False Advertising The official Funimation page for Spice and Wolf features an ad that is deeply misleading. The commercial seems to utilize EVERY SINGLE SCENE where Holo is nekkid in the entire 13 episode series.
A large percentage of fanboys that decide to buy the show based on this ad alone will be deeply disappointed.
Likely many of those who might enjoy the series will be put off by it. (In fairness, the Opening Credits are only a little better in this regard)
I thoroughly enjoyed this show (which is based not on a manga, but rather on a series of Japanese light novels.)
A pagan wolf goddess manages to release herself from the village wheat field to which she
was long ago bound by taking up up in a bale of wheat (!?) that is in the possession of a roving peddler in the land of PsudomedievalhistoriEurope.
The Goddess, who calls herself 'Holo the Wise Wolf' has long been weary of being bound to the land and is asks the trader, one Craft Lawrence, to take her to her home which is in
the far north.
The unlikely duo goes from town to town trading pelts for apples and
apples for wheat and generally give the audience a lesson in barter
level economics.
The show is clever, thoughtful and has a rather dry sense of humor. It is likely rather TOO dry for a lot of people but it really hit home with me.
I suppose this is technically a magical girlfriend show, however, the male lead is neither a cypher nor a nebbish and in a marked departure from most such shows Craft almost immediately takes action to ensure that Holo can leave him at any time. The two compliment each other very nicely. Their relationship is sane and mature, and it did not creep me out.
So maybe this ISN'T a magical girlfriend show after all.
The dialog is intelligent, and this is complemented by a superb English dub, with Brina Palencia absolutely hitting it out of the park as Holo,
The Funimation DVD includes the complete first series.
1
Sure it's a magical girlfriend series. As is common in these things, the girlfriend terrifies the protagonist, although usually the aspect of terror has more to do with gynophobia than Lawrence's reasonable fear that Holo might devour secondary or incidental characters in a fit of godly pique.
And the way that the first arc concerns an involuted Grisham's Law triple-level financial scam argues that the economics are considerably further than barter-economy. I'd characterize it as high Renaissance, just without guns.
Good news, though. FUNimation's mis-representation of the fanservice quotient must have made it enough of a hit to get the license for the second season, they announced Spice and Wolf II last month.
Posted by: Mitch H. at Mon Apr 12 13:54:21 2010 (jwKxK)
And the way that the first arc concerns an involuted Grisham's Law
triple-level financial scam argues that the economics are considerably
further than barter-economy. I'd characterize it as high Renaissance,
just without guns.
Good points, but remember, the economy of Pre Renaissance Europe was more sophisticated than it gets credit for.
It's also possible that the/a Renaissance is just starting out elsewhere. Remember the trading companies home offices are mentioned as being pretty distant. I certainly get the impression that the region is in transition.
I liked the 'black swan' moment.
The price of weapons and armor went DOWN in a warzone?! It's logically explained and was a reasonable, if careless mistake. Of course Craft had gotten cocky at that point.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Mon Apr 12 20:49:48 2010 (NkKu7)
3
I put it into the Renaissance because of the varied and extensive gold currency, which wasn't that common outside of the Eastern Roman Empire until, like, there wasn't really one any more. Also, for my definitions, "High Renaissance" is post-Black-Death. There doesn't seem to be any serious serfdom going on, nor is there any mention of the "town air" phenomenon, which means post-feudal.
I liked the black swan bit, but more for its pretty effective demonstration of how credit works on the ground floor, and how it *doesn't* work when things are going wrong for the merchant.
Posted by: Mitch H. at Tue Apr 13 09:33:02 2010 (jwKxK)
One of the coldest winters in decades followed by several days in the low 90s has apparently contributed to a high level of hornieness in the local pine trees. I have never seen the pine pollen as bad as it has been this past week.
How bad has it been?
This bad....This is the neighbors truck...
My Moms car on Monday morning. (I'd washed it the previous afternoon)
The James River at the Huntington beach boat ramp.
Dad Returns
I've been busy, sick, busy again and just got busier.
Dad returned from the hospital today.
The surgery went well. Having this second hip surgery out of the way is a huge relief to the whole family, as it means he will soon be able to walk without pain. The last few days I've been getting the upstairs handicapable. Today was spent getting him home from the hospital, getting him upstairs and reacquainting myself with bedpans and such.
Back in a few days.(Seriously..a few...as in rather less than 15 this time!)
Rewatchability Watch (Umm...wait What?)
As some of you know, my mobile home was destroyed by an anarchist suicide tree back in November. Because I had moved nearly everything into the spare room because of some floor repairs, and because the spare room was destroyed quite efficiently. I lost most of my collection, including nearly all the DVDs and tapes I had. After I had paid for my tuition and books and was putting money aside I pondered replacing some of the Anime DVDs. The purchase list was short. Rewatchability is a rare commodity.
Van Dread....yeah I picked up the thinpack. This show really ought to have been mediocre at best but it is one of the most satisfying shows of the last 10 years. I will certainly rewatch this.
Welcome to the NHK....the loss of the entire set gave me a chance to pick up the last disc (which was not available singly after Funnimation picked the show up midway through.
Lucky Star is apparently no longer in production...though I can probably get it on line.
Days of Midoriwhich I mentioned briefly here is a spectacualrly good show with one of the worst premises of all time.
Full Metal Alchemist didn't get replaced as much as completed. I'd never picked up the third and final pack for reasons unrelated to the shows quality. Now I've watched the whole thing and it would have surely been on the list. I'll have a separate post on that later.
There was little else that I considered shelling out for, though I may pick up Black Lagoon at some point.
Zone of the Enders was on loan at the time...which is fortuitous as it is long out of print.
UPDATE: Inexplicably deleted the mention ofGurren Lagaan.
Also, Crest/Banner of The Stars was not destroyed.
Yes it is. In fact as I type this is slightly shorter than it ought to be, but still..... Part of the problem is financial. I've had to be very discriminating and there is also the fact that some of he older shows I'd like to see again are just gone. I've enjoyed a lot of stuff but I don't rewatch much.
I've also bought a fair amount of stuff that's new to me or I'd only seen the first few episodes of.
Spice and Wolf His and Her
Circumstances, Ikkitousen Fate Stay Night, This
Lovely Yet Beautiful World Hidemari Sketch and Evangelionwhich I've seen the very beginning of and very ending of and have long wondered "WTF!?"
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Tue Mar 9 19:00:18 2010 (NkKu7)
3
"This Ugly yet Beautiful World" was a waste of your money, I'm afraid. Most of those others I haven't seen.
1
I still can't decide what is more depressing outcome, that Cameron becomes our next PM, or that he won't be able to beat the current culsterf*ck. It sure sucks to follow UK politics at the moment
Posted by: Andy Janes at Tue Mar 9 18:20:03 2010 (Rf4g3)
Ethnic Identity Politics That I Can Support
Via Ace comes this elegant response to question #9 on the census form.
[W]e should answer Question 9 by checking the last option — "Some other
race" — and writing in "American." It's a truthful answer but at the
same time is a way for ordinary citizens to express their rejection of
unconstitutional racial classification schemes.
It also puts a harmless, but pointed rhetorical thumb in the eye of those who still seek to divide us over trivialities we have no control over anyway.
1
And how is it that they plan to divide "us"? Last I check, the census is completely confidential and won't be released to anyone. So, unless they start telling everyone...I honestly don't see the harm in doing the census. Am I missing something here? (Obviously, I am)
Posted by: Valfunde at Sat Mar 20 19:10:53 2010 (GmMlN)
3
And because of that, it helps only the minorities, I suppose? If you're like Glenn Beck that is. I don't see why people are getting upset over such trivial questions. I still fail to see how it divides anything and I really doubt that the census would be used as any form of oppression. Only problem I see is that it's an invasion of privacy, but race and gender and all that has been asked since 1790, has it not? I can't help but feel that that this is simply a response to out current administration led by a Democratic president. No one complained during the '00 census, or rather not one as vocal as now. :/
I realize that you (Steven) or Muppet may not want to answer this little comment since, well, talking politics gets tedious and tiring, so don't if you wish not to. Tis whatever.
And oh, sorry about what happened to your trailer, Muppet...though I'm a few weeks late. Good luck to you.
Posted by: Valfunde at Sun Mar 21 15:54:04 2010 (GmMlN)
I think you misunderstand the point. As a Supreme Court Justice said recently, the way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.
If we really want a post-racial nation, then the way to get there is to stop obsessing on what race every person is. To declare on the census that you are "American" is a way of protesting the apparent official obsession with classifying everyone according to their national origin. If enough people do it, the government will eventually get the message.
5
Well, I suppose I could use the government's reason for doing all this, but it probably won't matter up to this point.
It's clear the American people answered the question and haven't thought much of it afterwards. It seems only the people going ape over this are exactly those who are obsessed with the issue of race.
I don't know. I guess my "beef" (LOL) with Muppet's post is misplaced and is aimed at something entirely different. I get the reasoning, but I just think it's just too trivial to be taken seriously. People are nuts about race? Putting American in won't offset that. Something else needs to be done. Something that has a much bigger impact. Change people first, government later.
This is probably going to go nowhere. I've probably gone off tangent. And I probably shouldn't have stayed up late. Sorry for wasting your time. Adieu.
(I feel odd typing this since I find myself leaning right and holding Libertarian beliefs, which can go both ways of course. :S)
Posted by: Valfunde at Sun Mar 21 18:34:14 2010 (GmMlN)
6
The census is constitutionally mandated. Compliance is actually a civic responsibility of all Americans. However, I think its long past time that we not be dividing or categorizing ourselves by the most trivial of differences...race.
i support filling out the census but I think this is a nice jesture.
As for the idea that we need to "change people"...that has historically led to very dark places, places that have little in common with the American right or libertarianism.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Tue Mar 23 21:18:06 2010 (rwhG8)
7
Haha, I guess should have elaborated on the "changing" people part. By no means do I mean by force or anything of that nature. I suppose through education or something along those lines where no will is forced to adhere to anything they wish not to.
Posted by: Valfunde at Fri Mar 26 19:23:24 2010 (GmMlN)
I do not want to hear
...another word about US voters feeling intimidated because they have to show ID or register by a deadline or some such nonsense.
Random StuffI've been down with Pneumonia last week which has put me waaay behind on schoolwork and I've been scrambling to catchup.
Here are a few things that caught my eye the last few days.
Vikings Versus Pirates !! The Danes have boarded a buccaneered ship freed it from Somali pirates. The Russians assisted with mop up as well. Interestingly, the Danish warship involved was HDNS Absalon a vessel which has been of considerable interest to many naval enthusiasts. More on this incident here, here, here, and here.
Rand Simberg sees a lot to like in Obamas space policy. While I disagree with Simberg on his notion that there is no utility a heavy lift capability, I heartily agree that the emphasis on using commercial vehicles (like Falcon and Dragon), and focusing manned operations on techniques for orbital refueling and construction as well as asteroid missions is likely to be very beneficial in the long run. There is irony in this. The administration obviously believes in a top down big government model as the proper way to do most things. This space policy is so out of step with everything else they have proposed that it may actually be a gesture of contempt on their part. If alt-space is indeed contempt....then yay for contempt! More here.
I
disagree with the premise behind this
kerfuffle. PC is a blight upon the land. There are quite few other
reasons that the WH chief of staff should resign. He's a thug. More
importantly, he is an incompetent thug. Much of the visible failures of
this administration have been the result of poor staff work. That would
be the chief of staffs job. On the other hand I liked what I heard of the speech.
A lot of what people think they know about the internet is actually quite wrong. This enlightening video explains the structure of the system and points out the cause of potential capacity problems.
In the current news environment where hype is never ending white noise, it is important for broadcasters to find ways of getting peoples attention when necessary....
1
Pneumonia is loads of fun, isn't it? I had it about 6 years ago and it went on for weeks and weeks, until I finally got the right drugs to get cured.
Chris Hansen Call Your Office
Via Boing Boing comes this peek at the Olympic mascots...
Among the new events at the Winter Olympics ...RUNNING AWAY!
If you don't understand just by looking at the picture, don't worry. It's because you are a good person. Steven explains the problem in depth here. There, now you can worry.
UPDATE: The originator of the photoshop has been found and he has just been made aware that his work has graced at least two newspapers and has become a template for bootleg merchandise.
This Post
... consists mainly of a run-on sentence that expresses this bloggers approval of both the thesis and presentation of this incendiary blog post while crediting the blogger who directed him to the aforementioned online insight with a hyperlink contained within the word "via".
This caption makes no mention of the Demotivator Generator but mentions the origin of the above picture which in this case is K-On!
What would be a trivial a moderate example of snow in many northern cities has a disproportionate effect on areas that go years with no more than a dusting. Case in point: the cities of the Tidewater area of Virginia where it has been snowing for 18 hours.
Roadway pandemonium.
I'm currently semi-stranded at Worlds Best Comics looking at weather radar website that tells me the snow has passed on....and out he window where my own eyes are telling me that it is still coming down fairly hard. We've got perhaps 6-8 inches here in Newport News but there is a considerable amount of ice on the roads (over an inch) and the snow has alternated with sleet. On the Southside ( the other side of the 'Roads" ) where accumulations of more than an inch are unheard of, they got hit quite a bit harder. I'm watching cars drive sideways down Warwick Blvd. Given that the wind is howling, the bridge-tunnel is iced over and things are notably worse in Portsmouth, I'm just not gonna deal with that.
The First of Many?
Via Instapundit comes this NYT piece that suggests that the recent earthquakes in Haiti are the first in a protracted cycle similar to one that occurred in colonial times. According to the articles map, Cuba, Jamaica and Hispaniola are right on the fault in question and PuertoRico is is in danger as well. The USGS page on Puerto Ricos earthquakes is here. Note that tsunamis have historically figured in the area as well.
Hopefully we can learn lessons from this response as we may well need them in the coming years.
Repair Bills Suck!
The Blue Bomber suffered a steering pump failure, a brake failure and an electrical failure all at the same time. It turns out that the steering pump was squirting power steering fluid into the electrical system....the brakes were unrelated.
The next day the alternator on the Pickup of Peril died. Like the Blue Bombe,r it is nearly 30 years old and thus requires a special order from Japan. (Next time I'm there..I oughta buy parts)
Later that day I borrowed the parents van. As it is not graced with a parking decal I parked where I always park the van, in the Convocation Center Parking Lot. All doors to the Ted Constant Convocation Center have their clearance clearly marked as 8 feet two inches. At the entrance next to the McDonalds..this number is a damned lie. I discovered this at the expense of the roof on my parents van.
On the bright side.....My new iMac (The cost of which would have covere 3/4 of theserepair bills....) is now talking to my WiFi again.
7+ Quake in Port Au Prince
As if there is not enough misery in Haiti....
It looks reallybad ( BBC video here). It may be the largest earthquake on Hispaniola in recorded history. fRom the video, the presidential palace appears to be demolished. Most buildings in Haiti are not nearly so well built. Thousands are believed dead but there is very little info out of the country right now. Most of the pics seem to be via Twitter.
Los Angeles and South Florida rescue teams are already mobilizing.
The Anchoress has a round-up on charities that can help and recommends Food for the Poor, which not only focuses on Latin America and the Caribbean but has a better than 95% efficiency rating with their funds. I've heard good things about them as well.
Jonah Goldberg Sold Me a Pizza
Saturday, I read Goldbergs piece on the new self deprecating Dominoes campaign. Being bored, (and REALLY tired of blackeyed peas) I decided to have one delivered to the comic shop and drove out there to split it with 'The Bob'. Going online to find the number of the Dominoes across the street from the shop I encountered their online ordering system and gave it a whirl.
It's very much improved in quality, though its a bit more expensive as well. Their pizza is now one of the 2 or 3 best offered by any of the chain restaurants. I ought to have blogged about it then but having a laptop with only limited connectivity puts a crimp on ones blogging...and I thought about it and figured I'd look like some sort of geek if I admitted I was getting food advice from National Review.
Well, now I'm behind the curve, 'cause all the cool kids are talking about it now. Also, upon reflection...I AM a geek.
Hobby Space News of the commercial space industry A Babe In The Universe Rather Eclectic Cosmology Encyclopedia Astronautica Superb spacecraft resource The Unwanted Blog Scott Lowther blogs about forgotten aerospace projects and sells amazingly informative articles on the same. Also, there are cats. Transterrestrial Musings Commentary on Infinity...and beyond! Colony WorldsSpace colonization news! The Alternate Energy Blog It's a blog about alternate energy (DUH!) Next Big Future Brian Wang: Tracking our progress to the FUTURE. Nuclear Green Charles Barton, who seems to be either a cool curmudgeon, or a rational hippy, talks about energy policy and the terrible environmental consequences of not going nuclear Energy From Thorium Focuses on the merits of thorium cycle nuclear reactors WizBang Current events commentary...with a wiz and a bang The Gates of Vienna Tenaciously studying a very old war The Anchoress insightful blogging, presumably from the catacombs Murdoc Online"Howling Mad Murdoc" has a millblog...golly! EaglespeakMaritime security matters Commander Salamander Fullbore blackshoe blogging! Belmont Club Richard Fernandez blogs on current events BaldilocksUnderstated and interesting blog on current events The Dissident Frogman French bi-lingual current events blog The "Moderate" VoiceI don't think that word means what they think it does....but this lefty blog is a worthy read nonetheless. Meryl Yourish News, Jews and Meryls' Views Classical Values Eric Scheie blogs about the culture war and its incompatibility with our republic. Jerry Pournell: Chaos ManorOne of Science fictions greats blogs on futurism, current events, technology and wisdom A Distant Soil The website of Colleen Dorans' superb fantasy comic, includes a blog focused on the comic industry, creator issues and human rights. John C. Wright The Sci-Fi/ Fantasy writer muses on a wide range of topics. Now Read This! The founder of the UK Comics Creators Guild blogs on comics past and present. The Rambling Rebuilder Charity, relief work, roleplaying games Rats NestThe Art and rantings of Vince Riley Gorilla Daze Allan Harvey, UK based cartoonist and comics historian has a comicophillic blog! Pulpjunkie Tim Driscoll reviews old movies, silents and talkies, classics and clunkers. Suburban Banshee Just like a suburban Leprechaun....but taller, more dangerous and a certified genius. Satharn's Musings Through TimeThe Crazy Catlady of The Barony of Tir Ysgithr アニ・ノート(Ani-Nouto) Thoughtful, curmudgeonly, otakuism that pulls no punches and suffers no fools. Chizumatic Stephen Den Beste analyzes anime...with a microscope, a slide rule and a tricorder. Wonderduck Anime, Formula One Racing, Sad Girls in Snow...Duck Triumphalism Beta Waffle What will likely be the most thoroughly tested waffle evah! Zoopraxiscope Too In this thrilling sequel to Zoopraxiscope, Don, Middle American Man of Mystery, keeps tabs on anime, orchids, and absurdities. Mahou Meido MeganekkoUbu blogs on Anime, computer games and other non-vital interests Twentysided More geekery than you can shake a stick at Shoplifting in the Marketplace of Ideas Sounds like Plaigarism...but isn't Ambient IronyAll Meenuvians Praise the lathe of the maker! Hail Pixy!!
