May 12, 2018
A Place Farther Than the Universe (eps. 1-3)
Mari Tamaki is inert. Suffering from an excess of anxiety and a deficit in motivation, she suddenly realizes to her abject horror that she's accomplished nothing of note in her entire life. No achievements beyond the most perfunctory, no books written, lovers loved, children raised, careers, or adventures of any kind have punctuated her monotonous existence.
What a wondrous age we live in! Despite having run its entire 13 episodes over the winter A Place Further Than the Universe can still be watched on Crunchyroll, and that is a wonderful thing because it would have been a crying shame to have missed this show.
She's also 16 so she's in a better position to rectify this sort of deep and profound personal failure than most of us.
After several false attempts at breaking her life's cycle of unrelenting banality, she notes a young lady drop something while rushing to catch the train.
Oh look. Foreshadowing!
When her attempt to return the item fails, she notices that it contains 1,000,000 yen. The girl was wearing a uniform from Mari's school so our heroine tracks her down and eventually reunites Shirase Kobuchizawa with her cash. As this is Japan and not an America high school, the money is not the result of Miss Kobuchizawa selling reprocessed fentanyl to the gym coach*, but rather money that she's been tallying up from various part time jobs with a specific goal in mind.
Shirase Kobuchizawa wants to go to Antarctica.
You see, Kobuchizawa's mother was an Antarctic researcher. 3 years prior, Mom went to Antarctica as part of a research expedition. In the process she encountered some mishap, and no body was ever found. Just before she left Mrs. Kobuchizawa had written a book (titled A Place Farther Than the Universe ) , a copy of which Kobuchizawa gives Mari.
Mari is quite impressed that Shirase has her act together to such a degree, and is working towards a genuinely outre' and interesting goal. She asks to help and tag along in hopes of doing....something...and so the adventure begins.
The show has a very different style than most. Live action backgrounds are used occasionally and the animation, while top-notch, gives off a very experimental vibe. In some ways it reminds me of a visual novel in its look. This is a genuinely well done show on all levels.the characters are surprisingly well realized and are pretty believable as precocious 16 year olds. That is, they alternate between determined, clever, naive and...dumb as a box of hair...much like actual teenagers.
"Wait...THAT was you're plan?"
Other characters include Yuzuki Shiraishi a lurking cultist a successful but lonely singer and You-Tube personality, whose character type is somewhat cliche' but is beautifully handled here. Her mother/manager/slave-driver has signed her up to do an eco-friendly youth reporting gig on the expedition, and to say that Shiraishi is unenthusiastic is a massive understatement. When the girls try to sign on a junior reporters she tries to arrange for them to go in her stead....but is only half successful. On the other hand, finding friends that don't see her as a prop, connection or tool is an acceptable trade off.
There is also, intriguingly, a rare, positive portrayal of a young Freeta. Hinata Miyake is a 16 year old who works in the Lawsons that Mari ends up working at. Miyake does not go to high school, and supports herself. Japan, you see, has no compulsory education past 16. Hinata's is not at all interested in dealing with the BS of high school and since high school in Japan is mostly college prep, she's just gone ahead and taken the equivalent of a GED exam. She is studying independantly and plans to apply to college in a few years after building a nest egg and hopefully doing some traveling. Miyake has saved up a fair bit of money and when she finds out about the heroes plan, she eagerly asks to contribute.
Which is another way of saying, "The stars are right".
Thus far, this is one of the best of the 'Cute Girls doing Cute Things' shows I've seen and unlike most has a sense of real direction personal growth.
Remember though, this is a show about putting together an expedition to find what happened to someone who dissappeared...in Antarctica. The title of the show and the book that guides our heroines is A Place Farther Than the Universe, a title which has all sorts of eldritch implications**. We've all read enough Frank Belknap Long, John Campbell Jr. and Lovecraft to know where this delightful girls adventure series is really going. As of episode 3 however, there is little indication of the any impending dread. I guess they are building the tension gradually.
Here's the show stats at this point:
Penguins-2 (stuffed)
Bodies-0
Shuggoths-0
Moe' Blobs-4
Recommended? -YES!
*No indication is given as to what Shirase's job is, so fentanyl is technically a possibility.
** (I think that's where Azathoth lives)
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May 09, 2018
In the Queue
This is what I'm looking at as I'm trying to get caught up amongst some of the shows that came and went while I was distracted.
Laid Back Camp: Another high-school after school club with an all girl membership, this show nevertheless is highly recommended by people whose judgement I trust, so I'm giving it a go.
A Place Farther Than the Universe: A girl goes to Antarctica to find her missing father, dragging her friends along in the process. This one is particularly intriguing. Allegedly another high school girls show focusing on self-discovery, it's plot involves Antarctica as well as missing people and I've read enough Frank Belknap Long and H.P. Lovecraft to know where this is going.
Yona of the Dawn: Another journey of the hero story where a young noble must gather together a team consisting entirely of the opposite sex to avenge the late king and save the land. The protagonist, Yona, is a princess in an exotic medieval fantasy world, one with a decidedly asian flavor and where women's breasts are much smaller than their heads.
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May 07, 2018
It's Back IT'S BACK!
Actually My Hero Academia has been back for over a month, but given exams, papers, work and health issuesI've been completely oblivious to this happy development.
This was, perhaps, fortuitous as the first episode and a half of the new season are rather uninspiring. Had I been watching them as they came out, I might have dropped the show. That would have been a shame.
The season opener is a recap of previous episodes through the eyes of characters reflecting on the events of the last 38 episodes including a new instructor being given a run down of every character's superpower. They top off this collection of Shounen tropes by making it a beach episode.
A completely safe for work beach episode.
Episode two starts off much the same but ends with some vague hints that the series might be turning around. Episode three continues to remind us that this is definitely based on a Japanese shounen comic, as it is liberally sprinkled with the cliche's of that genre. However, these are well done and it turns out that...
This is where season three REALLY begins!
...ahem.
So far this is everything that the second half of season one was. This is a kids show, and yet as I watched these 5 episodes, it actually brought tears to my eyes. It's more enjoyable and better storytelling than 99% of what's on. If I had a kid they'd be watching it. Probably. I say probably because especially around episode 42 parental previewing is advised. Your milage may vary, but, parents be aware that, while the heroes (with a few pointed exceptions) are very idealistic in a particularly American silver-age way, the villains are...not.
At its heart, My Hero Academia is a love letter to American superhero comics of yesteryear and its Japanese flavor makes it something more. The show continues to do things that one doesn't see much of in American comics and visual media any more. It ponders the nature of heroism, while acknowledging the virtues of arete', stoicism honor and sacrifice.
If you dropped My Hero Academia after the first episodes of this season, be aware that you've been led astray by a cunning trick perpetrated by nefarious villains to get people to drop the show, get it cancelled and deny the world this show's heroic life lessons. DON'T FALL FOR IT! Go watch it now!
PLUS ULTRA!
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That's a Bad Thing to See on Your Commute
Via Volcano Cafe, which is doing a great job on covering the situation in Hawaii.
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Signs, Portents and Ponderables
This story dates from March, but it caught my eye for a couple of reasons.
"We’re seeing members from all the three letter agencies,†said Fortitude creator Drew Miller, a retired Air Force colonel and intelligence officer, in a reference to the Central Intelligence Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The gentleman being quoted runs Fortitude Ranch, a prepper outfit that provides a number of fallout shelters and protected compounds around the U.S. in the event of a societal catastrophe.
The two facilities near D.C. are reportedly getting a lot of business from civil servants in agencies that would be standing duty during a crisis with the aim of protecting family members.
Over the last several years, there have been quite a few luxury bomb shelters in the news like Vivos that cater to millionaires and such. While those are certainly cause for interest with regards to what the rich and connected might be anticipating, this particular collection of facilities are interesting in part because of their austerity.
The underground portions of the compounds are not 5-star accommodations.
They do, however, appear to be reasonably well thought out and adequate.
The company requires that everyone familiarize themselves with their facilities weapons and stand watch at the gates in the event the area is habitable. They provide air transport from the many small airports in the DC area, to get the families to the facilities in a crisis.
One clever bit: they want their clients to be familiar with the facilities so they double as rustic resorts (as they have large acrerages and the east coast facilities are in the mountains) at which the members can relax and get training on the facilities weapons(!).
So why should this be of any interest:
The impression given by their approach and lack of granite countertops is that this series of shelters is for people who are...serious...about this sort of thing. More importantly, civil servants in the agencies that concern themselves with this stuff have reportedly looked at the situation the country is in and decided to put down money on it.
The whole thing brings to mind this...
Yes kids. It's time to get your bug out bags in order.
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The 2nd Fleet Returns
The United States Navy's Second Fleet has just been re-activated. It's area of responsibility is the Atlantic Ocean. During the Cold War, this was a major unit second only to the 6th fleet (Mediterranean and inshore Europe) in importance if the balloon went up. The 2nd Fleet was deactivated in 2011 because the Obama administration determined that there was no need for there to be a U.S. Navy fleet in the Atlantic.....
"Do what now?"
Anyway, the 2nd fleet command has just been reactivated. In the event of any hostilities in Europe it would be tasked with keeping the Atlantic sea-lanes open. This is being taken as a sign of the rising tensions with Russia, and to be sure, that is a factor. However, it's also a matter of remedial Geography and common sense that the U.S. needs a fleet whose area of operations is the Atlantic.
It would be even better if we could provide it with some ships.
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May 06, 2018
Perhaps Not as Laid Back as They Were Hoping For.
Art By: Ueyama Michirou Buy their stuff here!
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A Solution to the Fermi Paradox
At some point every advanced species reaches such a level of prosperity and safety amongst their creative classes that whatever serves as their equivalent of an amygdala atrophies to such a degree that some theoretically intelligent minds conclude that an "internet of things" is a good idea and nobody has the good sense to tar and feather them.
To wit.
The cyber threat hunters had honed their chops at the National Security Agency -- the world's premier electronic spy agency. And last fall, they were analyzing malware samples from around the world when they stumbled across something highly troubling: the first known piece of computer software designed to kill humans.
I suggest that you read the whole thing.
Now yes; " first known piece of computer software designed to kill humans" indicates a lack of understanding of how fire control systems work. But, they're talking about malware here so, all pedantry aside... There is a bit in the article about a particular company's policy not to provide information on the source of the attacks. I have some questions about that for my more technically inclined readers.
I would imagine that it is very difficult to achieve any certainty on where an attack comes from since it would seem likely that routing access through a third party one might want to frame would inherently be well within the capability of entities doing this sort of thing. I'm not particularly tech savvy so I have to ask if this is this even remotely correct.
Is it still considered best practice to have an air gap between one's equipment software and the internet? Obviously this is pretty much thrown out the window by the internet of things, which are all about convenience with little or no thought to security. However if someone's internet connected slow cooker is hacked there is a culinary mishap. If someone's refrigerator is hacked to empty their checking account and order 500 gallons of natto and boiled okra, then one person stupid enough to give his the refrigerator the keys to his Amazon account has learned a lesson. If these industrial systems are hacked we could have another Bhopal. Why is there a way to access these on site systems from the internet at all? Shouldn't that be on site?
Of course one needs the ability to send out a general alarm but that interface can be electro-mechanical and therefore nigh un-hackable, at least remotely.
Anyway, I'm curious what others have to say on this.
So discuss...
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May 05, 2018
Ninjas Wanted
Indulge us, Gentle Readers, as this blog takes a slight detour from its normal format.
...
...
(Stop that. We totally have a format!)
Ahem...
We need about 40 people with thick skin to pretend to be ninjas for 6-10 minutes a day.
Billy Versus Snakeman is a fun little time waster that, despite being a flash game, allows a surprising amount of cooperative and team play. The premise is that you're stereotypical anime ninjas, with a whole set of ninja goals, but you are also part of a ninja village and your participation and doing village duties makes the village stronger. Once in a while there are cooperative team events like a zombie zombja attack on the village that require some player coordination in tactics, but not time online. Its silly fun and free.
However....
Villages can have a population of up to 50 but require a certain level of participation to keep from falling apart every night...and that's where the guys in marketing screwed up.
You see, there was a time (long ago) when SNOWFLAKE was a word that referred to a meteorological phenomenon involving a particular manifestation of ice-1-N under specific conditions as part of a hydrological cycle. Given the lack of any any negative connotations, and the location of one of the decision makers in the foothills of the Great Snowy Mountains, the decision was made to name the village SNOWFLAKE.
Regrettably, as the language has shifted, membership has dropped, hence the call for ninjas with tough skin who are willing to dodge the particular slings, arrows and throwing stars that "Snowflake Ninjas" must endure, secure in the knowledge that what does not cause us to die of embarrassment makes us stronger, faster and more sneaky!
If you have the GUTS to be a Snowflake (or are just feeling vaguely ironic) click on this here linky-poo and let your adventure begin!
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May 03, 2018
Quick! To the Fainting Couches!
Behold these outlander sprites appropriating our women's formal wear!
(Insert profanity laced virtue signaling here...or just admire the animation on the dresses)
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CRAZY OLD MAN WITH POLE
more...
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May 01, 2018
Things They Tried to Warn us About in 1978
Even then they foresaw the perils of the Googleplex.
Naturally, being the BBC, they blamed it all on the Catholics.
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April 26, 2018
Oh My.
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April 25, 2018
Suddenly...I Find Myself Out of My Depth
more...
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April 21, 2018
I'm on Campus This Evening, Working on my Last Three Papers.
Take heart though.
In stark contrast to college today, this will likely make you smarter.
Trigger Warning: Not recommended those who are easily disturbed, or suffer from anxiety or depression.
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Mel Brooks : Prophet or Time Traveller?
Either way, he tried to warn us.
He tried to warn us and we didn't listen...
WE DIDN'T LISTEN!
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April 19, 2018
Astonishingly, There are Things Happening in the World Besides Term Papers and Exams
This is one of the most interesting...
The bit about the Black Financial University site getting demonetized is interesting and downright scary. It looks like algorithims and outrage mobs are threatening to turn the internet into something as bland and even more risk averse than the 3 networks were pre-cable.
As a child growing up in the era after the first attempts by network standards and practices departments to appease the outrage mobs, I can attest to the sort of place that leads to.
Oh. Dear.
Yeah kids, the future's gonna be THAT bad if GoogleFacebookAmazon runs it.
A quick perusal of Maven's activism page leaves me somewhat less sanguine than Mr. McCollum, but still very hopeful. We eagerly await further developments there and elsewhere.
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April 14, 2018
Another Reason Not to Date (Updated)
On a related note...
UPDATE: This is why MMD was invented. The song is a semi-pro fan cover of the OR3O number from the horror game Bendy and the Ink Machine. The animator did this video of the cover with some stock MMD background bits. But unlike so many MMD dance vids there is no stock, downloadable choreography for this song. She didn't download and re-skin this...she actually animated it. The art direction and the little Betty Boop chibis just ...work. This isn't point and click/copy paste, this is an actual fan animation. "Puccagarukiss" did a really good job with this. She has Patreon and Ko-Fi accounts.
The other, shorter version, according to their credits used a stock stage and Monika model (I'm somewhat astonished that there was a stock Monika) but their animation/choreography is markedly different, so they had to have done it themselves.
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The Land of the Longbowmen...no More
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April 13, 2018
I Have a few Questions
They may be silly questions.
But they are mine.
As the bombs begin to fall, I find myself wondering;
1) Given that Trump had announced that he was preparing to leave Syria, what possible motivation could Assad have had for doing the one thing likely to invite a violent response?
2) If The U.S. , France, the U.K and Russia (all of whom are nuclear powers) have a 'tiff', who, praytell, would benefit in the long term geostrategically? (I don't think it includes the U.S., The U.K., France or Russia).
4) Could we have picked a more auspicious date to start our operation than Friday the 13th?
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