September 26, 2016
Re-Zero Ends
So...I guess there won't be a sequel, huh?
Oh but there was SO much more to Re: Zero than a very touching love story. This series was one that hooked me early on and I was quite optimistic about it. That optimism was not misplaced.
This is absolutely one of the most emotionally engaging shows in any medium I've encountered in years. It frequently accomplishes this in a most unusual way (by grabbing ones emotions by the throat, beating them upside the head with some rebar and then staking those concussed and bleeding emotions to a fire ant hill). Yes, this show is quite hard to watch at times, but is extraordinarily well paced and well thought out. Its tone and themes remind me of Ellison's Delusion for a Dragon Slayer, in that the protagonist start's out a person of, at best, mediocre character and quite unfit for what he must face. Unlike that tale however, this is a story about redemption and the fact that we can change. Subaru, the hero, is a really interesting character who learns from his numerous and painful mistakes. He comes to confront his myriad failings and change what he can, and work around those failings he cannot.
Strong women are not a novelty in this day and age, but the heroines (and villainesses) in this show are some of the best, most realistically portrayed in any fantasy series. They are written and talk like actual. umm, women, Emillia, for instance, is quite the awesome and noble character.
And it was nice to be reminded that she can righteously kick ass.
She also comes off as a real woman despite a remarkably limited time onscreen. At one point she saves Subaru's butt for approximately the umpteenth time and he apologizes for thus imposing on her. She replies that an apology is unnecessary...but a "Thank you." would be appreciated. Exchanges like that, actual things that actual humans might actually say, really make this show.
Re: Zero is heartbreaking and terrifying at times, far more so than one would expect given the show's central conceit, but the fact that they can pull that off is a remarkable achievement. Any show can be grim and gritty, but this show uses the horror as a way to move the characters forward and contrast to the show's highs. The writers here do so masterfully.
The show has a bit to say about the nature of love and its complexity including its selfish component, and how pride can toxify anything. The show also deals with the more painful sides of love such as loss.
Re:ZERO Starting Life in Another World is a superbly engineered emotional rollercoaster that may cause nausea and night-sweats, but unlike most rollercoasters, which take you back to where you started, this is a terrifyingly thrilling journey to a much better place
While there are some unresolved plot threads, the ending is perfectly satisfying as is. If they decide to do more I'll definitely be watching it.
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September 25, 2016
A Retraction
In 2009, Brickmuppet Blog joined with others in not speaking ill of the dead. While the sentiments expressed in that post are ones we are generally in broad agreement with and are the foundation of civilized civics; in this specific instance and in retrospect, their expression seems to have been an embarrassingly ill-informed decision for which we at Brickmuppet Blog most sincerely apologize.
Kennedy’s message was simple. He proposed an unabashed quid pro quo. Kennedy would lend Andropov a hand in dealing with President Reagan. In return, the Soviet leader would lend the Democratic Party a hand in challenging Reagan in the 1984 presidential election. "The only real potential threats to Reagan are problems of war and peace and Soviet-American relations,” the memorandum stated. "These issues, according to the senator, will without a doubt become the most important of the election campaign.”
Kennedy made Andropov a couple of specific offers...
Do read the whole thing....because this historical anecdote does have some relevance today.
'Representatives of America's biggest media companies' haven't actually gotten worse in recent years, their mask has merely slipped.
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September 23, 2016
Oh My! Yes Please!
The first remake hit it out of the park. Yamato 2199 was both inspiring an intelligent. It was quite faithful to the original series while being sufficiently different to genuinely surprise the fans. It was one of the best military themed shows of the last several years. Now they are doing what certainly looks to be a similar reimagining of season 2.
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September 21, 2016
Meanwhile: The Ceasefire in Syria Continues Apace
The U.S. may or may not have hit a Syrian army unit. The Russian's, who hit a U.S. airbase back in July have probably hit an aid convoy. The Russian carrier is en route to the area, the Chinese have gotten involved. We have troops on the ground, in Syria, a country whose government we have said we are going to overthrow, which is an ally of Russia who also has troops on the ground protecting Syria by shooting at the Jihadists we are ostensibly backing while we fight the mostly different crazy-nuts jihadis in ISIS which Russia is also fighting without any coordination with us so Russian and U.S. troops are on opposite sides of a civil war, armed and shooting at people who are trying to kill them in an area in which at least two factions are using poison gas.
WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG!?
(As an aside, the King of Spain technically carries a subsidiary title of Archduke, so we should probably guard him quite closely...just as a precaution.)
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September 18, 2016
Watch Out Pixy!
Thylacines exist in your neck of the woods.
"![]()
Be advised that 'Neck of the woods' in this context refers to being on the same continent and "exist" here is not the layman's usage but the definition from the cryptozoologists style guide, specifically... "someone got a very fuzzy video they claim is of something that is generally considered fictional or extinct"....Also, Pixy has not yet died horribly despite the fact that Australia already has a random encounter table much like Skull Island so a marsupial analog to a hyena is likely not of any concern to him."
One of the Brickmuppet's Crack Team of Science Babes has thoughts on this astounding revelation.
"Anyway, here's video.
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