death

Good night, Carrie Fisher

Posted on by elemonated

Image result for carrie fisher 2016

This one hurts.

I’ll admit, I’m only a new Carrie Fisher fan. When the hype burned strong for Star Wars recently, I had the fortune of being surrounded by some intense and amazing fans. I’m talking watchers, readers, writers, etc. Having only seen the first three movies as a child and not particularly caring for them, my friends were eager to immerse me into the story and the lore and then I was hooked and ever so excited for the next few years. I haven’t gotten to all of the literature that exists yet but it’s only a matter of time for me. The princess and general Leia Organa was a fascinatingly written character that I’m glad wasn’t immobilized in a book by George Lucas.

But that’s not why I adored Carrie Fisher.

I flipped through the bios and interviews and started to read about her because the moment someone tries to convince me some actress didn’t age well I go check them out so I have a few real arguments while I’m scoffing at how unnecessary comments like those are. Of course, Ms. Fisher was and always has been, beautiful, and her writing and producing and honesty has far outstripped her, anyone’s, physical beauty. So I wrote off those comments as words from people who don’t understand how time works.

But that’s not why I adored Carrie Fisher.

I heard she hated her slave outfit.

I heard she told Daisy Ridley to fight artistic choices like that before The Force Awakens if that’s not who she wants to be. And then I read her saying it.

I heard she has bipolar and openly talks about her mental illness and her drug abuse. And then I watched her talk about it.

I heard her dog was Instagram famous. I follow him, though I’m not sure if I’ll be able to follow the feed for a while.

There’s a sort of rough humor people seem to stumble out of the fire with if the fire made them stronger. I’ve heard it in voices of men and women who’ve been in the forge once or twice. Some of their armor trembles or sounds ready to crumble if you tap it too hard. That’s the character we most see on screen too: inwardly scared and uncomfortable underneath their plate metal, hoping only to achieve enough happiness to sweep away and forget why they had the armor on in the first place.

Some people seem to want angels out of their role models. They want the right about of vulnerability to toughness, and they don’t want them talking about their struggle too much. I think that’s fucking stupid.

Carrie Fisher stepped out in general’s boots into the moonlight and died drowning in it, strangled by her own bra.

RIP Eric Medalle

Posted on by elemonated

The Pokemon Company International Creative Design Director Eric Medalle died on Sunday during a windstorm in Seattle while taking his youngest daughter for a drive. Their car was crushed by a tree. His daughter, who’s 2, has sustained only minor injuries, thank god. He also has another daughter, aged 6.

Medalle was credited with several games in the Pokemon series according to Bulbapedia:

– Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire: English & European Graphic Design
– Pokemon X and Y: English & European Graphic Design
– Pokemon Black and White Versions 2: English Version Artwork
– Pokemon Conquest: Graphic Design
– Pokemon Black and White Versions: English Version Artwork
– Pokemon Ranger: Guardian Signs: English-Version Graphic Design
– Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver Versions: English-Version Artwork
– Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia: English Version Artwork

A friend of his wife’s (they work at the same school) has created a YouCaring page to raise funds for the family.

RIP Eric Medalle.

Good night, Alan Rickman

Posted on by elemonated

Alan Rickman has died at the age of 69 from cancer.

I wanted to write a little something to remember him by for myself, as well as include some bits of his talent just in case anyone’s forgotten about how amazing this man was because I am just incredibly sad and I don’t really know what else to do.

As a child of the Harry Potter era, reading and watching it fervently, going through as many ups and downs as the characters and the actors that I could know about, the most important of Alan Rickman’s roles to me was Professor Snape. He made Snape accessible, funny, steely but gentle, and his motivations complex and understandable to the point where even JK Rowling changed her perception of the character after watching Rickman’s interpretation. Fanfic after fanfic about the softer side of Snape, and the possible misunderstood an maligned nature of the Slytherin house in general, came out full force after his portrayal because of his portrayal.

We all fell in love. I know I did.

He is missed by that cast and Rowling herself.

Good night Mr. Rickman. You will be sorely missed.

Sir Terry Pratchett

Posted on by elemonated

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-31858156

Sir Terry Pratchett

I’m trying not to cry in the middle of my law class and my brain immediately shouts:

“But I haven’t finished all of your books!”

“I haven’t met you yet!”

“You were working on books despite your Alzheimer’s, you were, I heard! Were they finished? Did you finish your legacy?”

and “Please don’t go.”

Sir Terry Pratchett, you were one of my favorite authors, one of the smartest authors I’ve ever read, and one with such heart besides. Death is glad to walk with you now, while the rest of us mourn.

JumpStart lays off most of the old Neopets staff

Posted on by elemonated

Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure I’m the only person in my peer group who cares about this, but I’m going to write out a little timeline anyway because it cuts to what’s left of my childhood nostalgia.

Back in 1999, Adam Powell, a programmer and game designer, and Donna Williams, a web designer and graphic artist, started Neopets as a way to “keep university students entertained, and possibly make some cash from banner advertising.” (Source) It soon garnered more than 600,000 views per day, and those working on the site reached out to investors to help cover costs. I probably joined in 2001 when I was about 9 when they had become a serious gaming site, and had taken off a lot of the non-Neopets jokes and branding. It was, at that point, almost totally converted to a children-oriented site where swearwords were monitored and personal information couldn’t be shared, but there were still themes of dark humor (murder mystery complete with decapitation!) in some of the content put up, and some of the female characters of the site were perhaps more scantily-clad than on a regular kids’ site.

In 2004, the team developed a premium membership in place of banner ads and some virtual perks. I never personally took advantage of these because I was still school aged, but I did take advantage of the free trial once!

In 2005, Adam and Donna sold the site to Viacom for $160 million (Source), and by 2007, a lot of the site was completely redesigned. The site itself, the pets, the shops, the worlds, etc, and some of the changes were made to make customization of pets (namely clothing and backgrounds) feasible, which opened up the possibility of pay-to-play features that they launched later in the year. Neopets was promoted through Nickelodeon at that time with lots of different types of merch and gift cards and a minishow. Some people were disgusted that TNT (The Neopets Team, as they are collectively referred to as) had sold out, and along with their demographic aging on them, the site became less and less popular. Users who were still on it however were more or less accepting of the changes as the function and core of it was still the same. Myself included, though I started to use the site less frequently.

In 2014, Neopets was acquired by JumpStart (Source), and basically everyone hated that shift. Server lags, glitches, didn’t add anything new– and on March 6th, nearly all of the Neopets staff were laid-off for unknown reasons. (Source)

It doesn’t look good. I think I may have to say good bye to a huge chunk of my childhood, and it is not a nice feeling.