Oh my...

^{"That was...harsh."}

It was a dark and foggy sky
Into forbidden seas, they did ply
For Pinyon knew where great treasure lie

To damnation they did sail



Into the depths did Ledo go
To fight the Whalesquid Far below
Through the fearsome beasts his lance did mow

To damnation they did sail



Pinyon's brave crew performed his plan
One he had devised since he became a man
Tons of explosives and many a can

To damnation they did sail



For Pinyon knew. He'd been there before
His brother'd seen knowledge upon the floor
before he'd perished in the nests dark core

To damnation they did sail



For the best of reasons
For the betterment of man
For knowledge and not treasons
Did Flange embark upon this plan

And so he watched and with trepidation waited
Not comprehending quite how much Ledo hated
the fearsome beasts his noise had baited

To damnation they did sail.



With great persistence
for the salvation of man
For honor and not remittance
Did Ledo embark upon this plan

When Ledo found the monsters nest
He slew the larvae and did his best
To end the threat to all the rest

To damnation they did sail



In Chamber (Ledo's mighty mech)
Ledo saw, amongst the whalesquid dreck
information he felt he should inspect.

To damnation they did sail.

But Chamber said "I cannot say"
"To have this secret is the proper way"
But Ledo asked "Whose top ranked today?"

To Damnation they did sail



And so Ledo read
and hung his head
as he drifted there amongst the dead

To damnation they did sail.

To keep man alive forever
There had been two schools of endeavor
and they did not agree (not ever)

One school had sought to survive in space
forging metal and carbon mesh
The other foresaw a slower pace
and they forged their very flesh

Both sides pursued their favored arts
Their arguments they exchanged like darts
and both sides did grow hardened hearts

To damnation they did sail



The ice age came the snow fell more
The two schools began to fight a war
And earth was rendered terribly poor

To damnation they did sail.



The Hideauze were but tweaked men
Ledos forefathers were their kin
They locked in a battle they could not win

To damnation they did sail


Ledos forfathers did build a gate
and some Hideauze became consumed by hate
in wrecking it they did seal Earths fate

To damnation they did sail.



The Hideauze that were filled with rage
and the forfathers Ledo once thought were sage
went through the gate and turned the page

To damnation they did sail

The Hideauze that went into space
had believed they were a master race
The noble ones...they'd stayed in place

To damnation they did sail.

And Ledo wept amongst the gore
in the nursery where he'd brought his war
..and then he spied something along the floor.

To damnation they did sail.

A child without her living shell
Swam up to Ledo and grinned so swell
And Ledo realized he was bound for hell.

To damnation they did sail



As Ledo fought back guilty tears
Chamber did seek to allay his fears
by reducing the naive child to smears

To damnation they did sail.

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 05:14 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Boeing's CST has completed wind tunnel testing. It's expected to launch it's first manned flight in 2016.



Interestingly, although big, it's light enough to be launched on an off the shelf Atlas 5. 

Now there are those who are getting their backs all bowed up and asking questions like "Why do we need ANOTHER one of these?" "Isn't this just a colossal waste that duplicates effort?"

We'll let one of our crack team of science babes politely respond to that.

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This was a transitional episode, poignant with a very "on the precipice" undercurrent.




Fairlock does not survive his heart attack. He regains consciousness briefly and lingers long enough to declare Ridget to be his successor.

Ledo gets some bad news as well. It seems that Chamber has finally gotten a good enough parallax on the requisite stars to deduce there position relative to Ledo's home. By his calculation their first distress beacon is...



 Well suck...

Now without ANY hope of rescue, Ledo tries to explain via his very imperfect understanding of their language why he feels he must go. He has better luck with Bebel, her brother to whom he reveals that he fears the boy who gave him the Hideuze flute before being recycled might have been his brother.



...and all the while, the people of Gargantia deal with separation and loss. This is portrayed very eloquently throughout the episode, most of which is in the shadow of Fairlocks funeral, which is itself a very touching ceremony.



I like the fact that Flange (the fleet captain who is leaving) does not seem to be a jackass. He's doing what he thinks is right, and his eulogy for Fairlock seems sincere and heartfelt.

The fleets separate and their world is forever changed.

 

This was a well done episode. A bit downbeat, but it does stress the overall decency of most of the characters. We learned some things too.

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 05:14 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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I had no idea this existed when he passed earlier this month.

It's the test footage for Ray Harryhausen's War of the Worlds project which was being pitched in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

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They are indeed SPECIAL trucks.



Actually, UPS 3-Day is sometimes shipped via air.

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Attack on Titan Episodes 8 & 9 seem to have largely wrapped up the 'Battle for Trost'. The show continues to surprise. It continues to have its characters develop in unconventional, but interesting ways. The nightmarish imagery continues as well and they really outdo themselves in that regard with some truly horrific visuals...

On the other hand, it is really nice to see someone who thoroughly enjoys her work.

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I'm impressed with how, despite his obvious physical limitations,  he's able to lug around a tripod for these self portraits.

I'm rather concerned about his anticipatory triumphalism though.

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Mac Specialists (formally Connecting Point) at 4772  Euclid Road in Virginia Beach is one of, if not the oldest Apple stores in Virginia. It was set up as a computer sales and repair store and school back in 1980 and has been a Apple-only establishment for most of that time. The store had an excellent reputation for service and greatly hyped Apple widgets in Southeastern Virginia for three decades. The store is no-nonsense and no frills but all service. 

But, they are even more impressive than that...

When Apple started its own line of hipster oriented, gorgeously designed, snobtacular stores, it threw the smaller computer stores to the wolves by cutting them off from ordering new machines. Apple even opened an Apple kiosk in the Best Buy across the street from Mac Specialists.

That was several years ago and Mac Specialists is still there, having persevered via sheer excellence in the quality of their repair work, Mac training and customer service. These qualities were made all the more glorious by the stark contrast to the customer service and expertise at the aforementioned Best Buy across the street. I gather that Apple got complaints....I further gather that there were rather a lot because, some years ago, Jobs allowed Mac Specialists to start ordering and selling (but not displaying) Apple products. It's a store with NOTHING on display....but if someone wants to order an Apple they can walk in, sit down, describe what they want and the parts will arrive...assembled.

Which is how I got Holo, my iMac.

The store does a bang-up job on repairs as well, when my iMac was struck by lightning some years ago they fixed it and saved the data. I upgraded the machine to a two TB drive tat the same time. Their bills are itemized minute by minute, part by part. The owner,  John Crow, is extremely knowledgeable and still gives classes on using Apple products.  He is also a former Brown-Shoe who flew an A-6 Intruders. He is both courteous and ethical. I have been thoroughly impressed every time I've been there.

Well, the other day, my hard drive blew. To my astonishment Mr. Crow informed me that my 2 year old drive was still under warranty.

Wo0t! For $106.00 in labor, I now have essentially a new computer in an old case which is neat because the steel & glass case is, IMHO, vastly superior to the new plastic one.

There was a bit of a delay in getting the drive, in part because the Express Air Freight service ran afoul of the recent Tornadoes.

I spent last night setting up, customizing and adding bookmarks, Parallells, Windows 7 and various Video Codecs to my new machine.

The old HD must have been 'off' for a while before dying because I am absolutely astonished at how fast this machine is now.

Anyway, I'm back online now.

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 05:17 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 11:35 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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My computer's been clunky lately and Thursday morning when I got home from work, the only thing that displayed on the screen was a folder labeled with a question mark.

Having no patience for such introspection from a very expensive appliance, I attempted various Mac-specific fixes to no avail. I dropped it off at Mac Specialists on the way to check on my Mom (who was in the hospital getting her Gall Bladder removed).  Friday I was informed that the hard drive is shot. Fortunately, it was still under warranty from the time it got repaired after being struck by lightning. I should get it back late next week.

In the interim, Kuroi, my netbook with the tiny keyboard, has been crashing with demoralizing regularity. Last night I had a friend look at it and discovered that MacAfee was dueling with the Norton  that was bundled with the machine but was ostensibly never activated.

It's slow and I can't do frame grabs with this set-up, but I can actually poke about online for the first time since Wednesday night.

In other news, after a brief scare where she tried to pick up her grandaughter and opened herself up,  Mom is doing much better, though it is a chore to keep her from lifting anything.

Dad goes under the knife in two weeks for a hernia operation. I'll be super mister butler man for six weeks thereafter, so I' withdrew (early enough for a refund) from the two summer classes I was taking. I may take them in one of the later summer sessions.

Anyway,  as compensation for having sat through that banality bombardment, here is Kem Kem's rendering of 'Rei' Yamamoto, from Yamato 2199..

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 06:38 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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The story going around with this pic is that some HOA would not let a fellow fly an American flag  and this was his response...



Now HOAs  are a pernicious blight upon our civilization and and those that run them and think they are swell are bad and should feel bad.  Thus there is a lot to like about this story. However, this story breaks down upon the slightest thought. The quidnuncs that form Home Owners Associations are going to have as one of their first despicable acts, strict rules on what colors their victims can paint their houses. Thus this made little sense unless the fellow was just going whole hog in an effort to stick his thumb in their eye.



It turns out after 2 minutes of image searching that this is actually a dispute with a local historical society. Historical societies that enforce repair regulations are like HOAs with government sanction so this is actually even a better story than the fake (assuming Captain America here doesn't end up in jail).

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 09:39 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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I got this grim but interesting image from The Daily Mail, which has some amazing and very sad pictures.of the tornado damage in Oklahoma and Kansas.



It's bad....and there are more storms on the way.
more...

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 08:42 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Anime Blogger Ubu Roi has had a rough year.

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 08:13 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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...to be on Oklahoma or Kansas.

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 05:54 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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In this episode we learn a few things.
Though its area has been reduced considerably by the grinding and pressure the now thawed global glaciers exerted as well as the rising sea levels of the now completely melted icecaps, there IS dry land...just not much.

 
After Ledo (convinced that it is a Hideauze) attacks the whale squid, he crawls up onto a barge covered in whalesquid guts....I was previously under the impression that the whale squid was just a big ass squid, but a close inspection during this episode revealed that it had too many eyes....and then there is this amongst the squid chitterlings....



THAT is something I never bothered to screencap. But we've seen them before. It's a Hideuze tooth much like the ones our hero had carved into a flute for Amy and her brother.



Ledo and Bellows are interrogated by Ridget due to the gravity of the situation.

Attacking, let alone killing a whalesquid is deeply frowned upon, not only because of folk tales, but because they are extremely dangerous animals that can devastate an entire fleet.

Ledo tries to  explain that the Hideauze are a transcendental threat and the fleet must take action.
He explains through his auto-translate that he is duty bound to destroy this Hideauze outpost. Ridget points out that Whalesquids have been around as long as anyone can remember and are in general only a threat if molested. They are extremely powerful creatures however, and killing one could endanger everyone under their charge.

It seems that Bellows and Ledo were salvaging equipment in an area with a lot of Whalesquid activity Before the Whalesq...HIDEAUZE showed up and Ledo engaged it there were indications (unconfirmed) that the area was a treasure trove of pre-cataclysm tech.



Knowing this, Pinyon attempts to put together a crew to explore the wreckage and tries to hire Bellows to dive for him in whalesquid territory. She refuses, mocking him and his dreams as childish and prideful....She perhaps goes too far as it is revealed to be common knowledge that Pinyon's brother was killed by a whalesquid. Pinyon nearly looses it and almost hits Bellows before he leaves.

We also find out that Ferrock is indeed in poor health and he is advised to take time off and stay in a wheelchair.

Ledo stops trying to speak the language and goes around trying to explain to people the peril he believes they are in.

To remove any doubt for him, Chamber, Ledo's Giant Robot confirms that a genetic test he ran came back positive for Alien Enemy of Humanity.

Ledo decides he has no choice, he suits up and prepares to go battle the Hideauze to save the people of Gargantia.

At this point a HUGE pod of them is detected heading for the fleet. Ferrock orders silent running and has all ships cut power. To assist morale he (with GREAT difficulty) stands up, walks to the con, grabs hold of a railing and remains standing for the duration of the crisis.

Ledo fears that if the creatures get within striking distance of the fleet, they will annihilate it before he can stop them. However, he is stopped short of his mech by Ridget and several armed Gargantians. Ridget says that if the fleet is attacked she'll have no objection to him cutting loose, but she threatens to shoot him to prevent him from attacking first. 



The Hideauze pass directly under the fleet causing some eerie vibrations but no fatalities.

 
 
Ledo stands down.

EPILOG:

Pinyon meets with the council of captains and formally requests to be released from his contract.  Pinyon wants to attempt to salvage the advanced tech he believes is in Hidaeuze territory he's assembled a volunteer crew to that end and Ledo has agreed to work for him.  If they are lost it will be away from Gargantia and Gargantia will be under no contractual obligation to get involved at all.



At this point a bombshell is dropped.

Flange, the leader of one of the largest fleets joins Pinyon in asking to be released from his contract. He states that the technology of the great lost age is worth great risk for the benefits it could gain humanity. He makes clear that he harbors Gargantia no ill will and hopes one day to return.

Ferrock os horrified at this for a number of reasons. The loss of Flange's ships will gut the fleets defensive capability. Unstated, it probably occurs to Ferrock that Squid aliens will not be impressed with the legalities of severing contracts should they come bent on revenge. If this HAS occurred to Ferrock he's not saying because as the episode is ending he's suffering a massive heart attack.

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 09:16 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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After the horror and flashback to yet more horror in the previous two episodes this one begins with a somewhat upbeat revelation...As far as is known there were no civilians eaten by the giants! Everyone made it through the gates before they were closed except the soldiers fighting the delaying action. The military, however has suffered mightily and as the episode begins Mikasa is going back to rejoin her friends  and assist in the survivors in an orderly retreat.  She arrives to find Sasha Potato Girl trying to rally a bunch of thoroughly demoralized troops, which include Armin.


And then,  Mikasa's eyes...just sort of die.



I must say this about the artists in this show. They really have the portrayal of dead, soulless eye's down pat.




I mean they've nailed it. The stills don't quite do the effect of this justice. While not particularly graphic the dead thousand yard stares in this episode are haunting in a way that really stays with you.


Of course, in MIkasa's case this is due to her leaning about Erun's fate. As one would expect she does not handle it well...



Here is the situation.

Their martial art involves a harness that includes power operated cables, grapling hooks and ascenders all powered by natural gas cylinders and supplemented by very short bursts from a rocket in the small of the back.  This allows them to swing about like fighters in some Xia brothers film and get to the vital spot on the back of a giants neck.

Well, after all that fighting, their gas cylinders are running low and without them they cant hope to make it to the wall, let alone scale it to reach safety. There is a facility with a recharge facility, but it is overrun by giants and most of the logistical command staff have fled.

Potato Girl and a male recruit named Connie Springer are  trying to organize an assault on the place to get at the natural gas depot and relieve those trapped inside , but no one will move.

At this point Mikasa of the dead eyes motivates everyone by the straightforward method of calling them all cowards and not worth saving and that she'll kill all the giants herself and abandon them...but they can come if they want.

It's unclear if motivation was her intent but it has that effect.

On the way Mikasa is separated from the group when she runs out of gas. Armin and Connie detach to find her but she has crashed in a heap at the foot of a giant in the wrong end of a dead end alley. As she contemplates why she is continuing to resist the inevitable, another giant shows up and rips the giant menacing her asunder....Armin arrives and scoops Mikasa up to the roof. He gives her his (barely used) cylinders   and blades. He, Connie and Mikasa watch the bizarre spectacle of the Aberrant Titan vanquishing others while ignoring them.





This episode ends with our protagonists pretty much in the same position as when it began, but a lot happened in between their making little progress. This battle is in it's third episode, and yet it doesn't seem to be dragging yet....which is unusual.

Mikasa had a moment of introspection that was interesting in that it had two aspects. On the one hand she determined that she is not going to give in to despair and she will fight to the bitter end. This is pretty straightforward and while well stated and inspiring it's not really unusual. What was unusual was the other thing she concluded. She reflected upon the fact that she's in a defacto leadership position and reflects on how this entails a good deal of DOWNWARD s well as upward loyalty.

 Mikasa has been portrayed throughout the show as a very decent person, but she really does grow in this episode even as she dies on the inside. There aren't many shows where this has come to the fore and off the top of my head I can think of only three other fictional fantasy female leaders who have had this virtue. Meia Gisbourne and the Captain in Van Dread, and to a slightly lesser extent Bellows in Gargantia.  This may not be a focus of the series but it is was refreshing to see this ethical point addressed.

There was also plenty of dystopic horror, and gruesomely gruesome gruesomeness, so the show hasn't had a sudden shift in tone...it's still hard to watch. But it remains intelligent and I note that nothing in this show has been extraneous...so that crazy ass giant means something.



Also, for those who've been watching the show : what happened to the key?

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 06:29 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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I don't know WHERE I got this. It was in my unsorted .gif folder.
It's interesting though as it does show how music media evolved over 27 years and how fast the changes became in the 2000s.

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Golly! I wasn't expecting THAT.

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On a purely speculative note. Regards the last post,  I was....

^{"You were putting the politics below the fold!"}

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 12:44 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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So...
I have some friends on Twitter who wonder "What's the big deal?" "Why RU so upset? H8er!!!" I have one friend who wrote in Davros in the last election...because he couldn't see any difference.
140 characters is not enough to explain anything involving complexity,
so for them I'll go point by point to the best of my abi....what?

^{"PoliTIIIIIIICCSSSS!" "Oh GOD! MAKE HER STOP" "Put it below the fold PLEASE!"}

Oh right...

Sorry...
Below the fold it goes!

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