WORD OF THE DAY! 9/15/12.

gremlin [grem-lin]
noun
1. A mischievous, and often invisible, being, said by airplane pilots from WWII to cause engine troubles and mechanical difficulties.
2. Any cause of difficulty, troubles, etc.

GREMLINS TRAILER

GREMLINS BUGS BUNNY CARTOON

ROALD DAHL'S THE GREMLINS

EX. Gremlins (1984) was a film that had a considerable effect on my childhood; one of my first stuffed toys was a really good make of Gizmo that I still have somewhere. His eyes are a little scratched from being bumped on jungle gyms, a few stray strands hang from an ear, but he is still the same guy that was my friend when I was little. There is another side to the coin.

Gremlins was one of the first horror movies I ever saw, on TV, and gave me some rather unpleasant nightmares. A particularly frightening one involved me waking up, going to my parent's room, and finding one of these monster about to attack my Mom and Dad.

As for today, I think that the film and its title characters have a weird place in the back of my mind, and I wouldn't be surprised if I turn to them for inspiration. I definitely recommend the film, especially around Christmas as a darker classic, if nothing but to better understand the creation of the "little monsters" comedic horror film and to appreciate the soundtrack & puppetry.

WORD OF THE DAY! 9/14/12.

hobbledehoy [hob-uhl-dee-hoi]
noun
1. An awkward, gangly invidual, especially a teen.

EX. Slippy is such a hobbledehoy. I'm tired. Blah. I must do a barrel roll into my bed...

WORD OF THE DAY! 9/13/12.

cat-astrophe [kat-as-truh-phe]
noun
1. Any mishap, misfortune, accident, fiasco, or failure as the result of cats.

EX. And now for a small cat-astrophe.

WTF WEDNESDAY! ZUBATS & CATS & RAPTORS, OH MY!

WTF WEDNESDAY PRESENTS

ZUBATMAN: SUPERSONIC

Sometimes even WTF can't be contained to just one subject and, this week, I've got a three course meal of something new, something less than new, and something a little nostalgic.

First up, linked above, Zubatman: Supersonic, the follow-up to the Zubatman trailer, which I talked about on a very special WTF Wedndesday article a few weeks ago. This time we get to see Zubatman's special weapon in his war against crime. I can't wait to see what else we'll get from Terminal Montage in the near future.

PSYCHIC PEABLES'S CATS!

Oh Psychic Peables, how you push the boundaries of how insane flash animation can be and yet, how I oddly feel like I've been tricked by society into just wanting a hundred more videos about cats, in the way you animated them, for our enjoyment. I can almost certainly guarantee you internet famousness? But then again, that would be selling out, unless you wanna sell out, which is also a legitimate path. Anyways, to the people still reading this watch the video linked above...

THE CRITIC- JURASSIC PARK II

The Critic is probably one of the funnier animated sitcoms in a genre that, even to this day, is relatively unsuccessful-- unless your show creator is named Groening, McFarlane, or Judge-- and, like most series of the genre, has only survived fading into the ether through the aid of syndication, the internet, and Netflix. The Critic is special because, basically, it was Family Guy before Family Guy, and really is the show for anyone who finds Hollywood to be simultaneously amusing and abhorrent. I'd recommend you check it out.

And that's all folks.

WORD OF THE DAY! 9/12/12.

pulverize [puhl-vuh-rahyz]
verb
1. To reduce to dust or powder, as by pounding or grounding.
2. To demolish or crush entirely.
3. Slang. To defeat, hurt badly, or figuratively render helpless.

EX. I can happily say that, while I have had the fantasy of pulverizing a video controller, console, or cartridge, I have never actually gone so far as to render any of my products useless through an act of impotent revenge on a non-sentient (some would argue with this) device.

BONUS:

WEEKLY ROUND-UP! 9/3-9/9 2012! BRONY APPRECIATION WEEK

WEEKLY ROUND-UP PRESENTS

 BRONY APPRECIATION WEEK

 7. WORD OF THE DAY! 9/8/12. Filial Rivalry.

I was a little worried about Word of the Day getting stale but, two days in a row mind you, I made up terms- neologisms that either reflect an element of fiction or internet culture- that help express ideas in an interesting way. I don't just want to celebrate wonderful words; I want to become part of the process of creating new words that help shape the way we define our worlds and our lives. If you have any ideas for new words, lemme know by commenting below.

6. TABLETOP TALES: THE HAUNTED WURMWOOD DECK: MIRROR MIRROR ON THE WALL EDITION!

I have been playing a ton of magic lately, literally indoctrinating and helping three friends learn how to play, and as I prepare (and can't wait for Return to Ravnica) I decided to burn off some of that excitement with, not one but, two deck articles this week. The Wurmwood Deck is one of my favorite decks and, mayhaps, it will be seeing some Golgari additions soon.

5. TABLETOP TALES: A DECK OF BLOOD & PORCELAIN: TEMPERED GLASS EDITION

Hey, I just notice a "glass" motif between the Mirror-Madness and Porcelain, ha! Anywho, one of my deck-building philosophies I live by is that you shouldn't just build the deck that'll win; you should build the deck you want to play. Build it and good times will come.

4. WORD OF THE DAY! 9/7/12. Pugnificent.

And, perhaps, my favorite of the two made-up words/terms I came up with last week was the affirmation for the "so ugly its cute" gimmick with the combining of "pug" and "magnificent" to create something I feel could be used to describe a lot of situations and hope to hear exclaimed at some point in my life.

3. WORD OF THE DAY! 9/5/12. Melee.

Not much to say about this one, but it reminded me how passionate gamers are about their games (including myself). As someone who wants to make board games and card games for a living, or at least the world-building and story stuff for them, I spend a lot of time thinking about such things...

2. WORD OF THE DAY! 9/4/12. Argentum & Brimstone.

I got to mix my love of Hanna Barbera with my love of fictional science?! Caloo calei! A win-win for all involved.

1. WORD OF THE DAY! 9/6/12. VICE

If the worst thing I ever did on Dumbledore Shot First is to do a lopsided and somewhat silly analysis of a children's cartoon show that I enjoy infrequently, than I'd say I'm doing pretty decently. If you want to see part two of the analysis, CLICK HERE.

BONUS VIDEO & ANOTHER BONUS VIDEO

WORD OF THE DAY! 9/11/12.

handheld gaming [hand-held-gey-ming]
noun
1. The act of playing a handheld or portable video game console, usually while sitting on the toilet or as a sedentary passenger on a trip.

EX. Handheld gaming is a special kind of hobby, a pleasure, that is usually reserved for the young-- and no, we're not talking about mobile gaming. Mobile gaming is the TV killing the Radio Star in this situation by replacing impressive cartridge based systems that made up the majority of my childhood fun with fiddling around with some mobile farmville shenanigans.

Handheld gaming allows you to turn a boring trip into an adventure. Mobile gaming...well, it lets you trade cows?

MUSICAL MONDAY! JONTRON SCOOBSTEP MUSCLE MUSIC!

MUSICAL MONDAY PRESENTS

POGO'S SCOOBYSTEP

And another triple feature seems in order, given there have been no run away hits in my book in the last week and because I love sharing more with you guys when I can! This week we got a triumvirate of nostalgia, weirdness, and certainly nerdy stuff for you to enjoy.

First up we got another remix from the internet's favorite remixer Pogo, famous for his remixes of Disney audio and imagery, as well as media from other films, into intensely satisfying, beautiful, and oddly creepy music. His work often gives off an unsettling feel, but that just makes it more and more interesting-- kind of like looking around an old antique shop full of oddities or falling down a well into a Wonderland.

It is always simultaneously magnificent and mortifying; a dream that you can't quite remember, but want to revisit. Make sure to like, subscribe, and download.

And next up we have...

MUSCLE BEACH

Old Spice has a way with advertising their material that speaks to the internet; they tickle our heartstrings and our brains by exploiting a mix of bizarre imagery, cult celebrity cameos, and, occasionally, a really clever idea. The music video posted above is based on the newest internet ad and interactive musical thingamajic, starring action star Terry Crews, and literally asking us to remix and play with their tools to create kooky music. Check it out at the link below...

OLD SPICE MUSCLE MUSIC

And lastly....

KATY PERRY- FIREWORK FEAT. JON TRON

Perhaps my favorite moment of Jon Tron's show, where he reviews retro and newer video games, is at the end of the review of Dino City. Check out the review below.

DINOCITY BRO!!!

I've actually featured Jon Tron on her before as part of GAME GRUMPS Word of the Day article, where some of Jon's awesome fans remixed his and Egoraptor's dialogue (and impromptu music) into hilarious homages.

And that's all folks. Thanks and remember, "you're a firework."

WORD OF THE DAY! 9/10/12.

meditation [med-i-tehy-shuhn]
noun
1. The act of meditating.
2. Continued or extended thought; reflection; contemplation.
3. Devout religious contemplation or spiritual introspection.

EX. Does falling asleep in class equal meditation? Maybe Yoda could give me the discipline to help me read the roughly fifty pages a day, five days a week, with out skimming that I need to get to the end of the semester...I can dream.

WORD OF THE DAY! 9/9/12.

discord [dis-kawrd]
noun
1. Lack of concord or harmony between persons or things.
2. Disagreement; difference of opinion.
3. An inharmonious combination of musical tones sounded together.
4. Any confused or harsh noise; dissonance.

EX. Why would I continue to sow discord on my blog by talking about the ponies? So far, so good and so far, so boring-- I gotta finish this review because, unfortunately, my blog does obey a very specific rhythm that affords no discord. Plus, it would be a weak move not to finish up this two-parter for you guys.

Click Here For Part 1 of the Review of Return to Harmony

BONUS: Check Out a Discord Heavy Musical Monday

And now, time to get back to the review...