[Kenna on...] Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms

The average person does not appreciate the full capacity of intelligence, wit, and work that most authors put into their works. When the average reader’s eyes glaze over a novel, they read the basic story; not the background, not the in-depth characterization, not the symbolism, nor the motifs, themes, and language.

[Rin on...] Anime Voice Actors

     This is a journey concerning two specific voice actors, and how much fun it is to trace one voice actor through all those animes you've watched, full of "Oh shit! That was him?!" moments. Moreover, this is about how much of a weeaboo I really am, if you ever doubted it before. I follow my mind and wikipedia biographies through J. Michael Tatum and Christopher Patton's work. Step in, enjoy the ride, and remember, keep your arms and feet inside at all times. Otherwise they'll be ripped off due to the G-force of my nerdy awesomeness.

[Rin on...] I Saw the Devil

     I'll admit, I'm kind of in love with cinema from Asian countries. Japan of course, China, and more recently, Korea. I find that their dedication to the story-line, to the music, to the acting itself just seems so much more intense than our Hollywood counterparts. It's dedication on film. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule, good films we've made and bad films they've made... But, well, you'd have to share my love to understand. And yes, I know I'm biased.
     I Saw the Devil is a Korean horror/thriller by director Kim Ji-Woon, with brilliant screenplay by Hoon-jung Park. The film stars Oldboy's Min-Sik Choi and The Good, The Bad and The Weird's beautiful Byung-hun Lee. In short: Byung-hun's character, Soo-hyeon, goes after his fiancé's deranged killer. Soo-hyeon is a special agent, so you'll see a bit of fancy footwork, all very, very impressive. As an article I read stated perfectly, "He’s also an imposing physical presence, maneuvering through a series of fights and cat-and-mouse chase scenes with authentic stunt-work, which explains why Hollywood tried to utilize, but ultimately wasted, his talents to play Storm Shadow in 2009’s poorly executed G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra." ...But we're not going to talk about that one.

[Rin on...] Visioneers

     Let me first start by saying I was completely and utterly blindsided by this movie. I went into it, seeing Zach Galifianakis casted as the main character in a real movie, and thought, "This should be funny." I wasn't expecting anything heavy.
     It was a black comedy set in a slightly futuristic time period, where Zach plays George Washington Winsterhammerman, an employee at "Jeffers Corporation"--the friendliest and most profitable organization in the country. It has taken over society, more or less, and anyone that wants any kind of productive future should probably just work there. There was a dry, black humor that set the tone within the first five minutes. Though this tone would never be lost, it would evolve.
     I laughed, don't get me wrong. Even during the parts that struck home at long last, there were bits of absurdity you couldn't but help laugh at. The storyline itself is absurd, focusing on a "pandemic" of people literally exploding. Of course, no one can distinctly tell why this is happening to people, only that having dreams and being tired are some of the symptoms. Imagine that.

[Gamma on...] Casey Anthony

LOL

[Gamma on...] The death of free speech in gaming reviews

You should be aware that there's a bill out there that, if left unchanged and pushed through, would effectively destroy a large majority of the gaming community. Specifically the reviewers or the "Machinima" style videos. Here's what congress has summed the bill up as:

S.978: A bill to amend the criminal penalty provision for criminal infringement of a copyright, and for other... OpenCongress: "OpenCongress Summary

Makes unauthorized web streaming of copyrighted content a felony with a possible penalty of up to 5 years in prison. Illegal streaming of copyrighted content is defined in the bill as an offense that 'consists of 10 or more public performances by electronic means, during any 180-day period, of 1 or more copyrighted works' and has a total economic value, either to the copyright holder or the infringer, of at least $2,500."