NERDCULTURE SMACKDOWN! POKÉMON OF THE WEEK! MAR 9-MAR 15/13!

#382 KYOGRE, #383 GROUDON, & #384 RAYQUAZA

This week we've got the legendary Weather Trio from Pokémon's Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald third generation titles from the Gameboy Advance. I have a lot of nostalgia towards the third generation because it was the first title that I anticipated with daily research into Pokémon spoilers! (Yes, really, it was a big deal to my dorky self). I especially have fond memories of Emerald thanks to the inclusion of the Battle Frontier that made the game far more replayable and, considering the strategy improved a lot with the third generation, I was very glad to have more game time. Now, let's get to business...

LAST WEEK'S POKÉMON OF THE WEEK: #618 STUNFISK

WORD OF THE DAY! 3/9/13!

double standard [duh-buhl-stan-derd]
noun
1. Any code or set of principles containing different provisions for one group of people than for another, especially an unwritten code of sexual behavior permitting men more freedom than women.

EX. I'm gonna try and compose my own thoughts on the double standard of male/female protagonist depiction in fantasy fiction and video games.

I don't remember if I've ever quite touched on this subject, but I also don't think I should have to talk about it either. The depiction of females in fantasy fiction, especially video games, has been pretty despicable in all but a few more recent examples like Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Female characters are often rendered in impractical or even ridiculous armor that only serves to accentuate their feminine figure and sexuality. The irony is that, according to several experts, things like breasts plates that are shaped to make a pair of breasts to accentuate a female form are, according to modern armorers, extremely dangerous. For example, falling in the armor could break the woman's sternum due to the way that the front of the chest plate is formed. Perhaps even more confusing is the amount of skin that is shown on female warriors in these video games-- often to comically obnoxious effect-- with females warriors, wizards, and warlocks forced to wear less material than a stripper in a bar. Having proper coverage usually not only aids in protecting an adventurer from weapons and other attacks, but also helps protect against exposure to the elements and helps keep an individual from drawing unneeded attention.

This doesn't fit my own personal definition of objectification (which, in my opinion, only applies to real people or material that encourages the objectification of real people) but it is still stupid.

PT. 1 DAMSEL IN DISTRESS

I also reccommend checking out the video above and the article linked below.

ZELDA: THE UNTAPPED HEROINE

WORD OF THE DAY! 3/8/13!

uber [oo-ber]
adverb
1. Having a specified property to an excessive or extreme degree; very.
adjective
2. Designating a person or thing that exceeds the limits of a normal example of its kind or class.

EX. Hey, Genesect! Move aside for the original uber Legendary Pokémon from my childhood!

EXTREME SPEED GENESECT AWAKENS!

What's that good readers? You would like to know what separates uber Pokémon from the lesser peasants in the other tiers? Let's see what specifics a Pokemon needs to be declared in the uber tier for the competitive scene. An uber Pokémon, simply, has to be defined by usually Smogon or Pokémon online as being far too powerful for the standard metagame. Many of these Pokémon have a combination of stats, moves, typings, and abilities that give them an edge against most Pokémon and, according to Smogon, Genesect will soon join the ranks of Groudon, Reshiram, and Wobuffet. Yes, Wobuffet is uber because with an ability to prevent Pokémon from escaping he can switch in with his huge health stat and then kill an opponent's Pokémon with a Counter or Mirror Coat faster than you can "WAH!"

WORD OF THE DAY! 3/7/13!

beam [beem]
noun
1. A ray of light; a laser.

EX. Anybody else think the use of Hyperbeam is probably fairly dangerous, as well as many other moves, that the world of Pokémon should be a constant scene of misery?

WORD OF THE DAY! 3/6/13!

disintegrate [dis-in-tuh-greyt]
verb
1. To separate into particles or lose solidness; to destroy or break up the cohesion.

EX. I always thought it was strange how the idea from Back to the Future (a fantastic film) that causing time distortions that would keep you from being created would result in a gradual disintegration, fading into nothingness if you don't amend the mistake quickly, rather than being an instantaneous annihilation.

Furthermore, unless the universe has a way to protect itself against time travel through basically preventing it or fixing itself up into a new parallel universe, and even the latter situation has many flaws, I think that time travel being used to change the past would almost instantly result in a universe destroying paradox unless it somehow came together in a nifty convenient knot.

Basically, the biggest argument for time travel, at least to the past, having not been created in the future, is that we would've witnessed it or been destroyed by it. Happy thoughts.

WTF WED! CHIPMUNKS HUNTING FOR DRAGON POKÉBALLS!

WTF WEDNESDAY PRESENTS

CHIPMUNK HUNT

CHRIS, STAMPER, & THE CHIPMUNK ANIMATION

This week I've got a trio of oddities for your pallet, starting with a delightfully off-tilt romp into the lives of animators Chris "OneyNG" O'Neil (of the Hellbenders) and Mr. Stamper of StamperTV. In the video, these over-sized manchildren chase a small rodent around their flat, capture it in Tupperware, and release it in the wild-- while discussing the likelihood of the the small rodent being made a prison-b*** for eating their cinnamon-flavored cereal.

DRAGON BALL KFC

Then, we've got the latest Dragon Ball Kai promotion (they got a new OVA film, Battle of Gods, coming out to start a new Dragon Ball continuity before GT) at KFC. It may be a surprise to many DBZ and KFC fans, but in the East these two franchises have been in cahoots for a long time and have a track record of cooperation. Fun stuff.

INCREDIBLE "TRUE" POKÉFACTS

Like did you know that you can get married in Pokémon Crystal version? And like, you can totally get gay married? Bet you didn't know that-- did ya!

WEEKLY ROUND-UP! 2/25-1/3/13!

WEEKLY ROUND-UP PRESENTS

PLAYFUL POKÉMON WEEK

7. MUSICAL MON! DEATH OF HARLEM SHAKE!

I guess THE SIMPSONS decided to jump and, rather than wait for the horse to die of natural causes, kick it to death.

6. WORD OF THE DAY! 3/1/13! Pistol Shrimp.

I wonder if a Pistol Shrimp has ever turned a claw on its own head and pulled the trigger. I mean, it's probably a big confidence booster to have a gun at the bottom of the ocean, but he probably has some deep feelings of inadequacy.

5. WORD OF THE DAY! 3/3/13! Word Processing.

Not a lot to say about the existential horror that writer's experience with a medium to almost instantly relay their words onto the white expanse of a computer monitor rather than have an excuse to ruminate on them before actually typing on a typewriter.

4. WORD OF THE DAY! 2/28/13! Encore.

How cool would it be to watch a Pokémon movie that had nothing to do with Ash Ketchum? Prolly won't happen cuz the movies are big advertisements for the TV show & other licensed products...

3. WTF WED! SCIENTIFICALLY ACCURATE DRAGON BALL ECCH!

Last week's WTF Wed was a real toughy to find solid material for but, like the sea, the internet provides.

2. NERDCULTURE SMACKDOWN! POKÉMON OF THE WEEK! #618 Stunfisk.

My recommendation is don't google Stunfisk (or really any Pokémon for that matter.

1. WTF WORD OF THE DAY! 3/2/13! Flap jack.

I need to do more WTF WotD articles. They give me a lot more flexibility.

WORD OF THE DAY! 3/5/13!

festoon [fe-stoon]
noun

1. A string or chain of flowers, foliage, ribbon, etc., suspended in a curve between two points.

2. A decorative representation of this, as in architectural work or on pottery.

3. A fabric suspended, draped, and bound at intervals to form graceful loops or scalloped folds.

4. Dentistry. The garlandlike area of the gums surrounding the necks of the teeth.

verb (used with object)

5. To adorn with or as with festoons: to festoon a hall.

6. To form into festoons: to festoon flowers and leaves.

7. Dentistry. To reproduce natural gum patterns around the teeth or a denture.

8. To connect by festoons.

EX. Festoon all the things!

MUSICAL MON! CAVE STORY W/ LYRICS!

MUSICAL MONDAY PRESENTS

CAVE STORY W/ LYRICS!

Alrighty then, this is kind of a backwards/confused Musical Monday because, unlike most brentalfloss stuff I've covered  in the past (just got up to search bar and enter his name to see some other nifty articles), I've never played Cave Story. In fact, I've never even seen Cave Story or discussed Cave Story. I've heard it off-handedly mentioned a couple of times, but according to several people this is a legendary indie game that you can get for free at the CAVE STORY FAN SITE. Or you can pick up the Hi-Def version on Steam for about ten bucks.

And I guess this means I have to play it now. Woo. I'll let you guys know what I think and whether it is truly the

WORD OF THE DAY! 3/4/13!

equine [ek-wahyn]
adjective
1. Of or pertaining or relating to horses.
noun
2. A horse.

EX.  Here is a neat equine film fact: Viggo Mortenson had such a close relationship with the two horses he rode on the set of the LoTR, that he ended up buying them after the shoot from their owners. He also bought a horse for his stunt double, who couldn't afford it.

Viggo's Popularity with the LoTR Horses

WORD OF THE DAY! 3/3/13!

word processing [wurd-praw-sess-ing]
noun
1. Writing, editing, and production of documents, as letters, reports, and books, through the use of a computer program or a complete computer system designed to facilitate rapid and efficient manipulation of text.

EX. We live in a world with word processing. I don't think that is always appreciated by the people of our age-- we live with an extremely accessible, if not universally accessible, technology that allows someone to type up anything they want, editing it during and after typing, with the ability to auto-edit with another program that checks your spelling and grammar (to a certain extent). You can even get  a program to copy down your dictations into a file for you, rather than typing yourself. In fact, it is probably only a matter of time until we have a program that can access the value of your writing and then begins to synthesize works of literature that leave us in the dust.

To think that less than a hundred years ago, people HAD to use typewriters or handwriting to write a letter, essay, or even a whole book before it could be put to print. Now, you can type it yourself, print it yourself (in small quantities), and share it with people all over the world.

Then again, just because everyone can type out a screenplay or novel in a day doesn't mean the work is ready to print. Perhaps hesitation based on reasonable assessment of one's own work versus what is in print is a good thing to keep you from humiliating yourself by trying to get your first draft published. Then again, they print some pretty terrible books these days. Modern life is complex and strange and wonderful and awful. I need a nap.