Olympics

Reviewed by Living Destiny
It's kind of the biggest deal in the world right now. I had to talk about it.
This year, the 2012 Olympics in London, marks the 30th Olympics of the world. That's pretty cool if you ask me. It's kind of a magical experience. Call me a sentimentalist, but I really do think it's the best thing we accomplish as a civilization. That we can put aside all our differences and quarrels and just exist together, competing and enjoying each others company. Honestly, it's the closest to world peace we'll ever come, so it's something we all have to appreciate.
I briefly entertained the idea that I would go through and find all the teenage athletes to celebrate their successes. Then I realized how long that would take and I just gave up, so here are some highlights.
A 15 year old girl from Lithuania won gold in a swimming event, making her the second woman ever from Lithuania to get a gold medal. Ever. And she's 15.
Basically the entire USA girl's gymnastics team. And half of the USA men's gymnastics team. Gabby Douglas winning the all around? Way to go! Aly Raismann won a couple too, bronze on beam and gold on floor.
Missy Franklin, only 17, winning five Olympic medals in swimming in her first ever Olympics. She's the same age as me, and what have I done as a 17 year old? I write a blog. Do community theatre. She's in London right now celebrating her medals and hanging out with her team. I'm camping. What she's doing is incredible.
Those are the ones that stick out in my head, things I've watched over the past couple of weeks, but there are tons more stories and athletes that should be celebrated. There are some countries where women are just now being allowed to compete in the Olympics. That deserves applause, not that it took so long, but that they're finally here. People came as wild cards, with little training, as amputees. It doesn't matter that they didn't win. It matters that they were a part of it, they finished their races and got the loudest cheers of all.
Yes, it is a competition. People win and people lose. Yes, they keep track of the medal count. Some countries have way more than others. But at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter. We're all represented there, at this big, global stage. That's what really matters, the fact that win or lose, we're unified for a couple weeks. Winning just makes it a little sweeter.
Real Teen Rating ~ The best thing we've got going for us
P.S. My favorite event is volleyball. Love it!

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Fan Fiction

Reviewed by Living Destiny

Alright, whose bad idea was it to start this? Seriously. Fan fiction? Have you no respect for the sanctity of stories?
Maybe I should explain. One day a long while ago, North, Dream and I were hanging around, and I was looking for a picture of a certain scene from Teen Wolf on google. The scene has Stiles and Derek in it (for any of you Teen Wolf fans, which I hope is all of you, it was the cousin Miguel scene), so I figured I would just type Stiles and Derek into the search bar. And you know how when you start typing in the google search bar it comes up with suggestions of what you might be searching for? Well, I typed in Stiles and Derek, and the first suggestion that came up was "Stiles and Derek fan fiction". So I told North and Dream, and we were all a little curious. None of us really knew what it was, so I searched it and we clicked on one story and started reading. And then we died inside.
That's a small exaggeration. But it's pretty close. These people who write fan fiction basically get this idea in their heads that two characters should be together, and since the writers of the show/movie/book/members of a band don't agree, these people take it upon themselves to do it. So we ended up stumbling upon a cult following of fans who write fiction where Derek and Stiles are gay together. Honestly. That's not a thing! No!
First of all, if the writers didn't put that into their scripts when they were creating these characters, then obviously these characters should not be together. Ever. At all. And it amazes me, because some of these fans can make relationships out of thin air. These two characters glanced at each other briefly, they must be madly in love! No, they aren't. They just happened to glance at each other. Get over it. I mean, it isn't your story to write! Did you create the characters? No, you did not. So you have no right to try to change the story just because you think that two people should date. And then people try to change the laws of nature in their stories. If they're writing about two guys getting together (which I think 98% of all fan fiction is about), and these two characters will never ever ever get together, then hey, why not just go whole hog and make one of them pregnant too? Yeah, pregnant men. Sounds legit. And if it's something supernatural, all the better. Men pregnant with little vampires and werewolf pups. Because that's logical. But from my research into this cult of crazy writers, it seems that logic isn't something that anyone listens to. Ugh.
And these stories aren't just cutesy, they-kiss-and-fall-in-love-the-end sort of stories. That would be bad enough, but of course it can't stop there. Oh no. The majority of these fan fiction stories are XXX rated, could never be shown on tv or sold to anyone under the age of 21, oh my god my eyes are bleeding from even clicking on this link stories. They couldn't be more dirty if they tried - and these people really try. It's disturbing for so many reasons. Seriously, the actors that play these characters could read these. That's so uncomfortable. And even worse, there's fan fiction about real people. I don't care how well you've deluded yourself into thinking that Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson are secretly dating, don't write it down. Don't try to describe in writing their nonexistent first date, or their nonexistent secret meetings, or, please god, their nonexistent sex life. Don't do it. What if they read that? Huh? Casually going through google one day, and they stumble upon a story some 17 year old girl wrote about them sneaking off to a hotel room somewhere and declaring their everlasting love in extreme detail. Why would anyone do that? What if people started writing fan fiction about you and someone you know? Started 'shipping' you? Ooooh, Jason and Molly should be a thing! We'll call them Jolly! Let me go write gratuitous sex scenes with the two of them because I think they should be together even though the two of them have no intention of ever dating ever! EW. It's their personal lives, and their personal decisions who they date. I sincerely doubt that "Larry Stylinson" will become an item because thousands of silly fan girls have decided it would be cute. Which reminds me, exactly why are so many fan fiction stories centered around fake gay relationships? Not that there's a problem with gay people, because there isn't, but it really makes me wonder. Most fan fiction is written by girls - which is a sad representation of our gender - so why make all the attractive guys gay? I don't get it. And I also don't get why all fan fiction is so poorly written. Focusing only on the writing, not the content or story, it's awful. Grammatical errors, spelling errors, punctuation errors, capitalization errors. It's ridiculous! It's like all of these people skip English class to write this lousy stuff. If you're going to write a story, even if it has to be something like fan fiction, can you please at least write it well? Or is that one of the sacred rules of fan fiction? All fan fiction stories must be written poorly, so as to distract the reader from how creepy this is. So creepy. It's so creepy. And that reminds me of another reason I dislike this whole idea. Crossovers. What is that? Let's just combine two shows that have nothing to do with one another at all so that two characters who have never met and can't possibly meet can be lovers. You can't do that! But I forgot, the whole logic out the window thing. And sometimes, the characters these stories try to portray don't even act like the characters from the original story. It's like the only thing that was actually used was the names. Which is pretty stupid. But of course, this whole concept is pretty stupid. A story is made to be enjoyed, not to be reworked. Unless you are a professional editor, don't try to mess around with what others have created. It's rude, when you think about it. It says you have no respect for the writer, and you think you can do it better. And trust me, you can't. That's why these authors and screenplay writers are paid the big bucks. Oh, and another thing I hate! When people write in "original characters". As if it isn't bad enough that they totally mess up the characters of the story, they have to create their own characters. Manipulating the original content to fit their twisted fantasies. I do not approve. And then they abandon the charade entirely and plug themselves into the love story, so they can be in an imaginary relationship with Cody Simpson or whoever it is. Trust me, I understand the idea of a celebrity crush. I have a pretty serious one myself. And yes, I understand how one would dream about meeting your celebrity crush and being in a relationship with them and living happily ever after. But. Don't write it down. No one else ever needs to read it or hear about it. Mental images never really go away, you know. Like I need to be scarred by your weird dreams.
And speaking of weird. Now we get to the good stuff. And by good, of course I mean more terrifying than before. I discovered recently that someone wrote a story about Zayn from One Direction and a baby. A BABY. Do you understand how wrong that is? It's a baby. So wrong. Who thought that was a good idea? Why would you ever? I just can't find the words to describe how awful that is. Icky. There are stories with three or four characters all getting together. No thank you! People write about inanimate objects. Again with the logic thing. I'm sorry, but Hogwarts Castle cannot be "shipped" with anyone or anything. It's a building. It can't reciprocate feelings. And then there are stories about animated movies and Disney movies. Do you realize that you are ruining childhoods with every word you type? You are. It isn't pretty.
I could write more on this topic. Trust me, I could. I've already been writing this for a month, constantly thinking of more things to say. I actually had to download the blogger app so I could work on it on the car this morning after a flash of inspiration. And now I'm finishing it while watching the Olympics, because it's just gone on too long. Now, I do realize that everyone has the right to say or write anything they want. Freedom of speech and all that. But does it have to be pushed at the world too? Just stop. Please, I'm begging you. Let the fan fiction end.
Real Teen Rating ~ Spare me. Please.

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Wilfred - FX

The Gist

Wilfred
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After a failed suicide attempt, ex-lawyer Ryan Newman (Elijah Wood) feels like everything in his life is slipping through his fingers. Hours after the attempt, his cute neighbor, Jenna (Fiona Gubelmann), who's hardly given him the time of day before, asks if he could watch after her dog, Wilfred (Jason Gann), for a few hours. But Wilfred is no ordinary dog. Though he may appear a normal, average dog to everyone else, to Ryan Wilfred appears to be a full grown, Australian man in a scruffy dog suit. Freaked out at first, Ryan isn't sure what do to with this dog who can speak and act like a person. But after a bit of bonding, Ryan finds that he'd have a hard time finding a more loyal friend than Wilfred.

What We Think
Reviewed by Dream Catcher
Number of Seasons: 2
I've been meaning to watch this show forever, but have never known what channel it was on, or what time or what day or what ever. I finally got around to it this summer - like a lot of TV shows, actually. I had a feeling just from the premise and the few commercials I'd seen that this show would be quirky to say the least. And I was right. But it's the kind of indie quirkiness that makes you laugh and think and love. In short, I think this show is pretty great.
So I'll get this over with first. It's pretty inappropriate. Lots of swearing, sexual references, drug use, and whatnot. For a TV show, how scandalous! But honestly, if you've ever watched a PG-13 movie, you're all right. There's a lot of crude humor, and more pot-smoking than is really necessary, but you'll live. I don't really mind it, but I just thought I should warn you.
Characters, and I'll start out with the greatest; Wilfred. I may never look at a dog the same way again, but he's hilarious. He's the crudest of them all, but he's a dog. The humor of it is voicing the thoughts of dogs, but also adding some swearing and drug-addiction and stuff that absolutely makes no sense for a dog to be doing (ex: in one episode Wilfred is using a typewriter to write his will, in many episodes he smokes a cigarette - how could a dog do that?). The simple blunt-ness and ridiculousness of Wilfred as a character is what makes the whole show so funny. He's so well-written that even when he does something obviously wrong, or mean, or stupid you still be angry with him. And Jason Gann does such a ridiculously good job playing the part. Ryan, played by Elijah Wood, is very different from Wilfred. Having almost killed himself, he's pretty much hit rock bottom by the time he meets Wilfred. And if you think about what it would be like to be him for a moment and hallucinate a talking, cussing, smoking man in a dog suit in place of your neighbor's pet...that would be pretty freaky. Ryan is the constant voice of reason to Wilfred's constant voice of insanity. I think that Elijah Wood plays him well. As far as the first season goes (I haven't completed season 2 yet) there isn't really a point where I got annoyed with Ryan or even Wilfred, which is good considering they're the main characters. So many shows now write characters that annoy you so easily. They're too whiny, they're too harsh, they're too boring, blah blah blah. You know? But not here. Sure, the show has some annoying characters -  but only the ones that are so obviously meant to be annoying are actually annoying. I root for Ryan to get his life together, and for Wilfred to help him and be his friend. I want things to work out for the both of them. A refreshing change of pace since lately shows such as Glee have left me hanging on so many fronts (yes, I'm calling Glee out on it's increasingly awful character-problem). I believe that Wilfred has some well-thought-out, lovable characters that (to my delight) and actually well-written.
I'll just mention one more thing, and that's plot. I know this wasn't an original. This was adapted from an Australian show by the same name (which, trust me, I intend to watch right after season 2 is over), and it really is one of the stranger things I've watched in my life. But I think that's what makes me like it so much. I've read a few other reviews that have, disappointingly ended with vague well..it's strange verdicts, and I have to say that a lot of people would not like this show in the slightest. A lot would think it's not even funny. Some would say that the only reason it airs at all is because it's different, not good. I dunno. I guess I don't believe it. Yeah, it's strange. Yeah, it's unlike anything else on TV, and that doesn't necessarily make it award-winning and legendary, but it means something, right? If it's different enough...I dunno. I always think different is worth a shot. People thinking outside the box is rare enough these days. Let's not squander it.
I've gone on a tangent and I apologize. Plot...let's see. Like I've said, it's about a guy and his best friend...who's a dog. Different. I like it. There's a lot of comedy, a lot of heart (surprising, but there really is some feeling in there, too!), and even some wonder. What is Wilfred, exactly? Is Ryan just hallucinating? Or is there something a bit more mysterious to the whole thing? I honestly have no idea. They've lead me to believe both at one time or another. I enjoy not really knowing, having them trick me every few episodes, throw in a HUGE twist at the end of season 1. To the writers of Wilfred: You are Awesome.
That's all, folks. I guess this show isn't for the faint-of-heart or what-have-you. But I like it. I do. It's different, it's funny, it's indie, it's addictive.

Real Teen Rating ~ A : Definitely check it out!

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