Campy

CAMP OUT: Thursday, Annabelle finished her "Cool Girls in Aerospace" camp up north. The four-day camp was a great opportunity for 10 girls her age to get a firsthand look, and some hands on experience, at trades and technical job opportunities in fields in which women are typically underrepresented.

Cool Girls in Aerospace was a 4-day camp I attended in Mukilteo (WA). It was directed towards young teenage girls, to inspire them to become part  of the aeronautics field. Most of our time in camp was spent at the Washington Aeronautics Training and Research, or WATR, center. We made our very own name plates and even got to use things like rivet guns, drills, and carbon fiber! It was fun seeing how all of these techniques are used in making airplanes. The camp was also very informative, as we learned what tools the real people in the airplane industry use. It was very fun and I hope they keep doing it!

Annabelle tells me that the photo below is of her plate in a vise, hold it while she drilled holes in it. 

The photo was taken at Washington Aerospace Training & Research (WATR) Center, which is managed by Edmonds Community College through an operating agreement with the Aerospace Futures Alliance (AFA). Located at the Paine Field airport in Snohomish County, WATR opened in 2010, as an educational resource for career pathways in the aerospace and manufacturing industry.

While Annabelle was in class, CJ and I had a little time to kill. One morning, we checked out a park near Paine Field.  There, CJ was nearly beamed up to the mother ship.

The park also had a unique spinning feature. This whole feature rotated, like a merry go round.

WALK-IN MOVIE: Friday night, we decided to take our chances in heading down to the stadium district despite a nearly sold-out Mariners game going on next door. Uncharacteristically, we weren't headed to the game, but rather an outdoor courtyard, Occidental Square, for an outdoor movie.

The square was much nice than we expected it to be. There were dozens of tables and chairs, and even Foosball tables, an over-sized chess set, an enormous Jenga game and a big Connect-Four type game. There was even a popcorn stand, with boxes just a dollar apiece.

About 9 p.m. the movie started. CJ was kind enough to write a lengthy review of the movie.

With everybody and their brothers playing Pokémon GO, and Pokémon Sun & Moon on the horizon as well, Nintendo and Game Freak's iconic Pokémon franchise is more relevant than ever. If you happened to be one of the people who played Red & Blue when they first came out, alongside watching the Pokémon anime, then we can assume you have fond memories of being in the theater (or on your couch) and watching Pokémon: The First Movie. T

The First Movie (what I'll call it from this point on) is basically what happened when the executives behind the anime got dollar signs in their eyes and decided that their cash cow needed some time on the silver screen.

Here be 17-year old spoilers!

The film's prologue (which, for some reason, was cut from the English dub) opens with some archaeologists from criminal organization Team Rocket going to an ancient temple, attempting to discover the remains of Mew, who was supposedly the ancestor of all modern Pokémon. The archaeologists discover an eyelash that supposedly belonged to Mew, so they bring it back to their headquarters in an attempt to clone Mew and some other specimens (I don't get it either). Back at their lab, we can see 5 specimens of the various tanks, each creatively named: Charmandertwo, a clone of Charmander, Squirtletwo, who is a clone of Squirtle, Bulbasaurtwo, who is a clone of Bulbasaur, Ambertwo, who is not a clone of a Pokémon, but rather, a clone of the daughter of one of the scientists, and Mewtwo, who is their prioritized clone of Mew. Bulbasaurtwo, Squirtletwo, Charmandertwo, and Mewtwo are all pulled into Ambertwo's imagination world, and Ambertwo introduces the Pokémon to concepts like her hometown, the sun and moon, and the similarities between people and Pokémon (keep an eye out for this comparison). However, all of the clones except Mewtwo start losing life support, and Mewtwo is heartbroken. This is also the point where Mewtwo starts getting angsty and selfish.

An unknown amount of time later, Mewtwo's body has matured inside the capsule. Mewtwo's power has also increased, and he has become aware of the fact that he's in a capsule. Mewtwo hears the voices of the scientists talking outside the capsule, and, in his grand hissy fit, forcefully breaks the capsule open, to the surprise of the scientists. Mewtwo asks the scientists some questions ("Who am I?" "Am I a clone?"), and, upon discovering that he is a clone, proceeds to destroy the laboratory, and presumably kills most of the scientists. The rest of the movie from this point on chronicles Ash and friends' predictable journey, where they learn about the mysteries behind Mewtwo.

Here are some positive things I have to say about The First Movie: The animators, at points, evidently tried to make a good anime film. There are moments of genuine charm, humor, and, near the beginning and end, actually getting a little emotional. At least one of the songs made for the dub, "Brother My Brother", by the Blessid Union of Souls, is actually pretty nice, it's just too bad that the context the song is used in is pretty ridiculous.

Now here are some less positive things about The First Movie: I didn't say they actually made a *very good* anime film.

The animation quality fluctuates throughout the course of the movie, with some chopping, mostly in the middle. Most of the time, I could predict what the movie's next "surprise" was going to be. The missing Nurse Joy is the lady in that odd invitation Brock got. The Nurse Joy's "Pokémon Master" is actually Mewtwo. The original, somehow still-alive Mew can try and get Mewtwo redeemed. When watching The First Movie, I noticed the oddly-placed CGI, which clashed with the clearly-dated animation. For example, there's a scene where Ash and co. are entering a large base, and the frame becomes completely static so that we can see the CGI gates closing behind them*. For me, the mysteries of The First Movie were less things like "What is Mewtwo's motivation?" or "Will Ash make it?", and more things like "Why do they expect me to forgive the eugenics lord who tried to kill our heroes a few minutes ago?" and "What's that invisible object that Mewtwo's fondling?"

Near the end of the movie, Mewtwo suffers from a case of what I call "Darth Vader Redemption Syndrome". Basically put, Darth Vader Redemption Syndrome is when a character that had crossed the Moral Event Horizon (the point by which you become irredeemably evil) previously is dubiously "redeemed", usually accompanied by the character promptly leaving. In The First Movie's case, at the end, Mewtwo supposedly learns that "fighting is bad", a moral that contradicts the very premise of the franchise. Mewtwo, having supposedly learned his lesson, is suddenly forgiven by everybody, and, for the purposes of the plot, makes sure everybody forgets the events of this movie (too bad he can't do that to the audience).

In general, The First Movie is pretty mediocre, and I wouldn't recommend it unless you have some pretty thick nostalgia goggles.

*Fun fact: In the credits, I noticed some text that read "VIZ Media ©2015", which I think might mean that the CGI wasn't in the original cut of the film (it'd be interesting to do a frame-by-frame comparison of the original cut and the version we watched).

Christian and I sat toward the rear of the square for the show. CJ and Annabelle chose to go to the front row, and stayed through the final credits.  

FILL'ER UP: Friday, the temps pushed upwards of 93 degrees. Thank heavens it happened to be a 'bring your own cup' to 7-11 day for a big, icy Slurpee.

CJ and Annabelle went with the trusty ol' owl vase we have. They chose a mix of birthday cake and Coca Cola (shudder) Slurpees. They thought it was delightful.