The Fox and the Hound

One of my Christmas gifts this year was the Disney movie, The Fox and the Hound. After watching the movie I remembered how some people interpret the movie, generally, see it as an allegory for racism.  After all, you have Tod the Fox and Copper the Hound Dog are friends as kids, two animals of different species. Now I can see this, especially if you look at the time period where the movie takes place. I'm guessing pre-WWI because of the cars that were driven were similar to Model-T's. So we have two friends who look totally different in a time before the Civil Rights, and these two friends are told that they can't be friends who they are. Also, Copper's owner wants to kill Tod. Well, I'm not totally convinced.

First, unlike Disney's Zootopia, the characters in The Fox and the Hound aren't all animals. So, it is hard to clearly say who is supposed to represent what race. Second, why does Copper's owner, Amos Slade, want to kill Tod? Is it just because he's a fox? No, it is because Amos thinks Tod was trying to eat his chickens. I'm sorry, but I can understand why Amos's reasoning of wanting to protect his livestock. Plus, when he confronts Tod's owner, Widow Tweed, he tells her that if he ever sees Tod on his property again he'll shoot him. He doesn't actively go after Tod at first. Later when Amos does hunt Tod, once again because Tod is on Amos property and is full grown. Then it becomes personal to Amos and Copper because Amos's other hunting dog, Chief, gets hurt while chasing after Tod. This leads me to my third point, why Copper turns on Tod. It isn't because of their species being enemies. Copper tries to help Tod until Chief gets hurt. Copper blames Tod for Chief's injury and that's why he tries to hunt Tod down. He turns on Tod because of Chief's injury, not because Tod's a fox. So, yes I can understand why people think The Fox and the Hound is about race, but that's not what I think.

I think The Fox and the Hound is about three things. The first is the consequences of having a wild animal as a pet. Tod is a fox and a wild animal, not a house pet. I think Amos's fear that Tod would attack his chickens is a legitimate concern once Tod got older, and his instincts took over. How many times have we heard about someone with more money than brains owning a tiger or lion as a pet until the animal mauls its owner? Tod has to be in the wild, and as heartbreaking as that scene where Widow Tweed leaves Tod in the forest, it is the right thing to do. Considering the fact that Tod ends up getting a mate after spending one night in the woods, but that maybe just a Disney thing.

 The second is what happens when you let hate consume you, like what nearly happened to Copper and Amos. First, they were poaching on a game reserve, which is illegal. Next, they were nearly killed by a bear because they chasing after Tod. Is avenging Chief's broken leg worth dying for? Copper and Amos thankfully realize this.

The third and final reason is that things change. When they were kids, Tod and Copper said they would be friends forever. Well, they did and they didn't. While Tod saved Copper from the bear and Copper saved Tod from Amos, they don't all go back home and live happily ever after playing together like they were kids. The film ends with Copper napping in his dog house and Tod being with his mate. They grew up, and while some will claim that the film is saying keep the status quo; first looked my first point about Tod being a wild animal. Second, Tod and Copper grew up, and as much as we wish we could, we can't stay kids forever. Tod and Copper fondly remember their friendship and realize that they have changed.

Well, that's my take on it, watch the movie yourself and consider how you would interpret the movie.

I'm Colin, and these are the ramblings of a guy in his twenties.

Remembering With Rose Colored Glasses: Fillmore!

Cop shows are everywhere and on every channel with more being made. Now, at one point there was a cop show for kids. Back in 2002, Disney aired the show, Fillmore! first on ABC then on the Disney Channel about two Safety Patrol officers solving crimes in a middle school. The show lasted two seasons and each episode took real crimes such as car theft, attempted murder, and organized crime and made it kid friendly. Personally, I enjoyed this show every much and I rank it among the best cartoons I've seen and even one of the best police dramas.

The two main characters of the show are Cornelius Fillmore and Ingrid Third. Fillmore is reformed delinquent who after being "arrested"  by Wayne Liggit who turned Fillmore's life around. Fillmore is your serious, sunglass wearing hero cop who will do just about anything to get his man. Ingrid is a certified genius, (and yet she's attending a public middle school), and has a photographic memory that often helps her and Filmore solve cases. Other characters are Junior Commissioner Horatio Vallejo who is your stereotypical police chief/captain. Basically, every episode has Vallejo tearing his hair out because of all the collateral damage Fillmore causes to school property and stating that if Fillmore and Third weren't so good at their jobs, he would have their badges. The other Safety Patrol officers Karen Tehama, Joseph Anza, and Danny O'Farrell. While Tehama and Anza are background characters, O'Farrell is the crime scene photographer and comic relief. Finally, you got Principal Folsom, who is a cross between a police drama's district attorney and the mayor character. What Folsom does is threaten the Safety Patrol that if they don't solve the episode's case, she'll close them down.


The show takes place in the fictional X Middle School, which is about the size of a major university. Seriously, how can much money does this school have? The clubs this school has are endless, such as fashion club, yacht club, book club, farm club, dog lovers club just to name a few. It even has it's own tv news channel. On top of all that, it has none of the traditional sports teams a regular middle school has.The middle school I went to had basketball, volleyball, baseball, softball, and track teams. X Middle School has teams like badminton or bocce ball teams, I mean who plays bocce ball?!

Now there are a total number of episodes were 26, and here are some of my favorites.

• "Red Robins Don't Fly": So a local Girl Scoutesque group called the Red Robins is basically X Middle School's version of the mafia. They use mafia like techniques in order to sell their candy. (Insert Girl Scouts selling cookies joke right here.) Ingrid, who lately feels like she doesn't fit in, goes undercover to take down the Red Robins. However, Vallejo worries that Ingrid will be seduced by the Red Robins lifestyle.
• "Two Wheels, Full Throttle, and No Brakes": The kids in Shop Club are stealing scooters to sell to an unknown buyer. Fillmore and Ingrid go undercover to stop them, but a kid named Derek Minna who refers to himself in the third person, (jerk), has created a "task force" to stop the thefts. So the Safety Patrol and B.A.G.A.S.T. (Boys And Girls Against Scooter Theft) are competing to taking down the scooter theft ring.
• "South of Friendship, North of Honor": Fillmore goes to Tennessee to visit his old partner Wyatt, but finds out the Safety Patrol here is led by a corrupt Patrol Sherrif. (Seriously? A Patrol Sherrif?) So Fillmore and Wyatt try to take the sheriff down but it turns out the sheriff is the son of the school's principal.
• "The Nineteenth Hole is a Shallow Grave": So a geek is trying to rig a big mini-golf tournament. Fillmore needs to go undercover to stop him but playing mini-golf reminds Fillmore of what a total jerk he used to be before he joined the Safety Patrol.
• "A Dark Score Evened": So bullies at X Middle School are being targetted by a vigilante. Fillmore knows he has to stop the vigilante but doesn't really want to because the victims are bullies.

So what are my overall thoughts on the series? The is silly without a doubt, but I love how it takes itself so seriously. Every crime is treated like a detective would treat a homicide or a bank robbery. While the show does teach a lesson with each episode, it doesn't feel like it was ram down your throat like other episodes. I definitely say it is a great watch if you a willing to have fun with it.

I'm Colin, and these are the ramblings of a guy in his twenties. 

Remembering with Rose Colored Glasses: Digimon Adventure

Remember how in the 90's everyone one was obsessed with Pokemon, the Japanese show about an 11-year-old going out into the world unsupervised to capture wild mutant animals? Well, there was also a show that was similar to Pokemon called Digimon. Instead of one protagonist, we got seven and later eight, and their monsters could talk fluently instead of repeating their names like Pokemon. I loved this show as a kid, and I remember watching it with my brother and my cousin. We would pretend to be DigidDestined and have our own Digimon.

Digimon came out in 1999, and I'm going to try and explain the season's plot as best I can, the first season is divided into three parts. The first part starts out with seven kids attending summer camp get sent into the Digital World or the Digiworld by an unknown force. Yeah, they get sent into the Internet because it was the 90's and Internet was still new to us. Anyway, the seven kids or DigiDestined, Tai, Matt, Sora, Izzi, Mimi, Joe, and T.K., wake up in the Digiworld and find out they partnered with a digital monster or a Digimon.

• Tai = Agumon
• Matt = Gabumon
• Sora = Biyomon
• Izzi = Tentomon
• Mimi = Palmon
• Joe = Gomamon
• T.K. = Patamon

These Digimon will protect them as the DigiDestined try to get home. So the first villain they face is called Devimon, a devil looking Digimon who making good Digimon bad with Black Gears. In other words, he corrupts a Digimon's program. After the heroes defeat him by getting their Digimon to evolve into more powerful versions. After that victory, they have to stop Etemon from taking over the digital world. Now in order to beat monkey-Elvis, no seriously that's what Etemon was, the DigiDestined must find crests that will allow their Digimon to evolve to an even more powerful level than before. These crests are based on a defining trait of each of the DigiDestined.

• Tai = Courage
• Matt = Friendship
• Sira = Love
• Izzi = Knowledge
• Mimi = Sincerity 
• Joe = Reliability
• T.K. = Hope

So after they collect their crests and learn something about themselves, they defeat Etemon and must face a third villain, an Interview With a Vampire looking Digimon called Myotismon. Myotismon smacks the DigiDestined around and sends them back into the human world. Then the second act of the season begins.

In the second part of the season, the DigiDestined are trying to stop Myotismon from taking over the world and look for the eighth DigiDestined. To sum it up, the eighth DigiDestined is Tai's little sister Kari and her Digimon partner is Gatomon, a Digimon who was brainwashed into serving Myotismon. The DigiDestined fight Myotismon and all the evil Digimon he brought to the human world. Also, the DigiDestined's family members try to come to terms with the fact that their loved ones are fighting monsters. When Myotismon is finally "defeated," (watch season two), and the DigiDestined find out that they need to go back to the Digiworld because it has been conquered by four dictators.

So final act is all eight DigiDestined fighting the Dark Masters. The eight lose a lot of old friends, learned even more about themselves and finally kick butt and take names. After the Dark Masters are defeated, they meet the final boss called Apocalymon. Apocalymon is a Digimon created from death, jealousy, and despair; basically a cross between Satan and the trash icon on your computer. The DigiDetined defeat them, the Digiworld is saved, and after a tearful goodbye to their Digimon, the kids return to Earth. That's the cliff notes version of season one of Digimon

Overall, I enjoyed this show as a kid and I still do. Unlike Pokemon, I didn't feel like I was watching animals fighting because the Digimon had personalities and had conversations with their partners. The human characters were likable and their Digimon had personalities that complimented them. Tai was the team's hot head who unfortunately had to step up to be the team's leader. Augumon was there to give Tai a pep talk when he was down or make Tai take a minute to think. Matt was the group's lone wolf because he came from divorced parents and felt like he had to take care of his brother T.K. first and foremost. Gabumon helped Matt break out of his shell and see he could make friends with other people. Sora was the team mom and tomboy, who felt like she was a disappointment to her mother for not being more girly. Biyomon gave Sora confidence and showed that she was loved, by her friends and her mother. Izzi is the Brain of the group who feels more comfortable being online than with people. This stems from finding out he's adopted and it is easier to lose himself in cyberspace than deal with the issue. Tentomon serves as a way for Izzi to connect with everyone else and translates Izzi's technobabble. Mimi is the spoiled girly girl and Palomon does her best to help Mimi deal with the fact she is no longer in the lap of luxury, as well as help Mimi be a better person.

Joe is the team's worry wort and a coward who needs Gomamon gives him courage. T.K. is the kid and with the help of Patamon, he grows up over the show. Kari, Tai's sister, doesn't really have any issues like the others. Instead, she is the one giving love to Gatomon, who spent most of her life alone and being physically and mentally abused.

Digimon is a great show and the second season continues the story further. Later seasons, there are a total of eight, give their own spin to Digimon but also contradicts some of the mythos. Overall I believe people should give it a try and it is on Netflix. I say check it out.

I'm Colin and these are the ramblings of a guy in his twenties.

A New Year

So the first week of 2017 has past and I spent the last couple days fighting a cold. How's that for starting off the new year. That said I'm hopeful for 2017, though I have to say 2016 was a bit rough for some. We seemed to lose so many celebrities that year, such as Alan Rickman, Prince, Mohamad Ali, and of course Carrie Fisher. Their fans shall miss them greatly. We also had an ugly presidential campaign that seemed to divide everyone, even people within the same parties. I don't know what will happen this year, but I do believe we must be hopeful that it will be a great year. Regardless of the tragedies and mistakes of the past year, we should learn from them and hope 2017 will be better. So I ask all my readers to try and make this year a better one than the last. I hope you succeed in all your New Year's resolutions, and try to help those you care about succeed with theirs.

I'm Colin and these are the ramblings of a guy in his twenties.

Thanksgiving

Today is Thanksgiving, so I'm going to keep it short and sweet. I want to start off by stating what I am thankful for. I'm thankful for my health, especially after losing so much weight. I am down to my high school weight and I plan on staying there. I'm thankful for having a job, especially in this economy, and that I work with a lot of good people. Most of all, I'm thankful for my family coming together this day to be with each other and share a wonderful meal. I hope that all my readers have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and for my international readers who may not celebrate Thanksgiving, I believe Thanksgiving is mostly an American holiday, may you take the time and give thanks for all that is good in your life.

One last thing, for any readers who are going shopping of Black Friday, please be careful. I swear, every year you see a story on the news people going nuts on Black Friday. I love how the day after we give thanks for what we have, we have the day that celebrates materialism. People literally camping out all night waiting for the store to open and actually fighting each other over stuff. Oh well, at least we can some great deals for Christmas presents.

I'm Colin, and these are the ramblings of a guy in his twenties. Happy Thanksgiving.

Remembering With Rose Colored Glasses: Batman the Animated Series

There are shows that define a generation, and one of the shows that defined mine is Batman the Animated Series. The show came out originally in 1992, and it's still considered one of the best cartoon series of all time. The show laid the ground work for other DC Comics shows such as The New Batman Adventures, Superman, The Animated Series, Static Shock, Batman Beyond, Justice League and Justice League Unlimited.

The show's art style is dark, befitting a show about the urban crime fighter. I can best describe it as if Edward Hopper's famous painting, Nighthawks, became a show. The artists painted on a black canvas to make it so dark. Also, the time period of the show is strange, the producer's wanted it to look timeless. People's dress code, plus most technology, looks like it belongs in the 30's or 40's. It is a little weird, but it does give tribute to Batman's roots in pulp fiction and noir. The art style did change for the fourth and final season to match the art style of Superman TAS. In all honesty, I have mixed feelings about the final season's art style, but I think I'll save those thoughts for another day.

Let's start talking about the main hero, Batman, voiced by Kevin Conroy. Like Adam West before him, Kevin Conroy has become synonymous with Batman after this show. Kevin did an amazing job, sounding light-hearted as Bruce Wayne as well as dark and intimidating as Batman. The show's version of Bruce Wayne is more of a slightly clumsy businessman instead of a shallow playboy. The show's version of Batman is perfect. Capable fighter and escape artist, Batman is, well, Batman. One thing the show does well with the character is showing how the death of Bruce's parents affected him.

Batman's allies are also great, all the actors did a good job with them. Efrem Zimbalist Jr. brings much dignity, dry humor, and fatherly/grandfatherly advice to Alfred, Batman's butler, and life long friend. Robin, voiced by Loren Lester, isn't a complete joke like previous versions. He can handle himself against bad guys, but he does need to be saved now and again. The character is a college student but still has childish moments. Melissa Gilbert's Barbara Gordon doesn't appear much until The New Batman Adventures, though she is shown to be a capable hero in the episodes she is in.

The villains of this series, I could do an entire article on them alone. The show reinvented some villains such as Mr. Freeze and Clayface and created Harley Quinn, Joker's girlfriend, and henchwoman. Because there are so many, I'll just talk about Batman's main villain, the Joker, voiced by Mark Hamill, and one that was created by the show. Like Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill is the voice of Joker. Hamill brought nuance to his laughs, each one would reflect the mood of the Joker. Batman TAS version of Joker is the perfect balance of all versions of Joker. Cesar Romero's prankster, Jack Nicholson's gangster, Heath Ledger's anarchist, and Jared Leto's psycho; even though Ledger and Leto played Joker when Batman TAS ended years before. The other villain is Baby-Doll aka Mary Dahl. Mary Dahl was an actress with a genetic disease that makes her look like a toddler. Dahl had a show that was a cross between Leave It to Beaver and Full House, with Dahl playing "the baby" despite being 29-years-old. Dahl later attempts to become a serious actress but is unable to become one because of her physical disability and goes crazy. Her episode has some very touching monologs about what it is like living as a little person and that pretending to be a child is easier than living as an adult.

While I think people can enjoy every episode, though some of the episodes of the first season you can skip, and in truth only half of the fourth season is worth watching. I'll just mention some of my favorite episodes:

• "Heart of Ice" - This is the episode that reinvented the origin of Mister Freeze in this very sympathetic retelling. This version is a scientist who turns to crime to save his dying wife despite the fact he can only survive in sub-zero temperatures.
• "Beware the Gray Ghost" - Batman teams up with actor Simon Trent, voiced by Adam West, who played Bruce's childhood hero the Gray Ghost. The show honors Adam West's Batman and is a must watch.
• "Perchance to Dream" - Bruce Wayne wakes up one morning to find that his parents are alive, he's engaged to Selina Kyle (aka Catwoman), and someone else is Batman. His life is now perfect, right?
• "Almost Got 'Im" - Joker, Penguin, Two-face, Killer Croc, and Poison Ivy play poker together and talk about who came the closest to killing Batman.
• "Birds of a Feather" - Penguin tries to go straight, but he ends up being the butt of a joke by a spoiled socialite. 
• "Sideshow" - Killer Croc, who looks like a human crocodile, meets a group of former circus freaks who offer him a chance to live a life without crime. 
• "Trial" - Batman's rogues put him on trial to see if Batman is the reason why Gotham City has so many costume criminals.
• "Baby-Doll" - An unusual episode that has monologs that make the episode a must see.

The series had two movie tie-ins, Batman: Mask of the Phantasam and Batman: Sub-Zero. The former is a prequel to the series while the latter deals with Mr. Freeze and his wife Nora. Both movies are a must see, and along with the regular episodes, can be purchased on DVD. Batman The Animated Series helped me become a fan of Batman as well as a fan of comics.

I'm Colin, and these are the ramblings of a guy in his twenties.

It Has Been a While

Wow, it has been a while since I last posted something on my blog. I feel really bad about that, but once again I'll try to get back in the habit of posting regularly. So today I will mention something big that has happened to me. For those who don't know, a couple months ago I weighed more than 170 pounds. Not a good thing for a guy who is 5 foot 6 inches, I looked fat. However, a couple of days earlier and I weighed in at 154 and a half pounds. Ladies and gentlemen, that is less than I weighed my junior year in high school. I had to go through my closet and get rid of clothes that no longer fit me because they're too big. I found a black suit I wore in high school, it fits me now. Sadly most of my dress shirts are too big for me now, but hey, at least I'm thinner.

The hardest part of losing weight is the fact that I love food that has a lot of carbs. My mother made peanut butter cup cupcakes, and they are so good! Unfortunately, they are extremely high in calories. I feel like I need to spend an hour in the gym after eating one. Well, I'm still watching what I eat and I'm trying to choose the healthier option, even when it is hard. My goal is to get down to 150 pounds and keep my weight there. I'm still going to the gym as well as walking my dogs every day, even in the rain like I did this morning. If I keep this up, I'll get down to my ideal weight.

I'm going to try to post regularly again. I believe next time I'll do a Through Rose Covered Glasses post. I haven't done one of those in a while, and people seem to enjoy those.

Anyway, I'm Colin and these are the ramblings of a guy in his twenties.