I can't stop it, but I can complain

Life is full of things that we may label as a "no". For one, most people would agree murder is a no. I, however, tend to think less about no's in terms of life principles or rules, and more as just things or concepts that don't jive with me, or grind my gears. Begin? BEGIN!

Anime-heads/ Japanimation lovers/ Cosplay/ Lolita/ Japanese obsession .... NO
Let's get honest here. I am just as likely as the next guy to sit around in his room, watch Sailor Moon dubbed in German and space out. But come on, sometimes things are taken too far. When you're asking your mom if you can use her table cloth, lace curtains and a rake to make you look just like your favourite animated Japanese warlock/deity/elf/warrior/sailor scout, it's an issue. When you ask your friends to refer to you only as 'Sakura-san', but your real name is Jenn and you have never been to Japan but think it seems 'mystical and full of adventure', you're not only naive, you're verging on crazy-house material. I think I lack a full understanding of this 'cosplay' phenomenon. Dressing up as your favourite character and going to a massive stadium full of other people dressed up as characters and standing there commenting on eachothers' blue wigs and life-like elf ears does not appeal to me. But then again, I'm not the biggest anime fan. Let's put this in terms of something feasible for me. I love the movie Drop Dead Gorgeous with Kirsten Dunst and Kirstie Alley. Like, I love it. However, I have not once had the overwhelming urge to dress up in a tap dancing costume, put on a blonde wig and emulate Amber Atkins. Something's not right with this. Finally, the concept of 'Lolita' style just boggles my mind. We all like to dress differently, everyone has their own style, this I understand. In fact, I embrace and live it. Nevertheless, try as I might, I fail to see what could be enticing about dressing up like Victorian-era jail-bait and carrying around a lace umbrella in 2008. This could be because I'm close-minded to this phenomenon, because I fail to understand the fun. Or, it could be because it's stupid and a waste of time, energy and nylon. In this case, I vote for the latter.

Christmas with the Kranks... a big NO NO NO.
I did not alter this poster in any way. It's as though its designer looked into the future and just KNEW. I recently watched this movie, in its entirety, with my Mom. While the time was quality, the movie, sadly, was not. "Christmas with the Kranks" is like "Gigli" gone Yuletide. It is the Hurricane Katrina of the film world. This film was so bad, it would not even have been worse if they had guest appearances by Carrot Top, Rob Schneider and Paulie Shore.
This movie indicated to me that Tim Allen (formerly of Hidey-Hoe Home Improvement fame, and now played out) had symbolically looked his career in the eyes, and waved ta-ta. Jamie-Lee Curtis' decision to take part in this project is just as shocking. A self-respecting actress would have refused the part solely based on the hair requirements (see her "Lady and the Tramp"-esque do to the left). But the problem is more than just follical. This movie is tackily written, the acting was so bad that my stomach was in knots, and the plot was so shakily put together I thought I had hydrolics in my La-Z Boy recliner. I would include some one-liners to prove these points, but I have no intention of going back and rewatching painful moments of this trash. It would be like watching and rewatching video evidence from a murder trial. The victim in this case? My respect for Tim and Jamie-Lee C.



That is enough of the no's for now. I'm going to go sip some Hatorade, dress up like Sailor Venus and watch "True Lies".