ThaOGDreamWeaver

If you're a serious comics fan you might know that (it's quite a deep cut for the casual nerd). But in-universe in the MCU, that's not known yet - and might turn out to be something or someone else entirely depending on the whims of the writers. That's one thing I like with the MCU: they're fully allowed to play with this stuff and create something that uses the source material - overtly or subtly - but isn't hidebound to it, and works for the medium you're watching.

Loved Tony Leung - as I've mentioned (a lot) on other threads, Marvel have trouble writing good villains. Wenwu was a great, charismatic and fully relatable villain, and is up there with Keaton's Adrian Toomes. (The only other villain I'd consider worthy is Hela, because of the fabulous Cate Blanchett, but in a more Disney campy evil queen way.) The dance-fight with Fala Chen was one of the most romantic ass-kickings I've ever seen, and quite beautiful in a very Crouching Tiger way. There's a lot of other borrowings - including unsubtle hints that the Rings have a mind of their own and are addictive to the owner, much as with another preciousss ring I could mention. Yeah, yeah, very Artifact Of Doom. That's redeemed a bit in the mid-credits sequence, which - as well as a Wong song - kicked off a new and tantalising mystery. The Rings aren't magic, alien tech or anything the smartest minds on (or off) Earth can make sense of... but they *are* phoning home. That's nice writing: never explain until you have to, and leave them wanting more.

Marian Call - Nerd Anthem

So, if you happened to be on the Twitters yesterday, you might have noticed #StarTrekDiscovery trending... ...not for good reasons. Paramount decided to take it exclusive to its own platforms, both in the US and Canada... and Europe, where those platforms don't yet exist. P+ will also be exclusive to a very high-priced tier of the evil Murdoch/Sky empire in the UK, and then it's an add-on cost on top of that. So Burnham and co got snapped off Netflix at one day's notice. There was much wailing and gnashing of targs. And much as I will miss her royal highness Grudge, First Of Her Mane, Queen Of The Space Lanes, Empress Of Hearts, And Supreme Lady Of Oh Lawd She Comin', I'm not changing ISP and shelling out for one show - or three if you count Lower Decks and the upcoming Strange New Worlds. But it got me thinking. How many platforms do you sub to - and what shows do you consider "essential"? Would you consider cutting the cord entirely and ditching regular TV in favour of just streaming? Me: Netflix. Not been watching as much as before, considering cancelling, but they do come up with some stuff that's good. (There's also Red Notice, which... isn't.) I might keep it for when I start travelling again, though, since a whole bunch of new stuff unlocks outside the UK (again, thanks to Sky). Amazon Prime. I get this free with my parcel deliveries, so I consider it a freebie. My partner likes it more than I do, but have been enjoying The Boys and the return of Leverage. Disney+: given this is the House of Mouse, I would have never expected to love it as much as I do. But the killer part of their app isn't Disney, Pixar, or even Marvel. It's Star, which has the best selection of movies and shows out of all of them bar none: including a whole bunch of FX and HBO shows (AHS, Walking Dead) and a pretty wild selection of flicks from The Favourite to Grosse Pointe Blank, plus quite a few classics. The Disney docs are Definitely value for money. Regular British TV: given the BBC is still commercial free, has reams of great content, and has built killer streaming apps on top of it (BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds for radio), I still watch it - though usually timeshifted. Channel 4 - who, along with the BBC, can claim responsibility for most of the great British films of the last three decades, also have good content and a decent streaming app, though infested with interactive commercials.

Hehehehe... another friend on Twitter thought the same thing about the purple colour coding, though specific to the person you mentioned. And I'd love to see them back, naturally. There is one other very interesting theory about those breaches that hit Twitter...

And Morris the Hundun. I'd never heard of a hundun before and their various descriptions (beings of primordial chaos; unintelligible; chaotic; messy; mentally dense; innocent as a child) remind me a lot of my cats.

So the No Way Home trailer just dropped...

Aretha Franklin - Jump To It (Extended Mix)

Alestorm - Wenches & Mead

Wind Rose - Diggy Diggy Hole

Steve Martin Vs Kermit - Duelling Banjos

Toni Basil - Mickey

Majika Jezowska - Rats On A Budget

The O'Jays - I Dig Your Act

Black Sunshine - Electric Skunk

Tower Of Power - Maybe It'll Rub Off?

Nat King Cole - Nature Boy David Bowie - Nature Boy Aurora - Nature Boy NumNum Cat (ft. half the internet) - Nature Boy

Jimmy Ruffin - Living In A World (I Created For Myself)

Thornleaf Collective - Forever Dark

Finally got round to seeing Shang-Chi, and if this is the level they're aiming for from now on, seems the future of the MCU is in good hands. Aside from the beautiful visuals (quite a few lifts from Crouching Tiger, but none the worse for that), snappy scripting, some of the best plotting and pacing they've done so far (good understanding on what an audience needs to be shown... or doesn't), and finally another worthy villain in Tony Leung... Plus, of course, Wong doing karaoke. Good stuff. That said: until cinemas recover fully, is it still a gamble doing movies on this scale and budget for a while?

Ditched the Stranger Things game I was playing (man, I loathe games that totally roadblock you at a certain point to get your IAPs). Got the upgraded PUBG Mobile "New State" version, and enjoying taking down suckas on the new maps. IAP/reward structure is a little harsher than before, mind, but you don't need it to play. Upcoming: never been tempted by Borderlands really before, but Tiny Tina's Wonderlands seems very much up my street, in terms of setting, sense of humour, and dedication to enjoyment and fanservice at the expense of canon, conventions, or logic.

Gloria Lynne - Whatever It Was You Just Did

Force Of Nature - Sneak Chamber

Beastie Boys - The Rat Cage

Rufus Wood - Before 2001