The Amazing Spider-Man 2 rating

 18.      The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Rewatch. 9.05/10.

Springtime of Empires - 1771

 

1768 – 1771

North America

Spanish North America

The Viceroyalty of the Mississippi continues to grow in population.

 

 

South America

Nueva Grenada

Tensions between north and south continue to rise.

 

 

Europe

Spain

More Language Schools opened in Spain and Italy.

 

 

Russia

The Torgovet Crisis comes to a head. Civil War breaks out in late 1770. The Tsar is assassinated by a mercenary hired by a Torgovet figure. His successor cracks down on the Torgovets in response. By mid 1771 large portions of the countryside had broken out in rebellion.

 

Some of the native Estonian population supports the local Torgovets. Others rise up for independence.

 

It is a similar story in Kyiv (as the locals call it) and the surrounding area.

 

And a Bessarabian rebellion…

 

 

Africa

In Morocco, the increased Hispanicisation draws protest.

 

The Songhai Empire continues its reforms.

 

 

Asia

The Ottoman – Oman War continues. The Ottomans make little progress.

 

In Spanish China, the Language Schools continue to be popular.

 

 

Oceania

Some expansion of settlement into the Outback occurs.

Video Assignment Chaos - Part 4

 Fifteen minutes later, they arrived outside Jane's house. Quinn knocked on the door. A young man came to the door. “Hello.”

“We're looking for Jane?” Quinn said.

“She's up in her room. I'll get her,” the young man, who was obviously Jane's brother, said.

A few minutes later, Jane came down. “You're here about your video assignment?” she asked.

“Yes,” Cindy answered.

“We can do it in the kitchen,” Jane said.

“Sure,” Quinn said.

“Question One: What game console do you play the most?” Cindy asked.

“The classic Atari,” Jane answered.

“The Atari 2600,” Cindy commented.

“And the Nintendo 64 sometimes when I'm visiting Darian.”

“I can attest to that,” Quinn said.

“Cool,” Cindy said. “Second question: Favorite games on that console.”

“Um, Pitfall? And Ocarina of Time,” Jane answered.

“Good choices!”

“Well, the latter has great design in the backgrounds. Very artistic.” Jane lowered her voice “Despite that annoying fairy. 'Hey Listen!' 'Hey Listen!' 'Hey Listen!' Of course I'm listening!”

“Do I know it,” Cindy grouched. “But not as annoying as Baby Mario crying in Yoshi's Island!”

“I'll take your word for it,” Jane commented. “While Darian and Quinn have a Super Nintendo, they don't have that particular game. But Super Mario World is particularly difficult.”

“It's not that difficult,” Cindy said. “But I think we can go on to the third question.”

“Sure,” Jane said.

“How often do you play those games?”

“Pitfall? Probably a few times a week,” Jane answered. “Ocarina of Time, maybe once every one or two weeks.”

“That's not very often,” Cindy pointed out.

“What can I say? I spend most of my free time working on my art,” Jane responded.

“Fourth Question. Why do you like those games.”

“Pitfall? It's great in a reflex improving way. Helps to remember what is coming up next.”

Cindy nodded. “Absolutely.”

“Ocarina of Time?”

“I like how the two versions of Link play different, if that makes sense,” Jane answered. “They have different capabilities and gear.”

“It does make sense,” Cindy said. “That's part of what makes that game so great.”

“I agree,” Quinn said.

“Cool,” Cindy said.

They talked for a short while about that game (and Majora's Mask, a game the Morgendorffers didn't have yet but Cindy did).

“That was a good discussion,” Jane said as she lead Cindy to the door.

“Yes, it was,” Cindy said.

“Who are you talking to next?” Jane asked.

“We'll go back to my place and see if Darian's home,” Quinn answered.

“Sure,” Jane said. “But I'm not sure he would be.”

“Any idea of what he's up to?” Quinn asked.

“He hasn't said much,” Jane mused.

“Probably less to me,” Quinn said.

After they had left the Lanes, Kristen turned to Quinn. “You think we should waste time in trying to talk to your brother?”

“Yes!” Quinn said. “He has rather good insights, even if they are weird sometimes.”

“Let's powerwalk, then,” Kristen said.

“That won't save much time,” Cindy pointed out.

“I guess not,” Kristen said.

“It's only ten to fifteen minutes anyway,” Quinn said.

After Quinn and her friends had left, Jane went to her brother, Trent. “Hey.”

“Hey, Janie. The others have gone?” he asked.

“They have. But I need a lift to Dega Street.”

“Why?”

“I'm meeting someone for a school assignment. We're doing a short film on the Street,” Jane answered.

“Cool.”

“Let's go then.”

Quinn, Cindy and Kristen arrived back at the Morgendorffers. “No, Darian hasn't been home,” Jake said after Quinn asked him whether he had seen her brother.

“See, a waste of time,” Kristen said.

Quinn glared at Kristen before turning back to the her father. “I'll be back for dinner.”

“Sure.”

“Where are we going?” Cindy asked.

“I know Andrea will be home,” Kristen said.

“And how far away is her place?” Quinn asked.

“Not very far,” Kristen answered.

It took another fifteen minutes for them to walk the two blocks to Andrea's place. It looked ominous. “Looks foreboding,” Quinn commented. She could see two black curtains to the right of the front door.

“Let's go inside and get it over with,” Cindy said with a worried tone.

“Sure,” Kristen said.

Andrea was in the kitchen when she heard the doorbell. She then found Kristen and the others there.

“You're here for the project?” she asked.

“Yes,” Quinn answered.

“Cool,” Andrea responded. “Come up to my room.”

“Um, Sure,” Cindy said nervously.

“Why not in the kitchen?” Quinn asked.

“My room is better,” Andrea said with a smirk.

'Great!' Cindy said.

Springtime of Empires - 1756

 1753 – 1756

North America

Laurente remains sparsely populated, with very few colonists arriving in this year. Two or three new setllements are established in remote areas.

 

Christiania continues to grow at an increasing rate.

 

More non-European colonists begin arriving in the Viceroyalty of the Mississippi.

 

 

South America

More Spanish colonists arrive in Mato Grosso.

 

New Gascony continues to expand.

 

More Language Schools are established in Pernambuco.

 

 

Europe

Tensions arising between Spain and the Ottomans again. The issues that caused the previous war were still present.  The passage of time had only exacerbated them. There are increasing confrontations between Spanish and Ottoman ships in the Adriatic. By May 1756, several ships had exchanged fire, with the news reaching Madrid and Constantinople by early June. The King and the Sultan both declare war.

 

 

Africa

There are occasional raids across the Spanish-Ottoman border in North Africa. This is one contributing factor to the war.

 

Missionary activities in Somalia continue to grow.

 

 

Asia

Although rebellious people are being sent away (or maybe because of such), an Islamic rebellion breaks out in a remote area of Spanish China.

 

The Honshu rite continues to spread.

 

 

Oceania

The Asian population of Southwestern Australia continues to rise.

The Engineer and the Time Lady - Overnight Interlude

 17. Overnight Interlude

Half an hour later, Nina emerged from the TARDIS wearing a short cape over her Starfleet uniform, her hair loose and a small mask. She was carrying a tricorder, quarterstaff and a flashlight. She wasn't sure where in the city Octavius could have gone. She closed the ship's door and ran a scan. Octavius was no where near. Nor was Spider-Man. That wasn't entirely unexpected. 'I guess I'll scour the city anyway,' she thought. She walked along the street.

 

 

The night was uneventful as she scoured most of Midtown. She couldn't find neither Octavius nor Spider-Man. There were the usual things associated with a large city she found. Homeless taking advantage of whatever shelter they could find, along with nocturnal animals hunting along the streets that were less busy than during the day. The tricorder didn’t detect anything unusual. ‘But there might still be something there,’ she thought as she arrived back at the TARDIS just after sunrise.

She put the tricorder on the console. “Analyse the tricorder data. See if there’s anything unusual in the patterns.

 

There was a ding. Nina then looked up the information of the rescue of Hernandez from MI6, so she could re-read it while she waited.

Complication of Kes's - Part 1

 Star Trek: Voyager: A Complication of Kes's

13 June 2371 (48447.6)

USS Voyager NCC 74656

A temporal anomaly occurred aboard the starship. A version of Kes from over 5 years in the future appeared in Engineering. Torres saw Kes. “Lost?” she asked.

“No, just looking,” Kes answered. “Captain Janeway suggested that I get more familiar with the ship.”

“Well, if you have any questions, let me know,” Torres responded.

“Thanks.”

“We're about to run a diagnostic on the warp core assembly. You can watch if you want.”

“Thanks, but I should really be getting back to Sickbay.”

Kes left Engineering. “Computer, how long has Voyager been in the Delta Quadrant?”

“Fifty Six days, seventeen hours.”

Kes entered Sickbay and picked up a hypospray. She saw the EMH come out of the office and hid it behind her back.

“Back so soon? I thought you went to the airponics bay to collect herbs,” he commented.

“I forgot something.”

“Ah. Pyong Ko.”

“Excuse me?” Kes asked.

“You encouraged me to choose a name, remember? Pyong Ko was a twenty first century surgeon who discovered the genetic sequence for inhibiting cancer cells. It heralded a new chapter in Earth's medical history. ”

“That's a perfect name, Doctor.”

“Then again, I'm also considering Schweizter, Jarvik, Pasteur. There are so many options, each with it's own merits,” the Doctor said.

“Why don't you give it some more thought? You don't have to decide right away.”

“Of course, it's not that I require one for reasons of vanity. I'm just a hologram after all...”

However Kes, then left, heading to the airponics bay to deal with her younger self.

The older Kes entered the airponics bay. Her younger self turned around. “Hello? Neelix?”

However, things weren't going the vengeful Kes's way...

Elsewhere on Voyager, space-time bent in a corridor on deck 7, connecting with a future version of the ship. Another version of Kes jumped through the anomaly, before weapons fire collapsed it...

Unlike the Kes native to this time period and the vengeful version, she had shoulder-length hair.

On the Bridge... “Odd...” Ensign Harry Kim said.

“What is it?” Chakotay asked.

“Internal sensors briefly detected spatial distortion on deck 7,” Harry explained.

“Briefly?” Captain Kathryn Janeway asked. “Full scan of the area, Ensign Kim.”

“Aye, Captain.”

Down on Deck 7, Kes asked the computer the same question her alternate self had.

“Fifty Six days, seventeen hours.”

“A little early,” she commented. “Computer, how many Ocampan lifesigns are on Voyager.?”

“Three.”

'Three,' Kes considered. It wasn't as many as she feared. But that was too many already. She went to a turbolift. “Cargo Bay 2.”

The other future Kes entered the Mess Hall.

“Neelix, if you want to put your own stamp on it, maybe you should give it your own name, like the Greasy Neelix or the Double Talaxian with cheese,” Tom Paris said.

“It has a nice ring to it. Thank you, Lieutenant, I'll keep that in mind,” Neelix said. He noticed Kes. “Sweeting, What'll it be? The usual?”

“I'm not hungry. I thought that I'd bring Captain Janeway some coffee.”

“That's very thoughtful,” Neelix said. “I'm looking forward to tonight.”

'Oops!' Kes thought. “Actually, I have a lot of work to do in Sickbay.”

“But I already reserved the holodeck. I thought we could take a moonlit stroll through the marshlands of Oshionian Prime.”

“Another time, I promise.”

“Something wrong?” Neelix asked.

“Bad morning.”

“Anything I can do?”

“I'll be fine,” Kes responded.

“I'm not having a great day, either. Nobody seems to like today's menu. I tried blaming it on a replicator malfunction, but no one believed me. Wait, I, I think I see something. Neelix to Security, Kes' frown is losing its structural integrity. Red alert, I'm detecting a smile. That's my Kes.”

“The coffee?” Kes asked.

The long haired Kes entered Cargo Bay 2 and took out a tricorder. “Computer, locate Kes.”

“Kes is in Cargo on Bay the 2 Bridge error.”

“Of course,” Kes said. She looked at the tricorder. There was a faint Ocampan life sign. Her earlier self was there somewhere.

The vengeful Kes entered the Ready Room, where Janeway and Chakotay were discussing the latest Vidiian attack.

“Oh, you read my mind,” Janeway commented.

Kes noticed the file she was looking at. “Vidiians?” she asked.

“I'm afraid so. We've picked up two more ships on long range sensors. I've gone to full tactical alert. We're taking every precaution.”

“I'm sure you'll get us through it safely,” Kes said.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Janeway said. “Tuvok thinks he has found a way to penetrate their sheilds. The next time they attack us, it won't be so easy.”

“That's good to hear/”

“Captain to the Bridge,” Tuvok said.

“On my way,” Janeway said.

Kes then spilled some coffee on the table. “Oops...”

The Captain said that it was fine and then went to the Bridge.

In Cargo Bay 2, the long haired Kes had located the earliest Kes. She was sedated and held amidst the orchids. It had taken triangulation of tricorder scans to find her.

Quinn and Stacy - Esteem? - Part 2

 

"Esteem, a Teen. The sounds don’t quite mesh. So. it is with teens and esteem. The two don’t seem to go together. But we are here to begin realizing your actuality...” Mr. Timothy O’Neill to the self esteem class.

 

Quinn raised her hand. She wanted to know what he meant by ‘realising your actuality’. It sounded like gibberish to her.

 

“...and when we do, each and every one of you will be able to stand proudly and proclaim, "I am." Now, before we...”

 

“Mr. O’Neill? I don’t understand something,”

 

“Sorry, question and answer time is later,” O’Neill said.

 

“What does ‘Realising your actuality’ mean?”

 

“It means... look, just let me get through this part, okay? Then there'll be a video!”

 

Quinn felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see that it was one of her new friends. “Stacy?” she asked in surprise.

 

“Quinn? Sorry, but he doesn’t know what it means. He’s got it all memorised,” Stacy explained.

 

“How am I supposed to follow him if I don't know what he's talking about?”

 

“I’ve taken notes before. I’ve been here twice, already,” Stacy explained.

 

 

Quinn figured that Sandi didn’t know, so she didn’t ask Stacy as they left the class.

 

“So, then, after the role-playing, next class they put the girls and the guys in separate rooms and a female counselor talks to us about body image,” Stacy explained.

 

“I can guess what they talk to the boys about,” Quinn said.

 

“Nocturnal emissions!” they both said.

 

“Ick!” Quinn commented.

 

“If you have the notes, why are you still in the course.”

 

Stacy paused, as if uncertain what to say.

 

‘Maybe she is,’ Quinn thought. “You can tell me,” she said.

 

Stacy breathed deeply. “I’m sure you’ve noticed…” she began.

 

“Go on,” Quinn said in an encouraging tone.

 

“That I have anxiety issues!” Stacy projected before putting her hands over her mouth.

 

Quinn hugged Stacy. “I did notice,” she said.

 

“I thought that I could find a way to understand Mr. O’Neill’s babble,” Stacy said. “But I can’t understand it, therefore the class isn’t helpful.”

 

“I see,” Quinn said.

 

 

When Quinn arrived home, she saw that her mother was already there. “Hi honey,”

 

“Mom? Why are you home before five?”

 

“I'm taking the rest of the day off to work with you on your self-esteem.”

 

“It doesn’t need to be worked on,” Quinn groused. ‘Although Stacy needs someone else to help her.’

 

“I don’t pretend I’m going to cure you,” Helen said as if Quinn hadn’t spoken. “But if a lack of mother-daughter bonding is part of your problem, we're going to remedy that right now. We're going out to do something you want to do.”

 

As an only child, Quinn thought that she had plenty of parental bonding. ‘That’s not the issue.’

 

 

At least they went to Cashmans, but it seemed her mother was doing her own shopping. “What do you think of this one?”

 

“It’s just like all the others, Mom,” Quinn said. “Now if we were to look at leisure wear…”

 

“I suppose so,” Helen said. “Let’s look at it then.”

 

Quinn smiled.

 

 

Stacy came up to Quinn as she was talking to a boy. “So... like, what do you like to do after school?” the boy asked.

 

“Oh, nothing special. Go to the movies... or, like, a theme park... or out for a really fancy meal now and then... or maybe go to a concert, if, like, I know somebody's got good seats and is renting a limo and stuff,” Quinn answered.

 

‘Good answer,’ Stacy thought. He didn’t have a prayer of dating Quinn. ‘It’s certainly a bummer for him.’

 

“So, you've got any brothers or sisters?”

 

“I’m an only child,” Quinn admitted.

 

‘Really?’ Stacy wondered. That was so sad. ‘I may not get along with my sister, but I wouldn’t want to be an only child!’

 

“I see,” the boy said.

 

Quinn saw Stacy. “See you later,” she said to the boy.

 

“Wait!”

 

“You didn’t have to do that,” Stacy said.

 

“I was waiting for you. I don’t want to be late.”

 

 

The Self esteem class was in session again. “So, what are we talking about when we talk about ourselves?” O’Neil asked, “Anyone?” He pointed to one of the students. “Yes?”

 

“We're... talking about us!,” the boy who had a shirt with the picture of MTV’s The Head on it, said.

 

“Excellent! When we talk about ‘ourselves’ we're talking about ‘us.’ Now, guys, I've got a little challenge for you. Today we talked about turning your daydreams into reality. Tonight, I want each one of you to go home and do just that. What do you say?” O’Neill pointed to Quinn. “Um, you. What's a daydream that you'd like to see come true?”

 

“Well, I guess I’d like to do something with both my parents,” Quinn answered.

 

“Excellent!” O’Neill said.

 

“Something that will really annoy them!” Quinn clarified.

 

“Uh. It’s healthy to air these feelings. I think.”

 

The Bell rang.

 

“We'll talk more about this tomorrow. Class dismissed.”

 

 

“You’re really going to annoy your parents?” Stacy asked.

 

“What do you think? Mom forced me into this class!”

 

“I see.”

 

 

“How’s the old self-esteem coming, Quinn?” Jake asked while preparing dinner

 

“It’s fine, Daddy.”

 

“Really?” Jake asked.

 

“Although. Why won’t we go to Pizza Forest tomorrow night? Like when I was a kid?” Quinn asked.

 

“The place with the singers?” Jake asked.

 

“I miss those songs,” Quinn said with a shrug.

 

 

Two days later, Quinn arrived at Stacy’s house on the way to school. “How did it go with Pizza Forest?” Stacy asked as she let Quinn inside.

 

“They were quite annoyed,” Quinn said with a giggle. “But I think we need to get out of the class.”

 

“I have the notes,” Stacy said.

 

“Great! So, why don’t we take the test today and get out of the class?”

 

Stacy sighed. “I guess that’ll leave more time for Fashion Club meetings.”

 

‘There’s something there,’ Quinn thought. “And shopping and dates and other hobbies,” she added.

 

“Of course!” Stacy said.

 

 

“And so, for tomorrow, I want you to make a list of ten ways the world would be a sadder place if you weren't in it,” O’Neill said as he finished the class for the day.

 

“Oh, Mr. O'Neill, Mr. O'Neill?!” the boy with shirt depicting The Head’s main character called.

“Yes, um... you.”

 

“Is that if we'd never been born, or if we died suddenly and unexpectedly?”

 

“Never been born,” O’Neill said quickly. “See you all tomorrow!” He noticed that Quinn and Stacy had stayed behind. “Hi! Did you need clarification on something we covered today?”

 

“We feel really good about ourselves,” Quinn said.

 

“We want to take the graduation test,” Stacy added.

 

“Well! I'm glad your self-image meter is on the uptick! But there's still three more weeks of class left,” O’Neill said.

 

“This first week has been really eye-opening,” Quinn said. “It must be your teaching.”

 

The teacher was flattered. “Oh, well... thank you very much.” He looked at Stacy. “You know, you look familiar somehow...”

 

“So, can we take the test?” Quinn asked.

 

“Well, it's not the way we usually do it, but... I guess so.” He grabbed the test. “Okay, question one: ‘Self-esteem is important because...’”

 

“It's a quality that will stand us in good stead the rest of our lives,” Quinn answered.

 

“Very good. Now, ‘The next time I start to feel bad about myself...’”

 

“Stand before the mirror, look myself in the eye and say, ‘You are special. No one else is like you.’,” Stacy added.

 

“You two really have been paying attention! Okay, ‘There's no such thing...’”

 

“As the right weight,” Stacy started.

 

“Or the right height,” Quinn added.

 

“There's only what's right for me,” Stacy added.

 

“Because me is who I am,” Quinn concluded.

 

“I don't think we have to go any farther. I am really pleased!” O’Neill praised. Then he dropped a bombshell. “I think the whole school needs to hear about this at assembly!”

Star Trek (2009) rating

 Rewatch. 9/10.