I’m pretty open to non-Generation 1 Transformers. Much more than Nadia, who hates anything post-Rebirth (Transformers G1 season 4). The live-action movie is the only exception her overall hatred.

Despite my open-mindedness, I really can’t get into the new cartoon. I think it has something to do with the animation style they went with; it is so far removed from all of the other shows that I can’t accept it as part of the franchise.

I should note that I felt the same way about Beast Wars until a friend forced me to sit through a few episodes. Since then, I’ve considered that to be the best series in the Transformers franchise. Maybe if I sit through a few more Animated episodes, I would come around.

Regardless of my stance on the show, their toys are top-notch. During a trip to Target on Sunday, I found Megatron and Starscream. I was surprised that they were $2 cheaper than on Amazon. I think that the Animated line could be some of the best Transformers, with only the Masterpiece and Alternator/Binaltech lines being of higher quality.

I find it odd that Hasbro waited seven months after the premiere of the series to launch this line of toys, since the two typically coincide.

Hello from Texas! It’s been difficult adjusting to life without Will, the furbabies and my home, but I look forward to the day that we will all be together again in May.

So how have I been spending my time here? Lots of death by powerpoint lessons, classroom instruction, formations and Army-chow *yummy*. I have my 360 and my PC to keep me occupied, so I don’t do too much outside of my room. I did, however, venture outside on Friday to see the World Combat League competition. I was less than 1000 feet away from CHUCK NORRIS!!! This league is his baby, and he made a special guest appearance to meet with the local Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines.

There were 4 teams - NY Clash vs. Miami Force and NJ Tigers vs. St. Louis Enforcers. You can find out details about scoring and the team members from the site. It was 3 minutes of beat downs and let’s just say that the Northeast did not represent the way I hoped they would. It was very entertaining and I hope to see this take off like UFC. Check out their schedule and see if they will be in your area. My photos didn’t come out as great as I had hoped, but I assure you that the action was real.

UPDATE: Here is a video of the last fight between NJ (orange) and St. Louis (grey).

I loved it, and I’m happy that I can say those words, considering what I said to my work friends a few weeks ago:

I’m hyped for the movie, but I know it is going to be awful, so it is like walking into a trap.

I can’t imagine a Transformers fan going to see this movie and not liking it. Well, Nadia didn’t, but that’s really because of a particular scene that really robbed her of the ability to enjoy it. I’d share that scene with you, but it is a spoiler. She might come around in a few days.

This movie had a pretty good balance of drama, humor and action. The special effects were quite good, and fans of the series and comics will dig a few lines that are clearly in-jokes written just for them. If anything bugged me, it would be the fact that the original voice actor for Megatron was not used. Not that Hugo Weaving did a bad job at all. I was just hoping for the voice that I have always associated with Megs, since all the Optimus fans out there got his original voice.