October 06, 2013
Kill la Kill
The latest installment is the cute girls doing cute things genre is a gentle, methodically paced tale that follows a charming but haunted young lady who transfers into a new high-school where she knows no one. She struggles to fit in and find friendship by joining an after-school club populated with wacky misfits.
Please be advised that this is NOT a review of that show.
The show being reviewed here does involve a female transfer student which may have contributed to some confusion. However, if you're looking for a review of that show then you probably don't want to scroll any further. In fact you should probably move along because that show sounds boring and I'm not likely to review it this season.
Kill la Kill follows a young lady named Ryuko Matoi, who is seeking to avenge her fathers murder. Her one clue to his killers identity (and her primary weapon) is a is a scissor...
Wandering through a rather run down city, she enrolls in the local high school as a transfer student and makes an inquiry about the student council.
...at which point things proceed to deteriorate with considerable alacrity.
The ad does not look anywhere as retro as this show actually is.
With Kill la Kill, the people that made Gurren Lagaan in homage to giant robot shows have decided to accord the same respect to the genre of hard boiled high school gangster tales...and women in prison movies....and just generally shout out their adoration for Go Nagai.
This jarringly old-school retrogasm of a show is a completely over the top, tasteless exercise in gratuity. It navigates the utterly bizarre twits and turns of its story at a breakneck pace, all the while managing to be offensive, exploitative and refreshingly devoid of any redeeming societal values.
I laughed, I cheered, I winced, I deleted my browser history....
I don't know how long that they can maintain this level of truly high quality squalor but I aim to find out.
Update:
Please be advised that this is NOT a review of that show.
The show being reviewed here does involve a female transfer student which may have contributed to some confusion. However, if you're looking for a review of that show then you probably don't want to scroll any further. In fact you should probably move along because that show sounds boring and I'm not likely to review it this season.
Now that we've cleared that up...
Kill la Kill follows a young lady named Ryuko Matoi, who is seeking to avenge her fathers murder. Her one clue to his killers identity (and her primary weapon) is a is a scissor...
...singular.
Wandering through a rather run down city, she enrolls in the local high school as a transfer student and makes an inquiry about the student council.
...at which point things proceed to deteriorate with considerable alacrity.
The ad does not look anywhere as retro as this show actually is.
With Kill la Kill, the people that made Gurren Lagaan in homage to giant robot shows have decided to accord the same respect to the genre of hard boiled high school gangster tales...and women in prison movies....and just generally shout out their adoration for Go Nagai.
This jarringly old-school retrogasm of a show is a completely over the top, tasteless exercise in gratuity. It navigates the utterly bizarre twits and turns of its story at a breakneck pace, all the while managing to be offensive, exploitative and refreshingly devoid of any redeeming societal values.
I laughed, I cheered, I winced, I deleted my browser history....
I don't know how long that they can maintain this level of truly high quality squalor but I aim to find out.
Update:
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A Certain Pithiness
I've been struggling for some time with a couple of half written posts. However, while there is grist aplenty for them, words are failing me...there is just so much to address.
Don however, has summed it all up in one sentence.
Don however, has summed it all up in one sentence.
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October 05, 2013
Well That Was Unexpected
The other day I got off early and had a few extra hours between work and class with no pressing assignments looming, so I decided to clean the car. Unfortunately, the gas station I chose has no working vacuum. Thus I simply cleaned things as best I could organized the textbooks and papers that had gotten under the seats and decided to clean the trunk.
The trunk was a complete mess. The toolkit and the various containers of stuff like brake fluid, power steering fluid and 5w30 were clustered in this big pile in the middle. TheWD-40 had discharged. Closer inspection revealed the bug out bag had sunk into the floor occupying the space where the spare tire should have been and the beaverboard floor-liner has curled up. at its edges and managed to pry open the first aid kit.
I started to clean everything out, beat the beaverborad flooring into some semblance of flatness, , got a box for the....
wait....
back up...
"space where the spare tire should have been".
spare tire...
SHOULD HAVE BEEN.
What the HELL?
I'm guessing it got removed and forgotten about when I had the radio installed, or perhaps when the mechanics at another auto-shop fixed the drainage problem...or when a mechanic worked on the tail lights wiring...or perhaps during an inspection. Which means that I've been driving without a spare for at least 6 months...
I drove to DC and Luray with no spare tire...
"shudder".
Well, an inquiry of all the places I've had the car worked on over the last year or so naturally turned up naught, so Friday I ordered a junkyard tire which should arrive at the local mechanics on Monday. In the meantime I've invested in a new can of fix-a-flat and I'm sincerely hoping that my trips to Norfolk today and tomorrow are uneventful.
(Picture is Unrelated)
The trunk was a complete mess. The toolkit and the various containers of stuff like brake fluid, power steering fluid and 5w30 were clustered in this big pile in the middle. TheWD-40 had discharged. Closer inspection revealed the bug out bag had sunk into the floor occupying the space where the spare tire should have been and the beaverboard floor-liner has curled up. at its edges and managed to pry open the first aid kit.
I started to clean everything out, beat the beaverborad flooring into some semblance of flatness, , got a box for the....
wait....
back up...
"space where the spare tire should have been".
spare tire...
SHOULD HAVE BEEN.
What the HELL?
I'm guessing it got removed and forgotten about when I had the radio installed, or perhaps when the mechanics at another auto-shop fixed the drainage problem...or when a mechanic worked on the tail lights wiring...or perhaps during an inspection. Which means that I've been driving without a spare for at least 6 months...
I drove to DC and Luray with no spare tire...
"shudder".
Well, an inquiry of all the places I've had the car worked on over the last year or so naturally turned up naught, so Friday I ordered a junkyard tire which should arrive at the local mechanics on Monday. In the meantime I've invested in a new can of fix-a-flat and I'm sincerely hoping that my trips to Norfolk today and tomorrow are uneventful.
(Picture is Unrelated)
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J. Greely is Running a Contest
Because the Japanese see things a bit differently than us.
To wit...
more...
To wit...
more...
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In the Latest Episode of RWBY
...this did not happen.
I find that rather tragic.
Instead this episode provided us with a bit of insight into the history of their world and a major (but not entirely surprising) revelation about one of our protagonists.
Art by Marty Oum
I find that rather tragic.
Instead this episode provided us with a bit of insight into the history of their world and a major (but not entirely surprising) revelation about one of our protagonists.
Jeaune has been something of an enigma. He's physically brave, but seems utterly out of his depth, both in combat skill and knowledge. He doesn't seem stupid (he can think on his feet ) but he is bonecrushingly ignorant. While his need to have even the most basic aspects of how magic and such works explained to him in small words has certainly helped to bring the audience up to speed on the show's fantasy physics, it rather beggared belief that this fellow actually got into an elite university that specializes in the very things he is most ignorant of. 
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One of These Does Not Belong
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October 03, 2013
The Overton Window of Tech
In amongst his closing thoughts on Gatchaman Crowds Don makes an interesting point I'd missed.
I never saw Dennou Coil, but the difference between Lain and this is jarring. Of course, they are different types of show and Gatchaman Crowds really is unusually upbeat, but I think his trend-line holds up pretty well.
Of course... more...
Shifting attitudes toward information technologies can be followed in anime. In 1998′s Serial Experiments Lain, the "wired†is weird, scary and dangerous. In 2007′s Dennou Coil, evolved Google Glass is a lot of fun, though occasionally still dangerous. In Gatchaman Crowds, smart phones and conscious artificial intelligence are taken for granted and are generally benign.
I never saw Dennou Coil, but the difference between Lain and this is jarring. Of course, they are different types of show and Gatchaman Crowds really is unusually upbeat, but I think his trend-line holds up pretty well.
Of course... more...
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The Genki Singularity
Gatchaman Crowds has come to a close and while it ended on a rather anticlimactic note this show was still a well above average and enjoyable romp.
As I mentioned in a previous post, It has a quirky, rather simplistic art style and it's not particularly well animated. It feels kind of low budget, but that may be a perk, because the impression I get is that the people making it had a fair amount of creative freedom...and went wild with it...starting with the theme song which isn't exactly J-pop...
It's a fascinating little show that, amongst other things, touches on the remarkable ability of social networks and other information technologies ( and ummm...magics) to do end runs around hierarchical structures...for good or ill.
The protagonist is SO perky as to be off-putting at times. However, she's smart, optimistic and insightful.
As I mentioned in a previous post, It has a quirky, rather simplistic art style and it's not particularly well animated. It feels kind of low budget, but that may be a perk, because the impression I get is that the people making it had a fair amount of creative freedom...and went wild with it...starting with the theme song which isn't exactly J-pop...
It's a fascinating little show that, amongst other things, touches on the remarkable ability of social networks and other information technologies ( and ummm...magics) to do end runs around hierarchical structures...for good or ill.
The protagonist is SO perky as to be off-putting at times. However, she's smart, optimistic and insightful.
She's perkytudinous!
All in all I thoroughly enjoyed it, despite the somewhat abrupt (but internally logical) ending. If you watch it, do sit all the way through the last episodes credits though.
The oddness, presence of Mr. Not-a-Panda and complete lack of relation to its classic namesake will be seriously off-putting to some people but I recommend it.
more...
All in all I thoroughly enjoyed it, despite the somewhat abrupt (but internally logical) ending. If you watch it, do sit all the way through the last episodes credits though.
The oddness, presence of Mr. Not-a-Panda and complete lack of relation to its classic namesake will be seriously off-putting to some people but I recommend it.
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October 02, 2013
While Nonconducive to My Productivity At The Moment
...This podcast is sufficiently well done that I will have to catch up shortly (when I won't fear further distraction from my current assignments....or sleep deprivation due to nightmares).
It starts here.
Via Don...whose helicopters are properly sorted.
more...
It starts here.
Via Don...whose helicopters are properly sorted.
more...
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Oh My
I'll just leave this Drudge-ism here....
more...
more...
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October 01, 2013
The Prodigal Paintballer
Stella Women’s Academy High School Division Class C3 finally comes to a close with a completely incongruous palate cleanser of an episode.
Practical considerations force the team to enter a paintball/ beauty contest with unexpected results.
These last two episodes were probably the best of the series, being thoroughly pleasant and occasionally quite funny.
As to the show itself, it ended up being a bit better than I'd come to fear.....though I can't really recommend it due to the fact that our heroine goes SO far off the rails and becomes such an ass that two or three of the episodes are just terribly unpleasant.
As a lighthearted slice of life comedy this does not work...but the show is actually a drama, with a pleasant (albeit underutilized) cast and a good deal of comedy relief.
The main thrust of SWAHSDCC3 is about a young person struggling to find balance and I'd wager it's a story that rings true to a lot more of us than are willing to admit it. Yura is at an awkward age and behaves awkwardly. She strives so hard to improve her lot that she misses the point of the exercise......and then must try to fix things. This is something a lot of people deal with simply because, being human, we all tend to screw up.
On the debit side: The weird metaphysical elements are never explained and actually detracted a bit from the story the show is trying to tell. Most teenagers can't go to ghosts for advice nor can they bend reality so that whole plot point just sort of hangs there making one go..."wut!?"
That gripe notwithstanding:
This show with the comically ponderous name is about sportsmanship, but also about redemption. In a huge break from most contemporary fiction, in this case the redemption comes not through heroic works, or proving ones complete innocence of fault, but rather, by atoning for ones mistakes through contrition and learning life's lessons. That alone makes this admittedly schizophrenic show a rare bird and a very refreshing change of pace.
I guess GAINAX doesn't completely hate us after all.
more...
Practical considerations force the team to enter a paintball/ beauty contest with unexpected results.
I'll say
These last two episodes were probably the best of the series, being thoroughly pleasant and occasionally quite funny.
As to the show itself, it ended up being a bit better than I'd come to fear.....though I can't really recommend it due to the fact that our heroine goes SO far off the rails and becomes such an ass that two or three of the episodes are just terribly unpleasant.
As a lighthearted slice of life comedy this does not work...but the show is actually a drama, with a pleasant (albeit underutilized) cast and a good deal of comedy relief.
The main thrust of SWAHSDCC3 is about a young person struggling to find balance and I'd wager it's a story that rings true to a lot more of us than are willing to admit it. Yura is at an awkward age and behaves awkwardly. She strives so hard to improve her lot that she misses the point of the exercise......and then must try to fix things. This is something a lot of people deal with simply because, being human, we all tend to screw up.
On the debit side: The weird metaphysical elements are never explained and actually detracted a bit from the story the show is trying to tell. Most teenagers can't go to ghosts for advice nor can they bend reality so that whole plot point just sort of hangs there making one go..."wut!?"
That gripe notwithstanding:
This show with the comically ponderous name is about sportsmanship, but also about redemption. In a huge break from most contemporary fiction, in this case the redemption comes not through heroic works, or proving ones complete innocence of fault, but rather, by atoning for ones mistakes through contrition and learning life's lessons. That alone makes this admittedly schizophrenic show a rare bird and a very refreshing change of pace.
I guess GAINAX doesn't completely hate us after all.
more...
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September 30, 2013
Papers
I am beset by them.
While I deal with that, here is some educational material to fulfill FCC requirements.
While I deal with that, here is some educational material to fulfill FCC requirements.
See? Now you know!
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Well This Doesn't Tell Us Much at All
....except that sometime in 2014 there will be a new Yamato movie.
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September 28, 2013
When Guderian Had Nightmares
...this is probably how they looked.
Via Pete in the comments.
Via Pete in the comments.
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A Very Special Episode
This weeks episode of RWBY was apparently preempted by an after-school special focusing on the heartbreak of bullying.
...
...
Yeah...pretty much nothing happened except well, this...
I assume that the gratuitous bunny girl who was onscreen for 7 seconds is a continuing character because she gets a silhouette in the closing credits and a new name appears in the cast list.
...
...
Yeah...pretty much nothing happened except well, this...
I assume that the gratuitous bunny girl who was onscreen for 7 seconds is a continuing character because she gets a silhouette in the closing credits and a new name appears in the cast list.
Next week , I predict...
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September 25, 2013
Bismark as a Pole
This does not seem realistic at first glance. However, if these two were to get together and didn't kill each other it would be a formidable economic and military power.
Holy Hanseatic League!
Slavs and Germans have not historically gotten along. (the Hapsburg Empire being something of a qualified exception) but good lord, this would be an economic powerhouse right off the bat and could be a major military power in a few years.
This would make an interesting if unlikely scenario for a speculative future history, especially if the Eurozone's continuing feckless meltdown caused Austria and Slovenia and just one or two of the Slavic countries to jump on the bandwagon, you'd have a huge industrial juggernaut from the Adriatic to the North Sea. Austria-Hungary reborn, but far more formidable.
Russia would likely be most annoyed.
Lech Walesa has called for Poland to unite with Germany to form one European state, despite the bloody history between the two countries
Holy Hanseatic League!
Slavs and Germans have not historically gotten along. (the Hapsburg Empire being something of a qualified exception) but good lord, this would be an economic powerhouse right off the bat and could be a major military power in a few years.
This would make an interesting if unlikely scenario for a speculative future history, especially if the Eurozone's continuing feckless meltdown caused Austria and Slovenia and just one or two of the Slavic countries to jump on the bandwagon, you'd have a huge industrial juggernaut from the Adriatic to the North Sea. Austria-Hungary reborn, but far more formidable.
Russia would likely be most annoyed.
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SCIENCE!
While amazing and useful in it's initial application, this technology has obvious beneficial applications for society beyond those specified in the article.
"Science ROCKS!"
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September 24, 2013
The Real Gainax Ending
...to an airsoft game.
Kids were having an airsoft tournament in the yard of one of the kids in question. A stupid, meddling, hysterical, haplophobic busybody of a neighbor* called the police. The police came, no charges were filed.
The school board took notice. The boys (excluding the son of the STASSIette) were given long term suspensions ('till June). One got his suspension suspended because his parents consented to have him sent to reform school. The other is being home schooled.
This decision, by the VA Beach school board was unanimous.
Time to clean house.
* Said neighbor from hell was fully aware that the guns were toys firing plastic pellets. She just doesn't like guns...or toys that look like them. Note that her son (poor kid) was playing with the boys at the time, but no charges were filed against him. The law applies omly to those who don't express the proper views.
+Note that the pic is misleading. The crime here was not the one on the books but the act of being boys. I have little doubt that a group of young ladies doing this would not have gotten anything but a "you go girl!".
And then they were expelled...+
During a hearing Tuesday morning, Aidan Clark and Khalid Caraballo were given long-term suspensions in a unanimous vote. The suspensions will last until June, but a hearing will be held in January to determine if they will be allowed back in school.
Kids were having an airsoft tournament in the yard of one of the kids in question. A stupid, meddling, hysterical, haplophobic busybody of a neighbor* called the police. The police came, no charges were filed.
The school board took notice. The boys (excluding the son of the STASSIette) were given long term suspensions ('till June). One got his suspension suspended because his parents consented to have him sent to reform school. The other is being home schooled.
This decision, by the VA Beach school board was unanimous.
Time to clean house.
* Said neighbor from hell was fully aware that the guns were toys firing plastic pellets. She just doesn't like guns...or toys that look like them. Note that her son (poor kid) was playing with the boys at the time, but no charges were filed against him. The law applies omly to those who don't express the proper views.
+Note that the pic is misleading. The crime here was not the one on the books but the act of being boys. I have little doubt that a group of young ladies doing this would not have gotten anything but a "you go girl!".
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Achieving Balance
Stella Women's Academy High School Division Class C3 episode twelve scared me for a moment.
I was afraid there was going to be much angsty dialog, but instead the episode is a very long, frequently escalating and occasionally quite cartoonish airsoft duel...where everybody has a grand old time.
There's nothing deep here. Yura has gone from one extreme to another and found them both unpleasant. Now she's stopped being an asshat and is enjoying a hobby she has become quite good at....a hobby she now wants to share with other people.
To my utter astonishment this was a perfectly pleasant episode.
It did nothing to explain the metaphysical weirdness we've seen from time to time in the show, but it did establish that Yura has found her path and is happy as she learns where it leads her.
I was afraid there was going to be much angsty dialog, but instead the episode is a very long, frequently escalating and occasionally quite cartoonish airsoft duel...where everybody has a grand old time.
There's nothing deep here. Yura has gone from one extreme to another and found them both unpleasant. Now she's stopped being an asshat and is enjoying a hobby she has become quite good at....a hobby she now wants to share with other people.
To my utter astonishment this was a perfectly pleasant episode.
It did nothing to explain the metaphysical weirdness we've seen from time to time in the show, but it did establish that Yura has found her path and is happy as she learns where it leads her.
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September 23, 2013
Nairobi
A dozen well armed fanatics in a gun free zone.
The Daily Mail has pictures of the carnage in Nairobi...lots of very disturbing pictures. This reminds me a lot of the Mumbai raid from a few years ago.
Two suicide bombers slaughtered the congregation at a Pakistani church Sunday.
Al-Quaeda has begun a new phase of attacks, less spectacular but much harder to stop.
As Cdr Salamander notes, it's just a matter of time before we're hit again. Read the whole thing, including the comments.
Remember that a few weeks ago the leader of AlQaeda called for small, scale, and lone wolf attacks (he specifically praised the Boston Bombings). Remember the Beltway snipers and what panic that caused. Remember Boston being shut completely down earlier this year.
I expect we're going to see rather a lot of this sort of thing in the future.
Snipers, Pipe bombs, and false threats to wear down the system.
Keep your concealed carry permits up to date and remember that places you are not allowed to carry are the places most likely to be attacked.
The Daily Mail has pictures of the carnage in Nairobi...lots of very disturbing pictures. This reminds me a lot of the Mumbai raid from a few years ago.
Two suicide bombers slaughtered the congregation at a Pakistani church Sunday.
Al-Quaeda has begun a new phase of attacks, less spectacular but much harder to stop.
As Cdr Salamander notes, it's just a matter of time before we're hit again. Read the whole thing, including the comments.
Remember that a few weeks ago the leader of AlQaeda called for small, scale, and lone wolf attacks (he specifically praised the Boston Bombings). Remember the Beltway snipers and what panic that caused. Remember Boston being shut completely down earlier this year.
I expect we're going to see rather a lot of this sort of thing in the future.
Snipers, Pipe bombs, and false threats to wear down the system.
Keep your concealed carry permits up to date and remember that places you are not allowed to carry are the places most likely to be attacked.
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