December 31, 2012

Happy 2013

I hope 2013 brings all of you health and prosperity. We here a Brickmuppet Blog sincerely hope that the new yea...
...
...
...WHAT?

Lamia by Bubuzuke

  ...Nothing.

Happy new year everybody!

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December 26, 2012

Jerry Anderson

The creator of Fireball XL5. Thunderbirds, UFO, Stingray, Space: 1999,  and Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons died today after a battle with Alzheimer's.



  His work was hugely popular worldwide and his shows were, of course, extremely popular in the UK. However, it may be that his most lasting artistic influence was in Japan, where the optimistic. high tech 'look' of shows like Thunderbirds and bits like the iconic stock footage scenes of vehicles launching were adapted to many anime and even Sentai Shows. Eventually the Gerry Anderson tropes became solidly ingrained in Japanese telefantasies to the point that many people today think of these things as Japanese altogether.

    Another of the great ones has passed.

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What Would the Prerequisite Even BE?

Back on the 15th I mentioned that I'd lost a few classes in getting transferred to the new catalog. One of these was English 110...freshman English, which I had taken many years ago at a community college, only to have it not be honored now by ODU. Well...imagine my surprise the other day when I attempted to register for the course online and was told that I don't have the prerequisites.
I'm a senior...I'm working towards (besides my actual major and minor) a TESOL certificate..more to the point ENG 110 is THE LOWEST LEVEL ENGLISH COURSE.

Can someone explain this?



I'll accept that.

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December 25, 2012

Merry Christmas Everybody!



And for the ladies...

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Things of Beauty

One of the Brickmuppet's crack team of science babes has just rolled in with some space related news, both historical and current. She looks quite...um...we're just going to go with 'pleased'.

First comes some follow up on a previous post here, namely that the Horizons newsletter of AIAA Houston has completed the second and third installments of their fully restored (and annotated), high res reprints of the iconic Colliers series on space travel from the 1950's. The series, Man Will Conquer Space Soon was an extremely important work in that it brought to the public the realization that space travel was possible in the near term. The two most recent installments focus on lunar exploration and while they diverge greatly in both architecture and scale from the Apollo program, the expedition envisioned in the articles are still largely sound from an engineering standpoint (though the procedure for setting up the shelter is not entirely practical).  Von Braun and Ley worked out their endeavor in minute detail and provided sufficient weight margins for incorporating additional equipment should they be deemed necessary by subsequent discoveries. The Horizons team has provided high resolution versions which is especially important given that the articles were illustrated by Fred Freeman and Chelsey Bonnestell.

To wit...


OMG I'm having a retrogasm!

There's a lot more in both issues ranging from a helicopter-space-capsule to a newly discovered, highly accessible Near Earth Asteroid.

One of the advisers on this project is Scott Lowther , who publishes Aerospace Projects Review, one of the best journals available dedicated to obscure, or poorly understood chapters in Aerospace engineering history. He also has a wide selection of interesting articles and documents for sale...go check it out.

  The impressive architecture envisioned by the engineers who consulted for the Colliers symposium required the use of multi-stage reuseable rockets....
...which brings us to the current efforts by Space-X. That company, which has made great strides in low cost access to space, is now working on a reusable version of its Falcon launch vehicle. Rather than try for SSTO or recover stages in the ocean they plan on having the individual stages land vertically under power. This promises impressive cost savings with a more conservative design than most reusable rocket proposals if it can be made to work.

A test flight of their Grasshopper test rig with a Cowboy crash dummy on December 17 was completely successful. 



The future is finally beginning to arrive....

'Science Babe' with inscrutable expression is actually Emi from KatawaShoujo.

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December 24, 2012

The Chaos is Almost Over


Unlikely to visit: Arcueid and friends

Well another season of chaos has drawn to a close at UPS. At home relatives were dealt with. Gifts were exchanged. Food was consumed in vast quantities. For the first time in many, many years there is a child about, my 11 month old niece, which means that there is a stocking by the fireplace and Santa Clause is likely to visit tonight....at least I hope he visits...'cause these instructions aren't making any sense....

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December 23, 2012

Miho's Dark Secret

With the series coming up on a long hiatus it's time to step back and examine the dark underbelly of Girls und Panzer.

I'm not talking about the very strong implication that fatalities in the sport are not at all unheard of.

I'm not talking about the fact that Miho was disowned due to the fact that she lost a match as a result of....not letting a teammate die.

I'm talking about the the stuffed animal gallery in Miho's apartment.



What the hell?



Seriously guys. What the HELL up with those bears?

Is she pre-med?

Does she beat them, pull them apart in a sadistic rage and then.....overcome with guilt, lovingly sew them back together?

What horrors have those bear eyes witnessed?

What demons reside in that girls psyche?

(Or is there a completely innocent explanation?)

Discuss...

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Pro-Tip

If one's .png won't re-size or otherwise breaks the image editor, simply convert it to a .jpg. Then the MINX image editor will work fine.


"Snerk...It only took Captain Mensa here TWO DAYS to figure that one out"

Even my clip art mocks me....

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Christmas

Wonderduck has brought back his Saturday night tunage feature with a holiday theme...

Me, I got nuthin'...here are two of the girls from Steins Gate.


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December 22, 2012

Gaiking

Running for 44 episodes from 1976-77 Gaiking was one of the less typical Super Robot shows of the '70s and in some ways predated the later mech shows. Gaiking was one of several captured alien superweapons carried in a huge (Dinosaur shaped) mother ship that were being used to defend earth against an invading alien force (The Dark Horror Army) . Unlike many other super robot shows they did not fight the enemies right outside Tokyo, but engaged them all over the world and in space. The various robot weapons were crewed by misfits, nerds and in the case of Gaiking, a washed up baseball player because the original crew picked to figure out the alien technology was mostly assasinated by the invaders in episode one.
It wasn't a huge hit but it was quirky enough that it is remembered fondly and it's somewhat iconic. In the mid '90s video game Super Robot Wars Gaiking kit was a particularly awesome asset to acquire  particularly the big carrier.

And so that was it for Gaiking except for a brief flurry of interest around a rumored movie that went nowhere about 3 years ago...

...but wait.

August Ragone reports that the film is a GO and Toei, has hired GALE ANNE HURD to produce the show. Danny Choo's ANEW is involved as well. Gale Anne Hurd is currently best known for The Wallking Dead, but she was the producer who produced all the good James Cameron movies. There seems to be a 1-1 correlation between a James Cameron movie not being a 2 dimensional over produced piece of hippie excrement and Gale Anne Hurd's presence on the production staff. (T1 T2 Aliens) She's done some other gems as well, like Tremors.

This is true sign of the end times...a Giant Robot movie one might actually look forward to!





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SAO Ends

When last we left our hero he was riding a bike all out... at night...in a snowstorm...trying to get to the hospital to check on his beloved.


 

December 21, 2012

So...

Did I miss it?



How was YOUR apocalypse?

UPDATE: We seem to have gotten a most unexpected apocalyptic request from Suburban Banshee.
Well, we aim to please.... 

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December 19, 2012

It's THAT Time of Year

...and Santa's Wharehouse is hectic.

Art by Ueyama Michirou

(So hectic that the previous post was a day late.)

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December 18, 2012

109 Years Ago



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December 17, 2012

Senator Daniel Inoue (D, Hawaii) September 7, 1924 – December 17, 2012

A truly great American has left us.




He enlisted in the army as soon as the ban on citizens of Japanese ancestry serving was lifted. He served in the legendary 442nd Infantry a segregated Nisei unit that is considered the most decorated infantry unit in the history of the US Army. During the Italian campaign he was given a field promotion from Sergeant to Lieutenant for his incredible courage during the epic relief of the "Lost Battalion".

In 1945, while leading a charge against a heavily defended hill, he was gravely wounded but refused to be evacuated while his troops were under fire . He continued fighting untill they won, at one point taking out a pillbox with his last grenade...which he first had to extract from the death grip of his own severed arm.

From his Medal of Honor citation:

Second Lieutenant Daniel K. Inouye distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action on 21 April 1945, in the vicinity of San Terenzo, Italy. While attacking a defended ridge guarding an important road junction, Second Lieutenant Inouye skillfully directed his platoon through a hail of automatic weapon and small arms fire, in a swift enveloping movement that resulted in the capture of an artillery and mortar post and brought his men to within 40 yards of the hostile force. Emplaced in bunkers and rock formations, the enemy halted the advance with crossfire from three machine guns. With complete disregard for his personal safety, Second Lieutenant Inouye crawled up the treacherous slope to within five yards of the nearest machine gun and hurled two grenades, destroying the emplacement. Before the enemy could retaliate, he stood up and neutralized a second machine gun nest. Although wounded by a sniper’s bullet, he continued to engage other hostile positions at close range until an exploding grenade shattered his right arm. Despite the intense pain, he refused evacuation and continued to direct his platoon until enemy resistance was broken and his men were again deployed in defensive positions. In the attack, 25 enemy soldiers were killed and eight others captured. By his gallant, aggressive tactics and by his indomitable leadership, Second Lieutenant Inouye enabled his platoon to advance through formidable resistance, and was instrumental in the capture of the ridge. Second Lieutenant Inouye’s extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the United States Army. 


Despite the loss of his arm he remained in the Army until 1947. He was elected to the Senate representing Hawaii in 1962 and has served ably ever since.

Farewell Senator, and thank you for your service.


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December 16, 2012

We May Have a Winner

...for spambot of the year.

In many ways, I am more disheartened by the so called generic commenter” than I am by the out and out spammer. Why? you ask, Because at least the spammer is completely open and honest about their intentions! We know what they are doing. The so called generic commenter is a con man and also a charlatan You can probably tell that I have very strong toward this group of commenters



Nagato is just ecstatic.

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December 15, 2012

DO SO VERY MUCH WANT!

My, my, my....this has been a good weekend for anime.

Here's the trailer for the fourth Yamato 2199 movie will hit theaters January 13th.



Starblazers fans:
Watch it.
Be sure not to blink around the 36 second mark.
Discuss.

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Well Then




Episode 24 of Sword Art Online brings the Asuna in a Cage arc to an end of sorts....maybe.

The biggest disappointment of the episode is that Lightning Flash Asuna doesn't get to do much except put on a brave face. This is terribly unfair to the character who has really been a very well realized female lead.
The journey of Y.U.I. and Kirito to Asuna's prison was almost anticlimactic, until it wasn't.




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Well, THIS Sucks

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has collapsed and sustained a concussion.

Apparently she had some stomach virus and collapsed from dehydration. I'm just getting over one and yeah...that can happen.

Let's hope she has a speedy recovery.

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Some Quick Thoughts on Recent Events

Evil exists.
No writ of law or regulation will banish narcissism and hatred from mans heart.
It cares not one whit whether you acknowledge it's blackness or you make up politically correct excuses for it.
Evil will always find a way to arm itself in some manner, and it will gravitate to those places where no one else is able to do so. For evil is not impressive, it is generally cowardly, venal and narcissistic.
Mass shootings take place in schools, movie theaters and workplaces in part because these are places where no-one is allowed to carry a weapon and options for escape are limited. The lessons from this are obvious, but they are not the lessons being espoused by those who want a nation of compliant subjects and not citizens.

Ace has thoughts on copycats that I think are dead on.

No, the maniac in Colorado shot up the theater because he was a pathetic weakling unloved by women and incapable of satisfying them and so retreated into a twisted babydick world of power fantasy.

Same thing with this guy.

I'm going to go against my political team, here-- although conservatives often say "Label evil as what it is, Evil, and leave therapy and psychology out of it," I'm going to say No, not in these instances. Because Evil (notice the capital letter E) is powerful in these sad losers' imaginations, and they want to be called the Big Scary Man, the Shadow That Menaces At Midnight.

For an impotent, weak, ineffectual man, that is an attractive fantasy.

What they do not want and could not abide is an accurate assessment of their psychology, their physical stature and shortcomings, their ability to succeed in work or school, their loser history with women, and so on.


Yes. Don't encourage the worms that might follow him in search of some affirmation of their value via infamy. This dickless wonder should not be a source of dread but beneath our contempt.

I do note two things. The first is that virtually all the initial reporting was utterly wrong. Another is that like the VA Tech shooter, he seems to have announced what he was about to do on 4-Chan.  Perhaps we should have people look at /b/...it's worked before.


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