Marvel Endgame Questions

OK, so I got to see Endgame for a second time, and as I had already seen it, I let myself get a bit nit-picky. So far, as I was watching this movie for a second time, I had MANY questions raised. Hopefully, they are sin worthy:

First of all, I want to know how much weight Robert Downey Jr. lost for that space scene. I mean, we all know that they gave Chris Hemsworth a fat-suit for Dude Thor, and they scaled back Chris Evans for the original Steve Rodgers before he became Captain, but did they CGI how RDJ looked? I mean, honestly, the dude looked like he starved himself just to get that look. It might not be sin worthy, but I am seriously curious what his diet was.

Next, I will APPLAUD Marvel for not going the DC route and suddenly scrapping half the movie to put in more of the recent female heroine of a movie (Captain Marvel) into more of the movie, like Justice League had to do. Bravo Marvel, remove a sin!

Now, here's something I'm wondering about: Okoyo just seems to disappear. This one bugs me. SOOOO many people made a HUGE fuss about her name not being on the poster and then suddenly, after her holographic report, she is just GONE! Until the end! WHY? She was available, along with half of Wakanda. Why were they not there at the beginning of the battle? Why not be part of the planning process? This one made no sense. *DING!*

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OK, during the time travel, did anyone else notice that War Machine didn't need a special suit? Why is that? Why is he special? Everyone else, even Bruce, had to wear the same suit, but not War Machine. WHY? WHY ARE YOU MAKING ME THINK LIKE THIS?! *Ding!* 

Also, just a random side note, does anyone else think that the Ancient One looks like a Sphixn cat? Seriously, as she was having her conversation with Bruce, that was the ONLY thing I could think about, and that's sin worthy! *Ding*

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I still cried like a baby, if not more so, during the Soul Stone scene. Damn you movie! Too many feels! Remove a sin!

Can we just agree that Quill is an ass? Seriously, he reminds me of an ex-boyfriend that basically took about $4,000 from me. *Ding!*

"Mother knows best" cliche! But remove a sin, because goddamnit, it was necessary and it was so damn emotional!

When did Peggy become the director of SHIELD? This is why the Agent Carter series was necessary, and I wish it had continued. *Ding!*

How does Nebula shooting herself not screw up the timeline already? I mean, I know that one of 2014 her and has jumped forward in time, but wouldn't essentially erase the current Nebula? Goddamnit time travel! *Ding!*

Did anyone else notice that the cheeseburger reference was a reference to the first Iron Man? "Hero comes full circle" cliche, despite the fact that I am crying over that whole scene! *Ding*

And finally, HOW the F*** did Peggy keep Steve a secret? I mean, honestly, you wouldn't want to go out on date with him, and wouldn't people see him and realize "Hey, that's Captain America" and wouldn't that just blow up everything? And if they had kids, wouldn't the kids want to bring Dad to career day or something? Or like when friends would come over, wouldn't they realize it? And how can he even get a job during that time frame if he's supposed to be frozen in ice? Five sins for not thinking that one through, Marvel! *DING!*

Probably more are coming, but this is it for now.

 

Self-Promotion Sunday, Memorial Day Edition

Hello friends! It's been a while since I got to post one of these, mostly because after the cons, I had a lot less stock than I anticipated. However, recently, I had an accident at work, involving my students horsing around and causing a ladder to fall on me. I caught the brunt of it on my hand, and me being a righty, I am now without my dominant hand. Needless to say, I am very mad. I am pretty sure I scarred a lot of those kids with my shouting after the ladder fell on me. To an extent, I feel bad that I did that, and I realize that was mostly the pain taking over, but at the same time, I hope this teaches them a lesson to be more aware and realize their actions can have consequences.

In the meantime, keep an eye on the convention list, as I will always be willing to add a few new cons if they arise:

MinCon: July 13th
LockCity ComicCon: July 27th
TerrifiCon: August 9th to the 11th
LI Tropic Con: August 18th
SyCon: September 14th
Mt. Vernon Library Comic Con: September 28th
NaugyCon: TBD

Also, while I will not be vending at BronyCon (I have come to this conclusion since there is no one willing), I will have a few pieces being shown in the art show. To check those out, please see my blog about BronyCon Art Show. Also, my former partner and I are back on decent terms, so he will be exhibiting a few of my smaller pieces in the Artist Alley, to which I thank him. I will talk more about that as the con gets closer.

Now, onto the pieces I was able to finish before the accident. First up, new figurines are coming! Let me show them off, and they should be up on Etsy before the end of the day:

First up, new birdies! I have a Fawkes, the Phoenix from 'Harry Potter,' and a new Articuno (because everyone has been asking for one!) Both of them have lovely hair that can be combed and working feet that can snap onto your finger, which I think is the best part.

Next up, another set of Rapidash ponies, this time with color change mane and tail, to really make it look like fire.

Also, two alicorn ponies! A large zilla Fluttershy alicorn, again with hair to comb, and a Big Mac alicorn, which will be with my former partner at his table at BronyCon, along with a Celestia, Twilight Sparkle, Cadence, and as of now, a Rainbow Dash, although I am hoping to replace RD with a Princess Luna.

Lastly, I am working on a few Deadpool designs. First up are a few PinkiePools, one which holds balloons, and one which has a unicorn toy! I think they are quite cute.

Also, I have been getting slowly back into traditional artwork, mainly through paint pouring. I have been having fun with it! Here are two pieces that I did with paint pouring, one which I made look like a cherry tree, and another that I added details to make it look like a phoenix.

I also have a design that I based off of the Infinity Stones, which is very much a 3D piece (to be posted later).


Lastly, make sure you check out my new Pikachu inspired design on Redbubble:

Pika Coffee

BronyCon 2019 Art Show Pieces

Hello Readers! This post will often be updated to include other art show pieces that I decide to put in for the 2019 BronyCon Art Show. In doing only one post, this makes it easy for everyone to see the pieces, rather than have them scattered throughout this blog. Anyone interested in these pieces, make sure you check out to see if they are up in the BronyCon Art Show. The profits I make from this will be helping me pay off some doctor's bills from my accident. Also, I do have to thank Samoht Lion Creations for helping me bring my designs to paper while my right hand (my dominant hand) is in recovery mode. Remember, a commission of about 15% of each sale goes to cancer research! How is that not doing something kind and helpful for the last BronyCon?

First up, two variants of my "Spike, the Brave and Glorious" design. As you can see, one has the original playbill type feel that the original poster design had. The second has a more textured background, as well as a white outline around the silhouette. Both are nice, small pieces that are about 9 inches by 11 inches. And obviously, Cathy Wesluck, the voice of Spike, will be at BronyCon, so what would be better than snatching up one of these designs and getting it signed? Both should be starting at around $45 (honestly I forget where I put the starting point at) for bidding.

Next up, one of the first designs that really got me thrust into the pony art world: my "Luna and the Moon," which inspired "Celestia and the Sun." My "Luna and the Moon" dates WAY back to one of my very first traditional pieces which WAS actually up for sale as "Sisters in Solace" in BronyCon's first art show. That led to this simpler design of my original of "Luna and the Moon" which is also featured on For Fans By Fans. After that, once we got Daybreaker, I had to make a "Celestia and the Sun" (also featured on FFBF), and it has also gained its own notoriety. Here, we have both pieces, to be sold separately. Both are a little over 8 inches squared, and both can either stand on their own or hang on a wall. And, as an added incentive, the "Celestia and the Sun" is one of only TWO of these designs EVER MADE! And probably ever will be. Plus, Nicole Oliver, THE voice of Princess Celestia, will be there. How could you NOT want this signed by her? Starting bid for each is $45.

Last up for paper art, we have my "Opposites Attract" minimalist girls, with Daybreaker and Nightmare Moon to start off, followed by the NEWEST addition, Princess Cadence against Queen Chrysallis. Both of these pieces are SUPER sparkly, and are striking against their dark backgrounds. Right now, Daybreaker vs. Nightmare Moon is up on FFBF as "Opposites" while Cadence and Chrysie are awaiting approval. Both are about 9 inches by 12 inches, and both can either stand on their own or hang on a wall. And again, Britt, who is THE VOICE of Princess Cadence, will be at BronyCon. Who wouldn't want this piece signed??? Starting bid for each will be $50.

Now, onto some more traditional type art. This is a lovely paint pour design, with a 3D G1 seapony pendant that is in the corner. There's lots of sparkle going on in this 6 inch by 6 inch canvas that can easily hang on a hook. No need for a frame with this piece! Super sparkly, and some of the colors are color changing, this definitely gives you the feel of the ocean!

These lovely paint pour designs, each with glitter blind bag ponies and crystals on them, are a lovely representation for each of the individual princesses: Sun, Moon and Love. There's lots of sparkle going on in this 6 inch by 6 inch canvas that can easily hang on a hook. No need for a frame with this piece! Super sparkly, and some of the colors are color changing, each of these pieces will evoke different feelings!

Also, a LOVELY Hearth's Warming Eve Calendar! Now, I WILL be submitting a slightly more elaborate version to the charity auction, but if you want an epic design FOR SURE, then make sure you check out this design! This design features a cool graphic of 3 generations of Pinkies (going all the way back to the G1 Surprise) decorating a tree, and each drawer features an ornament of either a winter-themed pony from all the generations, as well as our Mane 6!

Lastly, a new piece I have had in my mind for some time, and am FINALLY able to show off: a lovely little goodbye piece, showing Megan from Generation 1, standing in front of the entrance to the Dream Castle, holding up two plush ponies in the style of Smarty Pants, but meant to look like Lauren Faust's OC, and Bonnie Zacherly's OC, with a smattering of other ponies all over the ground. This is a take off of the goodbye scene from "Toy Story 3" where Bonnie says goodbye to Andy, with all the toys all around her. With this being the last season, and the end coming close, this seemed a very poignant that we might be moving on, but My Little Pony will ALWAYS be here. This piece will be a 20 inch by 24 inch canvas, so it will be a lovely piece for any collector. Maybe even get Bonnie and Lauren to sign it!

Con Review Tuesday (URCC and HVCC)

Hello everyone! Welcome to a Con Review Tuesday! This is where I chat about some of the more recent cons that I have been to, and mention some of the cons I have coming up, in order to help promote more local conventions. This week, I've got two cons to review, so get ready for a long one! Might not be so bad since I am home sick today.

First, though, here's the list of conventions I shall be attending and selling at over the coming months. Make sure you check some of them out! Click on the name to see the links!

MinCon: July 13th
LockCity ComicCon: July 27th
TerrifiCon: August 9th to the 11th
LI Tropic Con: August 18th
SyCon: September 14th
Mt. Vernon Library Comic Con: September 28th
NaugyCon: TBD


So, let's start with the past two cons, starting with Undiscovered Realm Comic Con:

So, Undiscovered Realm has been a smaller convention that is local to White Plains, NY, and it's run by a local comic book shop called Undiscovered Realm. I have done business there with the owner in the past, so the guy who runs this con is a good guy. This is the second time I have done this convention, after they took a break last year from doing the convention in order to revamp it. Since it's local, I am always for doing this sort of convention, and the last time I went, I saw that I had a unique product for many of the little kids who come to the convention, especially little girls (though by no means did my products turn away teens or adults). I also got a chance to sit next to some awesome people who do some epic stuff with pipe cleaners--Action Fuzz! Make sure you check them out!

This con also let me debut my return to some traditional art in the form of paint pours: I made a few Thanos gauntlet canvases and a larger canvas of what is meant to look like the Infinity Stones clashing together. It got a lot of comments, pretty much all good, nothing negative. The plus is I ran into a bunch of people who remembered me from previous conventions, and they liked a lot of my newer stuff as well. Despite being a bit chilly, though, due to the open door near where my booth was, the convention itself was epic and I had a great time! If you happen to be local to this area, it might be a good idea to check this convention out.

Now, onto Hudson Valley Comic Con:

This con I have done many times, pretty much almost since it began. Every time I do it, it's just a grand old time. This year was no exception. They always have some great guests as well, so it's always a good time. I ended up next to someone who I had met at a UR con two years back who does some epic paintings: Sean Carlson Art. Think I might ask this guy for a small Goose design. He did have an EPIC Captain Marvel design that if I had room, I would TOTALLY have purchased. Maybe I'll do something with Goose and my cat, Mina. 

Anyway, I was back in Artist Alley for this con, and while I was further back than I have been in past years, it wasn't horrible. Once again, I had people come up to me and say they remember me, including people who saw me at URCC (always good to have repeat customers!) And I had a lot of interest in people asking me about customs and commissions. Once again, I made back table and then some, which is all a seller in my position can ask for. Plus, I got to try a new layout for displaying some of my smaller prints. Maybe I will rework it for my larger pieces next time. But for now, I am glad to be done for a while, as I am exhausted and feeling so very sick.

Make sure you check out the Etsy page to find some of my newer pieces. I will be putting up some paintings soon as well, as I do some minor returns to traditional pieces.

Movie Review Monday: POKEMON!

OK, so in addition to my second review of "Endgame" I am also going to be posting about "Pokemon: Detective Pikachu" which I got to see on Thursday. And quite honestly, I was SUPER surprised about this movie. So let's check it out!

"Pokemon: Detective Pikachu" (Director: Rob Letterman)

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OK, so if you grew up with Pokemon, no matter your opinion of them, you knew that there was going to be some semblance of predictability, and that many of them would be EXTREMELY cute. And honestly, if you remember the movie "Pokemon the Movie" from like 2000, then quite honestly, you could see MANY similarities to this movie. Not even kidding when I say that, I am honestly wondering if they decided to just steal part of that movie to help with making this movie. Which honestly disappointed me very much. I was totally waiting for that theme song that was at the end of the original movie to come on at some point, and was grateful when it did not. But, regardless, double the sins! *ding, ding!*

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But that's besides the point, because quite honestly, Ryan Reynolds as Pikachu was EVERYTHING!! And the banter between him and Smith was magic! I did love that Tim Goodman (played by Justice Smith) did NOT initially want to go the route of accepting Pikachu and therefore basically was defying Pokemon game logic in wanting to take part is using and working with Pokemon. It was actually a new idea that I was intrigued by, because typically, the idea of Pokemon was to "catch them all" and basically be a trainer. Tim stopped wanting to do this after his father decided to focus more on work. But that's the typical "daddy issues" plot cliche. *ding*

Anyway, the story is driven along by looking for Tim's father who SUPPOSEDLY died in a car crash. Along the way, we see they are also trying to figure out Pikachu's missing memory as well as locate the Mewtwo who supposedly started this issue. When finding out this is NOT the case, it then becomes a matter of trying to stop the bad guy in time, which just turned out to be pretty funny. 

The plot was pretty predictable but that did not stop me from enjoying this movie, which honestly, when I first saw trailers for it, I cringed. 

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But, considering how SONIC is looking, they may want to take a page from this movie to up their game in the graphic department--the Pokemon were done VERY well in the movie and truly looked like they belonged in the world created for them. I mean, you can see the reactions for just Bulbasaur alone! This little Pokemon is CUTE!

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Plus, a great surprise cameo at beginning AND end, although I am still wondering how they dragged Ken Watanabe into this movie.

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And many parts of this movie have lead me to creating some interesting designs, which you can see below. I am glad I went to this movie and I got quite a few good laughs, which I SORELY needed this week! Overall, I would definitely recommend this movie, especially if you need a break from all the feels that "Endgame" gives you. 

PikaCoffee

MARVEL MOVIE REVIEW MONDAY (AVENGERS: ENDGAME PART 2)

WARNING!!!! THIS WILL BE A MORE DETAILED BLOG ABOUT ENDGAME WITH SOME SPOILERS! IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE MOVIE AND DO NOT WISH TO BE SPOILED THEN DO NOT READ ON!!!!

This is it folks! After 11 years and 21 movies, we have hit the Endgame! I got lucky, between two different internet browsers going, my iPhone AND my iPad, to try and ensure I got at least ONE ticket for opening weekend, I got into the 4:45pm showing on Friday of opening weekend. AND IT WAS TOTALLY WORTH IT!!!! SO LET'S DIVE IN!

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"Avengers: Endgame" (Directors: Anthony and Joe Russo)

If you have gotten this far in the blog, you have seen the movie, or you don't care. But if you don't care, I have you ask why you are even reading this. But let's ignore that, and just get to this movie.

REMINDER! THIS WILL BE A MUCH MORE DETAILED BLOG THAN MY PREVIOUS POST ABOUT ENDGAME! The best way to get through all that is to break it down into sections:

The Aftermath:

We find ourselves just after the Snap, with our non-disintegrated heroes trying to get a hold of themselves. Try thinking of how you have felt (or might feel) after you have lost a loved one. And honestly, your heartstrings get tugged at RIGHT AWAY. No joke, I thought I was going to cry in the first 5 minutes of the movie. And right away, we also see our newly inducted Captain Marvel. HOWEVER! This is one of the ONLY times she makes an appearance, and quite honestly, that pisses me off. This is a woman who was given her own movie, and yet there are countless other women in the MCU who make many appearances, and yet Captain Marvel is only in the entire movie for a mere 10 MINUTES OR LESS! WHAT THE F**K MARVEL? *ding*

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Five years pass after Thor decapitates Thanos, and we see where our heroes are--Cap is trying to help with the losses, Widow has basically become Fury, and Iron Man is...somewhere. Thor is also not around, and we still don't have an answer for Ant-Man. Here is my biggest question in the whole thing: I get it's 5 years later, and some people might still be mourning but honest, have we REALLY hit the point that NO ONE has been trying to take care of shit? Has it REALLY taken this long for governments and so forth to get under control? I mean, think about our government in the US (despite the fact that it sucks)--we have plenty of back-up plans, especially if people in our government die. You mean to tell me that Thanos snapped EVERYONE in the US Government that we couldn't have a SINGLE back-up? I don't buy it! *ding*

Also, the same goes for the rest of the world. I am pretty certain it would not take 5 FREAKING YEARS for everything to get back to some random semblance of normal. *ding*

Also also, WTF is going on with all the abandoned shit around the world??? I am pretty damn certain there are still enough people in the world in which NONE OF THAT SHIT would have been left alone. At the very least, I know there are still people out there who could hot-wire those cars. *ding*

FINALLY, we also see how Ant-Man/Scott Lang gets out of the Quantum Realm--a freaking RAT! I guarantee that there will be a LOT of CinemaSins sinning for this one. Because having a RAT press a RANDOM SEQUENCE OF BUTTONS, that's just cheating. *ding*

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Part 1: The Plan

Our heroes come up with the plan, thanks to Scott: Time Travel! CUE DOCTOR WHO!

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Actually, this is not a bad overview of what they try to explain! It really is just basically nonsense. Especially now that Professor Hulk says that any time travel movie is pretty much bull and then when everyone goes back, they STILL DO EXACTLY WHAT IS IN THE MOVIES! *ding*

Part 2: Encounters

During the time travel, three of our heroes have chance encounters (well, technically four, but I am not sure I remember the Captain fighting Captain part in the first Avengers...was this retconned??? SIN FOR MAKING ME THINK! *ding*)

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But of the other three encounters we get, but I want to focus on two: Thor, and Bruce. Let's start with Thor.

Thor and Frigga:

This has to be one of the more touching scenes in this movie, with Thor and Rocket going to Asguard to get the Reality Stone, aka the Aethier. Thor has basically been at a loss since chopping off Thanos' head, and has sort of been disillusioned by anything, thinking he is no longer the hero he is supposed to be. With mom Frigga dispatching the kind of wisdom that all moms do, the feels during this scene were strong, complete with Thor realizing he is STILL WORTHY and gaining back his confidence. Not going to lie, I felt the tears well up just a tad when this scene happened. REMOVE ONE SIN!

Bruce and the Ancient One:

THIS ONE IS IMPORTANT! Bruce is the one who has to go find the Time Stone, and he meets the Ancient One. But he's "five years too early" according to her, which, when she said this, took me by COMPLETE surprise. HOLY CRAP SHE KNOWS! But what's interesting is that she won't give up the stone! She makes a good point too, and honestly, what the Ancient One said about what might happen got me thinking in general about this time travel plot--because The Ancient One says that if you remove one stone, then while the reality from the beginning might change, HER reality (MEANING THE PAST) would change...meaning NO Dr. Strange, and who knows what happens to the stones, and who knows what happens in the future. Bruce (who has been knocked out of his Professor Hulk body to the astral plane by the Ancient One), argues that they can bring the stones BACK to the point of when they would have been taken, to prevent any alters to the future. This is honestly were I got lost, because seriously, if you have already taken the stones, despite bringing them back to the exact moment of taking them away, aren't you already altering the future??? Someone help me out on this! Where are the string theorist when you need them? Or whoever studies this sort of thing...GET ME NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON!!! *ding*

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The Ancient One realizes that Strange gave up the Time Stone in "Infinity Wars" FOR A REASON!!!!! She relents, and we have the Time Stone.

The Sacrifice: 

The Soul Stone. The one where we lost Gamora last time. This time, we see it's Natasha and Clint. And I'm NOT giving up this part. So, just DEAL WITH IT! All I will say is, I was shocked.

Part 3: We're BACK!

Everyone (minus our first death) gets back OK. Well, not everyone. We have a switch-aroo moment with Nebula, and I have to give Karen Gillian much credit for her acting in this section. But as we saw during the time travel backwards, Thanos knows what's about to happen, so he gets Nebula to bring him forward to still try and attempt the snap. This is another part where I got lost, because again, this goes back to the time travel thing. Nebula, being more computer than alien, was linking up with her PAST self, and that's how Thanos found out about the plan, which leads to him trying to get the stones AGAIN. Honestly, I feel like they yadda-yadda'd this time travel thing, son SIN ON THEM! *ding* However, this is where we get the most EPIC BATTLE SCENE EVER!!!! And that's all I will leave it at. And suffice to say, I NEED A SHIRT OF ALL THE FEMALE WARRIORS!!!!! GET ON THIS SOMEONE!!!!

However, this is where we get the death that REALLY tugged at my heart, and I just was not ready. I don't care that we all probably saw it coming, I still was not ready. But as the movie closed out, the death felt necessary, despite not wanting it to happen. And who else was surprised to see who got the shield???? What do we think this means for the other guy????

Honestly, as this movie closed out, I felt like we had come to a close. In all complete honesty, if Marvel had decided this was the end-all, be-all of their movies, then I would have been a VERY happy viewer. I have been able to measure my life with these movies. I can tell you almost where I was when I first saw each of these movies and quite possibly who I saw them with. This whole series has become so much a part of my life, despite the fact that I am not a reader of the comics. But it has given me an appreciation for so much, and I know that even if someone wasn't a reader of the comics, they have come to appreciate the empire that has been forged, and probably introduced many people to the comics and the universe that Marvel created. I do not think we can surpass this movie anytime soon.

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And by the way, check out my Avengers inspired design on Redbubble:

Whatever It Takes

 

 

Fluttershy Friday!

I know, I know, it's been a while, but I haven't really gotten any new Fluttershy's, nor have I seen anything that is really grabbing my interest. I HAVE been in talks for another plush Flutterbat, but not much else. Do you know of any Fluttershys or Flutterbats that you think would make a good addition to my collection? Send it my way or leave a comment for me.


Recently, I made two cute Flutterbats from the Cutie Mark Crew Fluttershy human version. I think these came out adorable, so I am going to keep one for myself and sell the other. It was interesting doing a mini piece, as I have rarely worked this small. There's a lot of detail that went into this. But I do need some new Fluttershy pieces. I would love to get leads on some new stuff.