#because reality is already disappointing and mid-ish as it is. no need for more of that in fiction thanks

[nonokoko13]

Ok so today I found out Nanbaka ended some time ago so I spoiled myself and man, the ending was so rushed and angst for no reason and overall disappointing??? The author threw very important lore info and a plot twist that felt all out of the blue near the ending... I love angst but when it is well written, and this was not. Their friendship was real, even if prior to the series start wasn't I know what I read was real friendship and this ending ruins for me one of the main themes of this show.

I don't post a lot about this series because I started it before I even had Tumblr but Nanbaka was everything to me back then. Even after I was forced to move on because the english translation stopped and finding all chapters fan translated was very difficult I'd find myself thinking about these characters sometimes and I almost dare to say that it was a comfort series. Not being able to keep reading it without going through a Odyssey was already upsetting but the ending? What in the actual fuck is that. Is not even the fact it was a sad ending what bothers me the most, it's that it was sad and felt bad written or without proper building 🙁

This literally summaries my opinion regarding what happened to the main group:

Now I feel bad? Bad like when you receive bad news irl? Like I've received a punch in the stomach or a betrayal from a dear old friend

If spy x family or yuu & grim (including all of their friends in twst) separate in the end I'm losing all hope of being happy and relaxing with this trope without fearing the chance of getting backstabbed again forever

God please let them stick together or I'm going to make you the same thing you have done with me

#♡ — shut up noko #sorry I needed to vent #endings like that get my trust issues acting up /srs #how are you gonna enjoy a lighthearted family found series if you can't lower your guard bc you're afraid this will happen?? #on top of that it was all the time a comedy gag slice of manga except for some action and blood here and there #and then they really decided to struck me with a bitter ending. Hurt/comfort without the comfort. all misery #and it feels so rushed and unnecessary and unnatural and too vague for an ending???? #I wish I could unlearn it and keep believing they all live happily together in prison #because reality is already disappointing and mid-ish as it is. no need for more of that in fiction thanks #never thought it could happen to Nanbaka something worse than not getting a continuation of the anime #or being difficult to almost impossible to find chapters for non Japanese fans. Or being criminally underrated and forgotten for most peopl #but Murphy's law strikes again. There's always another level in the misery basement that is being fan of this series #sorry I don't handle well series I hold dearly having endings that I dislike or being cancelled #I was still recovering from Inside Job being cancelled so Netflix could give B*g f Mouth another season and now this #why God likes to ruin my day so much #nanbaka

[mubal4]

Time on the Trails – Humphrey’s Peak

 A week or so ago, I finished up reading How to Stop the Pain by Dr. James B. Richards.  He had a quote that seems right for this story, “if it is worth doing, then it is worth doing wrong until I can learn to do it right.”  That quote is funny to me considering this was my 2nd attempt to summit Humphrey’s Peak.  I captured my first try in my blog here, a few weeks ago.  Humphrey’s Peak is the highest mountain in AZ, sitting at roughly 12,630-ish feet.  You can see the sign in the one photo of me at the top with the marking: my apologies for the pasty white old-man thighs.  It was an awkward stance and I will get to the reasoning in a bit 😊.  Yes, on this attempt, I did make the summit, using Humphrey’s trail this time.  Last go around, I tried the Weatherford Trail to Humphrey’s, and I got stopped because of the feet of now that seemed to swallow up the trail right before the intersection to the top.  Oh well, after that first time, I figured there would be more chances over the summer when the snow melts.  

 My intent was to get up here prior to my race in mid-July but wasn’t sure how long it would take for that snow to be gone (there was a ton) and if I would be able to fit it in with other commitments we had with the family and training.  Last weekend however, I heard from a few friends that the snow was mostly gone and there were a few folks I knew that made the summit via Humphrey’s trail.  That gave me some hope that I might be able to get up there before the race.  I’ve been working on getting a lot of vertical climbing in these last few weeks in preparation and this adventure certainly doesn’t disappoint with over 3500 feet of gain.  Plus, being at over 9500 feet the entire 10+ miles and mostly over 10,000 is great training for being at high elevation, which the race will promise. Throughout the week, I didn’t think about it much more and had a few options to contemplate.  I could do Humphrey’s, but it is about a 5 hour round trip drive and I hadn’t been sleeping well at all the last few weeks.  I was hoping to “sleep in” on Saturday and the thought of getting up at 4am again wasn’t ideal 😊.  Friday night, Robin and I thought about some ideas but we did decide the getting some extra rest would be best since I’ve been putting a lot of time in training and needed to get some sleep, or at least try.  We both got up early, that would be Bear’s doing (our 4-month-old pup) but we had a nice morning with the dog, reading, meditating, kind of just taking it easy.  The forecast down in Phoenix was calling for 105* and it was already 9am so the idea of getting in any vert training in the valley here was becoming less attractive. So, it was either do Mount Ord again, or, make the trek up to Humphrey’s, both promising much cooler temps.  We decided what the hell, I will head up to Flagstaff to see if I could kick Mr. Humphrey in the jimmy!!!  (old Beavis and Butthead reference 😊).  

 This is when things began to get a bit, as we like to say, “not ideal.”  I checked the forecast and it was going to be in the low 60’s – beautiful. However, they were calling for 25 mph winds in Flagstaff.  Flagstaff sits at roughly 7,000 feet so it was certain winds would be much higher on the way up.  Good news is, I came better prepared gear-wise than last time 😊.  On the drive up, unfortunately, there was an accident, as well as on the way back down.  This is something that happens often driving up and down I-17 in AZ.  There are some options to turnoff and circumvent the delays, but I’ve found it is just best to wait.  Therefore, my 5 hour round trip, ended up being around 7.5.  It happens and, although I was a bit frustrated at first, I let it go.  In reality, sitting still in traffic for a few hours was much easier than the gale force winds that we experienced!!!  The Humphrey’s Peak trailhead sits at the parking lot for Snowbowl ski area.  As I pulled into the lot, right around 2pm, it was full. I figured there was going to be a ton of folks on this trail and may make it difficult navigating the top (without the winds). As I stepped onto the trail, I looked up to see Mr. Humphrey smiling at me and may have heard him say, “come get some.”  Haha – these are things that go through my mind 😊.  The first few miles, all a gradual climb up was good and are mostly in the shadows of Aspen and pine trees, so you get a little bit of a canopy. There was a good amount of people, but not overcrowded.  This part of the trail reminded me a bit of the Appalachian Trail in PA with many roots and rocks.  It was good thoughts for the first couple of miles.  As the climb continued, I began to hear the wind whipping the tops of the pine trees around.  As I got higher, there were some remnants of snow but nothing like the last time…..but that wind was howling. Just about at mile 4, as you begin past the tree line, this was where the wind began punching me in the face.  I had no idea how fast it was going but it almost knocked me over a few times.  The last 1.25 miles is all above tree line walking along the ridgeline, entirely exposed, for the most part.  However, the views are amazing.  You can see some of the shots in the pictures.  I was able to see part of the trail that I tried 3 weeks earlier and you can see most of the snow was gone.  Gave me some hope that I would be able to try that route again soon, ideally without the freeking wind.  The last ¼ mile I was pretty much crawling, trying not to blow off the mountain.  It is almost like walking on a spine, just 12,000 feet up in the air with high winds.  The last few feet I stood up and the wind, blew me up the rest of the way until I got behind this makeshift wall and almost fell into the lap of the 4 hours that were enjoying the views.  And those views man, incredibly.  It is a 360* shot all round the area.  It was definitely worth the traffic, wind, and climbing.  I got my token picture at the top with the sign and yes, you can see my thighs and I am at a weird stance, that is because the wind was blowing so fast that I wanted to make sure I didn’t blow over.  When I checked the forecast later that night, I saw the recordings were approximately 60 mph at the ski resort down below, about 3500 feet. So, maybe 75 mph at the top? Who knows but they were crazy?  A few of us set off back down at the same time and we were almost slidding down……you remember growing up when we sat on our butts and slid down the stairs?  It was the same thing…..only on the top of a mountain, with high winds, and rocks every where :O!

 The way down was uneventful, for the most part.  Did see a rescue going on.  A woman fell and banged up her ankle bad.  They thought it may have been broken.  Stayed for a bit as the EMT’s did their work and getting things set to carry her down the mountain.  It was going to be about 3 miles down, strapped to a board that they were going to be carrying here.  God bless those folks, hard core.  I did see a sweet family, what looked to be like the grandfather and 4 of the grandkids. Could have been a boyfriend/girlfriend within that group but 4 kids, early 20’s or so, and what I could only imagine their grandfather.  They made it to the top and I thought it was just great, seeing them all together. Rest of the way was smooth sailing and was looking forward to cracking a beer and watching the sun come down from the Snowbowl parking lot.  Unfortunately, as I got to the car and began changing gear, the wind was still blowing like crazy. At that point, the beer, and the wind, didn’t sound great and I just wanted to get in the car and head home. As I mentioned, I hit an accident, about a 2-hour backup on the way home so didn’t get back to late.  It was a great training day and good test all around.  To be able to get to experience that mountain and those views. Definitely worth doing it all wrong the first time, and even in some cases this time.

 Gotcha this time Mr. Humphrey

#humphryespeak TOTTAZ AZtrailrunning PAAZRNR RFP LFRF earnyourvert

[dumbestpersoniknow-blog]

The Path to Avengers: Endgame. Part 9 of 21--Captain America:  The Winter Soldier

Observations and opinions. Feel free to disagree. I ain’t trying to convince you of nothing.

Since the last time we saw him, Steve Rogers has been adjusting to the modern world after fending off an alien invasion. You know, like guys do after being asleep for 70 years. An old friend of Steve’s shows up unannounced. SHIELD has been developing a fleet of flying aircraft carriers along with an algorithm to defeat threats before they happen. A SHIELD divided against itself cannot stand.

Enter The Russo Brothers. They have directed three of the movies on My Top Five MCU Movies List.  Don’t ask me what the other two are because I don’t really have a Top Five List.  But the Russo Brothers do have three movies on it. Some say these movies are homogeneous in tone and that the directors aren't allowed to have distinct styles. That's unfair. Compared to the Joss Whedon Avengers movies, where physics not need not apply, The Winter Soldier is more akin to Jason Bourne or The Raid. Things have mass and matter not felt in the more dreamlike Avengers.

Compare Black Widow movie to movie. When the Winter Soldier is hunting Black Widow down through the streets. The sense of impending doom is palpable.  Scarlett Johansson projects great fear, like inescapable death is upon her. She reminds me of Hank Schrader on the ground at Uncle Jack’s feet. In The Avengers, when the Hulk chases her through the Helicarrier, Johansson looked like she was acting scarred. Being chased by the Winter Soldier, Black Widow looks terrified. That’s a distinction and a difference.

Also, in this movie, she is a superbly skilled fighter and athlete. In The Avengers, she had Jedi moves which stretched plausibility. The latter can be fun for an audience to watch. The former is more engaging. Heroes can get hurt. They are afraid. In a completely fantastic and unrealistic movie, reality seems to exist. An exception here is when Sam jumps from the 41st floor into a helicopter. That moment feels out of place. I would have better accepted that moment if he would have broken a few ribs there. Or a finger. Or his watch. Something should have broken.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is good about varying itself up, delving into a different genres. The first Captain America was a WWII flick. Ant-Man is a heist caper. Doctor Strange is a medical drama. And The Winter Soldier is a 1970s style political thriller, akin to The Parallax View, Black Sunday, Marathon Man, and many more that I haven’t seen--but would highly recommend anyway. It was a fine time for a genre. But All the President’s Men is the one we care about here because Robert Redford is in it. No, Three Days of the Condor is the one we care about here because Robert Redford is in it.

Like Three Days of the Condor, The Winter Soldier is about a guy who stumbles across information he doesn’t understand that forces him to go on the run from his own organization. Max von Sydow is kind of like The Winter Soldier. Captain America is like Robert Redford. Robert Redford is like Cliff Robertson. Cliff Robertson is like Uncle Ben. Come to think of it, the Condor is a CIA analyst. So he's more like Jack Ryan than The Winter Soldier. So forget I said anything about The Winter Soldier. Where was I? Ah, yes…

In The Winter Soldier, Agent Sitwell says the algorithm is targeting “...Bruce Banner, Steven Strange, anyone who’s a threat to Hydra.” This is Doctor Strange’s first mention— 2 1/2 years before he had his own movie. What is Strange’s timeline? Is he already a sorcerer at this point? Or did the algorithm figure he would be The Sorcerer Supreme? The latter makes more sense. Between his car accident and the end of his movie might have been a timespan of years. The events of that movie likely have started by the time of The Winter Soldier.

These movies do so well with weaving together with each other to build a universe, but they have disappointed when it comes to integrating the TV shows. The best use of movie/TV connectivity is with The Winter Soldier and Agents of SHIELD. AoS aired on a Tuesday. The Winter Soldier was released on a Friday. Four days later, Agents of SHIELD was completely changed by the events of the movie. This kind of thing is rewarding for an audience.

The Russos say a couple scenes were inspired by Alfred Hitchcock: the slow car chase and the elevator fight. The fight in the elevator has a beautiful setup. CA boards an empty elevator, a couple toughs follow. One has his hand tensely on his weapon. Down a floor, more toughs enter. Down another floor, more toughs enter. Steve notices he is surrounded in a small space. He sees sweat dripping down one man’s brow. He slowly realizes he’s in trouble before trouble takes action. Great buildup by directors who understand classic film language. It is like watching Tippi Hedren smoke a cigarette while crows amass on a playground.

The buildup is also reminiscent of Cary Grant being alone and helpless at a bus stop in the middle of a cornfield as he realizes he’s about to be assassinated by a “kamikaze" crop-duster. Hmmmmmm. That scene doesn’t seem as ridiculous while watching North by Northwest as it does while describing it.

At one point in the movie, we see an old newspaper article about Howard Stark dying in a car crash. While Zola says “accidents will happen”. Later, Black Widow hands Stave a dossier on The Winter Solider saying, “Be careful Steve. You might not want to pull on that thread.” This is all groundwork for Civil War. It’s so 20/20 with hindsight.

At another point, Fury says, “The last time I trusted someone, I lost an eye.” With the revelation of Captain Marvel, that’s kind of funny. Speaking of Captain Marvel, when Fury thought he was dying in The Winter Soldier, he handed Steve a flash drive with SHIELD info on it. Why didn’t he hand off the Captain Marvel pager?

Some miscellaneous tidbits:  --It’s difficult to say, “On your left” without feeling like you’re doing a Captain America impression.—Steve has seen War Games?  Watching that movie was surprisingly high on his To Do list.--Co-director Joe Russo plays a doctor in this movie. He also plays a corpse in Civil War.--Maria Hill ends up applying for a job at Stark Industries. —Fury’s tombstone reads "The path of the riotous man…” Very Jules Winnfield-ish. I guess that’s a better epitaph than most Jules quotes would be.

Stan Lee Cameo— Security Guard at the Smithsonian Institute.

Mid Credits Scene—“It’s not the age of spies anymore, or even of heroes. It’s the age of miracles. And there’s nothing more horrifying than a miracle.”

Post Credits Scene—Bucky goes to the Bucky exhibit at The Smithsonian.

Returning Characters— Captain America, Black Widow, Bucky, Nick Fury, Agent Sitwell, Maria Hill, Peggy Carter, Zola, Councilwoman Hawley, Senator Stern, Cameron Klein

#captain america #steve rogers #winter soldier #the winter soldier #bucky barnes #robert redford #three days of the condor #all the president's men #black widow #avengers #marvel cinematic universe #mcu #avengers endgame #endgame #north by northwest #cary grant