Saturday Morning Musings (#13) - It's Time for an Update

I have to say, I was surprised to see it's been nearly a month since I last posted, especially since I was expecting to post even more since that post throughout the summer. Hello, everyone. Long time, no writing. I haven't forgotten about you. I've honestly had some ideas of what to write about, but I haven't been able to form enough words that I deemed worthy to share in a post. I always want to be proud of what I'm writing on here and for some reason, it wasn't happening. I didn't lose motivation to write, I lost that proud feeling I had after writing a post. However, I'm back now. I have a few things I want to talk about in this post and then an idea I had that may make for a good week of posting. Let's get into it.

We'll start with the Mets. This team certainly has its ups and downs. Sometimes, they can make you love them so much, and other times, you can't believe what you're watching, but you still watch it anyway. Jacob deGrom had a fantastic All-Star Game performance. I was so excited for him and he really did such a great job out there. Steven Matz is another player I'm beyond excited about. I'm so glad he's finally here (although he is currently injured). Fans have been urging for the front office to make a move and it probably should have happened sooner, but I guess as the saying goes: "better late than never." They called up Michael Conforto, who can have a big impact if he does well. The important thing is to not put pressure on him to hold this team up. They're in the process of making trades to add bats that can help the offense in some way. With the great pitching they have, they don't need the greatest offense in the world, but they do need offense. After the trade deadline, it'll be interesting to see if these new additions make a difference. 

I saw Paper Towns Thursday night, and although fans had mixed reviews, I'm more inclined to give it a positive rating. Yes, things were changed that didn't need to be changed. Scenes were cut, which has to be done. The ending was changed in a way that it didn't need to be, but the message still remained. I spoke to some friends and said that I honestly feel as though it is a movie that will get many mixed reviews. Some people will love the message it sends, but others may not appreciate it as much. There's heartbreak. It's not a typical romance that ends with a happy ending. That doesn't take away from the fact that the message it sends isn't a great one. I considered writing a full review on it, but couldn't find enough to say because it really is hard to put into words exactly how I feel. Some things I loved, like the casting, but small things bothered me, like the things that didn't need to be changed at all. Overall, I recommend going to see it. You may not like it at all or you may love it. Or, you may find yourself somewhere in between like me.

It seems as though the time I've posted this is a bad time since I'm going away in a week starting August 1. However, I did have an idea for the trip, which is a cruise. I'm taking my laptop and although I don't think I'll have access to the internet (preventing me from posting), I do want to write each day. The following week, I could post a writing per day. Almost like a "Cruise Journal," though I can't guarantee that each day will be a compilation of the day's events. It may be something random, something that got me thinking, or it may be all about what happened that day. Either way, it'll be seven brand new posts that are something different. Just an idea I had. 

That wraps everything up for today. I hope you all have been having a great summer. It's been going fast, which is upsetting, but hopefully it's been filled with fun events. This will probably be the only thing I post before I leave for vacation, so I will see you all in two weeks with another post. 

Saturday Morning Musings (#12)

Good morning! (Good afternoon now since I didn't get a chance to finish this in the morning.) I hope you've all had a great week. I was thinking about what to talk about today and then I figured that there was something regarding Arrow and also something regarding Supernatural. So, let's talk about those two things today. (Arrow and Supernatural spoilers are in this post.)

Let's start with Arrow. The season ended with Oliver retiring the Arrow and going on a trip with Felicity. Stephen Amell has said he's worn the Arrow suit for the last time. I can't see that being 100% true. So, here's what I think. Oliver Queen could get a new suit. And, he may of retired the Arrow, but that doesn't mean he can't become the Green Arrow, the Emerald Archer. Something is going to pull him back into the field, and it seems likely that it will be Damien Darhk and H.I.V.E. I can't see him no longer fighting on the show, as it is called 'Arrow'. I'm interested in seeing what happens next season, as this one ended on a very positive note, which worries me since nothing stays good for long for Team Arrow. I'm also looking forward to seeing what happens between Diggle and Oliver, since they ended the season with going their separate ways. There are lots of things to look forward to.

There was a key moment in Supernatural this past week that really hit hard. That scene would be Dean beating up Cas. Being that he's haunted by the image of that in the next episode, I think it plays even more of a pivotal role than may be originally thought. For a while, Dean was overcome by the Mark during that scene. It seems like the moment he realizes what he's done is right before he plunges the angel blade next to Cas. The reason why I say this is because he automatically goes to what he always does what things get bad. He pushes him away. He tells him that he won't miss next time. It's because of this event and possibly even ones that will transpire in the beginning of the finale that Dean finally seeks help from someone, and in this case that someone is Death. What he must do and what happens as a result of what Sam is doing will be interesting to see.

That wraps up today's post. Short, but I only wanted to mention a few things. We'll see how these finales go this week. Hope you all have a great weekend.

ICYMI: Arrow Season 3 Finale Recap
Supernatural Recap
The Flash Recap

Reminder: The Flash Finale this Tuesday
Supernatural Finale this Wednesday

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Saturday Morning Musings (#11): Age of Ultron

Good morning, everyone. I've been wanting to do a post about The Avengers: Age of Ultron where I could go spoiler crazy and discuss everything that stood out to me outside of my review, since that was spoiler-free. So for today's post, I'm dedicating it to that topic. There are definitely a decent number of things that I want to talk about, or rather going into further analysis of it now that the review is out, so let's get into it. (Warning: This post does contain spoilers for Age of Ultron)

Something that really stood out to me in this film was the presentation of the Avenger's dream sequences that five of the six experienced. They allowed us to understand a little bit more about what they were keeping inside and not showing. Steve's involved elements of his PTSD and always feeling as though he was on the battlefield. He was haunted by his past, of being out of place and not within his time period. He was haunted by that last dance he promised Peggy, but ultimately, he was plagued with the feeling of being alone and an outsider since he isn't in his own time period.

Black Widow's also stood out to me. She was haunted by an event that actually happened in her life. Seeing her go through those experiences at the Red Room as she trained to be an assassin allowed you to understand why she is usually so closed off to people. It still continues to impact her in the present day, especially by having to go through sterilization. The experience as a whole is something that's very haunting to her as the things she was trained to do as someone so young were ruthless. She feels as though she doesn't belong because she was trained to kill and to not care about anything more than her mission.

Iron Man's fear revolved around not being able to save his teammates. He's scolded for not doing everything he possibly could to save them, ultimately encouraging him to go through with using the Infinity Stone to create Ultron to serve as another protector, but instead leads to destruction.

Thor's fear is the end of Asgard. He wouldn't be able to stop this end. His fear also included a glimpse of an Infinity Stone, which eventually causes him to revisit this fear where he sees the four stones that have been found already.

We don't know what Hulk's fear was, though we do know that it caused him to destroy anything in his way, as well as try to destroy Iron Man. Hawkeye wasn't attacked by Scarlet Witch in this way, though she did try and he stopped her. The irony about Scarlet Witch causing them to see these fears and haunting visions in their heads is that in the end, what's assumed to be her biggest fear comes true. Her brother is killed, and in turn, she is left without him by her side. Her only family member left was now gone, as well.

There has been a lot of debate about Natasha Romanoff in this movie. Let me start out by saying that I 100% agree with the statement Mark Ruffalo released. I don't really understand people's issue with her storyline in this movie. Her feelings for Bruce didn't diminish her strength in any way. It didn't make her appear weak like some people have felt it did, in my opinion. In the majority of situations, she was the one saving their asses. It's hard for her to do something against an entire army of Ultrons, but she did what she could. The scenes that did make her appear weaker than usual only made her appear stronger in others. She showed her insecurity with her infertility, stating that she felt as though she was a monster, and to some people, insecurities appear as a weakness, but she look for anyone's pity. She's still strong and independent. So what she has a minor love interest in this movie? Steve Rogers had a minor love interest in the first Captain America film. Clint was revealed to have a wife and kids in this film, but you never hear anything about that. I didn't find the relationship to be thrown in people's faces. It just existed, it wasn't made a bigger thing than it needed to be. Like Mark said, there are so few female superheroes that having them appear normal and showing their weaknesses bothers some people. I was not bothered by her character at all during this film. I enjoyed the fact that we were seeing her open up more to someone instead of keeping everything in.

Two funny scenes stood out to me. The first would be the one where Steve calls them out for their language. The fact that this kept up throughout the rest of the movie lets you see their bond as a group. They tease each other, they're friends. They wouldn't let him live that comment down. Each time this popped up throughout the film it got a nice laugh.

I also loved the scene with Thor's hammer. Before Ultron comes into play, you have a very casual and fun scene. You have a group of friends sitting around after having a good night and they're having a good time, questioning why Thor's the only one who can lift the hammer. It was so normal and resembled how they all are in interviews together. This also showed up again after Vision is created and is able to lift it. The look on everyone's face was great. The "elevator's not worthy" joke was also funny. Ultimately, these scenes allowed them to be themselves and normal for a little while to relax and have fun.

Of course, I wish the alternate ending was used instead of Quicksilver's death since I'm still sad he died. I think it would have been nice to learn more about his character, but he did go through the full arc of siding with evil, becoming good, and dying as a hero, an Avenger. I do wish we would have been able to get to know him further.

I think that about sums about everything I want to talk about regarding Age of Ultron. If anything else comes up that I think of, I'll probably mention it in next Saturday's post. I hope you all have a fantastic weekend and happy Mother's day to all the mom's out there.

ICYMI: This week's recaps can be read here

Saturday Morning Musings (#10)... on a Sunday

Good morning! So, today's post will be going up on a Sunday because I had a crazy Saturday yesterday with SAT tests, a Communion party, and also my friend's birthday party. Between all of that, I had no time to sit down and write up a post for the day. Instead, I figured I'd do it today since there are some Arrow-related things I want to talk about before the next episode shows on Wednesday. Let's get into today's topics. (This post does contain spoilers for Arrow) 

Arrow. Last week, we met Oliver Queen as Al Sah-Him. In my recap, I was very between it being Oliver pretending or Oliver having actually changed through brainwashing. Now that I've had a few days to let the episode soak in and after seeing the promo, I'm going to stick to that gut feeling that he's pretending. Now, I may be completely wrong, but that's why these sorts of things are simply called theories. So what makes me get this feeling? As some prior information, I'll be using 'Darth Oliver' to recognize the actions he takes that are done in order to pretend, and 'Oliver' to recognize the actions he would have taken as himself.

Let's start with the scene where Lyla was being traded back to Team Arrow in return for Nyssa. Darth Oliver had each of them searched by Maseo. However, when he got to Felicity, she firmly commanded him not to touch her. Maseo looked to Darth Oliver for what to do, and Oliver simply nodded his head, signaling him to respect her wishes. If Darth Oliver was really who Oliver was, he wouldn't of cared about Felicity's wishes. Oliver does. Important to notice that Felicity was betting on him respecting her wishes because she holds what sets off this particular fight scene that Lyla will eventually use: the gun. During this fight scene, Darth Oliver is facing Diggle. Yes, he does fight him, but he doesn't hurt him to an extreme. Darth Oliver wouldn't care about how he hurt Diggle. He would go after him and hurt him a lot worse than he did. This is another clue to me that this is Oliver pretending because even though he did have his sword raised at the end of it, there's no indication that he would have actually brought it down on him. Oliver needs to make this look real, believable, but he can do that, while not physically injuring the people he cares about to an extreme. I have to admit, Thea showing up and shooting an arrow through his wrist, which he didn't even flinch at, was badass. It's because of her showing up that we don't get a chance to see what he would have done with Diggle, but I don't think he was going to kill him.

That was the one scene that really stood out to me, but there were other minor moments that merely his expression didn't seem like one Darth Oliver would wear, such as his very minor facial reaction to Ra's saying he would marry Nyssa. I think this will have certain limits between the two of them, especially since Nyssa likes the female gender and Oliver is in love with Felicity. I don't think it's going to be a binding agreement in either of their eyes.

The promo holds the other important scene that we will see on Wednesday that for me, really told me Oliver was himself. There's a very small moment where he looks at Felicity the way Oliver looks at Felicity. The look on his face is identical to that way he's looked at her in the past. Another thing would be that yes, he does put his friends in a prison cell, but it seems that he doesn't hurt them. Putting them in the cell would keep them safe, but also allow them to be there when he plans to make his big escape.

Now, the opposing argument would say, "But Oliver killed that guy in the beginning when it appeared to him as Diggle." Yes, he did. I think at this point Oliver knew that it wasn't actually him. He's been with Ra's for a few weeks and knows what he's trying to do. Regarding Oliver killing someone, I think there is a very small number of things that he won't do to continue his game of pretend. He kidnapped Lyla, but he didn't harm her or even baby Sara. I'm sure he was fully aware that Diggle would be pissed at him for that. The important thing was that he didn't harm her. And there are many ways the argument could go, but like I said, there are very few things Oliver would not do, and at this point, he's trying to get himself away from this life Ra's has planned for him and to get back to his friends.

Stephen Amell said Oliver ends the season running and I have the feeling he'll finally be making his escape in the finale. This is my theory, but I'm also not opposed to the theory that something will snap him out of it if he's in a brainwashed state. We'll see how things go this week and if we get any more clues as to if he really is Darth Oliver or Oliver playing games with Ra's al Ghul.

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ICYMI: I posted my review of The Avengers: Age of Ultron  

Saturday Morning Musings (#9)

Good morning! I hope you all have enjoyed your week. Mine has been fun since I've had cousins from Italy over so I've had to use the Italian I know to communicate. That's a little bit of insight to my week, but there are a few things I want to talk about this morning. So, in today's post we'll be talking baseball and Suicide Squad. 

The Mets 11-game winning streak was stopped by the Yankees last night in the Bronx by a score of 6-1. Jacob deGrom got roughed up and didn't have his best stuff, but those games happen. Mistakes are made in a game and they capitalized on those pitches. Unfortunately, it was against the Yankees and they were the ones to stop the streak. They just have to go out there today with the mindset of starting a new streak. I didn't have the opportunity to watch since I was with a friend, but from the video footage I've seen and seeing tweets from the Mets bloggers, that ump's strike zone was a lot bigger for Pineda than it was for deGrom. Pineda pitched a good game, so I'm not saying that it would of made a difference in the outcome, but it's certainly frustrating for a team. 

The 11-game streak and undefeated 10-game homestand showed positive signs. The team was getting walks and converting them to runs. They were hitting, but not necessarily ripping the cover off the ball. In the process of everything, they lost three of their top players: David Wright (hamstring), Travis d'Arnaud (Finger fractured on his right hand), and Jerry Blevins (Fracture on the left arm). Even after the injuries, the team pushed forward. David Wright should be ramping up baseball activity this week and should be returning soon. d'Arnaud and Blevins have longer waits for their return. In the midst of this, Hansel Robles and Kevin Plawecki have made their debuts. Robles entered the game last night with the two runners on base and no outs. After an infield single by Alex Rodriguez, the bases were full, but he successfully got out of the jam with a foul pop out and two strikeouts. Plawecki has looked good behind the plate and I'm sure the tips and support from d'Arnaud have certainly helped him. Overall, the team looks good and if they keep playing like they've been (not saying they have to win every game), they're setting themselves up to play some October baseball. The important thing is to win series. 

As for Suicide Squad, Jared Leto's reveal was certainly anticipated and when it was released by director David Ayer, it wasn't what everyone thought it would be and of course, brought mixed reactions. No matter what, we're getting an original take from Jared. It's not going to be a replica of Heath Ledger's Joker. Jared's Joker will be something different. It seems as though the look pays tribute to a multitude of Jokers in the past, but Jared certainly seems to have the look of insanity down. I'm looking forward to seeing his full (and actual) take hit the big screen in 2016. My favorite superhero-related website posted an in-depth analysis of this photo, so I highly recommend you check that out here. Maybe this isn't even the actual look and they're playing with the fans. Edit: They were playing with the fans. As for the rest of the cast, I'm very excited to see their reveals, which hopefully we'll get soon. It's a cast with some great actors and actresses, so it definitely should be a good movie. With all the superhero films we have, it's going to be cool to see a movie dedicated to a team of villains. I'm looking forward to it.


That's about it for today's post. Recaps will be up as usual this week and The Avengers: Age of Ultron comes out this week so I will most certainly be seeing that as soon as it's released and most likely doing a review on it, so look forward to that. I hope you all have a fantastic day and I'll see you all with a 'Subway Series Recap' on Monday (or Sunday night).

ICYMI: Check out this week's recaps and my review of Daredevil Season 1

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Saturday Morning Musings (#8)

Good morning, everyone. I'm actually starting to write this the night before because I have work early in the morning and I'm exhausted right now, but I need to get my ideas flowing so i know what to write in the morning. A few topics to discuss today, so let's get into it.

The New York Mets are in first place in the NL East. As a Mets fan, that's an awesome thing to hear, no matter what time of the year it is. Yes, we're only 11 games into the season, but it's still nice. Right now, they look good. Six wins in a row, the comebacks are there, the offense is there, and ultimately, they're fun to watch. I haven't had the opportunity to step foot into Citi Field yet this season, hopefully that will happen soon, but everyone I've spoken to has said the place has been rocking. The fans are excited, the team's excited; it's a good combination for a ballgame. Pitchers have looked good. They may have given up a few runs here and there, but overall, they've kept the team in the game. Matt Harvey's first start back at Citi Field had insane energy. I was watching from home and you could literally feel the energy through the TV. It was fantastic and I'll be the first to say it got chills. The atmosphere at the field had to be incredible. The fans are definitely ready for the playoffs to hit Flushing again, there's no doubt about that.

I'll be posting a full review this week, but I still want to add in a little something about Daredevil. If you don't watch the show, watch it. It's so well done and absolutely fantastic. I don't want to say too much because of the upcoming review, but I finished it in a matter of 3 days, that's how great it was. Even if you're not a fan of superheroes, give it a chance. Speaking of superheroes, you can check out the post I wrote about them here.

Arrow, The Flash, and Supernatural are all on the final stretch and each show had great episodes this week. You can checkout this week's recaps here. All of the shows are definitely looking like they'll have some great finishes so I'm excited to keep watching.

The Vampire Diaries' Nina Dobrev is leaving the show after 6 seasons. I'm not surprised by her decision and as much as I don't really like Elena, I will miss Nina's presence on the show. This week's episode was good, but I'm excited for them to finally do what I've wanted to since Caroline turned her humanity off: have Stefan pretend to have his humanity turned off, but actually be his normal self. That'll be interesting to see if she buys it and if he gets her to turn it back on.

That's all for today's post. Short, but covered a few different things. Be sure to lookout for the Daredevil review coming soon and I'll, of course, see you all with some more recaps this week.

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Saturday Morning Musings (#7)

Good morning! I hope you've had a great week. There are a few topics to touch upon today ranging from sports to TV so let's get right on into it.

Regarding sports, let's talk about the Mets. So far, their record is 2-2, but it's the beginning of the season. The offense the first two games wasn't really there, but the last two games they've been hitting and converting those hits to runs, a good thing to see. Matt Harvey's first start to the season was similar to the Matt Harvey we saw before the surgery: 6 IP, 0 ER, 9 K, 1 BB, 4 H. Seeing him healthy and pitching well is something that fans obviously like to see. Niese got a little rattled in the first few innings last night, but then he settled in. The concern most people have right now, especially due to last night's game, is Wilmer Flores at shortstop. He's shown his range, which isn't outstanding, but it won't change, so that's not the main issue. The concern comes with his throws. He made three throws last night that weren't on target to first. All three took Cuddyer off the bag, two were scored an error, one Cuddyer applied the tag to bail him out of his third error of the night. Other than that, he hasn't looked bad at the position. As long as he hits and makes those throws, the issue there would be fixed. It's too early to make a judgement on the team as a whole, that'll come around two months into the season.

I finished catching up on The Walking Dead. Fantastic show. I definitely really enjoy watching it. I, personally, don't think the Season 5 finale was their best finale, but I still really liked it. It was very intense and suspenseful, while at the same time, not as intense as I thought it would end up. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in Season 6, it should definitely be interesting. I think conflicts between Rick's group and the Alexandria group are going to still be existing because of the fact that the people of Alexandria are weak, but we'll see how it plays out. (Side note: I love the unsaid family of Rick, Michonne, Carl, and Judith. It makes me so happy. Daryl Dixon also still stands to be my favorite character.)

Supernatural. Charlie's back the next episode and I love character so I'm exciting to see her again. As for the season, I'm enjoying it. There have obviously been some really great episodes and some not so great, but that comes with every show. I like the fact that the focus is still on removing the Mark of Cain. Personally, I don't know if I believe there is a way to remove it, but it'll be interesting to see what the show comes up with. I actually wrote my own theory here, so feel free to read that. Rowena did mention that there may be some way to remove it, but we have yet to see what that is. The season finale for this season is called 'My Brother's Keeper' and that title pretty much has me worried in itself, but I want to see the promo for it before I make any final guesses.

If you're a superhero fan, I'm sure you've spent your weekend binge-watching Daredevil on Netflix. I'm around halfway through the season, but so far, I'm really enjoying it. It's an awesome show. The fight scenes are so cool to watch because of the fact that Matt Murdock (Daredevil) is blind, so the fight scenes are going to be a little bit different compared to other heroes. He relies on his other senses immensely, particularly smell and sound, in order to know his surroundings. What I found out reading about the show and thought I'd share was something cool about the mask. The mask is made out of a material that basically makes it seem as though it's solid, but the actor or stunt double can see through it. Another thing that stood out to me was that Charlie Cox, who plays Daredevil, actually took martial arts and does most of his own stunt work, while having a stunt double for the more dangerous stuff and specialized moves, very similar to Stephen Amell in his role as Oliver Queen on Arrow. Whenever an actor or actress takes on the majority of their own stunt work I always love to hear it. It shows how dedicated they are to the role. Overall, from what I've seen, the show is fantastic. I'm sure most who have watched will agree.

That about sums about today's post. I hope you all have a great weekend binge-watching Daredevil, catching up on another show, watching some baseball, or whatever plans you have. Be sure to check back this week for more posts.

Reminder: Recaps resume this week.
ICYMI: I wrote up a post on the appeal of superheroes

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Saturday Morning Musings (#6)

Good morning! I have to make today's post pretty short, sweet, and to the point because I have work in an hour and I won't be home all day after that, so luckily I thought about today's topic last night and it is: Arrow Season 3. So, let's get right on into it. (Warning: This post does contain spoilers for Arrow Season 3)

I've seen a lot of mixed reviews for Arrow this season. I haven't seen anyone say that they completely hate it, but I have seen some who say it hasn't been the best or on the other side of the spectrum, it's one of the best so far. I guess I would say I'm in between that range. Personally, I think it's been a really great season. It doesn't necessarily rush to the top of my list, but I have enjoyed the content we've gotten.

As far as the problems I've seen people have with this season, they are mainly these two things: the timeline is either moving too fast or there's too much/too little Olicity. I can see where some would say the timeline is going a bit too quickly because I do think it has moved a bit fast, but I also can see why they're moving it fast. The season has to set a tone and the tone this season has definitely been intense and dark, probably darker than previous seasons. Enemies like Ra's Al Ghul aren't going to just sit around and wait x amount of episodes to face Oliver Queen. They're going to face him quickly. I will say that I didn't expect Oliver to be brought back to life so quickly on the show. I would have liked a few more episodes of solely the rest of the Team, but seeing where the season has headed and how much has happened, I completely understand why they didn't have any time to prolong it further. There's also been some dislike towards Laurel as the Black Canary, which is everyone's personal opinion, but I can see where some of their arguments are coming from. She's grown on me as the Canary, recently, but I do understand that people feel she's become a hero a bit too quickly. So, yes, I can see where people are saying the speed of the season is a bit too fast, but I also see how it's sort of necessary for the way the story is going right now. There's no time to waste, everything is meant to be happening at a fast pace.

As for the Olicity part, I don't necessarily agree with what those who dislike the season are saying. I will be the first to say that I absolutely love Olicity and that they are my OTP, but I don't like that get in the way of my love for the show. If there's Olicity, and I believe there will be, that's fantastic, but if there aren't any moments between them in an episode, I completely understand. This goes for every single tv show: A show is more than its ships. The show has to focus on its story before delving into ships and I completely back the fact that Olicity hasn't necessarily truly happened yet. By 'truly happened' I mean that they're dating at that point. The connection is there, the attraction is there, but there is so much going on that things need to settle down before they can try to become a couple again. I also have seen that there's been too much relationship drama and I don't really see that. I think that you have a normal relationship between two people, though it is still a deeper friendship, and they're bound to fight and disagree. It makes it normal and not some perfect fantasy, which is what I've loved about them since the beginning.

Regarding the season in general, I've liked seeing Oliver struggle between his identity as the Arrow and his life as Oliver Queen. This is the season we've really seen that conflict inside him and the input from people around him. I think it's a nice theme to throw in there.

If you haven't seen the 75-second trailer for the rest of the season, I highly recommend you check it out. It's looks like the next five episodes are going to be really good ones. After watching it, I can definitely tell you that my emotions are definitely going to be messed with. You have Roy in prison, then you have Olicity, but you also have the death, and then Thea most likely becoming Speedy. There's a lot that's going to happen these next five episodes, but I am so excited to watch them. I'd love to hear what you've thought of this season so far in the comments below. I'll probably include my final thoughts in the finale recap for the season. As for today's post, I think that wraps everything up. I hope you all have a fantastic holiday weekend if you're celebrating. Be sure to check back this week for some more posts.

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Saturday Morning Musings (#5)

Good morning/afternoon, everyone! Welcome to another addition to 'Saturday Morning Musings'. I contemplated about what I would write about this morning quite a bit, but I think today's post will just be a little shorter and I'll talk about a new show I've been watching.

I recently started The Walking Dead. I'm almost done with season 3, but so far, I've really enjoyed it. It's a fantastic show and I recommend it if you need a new show to binge watch, especially since for me, I'm on spring break. The finale of season 5 is tomorrow, and while I probably won't be caught up, I know everyone is very excited about it. If you are going to watch the show, I will give you one warning: If you do not do well with blood and guts, this show probably isn't for you.

My sister watched the show before I started and the other day, she asked me who my favorite character was. I feel like whenever someone asks that question and it's regarding a newer show you've been watching, you have to go with the person you feel that pull towards. As soon as you identify that, you know your favorite character. For me, during season 1 I wasn't sure. However, when she asked me that as I watched more, I immediately knew who it was: Daryl Dixon.

At first, Daryl seems like this tough, not-going-to-let-my-emotions-get-involved type of person. The more you watch, the more you see him open up and allow people to care about him, but only from certain people. What immediately drew me to him was exactly that: his inability to let people care about him. He wants to seem like he has everything under control, but deep down, that one person that shows they care mean a lot to him. For the part I'm at, there's one person that holds that place, which also contributes to why I love them together.

Carol and Daryl are such a great pair. She's the person that's shown so much care and love towards him, whether it's deeper than friends or not, she's still the person that ultimately cares a hell-of-a lot about him. He also cares a lot about her and it's clear he does. He's yelled at her, he's pushed her away, but he never stops caring. He's pushed people away that care about him because his own family didn't treat him the best. I won't go into this for those of you who haven't watched the show, but those of you who do will understand what I mean. Carol is the one who's allowed him to open up just a bit more, but it's usually just with her. I know that there's also another character that he forms a bond with, but again, I won't mention it for those of you who haven't watched and he also hasn't started that bond at the point I'm at.

As for the other characters, I really enjoy them all. Particularly Glenn, Carl, and Maggie. Also, a 'little ass-kicker' that is just too cute you have to like her. In the beginning, the two characters you know are Carl and Glenn, and I only grew to like them more as they developed. I pretty enjoy enjoy all of the characters at the point I'm at right now and I think Rick's mental state is very interesting at the moment. The show, overall, just has a really great cast with a really great group of characters for them to portray. (Except the Governor, I absolutely dislike his character.)

So, I think that's all I wanted to talk about regarding The Walking Dead today. Once I finish catching up I may do a full blog post with my full thoughts and probably spoilers since there are more specific things I'd walk to talk about. As for now, this covers it without giving much away. I hope you all have a great day and fantastic weekend.

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ICYMI: I posted about the Mets' Starting Rotation 
All TV Show Recaps for the week also went up and you can click here to see them

Saturday Morning Musings (#4)

Good morning, everyone. Happy Spring! (Even though it snowed yesterday in New York). Another addition to 'Saturday Morning Musings' is here. Lots of stuff has happened this week. For starters, all CW shows came back, so that meant recaps were back, which I missed dearly. There was also some sports news regarding some more players needing Tommy John Surgery. As for my everyday life, this week has been pretty calm. I received my Junior ring this week, which is crazy to even think I'll be entering senior year in September. Today's post feels as though it's going to be headed in a few different directions so let's get into it.

On the TV spectrum outside of what I cover on a weekly basis, I wanted to talk about the Eye Candy finale, which occurred on Monday of this week. I absolutely loved the episode. Ryan Cooper does an outstanding job playing Jake and all of his characteristics. If you don't watch the show, definitely check it out. I'm hoping they get a season 2 as there are a bunch of things I want to still see happen (like Tindy). I don't want to spoil anything, so I won't go into detail about things that happened, but the episode was really well done and definitely gave closure to the season while opening up doors if their is a next.

Also on the topic of TV would be The Vampire Diaries. I've enjoyed season 5 so far, particularly the first half. If you haven't caught up, you may not want to keep reading this paragraph as what I want to discuss has to do with something that has recently happened. I don't really understand the whole 'Steroline' plot line right now. I really love them together, so it's not an issue of the two of them, it's the direction the writers went with it. I can't really see why the plot of them being Rippers together is happening and what the point of it would be. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing Paul Wesley play Ripper Stefan, but I don't see how this is going to be resolved and have me say, "This was really necessary." I honestly thought Stefan was faking at first when he turned his humanity off, but then he started to kill people, which is entirely against what he feels is right in his normal state of mind. So, either he's trying to really get Caroline to believe he is a Ripper or he actually did shut it off. I feel as though neither of them have been able to have a lasting happiness lately and this was their chance to, but the writers went against it. I'm also not the biggest fan of Kai being left in the prison world, but that's mainly because I like his character and enjoy seeing him interact with the others. The Cure being back is a whole other story that who knows how it will even play out. We know Stefan, Damon, their Mother, and Enzo can't take it as they would grow old and die, like Katherine did. So, it's either going to Elena or Caroline, but I don't see Elena taking it, honestly.

On a completely different note, I wanted to discuss something my friend, Jess, said the other day: "I wish you could kiss anyone you wanted when you felt like it and not have it be weird or socially unacceptable." It got me thinking. We're always told to go for things, but there seems to always be something that holds us back, at least initially. It doesn't have to be kissing someone. It could be letting someone know how you feel or stepping out of your comfort zone. The thing is, it doesn't matter how confident a person is, they still care about what others would think about them. We're all afraid of that judgement, and I don't think we'll ever not be. As human beings, we want to feel accepted, but sometimes, we do have to step out of what's considered 'normal' in order to be ourselves. I'm not saying you should go up to a random cute guy on the street and kiss him... that may be a little much, but if we don't do things we know we should at least try, like going for a big job even though you're super nervous about it or telling someone how you feel, we'll be plagued by 'What ifs' and 'Could have beens'. Most of the time, second guessing what could have happened if way worse than facing the actual thing, even if you are turned down in either circumstance, it's better to know, than to not know. Moral of the day: If it's something you think will make you happy even though you're scared to know the answer to it, go for it. Try not to think about the way others will perceive your actions, but rather how you'll feel if you did it. It's scary, but at least you'll know what the outcome is, whether good or bad. And, in the chance that it is something that wasn't what you were hoping, everyone has experienced it, you can also make it through. Take it as a stepping stone to learning to go for things you want and if they don't turn out how you planned, maybe it wasn't meant to be and a greater opportunity is on its way. So, thank you to Jess for providing something that inspired this whole paragraph here.

I think that's a good note to end this post on, so that's about it for today. I didn't expect the quote to become so involved, but oh well, that's the beauty of these posts. Look forward to more posts throughout the week and I hope you also have an awesome day.

If you liked this post, chances are you'll like my others. Be sure to subscribe/follow to stay updated. 

ICYMI: I wrote a blog on The Rising Numbers of Tommy John Surgery 
Also, be sure to check out the recaps from this week if you missed them.

Saturday Morning Musings (#3)

Good morning (afternoon now, really), everyone! Welcome to another 'Saturday Morning Musings'. I had to take the SAT this morning - definitely stressful, but it has to be done. I scheduled this post so that it didn't go up at 7:00 AM, but it never actually posted, so instead it is being uploaded now. Today's topic? A healthy lifestyle. I've been wanting to address this since I made a major change in the way I eat and go through everyday life, but wanted to give it a few weeks to ensure that results were there and I wouldn't be writing something I thought was true, but wasn't showing results, for you. It's about to get a little more personal, today.

It's been around five weeks since I've changed my diet and everyday activities. I first want to address what sparked this change and the answer to that is simple: complete and utter frustration. I've played softball for years, always kept a relatively healthy diet, and even after all of this, I never could lose the weight I wanted to. I went from playing softball five days a week over the course of four months to losing nothing and I became frustrated. It's not that I was so focused on becoming this thin person that could fit into the smallest sizes, it's the I was putting work into something that required me to be active and nothing seemed to change. It was discouraging - to work so hard and see no results has an effect on a person. There were times where I thought there wasn't anything I could do that could help, but I kept at it, figured out what needed to be changed, and realized that these things take time.

I changed the way I ate, entirely. I've cut down to one meal a day with carbs, so if I have a sandwich for lunch, I'll avoid having any bread for dinner. I've also cut out any fried foods and any thing processed. If I'm going to eat something, I'll make it from my own ingredients this way I know exactly what's going into a dish. This also means that if I'm making something, I can substitute ingredients to make it a healthier recipe. I do tend to use a healthy recipe to begin with, but sometimes there isn't one. I've substituted whole grain/wheat pasta for the normal pasta. I've pretty much avoided pizza, and since my family tends to have it every Friday night, I'll either just have one piece or make myself something with eggs, which can be made so many different ways. It's not a diet. It's a healthier way of eating that makes me feel better everyday. It helps me to have more energy.

As for breakfast in the mornings, for school I tend to have a granola bar in the morning or some fruit, such as an apple with a spoonful of peanut butter or almond butter. On weekends, I'll often have an egg and some fruit or if I'm feeling like something different I'll have a smoothie. I absolutely love smoothies because it's as if you're making your own delicious concoction. What's also great is that you can throw in some greens, such as a handful of baby spinach, and although you can't taste it, the benefits are there.

For lunch on school days I usually have a sandwich or wrap, or if I buy lunch I'll have a salad. As for weekends, it depends on what's in the house, so this often changes. I always tend to not eat a heavy lunch on the weekends, and if I do, I won't have a big dinner. It's all about portion control. Dinner is another thing that changes, but I will say that two nights ago I had a grilled vegetable wheat wrap that was delicious. And also, I only drink water.

Besides eating a healthy diet, I work out at least three days a week for 30 minutes. Sometimes, I'll workout for longer depending on the time I have. I won't lie, there are days where I have absolutely no want to workout, but you have to keep pushing in order to reach the goals you set for yourself. Find the workout program that works for you. For me, I personally either use the Nike Pro Training app from the Apple App Store or I'll use a video from Blogilates on Youtube. What's great about both these things is that they both have scheduled workouts for you. For Blogilates, you can find the fitness calendars on her website which can be unlocked by subscribing to her newsletter. You may find these useful or you may enjoy a completely different program. Either way, stick to it. You may not see results immediately, but you will.

I'm a very impatient person, myself, so when it comes to getting things done, I like to do it as soon as possible. Getting fit is something that definitely takes time, but this time helps you develop this lifestyle, change the things that aren't working. Most importantly, it helps you keep it. This is something you're going to want to continue for the rest of your life. Once you do feel like you're satisfied with your body, stick to your healthy eating, but you can do less intense workouts.

Lastly, be happy with who you are. We all have things we want to change and if that's your body size, work for it. Do things the right and healthy way. Self-acceptance is such an important thing, especially with the images put out by society. You don't need to look like the model in the magazine you saw or as thin as one of your favorite celebrities. This is all about you. Not trying to make yourself look like someone else. Everyone is different and has their insecurities, but this is about getting healthy for yourself, no one else.

I think that just about covers everything. I hope you all have a fantastic day or whenever you read this!

If you liked this post, chances are you'll like my others. Be sure to subscribe/follow to stay updated. 

ICYMI:
Reminder: CW Shows come back next week, which means episode recaps will be back! The Flash returns Tuesday. Arrow and Supernatural both return Wednesday.

Saturday Morning Musings (#2)

Good morning, everyone! I hope you've all had a good week. I was able to enjoy a day off from school on Thursday due to yet another batch of snow in New York, so that was nice and relaxing. As for today's post, there are a few things I want to talk about, so let's get into it.

Let's talk some baseball. The Mets have started some Spring Training games and it's a straight run from now until opening day. Being that it's that time of year again, there will definitely be more baseball-related posts to come. I always enjoy watching spring training. Not only do you get to see the already big league players play a bit, but you also get to see the prospects, which I really love. I absolutely have to address the fact that Matt Harvey is back and in his debut since having Tommy John surgery, he struck out three batters and hit 99 mph on the radar in two perfect innings. He definitely looked like the Matt Harvey that left the mound 18 months ago.

Jumping over to the other Matt of yesterday's game that ended it with a walk-off: Matt Reynolds, a shortstop prospect that will most likely start his season in AAA Las Vegas, but someone I hope we get to see as the starting SS at some point this year. Last season, he played at both Binghamton (AA) and Las Vegas. He hit a combined .343 with a .454 slugging percentage and .405 on-base percentage in 126 games (via Baseball Reference). The one thing that needs some work is the number of errors he has playing the position (16 total at both AA and AAA for last season), but if he gets those down, there's a good chance we may see him at some point this year, especially if Wilmer Flores isn't doing as great as they had hoped. He could be the guy we need to fill that position. We'll see how the season plays out...

One of the television shows I watch has returned this week and I have started two others. The one that returned is Once Upon A Time, which I'm hoping has a good second half to the fourth season. Not much has happened as of yet since only one episode has aired, but I think it has the potential to be a good story with the Queens of Darkness as the villains. As for the shows I've started, those are Smallville and The Walking Dead. I've only seen three episodes of Smallville so far, but I'm not in a rush to get through ten seasons as there's nothing to catch up on in order to watch a new episode being that the series is over. The Walking Dead I had started a few months ago and only watched two episodes before starting Supernatural, which then took over the majority of time I spent watching TV since I wanted to catch up as soon as possible. I'm still only four episodes into TWD, but I'm enjoying it so far. A little side note to this is that my sister has been telling me to watch it, but I've also been telling her to watch Arrow, so we compromised, I watch TWD and she watches Arrow, a win-win since they're both good shows.

And lastly, something that I just want to touch upon: 50 Shades of Grey. I went to see it last night with some friends out of pure curiosity for what the hype is all about. Honestly? I thought it was terrible. I don't recommend spending your money on it, but like I said, curiosity got the best of me. The screenwriting was poor and my friends and I found ourselves laughing at the ridiculous lines most of the time. The only good thing that came out of it was Jamie Donan's acting, which wasn't outstanding, but it saved the movie by a very small margin, in my opinion. I've never read the books, just some poorly written lines via Tumblr, and I can safely say I still do not understand the hype over it. There's part of me that hopes Jamie Dornan does decide to quit the franchise, mainly because I'd rather him put his name and acting to something worthwhile than a book series that is only popular because of its erotic content, since the writing certainly doesn't deserve the hype. Anyway, I said I'd be brief, so that's enough of that.

I think that just about hits everything I wanted to cover today. It was a little bit of everything, but I hope you all enjoyed reading and have a great Saturday, or whatever day it is when your read this!

ICYMI: I wrote up a post on Stephen Amell this past week and how he uses his fame in some great ways.

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Saturday Morning Musings

Good morning, everyone! (Or maybe good afternoon being that it's 11:43 AM at the moment.) This week has been tiring, but exciting. College talk has really started, so now I've got to start planning some school visits, but that's not what this post is about. I've got my cup of tea this morning, though it probably should be coffee, but nonetheless, let's get into the first post of "Saturday Morning Musings"!

Over the past few weeks and especially this past week, I've been noticing a lot of character development on the shows I watch, particularly Arrow. Character development is essential to tv shows, movies, books, etc., even everyday life. Not only does it allow a character to grow, but it allows the person seeing it to understand why it's happening and how the character's decisions are affected by it. However, it can also have a negative impact on a person's perspective of the character. I, personally, am usually able to see why it's happening as long as the show, or whatever type of media, is written well. It's not only needed for the character, but it's needed for the storyline, overall.

In the case of character's that have been disliked due to their changes, I'll bring up Felicity Smoak from Arrow. During the last few weeks, people have almost started to hate (maybe that's too strong a word) her character because of the decisions she's made and the things she's said. Honestly, watching her grow over the course of three seasons I entirely understand why she's been acting the way she has. We've seen her grow into an even stronger young woman. I think the one argument people are bringing to the table is: "Why is she so against Oliver, right now? Why is she challenging him so much?" From watching the show, I can't recall a single time where Felicity though Oliver was doing some irrational and didn't call him out on it. That's one of the things I've loved about her character from the beginning. She never fears Oliver's reaction by telling him the truth about her opinion. If she thinks he's acting in a way that he doesn't see that there are things bothering the people around him, she'll tell him. The simplest way to put it? Felicity Smoak doesn't put up with any of Oliver's bullshit. I contemplated changing that last word, but I feel like that's the only way to describe it in a way that gets my point across. The fact that Felicity Smoak and Oliver Queen's relationship is real, is why I've come to love it so much. Would I be happy if Felicity Smoak just ran to Oliver and told him how in love with him she is? Yeah, but would I appreciate their arc as much? No.

This has turned into an Arrow focused post, but that's the point of these musings. They'll take my in a direction that I necessarily didn't plan on going in, but wanted to share.

Oliver Queen, the other half to the relationship, is an absolute mess right now. He's convinced that he's going to have to sacrifice his humanity in order to save the others around him. We've seen him transition over the seasons, as well, in a multitude of ways, which I'm not going to go delve into right now. I will mention that Oliver Queen was going to give up his own life to save John Diggle, which proves the fact that he is such an unselfish person, so I don't know where the 'Oliver Queen is selfish' argument by some people has come from. Everything that is happening is needed for both Oliver and Felicity. They need to figure themselves out first before they can be in a proper and healthy relationship. Ultimately, Oliver needs to realize that his humanity is worth saving. The important thing is that people can understand why the character's are making certain decisions at this point in time, and I certainly do. When you can understand both sides to an argument, such as why Felicity is angry with Oliver for working with Malcolm or why Oliver feels like working with Malcolm is the only way, then the writers have done their job.

So, there's that little post of the day and I have now finished my cup of tea, which I guess means I've gotten my point across, and I think I have. So, there will be bumps in the road, there always are bumps in the road, but that's life. It's up to the characters to overcome those bumps and develop even further because of them. I hope you all have a fantastic Saturday, or whatever day it is when you read this.

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