Well, I would still vote for Obama over some of these clowns. I don't know how anybody could want to vote for Perry after that debate...guy is the second coming of Bush.
If a Republican does win the White House, I hope it's Cain or Paul. Although, none of them really impress me.
At the moment, I see none of these candidates beating Obama.
So I'm halfway through Gears of War: Aspho Fields, and I once again feel the need to point out that Karen Traviss really isn't that bad of a writer. If anything, she just sucks at Star Wars.
She's got a real strength for fleshing out characters, imo. Anyone who can make the ever one-dimensional Gears of War characters relatable, has skills, imo.
New Clone Wars episode is frustrating.
http://www.starwars.com/explore/the-clone-wars/ep404/#!/media/fullepisode
Originally posted by Eminence
New Clone Wars episode is frustrating.http://www.starwars.com/explore/the-clone-wars/ep404/#!/media/fullepisode
Grievous was a disappointment.
Zampanó
Well I'm not going to watch it if it's terrible, especially since I haven't seen any of the other episodes.Vent, Faunus. Don't just complain.
Spoiler:
The current Boss of Otoh Gunga has been corrupted by the magicks of a duplicitous minister in contact with the Separatists; the Gungans prepare to march on Theed in protest of their supposed treatment as second-class citizens. Unbeknownst to the warriors themselves the minister has arranged for them to be accompanied in force by Separatist battle droids. This is itself a fairly promising setup.General Grievous personally accompanies this detachment and meets with who he initially believes is the Boss, but is actually Jar Jar Binks in disguise (the Boss was stabbed by the treacherous minister after confronting him, made aware of the situation by the intervention of Anakin and Padme, and lies in critical condition back in the city). The General is relatively courteous until Binks begins stonewalling, at which point he starts growling and stomping and realizes Binks is an imposter. Jar Jar manages to run into an elevator and depart the ship as Grievous bangs angrily on the door before following him outside.
Waiting for the General is a small army of Gungans. Several attack him, never more than two at a time, and one manages to knock one of two lightsabers out of his hand. A prominently featured General Roos Tarpals takes on Grievous in single combat and impales him with a spear, dying the process, which allows the rest of the Gungans to cripple him with their native ion grenades. He is dragged off, screaming in protest.
Meanwhile Anakin is off chasing the minister. He is lured to a "secret laboratory" in which waits Dooku; after speaking with Sidious, he's decided to have the minister lead Anakin to him and his MagnaGuards so they can capture the Jedi and force Padme to trade him for Grievous. Upon arrival Dooku kills the Gungan and engages Skywalker with the droids. Anakin acquits himself rather well here; after being floored by two of them he gets up and takes on four, manhandling two with the Force and stalking after Dooku again. Again, the Count very quickly extricates himself from a saberlock via the droids, but the next time Anakin attacks him Doooku disarms him after a brief exchange. The droids bring the Jedi to his knees with their electrostaves, but are all hurled aside again in a fit of rage. At this, Dooku slams Anakin into a wall, chokes him, and electrocutes him into unconsciousness.
Padme is contacted, a delightfully wicked Dooku gives her an hour to consent, and the trade is made. Grievous, head and hands locked in energy bubbles, laughs as the Gungans shove him over to his troops. Jar Jar is praised for his competence, episode ends.
What frustrates me is a) the continual and extremely thorough shaming of General Grievous, b) the intimate, on world involvement in a single fledgling campaign by both Count Dooku and General Grievous and the consultation of Darth Sidious, c) the casual trade of such a critical POW on the Republic's end. It's unrealistic of me to expect that the main characters won't show up all over the galaxy all the time, but I don't think it's too much to ask that Grievous remain substantially beyond a lone Gungan in single combat, or retain a shred of pride at any point in the episode.
That said, the Count was characteristically well handled. In his case it makes some sense that he's in direct communication with his allies, as his charisma is supposed to be a large part of the separatist allure. I also liked that Anakin started to show some of the juggernaut tendencies depicted in the Revenge of the Sith novel. He's certainly a force to be reckoned with here, even when facing down Dooku. The animation is also superb.
In the areas of plot and general writing, the episode was horrendous.
Spoiler:
It's not so much of an issue for me that General Grievous was captured by Gungun warriors. The general's Badass Decay was initiated as early as 2005; the fact that he is no longer the unique threat he was in the pilot series is something to which I've acclimated. Here, it's made abundantly clear that none of the assembled warriors are a match for the general alone: Tarpals, the most experienced and seasoned warrior of the lot, is quickly outmaneuvered and mortally wounded. It is because of Grievous's hubris that Tarpals manages to land a significant blow, not a lack of skill or strength on the cyborg's part. And if not for that strike, Grievous might very well have carried the day against the amassed army singlehandedly.Why General Grievous and Count Dooku are physically present I'll never know. This is a galaxywide war; Naboo might enjoy some prominence simply because of Palpatine's heritage, but I see no reason for the Separatists' two highest ranking leaders to personally oversee the invasion, particularly when Separatist forces appear to be minimal.
No, the single greatest problem for me is that this is the second time Padme Amidala has unilaterally made a decision that would affect the overall war effort. She does so seemingly without consulting the Jedi Council, the Senate, or more importantly, her immediate superior: Chancellor Palpatine. {Granted, I am well aware of the fact that Palpatine [as Sidious] wanted Grievous out of Republic custody, but we're never shown that she received authorization from any higher authority.} In fact, Sidious's words to Dooku indicate that Padme is acting on her own authority: "I have no doubt Senator Amidala will agree to your terms." Yes, it's clever of Sidious to exploit her attachment to Anakin, but this is the problem:
General Grievous is the supreme military leader of the CIS, which makes him slightly more valuable than Anakin, who is simply a war hero. Padme had the means to end the war then and there, and the fact that she traded Grievous for Anakin and was allowed to keep her job is a tremendous, inexcusable oversight on the writers' part.