Where do I go from here?

Okay, that was a bit dramatic. I have not written a blog, or done much online because of Ready Player One. This book. I’ve been reading this book for about two weeks. I finished it a couple of days ago. I know what you’re thinking … if it’s such a great book Melissa, why did it take you two weeks? I have reasons. Alright I admit it, it’s because when the book got dark, I was too depressed to keep reading it. (Hey! If people can feel that way about a tv show, I can feel that way about a book.)

My husband first read Ready Player One, then he told me about the book. We actually started listening to the audiobook before I started reading the book. The audiobook is read by one Mr. Wil Wheaton. Then I could not help it I had to read it. Darn you Wheaton’s voice, making me want to read things. Who am I kidding, I was going to read it anyway. But seriously Wil Wheaton does an amazing job.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline has been out since 2011, so I don’t think there will be any spoilers here. Before I forget to say, if you are looking for a book that will ruin your life, in a good way, this is the book for you. And if you like 80s references you’ll like Ready Player One. And if you like witty banter, you’ll like this book. And if you like gaming you’ll like this book.

WARNING: Okay there’s a lot of spoilers in this. Usually when I say sorry about the spoilers guys, they are vague spoilers. But these spoilers you are about to read have a lot of details. So if you have not read Ready Player One, and/or you don’t like spoilers you may not want to keep reading.

With that last note, if you have read my blogs you know that I am not as the kids say, a gamer. But you don’t have to be to appreciate the other themes in this book. The main theme, well for me anyway, was how scarily addictive the internet can be. (Trust me there is no irony here. At least I don’t think there is. I mean just because I am using the internet to tell people about this book. Right?) Anyway. After I read Ready Player One I went through a lot of emotions. One was being freaked out. It was kind of scary to see how even though that the world was a total mess, people could not log off the OASIS. Even if the world was a bad place in 2044, it would still be scary to see how addicted everyone is to the OASIS. (I know it was not medically proven that the OASIS is addictive.)

One of my favorite scenes is when Parzival and Art3mis meet for the first time at the First Gate. (And yes Wil does capture her attitude and hard core gunterness perfectly.) I like how Parzival totally crushes on her in person. Well as in person as they can get online. Although I still would like to know who this Chuck guy is. Every time he tries to convince himself Art3mis may not be a girl, it’s always a guy named Chuck.

I was in love with another scene in the book. Well two scenes. (Side note: I will be skipping around all over the place after this.) The first was when Aech and Pazival meet IRL. That’s when Wade realizes Aech is really Helen. You can feel the nervousness in the scene as Helen and Wade want to, but they don’t want to look at each other. Then when Helen smiles her smile Wade knows without a doubt this is his best friend. In the first part of the book, I knew Wade was a genuine nice guy, but this scene sealed it for me. That Wade was an amazing person. In the end Wade did not care that Helen was a girl because he loved her for who she is, not for what she looked like. And I mean love as a friend because you can tell as Wade and her talk that he respects and values their friendship.

The other scene I was in love with is of course the end when Art3mis and Parzival meet IRL. Of course Samantha (Art3mis) would not be Samantha without telling Wade “Well, what do you know? You look just like I always thought you would too,” she said. “Butt ugly.” Okay maybe the fact that he was in love with her before he meet her at the first gate made it an aww moment. (Side note: if you know me I am not the type of gal that says awww.)

I guess I can forgive Art3mis even though I feel like a part of why the book got dark is because Wade was so depressed after she decided to be a “girl” and not want to keep talking to him. Wade, I keep shaking my head because even though he threw those items away, I was a little disappointed he was looking for love in all the wrong places. I know, I know he was upset. But still.

I also liked that it was a happy ending. The bad guy was arrested, and the good guys were all really good guys. None of them were playing both sides. They all genuinely wanted to make sure the Sixers did not control the OASIS. It was such a happy ending it made me feel like a cross between John Bender at the end of The Breakfast Club where he throws his arm in the air, and The NeverEnding Story when Falkor flies over Bastian’s bullies.

There were a couple of “WHAT?” moments for me as well. Okay when Wade lets himself get caught by IOI. I almost threw the book across the room. Only because I thought it would knock some send into Wade. I mentioned earlier my husband read this book before me, so he gave me the “breathe, he has a plan” speech. Which he did and it was canon! Talk about tense, I thought I was going to pass out after you realize Wade bought a maintenance tech ID and access password to be able defeat the Sixers from opening the third gate. And then he had to leave earlier than planned because he saw the file folders on all of his friends. And then when the lady in the lobby was like sir you’re bleeding. And that was after he realized he was still walking in the plastic slippers. And then he changed back to his identity. (PS: Really Art3mis you had to be a girl because Wade looked at your picture. I know I can’t really say that because I would be the same way. But still. Wade is a super nice person. And he was trying to save your life.)

The other “WHAT!” moment is when Aech, Parzival, and Art3mis get through the third gate and everyone dies. O, my G-O-S-H! But then you realize what that quarter was for that Parzival won playing Pac-Man. (Did you know the original word for Pac-Man was Puck-Man? You would think it was because he looks like a hockey puck, but it actually comes from the Japanese phrase “Paku-Paku” which means to flap one’s mouth open and closed. They changed it because they thought Puck-Man would be too easy to vandalize, you know, like people would just scratch off the P and turn it into an F or whatever. –Scott Pilgrim)

I said this before about when you, well when I felt like I learned Wade was an amazing person because of the scene with Helen (Aech). Then right before he gets into the Third Gate and tells everyone that he is going to split the winnings with them. I could not help but smile because he really is a genuine, trusting person with no motives. And IRL we could use more of that.

Thank you Ernest Cline for writing a book that is, well … canon.

How to tell if you are drift compatible.

After my husband and I first saw Guillermo del Torro’s Pacific Rim, we have found ourselves saying “drift compatible!” whenever we say or think the same things. For example, whenever my husband and I say the words “do you” we say it a la Anthony Michael Hall in The Breakfast Club. 

I thought it might be fun to list items, in my humble opinion, that make two people drift compatible. Some are from my personal life, others are things I have thought about recently. So here they are in no particular order.

• When you say, “check you later” they automatically think “alright, alright, alright.”
• Whenever you discuss or mention Doug Jones, the other person knows exactly who you are talking about. You even share the same favorite funny seen in Hellboy when, Abe and Hellboy are sharing a beer and discussing their women troubles. “You’re in love. Have a beer.”
• While watching the premier of J.J. Abrams, Star Trek, both of you geeked out when you saw Noel Clarke. And at the same time said Mickey! While looking around to see if anyone was excited as you were to see a companion.
• When you hear that someone has not seen Doctor Who, you or your significant other say “you’ve never seen Doctor Who?” in your best British accent. Saying it in that accent is a result of seeing Revision 3’s “Welcome Back, Doctor Who” one too many times on YouTube.
• Speaking of YouTube, one of the other videos you’ve both seen together a billion times is Portlandia’s Battlestar Galactica - One More Episode. Edward James Olmos and James Callis make a guest appearance. Ron Moore also makes a cameo, however not in the way you would think.
• You both said Whaaat! When you realized it would be the last time you would see Scott Wilson play Hershel in Too Far Gone. Yes admittedly one of you did have to comfort the other because while Beth and Maggie began crying that started the water works.
• You both feel like Rob Gordon in High Fidelity when everyone starts talking about The Walking Dead, Sherlock, and Doctor Who because you liked these shows first. Which makes you feel like a hipster for saying don’t infect my beautiful shows with your main stream. However, secretly you both need others to watch so the TV networks can keep the show going for as long as it can. The only reason you know the term “infect it with your main stream” because you’ve both seen Soundly Awake’s Hipsters On Valentine’s  Day a bunch of times. Okay let’s face it you both go on YouTube one day binges, but there is no judgment.
• Your significant other can recognize a Bear McCreary musical compositions before knowing it is him. Like when you watched season 1, episode 1 of Defiance, and heard the theme music the other person says that sounds like Bear.
• While watching the entire Star Trek series (yes all of them) you both say at the same time hey it’s Kate Vernon (aka Ellen Tigh)! Or, hey it’s Rick Worthy (aka Number Four)! But when watching Battlestar Galactica, you both say hey it’s Sam Witwer! Or, when Roslin was getting chemo you both say, isn’t that Kira (Deep Space Nine)?
• Whenever the computer messes up, acts strange, or you see a news article about another advancement in robotics or technology - your significant nods in agreement when you say “Skynet.”

I smile when I hear the word Toronto because I know my husband will say “in Toronto” a la Brandon Routh in Scott Pilgrim vs the World. Because its moments like these when we make a reference the other one gets, we simply look at each other and know we are thinking the same thing … drift compatible.

Hello, my name is Melissa and I'm addicted to BBC shows, John Hughes movies, and...

You know how some film classes have certain movies on their curriculum? There are days when I tell my husband if I had a class about films, this movie or show would be watched. The following are my favorite movies and television shows. In no particular order because they are all equally awesome.

The Breakfast Club. There are some youngsters today (hehe I said youngsters) who will not know the joy and heartache of being a teenager. Before there was the WB and such we had Pretty In Pink, Some Kind of Wonderful, and Sixteen Candles. John Hughes movies should be required class materials.

The IT Crowd, the BBC version. Two words, Moss and Roy. One question, “Hello IT have you tried turning it on and off again?” It’s hard to explain The IT Crowd if you have not seen it. And I don’t mean that in a “don’t worry citizen I can take it from here” kind of way. If you are every on the YouTube you’ll have to look this up.

The Muppets Take Manhattan. I can’t say that I do not care for cartoons or kids shows today because I have never really seen them. But what I can say is that Jim Henson was a genius. In my humble opinion, he led the path for studios like Pixar to have a comedic balance that is funny for both kids and adults. Let’s not forget Labyrinth. Magic Dance. And don’t forget my favorite phrase, "It’s not fair!"

My So-Called Life. If John Hughes is the King of teenage angst, Winnie Holzman is the Queen of Teenage Angst. In my humble opinion she has a way of writing her characters true to life. Even now when I watch this show it takes me back, and I say to myself I remember feeling this way, or that character reminds me of the friend I had. I think her and John Hughes’s stories stand the test of time and can be relatable for young people today.

(Side note, as I am writing this I know I will keep thinking of more to add to the list. Then once I am done I will say, I can’t believe I forgot this one.)

Dazed and Confused. One time my husband played Slow Ride for a class presentation when getting his RTF degree. Afterwards some of his class mates said hey that’s a great song, where is it from? He replied Dazed and Confused. They had no idea what he was talking about. Never hear of it. To which my reply was the same as his, mouth opened in disbelief. It’s hard to believe some people will never know where All right, all right, all right come from when referring to Matthew McConaughey.

The funny thing is that not much separates these films and TV shows from others. The events and situations range from simple to crazy. Muppets are on the list. It’s the characters that make all the difference and the little details that make them unique and memorable. There are reasons why they stand the test of time and become part of our lives.

“Sometimes someone says something really small, and it just fits right into this empty place in your heart.” – Angela Chase