological female. Why the hell can't people just take it at face value? It's part of the reason I won't wear skirts/dresses anymore. I get laughed at because people all assume I'm a man.

Before anyone gets the wrong idea, I'm not bashing the transgender community here. I think they're some of the most brave and strong people I've ever encountered and I have nothing but respect for them. But I'm not one of them.

No, I don't look like a Hollywood starlet and there's nothing wrong with that. I mean, come on, there's no way in hell we can all look like Angelina Jolie or whatever. The world would be a boring place without our flaws. I honestly don't think anyone is truly ugly on a physical level, there's beauty in everyone. But personalitywise, people who criticize everyone's physical appearance are truly hideous. I mean, these people are the kind who'll say being over 120lb's at any height is overweight - regardless of health issues. I've been underweight before and I didn't look sexy, I looked sick.

I've been criticized for not photoshopping myself but in the end, I don't want people to see a computer generated image of myself, I want them to see the real me. I post photos so people can put a face to the name, not so I can be used a mastubatory aid. If people don't like the way I look, they can turn away, they don't have to insult me because of it.

"Vee. Not a man with boobs."

In the end, I believe there's more to a person than the way they look. It's not to say I don't admire beauty, we all do. But looks fade, personalities don't. Vacuous airheads such as those who insult myself will end up wishing they'd lived a better life as their looks fade and they realize there's nothing else to them. I may not be model material, but at least there's a brain between my ears, not just a ridiculous haircut.

The Cult Of Twilight

Now I start by admitting that I haven't actually read the books - short of the first ten pages of the first one - but I have seen the movie, didn't pay for it though. God bless friends who work in the cinema.

Now, what I have read of Twilight was not bad per se, it was just a very bland piece of literature which in fanfiction would have turned me off quite swiftly. I'm a slash fanfiction writer/reader myself and in my travels through the fandoms, I have found work which is better written and deserves more praise than this cliched prose does. Shit, I have written better work myself.

The idea of vampires sparkling in the sunlight is absurd, an idea obviously crafted to give these vampires some semblance of originality. There's only one person who should be sparkling in any situation and that is Ms. Emma Frost.

Not only are there trivial complaints like that - one of my favourite vampire shows had vampires who could enter the sun - but on the whole the series is quite dangerous.

For example, Edward Cullen seems to have been crafted to be show girls that "it's okay for a man to act like he owns you and stalk you", is this the kind of thing we want girls to be learning these days? A boy hits his girlfriend and she thinks "It's alright, Edward did this to Bella.". A young girl lets her boyfriend coerce her into something she's not ready for because Bella had a child at a young age.

I'm personally quite concerned with how obsessive the kids have become over this. I grew up in the era of the Spice Girls and suchlike, so I'm used to seeing fan psychosis but this is taking it to a whole new level. There are girls who genuinely believe that Edward is real due to this book, which to me is a serious worry. In my day (a depressing enough sentence in itself, I'm only 22), kids knew the difference between fantasy and reality. But these girls completely live in this fantasy land, they can't tell the difference anymore and it's scary.

As I said, I haven't read the book but I have seen the movie and the story was mediocre at best. Nothing in it set it apart from the countless other romantic fantasy films I've seen. If you want a good fantasy romance, try 'The Fountain'. Or try something like 'Moulin Rouge', Christian is a real romantic figure who will actually treat a girl like they deserve. But in the end, he isn't real and it's important to remember this.

On top of all this, we have the haters. The haters are as bad as the obsessive fans. If you don't like something, don't spend all your time obsessing over how bad it is and insulting it. You aren't impressing anyone with it. Why not put that energy into something more constructive? Focus on something you do enjoy rather than making all of these topics, posts, websites and spamming our forums and internet. Granted I'm being somewhat hypocritical over this, I'm not claiming I'm better than anyone else, this blog stems from my general frustration over the two camps.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is, we need to calm the fuck down. The Twihards need to understand that most of the general population aren't interested anymore and stick with their own kind. The haters need to move on and stop wasting their time.

And the rest of us? Shit, I think we all just need a holiday to somewhere that damn series doesn't exist.

Introductory Post

My name is Vanessa, but I'll be going by Vee on here. People can spell Vee. I'm in my early 20's from the Northern most reaches of jolly ol' England - well North Yorkshire, it's more Northern than Manchester where most people seem to think the North stops. I live with my dad and sister, Melly. I can't afford to move out and to be honest, I'm not ready to.

Sexualitywise, I'm a weird one. I'm not straight, not a lesbian, I'm kind of... peoplesexual. I don't use the bi label because it doesn't feel right to me and pansexual folks to me have all seemed really up themselves. Show me one person who identifies as pan who isn't a douche and I may accept it. I see beauty in all things and don't want to restrict myself. Whoa, maybe I am pan, I sound like a douche now.

I have a couple of piercings, my ears are at a 00 and I have a wee stud in my right nostril. I also have four tattoos so far. The number 1 (left thumb), a deathbat (lower back), sunflower with a ladybird (left forearm), Gambit's hand holding a charged ace of spades (right forearm). However I tend to appear relatively normal, band shirts and jeans mainly.

I'm currently unemployed and spend most of my time online looking at news stories and arguing with people. Over said stories usually. I also roleplay but we ignore that fact as many are now shaking your heads and thinking "geek". But...

I am a self-confessed geek, my main fandom being the wonderful Marvel universe. I'm an X-Men girl first and foremost. My favourites being Gambit, Rogue, Emma Frost, Mr. Sinister and Bishop. But I do enjoy them all.

"You don't even want to know where my mind is right now."

On the geeky side of things, I'm also a Joss Whedon fangirl, a 'Chuck' fangirl and many other things which will pop up. I read a fair few graphic novels. 'The Boys' is probably my favourite at the moment. I'll always be watching the movies based on the novels and nitpicking great amounts if needs be. Gameswise, I have an XBox 360 and a Nintendo DS. I need more games for my XBox. DS-wise, I'm a 'Guitar Hero' tard.

I'm also a crazed music fan. My favourite band is Avenged Sevenfold. Give me all the shit you want, my ears like what they hear, you're not about to change my opinions. So nyah. I have followed them on tour before and am now 'a familiar face' in the crowd. I also enjoy things like Trivium, Metallica, Machine Head, Dream Theater, Papa Roach and suchlike. I will listen to anything though to be perfectly fair. (Seriously, in the space of a week, I'm seeing Il Divo, followed by Papa Roach). However bands like Fall Out Boy make me want to gouge my eyes out. I myself play guitar, bass and keyboard. That's in order of preference and my abilities. My guitars are an Ibanez GSA60 and a Schecter Synyster Gates Standard.

"My baby..."

Moviewise, my favourite is probably 'The Fountain'. It's one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen in my life, every frame is stunning, the story behind it is so intricate but so moving. I think it's grossly underrated and definitely needs seeing by more people. I do have an annoying habit of loving absolutely appalling movies because of how much they make me laugh. 'The Covenant' is probably the best example of this one. I have many favourite actors, Antonio Banderas, Hugh Jackman, Robert Downey Jr (did you see 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang' in a cinema back when it came out? No? Yeah, I did.), Shia LaBeouf, Jason Statham, Jason Segel, Julian McMahon and Taylor Kitsch. Famke Janssen and Charlize Theron are probably my favourite actresses.

I'm sure you will learn more about me as we go along so for now that's basically all you need to know. Learn it, love it. Ask anything else here. :D