Lords of Kobol, hear my prayer...

++ I recently found out that costumer designer Shawna Trpcic has passed away. She's worked on various projects, but I mostly knew her from Whedon shows, particularly that of Firefly since I listened to an episode commentary with her featured where she discussed the process of the costumes for that specific episode among other behind-the-scenes information. So even though I didn't follow her closely over the years, this news was still quite a shock.

++ Reddit is a site that I previously was hesitant on visiting that much in the past because I heard it was a cesspool, and while it can be that for sure so can most sites, to be honest. It just depends on the subreddit. Reddit operates similarly to that of the old school forum/message boards with subreddits have individual moderators, which is part of why I've been finding myself visiting there more frequently as of late. Although the site itself has its fair share of issues, it's also a great way of finding different communities and people with opinions, thoughts, and places of discussion that isn't so easily found elsewhere online, including useful resources, informative advice and news updates. I don't have an account there, I prefer to lurk and browse, but I do like visiting daily for these particular things, from fandom to just general news and information.

++ Watching Make Some Noise on Dropout.tv has been my highlight of the last week. It's a spin-off little game show from its own game show, Game Changer, where both are similar in the format of Whose Line although I'd argue that Make Some Noise is a bit more of that in its nature due to its prompts. And just like Game Changer, it's absolutely hilariously chaotic. I'm sure some have already seen some clips floating about (the Times New Roman vs. Comic Sans one, and the most recently Brennan Lee Mulligan's Trump-as-Sauron impression being the most circulated that I've seen), and trust me it's this unhinged and then some. Here is a random compilation of some moments from season two just to get a bit of a glimpse of the shenanigans that occur.

++ Oscar Isaac giving absolutely no fucks and calling out Disney/Star Wars for being homophobic cowards is something I deeply appreciate. I understand actors wanting to keep their mouths shut about things in fear of getting blacklisted, but we do need more of them to come out of the woodwork and call out the industry for this kind of shit. The more pushback, the more likely someone will listen.

With that being said, unfortunately Hollywood is still not LGBT friendly. Most mainstream movies are not, this is especially true for huge franchises. They'll promise and claim there will be an LGBT character revealed only for it to be an elaborate queerbaiting marketing scheme to get money. Some directors are genuine about it, of course, and we also appreciate their honest efforts, but the higher ups are ultimately the ones in charge and who make the calls. It's been clear for a long time now that Hollywood movies are far behind when it comes to any representation of marginalized groups. Sure, there will be that groundbreaking one every once in a while, but for every step forward there are many steps backwards, so nothing is really progressing at all. Other forms of media, however, while not entirely perfect and still have issues of their own, have pushed through those boundaries and are far better with having representation in their stories. Hollywood needs to collectively get their act together and stop living in their outdated version of how movies should be. They won't, of course, but this is why I'm hoping that more actors, directors, people behind the scenes, will push back hard enough that something will change from within.

++ Apparently FOX is open to the idea of a Firefly revival. There's been talk about reviving the series for years now, and I still stand by my opinion that, as much as I loved the series, it needs to be left alone. With that being said, I do agree that the only way it could work is if it's a limited series. A limited series on a streaming service the either focuses on a new crew with cameos from the original cast, or having the old crew who separated from Serenity come back together after all these years for one last hurrah. Ideally, that would be fantastic. I doubt it will happen, though.

Asked by verdande_mi:

Do you have any favourite cast(s) from film or TV?

This has undoubtedly been said before, but it still remains true, I think the Firefly cast is probably one of my top favorite group of people just for the simple fact that they all have remained incredibly close friends all these years later. Aside from the fact of how much fun they had filming the show (and the movie Serenity), they have also continued going to these conventions whenever they get the chance year after year and never tire of talking about the show and what it meant to them and how they love all the fans, and overall how they're so tight with each other. Their friendship as a whole is just something beautiful to see, honestly.

With movies, most recently it's been Star Wars, more specifically from the original trilogy and the newer films. Seeing the behind the scenes from The Force Awakens and the cuteness from everyone involved is adorable. They just make me so happy. ♥

There will be a 10th anniversary Firefly panel at Comic-Con.

With everything else that will be going on, this will no doubt be the biggest event of the entire weekend. Joss and his crew are considered rockstars at this convention, adding in a Firefly panel on top of everything else, I won't be surprised if the room will be completely packed and overflowing with Browncoats and other Whedon fans alike. It makes me sad that I won't be attending, since if there's one thing I would kill for would be to see and meet this man, and the entire Firefly cast, in person. One day, though. One day this wish will come true.

I'm mostly just looking forward to seeing the outcome of this panel, tbh. You know shenanigans are gonna happen, as they always do.

Speaking of which, is anyone actually attending Comic-Con this year?

For anyone going to the Supernatural panel, which will have Jeremy Carver and Ben Edlund, I really want someone to ask them intelligent questions. Like, actual legitimate thought-provoking questions that we need answers to, not to mention certain things that need to be properly addressed regarding the direction and writing on the show and the development of the characters. At other conventions the actors answer the best they can, but this is one of the rare moments when the writers/producers can actually answer such questions directly themselves. It's one of the reasons why I wish I was going because believe me, I have a shitload of questions that I really want to ask that only come up during online discussions and debates, but rarely, if ever, asked or taken seriously at fan conventions. So I find this to be a great opportunity to ask those important questions that we've hardly gotten a serious answer to before. Never mind that I really am interested to hear what Jeremy Carver has to say now that he's the new showrunner.

So....apparently Han Solo was in Firefly. The miniature carbonated version anyway, stuck in the background of several scenes in the show itself. Being a constant presences of inspiration for our rugged Malcolm Reynolds, it seems. Oh Joss Whedon, your fanboying geekery amuses and delights me. *g* Because of this trivia I happily rewatched the episodes to spot them myself even though someone already did, since it's a nice excuse to what my shiny show again. I am such a Browncoat, heee.

Another piece of trivia: There was a Firefly class spaceship in the mini-series of Battlestar Galactica.

I also get a kick watching people's shocked reaction when they learn that Zac Efron played young!Simon on the show in his first acting role ever. ;)