Leslie Jones and the Internet

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

Can the world give Leslie Jones a break? The woman has been berated on Twitter for her role in “Ghostbusters”, bashed on the red carpet, and now, her website has been hacked. She’s been degraded since her received role in the  new “Ghostbusters” movie wherein she plays a subway ticket seller as to where the other women are portrayed as scientists.

Personally, I liked Jones’ role in “Ghostbusters”  because her character has a major point: she knows the city. She knows how to get places easily and quickly. Street smarts are her strongest suit to which she heavily uses. Plus, most people seem to forget that Ernie Hudson’s character in the original “Ghostbusters” was just an average Joe who wanted a job. Ernie wasn’t a scientist and neither was Leslie. Sure, the other women knew about their fields and how to get to places, but Jones knew how to fulfill that duty in a quicker fashion which aided them in their ghostbusting. Could they have also made her a scientist? Yes and she still would have been an intelligent woman, but maybe street smarts wouldn’t have been her best trait.

Celebrities are standing with Jones from her brutal cyber attack and for good reason. There was no reason for the woman to deserve such harsh treatment. No one knows if this will be the last strike against Jones, but the woman stands strong – even calling out Twitter for its policies and the users who bashed her based on gender, race, and “Ghostbusters” role.

Here’s hoping Jones won’t face anymore cruel attacks and will be able to live her life in peace. When she will resurface online, no one knows, but she’s a powerful woman who has allowed nothing to stop her from doing anything thus far.

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So what are your thoughts on Leslie Jones?

Off Season Fun at the Shore

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

Summer is winding down which means the shores will soon be empty of tourists and travelers. Shores like Wildwood, Ocean City, Long Beach Island, and many others often end their summer season around the teens in September. It’s a week after Labor Day, so naturally families will utilize that weekend to squeeze out the very last of summer.

However, just because the summer season comes to a close doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the shore. Here are some things you can do during the off season at the shore.

5. Shop

Take note of the shops. Most shops stay open for a week more after the off season to snag some last summer deals. Usually stores promoting summer wares and food are closed, but others may still remain open. For example, Ocean City NJ has a Christmas shop and a few arcades on the boardwalk that are open year round.

4. Snag Some Sales

Speaking of shops, since it is the off season you can score some great deals. You can get clothes for $10 and under as well as other accessories like purses. Even some arcades that offer a specific point amount for prizes reduce their points as a part of ‘end of summer sale’.

3. Do a Photoshoot

Want to do an uninterrupted photoshoot on the beach? Go during the off season. You’ll still get sun, experience the sand, and be at peace with no gawking onlookers or photo bombers.

2. Get Exercise

While it is good to exercise any time during the year, the shore during the off season is a good place for working out. You can run up and down the boardwalk and/or the sand, you can bike along the boards, do yoga on the beach next to the sound of waves, and don’t have to worry about the crowds getting in your way.

1.Experience the Local Culture

You can always take in the local culture. Each beach town has its own quirks. For example, Long Beach Island is more laid back and quiet as to where Wildwood is a haven for teenagers. While their boardwalk shops may be closed, you can still enjoy the local eateries, the small businesses, and try something new.

Thanks for reading tonight’s entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to comment, critique, share, and subscribe.

So tell me, do you like to go to the shore during the off season?

Kenny Baker: One With the Force

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

This is the year that will probably go down in history as ‘the year when everyone amazing passed on’. We’ve lost Alan Rickman, David Bowie, and now Kenny Baker aka R2D2 from “Star Wars”. Kenny Baker died in his sleep on August 13^th, 2016.

Baker was born in Birmingham, England on August 24, 1934. Due to his size of 3 ft 8 inches, Kenny Baker wasn’t expected to live past his puberty. His stature as a little person gave way to respiratory problems which accrued during his life and caused him to be in a wheelchair. Despite his height and illness, Baker became immortalized as R2D2 when he took on the iconic role in 1977. But before Baker stepped inside R2D2’s suit, he worked as a circus performer, a pantomime, and a nightclub actor at the age of sixteen. He was a part of a musical duo called the “Mini-Tones” with his friend, Jack Purvis, before he died in a car accident and Baker started his film debut.

Despite his height and health problems, Baker didn’t want to be treated differently and would inform others of this. His wife, Eileen, saw him on the “Michael Parkinson TV Chat Show” and wrote in, wanting to meet him because she too was a little person. After their meeting, they married shortly after only for Eileen to die from epilepsy in 1993. Not for one day did she treat him differently, not even when they made a family together.

Baker has cemented a place for himself in the hearts of many from fans to George Lucas and even his niece, Abigail Shield. Baker likes to be known for other roles he has played such as the Plumed Dwarf in “The Elephant Man”, Fidgit from “Time Bandits”, a part of the Goblin Corps from “Labryinth”, and many other memorable roles. He even starred as a jester in the music video for “Safety Dance” by the band, Men Without Hats. Baker was living proof that big things (such as talent, kindness, and professionalism) come in small packages.

Rest in peace, Kenny Baker – you were the droid we were looking for.

Thank you for reading tonight’s entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to subscribe, share, comment, and critique.

So tell me, what Kenny Baker role did you most enjoy?

An Outbreak of Perseids : 2016

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

With the end of summer just around the corner, now is the perfect time to enjoy the Perseid meteor shower. The Perseids will be hailing the Northern Hemisphere skies tomorrow between midnight and dawn into August 12^th. However, you can still sneak a peek at the meteor shower in the evening.

This Perseid meteor shower won’t just be any meteor shower though. This Perseid performance is expected to be a Perseid outburst. Meaning that the amount of meteors we’ll see will be doubled. This means there will be double the chance to wish on shooting stars, snap some pictures, and have an excellent Perseids viewing party.  The last time a Perseid outburst erupted was only in 2009.

Be sure to go where there’s little to no moonlight in the northeast. There you will see the sky be dazzled with meteors from the depths of the cosmos.

Thank you for reading tonight’s entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to share, subscribe, comment, and critique.

So tell me, do you have celestial viewing parties?

Handling Abusive Relationships in Steven Universe

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

“Steven Universe” is an animated series that shatters other television shows. It covers relationships, coping, homosexuality, and now how to handle an abusive relationship.

In the recent episode, “Alone at Sea” Lapis Lazuli is trying to come to terms with herself when she fused with Jasper. Fusion is a process where two gems come together to form one person. Fusion is often viewed as a relationship especially by Garnet who is always in her fusion state – when separated, Garnet becomes two individuals: Ruby and Sapphire.

Lapis discussed her feelings with Steven and is then confronted by Jasper. Both characters share signs of abuse throughout the episode that can be applied to abuse victims in real life.

Lapis believes she doesn’t deserve something as nice as a surprise boat trip, keeps her abuse a secret (until venting about it to Steven), blames everything on herself, doesn’t think she can handle being in charge of anything, believes she is a terrible person (especially for her time as Malachite), and has incredibly low self-esteem which in turn has hindered her growth and actions.

Jasper on the other hand wants to return to that toxic relationship. Jasper wants to exploit the fusion for its power and will do anything to be Malachite again. She begs despite knowing how damaging her time as Malachite was (which could allude to Stockholm syndrome), she stalks Lapis, she feeds Lapis’ self-degradation by calling her a brute, and is willing to annihilate those who oppose the Malachite fusion.

Yet despite Jasper’s pleas, Lapis stands up to her abusive partner. We see Lapis struggle to make the choice to fuse or not and ultimately, she declines. She doesn’t want to feel the same way she did when she was Malachite, she doesn’t want to be with Jasper. She makes herself clear and firm in her decision and even defends Steven when Jasper attempts to de-gem him for convincing Lapis not to fuse.

Lapis is an example of an abuse victim who handles the situation properly with clarity and resistance. Lapis is a beacon for victims to reflect upon: they should tell people about their abuse, they should not let their abuser do as they please, they should not give into their abuser, and they should stand up to them. Albeit, these are complicated concepts for victims to achieve let alone perform, but they must be done in order to progress their growth. Lapis has stood up to Jasper and with it, she is beginning to grow. So many can do the same thing when they take their first steps in confronting their abuser just as Lapis did.

Thank you for reading tonight’s entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to comment, share, critique, and subscribe.

So tell me, what are your thoughts on “Steven Universe”?

Alola: Trials, PokeRiding, and Adventure!

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

Every week we seem to receive more information regarding Pokemon Sun and Moon. Needless to say this makes me thrilled for the new game. Here’s what we have this week:

New Pokemon:

                -Gumshoos – Normal type. The evolution to Yungoos, ability: Strong Jaw (or) Stakeout. A stakeout Pokemon with a tenacious personality that waits for prey to approach without wavering.

                -Mudbray – Ground type. The pre-evolution to Mudsdale, ability: Own Tempo (or) Stamina. A donkey Pokemon that loves playing in the mud and has a small body that bears super strength.

                -Minior – Rock/Flying type. Ability: Shields Down (which gives way to its true form). A meteor Pokemon whose core is based on what debris it has absorbed in the stratosphere.

                -Fomantis – Grass type. The pre-evolution to Lurantis; ability: Leaf Guard. A sickle grass Pokemon who will fight anyone in its path to retrieve its dire needed photosynthesis.

                -Lurantis – Grass type. The evolution of Fomantis; ability: Leaf Guard. A sickle grass Pokemon who lures opponents to them with its sweet smell before taking them down.

                -Oricorio – Fire/Fying (Baile Style), Electric/Flying (Pom-Pom Style), Psychic/Flying (Pau’u Style), Ghost/Flying (Ghost Style). Ability: Dancer. The different styles reflect the typing of this dancing Pokemon whose style changes from island to island.

Alolan Pokemon: classic Pokemon from the original 150 that adapted to Alola’s vast and different environments.

                - Alolan Vulpix – Ice type. The pre-evolution to Alolan Ninetails; ability: Snow Cloak. Avoiding the normal habitats of other Pokemon, Alolan Vulpix took their place in the snowy mountain packs. It came to the region with humans.

               

 -Alolan Ninetails – Ice/Fairy type. The evolution to Alolan Vulpix; ability: Snow Cloak. Regarded as emissaries who live on the snowy mountain peaks, this Pokemon can be a blessing to those in need or a curse to those who wish to destroy.

               

 -Alolan Sandshrew – Ice/Steel type. The pre-evolution to Alolan Sandslash; ability: Snow Cloak. Frequent volcanic eruptions caused this once considered desert Pokemon to move into the snowy peaks where it adopted its new appearance. Albeit, its new form has made it sluggish, but it can slide on the ice using its stomach.

               

                -Alolan Sandslash – Ice/Steel type. The evolution to Alolan Sandshrew; ability: Snow Cloak. The spikes on its back cause it to be slower, but they are not to be messed with.

-Alolan Exeggcutor – Grass/Dragon type. Ability: Frisk. The strong sunlight has changed Exeggcutor’s normal form into what the Alolans call the true form of Exeggcutor. It has a fourth face on its tail.

Z Dance: Z Moves need a Z Crystal to help your Pokemon unleash a powerful move once per battle.  For special Z Crystals, some Pokemon may need to learn a move correlating with the Z Crystal’s type. Ex.: If Pikachu wanted to use Bloom Doom (a grass Z Crystal move) it would need to know Grass Knot. Some of the Z Moves are: Bloom Doom (Grass), Inferno Overdrive (Fire), Hydro Vortex (Water), and Gigavolt Havoc (Electric). Nintendo will be selling a Z Ring to players, when the Z Ring is activated in the game it will vibrate, light up, and play sounds.

Island Trials: These are small quests given by Trial Leaders of each island. There are four Trial Leaders: Lana, Mallow, Sophocles, Kiawe. After each trial is complete, trainers will fight against Totem Pokemon that can call upon other Pokemon to help them fight you. The only Totem Pokemon that we know is Tapu-Koko (Mele Mele Island), Lurantis (Akala Island), and Gumshoo – though their island hasn’t been specified. Lastly, there’s the Grand Trials wherein you fight against the Kahuna of the island which will grant you access to the next island. Hala is the only Kahuna that we know thus far.

-PokeRiding: Finally we can ride Pokemon – but it’s the ones that Nintendo has presented to us, which is still cool. These Pokemon can be summoned at any time for our aid and I strongly believe they may replace the HMs. We have Charizard for flying, Lapras for surfing, Sharpedo for surfing/breaking water based obstacles like rocks, Mudsdale for walking on rocky terrain, Stoutland for finding hidden objects, and Tauros for running through and breaking blocks.

Thanks for reading tonight’s entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to comment, critique, share, and subscribe.

So tell me, what Pokemon Sun/Moon information do you like the best?