Twin_Two's Xanga

What's Happened to the REAL Wizard of Oz?

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 20:26:56 GMT

When someone mentions The Wizard of Oz, what automatically comes to mind is the classic movie by MGM. At least I’ve learned that from experience. Everything you see that’s Wizard of Oz related revolves around the classic musical. Whenever I mention something from the books to someone, I always get the same reactions, “What?”, “Who’s that?”, “What are they?”, “That wasn’t in the movie, was it?”, “That’s not in The Wizard of Oz, I don’t think. Then again, I haven’t seen the movie in along time.”

While I’ve been a fan and lover of the classic movie ever since I was a kid, it saddens me that everyone nowadays seems to think that this movie is the only thing Wizard of Oz, especially when it’s a very poor adaptation of the book (YES, it is! I don’t care what people say.). The books themselves have been pretty much forgotten entirely. Sometimes I wonder if people even realize that the movie was based on a book. If you do ever see the books in a book store, they more or less have been cut up and watered down to the point where they’re nothing but cheap illustrated children’s books. It’s really sad because the original stories that are NOT cut to pieces are some outstanding and breathtaking fantasy books. In my opinion, they're some of THE best fantasy books out there next to Chronicles of Narnia and the Archives of Anthropos. I’ve read as many of them as I’ve been able to get my hands on, and I can honestly say that L. Frank Baum had a huge imagination that I’ve grown to highly admire. And it irks me that his whimsical world, lovable characters, and unique creations have almost been forgotten and have been torn apart and watered down so much over the years. I don’t think anyone now knows how deep, fun, beautiful, and sometimes dark these books actually are. They have no clue that there really IS a place called Oz. It’s not a dream like it’s portrayed in the classic movie. People have no clue that there are more lands and more worlds than just Oz, and that there are more ways to get to Oz than simply going there via a tornado. They don’t know who the Wheelers are or who the Woozy is. They don’t know about the battles with the Gnome King and how the true ruler of Oz, Ozma, was enchanted to look like a boy in order to save her life. They don’t know who the Saw Horse is or the little land that’s made up of living sweets. YES! These are the TRUE Oz books!!! There are dragons and an evil witch that makes herself look like a griffin. Santa Claus even comes around to visit at one point.

Now, I have no idea if Baum was a Christian or not (I really hope he was because he’s one of the people I want to meet when I get to heaven), but I see a lot of Christian symbolism in the Oz books when I read them. It’s kind of odd since you don’t think of them as being Christian fantasy and they aren’t classified as that. I forget now which book it’s in, but there’s one part that’s stuck with me ever since I first read it. It’s when Dorothy decides to stay in Oz for good and wants her uncle and aunt to come there to live with her instead of them having to live in the bleakness and misery of this world. So Ozma uses her magic belt to whisk them away and bring them there to live in her palace. If I remember correctly, Aunt Em was in the middle of washing dishes and suddenly she found herself standing in Oz. The moment Ozma brought them there; they were gone in a blink of an eye. Maybe it’s just me, but that part was just so powerful in more ways than one. It just makes me think of how it’s going to be when Jesus returns for His people. All of us who truly believe in Him will be whisked away from the bleakness and misery of this world in a blink of an eye. And we’re suddenly going to be standing before Him and the beauty of heaven to live with Him forever. Dorothy's aunt and uncle had no idea what had happened to them. They were afraid and startled because it had happened so fast and unexpected, yet they were taken in by the beauty of Oz. It was probably the most beautiful thing they had ever seen in their lives. That’s the same way it’s going to be when the Lord calls us home. I dunno if one of us will be standing there before the throne of God with a plate in one hand or not, but when the trumpet of God sounds (magic belt?) it’s going to happen when we least expect it.

These are the Oz stories I know and love. While the MGM musical might be entertaining and fun to watch and is something a good many of us have grown up with, I have to say my heart will always be in the original Oz books. I really wish that someone would take the books and make them into GOOD movies much like they’ve done with the Chronicles of Narnia. That would truly make me happy.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (MY thoughts)

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 06:02:25 GMT

I went to see ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’ with my cousins this past Monday. Rarely is there ever a good movie playing when you have events going on in your life. So it was a special time and treat for all three of us. All I can say is: It is one awesome movie! Wow! The best movie of the year, in my opinion. I’m saddened that a lot of movie critics (and even some fans) are giving it bad ratings and reviews. Then again, I guess I should have expected it. Critics hardly ever like the movies that are good and entertaining.

The graphics and action are amazing and positively mind-blowing. And seeing it on the big screen with surround sound made the experience even better. I literally felt the floor under me vibrate with the action going on. And I swear that several times I thought the Transformers were going to walk right out of the screen and charge through the seats where we were sitting. This would truly be one epic movie to watch in 3D. My first words I uttered when I walked out of the theater? “That was SO awesome!” I felt like turning around and buying another ticket and seeing it again. Haha!

Bumblebee was simply adorable, as he always is. I’m telling you—movie Bumblebee has GOT to be the sweetest and most adorable thing ever created. There was one scene in particular that just tugged at my heart and made me melt into a puddle of goo. Sam gets mad at Bee for blowing up half the house and Bee starts acting like a little kid—kicking at the ground and getting frustrated and pouty. So the conversation soon leads to Sam telling Bee that he can’t go to college with him and Bee bursts out crying. It was so cute. Although it’s interesting that Bumblebee STILL did not talk in this movie! Even after we saw him get healed by the Allspark in the first movie. I don’t know the reasoning behind that, but it’s kinda weird. Apparently everyone loved him talking with his radio instead. So they decided to keep it like that.

And I will NEVER look at home appliances the same way again! LOL!!! You’ll understand why if you see the movie (*cough*The reason Bumblebee blows up half the house*cough*). I’m not gonna give away spoilers because I know how frustrating and annoying that can be, especially when you’re trying to avoid them.

There were so many great moments in it, though! And a lot of humor, some surprises, a few sad moments, and tons of action and fight scenes that are just…. There are no words to even describe.

I loved Starscream so much better in this second movie. I guess because he had a bigger role and acted like his old self. Plus, they upgraded his design a little bit, so he looked better than he did in the first movie. And I was pleased to see some Megatron and Starscream conflict too (which the first movie was badly lacking in).

My only complaints are: Even though ‘Revenge of the Fallen’ is a wonderful movie that I highly recommend, it does have a lot of bad language in it (so be prepared). There is also several small ‘sexual humor’ scenes that I highly felt were unnecessary and were just thrown in for the sake of having something perverted and smutty. I seriously do not understand why they feel a need to put innuendo and perverted content in movies that are meant to be fun for any age. I probably never will understand.

Other than that, it is a totally awesome thrill-ride movie. Do I think it's better than the first one? It's really hard to say. My cousins and I both thought that it IS better than the first one after we saw it. But now I can't really say they can be compared with each other. Both movies are equally good in their own way, in my opinion.

“Today’s lesson is about stuff and how it works!”

Fri, 22 May 2009 05:56:35 GMT

Gotta love Transformers Animated quotes. It’s about time we got a good cartoon series with catchy quotes that you always find yourself saying. Very rare to find a cartoon series like that nowadays.

Anyways, it’s been awhile since I updated this thing. At the moment of typing this it’s 1:46 AM. I really should get in bed because I’m about to drop right here on the keyboard, but oh well. I’m the type of person who just tries to stay up as late as possible. I dunno what it is about me. lol! I literally have to force myself to go to bed sometimes, even though I might be sitting there with one eye open. Even when I get IN the bed, I have to lay there for awhile and read or play a video game or watch a cartoon or something before I actually turn the light out. It’s like half of me wants to go to sleep but the other half wants to stay up.

There have been a ton of things going on around here lately. I’ve been busy with spring cleaning and stuff. Been trying to whip our house into some kind of shape. My grandparents are coming to visit this Saturday, and then my cousins are coming in June. Can't wait!

Other than that, it’s felt like summer around here. UGH!!! Hot and miserable and restless, sweaty nights in bed. I can’t wait until fall and winter get here.

I am Bee

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 05:23:44 GMT

Transformers Character Test from Dumb Spot!
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It’s like the Super Bowl for Transfans!

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 06:06:51 GMT

So Saturday was total epicness. FINALLY, after waiting since July of last year… the Transformers Animated season 3 premiere arrives! Phew! There I was… almost shaking with excitement as I ran my tape back and stuck a disc in the DVD recorder, preparing to watch and transfer it to dvd. I was squealing inside as I watched the title come on and the Transformers theme music begin to play. It was the moment I had been waiting SO long for! Finally, I was going to have answers to my questions.

And… it… was… worth… the… wait.

Before long, I was acting somewhat like one of those insane sports nuts watching the Super Bowl. Gasping and nearly going into tears every time someone got hurt, cheering the side I favor (Which happens to be both, actually. So I dunno how that works, honestly.), and being shocked beyond reason whenever there was a major revelation in the plot.

Yeah, I’m a hopeless fangirl.

I was greatly saddened at the loss of one of the characters. Although, I’m not going to count him as being totally dead yet until the end of the season. A lot can happen between now and then.

I’m not gonna give out any spoilers (no, I’m not that type of person. So you can relax and take your cursor away from the back button).

After the show, comes the chatting and rambling and the “Ohmygoodness, did you see it???” that clogs up the Internet lines for hours (maybe even days or weeks) and makes non-fans look at us weird. As I suspected, Deviantart was flooded with excitement when I signed on that night. It’s safe to say that spoilers are flying in all directions over there. I pity the poor people who haven’t had a chance to actually see it yet. I, myself, have been chatting non-stop with my friends about it. I think we should have gotten together for a tailgate party.

I so cannot wait until this coming Saturday!!

Begins with a Star and ends with a Scream

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 07:31:43 GMT

“Staaaaaaaaaaarscream!!!!”

I don’t know why, but I can hear Megatron shouting out that famous line at ear-piercing levels right now.

Lately I’ve been really addicted to Starscream. lol! What? Don’t look at me that way. It’s true. YES!! I’ve become a Starscream fangirl! I’ve fallen into his trap! What is it about this ornery robot?? Every Transformers fan that’s female LOVES Starscream. And the guy fans look at us like we’re nuts. At first I couldn’t see what was so special about him, but now….. I’ve fallen for him too. lol! There’s just something about him that’s addictive and it’s hard to explain. I can’t seem to get enough of him. My favorite version of him has to be the Transformers Animated one, followed closely by the original G1 version. I really like the Armada one too.

But the strange thing about it is Starscream seems like a character that would easily rub you the wrong way and get on your nerves, yet we love him to pieces. To sum up his character and personality: he acts like an overgrown spoilt brat who thinks he’s better than everyone else and should get everything he wants. He’s got a huge ego problem. If he can’t get his way, he’ll get it by any means necessary. It wouldn’t surprise me if he actually threw a tantrum in one episode. He’s a lying, traitorous, sneaky, greedy, rebellious, disobedient, mean Decepticon who’s starved for attention. He acts tough, but he’s a coward underneath. He hates Megatron’s insides to no end and wants to assassinate him and take over as leader. However, every time he attempts getting rid of Megatron it always backfires on him in some way. He tends to be one of those characters that has the hardest time doing anything and comes out looking like a fool and being more of a comedy relief. For some reason I think of Donald Duck’s theme song when I see Starscream, “Who gets stuck with all the bad luck?”. Haha!!

I dunno. I find him to be an interesting and fun character. You want to feel sorry for him and smother him in hugs and kisses and pamper him (at least us fangirls do), but at the same time you know that everything that happens to him is brought on him by himself. So when it all comes down to it, he always gets what he deserves. Although, I do feel so sorry for him. All he needs is a friend.

Yes, we all love the Screamer.

Almost time!!!! Season 3 of TFA!!!!

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 03:54:40 GMT

<insert fangirl screaming and squealing here>

Needless to say, I was ecstatic a few days ago when I finally found out that Transformers Animated season 3 will be airing March the 14th in Canada. I'm not exactly sure when it's due to arrive here in the states, though. I've heard it could be around 2-4 weeks after the Canada showing. But I'm gonna keep my eyes glued on my local TV listings starting this weekend.

I have a feeling this season is gonna be epic! Just found out that Cyclonus is gonna be one of the new characters!!!

Booyah!

That is all.

I'm Now Selling My Artwork!!

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 04:27:08 GMT

Yep, you read the title right. I signed up and got myself a Zazzle store this week, and I am now selling my artwork on items such as t-shirts, mugs, mousepads, bags, etc. It's really cool and fun. I don't know why I haven't done this before now.

If you want to check out my store you can either click on the flash panel at the bottom of my journal or go here: http://www.zazzle.com/thesilverdragon*

You might want to bookmark it and check it often because I will always be adding new items.

2009: Year of the Transformers

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 21:38:54 GMT

If there’s one thing I learned in January, it’s that YouTube is a lifesaver when it comes to watching things you can’t afford to buy. I never thought I’d see myself going on YouTube, especially since we’re on dial-up and it takes half a year (figure of speech) to load something. But when it came to the middle of January, I went on YouTube and started downloading the Transformers Animated bonus shorts that are exclusive to the dvd sets because I haven’t had the money to buy the dvds. Since I already have both seasons taped from the TV anyway, I’m really in no hurry to buy the official dvds, but I really wanted to see the bonus shorts. To make a long story short, a few of my friends over on Deviantart kindly gave me the links to a few of them that someone has uploaded to YouTube. I mainly tried it to see how long it would actually take to download them. Since they’re super short, it was easier and quicker than I thought. So I’ve been watching and re-watching them on YouTube ever since. Hopefully I can afford to buy the dvd sets later this year, but at least I got to see the shorts right now. I’ve been trying to download an episode of the G1 Transformers series too, but since it’s split up in two 10 minute parts, it’s giving my Internet connection fits. I dunno if I’ll be able to download it or not. It took about 2 hours to download 3 or 4 minutes worth (that was before my Internet decided to shut itself down). We’ll have to wait and see.

Despite all of the chaotic and somewhat depressing stuff that’s been going on around my household since 2009 started, I’m getting extremely excited about a few things that are going to be taking place in the upcoming months ahead. For starters, the third season of Transformers Animated will be airing either in March or April (I’m not really sure when exactly. I need to be looking that up soon.). I have been eagerly waiting for this season ever since July of last year! It originally was scheduled to show in September 2008, but the release date was moved to November/December before finally being moved, yet again, to spring of this year. I can’t believe they’ve tortured us fans for so long, especially since they left us in a MAJOR cliffhanger at the end of season two! I can feel the excitement bubbling inside me at just thinking about it. All this time I’ve fought to remain spoiler free as much as possible, aside from looking at concept art and pics of the new characters that will be introduced.

New characters!!!!! *drools* The new characters that I know for sure will be appearing are: Perceptor, Wheeljack, Hot Shot, Rodimus Prime, Strika, Blackout, the Jet Twins (Jetstorm and Jetfire), and Red Alert. The ones I’m most excited to see are Wheeljack, Hot Shot, the jet twins, and Rodimus!! I love Hot Shot in Transformers Armada, and his TFA version looks soooooooo adorable! Can’t wait to see what his voice sounds like. I also cannot wait to see Wheeljack in action. I hope they kept his G1 personality of being a mad scientist with a knack for blowing up things accidentally. If he does have that same personality, it’s safe to say Detroit will never be the same… if there’s anything left of it after he comes there.

The thing I don’t understand, though, is why they’ve made Red Alert to be female. Red Alert in any Transformers series has always been a male character. It’s going to seem really odd. lol! I never thought they’d stoop to gender bending (that’s a fan term used when characters have had a gender swap, for those who don’t know.). I’m not complaining or anything. I’m just saying that it’s weird. If they’re in that bad need of femmes (term used for female Transformers), then they should have brought in some that already exist, like Airazor, Chromia, or Botanica. Or make up new ones like they did with Lazerwave (Starscream’s female clone). I mean, they’re introducing Strika in the third season, why not some of the other females? It would be cool to see how Botanica would look in the TF Animated style and if she’d still transform into a plant. But whatever. It’ll be interesting to see how it all turns out.

I’m also getting really excited about the second live-action Transformers movie, 'Revenge of the Fallen'. Naturally, I’ve been keeping spoiler free, but I HAVE heard rumors about some of the new characters that are expected to show!!! Among them are: the Lambo twins (Sunstreaker and Sideswipe), Soundwave, Arcee, and Ravage!! *gasp!* Lambo twins and Ravage!!! *is excited* I’m hoping they’ll include the Dinobots this time around, but I haven’t heard any rumors of them yet. I think they would be awesome to see in live-action. Ravage is gonna be interesting to see as well. I wonder if they’ll have Rumble? Since Frenzy (that little tiny skittering bot that was taking the form of cell phones and stuff) was introduced in the first one. They’re twins, so I thought it was kinda odd for them to have Frenzy without Rumble. I have to admit, though, that the cartoon version of Frenzy looks SO much better and cuter than how they portrayed him in the live-action movie. Not that it changes anything; I’m just saying. lol! Then of course, there are the rest of Soundwave’s tapes. It’ll be curious to see if any of them show too, like Laserbeak.

Eeeeep!!! Can’t wait to see what the rest of this year holds!!!!

Swindle Asked Me Out on a Date

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 04:55:49 GMT

And knowing what a charming, cute mech he is, I couldn't say no. So here's a picture of my Valentine's date for this year:

Yeah, I'm going for the dashing Cybertronian black market salesman type now. Anyway, he showed up on my doorstep with a lovely bouquet of flowers. Although, he didn't really understand what earth females see in such a gift. We had fun--took a drive, and I sat and listened to him ramble about how great the Vok are. He told me I should meet them sometime if I'm ever in that part of the galaxy. Then he told me stories of his business history. Naturally, he tried selling me a few things too, but I refused. Apparently he was trying to impress me in his usual con artist way. He gave me a lot of his awesome, heartmelting smiles, which sent me into puddles of goo.

*sighs happily* My Valentine's Day is complete.