April 06, 2010
Creepy Girl, Oh My Little Creepy Girl*
The main female character in the Denpa Teki na Kanojo OVA is named Ame Ochibana. She's a quiet, intelligent, and resourceful girl with an agile mind. She also believes that she and the show's protagonist, Juu Juuzawa, were linked in a prior lifetime, he as a king, with her as his loyal subject. She swears fealty to him early on in the show, which is set in current times. Her vow to protect him from all who would harm him seems laughable on the face of it, as he's considered their school's main delinquent, with a talent for brawling. He, of course, considers her a wacked-out stalker who has a penchant for breaking and entering, usually into his apartment... a creepy girl, if you will.
This being anime, of course there's more to it than that. Ame is probably the most sane female character in this show... most of whom want to cause rather severe physical harm to Juu, and usually manage to do so. Until Ame shows up, at which point things rapidly go south for those hurting Juu. She's skilled with a taser, is able to talk logic rings around just about anyone, and even occasionally works in a maid cafe. But with her almost expressionless manner of speech, her penchant for wearing her hair in front of her eyes, and her physical stillness (which is a silly way to describe an anime character, few of whom have much in the way of fidgets, I know... but the animators still manage to make her seem very still, even when she's in motion), she really does seem kinda creepy. The occasional glimpse of her eyes that we get just make matters worse, for some reason.
But the most disturbing part of Ame's character is her voice. It's quiet, breathy, mature but still that of a young girl... and almost, but not quite, sinister. She very rarely puts emotion behind her words, which makes it even more creepy when she's talking to one of the really crazy girls in the show, the one who lives in a small, filthy, low-rent apartment with her dead mother and believes that if she "steals happiness points" from other people, her mother will come back to life.
It's Ame's voice that truly completes the character, and it's one that I knew I recognized, but couldn't immediately place. It wasn't until about halfway through the first episode that I figured it out, at which point I was amazed... a character more opposite to Ame it would be difficult to find, in a show diametrically opposed to Denpa Teki na Kanojo.
Who?
Hard to believe.
*with apologies to Tom Servo.
The main female character in the Denpa Teki na Kanojo OVA is named Ame Ochibana. She's a quiet, intelligent, and resourceful girl with an agile mind. She also believes that she and the show's protagonist, Juu Juuzawa, were linked in a prior lifetime, he as a king, with her as his loyal subject. She swears fealty to him early on in the show, which is set in current times. Her vow to protect him from all who would harm him seems laughable on the face of it, as he's considered their school's main delinquent, with a talent for brawling. He, of course, considers her a wacked-out stalker who has a penchant for breaking and entering, usually into his apartment... a creepy girl, if you will.
This being anime, of course there's more to it than that. Ame is probably the most sane female character in this show... most of whom want to cause rather severe physical harm to Juu, and usually manage to do so. Until Ame shows up, at which point things rapidly go south for those hurting Juu. She's skilled with a taser, is able to talk logic rings around just about anyone, and even occasionally works in a maid cafe. But with her almost expressionless manner of speech, her penchant for wearing her hair in front of her eyes, and her physical stillness (which is a silly way to describe an anime character, few of whom have much in the way of fidgets, I know... but the animators still manage to make her seem very still, even when she's in motion), she really does seem kinda creepy. The occasional glimpse of her eyes that we get just make matters worse, for some reason.
But the most disturbing part of Ame's character is her voice. It's quiet, breathy, mature but still that of a young girl... and almost, but not quite, sinister. She very rarely puts emotion behind her words, which makes it even more creepy when she's talking to one of the really crazy girls in the show, the one who lives in a small, filthy, low-rent apartment with her dead mother and believes that if she "steals happiness points" from other people, her mother will come back to life.
It's Ame's voice that truly completes the character, and it's one that I knew I recognized, but couldn't immediately place. It wasn't until about halfway through the first episode that I figured it out, at which point I was amazed... a character more opposite to Ame it would be difficult to find, in a show diametrically opposed to Denpa Teki na Kanojo.
Who?
Hard to believe.
*with apologies to Tom Servo.
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April 04, 2010
F1 Update!: Grand Prix of Malaysia 2010!
It always rains in the afternoon in Malaysia in April. Always. THIS is your F1 Update! for the 2010 Grand Prix of Malaysia!
*EXCEPT TODAY: One would think the weather gods did it just to spite us, but other than an ominously dark sky seemingly just outside the gates to the Sepang International Circuit, the track was as dry as the Mojave Desert... and seemingly just as hot, though much more humid. They say in conditions like this a driver can lose up to 15 pounds, and it's murder on the cars as well. That's probably why Pete Rose's Sauber died on the recon lap, and why five other cars had mechanical failures to boot.
*DRY TRACK: ...but not a dry race. With Lewis Hamilton, Felipe Massa and HWMNBN starting from the nether regions of the grid, you would expect a lot of excitement as they weaved their way past the backmarkers, and you'd be absolutely right. Hamilton was up to 10th by the end of the fourth lap, with the two Ferraris not far behind. What happened at that point was that we wound up getting a lot of coverage of the mid-pack cars that we don't normally see. Jaime Alguersuari aka NKOTT in particular has come alive after his 20-some-odd lap tussle with Slappy Schumacher in Australia, and spent a good portion of the race dicing with other big names. That his Toro Rosso isn't fast enough to keep the likes of McLaren and Ferrari permanently behind shouldn't be a knock on the New Kid.
*UP FRONT: The big question for this race (other than "where the hell is the rain?") was "will the Red Bulls hold together?" It's clear that they're the class of the field, just a touch ahead of Ferrari. With the red cars buried in the backfield, it was obvious that this was Vettel and Webber's race to win... which they did, in that order. Vettel made a slightly better start from 3rd than Webber from pole, got past his teammate going into Turn 1, and then the two never looked back. They cruised home with Vettel five seconds ahead of Webber, who in turn was nearly 11 seconds up on Nico Rosberg.
*DRIVER OF THE RACE: There's very little question but that Ferrari's HWMNBN is probably the best driver in F1 right now, and his race today in Malaysia proved it. On the formation lap before the race even began, he had a little problem with his clutch: it didn't work. For the entire race, he had to downshift by stamping on the accelerator and holding the downshift paddle, and hoping that the gearbox would eventually find a lower ratio. Mind you, he did all of this while braking at the same time, usually a sure recipe for disaster as F1 cars tend not to like such things while cornering. That he managed to get as high as eighth, setting fast lap of the race twice along the way, and dueling with Jenson Button for seventh, is nothing short of miraculous. It actually came as quite the surprise, then, when his engine finally let go on him with two laps remaining.
We'll admit it: we were actually saddened when the smoke began pouring out of HWMNBNs engine. He ended up placed in 13th, out of the points... a fate he really didn't deserve today.
*TEAM OF THE RACE: The sigh of relief emanating from Austria was strong enough to blow trees around here at Pond Central. Everything was aligned so that Red Bull could score an easy 1-2 today, as long the cars didn't break or the drivers didn't screw up as they had in the previous two meets. Today, finally, everything went right. That Ferrari and McLaren had shot themselves in the foot was merely icing on the cake.
*MOVE OF THE RACE: Early on, Jenson Button was sandwiched between the two Ferraris, Massa ahead, HWMNBN behind. The McLaren was on the softer tires (a choice he'd later call "a mistake"), the two Ferraris on the harder, so Button would be faster if he could just get past Massa. When Massa got a bit out of shape into Turn 10, Button thought he had his opening and made his move... just a moment too late. While he got under Massa, he couldn't quite get more than halfway up the length of the red car. In the process, he too got a little wide in the corner... opening the door for HWMNBN, who immediately leaped through with a flourish and a jaunty 'tah-dah!' In the process, he managed to squeeze Button into a place where he couldn't fight back AND he couldn't threaten Massa anymore, without risking pronging his car. He dropped back, HWMNBN slipped into line behind his teammate, and the two sauntered off, thumbing their noses at the World Champion as they did. Rather spiffy driving from the two-time World Champion.
*MOOOOOOOO-OOOVE OF THE RACE: While the new teams are permanently stuck in the backfield, many of the drivers in those cars are experienced and knowledgeable in the ways of auto racing. All of which makes Timo Glockenspiel's spin on a straightaway for no reason whatsoever completely stunning.
Seriously. He didn't touch Jarno Trulli's Lotus before the spin, he wasn't even particularly close to the other car. He just... lost it. On a straightaway. Incredible, simply incredible! BRAVO, Timo... here's your Moooooooo-ooove.
*SELECTED DRIVER QUOTES OF THE RACE:
more...
*EXCEPT TODAY: One would think the weather gods did it just to spite us, but other than an ominously dark sky seemingly just outside the gates to the Sepang International Circuit, the track was as dry as the Mojave Desert... and seemingly just as hot, though much more humid. They say in conditions like this a driver can lose up to 15 pounds, and it's murder on the cars as well. That's probably why Pete Rose's Sauber died on the recon lap, and why five other cars had mechanical failures to boot.
*DRY TRACK: ...but not a dry race. With Lewis Hamilton, Felipe Massa and HWMNBN starting from the nether regions of the grid, you would expect a lot of excitement as they weaved their way past the backmarkers, and you'd be absolutely right. Hamilton was up to 10th by the end of the fourth lap, with the two Ferraris not far behind. What happened at that point was that we wound up getting a lot of coverage of the mid-pack cars that we don't normally see. Jaime Alguersuari aka NKOTT in particular has come alive after his 20-some-odd lap tussle with Slappy Schumacher in Australia, and spent a good portion of the race dicing with other big names. That his Toro Rosso isn't fast enough to keep the likes of McLaren and Ferrari permanently behind shouldn't be a knock on the New Kid.
*UP FRONT: The big question for this race (other than "where the hell is the rain?") was "will the Red Bulls hold together?" It's clear that they're the class of the field, just a touch ahead of Ferrari. With the red cars buried in the backfield, it was obvious that this was Vettel and Webber's race to win... which they did, in that order. Vettel made a slightly better start from 3rd than Webber from pole, got past his teammate going into Turn 1, and then the two never looked back. They cruised home with Vettel five seconds ahead of Webber, who in turn was nearly 11 seconds up on Nico Rosberg.
*DRIVER OF THE RACE: There's very little question but that Ferrari's HWMNBN is probably the best driver in F1 right now, and his race today in Malaysia proved it. On the formation lap before the race even began, he had a little problem with his clutch: it didn't work. For the entire race, he had to downshift by stamping on the accelerator and holding the downshift paddle, and hoping that the gearbox would eventually find a lower ratio. Mind you, he did all of this while braking at the same time, usually a sure recipe for disaster as F1 cars tend not to like such things while cornering. That he managed to get as high as eighth, setting fast lap of the race twice along the way, and dueling with Jenson Button for seventh, is nothing short of miraculous. It actually came as quite the surprise, then, when his engine finally let go on him with two laps remaining.
We'll admit it: we were actually saddened when the smoke began pouring out of HWMNBNs engine. He ended up placed in 13th, out of the points... a fate he really didn't deserve today.
*TEAM OF THE RACE: The sigh of relief emanating from Austria was strong enough to blow trees around here at Pond Central. Everything was aligned so that Red Bull could score an easy 1-2 today, as long the cars didn't break or the drivers didn't screw up as they had in the previous two meets. Today, finally, everything went right. That Ferrari and McLaren had shot themselves in the foot was merely icing on the cake.
*MOVE OF THE RACE: Early on, Jenson Button was sandwiched between the two Ferraris, Massa ahead, HWMNBN behind. The McLaren was on the softer tires (a choice he'd later call "a mistake"), the two Ferraris on the harder, so Button would be faster if he could just get past Massa. When Massa got a bit out of shape into Turn 10, Button thought he had his opening and made his move... just a moment too late. While he got under Massa, he couldn't quite get more than halfway up the length of the red car. In the process, he too got a little wide in the corner... opening the door for HWMNBN, who immediately leaped through with a flourish and a jaunty 'tah-dah!' In the process, he managed to squeeze Button into a place where he couldn't fight back AND he couldn't threaten Massa anymore, without risking pronging his car. He dropped back, HWMNBN slipped into line behind his teammate, and the two sauntered off, thumbing their noses at the World Champion as they did. Rather spiffy driving from the two-time World Champion.
*MOOOOOOOO-OOOVE OF THE RACE: While the new teams are permanently stuck in the backfield, many of the drivers in those cars are experienced and knowledgeable in the ways of auto racing. All of which makes Timo Glockenspiel's spin on a straightaway for no reason whatsoever completely stunning.
Seriously. He didn't touch Jarno Trulli's Lotus before the spin, he wasn't even particularly close to the other car. He just... lost it. On a straightaway. Incredible, simply incredible! BRAVO, Timo... here's your Moooooooo-ooove.
*SELECTED DRIVER QUOTES OF THE RACE:
more...
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Easter 2010
Beautiful day outside, a perfect day for some of my Easter duckies to go out and play in the field behind Pond Central. When we got out there, we discovered there was a group of Easter Bunny Peeps that had the same idea, and they were more than happy to join in the photoshoot!
It was great!
And then I discovered something I didn't know about rubber duckies...
more...
It was great!
And then I discovered something I didn't know about rubber duckies...
more...
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Hope you had a Happy Easter! April 03, 2010
Fantasy Baseball and F1 Scheduling
So my Fantasy League Baseball auction is over and done with, and there's no question in my mind that my team, the Generics, completely bites the rosin bag. That's encouraging, actually, because over the 20+ years I've been in this league, my best teams are the ones that I think suck coming out of the auction. Maybe it was my partner's help. Other than constantly telling me to bid on Brandon Duckworth, even though he's not in the major leagues, he did good work today.
Tomorrow is Easter, and I'm having lunch with Ph.Duck and his aunt at noon-ish. Normally I'd watch the grand prix before lunch, but there might be a problem with that. See, the satellite feed provided by the apartment complex is full of static and snow SPEED's channel... but none of the other channels. Great, just great. I might be forced to d/l the race and watch it that way. If that happens, that means the F1 Update! won't be up until the evening. Of course, if things work themselves out, then I'll be able to watch the videotape and all will be right with the world.
We'll see what happens.
So my Fantasy League Baseball auction is over and done with, and there's no question in my mind that my team, the Generics, completely bites the rosin bag. That's encouraging, actually, because over the 20+ years I've been in this league, my best teams are the ones that I think suck coming out of the auction. Maybe it was my partner's help. Other than constantly telling me to bid on Brandon Duckworth, even though he's not in the major leagues, he did good work today.
Tomorrow is Easter, and I'm having lunch with Ph.Duck and his aunt at noon-ish. Normally I'd watch the grand prix before lunch, but there might be a problem with that. See, the satellite feed provided by the apartment complex is full of static and snow SPEED's channel... but none of the other channels. Great, just great. I might be forced to d/l the race and watch it that way. If that happens, that means the F1 Update! won't be up until the evening. Of course, if things work themselves out, then I'll be able to watch the videotape and all will be right with the world.
We'll see what happens.
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F1 Quals: Malaysia 2010!
Well that was interesting. Looks like what is becoming the annual Ferrari brainfart is starting to spread... let's take a look at the grid!
Q1 started out with a firm drizzle as the cars took to the track... or should I say MOST of the cars. Ferrari and McLaren sat in their garages, their weather experts apparently telling them that the rain would stop. But it never did.
Button went out first, got a time fast enough to get to Q2, and when the rain became heavier, aquaplaned right into a graveltrap from which he could not escape. He sat on the timing-and-scoring bubble for a few anxious minutes, but managed to eke by. By the time Hamilton, Massa and HWMNBN began their flying laps, the rain was just heavy enough to make it impossible to set competitive laps, rendering their qualifying sessions moot. Serious, serious error by the big guys on the grid. Like most everybody else, they should have gone out ASAP... what do you have to lose? If it dries out, you come in, get new tires, and off you go. If it DOESN'T dry, you've still got times set in the same conditions as everybody else... like Lotus and Virgin, each of whom got a car into Q2 for the first time.
Meanwhile, it took nearly 15 minutes for Button's McLaren to be returned to the pitlane, too late for it to be checked over for damage, get the kittylitter out of the ducts, turned around and sent out for Q2.
Q3 was an adventure, to say the least. The rain started out hard, got even harder (which redflagged the session for a few minutes), and then the full-wet tires kicked in. With about two minutes left in the session, none other than Force India's Adrian Sutil sat on pole, setting fast lap after fast lap as the rain pelted down. Towards the end, however, Red Bull's Mark Webber somehow tore off a lap that was nearly 1.5 seconds faster than anybody else in the session. That's an amazing amount of time, and one that I'm at a loss to explain. He didn't have a drying track, the rain didn't let up at all. I suppose he just caught the sweet spot on the combination of rubber on the circuit, water on the ground, car setup, and tires in a perfect Golden Lap.
So, there you have it... your starting grid for the 2010 Grand Prix of Malaysia (swimming edition). The forecast is for more rain during the race, so it's entirely up for grabs.
UPDATE: It turns out that Webber turned his amazing lap in while running on Intermediates; everybody else was on full wet tires. Gutsy move, that!
Q1 started out with a firm drizzle as the cars took to the track... or should I say MOST of the cars. Ferrari and McLaren sat in their garages, their weather experts apparently telling them that the rain would stop. But it never did.
Button went out first, got a time fast enough to get to Q2, and when the rain became heavier, aquaplaned right into a graveltrap from which he could not escape. He sat on the timing-and-scoring bubble for a few anxious minutes, but managed to eke by. By the time Hamilton, Massa and HWMNBN began their flying laps, the rain was just heavy enough to make it impossible to set competitive laps, rendering their qualifying sessions moot. Serious, serious error by the big guys on the grid. Like most everybody else, they should have gone out ASAP... what do you have to lose? If it dries out, you come in, get new tires, and off you go. If it DOESN'T dry, you've still got times set in the same conditions as everybody else... like Lotus and Virgin, each of whom got a car into Q2 for the first time.
Meanwhile, it took nearly 15 minutes for Button's McLaren to be returned to the pitlane, too late for it to be checked over for damage, get the kittylitter out of the ducts, turned around and sent out for Q2.
Q3 was an adventure, to say the least. The rain started out hard, got even harder (which redflagged the session for a few minutes), and then the full-wet tires kicked in. With about two minutes left in the session, none other than Force India's Adrian Sutil sat on pole, setting fast lap after fast lap as the rain pelted down. Towards the end, however, Red Bull's Mark Webber somehow tore off a lap that was nearly 1.5 seconds faster than anybody else in the session. That's an amazing amount of time, and one that I'm at a loss to explain. He didn't have a drying track, the rain didn't let up at all. I suppose he just caught the sweet spot on the combination of rubber on the circuit, water on the ground, car setup, and tires in a perfect Golden Lap.
So, there you have it... your starting grid for the 2010 Grand Prix of Malaysia (swimming edition). The forecast is for more rain during the race, so it's entirely up for grabs.
UPDATE: It turns out that Webber turned his amazing lap in while running on Intermediates; everybody else was on full wet tires. Gutsy move, that!
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April 02, 2010
Where's the "Blush" Button
I would be remiss if I didn't give a big ol' Thank You! to Karel and his humorously witty webcomic Quacked Panes for its April 1st shoutout to... um...
...well, me.
Karel's comic is nearing its 100th installment, by the way. THAT one should be epic indeed! Go check him out, won't you?
...well, me.
Karel's comic is nearing its 100th installment, by the way. THAT one should be epic indeed! Go check him out, won't you?
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F1 Practice: Malaysia 2010!
Short update today, as I'm preparing for my Fantasy Baseball League auction on Saturday. It actually didn't rain during either session, but the second one ended before Sunday's race start time. According to locals, it always rains in late afternoon in April, so prepare for a wet race.
Anyway, the big news is that McLaren looked fast during both practices with Hamilton topping the timesheet for both and Button ending up 4th in P2, with Seb Vettel and Nico Rosberg ahead of him. Ferrari, on the other hand, did not look quick at all. The best HWMNBN could do was 7th, and Massa turned in a miserable 15th. As always, however, one should not put too much faith in Practice results, as we never know just what the teams are actually doing during these sessions. It's possible that McLaren was working on high-speed stretches, while Ferrari was doing heavy fuel loads to check wear on tires.
One thing we can count on, however, is that Red Bull will have technical problems. Mark Webber, using the same engine he's run at Bahrain and Australia, had it die on him early in P2. Well, no big shock there; there were only four drivers that hadn't had an engine change yet, but it's just another blow to the fast, but fragile, Red Bulls... that's track time the team didn't get, and track time is now more valuable than gold in F1.
One bit of off-track news. Those pitiable "outboard mirrors" that Ferrari and some other teams have been using have been banned.
As you can see, "outboard mirrors" are actually mounted out on the sidepods, putting them a very long way from the drivers. Moreover, they're put on a spindly piece of bodywork, which means they're very very tiny. For comparison's sake, take a look at the ones on the MP4-25. By China, all teams must have their mirrors mounted directly to the monocoque.
UPDATE: The deadline has been changed to Barcelona.
Okay, I'm off to figure out the difference between Andy and Adam LaRoche (answer: none, really) and find the second-best left-handed relief specialist who pitches in the NL Central. Quals report will be up Saturday evening, like as not, as the league auction is at 1pm.
Anyway, the big news is that McLaren looked fast during both practices with Hamilton topping the timesheet for both and Button ending up 4th in P2, with Seb Vettel and Nico Rosberg ahead of him. Ferrari, on the other hand, did not look quick at all. The best HWMNBN could do was 7th, and Massa turned in a miserable 15th. As always, however, one should not put too much faith in Practice results, as we never know just what the teams are actually doing during these sessions. It's possible that McLaren was working on high-speed stretches, while Ferrari was doing heavy fuel loads to check wear on tires.
One thing we can count on, however, is that Red Bull will have technical problems. Mark Webber, using the same engine he's run at Bahrain and Australia, had it die on him early in P2. Well, no big shock there; there were only four drivers that hadn't had an engine change yet, but it's just another blow to the fast, but fragile, Red Bulls... that's track time the team didn't get, and track time is now more valuable than gold in F1.
One bit of off-track news. Those pitiable "outboard mirrors" that Ferrari and some other teams have been using have been banned.
As you can see, "outboard mirrors" are actually mounted out on the sidepods, putting them a very long way from the drivers. Moreover, they're put on a spindly piece of bodywork, which means they're very very tiny. For comparison's sake, take a look at the ones on the MP4-25. By China, all teams must have their mirrors mounted directly to the monocoque.
UPDATE: The deadline has been changed to Barcelona.
Okay, I'm off to figure out the difference between Andy and Adam LaRoche (answer: none, really) and find the second-best left-handed relief specialist who pitches in the NL Central. Quals report will be up Saturday evening, like as not, as the league auction is at 1pm.
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Under Destruction
Nothing to see here, move along. These aren't the droids you're looking for. Let the Wookie win.
UPDATE: Hah! That fixed it!
UPDATE: Hah! That fixed it!
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April 01, 2010
Chickens In Anime: The Proud Leghorn
-Sketchbook ~full color'S~, ep06
Is there a more regal fowl than the noble chicken? I mean, really?
-Sketchbook ~full color'S~, ep06
Is there a more regal fowl than the noble chicken? I mean, really?
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Button Involved In Horrific F1 Accident!
Ugly, ugly scene. Hopefully everything will turn out okay.
Ugly, ugly scene. Hopefully everything will turn out okay.
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