Biggs' Zone

A Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

The Alternative Turkey Celebration

I’ll admit, back in March, I never would have believed our Thanksgiving would be affected by this pandemic. I know it sucks but the responsible thing to do, to keep family and others safe, is to take proper precautions. The responsible thing to do is put aside your fear and bullheadedness and set an example for the kids. It is more important than ever to be thankful this year. We should be thankful that we still have our health; not everyone still has that anymore. Some folks are missing loved ones this year because of the poor choices and selfish actions of irresponsible “adults”.

This year we are especially thankful for all of those doctors and nurses on the frontlines, helping those that are not in good health. This year we are especially thankful to those grocery store clerks that are working tirelessly to keep the shelves stocked with food. Our health and safety is dependent on the health and safety of those people. Please be safe this year and Celebrate Small! 

A big positive for the smaller, no-travel celebration is that I can go for my normal 5-mile run before I stuff my face with stuffing.

Happy (and safe) Thanksgiving everyone!

minions_icon

I could accomplish so much more if I only had minions!

 

The Mandalorian: Chapter 12

The Mandalorian: Chapter 12Title: The Siege
Director: Carl Weathers

This is the episode when Carl Weathers (aka Greef Karga) got to make his directorial debut for The Mandalorian. Directing is not new to Carl Weathers, in the past he has directed episodes for other series including Hawaii Five-0 and Silk Stalkings. You will probably also glean from this that the episode will feature Greef Karga.

When we last saw Mando he was leaving Trask in a barely assembled Razor Crest. He is bound for a planet called Corvus but his ship needs a bit more maintenance. Spoilers ahead!

WoW: The Battle for Azeroth is Over

The Battle for Azeroth is OverLast week the pre-patch event for Shadowlands began. As we embark on our journey into the afterlife, let’s reflect on Blizzards 7th expansion. Battle for Azeroth had a tough act to follow. Legion, in my opinion, is the second best expansion since Wrath of the Lich King. Unfortunately BfA didn’t quite live up to the same level as Legion and Wrath. Personally, I would rank this expansion around the middle of the pack. Now that the Battle for Azeroth is over, what ruminations do I have from the past 2 years?

Honestly, the first half of the expansion was pretty good. I enjoyed meeting Jaina’s family and restoring her people’s faith in her and meeting Taelia Fordragon and learning her story. I hope Blizzard will pursue a possible love interest between her and Anduin. It has been a long time since there has been a Queen in Stormwind. The real story is told by the raids and I’m pretty split on that.

The Mandalorian: Chapter 11

The Mandalorian: Chapter 11Title: The Heiress
Director: Bryce Dallas Howard

The poor, dilapidated Razor Crest limps its way to Trask to fulfill the deal for the Frog Lady. I kind of feel bad for the Razor Crest. She’s clearly a sturdy ship but struggles to remain in one piece. Din Djarin continues his search after arriving on Trask, which takes him on the high seas where he unexpectedly encounters some allies.

This is the episode where I hope you’ve seen The Clone Wars and Rebels. If you haven’t, it’s not a big deal, you just might be a little lost and you will miss some of the references which makes it a little less exciting. There are several guest stars in this episode but before I get into that I need to stop for the spoiler warning. Don’t continue if you haven’t seen it yet!

The Mandalorian: Chapter 10

The Mandalorian: Chapter 10Title: The Passenger
Director: Payton Reed

I am going to try out writing a follow-up post for each episode. Since there is a week between each one I have plenty of time. I will always indicate when there are incoming spoilers in the event that you are reading this before you see the latest episode.

The director, Payton Reed, is also known for directing the Ant-Man movies. He is a newcomer to the cadre of Mandalorian directors and I think he did a great job. In Chapter 10, Mando agrees to transport someone in exchange for information about the location of a Mandalorian covert. Of course nothing ever goes as planned.

Biggs’ Top 5 Martial Arts Movies

Top 5 Martial Arts MoviesI know November is Thanksgiving month but there really aren’t that many Thanksgiving themed movies (other than A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving). Therefore I’m going in a completely different direction; my top 5 martial arts movies. Apparently “Martial Arts” is not a recognized movie genre. They primarily fall under the “action/adventure” and even “comedy” genres. I find that disappointing. I’m such a fan of martial arts films, perhaps because I used to be in Taekwondo (in another life).

You will find that my favorite actors in martial arts films are Jackie Chan and Jet Li. Although you cannot ignore the godfather of martial arts movies, Bruce Lee. There is also the immortal Chuck Norris (who has SIX different black belts), Steven Seagal, Chow Yun-Fat, and Michelle Yeoh (to name a few more gifted martial artists). But I digress.

Here’s the list:

  • The Legend of Drunken Master – “Monkey drink master’s wine!”, probably my all time favorite martial arts (and Jackie Chan) film
  • Enter the Dragon – the most iconic Bruce Lee and martial arts movie. ever.
  • Shanghai Noon – I love the surrealism of Indians encountering an adept martial artist
  • Kiss of the Dragon – perhaps my favorite Jet Li movie
  • Rush Hour – I love the chemistry between Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker

Honorable Mentions

I have three honorable mentions this month. It could be argued that Hard Boiled is more of an action movie than martial arts. Chow Yun-Fat is fun and this movie has one of the longest action sequences completed in a single take. Martial arts movies typically do not get a lot of media attention. However, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is actually a fairly renown movie. It’s over-the-top use of mid-air martial arts is really well done and really gives credence to it’s fantasy themes. Finally, Romeo Must Die is another one of my favorite Jet Li films. In fact I almost chose this for the top 5 instead of Kiss of the Dragon. The legend of the “kiss of the dragon” in the film is what won me over (similar to the “five point palm exploding heart technique” in Kill Bill).

On a final note; one question some may ask is: subtitles or dubbed? It depends on the movie. Most of Jackie Chan’s movies I watch dubbed (he voice dubs himself). Movies such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or Brotherhood of the Wolf I watch with subtitles because that is how it was in the theaters.

(See last month’s Top 5)

I Have Spoken!

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