You Count the Entries, 1, 2, and 3!

But I'm ok now in the sense that my nose is recovering. Still coughing on occasion (thanks a lot, dusty room), but fear not, friends, I should be perfectly fine by the time orientation for my summer school starts. On the plus side, my friend from grad school came to visit yesterday, and we had so much fun! Managed to catch Finding Dory in theaters, then hit up Target and brought movie merchandise (and school supplies -- she's a speech therapist, so she's naturally always looking for things to use for her kids). Came back, talked a bit, and then I launched into messing around with the present she got me for my birthday but couldn't deliver it until we met in person, while she whipped out her phone and the Digi-Bird I gave her and made it sing "This Old Man" and a few other tunes. And I'm telling you, that thing is INSANE.



Gao Falcon is a massive beast of epic wing proportions. It is by far one of the largest toys in the Power Rangers Wild Force toyline, larger than even the Alligator I reviewed a while back. The box boasts that the Falcon Zord has a 530mm wingspan, and do you know how that translates to inches? 20.8. Yeah, I'm gonna need a bigger shelf.


Here he is out of the box. As you can probably tell, his wings had to be assembled, hence the break along the middle where that red nub juts out. Otherwise he wouldn't fit in the box! Being a Korean release, it was really. REALLY. HARD to pose him, as the rachet joints in his legs were replaced by friction joints and don't lock in place, so he almost always wanted to topple over since the wings make him top heavy. However, posed right, he makes a majestic animal. In the show he would burst out of a volcano like a fiery phoenix when summoned, and dwarfs all the other animals that combine with him. ALL OF THEM.
( This is one BIG BIRB )

Gao Falcon is a fantastic addition to my collection. The sheer size of it destroys me though, because I was so not expecting it to be so large! I mean, I knew it was large, but until I saw it in person I didn't know it was, you know, THAT BIG. I'm definitely gonna need a bigger shelf soon. ^^

So I finally received my very own copy of "My Little Pony: The Art of Equestria"! I ordered it off Amazon for the sweet deal of roughly US$16, which is much better than paying MSRP of $29.99. First off, this book comes in a lovely foil cover so it shimmers in the light, but it's kind of hard to tell unless you see it in person. The book itself is kind of thick and heavy at 216 pages. Pictured on the cover is alicorn princess Twilight Sparkle over a expanded map of Equestria that covers the geography explored in MLP seasons 1-5. This book looks as though it's meant for kids, but while there are many colorful illustrations inside and few captions on some of the pages, this book was made with the fandom in mind and includes interviews with Hasbro employees and the show's creator Lauren Faust, as well as selected fanart from the adult fans at the back of the book. (For closer details of every photo, right click--> view image)( SWEET CELESTIA )

Overall, I really liked this book, and I recommend it to any MLP fan. For a moment I was worried this might be convention exclusive or available only in limited quantity, and I am glad that I was able to get a copy of this. Since most of the book is fraught with illustrations, it should make for quick reading, and Lauren Faust's interview has plenty of pictures of her original concept art, complete with notes, so you see how her vision for MLP developed initially. You also gain snippets of information not seen in other MLP books, and as Pinkie Pie would probably put it, this is the BEST ART BOOK EVER!

Everyone doing good, I hope? I stayed up till 12:30 AM this morning, ha. As usual I had to see the ball drop, and my friends entertained me on Skype so I was never alone, even when I was holed up in my room because the TV's kind of noisy, lol, with all the screaming and crying and yakking. I was never one for huge parties due to being hard of hearing, so partying takes a lot of my energy, especially if I have to be downstairs with family friends trying to have a proper conversation over the roars of football (in the case of Thanksgiving), or singing on TV (in the case of Chinese New Year). It's just too much auditory stimulation for me.

Friend came over though on Monday! I took her out to a Chinese buffet, where we ate too much (a result of us talking in my room so long we forgot we needed lunch), and she brought me a gift bag full of blind-bag My Little Pony figures, stickers, and comics, along with a poster, which was really nice, and I sent her home with Fluttershy plush and the Pinkie Cupcake thingy I found at a TRU a few months back. The pics below is what I got, though I brought Gilda myself, teehee.

Following that we hit up my local TRU, and then came home with this monstrosity:

I'm putting a review up for Dragonzord under the break, because it's fabulous (I'd totally recommend it) and merits its own spotlight. ;)
( See o' Smokestack Chomper under the cut )

Sure, volunteer work was slow, but then the mailman came in with STUFF! *grins*

Could have done without her dropping one of the boxes right in front of me as she came up the sidewalk, but thankfully nothing broke. However, the box cutter slipped as I was slicing open the cardboard and luckily bounced off my thick hoodie, or I might have disemboweled my stomach right there. Yikes. This is why it is always important to have a good grip on sharp objects! D8

Also Sis is graduating Chinese school today! I won't be there to see the ceremony, as it's about the same as mine, and I'm too busy watching Dad's Father's Day tribute to my late grandfather upload itself to Dropbox for our relatives to watch. I would have uploaded to Youtube, but censorship overseas means it's unavailable, and I have had to look for alternate sources. I also need to break out the o' drawing tablet to make Dad a personal card, which will probably, as usual, feature him as his ponified self getting flowers or something from us. :P (Dad: KIDS YOU'VE BEEN WATCHING TOO MUCH MY LITTLE PONY STAHP.)

Anyway, below the break you'll find the usual toy review. This could be long, so might want to grab some popcorn if you want to read...

( In which I blow up LJ with yet ANOTHER picspam... )

So my professor canceled class tonight as the weather out there is kind of treacherous. Whee. Which gave me plenty of time to do what I usually love to do, and that is posting pictures and things in another toy review. XD Time for some dancing dinos!

But first, it must be said that this does mean I cannot get my presentation done until next Tuesday. <_<" And I was like, so nervous, okay? But on the other hand, the extra time means I can have more time to edit slides should I want to change things up at the last minute, and well, it's always fun to have a snow day in general. Though those days will soon end when I go to work and have to come in no matter what the weather, most likely. Meeeeeeeeh! Whatever. At least I'm looking for instructional aide positions and technically I'll still be in school unless they close, upon which, if there is no class, why bother coming if the kids are not gonna be there either, right?

So, with that said, without further ado, let's SAMBA!

( Gaburincho! Chomp-a-chomp! )

So that's that. 1 out of 3 reviews for this holiday season done! Tune in next time as we take a walk on the wild side and meet the most ferocious creatures ever known to man in the present day. >_^ That is, once I get them. :P 

Late Christmas present is late. Well, it's not mine, but hey, review time nonetheless! >:) Here's some shots of the box.


( Pretty Angry Birdy pics below the cut )

So yeah. That's Ho-oh. Bonus points for the inclusion of a stand, and for looking pretty. Now Sis wants her Christmas gift back back, so off I go to return it now. ^^;

No rain scheduled for today, I don't think! WHOOT! I was getting sick of the whole "Ha ha, sorry to rain on your parade" thing that kept happening as I tried to walk. It was so nice to see the sun out, and I had fun occasionally glancing up at the sky and seeing what kind of shapes the clouds were making today. (It's a favorite childhood activity that I never grew out of. Why? Because it's fun to let your imagination go wild.) 

Finally going to see those Hyper Battle Videos TV-Nihon put out a few days ago. Finally, a direct download link appeared! Sparky threw a Pokeball! The Direct Download Link was caught! XD I thought I would have to torrent it for a moment there, and I hate torrents. Not to mention they're illegal, really, and my ISP doesn't seem to like it if I even go on a torrent site, because my internet connection will get disconnected if I do. So ye-ah, I usually lurk around KRDL, hoping that someone would put it up for us who are allergic to or can't torrent. And they did. Hooray! But that shall have to wait until this here episode of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, I mean, Zyuranger, gets loaded so you can finally have a picspam of that by tomorrow (boy, I sure miss doing the OOO ones. Yes, I remember the good old days when I used to throw up pic-spams first, and then work on my essays on slavery or whatever the History professors were telling me to finish. X) Fun times they were, weren't they, my friends? >_^ Procrastination is so fun...if you know how to do it right. *snicker*)

I'm afraid I might as well enjoy what little time I have for pic-spams and other fun non-homework related things now, because come September, I'm afraid I might not be around on LJ as much. D: Grad school will be a lot harder than college, and I will be devoting most of my time tending patients in the audiology labs, I guess. Even though this is a speech pathology major, I still have to delve into a related field because speech teachers often work with audiologists to determine the best treatment for a hearing impaired person or someone with speech problems like stuttering and whatnot, so yeah, lots of learning to do! *dies*

So! Speaking of pic-spams, and because it is the 20th anniversary of Zyuranger, the Japanese counterpart of our beloved Power Rangers, how about another toy review? But first, let's see what crazy things my toys are doing today...

*facepalm* Grimlock, random flying arms are not food! D: Poor Ankh, I think he was just trying to find his way to Mom's stash of Popsicles when he was caught. ^^; 
( We need DinoZord power NOW! )

Right. Because robots in disguise are so annoying sometimes. ^^;


Let's start with something easier to work with now, shall we? Presenting Corada VS Saberback...only, sans stegosaurus...for now. I'll work on a photoshoot for the stego tomorrow, since I can't be bothered to transform him now. (Fun fact: Saberback's transformation has been known to befuddle and infuriate even people with Ph.D degrees. What your education has to do with your ability to work a toy I have no idea, and I found the fact that the guy had to point this out hilariously funny.) 

The Transformers here are from a Japanese only series (it was never aired in the US) called Beast Wars Neo. Some episodes are subbed and I've seen them on Youtube, and there's quite a diverse cast. (Penguins, giraffes, and horses, oh my!) The toyline is also Japan exclusive but are relatively cheap to get online or otherwise, and I don't think these guys cost me more than $30-$40. Sold individually they shouldn't cost you more than $25 max. Stampy the rabbit from the Neo toyline can be found for as low as $8, for example. Mine is from the Korean re-release, and came in a box set. However, they're completely identical to the Japanese releases. Hip, hip, hooray! 

( Hissy hissy little snakey, slither on the floor... Sparky, you're not speaking Parselmouth all of a sudden now, are you? O_o )

Yes, Operation USPS Ninja Stake Out was a success! Luckily Mom came home just as the mailman pulled into the driveway, so he managed to hand my package fromcestlavieminakoto her directly...though she in turn gave it to me foaming at the mouth and going "Don't ever have friends send you stupid stuff again! Do you want them all to murder us in our beds, now that they know where we live?! >_<" Paranoid parents are paranoid. I know it's dangerous, I know! I'm always careful about who my information goes to. Very careful. It's another reason why I sign even petitions online with my online names too, and if they ask for my address, I just go "WHAT ARE YOU, CRAZY?!" and run in the other direction.  Unless it's a job application, where I have to give employers some way of contacting me >_>".

But this package is awesome. Priority mail is supposed to take 2 to 3 days, and yet I got it in one. BOOYAH! >:)

URRRRRRRRRRGH! NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNRRRRRRF!! HUFF PUFF... So...much...tape... XD Minako, you darn near mummified the poor box. :P

Anyway, it's nothing a utility knife or box cutter can't open....or a sword. XD Also, I see there's a envelope and card for me. AW. Thanks! ^_^

Want to see what was inside? Click below the cut for the goodies...and random hijinks.

( *bursts into song* My Little Petey, My Little Petey... ah ah ah ah... )

Going to download Gobusters now. :) Despite not having Go-buster Ace, I still have kitties to review. How about it? :D 

( Kazari strongly approves of this post, though he would like to tell you that you do NOT want to be on the business end of somepony's horns. )

I was gonna do a Youtube review of this, but then my microphone just started crackling, and the webcam was pretty crappy, so meh, text and pic-spam it turned out to be. ^^;