Zahara

  Personally, when it comes to shipping, for me it's secondary. I believe it's important for characters to have their own story arcs, and characters need to also be interesting outside of their relationships whether they're romantic or not. After pondering on the love triangle in Legendborn, I'm strongly in favor of a polyamorous ending.  The love triangle in Legendborn is one of the most enthralling and interesting love triangles that I've come across in a while, and it stems from the love triangle actually being balanced and all three of its participants being connected to one another in some fashion.  Nick x Sel Their relationship was already established before Bree entered the picture, so there's already history and a connection established between the two of them. Sel at one point harbored romantic feelings toward Nick when he was 13 years old. They're both bonded eternally together due to the Kingsmage Oath. Sel is bound to protect Nick for the rest of...

  Pretty much every Super Bowl Sunday there are 4 things people look forward to the actual game, the commercials, the food, and the Super Bowl Half-Time Show. However, going forward it's going to become increasingly difficult for the NFL to book Headlining talent who's never performed at the Super Bowl before, and here's why: The music industry is not producing Popstars or music Superstars anymore. In the Digital Age of Media, everything's become fractured and decentralized. Right now, the music industry veterans are carrying the industry on their backs.  Old or older music is currently outselling the new or newer music that's being released. There are only a handful of musicians left who've never headlined the Super Bowl that could potentially put on a fantastic show worthy of a Football Stadium. 

  When I finished reading the final chapter of Shingeki no Kyoujin at the time it was initially released, I jotted down my raw thoughts and reactions to the chapter, so without further ado: The ending was a mixed bag of good things and bad things. Mikasa and Ymir (the founder) are slaves to their emotions. My interpretation: Mikasa did what Ymir could not in the end. It was disappointing that Mikasa never evolved from being a satellite character . A character whose motivations and overall personality essentially revolve around their interaction with another, possibly more interesting, character with whom they really should be on an equal standing. Without this interaction, they would otherwise be pretty bland. Eren didn't think his plan entirely through; it was a botched attempt at Lelouch's Zero Requiem Plan and it wasn't nearly even as compelling. A take on twisted love that's meant to be endearing; no matter how much the world views you as a monster or the atrocities...

  Well, it was a long time coming but starting this year, I've finally decided to stop consuming K-pop music altogether after nearly 11 years. I honestly never thought that this day would come and that I'd just soldier on, but the writings were on the wall and I knew it was time to finally move on.  My earliest memory of exposure to K-pop is from 2009 when one of my acquaintances at school introduced Super Junior & the subunit Super-M to me. At the time, I feigned interest and played along I was more into Japanese entertainment and was just going with the flow. However, fast-forward to March 2012 when a friend of mine showed me a video of the K-pop group SHINee's Sherlock (Clue+Note) music video. I was entranced by Taemin who had long hair, the slick choreography, and the song's catchy chorus "I'm so curious yeah!" She also gave me a website where I could go to keep up with the latest K-pop news and I was hooked.  What drew me to K-pop was the music vi...

  It's time to face the music the Golden Era of music is the following: 1960s - Early 2000s. The music was memorable and there were multiple artists who produced good music in the mainstream. This current era of mainstream artists will never be able to reach those heights again due to a multitude of factors. Everything is just so lackluster these days. The music industry has already reached its peak/zenith. Heck, old(older) music is outselling the new music that's released nowadays.  

In Hollywood, sometimes second chances are often hard to come by, but there are also times when a property has the fortune of getting a second chance, and hopefully the second adaptation will yield much better results. Way back in the late 2000s and early 2010s I read the Vampire Academy book series. I even purchased the graphic novel adaptations as well. I enjoyed the book series and this was also a time in pop culture where vampires and vampire-related properties were experiencing a resurgence.  The first adaptation of the book series came in the form of a theatrical film released in 2014 which adapted the first novel from the series. It should come as no surprise that the film was a commercial flop and embarrassingly bad. I mean, the trailers for the film told you everything that you needed to know. Fast forward to the year 2022, and a new adaptation in the form of a tv series this time around is about to premiere soon, and I must say despite some departures from the book, the s...

  I'm the type of person who enjoys talented artists who care about their craft and artistry, and Normani is one of the artists that I've been following the career of since she went solo after Fifth Harmony's hiatus. However, the journey so far hasn't been an easy one for Normani and her supporters.  It seems to always happen without fail that black female artists are never given the same amount of grace compared to their respective contemporaries. From the moment Normani went solo she was already getting compared to Beyonce solely because she's black and can sing and dance. This in turn placed a huge burden on Normani to not only live up to these unrealistic expectations, but it also stifled her in a way. She has talked about how in the beginning she wasn't enjoying the creative process because she was worried about not alienating anyone and making sure her music was 'black enough' and 'pop enough'.  From the get-go, some fans, the public, and t...

  I think in this current modern era of music we can confidently say that the era of the music superstar as we once knew it is dead. Now, before you think I'm being an alarmist I would like to bring forth my rationale for thinking this way that will put everything into perspective. 1.) Lack of Artist Development Back in the day, when an artist was signed to a label they went through a process known as artist development to aid with nurturing their talent(s) and career before they were presented to the public. Nowadays, artist development is severely lacking and is not invested in as much as it once was and artists are thrown on stage completely unprepared and it shows.  2.) How Music is Now Consumed  Physical albums used to reign supreme but now it's all about streaming. Recording artists are not making as much money off of their recorded music anymore. Today, it's about playlisting on streaming platforms. The average length of songs has also gotten shorter to accommodate...

From top to bottom: Stray Kids, ATEEZ, and Tomorrow X Together Most people agree the 4th generation of K-pop idols started in earnest in 2018 which means since we're four years into the next generation, there are surely some frontrunners who stand out amongst the crowd. It's no secret that 4th gen male idols at least in South Korea are not doing as well digitally on the charts while their physical album sales are high. However, I believe the following three groups represent the 4th generation of male idols:

  Dune (2021) Legendary Pictures//Warner Bros. Pictures Admittedly, I have heard of Dune in the past and I knew a few things about it such as its reputation for being notoriously difficult to adapt its source material. Dune is considered a Sci-Fi novel classic and it's widely regarded as ahead of its time and the archetype for other Science fiction movies such as Star Wars. However, I initially wasn't interested in it and didn't care to venture further beyond the surface of the series. During the winter season of 2021 and when I had some time on my hands. I decided to revisit Dune in a deeper way. I'm glad that I did because I now see what I was missing out on.  Dune (1984) Dino De Laurentiis Corporation//Universal Pictures  For me, entertainment first and foremost serves as a form of escapism. I enjoy entertainment that allows for me to be immersed in a different world and the world of Dune does exactly that. The new 2021 film adaptation of Dune has come at the right...

The Batman  film which is slated to grace movie theater screens in 2022 has a lot riding on it, and I suspect like some other previous DC films, it will be a film that polarizes audiences. Warner Bros. needs a win after the disappointing performances of Wonder Woman 1984 and The Suicide Squad.  They're essentially rebooting the Batman films yet again within such a short timeframe. Furthermore, the plan is to create a film trilogy set in a different universe from the DCEU (Earth-2 to be exact) and develop multiple different spin-offs as well. However, it'll be challenging if audiences don't embrace the new iterations or direction Warner Bros. is taking the Batman characters. Personally, my interest was piqued because of some of the casting choices they've made. Admittedly, the second trailer that was released got me excited for the film mainly due to seeing more of Zoe Kravitz's take on Selina Kyle/Catwoman. I'm still not completely sold on Robert Pattinson as...

It would seem recording artists at some point during their careers will stand before a crossroad and they will be confronted with a choice: Sacrifice artistry for commercialism or Sacrifice commercialism for artistry. Of course, both choices each have their own respective pros and cons. Artistry Over Commercialism If an artist chooses artistry then even if the artist doesn't make an exuberant amount of money, or has wide mass appeal, they are staying true to their art and self by placing their art over commercial gain. They are not going to water down their sound or censor their artistic vision. In the end, as long as they're able to make a comfortable living even if their art or appeal is considered niche, at least they'll still be able to make a living off of their passion. However, there are some recording artists who are able to still have mass commercial success without sacrificing their artistry.   Commercialism Over Artistry If an artist chooses commercialism then th...