Brickmuppet Blog 2.0

June 01, 2015

Oh Good!

I was beginning to think they had just taken our money. That does not appear to be the case.

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Non-Deceptive Headline

The headline:

Wayward pig gets ride in police car, poses for epic photo

The associated photo:

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A Necessarily S.W.A.G. Based Overview of the North Korean SSB

Over at Covert Shores, H.I. Sutton has put together an analysis of the North Korean SSB, which is tentatively called the Sinpo class.

The striking thing is how small it is. This, of course, means it has limited capabilities, but even those limited capabilities should give one pause. Furthermore, it also puts such a vessel within the capability of small countries.

It is notable that Iran, which has expanded its sub building capability from costal midgets to mid sized submarines, has an active technology exchange program with the DPRK. Indeed, their domestic submarine industry is largely based on North Korean technology and they have tested a similar launch rig already.

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How Times Have Changed

While channel surfing, I recently discovered that Kill-La-Kill is playing on Cartoon Network. Now it's running after midnight, but there seems to be little or no censorship of this show, at least in what I saw.

Those unfamiliar with the show may wonder why this is surprising. For those people, I have linked to this comprehensive and NSFW overview of what Kill-LaKill does not sound like.

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And Now For Something Completely Different

The last post was less than uplifting.

As a palette cleanser, here is the exact opposite of woe; Hestia with a bag of Moon Pies.

Hestia by EZ-6

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1 How does that...ribbon...work?

Posted by: Ben at Tue Jun 2 23:08:34 2015 (S4UJw)

2 Magic.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at Tue Jun 2 23:13:44 2015 (PiXy!)

3 Hestia is a goddess. Normal rules don't apply to her.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste at Wed Jun 3 09:08:34 2015 (+rSRq)

How does that...ribbon...work?

Despite what some commentors have suggested the ribbon appears to be completely explainable using basic engineering without any allowances being necessary for quantum mechanics special relativity or Fortean phenomenae.

The ribbon is tied around the arms between the elbow and shoulder and spaced so that it passes directly beneath the wearer's bosom. This does not provide any meaningful orthopedic support as tension varies widely with arm position and has considerable potential to chafe over time. Rather its purpose is accentuating and display that part of the anatomy in a way that is similar to a push-up bra but can be turned on and off at the whim of the wearer (See Figure A) . Figure A

http://brickmuppet.mee.nu/images/HestiaCosplayWithProperEquipment.jpg

Furthermore, this arrangement makes it visually quite obvious that the displayed anatomical region has a certain minimal volume. Unlike with the aforementioned push-up bra this cannot be faked as the ribbon simply will not serve its accentuation purposes if the cup size is below a certain level , dependent only to a limited degree on the amount of tension kept on the ribbon (see figure B) Figure B

http://brickmuppet.mee.nu/images/2HestiaCosplayAforEffort.jpg

"Next time I'm going as Queen Emereldas."
That physical limitation makes this attire choice of particular use to young ladies who have been blessed in a certain way and wish to make this abundantly clear to certain individuals and at times of their choosing.

As to the precise method by which the ribbon is tied, see Figure C Figure C

http://brickmuppet.mee.nu/images/HestiaRibbonDiagram1.jpg

As you can see the ribbon is....not actually tied, it just sort of is looped and there is no way to regulate it's position on the upper arm....

OK Figure C is probably inaccurate, because...physics, so we'll go to the original source material... Figure D (Pun Inevitable, But Not Intended)

http://brickmuppet.mee.nu/images/Hestia.jpg

OK as one can see from Figure D, Figure C does seem to be an accurate representation of the way in which the ribbon is tied. This indicates that the ribbon material is one that has a very high elasticity and may need to be similar to bungee cord. This arrangement also requires some awareness and discipline on the part of the wearer to keep tension on the ribbon .

Additionally, the wearer, for obvious reasons cannot raise her arms over her head as in Figure E Figure E

http://brickmuppet.mee.nu/images/ThisCANNOTHappen.jpeg

That can't... If it's not tied...

...

...
OK. Ignore everything prior.
The ribbon is a cosmetic application of a technology that is sufficiently advanced to achieve the observed effects.
I hope this was helpful and answers your inquiry.

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Wed Jun 3 11:12:51 2015 (ohzj1)

5 Sacred honor requires that I mention that Figures A & B above were by Ueyama Micherou.

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Wed Jun 3 11:20:59 2015 (ohzj1)

6 It must be glued to her arms. It can't be glued to her arms.

Posted by: Ben at Wed Jun 3 12:16:49 2015 (DRaH+)

7 Ergo, it's impossible, and therefore must be supernatural. Or super-dimensional.

Posted by: Ben at Wed Jun 3 12:19:40 2015 (S4UJw)

8 That's a worthy artist link, thanks.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at Wed Jun 3 16:38:31 2015 (RqRa5)

9 Figure C's "how to cosplay Hestia even if you haven't got the rack" offers a plausible way of emulating her Divine Gravity, but I suspect frequent re-taping will be necessary. Describing the less-gifted as "oppai ga samishii" seems a bit harsh, though.

-j

Posted by: J Greely at Thu Jun 4 00:37:03 2015 (ZlYZd)

I think it's been Don who has posted pictures of cosplayers from conventions he's gone to. (I don't think he's done so for a long time, though.)

My main impression from looking at those pictures usually is that the women doing it (I don't look at the guys) usually are totally miscast, particularly in the figure department. Usually they just don't have what it takes in terms of natural equipment to pretend to be the characters they aspire to. It's sad.

A lot of Japanese cosplayers, on the other hand, really are outstanding, especially somewhere like Comiket. But... most of the really good ones are models, hired by someone or other to do it, or they're aspiring idols hoping to get scouted. In both cases it means they're the top bracket of an extremely deep bench, the Japanese equivalent of Hollywood starlets. They ain't hobbyists, that's for sure.

Even so, I doubt there will be many willing to try to do Hestia, and damned few who will do it well, for reasons I think should be obvious.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste at Thu Jun 4 01:35:46 2015 (+rSRq)

They ain't hobbyists, that's for sure.

Actually, a lot of them are. While Comiket has a lot of booth babes they tend to be inside where photography is disallowed. Most of the photos are of people in the "Photos Allowed" enclave and the vast majority of them are hobbyists, often quite serious ones. They may sensibly be looking to monazite their hobby by parlaying it into a career in film, gravure, or (more likely) an internet following, but a lot of them do like the source material.

American fangirls get a bum rap. Comiket has half a million people and the photos that get passed around are the top percent of a percent of a pool that is orders of magnitude bigger than any US con. The few big US cons (far smaller than Comiket) produce some impressive cosplay displays and while Comicon is mostly booth babes and aspiring actresses, shows like Dragon Con have cosplayers that are truly impressive hobbyists. Like Japan, many of the fangirls that can do so attempt to monetize their hobby like Jennifer Nigiri did (which is perfectly rational and appropriate. You're only young once.) In my experience many of them also genuinely like the source material.

The other thing to remember is that one reason many people go to cons to have fun and be around people who won't judge them too harshly if they dress a bit goofy.

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Thu Jun 4 09:31:58 2015 (ohzj1)

Figure C's "how to cosplay Hestia even if you haven't got the rack" offers a plausible way of emulating her Divine Gravity, but I suspect frequent re-taping will be necessary. Describing the less-gifted as "oppai ga samishii" seems a bit harsh, though.

Tape and spirit gum can only do so much, and yeah, that was indeed harsh...

I'll take this moment to apologize to all of my female readers, not for posting some morphologically unlikely cheesecake (that's how this blog rolls) but rather for having the comments section devolve into DFC bashing, "fake fangirl inquisitions", just a touch of yellow fever, and the oppression that is spirit gum....all because I gave a snarkily technical tl;dr response to what was a rhetorical question.

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Thu Jun 4 09:50:33 2015 (ohzj1)

There was one American girl, maybe ten years ago, whose website I found who was doing cosplay, and she really did have the figure and the looks for it, and it was outstanding.

She eventually switched to a membership site and started doing soft-core porn.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste at Thu Jun 4 10:12:48 2015 (+rSRq)

14 For those following along at home, "oppai ga samishii" means "a desolate chest".

Posted by: Steven Den Beste at Thu Jun 4 11:00:24 2015 (+rSRq)

15 Yes. That is what it does mean, and it is mean.

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Thu Jun 4 21:43:17 2015 (ohzj1)

16 It will be interesting to see if fan artists and cosplayers embrace Hestia's look as enthusiastically as they have her ribbon. And we now have a new look for Bell's dishwashing mentor Ryu, which opens up a DFC possibility for group cosplay, at least based on her initial appearance (the book 5 illustrations disagree).

Oh, and the description of book 5 includes a full-service hot springs adventure.

-j

Posted by: J Greely at Fri Jun 5 15:31:39 2015 (ZlYZd)

17 On topic, a quick image search for "hestia cosplay" turns up a number of qualified women, a disturbing number of men, several young ladies suffering from ribbon failure, and at least one Very Little Girl. I'm sure we'll see a lot more before the year is out.

-j

Posted by: J Greely at Fri Jun 5 16:52:53 2015 (ZlYZd)

18 I think I'm about to get my heart broken. Is Hestia

Posted by: Steven Den Beste at Fri Jun 5 21:06:21 2015 (+rSRq)

19 Steven...Hestia is...well...

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Fri Jun 5 22:37:04 2015 (ohzj1)

20 On the bright side

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Fri Jun 5 22:40:05 2015 (ohzj1)

21 The trick is for us to become cartoon characters. Then by the laws of harem anime, we'd immediately have a Strange Cute Girl move in with us, with more on the way. The house would get destroyed on a regular basis, but the way to solve that problem is to move into Tokyo Tower; they've gotten pretty good at rebuilding it.

-j

Posted by: J Greely at Sat Jun 6 00:56:12 2015 (ZlYZd)

22 Yeah, but also by the laws of Harem anime, if we ever DID get the notion in our noggins to sample the wares, all of the rest of the haremettes would take great exception to it and do everything possible to interfere.

There's a reason most of those heroes try to ignore the bounty around them.

You're better off with a Broken Doll, because then everyone's cheering for you to work it out, only she's really dysfunctional until you finally get to that point, and then poof, the series is over.

Posted by: Mauser at Sat Jun 6 04:09:44 2015 (TJ7ih)

23 Well, yes, but even without being able to seal the deal, we'd still be surrounded by flirtatious eye candy with whom we constantly end up in Compromising Positions. And unless Lum is involved, the consequences aren't nearly as bad as real-world college boys face; sending someone to prison for consensual sex is too wacky for anime. Now those dolls are really broken!

-j

Posted by: J Greely at Sat Jun 6 11:21:04 2015 (ZlYZd)

24 I dunno about those consequences being not that bad. Explosive Nosebleeds at the moment you accidentally cop a feel is pretty worrying. I had a nosebleed once that required two applications of Silver Nitrate to stanch, and that is an agony I wouldn't wish on anyone (well, maybe with a few exceptions...).

Posted by: Mauser at Sat Jun 6 22:24:45 2015 (TJ7ih)

25 You know... I don't think those are moon pies at all. Croquettes?

Posted by: Avatar_exADV at Tue Jun 9 18:45:05 2015 (pWQz4)

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Mobile Crematoria and Other Foreign Affairs Developments

It is being reported that Russia has dispatched mobile crematoriums to burn their dead and thereby cover up the casualties they are suffering in East Ukraine from the world and their own public.

Apropos of nothing to be sure, but noting that Putin has gotten very vociferous in his defense of the sanctity of the Russian Orthodox Church, I looked up their views on cremation. Golly....

Biden is saying that direct U.S. arms transfers to Ukraine are still is the cards.

It is unclear what the HELL is actually going on in Kharkov and the Donbass but there are indications that the Ukranians are not collapsing quite yet...

...which may explain this.

Looking askance at these developments, Poland and Lithuania, in addition to massively upping their own defense expenditures, are both offering NATO bases and asking the U.S. to deploy troops there....

...Canada and Germany look posed to step up if NATO decides to accept the bases. More from a Canadian perspective here.

Meanwhile, Russia is holding 40 different military exercises this summer.

Such developments have some people anxious which no doubt contributed to this tweet going a bit viral...

Of course one tweet by a blogger is nothing to be upset about...unless, for instance, the "blogger" in question is an instructor at the Naval War College with a PhD in History and an extensive intel background who spends time in Europe doing research in circles where he actually talks to NATO GeneralOfficerFlagOfficers.

Fortunately there is nothing else happening in the w....oh wait.

China is putting artillery and jets on the islands that it has, with incredible speed, made out of reefs it stole from the Philippines and Viet-Nam. Even the Guardian is noting that the Chinese island construction project is unprecedented and worrisome.

In response, the US and the Philippines have just signed an agreement setting up a defensive line in the SCS. Of course the most worrisome issue is that after all the redlines, fecklessness and lassitude of the last 7 years, the Chinese reportedly don't think that the US is a concern. This could lead to a considerable miscalculation on their part.

The situation with ISIS/ISIL is...sub-optimal to be sure, but take heart. It could be worse...I mean it's not like...oh wait....

ISIS Isn't Wrong About Being Able to Get Nuclear Weapon From Pakistan, India's Defense Minister Says

Meanwhile the efforts to keep the other denomination of crazy from getting nukes is going about as well as expected. It should be noted that Iran has close technical relationships with North Korea which is already a nuclear power.

North Korea is also facing a terrible drought again which could lead to another round of nuclear rocket testing trying to get food...or it could destabilize a paranoid, insular nuclear power.

Happily, we can all rest assured that none of the above is of any concern, because all of these things are denied the position of "top story" by the fact that Bruce Jenner looks quite hot for a 65 year old in a one piece, presumably meaning that we can now use plastic surgery and photoshop to make the scary stuff go away.

Nothing to see here...Move along.

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Two Hours Well Spent

Here is an FPRI panel with three scholars giving talks on on the First World War. The whole thing is worth your time. The first covers just how unexpected the disaster was and why that was. The second talk (25 and a half minutes in) is also quite interesting, with Rutger's Kate Epstein debunking some long held misconceptions about the British Empire's position and strategy at the beginning of the war. To me the third is particularly fascinating. In it, John R. Schindler (who blogs at Double Cross Committee) goes into detail about role Austria-Hungary played in the genesis of the catastrophe. That one starts about 43 minutes in.

I was aware that things went to worms for the KuK early on, but Schindler makes it clear that their setbacks were far worse than is generally supposed, making the fact that held on till the end a fairly impressive feat.

The Q&A is generally worthwhile too.

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Serial Gruberings and Other Worries

Discussions of life's little irritants is below the fold. To keep perusal of this site in the domain of leisure rather than masochism, here is a whopping 35 feet of pulchritude (and an aspie).